What are you reading right now?

[Zero0]

The Martian left me sort of unimpressed with the quirky humour and characterization, do you think this book is better style-wise?

It's the exact same

 

[Meat Target]

I finished The Dragon Reborn the other day. Applause.

 

[WhiskeyZuluLima]

Given it's almost year end I've compiled a little collage of everything I have read or audiobooked. It's tacky, crap, and shows how much of a goony nerd I am - but it's interesting to see my reading habits in play. Generally speaking, it's in columns from left to right in terms of order of reading. There's still one thing I have on the go which I will probably finish next week, but it'll have to suffice being missed on here.
If anyone else keeps a record of what you read, I'd be interested nosy to see.

 

[Candlelight Desolation]

Winston Churchill biography.

 

[The Keebler Elf]

I recently finished Dear Leader: My Escape from North Korea by Jang Jin-Sung. It's a biography from a North Korean government employee, and I found it very interesting. Jin-Sung tells the story of how he escaped the north, and gives a lot of information on how the North Korean regime works.

One thing I found very interesting was what Jin-Sung did working for what's called the UFD. Jin-Sung talks about what's called "localization" where he, and about 7 other writers pretend to be South Korean writers who are sympathetic with North Korea.

If you have any interest in North Korea, I would definitely recommend it because it's a personal story of his escape and provides extensive information on the government under Kim Jong-Il.

 

[LatinasAreTheFuture]

Evo-devo is really cool. I knew that change can come from a lot of places, but I didn’t realize how much development impacts life.

 

[verissimus]

Winston Churchill biography.

By William Manchester?

 

[🔪Cold Steel Brand Rep🔪]

The Power Broker by Robert Caro. I've been listening to a lot of engineering and city planning podcasts since the plague hit and I couldn't help but fall into the story of the most prolific black neighborhood mover in American history. The phrase "send the train on through" personified.

 

[Candlelight Desolation]

By William Manchester?

Yes.

 

[wtfNeedSignUp]

Now starting to read Conan stories, they are pretty alright. He goes to a new place, kills people and moves to another place.

 

[DJ Grelle]

I am tending the fireplace at the family Christmas gathering so I'm staring into the flames quite a bit.
It's rather hypnotic and more philosophical than most books.

 

[The Potatomatic 2000]

If anyone else keeps a record of what you read, I'd be interested nosy to see.

My expert edit. This is it so far this year. I will fit in a couple more manga volumes and novels, but so far this is it. Not everything was a good read, but hey.
Right now I'm reading Vita Nostra by Marina and Sergey Dyachenko.

 

[Ms. 45]

I'm reading The Real Anthony Fauci:: Bill Gates, Big Pharma, and the Global War on Democracy and Public Health by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Bobby Jr. has produced a book with more diligent research, and more meticulous references, than I've seen in a long time. Of course, if you love Fauci and are looking forward to your next "booster," you might not be able to handle it. Kennedy Jr. saw his uncle's and his father's heads blown off: he's no lolcow. He's spent his life in children's health issues. He wasn't able to help Chris-Chan or Null, but he has a pretty good record.

 

[WhiskeyZuluLima]

My expert edit. This is it so far this year. I will fit in a couple more manga volumes and novels, but so far this is it. Not everything was a good read, but hey.
Right now I'm reading Vita Nostra by Marina and Sergey Dyachenko.

I've been considering reading Osman's Thursday Murder Club, I will probably get to it next year at this point. The amount of anime/manga (I don't know the difference, don't bother) surprises me - although I did the same with WH40k stuff so I can't much judge. I take it by the presence of all those Monster Hunter novels you enjoyed them - they're another one I have been considering, although have put off for no discernable reason. Good reading year to you!

 

[The Potatomatic 2000]

I've been considering reading Osman's Thursday Murder Club, I will probably get to it next year at this point. The amount of anime/manga (I don't know the difference, don't bother) surprises me - although I did the same with WH40k stuff so I can't much judge. I take it by the presence of all those Monster Hunter novels you enjoyed them - they're another one I have been considering, although have put off for no discernable reason. Good reading year to you!

Thursday Murder Club, to me, was mostly interesting because of the characters. The mystery itself is a bit so-so, but it's pretty dang hilarious how the old people interact and such. I got it for my mother as well, she will enjoy it.

Correia is so much fun. There is something he does like a master, namely taking magical creatures and concepts and fitting them into modern life perfectly. It's not just "but now with wizards", he finds the parallels of lore and modern life/pop culture and in that sense, I think he is one of the top Urban Fantasy authors.
Of course, his stories also give me freedom boners, but that's another story.

Manga is the written form. I mostly just read two series, one is Spy x Family, which is this adorable, funny, quirky thing that just gives you nice, positive feelings.
And Chainsaw Man. Which is the opposite. It's action-packed and fun, but also the story and the main character's way of life is so damn depressing and heartbreaking. Like even when nothing big happens, the way he interacts with everyday things, like food, makes me really feel for him.

 

[ForgedBlades]

Recently fell back down the Mormon rabbit hole, so I've been reading a lot of LDS history books lately. Just to be clear, I'm not talking about the Mormon "gospel" (although I do recommend reading through the Book of Mormon because it's fucking bananas), I'm talking about the history of the church itself, Smith, the "translation" process, and their movement west. It's bat shit crazy. Real talk, if you're a fan of American history you are doing yourself a disservice if you don't read up on this history of Mormonism. It's the most hilarious, fascinating shit. I watched the South Park episode years ago and said, "This can't be real." Turns out it's even crazier than they made it out to be.

Anyway, I just finished up Kingdom of Nauvoo by Benjamin E. Park. Nauvoo being the "Zion" smith established in Illinois before being murdered by a mob. Good, quick read. Probably the best out there on the subject. The church recently "declassified" a lot of documents from that time, so new research is starting to be published. I always thought Smith's ultimate undoing was the fact that he couldn't keep his dick in his pants, but it really mostly had to do with the fucked up political climate of the 1840s western territories and the fight between the Democrats and Whigs in Washington. Would recommend. No knowledge of Mormonism required, and the book's theses are mostly centered around the political climate of antebellum America.

Working through Brodie's 1945 biography on Smith now. I read Bushman's years ago which I guess is considered the "definitive" one, but it's very apologetic toward Mormonism. Brodie I believe was an ex-Mormon when she wrote the book, so it'll be interesting to compare them.

 

[Jonah Hill poster]

I don’t even drink alcohol, but if I end up sounding like an angry drunk talking about why democracy was a mistake, you’ll know why.

 

[Not Jewish Wario]

Decided to get into reading. Starting my first Brandon Sanderson novel, "Mistborn".

 

[Cheerlead-in-Chief]

"No Gods, No Monsters"" by Cadwell Turnbull
A confusing LGBTQ+ poly relationship thriller (?) with shifters/werewolves/dragons, secret societies and alternate universes and politics set in USA and the Caribbean
One of the characters is Ace/Trans and his barber was his lover and went "What?!" over the poly relationship before the two black men fucked (and spooned)
It also almost ended with a shooting by 12 people

 

[Fortunato Brown]

"No Gods, No Monsters"" by Cadwell Turnbull
A confusing LGBTQ+ poly relationship thriller (?) with shifters/werewolves/dragons, secret societies and alternate universes and politics set in USA and the Caribbean

Um... how did you even find this? Are you reading it as a joke?