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RoboNixon wrote:

MrPayneTrayne wrote:I'm reading through The Magician's trilogy. On the final book of the series. Would recommend it for an interesting world with an unlikeable protagonist.

I agree that it is an interesting world, and I found the protagonist DEEPLY unlikable. Him cheating in the first book tilted me so much, I've never gotten that mad at a book.Barely finished, but was a good read.

Saved by Google, I got really confused thinking you were talking about The Magician Trilogy be R E Feist considering I quite like the protagonist there. (it's not really a trilogy though, it's the start of a lengthy series spanning worlds and centuries and an ever changing cast all in a high fantasy setting).

Unless you are actually talking about that and we're all just unaware that there is actually a separate The Magician's trilogy,

Tim_McM wrote:Saved by Google, I got really confused thinking you were talking about The Magician Trilogy be R E Feist considering I quite like the protagonist there. (it's not really a trilogy though, it's the start of a lengthy series spanning worlds and centuries and an ever changing cast all in a high fantasy setting).

Unless you are actually talking about that and we're all just unaware that there is actually a separate The Magician's trilogy,

It's by Lev Grossman, there's also a television series if you're interested (though I haven't seen it).

Prompted by the recent mention of it on CheckPoint, I have started reading the Count of Monte Cristo.

I'm reading a Russian novel called 'We' by Yevgeny Zamyatin. It's like an earlier, more humorous 1984.

Alright, finished 'We'. Also read (finally!) Heart of Darkness and T. S. Eliot's 'The Waste Land'. Six books down, nineteen to go for this year's reading challenge.

Jesus, nothing since April.
Read three novels by Ian McEwan - The Cement Garden, The Comfort of Strangers and Nutshell - all of them hearty recommendations.
Plowed through Player Piano, Vonnegut's first novel - not his best and really only interesting as a fan of the man.
The Eye by Nabokov was diffuse.
The Castle of Otranto, either the first or one of the first Gothic horror stories, is mostly bizarre.
The Pearl by Steinbeck I picked for being short and ended up being a great read. Author knew how to invoke precise images and string them like he's editing a movie in your own mind's eye. Steinbeck is obviously a child of early day silent flick drama.
And I just finished The Dunwich Horror by Lovecraft. I'm getting more and more into weird fiction from late 19th century to early 20th century - just ordered by mail Carnacki, the Ghost Finder - and I want to get into Arthur Machen, but he's hard to come by where I live.

I read The Handmaid's Tale... and then learned that a series was about to come on out Hulu. I don't have hulu though, but that was interesting timing. Mind you, I read it because my new boyfriend was reading it, and it's possible he started reading it because of the TV show, so maybe not a coincidence?

Right now, reading Scared Sick and In The Realm of Hungry Ghosts, both for school. They're both really interesting books though.

I like to read several books at the same time, now one of them is “Arch of Triumph” of Erich Maria Remarque. One of my favorite writers, even though it breaks my heart to read stories about all these war events. I enjoy reading biographies as well and Remarque has quite an impressive one; found out that he liked old manors and collected antiques. He spent his last years in this villa in Switzerland https://tranio.com/switzerland/adt/1628216/, and now it is for sale.

In the interests of forum necromancy here is some of what I've been reading recently:

Crime and Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Deep South, Paul Theroux
Dynasty: The Rise and Fall of the House of Caesar, Tom Holland
Athelstan: The Making of England, Tom Holland
Down Under: Travels in a Sunburned Country, Bill Bryson
Cnut: The North Sea King, Ryan Lavelle

I recently picked up the short stories (1st) of The Witcher. Breezed through it in a day and I'd say that it's actually pretty good. I've been itching to get my hands on the second one, but I haven't seen it in the nearby bookstores and I haven't got the time to go hunting for it.

Since I last posted I got and read <i>Carnacki, the Ghost Finder</i> as well as <i>The House on the Borderland</i>, both by William Hope Hodgson. I've liked Poe and Lovecraft for quite a while but with Hodgson I got deep into weird fiction. I ended up reading <i>The Great God Pan</i> by Arthur Machen and <i>Tales of Soldiers and Civilians</i> by Ambrose Bierce as well, and then some more Lovecraft.

I also spent a couple of weeks working alone at a bookstore and reading pretty much all the comics and graphic novels we had lying around. Read <i>Maus</i> and <i>From Hell</i>, both awesome, and then about 2000 or 98 issues of <i>The Walking Dead</i>, which isn't but it's good entertainment anyway. Also read a Stephen King graphic novel called <i>American Vampire</i> which I can take or leave. It's only been a couple of months and I've already forgotten most of it.

Oh and I read two Philip Roth novels: <i>The Dying Animal</i> and <i>The Humbling</i>. So that's three total. They're all written in that embittered, disgruntled style of his even though all of his stories are really kinda self-indulgent.

I should read books and not just the internet. I only seem to read when travelling.

I'm slowly going through The Origins of Political Order by Francis Fukuyama again.

I'm about to start on the second Expanse book Caliban's War.

I have this trend of reading loads of books early in the year and by summer falling off and just not reading all year again and I super need to fix that

I've been reading 'The Shadow of What Was Lost' by James Islington lately. It's a bit of a mix between Game of Thrones (sorry if this comparison gets made too often) and the 'Lies of Locke Lamora' series.

Very good world and character building, especially dialogue and banter amongst characters, I'd definitely recommend it if you're looking for another large-scale world building fantasy and you're tired of waiting for GRRM like I am. he gon die before TWOW is released smdh

I read "Ready Player One" before I saw the movie, and I loved both for different reasons.

The Ocean at the End of the Lane and doing my Math Homework. Thanks to Gaiman and https://www.bartleby.com/subject/math

So I recently got Kindle (I know, the shock and horror) I still prefer hardcopies, but I must say, It's been pretty handy for those hard to find long runner series. Such as the 'Animorphs' books. I had a yen to pick em up as I never read the whole series through, and it's super easy to pull my phone out on the bus and read a few chapters. Alas, the first Megamorph book isn't on there, so I'll have to go to the library for it or something.

What else do I have on the go? I've been going through 'The Death and Return of Superman' omnibus off and on for the last three years, I've been early into a 'Star Trek: Titan' novel for like a year; Started 'Speaker for the Dead' after finishing 'Ender in Exile' but put that on hold for 'The Swarm' and I'm part way through 'Caliban's War' which means I also had to put my watching of the Expanse on hold till I catch up.

Just finished reading "The Cruel Sea" by Nicholas Monsarrat. This 1951 novel is about the crew of a British warship assigned to escort freighters and hunt submarines in the North Atlantic. Awesome high-seas adventure based on the author's own experiences.

Just finished "Agents of Dreamland" by Caitlin Kiernan, a novella that ties in to H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos. An agent of a mysterious secret agency investigates a weird cult near California's Salton Sea that has infected several members with something like Cordyceps fungus.

This is a good one. Kiernan manages to place the Mythos in a modern setting while establishing an eerie mood reminiscent of "The X-Files". Definitely worth checking out.

I fell out of reading for quite a while. I'd pick up a book and read a few chapters before getting bored. Then my boyfriend bought a copy of Good Omens and insisted I read it. I just finished it and it was very good. Just in time to watch the show adaptation that's coming out soon.

Currently reading The Call of the Wild by Jack London - a riveting tale that resonates deeply with nature enthusiasts and conservationists alike. As a nature enthusiast, I was captivated by London's vivid descriptions of the rugged landscape, the untamed beauty of the wilderness, and the profound connection between animals and their environment. Through Buck's eyes, you'll witness the unforgiving yet awe-inspiring power of nature, which serves as both a formidable adversary and a source of profound wisdom. From a conservationist's perspective, "The Call of the Wild" serves as a poignant reminder of the importance of preserving our natural world. London portrays the destructive impact of human greed and exploitation on the environment, highlighting the contrast between the purity of the wild and the corruption of civilization. A timeless masterpiece that celebrates the beauty of nature while cautioning against its exploitation, the novel is a powerful narrative that will inspire you to cherish and protect our planet's precious resources.