It is fricking fantastic. It's way more 'pop' feeling than I expected. Really a 19th century page-turner, and I need to just dedicate some time to read it.

After really liking the season on Netflix last year, I'm finally starting up Three Body Problem trilogy. Picked up all three books the other day.

Finished:

I read the series a few years ago and really enjoyed it. It was very ... different. At the time, I didn't think I'd ever bother rereading it, but every time it comes to my attention I think I kinda want to go back. I think a second reading would increase my appreciation of all the stuff that confused me the first time.

Nearing the end of the 4th Expanse book. 5th and 6th are arriving today (if Amazon can be believed).

Any good? Not familiar with the author but am always down for a good time travel story.

Its probably my least favorite of Fracassi's books, but I absolutely love his others, so I still really enjoyed this one. He steps away from his usual horror/supernatural genre and this feels like a Blake Crouch or Michael Crichton book. If you like either of those two I think you will like this. Its an entertaining scientific thriller that is a pretty breezy read.

Just dont go in expecting traditional time travel or a time jumping adventure. The scope of the story is pretty small and there is a running theme of grief and coping, but never gets too bogged down to where its a big downer.

Read:



Late '80s spycraft takes center stage in this Tom Clancy novel about SDI laser systems. Interesting read knowing how much the world has changed and yet has not changed since it was written. Lots of characters -- Jack Ryan was not as prominent as one would have thought -- and at some point I got the Russian officials confused but overall an enjoyable read on par with The Hunt for Red October.

Just made a weekend book haul:

Just saw this book mentioned elsewhere yesterday or the day before. I want to read it, but I also don't .....

Just started this. Loved the mini series and heard the book is better.

I read this a few years ago - as my first Stephen King book - and really liked it. Haven't seen the mini-series so I can't speak to how it compares.

They are both equally good! (In different ways)

If I recall, the miniseries added a secondary character for the protagonist to interact with since much of the book contained the protagonist working alone with only his inner dialogue.

I'm enjoying it so far. A pretty easy read.

My Dad gave me a stack of his books to get rid of, so I am reading through the various ones I have an interest in. Finished this last night. It goes into exhaustive and sometimes tedious detail on everything related to GWTW.

I recently rewatched the movie and the feature length documentary on it and this book has a ton of extra info not covered. My dad has had this in his personal library since it was released in 1977, and his copy is about as beat up as the one in the photo below.

The only book I've read back-to-back in the past decade

Tilt was good. I can definitely see someone optioning it for a movie (probably with a different ending though)

Now reading French Exit. Avoided the movie which got mixed reviews. The book gets better reviews and I like Patrick DeWitts works.

Read:



Like Robinson Crusoe -- to the point Defoe's novel is referenced within the story -- castaways persevere on an uninhabited island. Plenty of discovery, ingenuity, and friendship with occasional hardship aided by an unknown benefactor.

I was on vacation last week, so I read a lot in airports, on planes, and in the cottage at night.

A Certain Dr. Thorndyke by R. Austin Freeman. The Dr. Thorndyke mysteries invented the forensic investigator genre. This book is different from the others in the series because the first half is action-adventure in equatorial Africa, and the second half is Thorndyke examining dust through his microscope. The stiff upper lip adventure is kind of dated, but it's fascinating to watch a detective in the 1890s who specializes in physical evidence.

Conjure Wife by Fritz Leiber. A youngish professor at a small college convinces his wife to abandon primitive superstition and get rid of her witchcraft materials. It turns out that the wives of other professors are also witches, and they advance their husbands' careers by cursing the competition. It gets creepy.

A Shilling for Candles by Josephine Tey. A major movie star is found drowned on the beach. There is evidence that she was murdered. Instead of the Agatha Christie style mystery where there are lots of suspects, in this book there are none. I liked the book, and it's beautifully written, but the solution was a disappointment.

The Count of Nine by A.A. Fair (pseudonym of Erle Stanley Gardner). The Lam and Cool books are spicy mysteries, which feature lots of sexy women and sexy situations. Donald Lam is too clever for his own good, and someday it will bite him, but not just yet. Lightweight fun.

I liked the first half, featuring the ingenuity. Not so much the second half, with the mysterious benefactor.

Yaaaay Leiber! His fantasy Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser books are great too.

Finished

Finally finished this up last month:





Now halfway through: