What are you reading?

German translation of "The six tales of Christmas" by Anne Marie Ryan, a pretty book, imho.
"Father Christmas's Fake Beard" by Terry Pratchett, a collection of Winter- and Christmas - themed stories written by a young Terry Pratchett. (Apparingly they are digging out now even more stories he wrote under different pen names when he was young.)
 
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I've knocked out a few books since my last post, two from the Spenser series and one from the Pickett novels. Right now I'm reading Lessons in Chemistry, which is set in the postwar era of World War two and starts off with a woman in one career and the route she took to arrive there. I do so enjoy books that are set in the forties to seventy time frames.
 
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Picked up the little book (translation by me) "Tomorrow comes the Christmas Bear" by Janosch.
 
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I would like to write good horror stories as well. I really want to learn what makes a good horror story.
But, on the other hand ... I've already read the comment "spooky" about an older story of mine ...
 
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I read Kings "Holly" book a few months back, it was pretty decent. I like how King has been progressing that the most terrifying monsters of all are...us. Simple, confused and often damaged humans.
 
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I just finished Lessons in Chemistry, a great solid read. It tells the tale of two scientists that meet up, fall in love, and what happens along the way and for some time afterwards. Thoughtful and one of those books that will have you thinking while reading and long after concluding. If this author has more works out there I shall find them!

Next up for me will be book two of DeMille's other series, Up Country. I quite liked the first book so I'm expecting this one will be delicious as well.
 
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I finished the Expanse series a while ago. Pretty good series. I'd give 3.5 out 5. Good writing and pacing, but I found it lacked in wow-moments and there were few emotions stirred in me apart from excitement, which is something I want to find a book truly great.
 
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I completed my reading of Up Country today and when I first saw the map of Vietnam in the beginning of the book, I knew I'd be hooked. What a great and deliberate tale to explore here, and if you enjoyed any of DeMille's other works, you'll likely savour this one as well. Lots of great insight into some of the conflicts that plagued this fine and noble country.

Next up for me will be book sixteen of the Spenser series, Playmates.
 
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Redglyph said:
Goodreads' best books of 2023.

For fans of horror books, Stephen King's last book is the winner in that category (again).

I don't read enough to know the others. ;)
Click to expand...
Goodreads is a decent way to find new books to read. Though it is important to read some thorough reviews.

Take Fifty Shades of Grey. It has 3.66 on Goodreads and was nominated for best romance whenever it came out. I read it and it is very bad literature, and not even very good for erotica. (It was entertaining to read porn sitting in the couch next to my wife, so I'll give it that ). It's probably more that it became very popular and many people with little reading experience (who loved Twilight) voted positively.

Stephen King is supposed to be very good, so his work is probably great from a literary perspective. Being a coward when it comes to horror I haven't read any of his work, though 😜
 
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I read The Maid, by Nita Prose, after a recommendation from a colleague.

It's a murder mystery at a hotel, where the protagonist is a maid. She is a super autistic woman, where the author uses the protagonist's detail oriented and literal thinking, as well as social ineptitude, to good effect. Some expected twists and turns, some not that expected. A good read. I'd give it a 3 out of 5.
 
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SveNitoR said:
Goodreads is a decent way to find new books to read. Though it is important to read some thorough reviews.

Take Fifty Shades of Grey. It has 3.66 on Goodreads and was nominated for best romance whenever it came out. I read it and it is very bad literature, and not even very good for erotica. (It was entertaining to read porn sitting in the couch next to my wife, so I'll give it that ). It's probably more that it became very popular and many people with little reading experience (who loved Twilight) voted positively.

Stephen King is supposed to be very good, so his work is probably great from a literary perspective. Being a coward when it comes to horror I haven't read any of his work, though 😜
Click to expand...
I agree with you. Reading a book takes time and subtly shapes the way we are thinking about a subject. Sometimes I may buy books on an impulse, but I usually take the time to read a few reviews, especially for authors I don't know yet. Goodreads is owned by Amazon, but the reviews on that website are more detailed and relevant than on Amazon. As always, people don't always agree, but it's easy to get a general idea after reading a few reviews and seeing how many agree with them.

Stephen King used to write quite well, and he had a knack for stirring the imagination. I suppose it's still the case, but I haven't read him for years, so I honestly don't know.
 
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Indeed, it pays huge dividends to read a few reviews first, or talk to people you know and trust about books, especially something that's new. I've not met many people that enjoy wasting their time and preparing like this can prevent some of that from happening.
 
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Last night I finished reading Playmates, a different kind of tale for Spenser and company, this one involved criminals trying to manipulate basketball games at the university level. Lots of new characters get introduced and the usual suspects show up as well later in the book, such as Hawk, Quirk, and a few others. It's interesting watching how the world changes as these books progress.

Now I've started the Winter People.
 
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A few hours ago I wrapped up the Winter People, a thiller/horror tale told from several different points of view, in three distinct time periods. I initially thought it to be one thing, then it flipped into another and took for me an excellent journey. Another author that I will add to my good list.

Next up will be a book I requested some eight months ago, a shallow dive into recent history, Vanderbilt.
 
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I finished the Vanderbilt book this morning, and it was a good read from a different perspective. I've read Amy Vanderbilt's books a few times, for class and such, yet this newest informative volume was penned by Katherine Howe and Anderson Cooper (son of little Gloria, nach). It starts back when New York city was called New Amsterdam, and goes forward from there. Well worth checking out if the family or earlier time periods are of any interest.

Now I'm starting Cold Wind, book eleven of the Pickett series.
 
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Cold Wind was pretty swell, like some other series that I've recently enjoyed, these Pickett books often seem to get better as they go along. It ended on quite the interesting note so I'm pretty keen on seeing what happens next, especially for Nate.

Now I've just started reading Making it So, a biography of Ser Patrick Stewart. I've been lucky enough to have met him on three occasions back when I was involved with local conventions so I'm looking forward to reading how life was in Yorkshire back in his youth.
 
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