What Are You Reading Now?

[Northwestcoug]

I hated this book. Kwang is so freaking pretentious. I also read Yellowface by her and it bugged me to no end. No more for me.

Really? I mean she layered the worst of colonialism on thick but I didn't think it was that obnoxious. You shouldn't read her Poppy War trilogy then.

I was thinking about reading Yellowface but not before a long list of other books.

[Donuthole]

I recently finished The Elements by John Boyne. It came to me HIGHLY recommended. High enough praise, in fact, that I jumped it to the top of my queue. In retrospect, I'm not really sure how I feel about that, and I'm definitely taking that person's future recommendations with a grain assault.

The book has four acts--each based tangentially on the four elements: Water, Earth, Fire, and Air. The stories are independent yet intertwined, some more intertwined than others. Which is a lovely runway. It just didn't ever take off for me. It wasn't terrible, and there were parts that were entertaining. But gosh damn, there was a lot of child sexual abuse. And, if I'm being honest, the ending seemed a bit haphazard and out of place. I think the author tried to bring things full circle but really had to force it to happen. The denouement just felt much too "Eat, Pray, Love" for my taste, (I say that have never read or watched Eat, Pray, Love, but just based off the vibes I get from the buzz around that book and film).

[SteelBlue]

Somewhere Beyond the Sea. The sequel to The House on the Cerulean Sea. Loved it, not as much as the first but it still had wholesomeness and good vibes dripping from each page. It is out loud and proud with queer representation, which is Klune's mission. This is a quick read. I highly recommend both books.

I can't remember if you've read Under the Whispering Door from him? I really liked that one and am certain you would as well.

[Northwestcoug]

I can't remember if you've read Under the Whispering Door from him? I really liked that one and am certain you would as well.

Yes, I really enjoyed that. the fantasy on that one was pretty light, so I recommended that to Mrs. NWC. She liked it enough to read House on the Cerulean Sea, which I was surprised that she enjoyed also.

[SteelBlue]

Project Hail Mary. Lots of fun so far.

Dungeon Crawler Carl. I've had so many people recommend this that I decided to give it a shot. I had no idea what it was about so from the jump it's been a surprise. Funny so far but I'm only a few chapters in and the story is still just being set up.

[The_Tick]

Project Hail Mary. Lots of fun so far.

Dungeon Crawler Carl. I've had so many people recommend this that I decided to give it a shot. I had no idea what it was about so from the jump it's been a surprise. Funny so far but I'm only a few chapters in and the story is still just being set up.

1. Project Hail Mary is one of my Top 3 books. It is literally a perfect book. I've listened to it 3 times. I will listen to it a 4th before the movie comes out. Audiobooks is a must for this.

2. Dungeon Crawler Carl is fun. Please tell me you are doing it on Audiobook. Jeff Hayes is phenomenal. He does all of the voices himself. So good. I am 7 books deep into that series and can't wait for book 8 in a few months.

The rest of these folks in here are pinky up readers. You and I can hang.

[bluegoose]

1. Project Hail Mary is one of my Top 3 books. It is literally a perfect book. I've listened to it 3 times. I will listen to it a 4th before the movie comes out. Audiobooks is a must for this.

2. Dungeon Crawler Carl is fun. Please tell me you are doing it on Audiobook. Jeff Hayes is phenomenal. He does all of the voices himself. So good. I am 7 books deep into that series and can't wait for book 8 in a few months.

The rest of these folks in here are pinky up readers. You and I can hang.

HA! That's funny. Nobody here can out-pinky read Steelblue. He occasionally slums it with us in the fantasy and sci-fi realm.

[bluegoose]

That being said, I also loved Project Hail Mary. One of my favorite books from last year. I've also read the Martian and Artemis, but PHM was way better imo.

I did audio for Dungeon Crawler Carl #1 a couple of months ago. Really enjoyed it, and you're right, the narrator is fantastic. It took me a lot of work to convince myself that the narrator wasn't Puddy from Seinfeld.

[BigPiney]

1. Project Hail Mary is one of my Top 3 books. It is literally a perfect book. I've listened to it 3 times. I will listen to it a 4th before the movie comes out. Audiobooks is a must for this.

2. Dungeon Crawler Carl is fun. Please tell me you are doing it on Audiobook. Jeff Hayes is phenomenal. He does all of the voices himself. So good. I am 7 books deep into that series and can't wait for book 8 in a few months.

The rest of these folks in here are pinky up readers. You and I can hang.

You are talking about the guy that loved Lincoln in the Bardo.

BTW, I went through the Murderbot books last year and really liked them. I think you would enjoy them.

I also just did the Powerless series. That was absolute horse shit. I read it because I thought maybe my daughter would like them, but I can't even recommend this Temu version of the hunger games/ Red Queen series. So, so bad that I ended up hate-listening to them.

[BigPiney]

I am currently reading Paper Girl. This is a memoir by Beth Macy who wrote Dope Sick. It talks about her hometown of Urbana, Ohio and her interactions with people and the division in America. 1/2 way through and I think it is very interesting. It is kind of like someone on the left's answer to Hillbilly Elegy.

[SteelBlue]

The rest of these folks in here are pinky up readers. You and I can hang.

We can hang anytime my man. But I guarantee my friends laughed out loud when they read this line.

[The_Tick]

We can hang anytime my man. But I guarantee my friends laughed out loud when they read this line.

I'm obviously not a student of your posts. Lol.

Everytime I hope in here, folks are reading books about the macroeconomic industrial revolution in the powder coating industry or something that makes them sound super smart and me super dumb.

And I'm over here counting down the days to the last book in the Expeditionary Force series. And once I listen to that book I'll be counting down the days to the next DCC book.

But if you haven't looked the the Ex-Force series by Craig Alanson, you should.

[The_Tick]

That being said, I also loved Project Hail Mary. One of my favorite books from last year. I've also read the Martian and Artemis, but PHM was way better imo.

I did audio for Dungeon Crawler Carl #1 a couple of months ago. Really enjoyed it, and you're right, the narrator is fantastic. It took me a lot of work to convince myself that the narrator wasn't Puddy from Seinfeld.

Puddy actually makes an appearance in a later book in the series during a pivotal plot point. So not too far off there.

[SteelBlue]

I wish I could do audio books but my attention to audio is poor. I'd be constantly skipping back.

[PaloAltoCougar]

I wish I could do audio books but my attention to audio is poor. I'd be constantly skipping back.

Ditto, esp. with nonfiction (history, biographies, politics, etc.) where i frequently go back. But I really enjoyed the audio version of Project Hail Mary that had an excellent narrator.