Very busy couple of weeks, so didn’t actually read anything.
Still on Streams of Silver by R. A. Salvatore, 2nd novel in Icewind Dale series, which is a subseries of Forgotten Realms series (D&D world).
What about all of you? What have you been reading or listening to lately?
Also, Book Bingo is near it’s end, so get your Bingo cards ready!
For details, you can checkout the initial Book Bingo, and it’s Recommendation Post . Links are also present in our community sidebar.
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I’m still reading Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. My area had some unexpected weather a couple weeks ago so I’ve been off my usual routine.
The book is good and I’m about half way through. I want to finish it by tomorrow.
Nice. I should read it sometimes too. It has been on my backlog for so long.
Listening to Project Hail Mary. I’ve been utterly absorbed by the story and the scientific concepts being pushed around.
I never took physics and didn’t take much math for my job but am jealous of people who have a natural, stronger affinity for those subjects
Shout out to my boy Rocky
I never could get this one checked out at the library.
I recently started The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky. I’m a 100 or so pages in, and slowly getting a feel for the characters. It’s a large book, but I’ve got some long flights coming up so hopefully I’ll make a good dent in it :)
How’s the book? I have thought about starting it a few times, but I am afraid it might be too dry or complex.
I’ve just finished Part 1 (around 200 pages out of 1000 - unfortunately the flights I had planned were cancelled, and I didn’t get time to read over the weekend!). So far I’ve been introduced to the characters and the book has explained their natures as well as the dynamics between each of them. It’s quite heavy reading at points, especially some of the religious discussion and the fact that there are a good number of footnotes explaining certain references in the text. That said, the web of interactions and different moralities is quite fascinating. It requires a level of concentration to get through, but there’s enough of an interesting story and exploration of big ideas to keep me hooked so far.
Ahan, thanks for the info.
Careless People - Satah Wynn-Williams
Not only it is a fascinating look into Facebook, it touches me personally because I’m a Canadian female tech worker in a US based company and her perspective on a lot of thing is very relatable to me.
We Are Legion (We Are Bob)
It is part of the “Bobiverse” so with a name like that I honestly couldn’t help but have low expectations but so far it is a really fun read.
Many people here generally start the series with low expectations but end up liking it. Let us know how it goes for you.
It’s a truly excellent series!
That’s good to know. I’m a third of the way through now and I love the premise and how straight to the point it is.
Speaking Bones - Book 4 of the Dandelion Dynasty by Ken Liu. This is probably one of the best fantasy I’ve read. The setting is based off of ancient China. It’s similar to Game of Thrones in the sense that there’s a lot of world building, there’s no main character, no one is safe from death and the fantasy is lightly applied.
It introduces interesting ideas like storing electricity in objects made with glass, intestines and gold, then utilizing it in warfare. Also logic gates implemented with just basic materials like wood and ropes. Basic AI (non-ML). Etc.
I’m quite confident anyone who enjoys programming will enjoy this series.
Wow I’m going to go read this now. I’ve been in between bigger reads, doing shorter stories, and doom scrolling, but definitely looking for something to escape for a bit!
Yeah I’d definitely recommend it. Loved that when there’s a fantasy-based beast, people investigate how it works from a basic science perspective, then derive a new weapon that play crucial role in combat.
Also loved that alliances shift and change. The story likes to lull you into complacency before pouring cold water over you.
How dark is it? One of my issue with Game of Thrones is that it was too dark / depressing and things just kept getting worse and worse.
It’s quite mild compared to game of thrones. The ‘dark’ parts are not personalized, but description of things happening at a population level.
Ah, cool. Thanks for the info, will add it to my list.
I just finished reading The Mercy of Gods by James S. A. Corey (authors of the Expanse series). Overall I really liked it and am excited for this series! I feel like the characters haven’t hooked me as much as the characters from the Expanse series, but I’m going to give them more time to develop.
I am now reading The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett. This one has surprised me how much I’ve enjoyed it so far. I have read his Founders trilogy and Divine Cities books and found them hit or miss.
Felt exactly the same about the Mercy of Gods.
Children of Dune, Frank Herbert.
I’m just continuing with Sanderson’s Stormlight Archive. I finished Oathbringer and Dawnshard and will start Rhythm of War next.
Shout out to my boy Rock
He’s great! I saw that Sanderson is planning to write a novella about him in a year or two.
Shout outs to Rock and Rocky. Are you a geologist?
No but I play one on tv
Just started Holly by Stephen King. I have no idea what’s happening. I got it as a gift for Christmas and left the book cover at home so no summary.
I prefer to start books without reading the summaries. Sometimes they spoil some stuff even 50 or 100 pages in.
How Music Works by David Byrne. It was recommended to me by a colleague when asked about good resources on learning more about music.
I’m only in chapter 3, so far it’s been interesting. About how music has adapted since the introduction of recordings, about the shifting perceptions, not only in music but also showmanship, size of venues, choice of instruments. The current chapter is about the different recording media and their impact on the music.
All very interesting, although I do hope it will soon delve deeper into the nitty gritty: notes and intervals, progressions, and all the things I’m still totally unaware of.
I’m reading The Shadow Rising by Robert Jordan, the fourth book in The Wheel of Time series. I’m starting to get a bit sick of the characters, frankly. Petty, angry, dishonest liars most of them, looking to make the worst decisions for any given situation. I still like the book, oddly enough, but I wish the characters like, grow up sometime soon.
I gave up near the beginning of this book. Just wasn’t enjoying it and didn’t relish the idea of spending hours and hours on something I wasn’t enjoying.
I have started reading ‘The Master and Margarita’. I am only a couple of chapters in and its pretty wild already.
It’s been a long time, but I once read a paperback copy I found. I remember enjoying it.
Currently I’m reading The Rebel by Albert Camus. I was reading it last month but got interrupted by a hold being available from the library. I’m determined to finish it in the next week or so.
I’ve barely read or listened to anything for over a year, now suddenly I have 9 books/audiobooks on the go. Most are things that everyone has read or heard about anyway, and almost all are part of a series Ive talked about too much over the years so I don’t have too much to say 🤷♂️
Audio:
The Wise Man’s Fear by Pat Rothfuss when I’m jogging
Words of Radiance by Sanderson at work
Daughter of the Dragon by Michael G Manning at homeBooks on rotation chapter by chapter:
White Night by Jim Butcher
River Marked by Patricia Briggs
The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie
The Hungry Isle by Emily Rodda
The Pillars of the Earth by Ken FollettManga: Uzumaki by Junji Ito
How are you enjoying Dresden Files so far? I’m on Battle Ground for audiobook.
I love the series. Though I am only at Changes. Just finished it last month or so. Looking forward to where things go from here.
I like it, this is my third time through the series. The first two were audiobooks but since then I got my own place and was able to start a proper book collection, so this time through I’m taking my time and reading physically. The next book should be out this year hopefully, Butcher has finished writing it according to his site.
