What are you reading right now?

[Free Vulcan]

Another I would rate nearly as high:

Thomas Covenant, Unbeliever by Donaldson.
Six books, I believe.
A little darker - It begins with Thomas Covenant, a leper, believe it or not, whose loneliness, and the strictures with which he must live due to his disease, have him at a considerable disadvantage.

He cannot admit the unreal conditions when he suddenly finds himself to be Barak Halfhand, a hero of the ages in the Land to which he has been transported... Mental instability, which is his bane and an inevitability with his disease, and his first actions taken in the Land leave him unable to accept this reality - and allow him to wield the white gold which is the basis of his extraordinary powers...

The half-hand - a vestige of loss, amputated due to leprosy.
The white gold ring - his wedding ring, which he has stubbornly refused to remove - a vestige of his life before leprosy.

A brilliant mind-f***, extremely well written.

That's a new one on me. Will check out if that's going to be my new wintertime fiction read. 

[mountaineer]

   Just started this.

That looks interesting. I'd love to know the truth of what the heck was going on with Oswald.

[verga]

Another I would rate nearly as high:

Thomas Covenant, Unbeliever by Donaldson.
Six books, I believe.
A little darker - It begins with Thomas Covenant, a leper, believe it or not, whose loneliness, and the strictures with which he must live due to his disease, have him at a considerable disadvantage.

He cannot admit the unreal conditions when he suddenly finds himself to be Barak Halfhand, a hero of the ages in the Land to which he has been transported... Mental instability, which is his bane and an inevitability with his disease, and his first actions taken in the Land leave him unable to accept this reality - and allow him to wield the white gold which is the basis of his extraordinary powers...

The half-hand - a vestige of loss, amputated due to leprosy.
The white gold ring - his wedding ring, which he has stubbornly refused to remove - a vestige of his life before leprosy.

A brilliant mind-f***, extremely well written.

There are 10 altogether. Two Trilogies and then a set of four. The First in the final series deals with Linden Avery and her return to the land. The final one in the series "The Last Dark" I could not put down.

[roamer_1]

That's a new one on me. Will check out if that's going to be my new wintertime fiction read. 

I doubt you will be disappointed.

Lesser but still very good :

The Pelbar Cycle by Williams - More dystopian than sci-fi-fan But an amazing tale of rediscovery by one man in post-fall USA. Six or so books, though smaller size...

The Dragonriders of Pern by McCaffery - A cult classic of sorts. the first three books for sure. An easy read, and a great (unexpected) tale.

The Belgariad by Eddings - Five books, an easy read, comfortable and expected in the same vein as a L'amour book... Though a sword-and-sorcery book... If you think you know where it is going, you probably do. A nice burner... you won't put it down...

[roamer_1]

There are 10 altogether. Two Trilogies and then a set of four. The First in the final series deals with Linden Avery and her return to the land. The final one in the series "The Last Dark" I could not put down.

The two trilogies is what I know - I thought that was the end of it... Thank you. Guess I have some catching up to do. 

[Polly Ticks]

@Polly Ticks

Are you on Goodreads?

I signed up for it a few months ago

@Gefn
I am not, no.  Do you like it?
Sometimes I go look there at the reviews, but that's pretty much all I've done with it.

[roamer_1]

An aside... Having found out about more Donaldson, I called my book dealer - An unpretentious little store front. Yes, he has the whole series for me, in matched editions... Paperback, of course, but matched set. He will have it ready for pickup later this afternoon.

Here's the thing... It will come to me wrapped in brown paper, bound with twine, and sealed with sealing wax... That is such a nostalgic bit of professionalism, that it immediately brings a smell to my mind... a ritual for the hands... scissors and twine...

Y'all should be jealous. It is a neat thing.

[Gefn]

@Gefn
I am not, no.  Do you like it?
Sometimes I go look there at the reviews, but that's pretty much all I've done with it.

My extended family- sister and cousins are on it, so we note what everyone is reading

[Gefn]

There are 10 altogether. Two Trilogies and then a set of four. The First in the final series deals with Linden Avery and her return to the land. The final one in the series "The Last Dark" I could not put down.

The only books I read by Donaldson were “The Mirror of her dreams” and “A man rides through” back in the 80s.

Highly recommend.

You can’t go wrong with “The Dragonriders of Pern” chronicles

[Bigun]

Triumph Regained: The Vietnam War, 1965–1968 is the long-awaited sequel to the immensely influential Triumph Forsaken: The Vietnam War, 1954–1965. Like its predecessor, this book overturns the conventional wisdom using a treasure trove of new sources, many of them from the North Vietnamese side. Rejecting the standard depiction of U.S. military intervention as a hopeless folly, it shows America’s war to have been a strategic necessity that could have ended victoriously had President Lyndon Johnson heeded the advice of his generals. In light of Johnson’s refusal to use American ground forces beyond South Vietnam, General William Westmoreland employed the best military strategy available. Once the White House loosened the restraints on Operation Rolling Thunder, American bombing inflicted far greater damage on the North Vietnamese supply system than has been previously understood, and it nearly compelled North Vietnam to capitulate...

https://www.amazon.com/Triumph-Regained-Vietnam-War-1965-1968/dp/1641772972/ref=sr_1_1?crid=M2YFPAPAW7AD&keywords=triumph+regained+the+vietnam+war%2C+1965-1968&qid=1674586900&sprefix=Triumph+Reg%2Caps%2C129&sr=8-1

[Fishrrman]

Just finished:
Amazing grace: the story of Americas most beloved song by Steve Turner

Now reading from:
Microsoft Excel for Dummies (like me!)

[berdie]

Finished Lord of the Rings again.

That is one of my go to-s if I can't find anything to read. The first time I read it, in high school, I was amazed at how Tolkien created a whole world. I still like to read it and have numerous times.

My other go-to-s...Gone With The Wind and To Kill a Mockingbird.

[Elderberry]

Finished Lord of the Rings again.

I should do that. I was loaned all but the last book when I was assigned to go to Mayport for aviation firefighting school. I read them all was craving the last book.

Then I read The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever, Solzhenitsyn, the Teachings of Don Juan, and many of Kilgore Trout's books. I would get hooked on an author and read all they had out, until I felt I understood their underlying statements. Then I didn't see any need to read any more of their stories. I started out on Sci-Fi. I was on the book of the month club, but always ordered xtra books. When they came in I'd total immerse and read up to 3 books on the day they came in.

[Cyber Liberty]

I should do that. I was loaned all but the last book when I was assigned to go to Mayport for aviation firefighting school. I read them all was craving the last book.

Then I read The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever, Solzhenitsyn, the Teachings of Don Juan, and many of Kilgore Trout's books. I would get hooked on an author and read all they had out, until I felt I understood their underlying statements. Then I didn't see any need to read any more of their stories. I started out on Sci-Fi. I was on the book of the month club, but always ordered xtra books. When they came in I'd total immerse and read up to 3 books on the day they came in.

Return of the Kings is really worth it, but I suggest you re-read Fellowship and Towers first.  Tolkien is a good writer.

[Free Vulcan]

Return of the Kings is really worth it, but I suggest you re-read Fellowship and Towers first.  Tolkien is a good writer.

Read once that Tolkien was mocked and made fun of by the critics and literary greats of the time for LOTR, Especially the breaking of The Fellowship, following the fortunes of each party, and then bringing them back together, among other plot devices. Claimed the book would be a failure.

Guess they got that wrong. Just the biggest cult following on the planet.

[rustynail]

Reading about TOP TIER™ Gasoline

https://www.aaa.com/AAA/common/AAR/files/Fuel-Quality-Full-Report.pdf

[Gefn]

“Killer Triggers” by Joe Kenda


Saw it in the library and had to borrow it. ;)

[Polly Ticks]

Rachel Aaron's "The Battle of Medicine Rocks".  It's the follow-up to "The Last Stand of Mary Good Crow".

[Free Vulcan]

Making Plant Medicine by Richo Cech.

[Smokin Joe]

Another I would rate nearly as high:

Thomas Covenant, Unbeliever by Donaldson.
Six books, I believe.
A little darker - It begins with Thomas Covenant, a leper, believe it or not, whose loneliness, and the strictures with which he must live due to his disease, have him at a considerable disadvantage.

He cannot admit the unreal conditions when he suddenly finds himself to be Barak Halfhand, a hero of the ages in the Land to which he has been transported... Mental instability, which is his bane and an inevitability with his disease, and his first actions taken in the Land leave him unable to accept this reality - and allow him to wield the white gold which is the basis of his extraordinary powers...

The half-hand - a vestige of loss, amputated due to leprosy.
The white gold ring - his wedding ring, which he has stubbornly refused to remove - a vestige of his life before leprosy.

A brilliant mind-f***, extremely well written.

I read those years ago, great books.

[Smokin Joe]

The two trilogies is what I know - I thought that was the end of it... Thank you. Guess I have some catching up to do. 

Me, too!

[verga]

Me, too!

Set a long weekend aside to read the final one, "The Last Dark". Stayed up all night reading the last half or so.

[mountaineer]

Trying to complete the John Corey series of novels by Nelson DeMille. If he's even 20% correct, our FBI/CIA/etc. are utter nincompoops and we're doomed.

[mountaineer]

Just finished Dean Koontz' latest, "The House at the End of the World." Like so many of his recent novels, this one deals with the US government engaging in secret and very dangerous scientific research gone awry.

I'm also reading "Ordinary Men," about seemingly normal German men from Hamburg who carried out orders to engage in horrific cruelty against Polish and Russian Jews.

Ordinary Men is the true story of Reserve Police Battalion 101 of the German Order Police, which was responsible for mass shootings as well as roundups of Jewish people for deportation to Nazi death camps in Poland in 1942. Browning argues that most of the men of RPB 101 were not fanatical Nazis but ordinary middle-aged, working-class men who committed these atrocities out of a mixture of motives, including the group dynamics of conformity, deference to authority, role adaptation, and the altering of moral norms to justify their actions. Very quickly three groups emerged within the battalion: a core of eager killers, a plurality who carried out their duties reliably but without initiative, and a small minority who evaded participation in the acts of killing without diminishing the murderous efficiency of the battalion whatsoever.

While the book discusses a specific reserve unit during World War II, the general argument Browning makes is that most people are susceptible to the pressure of a group setting and committing actions they would never do of their own volition.

[Gefn]

My book club is reading “The Many Daughters of Alfong May” by Jamie Ford.


I’m only on the second chapter but I’m enjoying it.