What are you reading?

[Fake Messiah]

I was reading the autobiography by astrophysicist Hakeem Oluseyi, "Quantum Life", where he notes that when his girlfriend accidentally got pregnant: "My first thought was: We only did it a couple of times and I pulled out!"

And my first thought was: "The doctor doesn't know that pulling out is not a safe method because the penis frequently drips sperm before the full ejaculation."

[Nanny]

Absolution Gap by Alistair Reynolds

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absolution_Gap

I've been enjoying this series, though they are dense reads.

[Mister Agenda]

Absolution Gap by Alistair Reynolds

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absolution_Gap

I've been enjoying this series, though they are dense reads.

I admire your courage. The Wikipedia description alone is enough to scare me off.

[Nanny]

Absolution Gap by Alistair Reynolds

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absolution_Gap

I've been enjoying this series, though they are dense reads.

I admire your courage. The Wikipedia description alone is enough to scare me off.

Yeah, his stuff is definitely not easy reading and the complexity of the universe is dribbled out in disjointed timelines. I cheat and refer to the wiki when I can't remember which characters are with which faction. The plot of the series is related to the collision of the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies, humanoids augmented with tech, and a "post-sentient" society of machines whose job is to inhibit intelligent life from gaining intergalactic travel. This one will take a couple of months with breaks for brain candy like Walter Mosely to break it up.

[Mister Agenda]

In my old age, I almost only read brain candy.

[Ravenshire]

I'm working my way through Stephen King's entire catalog, from "Carrie," his first published work to the not yet published but about to hit the shelves "The End of the World as we Know It," a collection of short stories based in the world of "The Stand." His earliest works still hold up well today, but there's an era that runs from roughly 1987, starting with the publication of "The Tommyknockers"ad running through 1995 and the publication of "Rose Madder" in 1995, that I refer to as his mid-career slump. Those works are very hit and miss. Mostly miss, though there are a few gems. "Rose Madder" is IMHO his worst work to date. After that, while he never regains his pre-Tommyknocker form, he evens out quite a bit, and some that I had dismissed as poor were a pleasant surprise on re-reading them. Most notably "Dreamcatcher" and "From a Buick 8." Neither are particularly good novels, but were much better than I remembered them being. I'm currently on "Sleeping Beauties" which he co-wrote with his son Owen which is new to me, and it's been creepy good so far. Next up are the last of the re-reads, the Bill Hodges trilogy and I'm looking forward to re-reading those. After that, it's all playing catch-up. Nine books either released or anbout to hit the shelves, and a tenth (a third "Talisman" book) already announced. I've got catching up to do.

[arewethereyet]

Rereading Pat Conroy's books. On The Prince of Tides currently.

Still on the search for an author I can get into instead of listening to the same things over and over again.

[Ravenshire]

Rereading Pat Conroy's books.  On The Prince of Tides currently.

Still on the search for an author I can get into instead of listening to the same things over and over again.

A few suggestions...

Fantasy:
Brandon Sanderson
Andrzej Sapkowski
Robin Hobb
Naomi Novik
Neil Gaiman

Urban Fantasy:
Jim Butcher
Patricia Briggs
Kim Harrison
Seanan McGuire
Kevin Hearne

Science Fiction:
Brandon Sanderson
Dennis E. Taylor
John Scalzi
Cory Doctorow
Andy Weir

Thrillers:
David Baldacci
Vince Flynn*
Lee Child
C. J. Box
Kyle Mills*

Horror (King, Koontz, and Poe are the obvious names here, so let's skip those):
John Saul
Peter Straub
Shirley Jackson
Clive Barker
Richard Matheson

Fiction:
Kazuo Ishiguro
Ian McEwan
Margaret Atwood
Alice Munro
Haruki Murakami

Hopefully, this will help you find something interesting.


*Vince Flynn created the character Mitch Rapp, one of the greatest political thriller series to date. Upon his death, the series was continued by Kyle Mills, and taken in directions not really in line with Flynn's character. Mills is a good and entertaining writer, and his other books are quite good, but his Mitch Rapp books just don't measure up to Flynn.

[Rizen]

I'm reading The Restaurant At The End Of The Universe for for and What to Expect When Excepting for research because the main character in the book I'm writing is pregnant.

[The Valkyrie]

Rereading Pat Conroy's books. On The Prince of Tides currently.

Still on the search for an author I can get into instead of listening to the same things over and over again.

Which genres fo you like?