Just finished "The Ferryman" and it didn't manage to live up to my somewhat high expectations. As I mentioned previously, the author's "The Passage" series is one of my absolute favourite sci-fi series, so this one had a lot to live up to.
While it's still a good sci-fi story quite well told, my main problem has to do with the use of a storytelling device I dislike quite a lot (massive spoilers: There's a variation of "it was all a dream" at play here) and also that it turns into a more interesting story just as the novel comes to an end. These issues are highly subjective, naturally, so your mileage may vary. I gave it 3.5 stars in my Goodreads review.
Now I'm continuing my decades long Discworld project, as I'm starting the penultimate entry in the series, "Raising Steam". It's a Moist von Lipwig novel and I've enjoyed the previous two books with him quite a lot (primarily due to Vetinari's large role in the events) so excited for this one
@FuriousMachine that's a shame that the book didn't quite hit the mark for you. Discworld is something I need to get back into. I read Colour of magic back in my early years at secondary school and have fond memories of the Truckers animation on CITV.
Just finished reading The Scottish Enlightenment by Arthur Herman which has got me thinking about my own family origins, (I feel a new hobby coming on 😂).
Next up I have The Canary Keeper and then The Secret Chapter, (library books) even though I have a backlog of stuff I actually own to get through!
@MightyDemon82 You should definitely consider jumping back in to Discworld series, at least to see if you'll still enjoy them. Tons of great stuff in there You might want to consider revisiting Colour of Magic and the jumping straight into The Light Fantastic (which I think is better), considering that the latter can be seen as almost a direct continuation of the former (the rest of the books in the series are standalone and can be read in almost any order). To be fair, it's been maybe 25 years since I read those two, so I may be misremembering, though.
"The Canary Keeper", is it the one by Clare Carson you're referencing? (I sort of assumed, due to the Scotland connection there). Regardless, looks interesting, so my reading list grew again
I could only find one titled "The Secret Chapter", so I assume it's the one in the "Invisible Library" series you're talking about? I'm getting YA vibes from that, would that be correct? That's not a negative in my opinion, by the way (I know some look down their noses at YA literature).
@FuriousMachine You are right about both. They were just random picks, as I was in a rush at the library. The Canary Keeper seemed like a good one and the other I've found out is a part of a YA series. I'll read it anyway since I have it!
Currently trying to motivate myself to read more, after slacking off for the last year or so. I started on 'The Jagged Orbit' by John Brunner.
An early chapter ended with: "It isn't that he's crazy. Maybe he never had been crazy. We just don't understand the peculiar way in which he is sane."
And that line made me remember why I love books.
“We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.”
Though I've never read any McCarthy myself, it's always sad when a true luminary passes. Thought I'd add a couple of his books to my reading list. Any recommendations on good books to start with?
@AgentCooper@MightyDemon82
Thanks, great tips. I'd forgotten about The Road; been meaning to add it to my list but kept forgetting. Now it's in
Glad to hear about the Canary Keeper; keeping it on my list then. Do you think you'll go back and try The Invisible Library from the beginning? If so, I'd be interested in hearing what you think.
@FuriousMachine I’ve read No Country and The Road which I really enjoyed (as much as you can, particularly with the latter).
Blood Meridian always gets high praise but I was kind of indifferent to it. I guess it is trying to push how brutal the period was but I didn’t find it a particularly enjoyable read and it seemed gratuitous for the sake of it at times.
But then again, it’s often hailed as a must-read so maybe it’s me that’s wrong
@Thrillho Good to know, I'll check it out. From what you're saying, it sounds like I might end up sharing your opinion on that one (though I have been known to enjoy a bit of gratuitousness every now and then )
@MightyDemon82 That reading list only ever grows, doesn't it? A quick tally of mine shows that, given I continue to average around 30 pr. year, I will run out of things to read in about 25 years....
@PixelDragon Cool, Raven's Shadow is on my reading list, too. I assume you enjoyed Blood Song, at least enough to continue the series, so that bodes well
Currently Reading the original Alien Earth War Trilogy.
Book one is called Earth War.
Book two is called Nightmare Asylum.
Book Three is called the Female War.
Basically the books totally disregard Alien 3 & 4 and pick up right after the events of Aliens. Hicks is still in the Core but suffers from depression and alcoholism and nightmares from is ordeal on LV 426. Newt is locked up in a mental institution dealing with nightmares as well and the fallout from losing her entire family.aRipley has disappeared until the end of Book two.
The gang gets back together at the end of Book 2 and take the fight to the Aliens Home World and take care of business. It's awesome and I so wish the films went in this direction.
Just finished "Raising Steam", the penultimate Discworld novel and it was a little bit of a disappointment for me. I've enjoyed the earlier Moist von Lipwig books quite a lot, but something just didn't click here. Still, a disappointing Pratchett novel is still good, so I gave it 3 stars in my Goodreads review.
Now I'm starting "The Three Body Problem", which is being adapted for a Netflix series to be released early next year (and just got a rather cracking trailer). Looks interesting and I have high expectations
"Preoccupied with a single leaf, you won’t see the tree. Preoccupied with a single tree, you’ll miss the entire forest. Don't be preoccupied with a single spot. See everything in its entirety...effortlessly. That is what it means...to truly "see." "
Finished "The Three-Body Problem" by Cixin Liu and was a bit disappointed. Not the epic I was expecting and it got maybe a bit too dry and "sciency" for my tastes, even though everything was explained in such a manner that all the ideas and concepts were understandable for a "non-sciency" guy such as myself Gave it three stars in my Goodreads review, and will read the next in the series to see where it goes. Will also check out the chinese TV show available on Rakuten Viki at one point and also the Netflix series that hits next year.
But, before all that, I'm going to dive back into the world of Geralt of Rivia and check out Andrzej Sapkowski's "Baptism of Fire"
@FuriousMachine I found books 2 & 3 to be much better than the first. So I hope you enjoy the others more than you did The Three Body
Problem. I've added The Witcher to the ever expanding list, as I loved the Third game!
I finished How are you going to save yourself by JM Holmes this morning, next up Cry of the Wild by Charles Foster. Been a
Bit slower on the reading side with FFXVI occupying my time.
Forums
Topic: Books You're Currently Reading?
Posts 581 to 600 of 1,587
Please login or sign up to reply to this topic