Hey there, I am curious what everyone is reading and how you are feeling with it. I started demon copperhead yesterday, made it about 70 pages in and decided to read the first book in the chthulu CaseBooks. It’s a kinda retelling of Sherlock Holmes but with a Lovecraft quist.
I am digging it so far, about 50% through and it’s a fun ride.
So what are you all reading?
I’ll be finishing the last 3 Expanse books once I get my new library card after I moved over a year ago. I made the decision to read the forward and first chapter of my copy of LOTR *eta today. Damn, does it feel like it reads differently than when I read through any of them 8+ years ago. Had a touch-and-go with reading for enjoyment for a while from having to learn different organization/local SOPs for a couple years (during which I read the middle 1/3 of the Expanse). Great to get back into it, though! For Sci-Fi folks, LeVar Burton posted an article on LinkedIn this past week of top modern SciFi. He does say it’s also celebrating him being included on that list. https://theportalist-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/theportalist.com/adult-sci-fi-books?amp=1 Some mild webpage ad alert
Hell yeah! The expanse is such a long series, congratulations
Thanks! Fortunately, I find them to be a pretty easy read. The Sci-Fi explanations and concepts aren’t overly technical, and just enough to really get a good feel for the setting and tech IMO. The first 2/3 were great. I’m really interested in what’ll be going on in the time jump.
Would you recommend reading the expanse books even if someone’s seen the show??
100% even for people who would consider themselves more of a casual or infrequent reader. Anecdotally, I’ve found it harder to sell the show to some people after they watched the first two or three episodes compared to the books for any acquaintance I know who’s into Sci-Fi/reading. The descriptions of the social/society explanations are just as well written as the series’ tech, and the co-authors do a great job. At least one of them was one of GRRM’s editors, so the style structure is somewhat similar, but the writing is an easier read. It is written in character chapters, so as long as that isn’t a total turnoff I’d recommend them.
There are some slight differences that are typical between the show/book. I believe the first 2 seasons are mostly from book 1 and then it picks up from there. I believe it’s the second book, where there is a bit more of the geopolitical storyline compared to the others. Like with most reading, you get better insight to characters’ thought processes and motivations. Books 7-9 aren’t touched on at all in the show, and take place after the show’s end. That’s all I really know about the final 1/3 of the series.
wow thanks for the in depth reply!!! I may just need to go pick up the first one at my local library and start reading haha. Thanks!!!
I’m reading Cell by Stephen King. It’s surprisingly fast for a King book which I don’t mind at all.
I read Cell a long time ago and remember it being really good, but it almost felt like a Dean Cain book or something. Perfect airplane kind of book.
Currently reading Heretics of Dune. It’s…very different from the first three but only as different as God Emperor of Dune was.
Oh man, I’m so jealous at you getting to read the Dune books for the first time. I’m about to start Children on my third reread, and every time I read the series I’m just as enthralled as the first time. Dune + Children is probably my second favorite novel ever written, though God Emperor is close behind them.
I’m reading Children of Dune for the first time now. I’m still near the start, but I’m enjoying it so far.
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, a fun Sci-Fi story from the author of The Martian. A little heavier on the Fi than its predecessor but still quite scientific. Next on the list is the Bobiverse.
Just started this as well.
I’m reading Social Reproduction Theory and Perrido Street Station. I like the former a lot, but the latter is incredibly dense, not in the sense that the proses are impenetrable or the vocabulary needed to read is overwhelming, but I just can’t power through the book’s long winded passages to set up the world building. I hate that I have to consult the map very closely to even follow what the hell he’s talking about. I read the book for a good hour or two and haven’t seen anything notciable happening, because the author is taking his sweet time to meticulously describe everything, before the tension, I guess.
But eh, it’s really just the matter of taste. Many people love his style of writing, and honestly I could see that, somehow. As for me, I will stick around with this book for a bit longer to see if my patience pays off.
Sorry because this turns out to be a rant.
i keep meaning to pick up Demon Copperhead. It’s set in my home county. I wonder how much the author embellished and how real she kept it.
I’m currently picking my way through No Plan B. For a Reacher installment, it seems like it was slow to get rolling, and struggling to keep my attention.
Finally reading Dune for the first time. Enjoying it so far, about a third of the way through. I’ve been dying to watch the movie, but I’m the book-before-movie type.
I did the same right before the movie came out. Im in the minority in my friend group but i thought the movie was great. It gave me everything i was expecting to see while reading. I can’t wait for part 2 to come out!
The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi. Bloody amazing.
That was the last book I finished, and it was solid. The “getting the gang back together” part was fun, and the latter half just picked up from there. Without getting too spoilery I think the last character from her past showing up, and the more fantastical shift from there on, really added a lot to the enjoyment factor.
I am currently reading The Devotion of Suspect X by Higashino Keigo.
It is definitely a good read, especially if you like mystery and murder stories. The descriptions are always so detailed and beautiful, it feels like you’re part of the story.
Just finished the novels… I found the ending very satisfying.
I’m missing a couple of short stories in that universe.
I’ve been reading City of Last Chances by Adrian Tchaikovsky. I read Children of Time a few months ago and it instantly became my new favorite book. Been blowing through his bibliography every since.
City of Last Chances is the first fantasy book of his I’ve read and I’m digging it so far. The prose is evocative of a stage play in places, and the world building is on point. It tells the story of an occupied city teetering on the edge of revolution.
I love books that take place over a short interval of time. The Heroes by Joe Abercrombie comes to mind. So far the entire book has taken place in a week or less and is starting to wrap up. You really get to sink your teeth into this particular moment of this particular city.
Highly recommend if it can stick the landing, but Tchaikovsky has yet to miss on that front so I’m not particularly worried.
I read Demon Copperhead earlier this year and it took some time to get through it. Overall I enjoyed it but it does go on and on a bit. Currently reading How High We Go in the Dark. It’s kind of depressing so it’s taking some time to get through as well.
How high we go on the dark is Soo good. But that roller coaster chapter gutted me.
I just finished reading The Courage to be Disliked — found it quite freeing in my day to day life, a nice way of looking at the world.
Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson.
Third book in the series, bloody massive, and loving it. Damn that man can write… and write faster than I can read. 😂
How is the SH and the Shadwell Shadows? I’ve had that series on my to-read list for a while but haven’t touched them.
I went down a deep horror fantasy rabbit hole and I just came out of it. Now I am jumping back into discworld with Terry Pratchett for a while. I just finished The Fifth Elephant and I’m going to try to finish the watch series in the next couple weeks. I might sprinkle a few short stories in there for palette cleansers haha. Pratchett is always my favorite author to come back to after I do a deep dive on a different genre or author. It’s like a warm blanket that makes me giggle.
I think of I was either a bigger Sherlock fan, or a bigger Lovecraft fan it would have been better. I feel like there were a lot of references I just didn’t understand. I probably won’t continue the series. But it was a fun quick read.
