What book(s) are you currently reading or listening? October 15 (discuss.online)

submitted 2 days ago by dresden@discuss.online to c/books@lemmy.world

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Finished The Twelve by Justin Cronin. Book 2 of The Passage trilogy! Finally!

It was interesting read, but too long. Too much back story and details that could have been condensed quite a bit. As it is, I didn't like the fist quarter, second quarter was okay, third was interesting, and really enjoyed the last one.

Still one book remaining in the trilogy, but need a break, will come back to after a little while.

Read some more stories from The Complete Fiction of H. P. Lovecraft.

Now reading The Crystal Shard by R. A. Salvatore. First book of The Icewind Dale Trilogy, and The Legend of Drizzt / Forgotten Realms series (publication order).

It's my first Drizzt, and first D&D novel and has been on my wishlist for a very long time. Just started it so can't really say much about it, but enjoying it so far.

What about all of you? What have you been reading or listening to lately?

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[-] Michal@programming.dev 2 points 22 minutes ago

We are legion (we are bob)

[-] dresden@discuss.online 1 points 5 minutes ago

That's an interesting concept. Though they synopsis just reminded me of a horror-ish short story I read about similar topic, so not happy about that.

[-] frigidaphelion@lemmy.world 3 points 4 hours ago

I am working my way through the Culture series by Iain M. Banks. I'm on The State of the Art which is an anthology. All of the books up to this point have been EXCELLENT, especially Use of Weapons which is one of the best science fiction books I've ever read. Usually with the space opera genre and perhaps sci-fi in general, you land somewhere on a sliding scale between imaginative concepts and good writing, but Banks is one of the few that hits top marks in both areas.

[-] 2ugly2live@lemmy.world 1 points 9 hours ago

The Twisted Ones.

Not a huge fan of how this author writes, but I think it's an interesting enough mystery so far.

[-] mlegstrong@sh.itjust.works 1 points 11 hours ago

I just finished Lessons in Chemistry. It started of a little dark but quickly turns into a roller coaster slice of life novel that secretly weaves a series of plot points before coming to a heartwarming end. I am starting Meditations by Marcus Aurelius with annotations for context.
I’ll probably also read a second lighter book in-between sections of Meditation cuz it’s a dense book.

[-] Truffle@lemmy.ml 1 points 11 hours ago

Fiction: Currently reading "The empty chair" from the Lincoln Rhyme series by Jeffery Deaver. I am liking it so far and it is good distraction.

Non fiction: "The psychedelic explorer's guide. Safe, therapeutic and sacred journeys" by James Fadiman. Some I like, some I don't but it is interesting learning about somebody else's experience.

[-] Classy@sh.itjust.works 1 points 12 hours ago

I just started Alaska by James Michener today. It's very good so far! I am considering rereading The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann after this. Nothing cozier than a nice delve into a good long story.

[-] wax@feddit.nu 2 points 17 hours ago

Just started Blindsight by Peter Watts. Haven't gotten far yet, but so far it seems interesting

[-] ICastFist@programming.dev 5 points 1 day ago

Do RPG and skirmish games rulebooks count? If so, I'm currently spending time with Basic Role Playing and Runequest 6ed (planning a hack/homebrew/adaptation of Elder Scrolls), plus Moonstone (Goblin King Games), Conquest (Parabellum) and Warsurge on the skirmish front.

[-] dresden@discuss.online 1 points 12 hours ago

So many rulebooks! Which RPG is your favourite? I have always wanted to play them but was never able to convince enough people.

[-] ICastFist@programming.dev 2 points 3 hours ago

I personally prefer using Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay when it comes to medieval-ish fantasy, because it's gritty and dirty, so to speak, also more "realistic" than DnD, mainly because combat is brutal, armor simply reduces damage, all kinds of shit can get someone insane and magic is dangerous.

The last time I narrated WFRP one of the characters died in a spectacular way that I never imagined would happen

The player had a dwarf with a large ram for a mount. During one combat inside a mayor's mansion, a group of bandits attacked the ram and lethally wounded it. The player wanted to save the ram at any cost. Every character has some Fate points, which they can burn to escape certain death. I made a deal with the player, "you spend that fate point and the ram lives, BUT- I will roll this dice to determine who saves it". I made it clear that there was a risk an unwanted force could be the one responsible for keeping it alive.

Dice rolls. I smirk and describe a blue-hued raven landing atop the ram and asking the dwarf if he truly wants to save his ram. The deal is made, the raven enters the wound, which closes, but the ram's eyes give an eerie purple glow and it laughs at him. The next day, he finds out the ram started eating small critters like bunnies and squirrels. The rest of the group starts considering leaving the ram wherever.

Some time later, the ram is attracted to a profane totem and refuses to move. The dwarf tries everything to get the animal back on track and gets headbutted. Once he threatens to destroy the totem, he's attacked for real. Second round of combat, the ram charges. On the damage roll, it was a double critical (criticals only happen in damage rolls in WFRP, a 10 on the dice allows you to roll again) and the total damage was twice his total health.

In a single charge, one of the ram's horns went under his chin, piercing his cranium with such force that the head was ripped out of the body, with blood gushing from the now lifeless body. The impaled head remained as a souvenir on the horn. The rest of the group turned tail and fled, then came back later to loot the gold that was with the dwarf.

As to getting people to play with, some places you can look for players are local game stores (if there are any around where you live) or colleges. You can also try playing online via discord, it's much easier to find people looking for groups there. Getting along with everyone outside the game is definitely one of the more important aspects of keeping a group alive and going

[-] dresden@discuss.online 1 points 13 minutes ago

lol, that's a bad way to die. Poor Dwarf trying to save his ram!

[-] Omgboom@lemmy.zip 4 points 1 day ago

I'm reading the Silmarillion, so I can be madder at Rings of Power

[-] dresden@discuss.online 2 points 12 hours ago

How do you keep all the name straight? I have tried couple of times but that's where I got lost. Have been planning to start again, and make a relationship / characters chart as I go along, so that I can remember who's who.

[-] Omgboom@lemmy.zip 2 points 2 hours ago

Full disclosure I'm actually listening to the audiobook version read by Martin Shaw. Mostly I've just been going with it, important characters are repeated over and over, less important ones are not. The hard part is not googling names and reading spoilers haha

[-] dresden@discuss.online 1 points 28 minutes ago

Heh. Nice!

[-] state_electrician@discuss.tchncs.de 3 points 1 day ago

Just started with Scalzi's Starter Villain. No opinion yet. But it's short, so I should have one soon.

[-] captnanonymous@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago

I just finished (audiobook) The Thing Between Us by Gus Moreno. I am not really a regular reader of horror, but I dug this one a lot.

I've checked out (via Libby) Rakesfall by Vjara Chandrasekara, but haven't started it yet.

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this post was submitted on 15 Oct 2024

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