Books

I just finished blazing through Life of Pi in a single day today. I thought it would be obnoxious and tryhard, but it turned out to be a surprisingly interesting read and a hell of a page-turner. Gets a bit... weird... toward the end, but definitely a book I'd recommend, and one which I'll probably be thinking about for the next few weeks.

Onward to rereading Children of Dune!

Currently I am reading two books. The first is; This is your brain on music by Daniel Levitins and the second is; The subtle art of not giving a fuck by MArk Manson.
The first is really nice, but requires a lot of attention of me as termnology I am unfamiliar with is used. Yet it is able to convey tons of information on every page and the subject fascinates me.
The second is really good, very easily digest able and I like the nuance it provides on how to (amongst other things) prioritize your life.

Currently reading Heretics of Dune. It's...very different from the first three but only as different as God Emperor of Dune was.

I'll be finishing the last 3 Expanse books once I get my new library card after I moved over a year ago. I made the decision to read the forward and first chapter of my copy of LOTR *eta today. Damn, does it feel like it reads differently than when I read through any of them 8+ years ago. Had a touch-and-go with reading for enjoyment for a while from having to learn different organization/local SOPs for a couple years (during which I read the middle 1/3 of the Expanse). Great to get back into it, though! For Sci-Fi folks, LeVar Burton posted an article on LinkedIn this past week of top modern SciFi. He does say it's also celebrating him being included on that list. https://theportalist-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/theportalist.com/adult-sci-fi-books?amp=1 Some mild webpage ad alert

I'm currently reading Crossroads of Twilight by Robert Jordan. It's a pretty rough experience so far; I've basically been reading it extremely slowly since it's boring af about 50% of the way so far. This is definitely the peak of the "slog" so far that other people who have read Wheel of Time mention.

I'm reading Social Reproduction Theory and Perrido Street Station. I like the former a lot, but the latter is incredibly dense, not in the sense that the proses are impenetrable or the vocabulary needed to read is overwhelming, but I just can't power through the book's long winded passages to set up the world building. I hate that I have to consult the map very closely to even follow what the hell he's talking about. I read the book for a good hour or two and haven't seen anything notciable happening, because the author is taking his sweet time to meticulously describe everything, before the tension, I guess.

But eh, it's really just the matter of taste. Many people love his style of writing, and honestly I could see that, somehow. As for me, I will stick around with this book for a bit longer to see if my patience pays off.

Sorry because this turns out to be a rant.

i keep meaning to pick up Demon Copperhead. It's set in my home county. I wonder how much the author embellished and how real she kept it.

I'm currently picking my way through No Plan B. For a Reacher installment, it seems like it was slow to get rolling, and struggling to keep my attention.

Had a long pause for a while, but back to making my way thru all of Discworld in publishing order. I'm on Monstrous Regiment at the moment and enjoying Terry Pratchett's delightful writing as always.

Chthulu Casebooks sounds fun, I've never heard of it but I enjoy Holmes and mysteries in general, will make a note to check it out!

Finishing up Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson. I'm on book 10, The Crippled God. It's taken almost 2 years because I had a kid in the middle of it.

I can't even begin to describe how dense and fantastic it is. I feel like it's spoiled fantasy for me. I can't imagine anyone else ever coming close. Going to take a break for a while and read something else before trying another series in that world.

I unfortunately don't get to do a lot of leisure reading, which is why I love the whole idea behind Bookrastinating. The last book I read is Jillian Tamaki's Boundless, which I thoroughly enjoyed for the way its stories linger. Before that, I read William Gibson's Idoru, which I enjoyed. Currently, I'm hoping to have time to dive in to Jon Courtenay Grimwood's End of the World Blues, hoping to see how this Anglophone author writes a novel set in sci-fi Japan compares with Gibson.

All very interesting reads here, by the way! (I'll try to play around with tagging your handles...)

I read Cell when it first came out and quite enjoyed it. You're certainly right about the pace, @mizu6079.

@JustJack23, that looks interesting, too, as most Verso titles are. I especially like these titles that invite a rethinking of the State of Things. That approach reminds me of Peter Frase's Four Futures: Life After Capitalism. I haven't read my copy of that yet though.

@TheaoneAndOnly27, thanks for mentioning the Cthulhu Casebooks. Sounds fascinating. Have you read Shadows Over Baker Street? That seems like something that's up your alley. Good contributors, too, for the most part!

The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi. Bloody amazing.

I'm currently working on Children of Ash and Elm by Neil Price, an indepth dive on Vikings covering history, archeology, mythology, and so on. It's decently well reviewed and at least seems really comprehensive but I have to admit I'm having trouble getting into it and I'm mostly just grinding out 10-20 page chunks at a time before I end up dropping it to do something else.

Robin Hobb's "Realm of the Elderlings", a high fantasy series consisting of 5 trilogies. (Currently reading the second trilogy "The Liveship Traders".) I love it.

Finally reading Dune for the first time. Enjoying it so far, about a third of the way through. I’ve been dying to watch the movie, but I’m the book-before-movie type.

I'm reading Cell by Stephen King. It's surprisingly fast for a King book which I don't mind at all.

Reading Pachinko by Min Jin Lee. I am really enjoying it. So much that when something sad unexpectedly happen I physically closed the book and said out loud 'Noooooooo'. Took a day break from it, even.

Just finished the novels... I found the ending very satisfying.

I'm missing a couple of short stories in that universe.

I read Demon Copperhead earlier this year and it took some time to get through it. Overall I enjoyed it but it does go on and on a bit. Currently reading How High We Go in the Dark. It’s kind of depressing so it’s taking some time to get through as well.

I’m reading the Passage trilogy!!! Just finished book 2

I'm reading Thinner by Stephen King. It's my first King novel and I'm really enjoying it.

The Case for Space by Robert Zubrin. It's really interesting and he clearly has thought a lot about how humans could live in space. The parts about the orbital mechanics of maneuvering about the Saturn system etc. can be pretty confusing though.

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, a fun Sci-Fi story from the author of The Martian. A little heavier on the Fi than its predecessor but still quite scientific. Next on the list is the Bobiverse.

I've been reading City of Last Chances by Adrian Tchaikovsky. I read Children of Time a few months ago and it instantly became my new favorite book. Been blowing through his bibliography every since.

City of Last Chances is the first fantasy book of his I've read and I'm digging it so far. The prose is evocative of a stage play in places, and the world building is on point. It tells the story of an occupied city teetering on the edge of revolution.

I love books that take place over a short interval of time. The Heroes by Joe Abercrombie comes to mind. So far the entire book has taken place in a week or less and is starting to wrap up. You really get to sink your teeth into this particular moment of this particular city.

Highly recommend if it can stick the landing, but Tchaikovsky has yet to miss on that front so I'm not particularly worried.

Just finished the people's republic of Walmart quite interesting book covering some arguments for planned economy.

I'm a few chapters into The Descent by Jeff Long and oh man, I'm freaked out. I've been a fan of horror for a long time but have never picked up this book, despite its praises being sung on most lit forums. If you haven't given a shot yet I highly recommend it! Don't put it off like I did! Lol

I’m about halfway through the Malazan series. Just finished getting current on mistborn and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson.

Third book in the series, bloody massive, and loving it. Damn that man can write… and write faster than I can read. 😂

How is the SH and the Shadwell Shadows? I've had that series on my to-read list for a while but haven't touched them.

I went down a deep horror fantasy rabbit hole and I just came out of it. Now I am jumping back into discworld with Terry Pratchett for a while. I just finished The Fifth Elephant and I'm going to try to finish the watch series in the next couple weeks. I might sprinkle a few short stories in there for palette cleansers haha. Pratchett is always my favorite author to come back to after I do a deep dive on a different genre or author. It's like a warm blanket that makes me giggle.

Code 2nd Edition - it's a huge slog even compared to Nand2Tetris, with so many chapters focussed on Electronic Engineering.

I want to get to the end though as he added new chapters for machine learning and AI, etc. (although just before the release of ChatGPT lol)

• The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin

Just after The Dispossessed I'm reading this one and really like the world-building and the prose she was able to produce.

Half through and already wondering if I will go next for the fourth book of Dune, the fourth book of The Witcher or if, at last, I will have the guts to start a Sanderson book. (Probably The Way of Kings)

I'm reading Essex Dogs by Dan Jones. It's a historical fiction novel about a group of mercenaries who join England's invasion of France in the 1300s. It's violent, vulgar and does an excellent job highlighting the mundane parts of war: endless marching, heat, shitty food, illness, dirt/grime/stink, insects biting you endlessly. I've stayed up until 2 AM on work nights 3 times this week because I can't put it down. I was expecting to like it, and only intended for it to be a palate cleanser between Stormlight Archives books 3-4, but I absolutely love it.

City of Beasts by Isabel Allende. Didn't realize it was for young adults until after I bought it, but it's pretty good so far!

Guns, germs, and steel. I don't usually go for this sort of historical work, but it's pretty interesting. Some good stories in there.

I’m working my way through some of the more “pop” books. Sarah j maas, “beach reads”.

Honestly they’re all super easy and I finish them in 1-2 days. But I’m shocked at how “THE BEST BOOKS EVER” of this day and age are so downright terrible compared to the best books of like pre-2000s.

Has anyone else noticed that shift?