Stop it with your long reviews, you make me wish I could reread it all!

All kidding aside, glad you've discovered the series! I can't wait for the tv series either. Wonder what the timeline of that release is now..

I seriously do not remember a lot of these more Intricate details you bring up!

garrettc16 said:

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How did Redwall hold up?

It's funny you mention that because I was just looking into buying a box set of Redwall books this week. It was the series that introduced me to fantasy.

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Sorry that I'm just now responding this. I really enjoyed reading it again. I'm the same, the Redwall series was some of the firsts "big" books I read as a kid and got me into reading for fun (and the massive amounts of AR points each book had at our school library).

It's certainly geared towards kids with the dialogue in particular being a little hokey at times, but I plan at some point to go back and read some of my favorites (Mossflower, Martin the Warrior, etc.). I'm sure my nostalgia keeps me from being an impartial critic though.

Same Kind of Different as Me

PDWT_12 said:

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PDWT_12 said:

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PDWT_12 said:

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Finally got back to reading regularly.

In the last month or so...

Finished

Allies by Winston Groom- Pretty good

Tiamat's Wrath by James S.A. Corey- Fantastic

Artemis by Andy Weir- Meh

Planning to read Killers of the Flower Moon and Children of Dune next.

---

Finished

Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann- Fantastic, can't wait to see this turned into a movie.

Reading

Children of Dune

Blood of Elves by Sapkowski because Libby told me it was the first book in the series, but after doing some research it seems maybe I need to stop and read Last Wish and Sword of Destiny first.

---

Been a while since I updated, but it's also been a little slow.

Finished

Children of Dune by Herbert- It was good at times, really slow in others but overall I enjoyed it.

Last Wish and Blood of Elves by Sapkowski. Both really good. Never played the Witcher games and haven't watched the Netflix series yet but I like the world he's created.

Redwall by Brian Jacques- Really just wanted to reread this one to see if it held up from my childhood and if I could read it to my kid someday.

Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain- Didn't understand about half of the food he talked about making but still a cool look into his life and the world of professional cooking.

Reading

Sword of Destiny by Sapkowski and then I'll continue through that series.

Jurassic Park by Crichton

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Finished

Sword of Destiny was great. Obviously wish I had read it before Blood of Elves the reunion with Ciri loses a little bit of the emotion when you know it's coming.

Jurassic Park don't know why I had never read it before. A rare instance of a good book, better movie.

Patriot Games by Clancy- It's been a while since I've read Clancy's (RIP) stuff, I was very into them when I was in junior high/high school. Patriot Games was always one of my favorites and I think I might reread a lot of his other early stuff too.

Those Who Wish Me Dead by Michael Koryta- Fun and intense read, and enough twists and turns so you don't know when you've got everything figured out. Super excited to see what Sheridan does with this, seems right up his alley and assuming I know who plays who from IMDb, I think they did a good job casting.

Reading

Devil in the White City by Erik Larson. Very early into it but I like the detail and architecture focus of it in parts. I'm familiar enough with the Holmes aspect of the story, but it's cool seeing it play out with the Fair as a backdrop.

Will be starting Time of Contempt from the Witcher soon, and maybe listening to some of the Clancy books in audiobook format.

Completed
Black Cross - Greg Iles
Sharp Ends (First Law World Book 7) - Joe Abercrombie
Norse Mythology - Neil Gaiman
Babylon's Ashes (The Expanse #6) - James S.A. Story (Audible)
Stormchild - Bernard Cornwell
The Last Wish (The Witcher #0.5) - Andrzej Sapkowski
Strange Dogs (The Expanse #6.5) - James S.A. Story
Adrians Undead Diary Omnibus Volume 1 (Books 1-4) - Chris Philbrook
Adrians Undead Diary Omnibus Volume 2 (Books 5-8) - Chris Philbrook
The Hero of Ages (Mistborn #3) - Brandon Sanderson
Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania - Erik Larson

The Dealer of Hope: Adrian's March Part One (Adrian's Undead Diary #9)
Wanted to get back to AUD just because it's such a fun universe. We are post zombie now and dealing with human factions all struggling for resources as Adrian continues to build his little world. Still a good read despite no zombies. Granted, there is a flashback story to his brother who is a Navy SEAL stuck in Afghanistan during the outbreak so you still get some zombie action. Post zombie story ends in #10 and then there are several short story anthologies in same universe I look forward to digging into.

Should knock out Billion Dollar Whale below next week on a roadtrip. Reading that with wife. Fascinating grifter story and in the news right now if you've seen Goldman Sachs stories about paying billions in fines.


In Progress
The Martian - Andy Weir - 36%
Salvation Lost (Salvation Sequence #2) - Peter F. Hamilton - 35% (Audible)
Billion Dollar Whale: The Man Who Fooled Wall Street, Hollywood, and the World - 14% (Audible)
Basic Economics - Thomas Sowell - 9%
Swan Song - Robert R. McCammon - 3%

Wheel of Time #1 (The Eye of the World)
Wheel of Time #2 (The Great Hunt)
Wheel of Time #3 (The Dragon Reborn)
Wheel of Time #4 (The Shadow Rising)
Wheel of Time #5 (The Fires of Heaven)
Wheel of Time #6 (Lord of Chaos)
Wheel of Time #7 (A Crown of Swords)
Wheel of Time #8 (The Path of Daggers)
Wheel of Time #9 (Winter's Heart)
Wheel of Time #10 (Crossroads of Twilight)
Wheel of Time #11 (Knife of Dreams)
Wheel of Time #12 (The Gathering Storm)
Wheel of Time #13 (Towers of Midnight)
Wheel of Time #14 (A Memory of Light) in-progress


The end is near. It seems like we are so close to Tarmon Gai'don, yet there are 1000+ pages in this last one. When I really think about it, there still is a lot to cover. A TON happened these last few books as well, so I'm sure there will be even more curve balls before the end.

I was wondering what happened to Fain/Mordeth after Shadar Logoth was destroyed. I can't quite say what happened to him, but the thing that was Fain/Mordeth seems to be just as (or more) powerful. We only got a glimpse of him during the prologue, so it will be interesting to see how he comes into play in the final book.

The meeting between Rand and Egwene was way calmer than I thought it'd be, but that's only because she spoke to "new Rand."

If the construction Elaida started (Amyrlin's palace) doesn't turn into a relocated Black Tower (if the Aes Sedai truly reunify), then maybe it will be a smaller tower for the Kin/Wise Ones/Sea Folk to use when they visit Tar Valon. It would help keep some distance between them like the other groups wish.

Graendal was making connections between Moridin and Rand in the prior book, but now she is making connections between him and the Dark One. Will the Dark One need to possess a physical being once freed? They've not mentioned anything like that before, but it seems like it would be impossible for even Rand to face a god-like being unless they are brought somewhat closer to the same level. The Dark One taking physical form could do that. That would fit too if Rand is the personification of the Light/Creator. It's just still unclear what the connections are between Moridin and Rand.

Mat had some great scenes this book. One I particularly liked was when he tells Thom that his gift of sweet buns to Joline (the most stubborn of the Aes Sedai he saved from Ebu Dar) is a tradition from the Two Rivers (giving a departing traveler a gift). Thom says it's nothing he has heard of before, and then Mat reveals that he put something in them to turn her mouth blue for a week or two. He knows she won't share them since she had eaten tons of them in the weeks prior. He then tells Thom he is trying to get back to his "basic roots" and recapture some of his youth. I also loved when just before entering the Tower of Ghenjei, Noal/Jain repeats the words someone (Brigitte?) had told them "Courage to strengthen. Fire to blind. Music to dazzle. Iron to bind." Mat follows it up by saying "And Matrim Cauthoun to bloody even the odds." Mat has really grown on me throughout the series, much like Nynaeve.

A lot of the Aes Sedai have gotten better throughout the books, especially once they started getting taken down a few pegs by the Asha'man, the Kin, etc., but even after everything that has happened, some of them are still so incredibly stubborn and set in their ways. Even though Nynaeve was given a much harder test than normal and has already proven more in the real world, she still only "passed" with a 4-3 vote. Nynaeve herself is one of the most stubborn characters, but the main difference is that she has shown that she can set aside her pride even when it kills her to do so. Her stubbornness is also usually rooted in her concern for others and doing what she thinks is right. I love that even after the physical demands of the test, she still faces them down verbally afterward. She doesn't apologize for what she did and states flat out what she will do in the future (fight with Rand in the Last Battle) even though they hadn't yet decided if she had passed. It was also hilarious to see her immediately go to the Black Tower and demand that Myrelle pass Lan's bond to her.

The battle/siege in Maradon was awesome. Ituralde is a badass.

Perrin stopping balefire in tel'aran'rhiod (which stuns Egwene) was awesome. That whole fight between Perrin and Slayer and Egwene and Mesaana/Black Ajah was crazy.....but with that, RIP Hopper.

Man I hope the Aiel don't end up dwindling down like Aviendah sees. I also really don't want to the Seanchan to take over which is the dominant theme in Aviendah's visions. I'm assuming they won't, but this falls into the same category of me not knowing how this story ends. I know I've said it before, but despite everything I've heard about the series, I've never heard even a vague comment about it being a happy ending or bittersweet or whatever it ends up being.

I knew something was up with Thom and Moiraine based on how he had reacted to the letter, but I honestly didn't expect what happened between them once they freed her. I mean I considered it as a possibility and all, but still didn't think that was actually it.

There are so many small moments to this series that are just great or hilarious. At first I wasn't sure if I'd ever have it in me to reread the series, but now I know I definitely will one day. It's easy to forget the little moments so it'll be great to go over them again at some point. An example is when Lan rides by three men sitting on a porch outside an inn. They recognize him and immediately mount and follow. He stops in the road when he notices, but they nonchalantly keep going past him. Lan calls out to one he recognizes, and the man just goes "Oh Lan, I didn't see you there" as if they just so happened to leave town the moment he passed them by.

A Memory of Light by Robert Jordan

The Order by Daniel Silva

Cursed by Tom Wheeler and Frank Miller- a cool take on the lady of the lake/Arthur legend. The writing was just okay. There is a show for it on Below right now. B-

Stamped- a YA remix of Stamped from the Beginning by Ibram X Kendi. A-

Completed
Black Cross - Greg Iles
Sharp Ends (First Law World Book 7) - Joe Abercrombie
Norse Mythology - Neil Gaiman
Babylon's Ashes (The Expanse #6) - James S.A. Story (Audible)
Stormchild - Bernard Cornwell
The Last Wish (The Witcher #0.5) - Andrzej Sapkowski
Strange Dogs (The Expanse #6.5) - James S.A. Story
Adrians Undead Diary Omnibus Volume 1 (Books 1-4) - Chris Philbrook
Adrians Undead Diary Omnibus Volume 2 (Books 5-8) - Chris Philbrook
The Hero of Ages (Mistborn #3) - Brandon Sanderson
Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania - Erik Larson
The Dealer of Hope: Adrian's March Part One (Adrian's Undead Diary #9) - Chris Philbrook

Unhappy Endings (Tales from the World of Adrian's Undead Diary #1) and London Burning (Tales from the World of Adrian's Undead Diary #2)

Still in AUD. Realized Chris published anthologies of 7 books of short stories that bridge the gap between Book 8 and Book 9 of the main story line so going back and reading these before I move onto Book 10 of the new trilogy (Books 9-11). They are collections of short stories written by fans who submitted their own fan fiction. He's selected the best of them and published them in these books as canon. Pretty cool and they have all been pretty good so far.

Chris has also included some of his own short stories that tie directly to characters in the main story-line to provide back story. Coolest of all is that the main backstory he's filling in is about a group from Texas that traveled from there to Adrian's camp. Where in Texas do you ask? Longview, TX. My hometown. Goes out of his way to write about Longview. Would be really curious if this was simply dart at a map to pick a city or if he's associated with Longview somehow. Anyway, really fun to read about your hometown in a book like this!

Making slow but steady progress on Salvation Lost whenever I'm in the car but that is rare nowadays.

In Progress
Salvation Lost (Salvation Sequence #2) - Peter F. Hamilton - 39% (Audible)
The Martian - Andy Weir - 36%
Billion Dollar Whale: The Man Who Fooled Wall Street, Hollywood, and the World - 14% (Audible)
Basic Economics - Thomas Sowell - 9%
Swan Song - Robert R. McCammon - 3%

Daisey Jones and the six. Great book about a fictitious rock band from the 70s. I kept finding myself trying to Google their music!! Great read!

Wheel of Time #1 (The Eye of the World)
Wheel of Time #2 (The Great Hunt)
Wheel of Time #3 (The Dragon Reborn)
Wheel of Time #4 (The Shadow Rising)
Wheel of Time #5 (The Fires of Heaven)
Wheel of Time #6 (Lord of Chaos)
Wheel of Time #7 (A Crown of Swords)
Wheel of Time #8 (The Path of Daggers)
Wheel of Time #9 (Winter's Heart)
Wheel of Time #10 (Crossroads of Twilight)
Wheel of Time #11 (Knife of Dreams)
Wheel of Time #12 (The Gathering Storm)
Wheel of Time #13 (Towers of Midnight)
Wheel of Time #14 (A Memory of Light)
Wheel of Time prequel (New Spring) in-progress


It is done. This was such a great series, and the last few books definitely capped it off as well as others have said. I consider myself a superfan of things like ASoIaF/GoT, Harry Potter, etc. (can't call myself a superfan of LotR quite yet since I just read everything last year), but I'm thinking this may be my favorite series of all time. I grew up with Harry Potter, so it holds a special place in my heart. It's possible this may eclipse it though. I'll have to give it a few years to really decided, but man what a great series.

I have a bit more time left in this world with the prequel, and then I'm planning to dive into the wiki and forums to keep it going further. Someone with Tor.com also has a series of articles they're writing as they reread the books so that may get a look too. There is no way they can cover everything in the tv series, but I'm still be eager to see it. It'll be interesting to see just how much they have to cut or change to make it work. And now the random thoughts...

I was shocked when the big battles started about halfway through the book. I couldn't imagine that it would last for another 500 pages, but oh how wrong I was.

Although it's tough to see so many characters killed, I'm glad the weight of an apocalyptic battle against evil included significant casualties. I don't think a series has ever gotten it so right. Thom even mentions as he watches the battle at Shayol Ghul that "this is what the end should be like."

Well it's finally confirmed that Taim isn't Demandred. They were mentioned separately before, but it still seemed possible. Turns out Taim is just a ******.

A part of me kept wondering if one of the biggest twists would be one of the Chosen turning back to the Light. Rand was able to cut the Dark One's strings from Asmodean, so maybe another would find a way to break free as well. Lanfear almost fit this theory until the end. It would have been interesting to have Demandred turn into the hero that Rand/Lews knows he should have been had he not turned to the Shadow, but he still would've been second fiddle to the Dragon.

Androl is such a likable character. It's a shame he wasn't in the books more until the end, but that's when the Black Tower story really picked up.

It was a nice touch having Faile coordinate the supplies shipments that also served as cover to get the Horn of Valere out of Tar Valon since she was introduced as a hunter of the Horn.

Subtly messing with the Great Captains in their dreams was a nice move by Graendal. The obvious benefit was that they made mistakes to benefit the Dark One's armies, but once the others grew suspicious of them, they were also removed from the situation completely. The Great Captains were the exact people they would need to rely on should something go wrong, but it ended up falling to others to figure out what to do. I guess it served to put Mat in charge though which needed to happen in the end.

All of the deaths were tough: Rhuarc, Siuan, Gareth Bryne, Birgitte, and even Gawyn who had his moments but wasn't a favorite of mine. Egwene's death was a legitimate shock.

Neither Lan's "death" nor his use of Sheathing the Sword was shocking, but it was still rough as hell, especially when he sent that last feeling of love to Nynaeve through their bond. I had hoped that the surprise with Lan would be that he actually lived, but his odds of dying seemed so high. I was thoroughly convinced he died in the fight with Demandred, so they did a great job of surprising me when he was still alive.

I always forget to comment on certain characters, and one I haven't mentioned before is Bela, the goodest horse of all. Holy **** has she been an unsung hero throughout the books. I can't even remember all of the times she has been there for someone, but the latest examples are for Faile chasing down someone that took the Horn of Valere and Olver fleeing Trollocs after the Horn is recovered. I honestly thought she would make it to the end, so her sudden death legitimately shocked me.

Mat using the people of Hinderstap (the ones that are reborn every morning even if they die the prior day) was such a great callback to something that I thought was just a random part of the story.

The only thing I wish we would've gotten was a glimpse of what happened after the world tried to get back to normal. What happens with Rand and Min/Aviendah/Elayne? Is Rand now using a new version of the power like he used to seal the Bore (he didn't feel saidin or the True Power but was able to light his pipe by thinking it)? How does Mat and Tuon play out? What about the power dynamic between Perrin and Faile and Elayne now that Faile would be Queen of Saldae? What happens with the Black Tower and White Tower? What do they do with the foundations of the palace Elaisa was building (lol I kept thinking it might serve a purpose)? I always want more after a series like this though, so that's just a mark of a good story. Also, I have to say that the closing lines were perfect.

Long Way Down by Jason Reynold, A+

In the authors words- a mix between a Christmas Carol and Boys in the Hood.

Great recap, and I'm glad you liked it so much!

Grand Pursuit - Nasar - this gives a great overview at a layman's level on the history of economic thought. A++

Keyens - Hayek - not bad. Read Road to Serfdom instead

A portrait of my father - G HW Bush. I liked it

A couple of books on religious history - won't bore this forum

Atlas Shrugged - Read it again with my daughter. The concepts are so good, but this book was about 4x too long.

Short story anthologies are my weakness: Best Debut Short Stories 2019, Best Science Fiction and Fantasy 2019, Best American Short Stories 2019, O.Henry Prizes 2019

Dr. Sleep - King sequel to the Shining. Very good.

3 Body Problem, 1st 3 books. Anyone like The Redemption of Time?

If it Bleeds - King. Good, not his best

Sunday Money - about NASCAR. Really enjoyed

Buster,

Seems like we enjoy the same kind of books. Any other can't miss recommendations on economics?

AGCP3 said:

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Buster,

Seems like we enjoy the same kind of books. Any other can't miss recommendations on economics?

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Gotta start with Sowell:
Basic Economics
A Conflict of Visions

I find Sowell to be more approachable than,say Hayek or Friedman (but let's be clear, Friedman is my hero).

Bounce - this is about the 10,000 hours to be an expert thing. I think it's really good. Not about economics, really, but about work / practice and the way the brain works.

Freakenomics is good.

"Chicago Boys" the documentary was good, I thought, although I disagree with some of the politics, I don't know another good book out there that goes into the story. We read like 10 journal articles on the subject in college, and those were better than any book I have read. I didn't really care for Valdez's book on this. Interested in other recommendations on the subject.

Tyler Cowen's "average is over" is very good.

A random Walk Down Wallstreet is dated but good.

Also, this little flipbook called Economics in Minutes is a surprising gem. Required reading for my daughters before they leave house. It's tiny, like 5 inches square, but summarizes all of the important concepts very well.

Interested in other takes.

This is great. Many I hadn't heard of before. Thanks

Given your interest in Christianity, one that you might enjoy is The Spirit of Democratic Capitalism by Michael Novak. He is writing from a Catholic perspective with former socialist leanings & it chronicles how he became disenchanted with those ideals, making the case for capitalism based on Christian moral principals (the "spirit" of democratic capitalism).

RE: "Chicago Boys", I finished Niall Ferguson's The Ascent of Money recently & thought he did a decent job of highlighting the Chilean project, although maybe in less detail than you'd prefer.

I was surprised to enjoy the discussion of money in Yuval Harari's Sapiens as much as I did.

I'm currently slogging through Friedman's A Monetary History of the United States as well as a book called The Growth of Economic Thought by Henry Spiegel. Both are pretty in the weeds and very academic, but provide great detail and are something of a project for me.

Other books I've read on the subject this year:

• Adam Smith by Jesse Norman
• The Future of Capitalism by Paul Collier
• Finance and the Good Society by Robert Shiller
• The Wisdom of Finance by Mihir Desai
• Reimagining Capitalism by Rebecca Henderson
• Redeeming Capitalism by Kenneth Barnes
• Completing Capitalism by Bruno Roche

Among the spate of [Verb] Capitalism books I have yet to read Conscious Capitalism, but, of the list above, I can only really recommend the first two.

ETA: just realized you said "religious history". Christianity was a presumption

Completed:
Words of Radiance (Stormlight 2)
Edgedancer - Arcanum Unbounded (Stormlight 2.5)
The Screwtape Letters (Lewis)
Mere Christianity (Lewis)
A Grief Observed (Lewis)
The Meaning of Marriage (Keller)
The Four Loves (Lewis)
Oathbringer (Stormlight 3)
The Problem of Pain (Lewis)
The Abolition of Man (Lewis)
The Great Divorce (Lewis)
Isaac's Storm (Larson)
Miracles (Lewis)
God in the Dock (Lewis)
The Lion, The Witch, & The Wardrobe (Narnia 1)
Prince Caspian (Narnia 2)
Voyage of the Dawn Treader (Narnia 3)
The Silver Chair (Narnia 4)
The Horse and His Boy (Narnia 5)
The Magician's Nephew (Narnia 6)
The Last Battle (Narnia 7)
Slaughterhouse-Five (Vonnegut)
The Catcher in the Rye (Salinger)
I Will (Rainer)
Becoming a Welcoming Church (Rainer)
In The Garden of Beasts (Larson)
Out of the Silent Planet (Space Trilogy 1)
Perelandra (Space Trilogy 2)
That Hideous Strength (Space Trilogy 3)
The Most Reluctant Convert: C.S. Lewis' Journey to Faith (Downing)
The Joyful Christian (Lewis)
Dead Wake (Larson)
The Myth of Equality (Wytsma)
Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell (Sanderson)
Be The Bridge (Morrison)
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (Martin)
Woke Church (Mason)
Mistborn: The Final Empire (Mistborn #1 - Sanderson)
The Well of Ascension (Mistborn #2)
Hero of Ages (Mistborn #3)

In Progress:
The 11th Metal (Mistborn #0.5)
Warbreaker (Sanderson)
Simple Church (Rainer & Geiger)

Spending most of my time trying to complete as much of Sanderson's Cosmere works as I can in preparation for Rhythm of War being released in November. I think I can officially say that I've got a new name in the running for favorite author. I haven't found anything by Sanderson thus far that I haven't enjoyed.

Also took some time to read a few titles dealing with race relations through a Christian lens. With all of the hot button issues in our country right now, I wanted to make sure I was at least forcing myself to think through and pray on my views and opinions on things. Read some eye-opening things, and some things I definitely didn't agree with. Overall, I am thankful I took that adventure as I feel like I can come from a better place, with my foundation being my faith, when those uncomfortable conversations do pop up.

Certainly not getting as many hours in a day to read with being back to the office full-time, but I don't plan to let my reading slip back to pre-COVID levels. This whole pandemic has had a lot of negative things, but one positive on my end is it has allowed me to remember how much I love reading and renewed my desire to find new books and read a little each day!

I'll check out "The Spirit of Democratic Capitalism". I have spent a bit of time studying the argument for and against Christianity as the causes of both the dark ages and the Renaissance. I still find Friedman to be the best capitalism apologist.

I might check out The Ascent of Money too.

I'm also really into Bible centered archaeology and study of ancient Biblical civilizations. The dawn of civilization has always fascinated me.

Wrong thread

I decided to read the adult "Left Behind" series again.. (first time was 20 years ago+)

Started last Monday, have already read #1-3.

They are really, really good. Easy to read/follow along, great story.

Completed
Black Cross - Greg Iles
Sharp Ends (First Law World Book 7) - Joe Abercrombie
Norse Mythology - Neil Gaiman
Babylon's Ashes (The Expanse #6) - James S.A. Story (Audible)
Stormchild - Bernard Cornwell
The Last Wish (The Witcher #0.5) - Andrzej Sapkowski
Strange Dogs (The Expanse #6.5) - James S.A. Story
Adrians Undead Diary Omnibus Volume 1 (Books 1-4) - Chris Philbrook
Adrians Undead Diary Omnibus Volume 2 (Books 5-8) - Chris Philbrook
The Hero of Ages (Mistborn #3) - Brandon Sanderson
Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania - Erik Larson
The Dealer of Hope: Adrian's March Part One (Adrian's Undead Diary #9) - Chris Philbrook
Unhappy Endings (Tales from the World of Adrian's Undead Diary #1)
London Burning (Tales from the World of Adrian's Undead Diary #2)

Only the Light We Make (Tales from the World of Adrian's Undead Diary #3)

Another fun collection of zombie short stories in AUD. Moving out of this for now though.

Making slow but steady progress on Salvation Lost and have started A Little Hatred by Joe Abercrombie.

In Progress
Salvation Lost (Salvation Sequence #2) - Peter F. Hamilton - 53% (Audible)
The Martian - Andy Weir - 36%
Billion Dollar Whale: The Man Who Fooled Wall Street, Hollywood, and the World - 14% (Audible)
Basic Economics - Thomas Sowell - 9%
Swan Song - Robert R. McCammon - 3%

Ghost by Jason Reynold
A-

A quick sweet story about a junior high boy joining a community track team.

Twisted Twenty-Six by Janet Evanovich (Stephanie Plum series)
B-
The story is getting old, but the audiobook always makes me laugh.

Humorous Username said:

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March of 2019, Joe Rogan has TJ English on with Joey Diaz, talking about English's books about the mob, Cuba, and the Cuban mob. I kept thinking about what a fascinating interview that was, because I didn't know much about the Cuban mafia.

I finally got around to reading Havana Nocturne, his book about the mob and their exploits in Cuba in the 50's, and how it interacted with the coming Castro revolution. I finished that, and just started The Corporation, his book about the Cuban mob in America, born out of a group of men that were part of the Bay of Pigs Invasion.

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About halfway through The Corporation now. It's fascinating the the early years of the Cuban Mafia saw so many failed assassination attempts.

I miss recreational reading right now. I'm getting a certification and it's taking all my reading time to go through all the textbooks.

Audiobooks are my life saver during my busy times.

PDWT_12 said:

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PDWT_12 said:

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PDWT_12 said:

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PDWT_12 said:

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Finally got back to reading regularly.

In the last month or so...

Finished

Allies by Winston Groom- Pretty good

Tiamat's Wrath by James S.A. Corey- Fantastic

Artemis by Andy Weir- Meh

Planning to read Killers of the Flower Moon and Children of Dune next.

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Finished

Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann- Fantastic, can't wait to see this turned into a movie.

Reading

Children of Dune

Blood of Elves by Sapkowski because Libby told me it was the first book in the series, but after doing some research it seems maybe I need to stop and read Last Wish and Sword of Destiny first.

---

Been a while since I updated, but it's also been a little slow.

Finished

Children of Dune by Herbert- It was good at times, really slow in others but overall I enjoyed it.

Last Wish and Blood of Elves by Sapkowski. Both really good. Never played the Witcher games and haven't watched the Netflix series yet but I like the world he's created.

Redwall by Brian Jacques- Really just wanted to reread this one to see if it held up from my childhood and if I could read it to my kid someday.

Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain- Didn't understand about half of the food he talked about making but still a cool look into his life and the world of professional cooking.

Reading

Sword of Destiny by Sapkowski and then I'll continue through that series.

Jurassic Park by Crichton

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Finished

Sword of Destiny was great. Obviously wish I had read it before Blood of Elves the reunion with Ciri loses a little bit of the emotion when you know it's coming.

Jurassic Park don't know why I had never read it before. A rare instance of a good book, better movie.

Patriot Games by Clancy- It's been a while since I've read Clancy's (RIP) stuff, I was very into them when I was in junior high/high school. Patriot Games was always one of my favorites and I think I might reread a lot of his other early stuff too.

Those Who Wish Me Dead by Michael Koryta- Fun and intense read, and enough twists and turns so you don't know when you've got everything figured out. Super excited to see what Sheridan does with this, seems right up his alley and assuming I know who plays who from IMDb, I think they did a good job casting.

Reading

Devil in the White City by Erik Larson. Very early into it but I like the detail and architecture focus of it in parts. I'm familiar enough with the Holmes aspect of the story, but it's cool seeing it play out with the Fair as a backdrop.

Will be starting Time of Contempt from the Witcher soon, and maybe listening to some of the Clancy books in audiobook format.

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Finished

Devil in the White City- Excellent. Will read more of Larson's work in the future.

Time of Contempt- Good but didn't like it as much as the short story collections or Blood of Elves, the last 25% was really good though.

Baptism of Fire- Enjoyed it more than Contempt, like the cast of characters that Geralt is traveling with at this point.

Out of the Silent Planet- Have read Lewis for years, all of his Narnia stuff and a lot of his nonfiction. But never the Space Trilogy. I will be checking out the second book soon, awesome stuff that I'm sad I missed for so long.

Reading

Just Tower of the Swallows at the moment but will be picking up Perelandra by Lewis soon.

Humorous Username said:

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Tonight we're starting the best book of the entire series.

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You're skipping ahead to Order of the Phoenix?

Kidding. Glad to know the kids are loving it

I KNEW someone wouldn't agree with me.