Asklemmy @lemmy.ml

2y ago

What book are you in the middle of reading right now?

212 comments

Linux Kernel development, Operating Systems Principals & Practice, Computer Systems A Programmer's Perspective, and Forward the Foundation
- An interesting time to be reading Forward.... Was that because of the TV series? Are you reading them in sequence?
  
  I read all of the main sequence of Dune through to the Brian Herbert ending books. Quinns Ideas got me motivated enough to start reading those a few years ago. That got me to start Foundation next. I saw the various Asimov books referenced by the publishers and read most of the series. I still have Foundation's Edge, and one other I'm not able to recall ATM, to fill in my entire collection from Robots through Foundation.

Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson! Great series so far
- Brandon Sanderson is always a good recommendation
  
  I'm reading Hero of Ages right now, Mistborn being my first Sanderson series. I've already purchased all of Stormlight and can't wait to start!
- I’m finishing it too. Great writer and great saga
- Brandon Sanderson is definitely one of the greats of this era of fantasy writers.
- Me too! Although the audiobook version. Hoping to finish this one before the audiobook version of Red Rising #7 comes out!
- People are divided on Oathbringer, but I genuinely think it’s my favorite book.
  I’m currently reading Secret Project 3, it’s good so far but I’m only a few pages in.
- Has anybody read The Frugal Wizard's Handbook yet? I just finished it, great concept I just wish it was longer.

Hyperion by Dan Simmons
- Some people will say the rest of the series isn't worth reading, but I enjoyed them all.
  
  Just finished the Fall of Hyperion and it's pretty good still. It can definitely be hard to follow along sometimes though.
- Great book. I remember where I was and what I was doing when I read sections of that book for the first time. It really leaves a mark on you and no im not being clever
- My favorite book of all time. Hope you're having fun with it!
  
  I'm really enjoying it.
- Great series. My personal favorite from Simmons is the Ilium/Olympos duology, although Olympos was a bit of a letdown at the end. Simmons is brilliant but he does have a way of setting a lot of things up and occasionally failing to deliver a satisfying climax. Hyperion and Endymion, read as two complete works, do a better job of concluding things.
  I distinctly remember reading Ilium when I was like 12 and just being absolutely dumbfounded by the erotic scenes with Helen of Troy. I had never encountered adult content like that in a book and it just blew my horny teenage mind.
  Simmons’ fusion of historical literature with robust far future science fiction is chef’s kiss.

I tend to binge through books. I just finished Andy Weir's Artemis and Project Hail Mary in about one night each.
Which means the things I'm in the middle of tend to be web serials since I can't just rush through. I've got dozens of tabs of royalroad open in my phone's browser. Everything by Ravensdagger is good, and I've been enjoying Return of the Runebound Professor and Let's Not Obliterate, and awaiting the scheduled return from hiatus of Ends of Magic on Monday.
- Project Hail Mary is an excellent read. I'm recommending it constantly.

The Three Body problem by Cixin Liu
- I've had this one recommended to me recently. How do you find it?
  
  It's good. If you can find enjoyment in a book that's more about it's fascinating premise than it is about it's characters then it's especially good.
  
  I'm just getting into it. It's an interesting premise so I'm looking forward to digging deeper.
- Same, as I read it I've been thinking of it as Chinese Michael Crichton, but overall it's been very good.
  
  This makes sense to me, I just finished Jurassic Park for the first time a little over a month ago. Lots of similarities, cool premise, I don't care much for the characters so far.

Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson. I borrowed it from a friend so long ago I don't remember who it was. Like... More than 10 years ago. I didn't expect it to start out so strangely, especially after finishing The Three Body Problem lol. And that one started very strangely!
- Snow Crash is on my "to read" list. I keep running into references to it.
  
  It's a little dated but I'm enjoying it, knowing it was written during a time I'm familiar with

Wage Labor and Capital - Karl Marx. It’s very small but I’m taking my time with it
I’m in kind of a rotation of Sci-Fi (last: Children of Dune), classic novels (Dune kinda counts but my last from this category was Lord of the Flies), and nonfiction/leftism
- Based. What did you think about Dune? I read books 1 and 2, and then started reading Orientalism by Edward Said, and I've found that Dune is smacking of orientalism and sexism. It makes it hard to go back and read the 3rd book.
  
  It’s absolutely orientalist, similar to Zelazny’s Lord of Light but for Islam instead of Hinduism. For these, I was able to view them as a product of their time and enjoy the story even while recognizing some problematic elements.
  I found the 2nd book to be a bit of a slog, and I enjoyed the 3rd a lot more again. Since it was about new characters once again coming of age (… kind of), it has that same sense of exploration and discovery as the 1st. The 1st is definitely my fave so far though.

Before They are Hanged by Joe Abercrombie. It’s book 2 of the First Law series. I’m mainly a Sci-fi reader, but started this fantasy series, and wow, what a ride.
- Aww man, if I go could go back into this series fresh again. I love this series.
  If you enjoy the first trilogy the three standalone books are also great and the follow up trilogy is also fantastic.
  But man, The Bloody Nine is an all time character.
  Enjoy!

A collection of Kafka short stories

TCP/IP Illustrated, Vol. 1, it may be a little bit outdated, but the core concepts still stand.

Dune Messiah
- Me too! Can't wait to see how weird the series gets.

"The Count of Monte Cristo". Not in the middle, more the beginning. But it's like my third read so I take it slow this time.
- Me too! First time reading it, at the beginning as well. he’s just about to get married to the Catalan cutie and some dudes be scheming
- Definitely should be shelved under Educational.

Last book of The First Law trilogy by Joe Abercrombie.
- Aww man, if I go could go back into this series fresh again. I love this series.
  If you enjoy the first trilogy the three standalone books are also great and the follow up trilogy is also fantastic.
  But man, The Bloody Nine is an all time character.
  I second the opinion of the audio book versions.
  Enjoy!
- Probably my favourite fantasy series. The audio book is top tier. The narrator brings so much depth to the world.

Imperialism, the highest stage of Capitalism by VI Lenin

Let me bring this thread’s intellect down a little by sharing my delight in listening to He Who Fights With Monsters. Absolutely goofy book about a guy who gets sucked into an alternate world full of magic. It’s an homage to RPG games and had me chuckling and feeling wistful.
- You might Scott Meyer's Magic 2.0 series.

Adrian Newey's how to build a car
- I'm reading that currently too! So far I'm really liking it.
- Sounds interesting. I read Ross Brawn's & Alan Parr's "Total Competition". Maybe touches the same topics from another angle.

I'm reading Michael Crichton's The Sphere. It's an odd one - Crichton rarely spends a lot of time on character, but Sphere in particular is barely interested in the people at all. It's situations and implications, a sense of mystery and dread, that the author is interested in, and he whips from one dilemma to the next so quickly its a little disorienting. that can sound like praise, but I'm not sure it is. This is an early work, and it feels rough now and then. Without strong characters, the only voice you really hear is Crichton's, and his tech-terror-explainer 'tone' can be a little tough to swallow in large amounts. all the same, I'm desperate to see where it goes, even as I suspect it will all be over much faster than most of his later novels.
- I just finished Jurassic Park, and similarly the plot was fun but the characters were fine. The only character that's somewhat fleshed out is basically a stand-in for Crichton himself and actually has multiple almost chapter long monologues talking about the "arrogance of science."
  Which is confusing as hell as the character is supposedly a world-renown and respected mathematician and basically all of the criticisms Malcolm throws at "science" and "scientists" (as if all science and scientists are some unified bloc) would apply directly to other areas of academia....like mathematics.
  I didn't even touch on the thematic confusion of pro-corporation messages while the villain is corporation-personified.
  I say all of that to say Crichton in my experience is great at finding interesting scenarios and plot lines to explore, and not much else.

I'm in the middle of the Wax and Wayne series by Brandon Sanderson, just finished Shadows of Self.
Sanderson's books are a really fun read, highly recommend them to anyone interested in fantasy.

I'm not much of a reader, but I read to my daughter (9). We just finished The Hobbit and have now started the first chapter of The Lord Of The Rings (I also read the prolog, where all peculiarities about hobbits are mentioned. She endured it, but she didn't like it much)

What If? 2 by Randall Monroe.

I've read more books in the last month than I have in 5 years. I'm really enjoying getting back into it

The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie.
- Hah. Me too, except I'm on book three, Last Argument of Kings
  
  Does the trilogy hold on quality wise? Cos I’m liking the first book a lot.

I'm reading The Amber Spyglass, by Philip Pullman

"City of Dragons" by Robin Hobb. Her whole "Realm of the Elderlings" series is great, I don't know any other fantasy author who can write characters as well as she does.

For those interested in sci-if, I’m reading Children of Ruin, the sequel to Children of time written by Adrian Tchaikovsky.
It is equally as great, if not better than the first book. Definitely hard science fiction, to me at least, but it’s a really immersive book. Highly recommend.
- Is that the one with the spiders?
  
  Yes. The first one is the origin story of the spiders, the second one builds off of that and has them traveling the universe with some friends. Meeting a new species and so on. Trying not to spoil it but if you like science fiction you’ll probably like it.
- Sounds great. I'm a hard scifi fan, but I haven't read this one. It's going on my list.
  
  Also would recommend Three Body Problem, if you haven’t read it. You as a fan of hard sci-if would love it, probably one of my favorite trilogies.
- The first one was one of the most memorable books I ever read. The idea is so insane, yet works great and I found myself rooting for the spiders so badly.
  
  Yeah. It’s crazy. But he really set up their story in a way that made me root for and feel for them. Cast unwillingly into this epic drama of species survival, it’s quite interesting. Also the story of the Gilgamesh was incredible. If you haven’t read the second book I really recommend it, I’m almost finished with it now and it’s definitely a page turner.
  Everything is linked in a way that really makes sense and there are some really cool twists that builds upon the previous book as I mentioned.
  If you have any recommendations of similar books or authors I’d really like to know!

Neuromancer

Trudi Canavan - The Ambassador's Mission
Loved the first trilogy, only recently found out there's a second.

Revan from the Star Wars Legends series.

The Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson

Just started “Yumi and The Nightmare Painter”

Catch-22. The classic itself

Book 4 of the Wheel of Time (about half way through). Series has been something I've started on and off for 20 years, but picked up the first book after my Dad died a couple of months back and finding it a lot easier to stick with it this time around.
- Hey, Im on the last one, been at it for over a year now. Can recommend it, it's a good read. Wont spoil :)

The Culture series by Ian Banks
- Do you find it hard to "visualize" Banks' writing? I read Consider Phlebas and I'm part way through Player of Games right now, but it takes me forever* to get through these books because I feel lost and can't make a mental picture of wtf is going on. The Culture series reminds me a lot of Alastair Reynolds' Revelation Space series, but I had no trouble wrapping my mind around Reynolds' far-future setting. Is there a book somewhere in the middle of the Culture series that I should start with to get a better description of his universe?
  
  I'm doing the audio books, but that doesn't make it any easier to follow. I thought player of games was absolutely fantastic and brilliantly written, but I've found some of the books very complex.
  With player of games he never actually describes the nature of the game board itself. I think that was intentional, he left it up to the reader. I found that fascinating.
  I'm a bit of an aspiring author and this series is quite frankly inspiring. Not in it's confounding complexity but all the good bits.
  Some of it is hard to visualize but for me sometimes it's hard to follow. I'm glad I'm not the only one who finds him challenging.
  The one I'm on now seems to have elephant people in it and I definitely didn't quite put that together for quite a while lol.
  As far as the nature of the culture, I don't know if any one book does a better job of describing the universe. Each book illustrates one facet of it, in my opinion. It's a big universe he's made, you get snapshots.
  It's like he has this universe in his head and with each book he is exploring one specific topic of discussion, in the culture universe, and with each book it sheds a little more light onto what the culture really is.
  It reminds me of the stainless steel rat series. Deep and meaningful ideas tempered by humor and whimsy.

Perdito station by China Meiville(hope I spelled it right) I just started a week ago and have only been able to read a bit because of time constraints but so far I'm pretty intrigued.

Stephen Kings IT. Also listening to Stephen King The Outsider in preparation of Holly coming out in September.

A lot. I lost count, really. I'm a professional 'middle of the book' reader. It's a way of living.

The Dragon Reborn by Robert Jordan.
The first two books flew by. Things are changing a bit. I'm still having fun but Im going to take a WoT breather after this one.
- I'm on it as well, about finished but I'm very much hooked really want to continue.
  
  I just pushed through to about 3/4s in and am once again hooked. The beginning was a bit of a slog compared to the first two books pace.

Cradle by Will Wight, I think I'm at book 8 of 11/12 (I don't usually look so I don't gauge how long til the end).
It's been a fun western take on a progression fantasy and cultivation novel.

I'm very close to finishing The Sound and the Fury. It has lived up to it's reputation of being opaque and difficult. Really more of a checklist book for me.
I am about midway through Neurotribes. It's interesting, but has been slow going.
I'm finally picking up steam on my second read of Infinite Jest. Even better than the first time around.
I am about midway through Anathem. Neal Stephenson is a gifted writer, but for some reason I really lost traction on this one after I got through the world building and into the actual narrative.
I am also nearly done with my second read of American Gods. I have it on audiobook this time. Really enjoying the ensemble cast. It's a good story and I enjoy Gaiman's narrative style.
Idk why but ever since my youth I've never been able to focus on just one book at a time.
- This sounds stressful to me. I am the complete opposite, I need to finish a book (or series) completely before I can move on to something else.

1Q84 by Haruki Murakami
- What book are you on?
  
  Almost done with book 1.

Do audiobooks count? I'm on chapter 27 of The Stand with about 38 hours to go. It's been quite the experience in this post-Covid world.

Minima Moralia by Theodor Adorno and Postmodernism by Frederick Jameson. Just finished Lacan’s lectures on the 4 fundamental concepts of psychoanalysis and understood about 10%. I’m playing catch-up with the serious people from the last century.

Endymion by Dan Simmons. Part of the Hyperion Cantos.
- I just read Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion for the first time this year. When I got to the end of Hyperion I did something I rarely do. I usually buy all my books used as sort of a “thrill of the hunt” thing. I bought The Fall of Hyperion new… out of rage. I demanded to know what was going to happen next, because without knowing I couldn’t tell if I loved or hated the fucking book! I then read through The Fall of Hyperion as fast as I could manage.
  Now I can say, without a doubt, it’s one of my favorite books I’ve ever read. And yet I’m still not sure I am willing to go forward with the Endymion books.
- Great series. My personal favorite from Simmons is the Ilium/Olympos duology, although Olympos was a bit of a letdown at the end. Simmons is brilliant but he does have a way of setting a lot of things up and occasionally failing to deliver a satisfying climax. Hyperion and Endymion, read as two complete works, do a better job of concluding things.
  I distinctly remember reading Ilium when I was like 12 and just being absolutely dumbfounded by the erotic scenes with Helen of Troy. I had never encountered adult content like that in a book and it just blew my horny teenage mind.
  Simmons' fusion of historical literature with robust far future science fiction is chef's kiss.

A couple, The Institute by Stephen King and Cosmos by Carl Sagan

The Mask of Mirrors by M.A. Carrick.
It's fantasy, but feels pretty fresh to me with the focus being on the main characters trying to con a rich family and less of the more usual (but no less fun) adventuring, combat etc. (at least so far, I'm still very early in the book).
- If you like that kind of story you might want to read The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch.
  
  Thanks for the suggestion, already read and enjoyed it :)

Escape from Billings Mall, by Chuck Tingle. It's a choose your own adventure book!

The Wastelands - Stephen King. It's kinda nearing the middle of the Dark Tower series and it's pretty damn good.

The Joy of Abstraction by Eugenia Cheng
Category theory is awesome!

Theory of Moral Sentiments, Adam Smith (project gutenberg)
It's slow going because of the archaic style, but will be a revelation to anyone who thinks Smith doesn't care about humanity.
- I haven't read Theory of Moral Sentiments yet, but Freakonomics did a fantastic podcast series on Adam Smith. They spend a lot of time on the Theory of Moral Sentiments and how what he actually wrote doesn't match the current "perception" of him.

Book of Leaves and Tao Te Ching

The Neverending Story by Michael Ende

212 comments