**** Books Read in 2015 ****

28,236 Views | 213 Replies | Last: 8 yr ago by Hudson2508
KidDoc
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Mistborn trilogy was amazing, A+. Sanderson is a master world builder just wow.

I'm working through his Cosmere now from one of the blog websites. Starting on Elantris now (already read Stormlight Archives and loved it after a slow start).
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30_Days
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Finished Farmer in the Sky by Robert Heinlein last night
ElizaSm
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Sophie Hannah - "Woman with a Secret"
Old Jock 1997
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I'm reading The Passage by Justin Cronin now, and it's fantastic. Long, but lots of development and detail.
Ph.D.Aggies
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quote:
Mistborn trilogy was amazing, A+. Sanderson is a master world builder just wow.

I'm working through his Cosmere now from one of the blog websites. Starting on Elantris now (already read Stormlight Archives and loved it after a slow start).
I agree with Mistborn (and even Alloy of Law). After I finished I still just wanted more and more. Such mastery! If they could make it into a movie without messing it up I would definitely pay to see it in IMAX.
JimmyHouston
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Just read The Martian by Andy Weir due to recommendations off here. Really enjoyed this book. Very suspenseful, thought provoking and funny at times - A+
Malachi Constant
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Just knocked out The Martian and Ready Player One based on Texags recommendations.

Just started World War Z.
cp2011
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Posted this on the dedicated thread as well, but I just finished "Go Set A Watchman" and really enjoyed it
cjg89
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quote:
Finished so far:

1) A Feast for Crows (Yawn...)

Reading:
2) The Billionaire and the Mechanic
3) A Dance with Dragons


I thought A Feast For Crows was one of the best in the series. More Pendergast and less other characters the better.
Old Jock 1997
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I'm reading The Martian now, also on TexAgs recommendations. So far, not bad.
agmatt06
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Same...I'm only about 10-15 pages in...Not hooked on it yet, but it's a good start.
W.C. Griffin '09
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Do you mean Still Life with Crows?
cjg89
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quote:
Do you mean Still Life with Crows?


Yes. I got really turned around with titles/series on that one.
Lance Uppercut
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quote:
Just finished Ready Player One. I picked it up based on recommendations here.

I thought it was awful. Took me almost 2 months to get through it, which is not characteristic of me.

I picked this one up too, also based on people here recommending it for years. Like this poster, I thought it was just terrible. Never mentioned it because it usually doesn't do much good to plop into a group of people that really like something and tear down the subject in question. Sometimes the board does a good job of just hearing an opinion, and more times they just get upset (well what do YOU like? that's a stupid reason for not liking something etc.)

For instance, I didn't like the movie Whiplash and thought Boyhood was one of the worst movies I've ever seen. I'm thinking those opinions wouldn't be warmly received in the threads about those movies since the consensus was vastly popular, but I could be wrong.
Malachi Constant
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Ready Player One would have been better if the author hadn't done his "hey guys I'm an atheist and so is my main character!"

It was really weird to even mention it at all.
Clavell
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Update:
1) Completed the biography of Winston Churchill trilogy started by William Manchester and last volume completed by Paul Reid. "The Last Lion William Spencer Churchill, Defender of the Realm 1940 - 1965". (NF) (A)
2) Anne Rice's "Prince Lestat". (B)
3) Jeff Shaara's "The Smoke at Dawn". Civil War - Western Theater. (B)
4) Preston & Child's "Blue Labyrinth" (B)
5) Carlos Ruiz Zafon's "Marina". Probably my favorite living foreign writer. Read "The Shadow of the Wind", "The Angel's Game" and "The Prisoner of Heaven". Unlike others I read considered young adult
literature, but still love his style. (B+)
6) Neal Stephenson's "Snow Crash". Been on my list for awhile. Loved his other books "Crytonomicon" and "Reamde". A lot of similarities to his newer "Reamde" which have to say I enjoyed even more. (A-)
7) Erik Larson's "Thunderstruck" (NF). Liked his other books "The Devil in The White City" and "In The Garden of the Beasts". While interesting would rank this third. (B)
8) Tom Robbin's "Tibetan Peach Pie: A True Account of an Imaginative Life". After reading several of his books "Another Roadside Attraction", "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues" and my favorite "Still Life with Woodpecker" wanted to read this memoir. Interesting, but not as much as I hoped. (B)

Next: Jeff Shaara's " The Fateful Lightening". Last in his Civil War - Western Theater series
Ashley96
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It took me a few months but I finished "Advise and Consent". I'm now rereading "To Kill a Mockingbird."
agmatt06
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Finished The Martian. Give it an A-. Definitely had me hooked, but was a bit wordy at times.

Finished in quickly once it really picked up.
Clavell
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Loved "Advised and Consent" when read it as teenager, but ruined politics for we. Ever since then been disappointed that in true life Congress is so much worse.
TyHolden
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the Martian was ok...
Malachi Constant
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Just finished World War Z, wow what a great ride. A for sure
Malachi Constant
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  • The Science of Interstellar - Kip Thorne (A)
  • A Short History of Nearly Everything - Bill Bryson (B+)
  • Einstein's Dreams - Alan Lightman (C+)
  • Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions - Edwin Abbott (B)
  • The Martian - Andy Weir (A+)
  • Ready Player One - Ernest Cline (B+)
  • World War Z - Max Brooks (A+)

Currently Reading Five Billion Years of Solitude by Lee Billings. Great so far.

Just realized how science/nerdy I am.
Ashley96
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I finished re-reading "To Kill a Mockingbird" and am starting on "The Edge of Sadness" by Edwin O'Connor. My Pulitzer reading project continues.
WACOAG90
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Another recommendation for The Martian

The Chase by Cussler was pretty good on audio B+

Ben Coes novels have been fun if you like Vince Flynn's novels
Just finished I am Pilgrim -A would highly recommend
Mike7th
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Just finished "The Wright Brothers." Fabulous, and may win another Pulitzer for David McCullough. The new Vince Flynn novel, "The Survivor", is great, too, even with a new author.
ccaggie05
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Update from the past few months

1. Inferno by Dan Brown
2. The Amber Room by Steve Berry
3. Dead Heat by Joel C. Rosenberg
4. Sycamore Row by John Grisham
5. The Romanov Prophecy by Steve Berry
6. The Martian by Andy Weir
7. The Third Secret by Steve Berry
8. The Final Empire (Mistborn #1) by Brandon Sanderson
9. The Templar Legacy by Steve Berry
10. The Scarlatti Inheritance by Robert Ludlum
11. Leviathan Wakes (The Expanse #1) by James S.A. Corey
12. Star Wars: A New Dawn by John Jackson Miller
13. Calibans War (The Expanse #2) by James S.A. Corey
14. The Osterman Weekend by Robert Ludlum
15. Star Wars: Tarkin by James Luceno
16. The Black Echo (Harry Bosch #1) by Michael Connelly

New books since my last update
17. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
18. The Well of Ascension (Mistborn #2) by Brandon Sanderson
19. Clear and Present Danger by Tom Clancy
20. Pandora's Star (Commonwealth #1) by Peter F. Hamilton
21. Red Rising (Red Rising Trilogy #1) by Pierce Brown
22. Golden Son (Red Rising Trilogy #2) by Pierce Brown

I'm reading Judas Unchained, the sequel to Pandora's Star right now. Up next after that is Sum of All Fears by Tom Clancy.
BigJim49 AustinNowDallas
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Fry's memoirs - tad wordy about why he is shy' and his 15 years celibacy ( 90%gay) but a funny book.. Lots on Hugh

Laurie and Emma Thompson and their days at Cambridge. Recommend.
Kashchei
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Tarkin - James Luceno (A) - Another very solid EU book by Luceno

The Odessa File - Fredrick Forsyth (A+) - I was pleasantly surprised and impressed by this older thriller. Loved the twist at the end.

Ready Player One - Ernest Cline (A) - I picked it up based on the love it's received on this thread. Did not disappoint! I burned through it this weekend. A very interesting concept (reminded me of Inception). **minor spoilers** My only quibble is/was the truth about one of the main characters towards the end of the book. Seemed like it was pandering to the current social climate.
jr15aggie
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quote:
Mistborn trilogy was amazing, A+. Sanderson is a master world builder just wow.
Just finished the trilogy myself... VERY good!

So many subtle items from book 1 that became a "didn't see that coming" plot twist by book 3. Some things I figured out, some things I hadn't thought about. Several wow moments nonetheless!
agfan2013
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Death Traps: The Survival of an American Armored Division in WWII by Belton Cooper (B+)

A Man on the Moon: The Voyages of the Apollo Astronauts by Andrew Chaikin (B+)

Empire of the Summer Moon by S C Gwynne (B-)

The Stand by Stephen King (B-)

Just finished The Stand and it was a struggle, don't know if I'll pick up another King book. I really liked the setting, plot, characters etc, I'm even considering watching the miniseries on it off amazon for cheap. But that book could have easily been 500 pages instead of 1400 and been much better, too much filler and sections that didn't really move the story forward.

Up next is the Martian, followed by a dive back into the Tom Clancy series as I haven't read the last two or three books they've put out since he passed away.
Quincey P. Morris
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Finally finished The Silmarillion but my goodness that was a long read. I'm glad I did but that was tough.
rich1232
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King of Thorns by Mark Lawrence - B+
The Bonehunters by Steven Erikson - A
Grave Peril by Jim Butcher - B+
Reapers Gale by Steven Erikson - B+
Toll the Hounds by Steven Erikson - A-
Emperor of Thorns by Mark Lawrence - B+
Dust of Dreams by Steven Erikson - A
The Crippled God by Steven Erikson - A-
Hudson2508
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1 Storm Front - Jim Butcher
2 Fool Moon - Jim Butcher
3 Grave Peril - Jim Butcher
4 Summer Knight - Jim Butcher
5 Death Masks - Jim Butcher
6 Blood Rites - Jim Butcher
7 Dead Beat - Jim Butcher
8 Proven Guilty - Jim Butcher
9 White Night - Jim Butcher
10 Small Favor - Jim Butcher
11 Turn Coat - Jim Butcher
12 Changes - Jim Butcher
13 Ghost Story - Jim Butcher
14 Cold Days - Jim Butcher A-
15. The Lies of Locke Lamora - Scott Lynch - A
16. The Martian - Andy Weir - A
17. Skin Game - Jim Butcher A-
18. Steelheart - Brandon Sanderson B

19 A Moveable Feast - Hemingway B+
A fun read on my plane to Paris to get me in the mindset and introduce me to some of what I was going to explore. I really enjoy doing this with books that highlight a place I'm going.

20 Armada - Ernest Cline - B
Nowhere near as good as RP1 but still a fun read. Hope he gets back on track with his next one.

21 The Queen of Fire - Anthony Ryan - D
Only finished this because I'm OCD about finishing storylines. It was a pretty lousy finish to one of the best debut novels I've ever read in Blood Song.

After I finish the Gentlemen's ******* book I'm reading I'm not sure what I'll try next. Queen of Fire was rough and took me way longer than books typically take me.

Might try Harper Lee's new one but kind of want to read something I know will be good.

Suggestions?
Blanco Ag
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This has been a prolific year so far, by my standards. Maybe that has something to do with me getting in touch with my sci-fi/fantasy side.

1. Foundation Trilogy - Asimov (that should count for three books read, right?)
2. Dresden Files - Jim Butcher, first 5 books
3. Dune
4. Dune Messiah
5. Children of Dune
6. God Emperor of Dune
7. Animal Farm
8. Walking Dead graphic novels (all of them currently in hardcover)
9. Ready Player One

Prime0882
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Not as many comments to the thread as in previous years - are we all reading less? (I know I have been)
 
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