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Happy new year!
(Post shamelessly stolen from thread starters of the prior years)
Previous threads:
2011 (49 pages)
2012 (58 pages)
2013 (165 pages!(!!!))
2014 (back to 75 pages  )
2015 (54 pages We miss you, sam)
2016 (18 pages boo)
2017 (17 pages I think we are converging)
2018 (19 pages, I am fine with that)
Format:
1) What you just finished reading (or gave up half way through)
2) What are you currently reading
3) What you plan to read next
Try to post both the book title in text as well as image. The Amazon images usually work well. The random google images are sometimes too big or too small.
It would also be great if you could post a little something along with the books. Did you like it, why or why not? How was the plot, how was writing style, how was the character development? What makes the book you are currently reading interesting? It’s not 100% necessary that you do so, but it tends to foster lively discussion of books, which is really what this thread is all about.
Also, please try to keep criticism of entire genres out of this thread. If you didn’t like a particular book then feel free to say so, but it’s not terribly productive to state that you dislike all of science fiction or existentialist literature etc.
Use spoilers appropriately, obviously.
Thanks to Cambiumpackrat386Surth for the OP that I basically stole from last year
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Reading:
![[image loading]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51fp4oxiBaL._SX327_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)
I have not made much progress over the last few days due to family duties. Still fantastic.
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Almost done with :
![[image loading]](https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1173812259l/331256.jpg)
Had a really slow reading for the past 2 months last year. I was too occupied with RL and vidya games lately.
Next would be Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick
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Recently I started reading Brandon Sanderson s non-Cosmere books, started with Skyward, which came out a few months ago
![[image loading]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61kYThMpzVL._SX325_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)
It is very very good, I ve seen it tagged as young-adult, which I would only partially concede to. It is a very well written sci-fi from a technical point of view, characters feel very real, world building is top notch. 2nd book is done, gonna be released this year, with 2 more in the waiting.
Currently reading the Reckoners series, which has a post-apocalyptic alternate Earth setting. Basically it s a superhero comic-book type of book-series, a strange event starts giving people power, but instead of becoming superheros, they pretty much all go the opposite route, becoming tyrants and the current world-order / civilization collapses. Read the first one, Steelheart, and im halfway into the 2nd book, Firefight. It s an enjoyable read, but not as good as Skyward or Sanderson s Cosmere books (Mistborn, Stormlight Archives, Warbreaker etc.)
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I'm a few chapters in to this:
The Stone Gods - Jeanette Winterson
![[image loading]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41ftDp27TKL._SX326_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)
On recommendation from a friend. I'm really enjoying the odd writing style an imaginative ideas.
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United States963 Posts
has anyone ever read 'worm' by john mccrae? i tend to have to finish what i start so at 1.68m words it's a heavy investment. i think it originally started out as a writing exercise and finished as a massive superhero book so somewhat dubious to how good it could be but have heard a lot of good things.
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Ah I see some of you are men of culture as well, reading Brandon Sanderson.
ATM I am on "Shadow of Self"
![[image loading]](https://images-eu.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51wwZf-x69L._AA300_.jpg)
which is part 5 of the mistborn series. In truth this is part 2 of the 2nd series after the main events of the mistborn trilogy set some 1000 (?) after the main trilogy concluded. Its got that kind of western/steampunk feel to it now, but still with the great magic system in place =)
I guess the feeling is best described as a little bit similar to King's "The Dark Tower" series with the main guy being a revolver-wielding lawman. I am enjoying it quite a bit. Obviously after part 2 will come part 3 "The Bands of Mourning". I also heard that there will be a part 4, so I'm looking forward to that ^^
After that, I also have Sanderson's "Oathbringer" on backlog to read. I'm looking forward to getting back into that fantasy world and characters.
![[image loading]](https://images-eu.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51W2n96U-gL._SY346_.jpg)
I also purchased Glen Cook's Chronicles of the Black Company series and will try to dive into those books in the coming weeks/months. ![[image loading]](http://www.sandimagebooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/the-black-company-1-10-by-glen-cook.jpg)
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On January 07 2019 01:49 Latham wrote:Ah I see some of you are men of culture as well, reading Brandon Sanderson. ATM I am on "Shadow of Self" which is part 5 of the mistborn series. In truth this is part 2 of the 2nd series after the main events of the mistborn trilogy set some 1000 (?) after the main trilogy concluded. Its got that kind of western/steampunk feel to it now, but still with the great magic system in place =) I guess the feeling is best described as a little bit similar to King's "The Dark Tower" series with the main guy being a revolver-wielding lawman. I am enjoying it quite a bit. Obviously after part 2 will come part 3 "The Bands of Mourning". I also heard that there will be a part 4, so I'm looking forward to that ^^ After that, I also have Sanderson's "Oathbringer" on backlog to read. I'm looking forward to getting back into that fantasy world and characters. I also purchased Glen Cook's Chronicles of the Black Company series and will try to dive into those books in the coming weeks/months.
Oh, you lucky man, you still have Oathbringer to read, this year! And I understand he just started working on Stormlight Archive book 4. Also, if you havent already, read Warbreaker before Oathbringer. It is a smaller Cosmere book, on another world, with a different magic-system, but there are a lot of small and not so small crossovers/ easterggs with Oathbringer. And a very cool story on its own right. I think it can be found for free on Brandon's website.
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Finished Roadside Picnic. It was oddly straightforward and had some semblance of being well-grounded compared to other stuff.
Not an explosive ending but not all endings have to be explosive to be good(Hyperion as an example).
Overall it was worth the money.
Started Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep around 50 pages. So far so good and easily digestible (which is surprising as it is a very old work that tackles a complex concept ) so i'm starting to see why this is popular(not just because of bladerunner which i haven't seen)
On January 07 2019 01:49 Latham wrote:Ah I see some of you are men of culture as well, reading Brandon Sanderson. ATM I am on "Shadow of Self" which is part 5 of the mistborn series. In truth this is part 2 of the 2nd series after the main events of the mistborn trilogy set some 1000 (?) after the main trilogy concluded. Its got that kind of western/steampunk feel to it now, but still with the great magic system in place =) I guess the feeling is best described as a little bit similar to King's "The Dark Tower" series with the main guy being a revolver-wielding lawman. I am enjoying it quite a bit. Obviously after part 2 will come part 3 "The Bands of Mourning". I also heard that there will be a part 4, so I'm looking forward to that ^^ After that, I also have Sanderson's "Oathbringer" on backlog to read. I'm looking forward to getting back into that fantasy world and characters. I also purchased Glen Cook's Chronicles of the Black Company series and will try to dive into those books in the coming weeks/months.
SoS is pretty fucking good but i'll let you read it for yourself as to why. Oathbringer is just as good as the two prequels but you already know that prolly.
Ohh black company
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Reading:
![[image loading]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61a6Kkcun2L._SX342_.jpg)
I liked the first two books a lot and i'm surprised as how good the Codex Alera series is, considering how it came to be.
scifi.stackexchange.com
I tried The Black Company but it was so bad i could not finish it. It's written in first person i a style i found very annoying. Something like this:
"I wake up. I hear a knock at the door. I get up. I walk to the door. I open the door. I look who it is."
On top of this, the characters were not interesting and the plot was going nowhere. It seemed to just be a successions of scenes meant to shock, for the sake of shocking. It left me with the same sense as a horror movie which relies on grossing people out instead of actually being scary.
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Speaking of Brandon Sanderson, I have now finished both mistborn series as well as the stormlight archives (as far as published), about to finish skyward and looking to read Warbreaker next. Would you recommened reading any of his short stories next? Or Elantris? Or something I am missing completely?
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On January 10 2019 01:59 Spook wrote:Reading: I liked the first two books a lot and i'm surprised as how good the Codex Alera series is, considering how it came to be. scifi.stackexchange.comI tried The Black Company but it was so bad i could not finish it. It's written in first person i a style i found very annoying. Something like this: "I wake up. I hear a knock at the door. I get up. I walk to the door. I open the door. I look who it is." On top of this, the characters were not interesting and the plot was going nowhere. It seemed to just be a successions of scenes meant to shock, for the sake of shocking. It left me with the same sense as a horror movie which relies on grossing people out instead of actually being scary.
I haven't read the Codex Alera. I read a lot of the Dresden files. The stackexchange calling Jim Butcher (or maybe a quote of himself) a good author is a bit of a stretch though. It's entertaining. But it's repetitive pulp that he can churn out one after the other with mediocre writing. Oh, and every single woman is incredibly attractive. And he spends at least a few pages in every book describing exactly how attractive they are. I understand it's aimed at adolescents with raging hormones, but come on...
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Brandon Sanderson exists on exactly on the line where I want to own physical copies of the book. Most of the "disposable" fantasy I have read exist on my Kindle. Including Mist Born, which I enjoyed a ton, but will never re-read. But as his books have continued, I think I want physical copies.
Also, I know it shouldn't matter, but I do like that his books have different styles of cover art in his later works. So many publishers just stick with one or two artists. That Oathbringing's art makes me want to return to The Stormlight Archive series.
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On January 10 2019 23:12 InFiNitY[pG] wrote:
Speaking of Brandon Sanderson, I have now finished both mistborn series as well as the stormlight archives (as far as published), about to finish skyward and looking to read Warbreaker next. Would you recommened reading any of his short stories next? Or Elantris? Or something I am missing completely?
I finished all his Cosmere stuff starting in 2018 and ending roughly near the end of the year and just picked up Rofthus's books.
If you want to read the standalones from Sanderson it depends on how invested you are in the Cosmere at this point.
Since you read both Mistborn series you will definitely enjoy Secret History which is a short story in Arcanum unbound (start with this)
And if you havent read Edgedancer I would recommend that aswell.
You could just pick up Arcanum unbound but most of the other stories other than these 2 might not make much sense. So I wouldnt suggest reading the other stories before atleast Reading Elantris and Warbreaker, but again I didnt follow my own advice and still enjoyed..
My order was
3 Stormlight (edgedancer goes with this)
Warbreaker
3 Mistborn (Secrety History)
Elantris (Emperors Soul from Arcanum goes with this but is unrelated to the story, just same world)
Arcanum Unbound (various collection of short stories from Cosmere worlds including the above)
3 Mistborn 2 (this set is fresh for me since I just wrapped up before the Holidays and I enjoyed it ALOT I was very sad to find that its been pushed to 2020 at the earliest after initially being planned for this year)
White Stand (not very good)
If I had a choice to go back I would probably have gone
Mistborn
Mistborn 2
Stormlight (Stormlight or Mistborn first doesnt really matter)
Arcanum (the stories related to these two)
Warbreaker
Elantris
Finish of Arcanum
Fuck White Sand.
Its nice feel good young adult fantasy so its pretty nice. I wouldnt say I could comfortably fanboy any of them but I am bit of a completionist and I can say I certainly enjoyed all of them except well White San which I forced myself to finish and its a graphic Novel. I havent really read any Fantasy before this except Tolkien seriously (which was alongg time ago) so it was quite refreshing to stuff I normally read.
I started the KingKiller books the first of which is pretty good so far. Very different writing style alot more absorbing in its ability to draw you into the story telling, but the world building and magic/power systems arent quite as fun so far.
On January 11 2019 03:18 Plansix wrote:
Brandon Sanderson exists on exactly on the line where I want to own physical copies of the book. Most of the "disposable" fantasy I have read exist on my Kindle. Including Mist Born, which I enjoyed a ton, but will never re-read. But as his books have continued, I think I want physical copies.
Also, I know it shouldn't matter, but I do like that his books have different styles of cover art in his later works. So many publishers just stick with one or two artists. That Oathbringing's art makes me want to return to The Stormlight Archive series.
Oathbringer was my favourite of the lot, I must say the first third of Way of Kings was a chore but I never drop books and in this case Im glad I didnt.
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On January 10 2019 23:12 InFiNitY[pG] wrote:
Speaking of Brandon Sanderson, I have now finished both mistborn series as well as the stormlight archives (as far as published), about to finish skyward and looking to read Warbreaker next. Would you recommened reading any of his short stories next? Or Elantris? Or something I am missing completely?
Definitely read Warbreaker! While every single one of Sanderson's Cosmere stories are readable as stand-alone books/series, Warbreaker has a lot of easter eggs/hidden gems/crossovers with Oathbringer (not just Hoid).
It's a very cool story, i was put off by the description of the book I've seen on Goodreads or somewhere, which went something like this [Romance] [Adventure] "Two princesses of a troubled kingdom set out to...." and I was like, ok, screw that.... It's not that! I think it's one of the best book he has written, and it isnt super long.
I'm totally in love with the Stormlight Archives series which is by far the most ambitious epic fantasy series to this day, more about the structure, it's not actual spoilers: + Show Spoiler +Each book is basically a trilogy and a series of short stories/novella (flashbacks) woven into a single book. The books are planned out to be a double series of 5+5 books, in total 10 books, which if he keeps up the page-numbers of the first 3 are gonna be equivalent of about 25 normal sized fantasy books. Compare that to other very long series, and (if he finishes) he's gonna dwarf them all. Like the Malazan book of the fallen have 10 books, but the overarching structure is very loose, you could easily skip entire books and plot-lines and the end-game wouldnt change. And that's just the size, the fake-history and the magic-system involved are top notch etc etc
As for Elantris, the problem for me was that I have read it after Mistborn, SA, and Warbreaker. Elantris was his first Cosmere full novel, and while it's very good and won him a lot of recognition and paved the way for the rest of the Cosmere, it's just not as good compared to his later work. If I could go back in time, for full enjoyment of the Cosmere I would read it like this.
1. Soul of the emperor
2. Elantris
3. Mistborn Era 1 and possibly Era 2 as well
4. Way of Kings, Words of Radiance (EDIT: +Edgedencer)
5. Warbreaker
6. Oathbringer
(7. Mistborn Era 2 if I didnt read it after the era 1)
Havent read White sand, since afaik the graphic novel is as of yet uncomplete, waiting for the final installment to be released. There are 2 more short stories Im gonna read in the coming days, Sixth of the Dusk and Shadows for the Silence in the forest
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On January 11 2019 16:39 Geo.Rion wrote:Show nested quote +On January 10 2019 23:12 InFiNitY[pG] wrote:
Speaking of Brandon Sanderson, I have now finished both mistborn series as well as the stormlight archives (as far as published), about to finish skyward and looking to read Warbreaker next. Would you recommened reading any of his short stories next? Or Elantris? Or something I am missing completely? Definitely read Warbreaker! While every single one of Sanderson's Cosmere stories are readable as stand-alone books/series, Warbreaker has a lot of easter eggs/hidden gems/crossovers with Oathbringer (not just Hoid). It's a very cool story, i was put off by the description of the book I've seen on Goodreads or somewhere, which went something like this [Romance] [Adventure] "Two princesses of a troubled kingdom set out to...." and I was like, ok, screw that.... It's not that! I think it's one of the best book he has written, and it isnt super long. I'm totally in love with the Stormlight Archives series which is by far the most ambitious epic fantasy series to this day, more about the structure, it's not actual spoilers: + Show Spoiler +Each book is basically a trilogy and a series of short stories/novella (flashbacks) woven into a single book. The books are planned out to be a double series of 5+5 books, in total 10 books, which if he keeps up the page-numbers of the first 3 are gonna be equivalent of about 25 normal sized fantasy books. Compare that to other very long series, and (if he finishes) he's gonna dwarf them all. Like the Malazan book of the fallen have 10 books, but the overarching structure is very loose, you could easily skip entire books and plot-lines and the end-game wouldnt change. And that's just the size, the fake-history and the magic-system involved are top notch etc etc . I admit that when i first picked it up for a while I was like, well, ok, not as good as Mistborn, but now im totally on the S.A hypetrain. As for Elantris, the problem for me was that I have read it after Mistborn, SA, and Warbreaker. Elantris was his first Cosmere full novel, and while it's very good and won him a lot of recognition and paved the way for the rest of the Cosmere, it's just not as good compared to his later work. If I could go back in time, for full enjoyment of the Cosmere I would read it like this. 1. Soul of the emperor 2. Elantris 3. Mistborn Era 1 and possibly Era 2 as well 4. Way of Kings, Words of Radiance 5. Warbreaker 6. Oathbringer (7. Mistborn Era 2 if I didnt read it after the era 1) Havent read White sand, since afaik the graphic novel is as of yet uncomplete, waiting for the final installment to be released. There are 2 more short stories Im gonna read in the coming days, Sixth of the Dusk and Shadows for the Silence in the forest
Curious, can I ask why you would place Emperors Soul at the top ? + Show Spoiler +I think for that one having a better idea of how the cosmere's magic systems work (especially given the particular skils in Emperors Soul are closer to some abilities in Stormlight then the actual world its set in)
I think your order is great but I disagree with the first choice.+ Show Spoiler + You would end up finishing a short story that segues properly into nothing and doesnt build onto anything (because you havent gone through the content that elaborates the concepts used so heavily in that particular story)
Sixth of the Dusk and Shadows for Silence are huger teases btw. They are standalone entries that give tantalizing tidbits that reference events across to the Cosmere but leave you with more questions then you started with.
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United States963 Posts
i really enjoy sanderson but man i really disliked elantris and i dont dislike many things. not sure where the love of it comes from. relatedly, i just finished the powder mage trilogy by brian mcclellan. pretty strong sanderson influence in his writing. i think he was taught by him at some point. mostly reads as a less strong (but still enjoyable) version of sanderson but with better characterization.
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I have read Elnatris long time ago and the only thing i remmeber from it is it being "ok", nothing spectacular.
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On January 11 2019 16:58 Rebs wrote:Show nested quote +On January 11 2019 16:39 Geo.Rion wrote:On January 10 2019 23:12 InFiNitY[pG] wrote:
Speaking of Brandon Sanderson, I have now finished both mistborn series as well as the stormlight archives (as far as published), about to finish skyward and looking to read Warbreaker next. Would you recommened reading any of his short stories next? Or Elantris? Or something I am missing completely? Definitely read Warbreaker! While every single one of Sanderson's Cosmere stories are readable as stand-alone books/series, Warbreaker has a lot of easter eggs/hidden gems/crossovers with Oathbringer (not just Hoid). It's a very cool story, i was put off by the description of the book I've seen on Goodreads or somewhere, which went something like this [Romance] [Adventure] "Two princesses of a troubled kingdom set out to...." and I was like, ok, screw that.... It's not that! I think it's one of the best book he has written, and it isnt super long. I'm totally in love with the Stormlight Archives series which is by far the most ambitious epic fantasy series to this day, more about the structure, it's not actual spoilers: + Show Spoiler +Each book is basically a trilogy and a series of short stories/novella (flashbacks) woven into a single book. The books are planned out to be a double series of 5+5 books, in total 10 books, which if he keeps up the page-numbers of the first 3 are gonna be equivalent of about 25 normal sized fantasy books. Compare that to other very long series, and (if he finishes) he's gonna dwarf them all. Like the Malazan book of the fallen have 10 books, but the overarching structure is very loose, you could easily skip entire books and plot-lines and the end-game wouldnt change. And that's just the size, the fake-history and the magic-system involved are top notch etc etc . I admit that when i first picked it up for a while I was like, well, ok, not as good as Mistborn, but now im totally on the S.A hypetrain. As for Elantris, the problem for me was that I have read it after Mistborn, SA, and Warbreaker. Elantris was his first Cosmere full novel, and while it's very good and won him a lot of recognition and paved the way for the rest of the Cosmere, it's just not as good compared to his later work. If I could go back in time, for full enjoyment of the Cosmere I would read it like this. 1. Soul of the emperor 2. Elantris 3. Mistborn Era 1 and possibly Era 2 as well 4. Way of Kings, Words of Radiance 5. Warbreaker 6. Oathbringer (7. Mistborn Era 2 if I didnt read it after the era 1) Havent read White sand, since afaik the graphic novel is as of yet uncomplete, waiting for the final installment to be released. There are 2 more short stories Im gonna read in the coming days, Sixth of the Dusk and Shadows for the Silence in the forest Curious, can I ask why you would place Emperors Soul at the top ? + Show Spoiler +I think for that one having a better idea of how the cosmere's magic systems work (especially given the particular skils in Emperors Soul are closer to some abilities in Stormlight then the actual world its set in) I think your order is great but I disagree with the first choice. + Show Spoiler + You would end up finishing a short story that segues properly into nothing and doesnt build onto anything (because you havent gone through the content that elaborates the concepts used so heavily in that particular story)
Sixth of the Dusk and Shadows for Silence are huger teases btw. They are standalone entries that give tantalizing tidbits that reference events across to the Cosmere but leave you with more questions then you started with.
I put the Emperor's soul first because it's a very strong, but short story, and you get a sense of how well Sanderson writes. As i've said, for me Elantris wasnt as enjoyable, i attribute it to reading it late, but I guess i cannot be sure. So I would rather have started with that, but I agree, The Emperor's soul can definitely be read later on, even after S.A., it doesnt suffer.
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I agree that Elantris is the weakest of the novels for sure. Its clear he was still developing at that point. Emperors Soul is clearly a more mature work and right up there as a short story.
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Almost finished:
Autbiography of Yukichi Fukuzawa
![[image loading]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51myFiUDySL._AC_UL436_.jpg)
Economics in One Lesson
![[image loading]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71Cc5NLGL9L._AC_UL436_.jpg)
Just starting:
Theurgy and the Soul: The Neoplatonism of Iamblichus
![[image loading]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61z+3twPtVL._AC_UL436_.jpg)
Fukuzawa's biography is a lot of fun. He comes across very likable and honest and his life is a heck of a story. Economics I'm trying to at least learn a bare minimum to give better understanding of history and current events. I like this book but I'm sure it's extremely simplified. Very excited to start the theurgy book. Neoplatonism seems to offer a good philosophical grounding for polytheism but I had a hard time trying to dive in to the primary texts. This seems fairly easy to read so far and might be what I've been searching for.
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WCS![[image loading]](https://i0.wp.com/www.tor.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/reckoners-series.jpg?fit=740%2C+9999&crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C373px&ssl=1)
