1356 by Bernard Cornwell. Its cheesey typical damsel in destress stuff set in a bloody french chevauchée, but I'll be damned if it aint a whole lof of fun. Think the expanse, but with horses as worse charachters.
I loved his Warlord Chronicles trilogy, and I'm onto reading the Sharpe series now. In terms of story he definitely has a formula that he sticks to, but it's a really entertaining formula so I can't really fault him for it.
The Trouble With Peace, by Joe Abercrombie. Glad to be in a mood where I enjoy his cheerful cynicism again. Curious to see if any good deed in the whole long tale (this is book 7, depending on how you count) will remain unpunished though.
Currently reading Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder.
Is it particularly good? Honestly, no. I think all the characters except for the protagonist are frustrating, and if she ends up in a relationship with any one of them I'll be greatly disappointed.
Am I having fun? Kinda. I won't pick up the second book unless they introduce a great sequel hook, though.
@lynn_literary@Kamirose and i am from Mastodon: about to start reading, "Don't Save Anything" by James Salter (would this comment be posted to both kbin and lemmy, as well as Mastodon in my home instance? That would be like magic)
I read this so many times that my hardback copy started breaking. You know how the edges of the outer cover about 2/3 of the way down start getting fuzzy from being held when you've taken off the dust jacket? Almost fuzzy enough to make into a rope for escaping from a tower.
Yes the book was first, and adapted for the movie. It's a trilogy. They did a good job on the adaptation, though there are some differences, as there always are. I'm reading it through my Library on Libby.
I can vouch for Kobo! I bought a Kobo Forma earlier this year and it has quickly become my favorite device. It is both a very competently designed ereader, and not locked into the Amazon walled garden.
Cool thing about Dracula is that, because it is in the public domain, and because it is told through journal entries, it can be read in the real time of the entries. https://draculadaily.substack.com/ is a newsletter that sends you emails of the particular day's entries if you're into that. It's already well underway though, but could be fun for a reread next year
An author whose newsletter I am on, Joshua James, serialized HG Wells' "The War of the Worlds" in the run-up to the release of the first book in his tWotW-inspired alien invasion SF series. A chapter of tWotW was emailed each day. It was fun, especially since the chapters weren't overly long.
I thought that would be a fun substack to set up, sending out a public-domain classic one chapter at a time.
That would be a fun substack! War of the Worlds was the first book that terrified me as a child, to the point that I still can have nightmares of the giant tripod ships, but for whatever reason I really enjoy it!
I was actually thinking more about this today at work (don't tell the boss....)
Dickens published a lot of his work serially. And his stories were wildly popular, like 'Harry Potter' levels of popularity.
It seems like the stories of Charles Dickens would work well for this kind of medium; the only problem I came across is that he didn't necessarily serialize each chapter every week, rather, he would serialize 1-3 (-ish) chapters each week. So breaking the story up as he would have broken it up seems the sticking point.
If I ever do this, and it's not against the rules of c/literature, I'll make a post so people can sign up and get stories emailed to them piece by piece :)
I highly recommend the focus on the family Radio Theatre dramatization of Anne of Green Gables! Obviously focus on the family is highly problematic and this is no endorsement, but you can find the CD version used. The score and sound production is high quality, and Anne is played by Mae Whitman, who voices Katara in Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Currently reading Building a Second Brain by Tiago Forte, and in tandem I'm also going through HBR Project Management by Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez.
I'm restructuring my whole organization structure around PARA and CODE as described in BASB (It resonated with me because I realized I was already doing a form of PARA with my work files), and with that using Project Management as a primer for establishing how to complete my personal projects (I've always been bad at this because somehow I never registered personal stuff as projects in the way that I register my work projects). I'm an engineer so I have some project management experience, but I know I'm missing knowledge here and there so this is a twofer in educating myself on managing both my projects at work and my projects at home.
I'm also reading my way through *Hamlet *after becoming obsessed with the Kenneth Branagh adaptation. I've listened to two separate Librivox dramatizations and bought a dramatized version on Libro.fm.
I'm re-reading Middlemarch by George Eliot. I had forgotten how funny it is in places, and what a wry and surprisingly modern voice she has (once you get used to the 19th Century writing style).
I'm enjoying it, but I'll say that how to do nothing is a better book IMO. I actively recommend that to people. So far I don't think I'd tell someone to read how to save time unless they're already interested in the philosophy/ideas being expressed on consumerism and the relationship of socioeconomic class to how time is spent working, or they just really loved how to do nothing.
So with that if you're not already reading it I recommend the new book- my main criticism thus far is that it feels less focused than the prior book was. I think she was going for a non-linear approach as a metaphor for how time isn't necessarily linear, but something about that doesn't work well here and makes her points harder to retain and follow/connect. Or maybe that's just me. I could see myself rereading both books in the future though.
I usually have a print/ebook and an audio book (for the car) going at the same time.
For print book, currently reading Crooked Kingdom, one of the books in the Grishaverse series/world. I, uh, got a little obsessed after watching the first season of Shadow and Bone a year or two ago.
For audiobook, currently listening to Children of Ruin. Not too far into it yet, but I loved loved loved Children of Time (also listened to the audiobook version), so I'm excited to see where this one goes.
I really want to read Children of Time. I actually did start it and got half way through, but I have such an intense arachnophobia that I had to give up because I kept dreaming of spiders and waking up terrified. I enjoyed his writing style, though, and am curious about his new trilogy coming out.
Aah that's so rough, I'm sorry to hear that! I'm terrified of spiders IRL but fortunately it doesn't extend much to other media 😅
Is it the Final Architecture trilogy that's his new one? I've got the first book on my to-read list, but haven't gotten to it yet. It doesn't look like the audiobook has the same narrator as the Children of Time books, though, which is a bummer!
Yeah! The first one is Shards of Earth. I have it sitting on my nightstand to read next since the final book of the trilogy just came out.
Thinking about it, I wonder if listening to an audiobook would help me with the phobia since I'm not usually bothered by people talking about spiders and, for whatever reason, I don't create as much visualization in my head when I am listening to something as opposed to reading it. Especially since the narrator seems so good!
That's an interesting observation! If you do end up giving it a shot and it doesn't bother you as much via audio, you definitely won't be disappointed in the narrator (IMO). 🙂 (Then again, I feel like I'm really picky about audiobook narrators for some reason, haha).
I feel you. I'm also picky about narrators. I've stopped listening to a lot of books because the narrator threw me off. It's harder to enjoy the plot/characters if the storyteller has the wrong vibes.
I'm in the middle of The Tommyknockers by Stephen King. I normally eat his books up quickly but this one has taken quite some time for me. Definitely my least favorite book of his so far, although I do enjoy parts of it.
1356 by Bernard Cornwell. Its cheesey typical damsel in destress stuff set in a bloody french chevauchée, but I'll be damned if it aint a whole lof of fun. Think the expanse, but with horses as worse charachters.
I loved his Warlord Chronicles trilogy, and I'm onto reading the Sharpe series now. In terms of story he definitely has a formula that he sticks to, but it's a really entertaining formula so I can't really fault him for it.
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow. Not bad so far. I just finished The Dark Tower series (loved it) so it is definitely an adjustment.
The Trouble With Peace, by Joe Abercrombie. Glad to be in a mood where I enjoy his cheerful cynicism again. Curious to see if any good deed in the whole long tale (this is book 7, depending on how you count) will remain unpunished though.
I started ‘watching the English’ by Kate Fox, it’s very interesting! Maybe it will help me blend in in the crowd a bit more.
Currently reading Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder. Is it particularly good? Honestly, no. I think all the characters except for the protagonist are frustrating, and if she ends up in a relationship with any one of them I'll be greatly disappointed. Am I having fun? Kinda. I won't pick up the second book unless they introduce a great sequel hook, though.
Hi! I'm not on Beehaw (hope my responding anyway isn't problem) but want to see if I can comment.
I'm reading In Real Life by Cory Doctorow and Jen Wang today.
Of course you responding isn't a problem! We're happy to have you as long as you're willing to follow the only rule here, which is be(e) kind.
@lynn_literary @Kamirose and i am from Mastodon: about to start reading, "Don't Save Anything" by James Salter (would this comment be posted to both kbin and lemmy, as well as Mastodon in my home instance? That would be like magic)
Looks like it did post to lemmy, I can't comment on if it did to kbin. :)
@Kamirose when i checked i was asked to login. But even this is fine, it makes us more numerous than otherwise, thank you.
I see it on kbin!
@lynn_literary @Kamirose wow thank you!
The Shards by Brett Easton Ellis
Booooring. Can’t finish it lol.
I just finished Custer Died for Your Sins, and am about half way through Killers of the Flower Moon. So far it's definitely been worth the read.
The eyes of the dragon by Stephen King
I read this so many times that my hardback copy started breaking. You know how the edges of the outer cover about 2/3 of the way down start getting fuzzy from being held when you've taken off the dust jacket? Almost fuzzy enough to make into a rope for escaping from a tower.
Just over half way on The Justice Of Kings by Richard Shaw. Liking it so far.
Just started Howl's Moving Castle. Liking it so far!
Not exactly like the movie, but it's pretty close.
I legitimately did not know there is a book. It’s my favorite movie so I might pick this up.
A lot of Miyazaki's films are based on books! Kiki's Delivery Services is a book as well, and Secret Life of Arietty is based on The Borrowers.
Yes the book was first, and adapted for the movie. It's a trilogy. They did a good job on the adaptation, though there are some differences, as there always are. I'm reading it through my Library on Libby.
Neuromancer. It's okay so far.
I just finished Wolf in White Van by John Darnielle. I LOVED it.
I did not expect to love Wolf in White Van as much as I did, but I loved how it was written.
Pattern Recognition, William Gibson.
Gibson is tough to get into, personally, but his stories are very cool!
Black House, by Stephen King and Peter Straub
Vonnegut's Galapagos, and Parenti's Blackshirts and Reds.
Conspiracy of Truths by Alexandra Rowland.
So far, it is intriguing and enjoyable! Got a ways to go, but I think it'll hold up.
Dracula and Treasure Island. I do so love Project Gutenberg and my Kobo
If you like Project Gutenberg, you should also check out Standard Ebooks. They take Project Gutenberg books and format it to be nicer on ereaders.
Looks awesome, thank you! 😄
I can vouch for Kobo! I bought a Kobo Forma earlier this year and it has quickly become my favorite device. It is both a very competently designed ereader, and not locked into the Amazon walled garden.
Cool thing about Dracula is that, because it is in the public domain, and because it is told through journal entries, it can be read in the real time of the entries. https://draculadaily.substack.com/ is a newsletter that sends you emails of the particular day's entries if you're into that. It's already well underway though, but could be fun for a reread next year
An author whose newsletter I am on, Joshua James, serialized HG Wells' "The War of the Worlds" in the run-up to the release of the first book in his tWotW-inspired alien invasion SF series. A chapter of tWotW was emailed each day. It was fun, especially since the chapters weren't overly long.
I thought that would be a fun substack to set up, sending out a public-domain classic one chapter at a time.
That would be a fun substack! War of the Worlds was the first book that terrified me as a child, to the point that I still can have nightmares of the giant tripod ships, but for whatever reason I really enjoy it!
I was actually thinking more about this today at work (don't tell the boss....)
Dickens published a lot of his work serially. And his stories were wildly popular, like 'Harry Potter' levels of popularity. It seems like the stories of Charles Dickens would work well for this kind of medium; the only problem I came across is that he didn't necessarily serialize each chapter every week, rather, he would serialize 1-3 (-ish) chapters each week. So breaking the story up as he would have broken it up seems the sticking point.
If I ever do this, and it's not against the rules of c/literature, I'll make a post so people can sign up and get stories emailed to them piece by piece :)
I am in the middle of reading Men at Arms, one of the Discworld novels by Terry Pratchet. Very much recommend!
Claudius The God, which I'm enjoying. (I watched the BBC adaption years ago, but only got around to reading the two books recently.)
working my way through Discworld again. currently at Unseen Academicals.
I will read Shepherd's Crown this time.
I've been reading through the Anne of Green Gables series (L.M. Montgomery). It's one of my comfort reads, and I've been needing it.
I also just finished the Phryne Fisher series by Kerry Greenwood. I would have read more of them, but she hasn't written any more yet.
I highly recommend the focus on the family Radio Theatre dramatization of Anne of Green Gables! Obviously focus on the family is highly problematic and this is no endorsement, but you can find the CD version used. The score and sound production is high quality, and Anne is played by Mae Whitman, who voices Katara in Avatar: The Last Airbender.
The Count of Monte Cristo! Liking it so far and I've heard good things
I finally managed to read through Gardens of the Moon recently which I really liked, so now I'm on to Deadhouse Gates.
Memories of Ice - Malazan Book of the Fallen I am really enjoying this series so far. I get absorbed right in even with how dense it is at times.
Singularity Sky (The Eschaton #1) by Charles Stross
Currently reading Hitch hikers guide to the galaxy really fun reads though it got weird in some places
Hello, first post here. :D I'm reading A Favourite of the Gods by Sybille Bedford.
Welcome!
Currently reading Building a Second Brain by Tiago Forte, and in tandem I'm also going through HBR Project Management by Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez.
I'm restructuring my whole organization structure around PARA and CODE as described in BASB (It resonated with me because I realized I was already doing a form of PARA with my work files), and with that using Project Management as a primer for establishing how to complete my personal projects (I've always been bad at this because somehow I never registered personal stuff as projects in the way that I register my work projects). I'm an engineer so I have some project management experience, but I know I'm missing knowledge here and there so this is a twofer in educating myself on managing both my projects at work and my projects at home.
I'm also reading my way through *Hamlet *after becoming obsessed with the Kenneth Branagh adaptation. I've listened to two separate Librivox dramatizations and bought a dramatized version on Libro.fm.
I'm re-reading Middlemarch by George Eliot. I had forgotten how funny it is in places, and what a wry and surprisingly modern voice she has (once you get used to the 19th Century writing style).
Just started House of Leaves! Been super interesting so far, I love when books, movies, or games break tradition and do something truly unique
Keep an eye out for the secret messages you have to decode!
Recently finished "how to do nothing" by Jenny Odell. Working on her latest book now about saving time.
What do you think of the new one? I absolutely loved how to do nothing
I'm enjoying it, but I'll say that how to do nothing is a better book IMO. I actively recommend that to people. So far I don't think I'd tell someone to read how to save time unless they're already interested in the philosophy/ideas being expressed on consumerism and the relationship of socioeconomic class to how time is spent working, or they just really loved how to do nothing.
So with that if you're not already reading it I recommend the new book- my main criticism thus far is that it feels less focused than the prior book was. I think she was going for a non-linear approach as a metaphor for how time isn't necessarily linear, but something about that doesn't work well here and makes her points harder to retain and follow/connect. Or maybe that's just me. I could see myself rereading both books in the future though.
I usually have a print/ebook and an audio book (for the car) going at the same time.
For print book, currently reading Crooked Kingdom, one of the books in the Grishaverse series/world. I, uh, got a little obsessed after watching the first season of Shadow and Bone a year or two ago.
For audiobook, currently listening to Children of Ruin. Not too far into it yet, but I loved loved loved Children of Time (also listened to the audiobook version), so I'm excited to see where this one goes.
I really want to read Children of Time. I actually did start it and got half way through, but I have such an intense arachnophobia that I had to give up because I kept dreaming of spiders and waking up terrified. I enjoyed his writing style, though, and am curious about his new trilogy coming out.
Aah that's so rough, I'm sorry to hear that! I'm terrified of spiders IRL but fortunately it doesn't extend much to other media 😅
Is it the Final Architecture trilogy that's his new one? I've got the first book on my to-read list, but haven't gotten to it yet. It doesn't look like the audiobook has the same narrator as the Children of Time books, though, which is a bummer!
Yeah! The first one is Shards of Earth. I have it sitting on my nightstand to read next since the final book of the trilogy just came out.
Thinking about it, I wonder if listening to an audiobook would help me with the phobia since I'm not usually bothered by people talking about spiders and, for whatever reason, I don't create as much visualization in my head when I am listening to something as opposed to reading it. Especially since the narrator seems so good!
That's an interesting observation! If you do end up giving it a shot and it doesn't bother you as much via audio, you definitely won't be disappointed in the narrator (IMO). 🙂 (Then again, I feel like I'm really picky about audiobook narrators for some reason, haha).
I feel you. I'm also picky about narrators. I've stopped listening to a lot of books because the narrator threw me off. It's harder to enjoy the plot/characters if the storyteller has the wrong vibes.
The Goblin Emperor, Katherine Addison.
Just started. A bit surprised by the prose, wasn't what I was expecting, but I think I'm into it.
I stumbled across this series recently as well, and really enjoyed the three books I've read from it. Hope you're still enjoying it!
I'm in the middle of The Tommyknockers by Stephen King. I normally eat his books up quickly but this one has taken quite some time for me. Definitely my least favorite book of his so far, although I do enjoy parts of it.
Some of his books are a chore to finish. I'm feeling that with Doctor sleep right now