What are you reading?

@OJneg

Nah, as was discussed earlier I try my best to only read completed works. For the exact same reason you mention, haha. I'm very much looking forward to reading it once it's finished though. Sanderson knows what he's doing.

 

Brandon Sanderson's writing style is kinda... robotic? but it gets the job done. The worlds he builds are spectacular though, Cosmere FTW. I've also been a fan of loads of his other books (except maybe the Reckoners, which reminded me a bit too much of Maximum Ride), and he got a hearty laugh out of me for something that happened in Legion.

The Stormlight Archive can occasionally feel fatiguing to read but man does it make me fanboy out with all the tie-ins and such. I do think it'd be worth re-reading the first few novels (I had to, eventually) because of how hard it is to keep all the story threads and characters in mind while going through em— literally had the Wiki constantly on refresh to jog my memory while reading Oathbringer, but stopped that the second time I came across a big spoiler.

All that said I really hope I live long enough to see Sanderson's Cosmere completed. And Kingkiller book 3.

My sister's been lending me her books lately, because I figured why not. I'm very slowly making my way through My Heart and Other Black Holes by Jasmine Warga as a sort of palate cleanser when I'm not trying to slough through textbooks. All the Bright Places was a striking book, but may not appeal to most past the age of seventeen, while The Girl with All the Gifts was genuinely enjoyable.

 

Bad writing, poor story structure, and painful cliche are all what you get used to as a fantasy/scifi reader

I had just read:



Over the holiday, which was packed with all of the above, but did not stop it from being a page Turner. They call it "fan" fiction for a reason!

 

Witty, dreamlike and occasionally harrowing. Beautiful writing. Has a satirical vein that makes me want to re-read Journey to The West (any excuse).

 

I finished reading Empires of Eve last night. I find the game to be incredibly boring, but the journalistic reporting of some of the conflicts that I’ve read over the years has always been fascinating, I decided it was finally time to read this one.

 

I read over 100 books last year, mostly sci-fi and fantasy. I just finished this series, and I highly recommend it for those who want a dose of solid and enjoyable sci-fi that isn't too heavy.

 

Have you tried L.E. Modesitt, Jr.? Either the Imager series or the Saga of Recluce series. The stories kind of have the same theme after a while, but they are a fun read. You can read them in chronological order or in order of publication.

Also, I like the Harry Dresden stuff from Jim Butcher. His Codex Alera series was enjoyable, too.

 

Thanks for the suggestions!
I have not read Modesitt Jr, I'll have to check them out. I have read all of the Dresden files though and I really liked them.

 

Recently finished this. It's amazing how much we take for granted, when the biggest problem in the world < 200 years ago was how to reliably travel around it. A short read, but really interesting.

 

In studying programming I found out I needed to improve my mathematical skills. This book (I have the Dutch version) actually makes me want to study and observe mathematics for the fun of it. This book is fun and educational...

 

#1 was fantastic. Onto #2:

 

Continuing to enjoy the Revelation Space Trio... Alastair Reynolds does exceedingly well with blending hard science fiction with engaging, out-of-this-world imagination.

 

Just finished the Hyperion Cantos quadrilogy. The first two books were incredible. Totally different from anything I have read before. The last two books, Endymion and Rise of Endymion, are more standard fare but with the very interesting universe/backdrop of the first two novels. Overall a good sci-fi read.

 

I just finished reading this light hearted scifi series called the Bobiverse, it is light hearted and humorous, but also genuinely good and entertaining.

It’s about a guy named Bob that dies and gets his brain scanned and then gets turned into a von Neumann probe to replicate across the universe

 

When I first read Neil Gaiman's "Neverwhere" for some reason it did not resonate with me. It seemed to lack a flow. I liked the images but the story did not grab me. Picked up this newer version (2015) last week, and in the introduction Gaiman states that he significantly revised the original book. Just finished reading it late last night (stayed up late to finish it) and really enjoyed this version. It is still the same overall plot but seems more cohesive and I found it much more enjoyable (it helps if you have had some experience with the "tube" aka London underground (trains that is, not subversive music scenes)).



Edit - also just noticed that captkirk recommended this book on previous page of thread.

 

Just finished "Zero History" by William Gibson.
This is the 3rd book Gibson has written that centers around the mysterious, humorous but sinister Hubertus Bigend who manages to persuade the former punk singer Hollis Henry to investigate undefined patterns in the social fabric. (Ha, Ha play on words coming up) this time Bigend is interested in who is behind an anti-marketing campaign for "hounds" clothes.
So if you haven't read any William Gibson - I hope my poorly expressed description does not deter you. As Gibson is a wonderful author who is credited with inventing the genre "cyberpunk" with his stories/books "Burning Chrome" and 'Neuromancer" - he is an incredible engaging and interesting writer with some really "novel" perspectives and characters.
I'm not sure whether I liked "Zero History" as much as the first two books with these characters ("Pattern Recognition" and "Spook Country"), but every Gibson book I read causes me to be sleep deprived (can't stop reading to go to sleep).

 

I like reading travel books. I like reading the short history, culture and food synopses. I look at the pictures and daydream about visiting, and it makes the world seem more connected and smaller (in a good way).
The DK Eyewitness travel guides are beautifully illustrated travel books. I often pick them up in library sales. I'm reading the one about Bulgaria at the moment - and we're going to visit Bulgaria this summer (yipee!).

 

Trying to finish the book "Turing's Cathedral: The Origins of the Digital Universe" which I bought in the bookstore because the staff is too kind to give my free gift wrapping service. I love computer because it's one of a dedicate work create by human being. It's such a sophisticated machine that I always wonder how human came up the idea of "Digital Computer." Even now, our modern computer still using the computation model developed by Alan Turing. This book is not all about Alan Turning, It's about how American build modern computer, story is kind of lengthy and I don't think that every chapter is same exciting, but they do provide quite some details about the process of how computer is built, it does has the adventure and exciting spirit which I love a lot in my previous startup company. All in all, if you have some time to spare, and love historical story about computer, this one is good to go

 

One to help me relax.



One to laugh...