Teeeee
Well-Known Member
I just finished I'll Be Gone in the Dark. Let me know when you finish, I am curious your thoughts!
The Reader’s Nook - The N&G Book Thread
- Thread starter Joe Mac
- Start date
Bennnnn
Well-Known Member
I’ll Be Gone In The Dark is fantastic. It’s one of my favorite true crime books ever I think. I got really caught up in that case when I was reading it, and then kept following it after I finished.
BjorgenFjorgen
Well-Known Member
BjorgenFjorgen
Well-Known Member
Bull Shannon
Well-Known Member
Finishing up Ronan Farrow's Catch and Kill on Audible. Farrow's a great narrator, and I really appreciated hearing the story of the footwork behind the investigation into Harvey Weinstein as well as other prominent men whose vile behavior finally made its way into the public discourse.
Next up on Audible is The Testaments. I've been hearing mixed-to-positive reviews across the board so I'm hoping it's an enjoyable listen.
Oh, in in terms of eye-reading, I've been humming through Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo. It's pretty cracking (though a bit adult and definitely holds some trigger warnings), based on the premise that secret societies at Yale such as Skull N Bones are indeed occult cabals which use dark magic to gain wealth and power. The magic is cruddy and grimy though, which I like; the author does a good job of depicting magic as chaotic and way beyond our understanding.
Next up on Audible is The Testaments. I've been hearing mixed-to-positive reviews across the board so I'm hoping it's an enjoyable listen.
Oh, in in terms of eye-reading, I've been humming through Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo. It's pretty cracking (though a bit adult and definitely holds some trigger warnings), based on the premise that secret societies at Yale such as Skull N Bones are indeed occult cabals which use dark magic to gain wealth and power. The magic is cruddy and grimy though, which I like; the author does a good job of depicting magic as chaotic and way beyond our understanding.
ranbalam
Well-Known Member
@Max Sterling - Thanks for the recommendation on The First Law trilogy, I really enjoyed it. Glotka was such an amazing character and written so well. So many great but flawed characters throughout...it was a really fun read.
At the end...
As per usual for me, I am on to non-fiction after I finish a fiction novel or series.
Started this yesterday
At the end...
I half expected one more "Still alive" from Logen
As per usual for me, I am on to non-fiction after I finish a fiction novel or series.
Started this yesterday
Max Sterling
Well-Known Member
Sounds like you need to read The Great Leveller Trilogy next
I'm on The Age of Madness Trilogy, now. A Little Hatred just came out this year and is set 25+ years after the events of Last Argument of Kings. It follows Glokta's daughter, the Dogmans daughter, and Jezal's son among other characters. I'm enjoying it.
I recently read the post apocalyptic Silo series by Hugh Howey. The first book Wool was pretty great, the following books Shift and Dust were... fine, I guess. The ending was a little flat. Felt like they ran out of ideas.
Teeeee
Well-Known Member
I started A Brief History of Seven Killings last night. Before I realized what I have gotten myself into. Man, the reviews of this book are stellar but also frightening. This book might kill every single bit of my momentum to read 52 books in a year. Anyone else read it?
@Bennnnn - how are you progressing on that stream of consciousness book? Still enjoying it?
@Bennnnn - how are you progressing on that stream of consciousness book? Still enjoying it?
Bull Shannon
Well-Known Member
I really enjoyed The Book of Night Women. Black Leopard, Red Wolf, on the other hand, I did not enjoy and simply do not understand the praise for.
It's actually kinda nice; with BOTM this year I've made a concerted effort to read more contemporary books as they've come out, so now end-of-year lists are coming out and I have actual opinions about some of the books! I'm also baffled by the praise for Sally Rooney's Normal People, to be honest. Other than that, I've been agreeing with most takes, though I haven't read anything published in 2019 that truly wowed me.
Bennnnn
Well-Known Member
I haven’t had the chance to read so much lately but yeah I like it more now for sure. I got used to the style pretty quickly, though I still have hundreds of pages to go...so we’ll see what happens.
by the way, I’ve had A Brief History Of Seven Killings on my to-read list for a while now. I don’t know much about it but what I read intrigued me.
Teeeee
Well-Known Member
A Brief History seems like it is a very big undertaking that will require patience and careful reading comprehension. I hope it isn't as challenging as Infinite Jest because that book got the better of me. I never finished it. I just honestly didn't know that A Brief History was also as challenging.
dhodo
Well-Known Member
Haha, I just got your username.
Anybody is welcome to add me on Goodreads. I'm falling far short of my reading goal for this year, unfortunately. Been too sad to focus on reading recently, but I'm sure I'll make my way back to it in the new year.
Teeeee
Well-Known Member
I remember when I got it too. I was kind of ashamed of how long it took me to "get" it. Like a year or so?Haha, I just got your username.
Teeeee
Well-Known Member
I started checking books out at the library on my kindle so I've been catching up on 2019 books as well. And I have to agree with you. I've read some good books. But I can not recall reading a great 2019 book.
Do you all have a favorite book of 2019 yet? I honestly don't know if I do.
BjorgenFjorgen
Well-Known Member
The Wagers by Sean Michaels was awesome. I also found Sally Rooney's Normal People very moving.
Bull Shannon
Well-Known Member
Looking back at GoodReads I actually got through ten 2019 releases. Lemme break them all down and see where we land:
Maid - A pretty good memoir and a look at the life of a young single mother. This book really showed how expensive being poor can actually be, though I felt the author would often depict people as not giving her much latitude or benefit-of-doubt while then casting similar judgement on others.
On The Come Up - I liked this book a lot, actually. The story doesn't necessarily take any truly surprising turns, but it concerns itself with some very contemporary (and mature) themes.
Miracle Creek - This one was fine. A pretty down-the-middle courtroom drama / mystery; I was intrigued enough to keep going with the whole thing, but it didn't really stay with me once I was finished with it.
Normal People - I've griped enough about this one. I wasn't really interested in the characters, I didn't understand why they kept breaking up, and I didn't really want to know if they'd make it as a couple.
Catch and Kill - Loved this one; listened to it as an audiobook. It was engaging, as well as interesting to learn more about the investigation behind Harvey Weinstein, though I wouldn't say I learned a ton that one didn't already learn from the resulting reporting.
Recursion - The first 2/3 of this book were pretty fun, Crichton-esque sci-fi thriller, but the last 1/3 was sloppy, silly, and involved one of the more gag-inducing romantic subplots I've read. Very surprised the Book Concierge picked this one.
Exhalation - I think I skipped the last story, or had to return the ebook before I got to it, but I loved this one. Ted Chiang is brilliant, and it's nice to read some sci-fi what-if with a little more humanity and hope than we attribute to "meaningful" sci-fi.
The Whisper Man - Another straight-down-the-middle thriller. Kinda creepy, but mostly not.
Ninth House - I enjoyed the worldbuilding and the characters, for the most part. I'm still around 30 pages from the ending, as the actual mystery at the heart of the story hasn't really pulled me in as much as I'd expected. But it was good, there's some interesting dark/mature magic to be found in this one.
The Testaments - This one I've been listening to on audiobook since earlier this week and I'm only an hour in. I like it better than I'd expected. It's certainly just filling in detail and new perspectives of Gilead so far, but I don't find it as pointless as some are saying.
So, looking over that list, I'd say On the Come Up or Exhalation were my favorite books to come out this year. Of the above, the only one's I'd outright steer folks away from are Normal People (I'm in the minority on this) and maybe Recursion.
Bull Shannon
Well-Known Member
Even when they describe it on year-end best-of lists, it doesn't actually sound like anyone read more than forty pages of Black Leopard Red Wolf.
Badams
Member
What were your issues with it? My feelings on it are still pretty mixed after reading it earlier this year
Badams
Member
I just finished Niccolo Rising by Dorothy Dunnett, the first book in the House of Niccolo series set in mid-15th century Europe (it seems there are African and Eurasian adventures too later in the series). Has anyone else read this series? She also has another series, The Lymond Chronicles, which I haven't read.
It was everything I'd want out of historical fiction and I think I may tear through the rest of the series even though there's other books laying around the house I should get to. IMO it was the perfect mix of characters, prose quality, intrigue, and plot hooks with pay-off.
It was everything I'd want out of historical fiction and I think I may tear through the rest of the series even though there's other books laying around the house I should get to. IMO it was the perfect mix of characters, prose quality, intrigue, and plot hooks with pay-off.