Welcome back after the holidays! Hope you had a good time, and your new year is starting well!
I didn’t get much time to read, so still reading The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson. Third and final book the of Mistborn series (first era).
What about all of you? What have you been reading or listening to lately?
There’s a Midyear Bingo check-in post, do take a look. Even if you haven’t started this year’s Book Bingo, you can still join, as there are still 6 months remaining!
For details, you can checkout the initial Book Bingo, and it’s Recommendation Post . Links are also present in our community sidebar.
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Been reading Bernoulli’s Fallacy, both fascinating and disturbing… Glad I got into it.
If you like that, I’d recommend E.T. Jaynes’ Probability Theory: The Logic of Science (which Clayton repeatedly praises) next. Bernoulli’s Fallacy is good as at exposing the theoretical and historical flaws of conventional statistics, but Jaynes’ book is a more thorough overview of Bayesian statistics.
Thanks I’ll check out a summary see if it floats my boat.
I’m reading Mistborn finally, and I’m enjoying it. I made a new years promise to read the nook books I paid for and never touched, or got one chapter in and quit. They’ve just been sitting there for a decade. Next up is Hell: A Novel.
I’m re-reading my way through the early Essalieyan novels by Michelle West, to refresh before I read the latest book. It’s definitely scratching my epic fantasy itch. I’m so glad she moved to Patreon and self-publishing instead of giving up on finishing the story!
That’s a looong series. What happened with publishing?
I’m not entirely sure–the publisher for this series may have decided that it wasn’t popular enough to bring in new readers and was unwilling to publish this last arc to conclude it. I remember when I found the Patreon the author started, the first post I saw (possibly the intro?) talked about how she had struggled to try to provide an entry point into the larger series when she started the first new book, and that it was a bit of a relief not to have to worry about that anymore. If someone’s supporting the Patreon at this point, they’ve either read or intend to read the rest of the series anyway.
Yeah, publishers often want multiple entry way in a large series, otherwise you don’t get new readers with each book, or at least not as much.
Stephen King - Holly
Not far in it yet but glad it’s not 1000+ pages.
25% if the way into “The Fall of Hyperion”
For a slight change of pace, I’m reading Shou Arai’s manga At 30, I Realized I Had No Gender before starting the second book of The Wheel of Time, The Great Hunt.
Been reading For Whom The Belle Tolls (2024) by Jaysea Lynn. I am positively surprised by this book. Easily a five star book based on the first 25% I have read so far.
It’s a story about Lily who dies and ends up in Afterlife as a soul, like everyone else does. As it turns out, Heaven, Hell, deities of Greek mythology, Valhalla, and all the religions you know and don’t know, are real and they all co-exists in Afterlife. I quite like the humor and the rich and imaginative world the author has created.
That sounds interesting, will check it out!
I’m just finishing up The Book of Elsewhere by China Miéville and Keanu Reeves.
Keanu Reeves has co-written a comic book, and a novel? Why did I never heard about this. Going to check out both.
How’s the book? (and comics, if you have read those)
I’ve not read anything else in the series, but Elsewhere was a lot of fun—probably the most interesting take I’ve seen on how extreme longevity would mess with your psyche.
Currently reading Imperial Radch by Ann Leckie, a sci-fi trilogy about a sentient warship that goes rogue.
Interesting. Is the warship from starship’s warship or is it antagonist of the book?
The warship is the protagonist of the book!
Ahan, thanks for the info. Looking forward to your review of full trilogy.
I finished The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson (Stormlight book 1). Massively enjoyed this one. Spent more time than I should have during the holidays reading it.
Now I’m reading The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah. It’s a historical fiction novel set in occupied France during World War 2. I’m finding it ok so far. It’s easy to read and the plot is fine, but I’m not very emotionally invested and don’t love the writing style.
Edit: I want to clarify that the topics and themes visited in this book are very emotionally heavy. However, the writing feels like an emotional stiff arm to me. It’s just so distant and impersonal, that it reduces the impact of the difficult topics.
Currently reading fiction:“The vanished man” by Jeffery Deaver.
Currently reading non fiction: “Homecoming” by John Bradshaw.
I am going to try and read 52 books this year. Let’s see how it goes.
Good luck with your challenge! I haven’t done 52 books in a year in a long time, if ever, but I think I might be able to do it this year. Have some graphic novels and kids’ book lined up, which are pretty quick to read, so they may help boost the numbers, but then I also have Stormlight Archive re-read planned, and they can take me a while, so maybe not.
That’s a great suggestion, thanks.
For the last few years I have doing a ‘big read’ of something over the course of each year - War and Peace, In Search of Lost Time, Finnegans Wake and, in 2024, Romance of the Three Kingdoms. There is some enduringly memorable material in each of those, and reading them has been quite an experience but I have decided to take a break from that format of reading and just have a year of SF in 2025 - catching up on some that I have long meant to read, starting with Dan Simmons’ Hyperion. Just finished the Scholar’s Tale so far and am thoroughly hooked.
Otherwise, I am most of the way through Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner - which I believe was recommended in this community a while back - which is notable if for no other reason than it includes the first use of the term infangthief that I have encountered since reading 1066 And All That in my teens. And also a recent Doctor Who audionovel The Lord of Misrule by Paul Morris, which is an enjoyably nostalgic tale featuring some beloved characters (as read by Jon Culshaw), but overall nothing exceptional so far.
Oh, I think you mentioned that previously. I was looking forward to what you start this year, but you shouldn’t force yourself, better to take a break then get burned out.
How did you like Hyperion? I have seen it mentioned a lot but never got around to reading it.
First time reading/hearing the word “infangthief”, TIL!
It proved to be a busy week, so I have not quite finished either Hyperion or Confessions…. However, I would definitely recommend Hyperion. Each section is better than the previous, taking in a great range of genres and telling some very human tales against some excellent worldbuilding.
Confessions is a curiosity, and probably not for everyone, but I am glad to have (almost) read it.
What to Believe?: Twelve Brief Lessons in Radical Theology by John D. Caputo. After I had finished Caputo’s excellent primer “How to read Kierkegaard” I was interested in reading more of his works. He is a affable and clear writer. Great fun.
Currently in the middle of Tress of the Emerald Sea. Just finished Task Force Hammer.
Stormlight book 5 just came out and I finished it about 2 weeks ago.
During the holidays with my family, my brother convinced me to give “He who fights with Monsters” by Shirtaloon a try. I’m currently about 30% deep into book one. It’s my first time reading LitRPG and even though I’m not quite sure about the genre I’m enjoying this one quite a lot.
