Chipotlemonger said:

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There's a 2nd Mistborn trilogy?

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Actually a tetralogy. Fourth book is currently being written.

Sanderson has four sets of official timeline books planned for his mistborn part of the Cosmere. The first set was the Uber famous one with Vin and Kelsier. Second set is a wild west meets steam punk meets Victorian time setting. Come of the 20th century but with allomancy. Cool as hell setting to me. The tone is more cop and robber sort of deal though and the books are definitely much lighter than the first three. Takes place several hundred years after first trilogy.

The third set is planned for a modern urban setting but with allomancy. The last, space age setting, also with allomancy.

Unknown number of short stories all around it.

Chipotlemonger said:

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There's a 2nd Mistborn trilogy?

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Wax and Wayne are some of the best cosmere characters he's ever written.

I'm such a completionist. Do I have to read the entire Cosmere before even starting Rhythm of War?!

Have to? No, but they were written before ROW, so there are little things you will be able to pick up on in those books. There are a few characters that cross over, and it explains things in the cosmere more.

They are all pretty easy reads. I think ROW was like 47 hours listen on Audible, all the Wax and Wayne books were 12-15 hours.

I liked ROW, but it's 3rd or 4th on my list in ranking stormlight. I liked all of W&W's books more, and liked it more than the last two Mistborn books.

Eliminatus said:

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Chipotlemonger said:

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There's a 2nd Mistborn trilogy?

---

Actually a tetralogy. Fourth book is currently being written.

Sanderson has four sets of official timeline books planned for his mistborn part of the Cosmere. The first set was the Uber famous one with Vin and Kelsier. Second set is a wild west meets steam punk meets Victorian time setting. Come of the 20th century but with allomancy. Cool as hell setting to me. The tone is more cop and robber sort of deal though and the books are definitely much lighter than the first three. Takes place several hundred years after first trilogy.

The third set is planned for a modern urban setting but with allomancy. The last, space age setting, also with allomancy.

Unknown number of short stories all around it.

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And Sanderson is primarily focused on finishing book 4 right now (believe he wants it written by midyear). So if you want to have the physical book set, I believe this set of books will be released at the end of next year.

loved Wax/Wayne series,
but I have a crush on Vin

"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
"Bound No More" : Faith Hunter : B
"Malazan: Deadhouse Gates" : Steven Erikson: B-
Still struggling to figure out who is who and they just keep piling on new characters and killing off established characters that I like. I might give it one more chance on the next book in the series but DANG!
"Off the Grid--Jane Yellowrock" (Audible) : Faith Hunter: C
"Bound No More--Jane Yellowrock" (Audible) : Faith Hunter: C

Finished up Rhythm of War.

Not entirely sure how I felt about it. It was good for sure and needed to advance many of the arcs but not sure if I would call it "great". It did kind of slog at a few points. As with many of the epics out there, there tends to be one or more arcs that I just don't care about or even hate. The Singer/Parshendi POV story arc is just bleh to me for some reason. I know it's vital but caught myself skimming a lot of it.

So, what's next on the reading list?

Northline by Willy Vlautin - short read and a more positive ending than most of Vlautin's books. I liked it, but I tend to like almost anything by Willy Vlautin.

Living in the Woods in a Tree: Remembering Blaze Foley by Sybil Rosen - if you've seen the movie Blaze, this was the source material for the movie. It was really well written and if you're interested in Texas musicians I would recommend it. It isn't a biography of Foley, but more a memoir of the author as she reflects on their relationship and explores his life after their separation. I really enjoyed it.

Currently reading: Billion Dollar Whale

If the Chain of Dogs didn't hook you, then I'm not sure you'll enjoy the rest of the series.

I enjoyed that part right up until they killed every Wickan and everyone else except for the refugees, then turned around and killed every soldier in the city plus the historian. Just when I enjoy a character they kill them off. Not to mention I still cannot tell who to root for. Worse than Game of Thrones in these terms.

PDWT_12 said:

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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.

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Finished
Hell's Angels
Storm Front
Full Moon
The Sinful Seven
The Ask and the Answer
In the Garden of Beasts
Creativity, Inc- Good read, a lot about managing people in a creative environment that doesn't really apply to me.
The Bullet Journal Method by Ryder Carroll- Been using some tools from this method for a long time now, but just now read the book. Gave me an appreciation for some of the concepts and ideas he uses to organize things and stay on top of your stuff without getting bogged down.
Perelandra by C.S. Lewis- Very good creation/fall story, I really liked out of The Silent Planet and liked this one just as much even if it maybe seems to get a little crazy towards the end.

Currently Reading

Dead Wake is on hold until I can get back to the Library and renew my membership.

Cruise of the Snark by Jack London- London documents his attempt with his wife and friend to travel the globe in their own sail boat. Only about 10% of the way through and it's pretty entertaining as he writes about the delays they've dealt with in construction, how little they actually know about sailing and navigation, and how poorly constructed some parts of their expensive boat were.

The Reality Dysfunction by Peter F. Hamilton- I saw him recommended a lot in last years thread for Science Fiction and I really like it so far. It's very possible I'm far too stupid for his writing but that has never stopped me before.

Didn't do as much reading at the end of April and beginning of May as I need to, so going to try to pick up the pace.

kaleb_allison said:

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If the Chain of Dogs didn't hook you, then I'm not sure you'll enjoy the rest of the series.

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Agreed. Chain of Dogs is an amazing book.

read angelas ashes and followed that up with its. taking a break from frank mccourt to read the premonition by Michael lewis.

also am currently reading underground railroad

Empire of the Summer Moon - About the last Indian nation (Comanches)
The Moth and the Mountain - A dude tried to be the first to climb Mt. Everest. Really interesting story
Billion Dollar Whale - Dude steals billions of dollars, and isnt caught
Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant
The Logic of God - A weekly study of God
Free Fire - investigation of a Murder in Yellowstone Park (it's decent, quick read)
News of the World - Great story about a man trying to return a former child Indian captive to her family
In the Garden of Beasts - Fantastic account of the US Ambassador to Germany, and his family, in the 30s
Sword of San Jacinto: A life of Sam Houston
What Christians Believe - breaks down tenents of Christianity. Pretty dry/factual, but a good reference.
Killers of the Flower Moon - Murders of an Indian tribe and the origins of the FBI. Really well written, and a good read.
Live not by Lies - Talks about dissent in todays climate, from a biblical perspective
Edison (by Edmund Morris) - a good biography, but it's a long read, and a bit tedious. The timeline is a bit confusing, because he jumps around a bit.
The Terminal List - James Reece, a Navy Seal learns the truth about a situation, and is seeking revenge.

Reading True Believer...the next book in the Jack Carr series about James Reece

Currently reading Empire of the Summer Moon. About 1/3 through. Has been on my list for years now after my dad gave me his copy.

StringerBell said:

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read angelas ashes and followed that up with its. taking a break from frank mccourt to read the premonition by Michael lewis.

also am currently reading underground railroad

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Did you read The Fifth Risk?

I'm a huge Lewis fan, but haven't read any of his takes on the Trump Presidency.

i havent. he references that in the beginning of this book.

ill go add it to my list!

What did you like about it if you don't mind me asking?

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)

Theft of Swords (The Riyria Revelations, #1-2) by Michael J Sullivan
Did these on Audible. There are 6 books in this series and I have the two book bundles so reading two at a time. This a pretty fun fantasy series. Fairly light and basic reading that primarily follows two main characters - a thief and a thief/warrior with the fairly typical larger play at hand of which they are key characters and don't really realize it. It's not going to blow you away with any kind of epic stuff here, but the characters are written pretty well and it's entertaining.

I'll finish this out to see where they end up but switching back to Peter F. Hamilton's Salvation series to finish up that trilogy and I'm about halfway through Swan Song.

13B said:

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What did you like about it if you don't mind me asking?

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It's been several years now since I read it so details from me will be vague. I read straight through this entire series over a two year period about a decade ago without reading anything else. It's definitely complex and hard to keep up with at times because of the sheer scope of it. I think this book was one of my favorite of the series because just because of the setting of it.

This is probably a terrible analogy all these years later not remembering details, but the image that comes to my mind when I think of this book is Colonel Munroe leading his remaining soldiers and people through the valley after being defeated by the French in Last of the Mohicans. The natives ambush them from the woods and all hell breaks loose. Chain of Dogs is like a full length novel of that scene in my head...whether or not that is really accurate. That's just what comes to mind.

When I think of this overall series this is the book that always immediately comes to my mind out of 10-12 books or however many there are. Reading this series is one of my favorite series reads of all time. I may go read it again someday but I'm not one to revisit books very often at all.

Beowulf, Seamus Heaney translation A+
I really felt like Heaney tried to create a translation that was accessible and closer to an Anglo-Saxon oral tradition than the literary tradition.

How To Be Less Stupid About Race: On Racism, White Supremacy, and the Racial Divide, Crystal Marie Fleming B+
I enjoyed it and it provided thinking points I hadn't really thought about.

Us Against You, Fredrik Backman A+ (2nd book about Beartown and hockey)
By far one of Backman's best novels. I love his style of story-telling and his ability to create flawed yet loveable characters is one of the best out there.

The Missing American, Kwei Quartey B+
An American goes to Ghana to investigate fraud. The mystery was multi-faceted, but some elements of the story didn't feel as fleshed out as they could have been. This is the first in a series about the lead investigator in the story. I liked her and would read another novel with her character.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams A+
This was a re-read. I love this book. It's funny, silly, and just makes me happy. Every time one of our flower pots gets knocked over by the wind I think "Oh no, not again".

the beartown books are so good

Would love a show built around the books, but I don't think it could be done as well as the books are written

hbo had one but it was in Swedish

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9677638/

I'm good with subtitles

The Silent Patient, Alex Michaelides, B.

I found it to be an easy read, interesting, and I enjoyed the ending.

Lewis has written some great stuff but his last few are not as good. Overly political and redundant to me.

Boomhauer89 said:

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I just finished "The Devil's Hand" by Jack Carr. It's the latest in The Terminal list series. I would highly recommend for anyone that likes revenge/thriller stories.

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Finished Terminal List. Now on True Believer. Both great !

Former Seal taking on his and the U. S. adversaries .

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

Admittedly don't read a lot but when I do i usually will read about four hours a day until finished.

If you enjoyed the Martian this one will be a big hit.

Finished Billion Dollar Whale, which was absolutely crazy. Makes you question a lot of things about the world's most rich and powerful.
Also finished: Ohio by Stephen Markley. I was excited about this one, but was ultimately let down. The book could be much shorter and the grand finale/big reveal just fell a little flat for me.

Next: The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

I just started the audiobook and am intrigued for sure, not really sure where the plot is going to go but I'm ready for the ride!

Dark Matter by Blake Crouch B+

A thriller about the multiverse and the choices we make.

It was a solid book, I feel like there were miss opportunities.

Dune
Dune Messiah
Children of Dune
God Emperor of Dune in-progress

2021 keeps getting busier for me. I went long stretches without reading but picked Children of Dune back up recently. Probably read the last half in about two weeks with a good chunk coming in the last two days. That last hundred pages or so was intense. It was definitely better than Dune Messiah pretty much from the very beginning. Really interested to start this next one due to the time jump.