What book are you in the middle of reading right now?

Linux Kernel development, Operating Systems Principals & Practice, Computer Systems A Programmer's Perspective, and Forward the Foundation

An interesting time to be reading Forward.... Was that because of the TV series? Are you reading them in sequence?
- I read all of the main sequence of Dune through to the Brian Herbert ending books. Quinns Ideas got me motivated enough to start reading those a few years ago. That got me to start Foundation next. I saw the various Asimov books referenced by the publishers and read most of the series. I still have Foundation's Edge, and one other I'm not able to recall ATM, to fill in my entire collection from Robots through Foundation.

Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson! Great series so far

Brandon Sanderson is always a good recommendation
- I'm reading Hero of Ages right now, Mistborn being my first Sanderson series. I've already purchased all of Stormlight and can't wait to start!
Brandon Sanderson is definitely one of the greats of this era of fantasy writers.
I’m finishing it too. Great writer and great saga
Me too! Although the audiobook version. Hoping to finish this one before the audiobook version of Red Rising #7 comes out!
People are divided on Oathbringer, but I genuinely think it’s my favorite book.
I’m currently reading Secret Project 3, it’s good so far but I’m only a few pages in.
Has anybody read The Frugal Wizard's Handbook yet? I just finished it, great concept I just wish it was longer.

Hyperion by Dan Simmons

Some people will say the rest of the series isn't worth reading, but I enjoyed them all.
- Just finished the Fall of Hyperion and it's pretty good still. It can definitely be hard to follow along sometimes though.
Great book. I remember where I was and what I was doing when I read sections of that book for the first time. It really leaves a mark on you and no im not being clever
My favorite book of all time. Hope you're having fun with it!
- I'm really enjoying it.
Great series. My personal favorite from Simmons is the Ilium/Olympos duology, although Olympos was a bit of a letdown at the end. Simmons is brilliant but he does have a way of setting a lot of things up and occasionally failing to deliver a satisfying climax. Hyperion and Endymion, read as two complete works, do a better job of concluding things.
I distinctly remember reading Ilium when I was like 12 and just being absolutely dumbfounded by the erotic scenes with Helen of Troy. I had never encountered adult content like that in a book and it just blew my horny teenage mind.
Simmons’ fusion of historical literature with robust far future science fiction is chef’s kiss.

I tend to binge through books. I just finished Andy Weir's Artemis and Project Hail Mary in about one night each.

Which means the things I'm in the middle of tend to be web serials since I can't just rush through. I've got dozens of tabs of royalroad open in my phone's browser. Everything by Ravensdagger is good, and I've been enjoying Return of the Runebound Professor and Let's Not Obliterate, and awaiting the scheduled return from hiatus of Ends of Magic on Monday.

Project Hail Mary is an excellent read. I'm recommending it constantly.

The Three Body problem by Cixin Liu

I've had this one recommended to me recently. How do you find it?
- It's good. If you can find enjoyment in a book that's more about it's fascinating premise than it is about it's characters then it's especially good.
- I'm just getting into it. It's an interesting premise so I'm looking forward to digging deeper.
Same, as I read it I've been thinking of it as Chinese Michael Crichton, but overall it's been very good.
- This makes sense to me, I just finished Jurassic Park for the first time a little over a month ago. Lots of similarities, cool premise, I don't care much for the characters so far.

Wage Labor and Capital - Karl Marx. It’s very small but I’m taking my time with it

I’m in kind of a rotation of Sci-Fi (last: Children of Dune), classic novels (Dune kinda counts but my last from this category was Lord of the Flies), and nonfiction/leftism

Based. What did you think about Dune? I read books 1 and 2, and then started reading Orientalism by Edward Said, and I've found that Dune is smacking of orientalism and sexism. It makes it hard to go back and read the 3rd book.
- It’s absolutely orientalist, similar to Zelazny’s Lord of Light but for Islam instead of Hinduism. For these, I was able to view them as a product of their time and enjoy the story even while recognizing some problematic elements.
  I found the 2nd book to be a bit of a slog, and I enjoyed the 3rd a lot more again. Since it was about new characters once again coming of age (… kind of), it has that same sense of exploration and discovery as the 1st. The 1st is definitely my fave so far though.

Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson. I borrowed it from a friend so long ago I don't remember who it was. Like... More than 10 years ago. I didn't expect it to start out so strangely, especially after finishing The Three Body Problem lol. And that one started very strangely!

Snow Crash is on my "to read" list. I keep running into references to it.
- It's a little dated but I'm enjoying it, knowing it was written during a time I'm familiar with

Before They are Hanged by Joe Abercrombie. It’s book 2 of the First Law series. I’m mainly a Sci-fi reader, but started this fantasy series, and wow, what a ride.

Aww man, if I go could go back into this series fresh again. I love this series.
If you enjoy the first trilogy the three standalone books are also great and the follow up trilogy is also fantastic.
But man, The Bloody Nine is an all time character.
Enjoy!

A collection of Kafka short stories

TCP/IP Illustrated, Vol. 1, it may be a little bit outdated, but the core concepts still stand.

Last book of The First Law trilogy by Joe Abercrombie.

Probably my favourite fantasy series. The audio book is top tier. The narrator brings so much depth to the world.
Aww man, if I go could go back into this series fresh again. I love this series.
If you enjoy the first trilogy the three standalone books are also great and the follow up trilogy is also fantastic.
But man, The Bloody Nine is an all time character.
I second the opinion of the audio book versions.
Enjoy!

"The Count of Monte Cristo". Not in the middle, more the beginning. But it's like my third read so I take it slow this time.

Me too! First time reading it, at the beginning as well. he’s just about to get married to the Catalan cutie and some dudes be scheming
Definitely should be shelved under Educational.

Dune Messiah

Me too! Can't wait to see how weird the series gets.

What If? 2 by Randall Monroe.

I'm not much of a reader, but I read to my daughter (9). We just finished The Hobbit and have now started the first chapter of The Lord Of The Rings (I also read the prolog, where all peculiarities about hobbits are mentioned. She endured it, but she didn't like it much)

Adrian Newey's how to build a car

I'm reading that currently too! So far I'm really liking it.
Sounds interesting. I read Ross Brawn's & Alan Parr's "Total Competition". Maybe touches the same topics from another angle.

Imperialism, the highest stage of Capitalism by VI Lenin

I've read more books in the last month than I have in 5 years. I'm really enjoying getting back into it

I'm in the middle of the Wax and Wayne series by Brandon Sanderson, just finished Shadows of Self.

Sanderson's books are a really fun read, highly recommend them to anyone interested in fantasy.

Let me bring this thread’s intellect down a little by sharing my delight in listening to He Who Fights With Monsters. Absolutely goofy book about a guy who gets sucked into an alternate world full of magic. It’s an homage to RPG games and had me chuckling and feeling wistful.

You might Scott Meyer's Magic 2.0 series.

I'm reading Michael Crichton's The Sphere. It's an odd one - Crichton rarely spends a lot of time on character, but Sphere in particular is barely interested in the people at all. It's situations and implications, a sense of mystery and dread, that the author is interested in, and he whips from one dilemma to the next so quickly its a little disorienting. that can sound like praise, but I'm not sure it is. This is an early work, and it feels rough now and then. Without strong characters, the only voice you really hear is Crichton's, and his tech-terror-explainer 'tone' can be a little tough to swallow in large amounts. all the same, I'm desperate to see where it goes, even as I suspect it will all be over much faster than most of his later novels.

I just finished Jurassic Park, and similarly the plot was fun but the characters were fine. The only character that's somewhat fleshed out is basically a stand-in for Crichton himself and actually has multiple almost chapter long monologues talking about the "arrogance of science."
Which is confusing as hell as the character is supposedly a world-renown and respected mathematician and basically all of the criticisms Malcolm throws at "science" and "scientists" (as if all science and scientists are some unified bloc) would apply directly to other areas of academia....like mathematics.
I didn't even touch on the thematic confusion of pro-corporation messages while the villain is corporation-personified.
I say all of that to say Crichton in my experience is great at finding interesting scenarios and plot lines to explore, and not much else.

I'm reading The Amber Spyglass, by Philip Pullman

The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie.

Hah. Me too, except I'm on book three, Last Argument of Kings
- Does the trilogy hold on quality wise? Cos I’m liking the first book a lot.

For those interested in sci-if, I’m reading Children of Ruin, the sequel to Children of time written by Adrian Tchaikovsky.

It is equally as great, if not better than the first book. Definitely hard science fiction, to me at least, but it’s a really immersive book. Highly recommend.

Is that the one with the spiders?
- Yes. The first one is the origin story of the spiders, the second one builds off of that and has them traveling the universe with some friends. Meeting a new species and so on. Trying not to spoil it but if you like science fiction you’ll probably like it.
The first one was one of the most memorable books I ever read. The idea is so insane, yet works great and I found myself rooting for the spiders so badly.
- Yeah. It’s crazy. But he really set up their story in a way that made me root for and feel for them. Cast unwillingly into this epic drama of species survival, it’s quite interesting. Also the story of the Gilgamesh was incredible. If you haven’t read the second book I really recommend it, I’m almost finished with it now and it’s definitely a page turner.
  Everything is linked in a way that really makes sense and there are some really cool twists that builds upon the previous book as I mentioned.
  If you have any recommendations of similar books or authors I’d really like to know!
Sounds great. I'm a hard scifi fan, but I haven't read this one. It's going on my list.
- Also would recommend Three Body Problem, if you haven’t read it. You as a fan of hard sci-if would love it, probably one of my favorite trilogies.

"City of Dragons" by Robin Hobb. Her whole "Realm of the Elderlings" series is great, I don't know any other fantasy author who can write characters as well as she does.

Neuromancer

Stephen Kings IT. Also listening to Stephen King The Outsider in preparation of Holly coming out in September.

A lot. I lost count, really. I'm a professional 'middle of the book' reader. It's a way of living.

Book 4 of the Wheel of Time (about half way through). Series has been something I've started on and off for 20 years, but picked up the first book after my Dad died a couple of months back and finding it a lot easier to stick with it this time around.

Hey, Im on the last one, been at it for over a year now. Can recommend it, it's a good read. Wont spoil :)

Do audiobooks count? I'm on chapter 27 of The Stand with about 38 hours to go. It's been quite the experience in this post-Covid world.

Just started “Yumi and The Nightmare Painter”

Catch-22. The classic itself

The Dragon Reborn by Robert Jordan.

The first two books flew by. Things are changing a bit. I'm still having fun but Im going to take a WoT breather after this one.

I'm on it as well, about finished but I'm very much hooked really want to continue.
- I just pushed through to about 3/4s in and am once again hooked. The beginning was a bit of a slog compared to the first two books pace.

1Q84 by Haruki Murakami

What book are you on?
- Almost done with book 1.

Perdito station by China Meiville(hope I spelled it right) I just started a week ago and have only been able to read a bit because of time constraints but so far I'm pretty intrigued.

Revan from the Star Wars Legends series.

The Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson

The Culture series by Ian Banks

Do you find it hard to "visualize" Banks' writing? I read Consider Phlebas and I'm part way through Player of Games right now, but it takes me forever* to get through these books because I feel lost and can't make a mental picture of wtf is going on. The Culture series reminds me a lot of Alastair Reynolds' Revelation Space series, but I had no trouble wrapping my mind around Reynolds' far-future setting. Is there a book somewhere in the middle of the Culture series that I should start with to get a better description of his universe?
- I'm doing the audio books, but that doesn't make it any easier to follow. I thought player of games was absolutely fantastic and brilliantly written, but I've found some of the books very complex.
  With player of games he never actually describes the nature of the game board itself. I think that was intentional, he left it up to the reader. I found that fascinating.
  I'm a bit of an aspiring author and this series is quite frankly inspiring. Not in it's confounding complexity but all the good bits.
  Some of it is hard to visualize but for me sometimes it's hard to follow. I'm glad I'm not the only one who finds him challenging.
  The one I'm on now seems to have elephant people in it and I definitely didn't quite put that together for quite a while lol.
  As far as the nature of the culture, I don't know if any one book does a better job of describing the universe. Each book illustrates one facet of it, in my opinion. It's a big universe he's made, you get snapshots.
  It's like he has this universe in his head and with each book he is exploring one specific topic of discussion, in the culture universe, and with each book it sheds a little more light onto what the culture really is.
  It reminds me of the stainless steel rat series. Deep and meaningful ideas tempered by humor and whimsy.

I'm very close to finishing The Sound and the Fury. It has lived up to it's reputation of being opaque and difficult. Really more of a checklist book for me.

I am about midway through Neurotribes. It's interesting, but has been slow going.

I'm finally picking up steam on my second read of Infinite Jest. Even better than the first time around.

I am about midway through Anathem. Neal Stephenson is a gifted writer, but for some reason I really lost traction on this one after I got through the world building and into the actual narrative.

I am also nearly done with my second read of American Gods. I have it on audiobook this time. Really enjoying the ensemble cast. It's a good story and I enjoy Gaiman's narrative style.

Idk why but ever since my youth I've never been able to focus on just one book at a time.

This sounds stressful to me. I am the complete opposite, I need to finish a book (or series) completely before I can move on to something else.

Cradle by Will Wight, I think I'm at book 8 of 11/12 (I don't usually look so I don't gauge how long til the end).

It's been a fun western take on a progression fantasy and cultivation novel.

Trudi Canavan - The Ambassador's Mission

Loved the first trilogy, only recently found out there's a second.

The Mask of Mirrors by M.A. Carrick.

It's fantasy, but feels pretty fresh to me with the focus being on the main characters trying to con a rich family and less of the more usual (but no less fun) adventuring, combat etc. (at least so far, I'm still very early in the book).

If you like that kind of story you might want to read The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch.
- Thanks for the suggestion, already read and enjoyed it :)

Convenience Store Woman - Sayaka Murata. I'm on page 30 of 160.

Also procrastinating on these:

Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus - Mary Wollstonecraft (Godwin) Shelley
A Manual for Creating Atheists - Peter Boghossian

A couple, The Institute by Stephen King and Cosmos by Carl Sagan

Theory of Moral Sentiments, Adam Smith (project gutenberg)

It's slow going because of the archaic style, but will be a revelation to anyone who thinks Smith doesn't care about humanity.

I haven't read Theory of Moral Sentiments yet, but Freakonomics did a fantastic podcast series on Adam Smith. They spend a lot of time on the Theory of Moral Sentiments and how what he actually wrote doesn't match the current "perception" of him.

The Morning Star by Karl Ove Knausgård. Only read the first couple of chapters yet but I'm enjoying it so far.

Yumi and the Nightmare Painter by Brandon Sanderson. It’s the third of his Kickstarter books and I’m enjoying it so far, but I’ve barely started it.

Endymion by Dan Simmons. Part of the Hyperion Cantos.

I just read Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion for the first time this year. When I got to the end of Hyperion I did something I rarely do. I usually buy all my books used as sort of a “thrill of the hunt” thing. I bought The Fall of Hyperion new… out of rage. I demanded to know what was going to happen next, because without knowing I couldn’t tell if I loved or hated the fucking book! I then read through The Fall of Hyperion as fast as I could manage.
Now I can say, without a doubt, it’s one of my favorite books I’ve ever read. And yet I’m still not sure I am willing to go forward with the Endymion books.
Great series. My personal favorite from Simmons is the Ilium/Olympos duology, although Olympos was a bit of a letdown at the end. Simmons is brilliant but he does have a way of setting a lot of things up and occasionally failing to deliver a satisfying climax. Hyperion and Endymion, read as two complete works, do a better job of concluding things.
I distinctly remember reading Ilium when I was like 12 and just being absolutely dumbfounded by the erotic scenes with Helen of Troy. I had never encountered adult content like that in a book and it just blew my horny teenage mind.
Simmons' fusion of historical literature with robust far future science fiction is chef's kiss.

Almost done with Arthur Conan Doyle's Lost World. It's enjoyable but nothing to write home about haha

It's definitely a classic that everyone should read at least once

Nicomachean Ethics by Aristotle and The Bridge on the Drina by Ivo Andrić. I always go over two books at the same time where one has heavier material (philosophy/history) and the other lighter that I can read when I'm tired.

I'm just started reading Wool by Hugh Howey. I finished the first season of Silo and didn't want to wait a year to get more of the story. The book has been great so far. It seems like the show followed the book pretty well with a few changes.

Book of Leaves and Tao Te Ching

Reaper Man by Terry Pratchett

The Neverending Story by Michael Ende

Consider Phlebas

Currently reading A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark on and off. It's a sequel to a story called A Dead Djinn in Cairo (and others in the same universe) by the same author. The worldbuilding is pretty good. It transports you to this fantasy steampunk version of the world where Egyptian and Arabian culture is dominant (vs just Victorian, as is usually the case with steampunk).

Everything is f*cked.

Blood Meridian by Cormac Mcarthy. Book is outright brutal but written in such a compelling way you can't help be want more. Fantastic writer.

Currently reading Coda vol. 1 right now. Liking the main character particularly his pentacorn.

Blindsight by Peter Watts. it's a really unique take on first contact, but wow is it dark

"The Dawn of Everything"

It's a thick one but it's worth it because it gives you a whole different view on history

The Alchemy of Finance by George Soros.

Seeing Like A State by James C Scott.

Minima Moralia by Theodor Adorno and Postmodernism by Frederick Jameson. Just finished Lacan’s lectures on the 4 fundamental concepts of psychoanalysis and understood about 10%. I’m playing catch-up with the serious people from the last century.

Yumi and the Nightmare Painter - Brando Sando

Just started it last night!

I'm halfway through the first Witcher book. After being disappointed with the Netflix show, I had to read the original source. I'm enjoying it so far. My goal is to read them all and play the games afterwards.

Congrats on walking the path! Yeah the books are great and really hit you hard at times. No spoilers from me but enjoy the book series!

"Uncle Tom's Cabin". So far very powerful writing. Just finished reading "Tuesday's with Morrie" which is fantastic.

Call to Arms, by Lu Xun

It's a short story collection. I'm actually at the beginning, I've only read two stories so far. Kong Yiji is really good!!

- Haven't read The True Story of Ah Q yet. I liked A Madman’s Diary!
  A friend told me, and I confirmed, that it is inspired by Gogol's story of the same name, which I haven't read yet.

Metamorphosis, by Franz Kafka.

Just finished Ten Days that Shook the World. I really enjoyed it. It's one thing to read history from a large-scale top down perspective, another to see how a revolution was actually conducted on a minute by minute street by street basis. Looking for the next thing to read now

The Wastelands - Stephen King. It's kinda nearing the middle of the Dark Tower series and it's pretty damn good.

Escape from Billings Mall, by Chuck Tingle. It's a choose your own adventure book!

The Wheel of Time

The Joy of Abstraction by Eugenia Cheng

Category theory is awesome!

My notes for the next exam... Before that I was reading the Amaranthe series by G. S. Jennsen. I just finished the first three books which make up a trilogy of their own and don't want to start the sequel trilogy until exams are over because I have no self control

I haven’t started it yet but my next book is The Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds.

Within the last month or two I’ve read Song of Achilles, The Women Could Fly, The Book Eaters, and Babel. I’d recommend all of them, especially Babel.

Advanced Marathoning

Ministry for the Future. So good, so painful.

Star By Star. Reading through the old EU New Jedi Order books again. The old EU is the best part of Star Wars.

Douglas Adams Starship Titanic: A Novel by Terry Jones

I think that is the official title. It's set inside the wider Hitchhikers universe, but so far hasn't touched on the events of that series.

Did take my a fair bit of time to get Into it, but as I approach the halfway point it's definitely got me.

Five Little Pigs by Agatha Christie

Sins of Empire by Brian McClellan

The Book That Wouldn’t Burn by Mark Lawrence

The Bayern Agenda by Dan Moren. It’s decent. Wouldn’t say it’s my favorite yet and I’m halfway through. There’s a lot of talking in rooms for a political action sci-fi series. Pace is a bit slow for my taste.

Engine Summer by John Crowley. I'm only about 100 pages in, but liking it so far.

Rereading Michael Moorcock's Elric of Melniboné, so I can read the new book, The Citadel of Forgotten Myths. Been a few moments since I did a full reread.

I have Greg Egan's Scale and John Shirley's Stormland next on the tsundoku.

I tried to like it, but I couldn't concentrate on it, I gave up in the middle of the 2nd book.

I'm reading a few actually: Capital volume 2 by Marx, The Tondrakian Movement by Vrej Nersessian, and Primavera con una esquina rota by Mario Benedetti

Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff. It plays in a alternative medivial fantasy world where the sunlight gets blocked after a loud rumbling. It tells the story of a you man who gets recruited in a organization of hunters that kill the supernatural while the world gets conquered by the vampires, that can't be hurt by the sun anymore.

One of the best dark fantasy books, I have read in a long time.

Trunk Music by Michael Connelly

I've started a couple other books but i don't know if or when I'll finish them as I enjoy reading Connelly more.

The classic, The Fellowship of the Ring

Reading: Everything is Under Control by Robert Anton Wilson Listening: Galaxy Outlaws: The Complete Black Ocean Mobius Missions by J.S. Morin, Mikael Naramore (Narrator)

The Time Hunters by Carl Ashmore, It's target audience is young but I enjoy books for any age so it's an easy read!

Not a book, but a series. 2nd book specifically of the manga series Black Bird.

My brother and sister-in-law got me a box set of it not knowing it's a shoujo series (less action and more romance focused) and so far it's interesting enough to keep me interested.

The latest Thrawn book

Kazohinia by Sándor Szathmári. It's a fun double dystopia, especially fun once you recognize our own world.

Latest Miss Peregrine book. Recently found out there were three more since I last read it, so I've been catching up this week.

I need to pick Cracker! Back up, i started reading it in 8th grade by borrowing it from my English teacher, found it years later on amazon. I just have an issue with not wanting to read books anymore after havign the fun sucked out of them due to public school book tests.

The Fight Club, I can't get myself to finish it, knowing how it ends because of the movie does not help either.

Dark Age by Pierce Brown, part of the Red Rising series

Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann

I usually don't stay engaged with non-fiction, but this book I couldn't put down.

I am reading the first book of the series Empire of the Moghul right now.

Classified as historical fiction, it is very interesting to see how the kingdoms evolved and spread in Central Asia.

Segans " The Demon Haunted World"

I don't know if it counts as "in the middle", but I left off reading a book about heaven 8 had borrowed from my mom before I lost religion, and completely lost interest in it.

Don't think I'll ever go back, but that's the book I left unfinished. Haven't read anything in years. I was big on audiobooks for a while before I couldn't afford audible anymore.

Used to have a job that I could listen while I worked on my own and because of that I was able to go through a bunch of them.

One I get through my current medical condition (probably a few years off) and I go back to work, I hope I get another job like that.

Pride and Prejudice, it's fine so far

The enterprise of death, it's a fun read

Shrines of Gaiety by Kate Atkinson. Recommend if you like historical fiction & the 20s.

Currently listening through Worm again. I read it the first time, now I'm listening and it's just as good as I remember it.

The Hooligans of Kandahar by Joe Kassabian.

Count Zero by William Gibson

Fellowship of the Ring but also Children of Hurin

Yumi and the Nightmare Painter

Shards of Earth by Adrian Tchaikovsky and for non fiction, The Friendly Orange Glow, a history of the Plato system. It's an old online community from like the 80s.

Actual reading: Dune. listening to: [The Wanderers by Chuck Wendig](Listen to Wanderers by Chuck Wendig on Audible. https://www.audible.com/pd/198489174X?source_code=ASSORAP0511160007)