What are you reading?

[luburch]

So I just finished the Red Rising Trilogy by Piece Brown. If you enjoyed the Hunger Game series or Ender's Game then I highly recommend it.

I was curious what everyone else is reading or had finished reading recently and if anyone had any recommendations?

I will read pretty much anything I can get my hands on. Fiction, non-fiction, sci-fi, doesn't make a difference. Debating starting the Game of Thrones series..

Recently, I've read the three JK Rowling detective novels, Life is Not an Accident (J-Will), and The Hobbit.

Anyone have anything they're reading now or that they recommend? I figured this thread could be a nice soundboard for those looking for something new to read.

[devildeac]

Since Jan 1:

Farewell to Arms (current)
Killing Reagan
DBR
Dreams and Visions
Rogue Lawyer
lots of medical journals

Birthday coming up next month. Hoping to add to the list.

[OldPhiKap]

Dubliners by James Joyce, currently. Weighing whether to attempt Ulysses or not.

[91devil]

Good thread to start.

I recommend the latest novel by Chris Pavone entitled "The Travelers". It is Pavone's third book (following "The Expats" and "The Accident"). Good mystery / spy / suspense thriller.

[cspan37421]

Am considering revisiting Neal Stephenson. Loved his stuff through Cryptonomicon, but he lost me midway through the Baroque Cycle trilogy. I got very tired of his Waterhouse & Shaftoe characters always being in just the right place at just the right time to witness stuff. What a coincidence! Again and again. It was too clever by half, maybe by three-quarters. Anyway, was considering finding a copy of Reamde or Anathem, see if he might return to cyberpunk roots in some way. Not fully ruling out completing the Baroque Cycle since I think there are interesting ideas to explore there, but the vehicle he chose was getting to be so eye-rolling I couldn't stand it.

The 3 that I've finished recently include:

The Turk, by Tom Standage. Story of the chess-playing automaton. Very good read. I learned of Standage through my son's AP World History course; his summer reading was Standage's History of the World in Six Glasses (the six are: beer, wine, spirits, tea, coffee, cola). One of many possible prisms through which to view world history - definitely an interesting one.

Euclid's Window, by Leonard Mlodinow. History of geometry rambles snarkily and ultimately disappoints. Amazon reviewers offer some specific/detailed criticisms.

The Island of Lost Maps, by Miles Harvey. True story of a thief of antique maps who hit a lot of university libraries, including Duke and UVA, surreptitiously cutting maps out of atlases and smuggling them out under his coat/shirt. These old, rare, beautiful (yet often inaccurate!) maps often end up framed in the homes of doctors, lawyers, or in the offices of big companies' C-suites. One picture in there has the thief covering his face with his hands outside Orange County NC's Hillsborough courthouse. A good story, pretty interesting, but drawn out. The critique that the author stretched out a long-form magazine article into a book seems fair to me. It didn't keep me from enjoying it however.

Next up, aside from returning to Neal Stephenson as indicated above, I am considering reading some highly regarded youth literature that my 20 yr old DD left behind on the shelves, such as The Giver, The Tale of Desperaux, and Abarat. I'm about 1/4 through Abarat and so far it gets a "meh".

Note, however, I usually prefer nonfiction - I'm just looking around at our shelves for good unread books, and most of those for me are fiction. Any thoughts on these or others?

[Reilly]

"We Have Always Lived in the Castle" by Shirley Jackson. Copyright 1962. Highly recommend. Short, funny. Distinctive voice.

[El_Diablo]

Debating starting the Game of Thrones series..

This is what I am (re-)reading now. I highly recommend taking the plunge.

[aimo]

I've been reading Jimmy Buffett's A Salty Piece of Land since October. Not b/c it's hard to read, I just haven't had the time or mindset to finish it. It's actually really good. I'm still waiting for my turn on the Durham County Library's copy of Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff. I loved her first novel, Monsters of Templeton, and her second, Arcadia, was interesting. Also, Craig Johnson is releasing a new Longmire novella this month, The Highwayman. If you haven't read the Longmire series, do, and be sure to start with The Cold Dish, and read them in order.

[Dev11]

Yesterday I received my copy of The Only Rule Is It Has To Work, a baseball story about two sabremetrics-centric writers who took over the baseball operations for an independent league team with a focus on implementing unorthodox practices. The writers, Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller, also host an excellent podcast for Baseball Prospectus that I love. I'm excited to dive into this one, and based on a couple chapters, definitely recommend it for the baseball fan in your life.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

Just started The Goldfinch, but I have heard nothing but high praise. Looking forward to digging in, as I loved Donna Tartt's first book, "The Secret History."

[wilson]

...Debating starting the Game of Thrones series...

This is what I am (re-)reading now. I highly recommend taking the plunge.

I read them a few years ago and really enjoyed them. I like having a large-scale project like that that immerses me and keeps me busy for several weeks at a time.
But your decision should depend somewhat on your reading tastes. Martin is very good at world-building, and I also think his long-term character and plot development is quite enjoyable. But I think his prose is distinctly below average. If mellifluous composition is a high priority for you, I wouldn't recommend it...it's just too long and involved to keep you satisfied.

[cspan37421]

forgot to mention a very quick read - A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson. Forgot it b/c it only took me a day and a half to read it, about 25 times my normal pace. I enjoyed his sense of humor - about every 10-15 pages there was a passage that made me literally LOL. From this first exposure to him, I'm inclined to read others of his oeuvre. As a former resident of Albion, I may look for his Notes from a Small Island. I recently gave my dad The Road to Little Dribbling, and he loved it.

[swood1000]

The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Actually, listening to it via Audible (great way to get some use out of driving and dog walking time).

[cspan37421]

The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Actually, listening to it via Audible (great way to get some use out of driving and dog walking time).

Do you ever use Librivox? I used them to listen to Shelley's Frankenstein on a long drive; the "book" was outstanding.

[swood1000]

Do you ever use Librivox? I used them to listen to Shelley's Frankenstein on a long drive; the "book" was outstanding.

No, I had no idea that was available. Thanks for the tip! Is the reading quality pretty good?

[Billy Dat]

I went on a hoops-related book tear during the meat of basketball season:

-Jason Williams autobiography - "Life is not an Accident"
-Feinstein's latest on K, Dean and Jimmy V "The Legends Club"
-Andy Glockner's "Chasing Perfection" about the revolution in advanced stats in basketball
-Jonathan Abrams "Boys Among Men" about the prep-to-pro generation from KGarnett - Dwight Howard before they changed the rules

Other than that, recent reads of note:

"All Involved" by Ryan Gattis, a fictionalized account of the LA Riots mostly from the perspective of latino gangs, really raw and crazy/disturbing

"My Struggle - Volumes 1-5" by Karl Ove Knausguard. These books have been really interesting. Knausgaard was a locally acclaimed Norwegian writer when he decided to devote 3,600 pages to record his 40-some-odd relatively uneventful years on Earth in minute detail. The six-volume collection is considered a notable modern literary achievement. Is the life of a middle-aged author of nominal fame that interesting? I guess the answer is in the eyes of the beholder, but I can't get enough. It's a classic "it's not what he's saying but how he says it" situation and I think most people can connect with his everyday struggles and triumphs, vanities and perceived slights, etc. They have been translating 1 volume a year into English and they just released Volume 5. If you start with Volume 1 and get hooked, you've got a plenty to keep you interested in no fear of spoilers because there aint much to spoil.

[aimo]

I went on a hoops-related book tear during the meat of basketball season:

-Jason Williams autobiography - "Life is not an Accident"
-Feinstein's latest on K, Dean and Jimmy V "The Legends Club"
-Andy Glockner's "Chasing Perfection" about the revolution in advanced stats in basketball
-Jonathan Abrams "Boys Among Men" about the prep-to-pro generation from KGarnett - Dwight Howard before they changed the rules

.

No My Losing Season - Pat Conroy?

[Billy Dat]

No My Losing Season - Pat Conroy?

I actually own that book but haven't read it...the others were of the page-turner variety and that one seems like deserves some more of my focus. On your suggestion I'll throw it back onto the to-read pile.

I forget two other music related books:

"The Song Machine" by John Seabrook, all about how pop music has been made for the past 10-20 years, really interesting deep dive into producers Max Martin, Dr. Luke, etc.

I have also been circling the new James Brown book, "Kill 'Em and Leave: Searching for James Brown and the American Soul" by James McBride. I stopped buying books because my backlog was too steep but I will get the one soon.

[Tom B.]

First...holy crap, you people read a lot. I wish I read more -- it just seems that between work and family obligations (which include taking care of two kids under age 5), the time and/or energy are frequently lacking.

Second -- I'm currently reading Built on Bones by Greg Ried. It's a bit of Civil War-era historical fiction written by a friend of my father-in-law. It's OK -- a fairly easy read, it might make a nice summertime beach or pool book.

Next up on my nightstand is Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown. Seabiscuit plus Chariots of Fire plus Miracle plus the first part of Unbroken -- but about rowing.

[cspan37421]

No, I had no idea that was available. Thanks for the tip! Is the reading quality pretty good?

It varies - for every narrator on par with Jim Dale or Stephen Fry, you get one on par with "Mike," your customer service rep from the Far East.
Most are well toward the midpoint of those. It's volunteer work, and as such, I suspect it attracts more bibliophiles than voice actors.

Remember, though: each title is worth every penny.

I have thought of volunteering - I may yet, someday. Too busy serving in other roles at the moment, but it would be a nice legacy to leave behind.