this post was submitted on 19 Oct 2023
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I finished Death Masks by Jim Butcher, 5th book in the series. This is probably the best book in the series yet, pretty much no dull moment. And I have heard it just keeps getting better from here, so looking forward to that!

After that, looking for epic fantasy, started The Daevabad Trilogy by S. A. Chakraborty. Read the first book City of Brass and loved it. A different setting from the "medieval European" one we usually get, and thoroughly enjoyable book.

Before starting next book in the series, read Elly Griffith's The Janus Stone, 2nd book in Dr. Ruth Galloway mystery series. It was a quick but nice read, I'm going to continue with her books.

Just starting The Kingdom of Copper by S. A. Chakraborty, the next (2nd) book in The Daevabad Trilogy.


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

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)
  • Still going with across-the-year reading of Finnegans Wake. Nearing the end of part 3, which seems to be interpreted at the "ideal future", and soon moving on to part 4: "the actual future". The Wellington & Napoleon & Tristan & Iseult & Osiris & Set -ishness of it all continues to mystify just over the understandizon. At the moment, I think that Crime and Punishment is going to be next year's big read.
  • Finished Happy Endings by Paul Cornell - the 50th in the Doctor Who Virgin New Adventures series and a cameo-filled celebration of this series so far wrapped around Benny's wedding. An easy read, but too many cameos overall.
  • Reading GodEngine by Craig Hinton - the 51st in the same series, and an interesting (so far) dive into Ice Warrior culture.
  • On hold until I have finished the above Flashman's Waterloo by Robert Brightwell. Quatre Bras is out of the way in this entertaining and well-researched prequel series and Waterloo itself is in the offing. However, I want to finish the the DW novel, since that is a natural pause in that series, before immersing in this again.

And after those I am planning to read Adam Biles' Beasts of England - a Brexit-parody sequel to Orwell's Animal Farm released a few weeks back and then Sandra Newman's Julia - her alternate take on 1984. They seem a good pairing.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

Kudos for sticking with FW! I had to quit, but will return to it.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Daevabad trilogy is solid. A nice change on the usual sword and sorcery stuff.

Dresden series is also good on audio. James Marsters does a good job.

The Stars Now Unclaimed. The story is decent but the dialogue is pretty crappy. Seems like I’m always scrounging for sci fi with good characters that can carry concept and story.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

I'm nearing the end of Ship of Magic by Robin Hobb.

I really liked the Assassin trilogy, and this one is off to a great start for the Liveship series.

But damn, if she doesn't give her characters the short end of the stick in pretty much every case.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I finally finished (my 3rd read of) Gravity's Rainbow. So now I can focus on some non-fiction that I was trying to read at the same time as GR (that never works). Those would be: Seeing That Frees by Rob Burbea (a book on meditation and buddhist stuff), and Gödel Escher Bach by Douglas Hofstadter. I have loads of fiction to get to after this, but want to clear the stack of "same time" books first.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Yeah, I can understand that. I have a "same time" book that I have been reading since last 3 years, I think. 😀 I should probably just read it after this one and finish it in a week or so.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

3 years!! haha. Yeah, that would probably be a relief to finish. If you're still enjoying it, that is.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It's non-fiction essays, I have it in my car, read it when I am waiting in car and don't have my main book with me. It's half done, can finish the rest in a few days, and I think it's about time I do that... I just don't have any other book to put in car to replace that 😀

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Ah, well, that seems not a bad sort of book to be the "perma-reader"!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Presently rereading Small Gods and occasionally listening to The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The Sunlit Man by Brandon Sanderson. I'm loving all of the connections to the wider world and the technological advancements.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Ahan, interesting. Can't wait to get my hands on.

Assuming you have read rest of the secret projects too, which one is your favourite?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Tress was definitely my favorite.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Tress was amazing. I only have read first two yet though.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Maeve Fly by CJ Leede - very dark humor but set in the happiest place on earth. After that I'll pick up a horror novel, it's that time of year.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

That sounds like an interesting concept, would love to hear what you think about it, once you have finished it.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

This week I finished A Stroke of the Pen by Pratchett and Excession by Banks, I then started Inversions also by Banks as the next part of my Culture re read. I haven't read some of the books in that series for several decades so its been great to revisit them. I have been doing that a lot the last couple of years as last year I reread all of Pterrys books and earlier this year I reread all of Tolkiens books.

Excession is good but it struggles to keep the competing story elements tied together in a deep and meaningful way, they just sort of exist next to each other in the same part of space time. I prefer others in the series and its one of my least favorite Culture books. I prefer Inversions, its one of his more subtle books, almost a non culture, culture book, as if Iain Banks wrote it not Iain M. Banks.

A Stroke of the Pen really is for only hardcore PTerry fans who are completionists who want to see how he developed as a writer as it collects stories found that he published under pseudonym in local newspapers. I found it quite short., but obviously they can only publish what was already there so its hardly a serious complaint. I enjoyed reading it and appreciated the huge amount of effort went into the detective work finding these lost stories from the local newspaper archives. One strictly for fans of PTerry.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Just started black company by Glen Cook, also picked up a mistborn box set I'll either read after black company, instead of black company if i lose interest, or at the same time of my bookclub starts again

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Because Ahsoka didn't make much sense and the best part was Admiral Thrawn, I decided to listen to the audiobook Thrawn trilogy and I'm about 60% through book one.

It's... interesting.

It's got sound effects and music which generally add to the Star-Warsiness of it, but sometimes they can overpower the audio, especially when it's the steady thrum of the ship.

The writing isn't that great, either. It sounds a lot like the Warrior Cats novels my kid loves. But it's Star Wars so I wasn't expecting Shakespeare. It's a bit goofy, especially the names, but again it's Star Wars.

The narrator also does a good impression of Luke Skywalker, C3PO, and Han Solo, and a passable Leia and Lando. But their voice when reading the Wookiee whose speech impediment lets him speak basic is laughably bad. And that character does a lot of talking.

So far, I give it a 7/21.3.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I absolutely loved the Daevabad trilogy! Enjoy!

Currently, I’m making my way (quite slowly, I might add) through The Dark Forest (sequel to The Three Body Problem). It’s interesting, but I don’t have a lot of time to read right now, so have been reading just one small section each morning.

I’m also listening to Bad Cree while I work, and loving it so far! Nice and creepy, good for October.

Oh, and I’m halfway through Everyone Knows Your Mother Is A Witch, which is the story of Johannes Kepler’s mother, who was brought up on charges of being a witch in the 1600’s.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Cosmos by Carl Sagan. It's like poetry, mirror to the society, full of history and science.