Books

Picked up Mysticism in the 21st Century (Monette, Shoup) after seeing the Insider video of an FBI undercover agent talking about his experience in an accelerationist (in the white supremacist sense) group with esoteric touches. Went down a rabbit hole and eventually came across this treasure.

Aside from the fascinating detail it adds to that topic, I also look forward to seeing the chapters on other spiritual-adjacent stuff.

I'm almost done with Assassin's Quest by Robin Hobb. I'm contemplating jumping over to The Magic of Recluce by LE Modesitt Jr or maybe The Scholomance series after this.

I’m listening to Babylon’s Ashes by James S.A. Corey. It’s the 5th book in The Expanse series.

I’ve read these books before, but I just really love them.

I'm now on book 10 of He Who Fights with Monsters, and I expect to finish that this coming week.

I've really made less progress on my bingo card than I planned, but I still have time to turn that around before the end date.

Someone in here recommended the Red Rising series and I’ve been enjoying it thoroughly. I’m on the third one now. The reader for the audiobooks is Tim Reynolds and he does a great job. Thanks for the recommendation, whoever you are!

Also physically reading Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar, but it’s too soon to comment on.

Just consumed The Last Murder at the End of the World by Stuart Turton. You may recognize him as the author of the 7 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle. This one is a post-apocalyptic murder mystery. It is jam-packed with questions and mysteries. While I had a few remaining questions about the apocalyptic event that happened prior to the story, every string related to the actual story was neatly plaited in a 1000-strand braid with a satisfying end. Love that author.

I'm almost done the second section of Shroud by Adrian Tchaikovsky. I'm enjoying it so far. At first it seemed almost like Lovecraftian horror but in space, but it started showing more depth as it progresses.

I'm currently reading We Were Eight Years In Power by Ta-Nahisi Coates. I'm not going to finish it. I've read most of his Atlantic articles and I buy the thesis he's weaving, but I feel like we're past the point where awareness matters (or that I am insufficiently aware). People know the bad they're doing and want it. We're in the activist moment.

I'm next going to start Shift by Hugh Howey because I need some entertainment out of my reading.

Enshittification as a book and the second book of murderbot as an audio book

Both highly recommended

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

I just finished Dungeon Crawler Carl, by Matt Diniman and now I'm reading John Dies at the End, by Jason Pargin / "David Wong".

If you know these stories (crazy reality twisting, real world + fantasy, a touch of sci fi) and have others in a similar vein, I would appreciate any suggestions.

Just finally finished, Mountain of Black Glass, Tad Williams, and while I enjoyed it, it took me over two months of listening to get it done. The protagonists continued their way through the Otherland, and boy did Williams expound on the details in this book. There was a significant slump in the last third that didn't pick up until the very end. I'm hoping Sea of Silver Light, is a little quicker.

Other books I've finished lately:

• The Library at Mount Char, Scott Hawkins - wild, weird, and one of the darker books I've read as of like. Enjoyable, but hard to recommend.
• Audition For the Fox, Martin Cahill - somewhat unimpressed with this novella. The combination of very flowery language, and no stakes meant for a somewhat slow read for a very short book.

I'm currently reading Isabella Nagg and the Pot of Basil, Oliver Darkshire, which is very Pratchett-esc. Lots of witty footnotes, and fun village humor. Pretty light reading, but enjoyable!

I’m almost done a short story compilation called men and machines, one of the forwards has a very interesting remark that could be written yesterday. It’s from 1968.

I finally got in touch with my brother, and got my next batch of Star Wars books, it includes a large X-Wing series so looking forward towards it. Sounds like it’s Top Gun in space.

Image of the forward

According to him, we would have at this point now made an intelligent being.

I started reading the Bobiverse trilogy (Dennis E. Taylor), just getting into the 2nd book.

The premise and arch is nothing short of stunning but I'm not sure about the development, or the storytelling. E.g.:

Definitely nice to read though, since I read the first book in just a few days.

I just started A Wrinkle In Time.

I may be 40+ years too late but I am doing it anyway.

I read about the first fifth of Ghost Story (Dresden Files) this morning. According to my history it's been a little over 5 years since I last read this, it feels like so much less. To be as vague as possible, that first meeting with the Ragged Lady breaks my heart every time.

I also started The Fellowship of the Ring earlier this week. Only a couple of chapters in, so not much to say about that yet except that I find Hobbits very unpleasant.

I've continued Words of Radiance after a 8-9 month hiatus. This Graphic Audio thing is still rad, I've just been going through a reading reading phase rather than an audiobook one. I haven't gotten around to getting a physical copy yet because I have the previous book in the giant hardcover with (I think) the European art? My local fantasy bookshop hasn't had it in when I've been around and I haven't bothered to ask.

Finished the latest Incryptid, the last couple have been a bit disappointing. They never quite do it for me, what I really want is for the books to go for another chapter and let me see the family in the aftermath of the story, but they always end abruptly right as the climax resolves and there's no wind-down. You'd think after 14 books I'd be used to it but it always leaves me a little deflated. It's nice that we get to explore a little more of different characters each book, but I just want to see them together outside of an immediate crisis too.

What else... I'm near the beginning of The Death of WCW, we're still going through the history of wrestling in North America. I know a lot of it and don't really care, but it's necessary context so fair enough.

Oh and I still have a handful of other books on the backburner, Storygraph says I have 12 books going 🤷‍♂️ I'll finish some eventually.

Randomly picked The Will of the Many from a list of recommendations.

Still too early to judge but it has potential. Magic system seems interesting, and I'm very interested in the world building. The present tense is certainly a choice, but it works where it needs to.

On the other hand, I've never been terribly interested in fantasy Rome, the pyramid scheme magic system risks painfully on the nose allegory if not handled properly, and the prospect of this story moving to "the academy" has me wary due to my irrational hatred of stories set in schools.

The Dresden Files are all fun reads! The audiobooks are particularly good too, with James Marsters doing a wonderful job!

I'm finishing up Rhythm of War in the Stormlight Archive series. It's my first foray into Brandon Sanderson, and I'm enjoying it so far, but there's so much that I don't know how into the Cosmere I'll end up going. On the non-fiction side, I'm reading Nate Silver's On the Edge and trying to work my way through my third (maybe fourth?) reading of Gödel, Escher, Bach by Douglas Hofstadter, which I always grasp a little bit more of each reread.

Just wrapped up Fire of Heaven (Wheel of Time #5)!

Time to get into the alleged slog of the middle books I think.

I started reading The Darkness That Comes Before by R. Scott Bakker based on a recommendation from a friend and I've been enjoying it!

The pacing and world building are well done, the characters are nuanced, and there's a vagueness in his writing that lends itself well to the fantasy world. Makes it seem more mysterious and interesting.

Started reading "halted state" by Charles Stross, but the 2nd person narrative killed it for me. I also didn't find the theme of a crime in an open world game too appealing, so it went to the "didn't finish" pile. Stayed with the writer and read "escape from yokai land" next, which was a blast, I'm a huge fan of the Bob Howard books in the Laundry Files. Now reading "a conventional boy", the latest installment in this series. So far so good, but I'm only a few chapters in.

Just finished Bone Yard by Jefferson Bass. Found a copy autographed by Bass at a Habitat For Humanity thrift store.

My other recent acquisition is Alice in Sunderland by Bryan Talbot. I don't usually seek out graphic novels, but got a good deal on this one because it was (mis-)classified as children's lit. It looks interesting, broad in scope, and a candidate for the 'beautiful cover' bingo square.

I’m reading Road to Ruin by Hana Lee. I picked this up at a romance bookstore the last book crawl because the cover and summary on the back seemed interesting. It was a good choice!

I’m really digging it. Kind of like a Mad Max type world where people use magic to keep their cities safe. The main character is a sparkrider who uses her magic to fuel a motorcycle she uses to deliver items between cities. I’m about a third of the way through and I am enjoying it a lot.

I'm close to finishing the third Sector General novel by James White. I like a little Golden Age sci-fi now and then.

I'm reading The Tyranny of Faith by Richard Swan (Empire of the Wolf book 2). I like it so far. The plot is interesting and the way the story told from a future perspective so you get little hints at what is to come. I wish the romance was either better written or absent. It's not built up at all and feels like more of a plot device than genuine feeling from the characters.

Reading through the Wizard of Oz series with my kids. Currently on Jack Pumpkinhead. When I was young I only read the movie related books, reading more of the world is a fun experience to share with my kiddos.

Would recommend as a children's book, but not something I'd read absent their influence.

I'm on a long re-read of the R.A. Salvatore Drizzt series. Right now it's: The Orc King (Transitions, Book1 - #17 in the wider series).

I was on vacation for a little over 2 weeks and went through 6 books on the trip. Trains, planes, coffee shops, and hotel room before bed. It's surprising how much reading can get done in-between exploring new cities.

Just finished crime and punishment by Dostoyevsky, started with Notes from the House of the Dead. Both in Arabic. Couldn't understand them in English. lol

I just whipped through A Fable for the End of the World by Ava Reid which was a fun queer enemies to lovers story that I listened to driving back and forth across Pennsylvania this weekend.

I'm still working on Half The World by Joe Ambercrombie. I think I'm going to take a break on his stuff for a bit after I finish this one.

I just read Clemens P Suter’s Two Journeys, and will start on the second installment Rebound. It’s an unusual sci-fi adventure, about real people, not superheroes, action packed lots of eye candy