I’m making my way through the Strugastky brothers’ works, found out about them through roadside picnic but i just finished “Monday starts on Saturday” and enjoyed it just as much. Edit to add: it’s a science fiction novel from the perspective of a soviet programmer who stumbles into magic. He meets a lot of people for whom magic is mundane, and the book does such an awesome job describing his confusion and curiosity vs everybody elses acceptance of it as day-to-day. Its also super funny :)
I’m a novice in terms of bookworm territory, but I’ve found my favorite book currently.
Flowers for Algernon. It’s a story about an intellectually disabled (68 IQ) man named Charlie who wants to get smart. Due to his immense motivation to learn, a research group offers him an experimental brain surgery operation which should increase your IQ. This book explores on how a person’s life changes depending on his intelligence. 10/10 book for me, it has absolutely amazing character building.
Hell yeah! A friend gifted me a physical copy of it & its a great read
You have a friend with a great taste, that’s for sure!
I recently started reading the discworld series by Terry Prattchet and I’m really enjoying it. It has just so absurd humor.
Your book reminded me of “Harry Potter and the methods of Rationality”, which i read a few years ago. The setup is lously based on Harry Potter, however Harry tries to take a scientific and rational view on magic. It is one of my favourite books.
I’m chewing my way though Malazan Book of the Fallen. I’m on Book 6. It’s a LONG series.
I read Piranesi by Susanna Clarke recently, in about 2 sittings, it was amazing. Very fantastical and weird.
By the same author, Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell - alternate British history set around 1800 where magic is real, one of those books that you just live in the whole time you’re reading it (also made into a very good BBC miniseries)
I just read through The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison again. It’s about a half-goblin half-elf outcast who suddenly becomes the ruler of a country of elves. It’s a fantasy book, but more about court politics than dragons. And even though that might sound a little dry, it’s charming as hell.
Solaris was good
Do audiobooks count? Then the Kyoshi novels.
If not, the only book I’ve read recently was Operating Systems: Three Easy Pieces.
XX by Rian Hughes. Get the physical book. The author uses typography tricks to tell a great story.
Reading Valuable Humans in Transit by qntm. It’s scifi short stories, a few about the human consciousness stored as a digital file. My favorite is “cripes do you remember Google People”
I just read Yellowface. Hated nearly every character but loved the book. Also read Our Wives Under the Sea and it instantly became one of my favourite books ever.
Against the Day
The Futurological Congress
If you’re into fantasy then anything by Mark Lawrence is fantastic. Empire of thorns is top tier and I’m currently listening to Book of the ancestor trilogy and loving every bit of it!
mistborn: the last empire is a great fantasy novel about the overthrowing of a god emperor. it has a lot of mystery and badass action and is part of a big fantasy novel universe.
I’m going to go back a few books and say Stalking the Wild Pendulum, simply because it’s so out there and weird while still feeling vaguely plausible, maybe?
Just reading through the acknowledgements and preface made me excited to read this. Thanks for the link!
I’m glad someone found it interesting! It’s a wild ride. He was an interesting dude. Somewhere between a quack and a genius. I just found it a refreshing change of pace from the standard fiction/non-fiction tropes.
Just finished The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K LA Guin, which was absolutely fantastic but so is all her books. Techincally Sci-fi but only in the loosest sense to describe sociology and the narcissism involved in thinking one person can “fix the world”.
Highly recommend.
