I read almost exclusively fantasy and sci-fi:
2nd Scalzi's Old Man War series, thought its more snarky/sarcastic
Project Hail Mary
Tainted Cup (fantasy/murder mystery)
Kingkiller Chronicles by Rothfuss
A Memory Called Empire
Anything by Kazuo Ishiguro

Brandon Sanderson is worth a read (Mistborn trilogy is a good starting place)

Arc Light by Eric Harry was a great read

Ringworld by Larry Niven and the rest of the Known Space stuff

RoofingAg said:

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What about The Book of The New Sun series by Gene Wolfe?

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It's great but challenging. Deliberately difficult to read is how I would put it. If you've read a lot of scifi and fantasy, maybe some traditional literary fiction, it could be good for you. Also a background in Christian theology and you might brush up on your Greek and Latin roots.

Just finished listening to Golden Sun. I forgot how INSANE the ending is.

About halfway through reading Dune Messiah.

I just started Mistborn Final Empire now that I've finished another read through of Wheel of Time. It took me a little to get into, but now I'm digging it

RoofingAg said:

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Need a book series rec. I like sci-fi and *some* fantasy. Some of my favorites:

Sci fi - Red Rising Series, Hyperion

Fantasy - First Law Trilogy, Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman

Don't think I'm a fan of typical adventure fantasy like Wheel of Time or Sanderson stuff. I'm more of a dark fantasy/sci-fi guy.

I know I'm all over the place but any good recs?

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sounds like you like grimdark books. Highly recommend Prince of Thorns trilogy by Mark Lawrence. One of the best antagonists out there…

I started my Dresden Files reread in preparation for Twelve Months, currently on Death Masks

Nice! I'm just finishing Small Favors. It's been a great series so far!

G.I.Bro said:

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I started my Dresden Files reread in preparation for Twelve Months, currently on Death Masks

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Finally decided to read. Just starting #7 "Dead Beat"

Been struggling to get anything read lately. Bad reading funk. I'm about 100% positive I have undiagnosed ADHD and it's been rearing it's ugly head awful, lately.

Yall have any slump busters you can recommend? Any and all recs would be welcome.(By that, I mean, quick one off reads that get the mind engaged and focused and kickstarted back into a reading mindset)

I've been in a slump as well since we had our baby back in Sept. Having trouble adjusting to the new routine. The football team being 10-0 hasn't helped either.

Quick, enjoyable reads to bust the slump:

Blake Crouch:
Dark Matter
Recursion
Wayward Pines (series)

The Shining by King

The Martian by Wier

Gone Girl and Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn

Eliminatus said:

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Been struggling to get anything read lately. Bad reading funk. I'm about 100% positive I have undiagnosed ADHD and it's been rearing it's ugly head awful, lately.

Yall have any slump busters you can recommend? Any and all recs would be welcome.(By that, I mean, quick one off reads that get the mind engaged and focused and kickstarted back into a reading mindset)

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Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy

Eliminatus said:

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Been struggling to get anything read lately. Bad reading funk. I'm about 100% positive I have undiagnosed ADHD and it's been rearing it's ugly head awful, lately.

Yall have any slump busters you can recommend? Any and all recs would be welcome.(By that, I mean, quick one off reads that get the mind engaged and focused and kickstarted back into a reading mindset)

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Football fan?

The Rookie by Scott Sigler.

Have your read "The Junction Boys"? I burned through that, A&M related so it went very fast for me.

Random Ag said:

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I read almost exclusively fantasy and sci-fi:
2nd Scalzi's Old Man War series, thought its more snarky/sarcastic
Project Hail Mary
Tainted Cup (fantasy/murder mystery)
Kingkiller Chronicles by Rothfuss
A Memory Called Empire
Anything by Kazuo Ishiguro

Brandon Sanderson is worth a read (Mistborn trilogy is a good starting place)

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Just finished A Memory Called Empire. I was full in until about chapter 16 and then it just fell off the cliff for me. Have you read A Desolation Called Peace, yet? Better or Worse that AMCE?

I'm not an avid reader and have narrow taste: Political Sci-Fi. If ADCP is more about Amhit's personal life than it is about politics, I'm out. Thoughts?

In the meantime I am on Artemis (as I wait for Project Hail Mary at the library).

Reread Dune Messiah as it had been a while. I remember now why I didn't really enjoy that book.

Absolutely loved Dune but Dune Messiah just didn't do it for me.

Eliminatus said:

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Been struggling to get anything read lately. Bad reading funk. I'm about 100% positive I have undiagnosed ADHD and it's been rearing it's ugly head awful, lately.

Yall have any slump busters you can recommend? Any and all recs would be welcome.(By that, I mean, quick one off reads that get the mind engaged and focused and kickstarted back into a reading mindset)

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When that happens to me it is usually I cannot get into anything new. As I get old it seems to happen more.

I will usually go back and do a reread of something I know I like years ago.

The Couch suggestions are solid. Easy to get into

Will of the many was great and the next one just came out.

Dresden maybe

Old man's war is easy to get into if you will like it.

I have, I liked it incrementally more than Memory but not significantly more. I almost would describe it as both more political AND more personal, if thats possible.

I'm on the 2nd of Old Mans War and that seems a better fit for political sci fi.

The Elvis Cole series by Robert Crais are quick, easy reads from what I recall. It's been a while.

The Orphan X series by Greg Hurwitz has sucked me in recently. I've quickly gone through the first 5 books.

Roll the Bones said:

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The Elvis Cole series by Robert Crais are quick, easy reads from what I recall. It's been a while.

The Orphan X series by Greg Hurwitz has sucked me in recently. I've quickly gone through the first 5 books.

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Oh yeah.! I love me some X. Not high level stuff, but draws you in and is fun. Highly recommend!

If you like police mystery type stuff my favorite is John Sanford. Some of the prey stuff is pretty dated, but I like all of his stuff and would consider them worth reading to catch up

Thanks for the suggestions, yall!

Got a TBR now, including a couple of rereads of some comfort books, to hopefully get that mental gear up and running again.

Just finished the last book, book #12, in the Saxon Chronicles (The Last Kingdom series). Absolutely loved the entire series.

Now jumping back into the Dungeon Crawler Carl series with book #2. I guess I'm in the extreme minority on here in that I don't like the audiobook. Gave it a shot for about six chapters but I'm giving it up and going to the actual book. Just didn't like the voices, they don't match what's in my head for the characters.

Invisible Life of Addie Larue, one of my wife's books. Pretty good. Went in blind though and I think I shouldn't do that, or I'll blame the book unfairly for unmet expectations.

Read this a couple of years ago. Thought it was good, but not one I'll ever read again.

To Green Angel Tower(Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn Book 3) by Tad Williams. Excellent conclusion to a spectacular trilogy. I highly recommend if you are a fan of LOTR or ASOIAF.

I finished Strength of the Few last week. It was very enjoyable and a great continuation of the series, but much more complex. I will probably need to actually read it instead of just listen to it to really catch everything.

I started Shadows Upon Time and it started a little slow but it's quickly picking up steam.

I'm not a big reader but recently listened to Black Snow about the firebombing of Japan in WW2.
I was under the impression that General LeMay came up with the idea of firebombing Japan. The idea had already been floated around. He stepped in, implemented it, perfected it, and carried it out with a vengeance.

Tonight I finished The Secret of Secrets by Dan Brown. It is his latest Robert Langdon book. If you've read any of those and enjoyed it, you probably will enjoy this one. It takes place over about 36 hours and is focused on the city of Prague, with some action in Manhattan as well.

Next up appears to be Treasure Island by R. L. Stevenson.

Finished The Consolation of Philosophy by Boethius and loved it.

He was an advisor to the Visigoth king after the fall of Rome, when Roman aristocracy was still appreciated to keep things running. He was a Christian that was conspired against and thrown in prison and wrote this while there, lamenting his fate and the injustice of it all. I highly recommend it. He's also the reason we have Plato and Aristotle as he devoted his life to translating those works from Greek and was the only one doing it.

It's written as a dialogue between himself and Lady Philosophy, consisting of 5 books and less than 200 pages (with tons of footnotes if you get a good copy). Read it first all the way through without notes or background, then take the time to read the notations.

BaitShack said:

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I'm not a big reader but recently listened to Black Snow about the firebombing of Japan in WW2.
I was under the impression that General LeMay came up with the idea of firebombing Japan. The idea had already been floated around. He stepped in, implemented it, perfected it, and carried it out with a vengeance.

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Black Snow is an excellent book and I rarely see it mentioned outside of war nerd circles. Good on you. How was the audiobook? Curious which version / who narrated it?

Just finished Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan.

I lead a small group of 8th graders at our church and one of the guys kept telling me I needed to read Percy Jackson...so I figured I'd give it a shot. This was good enough, but didn't ever fully grab me. I will say it had a solid ending and a good cliff-hanger, but not sure if I want to continue with this series.

Books read in 2025:

January
Slaughterhouse Five - Kurt Vonnegut (re-read)
A Wrinkle in Time - Madeleine L'Engle (re-read)
The Silent Patient - Alex Michaelides
Project Hail Mary - Andy Wier
Pines - Blake Crouch
Wayward - Blake Crouch

February
The Last Town - Blake Crouch

March
Dark Places - Gillian Flynn
Sharp Objects - Gillian Flynn

April
Red Rising - Pierce Brown
Golden Son - Pierce Brown

May
Morning Star - Pierce Brown
Echos of Reckoning - Ron Shaw

June
Dune - Frank Herbert
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time - Mark Haddon
Still Alice - Lisa Genova
Dark Matter - Blake Crouch
Jurassic Park - Michael Crichton

July
The Lost World - Michael Crichton
Sphere - Michael Crichton
The Andromeda Strain - Michael Crichton
Pet Sematary - Stephen King
The Martian - Andy Wier

August
Gone Girl - Gillian Flynn
Ready Player One - Ernest Cline
Fight Club - Chuck Palahniuk
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
The Silence of the Lambs - Thomas Harris

September
Red Dragon - Thomas Harris

October
womp womp

November
Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief - Rick Riordan

I really enjoyed all the Chrichton stuff. I'll add those to the list!

Eliminatus said:

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Been struggling to get anything read lately. Bad reading funk. I'm about 100% positive I have undiagnosed ADHD and it's been rearing it's ugly head awful, lately.

Yall have any slump busters you can recommend? Any and all recs would be welcome.(By that, I mean, quick one off reads that get the mind engaged and focused and kickstarted back into a reading mindset)

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I am the same...but once I get going in a book, I can stick with it if it's good enough. I just bought Project Hail Mary and hope to break this reading slump. I watch too much TV before bed time.