Completed: The Fortress of the Pearl by Michael Moorcock, an Elric of Melnibone story. I liked this one quote a bit better than Elric of Melnibone. Relatively focused plot, but enough weirdness seeps in to keep it from getting staid.

Elantris by Sanderson was fine. Cool world, kinda basic plotting. Is that typical of his stuff?

On to Carl, book 2!

rhutton125 said:

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Elantris by Sanderson was fine. Cool world, kinda basic plotting. Is that typical of his stuff?

On to Carl, book 2!

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I believe Elantris was his first book. He is huge in world building and the other books are much better in my opinion.

School of the Dead by Avi -- found this on Libby while I was looking for Dead Six and it looked interesting so I listened. It was okay. Entertaining enough but a YA book and just okay.

Thanks!

rhutton125 said:

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Thanks!

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No problem. I didn't read them in order until much later (I started with the Stormlight Archives first) and there are various suggestions for what order to read the "Cosmere" in but here's a decent suggestion:

Elantris
The Hope of Elantris (Arcanum Unbounded)
The Emperor's Soul (Arcanum Unbounded)
Mistborn: The Final Empire
Mistborn: The Well of Ascension
Mistborn: The Hero of Ages
The Eleventh Metal (Arcanum Unbounded)
White Sand (Graphic Novel)
Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell (Arcanum Unbounded)
Mistborn: The Alloy of Law
Allomancer Jack and the Pits of Eltania (Arcanum Unbounded)
Mistborn: Shadows of Self
Mistborn: The Bands of Mourning
Mistborn: Secret History (Arcanum Unbounded)
Mistborn: The Lost Metal
Warbreaker
Stormlight Archives: The Way of Kings
Stormlight Archives: Words of Radiance
Stormlight Archives: Edgedancer
Stormlight Archives: Oathbringer
Stormlight Archives: Dawnshard
Stormlight Archives: Rhythm of War
Stormlight Archives: Horneater (not released yet and not sure what medium, novella)
Stormlight Archives: Wind and Truth
Tress of the Emerald Sea
Yumi and the Nightmare Painter
The Sunlit Man
Isle of Emberdark
Mistborn Era 3 (not released)

Just a heads up, the full 12 book Cradle series is currently completely free on Kindle. Not just KU. Actual ownership. Well as far as you can with Amazon these days…

I haven't read all these myself yet but I think several have here and enjoyed them and there are undoubtedly a force in the litRPG/progression fantasy genre.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0753FP6SP

Also, an anthology of short stories in the same world:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DNKD1JGN

Eliminatus said:

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Just a heads up, the full 12 book Cradle series is currently completely free on Kindle. Not just KU. Actual ownership. Well as far as you can with Amazon these days…

I haven't read all these myself yet but I think several have here and enjoyed them and there are undoubtedly a force in the litRPG/progression fantasy genre.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0753FP6SP

Also, an anthology of short stories in the same world:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DNKD1JGN

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Thank you!! Downloaded for later!!

Thank you for the heads up!

Finished listening to Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc by Mark Twain on the way into work this morning. It is very different from any work of his I've ever read by the great American humorist. Instead the spirited sometimes irreverent wit of his other works, this historical novel of St. Joan's life is entirely pious account. Have not decided what I'm going to listen to next.

January
1) A Team For America: The Army-Navy Game That Rallied a Nation at War by Randy Roberts (B)
2) Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert (B+)
3) What Christians Believe: Understanding the Nicene Creed by Bishop Robert Barron (A)

February
4) A Gentleman in Moscow by by Amor Towles (A)
5) The Wingmen: The Unlikely, Unusual, Unbreakable Friendship Between John Glenn and Ted Williams by Adam Lazarus (C)

Audiobooks
1) The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien - A mixture of listening and reading the text in an attempt to actually finish the book after many failed attempts in the past. I think listening to the stories comes across as the telling of lore instead of a dry history.
2) Frankenstein (or, The Modern Prometheus) by Mary Shelley (B)

March (Not a good reading month of reading for me)
6) The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins (B-)

Audiobooks
3a) Don Quixote Part 1 by Miguel de Cervantes (A-)

April (All three of these book are rather short, so another not particularly good reading month for me)
7) Daybreaks: Daily Reflections for Lent and Easter by Amy Welborn (B)
8) The Astronaut Wives Club by Lily Koppel (C-)
9) Night by Elie Wiese (A)

Audiobooks
4) The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov (A)
5) The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway (C+)
6) All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque (A)

May
10) Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling
11) Out of the Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis (C+)
12) The Chamber of Secrets by by J.K. Rowling

Audiobooks
3b) Don Quixote Part 2 by Miguel de Cervantes (B)
7) Hitler's Last Soldier in America by Georg Gaertner, Arnold Krammer (B+)

June
13) Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling

Audiobooks
8) Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc by Mark Twain (B)

I took a break from the Red Rising trilogy to read "The Sun Down Motel" by Simone St. James. I saw the book a year ago on the shelf at Barnes & Noble in College Station, and I put it on my list for when I needed a filler book / break. It has a cool cover picture, and it reminded me of the old Ponderosa Motel on the outskirts of College Station.

Its about a 20 year old girl in 1982 who goes missing and her now 20 year old niece in 2017 who is trying to solver her disappearance. There are ghosts, a murderer, a small town, and very few male characters. Not exactly my preferred style, but I really enjoyed the light-thriller, light ghost story, surprise twists and ending to this 340 pager. The story is cold, dark and lonely. Something about it drew me in.

If you enjoyed A Team for America and haven't read The Mosquito Bowl by Buzz Bissinger, you should check it out. It is about college football players in the service during WW2 gathering for an informal game on Okinawa.

13B said:

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rhutton125 said:

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Thanks!

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No problem. I didn't read them in order until much later (I started with the Stormlight Archives first) and there are various suggestions for what order to read the "Cosmere" in but here's a decent suggestion:

Elantris
The Hope of Elantris (Arcanum Unbounded)
The Emperor's Soul (Arcanum Unbounded)
Mistborn: The Final Empire
Mistborn: The Well of Ascension
Mistborn: The Hero of Ages
The Eleventh Metal (Arcanum Unbounded)
White Sand (Graphic Novel)
Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell (Arcanum Unbounded)
Mistborn: The Alloy of Law
Allomancer Jack and the Pits of Eltania (Arcanum Unbounded)
Mistborn: Shadows of Self
Mistborn: The Bands of Mourning
Mistborn: Secret History (Arcanum Unbounded)
Mistborn: The Lost Metal
Warbreaker
Stormlight Archives: The Way of Kings
Stormlight Archives: Words of Radiance
Stormlight Archives: Edgedancer
Stormlight Archives: Oathbringer
Stormlight Archives: Dawnshard
Stormlight Archives: Rhythm of War
Stormlight Archives: Horneater (not released yet and not sure what medium, novella)
Stormlight Archives: Wind and Truth
Tress of the Emerald Sea
Yumi and the Nightmare Painter
The Sunlit Man
Isle of Emberdark
Mistborn Era 3 (not released)

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Here i was thinking - man i must be making a dent in the Cosmere as I started to bold the ones I've read so far.

So much work to do...

htownag08 said:

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13B said:

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rhutton125 said:

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Thanks!

---

No problem. I didn't read them in order until much later (I started with the Stormlight Archives first) and there are various suggestions for what order to read the "Cosmere" in but here's a decent suggestion:

Elantris
The Hope of Elantris (Arcanum Unbounded)
The Emperor's Soul (Arcanum Unbounded)
Mistborn: The Final Empire
Mistborn: The Well of Ascension
Mistborn: The Hero of Ages
The Eleventh Metal (Arcanum Unbounded)
White Sand (Graphic Novel)
Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell (Arcanum Unbounded)
Mistborn: The Alloy of Law
Allomancer Jack and the Pits of Eltania (Arcanum Unbounded)
Mistborn: Shadows of Self
Mistborn: The Bands of Mourning
Mistborn: Secret History (Arcanum Unbounded)
Mistborn: The Lost Metal
Warbreaker
Stormlight Archives: The Way of Kings
Stormlight Archives: Words of Radiance
Stormlight Archives: Edgedancer
Stormlight Archives: Oathbringer
Stormlight Archives: Dawnshard
Stormlight Archives: Rhythm of War
Stormlight Archives: Horneater (not released yet and not sure what medium, novella)
Stormlight Archives: Wind and Truth
Tress of the Emerald Sea
Yumi and the Nightmare Painter
The Sunlit Man
Isle of Emberdark
Mistborn Era 3 (not released)

---

Here i was thinking - man i must be making a dent in the Cosmere as I started to bold the ones I've read so far.

So much work to do...

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I had no intention of branching out of Stormlight but my son told me it would make things more clear. It is pretty neat how it all connects in some ways. Glad I did, I really enjoyed the Second Era Mistborn.

Trajan88 said:

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Just finished Hillbilly Elegy.

I have not seen the movie. Worth seeing?

Next up: I Am Rome by Santiago Posteguillo ... a historical fiction, origin story of Julius Caesar.

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Movie is honestly a disappointment. It loosely (and that is generous) follows the book.

Put it on my Kindle Wish List. Thanks for the suggestion.

Henry V by Dan Jones. The astonishing triumph of England's greatest warrior king. I've always been fascinated by Henry V, and Jones wrote a masterful biography of him here. I'm going to have to re-read the Henriad soon because of this book.

Last night saw the completion of Lions of Medina, the True Story of the Marines of Charlie 1/1 in Vietnam, 11-12 October 1967. It was a tough read due to mistakes made that led to so many KIA and wounded, as well as how the marines (and all Vietnam vets) were treated when they came back to the USA. The very encouraging part was how the whole company responded to the adversity they faced and didn't let panic or fear take over in what seemed an impossible situation.

This morning's new book is The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas. Since I enjoyed TCOM so much, it was an easy decision to start a new Dumas book. Only a few pages in so far and it's off to a great start. It is part of a complete collection of the Musketeer books that includes The Man in the Iron Mask from Kindle.

Just finished Primal Hunter book 4. This series is definitely growing on me. Quite a bit of fun. Doubt it'll crack into the top 10 list or warrant a reread like other series, but I'm enjoying it

And Then We Hit a Rock by Greg Buenzli -- Reaffirms the pitfalls of owning a boat or a motorhome for that matter. Not riveting but a good time filler.

Couple books I picked up that I will read this time offshore.

I'm working through The Will of the Many, by James Islington. Interesting and different magical system and world building. Haven't decided if I want to take on the sequel.

I liked the first one a lot. Did not care for the second. It was a total slog for me.