What are you reading?

I chugged right through the Outsider […] I'm a bit surprised someone's not latched onto doing a film or show for this book yet, as I think you could do it rather cheaply and the King name alone will get you, at worse, a King following.

There was a TV show based on the book last year.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8550800/

I haven't seen it, but I've read the book (which I enjoyed).

Edit: You might want to read King's If It Bleeds, which contains a quasi-sequel novella.
 
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There was a TV show based on the book last year.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8550800/

I haven't seen it, but I've read the book (which I enjoyed).

I watched The Outsider, and it was "ok". I thought it started out a lot stronger than it finished. I haven't read the book so I'm not sure how it compares.

There was talk about a second season, but it was cancelled.
 
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An author friend of mine rule is if you arent hooked by 100 minus your age pages into a book, drop it and go elsewhere, time is too short.
Bit of a necro but I just can't pass it up-

I think that means Corwin isn't allowed to open the cover. :)
 
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Yeah, Holly as a character is a bit weird. I've met people like that in real life, and discovered I've a low tolerance for that kind of behavior. It's much easier to deal with them in written form!! I'll see if my library has that book in kindle form, and thanks for the suggestion, I'm always open to trying new books, especially from authors I enjoy.
 
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At last, finished Cibola Burn (The Expanse #4). It was harder to finish, didn't enjoy it as much as the previous ones, so I'll try something else next. I found the plot a bit artificial, and some of the characters somewhat annoying sometimes, like Elvi and Basia. I even skipped most of all the chapters with The Investigator.

Now I'm reading The Cuckoo's Egg, by Clifford Stoll. True story about old-fashioned hacking when people were still using 9600 bps modems. ;)
 
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I went to read Foundation by Asimov because of the show I'm watching these days that I found quite intriguing.

Unfortunately, I couldn't get into it. I found the writing to not be very appealing to my own liking, and the fact that it's a few different stories instead of a larger plot I wasn't a fan of either. Also other spoilery details I don't want to break for others, but basically, the show spoiled me in some ways that the novel couldn't satisfy, which is a shame.
 
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Yes, I like Asimov, but I see him more as an ideas man. His actual writing on the page I think left a bit to be desired.
 
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I like Asimov as well, especially his earlier work. He has a very uncomplicated writing style, which has its charms. After his earlier work he went on writing loads of non-fiction and scientific books, of which I read none. After that period he came back to science fiction and wrote the books that tied the universes he created together, like the foundation and robot universes. I consider those not to be his best works. But I really liked the Foundation series, especially the first three novels.
I disagree with Ripper on his writing skills, especially related to his earlier work. Although it could be that my feelings about that are a bit tainted as I read the books in the early eighties. Forty years can do quite a bit on the memory :)
 
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I'm a fan too. What is lacking in his stories is human emotions. He's very good at science, logic and imagination, but he avoids anything too personal or intimate, which makes his novels very dry, very soulless.

That's how I remember it anyway, maybe it's an exaggerated way to put it.
 
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I'm a huge fan of Asimov, authors like him, Boroughs, Howard, Clarke, Dicks, Heinlein and others are the ones that truly got me into reading in the first place. Back then, you were bloody grateful for any book that came along with a hint of adventure, or science fiction. I still find the books quite good, at least these authors know how real people think and interact, something many current authors could stand to learn.
 
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Today I finished Babylon's Ashes, book six of the Expanse series. This one finds the current powers all somewhat depleted for space faring vessels, as several past battles have exacted tolls on all sides. From the ashes of several former alliances a new power arises, led by the masterminds that have been tossing rocks at earth.

This one seemed to take a few pages to get a solid footing, yet when that happened it was really off to the races! In the aftermath, while the Earth/Mars coalition is victorious, each only has a few ships remaining after the final battles, and a leader has fallen. The foreshadowing on this was particularly well done, they've mentioned many times how inherently dangerous simple space travel can be, sometimes leading to unforeseen deaths. I was all chuffed to charge right into the next book, yet the library alerted me to a hold that was available, so that will be up next.
 
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This morning I completed An Ember in the Ashes, a novel that takes place mostly at a military academy for youths. It's a fantasy setting, with several different factions and a country that's been splitting at the seams for quite a while. The yarn is fairly solid, yet there's a lot of whinging going on, mostly internal, although it does spew out in a diatribe or three. While the tale was worth reading, I'm not sure if I'll continue with the series.

Up next for me will be Comanche Moon, the last book in the Lonesome Dove series. Now, this one I'm chomping at the bit for, already thirty pages in and I'm completely enthralled!
 
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I read hundreds of the KU/Royal Road stuff. I'm a sucker for indie authors. Current book is called Beware of Chicken and it's about a farmer who prefers to farm even though he's a cultivator. He lives in a low energy area but being a cultivator starts changing the world around him ever so slowly. Decent slice of life book. If you like the theme. Quasi-oriental and talking animals, etc. Don't have the link handy at work but it's at RR.
 
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I'm currently reading "The Turn of the Screw" by Henry James.
I wanted to read it since a few years ago when I somehow got my hands on a version of it which was so badly translated that I couldn't stand reading more than a few pages.
So now thanks to Project Gutemberg (which made the 300 euros I spent for my e-reader totally worth it) I'm finally reading it in its original english… and, even though it's comparatively short, it gives me a bit of a hard time due to the author's somewhat complicated style. If nothing else it's certainly good language practice!
 
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Gosh, it took me over a week to read Comanche Moon, due to the sibling reunion we've been having this week. It turns out that gathering together with eight of the other kids (one not able to make it) chews up a lot of time, although in a very good way!!

What an excellent read, though. It ends rather quickly, though you can tell just how it will fold into Lonesome Dove. I've quite enjoyed re-reading the entire series again, and know I'll be back to do so again. I've said it before yet it bears repeating, at least for me, McMurtry never disappoints!
 
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After finishing the Lonesome Dove series yesterday, I've picked up a book entitled "Vicious", which I've read before yet felt the need to revisit, even though it's not been but a few years. It's another tale that posits possible people with extraordinary gifts, and how such things might occur, so I find it intriguing. Not sure if I'll read the others in the series, yet I did feel the urge to re-read the first book, at least. I'm not certain, I think the series might be called Villains.
 
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Vicious was entertaining, and I enjoyed the re-read, at least for the subject matter. It's a truly different way of approaching the superhero genre, and I applaud the out-of-the-box approach that this author took. I've never read the sequel, so I'll likely do that shortly. Up next for me will be a King book that came winging into my kindle a few days ago, entitled the Institute.
 
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The Institute was a solid King offering, I enjoyed how he set up one character that delivers a huge payoff later in the novel. I'd rate this one equal with the books of the Mercedes series, not quite in the realm of IT, Tommyknockers, Stand, Salem's Lot and a few others, yet an enjoyable read. I thanked my niece for the suggestion and she had a few others to pass on.

But before those, Fire and Blood came winging in, and I'm ten percent into it now. I've all but given up on seeing a sixth book in the Ice and Fire series, yet I'm somewhat interested in this history of Westeros. Martin has written himself into several corners with the last three entries in the Ice and Fire books, and I've no hope that he'll ever get around to resolving those issues, yet if he makes the attempt, I'll be there to check it out. As long as the Wild Card books keep coming, he's aces in my books!
 
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The Institute was a solid King offering, I enjoyed how he set up one character that delivers a huge payoff later in the novel.
I really enjoyed that one.

I'm currently reading Toll the Hounds, the umpteenth book in the Malazan series. I haven't felt so lost at the beginning of a book since, well, since the first Malazan book. About 200 pages in and it's starting to get better.
 
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