I think Pierce Brown’s writing style didn’t jive well with me. I had a hard time imagining the settings, which is more than likely a me problem. I think I could have benefitted from a bit more world building so I can properly imagine these futuristic cities and various settings but I think this is harder to do in a story that is entirely from a first person point of view. What the books did well were the action sequences and twists. Never felt that it was predictable.
2 Likes
I started off with Meditations by Marcus Aurelius but I always found it to be too heavy. The concepts need a lot of understanding for me and I feel I am missing the messages that are being conveyed. I have switched to learning about Discourses by Epictetus and it has been with me for almost a year or more. I am a very slow reader and it takes a while for me to digest things like this.
I also started with The Elements of Moral Philosophy. It is the most recommend textbook that covers fairly large concepts on philosophy and is pretty great read for a newbie like me.
I also want to tag @lookaclara because I know this is a topic that she would definitely be interested in.
Cheers!
9 Likes
This is next on my reading list when I find a copy!
2 Likes
I haven’t but that sounds right up my alley! Thanks for the suggestion. I’ll check it out!
2 Likes
Reply back when you give it a read! I’d love to hear your thoughts!
2 Likes
So many new wave authors, a lot of talent. If your after world building then Stephen Donaldson’s ‘The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant” series rivals Tolkien, but better again is the Expanse or Culture series, Yes, there are many more.
2 Likes
Several other people have recommended books by Brandon Sanderson and I’m definitely a big fan. The Stormlight Archive is amazing, but you get so much more out of it by reading other cosmere books first (the original era Mistborn books are also very good). My favorite Sanderson book might actually be a standalone Cosmere novel -Warbreaker! It’s got all of the regular masterful world building of a Sanderson book with a very unique magic system and it’s slightly less dense for those who find Stormlight intimidating.
Recently I’ve been reading the Realm of the Elderlings series by Robin Hobb. I found it to be a slow start, but I enjoyed the first two trilogies and now that I’m on the Tawny Man series I’ve had trouble putting them down!
5 Likes
Thanks, will order it later today! 
(No idea when I’ll read it, though - but one day.) There aren’t too many standalone fantasy books. And since I enjoyed the first three books I’ve read of the Mistborn series, a standalone fantasy from Sanderson sounds great tbh.
Greetz,
Quuador
2 Likes
Glad I could recommend something that at least has some promise! Haha, if you do get along to reading it definitely let me know what you think!
*Also full disclosure the book is setup so that it could have something added on, but I feel like it is fulfilling by itself and if you’re ever desperate for more there may be some references in other Cosmere novels.
3 Likes
This Is Water was the last audiobook I re-listened to this year, and it has remained a good piece ever since I first read an excerpt in another book about a decade ago. It’s long overdue for me to check out his other work, so thank you for sharing those recommendations.
Cheers,
Adhi
3 Likes
i come back to “this is water” on about a yearly basis, he’s a complicated person and i try not to lionize him but i rlly appreciate what he had to say about staying grounded and getting out of the default settings (selfish, solipsistic, etc). i consider myself to be a pretty empathetic person but nobody is perfect, so it’s good to have a periodic refresher
i would definitely like to hear what you think of those others!!
2 Likes
I honestly listened to it during particularly hard days this year, to remind myself to choose how to think. At this point, it’s become a familiar piece to return to from time to time, in what DFW called “the boredom of adulthood.”
I’ll come back to you once I’ve read his other work!
Cheers,
Adhi
3 Likes
Recently I’ve been reading war books and you can’t ever go wrong with amazing stories like unbroken
Also for all the Harry Potter readers, Harry is supposed to have green eyes like his mother in the book and that’s kike a whole thing with Snape but has blue eyes in the movies and I haven’t been able to forget it since I saw it and it annoys the crap out of me so there’s a random spheal
5 Likes
I have both Mistborn and Stormlight Archives in my backlog. Do you recommend reading any other Cosmere books outside of the Mistborn series and Warbreaker before jumping into Stormlight?
2 Likes
Oh snap! I read the first 3 back in high school. Such great books, had no clue there were more!!
1 Like
I think the first era of Mistborn and Warbreaker would be my minimum. There could also be some benefit from reading Elantris, but it isn’t my favorite Sanderson book, so I’d recommend that after Mistborn at least. Tress of the Emerald Seas is also a standalone, but I haven’t actually read that one so I can’t speak to how it integrates. I also enjoyed White Sand if you’re looking for something totally random, haha. Honestly you could read nothing but Sanderson for a year plus so it depends on how committed you want to be. Personally, I’d start with Warbreaker or Mistborn and go from there.
3 Likes
Cool! Thanks for recommendation. I was planning on reading Mistborn before Stormlight Archives anyway so I’ll add Warbreaker and maybe Elantis to that list. I know Elantis is one of his earliest books so it probably isn’t as well written but I’d like to check it out anyway
2 Likes
Happy to help and let you know when you think of them! Honestly I still enjoyed the story and premise of Elantris quite a bit, it’s just not quite as well written. But I’m usually happy with most books I read. 
2 Likes
Two of my favourite books, one as a kid and one as an adult. I’ve read the captain bluebear as an adult too and it was still very pleasant reading experience. Not sure if anyone has even heard of Sinuhe the Egyptian as it’s a finnish book, i’m not sure how it’s translated but the historical use of language and the work the writer Mika Waltari made to give it very authentic historical touch is really unique and something to admire
5 Likes
I just finished it! I enjoyed it, there’s some great thinking points (or not thinking 
) in there. Especially poignant with how wild and busy the world is today.
It could be a really quick read, but I made myself read it over a week or so to make sure I was processing each chapter.
Thank you for the recomendation!
3 Likes