Rereading Le Guin’s Earthsea saga.
Personally, I think she might be on par with Tolkien and actually surpasses him in a few ways. The 4th book (about a tired mom just trying to get by and care for people in a fantasy world) is the best one, but you need to work your way there.
These are on my to do list. Currently been reading through Wheel of Time, which has been on my fantasy to do list for a while.
I liked the first book a lot, and recall liking the series less as it went on.
My experience was that the first book was fine, say 6,5/10. Just enough to move on to the the second, which I absolutely loved 9,5/10. Started reading the third with high expectations but it just didn’t engage me at all. Didn’t get through more than perhaps 25% of it.
I read the first one as a teen and loved it but couldn’t get into the second one. I loved it as an adult and I’m currently 80% of the way through the complete series. It’s got ebbs and flows but overall it’s definitely a masterpiece. For me it’s her mysticism that gives it real depth.
I read them as an adult. What I loved about the second book was the very original setting and perspective that was still completely captivating and felt believable. I don’t think I have ever read anything that is quite comparable. Anyway, maybe I should give the third one another go, I’m on vacation now so maybe a little bit more relaxed and patient!
Reading American Midnight, about how civil liberties were absolutely fucked after the US entered World War I.
Just finished them instead of reading them right now, but “The Left Hand of Darkness” and “The Dispossessed” by Ursula K. Le Guin. I liked the world building of the first far better, but it didn’t hit at the politics I wanted to read about as much as I wanted, the second being the opposite.
I don’t know why, but I just need content wrapped in sci-fi for me to find it enjoyable, and “The Dispossessed” in particular was what I was looking for, an exploration of anarchism grounded in examples and thought experiment.
Both of them are fantastic books, and definitely worth a read for anybody interested in science fiction, sexuality & gender, and anarchism.
Those are two of the best books I read last year.
I started the Left Hand of Darkness just a few days ago. It’s been interesting so far
Not reading it right now, but I’ll take this opportunity to recommend people read Project Hail Mary before watching the trailer for the upcoming movie adaptation which spoils major plot twists.
Having read it multiple times, the trailer pissed me off because of the spoiler. I’d honestly say for anyone, whether you’ve read it or not, don’t watch the trailer.
My partner hasn’t read it, and I said they shouldn’t watch the trailer. We’re gonna see the movie and I don’t want them to get spoiled
Yeah I’m glad I read it before watching the trailer. It’s a great sci-fi book!
If you like fantasy and haven’t read any Brandon Sanderson then do yourself a favour and get on it!
My personally favourites are the Mistborn books but it isn’t exactly an easy choice because literally everything he writes is great in my experience.
I just finished Tress of the Emerald Sea which is a shorter standalone book but still great!
I’m also all in on the Cosmere books, I’m halfway through the Stormlight Archive and it’s amazing!
I’ve got “Alcatraz vs the Evil Librarians” to read next but I’m not sure if that is a cosmere based novel or not. Either way I’m sure it’ll be good though!
From what I know, it’s not Cosmere based. It’s also targeted to a younger audience, so the writing might feel different.
Ah thanks for the info. I’ll still give it a try though :)
I completed the Wheel of Time last year and liked the Sanderson style of the latter books and am now on book 3 of Stormlight Archive and love it so far. It took me a good half the first book to “get it” or “get into it” rather, but now I see the vision and am enjoying it all. Planning on the other Cosmere series and books after.
Sanderson is definitely one of the better sci-fi/fantasy writers I’ve read.
Wheel of Time is on my to do list, I’ve heard a lot about it both being great and hard to get into to begin with and so I keep putting it off. I will get around to it at some point.
Enjoy your journey into Sanderson, I’m a little jealous I can’t go on those journeys again for the first time!
If it helps, read the first one and if you don’t like it, you don’t have to finish it or the series. It stands alone decently well. I know that’s obvious, but I often don’t do things because I feel like starting something mean I have to finish it. Books, games, movies, etc
Haha I appreciate the advice and I used to be the same feeling I had to finish things I started but as I have got older I do drop games and books etc if I am really not enjoying them and it has made things a lot more enjoyable.
It is more because I am currently into the Deathlands series of books. It is currently 155 books long and I’m at 89, whilst I do have a break from it here and there to listen to other books I don’t want to start another series of books just now :D
89 of 155, holy shit my dude.
Yeah, forget what I said, you are committed now. Sorry, but you gotta finish it. LMAO
I will definitely start Wheel of Time one of these days but yeh, I’m pretty committed to this right now. I will definitely be finishing it too, don’t you worry, even this many books in I’m still loving it and looking forward to each following book :D
Almost done stormlight archives. Have you done that? I have the first mistborn book but haven’t started it yet. Looking forward to it though.
I have indeed, although not the newest book that was released more recently. I want to go back and read everything again but that is quite a time commitment before doing the new book and I’m not ready for that just yet :D
It is very much on par with Mistborn in terms of the story and writing, I just prefer Mistborn that little bit more because I love the concept of the magic system in that but honestly there isn’t a lot in it.
Finishing the Imperial Radch sci-fi trilogy (Ancillary Justice/Sword/Mercy) by Ann Leckie. Despite the agender language feature (everyone is addressed as she) the books deal more with colonialism, imperialism, and personal identity, rather than gender. Writing style is very information-dense, lots of thoughts and actions happening simultaneously. Compared to other science fiction that I read, it gets much more into the cultural and interpersonal situations, especially the second book.
Gilgamesh the King, by Robert Silverberg
Silverberg is one of the greats.
How to read a book, by Mortimer Adler
“How to read a book.” Pg. 1
“Turn back to page 1” Pg. 2
Nearing the end of When the Moon Hits Your Eye by John Scalzi, which came out a few months ago. It’s a bit silly but I’d recommend it. The premise can be summed up as, “What would happen if the moon turned into cheese?”
I guess…uh…that it’d be less dense, so that’d dick up tides on Earth.
https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/moonfact.html
Mean density (kg/m³): 3344
https://eurekamag.com/research/001/061/001061121.php
At 8 deg C, mean densities of blockformed and conventionally-hooped cheeses were, resp., 1.094 and 1.091 g/ml.
So that’s 1094 kg/m³.
Basically, Earth’s tides would be about a third as strong, which I imagine would affect a bunch of things, especially coastal ecology. Dunno how much tides affect weather.
Also, probably alters the reflectivity of the Moon, so would affect the brightness of the Moon. Might affect a lot of nocturnal critters and such. Hard to estimate, since that depends a lot on what cheese is involved.
In the book, it kept the same mass and got a lot bigger. And of course much brighter.
Ah, gotcha. What type of cheese did it turn into, out of curiosity?
I think that might be too much of a spoiler 😄
I’ll have to check that one out when I finish the Old Man’s War series.
Re-reading Shirley Jackson’s “The Haunting of Hill House” because its the best haunted house novel ever written.
I just put this one into my reader, after several quotes from Stephen king reminded me i have it pending…
Got this one on my list.
I read The Lottery by her in High School. Damn that is a good short story
The Dungeon Crawler Carl series by Matt Dinniman. Great story, easy reading, relatable characters, and soon to be made into a series. There are 7 books so far, but rumors say there might be up to 10 eventually.
Second this. The audio book is the way to go on this one.
Finally got around to the Demon Haunted World by Carl Sagan and it’s more relevant than ever. It absolutely predicted the world we’re in politically now and has some insight and analysis as to how and why and what to do to help. Definitely worth a read or reread if you haven’t read it or it’s been a while.
I have this on audiobook and it’s brilliant.
I own this book. I’ve read it three times now. I think I will read it a fourth.
The expanse
Such a great series. During covid lockdown for six weeks I was watching the TV series in the day and reading the novels in bed at night. I’ve never experienced media in quite the same way. They were both amazing. Amos is one of my all-time favourite characters in fiction.
I’m on book 7 and I kinda wanna finish the book series before I start the show. But yeah I agree it’s been awesome so far.
I was worried that the show could be bad I had read silo before this and when I checked out the show I didn’t like it nearly as much as the book.
“Seeing like a state”. It could be half the length without losing anything, but it’s a very interesting perspective on states and central planning that I haven’t thought about before and am enjoying.
One of my favorite books. Highly recommend
I just finished Oryx and Crake the first of a trilogy by Margaret Atwood, I quite enjoyed it. It’s a short of dystopian sci-fi. I was put off by her at first because I was forced to read her in high school but I’m glad I gave her another chance.
I’m starting Les Misérables in French in the hopes of improving my written French.
Also working my way through Weapons of the weak which is about forms of peasant resistance.
That’s funny, I’m literally just about to start The Year of the Flood (it’s on the bed next to me), the second in that Atwood trilogy! I thoroughly enjoyed Oryx and Crake when I read it a while back.
