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  • #76
    Re: Another Book Thread

    Originally posted by bostonewe View Post
    I have about 375 on my TBR list on Goodreads, but I've found a few to be uninspriting from the podcast where I got recommendations, so I am trolling for other recommendations.
    I LOVE Neil Gaiman - I've seen him speak and read just about all of his fiction (though none of his comics). I don't know Patrick Rothfuss, so I will check him out. Do you get Gaiman's recommendations from somewhere specific (Twitter? Goodreads?). .
    Gaiman occasionally post recommendations or references on his twitter feed and goodreads. His non-fiction book "A View from the Cheap Seats," which is really just a collection of speeches and introductions he's written over the years, contains quite a few references to authors who he enjoys.

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    • #77
      Re: Another Book Thread

      If you liked Hornblower, Bolitho, or Aubrey-Maturin, and Harrington try Alexis Carew by J.A. Sutherland.

      We're up to book 6 and there are a couple of spinoffs.
      CCT '77 & '78
      4 kids
      5 grandsons (BCA 7/09, CJA 5/14, JDL 8/14, JFL 6/16, PJL 7/18)
      1 granddaughter (EML 4/18)

      ”Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both.”
      - Benjamin Franklin

      Banned from the St. Lawrence University Facebook page - March 2016 (But I got better).

      I want to live forever. So far, so good.

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      • #78
        Re: Another Book Thread

        Originally posted by bostonewe View Post
        So I am doing the Goodreads challenge for 2019 to encourage myself to read more (and spent less time watching tv). I thought that 24 books for the year would be a reasonable place to start, but I'm at 23 for the year already now that I've really refocused on reading. How many books do you read in a year? Where do you get your recommendations? I was listening to the "What Should I Read Next" podcast, but I would say I've only enjoyed about 1/3 of the books that I've gotten from them. I prefer historical fiction, sci/fi, fantasy. And I'm trying to intersperse non-fiction with fiction (mostly I've just read memoir).
        I read between 150-200 books a year. I get recommendations from friends and family (both my mom and my aunt read as much as I do), magazine and newspaper articles, social media, or just browsing at the library. Whenever I read about something that sounds interesting, I add it to my Want to Read list (at about 65 right now - really low for me). I don't really find the recommendations at Goodreads or Amazon that reliable or helpful, but I like the "new books by authors you've liked" emails from Goodreads, because I don't always keep up with that stuff. I keep Goodreads updated, but I know a lot of my friends do not (or they just don't read much). I don't write reviews at Goodreads, but I do rate everything.

        If I read something I feel strongly about, I usually post about it here, but I don't post about everything I read, because mostly it's just average stuff (3 stars-ish). If I feel REALLY strongly about it, I post about it on Facebook.

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        • #79
          Re: Another Book Thread

          Finished Frankenstein. It's a better book every time I read it and I've never seen a movie treatment that did it justice.

          Starting now on Varney the Vampire, the Victorian Gothic written 50 years before Dracula. Early on the atmospherics are wonderfully over the top and the violence is quite graphic -- what if Jess Franco made a movie with John Waters? I'm really enjoying it.
          Cornell University
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          • #80
            Re: Another Book Thread

            I've just started Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien. Awesome book, I already like it better than LOTR

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            • #81
              Re: Another Book Thread

              Originally posted by bostonewe View Post
              So I am doing the Goodreads challenge for 2019 to encourage myself to read more (and spent less time watching tv). I thought that 24 books for the year would be a reasonable place to start, but I'm at 23 for the year already now that I've really refocused on reading. How many books do you read in a year? Where do you get your recommendations? I was listening to the "What Should I Read Next" podcast, but I would say I've only enjoyed about 1/3 of the books that I've gotten from them. I prefer historical fiction, sci/fi, fantasy. And I'm trying to intersperse non-fiction with fiction (mostly I've just read memoir).
              So my total each year tends to fall between 175-195, though I set my goal each year at 150, the page counts remain pretty consistent around 65,000 the number varies based on number of e books as opposed to number of 700-1,000 page novels.

              I have a 20 page list of books to read. They are broken down into fiction authors I like, this totals about 80 most of whom I have read most or all of their books and are waiting for new ones, it does include a bunch of deceased authors like Vince Flynn, Mario Puzo etc. Authors I want to try, I take them from a variety of sources M&D who have similar tastes for fiction, some co- workers who read a lot, my fellow history geeks for non fiction.

              I use the goodreads recommendation section but my issue with that is they don't filter out authors/books you have read so they might have 50 recommendations based on one of my shelves, any author who I have read more than 5 books by gets their own shelf and I also have generic categories for fiction and non fiction, but I've read 20-25 of them already. I break down my non fiction by category not author, US History, European History, Other History, Crime, Sports, Travel, Politics, Biography's. For these a lot of times they are broken out more by subject than author though if their are multiple books on a subject I will do a little checking on goodreads prior to reserving a specific book.

              I tend to reserve the older, non new releases, prior to getting to the library, I'm obsessed with reading in exact order, then I look at new releases to get another 2-4 off those shelves. My one hard and fast rule is 1 book per author per trip to the library, so I don't overkill a series or author. The only real exception is Patterson who doesn't really write most of his anyway.

              IN regards to Cussler the older books are muuuuch better, their was a major addition/plot twist about 10 books ago that I wasn't crazy about. Also his son Dirk Cussler is his co writer on the Pitt books now, he is like 80+ years old, so I'm not sure how much is him and how much is his son. His other series's which he doesn't write I'm sure, are okay. I enjoy the Oregon series about good mercenaries and the Bell and Fargo series's are okay. The Austen series is probably my least favorite because it is so much like the Pitt series.

              For Historical fiction I really like Bernard Cornwell, his Sharpe and Starbuck series are very good but I really love the Saxon Chronicles, First Kingdom on BBC/Netflix is based on it. The Hornblower series is also really good. For whatever reason I wasn't crazy about the first couple of the Aubrey/Matin series so I switched to Boltholio which I like but the first few were really short, like finished in less than a day short, so I hope the next 25 or so get a little longer.
              Last edited by Probert; 05-27-2019, 06:57 AM.
              Oswego State Lakers 2007 NCAA Div III Champs

              Adirondack Red Wings 4 time Calder Cup Champs 81,86,89 & 92

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              • #82
                Re: Another Book Thread

                Ok, and what is your last book from the area you read? This one?

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                • #83
                  Originally posted by Probert View Post
                  ...For Historical fiction I really like Bernard Cornwell, his Sharpe and Starbuck series are very good but I really love the Saxon Chronicles, First Kingdom on BBC/Netflix is based on it. The Hornblower series is also really good. For whatever reason I wasn't crazy about the first couple of the Aubrey/Matin series so I switched to Boltholio which I like but the first few were really short, like finished in less than a day short, so I hope the next 25 or so get a little longer.
                  I have the complete Bolitho series. The first book written was "Command a King's Ship". The next one (and the first I read), was "Form Line of Battle!". Mr. Kent then when onwards in Bolitho's career and then a bit later, went backwards (as did Forester in Hornblower).

                  Sadly, there will be no more books. Mr. Kent (Douglas Reeman in real life) passed in 2017.

                  Oh, by the way, they're real good!
                  CCT '77 & '78
                  4 kids
                  5 grandsons (BCA 7/09, CJA 5/14, JDL 8/14, JFL 6/16, PJL 7/18)
                  1 granddaughter (EML 4/18)

                  ”Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both.”
                  - Benjamin Franklin

                  Banned from the St. Lawrence University Facebook page - March 2016 (But I got better).

                  I want to live forever. So far, so good.

                  Comment


                  • #84
                    Re: Another Book Thread

                    Originally posted by joecct View Post
                    I have the complete Bolitho series. The first book written was "Command a King's Ship". The next one (and the first I read), was "Form Line of Battle!". Mr. Kent then when onwards in Bolitho's career and then a bit later, went backwards (as did Forester in Hornblower).

                    Sadly, there will be no more books. Mr. Kent (Douglas Reeman in real life) passed in 2017.

                    Oh, by the way, they're real good!
                    I think I have them set to read in Chronological order, which is how I read Hornblower and Sharpe. The first 2 were actually in one book when I got it, Richard Bolitho Midshipman and Midshipman Bolitho and the Avenger, I think they were originally published as magazine articles? I just got Band of Brothers which is #3 chronologically but was published in 2005 but it's only about 150 pages.
                    Oswego State Lakers 2007 NCAA Div III Champs

                    Adirondack Red Wings 4 time Calder Cup Champs 81,86,89 & 92

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                    • #85
                      Originally posted by Probert View Post
                      I think I have them set to read in Chronological order, which is how I read Hornblower and Sharpe. The first 2 were actually in one book when I got it, Richard Bolitho Midshipman and Midshipman Bolitho and the Avenger, I think they were originally published as magazine articles? I just got Band of Brothers which is #3 chronologically but was published in 2005 but it's only about 150 pages.
                      Everything before Stand into Danger is short. Then Richard assumes more responsibility.

                      Sloop of War is like Hornblower & the Hotspur, but on this side of the Atlantic and the end of the Revolutionary War.

                      You'll enjoy To Glory We Steer (which, come to think of it was written book #1). We meet many of the Bolitho supporting characters that make the rest of the series a grand read.
                      CCT '77 & '78
                      4 kids
                      5 grandsons (BCA 7/09, CJA 5/14, JDL 8/14, JFL 6/16, PJL 7/18)
                      1 granddaughter (EML 4/18)

                      ”Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both.”
                      - Benjamin Franklin

                      Banned from the St. Lawrence University Facebook page - March 2016 (But I got better).

                      I want to live forever. So far, so good.

                      Comment


                      • #86
                        Re: Another Book Thread

                        My brother just recommended The Uninhabitable Earth: Life after Warming. Any of you read it?

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                        • #87
                          Re: Another Book Thread

                          Cheating with an audio version of All Things Shining. I very much recommend it. It's about the search for meaning after the death of god and what people need to find fulfillment. It has a hardcore philosophical angle (Hubert Dreyfus, the best Heideggerean interpreter in history) and also a pop psych angle (presumably the co-author) so there are levels for everyone and it's very accessible. A+.

                          I'm going to pair this with a post in the movie review thread of Being in the World, which covers similar themes in a quite similar way and is a very enjoyable watch.
                          Last edited by Kepler; 05-28-2019, 09:30 AM.
                          Cornell University
                          National Champion 1967, 1970
                          ECAC Champion 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1973, 1980, 1986, 1996, 1997, 2003, 2005, 2010
                          Ivy League Champion 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1977, 1978, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1996, 1997, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2012, 2014, 2018, 2019, 2020

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                          • #88
                            Re: Another Book Thread

                            Has anybody read 'Where the crawdads Sing'? At the Southern Wisconsin library system there were over 1300 holds with over 60 available a few weeks ago. It's been on the 'Top 20 fiction' list in the local paper, all but 1 week at #1, for 38 weeks now.
                            Fighting Sioux Forever

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                            • #89
                              Re: Another Book Thread

                              I just read a dozen or two pages of a sample. It’s good writing. Very artistic. Won’t be for everyone. I’m definitely interested in reading the rest.
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                              • #90
                                Re: Another Book Thread

                                Just finished reading Silmarillion. The coolest Tolkien's work I think, even better than LOTR

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