Topic: Books You're Currently Reading?

I've finished all 13 books from 'The Last Kingdom' now. A good chunk of historical fiction. Cornwell would sometimes repeat himself, seemingly for the sake of padding out his word count (I don't really think I need to be told that Finan had really good eyesight 3 or 4 times per book, to be honest, Bernard 🫣 although I do love writer's quirks that become recognisable) but overall, a worthwhile series of books.

I'm now onto the audiobook of Sapkowski's Crossroads of Ravens, and I feel like Peter Kenny (top quality narrator of all of Sapkowski's works) had somewhere to be during this recording. He is going at some pace! Sapkowski's dry humour and sarcastic writing style are clear very early, it is like slipping on an old (silver studded) leather jacket that fits just right. I don't feel this will be one of his best Witcher stories, so far, but I do love the way he writes. The playful Latin flourishes are back, often to end a sentence with a punchline or subtle nod, or simply adding little throwaway comments that add real personality to the side characters. (Peter Kenny delivers the humerous phrases so well, and really understands the way they are to be used in Sapkowski's work, I highly recommend the audiobooks for this reason alone) ah, but where was I? Videtur me oblitum esse 🤷‍♂️

@Th3Solution as i've noticed you mentioned the draw to retry TW3, I thought I might tag you and ask (I may have before and forgotten) whether you have read any Witcher books? If not, perhaps listening to the audiobooks woild be a good way to get you into it, before going back to the game. Then you will get all the initial character building and an idea of a Witcher's place in the world, before being thrown into the game headfirst. I played the game first and then, when I eventually came to love it (it took 3 attempts to get going) I attacked the books woth great fervour as I needed more of the story, of the characters. But for some it may just make more sense to have at least an understanding of the characters and the universe first. And honestly, the audiobooks are superb and so easy to consume (free in some places, but the audible prices are pretty low anyway) so you could always listen while playing some other light game on the portal, while travelling, doing menial tasks etc. I know myself listening to Crossroads is making me want to revisit the short stories and the novels, and then maybe revisit TW3 too 😅 the pull towards it is strong! But maybe, just maybe, you would be better being drawn to the original stories first.

@Ravix Unfortunately I have not read any of them. I do remember your love for the books and how you felt they enhance the appreciation for the game. I had hoped the Netflix series would be a shortcut to accomplish the same thing (a way to build a relationship with the characters and world) and in a prior conversation you had directly discouraged me from wasting time watching it. 😅 I couldn’t help my curiosity though and about a year ago I started season one. I made it about 4 episodes in… and then have never gone back. It was okay and, without the books to compare, it didn’t openly offend me, but it wasn’t particularly good either. I haven’t ruled out going back to it, since there’s a new season which may reboot things better. I don’t know.

But I have often considered your advice about giving the books a go. Actually, about two weeks ago I was at the bookstore just browsing and I really wanted to grab one of them to try but I was intimidated by the series and didn’t feel confident about which book to start with. So any advice there might help. The Google-verse seems to universally re commend The Last Wish, but it feels weird for a first book to be a collection of short stories.

The audiobook idea is a good one though. I haven’t listened to an audiobook in a while but it would be something I could do during travel or exercise. Unfortunately I lost access to my audible library a few years ago and I’d have to start with a new account and every time I think about doing it I get really annoyed. I had dozens of books in that library and customer service wasn’t very helpful in restoring my access. Regardless, I should consider getting back into audiobooks.

@Th3solution search YouTube, I believe the Last Wish narrated by Peter Kenny is on there (maybe all the books) I feel weird recommending free stuff, as it is worth the paltry £7.99 or whatever the audiobooks go for in sales, tbh. But it is there and no one is stopping it being there, I guess. Youtube obviously has comment sections, which I assume you'd want to avoid.

It is short stories, yes. But there is also a narrative that runs through (well, kind of, I think). And a lot of the stories really set up the state of things for the world and the characters in the first novel. The first short story that explains what a witcher is and their work is also important, of course. And that alone would probably help. Basically Sapkowski wrote some short stories for a magazine, then was encouraged to write more and thus added to them, expanded the scope, had them published and set up the novels with that. So it is always best to read The Last Wish first.

Oh, the pains of digital 'ownership'. Let us mourn the loss of our physical souls. And I get that, sometimes an annoyance can be a mental block on future decisions. Listening for free might be a way to move past that, and thus... rekindle (oh wait, wrong amazon product 🙈 yes, ladies and gentleman, I'm here all week) rekindle the joy of audiobooks for you.

It feels like we've moved towards finding what would be right for you, so i'd say give it a go, chill and listen to The Last Wish and learn about a few of the characters with Peter Kenny's fantastic storytelling making it less daunting than having to sit down and read all the books. And see where you stand after that.

All I will warn you about is that initially they were translated a bit awkwardly, and there are a lot of semi-circles referenced regarding sword fighting techniques, spells and general movements that would normally be described with more variation. And the translator messed up the spelling of a name that was localised in english: Jaskier (Buttercup) was supposed to become Dandelion (Dan. Dee. Lion) but she wrote Dandillion (Dan. Dilly. Un) and Peter Kenny does narrate it as it is written, so it is a little quirky. But it is weirder if you've already played the games and know him as Dandelion from that.

Apart from the odd translation woes, like I say, it is the best place to start. And I can't wait to finish Crossroads myself, so I can go back to The Last Wish once more 😄

@Th3solution I can echo the recommendation from the good @Ravix, the books are well and truly worth getting into if you want to get deeper into the world of The Witcher. I've enjoyed them all, though I actually preferred the "stand-alone" novels and novellas to the "Ciri Saga". All good, though.
I found this reading order online, followed it and felt it worked very well:
1) The Last Wish [short stories]
2) Sword of Destiny [short stories]
3) Blood of Elves
4) The Time of Contempt
5) Baptism of Fire
6) The Tower of the Swallow
7) Lady of the Lake
8) Season of Storms [prequel]

Good luck and hope you'll enjoy if you decide to jump in

@Ravix @FuriousMachine As luck would have it, Audible has a deal going right now for new subscribers to get a premium subscription for $0.99 per month for the first three months. Maybe I’ll just do that. To buy the audiobook The Last Wish outright is $25 through Audible. 😬 As an alternative to the YouTube option, I prefer just taking advantage of the subscription deal and maybe it can help repair my broken relationship with Audible.

@Th3solution 3 books, 99p each seems fair! 🙌

I have had many audible deals, and you can usually get good value if you take the offers. Cancel and get new offers at the end, etc. I don't think I ever paid full price for any title. The most I soent on on one audiobook was the £7.99 for my Crossroads of Ravens pre-order.

Good luck on the path. I see @FuriousMachine has already given you the best order to follow. It is possible to skip from The Last Wish to the forst novel: Blood of Elves, but if you are already enjoying the short stories by then, you may as well stick to the release order

I've finished "Dungeon Crawler Carl" and it was a lot of fun. I have books 2 & 3 on my shelf but I'm going to read "Hermit" by Chris McQueer before I jump straight back into dungeon crawling!

@FuriousMachine and others, I finished the Diary of a Genius book, by Salvador Dali, and, as you thought it could be, Furious, it was a fascinating and insightful look into the life and inner machinations of the artist and man, and, dare I say, genius! ,that was Salvador Dali. Highly recommend, just skip over the early chapter about painting fish guts ,surrounded by flies, whilst being disturbed by a scab on his lip - all terrible stuff, but the rest of the book, I can assure you - is pure gold!

I have now moved onto The Samurai Film by Alain Silver, which is meant to be the most respected authority on the subject, and ,based on what I have read of that, can highly recommend that as well! ,especially as I know you are a fellow Samurai Cinema Enthusiast, Furious! .

How is your own reading going?

@BlAcK_Sw0rDsMaN Glad to hear it, I may pick it up myself at some point (not currently available on Kindle, it seems).
I'm still reading The Book of Cold Cases and it's slow going (a scant 150 pages or so in after a week), but that is mostly due to having other priorities at the moment. I'm enjoying the book, but it hasn't gripped me like some other books have and I'm not compelled to return to it at any available moment.

In addition to reading The Samurai Film, which I am about halfway through, I've started exploring Zen and Western Thought by Masao Abe. Zen is described, in the opening pages as a religion, rather than as a form of philosophy, which I did not know before.

A few books I've finished recently:

A Dog's Purpose (W. Bruce Cameron) - A stray mutt ponders the purpose of his existance while being euthanized after a short life, and soon finds himself reborn as a puppy in a different time & place. In a scenario that plays out again & again (each time a new dog in a new place) he discovers his purpose in the world, as he touches the lives of many people. Maybe a bit emotionally manipulative, but if so it did it's job wonderfully as I cried several times throughout the adventure. Really enjoyed this one & will definitely seek out the sequel.

I am America (and so can you!) (Stephen Colbert) - Satire of Bush era conservatism, written from the perspective of the comedian's "conservative" character from his "Colbert Report" days. Absolutely had me in stitches from beginning to end, reminding me both of nothing burger conservative controversies of the day (such as the "War on Christmas" that Bill O'Reilly used to blather on about), as well as issues that seem like could have been pulled from the news today.

Future Boy: Back to the Future & my Journey Through the Space Time Continuum (Michael J Fox & Nelle Fortenberry) - A first hand look at the behind the scenes production of both Back to the Future & the TV series Family Ties from the famous actor, and how they shaped his life. As a huge BttF fan I thought it was a fantastic read & devoured it in a single weekend (it also helps that it's pretty brisk, being under 200 pages long).

@RR529 I'm sure I have seen a bit of a film version of "A Dog's Purpose", on the T.V. If I remember correctly it had Dennis Quaid in it.

I have finished "Hermit" it was a fascinating fictional look into the life of a young lad who gets drawn into the world of Incel culture.

Next up "Written in Bone" by Sue Black, I loved her first book "All that Remains" which I read at the end of 2023.

@MightyDemon82, yeah, I saw bits of the movie (and the entirety of the sequel) on TV too. There's a pretty big difference between how the book & movie end, so I'm interested in seeing how the book version of the sequel follows up.

I finished Zen and Western Thought by Masao Abe.

I loved the book, and think it is one everyone should read, especially the last part where the author theories about what humanity can do to save itself from itself, and progress towards a universally peaceful future, I found that last section to be especially relevant in the light of current events.

@RR529 Dog's Purpose and Future Boy added to reading list I read Colbert's book back when it came out and I loved it, along with Jon Stewart's America: The Book. I even have Colbert's children's book I am a Pole (and so can you), of which Maurice Sendak, author of Where the Wild Things Are memorably said "The sad thing is, I like it!" 😄

Finished Simone St. James' The Book of Cold Cases the other day. I enjoyed the novel, though it didn't "grip me", as some novels do and I found both the murder mystery and ghost story a tiny bit pedestrian, but that is the cost of doing business when one reads a million and a half crime and horror stories. I considered leaving this one with three stars, but after having a few moments reflection I realised that what made me come back to this novel when the story was a bit slow was the characters. Every single character in this novel feels three dimensional and fleshed out, even the minor "bit players", but the two leading ladies - Shea and Beth - are truly interesting. Beth is an enigma we slowly get to understand and Shea is on a journey of recovery it's easy to root for. Her anxieties and hang-ups, coupled with her dogged determination brings to mind Stephen King's Holly Gibney, and that is absolutely a good thing. So, even though the story is "only" three stars for me, it gets four stars for the strength of its characters.

Next up is the second of three series I'm going to alternate between for the foreseeable future, Jonathan Maberry's Patient Zero, the first of his Joe Ledger series (which incidentally is currently being adapted for TV by Chad Stahelski, of "John Wick" fame).

I'm currently reading ENSEMBLE by Julie Mehretu, an art book, there's not much text in English in it, apart from the interview with the artist and a couple of corresponding pieces, but the paintings, which encompass the majority of the book, are fun to look at and pore over.

Edit: And I'm alternating that with Kuniyoshi by Matthi Forrer, a book on the renowned Japanese artist's life and work.

I've now moved onto Nietzsche and Asian Thought by Graham Parkes, and it's a fascinating and riveting read, thus far. Sort of a companion-piece, or at least that's how I'd interpret it, to Zen and Western Thought by Masao Abe. Both highly recommended.

@Th3solution did you make a start on your return to audiobooks? I realised i've not heard from you about it yet and thought i'd re-engage. Especially as I recently finished Crossroads of Ravens and found mysel going back to The Last Wish, near instantly. I think I appreciate it more with each read or listen, this being maybe the 4th time in full now. (And i'm already up to 'The Lesser Evil' story)

Peter Kenny is on peak form in his performance early, i'd say. A top class narrator.

I'm even going to try and will @FuriousMachine to give the audiobooks a go as they are fresh in my mind! Do it! O, bookworm. O, man of verbosity. O, turner of dusty page. For what have you to lose, but time itself? And after all 'tempus tantum conceptus est'

@Ravix Yes! Well… yes to the fact I took Audible’s offer to be re-inducted into their hallowed premium services for 99 cents. The sale ended yesterday so I just enrolled and I get 3 credits and also a $20 voucher for purchase so at that rate I could probably get half of the series nearly. Because it was as you say — The Last Wish price to the plebs is $25 but it’s on sale currently for members for on $12. Of course I can just use one of my credits and get it for free. Either way, I’ve not started it yet; I just subscribed. Now to just find the time. Maybe I’ll start tonight.

I also went ahead and bought the Witcher 3 Complete Edition in digital format (even though I have the disc) for $10 so I can’t cloud stream on my Portal. So I’ve been getting myself ready to be wow’ed by the greatness of the series. We shall see. If I absolutely hate the book then I’ll still try the game again eventually. Here’s hoping the book sparks an interest sufficient to motivate me through the early hours of the game again.

I will need to dust off BG3 first, of course. And maybe play a few other less epic titles to flush my system of 200 hour RPGs for a while. Which, by the way, I ran up against Orin the Red last night. Ouch. Gonna need to try some new tactics to get past her.