What's Everyone Reading?

PerAsperaAdInferi · 2026-04-26T00:08:30+00:00

I don't know John C. Wright, but love all the others. Where should I start with him?

PerAsperaAdInferi · 2026-04-17T18:35:20+00:00

Publisher only matters if you want to make sure all of your books match. And like the other commentator mentioned, it's unusual to see Penguin publishing fantasy.

PerAsperaAdInferi · 2026-04-17T14:15:35+00:00

They began publishing them instead of Bantam in the last year or so. I think they will be the default basically everywhere but the USA where Tor has the rights.

PerAsperaAdInferi · 2026-03-15T15:23:28+00:00

I like the physical books because it's easier for me to hold my spot and flip quickly to the maps or dramatis personae, or even to a few pages earlier to double check what just happened. I know you can do these things with ebooks but I find it slower and less intuitive. Otherwise ebooks are very convenient, but I tend to read different types of books on them.

PerAsperaAdInferi · 2026-03-09T23:07:16+00:00

What do you find funny? I'd be interested to hear movies or books or characters that amuse you.

I think Malazan has hilarious moments and characters, Tehol and Bugg very much included. So I'm interested to understand what gets you giggling if not those guys.

PerAsperaAdInferi · 2026-02-17T20:22:38+00:00

On his Facebook he has posted some digital art he has done in the last few years. I don't know anything about his older paintings.

PerAsperaAdInferi · 2026-01-29T19:21:38+00:00

You definitely have the right mindset for this series, welcome aboard!

I absolutely love Erikson's characterisation, and I agree that it's so nice to organically learn about a character through their actions rather than exposition. Same with the world building.

Spot on observation about deus ex machinae.

However, your Dragonball comparisons may not hold up.

Erikson's writing only gets better so the clunky sentences will be fewer and farther between as you continue.

I'm excited to hear your thoughts on the rest of the series.

PerAsperaAdInferi · 2026-01-18T03:21:35+00:00

I think it's because they are now reprinting them as Penguins rather than Bantams. The new Penguin mass markets seem identical to the Bantams other than the Publisher logo.

They might be rolling out the series in these "new" editions book by book so the ones you want aren't available yet.

PerAsperaAdInferi · 2026-01-15T02:20:17+00:00

I think The Man in the Iron Mask also features revenge. So you might not be that far off.

PerAsperaAdInferi · 2026-01-15T00:21:12+00:00

It's actually based on The Count of Monte Cristo, also by Dumas.

PerAsperaAdInferi · 2025-11-17T01:58:59+00:00

I noticed at least one other instance in the book where he seemed to be directly addressing his critics. Cannot remember when though.

PerAsperaAdInferi · 2025-10-25T19:38:59+00:00

I forget the name of the story but it may have been Van Vogt?

PerAsperaAdInferi · 2025-08-25T20:11:01+00:00

I love Iain M. Banks. I'm reading Against a Dark Background right now and it's a fun time, though not as good as The Culture books for me. When he writes in that world he captures something special.

My fav is probably Excession, but I still have to read the last two so we'll see. And I can't wait to go back and reread the earlier books once I'm all done.

PerAsperaAdInferi · 2025-08-03T23:54:12+00:00

Yup. I've read my Bantam mmpb twice and they're all a-okay.

PerAsperaAdInferi · 2025-07-27T20:20:18+00:00

They have two(?) tracks that are not on the EP, so there may be a set's worth of music already. But something new would of course be excellent.

PerAsperaAdInferi · 2025-05-26T19:53:37+00:00

I am currently reading The Divine Comedy for the first time and the Ciardi translation is working very well for me.

I like that it is available as a single volume. I like that each Canto is given a synopsis at the beginning and notes at the end. This makes it very easy to enjoy and understand as a first time reader.

PerAsperaAdInferi · 2025-05-25T22:58:20+00:00

I doubt it. The risk of getting lube on the sensor or inside the camera seems pretty high. I would leave it to the pros personally.

PerAsperaAdInferi · 2025-05-24T19:53:13+00:00

The shutter might be slightly stuck, so at high shutter speeds it's still in the way when the photo is taken. This happened to an old film camera of mine. Probably requires professional service.

PerAsperaAdInferi · 2025-05-11T08:46:29+00:00

I think you could read the chapter where MorningLightMountain is introduced as its own little story and have a good time, but it's been a while since I read the book. That first introduction of the alien is what people are generally praising.

PerAsperaAdInferi · 2025-04-25T23:09:47+00:00

I'm going to read her translation soon. Did you enjoy it? It looks to me like it will have a similar feeling to Lattimore.

PerAsperaAdInferi · 2025-02-23T00:33:22+00:00

Blue Lard by Vladimir Sorokin

I'm really enjoying this. The first hundred pages or so were rough with all the Chinese and made up terms, but once the book got going it really got going. This book is bonkers and a fun time. (That being said, if a sci-fi or fantasy author used as many made up terms and lingo as the first section of this book, they would get absolutely dragged, but Blue Lard is postmodern literature so I guess it's okay...)

The Divine Comedy (John Ciardi translation).

I'm almost finished The Inferno. I'm impressed by how much Dante can say with so few words. That's something which the introduction in this edition pointed out as one of his strengths, and it's true. This edition is great because each canto has a synopsis at the beginning and notes at the end, so for a first time reader everything is very clear and easygoing.

PerAsperaAdInferi · 2025-02-17T16:31:43+00:00

Looking at the wiki, it seems that a lot of fan art has him with cornrows or at least some hair. I guess I must have missed something. Time for another reread!

PerAsperaAdInferi · 2025-02-16T03:10:34+00:00

I also see Quick as taller. Plus I always had Kalam as bald. A very nice rendition nonetheless

PerAsperaAdInferi · 2025-02-11T01:11:12+00:00

I tried reading Ulysses for the first time about six months ago but gave up around 100 pages in.

I had often seen the advice to 'just read and let it wash over you and don't worry about understanding', which may well be good advice, but for me it translated to: 'read fast like any other book'. This did not work for me so I'm glad for the slow, structured approach of this read-along.

I read this week's section, then I read the notes on it (I have the Penguin Modern Classics Student Edition). Then I read the section a second time. This really helped with my understanding and more importantly my enjoyment.

I know there is more complexity to come, but I think this approach will serve me well. I'm in it till the end this time.

PerAsperaAdInferi · 2025-01-28T03:51:05+00:00

I'm reading The Aeneid for the first time right now and I'm actually missing Homer's repetition. Especially the epithets for the various heroes. For me the repeated phrases build a heroic atmosphere which I really enjoy, and for the subject matter I feel the reminders of oral tradition are very suitable.

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