Hello Everyone!
What are you all reading?
I am currently going through a re-read of Dresden Files by Jim Butcher. Currently on 2nd book, Fool Moon.
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Just read an erotic romance, Heart of the Mountain by Snek Guy. It is about a mercenary going up a mountain to slay a dragon and take her hoard of gold. Things don’t go quite as he planned. It was well written, but a bit too much smut for my taste. I wrote a bit more here.
Just started the My Best Friend is an Eldritch Horror series.
Is “My Best Friend is an Eldritch Horror” available as a web novel somewhere?
It was originally published on Royal Road, but has since been moved to Amazon.
Ah, okay. Thanks for the info!
I have a couple of overdue library books I should probably finish and return, but instead I’m reading a couple volumes of Combatants will be Dispatched because laughing is better than being a decent human being.
laughing is better than being a decent human being.
Heh, that made me chuckle.
How is “Combatants will be Dispatched”? I have read Chinese and Korean light/web novels, but am not acquainted with Japanese ones. Any recommendations?
Combatants will be Dispatched is hilarious. It might be the dumbest, most useless cast of characters I’ve ever read about. After a couple of volumes most of the main conflicts are problems they caused for themselves which is very satisfying.
I find I read a lot of web novels (or more commonly the graphic adaptations) to tweak certain tropes I crave now and then. It’s not often I find one that is actually just a satisfying read chapter to chapter. Light novels are often similar, but they’ve gone through some more editing and development so it’s more common for a volume to actually be some sort of satisfying chunk of story to read.
If you’re looking for genuinely good reads, I recommend Apothecary Diaries, Death’s Daughter and the Ebony Blade, or the Monogatari series. If you want some dumb fun there are so many options, but The World’s Finest Assassin Gets Reincarnated in Another World as an Aristocrat, Konosuba, and I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level are a few different but good ones.
Trying to read Into Thin Air, but I am getting bored by the background stories.
I was thinking about reading it some day. What are the background stories about? And are there too many of them?
Stories about Everest itself, the first hikers, the first summit, a few background paragraphs about the hikers/acquaintances, what they do, what are their achievements, Krakauer’s magazine backstory and such, I left it on Chapter 5 few days ago and I think we are barely arriving to Base Camp.
It’s not bad per se, I mean it works as an introductory bit, but I was kind of expecting the book to start at Base Camp. If I am guessing right, the climb will start on Chapter 6 (which is a a quarter of the book according to KOreader), will still try to keep on reading it.
I just started City of Refuge by Tom Piazza. It’s a fictional account of two families in New Orleans during hurricane Katrina. I’m only 12% in but so far I’m impressed by how real I feel like the pov characters are.
Also reading Lichtenbergianism by Dale Lyles. It’s about using procrastination as a creative strategy. 30% in, and juries out on whether I’ll find anything helpful in it.
Ward by wildbow. Not technically a book but it’s wonderful if you are into that genre and honestly probably still good if you aren’t. Finished worm and while back and would definitely recommend that as well
To give a brief idea it’s “what if super powers came from incredible trauma and were designed to be the worst possible power for them specifically” there’s a lot more to it like A LOT but that is a general idea.
Worm follows Taylor and her journey after gaining power. It’s essentially her struggle to be in control of everything that goes on around her
Ward follows Victoria dallon and her struggle to manage a bunch of traumatized young adults as a hero team while dealing with a severely fucked up family
I read quite a bit of Worm, I think I was near the end, but then took a break, and after that couldn’t find where I stopped. I plan to reread it someday.
How’s Ward compared to Worm?
Ward is less fighty fighty action and more dealing with trauma and mental illness
I just finished Project Hail Mary. A wonderful and fun read. Highly recommend if you like science fiction.
I found it to be one of the most engrossing and wholesome books that I’ve read in years!
I just got it during my latest book shopping! Going to read it soon.
As you should. It was very interesting.
I’m about half way through The Obelisk Gate which is the second book of the broken earth series by N.K. Jemisin. I’m really enjoying it.
I loved the series, but felt the books are quite dry. Not really a “fun” read.
I can see that, but I think the dramatic plot points and twists are a good payoff for the slower parts of the story. At least in the first book I got a little bored with all of the traveling, but when they finally get where they are going it picks up significantly.
I’m loving this thread. Lots of ideas for my next reads!
Oh yeah, I agree that overall the books are worth it. That’s why I said I loved the series.
And yeah, some really neat book suggestions in this thread, and in many different genres.
re-reading the Malazan, Book of the Fallen. Currently on Toll the Hounds. I’m enjoying the re-read.
One of these days, I need to finally start reading Malazan series. Maybe time to start collecting the whole series.
Have you also read all the novellas, prequels, sequels, and malazan empire series?
Metro 2033
Great book. I’ve started to read it after finishing the PC game:)
I started the games a while back and somehow screwed up and started on the second one lol. Once I found that out I dropped it… Just currently working through the audio books right now. I’ll replay them in the winter.
Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents. It’s really good.
How is it, if read as a parenting-guide?
I think it could be extremely helpful in learning how to be mindful of your child’s emotions
Finally pushed through The Sound and the Fury. Definitely lived up to it’s reputation for being difficult and inscrutable. Probably could have just stuck with the spark notes on this one, frankly.
I picked up Ovid’s Metamorphoses on a whim and I’m finding it surprisingly fun and approachable. I’ve always had a healthy appreciation for western mythos, so this is a fun little dip back into that world for me, and I am also enjoying going back and reading some academic commentary once I finish a section. Makes me feel like I’m back in college in a good way.
I also started The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath and I’m really enjoying her prose so far. I am a little surprised, frankly, with how much I’m enjoying this one and how hard it is to put the book down. Maybe because I tend to select books I don’t expect to like, but rather which I believe will be beneficial to read (which provides it’s own form of enjoyment for me, rest assured).
Also trying to maintain momentum on my second read through of Infinite Jest. One of my favorites, even (especially?) the second time through.
Last year I read mostly nonfiction so I guess this year I’ve swung in the other direction as I’ve read almost exclusively fiction so far.
Nice list! I looked up The Sound and the Fury, from wikipedia:
It is nearly unanimously considered a masterpiece by literary critics and scholars, but its unconventional narrative style frequently alienates new readers. Although the vocabulary is generally basic, the stream-of-consciousness technique, which attempts to transcribe the thoughts of the narrators directly, with frequent switches in time and setting and with loose sentence structure and grammar, has made it a quintessentially difficult modernist work.
Interesting. Will add it to the list of “literary classics, some day” to-read list.
Which translation are you reading for Metamorphoses? And any interesting academic commentary you can link to? Recently, I have been thinking of reading some of the older, historical work, starting with the most obvious choice, Homer’s Odyssey. Haven’t started it yet though, so many things to read, so little time.
And respect for reading books that are beneficial to you!
Bit late to the party, but I just started reading the Final Empire, Mistborn series #1. Only a few chapters in, but I’m enjoying it so far!
Ah, great series. Have you read any other of Brandon Sanderson’s work? Or is this your first?
A web book, the wandering inn by pirateaba
This looks interesting. Are you fully caught up? Or are somewhere in the middle?
I’m currently in the end of book 7 so still got a lot to read.I’ve been reading it several hours per day since March! So it is a lot of text but I like those kind of big books/series
Iron Gold by Pierce Brown.
I had a really hard time with Iron Gold. So much so that I couldn’t finish it. I keep meaning to go back to it and try again, but I haven’t yet.
Ah, a sequel series to Red Rising. I have heard of that, but never got around to read it. How is the series?
The Lion: Son of the Forest by Mike Brooks. I’m on a Warhammer 40K kick lately, so started this after I finished the Eisenhorn trilogy
What would you say is a good place to start for someone who doesn’t know anything about Warhammer 40K, other than some video games?
Whoa, sorry this is a late reply. I don’t get notified if I get responses to my comments. Anyway, I can’t find it, but there’s a good resource on a subreddit I found before about book recommendations and reading order. In lieu of that, I can tell you what I remember: the setting, timeline, characters and lore are too many and varied to jump into, so focus on something smaller and more localized. A standalone series, or even a single novel, that’s more relatable and more focused can introduce you to the setting and themes of warhammer 40k (or 30k, if it’s related to the timeline around the Horus Heresy) better than some of the ones focusing on the bigger conflicts. All that to say, start with the Eisenhorn series of books.
Also, read up a bit on some articles about the lore for 40k available online, there’s a few wikis dedicated to Warhammer 40k/30k. There’s going to be spoilers, of course, but maybe focus on something you’d like to particularly know about the world of warhammer 40k, e.g spacemarines, the imperium, the other alien species, something more related to the tabletop game itself, etc. Then see if it’s to your liking, and you can branch off from there and read books about topics that interest you. Hope that helps a bit!
No problem. Better late than never. 😀
Thanks for the detailed response. I will take a look at Eisenhorn series, and then continue from there. I have played couple of Warhammer 40K games, like the Space Marine one, but the only thing I know is that they are fighting orcs for some reason. Maybe the books will give some idea.
