BowserBasher Posted February 7, 2024 Posted February 7, 2024 Used to read a fair bit back in the day but other things took over. But recently I’ve had the urge to find something to read again. Luckily local Radio station here has been doing a monthly book club thing too and the last book mentioned sounded a little interesting to me. Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree Never heard of it nor the author, but the book for the month was to be something easy and light as they had done heavier books before that and this was mentioned. It’s a shortish book, easily read in a few days, fantasy but quite a different fantasy than dragons and battles. I enjoyed it and it is an easy read. It’s about an Orc that wants to put her bloodshed and battling behind and decides to open a coffee shop in a small villages that has never heard of coffee. The story becomes a story of family and friendships made along the way. It seems to get quite favourable reviews too. Worth a checkout if you want something light to read. After that I went and found one that I’ve always wanted to read. I’ve loved the film since seeing it as a child and knowing now how things differ between original books and film adaptations I wanted to check it out. So… The NeverEnding Story So first off, the film adaptation is like half the actual book. The first half at that, the film did follow it pretty closely with some alterations and such, but it’s the second half that shows so much more of the world and gives you so much more of why Fantasica (film changed it to Fantasia) exists and so much more of the world. Though it also feels like a different book altogether. I can see why it wasn’t a part of the film. A great book though, easy to read and seems to put across a well intended morale at the end there. If you’ve ever seen the film but never read the book, I’d say read it. Get a feel for what more to the story there is and why it is called the NeverEnding Story too.
Happenstance Posted February 7, 2024 Posted February 7, 2024 38 minutes ago, BowserBasher said: Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree Never heard of it nor the author, but the book for the month was to be something easy and light as they had done heavier books before that and this was mentioned. It’s a shortish book, easily read in a few days, fantasy but quite a different fantasy than dragons and battles. I enjoyed it and it is an easy read. It’s about an Orc that wants to put her bloodshed and battling behind and decides to open a coffee shop in a small villages that has never heard of coffee. The story becomes a story of family and friendships made along the way. It seems to get quite favourable reviews too. Worth a checkout if you want something light to read. I started reading that last year after it was getting a lot of buzz. Didn't get too far into it but I need to go back to it at some point. 1
Happenstance Posted July 15, 2024 Posted July 15, 2024 Just finished reading Replay by Ken Grimwood. I'd been looking for recommendations on something similar to The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August which I read a year or so ago and really enjoyed and Replay was one that kept popping up. It's another book about a person reliving their life over and over and I really enjoyed it. This one felt like much more of a character piece compared to Harry August which had an ongoing story thread going through it. Anyone else read it? Oh and it's also kind of creepy that the author died in the same way as the character in the book while he was writing the sequel.
darksnowman Posted July 16, 2024 Posted July 16, 2024 Always glad of a rec myself so I'm adding those to the list. 🏖️📚 If you're still on the lookout for something in a similar vain, take a look at Life After Life by Atkinson. Read it years and years ago through a Kindle promotion and it pulled me in. There's also 7 1/2 Lives of Evelyn Hardcastle which I'm yet to get around to so can't vouch for one way or the other. Same goes for All You Need is Kill. On the King front a couple of shorts spring to mind: That Feeling, You Can Only Say What It Is In French (collected in EE) and Afterlife (collected in BoBD) if you have access to them. 1
Happenstance Posted December 9, 2024 Posted December 9, 2024 (edited) Just finished reading Three-Body Problem. I thought it was an interesting story, a lot of the science probably went over my head but I felt like I grasped enough of it to understand what was being talked about. Definitely expected early aspects of the story to hang around longer than they did but I thought it was well written (especially for a translated story) and kept me engaged throughout. I've seen the first episode of the Netflix adaptation but decided to stick with the book after that so now I'm done next time I've got a Netflix subscription I'll probably watch the rest as I'm interested to see the differences. If anyone else has read it, do you know if the next books are just as good? I'm going to switch to a different series for now as I need a break but I would be interested to come back if they're good. Moving onto Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds next. Apparently its the basis for a lot of the Mass Effect story and universe so I'm looking forward to seeing how that compares. Edited December 9, 2024 by Happenstance 1
drahkon Posted December 10, 2024 Posted December 10, 2024 14 hours ago, Happenstance said: If anyone else has read it, do you know if the next books are just as good? I dropped the second book about 1/3 through. It's not bad, but I just wasn't that into it. It's basically more world-building, which is nicely done and it's obvious that it's necessary, but I was looking for something a little more engaging at the time. Will definitely go back to it, though. After I'm done with The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka. Read the first chapter and ohh boy is it an interesting ride. It gets going literally with the first sentence. Can't wait to see what it has in store. My first foray into Kafka's work. Also bought The Process and I'm looking forward to reading it! 1
drahkon Posted May 5 Posted May 5 On 12/10/2024 at 11:48 AM, drahkon said: Will definitely go back to it, though. After I'm done with The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka. Well, I did not go back to The Dark Forest after The Metamorphosis I read Everyone You Hate Is Going to Die: And Other Comforting Thoughts on Family, Friends, Sex, Love, and More Things That Ruin Your Life by Daniel Sloss instead. I love his standup specials and his book is basically an addition to a few of those. Loved it from start to finish. So now I'm getting back to The Dark Forest. Had to read a few summaries to get back into the world and the few pages I've read since then kicked things up a little bit. Looking forward to seeing where it'll go (and eventually what will happen in the third book).
Agent Gibbs Posted May 6 Posted May 6 I never tried the Reacher series and whilst waiting for Season 3 of the show i picked up the books and began reading in in universe Chonological order, and i've finally got to the Killing Floor. I really love this series and its gotten me back into reading again
bob Posted May 7 Posted May 7 I read Wind and Truth by Brando Sando. I'm not as enamoured with the Stormlight Archives as his other series. I feel like the series is getting a bit bloated and too much faff. However, I did enjoy this latest one that supposedly rounds off the first 5 book arc of the 10 book series. It actually finished up some storylines without adding a load of additional guff. Longest book I have ever read though - 1300 pages.
drahkon Posted 14 hours ago Posted 14 hours ago On 5/5/2025 at 1:27 PM, drahkon said: The Dark Forest Finished it last night. I read 200 pages before going to bed. It was that good. I don't understand how there's a third book, though. In my opinion, the ending of The Dark Forest is a good conclusion. Not complaining, though, as I already have Death's End right here and I'm looking forward to reading it
Happenstance Posted 12 hours ago Posted 12 hours ago I really wish The Dark Forest had proper chapters. I’m working through it at the moment but do struggle without natural stopping points.
drahkon Posted 11 hours ago Posted 11 hours ago (edited) 1 hour ago, Happenstance said: I really wish The Dark Forest had proper chapters. I’m working through it at the moment but do struggle without natural stopping points. Fair enough. Took me a while to get used to it. I do think that the author does a good job of explaining quickly where we're going and who's involved when scenes change, though. Hope you stick with it. The finale is soooo good. Edited 11 hours ago by drahkon
Happenstance Posted 10 hours ago Posted 10 hours ago 45 minutes ago, drahkon said: Fair enough. Took me a while to get used to it. I do think that the author does a good job of explaining quickly where we're going and who's involved when scenes change, though. Hope you stick with it. The finale is soooo good. Oh yeah I’m definitely going to finish it. I’m just a bit lost at the moment as I had to stop for a few months when my eyes went dodgy so when I went back I didn’t recognise anything. I’ll probably go back a few pages until I start to remember stuff.
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