Hey Beehaw, whatcha reading right now?
The eyes of the dragon by Stephen King
I read this so many times that my hardback copy started breaking. You know how the edges of the outer cover about 2/3 of the way down start getting fuzzy from being held when you’ve taken off the dust jacket? Almost fuzzy enough to make into a rope for escaping from a tower.
Currently reading Hitch hikers guide to the galaxy really fun reads though it got weird in some places
Just started Howl’s Moving Castle. Liking it so far!
Not exactly like the movie, but it’s pretty close.
I legitimately did not know there is a book. It’s my favorite movie so I might pick this up.
A lot of Miyazaki’s films are based on books! Kiki’s Delivery Services is a book as well, and Secret Life of Arietty is based on The Borrowers.
Pattern Recognition, William Gibson.
Gibson is tough to get into, personally, but his stories are very cool!
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The Two Towers. I’ve been needing to read more slowly in the past few years for health reasons, and I am finding lotr just so perfect for that. The nature descriptions are absolutely to die for.
“After all, why shouldn’t I write about trees for three pages? It’s my own book, my precious.” - JRR Tolkien
PRECISELY.
My current read is Abarat by Clive Barker.
I’d not heard of it until last week, when folks on r/books were singing its praises in a thread, so figured I’d give it a shot. Yeah, it’s enjoyable. Definitely aimed squarely at the middle of the YA crowd, but it’s an easy read at a time when my brain isn’t letting me really get into any books.
Barker has a fascinating imagination. I finished Coldheart canyon recently. I almost walked away repulsed many times but there was good story under all his signature flair. After Imajica I will try to read anything he writes.
The Murderbot Diaries.
I’ve been enjoying it, it has a surprising amount of heart for a series about an emotionally damaged not-robot.
I was put off by the pricing on these. Full price for novella length. I really enjoyed the first one, I’ll grab the rest if they go on sale
Currently reading “Brave New World”, Aldous Huxley. Next up Isaac Asimov’s Foundation.
Foundation books are great! Go for it!
I just completed The Terror by Dan Simmons and I am currently reading the second book in the Malazan series by Erikson, Deadhouse Gates.
Malazan is amazing.
I found quite difficult to assess the Terror. It was quite a long read for the first 700 pages, then I really enjoyed the last 2 hundreds. But in retrospect I appreciate this slow pace so … I am not sure about my judgement. In the end I am glad to have read it. I also learned a lot about people and cultures of the Artic circle.
After the Malazan novel I will probably follow upon the third one, but I could also switch back to (re) reading Iain M. Banks or reading Peake’s Ghormenghast for the first time.
I am 3/4 with the books you mentioned so you appear to be a kindred spirit. Haven’t read Iain M Banks.
I’ll be interested to hear what you think on how Deadhouse Gates comes together. Have fun!
Hi! Nice to hear that :-) Malazan is capturing me so much that I am worried of rushing it! I deliberately take the time to enjoy it at as many levels as I am capable of (e.g. writing style, choice of words etc).
For Iain M. Banks, you can’t go wrong. Use of weapons is an incredible book, but maybe I would think it’s better to start from Consider Phlebas. UoW punches… And punches hard.
I’m reading The Stranger, by Albert Camus. It’s a short read and I’m already focusing on some of The Atlantic’s recommendations in the Summer Reading Guide.
I’m currently re-reading Transgender Warriors by Leslie Feinberg, for Pride Month!
I usually have a print/ebook and an audio book (for the car) going at the same time.
For print book, currently reading Crooked Kingdom, one of the books in the Grishaverse series/world. I, uh, got a little obsessed after watching the first season of Shadow and Bone a year or two ago.
For audiobook, currently listening to Children of Ruin. Not too far into it yet, but I loved loved loved Children of Time (also listened to the audiobook version), so I’m excited to see where this one goes.
I really want to read Children of Time. I actually did start it and got half way through, but I have such an intense arachnophobia that I had to give up because I kept dreaming of spiders and waking up terrified. I enjoyed his writing style, though, and am curious about his new trilogy coming out.
You should try getting through it. Arachnophobia is a big part of resolving the plot A beautiful end.
I figured. I got to the part where they captured a woman and she sort of starved to death. They weren’t doing anything evil intentionally; she was completely foreign to their way of life. I assumed the ending would revolve around learning from each other or cohabitation - some type of mutual respect. Maybe not. I’ll get back into it. I have the audiobook on my waitlist for the library.
Aah that’s so rough, I’m sorry to hear that! I’m terrified of spiders IRL but fortunately it doesn’t extend much to other media 😅
Is it the Final Architecture trilogy that’s his new one? I’ve got the first book on my to-read list, but haven’t gotten to it yet. It doesn’t look like the audiobook has the same narrator as the Children of Time books, though, which is a bummer!
Yeah! The first one is Shards of Earth. I have it sitting on my nightstand to read next since the final book of the trilogy just came out.
Thinking about it, I wonder if listening to an audiobook would help me with the phobia since I’m not usually bothered by people talking about spiders and, for whatever reason, I don’t create as much visualization in my head when I am listening to something as opposed to reading it. Especially since the narrator seems so good!
That’s an interesting observation! If you do end up giving it a shot and it doesn’t bother you as much via audio, you definitely won’t be disappointed in the narrator (IMO). 🙂 (Then again, I feel like I’m really picky about audiobook narrators for some reason, haha).
I feel you. I’m also picky about narrators. I’ve stopped listening to a lot of books because the narrator threw me off. It’s harder to enjoy the plot/characters if the storyteller has the wrong vibes.
I’m currently reading through Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson. I’m a fan of SciFi, and cyberpunk especially. This book was on my reading list, and I decided to pick it up while in the bookstore the other day.
So far I’m really enjoying it. It feels a bit more pulpy than some of the other cyberpunk classics such as Neuromancer and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, but that’s not a bad thing. It certainly doesn’t take away from the entertainment in my opinion. Not every book needs to have a grand philosophy behind it.
I guess I should finally read Snow Crash, but other books keep getting in the way. I just finished Neuromancer which surprised me with how well written it was. No idea why, but I expected the classics to be more … exhausting.
I’m halfway into “Guards! Guards!” by Pratchett. My first story of his, and I’m having so much fun!
Once you’ve read that, get a copy of Nightwatch. Much the same cast of characters, but it’s widely considered to be Terry’s magnum opus. That book is a damn work of art.
#GNUTerryPratchett
Yeah, I already have planned to read the whole night watch saga. Then I’ll see what other side of the Discworld to move on to
ahhhh welcome to the discworld!!
You’ll love these books!
Jealous you get to read them all for the first time.