I loved NCFOM. Fantastic book.

Are the rest of the dune books worth reading? I cannot slog through messiah for some reason. I keep dropping off and reading something else .

krosch11 said:

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Are the rest of the dune books worth reading? I cannot slog through messiah for some reason. I keep dropping off and reading something else .

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Try listening to the audio book. I find some books are easier & more enjoyable as audiobooks.

I have said it on here before, it bears repeating. The books written by Frank are worth the time to read, but don't waste time on the books by his son and a co-author. To me they are strictly a money grab.

Just finished Slow Horses last night. The first 40% was a rough read, but once the plot started picking up it was great. I'm going to start the second book tonight, then probably watch the series in the new year.

How do yall fight through books that don't grab your interest right away?

StinkyPinky said:

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Rudyjax said:

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How do yall fight through books that don't grab your interest right away?

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My OCD used to force me to suck it up and read it to the end. Older me realizes time is to precious for such non-sense. Much more likely to DNF if I'm struggling to enjoy it

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I just had 4 DNFs this year. Much less than any other time, but I guess using LIbby and not freebies from Amazon, books are better.

Life is too short to read a book you're not enjoying.

lurker76 said:

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I have said it on here before, it bears repeating. The books written by Frank are worth the time to read, but don't waste time on the books by his son and a co-author. To me they are strictly a money grab.

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Counterpoint: I thought Brian Herbert and Kevin J Anderson's prequels were at least entertaining while not being great books. I didn't really care that they were money grabs. I frankly don't understand the sheer hatred towards them and looking at reviews most people seem to agree with me on average.

Original Dune is obviously the best, but I think Herbert+Anderson books are better than Messiah, Children and God Emperor depending on what you are looking for. I haven't read past God Emperor.

Herbert+Anderson books are much more basic sci-fi entertainment and action vs Messiah, Children, and God Emperor which are almost purely philosophical with little to no action.

Two totally different types of books.

It has been a long time since I read them, and it was only once, compared to the Frank books which I read many times. They left me feeling disappointed in the direction taken. From memory, I read the three "House" books, the Butlerian Jihad book and possibly The Machine Crusade. I kept buying them thinking there would be a satisfactory conclusion, but eventually they lost me. It just didn't seem worth the time or money to continue.

Thanks for posting a positive review of them so others will have both sides to look at for a decision.

Rudyjax said:

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How do yall fight through books that don't grab your interest right away?

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For me, it's often because of recommendations by people. So if there's a likely reward in there due to positive reviews, like on here, then it's worth pushing through. And often it ends up paying off.

Same for me. If it's a recommendation from someone I trust, I will trudge through. If not, I'll toss it to the side (figuratively of course since I read on a Kindle)

BenFiasco14 said:

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Lafayette - Harlow Giles Unger (audiobook)

5/5. Lafayettes life is like a real life count of Monte cristo. My goodness. On the edge of my seat countless times.

Vive Lafayette!

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I'm currently reading this off and on. What an absurd GOAT life!

He and Teddy broke the mold.

I could have done with fewer love letters between him and George though.

Letters from Father Christmas by J.R.R. Tolkien

YouBet said:

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BenFiasco14 said:

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Lafayette - Harlow Giles Unger (audiobook)

5/5. Lafayettes life is like a real life count of Monte cristo. My goodness. On the edge of my seat countless times.

Vive Lafayette!

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I'm currently reading this off and on. What an absurd GOAT life!

He and Teddy broke the mold.

I could have done with fewer love letters between him and George though.

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"My dear General …"

This morning, I started The Dispatcher: Travel By Bullet John Scalzi, which is the third the series. Book 2 is The Dispatcher: Murder By Other Means. Like book 1, it is a very quick read. If you like Scalzi and want to bump your number of books read for the year, this is one way to go, although that wasn't my intention in starting book 1. I had no idea they were this short/quick reads.

I'm curious about these books. I really like the concept as you described it in an earlier post…my hesitation is I've read a lot of books with intriguing, but very few that have executed.

BQ2001 said:

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I just read the 1st Suneater and it seemed like a Dune ripoff for quite a bit of the book. I did get hooked more at the end though and am looking forward to getting off planet for a while (hopefully).

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Through book 2 and I liked it a lot better, even if it wasn't great. I'm actually looking forward to book 3

Sorry for the late reply. I was busy around the house this afternoon. What Scalzi books have you read?
These books have kept my interest and have his typical humor. I was well entertained with Starter Villain and Red Shirts. They take place in Chicago and are in fairly current times. Book 3 references "The Pandemic". Tomorrow I'll try to provide more details.

Keep in mind I have a pretty sophomoric sense of humor. I still laugh at The Three Stooges and the old Johnny Wiesmeuller Tarzan movies catch my eye if one ever gets aired (it's been years).

I haven't read any Scalzi, so I don't have any reference point to his particular style. And it sounds like we have a similar sense of humor, so that's a good sign.

Being that they're quick, easy reads I have less hesitation about giving them a try.

Scalzi has turned into one of my favorite contemporary authors. It you try the first one and like it, I think you'll like most of the other books he's written. If not, you haven't invested much time or money.

Last night I finished the third of the Dispatcher books by Scalzi, Travel By Bullet, and started An Election, also by Scalzi.

Does Strength of the Few pick up? About 20% into it and so far I'm pretty bored. Not holding up to the first yet.

Yep. It escalates rather quickly

Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne. Re-read of a great classic.

Well, if you want a really short read, go with An Election by Scalzi. I finished it in less than a day. If you are familiar with the Murderbot novellas, this is probably shorter than those. The next read is book 3 of the Odyssey One series, Homeworld by Evan Currie.

Malachi Constant said:

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Just finished Dark Age (book 6 of the Red Rising series).

Just want to say thank you to this thread for turning me on to these books. They've been great. Cassius ex Machina!

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I finished Dark Age yesterday! About 20% into Lightbringer

Finished The Pelican Brief by John Grisham. Probably my favorite of the three Grisham novels I've read. Really well constructed story and loved how he slowly revealed certain pieces of information throughout.

My only question is why is it that every time someone in the books parks their car, he specifies that they parked illegally? Is there an inside joke I'm missing?

Gonna try to sneak in Runaway Jury before the end of the year. A lot going on over the next week, so it'll be close. Might wind up being my first book of the 2026 thread

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

December
The Firm - John Grisham
A Time to Kill - John Grisham
The Pelican Brief - John Grisham