Cornwell's Arther trilogy is the best things he's ever done, IMO. It's awesome.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Never read this classic before, but I'm very glad I finally did. Great plot, character development, and prose.

Candlelight by D.L. Tolin (C) - A generally entertaining and fast paced folk fantasy/modern horror novel that incorporates Celtic (Irish) folklore and is primarily set in mid 80s Beaumont, TX (this setting does not really impact the story, could be set in any mid-sized American city although this along with 4+ star ratings lead me into trying the book). IMO, not a bad read at all but nothing all the special either. First book of a series and ends without much being resolved. I'll likely not continue with this when subsequent books are released. On the other hand, it could be easily adapted into a campy fun horror/fantasy movie, especially if it keeps the '80s setting.

The Canterville Ghost by Oscar Wilde (B) - A short comedy/horror novella (only 60 or so pages) in which in which an American family moves into a haunted English mansion, Canterville Chase, much to the annoyance of its ghost in residence, Sir Simon, who has haunted the home for over 300 years. Unlike the British, the new American tenants are simply to practical to be terrified by the apparition and simply ignore or mocks him. The youngest, twin boys amuse themselves by playing practical jokes and set traps for him. Eventually the teenage daughter takes pity upon him and listens to his tragic story.

Next up: The Last American Vampire by by Seth Grahame-Smith. It has been sitting on my TBR stack since I came across it at a dollar store. It is apparently the continuation of the alternate history set up by Grahame-Smith in his novel Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter which I enjoyed a great deal.

Audiobooks
The Turn of the Screw by Henry James (B) - A phycological gothic horror novella about a young governess hired to care for two orphaned children at a remote English estate in which she convinces herself are being haunted and possibly influenced (processed) by the previous governess and a valet who had died the previous year under odd circumstance.

Currently about halfway through listening to Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray.

October
37) The October Country by Ray Bradbury (A-)
38) Candlelight by D.L. Tolin (C)
39) The Canterville Ghost by Oscar Wilde (B-)

Audiobooks
19) The Turn of the Screw by Henry James (B)

For the Halloween season started Brother by Ania Ahlborn. Oh boy what have gotten myself into???

StinkyPinky said:

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For the Halloween season started Brother by Ania Ahlborn. Oh boy what have gotten myself into???

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Sounds like you got yourself into some stink.

YouBet said:

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StinkyPinky said:

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For the Halloween season started Brother by Ania Ahlborn. Oh boy what have gotten myself into???

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Sounds like you got yourself into some stink.

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Yes I have

s.m.ag2019 said:

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I just finished reading Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver. Can't recommend enough.

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Reading it now. Great book.

Next up - Piranesi and Farwell to Arms.

I should be able to finish Napoleon by Andrew Robert's (audio) in the next few weeks.

Finished Blood Oath. Again in the Crouch type vein.

Started listening to DCC on audible. Think I heard here that the audio is good. So far it is great. I think I got 3 or 4 in before bailing before. But the hype, makes me want to give it another go.

FriendlyAg said:

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Next up - Piranesi and Farwell to Arms.

I should be able to finish Napoleon by Andrew Robert's (audio) in the next few weeks.

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I really like Piranesi. Underrated IMO

FancyKetchup14 said:

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Recently finished A Gentleman in Moscow, and it took me a bit to get into, but I really enjoyed how it wrapped up. Also, a short little novel called The Stranger by Camus. Short and quick, but I enjoyed it.

Currently reading Hollow Kingdom , and I have laughed out loud multiple times. It's genuinely hilarious in an absurd way.

Made a deal with the fiance...she reads Lonesome Dove, and I have to read the first two ACOTAR books.

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Yikes...

I tried ACOTAR because a friend recommended it. They are... smut. Fantasy smut. Good luck.

SpreadsheetAg said:

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FancyKetchup14 said:

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Recently finished A Gentleman in Moscow, and it took me a bit to get into, but I really enjoyed how it wrapped up. Also, a short little novel called The Stranger by Camus. Short and quick, but I enjoyed it.

Currently reading Hollow Kingdom , and I have laughed out loud multiple times. It's genuinely hilarious in an absurd way.

Made a deal with the fiance...she reads Lonesome Dove, and I have to read the first two ACOTAR books.

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Yikes...

I tried ACOTAR because a friend recommended it. They are... smut. Fantasy smut. Good luck.

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to be fair, the genre is literally called Romantasy

Legacies of Betrayal by Steven Erikson

Book 3 of Tales of the Witness, but more like book 2.5.

This was originally supposed to be included in book 2 but was split, I think I would've preferred it included, it reads like a long novella in its current format.

Here are some recommendations for Scalzi, if you liked Starter Villain.
The Old Man's War series
The Dispatcher books
Head On and Lock In
Redshirts - A satirical look at the Star Trek universe.
The Collapsing Empire books. This has had some mixed reactions on these threads over the years, but I really enjoyed them.

Those should provide some decent reading material for you.

Random bump but just finished East of Eden. Started before the series came out and finished a couple of days after.

Genuinely one of the best books I've ever read. I like it much more than Grapes of Wrath or Of Mice and Men. I sat and contemplated the ending for about 20 minutes.


Series was good and very faithful but it focused too much on Cathy and not enough on Sam Hamilton much to its' detriment.

Yeah can't say I'm all that pumped about it.

FancyKetchup14 said:

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Yeah can't say I'm all that pumped about it.

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I read ACOTAR (and the other series in the same universe) within the last 2 years. They aren't groundbreaking, and I'm not into the smut parts, but I liked them overall. They didn't actually have as much of the romantasy stuff as I thought they would.

For ACOTAR, the first 2/3 or so of book 1 was pretty boring, but the last part was good. I then enjoyed the rest in the series a lot more.

Her Throne of Glass series is probably the closest to traditional fantasy, so I enjoyed it the most (also have to get into the series a bit to grab you).

Eliminatus said:

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Finished The Devils by Joe Abercrombie.

I can see the mixed reception it had as it is quite a departure from his usual stuff. I enjoyed it quite a bit and looking forward to the next installment.

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Supposedly James Cameron loved the book and bought the movie rights. Hopefully he doesn't ignore the character development to focus on the special effects.

FL_Ag1998 said:

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Eliminatus said:

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Finished The Devils by Joe Abercrombie.

I can see the mixed reception it had as it is quite a departure from his usual stuff. I enjoyed it quite a bit and looking forward to the next installment.

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Supposedly James Cameron loved the book and bought the movie rights. Hopefully he doesn't ignore the character development to focus on the special effects.

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Ooo. Same. Abercrombie shines in his characters and this one is definitely no different. I'm ashamed to say I've had it since release day and just got around to reading it. Preordered the hard cover and everything, just on the strength of the release synopsis. Definitely heard the initial mixed reviews (not the details though of course) and I think that influenced me subconsciously putting it off for so long. That's my fault.

Just looked it up. Thought the next one, The Heretics, was early Q1 next year. Nah. It's May. Ugh.