What are you reading in 2022?

[KahlessNestor]

Still reading Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr. by Ron Chernow.

Still reading The Battle for Spain by Antony Beevor.

Still reading Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky.

Still reading An Artificial Night by Seanan McGuire.

Still listening to Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson.

Still reading The Wars of the Roses: The Fall of the Plantagenets and the Rise of the Tudors by Dan Jones.

Still reading The Deed of Paksenarrion by Elizabeth Moon.

Still reading Black Widow: Red Vengeance by Margaret Stohl.

Still reading Royal Assassin by Robin Hobb.

Still reading Matchlock and the Embassy: A Thirty Years’ War Story by Zachary Twamley.

Still reading Rise of the King by R. A. Salvatore.

Still reading The Sorcerer of the North by John Flanagan.

Still reading Ghost Story by Jim Butcher.

Still reading Critical Role: Vox Machina – Kith and Kin by Marieke Nijkamp.

Still reading Half-Off Ragnarok by Seanan McGuire.

Still reading The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan.

Still reading Cytonic by Brandon Sanderson.

Still reading Defending Elysium by Brandon Sanderson.

Still reading To Rescue the Republic: Ulysses S. Grant, the Fragile Union, and the Crisis of 1876 by Brett Baier.

Started reading The Essential Emily Dickinson by Emily Dickinson.

Started reading Concrete Blonde by Michael Connelly.

Still reading Fizban’s Treasury of Dragons by Wizards of the Coast.

Started reading My Wars Are Laid Away in Books: The Life of Emily Dickinson by Alfred Habegger.

 

[Nellisir]

Something I read in an interview years back what that the series was supposed to start with the next book, but he realized he needed to tell the story of how they got to where they are.

So Lies of Locke Lamora was almost never written, and you could technically classify it as "backstory".

Lies is such a superior read, and I quite enjoyed the others in the series. I don't begrudge Scott Lynch the time he needs to write and take care of himself and his life. But it would definitely bring me joy to see the next book published.

Just to be clear, I'm not begrudging him either. Authors write as they write. I am the LAST person to point fingers on that score. (looks nervously at my blog, and my general writing of the last few years, and the RPG writing I meant to do in 2014/2015, and the fact that this is the only active thread I participate in online, and yet I haven't actually posted what I'm reading for about...6 months?)

(I'm halfway through The Fall of Koli, by Mike Carey.)

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

I think I didn't discover her until post-college. Somehow, despite briefly spending time as an ill-advised poetry major.

Yeah. I had liked her when I had to read her in school, and I just finished the series on Apple+, so thought I'd give her a read.

In grad school I was assigned reading that was written by my old high school friend's dad. That was wild.

Also was surprised to find when I searched for best biographies for her, the first one listed was a professor I knew (unfortunately now deceased) when I was in college. I didn't have him as a professor, but I met him a couple times and had friends that liked him.

I finished reading Great Short Novels of Adult Fantasy #1 and half of it immensely. Wall of Serpents, by L. Sprague de Camp and Fletcher Pratt was fun reading. The Kingdom of the Dwarfs by Anatole France was by far my favorite. It's also notable for containing very recognizable dwarven tropes, decades before Tolkien. The Maker of Moons by Robert W. Chambers and The Hollow Land by William Morris just bounced off of me. The Maker of Moons especially; The Hollow Land had fever dream feel that I could at least appreciate.

Now I'm finally getting to Jon Peterson's The Game Wizards.

 

[Blue]

Late last night I finished Leviathan Falls, the ninth and final book of the Expanse series.

Initial review: Dang that was good.

Okay, now that we've level-set that I loved it, I did have a few nitpicks. I wish I had read it on the heels of the other books, as it didn't even attempt to be a stand-alone. Even though there was plot, development, and action I didn't really feel like it got up to full speed until about page 200, as before that I was still remembering characters while learning new ones and the like. But by page 400 I was swearing out-loud,laughing, and otherwise annoying my wife as we both do to each other when we read very enjoyable stories.

Another nitpick, and I'll try to be very respectful not to give spoilers, is that a character we had every right to believe was important didn't really justify the setup in the end. I think that's vague enough if you haven't read it.

The end - oh the end was satisfying in many ways. If you love reading about James-f'ing-Holden and company, this is for you.

 

[Mad_Jack]

I've finally managed to actually read something this year. And one of the classics, at that.


I mean, it was a comic book, but still...



The 1981 Sprocket Man bicycle safety comic book - a true piece of literary history.
(And yes, it's still my original copy from when they passed them out in grade school...)

 

[Nellisir]

Late last night I finished Leviathan Falls, the ninth and final book of the Expanse series.

Initial review: Dang that was good.

Ditto.

Okay, now that we've level-set that I loved it, I did have a few nitpicks. I wish I had read it on the heels of the other books, as it didn't even attempt to be a stand-alone. Even though there was plot, development, and action I didn't really feel like it got up to full speed until about page 200, as before that I was still remembering characters while learning new ones and the like. But by page 400 I was swearing out-loud,laughing, and otherwise annoying my wife as we both do to each other when we read very enjoyable stories.

I started on Book 8 (last...year? I dunno. Whenever it came out.) and had NO idea what was going on...so I set it aside and reread books 5-7 again. That helped a lot.

Another nitpick, and I'll try to be very respectful not to give spoilers, is that a character we had every right to believe was important didn't really justify the setup in the end. I think that's vague enough if you haven't read it.

Assuming you mean who I think you mean...yeah.

The end - oh the end was satisfying in many ways. If you love reading about James-f'ing-Holden and company, this is for you.

So good.

 

[Eyes of Nine]

I've finally managed to actually read something this year. And one of the classics, at that.


I mean, it was a comic book, but still...



The 1981 Sprocket Man bicycle safety comic book - a true piece of literary history.

View attachment 150639

Did you find your self humming "Sprocket Man... burning out his fuse up here alone..."?

 

[Nellisir]

So, since about Christmas I've read:

• Leviathan Falls, by James SA Corey (9/10; so good)
• The Exiled Fleet, by JS Dewes (5/10?; it's fine, I mean it's book 2 in a series so I spent $$$ on it, but it doesn't break new ground anywhere)
• To Sleep In A Sea Of Stars, by Christopher Paolini (6/10. Only other book of his I've read is Eragon; he's gotten better since then. I didn't expect to enjoy this...but again, doesn't really break new ground)
• A Little Hatred by Joe Abercrombie (8/10; I hate how Joe advances the timeline and now I have to go back and reread everything to remember all the names. Ugh. However, it must be noted that I'm WILLING to do this.)
• The Trials of Koli and The Fall of Koli by MR Carey (8/10? Darn Mike for making me really like this at the end. It felt like a proper ending.)
• Moon Over Soho, by Ben Aaronovitch (8/10? This is book 2 of the Rivers of London series. I heard a LOT about them from a lot of different places, and finally took the plunge and read book 1. Very enjoyable. Had to wait a while for the rest of the books to come in, and I'm still waiting on at least one of them, but I've got something to read between other books which is awesome. Except that I just finished Koli and the missing book is book 3, so dagnabit.)

It's worth noting that I've already basically forgotten the Dewes & Paolini books. I had to go back and look at the blurb for Paolini to remember wtf it was about. Fun to read, but not mind-blowing. I actually found Koli kind of annoying for a good chunk of it, but it all came together in the end. Mike Carey is EXTREMELY readable. I read the first book in the trilogy maybe two years ago and still remember quite a bit of it. A definite contrast to Paolini.

I've also been reading the usual comic books and Tales from the Yawning Portal adventure from WotC.

 

[Mad_Jack]

Did you find your self humming "Sprocket Man... burning out his fuse up here alone..."?

Heh... To be honest, I actually found myself humming Kim Wilde's "Kids in America".

The day they passed out those comic books at school, this girl Stacy admitted to me that she'd never learned to ride a bike - which in our town at the time was only slightly less heinous than admitting you were a card-carrying Communist, lol. So the two of us ditched out at recess to head over to a buddy's house (he lived a block from the school) and I borrowed his bike to teach her. That song was playing on a radio in one of the nearby houses at the time.

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

I finished Arcanum Unbounded: The Cosmere Collection on Friday, and started reading Elantris on Saturday (both by Brandon Sanderson). My favorite novella from Arcanum Unbounded was easily Edgedancer, but The Emperor's Soul is a close second. I'm now about 3 chapters into Elantris, and though it took awhile to catch my interest, I now am hooked. It seems like Sanderson's weakest book from what little I've read so far, but it was his first book that he ever got published, so I'll try to just appreciate it for what it is.