Anybody still uses the ancient media of books?

[ambchang]

Wondering if anyone here are still book readers and got some suggestions.

I mostly read history and anthropology related stuff.

Loved “The Mosquito: A Human History of Our Deadliest Predator”, “the last whaler”. I read “Why You Like It: The Science and Culture of Musical Taste” but didn’t get most of it because I don’t have any musical training, but if someone had musical theory training it would’ve been good.

Of course all kinds of books about the nba as well.

 

[koriwhat]

I only read tech books but yep, still reading paperback in 2025.

 

[OK Computer]

Mostly Sci-fi, philosophical, & Non-fiction.

Recent books:
East of Eden
Exhalation
Too Much Like Lightning
Cat’s Cradle
Meditations

Might check out Red Rising soon.

 

[Neuromancer]

I like to read sci-fi/fantasy mostly. Right now I'm reading Caliban's War (second book in The Expanse series). Before this I was reading the Wax and Wayne saga in Sanderson's Cosmere universe. Excellent blend of fantasy/steampunk/western style and there are all kinds of twists. I don't have any suggestions for your specific interests though

 

[Lefty20]

You could say that I dabble. I almost exclusively stick to sci-fi/fantasy, and many of it sub-genres. Been meaning to broaden my horizons but my TBR is already ridiculously long.

Here's my Goodreads....

Sonny

Sonny has 1,547 books on Goodreads, and is currently reading NecroTek by Jonathan Maberry

www.goodreads.com

 

[Lefty20]

Mostly Sci-fi, philosophical, & Non-fiction.

Recent books:
East of Eden
Exhalation
Too Much Like Lightning
Cat’s Cradle
Meditations

Might check out Red Rising soon.

First book is the worst book, by far. I mean I still enjoyed it, but you can definitely tell that it is the author's debut novel. Good news is that it keeps getting better with each book.

 

[Lefty20]

I like to read sci-fi/fantasy mostly. Right now I'm reading Caliban's War (second book in The Expanse series). Before this I was reading the Wax and Wayne saga in Sanderson's Cosmere universe. Excellent blend of fantasy/steampunk/western style and there are all kinds of twists. I don't have any suggestions for your specific interests though

Are you caught with all of Cosmere? Like with the secret novels, WarBreaker, Elantris, etc..?

 

[Neuromancer]

Are you caught with all of Cosmere? Like with the secret novels, WarBreaker, Elantris, etc..?

Nah. I've read the entire Mistborn series including the secret history but haven't started the Stormlight Archives yet. I'll probably start those once I finish the Expanse books

 

[ambchang]

I’ve also been reading quite a bit on American history the last few years. Pretty interesting stuff as I have no background to it.

There’s a book about fungi and how it changed how the earth works.

 

[Corso]

Always when I read Mark Z. Danielewski.
Way too many side notes and word-frame play.

 

[scott]

Mostly Sci-fi, philosophical, & Non-fiction.

Recent books:
East of Eden
Exhalation
Too Much Like Lightning
Cat’s Cradle
Meditations

Might check out Red Rising soon.

I started Red Rising on Audiobook because the queue for the Kindle versions at the library is crazy long and it’s on Spotify… showed a lot of promise but I couldn’t get over the voice actor’s accent. When I finally get to the front of the Libby line I’ll read it though.

Right now working through Hyperion (never read before).

I’m not a huge reader (my wife gets through like 2 books a week), but in the last 12 months or so I’ve knocked out:

1) 3 Body Problem triology
2) MaddAddam trilogy (Margaret Atwood - enjoyed this one… crazy dystopian post-apocalyptic world)
3) Dune
4) Seveneves - really enjoyed this one, highly recommend

On my Want to Read list:

1) Red Rising saga
2) Dungeon Crawler Carl (a friend raves about these)
3) Dark Matter by Blake Crouch (have heard good things)
4) Jade City
5) Piranesi
6) The Sword of Kaiden (everyone is raving about this)
7) The Kaiju Preservation Society

 

[CryHavoc]

Currently reading East of Eden (hey OK Computer!), Fire Weather, The Expanse, which are probably my favorite sci-fi novels of all time. So fucking good.

Also polishing off the end of The City in the Middle of the Night by Charlie Jane Anders. Really fun, fantastic book with lots of unexpected plot shifts.

 

[Lefty20]

https://www.reddit.com/r/Stormlight_Archive/comments/1pm1lad/victor_wembanyama_prepping_for_tonights_cup_game

Wemby still making his way through the Cosmere.

 

[Neuromancer]

I finished the first 3 Expanse books recently and bought the remaining 6. Taking a break from those for now though

I decided to mix it up and ready a "dark romance" called God of Malice...I would not recommend I thought the smut scenes were interesting at first (my wife reads a lot of those high fantasy smut books) but this was just distasteful and after the first few scenes, it's like alright already. Plus the story itself was whack and the "twist" at the end and how the story wrapped up was such bullshit

I'm a huge Halo nerd (yes the games have sucked balls since Halo 5) and there is a massive extended universe with 30+ novels. I've read all of them except a couple of the YA ones. I just got the newest one, Edge of Dawn, and am now reading that. Always a nice change of pace to read about the Master Chief brutalizing aliens

 

[LeBowen]

I finished the first 3 Expanse books recently and bought the remaining 6. Taking a break from those for now though

How can you stop now when it starts getting interesting?

Have you watched the TV show? I read all the books and novels after the show finished because it covers just 6 out of 9 books.

 

[scott]

My wife is on book 3 of the Red Rising series and is hooked, so I bought physical copies of the entire series for her... and with that I also have no excuse to not read them myself, so I started. (I gave up on the Audiobook... I just can't pay attention to an Audiobook for long enough).

 

[Neuromancer]

How can you stop now when it starts getting interesting?

Have you watched the TV show? I read all the books and novels after the show finished because it covers just 6 out of 9 books.

I just don't want to get burnt out I fully intend to read the rest of them but just wanted to mix it up a bit before I get back to it.

And yeah I loved the show, which is why I wanted to read the books

 

[Neuromancer]

My wife is on book 3 of the Red Rising series and is hooked, so I bought physical copies of the entire series for her... and with that I also have no excuse to not read them myself, so I started. (I gave up on the Audiobook... I just can't pay attention to an Audiobook for long enough).

I have that in saved for later on Amazon, looks pretty interesting

 

[Lefty20]

My wife is on book 3 of the Red Rising series and is hooked, so I bought physical copies of the entire series for her... and with that I also have no excuse to not read them myself, so I started. (I gave up on the Audiobook... I just can't pay attention to an Audiobook for long enough).

They've also got Graphic Audio books. These include proper sound effects and a full cast for each characters. Their tagline is "a movie in your mind".

Pretty good production value, and not just for the RR series.


Also, some big news came out a couple days ago.

https://www.reddit.com/r/brandonsanderson/comments/1qpo0qv/its_happening_brandon_sandersons_literary_fantasy

 

[scott]

I'm about a third of the way through Book 1 of Red Rising now. Enjoying it. Definitely gave up too early on the audiobook (though I was very annoyed with the reader's thick English-isles accent)

 

[Lefty20]

I'm about a third of the way through Book 1 of Red Rising now. Enjoying it. Definitely gave up too early on the audiobook (though I was very annoyed with the reader's thick English-isles accent)

And thats the worst book of the series, by a decent margin.

Fwiw, Martian Reds are the descended form Irish survivors who'd fled the Isles after the events of WW III because they were rendered radioactive. Hence the choice of accent for the AB reader.

 

[Area 51.247]

Training in Compassion: Zen Teachings on the Practice of Lojong by Norman Fischer. Kindle, Audible, and paper. Started with Kindle, switched to paper to match up with discussion group, started Audible to review during workouts.

https://a.co/d/51NwxGp

 

[Area 51.247]

Training in Compassion: Zen Teachings on the Practice of Lojong by Norman Fischer. Kindle, Audible, and paper. Started with Kindle, switched to paper to match up with discussion group, started Audible to review during workouts.

https://a.co/d/51NwxGp

"Lojong is the Tibetan Buddhist practice of working with short phrases (called "slogans") to generate bodhichitta, the heart and mind of enlightened compassion. With roots tracing back to the 900 A.D., the practice has gained more Western adherents over the past two decades, partly due to the influence of American Buddhist teachers like Pema Chödrön. Its effectiveness and accessibility have moved the practice out of its Buddhist context and into the lives of non-Buddhists across the world.

It's in this spirit that Norman Fischer offers his unique, Zen-based commentary on the Lojong. Though traditionally a practice of Tibetan Buddhism, the power of the Lojong extends to other Buddhist traditions—and even to other spiritual traditions as well. As Fischer explores the 59 slogans through a Zen lens, he shows how people from a range of faiths and backgrounds can use Lojong to generate the insight, resilience, and compassion they seek."