2024 Books Read

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YouBet
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AG
The Count of Monte Cristo has been described as the greatest revenge porn story of all time. That's all it took for me to purchase.
lurker76
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As I've mentioned before on other year reading threads, if you have an Amazon prime account,you can get copies of classic books anywhere from free to just a couple of dollars.

Another reason to read TCOMC, it's mentioned in The Shawshank Redemption.


Lola68
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Just finished 2 of John Scaldi's books, and loved them both. "Starter Villain" was a quick fun read, and "Redshirts" was great (Star Trek super-fan). All you Dickens fans, take a look at "Drood" by Dan Simmons. It's an interesting take on Dickens and his last novel. I pretty much love anything Simmons writes.
Tabasco
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AG
what's the process? Not being lazy, it's just amazon website and kindle store is clunky as hell and not very user friendly.
lurker76
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No worries. I almost never use the Amazon app to buy anything; as you said it is clunky and cumbersome. It's too damn easy to buy stuff on a browser, though.

I use a browser like Chrome or Safari, whatever your choice is, and type in the name of the book followed by "kindle book", e.g. Robinson Crusoe kindle book, and it will give you a list of books with prices. For this example, there are four free, some with Kindle points some without, and one free with Kindle Unlimited. The same for R. L. Stevenson, A. C. Doyle, Shakespeare, Mark Twain, etc. Just today I picked up a book titled "100 Eternal Masterpieces of Literature, Vol. 1" for free due to the points I used. It was less than a dollar, if I recall, without points. This is a feature of Kindle that is fantastic. Everyone with an Amazon Prime account that loves to read should take advantage of.

YouBet
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AG
Lola68 said:

Just finished 2 of John Scaldi's books, and loved them both. "Starter Villain" was a quick fun read, and "Redshirts" was great (Star Trek super-fan). All you Dickens fans, take a look at "Drood" by Dan Simmons. It's an interesting take on Dickens and his last novel. I pretty much love anything Simmons writes.
Big fan of Simmons although his output has clearly tailed off.
Lola68
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Sadly, I agree.
YouBet
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AG
DallasTeleAg said:

Proven Guilty is a personal favorite of mine. There are things that come to fruition in that book that are definitive parts of the entire series in my mind. So much so that going back to earlier books feels, in a way, empty for lacking those elements.

I could honestly talk Dresden Files all freaking day. The Dresden Files is a top 3 topic for which I nerd out to the extreme.


Finished Proven Gulity last night. Best one yet.

So many plot lines and foreshadowing yet it doesn't get too convoluted (at least yet). I do have to jog my memory when he mentions something that happened several books ago that hasn't been brought up in a while. For those curious, these books build on one another and his character is continually evolving as it's a linear timeline so these aren't really standalone stories.

I may end up just reading Dresden Files all year!
Lathspell
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AG
Reading through is not a bad thing. I also highly recommend the audio books. James Marsters narrates them all, and his voice has become Dresden's voice for me. He's a little rough in the first couple books, while he's getting his feet under him, but then proceeds to knock it out of the park. He is so loved by the fans that, because someone else had to read Ghost Story due to Marsters not being available, the fans got very vocal about him not reading it. It got to be so much, that they went back and had Marsters reread that book.

The best part about the series is the character work. Unfortunately, it's so great, vast, and in depth, that it takes 7 books to finally get introduced to most of his allies. As you may be able to guess after the events of Proven Guilty, this new wrinkle will be adding a lot of even greater character interactions and exploration.
YouBet
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AG
DallasTeleAg said:

Reading through is not a bad thing. I also highly recommend the audio books. James Marsters narrates them all, and his voice has become Dresden's voice for me. He's a little rough in the first couple books, while he's getting his feet under him, but then proceeds to knock it out of the park. He is so loved by the fans that, because someone else had to read Ghost Story due to Marsters not being available, the fans got very vocal about him not reading it. It got to be so much, that they went back and had Marsters reread that book.

The best part about the series is the character work. Unfortunately, it's so great, vast, and in depth, that it takes 7 books to finally get introduced to most of his allies. As you may be able to guess after the events of Proven Guilty, this new wrinkle will be adding a lot of even greater character interactions and exploration.


Maybe I'll do that but I'll really only ever do audiobooks for the car when I'm driving. And I only drive about 10 min per week at this rate.
kapon
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Marsters make the books better in my opinion.
His inflection and tonality make me laugh more at Dresden's sarcastic wit than if I was reading it.

Read the first 5 or so before finding the audiobooks on the hoopla app.
GIG 'EM!
Lathspell
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AG
Definitely does add so much in the emotional moments. His reading of Changes... damn.
YouBet
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AG
I just bought White Night Book 9 and added the audible because it was on sale. Will give it a whirl.
Definitely Not A Cop
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AG
Speaking of Dresden, it looks like the latest book is officially at 50% per Butcher's website. Per Reddit, he's been struggling with personal issues and helping his son's career takeoff, and that has delayed his writing schedule the past few years.
MaroonStain
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AG
Edit: going back to Jack Aubrey and book 6, Fortune of War

I need series to read. Started Shogun but FX series started too fast or I was late starter. I am pretty deep into Sherlock Holmes collection but don't want to get burnt out.

Has anyone read 'Henchmen Chronicles' (dont recall exact title)?

I've read all of Dresden, Wheel of Time, LOTR, Game of Thrones and Dune books 1 & 2. Looking for swords, magic, etc. and other than Sanderson.
lurker76
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Have you read the Red Rising series? It isn't a Space Western, but there is firepower as well as edged weapons for close combat. Lots of intrigue, politics and scheming as well as brotherhood and betrayal.

I don't know how you feel about Sci-Fi, but there are several great series out there.
  • Expeditionary Force
  • The Expanse
  • The collapsing Empire
  • The Murderbot Diaries (mostly novelettes, but excellent)
  • The Ancillary Justice series by Ann Leckie
Agristotle
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AG
What a coincidence, I too am deep into the Sherlock oeuvre! What an immortal character.
Dr. Mephisto
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Agristotle said:

What a coincidence, I too am deep into the Sherlock oeuvre! What an immortal character.
Holmes never gets old! So great!

Timeless is right! Immortal! Never loses his appeal!

I wish there were more movies doing him justice.
210
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AG
Current: - The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder - One chapter in and I think I'm going to like this one.

Just Finished: - The Expatriates - Definitely was not the target demographic for this book but ended up really enjoying it. Story about identity, tragedy, and family. Believe the show just came out on Amazon.

Previous 2024:
1. Beneath a Scarlet Sky
2. Sea of Trainquility
3. Chain-Gang All-Stars
4. Conversations With Friends
Dr. Mephisto
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I finally finished The Dark Tower series.

The last book took me forever.

Some books in the series were A's.

Others were B's.

No C's.

Good series on the whole. Would recommend if you can deal with an up and down narrative in terms of engagement.

But not in my Stephen King top 5.

In the middle of The Open Curtain, by Brian Evenson.

Girding my loins for . . . The Count of Monte Cristo.
Wolfpac 08
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Started The Dark Tower in 2015. Picked it up and put it down a few times over the course of a few years before finally finishing in 2019. The last book took me the longest as well. Probably started and stopped and started again 3 times before I finally finished it.

Solid series, glad I read it. It seems to be the center of the SK universe, so it makes reading his other works a little more fun.
Wolfpac 08
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AG
Has anyone read "A Remembrance of Earth's Past" series?

The Three Body Problem thread got me curious, and researching the books, they seem interesting…but curious if anyone here has tried them.
G.I.Bro
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Finished "Gardens of the Moon". Took me awhile to get hooked since it just drops you in the middle of things, but I'm looking forward to the series
G.I.Bro
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Dr. Mephisto said:

I finally finished The Dark Tower series.

The last book took me forever.

Some books in the series were A's.

Others were B's.

No C's.

Good series on the whole. Would recommend if you can deal with an up and down narrative in terms of engagement.

But not in my Stephen King top 5.

In the middle of The Open Curtain, by Brian Evenson.

Girding my loins for . . . The Count of Monte Cristo.


TDK used to be my favorite series until I branched out a bit more. Think I've read through it thrice, the first 4 books more. I doubt I'll ever return, but Wizard and Glass is up there in my favorite books all time
Eliminatus
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AG
G.I.Bro said:

Finished "Gardens of the Moon". Took me awhile to get hooked since it just drops you in the middle of things, but I'm looking forward to the series
I am so stuck in this series. Bout halfway through book 2 and bogged down. That was about 4 months ago. At this point I would have to restart B2 and that fact just about kills any motivation I have to actually sit down and do it. Even though I desperately WANT to read and love these books.

Wanna be accountability partners????
rynning
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AG
G.I.Bro said:

Dr. Mephisto said:

I finally finished The Dark Tower series.

The last book took me forever.

Some books in the series were A's.

Others were B's.

No C's.

Good series on the whole. Would recommend if you can deal with an up and down narrative in terms of engagement.

But not in my Stephen King top 5.

In the middle of The Open Curtain, by Brian Evenson.

Girding my loins for . . . The Count of Monte Cristo.


TDK used to be my favorite series until I branched out a bit more. Think I've read through it thrice, the first 4 books more. I doubt I'll ever return, but Wizard and Glass is up there in my favorite books all time
I've read it twice, and I rarely read anything twice. My favorite was "Drawing of the Three" the first time, but "Wolves of the Calla" the second. Loved "Wizard and Glass" as well. I bought several of them as hardback first editions which are actually worth something. I have a feeling they'll be more valuable in the no-too-distant future…
Antoninus
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I am re-reading la Carre right now.

I had forgotten how much I hate the way he writes the dialogue for the character Craw
Roll the Bones
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AG
rynning said:


I've read it twice, and I rarely read anything twice. My favorite was "Drawing of the Three" the first time, but "Wolves of the Calla" the second. Loved "Wizard and Glass" as well. I bought several of them as hardback first editions which are actually worth something. I have a feeling they'll be more valuable in the no-too-distant future…


I was a huge SK nerd growing up and was obsessed with finding info on the Dark Tower back when it was still in limited publication. This was just after the Drawing of the Three was first released in limited hardback and I have a postcard from SK that he sent me in response to a letter I wrote to him about trying to find a copy of the Gunslinger. The postcard mentions the plans for the trade paperback release.



I had found several of the issues of Fantasy & Science Fiction magazine that had the Gunslinger serial in it and remember when the Drawing of the Three came out in hard back from Grant publisher, there was one copy in a Waldenbooks store in downtown Fort Worth for $90 and my parents surprised me with it for Christmas. That was also around the time IT came out in hard back and they gave me that one as well. I still remember that as one of my favorite holidays ever.

the Drawing of the Three is still one of my favorite SK books with a lot of sentimental value.


G.I.Bro
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Eliminatus said:

G.I.Bro said:

Finished "Gardens of the Moon". Took me awhile to get hooked since it just drops you in the middle of things, but I'm looking forward to the series
I am so stuck in this series. Bout halfway through book 2 and bogged down. That was about 4 months ago. At this point I would have to restart B2 and that fact just about kills any motivation I have to actually sit down and do it. Even though I desperately WANT to read and love these books.

Wanna be accountability partners????


I'm starting book 2 now
Wolfpac 08
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AG
That's awesome!!
lurker76
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Very cool. My oldest daughter gave me a boxed set of the first four books in paperback one year for Christmas. The Drawing Of The Three was my favorite book also. Though I enjoyed the whole story line, I doubt I'll ever re-read the series, as there is so much else to read. Also, while I appreciate that King was going through some real issues during the years of writing the books, I didn't care for (sorry for the spoiler fail). I did enjoy how The Three were resolved at the end.

I still refer to tuna fish as tooter fish.
cmk10
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AG
Well i read the Count of Monte Cristo - (really good)
And then i watched the movie version and it just a total letdown… it's just too much info to do a movie w and they changed the story big time. Needs to only be a series to get it right.
The Marksman
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AG
cmk10 said:

Well i read the Count of Monte Cristo - (really good)
And then i watched the movie version and it just a total letdown… it's just too much info to do a movie w and they changed the story big time. Needs to only be a series to get it right.
I agree they changed the story a lot, but I still thought the movie was fantastic
AGC
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AG
Finished Once and Future King which I thought ended with a dud - why can't everyone just allow free movement of labor and goods while keeping their culture? Really? I'll be selling that one but am considering seeking out Sword in the Stone on its own.

Am now on The Name of the Rose and The Bestiary of Christ.

Debating Tolkien's Beowulf as my oldest asked to read it with her (I'd be interpreting and interpretation for someone in elementary school).
Agristotle
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AG
Please report back on The Name of the Rose.
 
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