What are you reading in 2026?

[gnarlygninja]

Is there anyone who is a fan of Arcadia Publishing's hyper local history books? It seems so niche, and yet I see them all over the place, and yes, very local. I love the concept, although I'm not much of a history buff. I like that they are archiving, in paper, actual history. I am concerned that I don't really know anything about the publisher, hope they aren't closet authoritarianists. Also, I am very curious about the business model - can it be profitable to print 200 copies of one of these books?

Here's one local to me.

Stone Architecture in Santa Barbara

Building with stone requires a commitment to permanence, like the extraordinary, almost citywide conviction of builders in Santa Barbara from the 1870s through the 1930s. As Santa Barbara was evolving from a dusty little port and outlying resort into a vibrant and growing city, there occurred an...

www.arcadiapublishing.com

Wow, you weren't kidding about the hyper local. They get so specific in my city there's one about a high school. I've seen some of these at local book stores but never picked them up, mostly because growing up local history was a very mixed bag. Maybe I should rethink that bias now that I live where there are people.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

I need to find a gorgeous hardcover of The Last Unicorn -- easily my favorite fantasy novel of all time outside the Lord of the Rings.

It's so darn good on so many levels. And as a result, it's a book that you can return to at different points in your life, and understand it more and more.

It’s a masterpiece.

“Where have you been? WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?! What good is it to me that you're here now? Where were you twenty years ago, ten years ago? How dare you, how dare you come to me now, when I am this?"

That line is so darn good. It's not something you can really feel when you're younger.

 

[Reynard]

It’s a masterpiece.

“Where have you been? WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?! What good is it to me that you're here now? Where were you twenty years ago, ten years ago? How dare you, how dare you come to me now, when I am this?"

His prose is easily the best I have ever read.

 

[Byrd]

I tend to be fussy about my books, so I pulled off the dust cover prior to tossing it into my backpack.
LOL!!!

 

[jian]

His prose is easily the best I have ever read.

It's very good, but the voices are very strong too.

Have you seen the film version? Not perfect, I think, but some standout performances - Mia Farrow as the unicorn, Tammy Grimes as Molly Grue, Christopher Lee as King Haggard.

Beagle said Grimes was better than perfect for Molly, and that he could never hear her voice as anyone else again.

"It would be. It would be the last unicorn in the world who came for Molly Grue. But it's all right. I forgive you."

Lee came to audition and readings with an annotated dog-eared copy of the book (as he apparently often did) and insisted on the script staying as faithful as possible to the original.

"I like to watch them. They fill me with joy. The first I felt it I thought I was going to die. I said to the Red Bull I must have them, all of them, all there are. For nothing makes me happy but their shining and their grace. So the Red Bull caught them. Each time I see the unicorns, MY unicorns, it is like that morning in the woods and I am truly young, in spite of myself."

 

[Reynard]

It's very good, but the voices are very strong too.

Have you seen the film version? Not perfect, I think, but some standout performances - Mia Farrow as the unicorn, Tammy Grimes as Molly Grue, Christopher Lee as King Haggard.

Beagle said Grimes was better than perfect for Molly, and that he could never hear her voice as anyone else again.

"It would be. It would be the last unicorn in the world who came for Molly Grue. But it's all right. I forgive you."

Lee came to audition and readings with an annotated dog-eared copy of the book (as he apparently often did) and insisted on the script staying as faithful as possible to the original.

"I like to watch them. They fill me with joy. The first I felt it I thought I was going to die. I said to the Red Bull I must have them, all of them, all there are. For nothing makes me happy but their shining and their grace. So the Red Bull caught them. Each time I see the unicorns, MY unicorns, it is like that morning in the woods and I am truly young, in spite of myself."

The film was a favorite of mine from a young age on. Because I had seen it 100 (literally) times, I did not read the novel until well into adulthood. It blew me away.

 

[Eyes of Nine]

I do a podcast where we read genre fiction and talk about it in relation to GMing, and our next book is Wizard of Earthsea. I took the opportunity to order the big beautiful illustrated 50th anniversary edition. When we moved a while back, I eliminated 90% of my library of games, books, comics, etc. Now, when I buy such things, I only go big. If it isn't worth getting a beautiful copy of, it isn't worth owning.

The 50th anniversary edition is the one the library had that had Tehanu in it. What a beautiful volume, and the bits and bobs at the end just wrap the whole package up in a bow.

 

[Retros_x]

I just finished Stephen Kings Misery. Most thrilling King book yet, with ripened prose. Its interesting to read with the knowledge that he thinks this book is not about an authors relationship to his fans, but about an addicts relationship to his addictions. But as tense and exciting as it was, I miss the characters of King and the deep emotional connections. Paul is quite bland, especially for a King character, we know almost nothing about him. And Annie gets more backstory, but is evil incarnate. Normally King writes nuanced villains and has a lot of empathy for them, but definitely not for Annie. It makes sense if we think of her as a personification of Kings substance abuse and addiction issues, but it leads to me missing the nuanced characters of other King books.

Other than that it was by far the most thrilling book I've read by him until now and some of the scenes live rentfree in your head. I love that it starts in media res and its clear just after a few pages that Paul is imprisoned and Annie is a threat to him. The stakes are clear from the beginning and yet it gets even more intense later in the book.

There is also something to be said about the depiction of mental illness - but I don't blame King here, this book was written in '88 and is a product of its time. I think he also leaves enough reasons to believe that Annie is not violent just because of her mental illness, but is evil AND mentally-ill.

 

[cbwjm]

The film was a favorite of mine from a young age on. Because I had seen it 100 (literally) times, I did not read the novel until well into adulthood. It blew me away.

Hadn't heard of the book or movie but the way people were going on about it I decided to give the movie a watch. Good movie, worth the watch.

 

[gnarlygninja]

I've started the most recent DCC book and...I suspect I'm not going to like this one. I mostly don't care about the mechanics of the floors at all, and there's a lot of time spent on the races, so I find I'm skipping chunks pretty regularly. This has not been a great year for sequels in fantasy series for me, hopefully the new S. A. Chakraborty book can turn that around.