Thanks! Just bought The Machine and added the other to my wish list.and
please don't hate me, it's my favourite genre too
If I may suggest a book in return, read The Ferryman by Justin Cronin if you haven't yet. My favourite of the last couple of years.
The winner of the 2022 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, Trust is a metafictional story in four parts, opening with a novelette called Bonds about Depression-era financial tycoon. We then get the rough draft for a memoir by a Wall Street financier who believes that Bonds is a libelous roman a clef about him and his wife, and then a memoir by said financier's ghostwriter explaining the genesis of the project, and then one final segment that sheds a bit more light on all three preceding pieces. On a structural level it's interesting, and Diaz is a very solid prose writer, so the 400 pages glide by quite easily. At the end of the day I'm not sure all of this cleverness was in the service of anything particularly impactful or groundbreaking, but I enjoyed reading it.
Reading Wuthering Heights for the first time. Got an amazing Brazilian commented edition and I'm learning so many things I would be completely oblivious to in a normal edition.
It also tells the story of the Bronte family, let's say they aren't very lucky.
It also tells the story of the Bronte family, let's say they aren't very lucky.
Tress of the Emerald Sea - Brandon Sanderson
4/5
I had high hopes for this as a fan of Sanderson. I was expecting this to be elementary level adventure fantasy but it does land more on the YA territory as the themes solidified. I tried a few chapters on audiobook and I noped out very quickly, it did not find the narrator a good fit for Tress. Started over on kindle and finished it that way. Tress and the supporting cast had distinct enough personalities and that made it easy to wade through chapters focusing on any one of them. The humor also landed pretty much all the time it elevated the overall score. Now the main book's narrator is where there was some friction in switching perspective from one paraph to another that it ended up confusing me momentarily, it took a few parts to finally get accustomed. It did not add much of an enjoyment and a tad bit of a detraction tbh.
Not necessarily next but next Sanderson will be Yumi.
Donthizz nice. on my bucket list after a few failed run attempts.
4/5
I had high hopes for this as a fan of Sanderson. I was expecting this to be elementary level adventure fantasy but it does land more on the YA territory as the themes solidified. I tried a few chapters on audiobook and I noped out very quickly, it did not find the narrator a good fit for Tress. Started over on kindle and finished it that way. Tress and the supporting cast had distinct enough personalities and that made it easy to wade through chapters focusing on any one of them. The humor also landed pretty much all the time it elevated the overall score. Now the main book's narrator is where there was some friction in switching perspective from one paraph to another that it ended up confusing me momentarily, it took a few parts to finally get accustomed. It did not add much of an enjoyment and a tad bit of a detraction tbh.
Not necessarily next but next Sanderson will be Yumi.
Donthizz nice. on my bucket list after a few failed run attempts.
Congrats. Welcome to the club. We are few but we are mighty.can't believe I'm here. it's been one hell of a ride.
Neuromancer... have to say this is getting pretty confusing.
Like you get only a vague idea what the actual mission is going to be and that's fine, but Gibson also just doesn't explain a lot of concepts. Or he'll mention a character off-hand one time and suddenly they'll pop up 50 pages later without explaining again who they are. Feel like I'm constantly flipping back pages to try to figure out who people are and what's happening, and it's not even a very long book
Like you get only a vague idea what the actual mission is going to be and that's fine, but Gibson also just doesn't explain a lot of concepts. Or he'll mention a character off-hand one time and suddenly they'll pop up 50 pages later without explaining again who they are. Feel like I'm constantly flipping back pages to try to figure out who people are and what's happening, and it's not even a very long book
I've been on holidays and reading while in transit. I finished Trudi Canavan's "The Novice", book 2 of the black magician trilogy and it was incredibly mediocre. Basically 8 hours of a student being bullied for her heritage despite her skill and innate talent. Not much happened. Book 3, The High Lord, has been significantly better. I'm about 2/3 through it and a romance subplot is developing that I don't particularly enjoy though.
I've also decided to read some lighter milquetoast reads between what has been a heavy diet of Stephen King, so finally turned my attention to "a series of unfortunate events". I didn't read it as a kid, and enjoyed both the movie and Netflix series so I've been dipping into these between other reads. I'm sure I would have thoroughly enjoyed them as a kid, and as an adult they're a reasonable hour long palette cleanser. I'm assuming there will be more of an overarching plot as the series progresses, if my memory of the Netflix series serves. Otherwise the first two are sort of wile e. Coyote-esque as Olaf dons yet another disguise that only the children see through.
After I finish The High Lord I'm finally getting around to Cloud Cuckoo Land.
I've also decided to read some lighter milquetoast reads between what has been a heavy diet of Stephen King, so finally turned my attention to "a series of unfortunate events". I didn't read it as a kid, and enjoyed both the movie and Netflix series so I've been dipping into these between other reads. I'm sure I would have thoroughly enjoyed them as a kid, and as an adult they're a reasonable hour long palette cleanser. I'm assuming there will be more of an overarching plot as the series progresses, if my memory of the Netflix series serves. Otherwise the first two are sort of wile e. Coyote-esque as Olaf dons yet another disguise that only the children see through.
After I finish The High Lord I'm finally getting around to Cloud Cuckoo Land.
I finished the series last year and have had a hard time filling the void. Reading Karkhanas Trilogy (on Fall of light) if he ever gets to finishing it.
also reading Sun eater series by Christopher Ruocchio but nothing is hitting like Malazan
Finished Meditations by Marcus Aurelius last week, and have been reading Courage is Calling by Ryan Holiday and Letters from a Stoic by Seneca. I am having a blast going deeper into Philosophy. I am quite stoked to read Epicurus at some point soon, and then get into Existentialism and Taoism.
Did something happen over the past few months that I missed? I feel like pop culture randomly rediscovered this book for some reason, I've been seeing it everywhere including my book store's best seller wall haha
Stoicism has had a big revival in recent years, and Marcus has been riding the wave as an accessible version of it. Not that it isn't worth reading on its own, of course, but that's the reason for the larger profile now. Just search the web for articles on the "stoicism revival" and you can read all about it.
To be honest, I don't know. Probably, but I started going down the rabbit hole of philosophy, and I started with Aurelius. I am currently on Seneca right now, then Epicurus, Epictetus, Lao Tzu, Plato, Friedrich Nietzsche, Immanuel Kant, and many others. It is going to be a long journey, and I am so excited.
The only other thing I can think of is that is was mentioned several times in the movie The Holdovers last year.
Well now I'm convinced. Meditations en route.
Also got to pick up Jean Jacque Rousseau's The Social Contract today, and Bernard Mandeville's The Fable of the Bees.
Also got to pick up Jean Jacque Rousseau's The Social Contract today, and Bernard Mandeville's The Fable of the Bees.
I finished "Well of Ascension" (Mistborn #2) last week and the more time passes the more I resent my time with that book and myself for sticking with it to the end. I pray to the Lord Ruler that the third book makes it all worth it.
Anyway, I got back to what I consider a vastly superior series, namely the First Law universe. I'm roughly 20% into "The Trouble with Peace" and boy oh boy is this gearing up to be an amazing trilogy. Already loved "A Little Hatred" (probably my favorite in the series) and book two is exactly what I wanted so far.
Anyway, I got back to what I consider a vastly superior series, namely the First Law universe. I'm roughly 20% into "The Trouble with Peace" and boy oh boy is this gearing up to be an amazing trilogy. Already loved "A Little Hatred" (probably my favorite in the series) and book two is exactly what I wanted so far.
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Aside from the ending of it I really didn't like Well of Ascension (and it is easily my least favourite Sanderson book). The whole love triangle writing was just the absolute worst.
The third book was a ton better.
Oh no, now I'm also thinking about the Roman Empire
after this you will always be thinking about the roman empire
personally i am always thinking about the roman republic descent into empire
I rate the third book very highly in general, maybe i'm easy to please. Report back.
The 2nd book had some cool bits but overall did not hold strong and the weakest of the trilogy.
I've been juggling between The Kingdom, The Power, and the Glory by Tim Alberta (a book about the problems of Christian Nationalism written by a Christian) and Loveless by Alice Oseman (about a British girl who wants to be in a relationship but has never fallen in love). I also recently read one of the Power Girl comic collections.
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Woof, yeah, I was only cushioned because I'd previously seen that exact same scenario in a Final Destination movie. Somehow made more awful by the aftermath of actually SURVIVING.
So, been sick lately and not really had much energy for gaming or music. Grabbed a copy of Red Rising and read the entire thing in a single day. Really fun book, cool concept and execution. Grabbed a box set of the rest for really cheap and will make a start on them today.
I might have to check this out. I've really enjoyed a number of Percival Everett short stories, but I found Trees really hard to get into.Finished this today. It's the story of Huckleberry Finn but told from the perspective of the slave who lives/works in the house.
It's a very good, brutal read.
OP
OP
It gets worse. The addiction i mean. If you read at night, get ready for some late nights.
I literally stayed up from like 8pm to early morning and finished the first book in one sitting haha! Not done that for a long, long time.
I'm trying to pace myself a little bit now but I'm already over halfway through the second. I bought all the books, but at this rate I'll be done with them pretty soon.
Do you have any recommendations for other series like this?
The Will of the Many by James Islington. Only the first book has been published, but I'm looking forward to seeing how the story unfolds.
OP
OP
I've had a few late night page turners, but they were different than Red Rising which I didn't even like at first. The first book felt so derivative of Hunger Games and Harry Potter with the same type of perfect character trope. But it eventually got its hooks into me and never let go.
Some examples that were similar to that are the Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb, the Powder Mage series by Brian McClellan and the Traitor Son Cycle by Miles Cameron.
My full list is here: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/144809.Jag_s_Favorite_Fantasy_SciFi_Series
Re-reading the Aubrey Maturin series. Just started the fourth book, The Mauritius Command. Just as good as I remembered them to be.
On to book three. Morning Star.
The characters in these books are so good. I'll spoiler this so I don't spoil who lives.
.
End of Book 2 was some heavy shit. I can't imagine the wait for 3 if you read that at release.
Can't wait to read more!
The characters in these books are so good. I'll spoiler this so I don't spoil who lives.
Victra is one of my favourites, the scene with her and Darrow in the hospital was really moving and I love how their relationship has grown over the course of these books
Servo might be my favourite character, love how he seems Red more than Gold (even if he is half) maybe even more so than Darrow. His rise to the position of Areas from a half crazed beast roaming the wild in wolfskin has been really satisfying to see.
I also really like how friendships and grudges developed in general. Ragnar is another fantastic character, the books really surprise me with who beomces a main character over time.
Servo might be my favourite character, love how he seems Red more than Gold (even if he is half) maybe even more so than Darrow. His rise to the position of Areas from a half crazed beast roaming the wild in wolfskin has been really satisfying to see.
I also really like how friendships and grudges developed in general. Ragnar is another fantastic character, the books really surprise me with who beomces a main character over time.
End of Book 2 was some heavy shit. I can't imagine the wait for 3 if you read that at release.
Can't wait to read more!
Finished up the Hurricane Wars by Thea Guanzon a few days ago. A perfectly fine fantasy novel, though it veers a little too much into the "falling in love with the enemy" trope for my liking. Will still probably pick up the next one.
Just started Cascade Failure by L.M. Sagas. Switching things up with some sci-fi this time. My preferred genre.
Just started Cascade Failure by L.M. Sagas. Switching things up with some sci-fi this time. My preferred genre.
Just looking at the cover for Hurricane Wars, is one of the two protagonists a monstrous species with shark-like teeth, or am I just misinterpreting the art?Finished up the Hurricane Wars by Thea Guanzon a few days ago. A perfectly fine fantasy novel, though it veers a little too much into the "falling in love with the enemy" trope for my liking. Will still probably pick up the next one.
...because I'm totally down for an enemies-to-lovers sci-fi fantasy where one of them has huge shark-like teeth.
If you're in the US it's literally $1.99 on Kindle right now.
Can't stand ebooks unless it's the only option, but thanks.
Well, they are quite politically incorrect (and in the way which can offend Christians and left-wingers simultaonously), so I don't think they will be translated into English in close future... There is video game https://store.steampowered.com/app/1880470/The_Inquisitor/ but I heard that it is rather weak adaptation.