Books What Are You Reading or Listening To?

[CastlevaniaNut18]

13 hours ago, Nokra said:

I just finished The False Cause: Fraud, Fabrication, and White Supremacy in Confederate Memory by Adam Domby. It's from a history professor that I actually knew when I lived in North Carolina. He was going to grad school at UNC Chapel Hill with my girlfriend at the time, so it's kind of cool to see his book published and recognize a lot of the names in the Acknowledgement section.   Also he has been in the Washington Post, New York Times, CNN, etc. on the issue of Confederate memory, especially lately given how often Confederate monuments are appearing in the news.  

 

Anyway, the book was really interesting and timely, too. It examines the myth of the Lost Cause and how the attempt to recast the loss of the Civil War by the Confederacy was really an attempt to support white supremacy. That this was done is probably not news to anyone paying attention, but exactly how and why this was done is the focus of the book. Essentially, it boils down to the South portraying itself as a homogeneously white and supportive entity, when in fact the Confederacy had far more issues than the US with deserters, dissenters, pension fraud after the war, etc. The book really tears apart a lot of neo-Confederate arguments, too, so that's pretty satisfying if you hear people saying things like "it wasn't about slavery" or they try to glorify the Confederacy or Confederate soldiers.  The book is also a really interesting look at how historical narratives are created and maintained. 

 

I know we have a couple people who are interested in history ( @Emperor Diocletian II and @CastlevaniaNut18 come immediately to mind) though I don't remember whether there's much interest in Civil War history. In any case, as a former history minor, I loved the book and I'd definitely recommend it. 

I'm actually reading The Pulitzer Prize winning Battle Cry of Freedom now.

 

I will definitely check this book out sometime.

[CastlevaniaNut18]

Well, The Vanishing Half is currently my 2020 BOTY. Excellent read.

 

Now starting The Shadows by Alex North.

[thewhyteboar]

6 minutes ago, CastlevaniaNut18 said:

Well, The Vanishing Half is currently my 2020 BOTY. Excellent read.

 

Now starting The Shadows by Alex North.

I've heard really good things about that.

[CastlevaniaNut18]

25 minutes ago, thewhyteboar said:

I've heard really good things about that.

Deservedly so. It's written in a beautiful style and hits a lot of heavy topics: racism, colorism(I think that's the closest term), gender identity, there was some really good relationships, some complex ones.

 

It just hit a lot of high notes. I think it'll end up high on the list for BOTY finalists.

[rc0101]

Going to start Iron Coffins by Herbert A. Werner 

 

well once it is delivered since I guess it’s not available on Kindle. In the meantime I’ll finally start Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry 

[Brick]

Can anyone here recommend any good books about books? Since my girlfriend loved The Shadow of the Wind so much, and since it's a book about books, I figure I'd gift her another book about books.

[thewhyteboar]

The Name of the Rose.

[SimpleG]

[CastlevaniaNut18]

I'm determined to wrap up Battle Cry of Freedom on my two weeks off. I've got around 170 pages left. It's really good, just dense, long books like that tend to take me a while.

 

For my next novel, I'm going to read The Orphan's Tale by Pam Jenoff. Haven't read a WWII fiction in a bit.

[Mercury33]

It’s not really reading but I’m listening to the new The Sandman audiobook. It’s phenomenal!

 

Full cast with Neil Gaiman as the narrator. I can’t remember this from any other full cast book I’ve listened too but they added music and full sound effects to this as well. So with Gaiman popping in from time to time to describe the surroundings it really feels like an old school radio broadcast. 
 

wasn’t sure how a graphic novel would translate to audio book but this is perfectly done. Def check it out if you enjoyed the books. 

[CitizenVectron]

I finished the first book of the Bobiverse (We Are Legion [We Are Bob]) last week but the second and third won't be delivered until today, so I started and finished Prador Moon by Neil Asher in the meantime. I tried reading Asher in the past (Gridlinked) but was not a fan of his writing style. Prador Moon was no different in style (jumping between characters every few paragraphs), but the content was more interesting (especially the POV scenes from the alien Prador). Overall I'd recommend the book as a short sci-fi action novel.

[Brick]

On 7/16/2020 at 8:09 PM, thewhyteboar said:

The Name of the Rose.

 

A mystery that has to be solved by reading books? Yeah sounds like something she might like 

[gamer.tv]

Finished The Testaments the other day and it was wonderful. I liked the Handmaids Tale,  but really enjoyed the world that was created and The Testaments just takes that and goes with it. I read There’s a Boy in the Girls Bathroom in an afternoon and it was OK (not Holes) and now moved onto The Mars Room.

[Bloodporne]

Die Henkerstochter

 

Translates to "The Hangman's Daughter". A German series of historical fiction set in the 1600s. Going through the rest of the series which I initially started years ago and I'm on the fourth book out of eight I believe. Always try to read a few German books per year so I can avoid getting too rusty with my grammar and all.

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

50 minutes ago, Bloodporne said:

Die Henkerstochter

 

Translates to "The Hangman's Daughter". A German series of historical fiction set in the 1600s. Going through the rest of the series which I initially started years ago and I'm on the fourth book out of eight I believe. Always try to read a few German books per year so I can avoid getting too rusty with my grammar and all.

I've read a few of the entries in that series - I rather enjoy them!

[Bloodporne]

1 minute ago, Emperor Diocletian II said:

I've read a few of the entries in that series - I rather enjoy them!

Have they translated the entire thing yet? 

 

I love historical fiction and especially that era and earlier Middle Ages. The same author has another series called Faustus I believe that I'm going to read next. The second book in this one was excellent, in German it's something like "The Hangman's Daughter and the Black Monk"

[Chris-]

I’m reading ‘Vive la Revolution’ by Mark Steel. I never knew how painfully horny the French Revolution was!

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

8 minutes ago, Bloodporne said:

Have they translated the entire thing yet? 

 

I love historical fiction and especially that era and earlier Middle Ages. The same author has another series called Faustus I believe that I'm going to read next. The second book in this one was excellent, in German it's something like "The Hangman's Daughter and the Black Monk"

All seven have been translated into English.

[Bloodporne]

1 minute ago, Emperor Diocletian II said:

All seven have been translated into English.

An eighth one just came out two months ago in case you're involved enough in the series to care. In German I mean.

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

Just now, Bloodporne said:

An eighth one just came out two months ago in case you're involved enough in the series to care. In German I mean.

Oh well!  That one hasn't been translated yet!

[CastlevaniaNut18]

Finished Battle Cry of Freedom Tuesday, finished The Orphan's Tale last night. Accomplishments!

 

I'm debating on what I should lay into next. I did pick up The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin, but it's more of a pamphlet at just over 100 pages. I'll get through it quick. Maybe I'll just catch up on magazines today while I decide what to read next.

[CastlevaniaNut18]

Read Baldwin's book in a day.

 

Ended up deciding on The Broken Girls by Simone St James. I really love Sun Down Motel from her and I heard this one was good, too. It's already grabbed it in the first few pages.

[EternallDarkness]

Reread King's Revival. I enjoyed the heck out of it the first time I read it...until the end, which just threw me for a loop, totally didn't expect it. And it kind of soured the boy for me, but for some reason I felt like rereading it. This time the book felt 'slower' and perhaps that's because I knew what it was building toward this time. 

[Bjomesphat]

Alright everyone, I need to start reading again and I've got a ton of fantasy/scifi books to catch up on. Which one should I start from this list?

 

Neverwhere

Books of Earthsea

Way of Kings (Stormlight archive)

Dune

Neuromancer

Stranger in a Strange Land

Left Hand of Darkness

[CastlevaniaNut18]

Broken Girls was really good!

 

I think I'm gonna start a nonfiction tonight: Alone on the Ice: The Greatest Survival Story in the History of Exploration by Dave Roberts. I really like these types of books, anything survival, like mountain climbing. This one is about an Antarctic exploration in 1913.

 

Not sure what my next novel is gonna be, but I'm kinda leaning toward The Burning Land by Bernard Cornwell. It's been a couple months since I read the previous book in the series.

[CastlevaniaNut18]

Went through The Burning Land in two days, so good, I decided to move straight on to Death of Kings. 
 

Still working on Alone on the Ice. It’s a bit drier than I expected, though. 

[Brick]

Was finally able to gift my girlfriend The Name of the Rose (among the other gifts I got her) last night, and her face lit up when I told her the synopsis. Thanks @thewhyteboar again for the suggestion. I think she's really going to like it. 

[gamer.tv]

I’m kind of just waiting for The Mars Room to be over. It’s a god book, but not the lost mind blowing thing I’ve read. I might go and pick up one of those ‘summer blockbusters’ that have no real value outside of being page turners designed to be read in a couple of days. 

[thewhyteboar]

4 hours ago, Brick said:

Was finally able to gift my girlfriend The Name of the Rose (among the other gifts I got her) last night, and her face lit up when I told her the synopsis. Thanks @thewhyteboar again for the suggestion. I think she's really going to like it. 

I hope she likes it!

[CastlevaniaNut18]

As good as The Saxon Stories series is, I'm gonna take a short break so I don't burn out. Getting back to Alone on the Ice and it's picking up, so I think I'll focus on finishing it. I'm over halfway through. Sometimes, I get frustrated with nonfiction, when it veers off the main story. This one started off strong, with the beginnings of trouble on the expedition, then diverted to a bunch of unrelated expeditions, that I found fairly dull. But now we're back on track and it's more engrossing.

 

For my next novel, I'm going to start A Burning by Megha Majumdar. Debut author, literary fiction. It'll be an ice change of pace.

[BloodyHell]

Im re-reading S.W. Gwynnes “Empire of the Summer Moon”, which is probably the best book on the history of the Comanche tribe out there. I would suggest anyone with  an interest in Native American history read this wonderful book. That said, it’s a heavy experience, don’t expect a feel good read.

[gamer.tv]

I forgot to mention, despite the recent controversy, I wanted to re-read the Harry Potter series. As I've been working nights pretty much throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, I've decided to listen to them using Audible. I've just finished The Order of the Phoenix and, after reading the series from about 9 years of age, despite not being the best written books (I think that's part of the challenge about having to adapt a style of writing to the age of the audience), the universe is just amazing, so well fleshed out and interesting to learn about. There would be something to be said about a series based around the Ministry of Magic.

[EternallDarkness]

just finished up the first book in the Dirty Deeds series, which was actually quite cool right up until the end. The book is about an assassin who specializes in 'knocking off' children. The thing is he doesn't actually kill the kids. He gets hired by parents who want their kids dead for one reason or another but what he actually does is kidnaps them and then relocates them to new families. But in this book one of his old cases comes back to haunt him. For the most part it's an enjoyable book. Only problem is that the book actually ends in a cliffhanger, which I always hate. 

[CastlevaniaNut18]

Wrapped up Alone on the Ice. I started Final Girls by Riley Sager. Trying to whittle down my BOTM backlog, yet I just bought 12 new books.

[gamer.tv]

Finished The Mars Room. It was fine but it didn’t feel like a potentially award winning book. Picked up The Institute by Stephen King as my summer book, so we’ll see how that goes.