Salvation by Peter F. Hamilton
This took me a little while to get into and I didn't exactly love the structure, but by the end I was ready to get the next one. This series has a lot of promise. I've been in the mood for something different, and this checks the box.

Just finished A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles, and quite enjoyed it. It's about an aristocrat who, instead of being put against the wall during the Revolution, is placed under house arrest in the grand hotel where he'd been living.

one of the more enjoyable reads for me over the past couple years.

Finished: 7 of 52 (Yearly Goal)
Dune (Dune #1) - Herbert
The Girl on the Train - Hawkins
Crossing the Threshold of Hope - John Paul II
The Giver - Lowry
Rhythm of War (Stormlight Archive #4) - Sanderson
The White Tiger - Adiga
The Match: The Day the Game of Golf Changed Forever - Frost

Quite the assortment to start out 2021.

I'd had The Girl on the Train for quite some time and just never really got around to reading it, but I love mystery/thriller stories so it was a nice quick read to start out the year.

Always admired Pope John Paull II, growing up in Catholicism, and enjoyed his perspective on a lot of things. Even though I attend a non-denominational now, I really enjoy reading Catholic authors.

The Giver is another classic that I somehow missed. A quick read that I enjoyed, but I was a little turned off by the ending. I know it was artsy and left open for interpretation, but my mind is too analytical and I wanted to know what laid beyond the borders of this "new world".

Rhythm of War is fantastic, as per usual with Sanderson and Stormlight. If Sanderson's Cosmere isn't on your to-read list, I would recommend adding it. He's quickly moved into my top 2-3 favorite authors.

The White Tiger is one I ordered because the movie intrigued me on Netflix and when I see a movie based on a best-selling book, I read the book first. The book was ok, the movie was bad.

The Match was a gift from my brother. We're both golf obsessed. If you love golf and the history of the game, I would call it a must-read. A pretty engaging story even if you're not!

Not sure what I am going to dive into next, I have a lot of options and gain more every time I read this thread.

Happy reading Ags!

Just finished 1776 by David McCullough. Was pretty good - didn't know a lot about the battles of Brooklyn so that was pretty interesting. After reading it, its a miracle or divine providence that American even exists.

also reading Dumb Luck and the Kindness of Strangers by John Geirach - fly fishing stories.

Now starting The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt by Edmund Murrow. Highly recommended by a friend.

Loved reading 1776. Wish everyone read that book.

I recently read Donna Tartt's "The Secret History" and I'm still not sure if I liked it or not.

Also read "Ready Player Two" and it was pretty bad.

You'll love the RIse of Teddy...but it will make you wonder how a person could do so much, at such a young age, and you'll be disappointed with what you accomplished in comparison

the 2nd and 3rd books are really good also. If you only have time for one, read the 2nd. It deals with his Presidency, and is pretty fascinating.

I've read a few Teddy book already, including two he wrote himself - Hunting Trips of a Ranchman and The Wilderness Hunter.

The guy was a stud.

Yeah he was.

Quote:

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The White Tiger is one I ordered because the movie intrigued me on Netflix and when I see a movie based on a best-selling book, I read the book first. The book was ok, the movie was bad.

The Match was a gift from my brother. We're both golf obsessed. If you love golf and the history of the game, I would call it a must-read. A pretty engaging story even if you're not!

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I do this, too. Then I watch the movie and get annoyed when they stray too far from the book. It does give me something to do when I see an intriguing trailer for a movie that is 6 months or more in the future.

If you're a golf fan and haven't read Dan Jenkins' Fairways and Greens, get it immediately and read it. It is a collection of the best golf writings of arguably the best golf writer ever, may he rest in peace. I don't play golf, don't care about golf, and that book made me want to play golf.

I'm sure there are plenty of movies I'd have liked more if I hadn't stuck to this. But, it was how my mom instilled a love for reading in me when I was little. "Want to see the new Harry Potter? We'll read the book together first." So I've just carried that with me into adulthood.

I will be adding that to the library promptly, thanks for the suggestion!

garrettc16 said:

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I'm sure there are plenty of movies I'd have liked more if I hadn't stuck to this. But, it was how my mom instilled a love for reading in me when I was little. "Want to see the new Harry Potter? We'll read the book together first." So I've just carried that with me into adulthood.

I will be adding that to the library promptly, thanks for the suggestion!

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You're aging yourself here. I actually held off on reading any of the HP books for a while because I considered them kids books. It wasn't until I watched Sorcerer's Stone on cable and Chamber of Secrets in the theaters that I finally picked up the books and began reading them. I always thought it was a solid way to introduce kids to WWII and how Nazism can take hold in a society, much like V: The Miniseries and V: The Final Battle did for us in the '80s.

As in listening to:

FINISHED
Killing the Rising Sun, Bill O'Reilly
Shoe Dog, Phil Knight ( much better/more interesting than I expected)
1984, Orwell (Who knew it was a documentary?)

READING
The Bible (trying to finish in ~200 days)
Atlas Shrugged (only about 48 hours left!)

Finished - David Eddings's Belgariad series, since it's now out on e-book. I admit it's not the most incredible prose, but I'll always love the books.

Sorcery
Wyrd Sisters
Pyramids

34 to go.

just skip his speech (YWIA),

Just finished William Bernstein's The Delusion of Crowds: Why People Go Mad In Groups

Very enjoyable, and timely.

Salvation Lost by Peter F. Hamilton

The Saints of Salvation by Peter F. Hamilton

The story is great, but I give the series a B. Maybe Hamilton's writing style just isn't to my taste, but I don't love the way he writes. Though it got better in the third book.

Finished:
Hyperion and Hyperion's End by Dan Simmons. Very good sci fi that can occasionally get a little bit labored.

Finished Oathbringer today. That one really ramped up at the end! Looking forward to the next one.

A thread here awhile back suggested I read Warbreaker before the series, but I honestly didn't retain much of it. There were a couple moments where I thought, "Wait, that sounds familiar..."

Deacon King Kong by James McBride

A+

One of the best pieces of story telling I have read in a very long time. It is no wonder why it won the National Book Award.

The Servant - James Hunter
No Rules Rules: Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention - Reed Hastings & Erin Meyer

The first is a must read for anyone in a management position. The second is a fascinating dissection of the culture at Netflix. Worth a read as well.

"Rhythm of War": Brandon Sanderson A-
Is there any real value to the fabrial tutorials before each chapter?
as others have stated, the mental health part got a little old but many of the storylines developed much further
"New Spring" Robert Jordan: B+/A-
David Gemmel's Troy series: A (I actually read this trilogy years ago but figured I'd mention it here because I assume, like me, people look here for book ideas.)
"Malazan: Gardens of the Moon": Steven Erikson: B-
Holy crap! This book makes me feel dumb! I'm 3 chapters in and there is so much going on that it takes delving into Malzan Wiki to explain to me what I just read. Way too many characters, places and things introduced for me to process. Do I stick it out because it will get better or cut my losses?
I stuck it out, still confusing. Hard to tell who are good guys and who are bad guys and soooooo many characters, places, species and world specific words. It became a little clearer toward the end but still.
Starting "Masters of the Air": Donald L. Miller

Blood of the Elves (Witcher #1)
Strange Dogs (Expanse 6.5)
The Time of Contempt (Witcher #2)
Baptism of Fire (Witcher #3)
The Lost Hero (Heroes of Olympus #1)
The Tower of the Swallow (Witcher #4)
Lady of the Lake (Witcher #5)
Tiamat's Wrath (Expanse #8)
Persepolis Rising (Expanse #9)
Rhythm of War
All Systems Red
Ready Player Two
Dune
Death of Kings
Valiant Ambition
Mistress of Magic
Dune Messiah
Bands of Mourning
Mistborn: Secret History
American Democracy: Jefferson to Lincoln
The American Spirit
Macbeth

American Serengeti by Dan Flores, A+

A natural history of the charismatic animals of the Great Plains.

Born A Crime: Stories of a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah, A+

Listened to Noah read the audiobook. He had a crazy childhood by American standards, but not too far from common by South African standards. His mother was an amazing force in his life and seems to be the root of who he is.

PDWT_12 said:

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Read 24 books in 2020, goal is to get to 30 in 2021. So far this year:

Hell's Angels by Hunter S. Thompson- Interesting look at the motorcycle gang as they were beginning to see their reputation grow.

Storm Front by Jim Butcher- First book in the Dresden Files. Though it was pretty good, seemed like a lot of stuff left on the table and unexplored but I suppose that's why there is like 20 something books in the series. Good enough that I'm going to keep at it.

Reading now-

Full Moon by Butcher- Like I said, not done with the Dresden series.

The Sinful Seven by Spencer Hall and several other guys that used to write with SB Nation. Basically a history of the NCAA, how it rose to be the authority in college sports, and how it's led to discrepancies in money and power across the different sports. All of that is told with a Western Sci-Fi setting, where schools, coaches, and NCAA officials are different characters and what not. It's very weird and far from brilliant writing, but it's fun and has actual information in there too.

For reference, I just read through a scene where a bear named Paul teams up with a crow named John David to defeat a minotaur from Varr City who speaks like Matthew McConaughey.

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Finished

Hell's Angels
Storm Front
Full Moon
The Sinful Seven
The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness (Book 2 of the Chaos Walking series)- Pretty good for a YA series. I'm sure the movie is destined to disappoint, but it's been an interesting concept at least.
In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson- Fascinating look at Hitler's Germany. Interesting to watch Ambassador Dodd go from "I understand you have a Jewish problem."

To, "These Hitler and Goebel and Himmler guys are just playing at politics. They won't survive long."

To, "Oh y'all really aren't going to do anything huh? These guys are nuts. I'd like to come home now."

Currently Reading

Dead Wake by Erik Larson- Very early on in this one but I'm excited to read more of Larson's work, particularly on events I'm not all that familiar with.

Creativity, Inc. by Ed Catmull- Book by one of the founders of Pixar. Gives a history on the company, some behind the scenes look at the movies I grew up with being made, and his thoughts on management and creativity. Not really much of a manager, nor am I in a creative field, but still a good read.

Have you read The Splendid and the Vile by Larson?

Sounds interesting, and Im curious if it's any good.

Its pretty good. My wife & I read it.

Thanks.

I have not. I've only read Beasts and Devil in the White City. That ones on my list though, as is Isaac's Storm.

Isaac's Storm is fantastic

Just finished A Brave New World by Huxley. It might be the best book I have ever read.

Through the first 5 books of Dresden Files. Really liking it.

PDWT_12 said:

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I have not. I've only read Beasts and Devil in the White City. That ones on my list though, as is Isaac's Storm.

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I think Isaac's Storm is his best book. Really really good.