One of the rare weeks where I got to read quite a bit.

Read Dark Matter by Blake Crouch. A contemporary sci-fi thriller. It's my first Blake Crouch book and I knew nothing while going on. A quick and very enjoyable read. Recommended for thriller fans, if they don't mind sci-fi.

After that, read The Magician's Guild by Trudi Canavan. It's a first book in The Black Magician trilogy, though it does have a prequel book and a sequel trilogy after that, but I don't know if they the follows same characters or if they are different stories, just in the same universe.

The whole book takes place in one city, and stakes are very personal instead of some world saving quest. It was also a quick and very easy to read book.

Finally, started the most read / mentioned book of these weekly threads, Dungeon Crawler Carl. The book is hilarious, it gave me some of that Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy feel in the start, but it's a very different book.

It is very much a litRPG (have we finalised on litRPG now? what happened to Progression Fantasy? It was at least a better name than litRPG, or is there some difference between the two?), and one issue with the genre is there is rarely any feel of real danger (with some exceptions). This seems to be going the same way, but again, I am still in the start of the first book of eight book series, so anything can change. This isn't a negative though, this is kind of why I like these books, sometimes you just want to read about good guy getting the win, without worrying about if they will win, but it is something to note if you are new to the genre.

Enjoying it enough that I have already ordered the next books, not sure if I'll actually read them back to back, but I am definitely going to continue with the series.

What about all of you, what have you been reading or listening to lately?

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There's another book called Dark Matter that's by Michelle Paver and creepy as heck.

I'm listening to Christie's Labours of Hercule Poirot (which is surprisingly dark) and reading Sam Neill's autobiography.

Listen to Dungeon Crawler Carl

Starting reading: Technopolice by Felix Treguer

Network Effect in the Murderbot series - it’s so good! Way better than I expected. https://hardcover.app/books/network-effect

Almost halfway through book 6 of DCC, it’s around 800 pages >.<

After this it’s book two of Star Wars the Black Fleet Crisis, which is called Shield of Lies. The first book was good, although I wasn’t happy that they left all of the story lines open, usually one gets closed.

Fantasy genre doesn’t typically have the RPG elements like the Achievement popups, actual leveling with stat points, narrators, and stuff like that. Unless that’s the “theme” of it being progression. Atleast that’s my understanding, I don’t enjoy the fantasy genre too much myself.

Enjoying Adrian Tchaikovsky's Children of Time. About halfway through.

Probably will start Crooked Kingdom, the following book to Six of Crows.

I enjoy the alternating viewpoints/storytelling in the chapters of both series.

https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/olaf-stapledon/last-and-first-men

Last and First Men is an extended think piece about the possible future history of humankind, extending from the 1930s into the extreme far future, hundreds of millions of years from now.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_C._Clarke

[Arthur C] Clarke has said of Stapledon's 1930 book Last and First that "No other book had a greater influence on my life ...

I'll likely finish "The Savage, Noble Death of Babs Dionne" today. I'd give it 3/5 Fudgy Points (I'm debating giving it a 2/5, but that seems too harsh). It started off really strong, and then just shit the bed into basically an OK crime thriller. It has some quirkiness to it (Lori's particular ability, the setting/town/peoples), but not really enough to carry it into greatness. After about three or four chapters, the story just sustains. And the writing lacks any real literary ability to give it that national book award bump/depth that lifts so many bland stories into greatness. Also, why do they just let the bad guy monologue at them like some shitty comic book movie? That doesn't make sense. If you see it on megasale and you like crime thriller novels, give it a read.

Finished Children of Time last week, now I'm on Children of Ruin.

Currently reading Hop ‘Til You Drop by J.M. Griffin. It’s the third in a cozy murder mystery about a woman who runs a rabbit rescue and helps police solve murders with her telepathic bunny named Bun. I’m sad there aren’t more because I love Bun and the way the author describes rabbit behavior is so accurate, all the way down to the snarky attitudes they get 🤣

Dark Matter was my first Blake Crouch book. I’ve now read 5 of his books and he is an author I will automatically purchase books from when I see them. I love his stuff!

The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins, and The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson.

Just finished 'The Talisman" and am currently into "Black House'. Getting ready for the third King/Straub novel on October 6, 2026!

I just finished the Fallen Gods trilogy by Hannah Kaner over the last few days/weeks.

It's a tale of gods, faith and war set in the middle ages.

I liked the books, after getting into the first one :))

Finsihed both A Parade of Horribles and Red Rising over the weekend.

Will probably start Golden Son sometime this week as an audiobook.

Not sure what else to start. Normally have an audio and physical book going but after the run through DCC kind of at a loss right now as to what else to start.

I started a book like two weeks ago and I'm certainly enjoying it so far. The book is titled "The Strong State and the Free Economy" and it was written by Werner Bonefeld.

i am still going on House of the Wolfings! still enjoying it! i am about halfway through now.

i took a little break from it to read Soft Targets by Carson Winter, a novella i picked up on a whim because Tenebrous Press was having an ebook sale. i liked it and it is the first contemporary thing i have tried to read since coming back to reading. it was fucked up but in a satisfying way, if that makes sense. i picked up another novella and some short story collections from that sale too so i really do have plenty to get on with!

I found out there was an Old Man's War book 7, so I devoured that book. Kinda thought the series would end on book 6 since it was titled "The End of All Things" but book 7 was a happy surprise.

Then since I was reading John Scalzi I looked up some of his other books and settled on The Dispatcher series. I loved the premise to the series right away and enjoyed the mystery. The premise is

Already onto book 3 since they're fairly short and fast paced books.

I just finished book 5 of DCC! It does feel like the danger is reserved for everyone around them. Still, it’s interesting to see how they react to their circumstances and the shenanigans they’ll pull.

I’m also doing a Michael J Fox memoir for a book club and a silly fiction book about yarn for a fiber arts book club.

Still waiting on Libby for my sequel to The House on the Cerulean Sea.

Started rereading The Dresden Files. Currently on Fool Moon.

Finished DCD #5 and started #6 on audible

Reading the poppy wars #2

Kinda abandoned nexus.

I just finished Serj Tankian's Down with the System. It's a wonderful autobiography that delves into the history of the Armenian genocide and how his activism shaped his art and vice versa.

A wonderful read if you were ever a Serj or System of a Down fan.

Just started "Steelheart" by Sanderson. I screwed up and read the short story sequel last month, not knowing it was a sequel. Massive spoilers there.

Just finished Django Wexler's "Wells of Sorcery" trilogy. I started it not knowing it was YA, but it was still a decent read.

Fantasy genre doesn’t typically have the RPG elements like the Achievement popups, actual leveling with stat points, narrators, and stuff like that.

Yeah, "Progression Fantasy" is a subgenre of fantasy, which deals with fantasy that has leveling up and things like that. Or at least that was my understanding.

That why there are decimal points. Go with 2.5!

That murder series sounds interesting, going to check it out.

When I opened the book (Dark Matter) it mentioned his other books, including Wayward Pines series, that series has been on my wishlist for a long time, don't even remember who recommended it and when. Will probably get that next.

Scalzi will forever have a special place in my heart. His books brought me back to reading and made me realise that I love sci-fi books.

I have only read about 3 of his books, but Scalzi has become one of those authors whose book I pickup without checking anything else. Have book 2 and 3 of Old Man's War already in my TBR pile, and plan to get Starter Villain soon.

How's the Poppy Wars series? I got the trilogy a while back but haven't gotten around to starting it yet.

Love all of these books, I will say there is a moment in children of ruin that is my single favorite of the entire series, enough that I would say that children of ruin is probably my favorite of all of them so far.

I read Susanna Kaysen's Girl, Interrupted and now I'm reading Ken Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, both old favourites. Reading them together feels right somehow, probably because they have a thematic connection. Next up I'll be reading Blindsight by Peter Watts. I don't know much about it, but someone mentioned it on here and I found it at my local library, so I'll give it a go.

How to Invent Everything: A Survival Guide for the Stranded Time Traveler by Ryan North.

Interesting and funny, but a bit light as a main read. Ideal for a quickie though, as it's arranged by topic.

Currently reading Sentenced to Troll 5 after a random joke in Dungeon Crawler Carl mentioned "The Author Steve Rowland" in book 6 leading me to a web crawl.

I'm fine with LitRPG as that's what the authors themselves are using. Progression Fantasy doesn't have the same connotations for me. Especially with actual video game UI being used in the books.

Afaik, "progression fantasy" covers both litRPG and cultivation novels (and, I guess, anything else with a heavy focus on the protagonist getting progressively stronger).

I started Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett. It's fun so far; can't really go wrong with Discworld.

How’s that different than a standard fantasy? Is it the rpg mechanics?

In the few fantasies (other than Star Wars) I’ve read, there’s always some stuff the protagonist needs to do before dealing with the antagonist. Get a sword, learn a spell, stuff like that type of thing.

So I guess where’s the line that it’s story progression vs character progression?

Hell even some stories in Star Wars can fall into that category, Anakins upbringing and progression to a Jedi “master”?

I'm almost finished Wintersmith, but I've been stopping to read other things in between books now, as I'm nearing the end of my first readthrough and don't want to see it be over. Someone on one of these recent posts recommended The Songs of Distant Earth, and that was enjoyable and interesting. That was my last Discworld break.

Guards! Guards! was my first book I read in the series and I've been hooked ever since.

Finished up Bones of Betrayal by Jefferson Bass. It's more fun for people familiar enough with Oak Ridge to recognize some of the landmarks. I do know Oak Ridge, but not as well as the person who recommended this book to me.

I think up next is going to be Purity by Jonathan Franzen who is a new author for me. The title character and most of the people she meets in the first 50 pages are, if not complete basket cases, deeply flawed humans, so it might get interesting.

Starter Villain was surprisingly great! I didn't think I'd like it based on the title but it was very fun to read.

The Jules and Bun trilogy are a lot of fun. Definitely more cozy murder mystery. Anyone who knows rabbits will immediately recognize the behavior that the author describes lol

Wayward Pines is one I have not read, but I do own it. If I see you add it to your post, I’ll start it too! I like to read his books as vacation books or if I need something that hooks my interest quickly and is fast paced. Famous was a good one that I just finished that a few weeks ago. He’s an author I like to recommend to folks who aren’t super into scifi but want a quick and absorbing read. Every time I recommend Dark Matter to someone, they always love it. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Listening: Operation Bounce House by Matt Dinniman. It has a heavy topical premise combined with Dinniman's quirky sense of nostalgia-laden humor. I really enjoy the audio productions of his books. They seem more like radio plays than audiobooks at this point with different voice actors, sound effects and such.

Reading: The High Crusade by Poul Anderson. It's an English Knights vs aliens kind of romp but the aliens suck at fighting. I am attempting to work my way through Gary Gygax's Appendix N list of books.

I've devoured all of Blake Crouch's sci-fi books and enjoyed them all thoroughly. I have had his Pines trilogy in my To Read list for too long though.

After not enjoying DCC book 1 very much, I finally got bullied into carrying on and am half way through book 2 and enjoying it a lot more.

I do find that at times it seems like someone has tried to write a story in the margins of a TTRPG players handbook, but I guess that's the appeal in a way.

If the memoir is Future Boy, then it is very good. Crazy what that kid managed to do in that year of filming

Currently reading Project Hail Mary, next up is Dungeon Crawler Carl.

i picked up Blindsight recently as well, we must have seen the same post :)

I'm maybe not the best person to answer this (it's not a genre I read), but I'll give it a shot. I think there's definitely some blurriness about what counts as progression or not, but from what I gather, the main difference is the emphasis on "leveling up" like in games. Beating the big bad or becoming immortal or whatever is still part of it, sure, but you're really reading it to see your favorite character training to become more powerful (usually across a very high page count/lots of volumes, since progression fantasy originally came from webnovels). Think, like, any popular shonen title ever (Naruto, Bleach, etc). LitRPG specifically includes video game elements like stats and loot (and I think setting?), while cultivation is a subgenre of xianxia (which is a whole other thing I know even less about, sorry).

The White Ensign, the history of the Royal Navy in WW2 by Stephen Rosskill.

I like it overall, it's very entertaining. I hate the protagonist sometimes but most of the time it's ok

Just finished the audio drama "The Red Letter Day" starring Tom Baker as Sherlock Holmes. It's OK, not bad, but definitely only for people with nostalgia for the 80s series with Tom Baker as Sherlock Holmes.

I'm reading Real Tigers by Mick Herron. I'm a huuuuge John le Carré fan, and this series sort of scratches that itch, but it's not as "literary" or complex. It feels like a grittier, less action oriented version of the TV series "Spooks"

At the Moment The Cherry Tree Theory by Rich and Rox Pink.

Neuromancer ready to be read next

The general public is the best. It’s the sum interpretations of people that define these “definitions” and they do change over time as well, that’s how languages should work.

So it’s always interesting to see people’s personal takes, even if it’s against the norms, but makes sense. Star Wars obviously doesn’t quite fit the “mould” so to speak.

Dragon Ball would seem to fit that area as well.

OMG BLAKE CROUCH MENTIONED

I really enjoyed Recursion by him.
His mystery/thriller (im not good at genres) books are also fun!