What Are You Reading 2013?

[Landshark44]

downloading "the devil all the time", and pouring a scotch.. thanks for the recommend

[Autumn]

I just read Minotaur, a sci-fi novel that was actually written by a friend of mine from high school. I recommend it both for that reason and because I thought it was a decent. It kept me turning pages, had some subtly done interesting world building.

[Landshark44]

Made it %75 thru "devil all the time" in one night. Great story. I'll finish tonight for sure. Thanks!!

[HerRealName]

That's a relief. I was concerned that you would be calling for an immediate banning for that recommendation. The scotch sounds like a perfect companion.

[Peregrine]

I'm currently deeply immersed into David Weber's Honor Harrington books - on number 5 I think.

[DaddyTorgo]

Right now I'm reading "The Fall of the House of Dixie"

Thinking after that I'm going to pickup a couple biographies of John Brown.

Or maybe the big Ron Chernow George Washington bio that I checked out via ebook.

[MacroGuru]

Wanted to toss this freebie site out there for Sci-Fi / Fantasy - links out to ebooks and such. A lot of unknowns, but I have a large collection of books to read now.

QuasarDragon

[Vince, Pt. II]

Originally Posted by Peregrine

I'm currently deeply immersed into David Weber's Honor Harrington books - on number 5 I think.

Thoughts? I'm really enjoying his Safehold series, but a friend told me the Harrington books are pretty generic. I've been reluctant to pick them up because of it.

[Peregrine]

Well so far I'm quite enjoying them - they go into a lot of detail in the space combat, maybe a bit too much detail, so that can drag on a bit but otherwise I am really enjoying them. Of course I am a big Horatio Hornblower/Master and Commander fan and that is what the books are inspired by, just in a sci-fi environment.

The first two books are free on the Kindle store if you want to check them out and if you read ebooks.

[Landshark44]

Just finished...

Dr. Sleep (King)- it was ok, definitely not great
Sycamore Row (Grisham)- didn't like it
Heart-Shaped Box (Joe Hill)- thought it was really good
The Humans- (Matt Haig)- liked it a bunch

"The Humans" was the first book I've read by Haig. It's about an alien sent to earth to prevent a discovery humans are not ready for.... Good, fast, read...

[Schmidty]

Currently reading "Empire of Unreason", from the "Age of Unreason" series by Gregory Keyes. It's a very fun read, although I keep waiting for the first mention of Ben Franklin losing his hair.

[terpkristin]

A friend of mine decided that she didn't want to do NaNoWriMo this year but instead would do NaNoReadMo, basically read as much as she can with a list of books she wants to knock out.

I'm joining her, and have finished Boneshaker, a steampunk sci-if-ish book. It was ok, the plot was kind of weak and the ending unsatisfactory because Priest (the author) intends to get more into the sequels. I won't be reading them.

I've moved on to The Mongoliad Book 3 (meh series but I want to see the resolution at this point) and a new novel called Ancillary Justice (so far ok but needs to pick up soon).

/tk

[Peregrine]

I am reading the new Scott Lynch Locke Lamora book, Republic of Thieves.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by Peregrine

I am reading the new Scott Lynch Locke Lamora book, Republic of Thieves.

Long time coming. I hope Lynch is over the issues he was supposedly having. The first two books were great reads.

Let me know what you think. It's on my read list.

[Schmidty]

Yeah, I read the first Locke Lamora book a couple of years ago, and it was fun. Mafia fantasy is a great idea.

I'll check out the rest of the series after I'm done with what I'm currently reading.

[Desnudo]

I'm reading Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed by Jared Diamond who wrote guns! germs! and steel. The modern examples like Montana I found kind of tedious, but the story of what happened on Easter Island is very interesting. Diamond again does a good job of weaving in science while keeping the story going.

[korme]

Anybody have any good book suggestions on aviation?

My quasi-stepdad is big into flying - he owns a private plane himself, it's one of his passions. Thinking I should get him something related to that for X-Mas.

[Vince, Pt. II]

Probably out of your price range, but I've heard rave reviews of Sled Driver by Brian Shul. Flew over 200 combat missions in the Vietnam era, was shot down near the end of the war and was burned so badly they gave him next to no chance to live. He not only lived, but returned to full flight status and flew the SR-71.

For whatever reason, the book costs hundreds of dollars.

[korme]

I was at first mildly insulted by your beginning statement, but after a quick google search... $780 for a book? Good god.

[terpkristin]

I've asked a friend for a recommendation, but you might (in addition to a memoir or other type book) might get him a book for kick-ass paper airplanes. I'd totally dig it.

/tk

[Senator]

Just finished The Pursuit of Cool by Robb Skidmore. It's a story about a kid in late 1980's college. Many references that many would relate to here. Reminded me of Ready Player One a little.

Also read League of Denial and currently reading Sid Gillman: a Father of the Passing Game.

[Peregrine]

I'm reading The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America by George Packer. Really interesting book and I recommend it - has some interesting things to say about the changes in America in the last few decades in terms of the middle class, jobs etc through interviews with people from various classes.

[Desnudo]

I finished Slow Getting Up: A Story of NFL Survival from the Bottom of the Pile by Nate Jackson. It exceeded my expectations as Nate is funny and really humanizes the sport. An easy read.

[Peregrine]

I found Stefan Fatsis's book A Few Seconds of Panic really interesting as well in its insight into the NFL - will have to check out your book as well Desnudo.

[terpkristin]

Originally Posted by korme

Anybody have any good book suggestions on aviation?

My quasi-stepdad is big into flying - he owns a private plane himself, it's one of his passions. Thinking I should get him something related to that for X-Mas.

The one my friend recommended to me was Moondog's Academy of the Air and Other Disasters:Amazon:Books

If you wanted something more serious, there are a few about the history of the 777 and about Boeing vs Airbus which look pretty cool.

/tk

[Vince, Pt. II]

Originally Posted by korme

I was at first mildly insulted by your beginning statement, but after a quick google search... $780 for a book? Good god.

Yeah, I didn't mean to be insulting. Probably should have explained why it was probably out of your price range Found the book when someone recommended a reddit post to me, still one of my favorite short reads of all time:

There were a lot of things we couldn't do in an SR-71, but we were the fastest guys on the block and loved reminding our fellow aviators of this fact. People often asked us if, because of this fact, it was fun to fly the jet. Fun would not be the first word I would use to describe flying this plane. Intense, maybe. Even cerebral. But there was one day in our Sled experience when we would have to say that it was pure fun to be the fastest guys out there, at least for a moment.

It occurred when Walt and I were flying our final training sortie. We needed 100 hours in the jet to complete our training and attain Mission Ready status. Somewhere over Colorado we had passed the century mark. We had made the turn in Arizona and the jet was performing flawlessly. My gauges were wired in the front seat and we were starting to feel pretty good about ourselves, not only because we would soon be flying real missions but because we had gained a great deal of confidence in the plane in the past ten months. Ripping across the barren deserts 80,000 feet below us, I could already see the coast of California from the Arizona border. I was, finally, after many humbling months of simulators and study, ahead of the jet.

I was beginning to feel a bit sorry for Walter in the back seat. There he was, with no really good view of the incredible sights before us, tasked with monitoring four different radios. This was good practice for him for when we began flying real missions, when a priority transmission from headquarters could be vital. It had been difficult, too, for me to relinquish control of the radios, as during my entire flying career I had controlled my own transmissions. But it was part of the division of duties in this plane and I had adjusted to it. I still insisted on talking on the radio while we were on the ground, however. Walt was so good at many things, but he couldn't match my expertise at sounding smooth on the radios, a skill that had been honed sharply with years in fighter squadrons where the slightest radio miscue was grounds for beheading. He understood that and allowed me that luxury. Just to get a sense of what Walt had to contend with, I pulled the radio toggle switches and monitored the frequencies along with him. The predominant radio chatter was from Los Angeles Center, far below us, controlling daily traffic in their sector. While they had us on their scope (albeit briefly), we were in uncontrolled airspace and normally would not talk to them unless we needed to descend into their airspace.

We listened as the shaky voice of a lone Cessna pilot asked Center for a readout of his ground speed.

Center replied: "November Charlie 175, I'm showing you at ninety knots on the ground."

Now the thing to understand about Center controllers, was that whether they were talking to a rookie pilot in a Cessna, or to Air Force One, they always spoke in the exact same, calm, deep, professional, tone that made one feel important. I referred to it as the "HoustonCenterVoice." I have always felt that after years of seeing documentaries on this country's space program and listening to the calm and distinct voice of the HoustonCenterControllers, that all other controllers since then wanted to sound like that... and that they basically did. And it didn't matter what sector of the country we would be flying in, it always seemed like the same guy was talking. Over the years that tone of voice had become somewhat of a comforting sound to pilots everywhere. Conversely, over the years, pilots always wanted to ensure that, when transmitting, they sounded like Chuck Yeager, or at least like John Wayne. Better to die than sound bad on the radios.

Just moments after the Cessna's inquiry, a Twin Beech piped up on frequency, in a rather superior tone, asking for his ground speed.

"Ah, Twin Beach: I have you at one hundred and twenty-five knots of ground speed."

Boy, I thought, the Beechcraft really must think he is dazzling his Cessna brethren.

Then out of the blue, a Navy F-18 pilot out of NAS Lemoore came up on frequency. You knew right away it was a Navy jock because he sounded very cool on the radios.

"Center, Dusty 52 ground speed check."

Before Center could reply, I'm thinking to myself, hey, Dusty 52 has a ground speed indicator in that million dollar cockpit, so why is he asking Center for a readout? Then I got it -- ol' Dusty here is making sure that every bug smasher from Mount Whitney to the Mojave knows what true speed is. He's the fastest dude in the valley today, and he just wants everyone to know how much fun he is having in his new Hornet.

And the reply, always with that same, calm, voice, with more distinct alliteration than emotion:

"Dusty 52, Center, we have you at 620 on the ground."

And I thought to myself, is this a ripe situation, or what? As my hand instinctively reached for the mic button, I had to remind myself that Walt was in control of the radios. Still, I thought, it must be done -- in mere seconds we'll be out of the sector and the opportunity will be lost. That Hornet must die, and die now.

I thought about all of our Sim training and how important it was that we developed well as a crew and knew that to jump in on the radios now would destroy the integrity of all that we had worked toward becoming. I was torn. Somewhere, 13 miles above Arizona, there was a pilot screaming inside his space helmet.

Then, I heard it. The click of the mic button from the back seat. That was the very moment that I knew Walter and I had become a crew. Very professionally, and with no emotion, Walter spoke:

"Los Angeles Center, Aspen 20, can you give us a ground speed check?"

There was no hesitation, and the reply came as if was an everyday request:

"Aspen 20, I show you at one thousand eight hundred and forty-two knots, across the ground."

I think it was the forty-two knots that I liked the best, so accurate and proud was Center to deliver that information without hesitation, and you just knew he was smiling. But the precise point at which I knew that Walt and I were going to be really good friends for a long time was when he keyed the mic once again to say, in his most fighter-pilot-like voice:

"Ah, Center, much thanks. We're showing closer to nineteen hundred on the money."

For a moment Walter was a god. And we finally heard a little crack in the armor of the HoustonCentervoice, when L.A. came back with,
"Roger that Aspen, Your equipment is probably more accurate than ours. You boys have a good one."

It all had lasted for just moments, but in that short, memorable sprint across the southwest, the Navy had been flamed, all mortal airplanes on freq were forced to bow before the King of Speed, and more importantly, Walter and I had crossed the threshold of being a crew. A fine day's work.

We never heard another transmission on that frequency all the way to the coast. For just one day, it truly was fun being the fastest guys out there.

[Vince, Pt. II]

Back to being more on topic: lately I've been on a kick of re-reading 'classic' literature that I either missed out on or hated while I was in school. What I've tackled so far:

1984
Animal Farm
Fahrenheit 451
The Great Gatsby
Slaughterhouse-Five
A Clockwork Orange
Neuromancer

They were all fantastic in different ways. I would highly recommend revisiting these (or any book, really) as an adult if you didn't like them as a child - I've really enjoyed reading each of these books. In the non-classic vein...

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman was incredible. He was already one of my favorite authors, but he's officially made it to 'I want to own all of his work' status with me.

On the recommendation of a friend, I read The Scar by China Mieville. I had heard of Perdido Street Station and it was on my list of things I want to read eventually, but had never heard of The Scar. I was blown away. I read a lot - I can easily make it through a book in a day or two. I enjoyed this one so much I found myself savoring it, reading only small chunks at a time so it would last longer. Looking forward to exploring more of his work.

Currently on tap I have The Book Thief and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, with Catch-22, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Brave New World and Snow Crash waiting in the wings.

[Glengoyne]

Bumping this up as I'm not seeing a current thread, and don't want to actually summon the wherewithal to open up a 2014 thread in a manner suitable to the topic.

First, I'm in the middle of the third Locke Lamora novel, the Republic of Thieves. Good stuff, and I'm hoping it lives up to the first two.

Secondly I'm also working on Anthony Ryan's Blood Song. I'm really liking where this one is taking me. It looks like he is setting the stage for another fantasy epic work. Best debut since Rothfus, it maybe even better in some ways, as Rothfus was a bit over the top at points. In any case I heartilly recommend it.

[sabotai]

I am a few chapters into Mistborn: The Well of Ascension, book 2 of the Mistborn trilogy. I really enjoyed the first book. I usually take a break between books of a series, but I jumped right into book 2 of Mistborn. Elantris and The Way Of Kings are two other Brandon Sanderson books on my "to read" list.

Part of the enjoyment is that on Brandon Sanderson's website, he wrote chapter annotations for each chapter to give insight into his writing of the chapter and the book in general. It's like having a director's commentary track for the book. Really interesting stuff (especially since being a fantasy novelist is a total pipe dream of mine.)

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by sabotai

I am a few chapters into Mistborn: The Well of Ascension, book 2 of the Mistborn trilogy. I really enjoyed the first book. I usually take a break between books of a series, but I jumped right into book 2 of Mistborn. Elantris and The Way Of Kings are two other Brandon Sanderson books on my "to read" list.

Part of the enjoyment is that on Brandon Sanderson's website, he wrote chapter annotations for each chapter to give insight into his writing of the chapter and the book in general. It's like having a director's commentary track for the book. Really interesting stuff (especially since being a fantasy novelist is a total pipe dream of mine.)

I finished reading the Mistborn trilogy recently - Vin's monologues got a little tedious at times, but pretty good. He also has a book set in a steampunk version of that world I liked, with a 5th book coming soon.

Elantris was his first novel, and it kinda showed. Definitely more simplistic than the Mistborn stuff, although he's still great at world-building. I haven't read The Way of Kings yet, but fyi it's supposed to be part of a 5-book series, and just had book #2 released.

Compared to certain other fantasy writers it's absurd how much writing he churns out.

[terpkristin]

Originally Posted by BishopMVP

I finished reading the Mistborn trilogy recently - Vin's monologues got a little tedious at times, but pretty good. He also has a book set in a steampunk version of that world I liked, with a 5th book coming soon.

I haven't ready Alloy of Law yet, but I enjoyed the Mistborn trilogy. I have to agree about Vin's monologues. Alloy of Law is on the list for me to read this year (I'm trying to read-down my "already bought but haven't yet read list").

Originally Posted by BishopMVP

Elantris was his first novel, and it kinda showed. Definitely more simplistic than the Mistborn stuff, although he's still great at world-building.

I didn't care for Elantris, especially compared with Sanderson's other works. I think he actually wrote Warbreaker before Elantris, but Elantris actually got published first. That it was an early writing career novel showed, and you could REALLY obviously see his influences (which were heavy-handed at times).

Originally Posted by BishopMVP

I haven't read The Way of Kings yet, but fyi it's supposed to be part of a 5-book series, and just had book #2 released.

Way of Kings was the best book I read in 2012, hands down. Just a fantastic book (though I admit it started a little slow, I really got sucked in the more I read). The 2nd book (Words of Radiance is actually not out yet--it comes out March 4th in the US. I have it pre-ordered for my Kindle and am really looking forward to dropping everything when it comes out.

Originally Posted by BishopMVP

Compared to certain other fantasy writers it's absurd how much writing he churns out.

Yeah, his volume is insane. What I like about Sanderson, though, is his work with magic systems. In just about every book, he introduces (yet another) magic system. Some of his more experimental stuff comes out in his short stories, including Legend, where the main character apparently has multiple personalities, and he derives his "powers" from those personalities and The Emperor's Soul where magic is derived from art (and forgery). He's also just started a young adult series, Reckoners (Steelheart is the first, followed by a short story "Mitosis"), which is sorta superhero-y, kinda sci-fi/apocalyptic-ish...I enjoyed Steelheart, even if it wasn't my favorite thing he's done.

I'm really looking forward to Words of Radiance and am currently trying to decide if I should re-read Way of Kings before it comes out (or maybe I should just read through the tor.com re-read summaries).

On non-Sanderson things, I've just started listening to an audiobook which I'm reviewing for SFFAudio.com. The book is A New Beginning by Craig Brummer. It's a bit creepy, one of the main characters is named Kristin (spelled like I spell my name), she's a space ship system analyst (I'm a satellite systems engineer), and she sounds a lot like I used to be, before I became irreparably broken.

On a related note, if anybody wants to see my list of books I've purchased but not yet read (and trying to read almost exclusively from in 2014), the list is here. Or, if you use Goodreads and aren't friends with me over there yet, this is my profile, feel free to add me as a friend!

/tk

[SirFozzie]

The latest Safehold book just unlocked on my kindle.

Oh my.

Oh my.

OH MY.

[OldGiants]

Originally Posted by Glengoyne

First, I'm in the middle of the third Locke Lamora novel, the Republic of Thieves. Good stuff, and I'm hoping it lives up to the first two.

I finished LIES last month and started RED SAILS UNDER RED SKIES last night. Good stuff, so I'm with you in hoping the third book keeps up with the first two.

Before LIES, I finished Between Summer's Longing and Winter's End: The Story of a Crime by Leif G. W. Persson. This is the first of a trilogy about the assassination of Swedish Prime Minister Olaf Palme 30 years ago. A character named Backstrom, a minor detective in this novel, but the center of a series now, is the source material for the planned TV show starring Rainn Wilson this fall. Hard to find Persson books in the US, so I'm stymied at the moment from moving forward.

[Desnudo]

Ive been reading a lot of zombie fiction lately. It's been very hard to find something that equals World War Z. I think the Arisen series may even be better. It's like a combo of Clancy and Brooks with excellent pacing and characters.

Amazon.com: Arisen, Book One - Fortress Britain eBook: Glynn James, Michael Stephen Fuchs: Books

[MacroGuru]

J Kraft Mitchell who writes speculative fiction has a decent series out called The Nexus, you can get the first book in the series for Free from his blog today..

http://jkraftmitchell.com/

[DaddyTorgo]

"Gateway" by Frederick Pohl.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by Vince, Pt. II

Back to being more on topic: lately I've been on a kick of re-reading 'classic' literature that I either missed out on or hated while I was in school. What I've tackled so far:

1984
Animal Farm
Fahrenheit 451
The Great Gatsby
Slaughterhouse-Five
A Clockwork Orange
Neuromancer

They were all fantastic in different ways. I would highly recommend revisiting these (or any book, really) as an adult if you didn't like them as a child - I've really enjoyed reading each of these books. In the non-classic vein...

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman was incredible. He was already one of my favorite authors, but he's officially made it to 'I want to own all of his work' status with me.

On the recommendation of a friend, I read The Scar by China Mieville. I had heard of Perdido Street Station and it was on my list of things I want to read eventually, but had never heard of The Scar. I was blown away. I read a lot - I can easily make it through a book in a day or two. I enjoyed this one so much I found myself savoring it, reading only small chunks at a time so it would last longer. Looking forward to exploring more of his work.

Currently on tap I have The Book Thief and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, with Catch-22, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Brave New World and Snow Crash waiting in the wings.

Ha! This looks pretty similar to some of what I've been doing over the past couple of years.

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep - currently
Picture of Dorian Gray - Last couple of years
Brave New World - Last couple of years
Catch-22 - Considering as I haven't read since high school
The Graveyard Book - Didn't read but did read American Gods last year
1984 - Last couple of years
Animal Farm - Last couple of years
Fahrenheit 451 - Haven't read since high school, maybe I should
The Great Gatsby - Last year
Slaughterhouse-Five - On list to read
A Clockwork Orange - On list to read
Neuromancer - Last year

I have some other books mixed in, tho, as that's a lot of classic scifi. I tend to rotate through different genres. Looking at my list, the last few have been classic scifi, noir mystery, comedy, war novel, victorian scifi, modern action novel, dickens, noir mystery, non-fiction. I do books on CD during my commute, mainly. But now that I'm carpooling with my wife, we have to agree and I think it drives her nuts that I don't want to spend the next 3 or 4 months plowing through a series and I'd rather mix it up.

SI

[Pyser]

very funny. i did gatsby, animal farm, and 1984 recently too. you guys on goodreads?

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by Pyser

very funny. i did gatsby, animal farm, and 1984 recently too. you guys on goodreads?

My wife is but I'm not. What really gets me is that Colbert's 3 books he read (Gatsby, Catcher in the Rye, Farewell to Arms) were just a few months after I read each

SI

[terpkristin]

Originally Posted by Pyser

you guys on goodreads?

I am, guess my username

I'm currently reading the sequel to Way of Kings, Words of Radiance. I'm loving it, I just wish I had more time to read. I'm both listening to the audiobook and reading the Kindle edition, working through whichever is more convenient for my situation. My thumbs have been acting up lately, so it's been mostly audio. Sadly, audio is slower for me...

I read a good bit of stuff and try to write reviews at GR. I also do reviews for SFF Audio, when I'm not ridiculously stressed out over various things...

/tk

P.S. terpkristin - Ashburn, VA (688 books)

[Desnudo]

My Father, The Drug Lord - An Excerpt from Tony Dokoupil’s Memoir, The Last Pirate - Esquire

[sabotai]

Finished books 2 and 3 of the Mistborn trilogy. I thought they both were really slow in the middle. If the trilogy is an indication, Sanderson seems to do beginnings and endings very well, but it kinda gets bogged down in the middle. Still, an enjoyable trilogy.

Books I plan to read next.

Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Key
Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson
The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan
The Blade Itself by Joe Abercombie
The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik

I am very behind on reading fantasy. Spent the last decade or more not reading much of the genre.

Non-Fiction books on my to read list

Autumn In the Heavenly Kingdom
The Franco-Prussian War
City of Fortune: How Venice Ruled the Seas
Shanghai 1937: Stalingrad on the Yangtze

Edit: Goodreads profile which I update like once every 3 years..... https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/991029-jason-wood

[mckerney]

Originally Posted by terpkristin

I am, guess my username

I'm currently reading the sequel to Way of Kings, Words of Radiance. I'm loving it, I just wish I had more time to read. I'm both listening to the audiobook and reading the Kindle edition, working through whichever is more convenient for my situation. My thumbs have been acting up lately, so it's been mostly audio. Sadly, audio is slower for me...

I read a good bit of stuff and try to write reviews at GR. I also do reviews for SFF Audio, when I'm not ridiculously stressed out over various things...

/tk

P.S. terpkristin - Ashburn, VA (688 books)

I just picked up Way of Kings after seeing Chris Kluwe recommend Words of Radiance on Twitter. Also had a copy of Six Gun Tarot finally arrive last week after ordering it back in November.

[Peregrine]

Currently reading The Drunken Botanist by Amy Stewart. Highly recommended if you are interested in all the various ways humans have found to make alcohol out of almost anything possible. Quite funny also.

[Vince, Pt. II]

Originally Posted by sabotai

Finished books 2 and 3 of the Mistborn trilogy. I thought they both were really slow in the middle. If the trilogy is an indication, Sanderson seems to do beginnings and endings very well, but it kinda gets bogged down in the middle.

I think I may overrate Sanderson because he's so good at endings and so many of my favorite authors are notably lacking in that department.

[ISiddiqui]

Finished "Maphead" by Ken Jennings (the Jeopardy guy) - fantastic read about maps. Jennings is quite the humorous writer and it is great to read about a topic where the author is just as excited about it as the reader (likely) is.

Started reading Roberto Bolano's 2666, his last masterpiece. It's living up to its reputation so far (page... 45ish out of 800+ )

[Honolulu_Blue]

I've been "reading" (listening) to "Pandemic" by Scott Sigler. It's the third part of a trilogy. I've really enjoyed all three books.

You can download the first two books: "Infected" and "Contagious" as free podcasts. The author does the readings himself. He's not great at it, but I grew to enjoy it. And, it's free.

The third book just came out in January and I grabbed it off Audible. I really enjoy the reader and it's been a fun ride.

The books can be a bit gross at times, but it's good science fiction fare based in modern times and though it involves alien technology and what not, much of what happens is pretty well grounded in science/biology.

Without these books to listen to over the last 3-4 months, I fear my sidewalks would have never been shoveled and my dog gone un-walked during the deep freeze.