What are you reading at the moment?

[Sampson]

23 minutes ago, Zear0 said:

Not read Mistborn but I didn’t long ago finish Stormlight Archive. First two books were unbelievable and then it tailed off sadly. Bit of a slog but worth it overall.

Yeah one of my friends is doing the Stormlight Archives at the moment, he already loves Mistborn and a few of Sanderson's standalone novels.

 

The Stormlight Archives are a big commitment hough, all of the books in it are between 1,000-1,300 pages each, so Mistborn seems like the much more accessible series of the 2 of them.

Edited 23 June by Sampson

[Sampson]

Tress of the Emerald Sea was really good, will have to read more Sanderson for sure.

 

Next up, Traitor's Blade by Sebastian de Castell. The first in the Greatcoats series. Got this one out the library on recommendation of a friend.

[Sampson]

Traitor's Blade was good fun. Great banter and good swashbuckling adventure 3 musketeers type story. Happy to read the other 3 books in the series at some point.

 

Going back to doing another series now though, so starting the Hyperion Cantos by Dan Simmons tomorrow. I know there's a couple of fans on here, so looking forward to it.

[Sampson]

Hyperion was fantastic. Hadn't realised Hyperion and tge Fall of Hyperion were originally meant to be one book, so hadn't expect the tongue-in-cheek non-ending, but made me want to start reading Fall of Hyperion straight away.

[Sampson]

Enjoyed Fall of Hyperion a lot, not quite as good as Hyperion, but given me a great idea for a D&D campaign.

 

Next up, The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula Le Guin.

[Zear0]

20 hours ago, Sampson said:

Enjoyed Fall of Hyperion a lot, not quite as good as Hyperion, but given me a great idea for a D&D campaign.

 

Next up, The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula Le Guin.

Left Hand of Darkness is brilliant.

 

Sure you have, but you read The First Law trilogy?

[Sampson]

1 minute ago, Zear0 said:

Left Hand of Darkness is brilliant.

 

Sure you have, but you read The First Law trilogy?

No I haven't but Abercrombie is high up on my list. One of my friends is reading the Devils right now and was just telling me about it on Wednesday.

 

I only properly got back into reading towards the end of last year so have so many sci-fi/fantasy series and standalone to catch up on. Slowly making my way through my local library's entire sci-fi/fantasy section haha.

[Zear0]

51 minutes ago, Sampson said:

No I haven't but Abercrombie is high up on my list. One of my friends is reading the Devils right now and was just telling me about it on Wednesday.

 

I only properly got back into reading towards the end of last year so have so many sci-fi/fantasy series and standalone to catch up on. Slowly making my way through my local library's entire sci-fi/fantasy section haha.

Making good progress!

[Sampson]

32 minutes ago, Zear0 said:

Making good progress!

Yeah, reading fiction has pretty much completely replaced previous tv and computer time for me now, which has been grear for my mental health.

 

Still want to the do Mistborn, the Expanse, Children of Time and the Green Bone saga at some point too. As well as a few other standalones and continue with the Hyperion Cantos and the Greatcoats series I started.

Edited 24 July by Sampson

[Trav Le Bleu]

Operation Bounce House by Matt Dinniman.

 

Not in the Dungeon Crawler Carl series, this is a standard alone book with a similar feeling.

 

It's about a remote colony on a distant planet who finds that Earth wants them gone. To do these they're sending remotely piloted mechs which are being marketed on Earth as part of a game.

 

It's almost an inverse DCC book. So far enjoying it, though only 50 pages in.

[Sampson]

22 minutes ago, Trav Le Bleu said:

Operation Bounce House by Matt Dinniman.

 

Not in the Dungeon Crawler Carl series, this is a standard alone book with a similar feeling.

 

It's about a remote colony on a distant planet who finds that Earth wants them gone. To do these they're sending remotely piloted mechs which are being marketed on Earth as part of a game.

 

It's almost an inverse DCC book. So far enjoying it, though only 50 pages in.

I enjoyed it, its not as good as DCC, but it was a fun concept and a great final stetch.  Like you say has similar themes as DCC around AI and tech-based capitalism, but done in a different enough way that it doesnt just feel like DCCunder another name. He's definitely one of the best at creatively satirising modern gaming and internet culture without looking down his nose at it, and probably one of those authors ill read almost anything of in the future. .

 

Not really interested in his older stuff as his writing was clearly a bit rough still in the first DCC book but came on along way as tje series went on. Saw an interview recently where he's currently writing another standalone set in a petting zoo alongside DCC book 9.

Edited 26 July by Sampson

[Samilktray]

Currently reading Angels with dirty faces by Jonathan Wilson 

[Trav Le Bleu]

On 26/07/2026 at 08:54, Sampson said:

I enjoyed it, its not as good as DCC, but it was a fun concept and a great final stetch.  Like you say has similar themes as DCC around AI and tech-based capitalism, but done in a different enough way that it doesnt just feel like DCCunder another name. He's definitely one of the best at creatively satirising modern gaming and internet culture without looking down his nose at it, and probably one of those authors ill read almost anything of in the future. .

 

Not really interested in his older stuff as his writing was clearly a bit rough still in the first DCC book but came on along way as tje series went on. Saw an interview recently where he's currently writing another standalone set in a petting zoo alongside DCC book 9.

Of course, Operation Bounce House is fiction. This however...

 

Russian Drone Appears to Target Civilian 

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn4n03xg981o

 

Is scarily real. 

 

What has humanity become?

 

 

[Sampson]

1 hour ago, Trav Le Bleu said:

Of course, Operation Bounce House is fiction. This however...

 

Russian Drone Appears to Target Civilian 

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn4n03xg981o

 

Is scarily real. 

 

What has humanity become?

 

 

Yes it's a great book. That Norwegian teenager who got found guilty tge other day and the BBC article about how people linked to the Iranian government are hiring teenage boys to do hits for them across Northern Europe by making it seem like a video game mission by sending video game like maps and instructions also reminded me of Operation Bounce House.

[DennisNedry]

Prisoners of Geography 

[boots60]

Have dug out my copy of Kevin Keegans autobiography. Working class Yorkshireman who after playing for his works team & Sunday league pub side got his dream move to S****horpe!

3 years later signed for Liverpool & the rest is history.

A humble man & entertaining read.

R.I.P Kevin Keegan.

Edited 5 August by boots60

[boots60]

Why won't it let me say S****horpe?!!

[Trav Le Bleu]

 

1 hour ago, boots60 said:

Why won't it let me say S****horpe?!!

This was a problem last time we were in League One.

[Officer Doofy]

[Number 6]

Was struggling through this year but have had a decent run lately.

 

The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones. Historical fiction set around the Marias Massacre in 1870. Native American tale with Vampires. Great fun with a few different timelines. 

 

Red Rising by Pierce Brown. Was surprised the reviews for this were as positive as they were. It's a light read but felt a lot like riffing on Hunger Games/ Battle Royale to me.

 

Erasure by Percival Everett. What a book. A black author, fairly unsuccessful, apparently due to his novels not being black enough. Set around a whole set of family events and told sort of journal style so we get odd musings interspersed. The work of a genius.

[Guest]

Been using my work breaks and time before bed to get back into the habit recently - read and enjoyed Call for the Dead by John le Carré, Stasiland by Anna Funder and How to Win the Premier League by Ian Graham.

[Stopharage]

On the other forum I frequent, I always do a post with some of that month’s Kindle deals - every book is 99p unless stated otherwise. That forum used the same Invision forum software, so was just a case of copy and pasting over.
 

If it’s of use, I’ll copy the post into here each month. To speed up the process I just copy the descriptions from Amazon, hence the rather waffly links. 
 

Titles with asterisks next to them are books I’ve recommended. 
 

No affiliate links. Also, if you’re (quite rightly) avoiding using Amazon, the Kobo versions will normally be the same price for the month. 

 

Jingo: (Discworld Novel 21) (Discworld series) by Terry Pratchett

 

Dodger by Terry Pratchett

 

A Short Stay in Hell: The life-changing, existential novella readers can’t stop talking about by Steven L. Peck *

 

The Greek Myths: The Complete and Definitive Edition by Robert Graves

 

All the Colours of the Dark by Chris Whitaker *

 

Dead in the Water: Murder and Fraud in the World's Most Secretive Industry by Matthew Campbell (Author), Kit Chellel (Author)  *

 

Sea of Tranquility: The Instant Sunday Times Bestseller from the Author of Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel *

 

The Make-Believe: 'Extraordinary. Like nothing I have ever read before' Dolly Alderton by Hannah Murray

 

The Wall: The gripping dystopian cult classic (Vintage Earth) by Marlen Haushofer

 

How to Win the Premier League: The Sunday Times Bestselling Inside Story of Football's Data Revolution by Ian Graham 

 

Fight Club: A Cult Classic Satire of Masculinity and Modern Consumerism by Chuck Palahniuk

 

The Lost City of Z: A Legendary British Explorer's Deadly Quest to Uncover the Secrets of the Amazon by David Grann *

 

Educated by Tara Westover

 

Incidents Around the House: Soon to be a major motion picture, Other Mommy, starring Jessica Chastain! by Josh Malerman

 

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow: The perfect beach read and million-copy bestseller by Gabrielle Zevin

 

The Remains of the Day (FF Classics) by Kazuo Ishiguro

 

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

 

The Road: a post-apocalyptic classic and winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction (Picador Classic) by Cormac McCarthy *

 

Humankind: A Hopeful History – from the presenter of the 2025 BBC ‘Moral Revolution’ Reith lectures by Rutger Bregman £2.59 *

 

The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness by Jonathan Haidt

 

Trustee from the Toolroom (Vintage Classics) by Nevil Shute

 

Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto (Author),

 

Long Island: An unputdownable, searing love story – the Sunday Times bestselling sequel to Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín

 

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (Penguin Modern Classics) by John le Carré

 

Even the Good Girls Will Cry: My 90s Rock Memoir by Melissa Auf der Maur £2.59

 

The Traitors Circle: THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER by Jonathan Freedland

 

Play Nice: The Rise, Fall, and Future Of Blizzard Entertainment by Jason Schreier £3.99

 

The God is Not Willing: The First Tale of Witness by Steven Erikson

 

Inside: Winning, Losing and Starting Again: The new Sunday Times Top Ten Bestselling memoir by tennis legend by Boris Becker 

 

Clytemnestra: The spellbinding retelling of Greek mythology’s greatest heroine by Costanza Casati

 

Wicked!: The deliciously irreverent book in the steamy romance series by the Sunday Times bestselling author of Rivals (Rutshire Chronicles 8) by Jilly Cooper 

 

Us: The Booker Prize-longlisted novel of last-chance love from the author of ONE DAY and YOU ARE HERE by David Nicholls

 

The Last Murder at the End of the World: The Number One Sunday Times bestseller by Stuart Turton *

 

The Trees: From the Booker Prize-shortlisted author of James by Percival Everett *

 

A Fine Balance: The epic modern classic by Rohinton Mistry £1.99

 

Defiant: The Fourth Skyward Novel by Brandon Sanderson

 

John and Paul: A Love Story in Songs – The #1 Sunday Times Bestseller by Ian Leslie £3.79

 

When the Going Was Good: An Editor's Adventures During the Last Golden Age of Magazines by Graydon Carter £1.99

 

Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen

 

Engulfed: How Saudi Arabia Bought Sport, and the World: SHORTLISTED FOR THE WILLIAM HILL PRIZE AND SPORTS BOOKS AWARDS by James Montague

 

Box Office Poison: Hollywood's Story in a Century of Flops by Tim Robey £2.89

 

The Revolutionists: The Story of the Extremists Who Hijacked the 1970s (SHORTLISTED FOR THE BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE 2025) by Jason Burke

 

The Green Mile: The iconic horror masterpiece by Stephen King

 

Cloud Atlas: The epic bestseller, shortlisted for the Booker Prize by David Mitchell

 

The Anomaly: The Mind-Twisting Thriller with Over a Million Copies Sold - A Must-Read for Fans of SEVERANCE by Hervé Le Tellier

 

Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know by Adam Grant 

 

Be Careful What You Wish For: The ultimate book for every football fan by Simon Jordan 

 

Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace (Novelisations Book 5) by Terry Brooks

 

Lost Boys: A Personal Journey Through the Manosphere by James Bloodworth

 

HH: Helenio Herrera – Football’s Original Master of the Dark Arts by Richard Fitzpatrick £3.99

 

Weber's Barbecue Bible by Jamie Purviance

 

The Wall: LONGLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE 2019 by John Lanchester

 

My Thoughts Exactly: Lily Allen's Brutally Honest Tell-All Memoir by Lily Allen *

 

Crying in H Mart: The No. 1 New York Times bestselling memoir from indie rockstar Japanese Breakfast by Michelle Zauner

 

The Galaxy, and the Ground Within: Wayfarers 4 by Becky Chambers

 

Nothing But The Truth: Dark Humour and Shocking Truths Learned from a Life in the Law by The Secret Barrister

 

God Is Not Great by Christopher Hitchens

 

The Future: The electric new novel from the Women’s Prize-winning, bestselling author of The Power by Naomi Alderman

 

Perdido Street Station by China Miéville

 

Anathem by Neal Stephenson

 

Judgement: The brutally honest memoir from N'Dubz star, Tulisa by Tulisa Contostavlos

 

Putin’s People: The Sunday Times Bestselling Expose of Modern Russian Politics and History by Catherine Belton 

 

The Peripheral: Now a major new TV series with Amazon Prime by William Gibson

 

Towards the End of the Morning by Michael Frayn £2.29

 

The Hidden Seasons: The ultimate guide to reading the clues and signs of nature's calendar all year round: perfect summer reading for nature lovers by Tristan Gooley

 

Godfall by Van Jensen

 

After Dark by Haruki Murakami

 

Until August: The extraordinary lost novel from the Nobel Prize-winning author of One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez 

 

Going Nuclear: How the Atom Will Save the Planet by Tim Gregory (

 

Service Model: A funny, dystopian tale for fans of Douglas Adams, shortlisted for Best Novel at the Hugo Awards by Adrian Tchaikovsky

Edited 9 August by Stopharage

[OnlyOneCity]

Private Beijing by James Patterson. Also love any Jack Higgins books featuring Sean Dillon. Superb thrillers by both authors.

[Raj]

Kane and Abel by Jeffrey Archer.

It's actually a really good read so far!

[Samilktray]

Just started Stephen Fry’s Oddysey after watching the film earlier today at the cinema. Might do a bit of a deep dive into this stuff so any recommendations for fictional books relating to greek mythology will be appreciated.