What are you reading right now?

[Merry]

I just finished The First Law series and I'm making my way thru Best Served Cold right now.

Spoiler: Best served cold spoilers

I fucking knew that bitch was fucking her brother. I can smell an incest plotline from a mile away

Same, it was very well written, the hints are there, but only if you pay attention.

I also love the Shivers stuff in there, gives us a great perspective of how he changes throughout the series. Him and Glokta are probably my favorite characters in fantasy now

Please tell me that the trouble with peace gets better half way through... I like Joe's work but this feels a bit like a slog.

It's a slow burn, the trilogy lives up to its title by the end of that one and book 3

 

[Susanna]

The Culture series is great, but some of the books kinda drag. The best one is Consider Phlebas followed by Excession. The rest are ok, but not as good as those 2.

As a fellow Phlebas enjoyer, allow me to extend my arm in high-five to you. I would put Excession as my favourite though, we don’t ever get as much Mind dialogue again and the intrigues of the Interesting Times Gang really paints the Culture in a more interesting light than just about any of the others (Phlebas and Look to Windward kind of try I suppose, but Phlebas is very different and Windward still makes the Culture come out shiny clean in the end). Yes they’re this huge, super-advanced civilisation that does good for goodness sake, but what they consider good can also be really stifling for others.

Definitely recommend you check out Algebraist if you haven’t already. The setting is just as interesting as the Culture, yet very distinct, and the Dwellers are probably my favourite aliens in any setting. They’re weird, and funny, and horrible, all at once.

 

[ScurvyRat]

Same, it was very well written, the hints are there, but only if you pay attention.

I also love the Shivers stuff in there, gives us a great perspective of how he changes throughout the series. Him and Glokta are probably my favorite characters in fantasy now


It's a slow burn, the trilogy lives up to its title by the end of that one and book 3

Spoiler: spoilers for Best Served Cold

My boy I picked up on it from the first chapter. Abercrombie always leaves hints, only mentions relevant things. I use audio books to help me go to sleep so this first chapter, I was in and out of consciousness the first time I heard it. I thought they were husband/wife from the snippets I caught while fading into sleep. It wasn't until I listened to it again the next day, that I realized my mistake. Then I saw the signs. Honestly, I thought it was pretty obvious. From the way she calls out to Shivers "Benner?" after just having fucked him, to the emphasis on their closeness. However, I brought it up to my friend who's a few chapters behind me (before the reveal) and asked him if he thought they were fucking. He said no

Glokta is perhaps one of the most compelling and well written characters I've found in fantasy. Loving the Shivers stuff, but the poisoner is more my jam. Love the incel vibes from that guy.

 

[if the light takes us]

I finished Best Served Cold last month and I'm hoping to get to The Heroes sometime this month. My plan right now is to read through the rest of the series from now to August.
The Blade Itself is my favourite so far, but it's not the best: I just love a well-done, slow political and court life drama. Everyone gives love to Logen and Glokta, rightfully so, but Jezal is the best in my eyes. Monza is my second fave.

 

[MerriedxReldnahc]

I was checking out a Free Little Library on my walk and I found a book called Need Change? Customer Service Tips to Grow From Good to Great
I am a sperg in many ways, but probably the most beneficial for me is that I’m a sperg for good customer service and being a good employee. I go into work every day with the mission that I am going to provide the best motherfucking service you’ve had all day. Making enough tips in a day to buy my whole immediate family Chinese food for dinner left me awash in hubris.

Spoiler: Knowledge

Opening the book I was very excited to see that my copy of Need Change? Customer Service Tips to Grow From Good to Great is autographed by the author herself! It included the note, “To Miriam, Run Wild!” How could Miriam have let this priceless gift go? Maybe she ran too wild, her customer service skills became too powerful. She has ascended.

I had to look at the publication date multiple times, as this book feels like a product of the 1990’s from its art to graphic design choices, to the authors insistence that the internet is “only a few years old”. It was actually published in 2015 and claims that “By the year 2020 Customer Service will overtake price and product as the single most important element in business success.”

As for the actual book it’s a lot of disjointed anecdotes that leave you wondering how exactly they relate to the subject of the chapter. For example, she describes a colleague going to IHOP and pouring ranch dressing all over the table to kill a line of ants propagating by the pancake syrups. This relates to teamwork because she says so.
There is an instance where she directs you to watch a Louis C.K clip on Youtube by telling you "Watch it by looking for Ep 106 CopMovie on YouTube". This results in Indian television suggestions. There's a few pictures in the book that are preceded by "Look at this funny image I found on my Facebook that is relevant to my point:" Aside from a few “Research shows…” comments that are never cited or elaborated on, most of the book is personal anecdotes that boil down to “I went to this one shop and they didn’t remember the request I made 5 months ago!” and “This place is great because they gave me free stuff!” This book is your drunk aunt's Facebook feed.

I can only conclude that Good Customer Service is doing what the Author personally likes. She will inspect your potted plants. She will check the date of your waiting room magazines to ensure they are recent enough. And you better not fucking have a discarded package of Red Vines within 50 feet of your building or she will monitor how long it has been there before inquiring to every one of your staff members if they’ve seen the package. And yet I want to like this woman, she sounds like at least as big of a sperg as I am about a tidy shop.

I lent the book to my mom because I think she’ll want to strangle the author.

 

[Sacrarium Spiritus lumine]

Orthodoxy and heritics, from GK Chesterton; and The Abolition of Man, by CS Lewis . These three books are about as close to pragmatic prophecy as you can imagine.

 

[CowPox]

 

[William Murderface]

And now I'm on to Jacked: The Outlaw Story of Grand Theft Auto by David Kushner.

 

[glass_houses]

Can someone recommend an annotated edition of The King in Yellow? It's next on my list, but there are multiple different annotated editions, and I'm not sure which to go for.

 

[cold comfort]

Read Lapvona by Ottessa Moshfegh. Describes a year in a medieval village, featuring among others a deformed 13 year old boy, his rapist shepherd father, the village 'witch', the pathetic cruel lord of the manor, and his materialist priest lackey. Mostly a tedious litany of depravity. I didn't find anything interesting about it, not the plot, or the characters, or the writing itself.

Also read a play, Prima Facie, which has a cover like a Blade Runner 2049 meme

But it's actually a Serious story by former criminal defense lawyer Suzie Miller about a woman from a poor background who worked her way up to becoming a fancy London barrister who enjoys toying with witnesses and poking holes in their stories to get her clients off. But then she's raped by one of the lawyers from her chambers, she files a police report, and now she's the one in the witness box having to relive what happened and having her words twisted and having any uncertainty about minutiae used against her. It's an interesting subject, but I felt like it was written just as awareness-raising material. Maybe it's because I'm not used to reading modern plays, and maybe it would be better seeing it performed, but I thought the writing was pretty awful. The story was trope-riddled, and the main character gives a big speech spelling out the play's thesis at the end, while still in court in the witness stand. Cringe/10.

 

[Badungus Kabungus]

Re-read Victor Pelevin's S.N.U.F.F. again the other day, and currently in the process of finishing Better Than Sex by Hunter S. Thompson, it's about the 1992 Clinton campaign.

 

[Jonah Hill poster]

I know he was made fun of by Nick Fuentes and the Groyper Army on X last week, but I still want to read this book, since it contains some of Sailer’s best writings for over 50 years. It looks pretty interesting.

 

[Jerri's Kid]

I'm reading Midnight Express, which is about a guy who gets thrown into a Turkish prison for attempting to smuggle hashish. I just started, so I'm not sure if I like it yet. It's short and easy to read, however. I'll probably watch the film after I've finished.

 

[AnOminous]

I'm reading Midnight Express, which is about a guy who gets thrown into a Turkish prison for attempting to smuggle hashish. I just started, so I'm not sure if I like it yet. It's short and easy to read, however. I'll probably watch the film after I've finished.

I haven't read that but I have watched the film, which is excellent if kind of depressing.

 

[Hweeks]

After American Psycho I needed a palette cleanser so I started Masters of the Air. History of the American bomber pilots during WW2. They made a mini-sires I'll never watch about it. The book is good, but kind of dry unless you are into planes and military history/tactics.

 

[Merry]

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I know he was made fun of by Nick Fuentes and the Groyper Army on X last week, but I still want to read this book, since it contains some of Sailer’s best writings for over 50 years. It looks pretty interesting.

Best to ignore what the cult does to maximize their prophet's visibility over the other contenders for le petite Fuhrer.

On the subject of political writings, I will always preach Carl Schmitt's works, all of them. He cuts through the fat straight to the heart of the problems of post-Enlightenment thinking

 

[Viper the rappah]

I got myself tex and judge dredd law of death
I'm not much of an comic book reader but i decided to buy

 

[Alexander Thaut]

I've picked up more sci-fi on the cheap. But right now I'm swapping between The Black Company (Cook) and bits of City (Simak).

Ordered The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Rogue Moon, and To your Scattered Bodies Go on the cheap.

 

[AnOminous]

I've picked up more sci-fi on the cheap. But right now I'm swapping between The Black Company (Cook) and bits of City (Simak).

Ordered The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Rogue Moon, and To your Scattered Bodies Go on the cheap.

I really like all those Riverworld books by Philip Jose Farmer even though they're arguably trash. The one with Twain was really fun.

 

[Alexander Thaut]

I really like all those Riverworld books by Philip Jose Farmer even though they're arguably trash. The one with Twain was really fun.

I've only really read his story in Dangerous Visions, but I figure a guy that adores the pulps he grew up with can't be all that bad.

I basically wound up with Riverworld and Dayworld's first volumes for 6 bucks total.