Books completed (and general book talk)

[Cornelius_Smiff]

I got a copy of this in my hands today!

I Expect a full review Dusk

(mostly because I want it but couldn't live with it being a bit shit after I had stumped up the cash)

[SludgeWizard]

I just finished Those Across the River by Christopher Buehlman and loved it. It's my favorite book I've read this year. 1930s Southern US town vs evil in the woods type of deal. If you're into fun horror/monster romps, I highly recommend it.
Then I tried his vampire book, The Lesser Dead, and quit it roughly 30 pages in. I just hated the main character and how he spoke. It's set in 1970s NYC and the main character is a vampire who talks like a beginner's Improv class on Brooklyn accents. I knew I couldn't make it through the entire book, so I moved on.

Now I'm reading Joe Abercrombie's Sharp Ends.
I'm not sure when it happened, but Abercrombie has become my favorite fantasy writer. I could read stories starring his Northmen for the rest of my life.
Those violent, mean bastards have really found a special place in my heart, more so than any other fantasy characters I can think of, and Black Dow is one of my favorite characters in any book regardless of genre, although he hasn't shown up in Sharp Ends (yet?)

If you're into fantasy, especially violent, muddy, battle-heavy fantasy with little-to-no magical elements, check his stuff out.

[duskvstweak]

I got a copy of this in my hands today!

I Expect a full review Dusk

(mostly because I want it but couldn't live with it being a bit shit after I had stumped up the cash)

I don't know, I guess it depends on what you're looking for. The entries are a bit old, right as Metal Gear 5 was coming out, so there's no talk of Death Stranding or books/movies from the past 7 years. It actually felt a bit dry for my tastes, but your mileage might vary. I think it also depends on how many of the same books/movies you've read/seen. There are always worse things you can do than listen to someone recommend books...

[duskvstweak]

Spoiler: show

Star Wars: The High Republic: Light of the Jedi by Charles Soule
The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson
Dinosaurs Without Bones by Anthony Martin
Tehanu by Ursula K. Le Guin
Star Wars: The High Republic: Into the Dark by Claudia Gray
The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History by John M. Barry
Doomsday Book by Connie Willis
Acid for the Children by Flea
Babel-17 by Samuel R. Delany
Circe by Madeline Miller
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris
On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder
Spin by Robert Charles Wilson
The Future of Humanity by Michio Kaku
Outcast United by Warren St. John
Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman
Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport
Count Zero by William Gibson
Press Reset by Jason Schreier
Yearbook by Seth Rogen
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
The Hierarchies by Ros Anderson
Sea of Rust by C. Robert Cargill
Barren Cove by Ariel S. Winter
Remote Control by Nnedi Okorafor
Luck of the Titanic by Stacey Lee
Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy
The Shadow by James Patterson and Brian Sitts
Dinosaurs Rediscovered by Michael J. Benton
The River by Peter Heller
Bossypants by Tina Fey
Cress by Marissa Meyer
Daredevil: Predator's Smile by Christopher Golden
Six Wakes by Mur Lafferty
How Not to Die Alone by Richard Roper
Island of the Lost: Shipwrecked at the Edge of the World by Joan Druett
The Singer's Gun by Emily St. John Mandel
Several People Are Typing by Calvin Kasulke
Bullet Train by Kōtarō Isaka
Final Girls by Riley Sager
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll
Cycle of the Werewolf by Stephen King
Survivor Song by Paul Tremblay
The Grip of It by Jac Jemc
A People's History of the Vampire Uprising by Raymond A. Villareal
Dragons of Autumn Twilight by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
Appleseed by Matt Bell
Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey
A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
The Shadow of the Gods by John Gwynne
Dear Fahrenheit 451: Love and Heartbreak in the Stacks by Annie Spence

December Reading
Billion Dollar Loser: The Epic Rise and Spectacular Fall of Adam Neumann and WeWork by Reeves Wiedeman
Midnight, Water City by Chris McKinney
Noor by Nnedi Okorafor
High Fidelity by Nick Hornby
Sparrow Hill Road by Seanan McGuire
The Creative Gene: How books, movies, and music inspired the creator of Death Stranding and Metal Gear Solid by Hideo Kojima
How to Weep in Public: Feeble Offerings on Depression from One Who Knows by Jacqueline Novak
The Bear by Andrew Krivak
The Fossil Hunter: Dinosaurs, Evolution, and the Woman Whose Discoveries Changed the World by Shelley Emling
The City & the City by China Miéville
Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs
Elder Race by Adrian Tchaikovsky
They'd Rather Be Right by Mark Clifton

Midnight, Water City sort of scratched the Altered Carbon itch for me. High Fidelity was very enjoyable. The City & the City took me a bit to get into but once I did, I couldn't put it down. And Elder Race might be my favorite book of the year. Plus, it's short!

[Feirsteax]

Started reading Piranesi last night as a friend bought me it as a gift over the holidays. Very mysterious, the world is slowly unfolding in a very disjointed puzzle-piece kind of way as the narrator seems to have some form of amnesia or something.
Very interesting and I'm really enjoying it so far, the House is a really cool setting for sure.

[duskvstweak]

Janurary Reading

The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides
You Sexy Thing by Cat Rambo
Live From New York: The Complete, Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live by James Andrew Miller
The Great Mortality: An Intimate History of the Black Death, the Most Devastating Plague of All Time by John Kelly
To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis
Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk
The Music Shop by Rachel Joyce

All good stuff except I hated You Sexy Thing. It might be your cup of tea, but it bored me to tears. Also, I don't really like the movie, but I found the writing style in Fight Club to be electrifying.

[SludgeWizard]

I found the writing style in Fight Club to be electrifying.

I remember when I first read Fight Club it blew my 20 year-old mind, loved his style of writing.
I immediately read 3 or 4 more Palahniuk books in a row, which turned out to be a mistake. His style is distinct, but it's also very similar book to book, so they all ran together for me, and I kind of burnt myself out and have never gone back.

But I remember Fight Club and Choke being my two favorites.

[paulag]

Last Book Finished: Last Argument of Kings by Joe Abercrombie.
This is the third and final book in Joe Abercrombies First Law trilogy. A great Grimdark fantasy series with incredible characters and a fully realised harsh world. I loved this trilogy, the characters are so well written that it can even be frustrating with how true they stay to themselves at certain times. For those that prefer listening to their books, Steven Pacey who narrates this trilogy is amazing, best I've heard.

Currently Reading: This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone.
I'm about halfway through. Super interesting world building with few words doing it. Great prose, two savvy leading characters.

[duskvstweak]

Last Book Finished: Last Argument of Kings by Joe Abercrombie.
This is the third and final book in Joe Abercrombies First Law trilogy. A great Grimdark fantasy series with incredible characters and a fully realised harsh world. I loved this trilogy, the characters are so well written that it can even be frustrating with how true they stay to themselves at certain times. For those that prefer listening to their books, Steven Pacey who narrates this trilogy is amazing, best I've heard.

Currently Reading: This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone.
I'm about halfway through. Super interesting world building with few words doing it. Great prose, two savvy leading characters.

Did you like HYLtTW? I don't usually enjoy that type of writing style but it worked for me with the book. It sort of pushed me to try new things, book-wise.

[duskvstweak]

Spoiler: show

The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides
You Sexy Thing by Cat Rambo
Live From New York: The Complete, Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live by James Andrew Miller
The Great Mortality: An Intimate History of the Black Death, the Most Devastating Plague of All Time by John Kelly
To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis
Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk
The Music Shop by Rachel Joyce

February reading
Stardust by Neil Gaiman
This Weightless World by Adam Soto
Red Nails by Robert E. Howard
14 Ways to Die by Vincent Ralph
Nature's Warnings: Classic Stories of Eco-Science Fiction by Mike Ashley
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut Jr
The Unincorporated Man by Dani Kollin and Eytan Kollin

Stressful month, I'm shocked I finished a single book, let alone the ones I did. I ended up liking Stardust less than the movie. I thought the film tied everything together in a way that Gaiman wasn't interested in. Red Nails sort of confirmed I've moved past my Conan phase. Nature's Warnings was a collection of short stories, most were "fine". And I thought 14 Ways to Die was just dull.

[SludgeWizard]

I ended up liking Stardust less than the movie.

Ha! I read Stardust in college because a girl I liked wanted me to read it, and I still call it the worst book I've ever read. Which may be dramatic, but it was kind of fun to push her buttons with it (in a fun way), and honestly I can't think of a book I've ever finished of my own free will that I enjoyed less.
I completely forgot that it was made into a movie.

I do have a quick question for all of the Gaiman fans in this thread. If I did not Stardust, do you think I would also dislike the rest of his stuff, or does he vary? I've avoided his other works, but people talk about American Gods so often I can't help but be a little interested in it.

[Alex79]

I do have a quick question for all of the Gaiman fans in this thread. If I did not Stardust, do you think I would also dislike the rest of his stuff, or does he vary? I've avoided his other works, but people talk about American Gods so often I can't help but be a little interested in it.

I'm a big fan of Gaiman, his novels and his comics. Gaiman has a tendency to front load his work; the first halves of most of his books are generally more interesting than the ends, but I say that as a fan who's enjoyed most the stuff he's put out. Stardust isn't really a great representation of a lot of his other stuff. American Gods is great, as are Neverwhere, Anansai Boys and Norse Mythology. The Ocean At The End Of The Lane is another good, shorter read. There are a lot of collections of short stories available too, which may be a good starting point.

If you're in to comcis, Sandman is still widely considered one of the all time great series, and there are comic adaptions of some of his novels too; Neverwhere, The Graveyard Book, American Gods, Norse Mythology etc. Although with Neverwhere it was actually the TV series that came first!

He has quite an ethereal quality about his storytelling. A lot of dreams and magical realism, where the protagonist is never quite sure if they're experiencing what's happening or it's a dream or a slightly wonky memory.

In short, yes I'd definitely recommend more, and not liking Stardust is not necessarily an indication you won't like other stories he's written. I'd recommend either going with American Gods, which is probably his most popular novel, or take a look at the Sandman comics (from the beginning). If there's anything specific you want to know, just ask!

[duskvstweak]

Same at Alex. Gaiman was going for a style with Stardust, trying to replicate fantasy books from the pre-Tolkien age. Neverwhere is always my go-to recommendation for someone who hasn't read his stuff.

[Ethan Coleman]

I started reading The Three-Body Problem - a science fiction novel written by the Chinese writer Liu Cixin. From the first sentences, from the first chapters, I understand that this is a masterpiece. Currently, to apply for a job at a technology company, I need to write a Summary for a Resume. At https://resumeedge.com/blog/how-to-wri ... r-a-resume I found information on how to do it right.

[duskvstweak]

I started reading The Three-Body Problem - a science fiction novel written by the Chinese writer Liu Cixin. From the first sentences, from the first chapters, I understand that this is a masterpiece.

Yeah, it's a good read. A dense read at times, but a good one. I haven't finished the trilogy yet.

[SludgeWizard]

From the first sentences, from the first chapters, I understand that this is a masterpiece.

Well as long as you aren't getting your hopes up

But seriously, I get what you mean. Not with this exact book, I'm not familiar with it, but I know the feeling of clicking with something immediately and it is wonderful.

[duskvstweak]

Spoiler: show

The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides
You Sexy Thing by Cat Rambo
Live From New York: The Complete, Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live by James Andrew Miller
The Great Mortality: An Intimate History of the Black Death, the Most Devastating Plague of All Time by John Kelly
To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis
Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk
The Music Shop by Rachel Joyce
Stardust by Neil Gaiman
This Weightless World by Adam Soto
Red Nails by Robert E. Howard
14 Ways to Die by Vincent Ralph
Nature's Warnings: Classic Stories of Eco-Science Fiction by Mike Ashley
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut Jr
The Unincorporated Man by Dani Kollin and Eytan Kollin

March reading
There There by Tommy Orange
The Nineties by Chuck Klosterman
Ghost Species by James Bradley
All the Horses of Iceland by Sarah Tolmie
The Employees by Olga Ravn
Shards of Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold
Suburban Dicks by Fabian Nicieza
A House at the Bottom of a Lake by Josh Malerman
Salvation Day by Kali Wallace
Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire
Nothing But Blackened Teeth by Cassandra Khaw

Not a great month of reading, nothing I really loved. If you like his comic work, you'll like Nicieza's Suburban Dicks (as I did) and I enjoyed Shards of Honor more than I thought I would, campiness be damned. The Nineties wasn't as fun as a read as I was hoping but still an interested look back at the decade. I hated Salvation Day and Nothing But Blackened Teeth.

[duskvstweak]

Spoiler: show

The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides
You Sexy Thing by Cat Rambo
Live From New York: The Complete, Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live by James Andrew Miller
The Great Mortality: An Intimate History of the Black Death, the Most Devastating Plague of All Time by John Kelly
To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis
Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk
The Music Shop by Rachel Joyce
Stardust by Neil Gaiman
This Weightless World by Adam Soto
Red Nails by Robert E. Howard
14 Ways to Die by Vincent Ralph
Nature's Warnings: Classic Stories of Eco-Science Fiction by Mike Ashley
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut Jr
The Unincorporated Man by Dani Kollin and Eytan Kollin
There There by Tommy Orange
The Nineties by Chuck Klosterman
Ghost Species by James Bradley
All the Horses of Iceland by Sarah Tolmie
The Employees by Olga Ravn
Shards of Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold
Suburban Dicks by Fabian Nicieza
A House at the Bottom of a Lake by Josh Malerman
Salvation Day by Kali Wallace
Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire
Nothing But Blackened Teeth by Cassandra Khaw

April reading
Only Birds Above by Portland Jones
Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel
The Whisper Man by Alex North
We Could Be Heroes by Mike Chen
Blood, Sweat & Chrome: The Wild and True Story of Mad Max: Fury Road by Kyle Buchanan
The Last Days of the Dinosaurs by Riley Black
How to Be Fine by Jolenta Greenberg & Kristen Meinzer

Sea of Tranquility had too many connections to The Glass Hotel, but Mandel got me at the end. I was let down by We Could Be Heroes but it might be a taste thing, it bordered on YA. The Whisper Man is pretty dark and gloomy but it's a very good book. Blood, Sweat & Chrome is a fun read that gave me another excuse to rewatch Fury Road. And How to Be Fine is a fun concept with a fairly light execution, but there was some good to glean from it.

[Rhaegyr]

Last Book Finished: Last Argument of Kings by Joe Abercrombie.
This is the third and final book in Joe Abercrombies First Law trilogy. A great Grimdark fantasy series with incredible characters and a fully realised harsh world. I loved this trilogy, the characters are so well written that it can even be frustrating with how true they stay to themselves at certain times. For those that prefer listening to their books, Steven Pacey who narrates this trilogy is amazing, best I've heard.

Currently Reading: This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone.
I'm about halfway through. Super interesting world building with few words doing it. Great prose, two savvy leading characters.

I've recently started this trilogy again as the first time I gave it a go I really loved The Blade Itself then accidentally started Last Argument of Kings instead of the second book in the trilogy, spoiling a whole host of things!

It's been long enough now that I've forgotten everything; can't wait to get back into it.

[NoMoreSpearows]

I recently finished The Trees by Percival Everett, and wish my biggest takeaway had to do with the thematic elements the book interweaves with dark humor rather than "this book has a lot of typos in it."

Is that, like, a thing nowadays? The last few books I've read that were written in the past few years have had a lot more issues in that regard. Maybe copyeditors are getting fired in favor of Grammarly or some such nonsense, but if that's the case I'm really concerned for the future of the medium.