this post was submitted on 02 Aug 2023
18 points (100.0% liked)

Casual UK

2122 readers
2 users here now

Casual UK

A casual place for banter and anything that doesn't fit in anywhere else.

Have chat and a natter. Talk about anything and everything.

Keep it casual.

Rules

Other communities:

Here:

Elsewhere:

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
 

Currently reading Tom Clancy - Debt of Honour, although I'm struggling to keep motivated as the writing is so damn small with tiny line spacing!

top 35 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Leviathan Wakes by James S A Corey

I've watched The Expanse TV series a few times now so it's about time I got round to reading the books. It's no surprise that I'm really enjoying it so far, though it's the first novel I've read in years.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

Such a great read, there's a bunch of add on books I heard too, I'm going to look them up as I'm jonesing for more since it all finished. I did see there's a TellTale game coming out too. Will need to see what like that is a well.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

I'm so jealous that you're getting to read it for the first time! The Expanse series is my favourite TV show and the books are brilliant! The general plot remains roughly the same but there are some differences with subplots and characters. Enjoy!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

It's bloody brilliant isn't it. Not usually one for sci-fi novels but loved the series so thought I'd give it a go. Read the first 3 so far and now taking a break and reading something else.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago

Finally started reading dune. Loving it so far.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I'm reading Ken Follet - Triple. It's pretty good so far. It's been a while since I've read a paper book.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Ken Follet - Triple

Oh that sounds right up my street! I'd admittedly never heard of Ken Follet until recently when I impulsively picked up "Never" in the supermarket but really enjoyed it.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Yeah it's my first book I've read of theirs, but it's been good so far. I would recommend.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago
[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

The Lost Rainforests of Britain by Guy Shrubsole. Very interesting if very Guardian-y bit of British lore I’d never even heard about before, and it very much makes me want to take a trip west to see the remnants of our rainforests.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The Burning God by RF Kuang.

There’s war, there’s a girl who spits fire, there’s dirty jokes. What more could I want?

[–] potterpockets 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Need to finish that series. I read the first book but never got around to reading the others.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

I’m reading the entire thing in one go, and it’s been very enjoyable!

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson. It's a cyberpunk sci-fi novel where the term "metaverse" was first introduced. I'm enjoying it so far.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson

That actually sounds really interesting! Going to add that to my reading list!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

My big read is Finnegans Wake - which I am reading through the year along with others on a reddit sub - obout the only thing that keeps me there at the moment. It continues to be fascinatingly incomprehensible.

As well as that I am reading Adrian Tchaikovsky's Children of Time, which has some thoughtful worldbuilding and an intriguing plot.

I am also reading through a series of Doctor Who novels from the '90s - the 'wilderness years' - when the novels became a lot more interesting and experimental, with little requirement for accessibility for mainstream audiences any more. Death and Diplomacy at the moment, which has some good character beat for the Doctor, but is a bit slow overall and I am losing momentum.

And I am reading one of Robert Brightwell's Flashman prequels Flashman and Madison's War - which, although still entertaining, is the weakest and most disjointed of this series so far. The author had not found a particularly strong thread to overcome the scattered and episodic nature of the historical event it features.

I am also dipping into a collection of Neil Munro's Para Handy tales from time to time, which are not exactly demanding.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Children of Time is an amazing book. The way it tracks the parallel development of two societies in different environments is brilliant. Managing to make the non-human one believable and relatable was a touch.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The indictment of Donald J. Trump. Honestly entertaining, scary, and fascinating. Some of the coconspirators come off like slime.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I particularly liked their senior campaign advisor's description of the scheme as "just conspiracy shit beamed down from the mothership"

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

I'm reading The Blacktongue Thief. It's not bad but it's no Joe Abercrombie.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The Reprieve by Sartre. It has an intense writing style which takes some getting used to; locations, characters, character speech shifts around erratically, sometimes even mid-sentence. I am really enjoying trying to wrap my head around what's going on, who's speaking and where I am at any given moment.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I can't hack books that do that, I just lose interest too easily! For some reason I found The Handmaids Tale jumped about a lot very quickly and I got bored of it!

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

I have to admit I've put it down a few times for so long that I've had to backtrack a number of times to remember what I was reading, but I do really like the style and am adamant to finish it this summer.

I haven't read The Handmaid's Tale, but am enjoying the show! I'll have to check it out at some point too.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Traffication: How Cars Destroy Nature and What We Can Do About It by Paul Donald

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

I'm currently going through Dungeon Crawler Carl. An amazingly hilarious story!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

A collection of philip k dick stories. Im into it.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

A Sport and a Pastime by James Salter 👀

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Spaceships Over Glasgow: Mogwai, Mayhem and Misspent Youth by Stuart Braithwaite - a musical memoir of the Mogwai star. It's a really great and nostalgic look back at the Scottish alternative music scene of the early 90s so far, enjoying it a lot!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Dungeon Crawler Carl, was recommended by a friend. Fun concept and kind of funny so far.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Got a load of digital 2000AD trades in a Humble Bundle I've been reading though over the last year in and off. Just started Mega-City Undercover. The early Jock art on the first few strips with Andy Diggle is great.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Memories of Ice, the first book in the Malazan Book of the Fallen series. I've read it before and can highly recommend the series if you like fantasy.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

The Gospel According to Blindboy in 115 Short Stories.

Blindboy Boatclub is one half of the Rubberbandits. There are stories about a van fuelled by Cork people's accents, Tipperary's first ISIS recruit, a sexually aggressive banshee and a fridge dragged heroically through the streets of Limerick.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

The Satsuma Complex by Bob Mortimer. Technically not reading at the moment, but is actually the most recent book I read and it was a bloody fun read - couldn't help but read it with Bob's voice as narration (and I don't think I've had that with any author before). Would recommend; warm, silly and easy to read.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy.

Wow.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Finally got around to downloading an epub version of worm onto the kindle so I'm reading that. Good story so far and lots to go it's a huge body of text.

load more comments
view more: next ›