MGoReading
Our household has done some cord cutting and streaming downsizing this past year, particularly after the football season ended. We've been doing a lot more reading since then. I often read Horror, Fantasy and US History books. Three that I have on my shelve to read our "Shadow of the Gods", "Dune" and "The Three Body Problem". I'm excited about all three. I think the The Three Body Problem got picked up by Netflix and I haven't read much Sci-Fi in my day. I don't know much about Dune other than I drifted in and out of the movie when I was battling COVID and a high fever.
Anyone else been reading anything interesting?
Stephen King is one of my faves. I mentioned in another comment that I'm reading The Stand right now and am enjoying it. In my younger years, I devoured his books. Before The Stand, I read The Outsider, which I also liked a lot. He's very entertaining and substantial enough that you don't feel brain dead and shameful after reading.
I've read a lot of Stephen King. I think my favorite of his is still Salem's Lot.
I try to never be ashamed of enjoying a book. There's a time and a place for most things, but life's too short to be ashamed of your likes and dislikes.
My favorite Stephen King is probably The Dark Tower, if only for the opening line:
"The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed."
Speaking of opening lines, there's William Gibson's Neuromancer:
"The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel."
When I was in my masters program I was always stressed - I read Steven King cause those books were the only thing that could get the stress out of my mind that didn’t also cause hangovers.
I love Stephen King's On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft.
Going back to re-reading JFK’s Profiles in Courage along with Jon Meacham’s The Soul of America and (as I've been doing in every presidential-election year since I first read it for a college course in 1970) parts of Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville
On the Shelf to Be Read: Loose Balls: The Short, Wild Life of the American Basketball Association by Terry Pluto; Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen; 1776 by David McCullough
Recommended for fans of Major League Baseball History: The First Fall Classic: The Red Sox, the Giants, and the Cast of Players, Pugs, and Politicos Who Reinvented the World Series in 1912 by Mike Vaccaro; Veeck As In Wreck: The Autobiography of Bill Veeck by Bill Veeck with Ed Linn
Nope, Crichton is fan-damn-tastic. King is a bit wordy for me.....get on with it, Stephen, will ya?
“A Long Way Gone,” about child soldiers in Africa is a good biography. The last book I’ve read.
It's intense! Gripping story though.
I am currently reading through the Dresdin Files Book Series. Very well written and fun if you are into fantasy. I also return to reading at least one Terry Pratchett book every so often. He has such a great blend of humor, story telling, character development, and philosophy.
I am nearing the end of the Dresdin FIles and am looking for another series to pick up next.
While I love the Dresden Files, I would not characterize them as "fun". As Harry Dresden levels up, he goes from facing "local" villains to world-destroying threats, and the books get increasingly darker as the casualties mount up.
Terry Pratchett, otoh, is definitely fun. His best Discworld book is probably Night Watch, but the one I reread most often is Going Postal - Moist von Lipwig is a delightful character.
I love the Dresden Files books, and I own all of them. My only criticism is that:
SPOILER, stop now if you don't want a spoiler......
Nothing ever goes right for Harry, and not only that, basically everyone he gets close to, fucking dies. I really want(ed) something to go right for Harry, but Jim Butcher is a dick.
Since the natty, William James Faith & Morals and Human Immortality were solid. Also read Varieties of Religous Experience which is a set of lectures he gave while at the U of E (Edinburgh) that I found less compelling but interesting.
James led me to my current read of "The Works of R L Stevenson, Vol 16, Swanston Edition (available free online); very cool stuff if you like scottish history, shakespeare, and that ilk.
Really liked https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/90590139-democracy-awakening?from_search=true
Fantastic history summation of the rise of authoritarianism. I read this one then went back to construct a timeliness of all the events laid out.
Did not like https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/228665.The_Eye_of_the_World?from_search=true
This book was ok. The TV adaptation is horrible. I didn't like the book well enough to read anymore of them. Most good fantasy comes with character development. I didn't see it here.
Liked with qualification...learned a tonhttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56587388-how-the-world-really-works?from_search=true
Examples of learning for me... Tomatoes are carbon unfriendly - seems like whatever I like to eat comes with a side of guilt. Just a ton of good factual stuff here..
Re-reading Shogun, natch. I read it multiple times as a boy.
If you’re into fantasy while also liking subtle nods to 70s rock, “The Kings of the Wyld” is a great read. I can’t recommend it enough.
Anything and everything written by John LeCarre.
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, The Spy Who Came In From The Cold, and The Little Drummer Girl are very well known (and deserving), but I also really liked Call for the Dead. For a first novel, it's exceptional, and introduces George Smiley in an effective and efficient way.
Just added LeCarre's A Perfect Spy to my audible library. I read it many years ago when the print copy was first published.
I'm sure many of you have already read this but I'm reading "The Stand" right now. It's almost 1200 pages so not a quick read but I'm finding that reading bits at a time works fine. Has some interesting parallels to what's going on today. If you like post-pandemic apocalyptic fiction, "Station Eleven" is good, too. HBO did a miniseries but it wasn't as good as the book, imo.
Currently about 70% through The Witcher series… as someone who usually reads series before watching shows, I purposefully stayed away from it when the Netflix show launched with high hopes to just go along for the ride. But with Henry Cavill announcing he was leaving the show, my interest waned and – wanting to play the Witcher III video game – decided to give in and finally read the series.
After this I’m going to read Hell is A World Without You by Jason Kirk (already mentioned), then perhaps move onto either Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky (thoroughly enjoyed his short novella Elder Race last year) or Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower.
As far as recommendations, two of my favorite standalone books last year were Titanium Noir by Nick Harkaway, a gritty-and-brash cyberpunk murder mystery and Blitz by Daniel O’Malley that’s set in his The Rook universe (with a fantasy MI6 with super-abilities) but it unrelated to those books and is set in London during World War II.
A few years back I read Hyperion by Dan Simmons and The Three-Body Problem based on the recommendation of some users here and I loved both of them.
If you like historical fiction, I’d recommend Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian if you haven’t read it yet. I recently re-read it and appreciated the writing style more now than I did when I was younger. It’s a fictional Western, but some parts are based on a memoir and include actual historical figures like John Joel Glanton. The Judge is terrifying and is one of my favorite characters of all time. A warning: it can be shockingly violent at times.
McCarthy has a real way with language in this book. I found it to be a dense read, but some really great writing. I think maybe only Joyce and Faulkner have presented a style that hit me as uniquely as Blood Meridian where I was like "whoa." Also, not the best read if you could use a pick-me-up read lol. Kind of reminds me of the movie Bone Tomahawk with Kurt Russell in it.
The Hyperion Cantos is the shit. Easily my favorite science fiction series of all time…
The “Dark Forest détente” of Three-Body was absolutely thrilling, but I just could not get on board with the ending.
My wife and I listened to McCarthy "The Road" a few years ago. Great writing; dismal world view.
Maybe time to get back to it. He is one of the best contemporary writers out there.
I’m rereading Cormac McCarthy’s Border Trilogy. He was an amazing writer.
Mostly on the fantasy side here when not watching Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant crush enemy offenses...
I saw a recommendation for Tad Williams' Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn trilogy (starts with The Dragonbone Chair) upthread and would second that. It's your classic G-rated, feel-good, pauper-becomes-hero fantasy quest stuff. Good fun for the entire family. You start out rolling your eyes at the main character, but he does grow on you (which is probably good writing).
I didn't see any recommendations for Joe Abercrombie's First Law trilogy (starts with The Blade Itself), but I'd highly recommend it. A fun read and it goes pretty fast. This one is a bit more gory, gritty, humorous, self-aware, and stylish fantasy action with a dash of Orwell's 1984 tossed in for good measure. And, who wouldn't like a fantasy series with a main P.O.V. character named Logen Ninefingers? I should probably grab the later books after the original trilogy now that I type this.
Everyone knows about George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series (starts with...uh...Game of Thrones), but if you've only watched the show, I found the books (well...what we got anyway) highly enjoyable and re-readable. I actually read the books first, so that's my claim to hipster status. Not G-rated, but everyone who has seen the show would already know about that. There's also other books like Fire & Blood that round out the GoT fantasy-verse.
Speaking of sci-fi turned into a show, I enjoyed James S. A. Corey's The Expanse series (starts with Leviathan Wakes). I thought the show started off strong but kinda petered out around season 4 when Amazon took over the production. The books (all 9 of them) are solid, however. A must if you're into space sci-fi/Star Trek/Star Wars stuff. Fun fact: James S. A. Corey is not a real person, but it's a pen name for a writing duo.
Outside the fantasy genre, I'd recommend Truman Capote's In Cold Blood, which is a mash up of LITERATURE and US history (albeit history at a more local level). I think Capote's writing and clarity is really unmatched among authors that I can easily recall. Fun fact: his buddy Harper Lee (author of To Kill A Mockingbird, a fine book in its own right) helped him with this book.
Capote's In Cold Blood maybe my favorite book of all time. Have read it mulitple times. Same for to Kill a Mockingbird (when you graduate law school every older person in your family gets you a copy of To Kill a Mockingbird)
But If I were on a island Cold Blood would be a decent book to have. Also a plug for Stephen King's short story book "Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption" Obviously has Shawsank Redemption in it, but also "The Body" which was the basis for the movie Stand by Me. Easy and quick reads that are great stories.
Just one person's opinion so grain of salt and all that...
I hated Three Body Problem. Characters were cardboard, dialogue was wooden, story was boring. I suspect something might have been lost in translation. Everyone said it gets better second book so I gave it a try... even worse, DNF.
Loved Dune, it's a classic for a reason. Can't say the same for the sequels which were a little out there.
Haven't read Shadow of the God's yet, but just finished Ruin a couple days ago. I wouldn't put Gwynne up there with the greats in the genre like Abercrombie. GRRM, Hobb etc... his character development isn't quite there. But still really good story teller and just a step below the best. I'd take him over Sanderson.
When I was battling Covid in the days when Covid was gripping us all by the balls (metaphorically and otherwise) I hit 105.3 and was convinced that something deeply bad would happen every time I nodded off. So I would wake up in a panic - did not sleep for what seemed like days - I lost all sense of time - just remember thinking about my mortality wanted the long slow burn to end - the illness seemed interminable and wondered if I would make it out alive.
Where was I? Oh yeah, that was a lot like when I watched Dune 1.
Is there a good book on the history of Ann Arbor or the University as a whole (not just sports)?
Currently, I am reading Holly by Stephen King, I like it so far.
Next on the list is the Will of the Many by James Islington
I'm honestly shocked at how little non-fiction there is in this thread. To be clear, there is zero judgment of that; just surprised.
Fiction makes you a better person.
https://lithub.com/its-official-according-to-science-reading-fiction-makes-you-nicer/
One of the reasons women are more social.
Reading more non-fiction is a common trend in senescence, and not a good one. I read a ton of it, but am trying not to. Read every damn post here, saw it too, and appreciate the recommendations.
Two of the best US history books I've ever read are Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era by James McPherson and Half American: The Epic Story of African Americans Fighting World War II at Home and Abroad by Matthew Delmont.
I liked the book series "A song of ice and fire" by Martin. I never watched the game of thrones. Reading a series called "The Last Kingdom" by Cornwall. I read Dune as a teenager but my favorite scifi book as a teenager was "Battle Field Earth" by Hubbard. A lot of the classics I read in High School and college were also great. I may re-read them once I retire.
Working my way through Gotham, by Edwin G. Burrows and Mike Wallace. A history of New York up to 1898.
Also Masters Of The Air, by Donald L. Miller. No time like the present.
Also working through Wodehouse's Jeeves books...because I find them unreasonably hilarious.
I strongly recommend Unruly, by David Mitchell. Preferably in audio form. Probably going to re-read Dune, and try to get through at least the first three this time.
P.G. Wodehouse was a staple of mine growing up. The Jeeves books are perhaps the epitome of English-idle-rich-comedy, and the Blandings books (Mr. Blandings Builds his Dream House in particular) are also quite good.
I'm reading Steeped The Chemistry of Tea right now by Michelle Francl and my favorite book I've read this year is probably How We Learn by Stanislas Dehaene.
On a slightly related note, if anyone works in non-fiction publishing I'd love to have a professional help me with a book I wrote about teaching chemistry.
I am about half way through "Demon Copperhead" I picked it mostly because it is set around the area I went to high school but it has been a decent read. About a boy in far southwest virginia that ends up in the foster system.
Just finished "American Demon" About Eliot Ness' time in Cleveland searching for a serial killer (nonfiction)
Also recently finsihed Brusce Springsteen's book, which I enjoyed because I am a big fan of the Boss!
Thanks for this thread I will check out some of the recommendations.
And There Was Light: Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle, Jon Meacham.
Lincoln was under a lot of pressure during the 1864 presidential election, even from his own party, to negotiate an end to the war and make concessions on slavery. He refused and was reelected.
Chip War: The Fight for the World's Most Critical Technology, Chris Miller.
From invention of the transistor to COVID chip shortages. U.S. vs. China. Even Amazon and Google have entered the chip design business.
Silence of the Lambs and Red Dragon were both really good, although I have not read them in a very long time. Also, WiseGuys the book that GoodFellas was based off is also an interesting book.
Side question. Do you read mulitple books at once? Or read one until you are finsihed and start another? I only ask because I just assumed everyone read one book at a time, but recently spoke to someone that had 3 going at the same time. Just curious.
I read two-three at a time, although it depends on the book (and usually only one fiction book for the first time, at a time). One things is that I often read during meals, and occasionally those books are chosen based on likely I am to spill food on them :<)
As an example, I am currently reading Why We Love Baseball (but that has no real plot or memory requirements, plus short chapters, so easy to pick up and put down), Deadly Game (novel) and rereading the Michigan National Championship SI issue.
I try to have 3 going at the same time. I will have one main focus book, another book on Audible since I have a rather long work commute, and one book on my Kindle app for late night reading in bed if I feel like it. Usually the book on Kindle will be a simple read and something that's easy to jump in and out of.
Multiple.
On FLMA now and sometimes have hours other times minutes.
MGo time is my waiting room read. One fiction title puts me to sleep (~20mins a night unless I push through that then 3-4 hours.)
Sometimes a non-fiction title will hold me down and will take my night time slot. Otherwise rainy days are filled with non-fiction depending on recent interests.
Last non-fiction title that held down my night time slot was Command and Control by Eric Schlosser. Great effing book.
The 3 body problem is an awful audiobook.
I used to pick my audio books by content. Now I just pick the audie winners.
https://www.audiofilemagazine.com/audies/
Really like Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book on audio. My wife and I read to each other as well.
It is a different mode to read out loud well, especially through character changes. Good thing to do though.
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2213661.The_Graveyard_Book
My tastes have evolved over the years, but fortunately there are plenty of choices. I prefer something with witty humour and a happy ending to relax after a day filled with gloomy news of worldwide troubles.
I would recommend Mal Goes to War by Edward Ashton, a recent sf novel which provides an entertaining commentary on war, AI, and human double standards.
I've seen "Blood Meridian" by McCarthy mentioned by others. For any lovers of westerns, and/or unique writing, this is a must read. But be forewarned, it's probably the most honest western-type novel you'll ever read. One of my favs.
Started reading Greg Harden's book - which so far is a good insight into the mentality he's brought to the Michigan community. Splitting my reading time with "Jupiter's Travels" - an all-time classic round-the-world motorcycle journey back in the late-70's.
Great topic! We should have a running OT board with Books and one with Music
Read most of the classic sci-fi books in a UM Engineering Humanities class starting with Frankenstein, through Dune, and ending with some Arthur C. Clarke ( the best sci-fi IMHO).
Diving into Burn Book: A Tech Love Story by Kara Swisher.
Kara is speaking on campus in 10 days with GM CEO, Marry Barra, details here
https://www.si.umich.edu/about-umsi/events/evening-kara-swisher-and-mary-barra
These are a bit older, but highly recommend "Empire of Pain" (about the Sacklers and oxycontin) and "Say Nothing" (the Troubles), both by Patrick Radden Keefe.
Currently working through the Slow Horses series by Mick Herron and "Sea People" by Christina Thompson (settling of Polynesia). Project Hail Mary on hold at the library. Usually, I look for cozy mysteries, and if I like an author, go through their entire oeuvre. The Amelia Peabody egyptology series was a delight (especially read by Barbara Rosenbladt).
I made it to about Book 6 of the Wheel of Time series, and it seems to be getting repetitious. If I ever get a week or two off, I plan on finally tackling Discworld.