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[DelireMan7]

For the past few months, I started to read books again.

I just finished "The Count of Monte Cristo" by Alexandre Dumas. It was recommended to me by a friend for being "the greatest adventure book".
Well 1400 pages later I can say it's probably true. This story is amazing. I didn't know anything about this book, I just assume it was something boring about nobility and stuff. So I gave it a try and damn ! Best book I have read ! Never a book brought me to such a range of emotion. Several times I was on a verge of crying reading some passages, on some others I was shivering from excitement or horror, laughing out lot or just happily smiling from relief. It made me questioned so many stuff (from the story but also some more "philosophical" concept like morality)

It takes place in France, during the "Bourbon Restoration" (basically after Napoleon Bonaparte was exile and a king came back to the head of France) where tension between royalists and bonapartists are at their maximum.
You follow the story of a young sailor, to who everything is a success (he's very skilled, will be nominated Captain and has a beautiful fiancée), Edmond Dantes. Some people in his surroundings are jealous of him and following events of malicious acts and unfortunate coincidence, Edmond is wrongly imprisoned...

It's a long story but never it felt long to me. It's a great adventure and tale of vengeance.
As a French, I read it in french but since a "classic" I am sure there is plenty of good translation in english.
A must read !

Another notable book I red is "La Horde du Contrevent" (unfortunately no official translation was done, litteraly "The Horde of the Counterwind") by Alain Damasio.
It's a "science-fantasy" story.

In a windswept world, you follow the 34th Horde : a group of 23 peoples trained and formed since their childhood. Each of them has a specific role : leader, prince, scribe, troubadour, fighter/protector, scout, windmaster, etc...
Their goal : traverse the world, against the wind, to reach the mythical "Far upstream" where supposedly lie "the source of the Wind"...

You follow the Horde over several years. See their struggles against the wind but also as a group of very different individuals. You'll learn about their world and the different organizations.
It's a very fascinating book with interesting concept.
Most notably, at the beginning of the book you have a list of all the 23 members of the Horde and to each is assign a symbol (Ω for example is the symbol of Golgoth the leader).
Before each paragraph there will be one of these symbols, meaning this paragraph is told from this member's perspective. So the "narrator" is constantly changing during the story. A bit confusing at first (and annoying since you always as to refer to the list to know who it is), you quickly get use to it (and remember the symbols). Each member has his unique personality.

Since no official translation is available, I would recommend a very good level of french to read it. It's not the an easy french to understand and their is a lot of play of word. In particular, a specific event where the use of the language is essential to appreciate the work of the author(and on this specific part he an impressive work).

I think this is a cleaving book. Some hate it and other love it. I personally really enjoyed it but I see how it can be confusing and has also its flaws (like on few occasions: eluding on major events from one paragraph to the other...)


And you ? Any notable books to share ?

 

[NotMyProblemAnymoreCunt]

Been re-reading Bands of Mourning by Brandon Sanderson. Book 6 of the Mistborn series. Book 7 is coming next month, can't wait

 

[Lasha]

How do you read enough French to finish an obscure sci Fi novel without ever learning anything about the count of Monte Cristo?

 

[DelireMan7]

How do you read enough French to finish an obscure sci Fi novel without ever learning anything about the count of Monte Cristo?

Haha

I am French so in college/highschool "french class" was mainly text/book analysis and I was extremely reluctant to that. So it didn't really gave me the will to read the classics.

And from the title, it really sounded not much interesting to me (I know it's stupid to judge a book by its title). It gave me vibes of my years in french class in college/highschool.
There was a lot of fuss about it in France around 1998 because there was a TV adaptation with a famous french actor (Gérard Depardieu). But I was still young (11) so I didn't pay attention to it.

Glad I finally read it. I might look at this TV adaptation now.

 

[TaylorSwiftFan]

One book that I really liked a long time ago was J’ai bien connu Icare. I don’t know whether this was ever translated in English but it stuck with me. It is about Daedalus and Icarus but it goes into a lot more details about the story.

 

[Lasha]

Haha

I am French so in college/highschool "french class" was mainly text/book analysis and I was extremely reluctant to that. So it didn't really gave me the will to read the classics.

And from the title, it really sounded not much interesting to me (I know it's stupid to judge a book by its title). It gave me vibes of my years in french class in college/highschool.
There was a lot of fuss about it in France around 1998 because there was a TV adaptation with a famous french actor (Gérard Depardieu). But I was still young (11) so I didn't pay attention to it.

Glad I finally read it. I might look at this TV adaptation now.

Count of Monte Cristo is one of my favorite books of all time. Gankutsuou is my favorite adaptation of the novel even if it is a bit loose.

 

[DelireMan7]

Count of Monte Cristo is one of my favorite books of all time. Gankutsuou is my favorite adaptation of the novel even if it is a bit loose.

I checked quickly. Sounds like a surprising interpretation. I might give it a look.

 

[AJUMP23]

OP Read and read (red) are both the present and past tense spelling of the word. You just say it different depending on the context. English is dumb like that.


Dune is an excellent novel. Shane is a wonderful western. LOTR and the Hobbit are an amazing reads.

I am currently reading the Arabian Nights. That is lots of small tales wrapped around a large tale. You get sinbad the sailor as well as Alladin all in the same book.

 

[DelireMan7]

OP Read and read (red) are both the present and past tense spelling of the word. You just say it different depending on the context. English is dumb like that.

Ha thanks ! I never know how to deal with "read" in the past.

Dune is an excellent novel. Shane is a wonderful western. LOTR and the Hobbit are an amazing reads.

I am currently reading the Arabian Nights. That is lots of small tales wrapped around a large tale. You get sinbad the sailor as well as Alladin all in the same book.

Dune is on my list.

I read LOTR and the Hobbit. I loved the Hobbit.
I have difficulty with LOTR but I read it a long time ago over a long period of time. I should re-read it.

 

[gaming_again]

Dune is one of those books where you suspect that in the event of nuclear war and it somehow surviving, it would be taken up as a holy screed by our ancestors a few thousand years later.

 

[Ballthyrm]

"The Count of Monte Cristo" by Alexandre Dumas. is a veiled hommage to his dad who himself was a fascinating man.
He was the first 4 star black general in the French Army and got on the wrong side of Napoleon during the revolution, leading indirectly to his imprisonment by the Kingdom of Naples following the failed Egypt campaign.

There was a wonderful biography written about him called The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo.
It makes for a really good back to back read.
I can't understand for the life of me why we haven't had a movie about him already, this is the stuff movie are made out of.

 

[Trunx81]

Dumas wrote some amazing books, most of his work is read-worthy. Don’t stop there, Op.
Would also recommend Jules Verne, his books are amazing SciFi for its time.

Also try “The Neverending Story” by Michael Ende. So much better than the movies. Just make sure you get the version with the red and green letters, as it was intended.

 

[thefool]

Physical books are indeed a wonderful thing. They're a ledger of human history, progress and knowledge. I sometimes open older technical books and I'm amazed at all the knowledge printed in those pages for everyone to read it, in the past, present or future.

Always be wary of those who try to block you from reading certain books.

 

[jason10mm]

I love Dumas, all of his stuff is wordy (understandable when you realize he was paid by the word IIRC) but awesome. Throw Jules Verne in there if we are sticking to the French, also a spectacular author. I've never really thought much about the quality of the translation, I just assumed we all had a single translation from back in the day. Are folks re-visiting those guys like they do for Beowulf or the Iliad?

That Wind book sounds awesome. I'm guessing it has a more metaphysical ending and isn't a straight sci-fi book if it is divisive. Heavily allegorical books can defy translation because they are so rooted in the culture they were created in. I would have hoped that with the success of The Witcher and Cixin Liu stuff we would have seen a renaissance of foreign language authors over here but doesn't seem to be the case.

 

[Fbh]

Just finished reading the first two Hyperion Books.
Really enjoyed them, loved the settings and characters, the view of an AI depended human society in the future and the implications of it all.
Overall enjoyed the first book more as I really liked how it was almost structured as a bunch of short stories, but the second one was really enjoyable too.
Will take a break from the franchise for a bit as I've read Endymion is different enough that it's the perfect point to take a break.

Wanted something light and entertaining so I picked up Red Rising. It has a lot of good word of mouth and people seem to insist it's not YA despite everything about the plot sounding YA as fuck. Guess I'll find out.

 

[gaming_again]

Just finished reading the first two Hyperion Books.
Really enjoyed them, loved the settings and characters, the view of an AI depended human society in the future and the implications of it all.
Overall enjoyed the first book more as I really liked how it was almost structured as a bunch of short stories, but the second one was really enjoyable too.
Will take a break from the franchise for a bit as I've read Endymion is different enough that it's the perfect point to take a break.

Wanted something light and entertaining so I picked up Red Rising. It has a lot of good word of mouth and people seem to insist it's not YA despite everything about the plot sounding YA as fuck. Guess I'll find out.

The first Hyperion book was the last one I read that kept me up until I’d finished it - work in the morning bedamned.

The series gets weaker (as they do often do) but it’s still excellent overall and continuously introduces brain expanding ideas and concepts until the very end.

 

[IDKFA]

Good thread OP. Glad to hear more GAF members are reading.

Everyone should try and read at least a little bit a day. Books are not just enjoyable, but also come with a host of health benefits. These include, but are not limited to:

Improves memory
Improves concentration and the ability to focus.
Increase general knowledge (if you read non fiction)
Reduces stress
Improves vocabulary

I read about a book a week and try to switch between fiction and non fiction. Currently finishing off Moon Witch, Spider King by Marlon James (Fantasy set in a fantasy version of Africa) and then will move onto a non fiction book about the history of the SS.

 

[DelireMan7]

"The Count of Monte Cristo" by Alexandre Dumas. is a veiled hommage to his dad who himself was a fascinating man.
He was the first 4 star black general in the French Army and got on the wrong side of Napoleon during the revolution, leading indirectly to his imprisonment by the Kingdom of Naples following the failed Egypt campaign.

There was a wonderful biography written about him called The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo.
It makes for a really good back to back read.
I can't understand for the life of me why we haven't had a movie about him already, this is the stuff movie are made out of.

Wow ! That's interesting. Didn't know. Thanks for the recommendation. I'll look into that book.

I love Dumas, all of his stuff is wordy (understandable when you realize he was paid by the word IIRC) but awesome. Throw Jules Verne in there if we are sticking to the French, also a spectacular author. I've never really thought much about the quality of the translation, I just assumed we all had a single translation from back in the day. Are folks re-visiting those guys like they do for Beowulf or the Iliad?

That Wind book sounds awesome. I'm guessing it has a more metaphysical ending and isn't a straight sci-fi book if it is divisive. Heavily allegorical books can defy translation because they are so rooted in the culture they were created in. I would have hoped that with the success of The Witcher and Cixin Liu stuff we would have seen a renaissance of foreign language authors over here but doesn't seem to be the case.

I already read "Around the world in 80 days" few years ago. But I definitely go deeper in Jules Verne's bibliography.

Good thread OP. Glad to hear more GAF members are reading.

Everyone should try and read at least a little bit a day. Books are not just enjoyable, but also come with a host of health benefits. These include, but are not limited to:

Improves memory
Improves concentration and the ability to focus.
Increase general knowledge (if you read non fiction)
Reduces stress
Improves vocabulary

I read about a book a week and try to switch between fiction and non fiction. Currently finishing off Moon Witch, Spider King by Marlon James (Fantasy set in a fantasy version of Africa) and then will move onto a non fiction book about the history of the SS.

Amen !

One book a week is impressive ! Well done !
It's a neat idea to alternate fiction and non fiction. I am more into fiction usually. But now during my reading time I "read" a method for practicing and improving my music reading. I started Cello one month ago and as an amateur guitar player I just learnt to read rhythm and never really practiced my note reading ability.

 

[Mondai]

I really need to get back into reading , haven’t read a book in years.

 

[DelireMan7]

I really need to get back into reading , haven’t read a book in years.

Same for me actually.

Just decided to start again in July. And now it's 4 books done.

That Wind book sounds awesome. I'm guessing it has a more metaphysical ending and isn't a straight sci-fi book if it is divisive. Heavily allegorical books can defy translation because they are so rooted in the culture they were created in. I would have hoped that with the success of The Witcher and Cixin Liu stuff we would have seen a renaissance of foreign language authors over here but doesn't seem to be the case.

Yes there is definitely of that in the love/hate feedback people give. I personally loved it.
Also recurring divisive topic on it, is the writing. Some classified it as a pretentious/pompous usage of french language. I can see why but it didn't bother me. It gave it a lot of personality.

 

[Spaceman292]

I'd recommend Sex Lives of Siamese Twins

Just kind of fun and weird and filthy, but ultimately heart warming

 

[Ballthyrm]

If we are raving about French books, a favorite of mine is "Wind, Sand and Stars" by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.
You can read it as a background piece to the Little Prince, but it is a wonderful Adventure book with some philosophy sprinkled in (as the best adventures tend to be)

 

[AJUMP23]

"The Count of Monte Cristo" by Alexandre Dumas. is a veiled hommage to his dad who himself was a fascinating man.
He was the first 4 star black general in the French Army and got on the wrong side of Napoleon during the revolution, leading indirectly to his imprisonment by the Kingdom of Naples following the failed Egypt campaign.

There was a wonderful biography written about him called The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo.
It makes for a really good back to back read.
I can't understand for the life of me why we haven't had a movie about him already, this is the stuff movie are made out of.

It is hard to convince executives that fund movies that historical dramas will preform well. Look at Alexander and see how hard it is to convince people.

 

[Ballthyrm]

It is hard to convince executives that fund movies that historical dramas will preform well. Look at Alexander and see how hard it is to convince people.

That never stopped French cinema from making movies before. Most don't make any money and are payed for by the CNC.
The national center for cinema, a.k.a taxes
Still we had hundreds of biopic of Napoleon and none about one of his generals.

 

[Fools idol]

I recently read The name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss.

It's an extremely well written book. I loved the characters, the prose, and the world it built. Immediately ordered the second book in the series

 

[AJUMP23]

I prefer scrolls. Anyone read any good scrolls lately?

 

[Scotty W]

Op you will make me angry if you read French and you don’t read Rabelais, Madame Bovary, and Anatole France Revolt of the Angels in the original.

 

[Cyberpunkd]

I was curious if someone had a change in their reading habits over the years. I noticed three recently:

1. I prefer paper - I had Kindle for 10 years now, but as time went by I found myself reading more and more paper books. Lots of studies being done on why people might still prefer paper, including a physical sense of going through the book (% done displayed on the screen is not the same thing).
2. I buy used - this one is rather new development, but nowadays I buy new exclusively when it comes to books for kids and gifts. Everything else I buy used and donate books I read to the local library. Yesterday I ordered Mike Tyson's biography for $4.50 including shopping in VG condition. The same book is $21 new on Amazon.
3. I read less fiction - after 20 years of reading fantasy I find I read less and less of it, coming back to the ones I read before (going through the Witcher in French now). For new ones I prefer biographies, books about manual craft, etc.

 

[NeoIkaruGAF]

I was curious if someone had a change in their reading habits over the years.

Like you, I read much less fiction. Most significantly, I buy much less fiction. There’s way too much been-there-seen-that fiction out there, and when you’ve read a lot and start to get older, your patience for generic stuff wanes. So much knowledge you could rather spend your reading time on, so I read a lot more non-fiction now - history, science, biography etc.

I still prefer paper to e-ink, but the room I have for paper books is now stretched thin. Kindle Unlimited is very useful for reading stuff that is probably huge on paper, and that I’m unlikely to read ever again anyway.

I’ll buy used, but almost exclusively if there’s a specific book I want on paper and I can’t find otherwise. Nothing against used books, but as a kind of book junkie, I just love white paper uncorrupted by dust and sweat.

 

[gaming_again]

I was curious if someone had a change in their reading habits over the years. I noticed three recently:

1. I prefer paper - I had Kindle for 10 years now, but as time went by I found myself reading more and more paper books. Lots of studies being done on why people might still prefer paper, including a physical sense of going through the book (% done displayed on the screen is not the same thing).
2. I buy used - this one is rather new development, but nowadays I buy new exclusively when it comes to books for kids and gifts. Everything else I buy used and donate books I read to the local library. Yesterday I ordered Mike Tyson's biography for $4.50 including shopping in VG condition. The same book is $21 new on Amazon.
3. I read less fiction - after 20 years of reading fantasy I find I read less and less of it, coming back to the ones I read before (going through the Witcher in French now). For new ones I prefer biographies, books about manual craft, etc.

I’ve been a Kindle user since the start, I’ve had like seven of them or something. I used to travel a lot and for that they are godly. They are also amazing in bed or on a train. But nothing beats real books for me because of the following reasons:

Retention. ‘That bit was on the bottom left of the left page somewhere… right?’

The pleasure of a book gradually thickening in your left hand as you progress.

The weight and balance of a nice thick book.

The cover design and finish.

Passing down books to my kids.

The idle joy or scanning across your bookshelf waiting for something to jump out at you.

And increasingly: free of malpractice. I genuinely think it’s only a matter of time before places like Amazon start retroactively editing ‘problematic’ text. We are already seeing it happen with new issues of dictionaries. In that scenario, civilisation’s only hope is the printed word. I therefore treat buying books as a holy mission.

 

[gaming_again]

I read more fiction that ever, btw. The older I get the more truth I find in fiction.

And philosophy and poetry are things I’ve grown up banging my head against the wall of to finding genuine surprise and inspiration in. The subtleness in thinking of some people from thousands of years ago can ignite your synapses to the heat of a sun.

As a history nut I of course go through a ton of that. But I grow ever more cynical of its trustworthiness. Twitter has revealed history professors and their ilk to be very flimsy thinkers - or at least those who use social media. It makes you wonder about the domain as a whole. Honestly, it’s put me in a bit of a tailspin. They don’t appreciate how damaging ideological capture is.

 

[T.v]

I recently read The name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss.

It's an extremely well written book. I loved the characters, the prose, and the world it built. Immediately ordered the second book in the series

I am dying to know how big your disappointment is, because by god was the second book bad. Even if the third were ever to come out the second has killed any and all interest I had in the series.

 

[Fools idol]

I am dying to know how big your disappointment is, because by god was the second book bad. Even if the third were ever to come out the second has killed any and all interest I had in the series.

yeah, jesus christ it was bad. I actually stopped reading at one point to see if the author was the same as the first one. It was just a mess, I only finished it because I'm OCD about leaving things unfinished.

I moved on to a series by Butcher called Dresden Files. A very different vibe but recommend them, the quality has stayed consistent throughout and I'm enjoying the characters a lot.

 

[jason10mm]

And increasingly: free of malpractice. I genuinely think it’s only a matter of time before places like Amazon start retroactively editing ‘problematic’ text. We are already seeing it happen with new issues of dictionaries. In that scenario, civilisation’s only hope is the printed word. I therefore treat buying books as a holy mission.

One THOUSAND percent this!!!!

Streaming content will get edited. Either cut/removed (like "that episode" from community) or increasingly, IMHO, altered to adjust the 'problematic' content. Wouldn't surprise me to see tech mature to the point where they can edit out actors and replace them wholesale (if the actors union agrees to it) so for a hot minute you could enjoy A Nightmare on Elm Street without that wretched spouse abuser Johnny Dep....err hang on, he was cleared? Put him back in!!!

I have a full set of encyclopedias. In 20 years my grandkids can write comparison papers about what 2000 era histories say versus 2040 era ones.

 

[Golgo 13]

Currently reading The Charterhouse Of Parma.

It’s known to be one of the best French novels of all time. My feelings on it are mixed so far (slightly less than 1/2 through the 500 pages).

The best way I can summarize this book would be to say, it’s entirely inconsequential. The characters are only mildly interesting, and plot twists occur which can be fun, but amongst this are these long, strange expositions on ENTIRELY boring political maneuvers in the court. To be fair, the book is highly political, but these aren’t the interesting parts of the book.


I’m debating whether to finish it. I’m not really enjoying it, but I’ve already invested a lot of time into it.

What is everyone’s rule here on books they aren’t necessarily enjoying? Do they give them up? Or stick it out?

 

[gaming_again]

If I’m not enjoying a book I put it aside. I don’t have enough free time to feel guilty about not sticking with something.

I can not enjoy something but find it illuminating or satisfying or valuable in other ways, though. It’s rarely a quick decision.

 

[Fools idol]

A couple of recent reads I highly recommend. Mixed genre's, no particular order. I use audiobooks now for all.

Count of MC (audiobook) had read this before but listening on audible was a great time. It's truly a timeless story like OP says.

Next up, two incredible books by one author that explores the psyche of human beings, and how one can apply basic techniques to daily life and find more fulfilment. I bave to admit I hate 99% of 'self help' genre type books but this one hits diferent.

1. Untethered Soul
2. Living Untethered.

Michael Singer is truly a masterful writer and thinker. I would recommend reading them both in succession, as they are almost a 2 parts of an excellent way of life. To summarise, he deeply explores what makes humans so unhappy inside, and how it controls our daily lives and emotions and thoughts. The second book is more about how to live a more full life utilising the methodologies discussed in the first book.

One more recc is for The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams. This one is a grounded fantasy much like Game of Thrones (and apparently one of GRRM's inspirations too).

 

[NotMyProblemAnymoreCunt]

A couple of recent reads I highly recommend. Mixed genre's, no particular order. I use audiobooks now for all.

Count of MC (audiobook) had read this before but listening on audible was a great time. It's truly a timeless story like OP says.

Next up, two incredible books by one author that explores the psyche of human beings, and how one can apply basic techniques to daily life and find more fulfilment. I bave to admit I hate 99% of 'self help' genre type books but this one hits diferent.

1. Untethered Soul
2. Living Untethered.

Michael Singer is truly a masterful writer and thinker. I would recommend reading them both in succession, as they are almost a 2 parts of an excellent way of life. To summarise, he deeply explores what makes humans so unhappy inside, and how it controls our daily lives and emotions and thoughts. The second book is more about how to live a more full life utilising the methodologies discussed in the first book.

One more recc is for The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams. This one is a grounded fantasy much like Game of Thrones (and apparently one of GRRM's inspirations too).

The only books series I read by Tad Williams is the Otherland series. I read that in highschool and remembering I loved it back than

 

[Ballthyrm]

Streaming content will get edited. Either cut/removed (like "that episode" from community) or increasingly, IMHO, altered to adjust the 'problematic' content.

You realize that's exactly what was happening before the printing press and even after.
Only high volume production and distribution allowed us to compare and contrast to see where censorship was happening.

As for myself I've been reading Orconomics: A Satire by J. Zachary Pike, it's a cool book that poke fun of the Fantasy genre and DnD by having the characters set in such a universe and asking themselves all the obvious questions.

 

[gaming_again]

You realize that's exactly what was happening before the printing press and even after.
Only high volume production and distribution allowed us to compare and contrast to see where censorship was happening.

That doesn't mean we should accept it happening today.
Add in the fact that power has never been as centralised as it is currently.

 

[Cyberpunkd]

The best way I can summarize this book would be to say, it’s entirely inconsequential. The characters are only mildly interesting, and plot twists occur which can be fun, but amongst this are these long, strange expositions on ENTIRELY boring political maneuvers in the court.

Sounds 100% French.

 

[jason10mm]

You realize that's exactly what was happening before the printing press and even after.
Only high volume production and distribution allowed us to compare and contrast to see where censorship was happening.

With physical media I could compare editions.

With streaming you can't, unless there is an archive somewhere.

Look at Star Wars. Right now I can't spin up the OG theatrical experience for my kids. I either have to figure out how to play a VHS tape, get some quasi bootleg, or settle for a "special edition" on D+/BR or whatever.

At least a book, if preserved, can be read centuries later. Even film. Good luck finding digital media in a readable state in a few decades.

 

[Badlucktroll]

i too celebrate the magic of reading

 

[Agent_Nobody]

I’m mostly about series. I don’t mind one and done‘s (they can be great) but it’s hard to compare to something you spent 17 novels on.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dresden_Files
I’ll read any Jim Butcher Dresden files book that comes out at this point, especially after the last ‘Battle Ground‘ novel. The whole series is like an ongoing power-up anime plot with a lot of humor. The style of writing reminded me a lot of the Raymond Chandler novels in that first person smarmy way.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vorkosigan_Saga
This was one hell of a trip, but it mostly consists of novellas. It’s kinda sappy at points and the reading order can be funky (I would do ‘The Warrior’s Apprentice‘ first) but it’s one of the best series I’ve read.

 

[NotMyProblemAnymoreCunt]

I’m mostly about series. I don’t mind one and done‘s (they can be great) but it’s hard to compare to something you spent 17 novels on.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dresden_Files
I’ll read any Jim Butcher Dresden files book that comes out at this point, especially after the last ‘Battle Ground‘ novel. The whole series is like an ongoing power-up anime plot with a lot of humor. The style of writing reminded me a lot of the Raymond Chandler novels in that first person smarmy way.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vorkosigan_Saga
This was one hell of a trip, but it mostly consists of novellas. It’s kinda sappy at points and the reading order can be funky (I would do ‘The Warrior’s Apprentice‘ first).

I read the first book of The Dresden Files and I enjoyed it.

I'm gonna be reading the rest of it eventually

As for me, I started to read The Secret Commonwealth by Philip Pullman. It's the second book in The Book of Dust Trilogy. The first book was a prequel to His Dark Materials Trilogy. But the second book is a sequel. I know Philip Pullman is currently writing the third book. I'm about 69 pages into the second book. It's fantastic so far

 

[Agent_Nobody]

I read the first book of The Dresden Files and I enjoyed it.

I'm gonna be reading the rest of it eventually

As for me, I started to read The Secret Commonwealth by Philip Pullman. It's the second book in The Book of Dust Trilogy. The first book was a prequel to His Dark Materials Trilogy. But the second book is a sequel. I know Philip Pullman is currently writing the third book. I'm about 69 pages into the second book. It's fantastic so far

The ramping up Jim Butcher has done over the years is nuts, you‘d think he can’t top it but he does. The starting books kind of become funny in retrospective.

I have a friend who loves the Dark Materials series, and is saying the same thing (didn’t bother with the show), I read the first one but nothing else but didn’t really think much on it (it was years and years ago though).

 

[NotMyProblemAnymoreCunt]

The ramping up Jim Butcher has done over the years is nuts, you‘d think he can’t top it but he does. The starting books kind of become funny in retrospective.

I have a friend who loves the Dark Materials series, and is saying the same thing (didn’t bother with the show), I read the first one but nothing else but didn’t really think much on it.

I read The Golden Compass way back in eighth grade and it what got me into reading. Well that and another book called The Hutt Gambit book 2 of the Han Solo Trilogy. I'm now 38 years old. His Dark Materials Trilogy is fantastic, and I'm happy so far with the Prequel/Sequel Trilogy The Book of Dust

As for The Dresden Files, I'll eventually get back to reading that.

I know my reading plans for 2023 consist of

The Thrawn Trilogy by Timothy Zahn

Remembrance of Earth's Past Trilogy by Liu Cixin

The Horus Heresy Warhammer 40k

I'll be adding more of The Dresden Files books to read for next year too

 

[Agent_Nobody]

I read The Golden Compass way back in eighth grade and it what got me into reading. Well that and another book called The Hutt Gambit book 2 of the Han Solo Trilogy. I'm now 38 years old. His Dark Materials Trilogy is fantastic, and I'm happy so far with the Prequel/Sequel Trilogy The Book of Dust

As for The Dresden Files, I'll eventually get back to reading that.

I know my reading plans for 2023 consist of

The Thrawn Trilogy by Timothy Zahn

Remembrance of Earth's Past Trilogy by Liu Cixin

The Horus Heresy Warhammer 40k

I'll be adding more of The Dresden Files books to read for next year too

Hehe same age


With Dresden Files for me it was best done in a straight shot…but now I want more lol.

I last finished Snow Crash: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_Crash


Right now I’m on the last book of the Queen’s Thief series (the wikipedia kinda sucks):

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thief_(Turner_novel)

https://www.goodreads.com/series/43514-the-queen-s-thief

 

[NotMyProblemAnymoreCunt]

Hehe same age


With Dresden Files for me it was best done in a straight shot…but now I want more lol.

I last finished Snow Crash: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_Crash


Right now I’m on the last book of the Queen’s Thief series (the wikipedia kinda sucks):

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thief_(Turner_novel)

https://www.goodreads.com/series/43514-the-queen-s-thief

I heard of The Queen's Thief series

I made list of books Series that I have to read/currently reading

Let's just day it's a long list

Also includes standalone books and it goes over Sci Fi, Fantasy, Horror, Fiction etc

 

[Agent_Nobody]

I heard of The Queen's Thief series

I made list of books Series that I have to read/currently reading

Let's just day it's a long list

Also includes standalone books and it goes over Sci Fi, Fantasy, Horror, Fiction etc

The Queen‘s Thief saga is unique in that each part is always written from a different perspective, the main protagonist is Eugenides (Gen), but the main character is basically a background character with the other character’s looking back at him, except for everything but the first novel (which is done in first person).


As for the Dresden Files, getting little things like this are just gold:
https://www.jim-butcher.com/christmas-eve