what do you read?

[1speed]

Yeah, I hear ya. My MIL just gave me book 9 when we were in Florida with them. She said it was so, so good. So now I am in a pickle, know what I mean?

I wouldn't worry too much about that. Book preference is really personal and, I'd argue, not something we actively "choose." It kind of reminds me of a conversation I just had with my wife the other day. A song came on the radio and she was about to change it and I told her to leave it on, and she was like "Really? You like this song? I'm disappointed." I just laughed and told her that reaction always seemed odd to me because I've never felt that liking a song was a "choice" I made. I either like it or I don't. Being "disappointed" by that is kind of like being disappointed by the fact that I'm short or something - it's not something I really feel like I control or change to make someone else happy. And on top of that, the one element of what you read or listen to that does kind of become choice - when you recognize that you tend to like a certain genre in general and seek out other songs - or, in this case, books - within that genre, you tend to have a pretty focused notion of what you are looking for, right? You like certain bands, or you like certain themes in books you read, etc., so you look for more of that. What this comes down to is just that what you want out of that series is not the same as what your MIL wanted. She found something she really enjoyed in it, and you may even agree that what she liked specifically was a pretty cool part of it, but iut just wasn't enough to overcome the lack of what you were looking for.

And since this is an MTB forum, I can relate it to that as well - I recall a long while back you mentioned that you were not a fan of Blue Marsh. To me, that's one of my favorite spots anywhere to ride. I find it hard to imagine anyone not liking it there - it's a long ride, mostly isolated, and has some great views and varies between super fast singletrack and a few leg-breaking climbs. But I didn't choose to like those things about a ride. It just is what I like, so I fully understand how some people may not get the same kick out of riding there.

 

[Patrick]

"I just laughed and told her that it reminded me of my first GF"

Fixed.

There are some songs which I connect with smells. "My Sharona" makes me think funnel cake or zeppole.
I spent that summer in Tom's River, and it was constantly blaring over the speakers on the boardwalk.

Brains are interesting !

 

[johnbryanpeters]

Currently Stamped from the Beginning, 2016, Ibram X. Kendi

 

[Norm]

And since this is an MTB forum, I can relate it to that as well - I recall a long while back you mentioned that you were not a fan of Blue Marsh. To me, that's one of my favorite spots anywhere to ride. I find it hard to imagine anyone not liking it there - it's a long ride, mostly isolated, and has some great views and varies between super fast singletrack and a few leg-breaking climbs. But I didn't choose to like those things about a ride. It just is what I like, so I fully understand how some people may not get the same kick out of riding there.

I guess I need to get back there and try it again.

 

[1speed]

I guess I need to get back there and try it again.

LOL - actually, it's not in the best shape at the moment so might not be the best time. I was there Friday and while the local crew there (MTBers? Park System? Army (since they built the lake itself)?) have done a lot of work to build some great new bermy trails in the vicinity of the boat launch, the "main" loop kind of needs some TLC right now. Pretty overgrown in some of the fields and a few huge downed trees. Still a great ride, but a bit torn up in a few spots. I definitely think it's a place where you're better having a guide if you don't know the whole loop. It's not too hard to follow, but there are a few spots where you can lose the trail if you don't know what to look for - if you commit to the full loop and get anythign less than 30 miles, you missed something. If you ever want to give it a shot - I'd suggest in the Autumn for best conditions - I'm happy to meet up and play guide for the day.

 

[1speed]

I think I've read about ten or so books over the summer, still mostly a mix of sci-fi and non-fiction. I won't go into detail on all of them, but a few highlights worth mentioning ...

I had pre-ordered the last book in Robert Jackson Bennett's Founders Trilogy, Locklands, and it was released in July. Overall, this was a very entertaining trilogy and the last book didn't disappoint, including a very satisfying ending that went beyond my expectation. Jackson is kind of a hybrid fantasy/horror writer, but TBH probably doesn't really fit neatly in either genre alone. I haven't read one of his books that I didn't enjoy - he has a pretty wild imagination and does a really nice job building out the worlds for his stories.

I also read Peter Hamilton's kind of enormous Commonwealth duology (Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained). These were just outstanding. I think I've mentioned this before, but Hamilton is great because the future worlds he builds are actually very optimistic - you'd really want to live in those worlds, even considering the huge conflicts that are at the center of his plots. Despite coming in at well over 2,000 pages total, this series flew by for me. Highly recommend!

By contrast, I also read TM Haviland's The Sentinel. This was a great idea for a story (an ancient alien race with a significant headstart on advanced intelligence plants sentinel objects throughout the galaxy as an early warning system of potentially destructive species. Humanity, it turns out, is identified as one such species.) Great idea, weak execution. I don't know exactly what it was - I think the writing itself bugged me. It's just not on the level of other authors I've read. Maybe I'm spoiled or lucky to have found styles I prefer, but everything about this book served more to point out how other authors are better more than anything else. I particulalrly hated the way Haviland writes dialogue. It felt, I don't know, chunky and unrealistic - too expository too much of the time. But the story idea is definitely a good one. I just wish it were handled better. I realize that's a personal preference thing, so I wouldn't discourage anyone from checking it out, but I just couldn't get past some of the flaws.

Finally, I'll just mention a few other books I enjoyed - I read Cargill's Sea of Rust and it's prequel (Day Zero) and I just finished Seveneves by Neal Stephenson. I'm still processing some of the rather large ideas of that last one, but it had some fascinating points to make about how people relate to one another, even in the face of total destruction.

 

[Norm]

I listened to Seveneves and quite enjoyed it. Currently reading his book, Fall. 888 pages and it is really good so far (about 150 pages in).

The Peter F Hamilton I read this summer, I did not like. I think it was Salvation, first of a trilogy. I was not a fan of the totally disparate plot lines in that book. I didn't pick up the 2nd & 3rd. It took me a long time to get through the 1st.

 

[johnbryanpeters]

Kate Beaton’s Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands

 

[JimN]

Currently reading his book, Fall. 888 pages and it is really good so far (about 150 pages in)

I'll have to check this out. I really liked Seveneves, though I wasn't really into the third act.

 

[1speed]

I listened to Seveneves and quite enjoyed it. Currently reading his book, Fall. 888 pages and it is really good so far (about 150 pages in).

The Peter F Hamilton I read this summer, I did not like. I think it was Salvation, first of a trilogy. I was not a fan of the totally disparate plot lines in that book. I didn't pick up the 2nd & 3rd. It took me a long time to get through the 1st.

I'll have to check this out. I really liked Seveneves, though I wasn't really into the third act.

I would definitely read more of Stephenson's stuff after Seveneves. And @JimN - I can see why someone would have that reaction with the third act. I absolutley loved the transition - the idea of jumping ahead so far into the future without spending time in those sort of "dark ages" between when The Endurance landed on Clef and The Ring was fully formed is a risk that only a really good writer could pull off. I think the biggest difference for me was that the entire theme of the story seemed to change abruptly at that point. It became less about the fight for humanity as a whole to survive/thrive in such a hostile world and more about the sociology of the Eves' descendants. It almost felt like it should have been a separate book. And I also kind of feel like there needs to be a follow-up because so much is still left open in that third act. I think Stephenson definitely ends the story well, and as big as some of his ideas are, it'd be impossible to wrap up all the loose ends, but without giving anything away, there's a pretty major conflict that's left completely unresolved - so much so that it almost seems like it was his intention to have a second book. But we're - what? - eight years past the publication now, so I don't think that's the plan.

@Norm - I get what you mean on Salvation. I really loved that whole trilogy but like a lot of Hamilton's stuff you kind of need a cheat sheet just to keep up with all the characters and subplots. He does bring it all home eventually, but from the two series of his I've now read I think I can safely say that you have to be willing to travel pretty far down the road with Hamilton to get that payoff. He's not one for short stories - I think Salvation probably comes out at about 1700 pages total in three volumes and The Commonwealth saga is well over 2000 pages in just two. And the number of characters who play pivotal roles is in the dozens in each series. The thing I've noticed about his stories so far is that despite their length he seems to have thought through the entire saga down to the smallest detail before he even starts writing. There are seemingly tiny throwaway details in the first book of Salvation Sequence that end up being huge factors in the final outcome.

 

[JimN]

And @JimN - I can see why someone would have that reaction with the third act. I absolutley loved the transition - the idea of jumping ahead so far into the future without spending time in those sort of "dark ages" between when The Endurance landed on Clef and The Ring was fully formed is a risk that only a really good writer could pull off.

Spoiler: Spoilers for Seveneves in here

I'm ok with the time jump, and the fact that humanity survived in space for 5000 years is cool, though pretty unbelievable. To also suggest that a group of humans survived underground for 5000 years, and humans also survived in the ocean for that amount of time is just a little too preposterous. I realize this is science fiction, and you have to suspend disbelief, but I have my limits. I also really hated the President and much of what happened at the end of part 2, but I read it when it first came out, so I don't really remember a lot of it.

 

[jShort]

Currently reading his book, Fall.

I bailed shortly after that. The metaverse didn’t do it for me.

 

[Norm]

I bailed shortly after that. The metaverse didn’t do it for me.

Understandable. I am 17% in so a lot can happen.

 

[jdog]

Just jumped into this as I am interested in the topic.. but 2 minutes in I was like.. "I KNOW THIS VOICE!"

‎Home Before Daylight: My Life on the Road with the Grateful Dead

‎Nonfiction · 2019

books.apple.com

@seanrunnette for sure!!

First post on this thread.. So here are some that i've been through of late:

‎The War of Art (Unabridged)

‎Self-Development · 2019

books.apple.com

‎12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos (Unabridged)

‎Nonfiction · 2018

books.apple.com

‎Atlas Shrugged

‎Fiction · 2009

books.apple.com

‎Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants

‎Nonfiction · 2016

books.apple.com

‎Ramayana

‎Religion & Spirituality · 1999

books.apple.com

‎Being Ram Dass (Unabridged)

‎Biographies & Memoirs · 2021

books.apple.com

‎Think Like a Monk (Unabridged)

‎Self-Development · 2020

books.apple.com

‎The E-Myth Revisited

‎Business & Personal Finance · 2005

books.apple.com

‎Chants of a Lifetime

‎Religion & Spirituality · 2018

books.apple.com

 

[jShort]

Just finished Fairy Tale, Stephen King. Good. would recommend if you are a fan.

 

[Norm]

Upgrade by Blake Crouch. This is the 3rd of his I’ve read and this was the best.

 

[iLuveketchup]

Reading 'Atlas Shrugged' at the moment. Geez... a lot of pages.

 

[qclabrat]

Anyone reading Demon Copperhead? Just picked it up

 

[Norm]

I bailed shortly after that. The metaverse didn’t do it for me.

So I put this down for a while. It lost a lot of steam after the start. I am maybe 1/3 of the way done and will start Part 5 tonight.

I just finished Unity by Jeremy Robinson. I have read several by this same author and I really do like his style. Super easy to read, which is what I am looking for much of the time. SciFi stuff, as usual. A lot of these authors (Cline, Sigler, Robinson) are really easy reads/listens and then end the book with comic book-like absurdity. I don't mind. This book somewhat did the same, but you give it a pass since I think it works well enough with the story.

I have probably read 4-5 Robinson books now and will surely continue.

 

[Big Dumb Animal]

Red rising by Peirce Brown, book one of a trilogy I believe. Very well written sci-fi where people are divided by color which dictates their status. I can definitely see influences from other stories but not enough to ruin the story and characters.