What Else Are You Reading in 2021? Showing 1,401-1,450 of 2,230

[Ryan, Your favourite moderators favourite moderator]

I spoke too soon. They just got naked!

This IS erotica.

[Anna]

You’re making the squid blush!

(That sounds like a euphemism, I hope it’s not slang for something super dirty.)

[Michelle]

You might have just offended everyone in the navy! Now I'm married to a retired non-com, so we've heard it for like, forever. But I laughed because that's what I instantly equated a blushing squid with!!

[Anna]

lol what does it mean in the navy? 😄

[Michelle]

It's not exactly PC.

[Anna]

I will have to google!

edit: This is what I get for GRing without glasses. I read that as PG. Sigh, I don’t need to know.

[Michelle]

Every now and then I come across a new term, and I speedily go to my husband to find out the meaning. Over the years I've amassed some delightful acronyms and terminology :)

[Joon]

Oof. I have to recalibrate. I absolutely burned myself out in the first few months of the year and I basically haven't read anything in three months. (And I still partially blame the third Murderbot book for that, because **** that book.)

Somehow, I'm still on track for my yearly goal despite that.

At the beginning of the year I was so sure I wanted to read mostly sci-fi this year, but now it's the last thing I want to read. So I gotta figure out what's left on my A-Z list and make some substitutions. (Like getting all those other Muderbot books off the list. I may start reading more again, but I won't be reading those.)

[Anna]

Ouch, Murderbot would be sad to be the cause of someone’s diminished enjoyment of media! I hope you’ve watched some good shows at least 😊

[Jan]

Anna wrote: "Forgot to mention it's the extra long edition"

:-O There's an extra long edition?? What the???

I did enjoy reading The Stand a few years ago, although, not-so-secret confession, I may have done a bit of skimming here and there. It's kinda a classic of the genre. When I read The Passage I enjoyed the fact that I could see the influence on it of The Stand.

I've been considering rereading, but yeah, the middle of a pandemic may not the best time for me to go down that path.

I've started The Secret Life of William Shakespeare after enjoying another book by Morgan, Passion: A Novel of the Romantic Poets. He's a good writer. I'm liking the Shakespeare book so far.

[Don]

I disagree Anna. Murderbot's relationship with media is purely personal and Murderbot wouldn't care in the least about another entity's media enjoyment or consumption.
The the last couple recent Murderbot installments for me enter into diminishing returns.

[Anna]

Don, probably true!

Jan, yeah the author’s uncut edition, published ten years later, I don’t know how much shorter the original was.

[Beth]

Gabi wrote: "Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded: August 27, 1883 by Simon Winchester was my first book by this journalist and I had no idea that I had to set my mind to a rather 'in the beginning life evolved from tiny cells' approach to the titular topic of the volcano."

I've read Winchester's The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary. In my review--I have no specific recollection of this--I called it "discursive" so it may have similar shortcomings to Krakatoa. Still, it was an interesting portrait of the "madman" and a decent overview of how the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary came together.

[Gabi]

Beth wrote: "I've read Winchester's The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary. In my review--I have no specific recollection of this--I called it "discursive" so it may have similar shortcomings to Krakatoa. Still, it was an interesting portrait of the "madman" and a decent overview of how the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary came together."

He definitely writes interesting and he is quite knowledgeable. With his next book I know what to expect :D.

[Gabi]

My latest reads (if I can still recall them ... I had two emotionally quite strenuous weeks where some of my reads just passed me by)

Chilling Effect I gave up after only 13% cause the prose was just horrible for my taste.

Version Zero I at least finished, but the characters felt flat and the last part was horribly clunky. Waste of my time.

Rabbits finally was a good one. Solid prose, very weird setting, quite mind f***ing. A bit like "Ready Player One" but with good writing.

A Psalm for the Wild-Built was ... well typical Chambers, I'd say - and although I found her style quite charming in the beginning, meanwhile I'm dearly missing a plot in these nice worlds with nice characters being nice to each other.

A Short History of Nearly Everything was our breakfast read-aloud with the boys. An interesting recounting of our world from its beginnings to today (wiki has a page with the scientific mistakes in the book, but they are harmless for a general overview), in parts too talkative and too anglo centric, but at least my elder one was deeply invested in all the natural science there.

Slow Sculpture: Complete Stories of Theodore Sturgeon, Volume XII, has some of Sturgeon's later works (beginning 70ies), an interesting mix of SF and non-SF writing (he always hated it that he was reduced to only being seen as an SF writer). It contains the short story "Dazed" which has been very formative for my sister and myself in our youth in the way it deals with the concept of the devil.

[Beth]

Just finished The Night Watchman over lunch. The first contemporary fiction I've read for a while. I can't tell you how much of a relief it was to read a well-crafted, affecting piece of fiction after a half-dozen amusing-but-haphazard-and/or-mediocre books. This whole reading thing could be worth it, after all! Thanks to Gabi whose review convinced me to give it a try. :)

[Vero]

I'm currently reading The midnight circus and Apollyon.

[CBRetriever]

Vero wrote: "I'm currently reading The midnight circus and Apollyon."

This one: The Midnight Circus by Jane Yolen? I enjoyed those stories.

[Ines, Resident Vampire]

After my summer reading slump, I'm continuing Dead Space by Kali Wallace.
I don't know ... I can't really get into it. There's supposed to be some horror, but I haven't found it yet. It's a lot of talking and remembering and my thoughts are always drifting away while listening to the audiobook.

[Jan]

Anna wrote: "Jan, yeah the author’s uncut edition, published ten years later, I don’t know how much shorter the original was."

I wonder which edition I read? *scratches head* It was certainly long, anyway.

[Gabi]

Beth wrote: "Just finished The Night Watchman over lunch. The first contemporary fiction I've read for a while. I can't tell you how much of a relief it was to read a well-crafted, affecting pie..."


Aw! I'm happy to hear this! I love Erdrich's books so much!

[Anna]

Ines wrote: "After my summer reading slump, I'm continuing Dead Space by Kali Wallace.
I don't know ... I can't really get into it. There's supposed to be some horror, but I haven't found it yet."

I don't think you'll find it :/ I read this about a month ago, and (yeah I've forgotten everything about it and) didn't find it very thrilling. I wasn't expecting in your face horror, but it was still a bit of a disappointment. I think Salvation Day is probably more horror, but I haven't read it.

[Ines, Resident Vampire]

Well, that doesn't sound promising, but thank you anyway, Anna. I will try to finish it, the pace seems to be picking up at around 50%. Salvation Day is on my tbr, so I'll check it out eventually.

[Mike]

Just found out Arthur C. Clarke wrote 3 sequels to his 2001 Space Odyssey novel. Going to read all 4 in a row.

[Peter]

Don, glad to share

[Joon]

Mike wrote: "Just found out Arthur C. Clarke wrote 3 sequels to his 2001 Space Odyssey novel. Going to read all 4 in a row."

Definitely, so long as you stop before you read 3001.

I cannot emphasize this enough. Do. Not. Read. 3001.

[Michelle]

Enquiring minds want to know why, Joon!

[Joon]

Michelle wrote: "Enquiring minds want to know why, Joon!"

I'll be honest, I just looked and I can't believe all the positive reviews of this one. So clearly there's something in it that some people liked. So I guess don't avoid it just on my say so.

But to me it was just unbelievably awful, a terrible conclusion to the series, and its ending is very similar to one of the most laughably idiotic endings in science fiction history.

[Jan]

Joon wrote: "its ending is very similar to one of the most laughably idiotic endings in science fiction history."

Which is......? Come on Joon, don't leave us hangin'

[Joon]

Jan wrote: "Joon wrote: "its ending is very similar to one of the most laughably idiotic endings in science fiction history."

Which is......? Come on Joon, don't leave us hangin'"

Lol I'm not gonna spoil it for people who want to read it.

[Michelle]

Jan, I think she secretly wants us to read it so we'll know what she's referring to ;). I've got to say that you've piqued our interest, Joon!

[Brandon]

I thought 2001 (the novel) was 5-star brilliant when I read it in high school, and I still rate it at 4 stars today. I read the other three in high school, too. My memory of them is not as strong, but 3001 left a better impression on me than 2061. I'd say to read them if you're curious. They are probably right for some portion of readers. They at least don't get trashed in comments like the sequels to Rendezvous with Rama.

[Henry]

I just finished reading the fury’s of Calderon by Jim butcher. My dad recommended it to my because I really enjoyed the stormlight archive books.

[Don]

2001 is brilliant and ground breaking, I'm curious why you de-Star'd it.

[Jacqueline]

I vaguely remember reading 2001 in 1980/81. We watched the movie at school around that time too. It was good. Can’t really remember much anymore though.

[Stephen]

I read and liked 2010: Odyssey Two, when it was new. There’s a scene early in the book that I found quite powerful and memorable. I don’t remember any other details. I don’t think I read the other sequels.

[Michelle]

I finished Saviour of Rome:. That. Ending. Oh my gosh. I need a comedy post-haste. I'm about to reread a Royce & Hadrian short story to cheer myself up: The Jester.

[Brandon]

Don wrote: "2001 is brilliant and ground breaking, I'm curious why you de-Star'd it."

There's nothing I find wrong with it; it just didn't hit me as powerfully on a reread, especially in the trip through the stargate. I still highly recommend it.

[Faith]

My review of Strange Beasts of China by Yan Ge

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Michelle]

I'm reading The Utterly Uninteresting and Unadventurous Tales of Fred, the Vampire Accountant, and it's really witty! I'm enjoying it quite a bit.

[Mary]

Michelle wrote: "I'm reading The Utterly Uninteresting and Unadventurous Tales of Fred, the Vampire Accountant, and it's really witty! I'm enjoying it quite a bit."

That's a fun series.

[AliciaJ]

I'm listening to Tigana and reading Age of Swords. Both are excellent!

[Michelle]

Mary wrote: "Michelle wrote: "I'm reading The Utterly Uninteresting and Unadventurous Tales of Fred, the Vampire Accountant, and it's really witty! I'm enjoying it quite a bit."

That's a fun se..."

I've had the giggles several times!

[Ozsaur]

Fly with the Arrow - Bluebeard retellings are uncommon, and this one is turning out to be really good.

[Ines, Resident Vampire]

Ozsaur wrote: "Fly with the Arrow - Bluebeard retellings are uncommon, and this one is turning out to be really good."

That sounds very interesting. Would you say it's a book that might also appeal to non-romance readers?

I am finally getting around to writing some reviews. One is in German, but the other one for Paperclip is here. An interesting speculative fiction story.

Aaaaand I'm still slowly making my way through Dead Space. The pace has picked up and things are happening, but I'm not sure this book will manage to turn me around. Maybe eye-reading it would have been the better decision.

[Don]

I finished "The Blacktongue Thief" by
Christopher Buehlman. Some of the finest Fantasy Literature of its generation.

[Beth]

Exit Strategy finishes off Murderbot's first major story arc. It was sloggy in places, but the ending was nice, and made me look forward to reading the novel. (review)

Started The Goblin Emperor in ebook. Reminds me of The House in the Cerulean Sea in some ways.

Taking a short break from Bleak House in audio (36 hours of 19th century prose is a lot) to listen to Soulless. I've read this before but wanted to go back and listen to the whole series with Emily Gray's narration. Non-fiction selection is Wishful Drinking which, at a little over 3 hours, is going quickly. You'll see a review link for it soon!

[Travis]

The Magic of Recluce by L.E. Modesitt Jr. was surprisingly fun. Just the right Inn:Chapter ratio. (I like it as close to 1:1 as possible.) And a model for how to do world building without letting exposition get in the way. My one caveat is that the author has some weird hangups about women that seep into his characterizations. Enough so that they get in the way fairly often.

Another dude-ish book that was surprisingly fun is Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. I kept laughing while reading because, for me, it did basically one thing -- introduce problem, solve problem in really clever sciencey way -- over and over and over, but it did it SO well, and there's also some good characterization thrown in. I had some gender-related bones to pick here too, but don't think I can describe them without spoilers.

Now I'm thinking of starting the Witcher books. Am I right that the best place to begin is The Last Wish?

[The Joy of Erudition]

Travis wrote: "Now I'm thinking of starting the Witcher books. Am I right that the best place to begin is The Last Wish?"

Yes, because that book contains the earliest-published stories. It has a different translator than most of the books, though, so if the sometimes clunky prose puts you off, at least give the second book, Sword of Destiny, a chance.

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

Travis, do you read in any other languages? Because the English translation of Last Wish is...I'd recommend watching the show and playing the game before the book in English.