What Are You Reading Now?

[Donuthole]

My wife and daughter have been on a real Kristin Hannah kick. I read The Nightingale a few years ago, and I thought it was quite good. They recently goaded me into reading The Great Alone, which they both thought was even better than The Nightingale. Well, I'm not loving. It's not terrible, but gosh if the foreshadowing isn't a bit heavy-handed. I think I predicted the climax and the denouement with near exactitude.

Spoiler for SPOILER:

I didn't think Matthew was going to be in a coma, i thought he was going to die. And I didn't think the mom was going to shoot the dad, I thought Leni would and then the Mom would. But other than that--Leni getting preggers, them fleeing back to family in Seattle, Leni being a single mom etc., that was all too foreseeable.

I still have about 50 pages left, but not sure that's enough time to change my mind.

[falafel]

Just finished book two of the Power of the Dog series by Don Winslow.

Really fun listen with great characters and storyline

About 25% of the way through Power of the Dog (first book) and its been great. Audio book is fun, the narrator does a really good job. Some of the story reminds me of Narcos Mexico. I wonder if there is any connection between the two, other than the setting/time.

[SteelBlue]

I don't think I've shared this here before, but this is kind of a cool site where you enter the name of an author and it gives a "map" of authors you might also like. The methodology is explained somewhere on the site. It's kind of fun to do, and I've found several great reads with it. The closer a name appears to the name you've entered the greater the likelihood that you'll enjoy their work (per the site). Enjoy.

[Clark Addison]

I don't think I've shared this here before, but this is kind of a cool site where you enter the name of an author and it gives a "map" of authors you might also like. The methodology is explained somewhere on the site. It's kind of fun to do, and I've found several great reads with it. The closer a name appears to the name you've entered the greater the likelihood that you'll enjoy their work (per the site). Enjoy.

Should I put in the authors I actually like? Or the ones I post on Goodreads and tell my friends that I like?

[SteelBlue]

Should I put in the authors I actually like? Or the ones I post on Goodreads and tell my friends that I like?

I checked and Stephanie Meyers is in the database.

[BigPiney]

About 25% of the way through Power of the Dog (first book) and its been great. Audio book is fun, the narrator does a really good job. Some of the story reminds me of Narcos Mexico. I wonder if there is any connection between the two, other than the setting/time.

Just passed 50%. Agreed, very good audiobook. Very intense.

[Northwestcoug]

I liked the first, but got bored with the second and never finished. I just stopped caring.

I should have followed your example...

The second book was a long slog. There was like a 100 page chapter that reeeeeallly needed breaks. Took me a bit to get through it. But I did think the ending was satisfying, enough so that I continued on with the last book in the trilogy. It had some really inventive concepts and physics theories, I'll give the author that. But out of all three of the books the last one was in serious need of an editor. He indulged too much in somewhat interesting but ultimately distracting storylines. In the end I forced myself to finish just to find out what happened to the last couple of characters. My daughter's boyfriend said the last was his favorite book of the trilogy; I just don't see that.

Anyways, I would say this. Even non-science fiction fans might enjoy 'The Three Body Problem'. But you have to be a nerd of increasing nerdiness to really enjoy the second then the last books.

[LiveCoug]

Just passed 50%. Agreed, very good audiobook. Very intense.

It's brutal in parts, but very enjoyable. The whole series is great

[Pelado]

I just hit the halfway mark and am very much enjoying this novel. Structured a bit like Cloud Atlas so the reader has to do some of the heavy lifting which I always take as a sign of respect. Doerr's positivity in the face of overwhelming sadness is evident throughout and seems to be what he gets criticized for the most. I can see why it was a finalist for the National Book Award.

Edit: finished yesterday and the verdict remains that this is a great read. You will especially enjoy it if reading was a big part of your childhood but this is certainly not required.

This post caused me to look at Doerr's catalog. I've already read All the Light We Cannot See. Last week, I ordered a paperback copy of his debut novel, About Grace and started reading it to my daughters tonight.

I'm just a few short chapters in, but so far, so good.

[SteelBlue]

Finished Sea of Tranquility and I highly recommend it. I will say it is absolutely not necessary to have read The Glass Hotel but there is crossover of characters.

[Mormon Red Death]

Just Finished 4,000 weeks:

As one who likes time management and productivity books I really liked this one. This book had a lot of thoughts on existential dread and dealing with that.
A friend of mine wrote about the book:

One of my favorite concepts was his discussion on our need to settle. This seems to go against common thought because we should always strive for the best. But you can’t fully commit/enjoy something until you settle for it – your spouse, your career, your home. I think all of us wonder how our lives would be different had we made “better” choices. Maybe in marriage we wonder if life would have been more fulfilling had we just waited for someone a little better? Maybe choosing a different major or specialty could have brought fulfillment and wealth? But this is the secret – as long as those thoughts exist, you’ll never be able to find out if the person you “settled” for could be the perfect partner or the career you chose is your optimal path. Until you commit, you’ll never know

.

[SteelBlue]

Got a galley of the new Cormac McCarthy, The Passenger. Kind of a trip early on. As expected no quotation marks, just periods and occasional commas.

[BigPiney]

Got a galley of the new Cormac McCarthy, The Passenger. Kind of a trip early on. As expected no quotation marks, just periods and occasional commas.

[bluegoose]

That's the main reason why I can't read McCarthy. His dialogue is unreadable and terribly distracting to the story.

[SteelBlue]

New McCarthy is excellent so far. He's still got it.