this post was submitted on 29 Oct 2024
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Still reading The Crystal Shard by R. A. Salvatore. First book of The Icewind Dale Trilogy, and The Legend of Drizzt / Forgotten Realms series (publication order).

Book is pretty fast paced and full of action. Really enjoying it.

What about all of you? What have you been reading or listening to lately?


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[–] quick7silver@lemmy.world 14 points 2 months ago (7 children)

I'm currently reading the first book of the 3 body problem series. Still trying to decide if I like it or not even though I'm almost done with it.

[–] yesman@lemmy.world 6 points 2 months ago (2 children)

I've read the English translations of the trilogy. If you like mystery, high-concept sci-fi, and epic storytelling, the series is pretty terrific. But if your into rounded and compelling characters, especially if those characters are women, your going to have a bad time.

Kinda reminds me of classic authors like Heinlein.

[–] seaQueue@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago

Kinda reminds me of classic authors like Heinlein.

Heinlein or Niven are pretty accurate comparisons IMO

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[–] Yondoza@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 month ago

Holy shit! Me too, except I've decided I like it. It is a compelling story. It goes a bit hard on the scientific accuracy which can kind of interrupt the flow, though.

I find the most interesting part is the insight of modern Chinese commentary of recent Chinese history. I wasn't sure what popular sentiment was, or what criticism / critiques would be allowed to be published by the party.

[–] seaQueue@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago

I read the entire trilogy a couple of years ago and I'll say a couple of things about it: the big ideas are great and the plot is interesting but the characters and the actual mechanics of the writing are solidly mediocre at times. I'm not sure if that's down to the translation between languages (Ken Liu's two translations are much better than the middle book IMO) or just the style of the novels but it's definitely a pain point for the series.

Parts of the later books read like bad western SF from the 60s or 70s and some of the later themes are ridiculously reactionary. Like women being incapable of aggressive choices necessary for survival or the feminized men who are incapable in general. There's some large scale human social critique involved later that's 100% on point but I won't spoil that for you.

It's definitely worth reading, pieces of the trilogy are great, but it also goes in decidedly reactionary directions as well. It's sort of like reading Ringworld at times - neat concepts, odd social commentary.

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[–] WatDabney@sopuli.xyz 7 points 2 months ago (5 children)

Shards of Earth by Adrian Tchaikovsky

I've been on a bit of a Tchaikovsky binge lately. I read Children of Time years ago and enjoyed it, but for whatever reason, didn't read anything else by him then. I had a copy of Made Things knocking around though, and I finally read it a few weeks ago and was so impressed I started reading him in earnest. This is the... let's see... seventh book of his I've read lately.

He sort of reminds me of Michael Crichton. He's not a particularly notable prose stylist - his writing is entirely competent and sufficient, but not in any way really remarkable. But he tells very imaginative stories very well, so he's a satisfying read.

This one is a sort of political thriller wrapped around a mystery that plays out a bit like a science fiction update of a Lovecraftian eldritch abomination story, leavened a bit with Emily St. John Mandel style misfit spaceship crew slice of life. I'm enjoying it.

[–] Palindromes@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago

I bought shards of the earth but I'm currently reading wheel of time again! Hopefully I like it!

[–] BrundleFly2077@sh.itjust.works 2 points 2 months ago

Service Model was excellent.

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[–] Mitchie151@lemmy.world 6 points 2 months ago (5 children)

Memories of Ice by Steven Erikson. It's the Third book of the Malazan Book of the Fallen series. I just started it but the second book blew my mind. I really enjoyed the first book, Gardens of the Moon but at times it came across as a bit generic fantasy perhaps aimed at a bit of a younger audience but Deadhouse Gates fully flipped that on its head. For a high fantasy series the battles of 'the chain of dogs' in Deadhouse Gates particularly stood out to me as some of the best depictions of historical warfare I've ever read. While a few battles from the entire wheel of time series stick with me I don't think I'll ever forget the chain of dogs. Looking forward to seeing what's to come from book 3. Highly recommend the Malazan Book of the Fallen if you're into high fantasy. Don't be intimidated by the crazy wordcounts, they're easy reading so far.

[–] Ioughttamow@fedia.io 2 points 1 month ago

I’m planning on doing this at some point but I am slightly intimidated by the length. I like to read a series through as a one shot and it’ll take around 6 months based on the audiobook length and my average rate. I think I might start it after I finish earthsea, but I might start a less hefty series instead

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[–] conciselyverbose@sh.itjust.works 6 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

Finished Rhythm of War. The end hit hard, and I'm definitely impatiently waiting for Wind and Truth now.

Rhythm of War SpoilersRight after Kaladin jumps through the battle for the tower were all super emotional, and I also really enjoyed Eshonai's last ride with the Stormfather. I had kind of been holding out hope that she was Venli's spren somehow, but I appreciated giving her that send off, at least.

I have used hard copies of Edgedancer and Dawnshard that should be showing up today to add to my collection, so I'll probably start into those.

In the meantime I read book 5 of CJ Archer's Glass Library series, The Secret of the Lost Ledgers. I think I prefer Glass and Steele over Glass Library so far, but that's partly because magic was more secretive at the start of the arc.

edit: the novellas are itty bitty.

[–] theskyisfalling@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I wish I could experience all of Sanderson's books again for the first time and agree Rythm of War was great! I can't wait to get to Wind and Truth either. Being an audio book only guy though I'm going to have to wait a bit longer until I can continue that story!

Have you read Mistborn?

[–] conciselyverbose@sh.itjust.works 3 points 2 months ago (10 children)

I'm mostly an audiobook guy, though I have both hardcover and audiobook preordered. I doubt I'll really read the physical copies, but I recently decided to refresh my bookshelves with some of my favorites just for the sake of having them and the Stormlight Archive quickly became a favorite once I finally buckled down and just bought all the audiobooks to listen straight through.

I've read some of his random smaller stuff. I thought the premise of Rithmatist could have been a pretty fun VR game. I haven't read Mistborn yet, but it's definitely on my radar. One of my biggest things is availability, though. My binge on physical books the last couple weeks was an outlier, but I generally can't afford to actually buy anywhere near as many books as I read. They're mostly not as substantial as Stormlight Archive, but according to goodreads my new books this year are still comfortably in the triple digits, so I need libraries and subscription libraries to fill in most of the volume or I'd go broke pretty quickly. I definitely want to read Mistborn, but I'll probably wait a while, because my self control on buying books can get me in trouble if I'm not careful.

[–] Mitchie151@lemmy.world 4 points 2 months ago (1 children)

The first mistborn book is a bit on the nose, it comes across as a bit of a weird mix of teen romance meets classic teen fiction rebels vs fascist empire. Probably not Sanderson's best work as it is on the older side now, but it gets way way better after the first book (as many Sanderson series do). The Wax and Wayne mistborn books are awesome, so don't give up after the first one!

[–] conciselyverbose@sh.itjust.works 3 points 2 months ago

lol if you looked at my goodreads you'd see plenty of cheap, casual reads. I like a variety of styles, as long as it's not super stilted and I can get some flavor of the author's personality. I'm guessing that it won't be an issue.

I appreciate the advice that it picks up though.

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[–] penquin@lemm.ee 6 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Two books:

  • Bullshit jobs by David Graeber
  • Crack-up capitalism by Quinn Slobodian
[–] Jagothaciv@kbin.earth 4 points 2 months ago (1 children)
[–] penquin@lemm.ee 3 points 2 months ago

Good to hear. I just started it.

[–] iii@mander.xyz 4 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (3 children)

I'm enjoying "The Overstory" by Richard Powers for my fiction fix.

Just got in the mail today, currently on chapter 3, "The art of receiving and giving" by Betty Martin. This one I'm going to have to read piecewise.

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[–] wizrad@lemmy.ca 3 points 2 months ago

I'm currently on Children of Dune. I've listened to the core six a few times on audio book but figured I'd actually put the time into reading them. Its honestly pretty close to a first time experience. There was so many little things sprinkled throughout that I totally missed in audio book.

[–] yesman@lemmy.world 3 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Iron Coffins by Herbert Werner

It's a memoir by one of the handful of Uboat Captains who survived WWII.

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[–] Jagothaciv@kbin.earth 3 points 2 months ago (1 children)

No Shortcuts: Organizing for power in the new gilded age by Jane McAlevey. If you are a leadership type I suggest it. Organizing labor is important given the times we are in.

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[–] Boozilla@lemmy.world 3 points 2 months ago

Finished Lawrence Block's Evan Tanner series, and am now on the 2nd book of his Matthew Scudder series. The Scudder books will be a re-read for me up until about book 4 or 5. I hope to finish them all this time around.

[–] conciselyverbose@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Already made a post on here but I went down a Brandon Sanderson rabbit hole. Still working through the Stormlight novellas, but my library has his secret projects on audiobook and they're fucking spectacular. (Read Tress and Yumi so far.)

The premium hardcovers look gorgeous, too, but I haven't convinced myself to pay $55 apiece for them, even though I really want to. (The regular hardcover of Tress isn't bad, but the Yumi one is really disappointing.)

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[–] VanHalbgott@lemmy.autism.place 3 points 2 months ago

I’m currently reading Five Tales by Herman Melville. I also have a Herman Melville short stories book waiting for me at my library.

[–] xorollo@leminal.space 3 points 2 months ago

I read Mur Lafferty's Station Eternity and then Chaos Terminal. I enjoyed them buuuuuuttttt... Station Eternity had hints that there may have been a breadcrumb mystery to solve outside of the narrative. After reading the second book, I think it was just plot holes, or else tokens that the author thought were wrapped up that I didn't catch. Either way, having lost what I thought was a clever puzzle to solve, I'd say both books were pulpy.

[–] Hugin@lemmy.world 3 points 2 months ago (4 children)

I listen to A Night in the Lonesome October every October. It's the diary of Jack the Rippers dog from October 1'st to October 31'st.

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[–] misericordiae@literature.cafe 2 points 2 months ago (3 children)

Currently reading There Is No Antimemetics Division by qntm, which involves a department of the SCP Foundation dealing with entities that delete memories, communication, etc. I don't intend to go down the SCP rabbit hole, but I'm finding the book inventive and enjoyable so far.

--

Read Dark Harvest by Norman Partridge. Short, fun, mindless Halloween action horror.

Bingo squares: Family Drama; Eazy, Breazy, Read-zie; Now a Major Motion Picture; It's About Time; Award Winner; It's a Holiday (hard); (alt) A Change in Perspective

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[–] mortalblade@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)
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[–] Someonelol@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 1 month ago (3 children)

Radicalized by Cory Doctorow. It's an anthology of four short stories that all share a common theme of dystopian applications of technology. So in other words... Pretty much on brand for the author and it's well done so far.

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[–] theskyisfalling@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Hey Dressy!

Hope you are well, bet you can't guess what I've been listening to ;p So as always Deathlands has been on rotation and I am just finishing number 25 and still enjoying it.

Other than those I listened to a couple of Goosebumps books. They were fun, I'm not sure how old your son / daughter (?) is but I would suggest giving one a try if they are interested in reading some light horror. They weren't to graphic but still enough to instill a good, slightly unsettling image in parts that I imagine someone younger would find a little scary but in a good way if they were interested in horror as a genre. I remember enjoying them a lot when I was around the age of 10 and may be a little bit simplistic for say a teenager but it was an engaging story and well written.

I also listened to "The Others" by Jeremy Robinson which is the second book in the Infinite series of books. It was a really good book that I couldn't stop listening to and blazed through really quickly. It reminded me a lot of Dean Koontz stories in the way it was written, it had supernatural elements as well as a group of people vs government type agencies vs a supernatural element sort of interplay similar to the way his stories often go. I'm looking forward to what the rest of the Infinite series holds and enjoyed it a lot more than the first book!

[–] dresden@discuss.online 2 points 1 month ago (5 children)

So, after reading this, I finally decided to buy the first Deathlands book right away, it's about time I at least check it out.

Well, it turns out they aren't available anywhere. Not even as ebooks. Only audiobooks are available. Amazon (not my place of choice to buy ebooks) also has only book 48 and 49 available, rest are audiobooks only.

On a positive side, one less series to worry about!

Thanks for the recommendation. He is around 10, and likes horror / spooky stuff. Will get first book or two and see if he likes them.

Infinite series seems pretty interesting. Will check them out in a few months, hopefully they have better availability than Deathlands 😀

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[–] If_Its_Kitsch_I_Sits@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 2 months ago (4 children)

Just finished the latest Jack Reacher novel. Standard Reacher Murder She Wrote with a giant as protagonist plot template. I find the Reacher novels helpful if I’m having a rough week and need a low cognitive load book. Working on Candle & Crowe now, which is the third book in Kevin Hearne’s Ink & Sigil series set in his Iron Druid universe. It’s also good for a bit of cheerful escapism, but not a pulp novel.

[–] conciselyverbose@sh.itjust.works 3 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I really like Jack Reacher books. There's something about the matter of fact, purely mechanical approach to utter brutality that's just a fun ride.

Exactly. Just practical, sometimes preemptive violence.

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[–] b34n5@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago (3 children)

I'm currently reading "The Coming Insurrection" by "The Invisible Committee"

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[–] KammicRelief@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago

Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy. The prose is beautiful and mesmerizing. It forces me to read it at the speed of speech, to let it flow. I'm a sucker for long and winding sentences (when they're done well), and this doesn't disappoint.

It's also quite disgusting, just as everyone says about it. If you can't handle brutal senseless violence, don't pick this up. It's pretty interesting to see the racism/xenophobia of today reflected in American history (1850-ish). It reminds me of the Dark Forest theory from Three Body Problem: these guys go around killing not just out of a love of violence, but because it's the only guaranteed way to come out on top. If you aren't the killer, someone else will be. Capitalism and greed work like this too.

[–] Ioughttamow@fedia.io 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Just finished the telling, by le guin. With that I finish the novels in the hainish cycle. I’m not sure why but I never quite got into the flow with the telling, though I do think it was good. Usually when that happens to me it’ll only be a part of the book, but for this it was most of it. I ought to give it another go at some point . Probably just the influence of life’s going one on my mood and my adhd.

Next will be four ways to forgiveness and then I’ll start Earthsea

[–] dresden@discuss.online 2 points 1 month ago

Yeah, sometimes it's just not the right time for that book.

Hope you enjoy your next books more!

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