(October 21, 2018 at 3:08 pm)anjele Wrote: I hadn't been doing much reading as I listen to several podcasts...mostly True Crime. But in my new job I burn through my catalog fast! I didn't think I would really like audiobooks but gave them a try over the last couple weeks and found I quite enjoy them. Now I need suggestions. I have been using the local library but their choices are a little limited.
Going to watch this thread to see what comes up that may be available and I would be interested in.
See what libraries you eligible to get cards at and get one for each! There are eleven library consortiums in Colorado who's only requirement for a card are that you live in Colorado. I have one of each and all of them have Overdrive ebooks and audio ebooks and all of them are available at my fingertips through digital distribution. If you're a book junkie, it's worth it to make a day trip for a card if it gives you access to more books, and I've found there's no such thing as too many books. Especially considering the volume of books I consume. In a really bad year, I'll only get through 100 titles or so. In a good year, 300+. I've even had a few years where I topped 400.
Also, if you can swing ~22 bucks/month, sign up at Audible. Two audiobooks each month for ~$11 each is a steal, especially considering you can use your "credits" on any audible books, even new releases priced north of $40. If you go with Audible, I will highly recommend "We Are Legion (We Are Bob)," book one of the Bobiverse by Dennis E. Taylor. The series is complete at three books (rather refreshing after the slew of double digit series in recent years) and some of the most fun I've had in a sch-fi world, ever. Another fantastically good book and only available in audio from Audible is "A Gift Upon the Shore" by M. K. Wren. A well crafted, post-apocalyptic vision of one woman's fight to keep knowledge and reason alive in the face of fundamental aggression. Tremendously good read without being preachy or heavy handed.
Other recommendations I can make:
Any/everything by Brandon Sanderson, but especially the Mistborn series and the Reckoners series.
Mistborn is a (currently) six book series of high fantasy with plenty of magic and monsters, but also lots of political intrigue. Kinda like a Game of Thrones written by someone who understands the gratuitous sex and violence aren't necessary for a good fantasy tale.
The Reckoners is a world decimated by super villains with nary a super hero in sight. Power corrupts, and using super powers is super corrupting.
"Paul is Undead" by Alan Goldsher. The zombie apocalypse actually happened decades ago, and the Beatles were zombies.
The Halfblood Chronicles by Andre Norton and Mercedes Lackey
"The Book of Unholy Mischief" by Elle Newmark. It's been criticized for historical inaccuracies, but if I want accurate history, I'll read a frickin' history book. I read fiction to be entertained and this was a damned good yarn.
"Jumper" by Steven Gould. Forget the lame, poorly written crap-fest that Hollywood claimed was based on the book, and read the book. It's a wonderful, sometimes touching, sometimes laugh-out-loud funny coming of age story about a teen boy who learns he can "jump" from one place to another. The sequels are good too, but the first is a stand alone work and is certainly the best of the bunch.
If you enjoy romances, not bodice ripper, soft-core porn in print form, but actual romances, give Gene Wilder (yes,
that Gene Wilder) a try, especially "My French Whore." I picked it up expecting rollicking comedy and discovered that even a crusty old bastard like me can enjoy a good romance, and Wilder writes some good ones. He made me laugh, then cry, then laugh and cry again with that book!
If Urban Fantasy is your thing... The Hollows series by Kim Harrison is pretty good. The Dresden Files, while a little heavy handed in the beginning, is a wild ride through a darkly magical Chicago with Harry Dresden, Chicago's only wizard for hire. The Mercedes Thompson books by Patricia Briggs are also of note in the Genre. My current favorite in the genre, however, is Seanan McGuire (also writes at Mira Grant). I've not yet read anything by her that I didn't like. Her October Daye series is fantastic and her Newsflesh series under her pen name is the best take on the zombie apocalypse sub-genre I've ever read. Her Wayward Children books and InCryptid books are also really, really good.
For the hard sc-fi fan, I recommend C.J. Cherryh, though she also writes some pretty good fantasy
Some of you will say that I've missed some of the more obvious recommendations, but they are, after all, obvious.
Ohhhhh. I almost forgot my namesake. The Gentleman Bastards series by Scott Lynch. Not so much a might and magic series as a magic and mischief tale. A whole lot of fun in a fantasy setting loosely mirroring Victorian England.
The Kingkiller Chronicles by Patrick Rothfuss. Not a series to be started by anyone who dislikes delayed gratification because he's taking for!
fucking! ever! to finish it! Still, "The Name of the Wind" (book one of the series) is one of the best fantasy stories ever written.
And one last recommendation. The Low Town trilogy by Daniel Polansky. A truly frustrating series, not because of the author, but because of his publisher(s) and digital restrictions management (anyone who says digital
rights management is lying to you, because they afford you none). The first book, originally titled "The Straight Razor Cure" but renamed for American sensibilities to the ever imaginative title of "Low Town" is available in the US is every format. The other two in the series are only available in the US in old-school print format. No audiobooks, no e-ink. I eschewed print media (except for the occasional signed first) a while ago in favor of electronic for a variety of reasons and the hoops you have to jump through to get a book
that's already being printed in this fucking country anyway, in electronic format are simply ridiculous.
Recent reads:
The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer- A modern re-imagining of classic fairy tales in a sc-fi setting. They've been fun so far.
The Eddie LaCrosse series by Alex Bledsoe - A tough as nails soldier turns private eye in a fantasy setting. Way better than that description makes them sound.
"Epic" by Conor Kostick - Imagine a colony world where violence is strictly forbidden and conflict resolution (both public and private) is handles within an MMORPG.
"Necroville" (though I prefer the original title, Terminal Cafe") by Ian Mcdonald. Cyberpunk world where nano-tech has conquered all human problems, even death.
Lockwood and Co. series by Jonathan Stroud - YA paranormal adventure stories about teen ghost hunters in a London where ghosts are very real.
Thief and assassin for hire. Member in good standing of the Rogues Guild.
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