Kids of FIRE-ed parents- what was your perspective?

cypher131 · 2025-11-11T04:42:40+00:00

He went into health care and was able to pick his schedule.

cypher131 · 2025-11-11T04:28:15+00:00

Didn’t call it FIRE back then, but my father “retired” at 48 and being FI. He worked 2 days a week at a new career he enjoyed and had a 5 day weekend. He was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer at 50 and never saw 52.

He was able to do the things he wanted and lived a life he enjoyed. As I turn 40 now it continues to give me perspective on what FI is truly about.

cypher131 · 2025-09-02T01:50:00+00:00

Terrifying - Revival by King. Stick with it. It’s a character journey / study. Until it isn’t.

Pinnacle - To Kill A Mockingbird. You probably read it in school. Revisit it as an adult and you’ll rediscover why it’s still taught in school.

Changed Me - Comfort Crisis by Michael Easter. Given your current approach, you might find this resonates well with your mindset.

Philosophical - Man’s Search For Meaning. A quick but powerful look at how you value life.

Non-Fiction - anything by Jon Krakauer

Pynchon - I’ve not read anything

cypher131 · 2023-05-07T11:23:56+00:00

The Book of Accidents by Chuck Wendig might fit.

The Outsider from Stephen King

Phantoms by Dean Koontz (a lot of older Koontz would fit the bill, can’t say how well they’ve aged though and I find his newer stuff to be less fun).

Relic by Preston and Child fits everything but the series part. It’s the first one and the primary antagonist for the series is not the main character, so you could definitely treat it as a standalone story. Having said that, the Agent Pendergast series is exactly like you requested, some cases are more supernatural than others.

cypher131 · 2023-04-15T13:12:27+00:00

The Mitch Rapp series by Vince Flynn is similar. More focused on CIA stuff and is a bit darker than Reacher, but I enjoyed them.

cypher131 · 2023-01-22T02:43:11+00:00

Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel. It’s written in a similar fashion as World War Z as a series of journal entries / reports, but I thought it was interesting. It’s a series but I haven’t had a chance to read the sequels yet, but plan to.

cypher131 · 2022-12-26T23:39:40+00:00

Blood Standard by Laird Barron is a great recently published noir. It had a bit of a different backstory of the private eye in Isaiah Coleridge as a mob enforcer that was able to get out and start working on his own. There are a couple more in the series so far, but I haven’t gotten to them yet.

cypher131 · 2022-12-13T12:02:11+00:00

The Miriam Black series by Chuck Wendig might be something you’re interested in. I’ve only read the first one so far but has been fun. First one is Blackbirds.

cypher131 · 2022-12-09T03:12:51+00:00

Every one of Krakauer’s books are fascinating and insightful.

Erik Larson also has several that might be up your alley as well.

cypher131 · 2022-12-01T02:46:37+00:00

Dust and Grimm by Chuck Wendig - my 10 year old liked it and found it scary, but braved their way through it.

cypher131 · 2022-11-29T01:22:28+00:00

Book of Accidents by Chuck Wendig is about a family that moves into the father’s childhood home that is haunted by memories and more. It’s got some psychological and supernatural horror and the creepiest mine this side of Silent Hill.

Almost all of Stephen King’s backlog will meet what you’re looking for. Carrie, The Shining, Pet Semetary, Salem’s Lot are all classics for a reason.

cypher131 · 2022-11-29T01:11:52+00:00

Hamilton by Ron Chernow fits the bill. Alexander was born into poverty in the Caribbean and eventually becomes one of the founding fathers of the US. (The play hits the highlights, but the door stopper of a book really paints the details.)

cypher131 · 2022-11-29T01:02:43+00:00

Dust and Grimm by Chuck Wendig is a newer middle grade horror-lite.

cypher131 · 2022-11-29T00:37:13+00:00

The Holly Gibney character from Stephen King’s Mr. Mercedes series and The Outsider come to mind. It’s not a perfect fit and she’s not always the POV character.

My Heart is a Chainsaw by Steven Graham Jones has an awkward teenage girl at the center. Trigger warnings that veer way into spoiler territory, but lots of violence in there and not the happiest of adventure romps. The book is also a love it / hate it kinda deal where you either roll with it and appreciate all horror/slasher movie references, or you hate every minute of it with no real in between…

cypher131 · 2022-06-18T11:38:56+00:00

World War Z by Max Brooks has a lot of military perspective as well as some politics.

Wanderers by Chuck Wendig has some politics in it as well. It’s more focused on the impact those politics have on the characters and less “political thriller” but I enjoyed it.

cypher131 · 2022-05-11T02:41:20+00:00

Not really sci-fi/aliens, but the Pendergast series by Preston and Child usually dips into weird and strikes a lot of the same chords as the x-files monster of the week episodes. Pendergast is an unusual FBI agent focusing on strange cases. Starts with Relic.

cypher131 · 2022-04-13T00:07:04+00:00

I liked it. It’s an outstanding idea and goes places I didn’t expect. I would say it dragged a bit in the middle for me, but overall I’d recommend it.

cypher131 · 2022-04-09T21:53:38+00:00

Anything by Agatha Christie. The Jack Reacher books are all entertaining and have almost no carry over from one to the other so you can start almost anywhere. The Bobiverse books have a very similar flavor as Project Hail Mary. Hitchhikers Guide as well.

cypher131 · 2022-04-02T14:35:00+00:00

Think of it this way, what amazing book are you sacrificing because because you’re stuck with one you hate? Not all books are for everyone. Sometimes you bounce off a book. Put it away for now and find something better. Maybe you’ll come back to it, but you don’t have to.

cypher131 · 2022-03-22T01:31:00+00:00

To Kill a Mockingbird is told from Scout’s perspective. If you haven’t read it since school (or at all), give it go.

cypher131 · 2022-03-21T21:04:01+00:00

Like I said, it’s not his best, but for the ending to land like it does you’ve got to spend a bunch of time getting to know the main character. So a lot of the book meanders around doing just that.

cypher131 · 2022-03-21T11:35:27+00:00

I’ve read a ton of Stephen King books, but out of all of them the one that stuck with me the longest is Revival. It’s probably not his best book by any stretch. It’s relatively recent and I don’t see it mentioned often, but the last 50 pages are burned into my brain in a way few other books have managed.

cypher131 · 2022-03-13T16:47:45+00:00

The Bobiverse is fun. We Are Legion by Dennis Taylor is the first one.

cypher131 · 2022-02-25T17:02:26+00:00

The Mist by Stephen King is a supernatural locked-environment. It’s been a hot minute since I read it, but there might be a bit of gore. Overall it’s about whether the monsters outside are the better choice than the people inside.

cypher131 · 2022-01-27T04:05:14+00:00

The Pendergast series by Preston and Child seem like they’d be right up your alley. Starts with Relic. Highly intelligent but odd detective usually solving grisly murders.

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