What do you read every year, especially in December?

This is such a good book and it came out today. I got it on Netgalley, so I just finished it. It has an interesting world and some really good magic scenes. First of a series.

There is a new book out in the Flavia de Luce series! Someone in town has been poisoned by mushrooms and Mrs. Mullet is a suspect. There will be another one next year, too. I thought the series was done, but we get at least two more, yay!

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I was reading reviews on Amazon and came across this pic. I LOVE Uzumaki and figured I'd also love whatever set of books the reviewer had above! 🩷 hopefully someone will recognize them? Please help me identify them!

The latest book in the Crochet Mystery series. I didn't find the mystery too compelling in this one. The cast of characters is always entertaining, though.

I just decided to get into reading as a 32 year old guy. I haven't read a book from start to finish since my freshman year. I am only about 50-60 pages into this book, but I love it. It's very well written that I don't get bored or confused. And I have to keep reading to find out what's going to happen next! I just wish I could read a bit faster! Haha.

Is anyone else reading The Will of the Many? Or getting into reading like myself?

Next for me, Donald Hamilton’s 1987 Matt Helm book, The Demolishers

Quite a few years ago I started a reading project to read all the books of 24 authors. The way I am doing it is I read book 1 by all 24, then book 2, and so on. In each set I read the books in the order they were written.

The authors are John D. MacDonald, Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, Donald Hamilton, Kenneth Millar (Ross McDonald), Mickey Spillane, Elmore Leonard, Ken Follett, Robert Parker, Ridley Pearson, Sue Grafton, Tony Hillerman (succeeded by Anne Hillerman) , Michael Connely, James Hall, Stephen Frey, Sara Paretsky, Lee Child, Randy Wayne White, Carl Hiaasen, James Swain, Tim Dorsey, Peter Hauptman, Shawn Cosby, and Scott Turrow.

The list gets shorter as I go on as I exhaust all of an author's books. I read about 1 book per week. I am now reading the first book in set 36 (so you can calculate when I started, and given that I am 65, I may not live long enough to complete my task).

Here are the books in set 36 (only 7, I have read all the books by the other 17):

1. A Key to the Suite – John D. MacDonald – 1962
2. The Demolishers - Donald Hamilton – 1987
3. Hugger Mugger - Robert Parker – 2000
4. When the Woman Come Out to Dance – Elmore Leonard – 2002
5. The Evening and the Morning - Ken Follett - 2020
6. Night Vision – Randy Wayne White – 2011
7. The Dark Hours - Michael Connelly – 2021

Am currrent reading book 2 in the set, The Demolishers

My all time favorite author is John D. MacDonald. My favorite living author is Randy Wayne White.

So, I haven't technically started this one, but it is on deck for me once I finish the cozy mystery I am reading. I need to read this one because I got the ARC of book #2 from Netgalley. There have been a few times I started reading an NG book and realized it was not the first one in the series! I am more careful now. For the really long series where the books are a lot more episodic and each story is self contained, I am not so concerned. Yes I get spoiled on the facts like the MC having kids now or some side character being dead, but it is not too bad. This book already has a follow up short story and the second one is coming out in October.

I've taken over as a mod here. I'll focus on removing spam if it pops up. Feel free to comment on what you're reading now if you would rather not make an entire post about it. Do you talk about books on any other smaller subs? Where do you generally get your books? What would you like to see here?

I got an early copy of the audiobook from Netgalley. Anyone else belong to Netgalley? I've learned not to put a deadline on myself with an ebook, so audio only for me.

Hey guys,

Currently reading acts of service and can’t seem to get into it. I don’t feel like the contense of the book matches the reason I bought it?

Has anyone read it that wants to give an insight of their views?

I’m 12% of the way through but honestly not sure if I should spend anymore time on it😅

I don’t like reading a book just for the sake of it but also wonder sometimes if I’ve put it down just before it gets good lol

Dead Weight

Essays on Hunger and Harm

By Emmeline Clein

I'm roughly halfway through this book, and I'm not sure what to think. The writing style on this book sometimes feels very stilted and repetitive, and a large chunk of the book is alternating chapters between a flashback, and a single conference-like event that feels like it takes forever to get through.

Check out this book on Goodreads: The Sweetness of Forgetting https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60321521-the-sweetness-of-forgetting

Ok so this is my new read. I borrowed it from my local library. I'll review it as I go. Wish me luck xx

I'm currently six books ahead of my reading goals this year, so it's time to start one of those behemoth books that I have set for this year, setting around 832 pages, Titan, a story of John D Rockefeller, Sr. is upon us. I'm about 5% into it, and wow, stuff I had no idea of very interesting so far. His family dates back to around the 1600s, very interesting stuff.

This has been on the shelf to be read for a long time, recently finishing a book tonight, I decided to grab it off and start it up. It will be a quick read, I have no doubt, nearly a just begun and I've already completed 22% of the book. I'm usually not a fan of some classics, but I'm trying to get through some of the books that have been occupying the bookshelf for many years. In fact, I apparently have two copies of this book.

Sometimes I buy books from estate sales, and that's where one of the copies came from. Nick is just starting to get into his journey in New York, so it'll be interesting to see where it goes. Hope you all are nose deep in a great book.

I'm about at the halfway point, this book has held my attention quite well, however we just reach a point in the book that has given me goosebumps. His friend was on what he believed to be his death bed, and he found a piece of paper that he read many many times, while praying for his friend to make it through the night, eventually keeping the written paper in his wallet. Throughout the book, he keeps various things he loves in his wallet, and it's incredible reading all the things that are being placed in there.

I read many reviews, not believe it or not on Reddit, usually I find at least a few people have read the books that I'm usually severely late into reading, however most said that the second half is when it goes downhill, but this first half has been very good. I hope it's not ruined too badly.

Though many others have stated that it's difficult to follow along with, but I haven't had much trouble, however it is a bit troublesome at times.

(6/52)

The book has about 200 short essays on different parts of Asimov's life, in about chronological order.

I have gotten so far as his first marriage with two children. His son David is described by his father in a way that makes it clear to me (as an autistic adult in the 2020s, a century after the author's birth) that David would nowadays be diagnosed as autistic. The author says that David's IQ was tested to be in the average range as a boy. In the 1950s, autism was considered a "rare form of childhood psychosis", and only diagnosed in nonverbal high support needs children, who were generally institutionalized long term (see Steve Silberman's Neurotribes, 2015).

I have not yet looked up if David is still alive. He'd be in his early seventies now if he is.

I don't doubt that there were also autistic science fiction authors that were contemporaries of the author.

The son of a pagan father and a Christian mother, Saint Augustine spent his early years torn between conflicting faiths and world views. His Confessions, written when he was in his forties, recount how, slowly and painfully, he came to turn away from his youthful ideas and licentious lifestyle, to become instead a staunch advocate of Christianity and one of its most influential thinkers. A remarkably honest and revealing spiritual autobiography, the Confessions also address fundamental issues of Christian doctrine, and many of the prayers and meditations it includes are still an integral part of the practice of Christianity today.

Already a classic, this landmark study of early Western thought now appears in a new edition with expanded coverage of the Middle Ages. This landmark study of Western thought takes a fresh look at the writings of the great thinkers of classic philosophy and questions many pieces of conventional wisdom. The book invites comparison with Bertrand Russell's monumental History of Western Philosophy, "but Gottlieb's book is less idiosyncratic and based on more recent scholarship" (Colin McGinn, Los Angeles Times). A New York Times Notable Book, a Los Angeles Times Best Book, and a Times Literary Supplement Best Book of 2001.

I'm reading this with a friend who loves it so far. The majority of reviews on Goodreads are favorable. It has a 4.27 rating! The description sounds intriguing. The cover is gorgeous.

And yet I don't like it at all. I can't stand the love interest. The protagonist annoys me so much. I don't feel like any of the characters are real. All the side characters are simply there for the plot and serving the MCs. The plot is flimsy at best. I don't get it. I feel frustrated reading this. I'm 40% of the way through and things are only getting worse. I'm plowing ahead hoping for something, literally anything, to happen and make me like this.

This is my 4th consecutive book of the year I'm not enjoying. Is my 2023 reading year doomed? Am I in a reading slump and unaware? What is going on? Please tell me I'm not the only one who feels this way.

I've had this on my TBR for a bit along with some other Grady Hendrix books, this is my first one by him though. As of last night, I am 60% of the way through according to my Kindle. I am loving this. The writing flows easily as does the story. There are some infuriating moments as a woman and feminist, but that just makes the story better. Can't wait to see where this goes.

Goodreads link

Finished my 2nd book this evening and just cracked open this one to get through the first chapter, I know I've been meaning to get to this one for a long time. I picked it up at a garage sale in Nashville outskirts during some travel through there. I know they say no to write in books, but I always write where I got the book and what date I finished it inside the cover. And that's how I know, Garage sale outside of Nashville.

I started this book this morning since I didn’t have much to do at work, and I’m nearly halfway through.

This is actually the first book I’m truly reading and into in years. I used to be an avid reader as a kid and fell out of love with it in high school. I was kind of worried that I’d only be stuck enjoying YA fantasy/fiction novels, so I’m pleasantly surprised that I’m able to read this book!

(By the way, I saw this in someone’s list of 2022 favorite books. Turns out, I bought this a couple years ago, and it was already in my kindle library!)

Oh how I’ve missed reading—the words paint these scenes in my mind, so I’m visualizing this world as I’m reading. (:

The Walkthrough: Insider tales from a Life in Strategy Guides by Doug Walsh

&

Ordinary People by Diana Evans

Evans is holding my attention better than Walsh, but I'm enjoying both books so far.

Enjoying it very much so far but not seeing many similarities between the book and Apocalypse Now. Maybe further in I'll start to see how the movie was inspired.