What is everybody reading?

[Moe_Syzlak]

Looking for advice. We’re just finishing up the first book in the Wheel of Time series with my 8 year old twins. It’s too much for them and need something a little quicker. Asking them about recent books we’ve read—Harry Potter through book 3, The Hobbit, Martian Chronicles, A Wrinkle in Time, A Lighthouse Between Worlds—it was the last two that they want more of. So I’m looking for good reads like A Wrinkle in Time and A Lighthouse Between Worlds. Both have sequels but I’ve heard they pale in comparison. The book I had picked for next, Pullman’s Northern Lights from the His Dark Materials series, I think I should hold off on.

[The Scribbling Man]

Looking for advice.

I haven't read those last two you mention (wrinkle in time's on my list), but if you're looking for easy reading fantasy that would be appealing to both you and children... The original Earthsea trilogy by Ursula LeGuin is very good. Fantastic world building, but each book is also very short, with simple, digestible plots (to my memory). Might be worth looking at and seeing if it ticks your boxes.

There are other books that follow the first three, but they were written years later and are MUCH heavier. Definitely not for 8 year olds.

[Moe_Syzlak]

Looking for advice.

I haven't read those last two you mention (wrinkle in time's on my list), but if you're looking for easy reading fantasy that would be appealing to both you and children... The original Earthsea trilogy by Ursula LeGuin is very good. Fantastic world building, but each book is also very short, with simple, digestible plots (to my memory). Might be worth looking at and seeing if it ticks your boxes.

There are other books that follow the first three, but they were written years later and are MUCH heavier. Definitely not for 8 year olds.

Thanks! Coincidentally, I picked up Dispossessed by LeGuin for myself in my last batch of books. I haven’t started it yet, but I’m assuming that’s one of the ones NOT for 8yos. For me, I’m planning on starting Freedom by Jonathan Franzen next and Dispossessed after that.

[pulp]

I've been reading the hitchcock/truffaut book and while im going slowly, its really good and you can really the tone of their interview shift through those first couple chapters.

[The Scribbling Man]

Thanks! Coincidentally, I picked up Dispossessed by LeGuin for myself in my last batch of books. I haven’t started it yet, but I’m assuming that’s one of the ones NOT for 8yos. For me, I’m planning on starting Freedom by Jonathan Franzen next and Dispossessed after that.

 Ha! I have read Dispossessed, but I don't remember it that well. I remember it being very political though, so no, probably not a page turner for kids

I think Le Guin has also written some stuff specifically aimed at children, but I've not read it. In my experience she's quite a diverse author. You could read two or three books by her and think they were entirely different authors.

[hothstation]

[Duragizer]

Black Fire (James Kidman)



I borrowed a copy of this novel from my local library in 2008. It read it and absolutely loved it, so much so I immediately wanted to own a copy. It took me 'til 2017 to purchase one, and finally a month ago to take it off the shelf and begin the re-read.

I considered Black Fire a masterpiece in my twenties. Now that I'm older and wiser(?), I see the flaws. The protagonist, while sympathetic, lacks personality; the dialogue skews toward cliched/banal, especially the exchanges between the protagonist and his girlfriend; the plot twist at the end isn't exactly unpredictable. Those are the cons, but there are certainly pros. Black Fire is rich with imagery, atmosphere, and emotion; as a "right-brained" individual, I find these qualities compensate for the novel's shortcomings.

8/10

[Racerx1969]

I'm abusing my library card this year--they are on overdrive/libby with a great wishlist/holds setup and Kindle integration. So instead of commuting this year, I'm reading more.

So I'm bouncing between Jack Campbell's Lost Fleet series (no completed) and his Genesis Fleet series, Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe series, Chris Wooding's Tales of the Ketty Jay series (now complete), and finally timed availability right to start reading James Corey's The Expanse series.

The Lost Fleet series flew by for me, and I'm enjoying the Genesis Fleet follow-on. Military sci-fi, so not super deep plotlines, but it's good escape for a while.

Tales of the Ketty Jay was recommended as a Firefly-like series and it does have a flavor of that. It is sometimes a bit difficult, and the first half of the first book took me a while to get into. Worth the reads, and the series tied things up nicely at the end. I also read James Lovegrove's Firefly books; those read like an episode of the TV series, though I struggled through the last one, The Ghost Machine.

I've wanted to watch the Sharpe's Rifles series for a while, so reading the original books is a good start. Being a longtime history buff and war gamer, this is an easy series to jump into.

[Moe_Syzlak]

I started reading His Dark Materials to the kids.



For me, I’m reading Freedom by Jonathan Franzen.