Books

I just finished blazing through Life of Pi in a single day today. I thought it would be obnoxious and tryhard, but it turned out to be a surprisingly interesting read and a hell of a page-turner. Gets a bit... weird... toward the end, but definitely a book I'd recommend, and one which I'll probably be thinking about for the next few weeks.

Onward to rereading Children of Dune!

I'm currently reading Crossroads of Twilight by Robert Jordan. It's a pretty rough experience so far; I've basically been reading it extremely slowly since it's boring af about 50% of the way so far. This is definitely the peak of the "slog" so far that other people who have read Wheel of Time mention.

I'm reading Essex Dogs by Dan Jones. It's a historical fiction novel about a group of mercenaries who join England's invasion of France in the 1300s. It's violent, vulgar and does an excellent job highlighting the mundane parts of war: endless marching, heat, shitty food, illness, dirt/grime/stink, insects biting you endlessly. I've stayed up until 2 AM on work nights 3 times this week because I can't put it down. I was expecting to like it, and only intended for it to be a palate cleanser between Stormlight Archives books 3-4, but I absolutely love it.

I'm reading Thinner by Stephen King. It's my first King novel and I'm really enjoying it.

I've been chipping away at A Promised Land by Barack Obama, as well as listening to The 1619 Project on my commute (Audible). I'm really enjoying them but non-fiction always takes me so much longer to read than fiction. I can't wait really get in the right headspace most days, so it's more of a gradual chipping away

I'm also reading a technical book, Domain-Driven Design by Eric Evans for a work book club I help run, and we're taking that one week by week, and it's a really good book in terms of what you learn. Bit dry to read though

I unfortunately don't get to do a lot of leisure reading, which is why I love the whole idea behind Bookrastinating. The last book I read is Jillian Tamaki's Boundless, which I thoroughly enjoyed for the way its stories linger. Before that, I read William Gibson's Idoru, which I enjoyed. Currently, I'm hoping to have time to dive in to Jon Courtenay Grimwood's End of the World Blues, hoping to see how this Anglophone author writes a novel set in sci-fi Japan compares with Gibson.

All very interesting reads here, by the way! (I'll try to play around with tagging your handles...)

I read Cell when it first came out and quite enjoyed it. You're certainly right about the pace, @mizu6079.

@JustJack23, that looks interesting, too, as most Verso titles are. I especially like these titles that invite a rethinking of the State of Things. That approach reminds me of Peter Frase's Four Futures: Life After Capitalism. I haven't read my copy of that yet though.

@TheaoneAndOnly27, thanks for mentioning the Cthulhu Casebooks. Sounds fascinating. Have you read Shadows Over Baker Street? That seems like something that's up your alley. Good contributors, too, for the most part!

Finishing up Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson. I'm on book 10, The Crippled God. It's taken almost 2 years because I had a kid in the middle of it.

I can't even begin to describe how dense and fantastic it is. I feel like it's spoiled fantasy for me. I can't imagine anyone else ever coming close. Going to take a break for a while and read something else before trying another series in that world.

Reading Pachinko by Min Jin Lee. I am really enjoying it. So much that when something sad unexpectedly happen I physically closed the book and said out loud 'Noooooooo'. Took a day break from it, even.

Had a long pause for a while, but back to making my way thru all of Discworld in publishing order. I'm on Monstrous Regiment at the moment and enjoying Terry Pratchett's delightful writing as always.

Chthulu Casebooks sounds fun, I've never heard of it but I enjoy Holmes and mysteries in general, will make a note to check it out!

The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi. Bloody amazing.

Currently I am reading two books. The first is; This is your brain on music by Daniel Levitins and the second is; The subtle art of not giving a fuck by MArk Manson.
The first is really nice, but requires a lot of attention of me as termnology I am unfamiliar with is used. Yet it is able to convey tons of information on every page and the subject fascinates me.
The second is really good, very easily digest able and I like the nuance it provides on how to (amongst other things) prioritize your life.

Just finished the novels... I found the ending very satisfying.

I'm missing a couple of short stories in that universe.

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, a fun Sci-Fi story from the author of The Martian. A little heavier on the Fi than its predecessor but still quite scientific. Next on the list is the Bobiverse.

Robin Hobb's "Realm of the Elderlings", a high fantasy series consisting of 5 trilogies. (Currently reading the second trilogy "The Liveship Traders".) I love it.

Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson.

Third book in the series, bloody massive, and loving it. Damn that man can write… and write faster than I can read. 😂

Just finished the people's republic of Walmart quite interesting book covering some arguments for planned economy.

i keep meaning to pick up Demon Copperhead. It's set in my home county. I wonder how much the author embellished and how real she kept it.

I'm currently picking my way through No Plan B. For a Reacher installment, it seems like it was slow to get rolling, and struggling to keep my attention.