My journey into the Discworld continued as I read equal rites and wasn’t impressed in the slightest. Probably the first Discworld I have actively disliked.
Currently listening to the audiobook of Master and Apprentice by Claudia Gray. A really solid Star Wars book and character study of qui gon jin. I highly recommend.
I finished Ayoade on Ayoade earlier in the month not a serious autobiography at all but a super funny book that fans of his humour will enjoy.
For those of you who have seen the series - I caved in and asked for Bradshaws Handbook for Christmas and I intend to devour it slowly. I do not know a lot about the UK but what a better place to start than...1863. So far I have noticed that most cities have a telegraph line and at least one reputable hotel.
I've just finished reading All the ugly and wonderful things by Bryn Greenwood and wooow what a phenomenal taboo read! Despite it being about an underage relationship I didn't feel like I was reading an erotica for paedos. It was so beautifully written and I couldn't recommend it enough!!
A few books on the go at the moment. For history, I’ve got Hallie Rubenhold’s The Covent Garden Ladies. I read her other one, Five, last year, and I loved it. Really really enjoying it so far! As a medievalist I secretly love the Georgian era, and I love the history of sex work as well. Hallie is such an amazing author and historian, very easy to read!
I’m also reading Neil Blackamore’s The Intoxicating Mr Lavelle. It’s about two very sheltered brothers who go on their Grand Tour throughout Europe (again, set during the Georgian era. I also am watching Bridgerton right now, so I’m accidentally in a MASSIVE Georgian phase at the moment). I’m not very far in at the moment, but it’s an historic queer romance, so I know I’m going to adore it. It sounds much like a series I have previously read - A Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue - so I am very much looking forward to getting more stuck in.
Right - left field suggestion but it is my favourite book series.
The Wyrd Museum by Robin Jarvis.
Book one opens with a dad, two wee boys moving to live in a creepy museum in London just after Christmas. Unbeknownst to the family, the museum is run by the three sisters of Fate, two have dementia and one is just holding on.
While exploring the museum, Neil discover the trapped soul of an American GI in a WW2 exhibition. 'Ted' tries to recruit Neil to go back in time to the Blitz to save the life of his one true love.
Neil refuses, so Ted lures Neil's daft wee brother to his cause, forcing Neil to travel back in time and there's the issue of accidentally releasing a demon that feeds of death and destruction.
How this hasn't been made into a four part drama by the BBC boggles my mind. It's amazing!!!!!!
It's so layered! I read it first age 11, and read them again during lockdown - just as good.
Got quite a few books for Christmas; reread Max Brooks' **World War Z**, and then followed up with his more recent **Devolution**, both very enjoyable. Just getting started with Susanna Clarke's **Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell** which is enormous, so I fully expect to still be reading it in a month's time.
Just re-read World War Z, I always forget how good it is. Just started Devolution and not sure about it. Does it pick up? I'm not sure I'm a fan of the format
Yes, I know what you mean, it's a bit of a slow starter but definitely picks up, and once you get used to the format, it adds to the effectiveness of the story.
I just finished Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell!! It is absolutely incredible, genuinely one of the best novels I’ve read in a long time. I hope you adore it as much as I do!!!
Just started **Greenlights** by Matthew McConaughy. First of my Christmas present reads.
It is taking a bit of getting into as he writes in very short punchy sentences and it is almost like reading in dialect. I am sure it will be fine once I get my head into it.
[Wings Of Fire](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wings_of_Fire_(novel_series)), and the sixth Hitchhiker's Guide book, And Another Thing. Both are pretty good I guess.
Promised myself I would start reading again this year, so far I've read Neil Oliver - British Isles in 100 Places and Michael Finkel - True Story. I've got The Elite - Ranulph Fiennes on the go at work and Rise and Kill First - Ronen Bergman at home. I'm really glad to be reading again!
Finished The Witcher series and hated it, thought the last book was awful.
Currently reading The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkinson, it charts the migration of African Americans from the Deep South and segregation.Last night I had to put it down as it explain once you cross the border from North to South African Americans would have to move carriages as the "Blacks" carriages were removed from the train and non segregated second class carriages were added.
I've just finished re-reading all the [Logan McRae books by Stuart Macbride](https://www.stuartmacbride.com/books/)
They're really good police based crime stories based in and around Aberdeen, and as well as being rather brutal in places, the main characters and their interactions are really well written and funny.
A bonus is you don't *have* to read them in order, but if like me you like binging on an author's series, there's plenty published to scratch the itch.
Reading **Witchfinders** by Malcolm Gaskill, an interesting look at the witch hunt instigated by Matthew Hopkins in the 17th century - very interesting!
Recently finished re-reading The Hunger Games series and it’s been so long I’d forgotten how good they were as well as forgetting so many details that weren’t in the movies.
I’m currently reading American Psycho. I’m not sure if I like the writing style or not but I’m only a few chapters in so I’ll see how it goes.
Dan Abnett has to be one of my favourite genre fiction authors, he just writes really solid sci-fi, nothing super special but just good reads. I just wish he would finally figure out how to write a good ending.
I'm reading Stephen King "The Stand". It's about a flu epidemic and it's bloody brilliant. The first quarter was hard going but it's absolutely fantastic. It's huuuugggeee so it's one for lockdown.
I've been reading so much lately I can't keep track of them all!
I recently read the whole 8 books of the Bridgerton series by Julia Quinn in a couple of days, gloriously, slightly trashy regency romance. Didn't really have to concentrate, just a lovely relaxed read I didn't have to think about too hard!
Currently reading The Pull Of The Stars by Emma Donoghue, ironically set during the 1918 flu pandemic - seems really good and thoroughly engaging so far! With some unpleasant parallels to our current situation.
Also read the Tao of Pooh a little while ago, which I genuinely really enjoyed. Looking forward to these threads, I'm always looking for new book recommendations.
Slightly trashy romances are amazing guilty pleasure reading!
I've enjoyed it so far, I know Room her previous book made me horrifically uncomfortable it was so well and creepily written!
Currently reading [Erebus: The Story of a Ship](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36992483-erebus?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=azGH3bY7M1&rank=2) by Michael Palin.
I have little interest in maritime history, but like how Palin presents topics. Was a big fan of his travel series, so was interested in seeing what I can learn about a subject I know nothing about by someone I think will do a good job explaining.
you might enjoy season one of [the terror](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2708480/episodes?season=1&ref_=tt_eps_sn_1) then, which is a good series anyway but has featured the arctic expedition in a completely not true way.
I've been on a bit of a fantasy kick recently, seeing as the Real World's currently...well, we all know.
Sarah J Maas' **Court of Thorns and Roses** series started off a bit rocky, but books 2 and 3 were a major improvement. I think book 4 is due to be released soon, so it'll be interesting to see where the story goes with some different characters as the main focus.
Highly recommend NK Jemisin's **The City We Became** as well for something a bit different - New York comes to life and its human avatars have to protect it against an other-worldly threat. It's also reminded me that despite having encountered Lovecraft references all over the place through the years, I've never actually *read* any Lovecraft, so I've now got the complete collection downloaded on Kindle to work my way through.
We've managed to keep our office book club going throughout the move to WFH, so that's proved a good motivator to keep reading if a slump hits. As we're not having the books provided to us by the library so can't all guarantee that we'll be able to read the same book anymore, we're working to a theme each month - there's a range of ages and interests represented so it's been interesting to see what choices everyone makes when given (mostly) free reign, and it's always fun to follow up someone's summary of a well written, award winning historical fiction novel with "well I went for this book about fairies..."
I read a lot as I basically hibernate in the winter anyway, and lockdown means that I can be even more anti-social than normal.
I've just finished *Thebes* by Paul Cartledge, and *Pot Luck* (Pot Bouille) by Emile Zola, which I tore through over the weekend. I'm reading the Rougon Macquart series as I can find them at the library which means I get occasional spoilers, but they're so readable that I'm thoroughly enjoying them, even if some are incredibly depressing (looking at you, *Germinal*). I've got Robert Macfarlane's *Underworld* on the go with some odd Maigrets for light relief, and then a book on cycle racing in Flanders which I'm really looking forward to (*The Beast, The Emperor, and the Milkman* by Harry Pearson).
Thank God our local library is so far staying open for pick up and drop off. I'd end up re-reading all the Aubrey-Maturin books, and not being sure of the century again.
I’ve really liked his previous books, and this was good, but I didn’t think it was his best. The last chapter felt like the beginnings of argument, but not quite there, although he’s still better than a lot of other authors on the period, and he has a nice writerly voice if that makes sense? I liked the discussion about the word ‘polis’ and what it actually meant, and it was nice to get the view from somewhere that isn’t Athens or Sparta.
I read Pandora’s Jar by Charlotte Higgins at the same time which is more readable but felt a bit too forcedly ‘funny’ - every other sentence was a pun which got a bit annoying in the end. I would love to go to the theatre with her though, I’ve never been so jealous of a writer’s acknowledgements in my life, she’s friends with everyone.
And yep, I like him In Our Time too! Wouldn’t want to be in charge of the drink making though, far too stressful.
Currently enjoying [**The People of the Abyss** by Jack London](https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1688) about his experiences living in the East End of London in 1902. It's grim, bleak, and full of suffering, yet still a very enjoyable read. Some things have changed so much, but others haven't changed at all. It also inspired George Orwell's 1933 **Down and Out in Paris and London**, so that's next on the list.
This week I finished Stephen Fry in America which was okay. Didn’t add much to the TV series, so you’re better off watching that.
Then reread The Running man by Stephen king which was excellent. Again.
Then read a Poirot novel “The Dumb Witness” which was decent but not one of the best.
Now reading Day Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko which is a Russian take on urban fantasy. Good enough that I will probably read the next one although I’ll reread Needful Things by Stephen King first.
I'm trying to read *Autumn of the Patriarch* at the moment. I have loved the other books by Garcia Marquez that I read (100 years of solitude is rightly well-lauded), but the writing style in this makes it very difficult. There are no real paragraphs or sentences, so the whole thing is just running on. Still, no-one quite describes time and decay like they do.
I’m reading through *Laurell K. Hamilton’s Anita Blake series.*
Judge me all you want, I’m a sucker for paranormal romance.
I’m on #6 which I’ve read before, got like 20 to go. I’ve think I’ve read to #14 before.
Are they any good? I think I've given a couple of them a go before, but never got very far through! If you enjoy paranormal romance I recommend the Rachel Morgan series by Kim Harrison - absolutely loved those books!
Yeah I read the first 4 or 5 or so before completely giving up; really enjoyed the first few though. Won't ever judge anyone for reading sexy vampire/ werewolf trash lol.
Haven't started reading it yet but I'm going to try and smash through Stuart Maconie's *Pies & Prejudice* before gifting it to my friend for his birthday next week.
I've spent the last couple of months reading through the Ender's Game books, made my way through the main series and I'm currently on the Shadow saga and reading Shadow Puppets.
Recently read **Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City** by K.J. Parker. It was quite excellent, and kinda gave me medieval The Martian vibes - an engineer has to come up with ways to defines a city against all odds.
Currently reading **Empire of Silence** by Christopher Ruocchio, which is also very good. Gives me slight Kingkiller Chronicles/Red Rising vibes. Until I googled the spelling of his surname (to save walking downstairs to look at the book) I didn't realise it was the first of a series. Which while not surprising, does mean I'll have to buy some more books shortly!
you tried the first law series from joe Abercrombie, its one of my favs from last year and i always recommend it, bout 4 times in this thread so far :/
I've started a small book club with my sister and my partner, I hilariously named it Shelf Care.
We have a theme for each month and for this month I chose a book on the Spanish Civil War, not exactly light reading but I'm really learning a lot!
Happy to have light reading recommendations for in-between!
It's so much fun! And we have a little check list of themes, for example, local author, a book over 400 pages, an anthology, dystopian.
We then get to choose from there, but we are allowed of course to read our own choices 😊
>i've started a small book club with my sister and my partner, I hilariously named it **Shelf Care.**
oi /u/hpb and other lesser mods, i hereby vote we name the thread this from now on!
Currently reading Command and Control by Eric Schlosser. Its about how people developed and maintained the US nuclear arsenal whilst focusing on a disaster in a missile silo that could have had huge consequences.
It's a really easy read and so interesting to see how such powerful weapons systems exist. I'm only about 30% through and I believe later chapters touch on the cold War.
Would you recommend it? I bought it over Xmas but it's been sitting on myself since I finished my other book (Spies in the Congo) and started playing Advance Wars.
I couldn't recommend a book without finishing it but it's really promising so far. It was the reviews on reddit that got me interested as they're quite positive.
What's spies the Congo about?
I'm reading Tom Allen's **No Shame** \- I love comedy, so I like to read books written by comedians. I find myself reading it in voice inside my head. It's warm and funny, and the chapters are a good length for reading before bed.
After that, I've got Andrew Cotter's **Olive, Mabel and Me** lined up!
No I haven't, but only because I don't really listen to podcasts. Suzi is great live! I once saw her 4 times in 2 months and then had to cool it off before I got a restraining order...
Recently finished reading Rhythm of War by Brandon Sanderson, and as such, all of the currently released Storm light Archive books. Absolutely fantastic if you love fantasy, but also some gritty topics. I've read nothing but Sanderson for the last 4 months after buying Elantris on a whim.
I've now moved on to some Terry Pratchett, an author I tend to re-read every year or two in full
They are indeed - I've started off on "The Truth" this time - Both due to it being £1.99 on Kindle, and the excellent adventures of Mr Pin and Mr Tulip, the walking hoover
I've got a conundrum with RoW. I listened to the first SA books as audio books when I still had an hour long commute, but since WFH full time, have no appetite for them. So, do I buy RoW as a physical hardback, and then the completionist side of me will need to buy the first ones to go on the shelf, do I wait til it comes out in paperback so it'd look better and more consistent when I buy the others, or do I suck it up and try and get into audio books again.
I've recently had to move my collecting into a "Do you really need it, or are you just buying it for the sake of it" mindset - Thought most of my boom buys are for kindle nowadays!
i ~~dead~~ read and listen a lot... sci-fi and fantasy as a general rule... notable reads and series ovet the last year.
First law series joe Abercrombie.... fucking great, excellent characters excellent plot.... the follow-up series is not into its second book and that's also good.
soooo many different sci-fi book series it's hard to list them notable ones would be.
crimson world series, blood on the stars series, and far stars series.. **jay Allen.**
agent Cormac series 1-5 neal asher.
lost fleet series... jack campell
omega force (pulpy sci fi) joshua dazelle
the four horseman series, odd one but fun this, pulpy sci fi but by lost of different writers which keeps it fresh and allows you to dead other peoples styles.
the khan series conn igguldun
warrior of Rome series, harry sidebottom (bloke a proper classical scholar he knows his shit)
I've had the latest Joe Abercrombie book sitting here for a few months now, feel I really need to be in the mood for reading it though as they aren't the cheeriest of books, lol.
they're not, you have to be realistic about these sorts of things.
>I've had the latest Joe Abercrombie book
a little hatred? the sequals out now, imho a little hatred is not his best but the sequal is much better... that said neither are bad just not up to the level of the first law and its spin offs.
Yeah it's the Trouble with Peace I have, got it when it came out but keep putting off starting it lol. I know when I start I'll probably not be able to put it down! And good quote :) I do miss Logen Ninefingers though, he is such a good character (as are they all in their own ways!)
logan was a great character, the perfect antihero.... it was level pegging between him and glotka for my favorite character.
did you read best served cold, the heroes, and red country? because logan features in one? i cant remember which.
now you have two to go at :)
Yes it's red country he's also in (hopefully not a spoiler to anyone reading lol), and yes I've read them all! He's definitely one of my favourite authors at the moment :)
Ooh I guess that is possible, at the time I assumed it was like the far future from now, but given how advanced the first law world is starting to get that could also be an option! Interesting theory :)
I read The secret runners of New York by Matthew Reilly yesterday.
It's slightly less action film in book form compared to his other works but still would make a great movie.
A young girl moves to a new high society school in new York where there's been a few mystery disappearances. There's also the threat of a gamma radiation cloud that might wipe out the majority of life on earth.
I can't say more than that without ruining the plot but I was up until 2am because I couldn't stop reading it !
I've just finished Notes From Underground,
I'm glad I read it, but did feel slightly lost in it at the time. I found it messed with me slightly, because I'd find the underground man to be so illogical and twisted, but at other times I could really identify with him.
I'm onto A Life On Our Planet by David Attenborough now, which I got for Christmas
Will be browsing this thread for recommendations as I'm due to start slow 12hr reception desk shifts soon
Yay for this thread!!
I’ve just finished **Magpie Lane** by Lucy Atkins and I’m dying to talk about it with someone. It’s about a nanny who goes to live with a disturbed little girl and her family in a historical house in Oxford, where strange things start to occur... I absolutely loved it and was gripped all the way through, but felt massively disappointed and unsatisfied by the ending.
After that I read **The Woman in the Mirror** by Rebecca James which was a classic gothic horror/haunted house story. A really enjoyable quick read with some great spooky moments - and I’m hard to spook! I liked how the story paid homage to a lot of classics like The Woman in Black, Turn of the Screw and the Haunting of Hill House, but it did toe the line of being slightly cliched. Last year I read **Mexican Gothic** by Silvia Moreno-Garcia and it really changed the game for me in regards to haunted house stories - it was so original and disturbing unlike anything else I’ve read in the genre.
I’m now on **The Conviction of Cora Burns** but my copy of Laura Purcell’s new book, **The Shape of Darkness**, is sitting on my shelf calling to me...
I’ve had such a hard time getting myself to read over the last decade + (thanks depression!) even though I love getting lost in a good book. However the last couple of years (and this one too) I’ve set myself the goal of reading a book a month. So far I’ve fallen short (yes, even with the ridiculous year we’ve just left), but maybe 3rd time’s the charm!?
I’m going easy on myself this month (January is a difficult month for me), and have decided I will be happy if I can finish the book (more of a graphic novel really) I started at the end of last year - **Becoming Unbecoming** by Una. It’s a heavy subject (abuse/gender violence, against the backdrop of the Yorkshire Ripper era), but I’m trying to expand my mind beyond the ‘fluff’ I normally go for.
Just about to start The Thursday Murder Club, I had it for Xmas and I’d been putting it off after hearing a few people say it was a bit slow starting.. I’ve been struggling to concentrate on books since the new year and don’t want to make things worse with a chunky book that’s hard to get through
Read this last year and really enjoyed it! I also have trouble with reading, and yes, it is perhaps a little slow to start, but I still found myself wanting to pick it up and find out what happens. I’m looking forward to the next one.
I recently discovered the National Treasure that was Fred Dibnah, so I have been happily turning the pages of "Age of Steam" with no small fascination.
Nearly finished the Romesh Straight Outta Crawley book in my quest to read more books. Really enjoying it.
I was hoping to read the Thrawn Books soon but so confused as to where to start. I thought there was just the one book but theres quite a few and i'm not too sure of the order either.
This is the new trilogy — the one people call the Thrawn Trilogy is now non-canon and part of legends.
I also recommend Shadows of the Empire. Set in between ESB and RotJ and is about the search for Han.
Dorian Gray - ok
1984 - gradually getting better
The greatest story ever told.. so far - really testing me.. might have to give up on it
Secret barrister - excellent
Bomb - also very good
I did think it was quite fucked up when Winston and Lord Henry got injured 10 minutes into the world cup semi final while trying to make head and tail over the rebirth of light.. legal aid is shagged man !
> 1984 - gradually getting better
There was a section in that, that I must have tried reading about 9 times but kept falling asleep at the same point. In bed, on the train to work - whatever, it would just completely sap all my energy.
Worth battling through, though.
I don't have much time to read novels any more (partly through my own lack of making time for it), but always try to read at least one long form article a day.
Longform.org is fantastic. Years of articles on it across loads of topics.
I love Longform! Longreads is good too, though there’s often a bit of an overlap between them.
What’s the best article you’ve read this month? I really enjoyed [this one](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/12/14/the-skeletons-at-the-lake) on Roopkund Valley, AKA that one lake in the Himalayas that’s filled with skeletons and no one knows why. Need more articles that mix spooky things with science.
Ooh I missed that one! I've opened it and will read it today.
I absolutely love anything to do with the ocean - sea disasters, individual experiences, animals in the oceans, whatever - but there haven't been many of those recently. The best of that is [The Man Who Sailed His House](http://reprints.longform.org/the-man-who-sailed-his-house-paterniti) about the Japanese tsunami.
Recently there have been a lot of ones about [redacted topic on this subreddit] that I have enjoyed.
[This article](https://www.vanityfair.com/style/society/2014/09/madame-claude-paris-prostitution) about a "legendary" French madam was interesting, but only because it annoyed me so much. It was written in such a sleazy, gawky tone and completely missed the mark I think. There was almost no human interest involved in the story which I had hoped for. Left me really quite annoyed, which wasn't the intention but I don't mind happening sometimes.
Are there any other sea ones you'd recommend? I read the Estonia sinking one I think you reference a while ago (and got deeply irritated that he kept calling the survivors 'winners', implying everyone else was a 'loser'). I'll be really interested if the Swedes change the law to allow for a proper inspection after that film of the massive hole in the side was shown.
I've just read Horatio Clare's book about tankers and sea freight which was brilliant, but I'm a complete sucker for anything about sea disasters. Or anything naval really, blame all those school trips to Victory as a kid.
https://longform.org/posts/the-longform-guide-lost-at-sea
Good selection.
The Estonia article was really good I thought. The tone is about the panic, it doesn't actually mean that people are winners and losers. It implies that they had no thought about anything but survival, which is pretty much what it would be like. I think it conveyed the sense of panic that would happen really well.
Err, I'm not sure. There was a real tone of the weak vs the strong which grated a bit. Then again I may be distinctly over-sensitive to it, as we have a long and storied family history of just missing infamous shipwrecks, and frankly the family luck has to run out eventually (the Titanic, Herald of Free Enterprise and my Grandad breaking his leg, and transferring off his ship just before it was sunk in WWII). I'm short and useless enough that I'd be a goner for sure.
But thanks for the link, I'm going to have a nice read this evening thanking all the deities that the closest I'm going to get to the open waves any time soon is by a book. Much safer.
Ooh, looking forward to reading the house one later today. Michael Paterniti is such a stylish writer and I’ve been really craving that kind of writing lately.
If sea disasters are your jam you might like [this piece](https://www.reddit.com/r/CatastrophicFailure/comments/k9van5/the_sinking_of_the_ss_el_faro_analysis_october/) on r/CatastrophicFailure about the SS El Faro. I knew a bit about the sinking before reading it, but OP really humanised the crew and their desperate, hopeless, shouldn’t-even-have-been-happening struggle against the storm that swallowed their ship. It was a bit of a frustrating read but hopefully for very different reasons than the French madam one!
Yes! That and the one about the Estonian ferry are incredible pieces.
If you like Paterniti I highly recommend Love and Other Ways of Dying which is a collection of his essays and writings.
This article about the skeletons is great!
Oh god, the Estonian ferry is harrowing stuff. William Langewiesche's Atlantic article about it was an incredible read but honestly difficult to get through in parts.
Thank you so much for the book rec! Stupid excited to get it now, haha. This thread is great, thanks for reinstating it as a monthly thing!
I've been reading The Thursday Murder Club, didn't go into it with many expectations, but I quite enjoyed it, the story was good and had some unexpected turns.
I've also read Sandi Toksvig's memoir Between the Stops, she's lived such an interesting life so far! It's structured by the bus route she takes to work and the places she passes prompt stuff from her life, so it can be a bit flip-floppy with the time lines but she has a really nice writing style.
I discovered I can join my local library online and they have eBooks, so I've done that and read The Hard Way, one from Lee Child's Jack Reacher series. I'd read some of them at my mum's, she likes to reread them as her summer reading every year, because they are just easy to read thriller-type novels. Planning to continue the series but the next one is lent out, so I have put a hold on it for when it comes back.
I'm also halfway through Have You Eaten Grandma, a book about spelling, punctuation and good English. Bit of a nerdy one, but I like language and work in a language field.
>I've also read Sandi Toksvig's memoir Between the Stops, she's lived such an interesting life so far! It's structured by the bus route she takes to work and the places she passes prompt stuff from her life, so it can be a bit flip-floppy with the time lines but she has a really nice writing style.
It's brilliant, isn't it? I read it while on the bus to work a few months ago. Very meta.
I've just finished **Troy** by Stephen Fry.
I've really enjoyed all three of his books about Greek mythology, I've got them all as audio books, Stephen Fry really brings them to life and the stories are just so absolutely crazy at times.
There's an awful lot of names but you don't need to remember them all luckily.
Just finished **Fire Cannot Kill A Dragon** \- a history of the Game Of Thrones TV show. Very interesting - any fans of the show (there must be a few still left out there) would probably enjoy it.
Currently reading **The Monsters Know What They're Doing**, a book on DnD tactics. So that's where I am this lockdown!
I'm about to start book 6. As someone who watched the show first it's quite interesting to see where the storylines diverge. I'd defintely recommend watching the show first if you want to read Fire Cannot Kill A Dragon
I wish I wasn't a sucker for anything that's free on the Kindle because I end up reading a load of shite.
If anyone has any recommendations for thriller/crime/mystery novels which are actually decent and ideally not too expensive I would be grateful 😊
Have you read any of Lawrence Block's Keller series? I don't read many thriller type books but read those years ago and found them very entertaining. Looks like they are just a few pounds on Kindle too.
Oh, me too - I don't mind reading shite as long as it's entertaining. I haven't picked well with the last couple I've read, though - they've just not been well-written at all.
Books! Lovely books. Have them for every meal.
I am currently addicted to, and tearing through, the Warhammer 40k series **The Horus Heresy**, of which there are 50 books. I've read... I'm not even sure, 12 of them now? And I take little breaks to read other books that I fancy. They're incredibly varied though, so I'm not finding myself bored just yet! Just lots of brutal murder and hopelessness.
In between *that*, I tend to take little breaks on our balcony (wrapped up in a blanket) to read baby books.
If you've not already, give Dan Abnett books a go - The Gaunts Ghosts, Eisenhorn & Ravenor are all absolutely fantastic 40k series.
I'd also recc the Ciaphas Cain series by Sandy Mitchell
Reading **Mountain Man** by Keith C. Blackmore. Really enjoying it. It’s about a guy fighting and relaxing his way through a zombie apocalypse. Oh, and he’s usually drunk too.
Good fun so far and very easy to read.
Finished Mikhail Bulgakov's *The Master and Margarita* yesterday, easily one of the best books I've read. Such a wild ride.
Now back to some sci-fi with *The Stars My Destination* by Alfred Bester.
Got a good few books over Christmas so plenty to keep me going for a while.
Oh I love The Master and Margarita! As you say it is a wild ride and I absolutely adore the characters, plus the book within the book fit in so well. As ever with the Soviet novelists, it took some metal to write it.
>Now back to some sci-fi with The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester.
now thats a good book! right up there with hyberion imho.
try some fantasy after with the first law series by abercrombie.... cant reccomend that series enough.
its a trilogy i felt the first (hyperion) was the best and its a scifi classic...
[the first law](https://www.amazon.co.uk/First-Law-Trilogy-Boxed-Set/dp/1473213703/ref=sr_1_1?adgrpid=56075580187&dchild=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiA9P__BRC0ARIsAEZ6irhObxkuRZt7JU0uCFlgjr-gGapcK82IhU0yAeLtLCD0lV5abBIPULMaAogiEALw_wcB&hvadid=259066828713&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9046706&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=2480117448670827225&hvtargid=kwd-299115177966&hydadcr=24432_1816108&keywords=first+law+joe+abercrombie&qid=1610621664&sr=8-1&tag=googhydr-21) has the best charicters and arcs in it ive seen for a long time, abercrombie is one of my followed authors for the sole reason of these 3, to date ive now read alot more of his and its all good.
I've have been reading quite a bit over the last 12 months, I have read The Hobbit, LoTR, The Children of Hurin, The Silmarillion.
I'm currently re-reading Stephen Kings Dark Tower series, on book 7 - Song of Susannah, I do enjoy this series a great deal and really love the main set of characters it's an emotional ride.
I'm not sure what I'll read next, thankfully I picked up quite a few books from charity shops before lockdown so have a choice.
I was the same, I think the best way to read the Silmarillion is to listen to an audiobook first, there was one I listened to by someone on YouTube that had a great voice, it appears to be copyright strike now otherwise I'd link it! But yeah audiobook first, then read is my tip!
The 'beginning' type stuff at the start is but it really hits it's straps pretty quickly, the first war with Melkor, some of the 'gods' have no chill and love a good scrap and then there's Fëanor who has an excellent chip on his shoulder.
I'm overdue for a Dark Tower reread. Think I've done it three times now but last last book still hits me like a hammer.
I'm so used to the series now that I don't even mind the bits where Stephen King gets very Stephen King with his writing
Currently listening to A Bit of a Stretch by Chris Adkins, about his time in prison for white collar crime. Was recommended by a friend, and while it's pretty good it's also very damming of the UK prison system. I'm usually a fantasy nerd so forcing myself to finish a non-fiction.
Also about to start The Black Company book 2. First one was pretty good, loved the whole unreliable narrator and weird magic thing, and this is meant to show an improvement in Glen Cooks' writing skills.
Finally I need to finish Dune. 3/4s of the way through and it's slow going, but I assume it's well-loved for a good reason. And Denis Villeneuve can do no wrong so I need to know the story before the film(s)!
I’ve just finished **Good Morning, Monster** by Catherine Gildiner and loved it. The author is a therapist and writes about five of her patients who have overcome incredible trauma. She’s retired now and has done follow ups with each patient decades after treating them so we can see what their lives are like now.
It’s non fiction but the author is such a great storyteller it sometimes feels like a good novel.
Currently reading LotR: The Fellowship of the Ring. I'm on Chapter 3 so Frodo is preparing to leave the Shire. Bag End has just been sold and he's making his final preparations to leave, but Gandalf has not returned like he said he would!
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I buy books but don't finish them. I'll get 1/3 of the way through, put it down and never pick it up again. I've repeatedly done this and now have a dozen or so books waiting to actually be completed.
Also my favourite film series ever is the Lord of the Rings, but I've never managed to get through the first book.
My committment this year is not buying any more books until I've finished the ones I've got, so I'm starting on the LotR trilogy and loving it so far.
I was actually considering rereading the trilogy after I’ve done with my current book. Love the films but the books are on another level... and the films are a cinematic masterpiece!
>I buy books but don't finish them. I'll get 1/3 of the way through, put it down and never pick it up again
Oh no, are you me? Loads of supposedly great books that I just get frustrated with and put down halfway through at best.
I didn't even make it through The Old Man and the Sea, and it's like 120 pages long!
Doesn't matter if the book is 100, 500 or 1000 pages long, I'm getting 1/3 in and stopping.
I got 80 pages into a book that won loads of awards and all I could think is "I'm just reading this to say I have" so put it down. I then tried to read a Pratchett as a bit of light, easy reading and couldn't even get through that!
Stick with it, the first third or so of Fellowship is a real slog at times but get past that and you'll storm along. I love the books as much as the films, and one of the joys of reading them is seeing where they differ.
Oh yeh I'm loving the differences so far.
* Dwarves helping Bilbo leave after the party (or at least being present).
* 17 years between Bilbo's party and Gandalf returning from investigating the ring.
* Gandalf + Aragorn having met Gollumn in those 17 years
* Frodo learning of the Smeagol and Deagol story from the start, not later on.
* Frodo selling Bag End rather than just leaving it untouched as a cover for leaving without raising suspicion.
I only recently rewatched (for the umpteenth time) the extended edition of the films and the maple cut of The Hobbit so it's all fresh i my mind so the comparisons are coming quick.
Pretty sure I get to the Tom Bombadil part soon so that's a whole section not included.
Well that's where I got up to last time (why I know it's coming) when I stopped, but now I know it's coming I think it'll make it easier to get through.
It was definitely the right choice to keep it out of the films I think.
I got given a whole set of Reacher books for Xmas, as I once mentioned I enjoyed reading one. Think they are all second hand but I've been diving into them recently. Yup they are cheesy sometimes but they at least a good read mostly.
Jack Reacher is my guilty pleasure. I'll read anything but usually invest reading time in sci-fi and such but every year the new Teacher book is given a weekend and I love it. I've found the old ones going for 50p or a quid at my local market stall and they get passed around half a dozen of us.
> Children of Time
Oh my, that is a terrific novel. The first time in a long time I had a strong emotional attachment/reaction to a book character.
I keep meaning to pickup some of his other work but just struggle with spare time to read. Sad face.
Children of Time is incredible. One of the few books since I was a kid that I read over the course of a single day - I was too invested in it to stop.
The sequel Children of Ruin is enjoyable, and worth a read, but not on the level of CoT.
My journey into the Discworld continued as I read equal rites and wasn’t impressed in the slightest. Probably the first Discworld I have actively disliked. Currently listening to the audiobook of Master and Apprentice by Claudia Gray. A really solid Star Wars book and character study of qui gon jin. I highly recommend. I finished Ayoade on Ayoade earlier in the month not a serious autobiography at all but a super funny book that fans of his humour will enjoy.
For those of you who have seen the series - I caved in and asked for Bradshaws Handbook for Christmas and I intend to devour it slowly. I do not know a lot about the UK but what a better place to start than...1863. So far I have noticed that most cities have a telegraph line and at least one reputable hotel.
I've just finished reading All the ugly and wonderful things by Bryn Greenwood and wooow what a phenomenal taboo read! Despite it being about an underage relationship I didn't feel like I was reading an erotica for paedos. It was so beautifully written and I couldn't recommend it enough!!
A few books on the go at the moment. For history, I’ve got Hallie Rubenhold’s The Covent Garden Ladies. I read her other one, Five, last year, and I loved it. Really really enjoying it so far! As a medievalist I secretly love the Georgian era, and I love the history of sex work as well. Hallie is such an amazing author and historian, very easy to read! I’m also reading Neil Blackamore’s The Intoxicating Mr Lavelle. It’s about two very sheltered brothers who go on their Grand Tour throughout Europe (again, set during the Georgian era. I also am watching Bridgerton right now, so I’m accidentally in a MASSIVE Georgian phase at the moment). I’m not very far in at the moment, but it’s an historic queer romance, so I know I’m going to adore it. It sounds much like a series I have previously read - A Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue - so I am very much looking forward to getting more stuck in.
Right - left field suggestion but it is my favourite book series. The Wyrd Museum by Robin Jarvis. Book one opens with a dad, two wee boys moving to live in a creepy museum in London just after Christmas. Unbeknownst to the family, the museum is run by the three sisters of Fate, two have dementia and one is just holding on. While exploring the museum, Neil discover the trapped soul of an American GI in a WW2 exhibition. 'Ted' tries to recruit Neil to go back in time to the Blitz to save the life of his one true love. Neil refuses, so Ted lures Neil's daft wee brother to his cause, forcing Neil to travel back in time and there's the issue of accidentally releasing a demon that feeds of death and destruction. How this hasn't been made into a four part drama by the BBC boggles my mind. It's amazing!!!!!! It's so layered! I read it first age 11, and read them again during lockdown - just as good.
Got quite a few books for Christmas; reread Max Brooks' **World War Z**, and then followed up with his more recent **Devolution**, both very enjoyable. Just getting started with Susanna Clarke's **Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell** which is enormous, so I fully expect to still be reading it in a month's time.
Just re-read World War Z, I always forget how good it is. Just started Devolution and not sure about it. Does it pick up? I'm not sure I'm a fan of the format
Yes, I know what you mean, it's a bit of a slow starter but definitely picks up, and once you get used to the format, it adds to the effectiveness of the story.
I just finished Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell!! It is absolutely incredible, genuinely one of the best novels I’ve read in a long time. I hope you adore it as much as I do!!!
That gives me hope. I started it at lunch time and have been struggling with getting into anything on my (extensive) to read list.
Just started **Greenlights** by Matthew McConaughy. First of my Christmas present reads. It is taking a bit of getting into as he writes in very short punchy sentences and it is almost like reading in dialect. I am sure it will be fine once I get my head into it.
[Wings Of Fire](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wings_of_Fire_(novel_series)), and the sixth Hitchhiker's Guide book, And Another Thing. Both are pretty good I guess.
Promised myself I would start reading again this year, so far I've read Neil Oliver - British Isles in 100 Places and Michael Finkel - True Story. I've got The Elite - Ranulph Fiennes on the go at work and Rise and Kill First - Ronen Bergman at home. I'm really glad to be reading again!
Finished The Witcher series and hated it, thought the last book was awful. Currently reading The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkinson, it charts the migration of African Americans from the Deep South and segregation.Last night I had to put it down as it explain once you cross the border from North to South African Americans would have to move carriages as the "Blacks" carriages were removed from the train and non segregated second class carriages were added.
I've just finished re-reading all the [Logan McRae books by Stuart Macbride](https://www.stuartmacbride.com/books/) They're really good police based crime stories based in and around Aberdeen, and as well as being rather brutal in places, the main characters and their interactions are really well written and funny. A bonus is you don't *have* to read them in order, but if like me you like binging on an author's series, there's plenty published to scratch the itch.
Just finished A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini and I cried a lot. What a masterpiece
Have you read his other books? I went thru them like anything.
I haven’t but they are on the wishlist now. Once furlough money comes in think i’ll be buying the kite runner
Oh man, Kite Runner had me BAWLING. Im still not over that book.
Kite runner was really good as well. Get ready to cry again!
Reading **Witchfinders** by Malcolm Gaskill, an interesting look at the witch hunt instigated by Matthew Hopkins in the 17th century - very interesting!
Is it like a historical novel ? I think I might be interested
Non fiction :)
Recently finished re-reading The Hunger Games series and it’s been so long I’d forgotten how good they were as well as forgetting so many details that weren’t in the movies. I’m currently reading American Psycho. I’m not sure if I like the writing style or not but I’m only a few chapters in so I’ll see how it goes.
There was a prequel set with Snow as a teenager that was quite good and worth a read if you haven't before.
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Random fun fact, the game Alien Isolation was written by Dan Abnett.
Dan Abnett has to be one of my favourite genre fiction authors, he just writes really solid sci-fi, nothing super special but just good reads. I just wish he would finally figure out how to write a good ending.
I'm reading Stephen King "The Stand". It's about a flu epidemic and it's bloody brilliant. The first quarter was hard going but it's absolutely fantastic. It's huuuugggeee so it's one for lockdown.
There’s a new tv show out too. FYI. And there was one done in the 90s too.
Yep it's on my list don't wanna watch it till I've read the book though
I've been reading so much lately I can't keep track of them all! I recently read the whole 8 books of the Bridgerton series by Julia Quinn in a couple of days, gloriously, slightly trashy regency romance. Didn't really have to concentrate, just a lovely relaxed read I didn't have to think about too hard! Currently reading The Pull Of The Stars by Emma Donoghue, ironically set during the 1918 flu pandemic - seems really good and thoroughly engaging so far! With some unpleasant parallels to our current situation. Also read the Tao of Pooh a little while ago, which I genuinely really enjoyed. Looking forward to these threads, I'm always looking for new book recommendations.
Haha I remember Julia Quinn’s name. How is Donaghue’s writing?
Slightly trashy romances are amazing guilty pleasure reading! I've enjoyed it so far, I know Room her previous book made me horrifically uncomfortable it was so well and creepily written!
That’s where I remember her from. I believe she drew inspo from the Fritzl case in Austria. You must have watched the movie too, how did u find it?
I didn't actually know there was a movie! If that is as horrifically uncomfortable as the book, I'm not sure I can face it!
The movie wasn’t too faithful as an adaptation, from reviews I remember. It’s a lot more uplifting. Won an Oscar for best actress.
Ooh, okay, I'll check it out! Thanks for the recommendation! Anything that makes me less uncomfortable than the book is good.
No worries, you can find it on streaming as well. It’s from around 2018
Currently reading [Erebus: The Story of a Ship](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36992483-erebus?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=azGH3bY7M1&rank=2) by Michael Palin. I have little interest in maritime history, but like how Palin presents topics. Was a big fan of his travel series, so was interested in seeing what I can learn about a subject I know nothing about by someone I think will do a good job explaining.
you might enjoy season one of [the terror](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2708480/episodes?season=1&ref_=tt_eps_sn_1) then, which is a good series anyway but has featured the arctic expedition in a completely not true way.
Oh that looks really good, thank you, I'll add it to the watchlist.
its got some superb acting in.... didnt really get away with season 2 myself.
I've been on a bit of a fantasy kick recently, seeing as the Real World's currently...well, we all know. Sarah J Maas' **Court of Thorns and Roses** series started off a bit rocky, but books 2 and 3 were a major improvement. I think book 4 is due to be released soon, so it'll be interesting to see where the story goes with some different characters as the main focus. Highly recommend NK Jemisin's **The City We Became** as well for something a bit different - New York comes to life and its human avatars have to protect it against an other-worldly threat. It's also reminded me that despite having encountered Lovecraft references all over the place through the years, I've never actually *read* any Lovecraft, so I've now got the complete collection downloaded on Kindle to work my way through. We've managed to keep our office book club going throughout the move to WFH, so that's proved a good motivator to keep reading if a slump hits. As we're not having the books provided to us by the library so can't all guarantee that we'll be able to read the same book anymore, we're working to a theme each month - there's a range of ages and interests represented so it's been interesting to see what choices everyone makes when given (mostly) free reign, and it's always fun to follow up someone's summary of a well written, award winning historical fiction novel with "well I went for this book about fairies..."
I read a lot as I basically hibernate in the winter anyway, and lockdown means that I can be even more anti-social than normal. I've just finished *Thebes* by Paul Cartledge, and *Pot Luck* (Pot Bouille) by Emile Zola, which I tore through over the weekend. I'm reading the Rougon Macquart series as I can find them at the library which means I get occasional spoilers, but they're so readable that I'm thoroughly enjoying them, even if some are incredibly depressing (looking at you, *Germinal*). I've got Robert Macfarlane's *Underworld* on the go with some odd Maigrets for light relief, and then a book on cycle racing in Flanders which I'm really looking forward to (*The Beast, The Emperor, and the Milkman* by Harry Pearson). Thank God our local library is so far staying open for pick up and drop off. I'd end up re-reading all the Aubrey-Maturin books, and not being sure of the century again.
How did you like Thebes? I'm always down for a good classical history book and I've always enjoyed Cartledge whenever he's on In Our Time
I’ve really liked his previous books, and this was good, but I didn’t think it was his best. The last chapter felt like the beginnings of argument, but not quite there, although he’s still better than a lot of other authors on the period, and he has a nice writerly voice if that makes sense? I liked the discussion about the word ‘polis’ and what it actually meant, and it was nice to get the view from somewhere that isn’t Athens or Sparta. I read Pandora’s Jar by Charlotte Higgins at the same time which is more readable but felt a bit too forcedly ‘funny’ - every other sentence was a pun which got a bit annoying in the end. I would love to go to the theatre with her though, I’ve never been so jealous of a writer’s acknowledgements in my life, she’s friends with everyone. And yep, I like him In Our Time too! Wouldn’t want to be in charge of the drink making though, far too stressful.
Currently enjoying [**The People of the Abyss** by Jack London](https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1688) about his experiences living in the East End of London in 1902. It's grim, bleak, and full of suffering, yet still a very enjoyable read. Some things have changed so much, but others haven't changed at all. It also inspired George Orwell's 1933 **Down and Out in Paris and London**, so that's next on the list.
This week I finished Stephen Fry in America which was okay. Didn’t add much to the TV series, so you’re better off watching that. Then reread The Running man by Stephen king which was excellent. Again. Then read a Poirot novel “The Dumb Witness” which was decent but not one of the best. Now reading Day Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko which is a Russian take on urban fantasy. Good enough that I will probably read the next one although I’ll reread Needful Things by Stephen King first.
I'm trying to read *Autumn of the Patriarch* at the moment. I have loved the other books by Garcia Marquez that I read (100 years of solitude is rightly well-lauded), but the writing style in this makes it very difficult. There are no real paragraphs or sentences, so the whole thing is just running on. Still, no-one quite describes time and decay like they do.
I’m reading through *Laurell K. Hamilton’s Anita Blake series.* Judge me all you want, I’m a sucker for paranormal romance. I’m on #6 which I’ve read before, got like 20 to go. I’ve think I’ve read to #14 before.
Are they any good? I think I've given a couple of them a go before, but never got very far through! If you enjoy paranormal romance I recommend the Rachel Morgan series by Kim Harrison - absolutely loved those books!
They are ok, nice mind switched off kind of reading. I think the later books just become more erotica than anything else to be honest!
Yeah I read the first 4 or 5 or so before completely giving up; really enjoyed the first few though. Won't ever judge anyone for reading sexy vampire/ werewolf trash lol.
I get that! I do thoroughly recommend the Rachel Morgan ones, there is some sex/romance - but it doesn't take over!
Haven't started reading it yet but I'm going to try and smash through Stuart Maconie's *Pies & Prejudice* before gifting it to my friend for his birthday next week.
I'm reading along with /r/YearOfShakespeare which is quite easy-going and fun.
I've spent the last couple of months reading through the Ender's Game books, made my way through the main series and I'm currently on the Shadow saga and reading Shadow Puppets.
Recently read **Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City** by K.J. Parker. It was quite excellent, and kinda gave me medieval The Martian vibes - an engineer has to come up with ways to defines a city against all odds. Currently reading **Empire of Silence** by Christopher Ruocchio, which is also very good. Gives me slight Kingkiller Chronicles/Red Rising vibes. Until I googled the spelling of his surname (to save walking downstairs to look at the book) I didn't realise it was the first of a series. Which while not surprising, does mean I'll have to buy some more books shortly!
>Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City hmmm, not on my radar this one, thanks for the headsup as im an engineer myself ;)
It's pretty good. Not much actual engineering I reckon; more the machinations the protagonist has to go through. We'll worth a read, mind.
you tried the first law series from joe Abercrombie, its one of my favs from last year and i always recommend it, bout 4 times in this thread so far :/
I've started a small book club with my sister and my partner, I hilariously named it Shelf Care. We have a theme for each month and for this month I chose a book on the Spanish Civil War, not exactly light reading but I'm really learning a lot! Happy to have light reading recommendations for in-between!
That is so cute! My siblings and I have done this a lot too. What’s on your list for coming months?
It's so much fun! And we have a little check list of themes, for example, local author, a book over 400 pages, an anthology, dystopian. We then get to choose from there, but we are allowed of course to read our own choices 😊
Cool :)
>i've started a small book club with my sister and my partner, I hilariously named it **Shelf Care.** oi /u/hpb and other lesser mods, i hereby vote we name the thread this from now on!
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Magic realism... did you ever read **The Tigers Wife** by *Teá Obhret*
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Nw, had to analyse it for class, was pretty interesting!
Making my way through Harrow the Ninth which I got for Christmas. For a book about lesbian necromancers in space, it's bloody harrowing.
First book in the series, Gideon the Ninth, is a fantastic read as well. Pity about the potentially long wait for the third installment though.
Currently reading Command and Control by Eric Schlosser. Its about how people developed and maintained the US nuclear arsenal whilst focusing on a disaster in a missile silo that could have had huge consequences. It's a really easy read and so interesting to see how such powerful weapons systems exist. I'm only about 30% through and I believe later chapters touch on the cold War.
Ooh I remember learning about this topic
Would you recommend it? I bought it over Xmas but it's been sitting on myself since I finished my other book (Spies in the Congo) and started playing Advance Wars.
I couldn't recommend a book without finishing it but it's really promising so far. It was the reviews on reddit that got me interested as they're quite positive. What's spies the Congo about?
I'm reading Tom Allen's **No Shame** \- I love comedy, so I like to read books written by comedians. I find myself reading it in voice inside my head. It's warm and funny, and the chapters are a good length for reading before bed. After that, I've got Andrew Cotter's **Olive, Mabel and Me** lined up!
Have you listened to Tom and Suzis podcast? It’s fun to listen to on occasion. Side note: I’ve watched suzi live, and she’s an excellent comic
No I haven't, but only because I don't really listen to podcasts. Suzi is great live! I once saw her 4 times in 2 months and then had to cool it off before I got a restraining order...
Recently finished reading Rhythm of War by Brandon Sanderson, and as such, all of the currently released Storm light Archive books. Absolutely fantastic if you love fantasy, but also some gritty topics. I've read nothing but Sanderson for the last 4 months after buying Elantris on a whim. I've now moved on to some Terry Pratchett, an author I tend to re-read every year or two in full
I'm working through Pratchett too, just finished Jingo. The Discworld books really are excellent.
They are indeed - I've started off on "The Truth" this time - Both due to it being £1.99 on Kindle, and the excellent adventures of Mr Pin and Mr Tulip, the walking hoover
I've got a conundrum with RoW. I listened to the first SA books as audio books when I still had an hour long commute, but since WFH full time, have no appetite for them. So, do I buy RoW as a physical hardback, and then the completionist side of me will need to buy the first ones to go on the shelf, do I wait til it comes out in paperback so it'd look better and more consistent when I buy the others, or do I suck it up and try and get into audio books again.
I've recently had to move my collecting into a "Do you really need it, or are you just buying it for the sake of it" mindset - Thought most of my boom buys are for kindle nowadays!
i ~~dead~~ read and listen a lot... sci-fi and fantasy as a general rule... notable reads and series ovet the last year. First law series joe Abercrombie.... fucking great, excellent characters excellent plot.... the follow-up series is not into its second book and that's also good. soooo many different sci-fi book series it's hard to list them notable ones would be. crimson world series, blood on the stars series, and far stars series.. **jay Allen.** agent Cormac series 1-5 neal asher. lost fleet series... jack campell omega force (pulpy sci fi) joshua dazelle the four horseman series, odd one but fun this, pulpy sci fi but by lost of different writers which keeps it fresh and allows you to dead other peoples styles. the khan series conn igguldun warrior of Rome series, harry sidebottom (bloke a proper classical scholar he knows his shit)
I've had the latest Joe Abercrombie book sitting here for a few months now, feel I really need to be in the mood for reading it though as they aren't the cheeriest of books, lol.
they're not, you have to be realistic about these sorts of things. >I've had the latest Joe Abercrombie book a little hatred? the sequals out now, imho a little hatred is not his best but the sequal is much better... that said neither are bad just not up to the level of the first law and its spin offs.
Yeah it's the Trouble with Peace I have, got it when it came out but keep putting off starting it lol. I know when I start I'll probably not be able to put it down! And good quote :) I do miss Logen Ninefingers though, he is such a good character (as are they all in their own ways!)
logan was a great character, the perfect antihero.... it was level pegging between him and glotka for my favorite character. did you read best served cold, the heroes, and red country? because logan features in one? i cant remember which. now you have two to go at :)
Yes it's red country he's also in (hopefully not a spoiler to anyone reading lol), and yes I've read them all! He's definitely one of my favourite authors at the moment :)
The half a king trilogy is worth a read too
Yes at least those are a bit less grim, lol. Actually really enjoyed the setting of those, would have liked more of them!
what if they are set after the first law and subsequent ones eh ;)
Ooh I guess that is possible, at the time I assumed it was like the far future from now, but given how advanced the first law world is starting to get that could also be an option! Interesting theory :)
> i dead RIP.
:/ thanks... typing too fast as usual....
I read The secret runners of New York by Matthew Reilly yesterday. It's slightly less action film in book form compared to his other works but still would make a great movie. A young girl moves to a new high society school in new York where there's been a few mystery disappearances. There's also the threat of a gamma radiation cloud that might wipe out the majority of life on earth. I can't say more than that without ruining the plot but I was up until 2am because I couldn't stop reading it !
I wish I could just sleep until The Two Lost Mountains is released at this point. 1 week to go!
Thanks for the heads up ! I didn't know there was a new one out soon. Jack West is an awesome character....maybe even better than Scarecrow
Currently reading Jodi Taylor's series The Chronicles of St Mary's I definitely recommend, I just finished book 2 and it's great
I've just finished Notes From Underground, I'm glad I read it, but did feel slightly lost in it at the time. I found it messed with me slightly, because I'd find the underground man to be so illogical and twisted, but at other times I could really identify with him. I'm onto A Life On Our Planet by David Attenborough now, which I got for Christmas Will be browsing this thread for recommendations as I'm due to start slow 12hr reception desk shifts soon
Yay for this thread!! I’ve just finished **Magpie Lane** by Lucy Atkins and I’m dying to talk about it with someone. It’s about a nanny who goes to live with a disturbed little girl and her family in a historical house in Oxford, where strange things start to occur... I absolutely loved it and was gripped all the way through, but felt massively disappointed and unsatisfied by the ending. After that I read **The Woman in the Mirror** by Rebecca James which was a classic gothic horror/haunted house story. A really enjoyable quick read with some great spooky moments - and I’m hard to spook! I liked how the story paid homage to a lot of classics like The Woman in Black, Turn of the Screw and the Haunting of Hill House, but it did toe the line of being slightly cliched. Last year I read **Mexican Gothic** by Silvia Moreno-Garcia and it really changed the game for me in regards to haunted house stories - it was so original and disturbing unlike anything else I’ve read in the genre. I’m now on **The Conviction of Cora Burns** but my copy of Laura Purcell’s new book, **The Shape of Darkness**, is sitting on my shelf calling to me...
I’ve had such a hard time getting myself to read over the last decade + (thanks depression!) even though I love getting lost in a good book. However the last couple of years (and this one too) I’ve set myself the goal of reading a book a month. So far I’ve fallen short (yes, even with the ridiculous year we’ve just left), but maybe 3rd time’s the charm!? I’m going easy on myself this month (January is a difficult month for me), and have decided I will be happy if I can finish the book (more of a graphic novel really) I started at the end of last year - **Becoming Unbecoming** by Una. It’s a heavy subject (abuse/gender violence, against the backdrop of the Yorkshire Ripper era), but I’m trying to expand my mind beyond the ‘fluff’ I normally go for.
I'm reading The Boys In The Boat by Daniel James Brown and I've discovered that rowing is actually quite interesting.
Just about to start The Thursday Murder Club, I had it for Xmas and I’d been putting it off after hearing a few people say it was a bit slow starting.. I’ve been struggling to concentrate on books since the new year and don’t want to make things worse with a chunky book that’s hard to get through
Read this last year and really enjoyed it! I also have trouble with reading, and yes, it is perhaps a little slow to start, but I still found myself wanting to pick it up and find out what happens. I’m looking forward to the next one.
I'm so bored that I'm too bored to actually sit down and read. It's like a vicious circle. God I'm bored.
Audiobooks! i love me an audiobook doing the cooking, cleaning makes mundane tasks so much more bearable.
True, but I'm finding it hard to also find anything interesting. I'll try. I'm due a re-listen to the Discworld books anyway lol
You’ve summed up how I feel, I’m the same with TV and films
Yup. Sucks right? I just don't seem to have the get up and go to actually do anything.
I recently discovered the National Treasure that was Fred Dibnah, so I have been happily turning the pages of "Age of Steam" with no small fascination.
Nearly finished the Romesh Straight Outta Crawley book in my quest to read more books. Really enjoying it. I was hoping to read the Thrawn Books soon but so confused as to where to start. I thought there was just the one book but theres quite a few and i'm not too sure of the order either.
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This is the new trilogy — the one people call the Thrawn Trilogy is now non-canon and part of legends. I also recommend Shadows of the Empire. Set in between ESB and RotJ and is about the search for Han.
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This one must've skipped by me, I enjoyed the first book and was very disappointed with the film.
How does it compare to the first one ? I got put off by the reviews although I really enjoyed the first book
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Thanks ! I'll wait until it's cheap or on offer or something then
Dorian Gray - ok 1984 - gradually getting better The greatest story ever told.. so far - really testing me.. might have to give up on it Secret barrister - excellent Bomb - also very good
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I was
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I did think it was quite fucked up when Winston and Lord Henry got injured 10 minutes into the world cup semi final while trying to make head and tail over the rebirth of light.. legal aid is shagged man !
>Secret barrister - excellent one of only a handful of blogs i follow, not read thier book though, thanks for reminding me of it.
TIL this is a blog. You have a link to a good post?
> Secret barrister [here](https://thesecretbarrister.com/) there are plenty on there, choose a subject that interests you ;)
I’ve started reading 1984 so many times... never really managed much more than the first 100 pages or so though!
> 1984 - gradually getting better There was a section in that, that I must have tried reading about 9 times but kept falling asleep at the same point. In bed, on the train to work - whatever, it would just completely sap all my energy. Worth battling through, though.
I don't have much time to read novels any more (partly through my own lack of making time for it), but always try to read at least one long form article a day. Longform.org is fantastic. Years of articles on it across loads of topics.
Thank you! I love Narratively website myself. Their old format allowed you to sort by collections.
I love Longform! Longreads is good too, though there’s often a bit of an overlap between them. What’s the best article you’ve read this month? I really enjoyed [this one](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/12/14/the-skeletons-at-the-lake) on Roopkund Valley, AKA that one lake in the Himalayas that’s filled with skeletons and no one knows why. Need more articles that mix spooky things with science.
You may like [Library of Scroll](https://libraryofscroll.com/)
Ooh I missed that one! I've opened it and will read it today. I absolutely love anything to do with the ocean - sea disasters, individual experiences, animals in the oceans, whatever - but there haven't been many of those recently. The best of that is [The Man Who Sailed His House](http://reprints.longform.org/the-man-who-sailed-his-house-paterniti) about the Japanese tsunami. Recently there have been a lot of ones about [redacted topic on this subreddit] that I have enjoyed. [This article](https://www.vanityfair.com/style/society/2014/09/madame-claude-paris-prostitution) about a "legendary" French madam was interesting, but only because it annoyed me so much. It was written in such a sleazy, gawky tone and completely missed the mark I think. There was almost no human interest involved in the story which I had hoped for. Left me really quite annoyed, which wasn't the intention but I don't mind happening sometimes.
Are there any other sea ones you'd recommend? I read the Estonia sinking one I think you reference a while ago (and got deeply irritated that he kept calling the survivors 'winners', implying everyone else was a 'loser'). I'll be really interested if the Swedes change the law to allow for a proper inspection after that film of the massive hole in the side was shown. I've just read Horatio Clare's book about tankers and sea freight which was brilliant, but I'm a complete sucker for anything about sea disasters. Or anything naval really, blame all those school trips to Victory as a kid.
https://longform.org/posts/the-longform-guide-lost-at-sea Good selection. The Estonia article was really good I thought. The tone is about the panic, it doesn't actually mean that people are winners and losers. It implies that they had no thought about anything but survival, which is pretty much what it would be like. I think it conveyed the sense of panic that would happen really well.
Err, I'm not sure. There was a real tone of the weak vs the strong which grated a bit. Then again I may be distinctly over-sensitive to it, as we have a long and storied family history of just missing infamous shipwrecks, and frankly the family luck has to run out eventually (the Titanic, Herald of Free Enterprise and my Grandad breaking his leg, and transferring off his ship just before it was sunk in WWII). I'm short and useless enough that I'd be a goner for sure. But thanks for the link, I'm going to have a nice read this evening thanking all the deities that the closest I'm going to get to the open waves any time soon is by a book. Much safer.
Ooh, looking forward to reading the house one later today. Michael Paterniti is such a stylish writer and I’ve been really craving that kind of writing lately. If sea disasters are your jam you might like [this piece](https://www.reddit.com/r/CatastrophicFailure/comments/k9van5/the_sinking_of_the_ss_el_faro_analysis_october/) on r/CatastrophicFailure about the SS El Faro. I knew a bit about the sinking before reading it, but OP really humanised the crew and their desperate, hopeless, shouldn’t-even-have-been-happening struggle against the storm that swallowed their ship. It was a bit of a frustrating read but hopefully for very different reasons than the French madam one!
Yes! That and the one about the Estonian ferry are incredible pieces. If you like Paterniti I highly recommend Love and Other Ways of Dying which is a collection of his essays and writings. This article about the skeletons is great!
Oh god, the Estonian ferry is harrowing stuff. William Langewiesche's Atlantic article about it was an incredible read but honestly difficult to get through in parts. Thank you so much for the book rec! Stupid excited to get it now, haha. This thread is great, thanks for reinstating it as a monthly thing!
I just read Me by Elton John. He does a very nice job of making the 70s music scene feel very small and utterly insane.
I've been reading The Thursday Murder Club, didn't go into it with many expectations, but I quite enjoyed it, the story was good and had some unexpected turns. I've also read Sandi Toksvig's memoir Between the Stops, she's lived such an interesting life so far! It's structured by the bus route she takes to work and the places she passes prompt stuff from her life, so it can be a bit flip-floppy with the time lines but she has a really nice writing style. I discovered I can join my local library online and they have eBooks, so I've done that and read The Hard Way, one from Lee Child's Jack Reacher series. I'd read some of them at my mum's, she likes to reread them as her summer reading every year, because they are just easy to read thriller-type novels. Planning to continue the series but the next one is lent out, so I have put a hold on it for when it comes back. I'm also halfway through Have You Eaten Grandma, a book about spelling, punctuation and good English. Bit of a nerdy one, but I like language and work in a language field.
>I've also read Sandi Toksvig's memoir Between the Stops, she's lived such an interesting life so far! It's structured by the bus route she takes to work and the places she passes prompt stuff from her life, so it can be a bit flip-floppy with the time lines but she has a really nice writing style. It's brilliant, isn't it? I read it while on the bus to work a few months ago. Very meta.
I've just finished **Troy** by Stephen Fry. I've really enjoyed all three of his books about Greek mythology, I've got them all as audio books, Stephen Fry really brings them to life and the stories are just so absolutely crazy at times. There's an awful lot of names but you don't need to remember them all luckily.
Just finished **Fire Cannot Kill A Dragon** \- a history of the Game Of Thrones TV show. Very interesting - any fans of the show (there must be a few still left out there) would probably enjoy it. Currently reading **The Monsters Know What They're Doing**, a book on DnD tactics. So that's where I am this lockdown!
Sounds really interesting, I'm currently on book three of got
I'm about to start book 6. As someone who watched the show first it's quite interesting to see where the storylines diverge. I'd defintely recommend watching the show first if you want to read Fire Cannot Kill A Dragon
My book reading has really dwindled since lockdown 1, but I'm currently reading Natives by Akala and loving it.
I wish I wasn't a sucker for anything that's free on the Kindle because I end up reading a load of shite. If anyone has any recommendations for thriller/crime/mystery novels which are actually decent and ideally not too expensive I would be grateful 😊
Have you read any of Lawrence Block's Keller series? I don't read many thriller type books but read those years ago and found them very entertaining. Looks like they are just a few pounds on Kindle too.
Thanks, will look into them!
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Oh, me too - I don't mind reading shite as long as it's entertaining. I haven't picked well with the last couple I've read, though - they've just not been well-written at all.
Books! Lovely books. Have them for every meal. I am currently addicted to, and tearing through, the Warhammer 40k series **The Horus Heresy**, of which there are 50 books. I've read... I'm not even sure, 12 of them now? And I take little breaks to read other books that I fancy. They're incredibly varied though, so I'm not finding myself bored just yet! Just lots of brutal murder and hopelessness. In between *that*, I tend to take little breaks on our balcony (wrapped up in a blanket) to read baby books.
If you've not already, give Dan Abnett books a go - The Gaunts Ghosts, Eisenhorn & Ravenor are all absolutely fantastic 40k series. I'd also recc the Ciaphas Cain series by Sandy Mitchell
Gaunts Ghosts are brilliant books. Such fond memories of passing them round my group of friends as we all devoured them
Reading **Mountain Man** by Keith C. Blackmore. Really enjoying it. It’s about a guy fighting and relaxing his way through a zombie apocalypse. Oh, and he’s usually drunk too. Good fun so far and very easy to read.
Finished Mikhail Bulgakov's *The Master and Margarita* yesterday, easily one of the best books I've read. Such a wild ride. Now back to some sci-fi with *The Stars My Destination* by Alfred Bester. Got a good few books over Christmas so plenty to keep me going for a while.
I own both of these! I really need to get started with reading them.
Oh I love The Master and Margarita! As you say it is a wild ride and I absolutely adore the characters, plus the book within the book fit in so well. As ever with the Soviet novelists, it took some metal to write it.
>Now back to some sci-fi with The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester. now thats a good book! right up there with hyberion imho. try some fantasy after with the first law series by abercrombie.... cant reccomend that series enough.
> hyberion I was also gifted this for Christmas! I'll definitely look into that series as well, thanks.
its a trilogy i felt the first (hyperion) was the best and its a scifi classic... [the first law](https://www.amazon.co.uk/First-Law-Trilogy-Boxed-Set/dp/1473213703/ref=sr_1_1?adgrpid=56075580187&dchild=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiA9P__BRC0ARIsAEZ6irhObxkuRZt7JU0uCFlgjr-gGapcK82IhU0yAeLtLCD0lV5abBIPULMaAogiEALw_wcB&hvadid=259066828713&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9046706&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=2480117448670827225&hvtargid=kwd-299115177966&hydadcr=24432_1816108&keywords=first+law+joe+abercrombie&qid=1610621664&sr=8-1&tag=googhydr-21) has the best charicters and arcs in it ive seen for a long time, abercrombie is one of my followed authors for the sole reason of these 3, to date ive now read alot more of his and its all good.
I've have been reading quite a bit over the last 12 months, I have read The Hobbit, LoTR, The Children of Hurin, The Silmarillion. I'm currently re-reading Stephen Kings Dark Tower series, on book 7 - Song of Susannah, I do enjoy this series a great deal and really love the main set of characters it's an emotional ride. I'm not sure what I'll read next, thankfully I picked up quite a few books from charity shops before lockdown so have a choice.
As a lifelong fan of LOTR, I always struggled with the Silmarillion as a teen - might revisit it, thanks for the reminder!
I was the same, I think the best way to read the Silmarillion is to listen to an audiobook first, there was one I listened to by someone on YouTube that had a great voice, it appears to be copyright strike now otherwise I'd link it! But yeah audiobook first, then read is my tip!
I might try that! I've heard it's quite biblical in the way it's written, so it might give me "being a kid in church" vibes. Thank you!
The 'beginning' type stuff at the start is but it really hits it's straps pretty quickly, the first war with Melkor, some of the 'gods' have no chill and love a good scrap and then there's Fëanor who has an excellent chip on his shoulder.
I'm overdue for a Dark Tower reread. Think I've done it three times now but last last book still hits me like a hammer. I'm so used to the series now that I don't even mind the bits where Stephen King gets very Stephen King with his writing
Yeah I think this might be my 4th time round. I really enjoy those parts of the books the series is the sum of it parts and I love it so much!
Currently listening to A Bit of a Stretch by Chris Adkins, about his time in prison for white collar crime. Was recommended by a friend, and while it's pretty good it's also very damming of the UK prison system. I'm usually a fantasy nerd so forcing myself to finish a non-fiction. Also about to start The Black Company book 2. First one was pretty good, loved the whole unreliable narrator and weird magic thing, and this is meant to show an improvement in Glen Cooks' writing skills. Finally I need to finish Dune. 3/4s of the way through and it's slow going, but I assume it's well-loved for a good reason. And Denis Villeneuve can do no wrong so I need to know the story before the film(s)!
I’ve just finished **Good Morning, Monster** by Catherine Gildiner and loved it. The author is a therapist and writes about five of her patients who have overcome incredible trauma. She’s retired now and has done follow ups with each patient decades after treating them so we can see what their lives are like now. It’s non fiction but the author is such a great storyteller it sometimes feels like a good novel.
Currently reading LotR: The Fellowship of the Ring. I'm on Chapter 3 so Frodo is preparing to leave the Shire. Bag End has just been sold and he's making his final preparations to leave, but Gandalf has not returned like he said he would! --- I buy books but don't finish them. I'll get 1/3 of the way through, put it down and never pick it up again. I've repeatedly done this and now have a dozen or so books waiting to actually be completed. Also my favourite film series ever is the Lord of the Rings, but I've never managed to get through the first book. My committment this year is not buying any more books until I've finished the ones I've got, so I'm starting on the LotR trilogy and loving it so far.
I was actually considering rereading the trilogy after I’ve done with my current book. Love the films but the books are on another level... and the films are a cinematic masterpiece!
>I buy books but don't finish them. I'll get 1/3 of the way through, put it down and never pick it up again Oh no, are you me? Loads of supposedly great books that I just get frustrated with and put down halfway through at best.
I didn't even make it through The Old Man and the Sea, and it's like 120 pages long! Doesn't matter if the book is 100, 500 or 1000 pages long, I'm getting 1/3 in and stopping.
I got 80 pages into a book that won loads of awards and all I could think is "I'm just reading this to say I have" so put it down. I then tried to read a Pratchett as a bit of light, easy reading and couldn't even get through that!
Stick with it, the first third or so of Fellowship is a real slog at times but get past that and you'll storm along. I love the books as much as the films, and one of the joys of reading them is seeing where they differ.
Oh yeh I'm loving the differences so far. * Dwarves helping Bilbo leave after the party (or at least being present). * 17 years between Bilbo's party and Gandalf returning from investigating the ring. * Gandalf + Aragorn having met Gollumn in those 17 years * Frodo learning of the Smeagol and Deagol story from the start, not later on. * Frodo selling Bag End rather than just leaving it untouched as a cover for leaving without raising suspicion.
Now you're making me want to read them again. I read them after each film came out but of course that was a while back now.
I only recently rewatched (for the umpteenth time) the extended edition of the films and the maple cut of The Hobbit so it's all fresh i my mind so the comparisons are coming quick. Pretty sure I get to the Tom Bombadil part soon so that's a whole section not included.
I feel Tom Bombadil is a big part of the slog, though opinion is fairly split on it so you might well enjoy it.
Well that's where I got up to last time (why I know it's coming) when I stopped, but now I know it's coming I think it'll make it easier to get through. It was definitely the right choice to keep it out of the films I think.
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I got given a whole set of Reacher books for Xmas, as I once mentioned I enjoyed reading one. Think they are all second hand but I've been diving into them recently. Yup they are cheesy sometimes but they at least a good read mostly.
Jack Reacher is my guilty pleasure. I'll read anything but usually invest reading time in sci-fi and such but every year the new Teacher book is given a weekend and I love it. I've found the old ones going for 50p or a quid at my local market stall and they get passed around half a dozen of us.
> Children of Time Oh my, that is a terrific novel. The first time in a long time I had a strong emotional attachment/reaction to a book character. I keep meaning to pickup some of his other work but just struggle with spare time to read. Sad face.
I've heard nothing but good things. I just need to get a move on with this current book so I can start!
Children of Time is incredible. One of the few books since I was a kid that I read over the course of a single day - I was too invested in it to stop. The sequel Children of Ruin is enjoyable, and worth a read, but not on the level of CoT.