For me: Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy.

I had seen the movie but never read the book before. It was a lot better than I expected.

Also what is your current/next book?

I’m continuing the saga with The Restaurant At The End Of The Galaxy.

  • mapiki@discuss.online
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    2 days ago

    Eve - 200 million years of evolution using a female perspective

    Actually finished feeling happy to be born female which working in a male dominated industry (engineering) and enjoying male dominated hobbies (skiing, climbing, backpacking) often leaves me only surrounded by guys and feeling ‘wrong’ to not be able to match their ways of doing things instead of able to focus on my unique abilities.

    In the middle of The Way of Kings in anticipation of reading book 5.

    • OpenStars@piefed.socialOP
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      2 days ago

      It’s not just gender - introvert vs. extrovert, biology vs. computer, science vs. project management, anyone can be excluded without effort to create a welcoming atmosphere. At least you are able to keep up in their area
      (that notably many men themselves couldn’t do), which already speaks highly to your capabilities and temperament!:-)

  • mojofrododojo@lemmy.world
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    3 days ago

    You Like It Darker, by Stephen King.

    Another collection of short stories and the label is correct, these are darker than normal King fare, very much reminded me of Bachman books. And a character from Cujo makes an appearance that’s just great. 5/5 good shit

  • odium@programming.dev
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    4 days ago

    Last book I completed: The Conquest of Bread by Pyotr Kropotkin

    Currently reading: Stormlight Archives book #5 by Brandon Sanderson

    Now that I type that out, this is so avg lemmy user reading interests.

  • Kit@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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    4 days ago

    Last book I read was Twilight. Working on the 2nd book in the series now. It’s just a junk food of a book in the best way possible.

    • mapiki@discuss.online
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      2 days ago

      I wouldn’t choose Twilight, but I get the same feeling when I’m reading any romance novel. Not much substance but my mood is ten times better.

      • Kit@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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        1 day ago

        Yeah! Sometimes you just need a brain-off good time.

        I’m a bit surprised by Twilight - it has a couple of moments that are surprisingly gut-punching, like “The familiar smell of my shampoo made me feel like I might be the same person I had been this morning.” That hit me hard.

    • OpenStars@piefed.socialOP
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      4 days ago

      I halfway wanna joke and say like “I’m sorry to hear that”, but you’re so right: the different types of stories each serve their own roles - not every book needs to be a brain-twister or expander, sometimes we just need to veg out and relax a minute and a great book can get us there!:-D

  • wjrii@lemmy.world
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    4 days ago

    Been reading Honor Harrington books on vacation.

    Good: political and technological world building, factions that are flawed but easy to root for, compelling action sequences.

    Bad: eye-rolling 90s neocon chicken-hawk posturing, Mary Sue vibes from Honor herself, some very clumsy historical parallels, well beyond what “Horatio Hornblower in space” strictly needs, and I think Weber was maybe literally in love with her.

    • limer@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      3 days ago

      I never really was able to get into the honorverse much; but the march upcountry series, by the same two authors who wrote some of the honorverse, I liked a lot.

      Upcountry was some of the best military science fiction I ever read. And here, for some reason, they struck the right balance for me, cancelling out both their negative ( for me) traits .

      It starts with a total loser of a prince and over time he finds his stride to be more of an Alexander the Great character.

      The battles range from medieval weapons to space battles with real time communication constraints, in the four books

  • superduperpirate@lemmy.world
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    4 days ago

    I haven’t read an actual book in ages. If reading fanfiction counts, the most recent one I’ve read is “Shrouded Destiny” by GladiusX, set in the universe of A Song of Ice and Fire.

    AO3 link

    It’s currently updating, and has been updating once per week for over a year. The narrative has nearly reached its conclusion.

    I don’t necessarily agree with all the plot choices the author has made, but it is overall very well written, with far more realistic consequences and less plot armor compared to canon.

  • LaunchesKayaks@lemmy.world
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    3 days ago

    Last big story I read was The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath by HP Lovecraft

    Currently reading The King in Yellow by Robert W Chambers as well as a collection of short stories by various authors called Shadows of Carcosa

  • ghost_towels@sh.itjust.works
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    4 days ago

    I just finished The Spine of the World, reading the next one, Sea of Swords now. I decided to finally read all the DnD books last January so I’ve been working my way through them. I read hella fast, a trilogy a week is pretty normal, so having such a ridiculous amount of books to get through is awesome for me.

    I took a break over the summer and read all the Vlad Taltos books by Stephen Brust, holy Dinah that series is so good!! I think when I need another break from DnD I’ll read that series recommendation below, This Quest is Broken. Another series I quite liked was NPC’s by Drew Hays, the audiobooks are really well done.

    And hitchhikers guide is one of my favourites, glad you enjoyed it!

  • limer@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    4 days ago

    This quest is broken by JP Valentine

    Lit rpg

    I liked all four books, I think the first book is best, as normal for such series.

    The Questing Stones have come to Nowherested, and Evelia Greene is finally ready to receive her life’s quest. Perhaps she’ll be a great warrior, or a wealthy merchant, or a brilliant mage. Perhaps her quest is simply to live a quiet life, constantly honing a craft to the heights of perfection.

    Or perhaps the Questing Stones will grant her the Legendary mission of popping over to the next village to pick up a loaf of bread.

  • eestileib@sh.itjust.works
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    4 days ago

    Just finished Black Powder War, two chapters into The Tombs of Atuan.

    Most excited about Harrow the Ninth, which is a couple down in my queue.

        • OpenStars@piefed.socialOP
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          3 days ago

          Isn’t like the entire first half of The Fellowship Of The Ring devoted to the birthday party? 🎉

          Tom Bombadil and such almost enticed me to read it but that party though… 🥳

          img

          • m_f@discuss.onlineM
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            3 days ago

            Yeah it totally isn’t easy reading lol. Just compared to The Silmarillion it feels that way.

            • OpenStars@piefed.socialOP
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              3 days ago

              I have only read the prologue to The Silmarillion, but most of the lore I know from LOTR is just from reading Wikipedia for the specific topics I was wanting to know about. How cool is it that the knowledge has passed from being available solely in book form to becoming part of the basic culture of the Western world:-).

  • DaMonsterKnees@lemmy.world
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    4 days ago

    Fucking Hyperion. First book I’ve read where I didn’t like a fucking character. Damn that book pissed me off. First book I would not suggest. Anyone else dislike Hyperion?

    • m_f@discuss.onlineM
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      4 days ago

      I remember liking it, but I read it long ago so don’t remember a ton of it. I might’ve liked it because it’s Literature and you’re obligated to like it.

      I like the Shrike a lot, does that count as a character? I always imagined it as something cooler than depicted in a lot of art though, like something completely unreal, with angles and points that look like glitches in reality, like your GPU is trying to render something while its melting.

  • snooggums@lemmy.world
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    4 days ago

    I was a prolific reader up to high school, then fell off a bit due to a combination of being busy with other things and not realizing my eyesight was going downhill in my early 20s.

    I did reread Lord of the Flies a few years ago and it was even better than I rememebered. Helped that it was so short that constantly being interrupted didn’t keep me from losing interest like a couple of the other books I tried around the same time.

    • OpenStars@piefed.socialOP
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      4 days ago

      We’ve all been there: reading uses a particular part of your brain and if you’ve already had to read another book for school, it’s most often too exhausting to continue reading for pleasure as well. But don’t worry, you won’t forget your love for reading - even though you have to set it aside for a bit to focus your attentions elsewhere:-).