OT: What are you reading?

Despite having read Moby ****, albeit 20 or so years ago, I ventured into a similar topic with Ahab's Wife by Sena Jeter Naslund.
Once again, a lengthy narration with tons of redundant stuff if you ask me.
www.goodreads.com

Ahab's Wife, or The Star-Gazer

A magnificent, vast, and enthralling saga, Sena Jeter N…
www.goodreads.com www.goodreads.com

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maxicek said:
Bit of a bump as I am just adding it to the updated Links thread.

I'm currently reading House of Chains, book four of The Malazan Book of The Fallen. I really like the series so far, it is truly fantasy on an epic scale.

I was going to break after no. 3 to read Joe Abercrombie's Age of Madness Trilogy, but found out the Kindle version of the third book isn't out until September, so I'm going to keep going on the Malazan until later in the year. I read The Trouble with Peace when it came out, but I plan to read the whole trilogy in one go.

Still no sign of The Doors of Stone (Rothfuss) & The Winds of Winter (GRRM). The Thorn of Emberlain also seems to have no date again.
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Taking a break after House of Chains or Midnight Tides is kind of a natural place to do it. House of Chains is probably my favorite of the first 4 and a nice wrap-up of the initial arcs of the series. Midnight Tides is top 3 for me of the Book of the Fallen. Such a good book.

But either one works as a good stopping point to take a break if you want to switch gears for a bit.

I've got about 1.5 chapters left in The Bonehunters.
 
Ohomemgrande said:
Taking a break after House of Chains or Midnight Tides is kind of a natural place to do it. House of Chains is probably my favorite of the first 4 and a nice wrap-up of the initial arcs of the series. Midnight Tides is top 3 for me of the Book of the Fallen. Such a good book.

But either one works as a good stopping point to take a break if you want to switch gears for a bit.

I've got about 1.5 chapters left in The Bonehunters.
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House of Chains is the best in the series imo.

Curious to know how folks like the second MBotF series. Blood and Bone for me.
 
BRKO said:
House of Chains is the best in the series imo.

Curious to know how folks like the second MBotF series. Blood and Bone for me.
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I enjoyed Novels of the Malazan Empire although at first I did find it hard to get into. The different writing styles of the two authors can be hard to get over as I think one of the things that people really like about MBotF is Erikson's writing style. Esslemont is not Erikson and Erikson is not Esslemont. Going in to the NotME and expecting Erikson is setting yourself up for failure. Also going into them and expecting "more of the same story" is also a bad idea. It's a big, big world and there are a lot of stories to tell.

I remember liking Orb, Scepter, Throne a lot. Blood and Bone felt very claustrophobic to me - really good description of the jungle mood.

I probably need to do a 2nd readthrough of those to really have a favorite but I do think they complimented the Malazan world quite nicely. I really liked the Path to Ascendency books as well.
 
I mostly do audiobooks. Here are the most recent ones.

Book of the Ancestor Series by Mark Lawrence
Grey Sister
Red Sister
Holy Sister

My forum name comes from these. Gritty fantasy. Well written. I swear he played/plays D2 based on what the main character does (think Assassin weapons/skills)

Night Angel Trilogy: Brent Weeks
Way of the Shadow
Shadows edge
Beyond Shadows

Couldn't put them down. Love this guy!

Light Bringer Series: Brent Weeks
I'm currently on Book 2. I haven't been able to stop reading this guy. Really great characters and plots. Not overly complicated. I just keep turning pages. I hope he comes out with a new series at some point.

Green Bone Saga: Fonda Lee
Jade City
Jade War
Jade Legacy

Super well done Asian culture-themed fantasy. I have listened to the first 2 and when the library gets #3 I'll grab that!

The Grace of Kings (The Dandelion Dynasty) by Ken Liu: It was good but not as good as the others on this list. I am not sure I'll read more of this series.

Omnivore's Dilemma: Michael Pollan: Really fascinating look at America's food industry.

Comedian Autobiographies
Paddle your own canoe: Nick Offerman: Really awesome. I have taken the idea to always make something as a gift for someone from this book and it has served me well

Steve Martin
Amy Poehler
Rachel Dratch
Tina Fey

All of these were good. Unfortunately, the ladies experienced a lot of discrimination. Steve Martin is one of my all-time favorites and his was really eye-opening. He had nearly significant anxiety and would do stand-up for 40,000 people!
 
@Nona I read the Prince of Thorns trilogy from Mark Lawrence, it was pretty good. I liked the post apocalyptic fantasy setting. Is Brent Weeks any good?
 
maxicek said:
@Nona I read the Prince of Thorns trilogy from Mark Lawrence, it was pretty good. I liked the post apocalyptic fantasy setting. Is Brent Weeks any good?
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I’m a big fan of Brent Weeks. I couldn’t put down the night angel or the two books of the lightbringer series. I guess the first one of lightbringer took a little bit to get into, but the rest has been pure escapism. The author seems like a pretty chill dude too based on his website postings.

I know a lot of people like joe Abercrombie and I might try him next. I loved a lot of GOT and the ancillary books but the 4th (or was it the 5th?) was such a slog for me.
 
Well it has taken just under 2.5 years (I started in August 2020 according to this thread) but I have just finished The Crippled God, wrapping up all ten books of the Malazan Book of The Fallen.

What a series. For me I enjoyed the first books the best. It can seem a bit convoluted at first, but that is what gives it the depth. Great characters, magic system and world building. The battles are epic in scale and gritty in detail. Thoroughly recommended.

I'm now reading A Little Hatred again by Joe Abercrombie. I read it when it first came out, but the Malazans got in the way before the second book came out. I'm now planning on reading the trilogy straight through.
 
I'm rather eclectic in my reading. Love SF and Fantasy, but also military history (especially WW2)

Just finished the Last Hill about 2nd Ranger Bn in WW2. Also, Old 666 by the same authors. Both great books.

I've been hooked on Mercedes Lackey's Valdemar series for many years and the second of the Founder of Vademar is just out. They aren't fantastic but when you've read about 30 of them already they fit together nicely.

Finally, if you like detective stories try Dustin Stevens Reed and Billie books.
 
I am reading Chemistry by Weike Wang right now, and it's been rather amusing so far. I hadn't picked up my Kobo in months because I finished everything in my library. I've mainly been reading manga on the Jump app.

There are daily deals on Kobo but there's usually not much that interests me. I finally caved around Christmas, as I was given a Kobo gift card, and paid full price for a few books that were on my wishlist. Next up is How to Stop Time by Matt Haig. He wrote The Humans which I read last year and really enjoyed.
 
I finished The Wisdom of Crowds, wrapping up another great trilogy by Joe Abercrombie.

I’m now on The Witcher series, I got an omnibus for the Kindle. I have just started the fourth one, Time of Contempt. As always reading the books really helps flesh out the TV series. Im trying to get ahead before I start the third series, but I may re-watch it all from the beginning.
 
maxicek said:
I finished The Wisdom of Crowds, wrapping up another great trilogy by Joe Abercrombie.

I’m now on The Witcher series, I got an omnibus for the Kindle. I have just started the fourth one, Time of Contempt. As always reading the books really helps flesh out the TV series. Im trying to get ahead before I start the third series, but I may re-watch it all from the beginning.
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Ive read all of the books myself, and played TW3. The TV series is trash. EspeciallY compared with the books. It's the sole reason why Cavil quit as Geralt of Rivia.

It got worse as it went along
 
Yeah, I read many comments about Cavill clashing with the writers. Certainly I can’t see the series being the same without him.

I’m enjoying the books, recommended so far.
 
I can't think of many cases where the movie or series was better than the book. There must be one to prove the rule, but I can't think of one.

John Ringo and Lydia Sherrel wrote a book called "Into the Real." It is about augmented reality games and there are a ton of references to "old" RPG and shooter games. While I don't remember them specifically mentioning Diablo it sure sounded like it. On the downside the main protagonist is a teenage girl and there is a good deal of teen angst and mother daughter stuff in the book. It was still a fun read.

My wife just got back from Norway and brought me a book on the destruction of the Heavy water plant at Vemork in 1943. An interesting read and how far the military has come in conducting clandestine ops.
 
I am currently binge reading Part 4 of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure (Diamond is Unbreakable). Had to give JJBA a break a while back after blasting through the first three parts in pretty quick succession, as I was feeling a bit burnt out on it. Glad I did. Feels fresh again and I am enjoying Part 4 quite a bit!
 
LouB said:
I can't think of many cases where the movie or series was better than the book. There must be one to prove the rule, but I can't think of one.
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The Silence of the Lambs. I wouldn't say the film is better, but it's absolutely on par with Thomas Harris' novel.

John W. Campbell's novella Who Goes There is an interesting read though a bit dry. John Carpenter adapted that story into 1982's The Thing. The film is light years better than the novella IMO.
 
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