what do you read?

[krink]

Question for you readers...

If you are not enjoying a book, do you give up on it or finish it?

George RR Martin? ..... later jerk.

I usually try to skim to get some closure if I am at all involved in the story. If the writer continues to needlessly expound or make new story arcs and not bring closure to the main protagonist, I'll walk away.

 

[Cole]

Like @jShort said, I quit audio books. I have quit them just because of the narrator. I hate when they switch narrators in the middle of a series!

 

[OddTrickStar]

Question for you readers...

If you are not enjoying a book, do you give up on it or finish it?

I used to finish them when I was younger. Now I’ll put it down and read something else.

Biggest problem for me now is I almost always know exactly where the story is going and how it ends, like i already read the story. Not just that I forgot that I read it already, although that has happened.

 

[Fire Lord Jim]

Question for you readers...

If you are not enjoying a book, do you give up on it or finish it?

I rarely bail on a book. I don't read fiction, and am usually trying to learn something. So the enjoyment factor is counterbalanced against what I will not learn if I bail.

 

[jmanic]

I have bailed on a couple of books in recent memory- both autobiographies.
One I was just not having the projected self image (looking at you Keef), the other I couldn’t follow wtf he was saying (looking at you Dylan).

So yeah, if I’m not feeling it, fuck it- plenty of good ones like Jiminy’s teacher said.

Interestingly I did push through on a book about Blues history that everyone raved about.
The first half of was hot garbage, second half was great.
I then realized it was co-authored…

 

[Patrick]

I want to re-read one of my favorite sci-fi books, Childhood's End, Arthur C Clarke, 1953.

It isn't particularly long, and leaves quite a bit to the imagination (I think this is good - consider Christine vs the movie - I know, Killdozer is better....)

Anyway, is going back and re-reading something from (wow 70 years ago) and I read it 40 years ago, setting me up for disappointment?
Esp A.C.Clarke -

 

[krink]

I want to re-read one of my favorite sci-fi books, Childhood's End, Arthur C Clarke, 1953.

It isn't particularly long, and leaves quite a bit to the imagination (I think this is good - consider Christine vs the movie - I know, Killdozer is better....)

Anyway, is going back and re-reading something from (wow 70 years ago) and I read it 40 years ago, setting me up for disappointment?
Esp A.C.Clarke -

Love Clarke. Childhoods end was one of my early favorites too. I haven’t reread it. I did reread and found that 2001/2010 and Songs of a distant earth held up pretty well over that time.

 

[Norm]

I want to re-read one of my favorite sci-fi books, Childhood's End, Arthur C Clarke, 1953.

It isn't particularly long, and leaves quite a bit to the imagination (I think this is good - consider Christine vs the movie - I know, Killdozer is better....)

Anyway, is going back and re-reading something from (wow 70 years ago) and I read it 40 years ago, setting me up for disappointment?
Esp A.C.Clarke -

Almost surely. A few years ago I read The Foundation stuff again. It’s pretty bad. I wish I would have left that one in my childhood memory.

I don’t think much old SciFi holds up well over time.

 

[Bikeworks]

Almost surely. A few years ago I read The Foundation stuff again. It’s pretty bad. I wish I would have left that one in my childhood memory.

I don’t think much old SciFi holds up well over time.

Yea, Foundation re-read was a let down for me as well. Parts were still good, mainly the more character-driven dialogues, but overall, meh.

A classic for me that is still good is War of the Worlds. Maybe because it's a period piece at this point?

 

[qclabrat]

I want to re-read one of my favorite sci-fi books, Childhood's End, Arthur C Clarke, 1953.

It isn't particularly long, and leaves quite a bit to the imagination (I think this is good - consider Christine vs the movie - I know, Killdozer is better....)

Anyway, is going back and re-reading something from (wow 70 years ago) and I read it 40 years ago, setting me up for disappointment?
Esp A.C.Clarke -

I reread Fahrenheit 451 last year, another 70 yo book. Though I'm not big on scifi, it was better than when required reading. Anyone have suggestions on historical fiction?

 

[rjr44]

I reread Fahrenheit 451 last year, another 70 yo book. Though I'm not big on scifi, it was better than when required reading. Anyone have suggestions on historical fiction?

Agree w/ this. Stuff I read in school that didn't really jive w/ me now populate my favorite books list, some of which I read yearly. Mainly the dystopian shite like Farenheit, 1984, Brave New World, etc.

Didn't really understand/appreciate them the way I do today. It's part of growing up I guess, tastes change, etc.

 

[krink]

I reread Fahrenheit 451 last year, another 70 yo book. Though I'm not big on scifi, it was better than when required reading. Anyone have suggestions on historical fiction?

Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield. It’s a fictionalized account of the battle of Thermopylae. Much better than the cartoonish crap of 300.

 

[Robin]

just finished Nuclear War: A Scenario by Annie Jacobsen. Frightening.

 

[Norm]

Goodreads gives each user their "Year in Books", so I was looking through my list for the year and I've had quite a few books I really enjoyed. But overall, I think my choice for favorite in 2023 was easy - MR Carey's "Infinity Gate" was such a fun story: it was one of those books that I just got lost in and really couldn't put down. The second (and, unfortunately, it looks like final) installment in the series ("Echo of Worlds") is due out next June, and I've already reserved a copy.

Yeah, this was good. I immediately bought the 2nd on the series and started it.

 

[Jeremy]

I’m on the third Dune book. Children of Dune. It’s a good story but it’s just slow AF. Helps me go to sleep at least.

 

[Norm]

Dune

Heresy I guess, but I never really got into these books. I found them all slow AF. Movie #1 was solid though.

 

[Jeremy]

Heresy I guess, but I never really got into these books. I found them all slow AF. Movie #1 was solid though.

The second movie was also really good.

 

[Kaleidopete]

C.C. Pyle's Amazing Foot Race: The True Story of the 1928 Coast-to-Coast Run Across America​

On March 4, 1928, 199 men set off from Los Angeles on foot. Their destination: New York City.
It was the Bunion Derby, perhaps the most grueling contest in the golden age of endurance competitions

 

[Red Mosquito]

Anyone have suggestions on historical fiction?

All the light we cannot see by Anthony Doerr. It’s a WWII story about a family in France. I was not into the genre before, but this book turned me onto it.

On the heels of that I read Black Cross by Greg Iles, this is another WWII story but from the standpoint of a civilian employed in defense research. It’s a great read, and I’ve enjoyed a bunch of his other books just because he has an easy to read style while still painting a good mental image.

Currently reading The Women by Kristin Hannah, about a nurse in Nam. Cannot put it down, another author who knows how to immerse the reader.

 

[Cole]

Currently reading The Women by Kristin Hannah, about a nurse in Nam. Cannot put it down, another author who knows how to immerse the reader.

I think my wife read this for a book club. I just placed a hold on it for the audiobook.