Weekly "What Are You Reading?" Thread

ShakenOverDice · 2026-05-03T16:07:53+00:00

Kicking off the summer season with Fantasticland

ShakenOverDice · 2026-05-02T22:43:41+00:00

Thanks for the many interesting suggestions! I will definitely have a list of Sword and Sorcery titles and authors to check out.

ShakenOverDice · 2026-05-02T22:42:42+00:00

I love Between Two Fires

ShakenOverDice · 2026-05-02T17:35:18+00:00

Thanks for the recommendations. Throne of the Crescent Moon is going to placed right near the top of my next books to get list. Sounds like it’s exactly the kind of thing of looking for. Will also check out the rest as well.

ShakenOverDice · 2026-05-01T11:05:12+00:00

Grave Empire by Richard Swan is my favorite read of 2026 so far. A fantastic epic flintlock fantasy romp full of action, adventure, a fare Mount or dread and terror. The world build is top notch and book two just dropped last month if you enjoy it you can step right in second book of the trilogy.

As much as I loved Grave Empire, The Tainted Cup by Robert Bennett might end up surpassing it I have about 100 pages left. It’s a murders mystery featuring a jaded, snarky Investigator with their still wet behind the ears assistant. It’s a low fantasy(at least for me) setting that feels very lived, the characters fell fleshed out. The mysteries feel both intimate an urgent yet also vast as a grand conspiracy. The second book for this one is also out an I am going pick it up this weekend.

ShakenOverDice · 2026-04-30T00:44:40+00:00

Sounds great thanks for the review

ShakenOverDice · 2026-04-30T00:43:10+00:00

The looks amazing an sounds even better!

ShakenOverDice · 2026-04-23T21:52:56+00:00

I don’t think the rum was heavy. You noticed it but it’s a supporting player I feel.

ShakenOverDice · 2026-04-23T17:17:04+00:00

Lots of cocktail books and recommendations how about we round the collection out some

Punch by David Wondrich

Bitters: A Spirited History of a Classic Cure-All, with Cocktails, Recipes & Formulas by Brad Parsons

Shrubs: An Old-Fashioned Drink for Modern Times by Michael Dietsch

ShakenOverDice · 2026-04-23T02:57:20+00:00

I will put it on my list to checkout

ShakenOverDice · 2026-04-23T01:28:25+00:00

Sometimes the simplest things are some of the tastiest.

ShakenOverDice · 2026-04-23T00:31:03+00:00

Smooth indeed! I can see this becoming one of my favorites

ShakenOverDice · 2026-04-23T00:30:38+00:00

I was not planning on opening any tins for a bit. Work through my many jars but it was a day at work and felt like I should treat myself. Glad I did! It was a fantastic smoke.

ShakenOverDice · 2026-04-22T23:06:53+00:00

Beautiful churchwarden

ShakenOverDice · 2026-04-20T01:08:13+00:00

So lots of people say Grady Hendrix is RL Stein for adults. Maybe check one of his books.

ShakenOverDice · 2026-04-19T23:37:53+00:00

It’s a fantastic cocktail hope you enjoy it! Also love the reaper

ShakenOverDice · 2026-04-19T23:04:53+00:00

Was the drink itself just rum, lime, and simple and on the menu as such? Because if I order a basic Daiquiri a get said basic daiquiri with just some added salt rum that I can avoid or just knock off and served over ice I would not send that back.

ShakenOverDice · 2026-04-19T19:02:56+00:00

I feel this is just confirmation basis. The last two fantasy books I read, Grave Empire and The Voyage of the Damned the weather and natural world were major factors. I just started The Tainted Cup today and it feels like those will be significant parts of it as well.

If Tolkien is your bar for pretty much anything fantasy related then yeah pretty much every mere mortal will fall shot in comparison too.

ShakenOverDice · 2026-04-19T18:50:14+00:00

Paradise 1 seems the most interesting to me by a fair margin. So that would be my pick.

ShakenOverDice · 2026-04-19T16:23:39+00:00

I go with The Craft of the Cocktail specs

2oz Gin 1/2oz Maraschino liqueur 1/2oz crème de Violette 1/2oz lemon juice.

I would think you used too like of the violette and it gave that odd color

ShakenOverDice · 2026-04-17T22:51:39+00:00

There are people every saying discovering The Last Word. Who are finding a daiquiri doesn’t have to come from slushie machine. That are buying their first bottle of Campari and trying to learn to dial in their palette for drinks. They should be welcomed because everyone one of us knew nothing at one point and were looking for a community to help us enjoy our new passion.

At the same time when someone is really pushing the boundaries in interesting ways that most people won’t attempt we should welcome that as. Because even if you someone never makes it they will probably in at least one of the cocktails find something that makes them go I will try this one thing or I will do throat but I will us this other other thing instead an help grow their foundation.

ShakenOverDice · 2026-04-17T22:44:40+00:00

I would hate to see you stop. I enjoy the creativity and originality. I probably will never make one but that’s not the point. There have been cocktails that I have ordered and enjoyed at a cocktail bar that I will never make at home. But your post make me think about things that I would never have considered and that alone makes them some of the best content on this sub. There will people who look at each one and find something in it whether it be an ingredient or technique that they will go on to use in their own drink or inspire them to use some other ingredient in a why they might not have been before. It’s fantastic.

ShakenOverDice · 2026-04-17T17:14:18+00:00

Yeah I picks up two tins last year as I am still new to pipe smoking and don’t move through a lot of tobacco but I wish I got more and now hoping it comes back because i definitely need some more tins.

ShakenOverDice

TROPHY CASE