On 6/9/2020 at 11:30 AM, Gannan said:

I have it as my second favorite book by Stephen King. 11/22/63 is my absolute favorite. I am probably the only hard core Stephen King fan that doesn't like the Dark Tower. I've tried 3 times to read "The Gunslinger" and I just can't get into it. It's too weird and there's nothing remotely interesting about Roland or the Man in Black or any of the other characters. If I had read it without the cover, I would have never in a million years guessed it was written by King. It's unlike any of his other books. The writing lacks the depth and detail of his other work. 

Really like this one as well.

Currently, I am reading Full Throttle - short stories by SK's son Joe Hill.  

On 6/9/2020 at 9:37 AM, mikemack8 said:

Highly recommend The Passage trilogy by Justin Cronin if you're into those post apocalyptic themed books - this one is with vampires

I tried that years ago and couldn't get into the first book even though that genre is right up my alley. I think I'll probably give it another try at some point. For the post apocalypse fans, Alas, Babylon and One Second After are two really good, realistic ones.

I'm currently on my second read of the Game of Thrones series. I'm on Clash of Kings right now. I agree that the first 3 books in the series are easily the best, but I like the last two as well. GRRM got overly ambitious with too many characters, and I think that's why he's struggling now, but if he can manage to pull it all the intricate storylines together in a satisfying way, the series will be a complete masterpiece. Doubt he'll finish the series, but I'm still holding out hope.

On 6/8/2020 at 8:18 PM, Green_Guinness said:

There's a series called The Iron Druid by Kevin Hearne if you like fantasy.  Set in current time, but has loads of mythological characters from all cultures.  

Another one is a series called The Hallows by Kim Harrison.  All her titles are a twist on Clint Eastwood films.  For instance:  The Good, The Bad And The Undead.  It's an underlying ongoing story from book to book, but each book has its own individual story.  

Morgan Llywelyn meshes Irish history with fictional characters to create stories across the centuries.  From the Irish folk heroes like Finn MacCool to Brian Boru to the 1916 Easter Rising through Bloody Sunday of 1972.  She also co-wrote a couple books with Michael Scott called Silverlight and Silverhand, The Arcana Books I and II.  Total fantasy, no reference to historical or mythological figures.

And if for some reason you want to feel like you've aged 25 years I suggest Leon Uris' Trinity.  A tale that spans from 1887 to 1914 in Ireland about the division of Ireland - Northern Ireland, the building of the IRB and IRA and the build up to the Easter rising in 1916.  That book has multiple stories all going on at once.  

 

If you're a Michael Scott fan, I'd recommend "Threat Level Midnight." Lots of twists and turns.

On 6/9/2020 at 7:02 AM, sameaglesfan said:

I just finished powering my way through the Game of Thrones books.  The first three books were passably entertaining; the last two complete garbage.  Too many characters, too much aimless wandering about - like the Talking Heads said - [they're] on a road to nowhere.

 

On 6/9/2020 at 11:33 AM, Gannan said:

The only one I didn't like was "A Feast for Crows". Originally That book and "A Dance With Dragons" were one manuscript, but the publisher said it was way too long. So he split the books by characters. Feast for Crows just happened to focus on most of the characters I don't find very interesting. 

These books definitely have their slow, annoying parts but I'm of the mindset that

Euron is the main antagonist of the series and is going to cause havoc and off some main characters if/when this story ever returns, so for that alone I now enjoy and appreciate the Iron Islands chapters and gaining as much insight to Euron as possible.

2 hours ago, sameaglesfan said:

Currently, I am reading Full Throttle - short stories by SK's son Joe Hill.  

how is it. I also didn't get passed whichever gunslinger was the train one. just wasn't for me. 

sidenote: though a mess, Matthew McConaughey should be the only actor ever considered for the darkman/randall flag character. 

Why we sleep by Matthew Walker is a great read on the importance of sleep and recommend it to everyone 

1 hour ago, DaEagles4Life said:

Why we sleep by Matthew Walker is a great read on the importance of sleep and recommend it to everyone 

i'll combine the two and give you Sleep Over: An Oral History of the Apocalypse

 

So have read most of the larger fantasy epic series out there, but for some reason I never got around to reading The Black Company. It’s kind of nice to have something so awesome to read for the first time. Amazing series and would be a kick ass show