@valiantarcher 

Yes, the companion books are about 300 pages each and average coffee table size with many pictures.  They are like those published by National Geographic in the 1970’s, but they are more recent, being based on the BBC nature documentaries. 

Hey all! It's been a few years, but I happened to be passing through today and wanted to stop in at one of my old stomping grounds. How's everyone doing?

I can't give you a full update on what my reading shelf has looked like since the last time I was around, but here's a few things I've read and enjoyed over the past year:

• The Grishaverse Series by Leigh Bardugo. This was obviously sparked by the release of the Netflix series last year, but I'd been intending to read the Six of Crows duology for a long time and had never gotten around to it until then. Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom were the best by a good margin (and were actually the books that broke my two year reading slump), with the Nikolai duology coming in second, and the Shadow and Bone trilogy coming in dead last with a thud (it's definitely the weakest link, imo).
• Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid. A (fictional) oral account about a (fictional) 70s rock band, set during the present day with the former band members recounting the events that led to an abrupt break up mid-tour at the height of their fame. I really dug reading this one, and it's also enjoyable in audio book format (it's performed by a full cast of actors who all do an excellent job of setting the mood). I also enjoyed The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by the same author.
• Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. This was a first time read (I know, I don't know why it took me so long either), and I really don't think any of you need me to tell you this one's good. It is though.
• The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells. A socially awkward and traumatized human/bot construct hacks its governor module and becomes addicted to soap operas while simultaneously continuing to do its job (protecting humans) and discovering what it means to be a person. This is my favorite thing that I've discovered in the past year; the entire series (five novellas and one novel so far) is excellent, but my overall favorite would be a tossup between All Systems Red and Exit Strategy. They are spectacular on audio book.
• The recent announcement about the new Percy Jackson adaptation had me running back to my Rick Riordan shelf, and I'm currently 13 books into a re-read/catch up on those; PJ & the Olympians is still my favorite series overall, but I enjoyed my reread of Heroes of Olympus and my first time read of the Magnus Chase trilogy. The Trials of Apollo series is up next.
• I don't know if I've declared my love for V.E. Schwab's work on here yet, but I reread pretty much all of it in the past year and I still love it (tho I'm still lukewarm on the Shades of Magic trilogy). Vicious holds the number one spot, with The Archived Series probably coming in second. Schwab's next book, Gallant, is releasing soon and I'm very interested to see what happens in it.
• And it's over a year old, but Return of the Thief by Megan Whalen Turner brought The Queen's Thief Series to a spectacular and satisfying close. I also reread/re-listened to the entire series on audio book last year and I'm never gonna get over how good they all are. MWT just announced the release of a collection of short stories set in the same world, and I'm all in.

Speaking of audio books, I started listening to them at work last year through my local library app and it's been an excellent way to keep my brain occupied while my hands are doing busy-work. In addition to the ones mentioned above, a few favorites that kept me entertained were various titles from the Jeeves & Wooster books (hilarious and never fail to make me laugh out loud), The Hunger Games Trilogy (read by Tatiana Maslany, who does a such a good job it actually made me like a series I'd previously only vaguely enjoyed), A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

*waves bye* I'll try not to be gone for three years this time.

--- flambeau

@flambeau, hello! Good to see you stop by - sounds like you've been busy with your reading!

I have returned all but one book to my coworker! Which is good because he's told me a couple times he has more books for me. The last book I have from him is over 500 pages and about the US Federal Reserve - I'm only a chapter in, but am cautiously optimistic because a) the author in the preface/introduction basically says that he knows it's intimidating and if you have to read it straight through, almost no one would read it, and so he gives some tips on how to best tackle the book and b) the first chapter was pretty interesting and the author does a good job of providing intros and conclusions.

 I also went to a booksale recently and got a handful of books, the most exciting of which to me where a collection of short stories by Patricia McKillip and a couple of Tolkien books (The Fall of Gondolin and The History of the Lord of the Rings: Volume 4, which I am mostly excited for because I have been informed there are drafts of an epilogue that Tolkien didn't end up including/never finished). I am still working on my reread of The Return of the King, and am also reading Madeleine Takes Command by Ethel C. Brill (a book I've wanted to read since I was a kid and saw it in a homeschool book catalog - when I saw it on clearance at a booksale late last year, I snatched it up ). I also just finished The Ides of April by Mary Ray (another book that I've wanted to read since I saw it in a book catalog, only this one my mom ended up buying, wanted to read before she handed it over, and then never got around to it, as far as I know - it languished in a box until earlier this year when I found it again and snatched it up ).

As my New Year's Resolution is to read more, that I have been doing!

So I'm currently cycling through 3 books at the moment.

Cinder (book 1 in the Lunar Chronicles) - This series was recommended to me by a friend, and it seemed interesting, so I picked it up. It's in a genre known as "fragmented fairy tale". So far the plot is really interesting! Cinder (the Cinderella character in the story) is a cyborg and mechanic, and the Prince came to her to fix one of his droids. Also there's an incurable plague running about that sounds pretty horrific. I'm not too many chapters in yet, but what I've read so far is really interesting and I am curious what the author will do with this concept !

Star Wars: Dark Force Rising (book 2 in the Thrawn trilogy) - I'm about 11 chapters in and THIS. BOOK. IS. AMAZING ! I am serious, it's had me on the edge of my seat these past few chapters! I loved the first one, but it's been taken up a notch or three in this second installment, I'm really worried about Leia's current situation... she'll probably be fine, but the question is how. Can't wait to see how it all unfolds! 

I also just began re-reading The Silver Chair in the Narnia series. It's been awhile since I've read it, so I am really excited to relive this adventure again! I literally laughed out loud at how Lewis calls the awful school Eustace and Jill attends "experiment house". And whilst a small detail, I like how when Jill's all like (concerning calling Aslan) using spells and magic circles, Eustace says "I don't think he'd like that very much" and that Aslan probably prefer just to call on him. I think that's a good message. 

Posted by: @valiantarcher

@SnowAngel, I'm glad to hear you all aren't at a loss for reasonably-priced second-hand books at least.

Definitely not. I went to the nearby bookstore a couple weeks ago and got a few more books for my collection. I should have taken a list to look for as the organization in the store was interesting. I found a Michael Shayne book by Brett Halliday entirely by accident. I've seen four of the 1940s Michael Shayne films, so it was fun to read one of the books although it's not one of the movie plots. The book, This Is It Michael Shayne, reads a lot like a Dashiell Hammett book. The other books I picked up are nonfiction, Service by Marcus Luttrell and Hue 1968 by Mark Bowden. A couple years ago I read about a third of Hue 1968, so I thought if it was on my shelf I might actually finish it.  

I'm on the final Anne of Green Gables book, Rilla of Ingleside, which is my least favorite. I'm reading it because it's been years since I last read it and I want to be able to say I reread the whole series this year.  

SnowAngel

I recently purchased a hardcover edition of The Twilight Zone Companion by Marc Scott Zicree. It is a really great guide to the classic television series. I think it was published in three editions since the 1980’s. By all means buy it if you are a fan of the classic TV series since it is a wonderful guide to all 156 episodes. There are also collections of the stories from Twilight Zone and Night Gallery in book form which show Rod Serling’s remarkable story telling.

@Narnian78 I have a paperback copy of The Twilight Zone Companion and agree it's an excellent resource. I've just about worn it out, between using it for reference while watching the series, or just refreshing my memory on some of the show's best episodes.

Though I am still in the process of re-reading The Silver Chair, I had a sudden mood to read The Magician's Nephew again and just finished it today and ahhh.... I feel like I fall in love with that book each time I read it again. 

Posted by: @kokoro-hane

Star Wars: Dark Force Rising (book 2 in the Thrawn trilogy) - I'm about 11 chapters in and THIS. BOOK. IS. AMAZING ! I am serious, it's had me on the edge of my seat these past few chapters! I loved the first one, but it's been taken up a notch or three in this second installment, I'm really worried about Leia's current situation... she'll probably be fine, but the question is how. Can't wait to see how it all unfolds! 

It's nice to see some classic Star Wars Expanded Universe books still getting some love. I used to devour those back in the day and I still read them on a semi-regular basis. Even though they aren't "canon" anymore, they still work really well as an alternate timeline.

I've begun borrowing from the library again. It only requires me to take the bus to use the main library in the city centre. The small local branch is not very appealing.

I've just borrowed 2 of Jasper Fforde's books featuring action heroine Thursday Next in an alternative version of England. These are two I've not read. 

It's also time to start reading Lord of the Rings, and this year I'm reading Hobbit first. (Alongside the audio drama I have on cassettes, and the Peter Jackson movies - I can skip the battles!)

Posted by: @reepicheep775

Posted by: @kokoro-hane

Star Wars: Dark Force Rising (book 2 in the Thrawn trilogy) - I'm about 11 chapters in and THIS. BOOK. IS. AMAZING ! I am serious, it's had me on the edge of my seat these past few chapters! I loved the first one, but it's been taken up a notch or three in this second installment, I'm really worried about Leia's current situation... she'll probably be fine, but the question is how. Can't wait to see how it all unfolds! 

It's nice to see some classic Star Wars Expanded Universe books still getting some love. I used to devour those back in the day and I still read them on a semi-regular basis. Even though they aren't "canon" anymore, they still work really well as an alternate timeline.

Haha, I hadn't been happy with the sequels so they are still canon in my heart. These books literally gave me what I wanted in a sequel trilogy! I'm happy they're still printing them.

I finally finished reading through the Anne of Green Gables series.   And although it took me way longer to read Rilla of Ingleside, I really enjoyed reading it again.

Now I am reading The Clue of the Broken Locket (Nancy Drew #11). I had picked up a really nice copy at that awesome bookstore last month and I can't remember if this one I have read before or not, so I'm reading it before I start one of my Stephen Bly series.

SnowAngel

I just ordered The Twilight Zone Encyclopedia today and it looks like a very nice book. I saw that it was over 400 pages long, and I thought it must be very comprehensive.  I have the Star Trek Encyclopedia too, although it is an older edition.  It’s wonderful to have a reference guide to your favorite science fiction programs.  It is helpful in understanding what went into making the shows.

Posted by: @kokoro-hane

Posted by: @reepicheep775

Posted by: @kokoro-hane

Star Wars: Dark Force Rising (book 2 in the Thrawn trilogy) - I'm about 11 chapters in and THIS. BOOK. IS. AMAZING ! I am serious, it's had me on the edge of my seat these past few chapters! I loved the first one, but it's been taken up a notch or three in this second installment, I'm really worried about Leia's current situation... she'll probably be fine, but the question is how. Can't wait to see how it all unfolds! 

It's nice to see some classic Star Wars Expanded Universe books still getting some love. I used to devour those back in the day and I still read them on a semi-regular basis. Even though they aren't "canon" anymore, they still work really well as an alternate timeline.

Haha, I hadn't been happy with the sequels so they are still canon in my heart. These books literally gave me what I wanted in a sequel trilogy! I'm happy they're still printing them.

I'm with you there. I much prefer what happens post-RotJ in the old EU books to what we got in the sequel films. Are the Thrawn Trilogy books the first EU books you've read?

Posted by: @reepicheep775

 

I'm with you there. I much prefer what happens post-RotJ in the old EU books to what we got in the sequel films. Are the Thrawn Trilogy books the first EU books you've read?

Yup, they are! If you have any recommendations of other legacy EU books I should read next when I finish these (aside from the related novels to these), feel free!