Topic: Books You're Currently Reading?

@GirlVersusGame I think it took me about 2 weeks the first time. I think everyone hits the wall a few times with it where they set it aside. I remember doing that for a day or so then picking it back up. It's funny, my brother recommended it to me and at the time I was reading a lot of demanding works, mainly William Faulkner and Cormac McCarthy. I was also starting to read James Joyce as well. House of Leaves pretty much fried my brain where i had to take a break and read some tame novels for a few weeks afterwards because I was pushing it too hard with so many works that demanded undivided attention. I'm going to have to read it again now. I played a little bit of Control but put it down, I think now would be a good time to jump into that as well.

Finished the latest Witcher novel Crossroads of Ravens, which I gave three and a half stars in my Goodreads review

This leaves me 10 days to read Jo Nesbø's fifth Harry Hole novel, The Devil's Star before the adaptation of it hits Netflix. Don't think I'll make it, but should be close and the series can wait a few days anyway.

Finished Bel-Ami by Guy de Maupassant this morning, I found it to be an excellent and riveting novel, thoroughly enjoyed it, now one of my favourite books for sure. Oh, and, much better, imo, than Alien Hearts ,by the same author. It's similar in tone and theme to Lost Illusions by Honore de Balzac, but more ambitious in scope, despite possessing a shorter length, and ultimately ,in some ways, a superior version of the aforementioned book.

I finished Pierre and Jean by Guy de Maupassant this morning, it was quite a short book, so I was able to pick it up and get through it quite quickly, after finishing Bel-Ami, by the same author, yesterday. Short and sweet, not as good as 'Bel' but good nonetheless.

Next up, At their Feet: 50 Black Muslim Elders Share Stories of Faith and Community Life, edited by Zarinah El-Amin with Dr. Alisa Perkins and Ayah Rashid,

and Like Death by Guy de Maupassant,

and The Fire This Time: A New Generation Speaks About Race edited by Jesmyn Ward.

I just finished "Empire of the Dawn" by Jay Kristoff. I really really enjoyed the whole trilogy but the last few chapters really had me grinning from ear to ear.

Next up I'm opting for some smaller books after reading 2 chunky one's back to back. First up is "Audition for the Fox" by Martin Cahill.

@MightyDemon82 Did your new copy of a certain House of Leaves arrive, if so did you have a look at it yet?

@MightyDemon82 Happy to hear it, been looking forward to reading that trilogy for a while. I had Mass Effect Andromeda planned for my next trilogy, but I think I will bump it for the benefit of Kristoff's vampires

@FuriousMachine I really need to get my goodreads up to date. I've fallen behind on almost one thousand titles now but keep seeing you and some others chugging away consistently. I did a deep-dive on Marvel reference books recently after playing the three Spiderman games, some omnibus collections too. They weren't Batman but they weren't half bad either, especially Carnage and Venom. How do you personally balance gaming with reading? You mentioned Satisfactory before and it's the perfect audiobook book game, what's your mysterious method? I'm curious because there are only so many hours in the day, surely there's a trade-off there for you. Are you falling behind on games or do you not invest that much time into them to begin with?

@GirlVersusGame Audiobooks don't work for me, I can't maintain concentration and I always get frustrated when I realise I haven't managed to retain anything that's been said for several minutes and I have to rewind. It only works consistently when I'm reading along, but that sort of defeats the purpose. So I actually prefer to listen to music while reading instead
I read on the bus to and from work, which is at least 30 minutes each way, and I also read during my lunch break, most days. Some novels/books are so engrossing that I will also spend hours reading in the evenings. I may also read during other meals, if I'm eating solo, and whenever I'm on a bus or train for any significant length of time, waiting at the doctor's office, waiting for the movie to start at the cinema, etc.
So while that may seem like a lot, I mostly read whenever there are no gaming opportunities available and as such doesn't really cut into my gaming at all. Gaming and watching tv series/movies at home are far more often at odds with each other, to be honest.
I typically averaged around 30 books pr. year, but the last couple of years have been rife with reading opportunities and I got over 50 read.

So, no mysterious method. The fact that I read digitally and not physical books helps here, as I always have my Kindle library with me wherever I go and can easily start reading if I'm stuck waiting for something somewhere

@GirlVersusGame I have indeed. Hopefully i'll get to it soon but I don't tend to keep a set reading order. Looking forward to it though. I still have to properly flesh out my goodreads too.

@FuriousMachine It seem to be a divisive series. Some people don't like it saying it's too edgy. It has a lot of profanity and plenty intimate scenes between several of the characters but that didn't bother me one bit.

@MightyDemon82 Shouldn't be a problem for me either

I finished Like Death ,by Guy de Maupassant. I found it to be a fantastic novel and a magnificent reading experience altogether, definitely one of my favourites of all time now. Now moving on to Gone 'Til November: A Journal of Riker's Island by Li'l Wayne.

Abandoned Li'l Wayne as I found it wasn't for me, now going for Eugenie Grandet by Honore de Balzac, the other books I mentioned before, and The Great Railway Bazaar by Paul Theroux, father of the also famous Louis Theroux.

Edit: Put the other books on hold, currently just focusing on Paul Theroux.

@BlAcK_Sw0rDsMaN some nice books there, you might be interested in blood meridian.

I finished "Audition for the Fox". A breezy fantasy tale which you don't see often.

I finished "EAT" by Nagabe. I don't think I was the intended audience for this particular book. But regardless the art was fantastic and the story incredibly bizarre.

I read the most recent "Beasts of Burden" Occupied Territory. The art in these books are always amazing and who doesn't want animals mainly dogs solving X-Files type mysteries.

Next up I couldn't decide so I'm going to try reading both "Clairviolence: Tales of Tarot and Torment" by Mo Moshaty & "Hunt for the Shadow Wolf" by Derek Gow at the same time. One may win out over the other but let's see.

I finished reading The Great Railway Bazaar about Paul Theroux's trip through Asia, by Paul Theroux, set in the 1970s, I believe (although it's non-fiction, so that's when the events of the novel actually took place). It's a great travelogue, in the vein of Twain.

Next up: Romola by the legendary George Eliot.

@BlAcK_Sw0rDsMaN Nice! Added to my non-fiction to-reads I love good travelogues and it's been a while since I last read any. Think it was one of Bill Bryson's back in the early aughts, if memory serves, but I can't remember exactly which one. Was quite funny, though

I actually made it! And with two days to spare! I caught wind of Netflix' adaptation of Jo Nesbø's Harry Hole novels - arguably Norway's most famous crime novelist - late last year and figured that this was a great time to make good on my threats to actually read those novels. Then I found out that the series adapted the fifth novel and all of a sudden I was in a high stakes race against time: Could I read all the first five novels before Netflix launches the show on March 26th?
I certainly did; just minutes ago, I finished The Devil's Star, which I gave four stars in my Goodreads review.

Now I'll let Harry have a well deserved rest for a while (at least in literary form - I am so watching the Netflix show when it drops on Thursday) and return to my regularly scheduled reading program (which I've ignored and changed so often lately that it no longer resembles anything of the kind).

On the docket for said schedule is a standalone novel from an author new to me, so I have chosen Nowhere Burning by Catriona Ward to fit that particular bill

re-reading my old hardcover of Weird History 101 by John Richard Stephens

@FuriousMachine Good! I hope you enjoy it, old chap.