I’ve just started reading The Wager. I’m a sucker for ship based media, and I’m hoping this’ll be no exception.
It’s my third book of the year after previously reading both A Clash of Kings and How to get rid of a president
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RISC-V Instruction Set Manual
No spoilers please I’ve not got round to picking this one up yet
The Wheel of Time (the whole saga). Going for the second book right now.
Nice. I finished the final book a couple of weeks ago. It’s one of the best series I’ve ever read!
Have either of you tried the Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind? It was written after Wheel of Time and I feel like Terry borrowed/stole some ideas from Rober Jordan but personally I think the Sword of Truth was better written.
I liked the sword of truth series (and read the lot) but I think it was written for a younger audience than WoT - or maybe it just came out that way. What do you think? Zed is a great character, his exclamations like “bags” made me laugh when reading it.
I gave up on WoT when I got near the end of the series and had to wait for new books, then Robert Jordan died and I just never finished them. Is it worth picking them back up? I always had a doubt that Sanderson could finish them off in a fully satisfying way, even if he did have notes from Jordan.
I would say that it’s worth picking them up. Brandon Sanderson does a pretty good job. It’s not the same as Robert Jordan, but it doesn’t have to be. He does a goes job of capturing the feel of the series. And it reads differently from his own books, which isn’t easy to do. And I love how the story unfolds in the last book. There were definitely some story points I did not see coming.
I’ve also heard he did a great job.
I think WoT is more for a younger audience than SoT. Some parts of SoT are much more gruesome than anything I’ve encountered in WoT.
I haven’t finished WoT, I stopped on book 6. There are parts of the books I have a tough time getting through. There are many scenes where there are female characters talking about clothes and men and they just keep dragging on and on… That’s not why I read fantasy novels, most of those scenes could have been trimmed imo. SoT doesn’t really have that. Anyways, I heard Sanderson did a great job, once I finish SoT I plan to get back into WoT and finish the series.
Interesting, I’ll have to read them again and see what I think, I read them all over 10 years ago now.
I have not, but it’s going on my reading list. Thanks for the tip. I like longer series, especially fantasy series that you can really delve into. So the Sword of Truth fits perfectly
I hope you like it :)
Yeah. BTW, maybe I’m wrong but I can perceive a lot of LOTR influences in the first two books.
There are definitely similarities, I agree. The setting out on a quest, multiple important characters but one that has the most important task, Rand shows some similarity to Frodo in their background, and a dark lord that’s wants to wreath the world in shadow. But then, it must be hard for a fantasy writer to not be influenced by Tolkien.
I’m on book 5 right now and it’s quite the ride. Hope you enjoy it as much as I have been.
I’m re-reading the Lord of the Rings for the first time since I was about 14. Loving it!
I have that same kobo, do you not flip it when you’re holding it in your left hand? I find it so much more comfortable!
I’m laaaaazy as sin when I’ve finally got the kids to bed so I usually hold it in my right hand and then operate the thing by pressing the buttons with the same hand. If I have to move my left for anything other than moving my drink to my mouth I consider this a loss.
Maximum efficiency
By chance, I’m doing more or less the same as you. I initially read lotr when I was ~15 yo (I’m nearly 40 now). I also read it in French those years ago but I’m rereading now the real thing in English. Loving it too.
I remember when I read it the first time I was struggling with some of the dense description but it doesn’t bother me now (or I haven’t got to that bit yet)!
It makes me wonder if I’d enjoy Brave New World more as an adult, we were made to read it at school by our RE teacher (when we were about 15/16) and I found it so dreary :D
Brave new world is definitely a book you get different things from as an adult. It’s also a pretty quick read. I’d definitely recommend taking another look.
Getting deeper into The Expanse, now on #3 (Abaddon’s Gate). Finished the two prequels “Drive” and “The Butcher of Anderson Station”, the two original books of the series, and the “Gods of Risk” interlude.
Really loved Abaddon’s Gate, probably one of my favorites in the series (though they’ve all been very good!). I hope you enjoy it
Consider Phlebas. Wanted to start the Culture series for a long time. Have Roadside Picnic on the table too as another fun read.
Have fun, the Culture novels are amazing
@NOPper @Oneeightnine Rereading the Culture novels right now. They are my favourite books of all time.
Terry Pratchett’s Guards! Guards!. This is my first Pratchett book and I’m kicking myself for not picking these up sooner, like decades sooner. Like my life would have been different sooner :)
What s great introduction to the series! This was the first one i picked up as a kid, and I’ve read it (and the rest of the books) several times since! You’re in for a treat!
But enjoy the ride now! :) I am five books into the Night Watch-series, and will be picking up book six soon.
I love Vimes so much already!! Im listening to the audiobook of the witch series while gardening and love it too :)
I prefer reading to listening. But gotta make do when I can’t use my hands to read
I’m in a phase where I am testing out audio books for the first time, where I will read the physical book in the evening, the audio book when I travel by car and read the ebook-version when traveling to avoid lugging the physical books around. So far I like switching around a bit.
Started with this one too, finished every book in the series just a few months ago and they’re all pretty great.
Currently reading Green Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson.
I have a goal to work my way down the list of Hugo award winning novels
What a bizarre coincidence; that’s exactly what I came on to post!
Finished Red Mars a few weeks ago, started Green Mars a couple of days ago. I’d never read any Kim Stanley Robinson before, and I’m enjoying it so far.
Any other recommendations from your award-winners reading list?
Not yet! This is the first one and since it was green mars that won the award, I decided I’d just read the whole trilogy.
Oh, I more or less just finished Blue Mars, but had to take my time getting through it all. But I’ve enjoyed it! Now I just started reading The Ministry for the Future :)
Some parts of the mars series are definitely a slog, I feel like that’s almost inevitable with books that change to the perspective of different characters a lot. Some characters just aren’t as interesting as others or they suck as a person and I don’t really care about what they think. But so far in this series I’ve liked the ideas that have developed and I think the setting is really interesting.
Yeah, agreed. Blue Mars unfortunately had a little more of that the I remember from the other two. But the overall world building is impressive and interesting, and I don’t regret reading any of it.
It is fitting that it has received a Hugo award, as Les Miserable by Victor Hugo definitely fits into the same category - he could waffle on about very uninteresting things for pages on end before returning to the interesting parts of the story.
Same, Blue Mars was a bit slow for me also.
Lol I haven’t read any of Victor Hugo so I wouldn’t know, but it’s at least been good practice for speeding up my reading by looking at what’s actually important. Kim Stanley Robinson does a phenomenal job of recounting geography (areography) and routes that I unfortunately have no point of reference for, but they honestly matter very little beyond “this is in the north, this is in the middle, this is in the south”.
Ministry for the future looks good.
Great series. Red mars was my fav out of these.
I’ve just started the third book in The children of time trilogy, children of ruin
How do you like books 2 and 3? I really liked book 1, but was nervous that the other books wouldn’t be able to compare/maintain the same tone so I haven’t picked them up yet.
The second book is not as great as the first one but still really good imo, I literally started the third book this morning so I can’t really say anything yet
Are you a bit further in now? I wasn’t a huge fan of the second, so hopefully things have improved with the third!
I tried to read romeo and juliet today and they talk funny. 😂
Do you bite your thumb at me, sir?
No sir
But i bite my thumb
Just finished reading The Wager, fantastic book.
Almost halfway the third book of the Three body problem series, deaths end by Cixin Liu. Excellent series
I read the first one pre-Covid and never picked it back up for second. Is it worth returning to the series??
I haven’t read the third one yet but the second is incredible. Absolutely pick it back up.
Yes, its accessible sci fi. Second one has a slow start but really picks up in the second half. The third is a bit more balanced in that regard. Highly recommend.
Just finished Dune Messiah. It was good, but I liked the first one more. Feel like it could’ve been shorter, while at the same time I feel like I would’ve appreciated more info on how the jihad affected people outside Arrakeen.
I’ll probably start on either Colour of Magic or Gardens of the Moon next.
Jane Eyre - charlotte bronte
Sadly my first one this year. Do you habe BookWyrm?
I’ve been using a service called Hardcover after switching over from StoryGraph last year. I’ve been searching for a ‘letterboxd for books’ for years and I think this is the closest I’ve found so far.
Hardcover is my favorite as well (though I’m still tracking in StoryGraph and Goodreads mainly because Goodreads does it automatically from Calibre). My only issue with Hardcover is that it’s got the worst book database so far but that’s a relatively easier fix with services like openlibrary. My link is in my profile for both.
Why did you leave storygraph? I just got on it because I wanted an online log of some sort. I dont mind it so far. Although I literally just joined 3 weeks ago
Currently readingA Separate Peace because I was convinced my high school self was just too immature when he labeled it as the worst book he has ever had to read… it’s not the worst book I’ve ever had to read but it’s not a good book either.
Next up will probably be either The Guns of August or Teddy Roosevelt’s autobiography.
started the wayfarers by becky chambers.
