Finally reading Dune for the first time. Enjoying it so far, about a third of the way through. I’ve been dying to watch the movie, but I’m the book-before-movie type.

I’ll be finishing the last 3 Expanse books once I get my new library card after I moved over a year ago. I made the decision to read the forward and first chapter of my copy of LOTR *eta today. Damn, does it feel like it reads differently than when I read through any of them 8+ years ago. Had a touch-and-go with reading for enjoyment for a while from having to learn different organization/local SOPs for a couple years (during which I read the middle 1/3 of the Expanse). Great to get back into it, though! For Sci-Fi folks, LeVar Burton posted an article on LinkedIn this past week of top modern SciFi. He does say it’s also celebrating him being included on that list. https://theportalist-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/theportalist.com/adult-sci-fi-books?amp=1 Some mild webpage ad alert

I unfortunately don’t get to do a lot of leisure reading, which is why I love the whole idea behind Bookrastinating. The last book I read is Jillian Tamaki’s Boundless, which I thoroughly enjoyed for the way its stories linger. Before that, I read William Gibson’s Idoru, which I enjoyed. Currently, I’m hoping to have time to dive in to Jon Courtenay Grimwood’s End of the World Blues, hoping to see how this Anglophone author writes a novel set in sci-fi Japan compares with Gibson.

All very interesting reads here, by the way! (I’ll try to play around with tagging your handles…)

I read Cell when it first came out and quite enjoyed it. You’re certainly right about the pace, @mizu6079.

@JustJack23, that looks interesting, too, as most Verso titles are. I especially like these titles that invite a rethinking of the State of Things. That approach reminds me of Peter Frase’s Four Futures: Life After Capitalism. I haven’t read my copy of that yet though.

@TheaoneAndOnly27, thanks for mentioning the Cthulhu Casebooks. Sounds fascinating. Have you read Shadows Over Baker Street? That seems like something that’s up your alley. Good contributors, too, for the most part!

i keep meaning to pick up Demon Copperhead. It’s set in my home county. I wonder how much the author embellished and how real she kept it.

I’m currently picking my way through No Plan B. For a Reacher installment, it seems like it was slow to get rolling, and struggling to keep my attention.

I’m reading Cell by Stephen King. It’s surprisingly fast for a King book which I don’t mind at all.

Had a long pause for a while, but back to making my way thru all of Discworld in publishing order. I’m on Monstrous Regiment at the moment and enjoying Terry Pratchett’s delightful writing as always.

Chthulu Casebooks sounds fun, I’ve never heard of it but I enjoy Holmes and mysteries in general, will make a note to check it out!

Just finished the novels… I found the ending very satisfying.

I’m missing a couple of short stories in that universe.

I just finished blazing through Life of Pi in a single day today. I thought it would be obnoxious and tryhard, but it turned out to be a surprisingly interesting read and a hell of a page-turner. Gets a bit… weird… toward the end, but definitely a book I’d recommend, and one which I’ll probably be thinking about for the next few weeks.

Onward to rereading Children of Dune!

I’m currently reading Crossroads of Twilight by Robert Jordan. It’s a pretty rough experience so far; I’ve basically been reading it extremely slowly since it’s boring af about 50% of the way so far. This is definitely the peak of the “slog” so far that other people who have read Wheel of Time mention.

How is the SH and the Shadwell Shadows? I’ve had that series on my to-read list for a while but haven’t touched them.

I went down a deep horror fantasy rabbit hole and I just came out of it. Now I am jumping back into discworld with Terry Pratchett for a while. I just finished The Fifth Elephant and I’m going to try to finish the watch series in the next couple weeks. I might sprinkle a few short stories in there for palette cleansers haha. Pratchett is always my favorite author to come back to after I do a deep dive on a different genre or author. It’s like a warm blanket that makes me giggle.

Reading Pachinko by Min Jin Lee. I am really enjoying it. So much that when something sad unexpectedly happen I physically closed the book and said out loud ‘Noooooooo’. Took a day break from it, even.

City of Beasts by Isabel Allende. Didn’t realize it was for young adults until after I bought it, but it’s pretty good so far!

I’m reading Essex Dogs by Dan Jones. It’s a historical fiction novel about a group of mercenaries who join England’s invasion of France in the 1300s. It’s violent, vulgar and does an excellent job highlighting the mundane parts of war: endless marching, heat, shitty food, illness, dirt/grime/stink, insects biting you endlessly. I’ve stayed up until 2 AM on work nights 3 times this week because I can’t put it down. I was expecting to like it, and only intended for it to be a palate cleanser between Stormlight Archives books 3-4, but I absolutely love it.

I’m currently working on Children of Ash and Elm by Neil Price, an indepth dive on Vikings covering history, archeology, mythology, and so on. It’s decently well reviewed and at least seems really comprehensive but I have to admit I’m having trouble getting into it and I’m mostly just grinding out 10-20 page chunks at a time before I end up dropping it to do something else.

The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi. Bloody amazing.