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I haven't noticed a lot of novellas, but the ones I've seen are by established but not necessarily famous authors - Martha Wells & Tade Thompson are the two that come to mind. Not everyone wants an 800-page doorstop, so novellas attract a few new eyes; probably draw new readers in, and boost...

Well, most of them are novellas. Mine are 152-172 pages. Network Effect is a novel, at 350 pages, and apparently the newest one is too. Can I read them in a short evening? Yes. Is it a really, really good evening? Also yes. Is it worth the cost of a McDonald's meal and a shake? IMO, yes. YMMV...

I'd like to submit Jasper Fforde for consideration as well.

There are three Sister Pelagia books: The White Bulldog; the Black Monk; and the Red Cockerel. Read them in order, or at least don't read the RC first. They do fall squarely in the mystery genre, so if you hate mysteries it might not work.

Finished Sister Pelagia and the Red Cockerel, by Boris Akunin, the other day. I like Boris Akunin although I worry about the number of people, myself included, who go in thinking you're going to get a cozy little fireside mystery and instead you get a cozy little fireside mystery russian style...

I was feeling a little burned out on something, so I've started both Sister Pelagia and the Red Cockerel, by Boris Akunin; and A Medieval Life: Cecilia Penifader of Brigstock, c. 1295-1344, by Judith M. Bennett. I WANT to start running a D&D campaign again, but I keep getting sidetracked...

Often more so, in my experience.

It doesn't hurt that really, really good space SF series are few and far between. There's a lot more literature in that niche. But the tv series just clicks. And there are moments, like Amos and his "I am that guy" and Drummer's "The place we go is the place we belong" speech.

If you haven't read Fool by Christopher Moore, do that. I think there's another Murderbot coming eventually, but Martha Wells just released Witch King, which is pretty good but no Murderbot. I do love her worldbuilding though. Edit: According to above, sooner than I expected. Yay!!!

I wasn't aware we were arguing, but OK. I mean, I think the tv series is actually an improvement over the books (in the parts of the books it adapts!) but the books were pretty excellent on their own. One's a 92 and one's a 98. I also think new BSG was a substantial improvement on original BSG...

As always, the truth lies somewhere between. I loved The Expanse books, but the tv series shifted focus a little while still telling the same story, and excelled at it. Drummer's speech alone gives me chills.

Finished The Frugal Wizard's Handbook for Surviving Medieval England by Brandon Sanderson. Going with 3/5. It's a weird throwback or homage to what I can only describe as '80s style "modern person but with special gifts in a primitive world" books, except it's not really good enough to be a...

So, I ended up liking Witch King quite a bit, as the start of something. The characters themselves don't particularly stand out, but M. Wells has always done spectacular non-Eurocentric, non-Tolkien world-building and that seems to be the direction the series is headed. Also, it's a nice change...

Update: I like Witch King but so far it's more Raksura than Murderbot or Ile-Rien so YMMV.

He definitely is. I like his other stuff pretty well, but Lamb is #1 and the Pocket books have the same vibe.

Shakespeare for Squirrels by Christopher Moore was 5/5 as usual; the books with Pocket (Fool; Serpent in Venice; Shakespeare for Squirrels) are right up there with Lamb for excellence. I kept reading bits of it for my gf (because I kept laughing out loud) and I think she's sold on them. I'm a...

Finally got around to stopping by the local independent bookstore (which is quite good*, well-stocked, and basically The Only Real Bookstore in the capitol city of New Hampshire (because the other one is Borders Books-A-Million BAM which took over the Borders store, shelving, and apparently sign...

I keep books that a) have emotional meaning; b) I actually enjoyed; or c) I would recommend to my daughter (or other meaningful person). Plus reference books and etc.

(re)Read Damnation Alley by Roger Zelazny.

I read Jo Clayton's Duel of Sorcery trilogy and its quasi-follow-up, the Dancer trilogy. I've had book 2 of the Duel and all the Dancer books since I was a teen (or they came out), but never read the entire thing or straight through. A solid B, and I can see a number of things that influenced...