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18) Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson - B+

My first Sanderson and I really enjoyed it. It's a great changeup from something like Malazan, where you have to slog through dense chapters with nothing explained. This is a fun, easy read, and Sanderson explains everything, almost to a fault. I understand that technically, the amount of exposition in this book drags its quality down a little, but it's just too much fun to hate on. I'll definitely continue.

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I read this a few years ago and agree it's a B+ or maybe a B. It's a fun read and I didn't mind the details, but my problem was with the teenager-ish story line juxtaposed with the graphic violence.

I've been binging a ton of sci-fi/fantasy lately (from classics like dune to modern tales like american gods), but I'd like to branch out to some nonfiction. I read the rise and fall of the third reich earlier this year and generally my nonfiction tastes stay with history but I'd like to go outside of that genre as well and was looking for some recommendations.

If it helps, I work as a programmer which has a decent amount of nonfiction. My hobbies are running, guitar, and bourbon hunting but I'm not sure I'd really be all that interested in reading a book about them.

I'm just not sure where to start looking honestly.

Nonfiction recs:
Just Kids by Patti Smith
Killers of the Flower Moon By David Gran
Empire of the summer Moon by SC Gwynne
The Emperor of all maladies by Siddhartha Mukherjee

boboguitar said:

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I've been binging a ton of sci-fi/fantasy lately (from classics like dune to modern tales like american gods), but I'd like to branch out to some nonfiction. I read the rise and fall of the third reich earlier this year and generally my nonfiction tastes stay with history but I'd like to go outside of that genre as well and was looking for some recommendations.

If it helps, I work as a programmer which has a decent amount of nonfiction. My hobbies are running, guitar, and bourbon hunting but I'm not sure I'd really be all that interested in reading a book about them.

I'm just not sure where to start looking honestly.

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Cicero by Anthony Everitt is awesome and a fairly quick read, if you like Roman history.

mrsbeer05 said:

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Nonfiction recs:
Just Kids by Patti Smith
Killers of the Flower Moon By David Gran
Empire of the summer Moon by SC Gwynne
The Emperor of all maladies by Siddhartha Mukherjee

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I'm going to have to search for it but I read a fantastic history of the New York underground scene you might like years ago.

I also have empire of the summer moon, mainly because I'm a direct descendent of Buffalo Hump which is discussed a bit in that book.

If you can find it let me know. I read Just Kids for my book club, would have never picked it up otherwise, and ended up loving it.

Was hoping to see someone's opinion on Stephen Kings new one. "The Institute"

CoolaidWade said:

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Was hoping to see someone's opinion on Stephen Kings new one. "The Institute"

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I haven't read it yet, but I hope it's better than Elevation. I finished that one last month and was really disappointed.

Final list
1) Peter V. Brett's The Daylight War (Demon Cycle #3) B+
2) J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone A-
3) J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets A
4) J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban A
5) Peter V. Brett's The Skull Throne (Demon Cycle #4) B
6) J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire A-
7) J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix A-
8) Preston and Child's Verses for the Dead (Pendergast series #18) B
9) J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince A-
10) J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows A
11) Ransom Riggs' A Map of Days (Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children, #4) B
12) Peter V. Brett's The Core (Demon Cycle Series #5) B+
13) Ken Follet's Eye of the Needle A
14) Markus Zusak's I Am The Messenger A+
15) James Michener's Poland B
16) Michael Scott's The Alchemyst (The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel, #1) B
17) Justin Cronin's The Summer Guest B
18) Michael Scott's The Magician (The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel, #2) B
19) Peter Straub's A Dark Matter; a bit disappointing C+
20) Michael Scott's The Sorceress (#3) B+
21) Michael Scott's The Necromancer (#4) B-
22) Michael Scott's The Warlock (#5) B
23) Michael Scott's The Enchantress (#6) B+
24) Neal Stephenson's Fail; or, Dodge in Hell B
25) Mark Twain's The Innocents Abroad B
26) Anthony Grey's Peking. B+
27) Joe M Solomon's The Light Houston, Texas B-
28) E.L. Doctorow's Ragtime. A
29) Martin Cruz Smith's Rose B+

Nov /Dec updates:
30) Zane Grey's Union Pacific - Unbelievable concidences, but I can forgive him. B+
31) Kat Ross' The Daemoniac (Gaslamp Gothic #1) 1888 New York detective book with serial killer and occult overtures. B
32) Kat Ross' The Thirteenth Gate (Dominion Mysteries #2) More supernatural than The Daemoniac A
Dec update:
33) Robert Harris' Munich. Historical fiction on Chamberlain's infamous Munich Agreement A-
34) G.J. Meyer's The Borgia's (NF) Debunks the sensational parts of their lives. Makes for a more believable, but less fun read. Best for seeing Italy in the late 15th century and Roman Catholic inter workings during that time. B

Finished Killers of the Flower Moon and The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell. I'd give both a B. ELoSH was a really fast, easy read.

My go-to reading is anything new from Brad Thor, Nelson Demille, Vince Flynn*, David Baldacci, David Poyer (fiction, naval warfare). But when I have read through all that, I'm always looking for something new. I will try and scan through the Amazon Kindle Book Deals, but its slim pickings usually.

But... I did come across this gem on there a while back:
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafn

This is actually a series of four books. I'm just about to wrap up the final book and these have been great. The tone of the series changes a bit after the second book, but its really great. In short, it follows a cast of characters across 30 years in Barcelona. Some of the stories are separate, but overlap. I really recommend this.

boboguitar said:

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I've been binging a ton of sci-fi/fantasy lately (from classics like dune to modern tales like american gods), but I'd like to branch out to some nonfiction. I read the rise and fall of the third reich earlier this year and generally my nonfiction tastes stay with history but I'd like to go outside of that genre as well and was looking for some recommendations.

If it helps, I work as a programmer which has a decent amount of nonfiction. My hobbies are running, guitar, and bourbon hunting but I'm not sure I'd really be all that interested in reading a book about them.

I'm just not sure where to start looking honestly.

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If you're a programmer who likes scifi, I recommend A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge. Read it last year and it totally blew my mind.

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The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zaf[o]n

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Love those books, but Shadow of the Wind is my favorite.

Just finished Doctor Sleep. I wanted to read the book before seeing the movie and finished it within a week.

Good read but far from his best work.

mrsbeer05 said:

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Nonfiction recs:
Just Kids by Patti Smith
Killers of the Flower Moon By David Gran
Empire of the summer Moon by SC Gwynne
The Emperor of all maladies by Siddhartha Mukherjee

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I really enjoyed Empire Of The Summer Moon

1) Memories of Ice (Malazan #3) by Steven Erikson - B+
2) Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco - C (revised down from C+)
3) The Nutmeg of Consolation (Aubrey/Maturin #14) by Patrick O'Brian - A-
4) House of Chains (Malazan #4) by Steven Erikson - B+
5) The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins - B-
6) The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett - A
7) The Truelove (Aubrey/Maturin #15) by Patrick O'Brian - A-
8) Midnight Tides (Malazan #5) by Steven Erikson - A-
9) In Cold Blood by Truman Capote - B
10) The Republic of Thieves by Scott Lynch - B+
11) A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole - B-
12) The Bonehunters (Malazan #6) by Steven Erikson - B+
13) On War by Carl von Clausewitz - B
14) Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay - A-
15) The Wine-Dark Sea (Aubrey/Maturin #16) by Patrick O'Brian - A-
16) The Guns of August by Barbara Tuchman - A
17) Reaper's Gale (Malazan #7) by Steven Erikson - B
18) Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson - B+
19) The Federalist Papers by Hamilton, Madison, and Jay - B?
20) The Commodore (Aubrey/Maturin #17) by Patrick O'Brian - A
21) Elric of Melnibone by Michael Moorcock - B+
22) The Lions of Al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay - B
22b) Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman - DNF

23) Toll the Hounds (Malazan #8) by Steven Erikson - A-

It seems weird to say that it took nearly 8000 pages for me to understand why people like this series so much, but there it is. Everyone I read or talked to about these books just kind of grinned and said 'keep going', and they were right. The last 250 pages or so of this book just exploded into what might be the most traditionally 1980's METAL sequence I've ever come across. If you've watched Metalocalypse, just image Nathan saying 'Brutal!' over and over again, and you'll have an idea of the last few chapters of this book. I absolutely loved it.

24) The Three Body Problem (Remembrance of Earth's Past #1) by Cixin Liu - A-

This one had been in my to-read list for about 4 years, and it 100% lived up to the hype. This book is real sci-fi. It gives you 1) a really uniquely plotted first contact story, 2) a haptic gaming world like Ready Player One with the major advantage over RP1 of having been written by a competent writer, and 3) a great window into the world of academia under an oppressive regime. The only thing that might throw some readers off is that it's a translation from Mandarin, which has a very different flow and storytelling style from most 21st century English writers. It's more tell than show. Will definitely continue this series.

25) The Yellow Admiral (Aubrey/Maturin #18) by Patrick O'Brian - A

Still my favorite series. Starting to get a little sad that I'm nearly to the end.

26) A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again: Essays and Arguments by David Foster Wallace - A

I don't like this guy's fiction, but his non-fiction magazine pieces are top notch. Think a little more down-to-earth version of Wolfe or Thompson - he's clearly in that New/Gonzo tradition, but he manages (mostly) to stay humbler than those guys. The title essay is about how much he disliked going on a Caribbean cruise (something I've never done but have always been skeptical of), but the one that connected most with me was the one about going to the 1993 Illinois State Fair. Six-year-old me lived in Illinois at the time and had some of my own Midwestern fair experiences that made it very relatable.

27) Dust of Dreams (Malazan #9) by Steven Erikson - in progress

I knocked off 'The Silent Patient' and 'The Nickel Boys' last week. Nickel Boys was a really good read. I thought the Silent Patient was a fun read, kind of a psychological thriller type read.

I'm into Stephen Harrigan's "Big Wonderful Thing: A History of Texas" now.

For those of you having trouble finishing a book from the library before its due date, Austin Public library loans all their books for 21 days instead of 14. Free library card for anyone residing in Texas.

The B/CS libraries have a longer loan period also and automatically renew (digital and hard copy), I think the only exception is if it's a digital copy and there are people on the waitlist.

Just found this thread. I really only started reading here and there halfway through the year, but this is what I've gotten through.

Abandon - Black Crouch
The Naturalist - Andrew Mayne
Goat Dance - Douglass Clegg
The Hunger - Alma Katsu
The Silent Ones - KL Slater
The Girl in the Treehouse - Jennifer Asbenson
Pandemic - AG Riddle
Do I Bother You At Night - Troy Aaron Ratliff
American Predator - Maureen Callahan
Elevation - Stephen King

end of year tally: 45 books,, i'll blame football season, baseball playoffs, and a 2 week vacation in new zealand for not hitting the 1 per week mark!

unbroken by laura hildebrand A+
hp and goblet of fire A
planetfall by emma newman B
after atlas by emma newman C
one second after by william forstchen A+
one year after by william forstchen B+
the long earth by terry pratchett B+
dark forest by cixin liu A+++
hp and order of phoenix B
apollo 8 by kluger A
long way to small angry planet by becky chambers B
death's end by cixin liu A+++
final day by forstchen B
hp and half blood prince A
hidden figures A
the explorer by james smythe F
hp and deathly hallows A
the stand by stephen king B+
seveneves by neal stephenson A+
billion dollar spy by david hoffman A+
armada by ernest cline B
48 hours by forstchen B
revenger by alastair reynolds B
a closed and common orbit by becky chambers B
pillar to the sky by forstchen B+
foundation by asimov C+
killing the ss by bill o'reilly B+
brief answers to the big questions by stephen hawking A
medium raw by bourdain A
an absolutely remarkable thing by hank green b+
red war by vince flynn a-
a few sherlock holmes short stories b
texas by michener a
catch 22 by heller b
airframe by chrichton a
The Redemption of Time--A Three-Body Problem Novel by Baoshu b
memory called empire by arkady martine b-
red moon by ksr b-
red rising by pierce brown b-
old man's war by scalzi a
going home by a. american b
cryptonomicon by neal stephenson b+
blind descent by james tabor a
slaughterhouse five by vonnegut b
forgotten 500 by greg freeman a

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