Here at Kotaku, we don’t just play video games all day and night. Sometimes, we read. Sometimes we even read books! Wild, I know.
I’ve read a few good books lately, and wanted to check in to see what you all have been reading. For my part, I recently finished Ann Leckie’s Ancillary Justice, which I liked a lot, as well as a spontaneous re-read of Stephen King’s The Stand, which in some ways has aged poorly but in most ways that matter still holds up. I’m currently in the early chapters of Gene Wolfe’s Shadow and Claw, which seems awfully good so far. It’s pretty thick going at first, but extra rich. I’m looking forward to reading more.
OK, your turn. What have you been reading lately? Is it good? Sound off below.
Comments
97 responses to “What Books Are You Reading These Days?”
At the moment about half way through Beyond the hanging wall – Sara Douglas
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/780868.Beyond_the_Hanging_Wall
So far it has been setup well, so now to see if it lives up to the possibilities.
Previous to that i was reading some 50s sci-fi which was interesting and a bit odd
Recently finished Rosie Project and Rosie Effect which i thought were quite good Rosie effect was not as good as the project but still alright. After that i got caught up in the American Sniper hype and read that which i thought was alright first Iraq/Afghanistan war book i have read and i liked it.
Currently ready the Reaper which is about Nick Irvine another Sniper which is no where near as good as American Sniper but will tie me over for a few weeks.
After that i plan to get back into reading Michael Jordan the life and then filter through all of my other older books.
Currently reading Divergent Trilogy. Don’t see what the fuss is about to be honest.
The whole he loves me this page, he loves me not this page, she loves me this page, she loves me not this page got tiring real quick.
And I don’t really understand why the author has to “thank god” every time in her afterwords comments.
Thankfully, I’m only the last book Allegiant…
Next will be moving onto Maze Runner.
Half read the Hungering Saga before the Reaper got released, pretty much knocked that over in about 2 days flat before going back to the Hungering Saga.
Also finished the Paladins by David Dalglish, after reading Book 5 of the Shadowdance Saga.
He writes so fast at times it’s hard to keep up, but I haven’t read anything of his that I didn’t like, so I’d highly recommend it.
I’m part way through The Steel Remains by Richard K Morgan.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Steel_Remains
I’m a fan of his Altered Cardon trilogy (Sci Fi) and this one pretty good so far.
Yeah good book, great author, I loved the Takashi Kovacs trilogy (remember, it’s a hard Slovic ‘Kovatch’, not ‘Kovacks’ lol).
Black Man was OK as well, not as good as Takashi trilogy but.
Yeah I especially like Woken Furies, some hardcore Takashi on Takashi action.. oh yeah…
Yeah man, the Takashi Kovacs trilogy is so good. So much sci-fi, so much tech, so much violence. Actually I got onto the series from a recommendation in the comments section of this site.
The premiss of Woken Furies was great (Kovacks hunting Kovacks).
Black Man I struggled with. Couldn’t get into it. I’ll have to try again sometime.
I’m enjoying The Steel Remains so far. Ringil is similar to Takashi in his “I don’t give a fuck” badassness, which is great.
Those Kovacs books are fantastic! Not a fan of The Steel Remains so much tho.
I just read Nicholas Nickleby. Excellent.
Hoping my copy of Scott McCloud’s The Sculptor arrives soon so I can tuck into that.
I would say I’ve been reading The Moons of Mirrodin, but the truth is I’m a couple chapters into it and never seem to have to time to devote to it.
Marvel’s Civil War
Great read, one of the best marvel events.
Make sure you check out Secret Invasion, Siege and Fear Itself.
The Martian
Just finished reading it – couldn’t put it down. Gave it to the girlfriend right after I was done and told her to stick her nose in it too.
I hope you are referring to the book in that last sentence, otherwise I feel sorry for your girlfriend.
Slowly working through Infinity Gate, 3rd book in the Darkglass Mountain Trilogy by Sara Douglass, this is her 3rd Trilogy I have read in the last few months, gonna be sad when its over, no more Axis! May go onto Robin Hobbs Rain Wild Chronicles after, still waiting on The Doors of Stone by Patrick Rothfuss.
Wish Rothfuss would hurry up already!!
Does Darkglass Mountain tie in with The Wayfarer Redemption books?
Hi sorry I just saw this, yes it does, it’s another Axis Trilogy
Ah excellent, thank you. I’ll have to re-read the others and get on to these ones as well 🙂
Well its an Axis Trilogy but its set in another part of the world if that makes sense, so you prob wouldn’t have to re-read the others to know whats going on.
I’ve been reading the Jack Ryan books by Tom Clancy. I’m up to “The Cardinal of the Kremlin” I’ve been reading them in chronological story order, not published order
That would be a good read. Those Tom Clancy books got me into reading! Actually, it was playing Rainbow Six, then reading the book, that got me started.
I have been reading a series of books called Meta. It is about people gaining super powers through “metabands” with a Batman wanna be thrown in for good measure. Not a bad series so far (only 2 books) but thanks to Kindle Unlimited I am much more willing to check out random books and see if they get my attention.
Just finished the 50 Shades books (figured I’d see what 90% of my female friends on Facebook have been carrying on about). I can see why it’s caused a stir amongst some women, but really it’s just Mills & Boon for the digital age.
Now I’m finally taking advantage of my Marvel Unlimited subscription and reading up on Avengers before jumping into the Infinity event.
I’m stuck about halfway through Brent Weeks’ The Black Prism. Really enjoying it, but haven’t had the time to read for over a month… really should make some time to get back to it.
Take your time, he decided to split what should have been the 3rd and last book into a 4th. I found out when I hit the cliff hanger at the end of the 3rd book. Waiting for the 4th to come out, in November I think.
Been re-reading the Belgariad by David Eddings. Really is a shame Eddings was so against having his works made into anything more modern than an audio book.
Speaking of Audiobooks, also just finished listening to “Homeland” on audible by R.A. Salvatore, first time delving into any of the Drizzt fiction (or really any DnD novels) and it was pretty enjoyable.
Yep good series that one. Belgarath The Sorcerer was good too, Polgara not so much, but it filled in some gaps. The Mallorean (?) wasn’t nearly as good as Belgariad though, too much chasing the tail in that and boring horse riding
The Mallorean really did drag on in some spots and relied far too much on the “things that happened before will happen again until the cycle is broken” schtick that Eddings was so fond of. Belgarath is the book that’s the most fun for me to re-visit from that world, although overall the Elenium is my favorite work of his and for me personally, the series that holds up the most upon re-reading years later.
Ahh Sparhawk, Sephrenia, Flute, Kurik, Bhelliom, the Troll Gods… good times, good times 😛
Redemption of Althalus was also a good read by Eddings… couldn’t really get into his Younger Gods series but read them all nonetheless
Did you pick it up because the cover art looks like Garret holding a cat?
Wheel Of Time – Fires Of Heaven. Really hoping to finish the series this year. This book is dragging on so far I gotta say
Just finished Stardust by Neil Gaiman. About to start Revival by Stephen King.
I just finished Revival. One of King’s better books in recent times. The ending was a little disappointing, but overall the story of both men’s lives intertwined was very well done. Enjoy!
About to start book 3 (not including the prequel) of The Wheel of Time series. Seriously enjoying the series so far.
There’s an extended dry patch in the middle of the series, but stick with it! Its ending is very satisfying.
How many books, total?
There are 14 (core) Wheel of Time books. Of those, I thought three or four of them were particularly dull (books 7-10).
I think the problem with 7-10 as you say was that there wasn’t much actually happening because RJ was struggling to progress about a dozen different perspectives. He bit off more than he could chew, really. Massive props to him though, because he did a great job regardless.
That’s about what, 3000 pages of not much happening? I’m not sure I’d have that kind of perseverance.
It’s not so much that nothing happens, but more that lots of stuff happens simultaneously, such that no one character’s story arc advances in a really satisfying way.
14 books (plus a short prequel), although the last three were written by Brandon Sanderson after RJ passed away.
Will do! Guess they can’t all be zingers =/
I’m half-way through the first book, on about my 20th reading of the series. Every time a new book came out I’d read the whole series. To be fair, I read quite a few of those series readings when they only consisted of four or five books 🙂 This will be the first time I have read all 14 books, as I haven’t touched the last one yet (couldn’t bring myself to admit it was finally over…)
Re-reading Necronomicon – HP Lovecraft Tales.
Also reading a bunch of Steven King, (just started The Shining, just finished Thinner)
Lovecraft had an amazing way with words, in that macabre sense. People don’t write like that any more.
Deadhouse Gates
2nd book in the Malazan Book of the Fallen series.
Also reading Deadhouse Gates , almost done . I like it.
Also reading Deadhouse Gates , almost done . I like it.
Just finishing off the Shards of a Broken Crown (the last of the Roo/Erik/Midkemia/Krondor quadrilogy, set post-Tsurani rift-war). Good stuff. Then I’m planning on re-reading the Matthew Reilly books for a good bit of de Vinici code / Indiana Jonesesque shenanigans.
Only problem with reading the Reilly’s on Kindle is that you miss out on the great maps that are included with the dead tree versions. That’s the one big thing that books win over the kindle, kindle just doesn’t do maps well. My kindle anyways, others with different models might be better, i dunno.
Avatar: The Promise (All volumes) right now then … something. I have a huge backlog of books and comics (Thank you Humble Bundle…) that’s nearing the size of my gaming backlog. Things need to stop being so available and cheap.
Haruki Murakami Bibliography
Asimov
I still have to send you those books! I am the WORST.
I didn’t want to say anything… 🙂
Waiting on Flight of the Eisenstein and Fulgrim to arrive from the Black Library so I can continue reading the Horus Heresy. The first 3 books were great and I can’t wait to get the rest
Reading through all the english-translated Witcher Books by Andrzej Sapkowski.
Maybe then re-play The Witcher and The Witcher 2, before Witcher 3 comes out. Or perhaps I’ll skip the first two games and jump straight into Witcher 3.
Really enjoyed The Peripheral, William Gibson’s most recent one. Just starting (and loving) The Martian by Andy Weir. Also loved NOS4A2 by Joe Hill.
Currently reading Harpy’s Flight by Megan Lindholm and Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy by Douglas Adams.
Just finished The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett, Fitz and the Fool by Robin Hobb (such a good series) and Katyas War by Jonathan L. Howard.
Partway through the Dark Tower, last three books on their way.
Also eagerly awaiting next Stormlight book by Sanderson, Way of Kinds and Words of Radiance were amazing.
Thinking I may have to read the Foundation books by Asimov but might read the Elric series by Moorcock next.
Just did my approx 1000th re-read of the Void Trilogy by Peter F. Hamilton. Reading Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson at the moment. As well as Docking is Difficult’ by Gideon Dafoe which is highly amusing.
Just finished re-reading “The Stand”myself which was fantastic.
Now re-reading Stephen King’s Dark Tower series.
I’m reading Hemingway’s “Fiesta: The Sun Also Rises”. Just reading some recommended literature from my friend and some of my own interest for time spent commuting to and from the city for uni. It is a nice change to be reading this sort of writing instead of the prescribed texts in school and video game books. Honestly, it has been refreshing so far to be reading Fiesta.
Previous to reading this, I finished “Of Mice And Men” by John Steinbeck. A great novella! I highly recommend it! It’s not very lengthy but it is a great read.
Just started reading Darth Plagueis (except the name almost stopped me) – starting off alright, we’ll see how it goes
The Great God Pan by Arthur Machen is waiting to be read. I’ve got the Catcher in the Rye and some Dylan Thomas to get into as well.
I’ve always hated Catcher in the Rye, but am considering re-reading it again with an older mindset to see if it’s a different book to me…. Perhaps that should be next, then…
I agree that it isn’t as good as some people claim (I’m only 70 odd pages in), and it seems like he was trying to piss a lot of people off in the style he wrote it. A book like it in that time period was definitely a ballsy move. It does flow really well though, and the writing itself is quite good.
Lord of the Flies is still better. I will always say that, I think.
Yeah, I’d say one of my main issues in the past with it would have been the overall angst-y tone involved, however if it were done in any way deliberately, I’d definitely give more credit to Salinger then. But I totally agree with Lord of the Flies being a better book. It was damn entertaining.
Not currently reading anything at the moment, but have recently recommended to a friend my absolute favourite book: House of Leaves, by Mark Danielewski. Interesting, and towards the end an incredibly interactive read.
I recently bought a copy of this. It’s coming from the UK so I’ll be waiting a week or so more for it. I don’t know much about it though, is it a good story? One person recommended it to me a while back, never told me a thing about it. I am happy to be going in blind, it’s a hard thing to accomplish these days.
The story itself, I found to be incredibly interesting, because I quite like psychological story-lines, however I will admit that the way it’s structured at the start was a little confusing for me, in the way it sort of threw 3 characters at you. Overall though, the way Danielewski took liberty with how a story should be presented to the reader made it worth buying and giving away to people just so they could read it over the years…
It is a great story. Read it a couple of years back and it is one of those books that I can only recommend to a few people as the way you not only read but interact with the novel requires quite a bit of commitment. I read Only Revolutions first and thought it was great if a little hard to follow (you are reading the same story as seen through two points of view) but then read HOL and it now lives in my “will read again” book shelf.
Re-reading the Scott Pilgrim series, want to read Metro 2033 (playing through Redux at the moment)
I’ve bounced off Metro a couple of times. There’s a lot of Russian names to remember and I suspect a lot of soviet political allegory that I don’t have any understanding of. Seems like it might be a good read if you can push through that – the atmosphere is certainly there.
Umberto Ecco’s Le Nom De La Rose in French. Quite a descriptive little book, and is giving me a fairly strong Sherlock Holmes vibe at the moment.
Just finished reading all the A Song of Ice & Fire books and Gone Girl.
I’m currently reading Metro 2033 andthen im gonna read The World of Ice & Fire when season 5 starts
I recently finished Hyperion & The Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons.
It’s a great 2 book story. Hard to explain too much of what its about without giving some away.
But basically its a far future sci-fi story centred around a mysterious planet amidst the breakout of a long brewing war.
Hyperion was f-ing awesome.
Not reading so much as writing. Anyone who tells you that writing a book is easy is lying.
Too true. I am currently on the 4th draft of my first novel, which is about 450 pages long. It takes a big toll, and it’s been a very hard road. I am very happy with how it’s come out though, and the editor isn’t too far away. Finally.
Yep, I’m also on my 4th draft! The story is pretty solid, but there are still a few more creases to iron out (the odd chunk of weird grammar here and there, mainly). Congrats on making it this far with your work!
Magician – Raymond E. Feist.
2 dozen read throughs and still my go to book. Absolute classic tale.
I can’t up-vote this enough. Magician was the book that got me heavily into reading when I was 12 years old. The Riftwar Saga and the Empire Trilogy, two of the best series I have ever read.
Four at the moment:
– Nobody Is Ever Missing by Catherine Lacey
– Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig
– The Great Gatby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (re-read)
– Watership Down by Richard Adams (re-read)
Just Finished: Waking Up by Sam Harris. I can’t stop thinking the chapter that suggests that when you surgically separate the hemispheres of the brain, you end up with two distinct, sometimes even waring, consciousnesses! Melts my brain! But this book is mostly about mindfulness/ meditation. Reading this book makes me admit I may have been rash in lumping meditation in with dream-catchers and palm-reading all these years.
Now: The 4-Hour Body by Tim Ferris. I don’t subscribe to it all, but I stay for the sheer gusto with which this guy tests out painful and extreme hypotheses on his own body. It’s like Jackass for science.
Next: About to go on two week’s holiday – taking The Martian with me to see what all the fuss is about. That is, I’m going to Thailand, not Mars.
Give “Emergence” by John Birmingham a go. He’s a Brisbane based author, best known for “He Died with a Felafel in His Hand.” It’s a pretty cracker read, it has oil rigs, orcs, marines and a roughneck named Dave. I really liked it.
In the middle of In Cold Blood by Truman Capote. It’s a little chilling but pretty good.
I’ve just started reading the third book in the Gentleman Bastards series by Scott Lynch called Republic of Thieves. Haven’t read enough to make a judgement but the first book, The Lies of Locke Lamora rapidly became one of my favourite books. They’re about medieval thieves who pull grand heists (or at least they start out that way). The first is set in definitely-not-Venice-look-at-these-fantasy-towers. A bit Thief, A bit Assassins Creed, A bit Ocean’s 11. Great characters and dialogue.
Before That I finished Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi, author of another of my favourite books The Windup Girl. Each of his books follow a different set of characters in the same world that’s been ravaged by climate change, fuel and food shortages and war. It follows people eking out a living by scrapping wrecked oil tankers, crawling through asbestos filled ducts to pull out copper wiring and the like. It’s fairly grim stuff but not a bad read. The Windup Girl is a better place to start with Bacigalupi though.
Finished the Republic of Thieves a couple of weeks ago. Its well worth the read. Just bummed that the fourth won’t be out for a while.
Reading Metro:2033……so awesome with the redux playthrough at the same time.
I’ve been working my way through ASOIAF, Terry Pratchett’s Tiffany Aching series and I’ve just started a reread for Glen Cook’s Dread Empire series. Glen Cook = God.
I have just finished The Complete Works of H.P. Lovecraft. Not all his stories are easy reads due to his intellectual and old fashioned language and he is, to be honest, quite racist. But I was blown away by his incredible imagination.
Right now I’m around halfway through my second reading of Red Mars. I first read the Mars Trilogy last year, and pretty much immediately they were my favorite books of all time.
I’m reading High-Rise by J.G. Ballard.
I’ve been reading a lot of political fiction and techno thrillers recently. A friend turned me onto the novels of Robert Cook and I’ve been absolutely engrossed in this amazing books. I just finished reading Pulse from the Cooch series and I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good thriller. The author is a decorated Vietnam Veteran so there is a level of authenticity to his writing that is tough to match when it comes to detailed writing on high-tech modern warfare. If You like techno thrillers like the books from Tom Clancy and Michael Chrichton, you HAVE to check out Robert Cook and Pulse is the pick of the bunch for me. Truly exceptional writing.
http://robertcooknovels.com/