Finished Cold Days by Jim Butcher! (The 14th book in Dresden Files series.)
It was a wild ride! We are back to world shattering problems and trying to stop them. Just finished the book so haven’t finalised which one to start next, but thinking about reading the next Mistborn book, 3rd one in Wax and Wayne era. Let’s see.
Bingo Squares: None.
What about all of you? What have you been reading or listening to lately?
For details on the c/Books bingo challenge that just restarted for the year, you can checkout the initial Book Bingo, and its Recommendation Post. Links are also present in our community sidebar.
Just finished crime and punishment by Dostoyevsky, started with Notes from the House of the Dead. Both in Arabic. Couldn’t understand them in English. lol
I’m close to finishing the third Sector General novel by James White. I like a little Golden Age sci-fi now and then.
I just finished Dungeon Crawler Carl, by Matt Diniman and now I’m reading John Dies at the End, by Jason Pargin / “David Wong”.
If you know these stories (crazy reality twisting, real world + fantasy, a touch of sci fi) and have others in a similar vein, I would appreciate any suggestions.
The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins. Don’t read anything about it before hand, just strap in and enjoy the ride.
On it - thank you!
Fantastic recommendation.
my local library doesn’t have more than the first dungeon crawler carl, and Google play only has the second so I haven’t finished the series but I love it. princess donut is the GOAT.
I read John dies at the end a few years ago and didn’t much care for it
I warn you. do not attempt to watch the movie. it is hot garbage.
Suggestions for when your library doesn’t have something that you want to read: Check to see if your library offers it as an ebook. And if not, see if they can get a physical copy for you through inter-library loan.
I always do e-books, using the Libby app to checkout and the Kindle app as a reader for its features. There are loads of good books out there for me to read, so if what I want isn’t available that’s fine I’ll just find something else. Thank you for the suggestion :)
Oh no, I watched the John Dies movie first, last week. I didn’t think it was all that bad but yah, I get you.
Dungeon Crawler Carl is an Amazon/Audible exclusive. If the book is listed anywhere else, it’s a stolen copy.
Now, that a new publisher is putting out new editions of the books, I’m hoping more libraries get rights to the text.
The audiobook, which I HIGHLY recommend, will always be an Audible exclusive. The narrator is re-recording a full immersion version with a full cast and sound effects, but they release those in episodic format, rather than whole books.
I’m listening to The Republic of Thieves by Scott Lynch and reading A Wizard and Her Daughter by Matthew Runyon.
How are you enjoying The Republic of Thieves so far? None of the books after The Lies of Locke Lamora have hit the same high note since. I’m still waiting on the Thorn of Emberlain to come out but after so many years I fear the author’s run out of ideas on where to take the story next.
Randomly picked The Will of the Many from a list of recommendations.
Still too early to judge but it has potential. Magic system seems interesting, and I’m very interested in the world building. The present tense is certainly a choice, but it works where it needs to.
On the other hand, I’ve never been terribly interested in fantasy Rome, the pyramid scheme magic system risks painfully on the nose allegory if not handled properly, and the prospect of this story moving to “the academy” has me wary due to my irrational hatred of stories set in schools.
Currently reading Paranormal Outcasts the complete series (Sean Fletcher), after this I have Butter Cookies and Demon Claws (Peter V. Brett) and Tailored Realities (Brandon Sanderson) as my next to reads and that will hopefully be enough for the rest of the year.
I read about the first fifth of Ghost Story (Dresden Files) this morning. According to my history it’s been a little over 5 years since I last read this, it feels like so much less. To be as vague as possible, that first meeting with the Ragged Lady breaks my heart every time.
I also started The Fellowship of the Ring earlier this week. Only a couple of chapters in, so not much to say about that yet except that I find Hobbits very unpleasant.
I’ve continued Words of Radiance after a 8-9 month hiatus. This Graphic Audio thing is still rad, I’ve just been going through a reading reading phase rather than an audiobook one. I haven’t gotten around to getting a physical copy yet because I have the previous book in the giant hardcover with (I think) the European art? My local fantasy bookshop hasn’t had it in when I’ve been around and I haven’t bothered to ask.
Finished the latest Incryptid, the last couple have been a bit disappointing. They never quite do it for me, what I really want is for the books to go for another chapter and let me see the family in the aftermath of the story, but they always end abruptly right as the climax resolves and there’s no wind-down. You’d think after 14 books I’d be used to it but it always leaves me a little deflated. It’s nice that we get to explore a little more of different characters each book, but I just want to see them together outside of an immediate crisis too.
What else… I’m near the beginning of The Death of WCW, we’re still going through the history of wrestling in North America. I know a lot of it and don’t really care, but it’s necessary context so fair enough.
Oh and I still have a handful of other books on the backburner, Storygraph says I have 12 books going 🤷♂️ I’ll finish some eventually.
that first meeting with the Ragged Lady breaks my heart every time.
I have only read it once, but I can fully understand that. It was a pretty emotional moment.
what I really want is for the books to go for another chapter and let me see the family in the aftermath of the story
I always want this too! Love it when books give that closure about how their life went on.
I’m now on book 10 of He Who Fights with Monsters, and I expect to finish that this coming week.
I’ve really made less progress on my bingo card than I planned, but I still have time to turn that around before the end date.
Just consumed The Last Murder at the End of the World by Stuart Turton. You may recognize him as the author of the 7 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle. This one is a post-apocalyptic murder mystery. It is jam-packed with questions and mysteries. While I had a few remaining questions about the apocalyptic event that happened prior to the story, every string related to the actual story was neatly plaited in a 1000-strand braid with a satisfying end. Love that author.
I’m almost done the second section of Shroud by Adrian Tchaikovsky. I’m enjoying it so far. At first it seemed almost like Lovecraftian horror but in space, but it started showing more depth as it progresses.
I’m currently reading Martyr! I’m about two thirds of the way through. I like it, but I definitely like all the other characters more than the main guy.
I just started A Wrinkle In Time.
I may be 40+ years too late but I am doing it anyway.
Aw, it’s been a while, but I read it as a kid and then later as an adult and I felt it held up pretty well.
I just whipped through A Fable for the End of the World by Ava Reid which was a fun queer enemies to lovers story that I listened to driving back and forth across Pennsylvania this weekend.
I’m still working on Half The World by Joe Ambercrombie. I think I’m going to take a break on his stuff for a bit after I finish this one.
I really enjoyed Fable for the End of the World. I picked a copy up at the romance bookstore on a whim because the cover was really pretty and the summary on their card sounded interesting. It was a really good book.
Just finally finished, Mountain of Black Glass, Tad Williams, and while I enjoyed it, it took me over two months of listening to get it done. The protagonists continued their way through the Otherland, and boy did Williams expound on the details in this book. There was a significant slump in the last third that didn’t pick up until the very end. I’m hoping Sea of Silver Light, is a little quicker.
Other books I’ve finished lately:
- The Library at Mount Char, Scott Hawkins - wild, weird, and one of the darker books I’ve read as of like. Enjoyable, but hard to recommend.
- Audition For the Fox, Martin Cahill - somewhat unimpressed with this novella. The combination of very flowery language, and no stakes meant for a somewhat slow read for a very short book.
I’m currently reading Isabella Nagg and the Pot of Basil, Oliver Darkshire, which is very Pratchett-esc. Lots of witty footnotes, and fun village humor. Pretty light reading, but enjoyable!
Library at Mount Char is excellent, and a must-read for anyone into weird horror.
I think the
Spoiler
repeated murdering of one character’s forced children
really got me. But I agree other than some pretty dark themes, it was very well written.
Your spoiler tag didn’t quite work out, in case you want to edit.
Yeah, worried it might not even after looking the syntax up. That’s no better, is it?
Picked up Mysticism in the 21st Century (Monette, Shoup) after seeing the Insider video of an FBI undercover agent talking about his experience in an accelerationist (in the white supremacist sense) group with esoteric touches. Went down a rabbit hole and eventually came across this treasure.
Aside from the fascinating detail it adds to that topic, I also look forward to seeing the chapters on other spiritual-adjacent stuff.
