I finished these:

Leviathan Wakes, by James S.A. Corey

Well it took a turn that I did not expect. I almost wanted to chuck my ereader across the room when I read the words "vomit zombies". Ugh. Just ugh. So terrible. It's unfortunate they had to use the words "vomit zombie" and if they had just not done it I would have been more of a fan. However, whenever the book avoided the whole zombie bullshit, I enjoyed it. Again, the universe has clearly been constructed with some care and I definitely will be continuing the series to see where it goes. I do like the interplanetary fighting and the writing is fluid and exciting enough that one can read the book in a few days. Nice short chapters too keep the pacing nice and fast.

Nocturnes: Five Stories of Music and Nightfall, by Kazuo Ishiguro

I like Ishiguro's writing style but boy were these stories forgettable. They all felt samey and if you asked me what was different about them, I'd have a hard time telling you. The first, fourth, and fifth stories were pretty much identical in plot and kinda bland. Also I've noticed he really likes to use the whole author telling the reader that they probably don't know something. He did it in Never Let Me Go and The Remains of the Day and it's kinda cliche at this point.

Currently reading:

The Three-Body Problem, by Liu Cixin

I started reading this a year ago but put it aside since I wasn't enjoying it. Since I am on a bit of sci-fi kick I figured I'd finish since I was only 100 or so pages from the end. I should be enjoying this book more since my PhD is in astronomy and astrophysics but it just reads so flat. The science is neat and the author clearly understands it (I read that he has a background in physics) and I enjoy that but it just seems so dry. I guess since I spent my early career hanging around physicists, reading about physicists isn't that interesting since here the characters felt so stilted. It could be a translation issue too since one of my old colleagues was Chinese and recommended them to me but he had read them in the original Chinese and was praising them. Once I'm done I dunno if I'll read the remaining two in the trilogy.

Me Talk Pretty One Day, by David Sedaris

I always like me some Sedaris. Nice short stories that are always amusing. I think I sat down yesterday and read about 1/3 of the book in a single sitting. It's just so pleasant to read. Plus I finally decided to look up a youtube video of him speaking and so many things make sense. I'd watched many videos of his sister Amy but never him. I dunno why my book version of him was so different.

I'll probably also start Caliban's War, by James S. A. Corey when I finish The Three-Body Problem.

I finished reading Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey. I also finished Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury in preparation for the HBO movie.

I just started American War by Omar El Akkad

Completed:

• The Long Hard Road Out of Hell, by Marilyn Manson, Neil Strauss - This was a fantastic treck through depravity. I was a fan of his earlier music and I was happy to see this book cover the behind the scenes antics during Spooky Kids, Portrait of an American Family, Smells like Children and Antichrist Superstar.

• The Fifth Season (The Broken Earth #1), by N.K. Jemisin - Very good start to the series, great world building. Looking forward to The Obelisk Gate.

• Exit Strategy (The Murderbot Diaries #4), by Martha Wells - My second favorite book in the series thus far. Excited for the full length novel in 2020. I highly recommend this series for any sci-fi fan and actually purchased a few copies for friends.

• Something Wicked This Way Comes, by Ray Bradbury - This is my favorite Bradbury yet (The Martian Chronicles, Fahrenheit 451). I love the idea of a dark carnival coming to town! Bradbury is able to maintain an incredible atmosphere throughout the novel, its dusk and everything is DEAD quiet as a lightning storm approaches.

Starting

• Secret Prey (Lucas Davenport #9), by John Sandford
• The Illustrated Man, by Ray Bradbury
• The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy #2), by Douglas Adams
• The Obelisk Gate (The Broken Earth #2), by N.K. Jemisin
• Leviathan Wakes (The Expanse #1), by James S.A. Corey

Finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, by JK Rowling. Started Red Rising, by Pierce Brown and Leviathan Wakes, by James SA Corey.

Red Rising is definitely different than I thought it would be. I don't think I will end up liking it as much as everyone else seems to, and I'm surprised at the plot outline actually. Each chapter seemed to be its own little task that's wrapped up in 5 pages. Helldiving, a dinner, an execution, indoctrination, surgery, training etc etc. So I was surprised when the tribal/castle stuff ended up taking longer than one chapter, and instead makes up the bulk of the book.

I've only read the first chapter of Leviathan so far but I'm excited to give it more attention after I finish Red Rising.

finished The name of the wind, by Patrick Rothfuss, really good read, kind of petered out at the end but I guess it's a set up for the rest of the series.

starting Leviathan Wakes, by James S. A. Corey as I'm continuing my trend of not reading books in same series/ by same author back to back so I don't get burnt out. Looking forward to starting book 2 of KingKiller after this one though.

I started reading Leviathan Wakes, by James S. A. Corey, mostly because of the hype surrounding The Expanse's renewal by Amazon.

I started reading Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey this afternoon.

Finished:

So You Want To Talk About Race, by Ijeoma Oluo

This book was absolutely incredible for anyone - speaking as a white man - who wants to better understand race in America, how to navigate difficult conversations, and ultimately how to help be a solution to the problem. Highly, highly recommend.

Reading:

The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, by Tom Wolfe

Super fun and interesting read. Definitely recommend for anyone interested in the counterculture .

Leviathan Wakes, by James S.A. Corey

First book in the Expanse series that I started on a whim and have been working through as time allows. Lots of fun and crosses genres - great worldbuilding, can read like a mystery novel. Looking forward to having time this weekend to (hopefully) finish it.

Maybe finishing Leviathan Wakes, by James S. A. Corey this week.

Just finished 11/22/63, by Stephen King and let me say, I loved it. While not as good as some of the other works by him (IT is my favorite no question) this book had one of the biggest emotional impacts of any of his books. Just started Leviathan Wakes, by James S. A. Corey and I am very excited for this series as I have heard good things.

I finished Sleeping Giants, by Sylvain Neuvel. I didn’t like the interview format, the great premise was kind of ruined by it.

Started Leviathan Wakes, by James S. A. Corey, the first book in the Expanse series. I’ve seen two seasons of the tv series, and so far the series has followed the book pretty well. The book (as usual) gives more depth though, especially when describing the effects of travelling in high g.

Finished:

Leviathan Wakes by James S A Corey Well this was just really good. I'm honestly really surprised at how super faithful the show was to the book. Except the book obviously gave more insight into the characters. In the show I admittedly didn't really like Amos or Miller, kinda thought they were just generic flat "ooo i'm so tough look at me" type characters, but I liked them way more in the book. But I guess the show must've cobbled together stories from multiple books because where was my UN lady? I miss her! Maybe she's in the second book, which I will absolutely be reading

Started:

The Abominable by Dan Simmons I have a weird fascination with mountain climbing. No idea why, it's something I have a 0% chance of doing myself, but I like reading about it. This book is not the easiest read, and it's a little dry, but I'm enjoying it. I thought it was a horror novel, but I don't think it is? Looks like more of a murder mystery that just happens to be set around Mount Everest in 1924. Not what I thought it was, still good so far though!

Finished

1984, by George Orwell

Farenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury

La Peste, by Albert Camus

Leviathan Wakes, by James S A Corey

Started

Caliban's War, by James S A Corey

I'm really in love with The Expanse books (and the series too).

Just finished:

Leviathan Wakes, by James SA Corey

I liked it alright. Good page-turner with a lot of good action. However, I kind of hated the viewpoint characters. Holden was intolerably idealistic and bland. He felt like a blank self-insert character. Miller was a little better but I felt his actions made no logical sense in the later half. I'll keep reading the series this year but I hope the characters get a little better.

Starting:

The Great Gatsby by Scott Fitzgerald

I'm in the middle of the second chapter. So far the book has been fairly dry but I'll see how it goes.

I finished:

Peter Pan, by J.M Barrie

I read this for the first time since I was a kid and I absolutely loved it. Peter is maniacal and the writing is SO GOOD.

Starless, by Jacqueline Carey

This was a really solid fantasy novel, and I like that it's stand alone. Carey has such a beautiful way of writing and weaving feeling into the scenes. I also liked the way she covered more complex issues.

A Promise of Fire, by Amanda Bouchet

No. Just no. Do not recommend. There is a really awful abusive relationship portrayed as loving and sexy. The dialogue was cringey. There were some interesting elements regarding magic and world but no where near enough to make up for the blatant sexual assault portrayed as ok and the terrible dialogue.

I started:

Leviathan Wakes, by James S.A. Corey

Really enjoying it so far. About halfway through.

The Poppy War, by R.F Kuang

Also really enjoying it, especially the setting. About 1/3 through.

Finished:

Leviathan Wakes, by James S.A. Corey

Started a couple weeks ago but getting back to it now

How to Change your Mind, by Michael Pollan

I haven't read real science-fiction in a long time, and I happened to be in London and I always pass through Forbidden Planet and I got a ton of recommendations. The one that I picked was

Leviathan Wakes, by James S. A. Corey

This is the first in the Expanse series of -so far- 7 novels. I'm about 100 pages in and I am enjoying it. The writing flows really well and it's super quick and enjoyable to read so far. As for the science fiction part, I like that is it trying to be hard sci-fi and takes seriously the challenges people would face with exploring the solar system.. My background is in astrophysics so I can get picky about how things work but here I feel the authors have tried to be very "realistic" with the way space travel works, which is nice and I get the sense that care has been made to make a universe where things are sci-fi but still grounded in practical limitations. I'm just at the point where Holden has received the transmission from the disgraced former UN person whereas Miller has just investigated Julie's apartment. I don't really find Miller's story that interesting so far and I kinda dislike how it switches between their viewpoints as I'd like to stick with one for a few chapters and than switch. But it's interesting and I have no idea where the story is going at all, which is nice. Some sci-fi books I've read are a little too obvious about where the story goes.

I just finished The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan. Felt it was a bit bloated and meandering, but it finished strong. It will probably be awhile before I continue the series, though.

I am now reading Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey I heard a lot of good things about The Expanse on Syfy, so I decided to read at least the first book in the series.

I just finished The Tropic of Serpents, by Marie Brennan and it was great. It's the 2nd book in a really fun series set in an alternate universe Victorian England where there are dragons and the main character, Isabella, is a naturalist obsessed with studying them. If you like dragons and/or Victorian England, I highly recommend the series. A bit like Amelia Peabody with dragons.

I'm about a quarter of the way through Leviathan Wakes, by James S.A. Corey which I'm reading via audiobook. I'm having a little trouble keeping track of the characters listening to it, but otherwise I'm quite enjoying it. It's a sci fi mystery and I'm really curious to see where it's going to go.

And last but not least, I'm about to start on The Perplexing Theft of the Jewel in the Crown, by Vaseem Khan which is the second in an adorable mystery series featuring a retired police officer in Mumbai, India and his pet baby elephant.

Finished Leviathan Wakes, by James S.A. Corey. It was great! It's everything I want in a space opera.

Started Caliban's War, James S.A. Corey. So, I had to jump right into the next book in the series. I'm about 80 pages in and the story is still going strong. The dialogue and characters are well written. I'm really glad I finally started reading this series after so many suggestions to read it.

Last week:

City of Blades, by Robert Jackson Bennett

City of Miracles, by Robert Jackson Bennett

and then yesterday, just before the week ended, I read a whole book in a day. The Snow Child, by Eowyn Ivey.

I'm not yet sure about this week. I'll be out of town and this either means a LOT of reading time or no reading time at all. I have a few books still from my 25-book buy haul that I'm trying to read.

These include Leviathan Wakes, by James S. A. Corey (and the rest of the series), Whichwood, by Tahereh Mafi, The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter, by Theodora Goss, etc.

It also had a few books I couldn't finish (or actually even start). These were Paolo Bacigalupi's Windup Girl (had to put it down after 10 pages because I was already bored as heck), Renegades by Marissa Meyer (don't ask, it came with the package), and After Atlas by Emma Newman (horrible book). I'm not sure if I'll like all I got, but eh, worth a try and I got them at an ok price!

I just yesterday finished Leviathan Wakes, by James S. A. Corey and thought it was pretty interesting. It was my first fiction book in the fantasy/science fiction genre, with the exception of 1984. I thought it was pretty good, but as of now, I have no intentions of picking up the second book.

The next book on my list that I'll crack open tomorrow is going to be Prince of Thorns, by Mark Lawrence which I picked up based on the recommendation threads in /r/fantasy.

Finished:

The Return of the King, by J. R. R. Tolkien

I had started the trilogy in college some decades ago, but quit partway through The Two Towers. I just couldn't handle what I thought at the time was excessive detail on extraneous matters, such as the appearance of bridles on the warhorses. Almost 40 years later, I returned to the series, which I have thoroughly enjoyed, detailed description and all.

Don't Panic: Douglas Adams & The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by Neil Gaiman

British comedy is not always my thing, but I have always had a place in my heart for the combination of big ideas (and silly ideas) and humor in Hitchhiker's Guide. I enjoy Gaiman's style in his fiction, and he didn't disappoint with this nonfiction, either.

Started:

Leviathan Wakes, by James S. A. Corey

One of the downsides to having seen a book's material onscreen before reading it is that I keep seeing the actor's face and hearing their voices even when that's not how they are described in the book. I'm about 20% of the way through the book, and I'm enjoying it quite a bit, but I might like the first season of The Expanse even better than its source material. I'm open to that changing as I progress through the novel.

​

Fool Moon, by Jim Butcher

There's not a lot to think about in the Dresden series, but it's solid fun.

I finished Fateless, by Imre Kertész.

I started Leviathan Wakes, by James S.A. Corey. Absolutely loving it so far. Maybe one of the most captivating first 100 pages I have ever read.

Finished Noir, by Christopher Moore which I found annoying at first due to the period dialect, but it eventually grew on me and the story is absurd in a good way.

Started Physics of the Impossible, by Michio Kaku because I like sci-fi but admittedly I know very little science beyond high school basics. It's pretty dense, but learning on what the missing steps are from what is currently possible to creation of a Death Star is enough to keep me reading.

About to start Leviathan Wakes, by James S A Corey and I'm walking into it with no expectations. I've heard people say they like it, but I know very little beyond that.

Started and Put Down: Harvest Home by Thomas Tryon I just didn't like it. Too slow, too flowery, and nothing happened. My To Read pile is too big to finish up books that I don't really like.

Finished:

Becoming by Michelle Obama Wonderful book. She really goes in depth into her background, her family, how she got where she was and where she's going. I cried a little at a few parts, not gonna lie. And as silly as this sound, it really has inspired me to look at my own life and realize that I'm not as happy as I could be.

Parasite by Mira Grant Not anywhere near as good as her Newsflesh trilogy. Honestly if this had been written by any other author I probably would've put this one down too, but I dearly love Grant. It did get better towards the end, when it picked up a bit of speed, but I really don't like the main character and I don't know if I want to spend two more books with her going "i'm scaaaaared" over and over again

Started:

Leviathan Wakes by James S A Corey I've watched the show and I like it a lot. So I figured, let's give the books a shot. I know it's a long series, which is good, and I want to start dipping my toe into sci fi more. Can't real horror all the time right? So far it's really good. The show clearly was very faithful to the books, at least for the first bit, but I'm still enjoying it a great deal.

Finished: Leviathan Wakes, by James SA Corey. I’ve seen two seasons of the Expanse, and the show is pretty faithful to the books so far. But as usual you always get more details when reading, which I love.

Started: A Wizard of Earthsea, bu Ursula K. Le Guin. My first Le Guin book, liking it so far.

Leviathan Wakes, by James S.A. Corey I've watched the show (except for the latest episode cause finals are fucking hard) and love the book so far.

Leviathan Wakes, by James S.A. Corey

It's been so long since I read any space sci-fi, and so far it's everything I wanted it to be!

Two books:

The Flamethrowers, by Rachel Kushner -- I'm 2/3 of the way through the book. The ideas and themes are definitely very interesting, and I like it a lot. Definitely a dense read, though: there's a ton of digressions in the book relating to various topics (e.g. when the main character's social circle rants about art or revolution). A lot of them require rereads.

Leviathan Wakes, by James S. A. Corey -- I love the genre fusion in this book. I'm definitely interested in reading more of this series.

Finished: Leviathan Wakes, by James S. A. Corey

Started: The Unbearable Lightness of Being, by Milan Kundera

First time I'm posting here so here goes. I read two books: Leviathan Wakes, by James S.A. Carey which is the first book in the expanse series, and it's pretty good, but I actually like the show about it more than the books. And I also read The Time Travel Adventures Of Mike, Jim And Charlie, by Jack Porkins which was ok I guess, kind of funny and weird at times.

After seeing it crop up here a lot, I finished Leviathan Wakes, by James S. A. Corey and it was waaaaay better than I expected after watching the show. Really looking forward to reading rest of the series.

Up next, The Wise Man's Fear, by Patrick Rothfuss. I'm pretty excited to pick it up as the first was a really interesting read in the way the story was told. After that, I'll probably pick up the second book in expanse series or find something that's not sci-fi or fantasy as a palate cleanser

I just finished Pet Sematary, by Stephen king my mum often recommended this one and I enjoyed it a lot, it took a while to finish, but it didn't go the way I expected and it kept and good creepy vibe the whole time

I just started leviathan wakes, by James S A Corey and holy shit, this book is popping off, I'm less than 100 pages in and it's got me hooked, I can't wait to see where it goes, really fun and exciting read, loving it