What have you been reading or listening to lately?
Check Official Bingo Challenge Post and the accompanying Recommendations Post for our Bingo for 2026!
You must log in or # to comment.
The Dungeon Anarchists Cookbook.
Third book in DCC, I believe.
Henry David Thoreau - Walden
So far I only read the first chapter, Economics, and I’m not sure what to think of it. On one hand HDT clearly had a great capacity for identifying issues with society and capitalism, on the other hand his reaction to these feels like a capitulation, almost like a suicide. He diagnoses all those social issues, but instead of looking for a collective solution he takes the most individualistic course possible. He even states that this isn’t feasible for everyone and that wants others to go their own way. But if everyone lived his way there would be no human society possible. He states that cooperation isn’t really possible while at the same time taking advantage of cooperation (living on people’s land, help setting up the cabin, his mom washing his clothes, etc). The Indians who he praises so much were living under very cooperative social constructs, helping one another. Looking forward to seeing where this is going…
Burn by Peter Heller. Im digging it. I read The Dog Stars years and years ago. This dude can write a page turner.
Working my way through the Barker & Llewelyn series by Will Thomas. Just starting Hell Bay.
The adventures of a mystery solving duo in the late 1800’s London (sound familiar?)
I’m hooked. Having read all of Watson and Holmes as a kid and seen most of the dramatizations from Basil Rathbone onward, this scratches an itch.
Nearly done with reading A Parade of Horribles, Matt Dinniman! It felt like it took a little while to get ramped up, but I’m enjoying the chaos as things continue to spiral. Unsure what I’ll read after this.
For my audiobook, I’m about a third of the way through Isles of the Emberdark, Brandon Sanderson, which may be my favorite of his special novels so far. Very cool to see how things are all tying together in the broader cosmere. Well thought out strategy on how to expand a short story. Only quibble is Sanderson still doesn’t seem to write natural dialog. It never feels like a something someone would actually say.
About a third of the way through Blood Meridian. Basically just feels like more of The Road but less gloomy and with more of the old ultraviolence.
Claims that this is the Great American Novel leave me mystified. I realize that this book as an “anti-western” isn’t doing quite the same thing as the morally gray Spaghetti Westerns were, but I still can’t help but think that they did it better.
Probably won’t read any more McCarthy after this.
Probably won’t read any more McCarthy after this.
So is this your first McCarthy novel? I consider him one of my favorite authors, but “Blood Meridian” was nothing special to me. Neither was “The Road” which is always highly praised and was my first book of his. The reason why I consider McCarthy a great author is his Border Trilogy, starting with “All the Pretty Horses”, it was so atmospheric and touching. There is always some violence but the focus of those books is elsewhere, it hits hard in the feels ;) So maybe, before you decide never to give him another chance, try that one more book. If you do, I’d love to hear about your experience.
Thanks so much for this comment! I’ll definitely try All the Pretty Horses before I make up my mind!
I will never understand all the hype placed behind “The Road”.
Atomic Habits by James Clear It’s got some helpful advice but it reads like a Ted Talk. It’s like (axiom)(anecdote)(academic research)(broad over simplification or sweeping generalization)(summary conclusion).
There’s good advice and I’m sure if you follow it you may get results, but I wish it were more academically rigorous.
Recommend the the podcast “if books could kill”, if you like these kinds of books. They aren’t too hard in atomic habits, but they’ve really got me to think a little harder about the things I read
Finished Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter (5/5), now reading My Husband’s Wife by Carla Kovach.
Slaughter writes some great books. I’m surprised no one has turned her book series about the rural medical examiner into TV show. But if they did, it would probably turn out as bizarre an adaptation as Will Trent.
I read Mark Freestone’s Making a Psychopath: My Journey into 7 Dangerous Minds. It’s was a short and frankly somewhat shallow book, but I did think it was okay. My own interest in the subject matter probably carried the experience for me, but the seven cases were also genuinely interesting.
Right now I’m reading Andy Weir’s Artemis, since I really liked The Martian, just like pretty much everyone else. Artemis, however, has not lived up to The Martian so far. While I really, really love the moonbase setting, the main character and dialogue doesn’t have the wit and charm of the previous book. It’s still pretty good, just disappointing.
Speaking of moonbases, I wonder if there’s any good sci-fi stories exploring the concept. I have read A.C. Clarke’s Earthlight and I remember it was pretty good. If anyone has any recommendations, I’d welcome them!
Artemis was good for what it was, a heist story on the moon, but Weir has a style and his foreshadowing can use some stealth.
If shows are you thing For All Mankind is about the politics of NASA after losing the moon race to the soviets, they do get to a moon base and other stuff.
I just finished Platform Decay by Martha Wells, and am moving back to Dungeon Crawler Carl for book four The Gate of the Feral Gods By Matt Dinniman.
How did Platform Decay turn out? I enjoyed the first set of Murderbot books, but the last few seemed like they were running on fumes. Was this one any good?
I know what you mean. There is definitely a shift after the greycris arc is over. Platform Decay is pretty good though. It is a rescue mission on a corporate torus (ringworld) where things keep going wrong.
Finally reading The Lord of the Rings.
Almost at the end of Fellowship, but I must say it has been a bit of a drag.
I will most definitely finish it, but from all the hype I did have slighty higher expectations.
It’s also very likely that since I have already seen the movies and loved them, and already know what is going to happen, it has somewhat taken away from the book experience.
Although the whole Bombadil section was new, and I did not find it especially interesting.
The first book is always a bit of s drag. Up until Moria at least. After that the pace picks up and the narrative gets split, which makes for better pacing and slow burn cliffhangers.
Bear in mind that LOTR started out as a sequel to a children’s book, and changed into something new about halfway through FOTR. So you’re literally seeing the epic fantasy genre being born on the page in front of you.
Listening to Ward by Wildbow (again). Just redid Worm, they’re both so good.
Loving Worm. It’s the perfect audiobook because it doesn’t seem like it ever ends. is Ward the sequel?
It is indeed! Which audio production did you go with?
Worm Audiobook Project. Is there another? This one is good, but some of the interludes are really low volume.
That’s the one I like too, and the same team that does the Ward audiobook. There are a few others that have popped up since but some are unfinished and dont look like they’ve been added to in a while. There are definitely some rockier parts but it was a huge job and they nailed it overall
Started on Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. A lot of people say they like this one. Not far enough into it yet to say if I agree with them, but it looks like there’s some detailed worldbuilding which is a good sign.
The bad sign is book three of the trilogy is likely to never exist.
Burial rites by Hannah Kent. No oppinion so far.
