Books What Are You Reading or Listening To?

[Dre801]

Masked Prey  by John Sandford.   The "Prey" series is still consistently good.

[CastlevaniaNut18]

Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston.

 

It's been a while since I read something lighthearted and fun. I'm already laughing at it in the first couple chapters.

[TheLeon]

The City We Became by N.K. Jemison

Her Broken Earth trilogy is one of the best things I've read in a long time (not that I do a ton of reading these days), and this feels like a great start to a completely different kind of series. 

[CitizenVectron]

Just finished the Bobiverse trilogy and I highly recommend it. The premise is:

 

Genre: Sci-fi

Premise: A programmer (Bob) in the early-21st-Century pays for cryogenics, dies, and is reborn in the medium-future inside a computer when his frozen brain is scanned. The major world powers at that time (religious-USA, Brazil, Australia, China, UK) are sending probes to the stars. The plot of the books is him controlling a probe and eventually making copies of himself (which make copies, etc) and explore dozens of systems, encounter life, try to save the dwindling human race by helping colonize, fight Brazil, fight aliens, etc. It's interesting to see how different versions of him in different systems (and ships, stations, androids, etc) basically manage and save the human race.

 

It's a very good book series, and was released primarily as audio books, but Amazon printed physical editions as well. 

[CastlevaniaNut18]

Started Born a Crime by Trevor Noah last night. It's hilarious.

[BloodyHell]

22 hours ago, CitizenVectron said:

Just finished the Bobiverse trilogy and I highly recommend it. The premise is:

 

Genre: Sci-fi

Premise: A programmer (Bob) in the early-21st-Century pays for cryogenics, dies, and is reborn in the medium-future inside a computer when his frozen brain is scanned. The major world powers at that time (religious-USA, Brazil, Australia, China, UK) are sending probes to the stars. The plot of the books is him controlling a probe and eventually making copies of himself (which make copies, etc) and explore dozens of systems, encounter life, try to save the dwindling human race by helping colonize, fight Brazil, fight aliens, etc. It's interesting to see how different versions of him in different systems (and ships, stations, androids, etc) basically manage and save the human race.

 

It's a very good book series, and was released primarily as audio books, but Amazon printed physical editions as well. 

Ok, that all sounds great actually, but how did fighting Brazil become a part of it?

[CitizenVectron]

50 minutes ago, BloodyHell said:

Ok, that all sounds great actually, but how did fighting Brazil become a part of it?

 

Without getting into major spoilers, the major powers in the 22nd/23rd century are:

• New USA (called FAITH - Free American Independent Theocratic Hegemony)
• The USE (United States of Eurasia - basically EU+western Russian)
• China (China + eastern Russia and south-east Asia)
• Australian Federation
• Republic of Africa
• Brazilian Empire (most of South America)

 

There are other nations, but those are the big powers that all have interstellar capability.

 

Of those nations, Brazil is the most antagonistic, while USE is the most "normal" by today's standards. Bob works (in the beginning) for FAITH since he lived in America prior to dying.

 

[CastlevaniaNut18]

Currently reading The Pagan Lord by Bernard Cornwell. I'm really getting through this series now. Looking forward to read some of his other books after The Saxon Stories.

[CastlevaniaNut18]

The Flight 981 Disaster by Samme Chittum. Why I have a fascination about plane crashes, I don't know. I'm still not particularly afraid to fly.

[CastlevaniaNut18]

Starting This is how it Always Is by Laurie Frankel.

[gamer.tv]

I’ve finished The Institute and it was one of the stronger King books I’ve read. I enjoyed Doctor Sleep and The Outsider, but this felt like a better, more complete story. I do really want a proper SK horror at some point and may buy Salem’s Lot, which I haven’t actually read before. I’ve also decided to give Ducks, Newburyport and actual go. It’s pretty full on being 980 pages with no chapters, limited punctuation and the fact it’s the overloaded thought processes of an American housewife, but after reading a page out loud to my wife it actually got hold of me. I wonder how I’ll feel though after 200 pages.

[Mercury33]

On 8/23/2020 at 8:46 PM, CastlevaniaNut18 said:

Currently reading The Pagan Lord by Bernard Cornwell. I'm really getting through this series now. Looking forward to read some of his other books after The Saxon Stories.

 

Whats The Pagan Lord about?  Ive read Saxon Stories(really good) and Warlord Chronicles(amazeballs good) by him and would love to get into another series

[CastlevaniaNut18]

15 minutes ago, Mercury33 said:

 

Whats The Pagan Lord about?  Ive read Saxon Stories(really good) and Warlord Chronicles(amazeballs good) by him and would love to get into another series

It’s the seventh book in the Saxon Stories.

[EternallDarkness]

5 hours ago, gamer.tv said:

I’ve finished The Institute and it was one of the stronger King books I’ve read. I enjoyed Doctor Sleep and The Outsider, but this felt like a better, more complete story. I do really want a proper SK horror at some point and may buy Salem’s Lot, which I haven’t actually read before. I’ve also decided to give Ducks, Newburyport and actual go. It’s pretty full on being 980 pages with no chapters, limited punctuation and the fact it’s the overloaded thought processes of an American housewife, but after reading a page out loud to my wife it actually got hold of me. I wonder how I’ll feel though after 200 pages.

 

I thought The Institute started strong and was full of promise but then petered out. 

[CastlevaniaNut18]

23 minutes ago, EternallDarkness said:

 

I thought The Institute started strong and was full of promise but then petered out. 

Speaking of Stephen King, I’m wanting to read him again soon. Wanting to read The Outsider, but I’ve heard it’s somewhat connected to Mr Mercedes trilogy and spoils some stuff. Is that true? So I should read the trilogy first? I also have If It Bleeds and I’ve heard at least one of the stories connects to The Outsider. 
 

I just want know what order I should read stuff in. I know they aren’t direct sequels but I don’t want any major spoilers for another book I haven’t read. 

[EternallDarkness]

15 minutes ago, CastlevaniaNut18 said:

Speaking of Stephen King, I’m wanting to read him again soon. Wanting to read The Outsider, but I’ve heard it’s somewhat connected to Mr Mercedes trilogy and spoils some stuff. Is that true? So I should read the trilogy first? I also have If It Bleeds and I’ve heard at least one of the stories connects to The Outsider. 
 

I just want know what order I should read stuff in. I know they aren’t direct sequels but I don’t want any major spoilers for another book I haven’t read. 

 

 

Indeed both have connection to the Bill Hodges trilogy and do have spoilers as they feature a character from that series and events in the trilogy are referenced a number of times. Reading order would be the release order. The Bill Hodges trilogy (Mr. Mercedes, Finders Keepers, End of Watch) then The Outsider, and finally If It Bleeds, though If It bleeds is actually 4 different stories and only the actual story titled If It Bleeds is connected to the other books. 

[CastlevaniaNut18]

Thanks. I do have Mr Mercedes sitting on my shelf, I just had no idea it was connected to The Outsider until recently. I'll start with Mr Mercedes and get the other two.

 

I also really want to read The Stand, but I'm not sure I'm in the mood for that big of a commitment at the moment.

[Mercury33]

Been super into Neil Gaimans audiobooks while I’m driving around for work. Just finished The Sandman pt 1 which was utterly amazing. I always assumed graphic novels couldn’t be translated into Audio form but good god was this executed perfectly. 
 

Decided to start Gaimans Lovecraft Monsters book. I’ve actually never read this one so it’ll be fun to have to listen to something brand brand new for a change. 

[CastlevaniaNut18]

Currently reading Countdown 1945 by Chris Wallace. I wouldn't normally buy a book from a Fox guy, but Wallance is generally pretty good and so far, I'm really liking the book. There are more detailed accounts of this time period and I've read some of them, but this is a easy to digest short read.

 

I think I'm gonna start The Night Swim by Megan Goldin for my next novel. It was my August BOTM pick and I've got my Sept box on the way.

[EternallDarkness]

started reading  Clown in a Cornfield 

[Dre801]

The Boys graphic novels.

[CastlevaniaNut18]

The Night Swim was excellent. Definitely heavy at times, with rape being the main story. Glad I got that one because going by title and cover, I’d had written it off as a typical chick lit novel. 
 

 

Now reading The Chestnut Man by Soren Sveistrup. 

[CastlevaniaNut18]

Presently working on The World As It Is: A Memoir of the Obama White House by Ben Rhodes. 
 

For fiction, I’m reading The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley. It was a freebie from a coworker. 

[Kal-El814]

Just finished Lovecraft Country, having watched the show. Lots of pulpy fun.

 

It inspired me to read Sundown Towns and oh man this is going to be a hard one to finish.

[CastlevaniaNut18]

Kinda went through a bit of a reading slump for about a week. I finished The World As It Is, but I just could not get into The Hunting Party. I gave up and that's extremely rare for me.

 

I read The Haunting of Rookward House by Darcy Coates. I really enjoy most of her books, they're just fun, creepy ghost stories and this is the right time of year for them. Finished it this morning.

 

I'm currently working on Magna Carta: The Birth of Liberty by Dan Jones. I love medieval English history and this guy makes it interesting. 

 

Probbaly going to start Mr Mercedes by Stephen King for my next novel.

[CastlevaniaNut18]

Well, Mr. Mercedes was great! 
 

Next up, Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. Keeping with the spookier/creepy reads for October. For nonfiction, I’m starting Catch and Kill by Ronan Farrow. 

[gamer.tv]

I read the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. It's strange that I can recognize the world building and characters as being amazing...but the actual story just kind of leaps along and really doesn't have much substance. I'd almost welcome someone re-writing it today, adding about 200 pages and turning it into something more substantial. 

 

I've also technically just read Beyond the Stars, which is a collection of short stories for children to pick one I want to teach in a few weeks (I went with the Kind of the Birds). 

 

I've also started a book called The Lie of the Land, but I've been so busy/tired lately, my small amounts of downtime tend to be quick goes on the PS4 (or DS), or guitar. 

[CastlevaniaNut18]

Mexican Gothic was...weird. But in a mostly good way.

 

I'm gonna take a quick break from spook land and read Dear Justyce by Nic Stone. It's essentially a sequel to Dear Martin, which I loved and read in a day.

[Dre801]

The Fury.  I remember the movie, but had never read the book.

[EternallDarkness]

started Koontz's new book Elsewhere

[CastlevaniaNut18]

Already a good ways into A Time For Mercy by John Grisham. I always buy his books on day one and this one feels like vintage Grisham.

 

I also finally started Catch and Kill, though I'm no far in at all.

[Dre801]

The Resort by Sol Stein. 

[CastlevaniaNut18]

Still on Catch and Kill, but I’ve also started The Winter People by Jennifer McMahon. 
 

I got my new Kindle Paperwhite this week, it’s pretty nice. Wanting to start one of my digital books. 

[CastlevaniaNut18]

I read The Haunting of Blackwood House by Darcy Coates on Kindle. I like her books, but her protagonists always seem awfully derpy. But they're fun ghost stories.

 

Now reading The Hunger by Alma Katsu. Keeping with my spooky reads for this month. Also about halfway through Catch and Kill. It's good.

[gamer.tv]

Couldn’t get into the last book mentioned so, on recommendation by my wife, I’m reading The Goose Girl. It’s listed as a young adult, fantasy novel, though some of the description and subject matter push it into just ‘adult’ fiction. I’ve also bought four books that I’m pretty sure I’ll enjoy based on the authors, so hopefully this will get me back into reading again after a little hiatus.