I’ve put together a collage of some books from last months What are you Reading? post. It’s mostly random, but the more discussion something gets the more it stands out to me. Going forward I’m going to make a new post every month to talk about what people are reading.
Here is last months post. What are you Reading? (July 2023)
At any rate, what are you currently reading or plan to read in August?
Currently reading 11-22-63. Pretty bloody grim and depressing in places, but good enough to hold my attention.
Finished Locked In by John Scalzi not long prior. Great thought experiment considering it was written long before covid too.
Read Locked In recently and really enjoyed it! Would recommend it to anyone looking for their next adventure. Police procedural meets sci fi and a very satisfying read.
I got about half way through 11-22-63 some years back. I think King is just too much bloat for me much of the time or I need to be in a different frame of mind to read him. I’ve always said I’d revisit it, but I haven’t.
I find the audiobooks good for long drives when I’ve got time to kill, but can understand you sentiment.
I did used to listen to them back when I often had a long commute. I have a harder time focusing on them if I’m not driving though. But that may be a better way to get into some books that aren’t working for me. Especially if the narrator is particularly good.
Read 11-22-63 recently while on a king kick. Love his ideas and was disappointed in the Hulu show, so I went to the source. Illustrates how difficult it would be as a present day man in the sixties. Modern, tolerant ideals clash with the racism, bigotry, ignorance of that era. With some time travel stuff every now and then to remind you this isn’t just a book about the sixties. Still a believable fantasy and compelling read . “The past is obdurate”
Ooohh I loved 11-22-63. Had to go and read IT as soon as I finished, so I could get some of the references.
I’m 6 books into expanse series, and I’ve kind of lost steam with it. Might need a break. Read bobiverse in full just before it. First children of time book was good but didn’t know if I wanted to read book 2.
Also loved project hail Mary and the dark Forest/three body trilogy.
Any other suggestions?
I have Kim Stanley Robinson’s Mars Trilogy on my shelf waiting for me to finish The Expanse series. Maybe that?
Also, book 7 of The Expanse becomes a lot easier because you stop having the TV show to compare to. And let me tell you, you think you know what Duarte is doing on Laconia, but my friend you don’t. The prologue of book 7 has one of those “I’m sorry, WHAT” moments that really launches you into the next story arc
Yes yes yes red mars is amazing. At first I was like oh great another 600 page scifi novel, but Holy shit is that some classic hard scifi that draws you in. The literal world building and charecter development is fantastic.
Thatars trilogy took me by surprise. At first it felt slow and dry, but I kept on. It definitely is a unique perspective on colonization and I really enjoyed it in the end.
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I’ve been debating starting the Expanse book series. I was a huge fan of the show but never read the books. Watched the whole series twice now. Is it recommended to star at book 1 or would it be advised to start at like book 7 so it follows the series?
The show stays pretty true to the books, but there’s enough differences that I’d recommend starting with book 1.
Biggest change I can think of is Drummer. The show’s Drummer is like 3 or 4 characters from the books rolled into one. Book Drummer had a smaller roll.
I really think the books up to #4 Cibola Burn are worth the read. The TV series is kind of like a final edit of the books, and it’s really fascinating to see the changes the authors chose to make. But you get a lot more detail about the situations and the larger impact in the books.
That said, I reeeeally struggled with books 5 & 6 for only one reason: I hate Marco Inaros SO. MUCH. Which honestly just demonstrates how good these authors are. It was really hard for me to walk though the Inaros plot after having seen it through to completion in the show.
But now on book 7, I’m flying though the book again because I need to know where all of this is going and how our beloved characters are gonna get themselves out of this one
I very much share this experience with the series. Book 5 and 6 were the low point. I was more interested in the world building and everything related to it, and less so in the human conflicts. Final three books were great again, and eight probably my favourite in the whole series.
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I’m currently half way through the third book of the Children of Time trilogy. I LOVED book one. I think having just read “Other Minds” (Peter Godfrey-Smith, great non fiction about the mental processes of [the animal starring in the second book]) a while back made me appreciate the second book even more than I would have otherwise.
The Messengers by Lindsay Joelle is a short story only available on audible (free for members). It kind of reminded me of Children of Time and I really liked it.
Different style, but I liked all the books you listed and also loved Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut- time/space travel as envisioned in the 1950s.
And I just went: “Children of time trilogy? That one only got 2 books!”
Seems like at some point in 2022 it has grown to a trilogy. Nice! Thanks for pointing that out, I now know what I’ll read next :D
The third book is very different to I the first two, but I enjoyed it all the same
I may circle back to book 2 of children of time… Thanks.
Book 7 was a bit of a drag for me, more so than book 6. Books 8 and 9 are really fast paced and good. It’s all proto molecule stuff. I remember not caring about the free navy and just wanting to get on with the larger series plot during 6 and 7. You may have to trudge through those to get to the good stuff though.
Good to know. Also I mis spoke, I’m mid book 7 and kinda bored at present
Well, if you like space opera try Honor Harrington. The first book is called “On Basilisk Station”
Try the revelation space series, they are a little slow at times but I really enjoyed them
Im halfway through The color of magic by Terry Pratchett, I’ve read a few other discworld books but I thought it was time to start the first book an try to read them all in the “right” order.
Listening to Making Money, read it a few years ago. Pretty good though I’m not a huge fan of the voice actor doing the reading. it’s tolerable though. Pratchett is what got me into sci-fi and fantasy, he’ll always be one of my favorites and always holds up when I go back to something of his.
I read a lot of other Rincewind stories first, and I have to admit that getting the story from “The Color of Magic” explains a lot.
The later books, surprisingly, don’t spoil the main gag, at least in my vague recollection.
It’s probably the weakest of the Discworld books (at least from what I read of them). You can tell that he’s still developing the world and it’s much more just a fantasy spoof as opposed to the social satire masquerading as fantasy spoof that those books then more and more turn into.
Frank Herbert’s Dune
Project Hail Mary. Paid more than I liked for a single book but quickly found it is one of my favourite books of all time!
Just finished Leviathan Wakes today. Can’t wait for my Amazon delivery of Caliban’s War.
Gave these a go after getting a bit bored of the series and wow, I wish I read them before spoiling the story beats for myself by watching it
Still, once you get past where amazon are leaving the series it gets even better - screw Cas Anvar
Finished the last book and immidately read Memories Legion, which I heartily recommend too, fills in some interesting gaps and interactions that were only lightly touched on throughout the series
I loved the series, but i think the books make the main characters much more relatable while the series makes the secondary characters really shine. I’ve been reading all the books, but have thrown other things in between like LoTR, The Foundation, and Hornblower which has made me excited to start the next Expanse book.
My favorite series, enjoy your read
Great books, Leviathan wakes was an intense and exciting book you are really in for a treat with the rest of the series.
I wish I could forget and reread entire series without knowing how it’s going to unfold.
I’m about half way through The Fall of Hyperion. It’s great
Just finished Hyperion so I guess that will be soon for me. Might read something else in between first though
The Bobiverse books were great. Can’t wait for more. I’ve been reading Expeditionary Force which is where the Skippy’s come from. Also Rythm of War by Brandon Sanderson.
4th book was a huge let down. Dragged on and on about really nothing.
I really enjoyed Heaven’s River, but I also enjoy a slice of life book, and really liked all the world building with the otter world, I can definitely see where you are coming from though.
Fuck, Rhythm of War is awesome. I might have to go back and read the whole Stormlight series with my kids.
Wool by hugh howey
Wife and I watched silo and enjoyed it so I thought I’d read the books.
You can buy the books DRM free off his website https://hughhowey.com/books/wool/
Make sure you get all 3. Wool shift and dust.
How did you like the show? I read the books when the came out and just remember snippets of them. I sure enjoyed them, though.
We liked it pretty well… A lot of the internet didn’t like the accents… but meh what ever. Over all it was enjoyable and I look forward to the next season.
The book is a smidge different but the changes they made are for the benefits of the viewing audience.
Can I read drm free books on a Kindle?
No idea. :( I’d assume since it’s a version of Android you’d be able to install an app that reads those files.
I don’t have a kindle, but according to my buddy, Amazon assigns an email address for every Kindle, so you just email your DRM-free books to that address and they show up on the Kindle.
Ah thanks! I’ll look into that.
“Between the Stars” by Kirk Maxwell.
Got it for a few bucks on Amazon.https://www.amazon.ca/Between-Stars-Kirk-Maxwell/dp/B0BQ99KRVB
Thanks I’ll check it out!
Children of Time - It’s fantastic. Easily digestable space fair about giant intelligent spiders in their war with ants. Humans are involved but I care little for them. Not going to lie, I’m mainly there for the chapters narrated by the spiders and they are expectional.
I’m currently in the middle of Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds. I’m only about 15% of the way through so I don’t have a great picture of what is going on or what it is about yet. It seems like the main premise is about an archeologist who has been working on an excavation of an ancient species on a distant planet for an extremely long period of time that likely has far reaching implications about the universe. I’ve definitely never read anything similar to this in the past.
The other book I plan on reading (listening to) is The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers of which I know basically nothing about. I tend to listen to a book whenever I can’t read such as when I’m driving or bathing and then read at times that I can like before sleeping. I find it is a good system to get through 2 books at once.
I really enjoyed reading TLWtaSAP.
It was incredibly refreshing in that it was almost just slice-of-life at times; so much time was dedicated to just getting to know the characters in not necessarily extreme scenarios.
Revelation Space, the only book within which I saw the word “triumvirate” used outside of the “Our jimmies are eternal. None can rustle the Triumvirate.” meme.
If you want to get a wider feel more quickly of the Revelation Space worldbuilding, try Galactic North which is a short story collection featuring many varied shippets featuring characters from the main series.
To an ordinary person not interested in sci-fi world building, I would be more inclined to recommend Reynolds’s Pushing Ice or Century Rain which are self-contained.
House of Suns is also fantastic. It’s my favorite one-book sci-fi anything ever.
Galactic north really got me deep, after finishing the main trilogy. Id recommend reading it after for the full effect
Just finished the first three books for Red Rising. Really loved it. Not sure if I want to start the next part of the series. I just want the main character to be happy. Can’t take more of his torture.
Lol I feel this comment in my bones. I’m trying to emotionally prepare myself to read Lightbringer.
Working my way through Dark Age… I don’t think this dude is ever allowed to catch a break
I like how this mentality is still a thing years later. I read the first three as they came out, thought “what a great trilogy!”, and then “Oh no…” when I saw it was going to continue. Even if it’s great, I’m of your opinion, I just want the main characters to be happy already! I still haven’t read the sequel trilogy to this day, lol.
I just finished Project Hail Mary and just started The Passage.
Neuromancer, count zero, blade runner (do androids dream…), burning chrome. Lots of cyberpunk stuff lately
Add Snow Crash to that list. One of my favorites
I’m only 30-50 pages from finishing but life keeps getting in the way. So close…!
I really need to read Neuromancer at some point. It seems like one of those classics that every science fiction fan should have already read.
I recall reading and enjoying Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep along with Man in the High Castle and A Scanner Darkly a while ago… I should attempt a re-read.
Everyone recommends Neuromancer, but when I tried it a while back… I got stuck in the first third and give up. I vaguely recall it had a lot of world building, which I’m not a huge fan of (at least at the time).
I just started reading Neuromancer last week after finishing Asimov’s Foundation trilogy.
Currently reading The Ghost Brigades by John Scalzi.
I love the Old Man’s War series.
Just finished book 1 of Old Man’s War and am 1/3 through Ghost Brigades now. I am enjoying the series and happy that it’s got some long legs with the number of books available.
That whole series was so much fun!
