What are you reading?

[Ravenshire]

I am still working my way through audiobooks.  I listen to a lot of memoirs, especially those of people with really screwed up childhoods and/or being raised in extreme religious homes.

My latest was a diversion from that.  I listened to 'The Egg and I' which is a book I have read every couple of years for decades.  Also a memoir but not dark.

Recently listened to a book by Dolly Parton and found out that just about every song she ever wrote was one of her favorites.  LOL  It was narrated by her and was focused on her songs with side stories along the way.

Have listened to one about the earliest women doctors that was interesting and also a book about a man's experience as an EMT in NYC back in the 60s.  

I have an eclectic taste in music and in books.

Have you read "Wishful Drinking" or "The Princess Diarist" by Carrie Fisher? Intelligent, thought provoking and flat out hilarious.

[arewethereyet]

I am still working my way through audiobooks.  I listen to a lot of memoirs, especially those of people with really screwed up childhoods and/or being raised in extreme religious homes.

My latest was a diversion from that.  I listened to 'The Egg and I' which is a book I have read every couple of years for decades.  Also a memoir but not dark.

Recently listened to a book by Dolly Parton and found out that just about every song she ever wrote was one of her favorites.  LOL  It was narrated by her and was focused on her songs with side stories along the way.

Have listened to one about the earliest women doctors that was interesting and also a book about a man's experience as an EMT in NYC back in the 60s.  

I have an eclectic taste in music and in books.

Have you read "Wishful Drinking" or "The Princess Diarist" by Carrie Fisher? Intelligent, thought provoking and flat out hilarious.

I'll check those out, thank you.

[Ravenshire]

I apparently had a bad reaction to the last book I read, er... well, tried to read. It is currently on pause. I took a break from it and put on some music, and haven't been back. That was on the afternoon of the 13th. It's now evening of the 19, and I've not read a word of a book in that entire time. Now, that may not seem like such a long time, until you consider that I read prolifically. Insanely prolifically. In 2020 I set a new, and as yet unbroken, record of 529 titles read. Yes, you read that correctly. That's nearly 1 1/2 titles per day. For me to go six entire days without opening a book is like Smuggy being reasonable. Sure it can happen, hypothetically... I'm currently over 100 titles so far this year and I'm on a rather easy pace.

Recent reads:
"Will" by Will Smith. The self-aggrandizement autobiography of Will Smith. The book was interesting and entertaning, and I like Will Smith, but holy fuck he thinks highly of himself.

"Red War," "Lethal Agent," "Total Power," and "Enemy at the Gates," book 17-20 of the Mitch Rapp series by Vince Flynn and continued by Kyle Mills (Vince Flynn died some years ago at just 47). Mr. Mills is nat a bad writer, but I sure miss Vince. His vision of the central character was far more believable.

"Persuader," "The Enemy," One Shot," and "The Hard way," books 7-10 of the Jack Reacher books by Lee Child. This series has really grown since it's inception. I barely made it through the first book but now read them in bunches.

"The Emerald Mile" by Kevin Fedarko. The story of the fastest, and most insane, speed run of the Colorado river white water through the Grand Canyon. Amazingly fun read.

"When you Disappeared" and "The Good Samaritan" by John Marrs. Gripping dramas by a guy who seems to never have heard of Disney endings, so goes for realistic ones instead. Highly recommended.

"Camino Island" and "Camino Winds" by John Grisham. A bit of a departure for Grisham since the protagonist is not only not an attorney, but actually works on the shady side of the law.

The Elizabeth Cage Trilogy, "White Silence," "Dark Light," and "Long Shadows," and "Plan for the Worst," "The Ordeal of the Haunted Room," "Another Place, Another Time," "The Toast of Time," and "A Catalogue of Catastrophy", the five most recent books of The Chronicles of St. Mary's by Jodi Taylor. The Elizabeth cage series is an urban fantasy about a "gifted" woman, who really doesn't see it as a gift, and quite good. The Saint Mary's series is fantasy/sci-fi about a group of historians who travel to view historical events in contemporary time (but don't you dare call it 'time travel') and I cannot recommend it to fans of the genre highly enough.

"The Cruel Prince," "The Lost sisters," "The Wicked King," and (the most recent and the book that stalled me) "The Queen of Nothing," the four books of The Folk of the Air trilogy by Holly Black. I breezed through the first three, but something about the 4th just shut my down and I have no idea what or why.


I am an imminent and unrepentant book junkie. There's no such thing as too much or too many. I want to know what happens on the next page, in the next chapter, the next book, the next series, the next author... People tell me I can't read them all, I tell them it won't be for lack of trying! I read just about anything that falls into my hands. Fiction, non-fiction, fantasy, science fiction, horror, thrillers, mysteries, histories, memoirs, biographies, biblical textual criticisms, comedies, dramas... One of my most cherished reads ever, "My French Whore," is a romance written by one of Hollywood's greatest comedy genius', Gene Wilder (I've actually read all his books, all but one romances). All of my previous monikers have been literary allusions and I'm certain future ones will be as well. Even the current one is a fictional allusion, if you count high school D&D characters as fiction. Ravenshire was a 37th level assassin (and the most fun character I ever played) when he was "retired" by a trusted apprentice (never trust as assassin's apprentice, especially your own) as an NPC when I took over the game management of the campaign.

TL/DR:
I really like books, all kinds of books, here's a bunch I've read recently, and my usernames are based on fictional characters and settings. Oh, and I'm a D&D geek.

[arewethereyet]

I used to read a lot. As a teen I spent most of my life grounded and with three TV stations (until PBS was added) and dad being in control of what was on, reading was how I passed the time. But I like to sew and found that I don't have enough hands and eyes to do both. That's where the beauty of audiobooks comes into play for me. After mostly listening to several TV series while sewing I finally realized that audiobooks were the way to go. I can listen and not lop off a finger or sew myself to a quilt.

Audiobooks are still fairly new to me and I am navigating the choices. I started with my local library a few years ago but was quite frustrated because when I would find a series or an author I liked, I soon learned that the library didn't offer the whole collection. That lead to many 'grrrr' moments of frustration.

I am going back to beloved books and authors and listening to them. Some I have read multiple times but not in a while and am enjoying revisiting them. I listened to 'The Water is Wide' by Pat Conroy last month. That's one I have read in the past and since I enjoyed it, I have added another of his books (read long ago) to my list.

I appreciate suggestions as I tend to go to the same genre and group of authors and should branch out a bit and discover new things.

[Ravenshire]

I do a lot* of audiobooks as well, and really feel your pain about libraries not having all the books in a series. Fortunately I have access to 11 different library consortia here in Colorado (I've driven as far as 70 miles, one way, just for another library card and the online access it gives me ) and most times I manage to find them all. There are still occasional exceptions, especially where Amazon manages to wangle an Audible Exclusive from a publisher, but for those I have my Audible account. Of course, the Overdrive app is going going away in favor of Libby, and the Libby app sucks, so library access is going to get problematic after the first.

If you see me with headphones on, I am almost certainly listening to an audio book. I love them because I can read and enjoy books when eyes on page reading isn't an option. While driving, working, mowing the lawn, cleaning the garage, exercising... the list goes on. Any time my hands and/or eyes are engaged with something less important, but my brain doesn't need to be. That's how I manage to read in an average year what most Americans never manage to read.

[Fake Messiah]

[The Valkyrie]

Looking at the various styles, I would say a big part of the advice is, "mimic John Travolta and remember: disco is king!"

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

Well, I’ve outraged some successful women, but that’s prolly not the same thing.

Boru

[arewethereyet]

Well, I’ve outraged some successful women, but that’s prolly not the same thing.

Boru

At least you made an impression.

[Foxaèr]

I guess I read my own writing. I tend to edit as I write, so lots of re-reading when I create just a sentence or a paragraph.