Sneaky weekly post, as I didn't see a new sticky post for the week. :3
Check out the community bingo post for 2026, it's a genuinely fun way to navigate your reading, and it's accompanying recommendations post. Happy reading and spooky season! ππ»π
I read that book a few months ago and really enjoyed it. You might enjoy what I'm reading now, The Book that Wouldn't Burn by Mark Lawrence.
I almost immediately fell in love with most all of the characters, they give the book a warm and cozy feel. I just finished it yesterday, so it hasnβt had time to gel in my mind yet, but it had a sort of βje ne sais quoiβ that kept me captivated. Iβll probably re-read it in a few months and see if it has stuck at the top of my list.
Binged some Kline maybe a year ago, she's great bit depressing
Not sure about that, but "lost cause" was!
I read John Polidori's The Vampyre, an early modern vampire short story. It was pretty good, given its context. It was based on the story Lord Byron wrote for their little writing competition that also spawned Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Funnily enough, Polidori based the titular vampire on Lord Byron's personality. From what I gather, Byron was a bit of a shit. Anyway, it was a quick read.
We're you inspired by the recent meme post about how the three of them had the little writing competition and Shelly turned out one of the most famous works of all time?
Oh, neat. I was certain you'd say yes because it was posted about the right number of days ago for someone to have read a book.
Margaret Killjoy read this one on their book club podcast. I always love their commentary and before the ep starts they go into some of the background and how obvious it was made that this was about Lord Byron, lol
It Could Happen Here: CZM Book Club: Part One of "The Vampyre" by John Polidori
Episode webpage: https://omny.fm/...
Interrupted my Culture re-read to give John Green's Hollywood, Ending a go. It was my first time reading his fiction, and apart from the characters being a little too self-aware, it was memorable, and has kept me thinking about it a lot since finishing it.
Also got through Excession (from the culture re-read), and if it's possible, it was better than I remember. The amazing thing about going through this series again is that at the end of each of the books I inevitably think "that one was my favourite of the series"
Thanks for the tip!
Funny enough, I had tried to start with Consider Phlebas back in May π , however, my interest waned with other things. I was finding it enjoyable from what I recall, I'll take your suggestion instead as I do remember it being a bit meandering. I'm certain I've come across your exact suggestion from others too before, but I think there's that part of me who feels odd starting out of order in a series haha.
When They Burned the Butterfly by Wen-yi Lee. It's been sitting on my Libby queue for a while and I figured I'd better read it before the hold expires in a couple of months. I'm glad I did, since it's been very interesting thus far.
Teenage girl in Singapore (I think) has ability to create fire. Her mother suddenly dies and it turns out is more than what she knew. Ends up joining a gang of women and trying to investigate her mother's death. I'm only about 25% of the way in, so that's largely all I can say about it.
I finished Neverwhere, Neil Gaiman, which was just okay, at the end of the day. Not something I'd write home about. On the other hand I'm accidentally listening and reading to two books with protagonists with eidetic memory, both of which I'm loving! The Fold, Peter Clines, and A Trade of Blood, Robert Jackson Bennett, are both great so far.
The Fold, is the second in a connected lovecraftian-inspired universe, and nails the government secret project energy. Blazing through this one.
Then A Trade of Blood continues the mysteries in Cline's awesome and weird biological science fantasy world. Trying to savor it.
Yup, 14 is the first in this series! It had a very slow burn into the weirdness of his world. The Fold knows that the reader is in on it even if the characters don't yet. I think that's a main reason I'm into it, but Clines also does a very good job at writing believable people which keeps it engaging.
Highly recommend Bennett's Ana and Din Mysteries. Super world, good mystery, and interesting characters. I've nearly finished his Foundryside series (2/3), and while neat, they aren't as strong in my opinion.
Pretty unique and well developed. Also an interesting setting. I think the characters in that series aren't as well flushed out or believable in comparison to his more recent work.
I finally listened to the audiobook of American Gods.
The whole idea of how the gods work is fascinating, but honestly I thought the TV show was better in a lot of ways.
More Everything Forever. Pretty good overview of the rationalist and effective altruism movements that have turned Silicon Valley and the AI industry into what it is today. I have heard the author say in interviews that a good alternative title is βThese fucking peopleβ.
In the past week I finished Reamde by Neal Stephenson, finished The Gate of the Feral God by Matt Dinniman, and started The Witch King by Martha Wells.
I'll likely read it. I'm a little worried that the story should just end with Reamde, but I did put it on my list.
Oh, interesting, thanks.
Oh, thank you! I appreciate you saying that.
I'm unreasonably happy to know I've been tagged with anything at all.
How did you like Witch King? I ended up reading a bunch of hers, and though it was interesting to compare themes among Raksura, Murderbot, and Ile-Rien. I think early Murderbot are my favorite.
I had just started it when I posted, and now I'm about 30-40% through. I'm enjoying it. Wells for sure has a knack for creating an interesting world with interesting rules. It's easy to forget that Murderbot was written by the same person as Raksura (I never read the Ile-Rien series). In any case, Witch King seems to be a solid contribution thus far.
Dune Messiah is lighter on the hard politics but brings in weirder concepts and larger universe views. I found it easier to read but not as good overall. Children of Dune continues that trend. God Emperor jumps feet first into the "what in the fuck did I just read" pool. Heretics was better, and Chapterhouse was just fine.
China MiΓ©villeβs new novel, The Rouse.
Oh, what did you think of it? I've really liked what I've read of his so far, but they can be so depressing that I need to take breaks in between his books.
Iβm liking it so far, but itβs unlike most of his other stuff (at least at first)βit reads as straight literary/historical fiction, following the life of a single mother in 1970s London. My understanding is that the βweirdβ elements donβt enter until well into the story.
Forsyte Saga by John Galsworthy
Went into it because I saw the BBC show adaptation (2007), knew it would be a long satisfying and perhaps challenging read in terms of focus. First 2 pages made me think it was going to do the "overly verbose victorian novel" shtick that Sherlock Holmes and gothic horror books do, but it quickly became very flowing; genuinely losing the passage of time while I read it.
I need to reread Cryptonomicon. I reread Snow Crash last year, and read Reamde for the first time last week. Stephenson is so good.
I'm lukewarm on Stephenson, tbh. His early books are great, but I find that his later works seem more like a product of him being interested in a topic, then he does some world building on top, and attached a fairly basic plot. Seveneves is a great example: Interesting premise, great world building, but in all honesty I found the book pretty boring.
I read Rise and Fall of the d.o.d.o a while back, and I find that one a lot better. For starters I found the epistolary writing style highly entertaining. Secondly, I suspect that Nicole Gallands participation really added to the story, precenting it from becoming another "world building first, story second"-book.
The Devil Amongst the Lawyers, by Sharyn McCrumb. It's based on the 1935 trial of Edith Maxwell, but fictionalized enough that the author saw fit to change her name to Erma Morton. Except that it not about her at all, because nobody really cares about her story. Especially not the New York reporters descending upon Wise County, looking for the next Lindbergh baby case to sensationalize. (They've agreed Erma is a hottie, hence that portraying her as innocent is better business, facts notwithstanding.) Lots of Appalachian culture, as expected from McCrumb, but a surprising amount of Japanese culture due to one of the New Yorkers recalling his years in Japan hiding from American law.
Working my way through the Booker Prize longlist
| Title | Author | List | Star Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Shadow of the Object | Chloe Aridjis | Longlist | 3.5 |
| Switzy | Emma Cline | Longlist | |
| Helen of Nowhere | Makenna Goodman | Longlist | 4.5 |
| The End of Everything | M. John Harrison | Shortlist | 2 |
| The Disappearers | Marlon James | Shortlist | |
| Black Bag | Luke Kennard | Shortlist | 4.5 |
| The Renovation | Kenan Orhan | Longlist | |
| May We Feed the King | Rebecca Perry | Shortlist | |
| The Palm House | Gwendoline Riley | Longlist | 3.5 |
| The Things We Never Say | Elizabeth Strout | Shortlist | 4.5 |
| John of John | Douglas Stuart | Shortlist | |
| All Them Dogs | Djamel White | Longlist | 4 |
| The Vivisectors | Missouri Williams | Longlist | 4 |
My secret goal is to read at least one longlisted book before theyβre announced. I successfully picked up The Things We Never Say this year and thoroughly enjoyed it. The Disappearers was on my TBR but I hadnβt gotten to it yetβ¦ oh well, be faster next time.
Iβve done this three years in a row and I rarely have a book I hate. Itβs a nice look at literary fiction and βgoodβ writing.
Whoa that's awesome! Do you have a vested interest in the literary world/"good writing" by chance -- i.e., do you write? Or more so out of enjoyment?
Also, how do you gage which books will be longlisted? I've not followed literary awards much.
I just read a lot. On pace for 130 books this year.
Discovery is hard⦠I was tinkering with an app
A personalized book radar that continuously surfaces new and forthcoming books from publishers, critics, awards, and reader communities before they become obvious or popular. It helps you filter that broad stream into books worth investigating without trapping you in a taste bubble or relying on generic bestseller lists.
Unfortunately, publishers really donβt make their catalogues readily available to the public. You have to be a bookshop or library or known reviewer. Huge pain. Edelweiss does have some data you can use thatβs cross-publisher, but itβs not an API.
I just want a place that is not the most popular books. Like, I really enjoyed the Dungeon Crawler Carl seriesβ¦ but itβs been top of the lists for over a year. Sigh
Ah I see, that is an incredible reading volume -- putting my number to shame haha. What's your secrets? ΰ² _ΰ²
Huh that's fascinating, thanks for elucidating that part of the book world for me. I can only imagine being the first to discover titles, being bit of a skill combined with access to certain resources (like most things).
Audiobooks on 2x and Always Be Reading haha.
If I crack the secret to book discovery, Iβll let you know. Thereβs a real opportunity there, I just havenβt figured out how to do it yet
I just started Billy Summers by Stephen King last night. Pretty good so far, but I'm also a big King fan to begin with.
Awesome, have seen good things mentioned about it. Haven't read any King yet myself, however, I'm thinking of reading 11/23/63 to start as I've had it recommended by someone irl. What's your favourite from him so far?
Good choice, 11/22/63 is a fun one. As for a favorite, it's honestly a bit difficult. Genre wise, his writing has a broad variety, so picking just one is difficult. Some of my favorites are The Dark Tower series, Salem's Lot, Insomnia, and Desperation. His short story collections are also worth reading.
I finished Between Two Fires. For me maybe a 6/10. Maybe just not for me but everything about it seemed like it would be. Some neat scenes and stuff but i dont know how to describe it.
I started Lost Worlds by Patrick Wyman. Its a history of how early socities slowly began to form using what we know from the archeology records and DNA evidence. So far its been pretty good, but that could be bias i enjoyed his podcast Tides of History.
Also started the first book of He who fights with monsters. Its a litrpg similar to DCC? I guess. Not super far yet but i am hoping it grabs me. O guess DCC had more hype from friends. This was suggested by my partner, she read the first chapter or two and thought I would like it.
I may have already recommended "black tongue the if", as someone who also didn't like between too fires, I btt was excellent
Someone has i know that. I will likely get to it at some point, but i have a lot on my to read list including the second trilogy of Red Rising, and a few other things I want to get to. So its there just not super high on the list.
Fwiw I didn't think much of red rising after the first few books, probably cause I couldn't remember all the things that happened (it had been years between books).
Alchemist and Fight Club. Total opposites. Destiny vs nihilism.
Capital and ideology, good so far (lots of historical learning for me), but like capital in the 21st century dry.
This last week I finished up The Summer Book by Tove Jansson. I liked it, but I wonder if I still would if I hadn't already read/been a fan of the Moomin books. I was expecting some kind of overarching story or significant character growth, but it's really just a series of little 3-10 page anecdotes that sometimes just stop without much resolution. If the authorial voice wasn't so strong, or the characters so familiar (fictionalized family members, whom she also pulled from for the Moomins), I might have dropped it.
I also sped through Joe Country by Mick Herron, so I'd be ready to watch the new season of Slow Horses at some point. I liked it better than the previous 2 or 3; can't really put my finger on why, though. Less outlandish plot, maybe?
Currently trying to settle on a new book: the last couple nights, I've been bouncing between Slewfoot by Brom and There Is No Antimemetics Division by qntm (the rewritten version; I read the original a couple of years ago).
I finished The Book that Wouldn't Burn by Mark Lawrence yesterday and started the second book in the series right after, The Book that Broke the World. The first book was really good, with interesting characters and plot devices.
Work got in the way, so I am still working on Woken Furies by Richard Morgan as a whisper sync and leisurely reading Watership Down by Richard Adams.
Once I am done with those, I have decided to tackle something a bit heavier than is the norm for me. I'm going to give Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro a go.
It is. It has its positives and negatives. On the plus side, you can enjoy terrific VA work like with Dungeon Crawler Carl and others. It also helps you absorb more complex texts. On the negative side, is that I cannot just start and stop whenever I like because I have to put my headphone on, start two apps, and find my place. It is also much slower than just reading. If I have the spare time, I can read four novels in a week and a half versus one whispersync in a week.
I finally wrapped up reading "Imaginary Friend" by Stephen Chbosky.
This story desperately needed a better writer, and this book desperately needed a better editor. We have an American author publishing a book with the color "grey" in it. It goes on and freakin' on, so sure of itself but it really shouldn't be. In general it was a mess.
For example, an important character to this story lives in an old folks home and has finally gone blind from his cataracts. If you do the simple math, this dude is 67 years old. Huh?! Wake up, writer. Wake up, editor.
Another example, the children characters, including the main character, are supposed to be 7 years old, but are all written with 10-12 year old mannerisms.
It's just a bad book that really has sullied Chbosky's reputation for me. Having read the Perks of Being a Wallflower like 15 or 20 years ago, I thought he was an overrated but still OK writer (neither good nor great, but OK). This is the last book of his I'll ever read.
I'd give this book 2/5 Fudgy Points. (A 1 point rating is reserved for DNF books, which are few and far between for me.)
@lemmy.world
A community for all things related to Books.
Community icon by IconsBox (from freepik.com)
go to feed...
@lemmy.world
A community for all things related to Books.
Community icon by IconsBox (from freepik.com)
go to feed...
Book of Doors by Gareth Brown. Probably my new favorite comfort read.
save