I'm currently reading Dune by Frank Herbert. I tried to read it once when I was in my early teens and didn't finish, but I figured I'd give it another go with all the hype over the recent TV adaptation. I've just passed the point where I gave up before (~150 pages) and I'm kicking myself, because it turns out I stopped just short of where all the action seems to really get going. The book is front-loaded with a lot of worldbuilding by way of sci-fi/fantasy terms presented without much context, so I can understand why my younger self got bored and gave up. I'm really enjoying it this time around though, I think I'm a lot more patient as a reader now than I used to be.
Oh, power through for sure! Dune is one of my all-time favorites. When you're finished with the book, be sure to stop over at the wiki and read about the lore. The lore is deep in Dune and not a lot of it makes it into the movies and doesn't shrine through in the first book. Especially check out lore on the various factions.
The Bene Gesserit for instance seem like a cult of witches at first read, but they are much, much, more with a 10,000+ year history of eugenics.
I am also reading through dune right now, I'm enjoying it so far. I was fine with the world building, partly because I really liked the sets in the movie and also because I found it novel compared to the very generic space faring stuff or Tolkien rip-off you get as a backdrop in sci-fi and fantasy respectively.
I'm also really enjoying a lot of the environmental musings in the book, after I finish it I will look up more about Frank Herbert's relation to these topics, I get the feeling there's something about it.
Environmentalism and colonialism are definitely interesting lenses to look at the story through. It also deconstructed white savior and heroes journey tropes. All of this is explored more fully in the sequel, which I also really enjoyed.
The Annotated Brothers Grimm Bicentennial Edition Edited by Maria Tatar Fairytales I’m loving it. I’m heading to Efteling later in the year and want to remind myself of all the stories
I read a bunch of the Brother's Grimm fairy tales with my son when he was younger, but I didn't know there was an annotated version. Are the annotations 'inline' or is there a glossary of some sort? I'm just wondering if it translates well to a kindle.
I wouldn’t fancy this version on kindle, not sure how it would work. The main stories are footnoted with the comments to the left and right of the text. I’m away for the next week but I’ll take a few pics when I’m back and share em!
I've been reading The Unbroken by C.L. Clark. It's well written and I like the worldbuilding, but it's a bit of a slog because I'm having hard time actually liking any of the main characters.
The story pacing definitely picks up after the first half, but it's hard to care about the faith of the characters when you're constantly annoyed by their decisions :)
The world building, culture etc is very much on point though.
Just finished “god is disappointed in you” by Mark Russell which was very good and am now about 1/3 through “dark matter” by Blake Crouch which I’m enjoying a lot so far.
That is an interesting book by the description of it. As someone completely devoid of religion, I still find that an intriguing concept to just summarize the entire bible. Do you know if it is new/old testament? Pre/post Constantine?
It’s basically a synopsis of the 66 books/letters that make up the Old and New Testaments, each given a few pages or even just a few paragraphs. I’m not religious myself but I would only recommend it to a person of faith with a sense of humour; parts were pretty blasphemous but very funny.
I just finished Caliban's War [James S.A. Corey] and All Systems Red [Martha Wells] last night. (thanks for the Murderbot recommendation @fax_of_the_shadow and @windchime) Both of these are sci-fi, however the Murderbot stories appear to be more dystopian future sci-fi than 'high science'. I'd recommend both! All systems Red is a really quick read too, and they even have an audiobook series!
Just started on Hyperion by Dan Simmons. Unfortunately I'm only about 10 pages into it so I can't recommend it just yet. Just it has incredible mentions by sci-fi fans.
Yeah Murderbot isn't heavy Sci-Fi, they're more interesting stories told in a futuristic setting. I finished the 6th one last night and can't wait for the 7th to come out later this year. I am hooked.
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