In what is turning into an ongoing review I polished off the second Dragonlance book (Dragons of Winter Night). Much better quite honestly. A healthy dollop of humour and the relationships already seem much developed than from the first book. And the introduction of tinker gnomes!

I'm not certain that it warrants a firm recommendation as you'd have to read the first one to know who people are and what is going on. But I am more favourable now to recommending the series if you have an interest in fantasy

Just finished I'm Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid based on a random post on Reddit that said it was scary, and the fact that Charlie Kaufman liked it enough to make it into a movie for Netflix (coming soon).
Super weird, unnerving and creepy, a short read (just over 200 pages) so it flies by. I can't say much without spoiling it, but I liked it enough that I'll definitely read it again.
Highly recommended it you like weird, spooky stories to read in the dark.

I recently read Jason Schreier's Blood, Sweat and Pixels. It was good reading. A lot of stories in there that I knew of, without knowing all the details. I can't imagine the toll of soloing a project like Stardew Valley, even though I read the chapter in the book. And some of those stories are still fresh wounds, like Star Wars 1313 and Destiny. If you haven't read it, it's definitely worth your time!

I really enjoyed that book too, I'll also pick up his new book which I think is out in April 2021.

I joined a Sci-Fi/Fantasy community on Goodreads and they have this Bingo card up. |

https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/45 ... ic-fantasy

https://www.goodreads.com/blog/show/1874

There's a list of the 100 most popular Sci-Fi books on Goodreads. It's mainly based on how many reviews at so many stars. At the moment, I'm at 55, but I did better at the top half of the list than the bottom.

I'm about halfway through Ready Player Two. I loved the original, although in hindsight, I'm unsure who it was aimed at. The target audience seemed to be teens and young adults, who would have likely got very few of the references. I must admit, as a 40+ middle aged man, I did feel a bit of a fraud reading it, but I really enjoyed the nostalgia of the thing.

Anyway, the second book. Well it took an absolute age to get going, and I wasn't entirely sure for at least the first third of the book, but once the story actually starts and you're past the pages of endless description and wallowing in 80s references, it's actually a decent sequel. If you didn't like the first, there's literally nothing for you here, but if you did, then this is absolutely worth it so far. Looking forward to the rest of it.

I did finished Ready Player Two. I rated it a bit higher than it might have deserved. A big issue is that it has to regress the main character (I mean, it didn't have to, it just wanted to) and it feels like any lessons learned in the first book are quickly forgotten. The new sci-fi concepts in the sequel are welcomed. Pop culture reference-wise, I was pretty disconnected with this (I'm not into John Hughes movies or Prince). I enjoyed the first book's toy-box feeling, but, weirdly, Ready Player Two is more focused with that stuff?
I don't think the first book needed a second part, but, for the most part, the sequel made a pretty good case for it's own existence.

Yeah that whole John Hughes section did nothing at all for me, either. Seemed an odd thing to hang a few chapters on, given the absolute wealth of 80s material available to wallow in.

duskvstweak wrote: ↑November 25th, 2020, 6:24 pm I recently read Jason Schreier's Blood, Sweat and Pixels. It was good reading. A lot of stories in there that I knew of, without knowing all the details. I can't imagine the toll of soloing a project like Stardew Valley, even though I read the chapter in the book. And some of those stories are still fresh wounds, like Star Wars 1313 and Destiny. If you haven't read it, it's definitely worth your time!

If you like reading about devs, I can't recommend "Masters of Doom" by David Kushner enough. It's about Id Software in their formative years, and is a fantastic read.

Second the recommendation on Masters of Doom, although if you didn't like John Romero before reading it, you REALLY won't like him afterwards.

My 2020 reading...

Spoiler: show

Childhood’s End by Arthur C. Clarke
The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal
XCOM 2: Resurrection by Greg Keyes
I Am Still Alive by Kate Alice Marshall
Woodsrunner by Gary Paulsen
Altered Carbon by Richard Morgan
Dread Nation by Justina Ireland
Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate
The World Without Us by Alan Weisman
The Wise Man’s Fear by Patrick Rothfuss
One More Thing: Stories and Other Stories by B.J. Novak
Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
Daisy Jones & the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Educated by Tara Westover
The Fires of Heaven by Robert Jordan
Christine by Stephen King
A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay
The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs by Stephen Brusatte
Blood, Sweat and Pixels by Jason Schreier
The is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar
Scar Tissue by Anthony Keidis
The Consuming Fire by John Scalzi
Storm Front by Jim Butcher
The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel
Uprooted by Naomi Novak
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
Ready Player Two by Ernest Cline
2312 by Kim Stanley Robinson
Sid Meier’s Memoir by Sid Meier

I should have read more, but obviously last year was emotionally draining, which kept me from really being able to get into some stuff. Also, anytime I pick up a Wheel of Time book, it means everything is going to slow down for me.
Anyway, here's hoping for a more productive 2021. Even though I haven't finished a book yet...

January Reading...

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

Light of the Jedi was very disappointing but people seem to be loving it. I wouldn't say I liked The Space Between Worlds but it held my attention the whole time. Dinosaurs Without Bones was interesting but very dry.

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

February reading

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

Tehanu means I finished the Earthsea books. Nothing topped the first one for me, but Tehanu was a great way to go out. Also checks off a Nebula winner. Into the Dark was much better than Light of the Jedi, since it was more focused and actually had a main character, but I'm not sold on this High Republic era. It just doesn't feel different enough or have compelling villains. The Great Influenza was out of morbid curiosity but incredibly infuriating when reading how much of the same mistakes and bad decisions were made 100 years ago are still being made today.

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

March Reading

Doomsday Book by Connie Willis - Took a while but it stuck the landing.
Acid for the Children by Flea - Entertaining, well-written and some interesting insights.
Babel-17 by Samuel R. Delany - Did not do it for me. I had a hard time focusing on this book. I'm gonna keep my copy and see if I want to read it again in the future. After all, I hated Neuromancer the first time and, after re-reading a few years ago, I loved it.

I've been wanting a read that I didn't have to think too much and when reading over the last few months, I've been working my way through the various works of David Eddings - starting with the Elenium, then moving on the Tamuli, then the Belgariad and am on the final book of the Malleorean - so that's 16 or so books read in recent months.

The age shows a little (the first book of the Belgariad was published in 1983) and it's rampart with the inherent class issues of high fantasy of the time. This is actually acknowledged in-universe though and to some extent explained - even with that, this to me is comfort reading. I love the characterisations and the back and forth at some points can allude to Aaron Sorkin, though not to the same degree and without much politicalisation.

I recently finished The Remains of the Day. I went in only knowing that it was highly acclaimed and about a butler, so I was expecting something quite dry and challenging.

While the subject matter isn't exciting as an entry point, I found it an engrossing and fascinating little story. I was also quite surprised by some of the subject matter it touches on, and the cowardly nature the protagonist handles it and his relationship with another member of staff. It's a breezy 250 pages, so worth a read if want something quick to read that has a lot of depth in its themes.

paulag wrote: ↑December 6th, 2020, 11:52 pm

duskvstweak wrote: ↑November 25th, 2020, 6:24 pm I recently read Jason Schreier's Blood, Sweat and Pixels. It was good reading. A lot of stories in there that I knew of, without knowing all the details. I can't imagine the toll of soloing a project like Stardew Valley, even though I read the chapter in the book. And some of those stories are still fresh wounds, like Star Wars 1313 and Destiny. If you haven't read it, it's definitely worth your time!

If you like reading about devs, I can't recommend "Masters of Doom" by David Kushner enough. It's about Id Software in their formative years, and is a fantastic read.

Both of these books are fantastic. Jason Schreier has a new book out too which I'm waiting for at the moment, "Press Reset".

If there are any Resident Evil fans interested in reading about the history of the game's creation I can recommend "Itchy, Tasty" by Alex Aniel. It mostly focuses on the release timeline between the original and Resident Evil 4, and gives a decent amount of insight into the cancelled RE2 and the ports that never made it to market. I really enjoyed this book and the physical copy has some awesome cover art.

2021 Reading

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

May Reading

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

Was Norse Mythology any good? I've had it a while and not read it yet. I usually love Gaiman, but just haven't fancied it so far. I've even bought the graphic novel adaption and not looked at that either.