FL_Ag1998 said:

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SpreadsheetAg said:

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2026 so far:..
- The Babysitters Club: The Ghost at Dawns Place - reading to my daughters.....

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Man, I was really confused/concerned by this entry until I got to the "reading to my daughters" part, lol!

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It counts!

Love the Sharpe series. His books are great Historical Fiction great starting points before going down a rabbit hole.

Finished listening to "The Life of David Brainerd" by himself but put together by Jonathan Edwards through Brainerds diary and Edwards has commentary and reflections throughout.

Brainerd was a provincial English citizen and missionary in British America in the mid 18th century who was called to mission to the native Americans. Brainerd was embedded with certain Native American tribes and tried to spread Protestant Christianity.

His ministry was short lived as Brainerd died at age 29 of tuberculosis, at Jonathan Edwards home. Edwards was inspired by Brainerds devotion to God even in the face of enormous challenges from the native Americans, the wilderness, and his own health issues.

I'm a big Sherlock fan, this sounds interesting.

Do they need to be ready in order?

I am re-reading World War Z. HBO really needs to make this into a mini-series.

Agristotle said:

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I'm a big Sherlock fan, this sounds interesting.

Do they need to be ready in order?

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I'm guessing you're referring to the Pendergast series? Yes, I would recommend reading them in order. Most of the novels are self contained but things happen in the lives of the supporting cast that evolve over time. There is also a trilogy of novels in the middle of the time line which are directly connected that involve Pendergast's brother.

Note, the series has quite a bit of supernatural topics and events, in case that is a turn off.

thanks

Any recommendations on where I can find a quality recap of the first 3 Red Rising books? It's been about 9 months since I finished book 3 and could probably use a refresher before I start book 4.

TIA

Wikipedia has a pretty good plot summary.

Finished listening to The Anglo-Saxons
A History of the Beginnings of England: 400 - 1066 by Marc Morris. Ever since reading The Saxon Stories by Cornwell I've been hooked on the Middle Ages, especially the U.K. If you're interested in that era, this was a pretty quick listen and interesting.

Also just finished reading Operation Bounce House by Matt Dinniman. It's similar in ways to DCC, but not nearly as humerous nor off the wall insane because it's much more rooted in a futuristic reality rather than the wacky world of DCC. Overall, you just can't mimic or surpass the pure joy of the Carl/Donut relationship in the DCC books, but Operation Bounce House was worth reading.

Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J Mass
Kings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eames in-progress

I've really fallen off when it comes to tracking what I read...

Spent almost a year reading Throne of Glass (just finished up the last book 2 days ago). I actually liked the series overall. Definitely my favorite of Sarah J Mass's works (more traditional fantasy compared to her others that are a mix of that and romantasy).

Tonight I'm starting Kings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eames. Had this one on my TBR for a long time, so I'm looking forward to it.

Good choice; the audiobooks are great FYI if you commute

Completed: Swords and Deviltry by Fritz Leiber. The first in the Fafhrd and Grey Mouser stories. Very pulpy, reminds me a lot of Robert Howard's Conan stories (unsurprisingly, since they were both pulp writers and near contemporaries). I very much enjoyed it and will probably read the rest in the series.

Good call. Giving this a try!

100% agree. I like the PHM book better, but I think Martian movie / book combo is superior.

FL_Ag1998 said:

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Finished listening to The Anglo-Saxons
A History of the Beginnings of England: 400 - 1066 by Marc Morris. Ever since reading The Saxon Stories by Cornwell I've been hooked on the Middle Ages, especially the U.K. If you're interested in that era, this was a pretty quick listen and interesting.

Also just finished reading Operation Bounce House by Matt Dinniman. It's similar in ways to DCC, but not nearly as humerous nor off the wall insane because it's much more rooted in a futuristic reality rather than the wacky world of DCC. Overall, you just can't mimic or surpass the pure joy of the Carl/Donut relationship in the DCC books, but Operation Bounce House was worth reading.

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If you have watched Letterkenny, read Operation Bounce House imagining them as the main characters. I just saw that on Reddit and thinking back on that, it's perfect.

Children of the Neon Bamboo 10/10 cannot recommend enough!

Completed: The Dying Earth by Jack Vance. More pulp, this one 50s fantasy with a bit of science fiction. More a serialized set of stories than a single narrative. Quick read that I enjoyed and like Leiber's books, I'll probably return to it some time soon.

RockyGamucci said:

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Children of the Neon Bamboo 10/10 cannot recommend enough!

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Children of the Neon Bamboo by B. Glynn Kimmey is a nostalgic, surreal road-trip novel set in the summer of 1990, following a Gen-Xer and his friend on a cross-country adventure to get a Sega Genesis, which leads them into a quest for a samurai sword and a blend of 80s/90s pop culture, history, and music.


Ok. As someone who graduated from h.s. in 1990, you have my interest!

Roll the Bones said:

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RockyGamucci said:

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Children of the Neon Bamboo 10/10 cannot recommend enough!

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Children of the Neon Bamboo by B. Glynn Kimmey is a nostalgic, surreal road-trip novel set in the summer of 1990, following a Gen-Xer and his friend on a cross-country adventure to get a Sega Genesis, which leads them into a quest for a samurai sword and a blend of 80s/90s pop culture, history, and music.


Ok. As someone who graduated from h.s. in 1990, you have my interest!

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Yeah, definitely interested but man, it's not available from my library, Hoopla, nor even on Amazon Kindle!

Finished Upgrade by Blake Crouch. B+

Intersting premise and well written. Pretty much what I have come to expect from his books.

I'm halfway through, also because of this thread, and loving it. I'm also amazed at how faithful the early 2000's version with Jim Caviezel and Guy Pearce was. Obviously a lot of detail was cut, but the general interpretation is amazing.

Scriffer said:

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I'm halfway through, also because of this thread, and loving it. I'm also amazed at how faithful the early 2000's version with Jim Caviezel and Guy Pearce was. Obviously a lot of detail was cut, but the general interpretation is amazing.

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Love the '02 film, but faithful is not the word I'd use to describe it in relation to the book. Seeing as you're only halfway through the book, I think you might change your opinion on that a little once you're finished. The '24 French language film is actually more accurate, in my opinion, and is very well done; I'd definitely recommend watching it.

Claude! said:

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Completed: Swords and Deviltry by Fritz Leiber. The first in the Fafhrd and Grey Mouser stories. Very pulpy, reminds me a lot of Robert Howard's Conan stories (unsurprisingly, since they were both pulp writers and near contemporaries). I very much enjoyed it and will probably read the rest in the series.

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Holy flying sheet balls!

I havent thought about those books in decades! I read them as a teen, and since I could not get enough great fantasy (and was raging nerd who played Dungeons and Dragons for hours with all my nerd friends), I was reading things like Terry Brooks, Elric of Melnibone, and Lieber's books.

So great for them to come up in this thread! Now I feel like I have to go re-read them to relive my childhood!

I love when that happens!

Brilliant!

Scriffer said:

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I'm halfway through, also because of this thread, and loving it. I'm also amazed at how faithful the early 2000's version with Jim Caviezel and Guy Pearce was. Obviously a lot of detail was cut, but the general interpretation is amazing.

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I'm watching the Jeremy Irons version on PBS, a ton of artistic license. I'll still watch but it is disappointing.

Hah! After finishing the first Leiber book, I'm continuing my stroll through the history of fantasy with the first Elric book.

13B said:

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Scriffer said:

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I'm halfway through, also because of this thread, and loving it. I'm also amazed at how faithful the early 2000's version with Jim Caviezel and Guy Pearce was. Obviously a lot of detail was cut, but the general interpretation is amazing.

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I'm watching the Jeremy Irons version on PBS, a ton of artistic license. I'll still watch but it is disappointing.

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Same here. Was watching the first couple episodes last weekend and was extremely disappointed. I understand adaptations, but a lot of that crap was just silly.

Claude! said:

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Hah! After finishing the first Leiber book, I'm continuing my stroll through the history of fantasy with the first Elric book.

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Have you checked out Appendix N? It's the list of books Gary Gygax drew inspiration from when creating D&D. A lot of what you've been reading is cited in Appendix N, so I was curious.

www.digital-eel.com/blog/ADnD_reading_list.htm

Joseph Goodman, founder of Goodman Games and creator of Dungeon Crawl Classics, has a great video on Appendix N.

maverick2076 said:

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Claude! said:

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Hah! After finishing the first Leiber book, I'm continuing my stroll through the history of fantasy with the first Elric book.

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Have you checked out Appendix N? It's the list of books Gary Gygax drew inspiration from when creating D&D. A lot of what you've been reading is cited in Appendix N, so I was curious.

www.digital-eel.com/blog/ADnD_reading_list.htm

Joseph Goodman, founder of Goodman Games and creator of Dungeon Crawl Classics, has a great video on Appendix N.

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Thanks! I knew a lot of these books influenced D&D and have read a few, but didn't know about the list. Guess I'll continue my exploration.

Finished: Sharpe's Tiger by Richard Cornwell

Started: How it Unfolds by James S. A. Corey

My plan is to go through a number of books that are on my Kindle that I forgot about and haven't read yet. How it Unfolds is one of those.

With regards to the PBS COMC presentation, my wife and I have enjoyed it. She hasn't read the book so all of it is new to her. There are differences but the general story holds true and the production is quite good. We will watch them all and then look into the French made production from 2024.

Decided to take a jump into Discworld; its silly and dumb but honestly i need some silly and dumb in my life, and i can only watch Office and Parks&Rec so many times. Finished The Color of Magic yesterday and kicked off The Light Fantastic. I know at some point Pratchett's tone and whatnot changes but so far its just a rippin yarn that's showing off and fleshing out a universe.

They get even better when he really hits his stride. The Death and Sam Vimes arcs are probably my favorites.