The Fountainhead

Rand is of course pretty problematic, but I have read that one and it's a good read for sure.

Finished:

... it's been four years since I finished Oathbringer and two years since Dawnshard, so it's about time I started the next one. It's been on my shelf long enough.

Finished this yesterday. Familiar fantasy themes and tropes(which I'm a fan of) and I loved the characters. Each chapter has a different character's POV a la ASOIAF. Thought it was great and already onto the 2nd book.

Kent Haruf's final book - which is the last remaining book of his I haven't yet read.
Adapted to a Netflix movie starting Redford and Fonda - which I avoided until I read the book first.

Wonderful writer who creates great characters and stories always set in the fictional small town of Holt, Colorado.

Just finished: Michael Crichton’s Eaters of the Dead


It’s a pretty quick read. Enjoyable enough. Crichton’s decision to write it as if it a historical manuscript was surprisingly effective.

"We All Want Impossible Things" was very good and was emotional - brought up stuff from my personal life over the last year.

Now reading:

Finished

Finished (last book of 2024):

Empire of Grass by Tad Williams. Book 2 (of 4) of his Last King of Osten Ard series (the last of which just came out this year).

In preparation for a trip next summer to Universal Orlando, I've been making my way through Harry Potter. Saw the movies but never read the books. At this point the movies are far enough in the past (I only watched each one once when they were new) that I don't remember many details. They work great as audiobooks. Partly because the stories are styled like something to be read and they're not terribly dense (which makes it easy to follow when driving). And the narrator is fantastic. I've been listening to the British version by Stephen Fry. Apparently Jim Dale's American version is very good too. Although I've heard by many if you start with one and then try to listen to the other it sounds all "wrong".

My HP experience was reading them aloud to my kid. T'was fun that way.

I LOVE the Jim Dale versions of the Harry Potter audiobooks. It's my preferred way to consume the stories. He does very distinct voices for all the characters, and his normal narrative voice is delightful--he just has a perfect quality to his voice for the fantastical setting of the story. I haven't tried the Fry versions because, as you note, I think I could only be disappointed that they are different from the way I first heard and loved them.

I've been doing a slow reread of Stephen King's IT. I'm a little more than halfway through now.

Catching up for books read in 2024.



Marvel: The Characters and Their Universe
This is a reprint of an earlier book. Written before the MCU it listed various adaptations but I only saw The Incredible Hulk on TV so I need to check out those '70s Marvel movies.

Magnitude: The Scale of the Universe
Stylized illustrations demonstrating quantities of measurement.

Gadget Planet
Fun book of gadgets and inventions.

Read:



Otherworlds: Visions of Our Solar System
Some good pictures of solar system but not an in depth book.

Generation Robot
This book started off well but went off the rails with the fan fiction part on self-driving cars. The overall theme of 'we'll have wonderful technology and only have to deal with constant updates and security fixes' was not all that reassuring to me.

Read:



World War II in Numbers
Striking graphs on personnel, material, and other aspects of the war.

Best-Selling Albums
Decade glances on the always changing music industry.

The Story of Pop Art
Preceded by Dadaism there is an understanding with Pop Art due to its association with commercialism. History and art examples presented per page.

Read:



Die Hard: The Ultimate Visual History
Star Wars Stormtroopers - Beyond the Armor
Amazing books with details, pictures, and illustrations. Labors of love for these franchises and highly recommended.

Whole Lotta Led Zeppelin
Jammed full of pictures with some history on the band and their albums.

Read:



Back to the Future DeLorean Time Machine
A fun book with details, pictures, and trivia on this iconic '80s time machine.

Timelines of World History
Synposes of various historical events around the world.

Discovering the Universe
Not a big book but it covers a lot of fascinating topics with pictures and illustrations.

Read:



Memories Legion
I read Leviathan Wakes a few years ago and I watched a few seasons of the TV adaptation but reading this collections of short stories of 'shitty people doing shitty things' is not inspiring me to continue the Expanse series.

Surely You Can't Be Serious: The True Story of Airplane!
Amazing, detailed book on the Zuckers and Abrahams (RIP) team from the start of Kentucky Fried Theatre through the making of Airplane!.

Alfred Hitchcock: The Complete Films
Glossy pages makes this small book a hefty tome. I wish the later chapters had more behind the scenes photos and production stills but still a comprehensive book on Hitchcock and his films.

Lotsa fun stuff in that list, Wishbone! I definitely want to read the Airplane! book ...

With some time off I plowed through 5 books in the last 12 days.

Reading:



I guess I should post in the 2025 thread now.

I considered waiting for the paperback but I saw it was $8 at Hamilton Book. Unlike the fish it's a winner!