And what’s on your to read shelf?

  • all-knight-party@kbin.cafe
    36·
    1 year ago

    Since Reddit went, I actually have returned to books for my reading material, which had been replaced basically by massive ask reddit threads. As a result I’m trying to read some things I shouldve a long time ago.

    Just finished the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and I’m on to the second book in the series. It was as good as its legacy lead me to believe!

  • Cl1nk@sh.itjust.works
    18·
    1 year ago

    The Three Body Problem saga, I just finished the first book. I’m enjoying this as much as I enjoyed DUNE

    • Nacktmull@lemm.ee
      4·
      1 year ago

      Good stuff! Im reading the third book now. The saga is outstanding sci-fi and I very much recommend it. It is close to being as good as Foundation - however it is still far from being as great as Dune imo.

    • Dmian@lemmy.world
      2·
      1 year ago

      You have to like metaphors and allegories, as the book is filled with them. I’m halfway in, but so far, I like it.

    • jballs@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      1·
      1 year ago

      I finished Three Body not too long ago. A lot of people didn’t like the fan-written 4th one as much. But if you like Dune, I think you might enjoy it. Cause shit gets weird.

  • Dmian@lemmy.world
    17·
    1 year ago

    I don’t consider myself a bookworm, but I recently read:

    • Japan Sinks by Sakyo Komatsu
    • All You Need Is Kill by Hiroshi Sakurazaka (the novel, not the manga)
    • Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke
    • The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein

    And now I’m reading The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin.

    Yes, I like Science Fiction XDDD

    Edit: realizing that I had nothing lined up to read after “The Three-Body…”, I just got:

    • War With the Newts by Karel Čapek (thanks to a suggestion in the comments)
    • The Stars, My Destination, by Alfred Bester
    • The Left Hand of Darkness, by Ursula K. Le Guin
    • Snow Crash, by Neal Stephenson
    • Gateway, by Frederik Pohl
    • Slaughterhouse Five, by Kurt Vonnegut
    • Childhood’s End, by Arthur C. Clarke (want to reread it in English, as I read it many years ago in Spanish)
    • Stranger in a Strange Land, by Robert A. Heinlein

    I think I’m now covered for the rest of the summer, lol!

    • Dr. Bob@lemmy.caEnglish
      3·
      1 year ago

      I recently read Rama for the first time and it honestly just seemed…dumb. a nice piece of imagination but the relationships and motivations just didn’t seem real. Lime why smuggle a skybike on board when it’s expensive and fragile and there was no expectation of being able to ride it? It was a little Deus ex machina for my tastes.

      • NJSpradlin@lemmy.world
        4·
        1 year ago

        Oof, I re-read it in the last few weeks and it was fine, pretty dry but still. The second book felt terrible. His writing of female characters sucked and the focus on sex and sexualizing women irked me. It felt wrong. So, I gave up and finished The Expanse instead. Win in my book.

      • Dmian@lemmy.world
        2·
        1 year ago

        Yes, not the best Clarke novel. The general idea is nice, and the author’s prose is good, but you’re left with the impression that something is missing. The plot falls on the bland side, in my opinion. I avoided the sequels, as the comments on them were pretty negative.

    • Dagwood222@lemm.ee
      3·
      1 year ago

      I liked ‘Rama’ and ‘The Moon.’ It’s a little funny rereading ‘Moon…’ because so much of the tech is dated. Also, it was apprently written in a time before prison gangs became as powerful as they are now.

      Thoughts?

      • Dmian@lemmy.world
        4·
        1 year ago

        Some of Heinlein’s ideas are interesting, but most are simply outdated. I don’t identify at all with his anarcho-capitalist ideas (to me, it reads as “I don’t want to pay taxes”, and extremely individualistic views of society), but I like how he explores the situation of the lack of women, what AI could be, and the gravitational advantage the moon has. His prose is good, so it invites to keep reading. An interesting author, indeed.

        • Dagwood222@lemm.ee
          2·
          1 year ago

          My favorite Heinlein government is from ‘Double Star.’ Instead of voting based on where you live, you can choose how you identify. You can be a ‘Green,’ or a ‘Gamer’ or a ‘Gun Owner’ or ‘College Educated Single Female,’ or whatever. He doesn’t give a lot of exact details but it’s a fun idea to play around with.

          Also, if you like fantasy, try ‘Glory Road.’ He takes all the usual tropes and kicks them to the curb.

  • IronRain@lemmy.world
    10·
    1 year ago

    Currently on chapter 85 of Pierce Brown’s Light Bringer, the latest installment of the Red Rising series! Granted, I’m listening to the audiobook, but audiobooks are still books. And man, like the rest of the series, I can’t put this shit down!

    After this? Not sure yet. Still waiting on Sanderson’s next book in his Stormlight Archive series. Maybe I’ll re-listen to The Wheel of Time again while the final books of these two series wrap up.

    • Albbi@lemmy.ca
      4·
      1 year ago

      Had to look this up because I thought the Lightbringer was Brent Weeks. Totally different series. I’ll check it out.

      I just finished a listen of The Wheel of Time myself. I listened to it while falling asleep. Took about 2 years to get through it that way. I already know the story, and parts of it were fairly easy to fall asleep to makes it a perfect way to deal with insomnia.

      Also waiting for the next Sanderson book. Just finished The Lost Metal! So many cosmere tie-ins!

      I’m listening to Fool’s Errand by Robin Hobb to fall asleep to now as I’ve read the series before, and reading Ghost Brigade which is book 2 of Old Man’s War.

      • musicmind333@mastodon.social
        3·
        1 year ago

        @Albbi @IronRain found out about Wheel of Time from Tumblr of all places. Started the audiobook series as something to accompany me on long drives or workouts but they keep being checked out at my library app lol. Was interesting to me that you could tell it was written a few decades ago - some of the writing seems a bit dated even though altogether it’s a very well-structured series.

        Also absolutely loved Red Rising, didn’t realize there was a new addition!

    • NJSpradlin@lemmy.world
      3·
      1 year ago

      I just downloaded the Red Rising series today, and it’s either that or the last 5 books in the Drizzt series (fantasy, R. a. Salvatore) for my next read. I just finished The Wool Trilogy (Silo on Apple+) and The Expanse (Sci-Fi and Amazon). Those two were pretty good.

      The Wheel of Time is on my read list, I downloaded the complete edition recently. But, that’s a lot to start.

      • IronRain@lemmy.world
        2·
        1 year ago

        I finished The Expanse awhile back and that was also fantastic!

        A bit of personal advice for TWOT - the first time reading can be considered slow by some, but the opening acts are some of my favorites of all fantasy novels that I’ve read. There’s a certain charm that’s reminiscent of Tolkien, and has a certain depiction that’s speaks to me. But maybe it requires a second reading to really appreciate it.

        Either way, happy reading!

    • Iceluigi@lemmy.world
      2·
      1 year ago

      Nothing wrong with audiobooks! It’s my preferred way to consume my books. Also if I didn’t listen to audiobooks, then I would never have experienced TGR’s glorious performance in the Red Rising series. I don’t think audiobooks are better for every book, but in the case of Red Rising, I would argue it’s mandatory.

      I just finished Lightbringer myself and I absolutely loved it. I’m equally devastated knowing how long it’ll be before we get the next one!

      • IronRain@lemmy.world
        1·
        1 year ago

        Absolutely agreed about TGR’s amazing talent! He colored - no pun intended - the Red Rising books in such an immersive way, that I can’t imagine the characters and atmosphere as anything other than what his vocal descriptions provided.

        And I’m not 100% certain, but I think he mentioned on one of the Red Rising podcasts that the last book should come within a few months of this one, because they were meant to be one final book, but the length didn’t allow his original plans. I certainly hope that’s true!

  • Moghul@lemmy.world
    10·
    1 year ago

    I only do about one or two books a month, but right now I’m hooked on Seveneves by Neal Stephenson

        • Dagwood222@lemm.ee
          3·
          1 year ago

          It’s not a sequel; it’s a stand alone using one character. It reads like two novels jammed together. One is about a massive ‘fake news’ story that lives on decades after it’s debunked, and the other is about a computer simulation/afterlife. Not his best, imho.

    • Raisin8659@monyet.ccEnglish
      2·
      1 year ago

      Seveneves

      Sounds exciting! Thx.

      A catastrophic event renders the earth a ticking time bomb. In a feverish race against the inevitable, nations around the globe band together to devise an ambitious plan to ensure the survival of humanity far beyond our atmosphere, in outer space.

      • Moghul@lemmy.world
        3·
        1 year ago

        I didn’t give a description of the plot because I couldn’t come up with something that really conveyed what the book was like. The one you gave is decent, but it doesn’t convey just how much of it is about the people. It’s hard scifi, no nonsense, but the heart and soul of it is its characters.

  • what_is_a_name@lemmy.world
    101·
    1 year ago

    Just finished a book from the 1930s by a Czech author Karel Čapek called War with the Newts.

    It’s sci-fi based on earth in 1930s but what I found the most interesting is

    1. seeing an author from 1930s write and think on paper (casual racism and sexism, for example),

    2. the echoes of the looming WWII

    3. the retro futurism - I love seeing what people from the past imagined would happen with technology. They are often right, often cutely wrong.

  • XYZinferno@lemmy.world
    8·
    1 year ago

    Going through the Red Rising series, which some of my friends praise immensely. Lightbringer just came out, though I’m only just finished Morning Star, book 3/6 in the series. Going to be starting Iron Gold soon. But until them, I’m reading 1984, which I just acquired a nice hardcover copy of.

  • AverageGoob@lemmy.world
    7·
    1 year ago

    Pretty basic but I just started reading Dune. It’s been a daunting series for me with how long it is but better late than never.

    • Dr. Bob@lemmy.caEnglish
      4·
      1 year ago

      Enjoy the ride! I still reread the first 5 every few years. They just get richer with time, especially the last couple. They seemed bizarre the first time I binged them but they make sooooo much more sense on rereads.

      • AverageGoob@lemmy.world
        1·
        1 year ago

        They are SO bizarre so far. I noticed the appendix seems to give a bunch of extra information on the various factions/organizations in the universe. My question, do you think it’s worth doing more research on the universe beforehand or go blind for my first read?

        • Dr. Bob@lemmy.caEnglish
          2·
          1 year ago

          Just go blind and enjoy the characters. The politics can wait for later reads. I treat the Witcher novels the same way.

      • some_guy@lemmy.sdf.org
        2·
        1 year ago

        Other than the infrequent bits where he discusses home life and social events (which I tend to skim), it’s a pretty engaging read. It’s also kind of shocking how little he could get anyone from the alphabet agencies to care. I’m approaching the end and it’s getting exciting in that nerdy way that a good hacker story does. Hope you enjoy it.