Beartown by Fredrik Backman

A+

This is my 4th Backman novel and I really love his style of writing and story telling.

I enjoyed Devil in the white city too. My wife thinks that was his best book. But she lived in Chicago & has a huge affinity for that city. Maybe that's the difference? Maybe its the subject matter? I'm not sure. But they are both very good books.

Just finished book 6 of Dresden Files. Am I crazy, or would Karl Urban make a great Harry Dresden for a live action version?

About to finish up devil in the white city

Loved the bear town books.

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

C+

Interesting premise, but the writing was only okay.

"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.
"Masters of the Air": Donald L. Miller: B+ ( I read this because it is supposed to be the basis of a third mini-series following "Band of Brothers" and "The Pacific"; it covers the daylight bombing campaign of the 8th AF during WWII; some pretty amazing stories but seemed to jump around quite a bit and was more air warfare philosophy driven than story driven.)
"Firefly: Big Damn Hero" : James Lovegrove: A- (Only thing better would've been if Nathan Fillion had been the narrator)
"Sidekick:Raptor Book 1" Jaime Castle/C.J. Valin : B (Audible Original YA I think)
"Dusty's Diary" : Bobby Adair : A

Yes. Yes he would. Can he do an American accent is the question? I've only seen him in The Boys so don't know.

1st Quarter:
1) John Berendt's "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" Enjoyable read to get feel of an environment. More a collection of short stores put together (A-)
2) - 6) Layton Green's The Blackwood Saga "The Brothers Three", "The Spirit Mage", The Last Cleric", "Return of the Paladin", " A War of Wizards" Overall easy fantasy read that was enjoyable. (B)
7) Garth Nix's "The Left-Handed Booksellers of London" Silly, but fun (B-)
8) Bernard Cornwell's "Sharpe's Tiger" Got series when friend passed away from widow. Nice historical fiction with excellent battle scenes (B)
9) James Jones "From Here to Eternity" Gritty, probably accurate view of army life pre WWII. (A)
10) Bernard Cornwell's "Sharpe's Triumph". The Sharpe and Robert Prewitt (From Here to Eternity) characters have a lot of similarities. (B)

RooAg said:

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Yes. Yes he would. Can he do an American accent is the question? I've only seen him in The Boys so don't know.

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Haha well if you remember him as the doctor from Star Trek, it's not great.

Dune
Dune Messiah
Children of Dune in-progress

2021 has only gotten busier, and I've been so tired that I haven't felt like reading at night. To be honest, Dune Messiah didn't help. I'd get tired every time I tried reading it. It wasn't bad overall, but it wasn't great. I never had that urge to read more. To be fair, even the foreword mentions that it's more of a "bridge" to the rest of the story than anything else. Hoping Children of Dune will be better.

It will be. I'm on a Dune reread myself right now. Not sure if I'll redo the whole series or not.

"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.
"Masters of the Air": Donald L. Miller: B+ ( I read this because it is supposed to be the basis of a third mini-series following "Band of Brothers" and "The Pacific"; it covers the daylight bombing campaign of the 8th AF during WWII; some pretty amazing stories but seemed to jump around quite a bit and was more air warfare philosophy driven than story driven.)
"Firefly: Big Damn Hero" : James Lovegrove: A- (Only thing better would've been if Nathan Fillion had been the narrator)
"Sidekick:Raptor Book 1" Jaime Castle/C.J. Valin : B (Audible Original YA I think)
"Dusty's Diary" : Bobby Adair : A
"I Am Legend" : Richard Matheson : B
"Fire Touched" : Patricia Briggs : B+ (entertaining)
"Junkyard Bargain" : Faith Hunter : B+

William Bernstein's A Splendid Exchange

Really enjoyed it, basically looks at the history of trade starting from prehistory through medieval times through present, and takes on free trade vs protectionism debate. Published in 2008. Really interesting take on the Black Death when viewed through the lens of our current pandemic

That's a good book. It gets at one of those topics that is prosaic and frequently overlooked, but does a lot more to drive how the world we live in developed than the accidents of particular individuals in particular positions of power.

Contact by Carl Sagan

The movie is one of my favorites, so I was wary about sullying that with the source material. But it's clear to me that the book was merely used as a rough outline for the screenplay. It's good, but I still prefer the movie.

Champ Bailey said:

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Just finished book 6 of Dresden Files. Am I crazy, or would Karl Urban make a great Harry Dresden for a live action version?

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I LOVE this idea.

On that note, I recently finished Book 5. My reading pace is way off right now vs beginning of year though.

Completed
Persepolis Rising (The Expanse, #7) - James S.A. Corey
Billion Dollar Whale: The Man Who Fooled Wall Street, Hollywood and the World
Summer Knight (The Dresden Files #4)
Death Masks ( The Dresden Files #5)

Gardens of the Moon (The Malazan Book of the Fallen, Book 1), Steven Erickson
I agree with the above that this book is confusing at times. By the end I had a little bit of a feel for it, and I enjoyed it. I wish the change between POV characters had a little bit more warning, but I'm excited to see where it goes.

Goal of 20 books this year and through five so far!

Don't Skip Out on Me by Willy Vlautin - second Vlautin book I've read and I love his writing, but he's not one to read if you want happy/uplifting books.
Slaughterhouse Five
The Only Plane in the Sky by Garrett Graff - oral history of 9/11. Tough to read at times, but well researched and well done.
Empire of the Summer Moon
Flowers for Algernon

Currently reading: The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

Only plane in the sky was tremendous

I'm a glutton for punishment and started book 2. Just when I thought I had a slight handle on the characters, it gets all shaken up with a crap ton of new characters, places and creatures. Still can't figure out who I am supposed to root for/against.

Same. I'm intrigued, but damn this is going to be a complex one.

Malazan.fandom.com helps me understand what I just read. I have to cross check it after each chapter to make sure I get what is going on and who is who.

I assume you can avoid spoilers?

You can choose chapter by chapter. Even if you choose to delve into a character, they give an overall then break it down by book (careful here because in the overall they may say things like was this or that which I assume they die later on and in the book breakdown under a specific character it will take you through the whole book not broken down by chapter so it could be a spoiler).

Guards! Guards!
Eric

32 to go.

Finished: 14 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
The Drowning House - Elizabeth Black
Killers of the Flower Moon - David Grann
The Case for Easter - Lee Strobel
More Than a Carpenter - Josh McDowell
A Longing for Holiness - John Wesley
Everything I Never Told You - Celeste Ng
Little Fires Everywhere - Celeste Ng

Currently Reading
Surprised by Joy - C.S. Lewis

Definitely slowed down pace-wise with a busy Spring.

Found The Drowning House while looking for more books about Galveston after reading Isaac's Storm last year, finally got around to reading it. It was enjoyable but nothing spectacular.

Killers of the Flower Moon was recommended by my brother because of my interest in narrative non-fiction. Didn't love Grann's writing style as much as Erik Larson's, but the story was fascinating.

Did quite a bit of Christian reading around Easter time. All good ones that I will pass along to others.

Both Ng books are good, but I really enjoyed LFE. She did a great job of writing compelling characters that have you torn both ways throughout the story.

Topher17 said:

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Goal of 20 books this year and through five so far!

Don't Skip Out on Me by Willy Vlautin - second Vlautin book I've read and I love his writing, but he's not one to read if you want happy/uplifting books.
Slaughterhouse Five
The Only Plane in the Sky by Garrett Graff - oral history of 9/11. Tough to read at times, but well researched and well done.
Empire of the Summer Moon
Flowers for Algernon

Currently reading: The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

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Completed The Glass Castle & Valentine by Elizabeth Wetmore.

Next up: Northline by Willy Vlautin

20 years late to the party but im reading angelas ashes and im enjoying it (as much as you can enjoy the abject poverty--i can see the humor in his writing style)

Actually felt the exact opposite about Little Fires Everywhere. I thought the characters were way too stereo typical and the story as a whole packed development.

bushytailed said:

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Just started Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. I began rereading the series a couple months ago.

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Took my time getting through the last three books but I finished the series last night. I enjoyed this second time through the books even more than the first time. My favorite is still Half Blood Price and I still cried when Snape died in Deathly Hollows.

Would posters please add a little description to the titles?

Finished Blacks Rednecks and White Liberals by Thomas Sowell.

Basically a collection of essays that build on one another, and one of the best books I've ever read. Sowell delves into the birth of Black identity and 'Black culture'. This was published in 2008, but is incredibly timely for today.

Finished finals two days ago and since then have read Mistborn 4-6 and just wrapped up Kings of the Wyld.

LOVED the Mistborn second trilogy but I can see how the drastic departure may not be for everyone especially if just coming off of reading the first three. Loved the setting though.

Kings of the Wyld was one of those I walked in blind. I never even read the back synopsis. Literal could not put down sorta adventure for me. I mean, I actually laughed out loud more than once. I cannot remember the last time a book got me to do that. Absolute blast to read.

Up next is either Rhythm of War or finish up Sullivans Legends of the First Empire series. Was stuck in and loving it but school took over and had to take a hiatus on reading unfortunately.

There's a 2nd Mistborn trilogy?