Current Reading, Suggestions, and Discussion Thread

Discussion in 'TMB Book Club' started by JohnLocke, Oct 17, 2021.

  1. JohnLocke

    JohnLocke Terminally Chill
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    I figured I would make this thread instead of continuing discussions in the Sanderson thread. I think a general discussion topic was needed. I'm thinking about creating a goodreads profile. Anybody want to share theirs?
     
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  2. Truman

    Truman Well-Known Member
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  3. WC

    WC Bad Company, ‘til the day I die.
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    Currently reading Rule of Wolves, which is the 2nd book in the King of Scars Duology, which takes place in the Grishaverse. Shadow and Bone on Netflix is part of this universe but a separate trilogy. Six of Crows is also part of it all. Leigh Bardugo is the author.

    I've enjoyed it. It's not as big and complex as the Sanderson Cosmere but the storytelling is compelling.
     
  4. JohnLocke

    JohnLocke Terminally Chill
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    Would you say it borders on YA and Adult? I've heard conflicting things on the Grishaverse. I enjoyed the show alright so I was interested in the books
     
  5. WC

    WC Bad Company, ‘til the day I die.
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    I wouldn’t put it in a young adult category, but admittedly I haven’t put much thought into it. There are some dark themes, some sexual stuff, tho nothing like GOT level. A lot of the characters are teenagers so maybe that applies. The Shadow and Bone story is a bit of a coming of age story, but the others in the universe aren’t.
     
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  6. TC

    TC Peter, 53, from Toxteth
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    I was thinking of starting a topic for people to post their 10/10 books
     
  7. JohnLocke

    JohnLocke Terminally Chill
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    Wasn't feeling very good today and took off work. Breezed through the first Red Rising book. Really enjoyed it and didn't have much trouble powering through it like some people seem to suggest. Pretty excited if it gets much better from here
     
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  8. TC

    TC Peter, 53, from Toxteth
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    Mrs. TC subscribed us to the New Yorker and it's slowing down my book-reading a bit
     
  9. Truman

    Truman Well-Known Member
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    The first book isnt bad. It's quite good. The criticism is that it felt too familiar because it's kind of a Hunger Games knock off, which is valid imo.

    The rest of the series really takes off now. Enjoy
     
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  10. Truman

    Truman Well-Known Member
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    In an attempt to proscrastinate from doing actual work -

    Here are the books coming out that im looking forward to, in case anyone has interest -

    Jack Reacher , Lee Child 10.26
    Star Wars: Amidala: Queens Hope, Ek Johnson 11.2
    Noor, Nnendi Okafor 11.9
    Star Wars: Thrawn. Timothy Zahn 11.16
    Leviathan Falls, SA Corey 11.30
    Jade Legacy, Fonda Lee 11.30

    That last day in November... been waiting for these two all year. Cannot wait. Will also be sad closing out two great series.

    TBR List
    Non Fiction
    The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs Stephen Brusatte
    X Troop: The Secret Jewish Commandos of WW2 Leah Garrett
    The Outlaw Ocean Ian Urbana
    The Broken Heart of America Walter Johnson

    Fiction
    Star Wars: Ronin
    The Apollo Murders
    Damnation Spring
    Ten Low
    Nick Mason #2
    Mitch Rapp #23
    The Circle
    Circe
    Good Luck Girls
    Last two Witcher Books
    Last two books in the Wolf Hall trilogy
    Cormac McCarthy
     
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  11. TC

    TC Peter, 53, from Toxteth
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    What does TBR stand for?
     
  12. Truman

    Truman Well-Known Member
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    To Be Read
     
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  13. TC

    TC Peter, 53, from Toxteth
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    Sheeeit…that’s way too long a list for me to post. I have a few that are kind of next on the horizon but to be read is infinite
     
  14. JohnLocke

    JohnLocke Terminally Chill
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    I've heard this book Recursion is pretty damn good. Brother just suggested it to me

    [​IMG]
     
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  15. Truman

    Truman Well-Known Member
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    Very good. As is Dark Matter.
     
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  16. The Blackfish

    The Blackfish The Fish in Black
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    Yeah it’s awesome. Have you read Dark Matter?
     
  17. Manny

    Manny I love Lip

    I don't want to bump the thread and get anyone's hopes up like the sarah chalke thread but I recently had another wave of upset-ness that we're never getting Doors of Stone. Had a conversation with someone that recently discovered the books and I felt sorry for them.
     
  18. JohnLocke

    JohnLocke Terminally Chill
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    Apparently Rothfuss has been mentioning the book a good bit lately without being prompted to talk about it so that gives me a little hope that he is making headway with it now
     
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  19. The Blackfish

    The Blackfish The Fish in Black
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    Don’t do that to yourself.
     
  20. WC

    WC Bad Company, ‘til the day I die.
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    The 3rd (of 4) book in the Lot Land series came out recently. I’m rereading 1 and 2 before I dive in, but it’s really good. I’ve mentioned it somewhere on this board before. It’s like a Mad Max meets lord of the rings setup, really gritty, really violent, but high quality world building and complexity.

    First book is called The Grey Bastards.
     
  21. JohnLocke

    JohnLocke Terminally Chill
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    Oh trust me I'm not but I do think there is a little positivity in the fact that the guy is bringing up the book casually now without being asked about it. He used to be hypersensitive and would completely shut down at any questions about the book. I still don't expect it any time soon
     
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  22. The Blackfish

    The Blackfish The Fish in Black
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    Started rereading the Expanse books in anticipation of the last one coming out at the end of next month. They’re fantastic if anyone hasn’t read them.
     
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  23. Truman

    Truman Well-Known Member
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    I thought about doing this, but 8 is so many. Prob just gonna read the last two
     
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  24. JohnLocke

    JohnLocke Terminally Chill
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    How faithful is the show and at what point in the books is the show currently at?
     
  25. Truman

    Truman Well-Known Member
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    The book authors write for the show too. They change some small things and combine characters for TV, but it's extremely faithful. The next season is the last, unfortunately. The series will go up to book 6
     
  26. The Blackfish

    The Blackfish The Fish in Black
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    The show is very good too.
     
  27. JohnLocke

    JohnLocke Terminally Chill
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    I've seen all of the show so far and love it. I was just curious if it has covered all of it or if it is still missing a good bit from the books
     
  28. JohnLocke

    JohnLocke Terminally Chill
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    And holy shit I loved Golden Son. I can see why people say the Red Rising saga kicks it up a notch after book 1
     
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  29. Truman

    Truman Well-Known Member
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    We have a Red Rising thread if you want to see what others thought at certain points in the series
     
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  30. DeToxRox

    DeToxRox Uncle T
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    Neal Stephenson’s new book, “Termination Shock”, is out 11/16. Reviews sound great. I’m quite excited.
     
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  31. TC

    TC Peter, 53, from Toxteth
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    George Martin biography (guy who produced the Beatles) -- outstanding so far, but you need knowledge of music theory and recording techniques to understand some of the technical stuff. I'd lend to my dad the Beatlemaniac but I don't think he'd enjoy as much as me
     
  32. TC

    TC Peter, 53, from Toxteth
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    [​IMG]

    Became aware of this book yesterday after reading about it in New Yorker. Interested to read it. I like these "big history" books like Sapiens, Guns Germs and Steel etc. Some criticize them because they say it's silly to try and apply a "grand narrative" to history. I get that point of view, but I also just like reading every one I can. You can learn a lot from the hundreds of pages of info; it's not just a question of whether you buy the central thesis or not IMO.

     
  33. JohnLocke

    JohnLocke Terminally Chill
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    I made a deal with a good friend of mine. I've been pitching him on Stormlight Archive and the Cosmere as a whole. It's taken a while to get through to him but I offered to read a series of his choosing in return once I caught up on Red Rising.

    So Malazan is up next. That was his choice. Time to scale the Everest of Fantasy
     
  34. The Blackfish

    The Blackfish The Fish in Black
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    My two favorite series ever, weird y’all had to convince each other to read them as they’re the best. There’s a Malazan thread where a bunch of us have posted thoughts as we read through..
     
  35. JohnLocke

    JohnLocke Terminally Chill
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    I wouldn't necessarily that he had to CONVINCE me...I've always planned on jumping into Malazan but I was looking to jump into some smaller more simple reads right now. It just moved my reading up on my timeline by a lot. My friend isn't too deep into the fantasy genre and is looking to get back into it. He's only read Malazan, LOTR, and First Law trilogy.
     
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  36. The Blackfish

    The Blackfish The Fish in Black
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    Malazan is a helluvan entry point
     
  37. Upton^2

    Upton^2 blocked just a park away, but I can't really say
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    This is me
     
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  38. TC

    TC Peter, 53, from Toxteth
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    Do you guys research books on Goodreads or Amazon before reading, or just dive right in if what you know about it seems decent? Like how much does it take for a book to land on your "to read" list
     
  39. Upton^2

    Upton^2 blocked just a park away, but I can't really say
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    Usually read reviews in New Yorker or ny times. Or the author shows up on my sweet curated podcast list
     
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  40. Truman

    Truman Well-Known Member
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    Id say I find 75% of my books via podcasts. Probably 95% of the Non fiction reads are because the author interviews on one fo the history or political podcasts I listen to. Or on the NYT Book review podcast.

    Book riot has a podcast for each genre that gives a good 'what's new" each week/month.

    Goodreads puts out a monthly newsletter of new books that I check out.

    Sometimes I'll seek out additional discourse on a book I just read and see if there are any reviews on YT. IF I like the review, I check out other books that youtuber has reviewed and see if any look good. Gotten a few good books that way.

    I dont really rely on GR ratings too much. Basically if the premise of the book sounds interesting, I'll put it on my list.
     
    #40 Truman, Nov 9, 2021
    Last edited: Nov 9, 2021
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  41. Dukes

    Dukes flying ain't nothing just fallin' with style
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    90% of the books I read come from the “books I read..” threads here. Other 10% would be authors I like or stuff that pops up on my Goodreads feed
     
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  42. TC

    TC Peter, 53, from Toxteth
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    I was just asking because I end up reading some books I don't like all that much, but it feels like par for the course. Maybe I could have a higher "hit rate" if I did more vetting, but I am not really that type of person. I don't read 25 reviews before I buy a product etc. If I need a product and see a deal that seems fine I take it
     
  43. The Blackfish

    The Blackfish The Fish in Black
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    I read books you guys read and like
     
  44. Jimmy the Saint

    Jimmy the Saint The future is a benevolent black hole
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    I finally got around to reading "The Jungle" after first learning about in AP U.S. in HS 15 years ago. It dawned on me that it's the first fiction book I've read in probably a decade.
     
  45. Gin Buckets

    Gin Buckets Well-Known Member
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  46. TC

    TC Peter, 53, from Toxteth
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    That's one of my favorite novels. Introduced to it by an English class in college, but I reread it a couple times after. How far are you? It actually moves along pretty good once you get past the first chapter with the traditional Lithuanian wedding. (Although that's a great scene setter for the whole story)
     
  47. Truman

    Truman Well-Known Member
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    The Jungle has been on my list forever
     
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  48. TC

    TC Peter, 53, from Toxteth
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    How about "Oil!" by the same author? I also really liked that one, but probably not as much as The Jungle. The movie "There Will Be Blood" is somewhat based on it
     
  49. Jimmy the Saint

    Jimmy the Saint The future is a benevolent black hole
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    About 50 pages left. Really glad I finally took the time to read it.
     
  50. TC

    TC Peter, 53, from Toxteth
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    Poor old Jurgis. He thinks he can solve everything by just "I will work harder!" Only when he starts to break the rules does anything break for him