What Else Are You Reading in 2024? Showing 151-200 of 1,529

[Brett]

Michael J. Bird's, The Town That Died, about the 1917 munitions ship explosion that leveled Halifax. Short book, shouldn't take long.

[Economondos]

Completed The Lathe of Heaven as part of the Bookshelf Reread challenge. Rated 4 of 5 stars.
This is the best 'Watch What You Wish For' story I have read.

My review here

[Economondos]

Also completed Pawn by Timothy Zahn

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I don't normally like criminals as protagonists, even petty ones. But Zahn crafts worlds that pull me in, overcoming my hesitation.

My review here

Just started Farside Cannon by Roger MacBride Allen for the TBR cleanup challenge.

[Kirsten]

Economondos wrote: "Also completed Pawn by Timothy Zahn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I don't normally like criminals as protagonists, even petty ones. But Zahn crafts worlds that pull me in, overcoming my hesitation.
My re..."

I love Timothy Zahn's Dragon series.

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

Finishing some big chonky books. City of Golden Shadow was okay. I just don't think I'm a Tad Williams fan. I often lament how rarely editing is taken seriously in our spellcheck age, and he's a prime example of someone I think could benefit from someone they respect enough to listen when they say "nix this entire chapter." So much redundancy. A big plot, but lost in the writing.

On the other hand we have Pandora's Star. This is some of the cleanest plotting I've seen in a book this big, but this man has never heard a detail he didn't love. Absolutely fixated on body weight and the cubic sizes of rooms. Not the worst thing since the rest is so engrossing but probably "A large room" would have sufficed over the 3-4 sentences describing it, in certain sections.

[Economondos]

Allison wrote: "Finishing some big chonky books. City of Golden Shadow was okay. I just don't think I'm a Tad Williams fan. I often lament how rarely editing is taken seriously in our spellcheck age, ..."

OK, Pandora's Star is going on the TBR list.

[CBRetriever]

Allison wrote: "Finishing some big chonky books. City of Golden Shadow was okay. I just don't think I'm a Tad Williams fan. I often lament how rarely editing is taken seriously in our spellcheck age, ..."

I had problems with that Tad Williams series too. However I love

The Dragonbone Chair and the rest of that epic fantasy series
and
The Dirty Streets of Heaven is almost as good. It's about an angel who is an advocate for those between heaven and hell. God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlepig in particular was pretty funny (werepig).
and
Shadowmarch is almost as good (another epic fantasy)

and then there is this standalone for cat lovers: Tailchaser's Song

The Osten Ard series falls lower in my estimation and at the bottom is the Otherland series.

[Phrynne]

Looks like I am hooked on this series. You have to love Penric and Desdemona.
My review of Penric and the Shaman
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Marc]

Well, John Scalzi's Kaiju Preservation Society (KPS) was a very quick and fun read! It struck a little close to home in the beginning, working in software, I've been laid off, corporate takeovers, etc. But the Protagonist who had that happen during covid-19 (yep, he weaved in the pandemic!) got a really freaking cool new job working for KPS. Not a spoiler, this happens pretty early in the book. I'll just say it was enjoyable to me!

Now, gotta finish up a quick intro on the Achaemenid empire (persia during the greek times up to when Alexander the Great snuffed it out.

Then I'm thinking of reading Nettle & Bone by T Kingfisher

[Dj]

Allison wrote: "Finishing some big chonky books. City of Golden Shadow was okay. I just don't think I'm a Tad Williams fan. I often lament how rarely editing is taken seriously in our spellcheck age, ..."

In regards to Tad Williams, I started with the Dragonbone Chair series and enjoyed it, then moved on to a different series and could never get into it. So my suggestion would be if you haven't read the Dragonbone Chair series, give it a try. Not to try and interest you in reading a great deal more of Williams but to see if that is more your flavor. Not Sci-Fi in any real sense, ore fantasy

[Soo]

@Colin, if you look at the reviews for Kaikeyi, you can read the author's note about the story.

I enjoyed the story as a piece of fiction, but not cohesive enough as an adaptation.

[Anna]

Phrynne wrote: "Looks like I am hooked on this series. You have to love Penric and Desdemona."

So true! ^_^ Check out the series thread! And read Fox next! It finishes the arc from Shaman before the series moves on to other adventures.

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

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

Didn't much like Dragonbone Chair honestly. The first Shadowmarch book got my hopes up but the second one shattered them. I really tried!

[Marc]

Phrynne wrote: "Looks like I am hooked on this series. You have to love Penric and Desdemona.
My review of Penric and the Shaman
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."

Loved Penric and Desdomona series! it was quite fun, pretty cool way of demons, not from hell, but can possess!

[Brett]

Hugh Thomas's, The Slave Trade. It's a big one, and grim, but it's kinda the elephant in the room among the recent haul, so I'm putting the rest of my nonfiction on hold to tackle it.

[Kirsten]

I just finished The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill and I've been listening to The True Love Experiment by Christina Lauren

[Charlton]

Will be starting thePromise of the Witch King by R.A. Salvatore. Gotta' follow Artemis and Jarlaxle on their journey.

[John]

Charlton wrote: "Will be starting thePromise of the Witch King by R.A. Salvatore. Gotta' follow Artemis and Jarlaxle on their journey."

Another fan of R.A, Salvatore who is a great author and can write a great story. I've read every Drizzt book he's written and I'm hoping he isn''t done yet.

[Colin]

Soo wrote: "@Colin, if you look at the reviews for Kaikeyi, you can read the author's note about the story.

I enjoyed the story as a piece of fiction, but not cohesive enough as an adaptation."

I have read the author's note at the beginning of the hardcover edition, which is the book I have. Her research into the legend, which she discusses, is both detailed and very impressive. My comment was only that the childhood education, including martial arts, makes the character reminiscent of Laxmibai, a major heroic figure of nineteenth century India. Not much (and not enough) has been written about Laxmibai in English, but see Rani Laxmibai: Warrior-Queen of Jhansi by Pratibha Ranade. I'm glad you enjoyed the story as a work of fiction.

[Soo]

@Colin Cool! Added that to my TBR.

Found a podcast series on Rani of Jhansi. I will listen to that first due to easy access on Audible.

[Chase]

I just finished the Dark Tower #2 and The Night Circus. I'm about to start The House in the Cerulean Sea.

[Faith]

My review of The Tusks of Extinction by Ray Nayler

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

[Phrynne]

As per Anna's suggestion I am reading this series in chronological series and just finished Penric’s Fox.Pure reading pleasure:)
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Alexandra]

Phrynne wrote: "As per Anna's suggestion I am reading this series in chronological series and just finished Penric’s Fox.Pure reading pleasure:)
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show......"

I am very happy for you! :)

[Economondos]

Finished up Farside Cannon by Roger MacBride Allen last night.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

SAIL: your drilling rig through the brisk Icelandic winter seas!
RELAX: in cold sleep as you cruise interplanetary space!
MINGLE: with the cheerfully grifting 'Conners' of Luna's Central Colony!
RACE: the 6,000 km Sunway! [Don't fall behind - you will get cold during the two week night.]
MEET: your new neighbors; the exiled, rejected, and eccentric residents of Farside Station!
BEHOLD: the amazing Farside Cannon!

My review here

[HeyT]

I finished The Saint of Bright Doors which was good but probably would have been better had I been more culturally aware as it is very much a South Asian fantasy.

[Brett]

Beginning The Word For World Is Forest. Haven't abandoned Vita Nostra, but it's across the house and I'm cat-paralyzed. First impressions are that the themes are blatantly stated, but I expect more nuance to be teased out (it's early in the book, and it was written when the environmental movement was really taking off).

[Michelle]

Brett wrote: "Beginning The Word For World Is Forest. Haven't abandoned Vita Nostra, but it's across the house and I'm cat-paralyzed. First impressions are that the themes are blatantly stated, but I expect more..."

Brett, I'm cat-paralyzed, too! I was just discussing that with @Mindy. I have 4 out of 5 on me, and oh my gosh I need to shift something fierce. Far be it for us to disturb our felines, though! It's a good thing #5 is off being either aloof or offended because there's only so much of me to go around 😹

[Beth]

2024 starts off with three finished books. Well, two and a DNF. 😅

The Lathe of Heaven: Le Guin could pack a lot into less than 200 pages. The VBC discussion was excellent, too. A great way to start off the year. (review)

Killashandra: I read the first book of this trilogy several years ago and wasn't all that impressed, but the second was a lot of fun. (review)

The Bridge Kingdom: conceptually, romantasy should be just my thing, but in my very limited experience so far, both the romance and the fantasy are too poorly executed for me to enjoy. A huge disappointment. (review)

[Ann]

Marc wrote: "Just finished Nicola Griffin's Slow River. It's a pretty good book about a young woman from a rich family who was kidnapped for ransom and the ransom didn't get paid. It basically flips back and fo..."

Marc I just finished the audiobook, which I recommend, such a fun story! hope you like it

[Cheryl L]

Morgan wrote: "I’ve started reading The Lunar Chronicles at the same time that I’ve been working on Spindle’s End by Robin McKinley (both books just happened to come off hold at the same time). It’s been an inter..."

I read the Lunar Chronicles during my reading a lot of YA books. I thoroughly enjoyed them, though, I think Scarlet was my favorite. It's always the sassy heroine for me.

[Cheryl L]

Brett wrote: "Beginning The Word For World Is Forest. Haven't abandoned Vita Nostra, but it's across the house and I'm cat-paralyzed. First impressions are that the themes are blatantly stated, but I expect more..."

Word for World is next up for me to read!

[Cheryl L]

I'm currently reading Gateway, which I had never heard of. I think it is exceptionally well written with a flawed, traumatized protagonist. It flashes back and forth between Bob's sessions with his computer therapist and his time on Gateway, hinting in the first couple of chapters at events that have led to his PTSD.

[Economondos]

I miss my Frederick Pohl books. Too many got donated, will have to rebuild.

[Brett]

A book I had on a long waiting list, QAnon, Chaos, and the Cross various essayists). It's probably reserved, so I can't count on renewing it, therefore I'll be reading it along with The Slave Trade (it's nowhere near as long).

It's meant mainly for Christian readers, but whatever, I'll just adjust my mindset.

[Faith]

My review of Planetside by Michael Mammay

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

[Michelle]

I enjoyed the heck out of Planetside.

[Ivan Darryl]

Just finished reading Beach Read. Love it, and it was very comforting!

[Marc]

just finished t kingfisher's nettle and bone. a great short book on exacting revenge on an evil prince by an angry sister-in-law. won a hugo too!

now temporarily leaving scifi, reading Matt Waters Ancient Persia: concide history of the achaemenid empire. woohoo!!

[Economondos]

Just finished The Ring of Charon by Roger MacBride Allen

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Good, solid sci-fi. I liked Farside Cannon [set in the same universe a century earlier] a bit better, but the overall GoodReads rating shows others prefer this one. Personal taste.

My review here

Time for another change of pace: Frankenstein. It has been on my bookshelf about 30 years and I can't recall ever reading it.

[Stephen]

Just started on The Art of Prophecy by Wesley Chu. Anyone read that- I'm loving it so far!

[Kirsi]

Tackling Chain-Gang All-Stars at the moment. I'm making slowish progress, but it's quite good so far.

[Nicky]

I just finished Nettle & Bone a few days ago. Fun, rated it, but I have yet to write to review. Preliminary 3 ⭐

Earlier in January I read:
Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands - 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
A Study in Steel (A Tale of the Greatcoats) - 4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Lies of Locke Lamora - 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
and a non-fantasy book.

Now I'm starting A Master of Djinn today.

[DivaDiane]

I just started Emily Wilde #2 yesterday!

[Colin]

Finished Good Morning, Midnight by Lily Brooks-Dalton. I was surprised at how much this book engaged me and how good it was. It is the story of two small groups of people: 78 year-old Augustine with 8-year old Iris stranded at an Arctic research station at the northern tip of Ellesmere Island and the 6-person crew of the first Jupiter mission on their return to Earth. An apocalypse has wiped out human civilization - and maybe all of humanity - except for these two groups. The novel device (yes, a pun) is that the apocalypse is completely off-stage; we never see or learn about it. This is all about broken people forced to cope with an impossible situation without completely fracturing. I'm not sure how to categorize the book. Technically, it is post-apocalyptic SF, but I would call it psychodrama. It is all about the people. There is very little action. There are some technical points that are off (pencils?), but they did not hurt the story because it is focused on the characters. I found it emotionally brutal. I do highly recommend it for any readers who love in depth character portraits and stories of people under stress.

[Phrynne]

Colin wrote: "Finished Good Morning, Midnight by Lily Brooks-Dalton. I was surprised at how much this book engaged me and how good it was. It is the story of two small groups of people: 78 year-o..."

That book is absolutely brilliant Colin. I loved every word of it.

[Rachel]

I just Finished Emily Wilde 2 today!! I found myself feeling sad that it was over already and I’d have to wait so long to be back in her world. I think maybe I liked it move for various possibly spoiler-y reasons

[Tom]

Started reading as entertainment pretty late in life, so I have a huge TBR that I can't keep up with that I am late for the party. LOL

Since the start of the year I have completed The Hero of Ages - Sanderson, Maelstrom - Taylor Anderson (A quick dark horse favorite series of mine!), and I finally pushed through The Eye of the World - Jordan after many DNF attempts. I really want to get to the Sanderson books and feel I really need to check the series off my list as a SF/Fantasy reader, but I am just not sure Jordan is for me.

Currently Reading The Long Earth - Pratchett/Baxter and Leviathan Falls - James S.A. Corey. Book 9 of 9! This will be the first major series I have read since high school 30 years ago and that was short YA novels. Milestones even in my 40's lol.

So that leaves 104 books on my TBR (not counting some known sequels to series just not added to my list yet, such as Era 2 Mistborn), 36 of which are owned and on the shelf.

Shortlist:
- Warbreaker - Sanderson
- Distant Thunders - Anderson
- Dune - Herbert
- Defiant - Sanderson
- The Blade Itself - Abercombe
- The Dragonbone Chair - Williams
- Ruin of Kings - Lyons
- The Forgetting Moon - Durfee
- A Game of Thrones - Martin
- Lords of the Middle Dark - Chalker
- Ship of Magic - Hobb
- Rhythm of War - Sanderson

That is about as short as I can get it. LOL SOO MANY WORDS! lol

[Stephen]

Colin wrote: "Finished Good Morning, Midnight by Lily Brooks-Dalton. I was surprised at how much this book engaged me and how good it was. It is the story of two small groups of people: 78 year-o..."

Sounds interesting - that the writer made such a bleak premise readable and engaging

[Brandon]

Tom wrote: "Started reading as entertainment pretty late in life, so I have a huge TBR that I can't keep up with that I am late for the party. LOL

Since the start of the year I have completed The Hero of Ages..."

I can recommend Dune and Warbreaker from your shortlist.