I’ll start first: (bear in mind I usually listen to audiobooks)
- Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir |A guy finds himself stranded in space aboard an international space vessel where he has to remember who he is.
- The 57 Bus by Dashka Slater |A true story about how hanging with the wrong crowd can have life-altering consequences
- The Animorphs series by KJ Applegate |Young adult series in which a group of kids find an alien, get the powers to morph shape into animals, as well as uncover an alien takeover conspiracy (Plus, detailed depictions of how grotesque those transformations are!)
- Saga by Brian K. Vaughn & Fiona Staples (Comic, ongoing) |Following the story of Hazel, a baby born from an ex-soldier and an enemy combatant, Saga shows how gowing up and raising a kid in a wartorn universe can have highs and lows.
Edit: added pipes for better separation
‘The first Fifteen Lives of Harry August’ was pretty good.
Besides that, ‘The Waiting’ by Michael Connelly, but he’s my favorite author, so I’ll recommend almost each of his books.
Just finished World War Z again. It hits so much different post-pandemic.
For those that see “zombie book” or worse, just saw the movie, the book is written as an ‘after the infestation’ chronicle interviewing people from across the world and society, exploring the beginning moments, the panics, long term survival, and the cleanup. I view it as a modern “War of the Worlds” in that book shows what society react view from the “all-threat”, which at that era was worried about a larger more powerful enemy coming in vs in 2006 the societal fear of an “all-threat” was infestation whether societal to plague and the reactions of the people in it.
The author took inspiration from a WW2 book using actual accounts before, during, and after the war.
It (WWZ) really is fantastic. And the audiobook version with an all star cast is as well.
I finally started Infinite Jest, and it’s SLOOOOW going for me. I have three bookmarks.
I have been reading Don Quijote de la Mancha in its native Spanish because I’m able to.
I’m Starting To Worry About This Black Box of Doom by Jason Pargin. It’s an excellent thriller, with a great exploration of how Internet rumors can spill over into the real world
The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin
Ayyy, I was given this as a gift about a year ago:))
Cool book I’d say. Also, nice to see an approach to an anarchist society, even if it’s fictional.
She is a master of language. I love her style.
Project Hail Mary was much more of an emotional ride than I was expecting.
It was such a a fantastic read. I don’t like Sci-fi at all, but somehow Andy Weir makes it all so believable.
🎶 Jazzhands 🎶
The Impending Blindness of Billie Scott by Zoe Thorogood.
I’ll just steal the description from Amazon "Billie Scott is an artist.
Her debut gallery exhibition opens in a few months.
Within a fortnight she’ll be completely blind.
Zoe Thorogood’s first graphic novel is a story about what it’s like to get something you want, have it immediately taken away from you and then how you put it all back together again. Set in a world of people down on their luck from Middlesbrough to London, it’s a graphic novel that speaks of post-austerity Britain and the problems facing those left behind."
The art is great, the characters feel real, and the issues with it are minor. I read it for a book club and loved reading this and discussing it
Mistborn: The Final Empire, by Brandon Sanderson. An epic fantasy.
I loved it and just started the second book.
Oh you are in for a treat. I love that trilogy. Such good books.
Thanks for the encouragement!
The Odyssey by Homer, translated by Robert Fagles. My first time reading an ancient classic, and it’s much less scary than I thought. In fact I’m quite enjoying it, and might read The Iliad (Homer’s other epic poem) next. The humanness of the characters (well, the human ones!) is very relatable, even though it’s 2700 years old. I don’t know why I expected it to be crusty and boring. Maybe I assumed it’d be like the Bible.
The intro explains a lot of stuff about the original Greek poem and how it was written in dactylic hexameterwhich bards back then used to be able to improvise in, which is amazing to me. Reminds me of 8 Mile or something. 😅
If you read a modern bible translation from the perspective of christian mythology just as we treat Greek mythology a lot of the stories are actually fantastic reads
interesting… it’s been a while since I’ve tried (as a kid in the 80s probably). Can you recommend a translation (and book/story)?
A lot of the Old Testament this. Any translation that uses more readable language is nice. The King James version etc get too much credit for sounding religiousy.
Genesis through Deuteronomy or so are what a lot of Protestant churches at least focus on. The New Testament is Jesus’ life and then a bunch of letters to various early churches about how the Religion should work.
A lot of “the rest” are the kind of fables they’re talking about. Ruth, Esther, Job, Samuel, etc. The ones named after people/mythological figures, depending on your point of view/beliefs.
Watership Down. Way better than I thought 🙂.
I’ll take “Books that made me sob like a baby” for $500, Alex.
I’m currently listening to For We Are Many, the 2nd book in the Bobiverse series by Dennis E Taylor. I’d previously read them all, but the newest is currently only an audible exclusive, so I downloaded a copy and listened to it and loved it and am now listening to the rest of the series. Basic plot: a modern guy gets a service to freeze his brain upon death. He then does and is awoken and turned into a self replicating space probe and Earth goes into nuclear war and the probe tries to help where it can and explores. It’s a really good and fun read.
I’m also re-working my way through the Anne Rice Vampire series. Haven’t read them in a couple decades and wanted to get re-acquainted. currently on book 4. it’s crazy what you retain and what gets dropped after many years.
I’ve found some of the random $1 for a 9 e-book set books that Amazon offers haven’t been bad.
You mentioned Animorphs and thats one that I’ve got to give a re-read at some point. I get partway through another read through every couple of years. I’d love it if Katherine Applegate could re-work the series as an adult series. It’s so good.
Starter Villain by John Scalzi was also a great read earlier this year. Absolutely love Scalzi. Basic Plot: Poor guy inherits his Uncles evil villain organization and tries to navigate his way through the shenanigans that ensue.
Oh hey,glad you posted. I was wondering whether I wanted to get the newest book in Bobiverse because the original trilogy felt a good “end” to the story, the fourth I was “eh” on, not terrible but not amazing imo.
Also been eying Starter Villain.
Audiobooks are how I survive at work.
Currently listening to the new book and it’s really good. Highly recommended. Less “stuck” in one place
haha, I love that I could help!
I’m typically listening to podcasts all day, myself to keep my sanity. I might add audiobooks to the rotation now though.
For the Bobiverse, I didn’t know it was originally a trilogy and book 4 was already out when I started, so I went in with a completely different lens. Overall I liked the 4th. For me though, once I get invested in a series, I’m generally happy to keep getting more unless it goes off the rails (Anita Blake Vampire Hunter being an example of one I really liked that went sideways). Overall though, I liked book 4 myself, it felt like a decent continuation of the story and felt like a bridge that was needed to continue the universe into the future.
Starter Villain wasn’t my favorite Scalzi, but I definitely liked it and it felt like a fresh concept and like most Scalzi, it’s enjoyable from start to finish. IIRC I read it in no more than 2 settings.
If you haven’t Read Kaiju Preservation Society, I would wholeheartedly recommend it. It’s not amazing literature, but, god damn was it a fun ride! It felt a bit like Redshirts, if you liked that one.
Look up Theft of Fire by Devon Ericson.
“The Terror” by Dan Simmons. I already watched the show and enjoyed it, so I picked up the book and am only a few chapters in, but I’m liking it a good bit. There seems to be a good bit of historical facts thrown in, which I personally enjoy.
For those unfamiliar, it is based on the real life Franklin Expedition that disappeared while searching for a way to traverse the Northwest Passage in the Canadian arctic. The story follows the known facts regarding the fates of the expedition crew members, but it tells a paranormal horror story to fill in the blanks.
Algorithms To Live By, applying computer science and mathematic principles to real life. Helping make better decisions that are provably more efficient. Really interesting and anyone who has any interest in computing can get a lot from the book.
Just finished The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. Her imagery is beautiful and you can feel her talent. It’s a an autobiographical roman à clef of her struggling with bipolar disorder/depression. And the only book she wore before taking her life when the love of her life left her for another woman.
