Whatcha reading?

grogimus

grogimus

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Just curious what y'all are busy reading and if you've any recommendations.

I've been a sci-fi/fantasy nerd since I read The Hobbit and Roger Zelazny's Chronicles of Amber when I was 8.

I devoured pretty much anything in those genres for a long while, Frank Herbert's Dune series (not his unfortunate son's trash) is still my favorite SF but I was always pretty up in the air on that front. I haven't found a new SF author that's knocked my knickers up. Scott Westerfeld had two good books but since diverged.

I read most any fantasy I could come across, too many authors to name. Then I stumbled across Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson, spent the next 12 years waiting for the next book in the Malazan Book of the Fallen series, and don't like much of any new genre fantasy now. When the last book of Erikson's series came out I ordered the book off Amazon UK because I could get it faster, took three days off work, read it cover to cover, cried, then re-read it's 848 pages all in about 40 hours. I like George Martin's Song of Ice and Fire but Erikson makes it look like the Harry Potter story in comparison. Joe Abercrombie writes some amazing fantasy stuff, Jim Butcher's Dresden Files is fun, but damn Erikson has ruined most new fantasy for me.

I'm rereading Tad William's Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn series now and just finished a weird one called Nevernight by. Jay Kristoff. Nevernight is fresh on my mind, it did a great job on most fronts, notably being a first person female protagonist written by a dude.

So let's hear it (unless you're a Harlequin SuperRomance reader), whatcha reading?
 
I've had trouble finding current writers that move me as well. If you're okay with old stuff, Ray Bradbury...Heinlein... Rendezvous with Rama was pretty thought-provoking. Job: A comedy of Justice was a trip. Not always my favorite writing style but always food for thought that made me dream big. Another interesting concept series was Inherit the Stars by James P Hogan. that one got me spinning back in the day.

I picked up a recent one called Red Rising which is apparently a series as well. They had some cool ideas but felt a little bit Young Adultish. More like social commentary with a Sci-Fi backdrop but definitely pertains to the technocratic era.

Got my fingers crossed for some good contemporary suggestions from you folks as well. Thanks for the thread grog!
 
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I’ve read the first couple books by Robert Jordan “wheel of time” series”. You may enjoy this.
One of my favorites is the Bachman Books - The Long Walk, being my favorite story. I’ve read it several times. This story always occupies my mind when I’m on multi-day hikes. These are stories written by Stephen King under the pen name Richard Bachman.
Most of my reading are kids books now. I don’t have a lot of time for reading these days and the time I do have I use to read to my boys.
We are currently reading the final book of the “Hunger Games” series. It was the Percy Jackson series before that. We’ve done the Harry Potter books, The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit (probably my all time favorite).

There was a series I read years ago that I enjoyed about colonizing Mars. I don’t recall the author but there were three books - Red mars, Blue Mars and Green Mars. Started slow but I enjoyed it overall.
 
If you enjoed Tolkien's books you might like the Dragonlance series ... it started as a triology in the 80's and now I couldn't begin to tell you how many books are out there ...

They span different times some going back earlier than the orginal but you really should start with the first series it kind of opens things you would miss without it ...

The best way to get started is to begin with the Chronicles series, comprised of three books: Dragons of Autumn Twilight, Dragons of Winter Night, and Dragons of Spring Dawning

I think you can buy the triology set of three as the Drangonlance Chronicles Set.

It might be the closets to Tolkien's books I've read ... hadn't thought of them in sometime until I saw your thread.
 
Two of my favorite current authors are David Weber and John Scalzi.

I like a lot of military sci go, and Weber definitely falls into that category. His Honor Harrington series is like a retelling of Horatio Hornblower in space. I really love it.

John Scalzi is very creative, and while his (excellent) Old Man's War series is pretty military, his other books like Agent to the Stars are not military at all. I look forward to seeing where his Collapsing Empire series goes.
 
I just started reading the black count. It's a biography of Thomas Alexandre Dumas, whose mother was a slave but he becomes a French general, but then Napoleon has him locked up and reinstitutes slavery. His son is the guy who wrote the three musketeers and the count of monte cristo, he wrote them about his father.
 
grogimus grogimus if you haven't read the Story of Edgar Sawtelle, I think you would like it. I really enjoyed it, dogs and a Stephen King vibe. I really enjoyed The Poisonwood Bible too. Rightnow I am reading Runninf for My Life and my friend's new book Talk to the Paw. Trying to get back to Something Wixked this way Comes.
 
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Lee Child / Jack Reacher novels. Mindless, I know. Still fun. In the books he is 6'5" and pretty big. I can't reconcile that with Tom Cruise from the movie. They should have cast someone else.

Also a daily meditation from the book of Proverbs. Lots of applicable wisdom there...
 
TRfromMT said:
Lee Child / Jack Reacher novels. Mindless, I know. Still fun. In the books he is 6'5" and pretty big. I can't reconcile that with Tom Cruise from the movie. They should have cast someone else.

Also a daily meditation from the book of Proverbs. Lots of applicable wisdom there...
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I agree I didn't see that role going to Tom.
 
I tend to pick an author and if I like his/her style, I read just about everything they wrote. I have read almost everything by Bernard Cornwell, Michael Jecks, Tony Hillerman, Graig Johnson and C. J. Box. There are a few others that I can't think of right now.

A few of these are marathon writers. Cornwell's Sharpe series alone was 23 books, IIRC.

Last year I bought a book at the library for 25¢. It was "Saucer" by Stephan Coontz. Now I'm hooked on him. Fortunately, our library has all his books.
 
Reading Huxley's Brave new World at the Moment, definitely interesting so far

And regarding recommendations:
  • A Song of Ice and Fire
  • 1984
And for the German speaking people(or maybe there are translations):
  • Manöver im Herbst
  • Oktoberfest
  • Schattentänzer/-Stürmer/-Wanderer triology by Alexey Pehov
 
Odog27 said:
I’ve read the first couple books by Robert Jordan “wheel of time” series”. You may enjoy this.
One of my favorites is the Bachman Books - The Long Walk, being my favorite story. I’ve read it several times. This story always occupies my mind when I’m on multi-day hikes. These are stories written by Stephen King under the pen name Richard Bachman.
Most of my reading are kids books now. I don’t have a lot of time for reading these days and the time I do have I use to read to my boys.
We are currently reading the final book of the “Hunger Games” series. It was the Percy Jackson series before that. We’ve done the Harry Potter books, The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit (probably my all time favorite).

There was a series I read years ago that I enjoyed about colonizing Mars. I don’t recall the author but there were three books - Red mars, Blue Mars and Green Mars. Started slow but I enjoyed it overall.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the Mars books, gotta get them, sounds interesting :D
 
I've read almost everything by Cormac McCarthy. Also recommend the Hyperion Cantos for Sci-Fi buffs. Haven't really read much since The last book from that lazy, procrastinating Martin. Finish the series already ;). Mist Born was pretty amazing as well.
 
Nelson DeMille is my all time favorite. I've read several of his more than once. Up Country and The Charm School are outstanding. I just finished The Cuban Affair and I appreciate how he incorporates the historical back-story as he tells the main story. Anything by DeMille is an automatic read for me.
 
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