I finished Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, by Phillip K. Dick, and Annihilation, by Jeff VanderMeer. Both were quick, easy reads. Annihilation was an interesting concept, but I'm not sure if I'll be diving into the rest of the series any time soon. Androids truly captivated me, and will certainly warrant a re-read in the future.

I was extremely excited about finally finding a copy of Iron Gold, by Pierce Brown to continue the Red Rising series. I enjoyed the trilogy immensely, and have high hopes for this.

I finished off The City of Mirrors, by Justin Cronin. Definitely not the strongest of the trilogy. I really enjoyed Fanning’s backstory, especially the unreliable narrator POV. I like that the whole thing tied up nicely. Some parts felt rushed, some character motivations seemed odd. Overall, I liked it and am glad to have finished the trilogy.

I then read Iron Gold, by Pierce Brown. Super enjoyed this. I loved the Red Rising trilogy and this gave me more!

I’ve started my October spook list now too. Started off with The Ballad of Black Tom, by Victor LaValle. This one was up and down. The initial mystery was captivating but after the narrative switched from Tommy Tester to Malone I lost a lot of interest. Overall it was an ok read, but I probably wouldn’t recommend it.

I’m now reading Hex, by Thomas Olde Heuvelt. I’m about 20% through and have just been given context and the witch’s backstory, which is the most interesting part so far. I’m interested to see where this goes, but at the minute it’s not filling me with fright. Hoping it gets a bit creepier.

Next up in the Spooktober list is My Best Friend’s Exorcism, by Grady Hendrix which also happens to be the subreddit book club choice this month. I’m excited that I’ll be able to participate!

Finished:

All the Light We Cannot See, by Another Doerr - beautiful book. It took me a little to get into it but the beautiful writing kept me motivated to continue and I am glad that it did.

Six of Crows, by Leigh Bardugo - it was good enough that I will read the follow up when it becomes available at my library, but just barely. I found the writing flat and the characters poorly developed and quite frankly, unbelievable. It was fast paced and an easy read though, a good "popcorn" summer book.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, by J.K. Rowling - I have been reading this to my son at bedtime for the past few months and just finally finished. Best out of the three I have read so far but if it wasn't for my son's investment and delight I don't know that I would find it as interesting. We are reading the illustrated versions and are waiting until the next one comes out in October.

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Started:

Iron Gold, by Pierce Brown

The Thief of Always, by Clive Barker - this is a re-read for me but I am reading it to my son before bed at night (7.5 years old). So far he is captivated which warms my heart as I loved this book as a teenager when it first came out.

Finished:

Henry IV, Part 2, by William Shakespeare

Iron Gold, by Pierce Brown

Currently Reading:

The Canterbury Tales, by Geoffrey Chaucer

SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome, by Mary Beard

Feathers: The Evolution of a Natural Miracle, by Thor Hanson

John Adams, by David McCullough

Lair of Dreams, by Libba Bray

I have nothing new to bring to this thread this week, since I didn't finish a single book last week, tut tut.
I'm still reading Iron Gold, by Pierce Brown and The Mad Ship, by Robin Hobb. I'm hoping I can finish them both by the end of the week so I can embark on new adventures!

Currently finishing up Columbine, by Dave Cullen. It's taken me longer than expected because I've been in a bit of a funk. The subject matter is super interesting, but jumps around a ton. I was around junior high age when the shooting happened, so it has been very interesting to read about how everything actually went down compared to what I saw on TV.

Finally received Iron Gold, by Pierce Brown from the library so I will dig into that as soon as I finish Columbine! I am super excited to see what happens next.

Iron Gold, by Pierce Brown

The Satanic Verses, by Salman Rushdie

Finished iron gold, started verses

Finished Iron Gold, by Pierce Brown

Finished The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman This is the first book I have read by Neil Gaiman and I enjoyed it. I will definitely read "American Gods" sometime this year.

Starting Sphere, by Michael Crichton

I finished off The Last Girl, by Joe Hart. This was my wife’s pick for our mini book club. Neither of us had any strong feelings about this book. It was just... very ok. I don’t think either of us will be picking up the sequels.

I started City of Mirrors, by Justin Cronin. I’m not very far through this at all yet, but I’m excited to see how this wraps up the trilogy.

I’m hoping that with Iron Gold, by Pierce Brown coming out in paperback this week the price of the kindle version will drop from £9.99 to something a bit more reasonable (seriously, a tenner for an ebook!), and I’ll pick that up this week.

I finished Persepolis Rising, by James A.Corey Had forgotten about it, and actually bought Babylon's Ashes, by James A.Corey , only realizing I had read it before a little later. Good stuff!

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I started and finished Red Rising, by Pierce Brown, Golden Son, by Pierce Brown and Morning Star, by Pierce Brown. Started on Iron Gold, by Pierce Brown.

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Good start to the year!

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EDIT: I don't know how to format

Last week I finished The Mad Ship, by Robin Hobb, which was great, but no surprise there. I also started and finished Beneath the Sugar Sky, by Seanan McGuire. I listened to this one via audiobook and thought it was okay, but not as good as the second one in the series.
Now I'm going through Ship of Destiny, by Robin Hobb, and Iron Gold, by Pierce Brown. I've been tackling this one for almost three weeks but I'm hoping to finish it today. I don't know what I'm picking up next, but I've been thinking maybe Prince of Thorns, which would be my first Mark Lawrence book.

I finished The Grip of It, by Jac Jemc last week for the /r/books bookclub. I thought it was pretty good. I know a lot of people were unsatisfied with the ending, but I thought it fit well with the overall message of the book. I posted most of my thoughts over in the final discussion thread.

Today I'm starting I Am a Cat, by Natsume Sōseki. What caught my eye from goodreads:

From this unique perfective, [sic] author Sōseki Natsume offers a biting commentary - shaped by his training in Chinese philosophy - on the social upheaval of the Meiji era.

All from the perspective of a cat. The Meiji era covers 1868-1912 and Sōseki is specifically dealing with what he sees as an uncomfortable intersection of Japanese and western culture.

I'm finally listening to Iron Gold, by Pierce Brown. It's the first in a follow up trilogy to the Red Rising trilogy. I'm having a hard time remembering if Brown used multiple POVs in the original trilogy, but I'm not enjoying it in Iron Gold. It's seriously slowing down the action. Each POV would've been great as a standalone story. I'm sure they'll all come together eventually and it's a way to flush out the world, but it doesn't mesh well with Brown's fast paced story telling and sense of urgency. If there's one thing I hate A Song of Ice and Fire for it's the popularization of multiple POVs.

Finished Pimp, by Iceberg slimp - The book is a first hand account from a pimp in the 1940's so be ready for events that aren't moral, especially towards women, obviously. With that said, the book is more about Iceberg's background and how he starts pimping. After he gets established, it is more anecdotes, or recapping a few key events in his life that span over many years. Though there are certain events and it is talked about, this isn't a book on how to pimp, it is the autobiographical story of Iceberg's pimping career. Overall, the book is worth the read if you are interested in it.

Finished Palace of Treason, by Jason Matthews This is the follow-up book to Red Sparrow. I am going to start and say that I thought this was a great sequel to the first. IMO, the plot was more captivating because it was more linear than the first book. I also feel the returning characters take a backseat in character growth to the plot and the new characters. I loved the new characters and I feel they steal the show. That slight wish to have had Jason Matthews spend a little more time growing relationships between old characters is my only critique because it is their story after all, but this book is still a good sequel in the world Jason Matthews created.

I started Iron Gold, by Pierce Brown I've been excited for this book after the original Red Rising trilogy since it was announced. I am sure I will blow through this book.

Finally finished Iron Gold, by Pierce Brown which I enjoyed, but not as much as the first few books. The next one should be interesting given how the book ended.

Now I am starting The Fifth Wave, by Rick Yancey which is moving so far. Definitely an interesting concept!

Finished:

Lamarck's Revenge: How Epigenetics Is Revolutionizing Our Understanding of Evolution's Past and Present, by Peter Ward

The Secret Life of the Mind: How Your Brain Thinks, Feels, and Decides, by Mariano Sigman

Currently Reading:

In Search of the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker, by Jerome A. Jackson

The Song of the Dodo: Island Biogeography in an Age of Extinctions, by David Quammen

Iron Gold, by Pierce Brown

The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt, by Edmund Morris

Finished Only Human by Sylvain Neuvel. Not bad, but it's my least favorite in the trilogy. The beginning was promising, but it got a bit too... political for me by the end. Also, the characters in this were kinda annoying. 3,5/5. (Previous ratings in the trilogy - Sleeping Giants: 4/5, Waking Gods: 5/5)

Started Iron Gold, by Pierce Brown. I've had this for like a year and I'm finally reading it, lol. I actually have a signed copy! Loved the previous books, but I've heard kinda mixed opinions on this one. I usually really like multiple POV books, so we'll see how it works in this book (some people don't like it because of that).

Finished:

Iron Gold, by Pierce Brown - I liked it better than Golden Son but that isn't saying much as that was my least favourite. Lysander is a turd and his story takes away from the other stories. I will say that the author's writing is growing and evolving in a positive way - sentence structure isn't completely short and choppy anymore.

The Fifth Season, by N.K. Jemison - amazing story, unique dystopian world, wonderfully written. I would definitely put this in my top 10 this year so far. It is going to be a long 2 weeks until the other two books are available at my library.

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Started:

Crooked Kingdom, by Leigh Bardugo - why am I reading this when I wasn't overly crazy about the first one? My only answer is that it was available at my library, I am a completionist, and I wanted something quick and easy to read.

Iron Gold by Pierce Brown
I liked the original trilogy so I'm giving the next installment a try. I found it pretty confusing to get back into as I forgot a lot of the details like peoples names and events as I read the past books over a year ago. Definitely you need to read the first trilogy to enjoy this novel. The chapters go back and forth between 4 characters. Some of the points of view are interesting and I want more from them and others I'm finding a bit boring but probably necessary to the plot closer to the end of the novel.

Still trucking through Iron Gold, by Pierce Brown. It's a little harder to get into the flow because there was a big gap in time from the end of the last book to where this one starts. A few new characters are being introduced so I am trying to follow along. Hopefully I'll be able to finish it in 5 days because it's due back to the library then!

Iron Gold, by Pierce Brown

Wow, I should've known to never doubt Pierce Brown, the beginnings of it were slow but THEY WERE SO WORTH IT LIKE. wOW. THAT MAN CAN WRITE. (I'm not quite done yet but) SERIOUSLY HOLY SHIT WTFK is all i can say when I was reading Part III