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Rereading Le Guin’s Earthsea saga.
Personally, I think she might be on par with Tolkien and actually surpasses him in a few ways. The 4th book (about a tired mom just trying to get by and care for people in a fantasy world) is the best one, but you need to work your way there.
These are on my to do list. Currently been reading through Wheel of Time, which has been on my fantasy to do list for a while.
Just finished them instead of reading them right now, but "The Left Hand of Darkness" and "The Dispossessed" by Ursula K. Le Guin. I liked the world building of the first far better, but it didn't hit at the politics I wanted to read about as much as I wanted, the second being the opposite.
I don't know why, but I just need content wrapped in sci-fi for me to find it enjoyable, and "The Dispossessed" in particular was what I was looking for, an exploration of anarchism grounded in examples and thought experiment.
Both of them are fantastic books, and definitely worth a read for anybody interested in science fiction, sexuality & gender, and anarchism.
I started the Left Hand of Darkness just a few days ago. It’s been interesting so far
Reading American Midnight, about how civil liberties were absolutely fucked after the US entered World War I.
Not reading it right now, but I'll take this opportunity to recommend people read Project Hail Mary before watching the trailer for the upcoming movie adaptation which spoils major plot twists.
Having read it multiple times, the trailer pissed me off because of the spoiler. I'd honestly say for anyone, whether you've read it or not, don't watch the trailer.
My partner hasn't read it, and I said they shouldn't watch the trailer. We're gonna see the movie and I don't want them to get spoiled
For the past, idk, one or two decades I have only read books very sparingly and if I did, it was fantasy. Right now I am devouring The Expanse books and having a great time. I watched the tv series first (awesome) but was somewhat bummed by the ending.
Love those books. Extremely easy to read and reread and set the standard for modern hard sci fi.
Nearing the end of When the Moon Hits Your Eye by John Scalzi, which came out a few months ago. It's a bit silly but I'd recommend it. The premise can be summed up as, "What would happen if the moon turned into cheese?"
Finishing the Imperial Radch sci-fi trilogy (Ancillary Justice/Sword/Mercy) by Ann Leckie. Despite the agender language feature (everyone is addressed as she) the books deal more with colonialism, imperialism, and personal identity, rather than gender. Writing style is very information-dense, lots of thoughts and actions happening simultaneously. Compared to other science fiction that I read, it gets much more into the cultural and interpersonal situations, especially the second book.
Re-reading Shirley Jackson's "The Haunting of Hill House" because its the best haunted house novel ever written.
If you like fantasy and haven't read any Brandon Sanderson then do yourself a favour and get on it!
My personally favourites are the Mistborn books but it isn't exactly an easy choice because literally everything he writes is great in my experience.
I just finished Tress of the Emerald Sea which is a shorter standalone book but still great!
How to read a book, by Mortimer Adler
"How to read a book." Pg. 1
"Turn back to page 1" Pg. 2
The Dungeon Crawler Carl series by Matt Dinniman. Great story, easy reading, relatable characters, and soon to be made into a series. There are 7 books so far, but rumors say there might be up to 10 eventually.
Second this. The audio book is the way to go on this one.
Finally got around to the Demon Haunted World by Carl Sagan and it's more relevant than ever. It absolutely predicted the world we're in politically now and has some insight and analysis as to how and why and what to do to help. Definitely worth a read or reread if you haven't read it or it's been a while.
I just finished Oryx and Crake the first of a trilogy by Margaret Atwood, I quite enjoyed it. It's a short of dystopian sci-fi. I was put off by her at first because I was forced to read her in high school but I'm glad I gave her another chance.
I'm starting Les Misérables in French in the hopes of improving my written French.
Also working my way through Weapons of the weak which is about forms of peasant resistance.
"Seeing like a state". It could be half the length without losing anything, but it's a very interesting perspective on states and central planning that I haven't thought about before and am enjoying.
The Stand by Stephen King.
It's over 1200 pages long and I have always been scared of anything above six hundred pages.
It's so good. It's taking me a long time, but it's worth it. As always, Stephen King never let's you down. I just love his writing.
If you like horror I can highly recommend the Christopher Snow Novels by Dean Koontz.
I reread Seize The Night almost yearly.
Just finished Dark Matter by Blake Crouch. It made me go hug my partner very tightly.
The Last Juror by John Grisham
Master of the Five Magics by Lyndon Hardy.
Because i wanted to know what Megadeth and Rothfuss based their stuff on.
Bouncing between Algorithms to Live By: The Computer Science of Human Decisions and The Screaming Staircase.
Algorithms is interesting but the actual algorithms aren't terribly useful so far.
The Screaming Staircase has a very neat world but not very interesting characters. I'm hoping it improves.
I just finished Abundance by Ezra Kline and Derek Thompson. A really interesting read regarding the housing crisis and the policies that have halted develpoment in major cities in America. I highly recommend reading this one. I took notes along the way and basically did a book report.
I'm now reading Casino: The Rise and Fall of the Mob in Las Vegas. A fascinating book that inspired the Scorsese film by the same title. Recommended for anyone with interest in Vegas or the mob. It's written kinda like a series of interviews from the perspectives of the different people involved. The (alleged) mob guys and the FBI agents who were investigating them.
Next up, I'm likely gonna read Barbarians at the Gate: The Fall of RJR Nabisco. I don't have too much insight on this one yet but I've heard it's pretty great
Currently reading: James Acaster's Classic Scrapes. A funny collection of stories from his childhood, an enjoyable read. I'd recommend it if you're looking for something light and funny.
Before this, I gave up on the book All Our Wrong Todays by Elan Mastai, after about a hundred pages. I just couldn't get into it, the story kept halting in favor of flashbacks and setting the MC's backstory. I hate stories not starting soon enough with the actual story. Unnecessary to say, but I would not recommend this :)
1Q84. Magical realism. Bizarre, but can't stop reading. I need to know mooore.
Just finished The Cutting Room by Louise Welsh. It was 3/5 for me. Pretty dark, explicit. The pitch was interesting to me but I didn't feel it delivered too well.
I'm currently reading The Thursday Murder Club and it's a delight at far, 37% in. No final judgement yet based on that.
Everything All at Once by Bill Nye. It's a great guide on how to make a positive change in the world from a scientific perspective.
Though it was written in 2017, I'd say it is more relevant now than ever.
mtg has well written books based on its lore if your into that. its best to start on early sets, because each blocks have books as sorty of "trilogy", because you wont be able to get the context without reading the 1st volume of a set.
The Devils by Joe Abercrombie. It's set in a fantasy medieval Europe. Unfortunately, its not long out and is the first of a series, so I'll have to wait for the rest.
I read the First Law series. And after that devastating ending, I can never go back to reading his books. Do all of his books end like that?
I haven't finished this one yet, do we'll see.
I'm guessing you mean the first trilogy (apologies if I'm mistaken), as the First Law universe continues for 6 more books after that (plus a collection of short stories). After the Last Argument of Kings, there are 3 "stand alone" novels, which are the strongest, in my opinion, and then a second trilogy, which is excellent.
I believe there are more books planned for that universe, but The Devils is separate. The others I haven't read as they're Young Adult, so they probably have cheerier endings.
Were you to read on, you'd probably find some joy for characters you like, but I think unhappy endings outweigh the happy ones. Of course, I could be mistaken and you've read all 9, because the ending of the last can definitely be described as devastating too!
Nope, I didn't know there were more books in the first law universe. I only read the first trilogy.
I'm reading the Percy Jackson books with my kid right now and I have to say, they're very well written. For kid/teen literature, i'd say there's a lot to like in the series, fun dialogue, characters with a lot of personality a fascinating and magical, yet recognizable fantasy world. I'm certainly enjoying it much more than I did the Harry Potter series.
Also the percy Jackson TV series is great too. The movies are hot trash though, wouldn't recommend them.
No Flinching by Stephen King. It's a good book, but you really have to go back and start with the Mr. Mercedes series.
I'm reading Ben Aaronovitch's Rivers of London series. They fit modern fantasy into a British police procedural framework. What makes them exceptional are the characterizations, plus the wit and snark of the dialog. They are both good stories and a lot of fun to read.
I'm currently reading Anthony Beevors 'D-Day'... But I'm also in Normandy, so I just read that book whilst sitting on Omaha Beach, which is pretty special.
Rereading Berserk Manga(it's a book😤)