What are you reading in 2025?

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I have talked to school admin. They are following district policies.

Do not take their word on it. Contact the district office and/or the school board.

I have stories I could tell you about school sites going rogue, intentionally or otherwise.

 

[Reynard]

I started Underland by Robert MacFarlane, which definitely has connection to fantasy adventure but is an examination through science and literature, religion and archeology, burial and mining of the world beneath our feet.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I started Underland by Robert MacFarlane, which definitely has connection to fantasy adventure but is an examination through science and literature, religion and archeology, burial and mining of the world beneath our feet.

The caving descriptions in there are harrowing.

 

[Clint_L]

I also just read Livesuit, the "James A. Corey" novella that explores their new setting from a different perspective. It's really good, as well, if you like good, old fashioned battles with aliens. A lot like a less problematic Starship Troopers.

 

[Autumnal]

Finished:

The Trial, by Franz Kafka. Reread, but in the Breon Mitchell, which I haven’t read before. It’s awesome, with a lot of nuances that do more justice to Kafka’s prose. This is really hard, because he made intensely nuanced use of German. This is the one to read, if you ever get the urge, and George Guidall is his usual top-tier self for the audiobook.

Void Stalker by Aaron Dembski-Bowden. Volume 3 of his Night Lords trilogy, which pulls off a whole lotta fakeouts on the way to excellent conclusions. The trilogy is an amazing demonstration of how to make villains engaging protagonists without ever once compromising the reality of their chosen evil. Andrew Wincott does some mighty fine narrating.

 

[prabe]

Well, between reading The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones last night, and enjoying the hell out of it, and seeing Sinners this afternoon, and enjoying the hell out of it, I'm about full up on vampires for a while: As much as I enjoyed both of those, vampires are honestly not my most-favorite horror monster.

 

[Richards]

I'm now starting the fourth book (finished the third book last night) of Jonathan Maberry's "Joe Ledger" series, this one called Assassin's Code. It starts off with Ledger and his Echo Team rescuing a group of American college kids held hostage in Iran, and from there spirals into a tale involving genetically engineered killers and the Book of Shadows, a tome of forbidden lore. Sounds good!

Johnathan

 

[gnarlygninja]

I've been tearing through the Dungeon Crawler Carl books after seeing them mentioned in another topic, but I've had to pause until the next book is rereleased. I went into the first book expecting to hate it, because all my other exposures to LitRPG have left a bad taste in my mouth, but something about these books just works for me. Also read Black Easter, a book I'm not sure I thought was good but I picked up the sequel. While I wait for the next DCC book I'll probably shift over to nonfiction, I've had Who Is Government? sitting on my desk for a while.

 

[Autumnal]

Black Easter is a classic, IMHO. Blish was one of the best practitioners of theological sf.

Theories of International Politics and Zombies by Daniel Drezner. This is a serious work that is also a lot of fun. Dr. Drezner is a professor of international politics, and was active in the blogosphere of the ‘00s-‘10s. He’s a good guy, with a genuine interest in what promotes the well-being of people without clout. This book is very characteristic of him, discussing what outcomes various theories of international relations predict as likely if a zombie apocalypse started. It’s genuinely informative. And he writes things like this:

Traditional tools of statecraft like nuclear deterrence, economic sanctions, or diplomatic démarches would be of little use against the living dead. Zombies crave human flesh, not carrots or sticks. More controversial techniques such as torture, enhanced interrogation, drone warfare, or cyberattacks would also be of little use. The undead do not feel pain, nor are they terribly active on social media.

Very highly recommended to anyone who wants to know more about how the people who do this stuff for a living see the world.

 

[prabe]

Black Easter is a classic, IMHO. Blish was one of the best practitioners of theological sf.

Theories of International Relations and Zombies by Daniel Drezner. This is a serious work that is also a lot of fun. Dr. Drezner is a professor of international politics, and was active in the blogosphere of the ‘00s-‘10s. He’s a good guy, with a genuine interest in what promotes the well-being of people without clout. This book is very characteristic of him, discussing what outcomes various theories of international relations predict as likely if a zombie apocalypse started. It’s genuinely informative. And he writes things like this:



Very highly recommended to anyone who wants to know more about how the people who do this stuff for a living see the world.

That dryly droll approach reminds me of what I've heard/read about Max Brooks (which mostly I haven't seen when I've read Max Brooks).