What Are You Currently Reading Outside of Tech
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Disclaimer: My wife is a librarian...
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@RamblingBiped said:
@BBigford Ender's Shadow is fantastic! I've not read the rest of the series because I've heard it is a bit of a disappointment. I've read a fair amount of Orson Scott Card, and his Mither Mages series are decent. "The Lost Gate", "Gate Theif", and "Stone Father" all take place in the same world, with "Stone Father" being a short novella only slightly related to the plot of the others. I've still yet to read "Gate Father", which was release this last October and the third book in the series. His Pathfinder series is also supposed to be a great read.
I was hooked on Ender's Game early. Speaker for the Dead got a little dry, so getting distracted was pretty easy but I want to finish. I heard the series kind of drops off though... I heard Ender's Shadow was out of this world amazing. I also had heard mentions of The Lost Gate. I'll have to check that out.
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@RamblingBiped said:
Disclaimer: My wife is a librarian...
Lucky. My sister-in-law is a librarian as well... but she does more K-6 and early childhood.
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@coliver said:
Has anyone read any of the Discworld series? I've heard good things but haven't read it yet.
Yes, but you have to have a British sort of humour to really enjoy it. There are a few grouped books, but it isn't really a series in the classical sense. It is more akin to Modesitt's Recluse Saga than Jordan's Wheel of Time in the relationships between books. My personal favourite is The Nightwatch, but there are many good, funny stories.
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@RamblingBiped said:
Disclaimer: My wife is a librarian...
Have you or her ever read the Alcatraz series by Brandon Sanderson? The first book is Alcatraz versus the Evil Librarians.
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@BBigford said:
Between work, school, and studying, I rarely have time to read anything but tech related stuff. But when I do get time, I'd really like to continue reading the Ender's Game series. I read the first one (Ender's Game), and got side tracked on the second (Speaker for the Dead). Then maybe I can read the Shadow Saga (Ender's Shadow.... based on another character).
Speaker for the Dead, Xenocide, and Children of the Mind are radically different from Ender's Game in the type of the story told (at a surface level). Add in the fact that SftD starts off very slowly, and it makes the transition very difficult at times. I tried reading it about 3 times before I finally got through it. I liked the three books, but for very different reasons than I'd enjoyed Ender's Game. It is worth pushing through them, but the flavor is very different.
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@Kelly said:
@BBigford said:
Between work, school, and studying, I rarely have time to read anything but tech related stuff. But when I do get time, I'd really like to continue reading the Ender's Game series. I read the first one (Ender's Game), and got side tracked on the second (Speaker for the Dead). Then maybe I can read the Shadow Saga (Ender's Shadow.... based on another character).
Speaker for the Dead, Xenocide, and Children of the Mind are radically different from Ender's Game in the type of the story told (at a surface level). Add in the fact that SftD starts off very slowly, and it makes the transition very difficult at times. I tried reading it about 3 times before I finally got through it. I liked the three books, but for very different reasons than I'd enjoyed Ender's Game. It is worth pushing through them, but the flavor is very different.
Glad I'm not the only one. I'm starting up on my third time to get through it this next go-around. I've tried twice and got about 70% through. I LOVE the story itself, the piggies story is one I want to know but won't look up and have spoiled. It just didn't captivate me like Ender's Game for some reason. The action maybe? I liked the Battle Room a lot in the first book, and the constant testing they threw at Ender.
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@Kelly said:
@coliver said:
Has anyone read any of the Discworld series? I've heard good things but haven't read it yet.
Yes, but you have to have a British sort of humour to really enjoy it. There are a few grouped books, but it isn't really a series in the classical sense. It is more akin to Modesitt's Recluse Saga than Jordan's Wheel of Time in the relationships between books. My personal favourite is The Nightwatch, but there are many good, funny stories.
Did you enjoy the Recluse Saga? That's in my top 10-15 fantasy series.
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@coliver said:
@Kelly said:
@coliver said:
Has anyone read any of the Discworld series? I've heard good things but haven't read it yet.
Yes, but you have to have a British sort of humour to really enjoy it. There are a few grouped books, but it isn't really a series in the classical sense. It is more akin to Modesitt's Recluse Saga than Jordan's Wheel of Time in the relationships between books. My personal favourite is The Nightwatch, but there are many good, funny stories.
Did you enjoy the Recluse Saga? That's in my top 10-15 fantasy series.
Very much so. It declined quite a bit at the end, but the Creslin duology is among my all time favorite books.
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@Kelly said:
@RamblingBiped said:
Disclaimer: My wife is a librarian...
Have you or her ever read the Alcatraz series by Brandon Sanderson? The first book is Alcatraz versus the Evil Librarians.
I have not read the Alcatraz series yet, but I've read quite a few of his other books. The guy is an absolute beast when it comes to writing. The pace at which he releases new titles is ridiculous.
I've read and enjoyed Elantris, the original Mistborn Trilogy, The Stormlight Archive (can't wait for the next book in the series), The Rithmatist, and all but the last book of his contributions to the Wheel of Time series. He is actually the reason that I started reading WoT.
I'll probably go back and re-read the Mistborn trilogy, and read all of the newer books in that series before taking a swing at Alcatraz.
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@RamblingBiped said:
@Kelly said:
@RamblingBiped said:
Disclaimer: My wife is a librarian...
Have you or her ever read the Alcatraz series by Brandon Sanderson? The first book is Alcatraz versus the Evil Librarians.
I have not read the Alcatraz series yet, but I've read quite a few of his other books. The guy is an absolute beast when it comes to writing. The pace at which he releases new titles is ridiculous.
I've read and enjoyed Elantris, the original Mistborn Trilogy, The Stormlight Archive (can't wait for the next book in the series), The Rithmatist, and all but the last book of his contributions to the Wheel of Time series. He is actually the reason that I started reading WoT.
I'll probably go back and re-read the Mistborn trilogy, and read all of the newer books in that series before taking a swing at Alcatraz.
His writing of the final books in the WoT series was what got me in to the Mistborn trilogy. I haven't read Elantris yet I'll look at that next.
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@RamblingBiped said:
@Kelly said:
@RamblingBiped said:
Disclaimer: My wife is a librarian...
Have you or her ever read the Alcatraz series by Brandon Sanderson? The first book is Alcatraz versus the Evil Librarians.
I have not read the Alcatraz series yet, but I've read quite a few of his other books. The guy is an absolute beast when it comes to writing. The pace at which he releases new titles is ridiculous.
I've read and enjoyed Elantris, the original Mistborn Trilogy, The Stormlight Archive (can't wait for the next book in the series), The Rithmatist, and all but the last book of his contributions to the Wheel of Time series. He is actually the reason that I started reading WoT.
I'll probably go back and re-read the Mistborn trilogy, and read all of the newer books in that series before taking a swing at Alcatraz.
Alcatraz is mostly aimed at the Teen market, so they're comparatively short, simple reads, but they appear to be the way that Sanderson releases all of his pent up sarcasm and penchant for puns and plays on words. They are laugh out loud funny. As in, trying to read in bed without waking up other sleepers is hard, funny
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The second set of Mistborn books is at least as good as the original, but in a totally new way. I think I prefer the Wax and Wayne arc over the original, but they're so different it is hard to compare well.
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@Kelly said:
The second set of Mistborn books is at least as good as the original, but in a totally new way. I think I prefer the Wax and Wayne arc over the original, but they're so different it is hard to compare well.
I bought the first of that when it first came out. I haven't had the ability to read it as of yet.
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@coliver said:
@Kelly said:
The second set of Mistborn books is at least as good as the original, but in a totally new way. I think I prefer the Wax and Wayne arc over the original, but they're so different it is hard to compare well.
I bought the first of that when it first came out. I haven't had the ability to read it as of yet.
I'm not sure we can be friends until you rectify this...
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I am horribly out of touch with novels in the last 8 years.
I miss reading. I have a library of ~1000 books all boxed up because this apartment has no space for them.
I'm a Sci-Fi / Fantasy guy.
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@JaredBusch said:
I am horribly out of touch with novels in the last 8 years.
I miss reading. I have a library of ~1000 books all boxed up because this apartment has no space for them.
I'm a Sci-Fi / Fantasy guy.
sounds like my apartment too but scifi / military
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@MattSpeller said:
@JaredBusch said:
I am horribly out of touch with novels in the last 8 years.
I miss reading. I have a library of ~1000 books all boxed up because this apartment has no space for them.
I'm a Sci-Fi / Fantasy guy.
sounds like my apartment too but scifi / military
We only have 6 bookshelves full of books (half shelves really). The wife is really good about weeding books and not keeping stuff around just for the sake of keeping it around. If it has no value for subsequent reads it gets chucked in a box and donated.
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@RamblingBiped said:
@MattSpeller said:
@JaredBusch said:
I am horribly out of touch with novels in the last 8 years.
I miss reading. I have a library of ~1000 books all boxed up because this apartment has no space for them.
I'm a Sci-Fi / Fantasy guy.
sounds like my apartment too but scifi / military
We only have 6 bookshelves full of books (half shelves really). The wife is really good about weeding books and not keeping stuff around just for the sake of keeping it around. If it has no value for subsequent reads it gets chucked in a box and donated.
One of the more popular things to do around these parts is start your own free library
http://victoriaplacemaking.ca/2015/placemaking/mapping-greater-victorias-little-library-boxes/
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Outside of tech? What on Earth are you talking about?
I recently read the new edition of Robert Graysmith's Zodiac book, spoilers, they still haven't caught the guy.
Also:
The Martian - It was OK.
Reclaiming History by Vincent Bugliosi - JFK conspiracy theories are hilariously complex
Bossy Pants - Tina Fey - Very funny
Captured! The Betty and Barney Hill UFO Experience The True Story of the World's First Documented Alien Abduction - Stanton Friedman and Kathleen whatever her name is. I put the entire title because I love how long it is and that I can remember it. Anyway to me, the story is interesting but I'm not a believer, so it was more like reading a creepy book. It was kind of creepy to read alone at night thinking "Oh crap I bet they could take me right out of this Moscow highrise!" I read it because I've spoken with Friedman in the past about UFOs, primarily cases from the former USSR and Yugoslavia, done some translating, etc.I read mostly tech books so I've left some things out.
