The Wandering Earth, by Liu Cixin (author of the famous Three Body Problem trilogy), hard(-ish) sci-fi.
It's a collection of short stories named after the first story, Wandering Earth. I'm still only in the very beginning of the first story but it already introduces some really interesting ideas which is what I loved about the Three Body Problem. So I'm sure I'll like the rest. If you liked TBP, I'd definitely recommend.
On my phone:
Hyperion, by Dan Simmons, 1989, sci-fi/space opera(?)
Does it need introducing?
Anyway, since I don't read on my phone all that much and usually only in short bursts (meaning I usually read each page at least twice), for the past month, maybe even more, I've been slowly getting through the first chapter (The Priest's Tale) but once it got to the cruciform thing, I had to finish that chapter in one sitting. Now I started the second chapter, The Soldier's Tale, and can't wait for being mind blown again. Already got amused by this:
There were tales of cadets receiving fatal wounds in the OCS:HTN sims and being pulled dead from their immersion creches.
So... If you die in the Matrix, you die in real life too. Is that where they got that idea from? :) It's always fun reading through old sci-fi classics and finding likely inspiration for newer stuff or even inventing something that everyone else then uses later. Asimov's Foundation was all like this, so many things that eg. Star Wars straight up copied (eg. Trantor/Coruscant).
I just finished Wind, Sand and Stars by Antoine de Saint-Exupery. It's an autobiographical piece from the Author of Little Prince about his days flying between the wars.
I'm just about to move onto Femina by Janina Remirez. Which is a history of the world told through the eyes of the deliberately women left out of it. I'm looking forward to it, it sounds excellent. Filling a much needed gap in the popular understanding of women's role in history.
Finished book 4 of Murderbot Diaries and eagerly moved on to book 5, and am about 44% done with that. I expect I'll be reading book 6 by tomorrow at some point. They're by Martha Wells and they're sci-fi, but very light fun reads. She tells very tight stories with excellent characters and pacing.
I'm enjoying a little non-fiction at present. The Secret Life of Fungi: Discoveries from a Hidden World by Aliya Whiteley. Last year I started hiking, and as a resulted started falling in love with mosses, lichen, and fungi. Once I get interested in something, I desire all the knowledge. Possibly an ADHD thing. The book is a wonder, such a relaxed style of writing. Not academic and with no flow, like some non-fiction books can be. The knowledge just flows from every sentence, and it has made me walk further and get out much more. It really has given be a boost. The book is simply so engaging. I have caught my partner reading it, and devouring it. She is not even interested in fungi at all.
Had a need to be silly for a bit so I decided to re-read both The Zombie Survival Guide (Max Brooks) and The Zombie Combat Manual (Roger Ma). Been a long time and guess it's time to 'brush up on the basics' lmao.
I just finished re-listening to CJ Archer's Glass and Steele series on audiobook. From another post:
This one is an awesome mesh of different settings and genres blended really well together. It's Wild West outlaws coming to Victorian era England for a fantasy epic styled coming into the light of magic, where magicians who have hidden themselves for fear of prosecution from the craft guilds come into the light. The mysteries don't ignore the magic elements, but don't use them as a crutch and stay broadly true to the era, and the take on magic is unique and interesting. You really want to read this from book 1.
I highly recommend it. I'll go into the two Glass Library books out so far next for audiobooks. It's set 25-30 years later, and has started to raise its own intriguing exploration of her unique magic setup. (Her After the Rift series is also enjoyable in a more traditional fantasy setting.)
But, this week is vacation, which means I have time to read ebooks, and I'm generally in a different story with audio and visual reading. I restarted Brandon Sanderson's Stormlight Archive series yesterday. I've read the first book and part of the second in the past before getting distracted, and I really enjoyed what I read. I also really think the introductory assassin's powers could make for a pretty compelling video game, though implementing it in an enjoyable way might take a little finesse. I find the really big epics with a lot of characters take longer sessions with a little more focus to engage with, so a week with minimal interruptions is perfect, and hopefully I'll be able to get further this time.
I just finished Heart of Darkness. Wow, what a dark and wild ride. I also rewatched Apocalypse Now and it's amazing as ever, and much better now that I've read the source material. Side note, but the Theatrical Edition is so much better than redux it's not even funny.
I've also been reading Anne of Green Gables, when I need something a bit brighter. I'm not going to lie though. After Heart of Darkness, it feels a bit unimportant and I'm losing steam with it a bit.
I'm also rereading Watership Down. I might take a break from this to focus on Anne of Green Gables. I love Watership Down, but two kids books at the same time is a bit much.
For my next serious read, I'm probably going to pick up some Hesse. I have Narcissus and Goldmund, or Beneath the Wheel, excited for both.
Sci-fi book Stargate SG-1 Sacrifice Moon by Julie Fortune. And I like it so far it's written fairly well. At least well enough to satisfy my craving for new Stargate stories.
I am also readying the fantasy book Yumi and the Nightmare Painter by Brandon Sanderson. And so far it's great! But I just started this one so it's hard to really say much right now
American Prometheus, the Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer, by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin.
I wanted to check it out before the movie comes out, and I highly recommend it for a very in depth view of his life.
I also recently finished On the Origin of Time, by Thomas Hertog, which I also recommend. It's about Stephen Hawking's final ideas and theories, told by one of his closest proteges. There are some incredible ideas in this book that I had never heard of before, and I'm a cosmology nerd.
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