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December book club canceled. Short stories instead!
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I've put together a collage of some books from last months What are you Reading? post. It's mostly random, but the more discussion something gets the more it stands out to me. Going forward I'm going to make a new post every month to talk about what people are reading.
Here is last months post. What are you Reading? (July 2023)
At any rate, what are you currently reading or plan to read in August?
The three body problem series is absolutely the best sci fi book series I have ever read. Can’t recommend more. Just finished the last one the other day, and the third book is mind blowing. It was written by a Chinese author so it feels foreign to me as an American, and a lot of cultural differences are very apparent but the translation was masterfully done by the authors son so it stays very true to the original source.
Happy to talk about Wheel of Time. Did you make it all the way to the end?
I’ve read the whole series twice, once when the last book was finally released and again during the pandemic.
If you’re still on Reddit, there was a great sub for WoT memes
I'll talk about wheel of time all day - somewhere around a dozen rereads its been a comfort staple my whole life man, now my wife is on her 2nd listen through, 3rd book, and I still enjoy the ride every damn time.
The Cuckoo's Egg: Tracking a Spy Through the Maze of Computer Espionage
It's a surprisingly engaging read, even though the events occurred in the 80s. Computer security was non-existent.
I’ve been on an Ursula le guin kick. Finished Left Side of Darkness, started Earthsea series (just book one) and am finishing up Dispossessed (since it’s due back to inter library loan soon). But sure what’s next. I have the expanse books on hand, but the semesters about to start and things get busy.
In July, I finished The Lords of Uncreation (and therefore the Final Architect trilogy) by Adrian Tchaikovsky, read the newest Lee and Miller Liaden novel Salvage Right when it arrived, then zoomed through Wool, the first of the Silo books.
Currently, I’m reading a Star Trek novel Agents of Influence by Dayton Ward. It’s a sequel to the excellent Vanguard and Seeker series set in Star Trek’s 23rd century. Not sure what’s next.
I don't normally plan my reading much ahead of time but August is an exception on a few counts.
Firstly, Whalefall by Daniel Kraus comes out on August 8th. It's such a goofy idea for a story (think Jonah and the Whale meets The Martian) and I have been so pumped, I've been talking people's ear off about it for months. It's like scientifically accurate Pinocchio.
Secondly, one of the bookclub picks for the Discord server affiliated with [email protected] is The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K LeGuin
And then it's Tropeical Readathon (a semiannual reading challenge thing) again so I have a couple dozen books picked out to cover that, but the only other sci-fi one apart from the above is Under This Forgetful Sky by Lauren Yero.
On vacation and just powered through The Kaiju Preservation Society by Scalzi, Children of Memory - the latest in the Children of Time series by Tchaikovsky and Terraformers by Newitz. All excellent
The Bobiverse books were great. Can't wait for more. I've been reading Expeditionary Force which is where the Skippy's come from. Also Rythm of War by Brandon Sanderson.
Just started reading "To Sleep in a Sea of Stars". (Christopher Paolini)
It's huge, but so far the pacing moves quickly enough to keep from getting bogged down.
I consume most of my books via audiobooks.
I'm just about to finish the final Expeditionary Force book, overall I really enjoyed the series, yes there were a few low points (we won't talk about the the audio drama one!) but I thought it held up well.
This is my list of upcoming books:
Children of Memory by Adrian Tchaikovsky. It's been a while since I read anything of his and I'm loving it.
Not sure if Riot Baby counts, but I just finished that and The Dreaming Void.
I’m tracking my progress through the Hugo award winners, so I’m now reading Rendezvous with Rama and have the Broken Earth trilogy on hand for when I’m done that.
I finally decided to start reading the Warhammer books and ordered Horus Rising, so I should get started on that next week. All the cyberpunk and SF stuff I've seen on Lemmy lately has me itching to re-read Necromancer. I haven't read Count Zero yet, for some reason I only have Neuromancer and Mona Lisa Overdrive, so I think I'll order that soon too
Right now I'm listening to Damnation Alley by Roger Zelazny. It's probably an interesting story, but the narrator is awful. Sometimes he reads without any pauses so it feels like you are listening to a wall of text. There is also very little inflection in his voice as he reads so it is hard to stay engaged. I'm going to stick with it if I can, but I'm not holding much hope.
I’m currently reading Sword and Citadel, second half of The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe.
I’m finally starting House of Leaves with a book club from work. I have no idea what to expect other than weirdness, and I am very excited!
Is this just for sci-fi or books in general? In July I didn't read any sci fi, just fantasy stuff.
Just started The Passage by Justin Cronin (audiobook) and I’m loving it, and I’m about to finish Witch King (dead tree) by Martha Wells, which has also been fantastic.
Up next in dead tree edition is gonna be something off my bookshelf at home. Not sure what I’m in the mood for yet but I’m leaning towards Shards of Earth by Adrian Tchaikovsky. I want to re-read that and Eyes of the Void to prep for Lords of Uncreation.
Currently working on book 5 of Gaunt's Ghosts. It's been a few months since I read a chapter though because of busy life has been.
After reading Necropolis, it's gonna be hard for the rest of the series to match it.
I'm not a big book reader, but a friend got me "The Autobiography of Nikola Tesla and Other Works". It's sitting on my nightstand when I can motivate to crack a boot. The book I finished before it was "Brief Answers to the Big Questions" by Stephen Hawking.
I like reading works from Scientists. I can't understand their research papers because of the math, but I enjoy the works they do for the layman.
I'm reading the Silo series after watching the show, it is pretty good so far.
Love to see Leviathan Wakes in the graphic as well
I've been taking a short break from Malazan Book of the Fallen recently, by exploring some new, lighter books, especially while at work, but I think I'm going to get back into it in August.