What are you reading in 2024?

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I just found out a fourth Southern Reach book is coming out in October and could not be more excited.

Also: Annihilation is the best D&D novel of all time. I will die on this hill that appears to be covered in fur and humming a half-remembered song from my childhood.

 

[Autumnal]

Halfway through rereading Consider Phlebas by Iain M. Banks because I suddenly felt like a Culture run. So far I’ve found that I remembered Idiran stuff very nearly perfectly, had forgotten the Clear Air Turbulence stuff almost completely, and had assigned the Eaters stuff to Player of Games. Goodness knows what I’ll find in the second half.

 

[Reynard]

I just discovered that James SA Corey's new book "The Mercy of Gods" drops in a couple of days. WOOHOO

» The Mercy of Gods

 

[Mallus]

I just found out a fourth Southern Reach book is coming out in October and could not be more excited.

Also: Annihilation is the best D&D novel of all time. I will die on this hill that appears to be covered in fur and humming a half-remembered song from my childhood.

And Authority is the best (Lovecraftian) office comedy of all time.

And thanks for the heads-up about a 4th Southern Reach book! I can read it before the next James S.A. Corey series hits.

 

[Clint_L]

Tried to read Altered Carbon by Richard Morgan, as Kindle's algorithm recommended it. And now I feel betrayed. The algorithm doesn't know me at all!

I hate it. I quit 40% of the way through. Usually I will finish a book even if it isn't that great, but this one felt like being pummelled.

The upside is that I grabbed Django Wexler's How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying as a palate cleanser and it's good fun thus far.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

I finished reading Conan the Avenger. Entertaining, but parts of it felt too referential in a way that REH rarely was, and other parts of it didn’t feel true to Conan’s character. Still, taking the character to Khitai, the China-equivalent in the Hyborian Age was kinda cool.

I also read Philip K. Dick's Vulcan's Hammer. In today's age of AI and algorithms, the only thing that feels dated in this story is that the computers use punch cards.

Now I'm reading Victor Milan's The Cybernetic Samurai.

 

[Eyes of Nine]

Finished Witch World, it was good. Probably won't read any of the sequels; but I enjoyed it and would recommend over many other fantasy/SF of the 60's.

 

[overgeeked]

I finished The Shadow #6. The Death Tower. Published January 1, 1932.

In this yarn an evil white doctor with a fetish for Chinese decor kills several people in pursuit of money to fund his evil experiments. The titular tower is the doctor’s apartment on the 40th floor. Death traps abound. It’s the first appearance of The Shadow’s identity as George Clarendon and the autogyro. There are also several references to The Shadow’s cloak looking like a bat. Likely one of the earliest obvious spots that would be the inspiration for Batman.

I was absolutely stuck on the Doc Savage pulps. Just could not bring myself to finish the one I was reading. I finally dropped it and tore through this one in about 2.5 hours.

 

[overgeeked]

I'm reading the UCB Comedy Improvisation Manual. It's a fantastic book. Learning so much. I think it should be a must read for players and referees. So much good stuff already and I'm only about 30% through. So many great tips and tricks that would port over wonderfully to RPGs. There's so much more great stuff than just the ubiquitous Yes And.

 

[Bohandas]

So far in the year I've read the the lore sections of a bunch of Exalted rulebooks, the three main books of Taoist philosophy (Tao Te Ching, Chuang Tzu, and Leizi), a bunch of Cthulhu mythos anthologies (Cold Print, Nyarlathotep Cycle, Ithaqua Cycle, Xothic Cycle, Antarktos Cycle, Hastur Cycle, and Cassilda's Song), both Winnie the Pooh novels, The Wind in the Willows, and am now working on Watership Down