I’ll start first: (bear in mind I usually listen to audiobooks)
- Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir |A guy finds himself stranded in space aboard an international space vessel where he has to remember who he is.
- The 57 Bus by Dashka Slater |A true story about how hanging with the wrong crowd can have life-altering consequences
- The Animorphs series by KJ Applegate |Young adult series in which a group of kids find an alien, get the powers to morph shape into animals, as well as uncover an alien takeover conspiracy (Plus, detailed depictions of how grotesque those transformations are!)
- Saga by Brian K. Vaughn & Fiona Staples (Comic, ongoing) |Following the story of Hazel, a baby born from an ex-soldier and an enemy combatant, Saga shows how gowing up and raising a kid in a wartorn universe can have highs and lows.
Edit: added pipes for better separation
Project Hail Mary was much more of an emotional ride than I was expecting.
🎶 Jazzhands 🎶
It was such a a fantastic read. I don’t like Sci-fi at all, but somehow Andy Weir makes it all so believable.
The Odyssey by Homer, translated by Robert Fagles. My first time reading an ancient classic, and it’s much less scary than I thought. In fact I’m quite enjoying it, and might read The Iliad (Homer’s other epic poem) next. The humanness of the characters (well, the human ones!) is very relatable, even though it’s 2700 years old. I don’t know why I expected it to be crusty and boring. Maybe I assumed it’d be like the Bible.
The intro explains a lot of stuff about the original Greek poem and how it was written in dactylic hexameterwhich bards back then used to be able to improvise in, which is amazing to me. Reminds me of 8 Mile or something. 😅
If you read a modern bible translation from the perspective of christian mythology just as we treat Greek mythology a lot of the stories are actually fantastic reads
interesting… it’s been a while since I’ve tried (as a kid in the 80s probably). Can you recommend a translation (and book/story)?
A lot of the Old Testament this. Any translation that uses more readable language is nice. The King James version etc get too much credit for sounding religiousy.
Genesis through Deuteronomy or so are what a lot of Protestant churches at least focus on. The New Testament is Jesus’ life and then a bunch of letters to various early churches about how the Religion should work.
A lot of “the rest” are the kind of fables they’re talking about. Ruth, Esther, Job, Samuel, etc. The ones named after people/mythological figures, depending on your point of view/beliefs.
cool, thanks!
Mistborn: The Final Empire, by Brandon Sanderson. An epic fantasy.
I loved it and just started the second book.
Oh you are in for a treat. I love that trilogy. Such good books.
I love that trilogy.
i mean…technically it’s like 15+ Books…but who’s counting? ;)
sidenote: Stormlight Archives Book 5 is coming in December, i think?
Thanks for the encouragement!
The graphic audiobooks are great too!
I tried audiobooks only twice for… not even 10 mins each time. Once a proper audiobook read by a human and another time a text-to-speech thing.
They’re not for me, I find myself trying to do something else because I’m “Free” and I just can’t multitask, I can barely pay attention to it and walk.
Furthermore, English is not my native language. While my English is not too poor, it’s an extra mental obstacle, which makes brain have to do some extra gymnastics. When reading in English, I read at my own pace, but when listening … :PYou mentioned in your other comment it’s 15+ books.
Which 15+ ? I’m aware of the two Mistborn eras which are… 3 + 4 = 7.
And I think he wants to write a 3rd Era - but hasn’t.
Maybe you’re including the Stormlight Archives which are 5 if we count Wind and Truth.
Where are the other 3+ I’m missing? :DGive the sample a try on their website. It’s just a 5min excerpt. Trust me, it’s not like audiobooks where a robot or one person is just talking. This is a full on production with voice actors, special effects and all. If you still don’t like after that, then I will agree with you :)
https://www.graphicaudiointernational.net/mistborn-series-set.html
I’ll admit this sounds awesome, thank you!
I still don’t think it’s for me though, due to the sort-of-language-barrier. I feel I’d miss out on a lot of the details by trying to listen.
I followed this excerpt well enough because I had already read it.Even if I understand the words spoken (which is not always the case), and especially for fantasy books where we make up new words (skaa), or invent concepts (burned tin), it makes it harder to follow unless I’m already familiar with them.
As an example of the first reaction when reading, the brain working: “What do you mean, burned tin? Isn’t tin a metal, let me double check. Yes, did he bring a forge? Wait, what, in his … stomach? Ok I guess I’ll understand this better later.”
When I’m reading I pause and continue at my own leisure, when I’m listening I already missed out on the next 20-30 seconds of audio if I’m trying to figure this out or end up forgetting about this to pay attention to those 20-30 seconds. Sure enough, sometimes the explanation comes right after, but not always :)That being said, this does sound awesome and I may try it for books I already read!
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As for my previous question, which books am I missing from those collections you mentioned 15+?
I checked his bibliography and from what I could tell, either you were talking about another series or some of the short stories such as The Eleventh Metal.Regarding the other books, that was a different user. I can’t help you there :)
Watership Down. Way better than I thought 🙂.
I’ll take “Books that made me sob like a baby” for $500, Alex.
I read the Martian. It was at least as good as the very good movie.
You will most likely love Project Hail Mary, then, if you haven’t already read it.
I haven’t, so thank you for the recommendation. Both were available at the library as a reward for finishing the summer reading challenge, so I almost got it.
🎶 Jazzhands 🎶
Algorithms To Live By, applying computer science and mathematic principles to real life. Helping make better decisions that are provably more efficient. Really interesting and anyone who has any interest in computing can get a lot from the book.
The Sapling Cage by Margaret Killjoy
How is it? I preordered but haven’t had a chance to read it yet.
I love their book club and wanted to support them and picked up a few of their books
I’m Starting To Worry About This Black Box of Doom by Jason Pargin. It’s an excellent thriller, with a great exploration of how Internet rumors can spill over into the real world
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“Children of God” by Mary Doria Russell: Second and final part of a sci-fi series about a Jesuit mission to an alien culture that goes wrong. Like the first part, it’s an emotional rollercoaster with a great cast of characters that you really grow attached to (and who often meet tragic ends). The author also created a really interesting alien society made up of two separate species. Oh, and the title might sound like it’s a preachy religious book, but it’s very much not. Would never have expected it, but this is now one of my favorite sci-fi series.
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“Memories of Ice” by Steven Erikson: Third book of the “Malazan Book of the Fallen” fantasy series. All three books I’ve read so far were enjoyable stories, but also very complex and not easy to read for sure. I love how the author creates a fantasy world where stone-age cultures play a pretty big role and where pre-history in many ways shapes the current world of the book. Also, quite a good cast of characters, which I didn’t necessarily expect given that it’s “epic fantasy”.
I’m just finishing the Crippled God now! Definitely a difficult series but so infinitely rewarding (and heart breaking.)
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Learned on Lemmy a couple of weeks ago that Neal Stephenson has a new book out, and I’m still a sucker for them. Polostan is (so far) historical fiction and very readable. The Stephenson-esque infodumps seem to mostly concern the game of Polo and interwar Communism, with healthy dashes of 1930s physics and ranching.
Fellow sucker here. Will be sure to check it out.
- The Mercy of Gods: The first book in a new trilogy from the guys behind The Expanse.
- How to ADHD: Because I wasn’t diagnosed until 40 and now I have to rethink everything about me.
- My War Gone By, I Miss It So: The memoir of a British war zone journalist who covered the Bosnian War and other Balkans conflicts. I originally read it decades ago but was reminded of it after watching Civil War earlier this year. I heard lots of criticism about the main characters in that movie not being relatable or very likable so I picked this back up to confirm that yes, that’s accurate, and I think part of the point of the movie…
How is the ADHD book? Actually helpful?
Yeah, I would recommend it. My biggest takeaways from it so far have been understanding how many of my habits and personality quirks are actually coping strategies that I just didn’t realize. Like, I always thought I just happened to like chewing gum all the time because I enjoyed the minty flavor. Turns out the repetitive chewing motion can actually stimulate the dopamine I crave. I thought everyone has a collection of rhyming phrases or little songs that they only say in private and we all collectively pretend like we don’t because it’s embarrassing. Turns out that’s verbal or auditory stimming. It’s been great in that regard, helping me understand why I am the way I am.
Can’t really speak to how effective any of the ADHD management techniques in the book are since I’m still working through it and trying to take things onboard, but the author also has a very popular and successful Youtube channel where you can probably find all the same information and more if you’re interested.
Just finished World War Z again. It hits so much different post-pandemic.
For those that see “zombie book” or worse, just saw the movie, the book is written as an ‘after the infestation’ chronicle interviewing people from across the world and society, exploring the beginning moments, the panics, long term survival, and the cleanup. I view it as a modern “War of the Worlds” in that book shows what society react view from the “all-threat”, which at that era was worried about a larger more powerful enemy coming in vs in 2006 the societal fear of an “all-threat” was infestation whether societal to plague and the reactions of the people in it.
The author took inspiration from a WW2 book using actual accounts before, during, and after the war.
It (WWZ) really is fantastic. And the audiobook version with an all star cast is as well.
Just finished The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. Her imagery is beautiful and you can feel her talent. It’s a an autobiographical roman à clef of her struggling with bipolar disorder/depression. And the only book she wore before taking her life when the love of her life left her for another woman.
I’m currently listening to For We Are Many, the 2nd book in the Bobiverse series by Dennis E Taylor. I’d previously read them all, but the newest is currently only an audible exclusive, so I downloaded a copy and listened to it and loved it and am now listening to the rest of the series. Basic plot: a modern guy gets a service to freeze his brain upon death. He then does and is awoken and turned into a self replicating space probe and Earth goes into nuclear war and the probe tries to help where it can and explores. It’s a really good and fun read.
I’m also re-working my way through the Anne Rice Vampire series. Haven’t read them in a couple decades and wanted to get re-acquainted. currently on book 4. it’s crazy what you retain and what gets dropped after many years.
I’ve found some of the random $1 for a 9 e-book set books that Amazon offers haven’t been bad.
You mentioned Animorphs and thats one that I’ve got to give a re-read at some point. I get partway through another read through every couple of years. I’d love it if Katherine Applegate could re-work the series as an adult series. It’s so good.
Starter Villain by John Scalzi was also a great read earlier this year. Absolutely love Scalzi. Basic Plot: Poor guy inherits his Uncles evil villain organization and tries to navigate his way through the shenanigans that ensue.
Oh hey,glad you posted. I was wondering whether I wanted to get the newest book in Bobiverse because the original trilogy felt a good “end” to the story, the fourth I was “eh” on, not terrible but not amazing imo.
Also been eying Starter Villain.
Audiobooks are how I survive at work.
Currently listening to the new book and it’s really good. Highly recommended. Less “stuck” in one place
haha, I love that I could help!
I’m typically listening to podcasts all day, myself to keep my sanity. I might add audiobooks to the rotation now though.
For the Bobiverse, I didn’t know it was originally a trilogy and book 4 was already out when I started, so I went in with a completely different lens. Overall I liked the 4th. For me though, once I get invested in a series, I’m generally happy to keep getting more unless it goes off the rails (Anita Blake Vampire Hunter being an example of one I really liked that went sideways). Overall though, I liked book 4 myself, it felt like a decent continuation of the story and felt like a bridge that was needed to continue the universe into the future.
Starter Villain wasn’t my favorite Scalzi, but I definitely liked it and it felt like a fresh concept and like most Scalzi, it’s enjoyable from start to finish. IIRC I read it in no more than 2 settings.
If you haven’t Read Kaiju Preservation Society, I would wholeheartedly recommend it. It’s not amazing literature, but, god damn was it a fun ride! It felt a bit like Redshirts, if you liked that one.
Look up Theft of Fire by Devon Ericson.
“The Terror” by Dan Simmons. I already watched the show and enjoyed it, so I picked up the book and am only a few chapters in, but I’m liking it a good bit. There seems to be a good bit of historical facts thrown in, which I personally enjoy.
For those unfamiliar, it is based on the real life Franklin Expedition that disappeared while searching for a way to traverse the Northwest Passage in the Canadian arctic. The story follows the known facts regarding the fates of the expedition crew members, but it tells a paranormal horror story to fill in the blanks.
