What ya reading? Version 425108

[Bobblehead]

For people who have thought about reading the epic Malazan series, the authors have put in their two cents on the order that they believe would work the best.

http://www.torforgeblog.com/2017/11/...r-for-malazan/

[Wormius]

I tried to read William Gibson’s “Virtual Light” that I bought years ago at some used book sale and had never gotten to. Made it about 1/2 of the way through. Such a slog. I had to give up on it. It’s very descriptive story telling, but I don’t see it going anywhere. It’s such a confusing work of science fiction.

Anyway, I grabbed “Oil!” out from the library. That is really good just a couple of chapters in. It’s funny, most of the first chapter is about the injustice of speeding tickets and police hiding out waiting to nab speeders. Not much had changed in the world.

[Knut]

Just burned through the Audiobook version of the Bobiverse Trilogy. It was fantastic and left me wanting more.

https://www.amazon.com/Are-Legion-Bo.../dp/B01LWAESYQ

A good mix of Sci-Fi and contemporary references. I highly recommend it. Bonus : it is a short and easy read/audiobook.

[Magnum PEI]

I just read Three Day Road. It's OK I guess. Some of it seemed directly stolen from Legends of the Fall. It's being taught in high schools now. I think there's better options. And it turns out the author has dubious First Nation ancestry claims.

[Huntingwhale]

I've been reading this:
https://www.amazon.com/100-Deadly-Sk...be8c1297cf91b2

It's a pretty cheesy book, but the photos and descriptions are all pretty entertaining.

[Party Elephant]

Originally Posted by Magnum PEI

I just read Three Day Road. It's OK I guess. Some of it seemed directly stolen from Legends of the Fall. It's being taught in high schools now. I think there's better options. And it turns out the author has dubious First Nation ancestry claims.

I read that one a long time ago and I liked it. I was 18 at the time and knew very little about first nations issues (residential schools and such) as well as the first world war so I found it to be a good introduction to those subjects. I like the idea of it being in high school curriculums in Canada.

[troutman]

NPR’s Book Concierge

Our Guide To 2017’s Great Reads

https://apps.npr.org/best-books-2017/#/_

[kermitology]

I've been reading the Shades of Magic series recently. Read through Darker Shade of Magic and A Gathering of Shadows back to back and I'm following that with the last one A Conjuring of Light. Pretty good fantasy series.

[OutOfTheCube]

I'm reading The Expanse. About halfway through book two and I love it, would highly recommend to anyone that loves fast paced sci-fi. The books are big but they go by fast.

[DownInFlames]

About to start the audiobook of Ken Dryden's "Game Change - The Life and Death of Steve Montador, and the Future of Hockey". I expect a few tears.

[JohnnyB]

Originally Posted by Hes

Just burned through the Audiobook version of the Bobiverse Trilogy. It was fantastic and left me wanting more.

https://www.amazon.com/Are-Legion-Bo.../dp/B01LWAESYQ

A good mix of Sci-Fi and contemporary references. I highly recommend it. Bonus : it is a short and easy read/audiobook.

The most epic of epic world building I have ever encountered. Not for those who just want a quick read but for those who have a lot of time.

[CliffFletcher]

Reading Manson: The Life and Times of Charles Manson. It's not about the murders, or even Manson himself, so much as it's about the social environment where Manson was able to recruit his 'family' from. The West Coast in the 60s was a weird, naive, hedonistic, anti-establishment, predatory place. Just ripe for a sociopath like Manson, schooled by pimps and an avid student of Scientology and How to Win Friends and Influence People, to emerge from prison and take control over the lost, drug-addled youths drifting through its streets, beaches, and parks. That he managed to fit in with the music scene and counterculture of the time suggests unflattering things about that culture, especially when it comes to how young women were treated.

[jeffporfirio]

Almost done with : Father Elijah: An Apocalypse https://books.google.ca/books/about/...AJ&redir_esc=y

Prob. best book I've read.

Michael O'Brien presents a thrilling apocalyptic novel about the condition of the Roman Catholic Church at the end of time. It explores the state of the modern world, and the strengths and weaknesses of the contemporary religious scene, by taking his central character, Father Elijah Schafer, a Carmelite priest, on a secret mission for the Vatican which embroils him in a series of crises and subterfuges affecting the ultimate destiny of the Church. The Pope and the Cardinal Secretary of State call him out of obscurity and give him a task of the highest sensitivity: to penetrate into the inner circles of a man whom they believe may be the Antichrist. Their purpose: to call the Man of Sin to repentance, and thus to postpone the great tribulation long enough to preach the Gospel to the whole world.

[troutman]

30% off books at Indigo now.

[cam_wmh]

Bill Browder - Red Notice

Amazing.

[Slava]

Originally Posted by cam_wmh

Bill Browder - Red Notice

Amazing.

I powered through that one a couple months ago and it was just great. It reads like fiction in some ways, but it isn't. Just an unreal story though.

[photon]

Finished Oathbringer, third in The Stormlight Archive series. I liked it, did a lot of things I didn't expect, tons of revelations to make it gratifying but the revelations made things more complex rather than resolving them.

Only downside is it'll probably end up as another fantasy series that collapses under its own weight as the plotlines pile on and each book only moves things forward a fraction of the story.

[cam_wmh]

Burned through Sean Avery’s book, now on Joey Barton’s.

Avery’s was meh.

[Puppet Guy]

just re-read Weaveworld by Clive Barker. I loved it 25-ish years ago, and it's better than I remembered it to be.

[John Doe]

I have been reading a few Japanese authors lately:

Haruki Murakami - 1Q84, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, Kafka On The Shore, etc. -he has become my favourite author
Natsuo Kirino - Out - great book, not that enamoured with the ending
Ryu Murakami - Coin Locker Babies - liked this too

Have also read a few other interesting books:
Blindness - Jose Saramago - didn’t like the style but great book otherwise
Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands - Jorge Amado
The Farm - Tom Rob Smith - just started but it is interesting so far