Books. For the literati among us.

CCMore said:
I’ve been meaning to read the series. Where do I start? The first book or the prequel or somewhere else entirely lol
Click to expand...
I never read the prequel. I would start with the first book which is a fine intro to the series. I expect the prequel might work better when you have read at least some of the books.

I'll also note that the first book starts off very derivative/evocative of Tolkien. That diminishes somewhat even within the first book and definitely as the series progresses. It is very original and its own thing, even if it is based on the trope of an evil lord who was defeated in a prior age returning and being opposed in accordance with various prophecies.
 
CCMore said:
I’ve been meaning to read the series. Where do I start? The first book or the prequel or somewhere else entirely lol
Click to expand...
Agree with mgarbowski to start with Ender's Game. Though full disclosure I have never read the prequels before this go around.

Here is the order I am doing:
  1. Ender's Game
  2. Speaker for the Dead
  3. Xenocide
  4. Children of the Mind
  5. Ender in Exile - could certainly move this up to #2
Then the next series:
  1. Ender's Shadow
  2. Shadow of the Hegemon
  3. Shadow Puppets
  4. Shadow of the Giant
  5. Shadows in Flight
  6. The Last Shadow
Then the prequel series:
  1. Earth Unaware
  2. Earth Afire
  3. Earth Awakens
  4. The Swarm
  5. The Hive
 
FootyLovin said:
Agree with mgarbowski to start with Ender's Game. Though full disclosure I have never read the prequels before this go around.

Here is the order I am doing:
  1. Ender's Game
  2. Speaker for the Dead
  3. Xenocide
  4. Children of the Mind
  5. Ender in Exile - could certainly move this up to #2
Then the next series:
  1. Ender's Shadow
  2. Shadow of the Hegemon
  3. Shadow Puppets
  4. Shadow of the Giant
  5. Shadows in Flight
  6. The Last Shadow
Then the prequel series:
  1. Earth Unaware
  2. Earth Afire
  3. Earth Awakens
  4. The Swarm
  5. The Hive
Click to expand...
I thought he was asking about Wheel of Time, but glad we still agree lol.
 
Well the confusion worked for me as well, as I've never read anything but Ender's Game in that series and maybe I will continue on.

The ending of Ender's Game kind of soured me on the book, which I absolutely enjoyed until then. I respect the message it tried to convey, but I thought it came out of nowhere and didn't seem earned enough. I felt as if Card was saying "Aha! You never considered this, did you? You need to be better." and I responded "No, because you never gave me any information that would justify that."
OK maybe someone in universe should think outside the box on that point but a reader can only work with what's included.
 
Gotham Gator said:
This conversation has reminded me to ask about Stephen King’s Dark Tower series. Has anyone read it? Is it any good?
Click to expand...
I believe the series is wildly popular but my experience is that The Gunslinger is the only Stephen King (or Richard Bachman) novel I abandoned part way through. I've probably read about 15-20, some twice. But I think I'm an outlier on this.
 
CCMore said:
I was indeed asking about wheel of time, but having an Ender’s game read list works for me too!
Click to expand...
For wheel of time, definitely start with book 1. I didn’t think the prequel added much, but if you do want to read it, publication order seems to be the consensus (so between books 10&11).

I read it between 12&13, which worked out because the prologue of 13 starts with one of the prequel characters
 
Gotham Gator said:
This conversation has reminded me to ask about Stephen King’s Dark Tower series. Has anyone read it? Is it any good?
Click to expand...
I’m a gigantic Dark Tower fan. Absolutely loved most of the series and that’s where I’ll give my warnings. Things to keep in mind is that he wrote these books over decades so his style changed a lot in it. The first three books are easily my favorites. For me the issues arise in that after he got hit by a car he rushed to complete the series and I feel like books 5 and 6 are the weakest. But I did really enjoy the final book and how it ended. I thought the ending was perfect. So, worth it? Yes. A slog in the middle that will occasionally make you go WTF? Also yes.
 
The Dark Tower.

I just finished book 1. Can anyone who has read the series give me a vote if confidence on continuing? After one book I’m just not particularly interested and wondering if I’m missing something special. I mean I know this series is beloved by many King fans. I just don’t get it at this point.
 
FootyLovin said:
The Dark Tower.

I just finished book 1. Can anyone who has read the series give me a vote if confidence on continuing? After one book I’m just not particularly interested and wondering if I’m missing something special. I mean I know this series is beloved by many King fans. I just don’t get it at this point.
Click to expand...
I tried to get into it a couple of times when I was younger but it never took.
 
FootyLovin said:
The Dark Tower.

I just finished book 1. Can anyone who has read the series give me a vote if confidence on continuing? After one book I’m just not particularly interested and wondering if I’m missing something special. I mean I know this series is beloved by many King fans. I just don’t get it at this point.
Click to expand...
I’m a gigantic fan of the series. King took a long break in between each book so it has different styles. I recommend it, however I will warn you that books 5, 6, and 7 were written quickly after he was recovering from getting hit by a car. 5 and 6 are his weakest books but I think the ending of 7 was fantastic.
 
RunningWise said:
I’m a gigantic fan of the series. King took a long break in between each book so it has different styles. I recommend it, however I will warn you that books 5, 6, and 7 were written quickly after he was recovering from getting hit by a car. 5 and 6 are his weakest books but I think the ending of 7 was fantastic.
Click to expand...
Oh man. Thanks for the review. Though frankly I had forgotten there were 7 books. I was struggling to convince myself to keep going thinking there were only 3 books. I don't know if I can keep trying with 6 more books to go. Oy.
 
The Dungeon Crawler Carl series has been consuming almost all of my reading time this year. I'm up to most recent book (#7) and it's over-the-top fun. The audiobooks are incredible because the narrator does great voices and there's some production done too.

Ever since my commute changed after the pandemic, I've found audiobooks are the best way for me to actually go through books. I don't have the same downtime as before. I'll sometimes borrow the book from the library or purchase it if it's something I want to keep. Then if I have a moment to sit and read, I'll either do that and skip ahead in the audiobook, or listen and read along (helps with spelling of names and such).

What's everyone's take on audiobooks?
 
My wife, daughter and mother love them. I don't use audiobooks, because (and I swear I'm not being a smart ass here) I'll fall asleep listening. Guaranteed.
I can say this, because this is what happens when I listen to podcasts. I settle down.... Start listening to a podcast.... And within a few minutes, zzzzzzzzz.
Every time.
 
Gene said:
My wife, daughter and mother love them. I don't use audiobooks, because (and I swear I'm not being a smart ass here) I'll fall asleep listening. Guaranteed.
I can say this, because this is what happens when I listen to podcasts. I settle down.... Start listening to a podcast.... And within a few minutes, zzzzzzzzz.
Every time.
Click to expand...
Ah, yeah, I can understand that. I normally listen when I'm doing something like mowing the lawn, doing the dishes, driving, etc. Something I don't have to think about too much.
 
LostAnvil said:
What's everyone's take on audiobooks?
Click to expand...
Never listened before this year. Started listening while running because my runs started to outlast my podcasts. Also hated dealing with the commercial breaks in podcasts while running.

Now I find that I love them. I've only listened to a few, but really enjoyed them and found them exceptionally effective in melting away the miles on the road.
 
FootyLovin said:
Never listened before this year. Started listening while running because my runs started to outlast my podcasts. Also hated dealing with the commercial breaks in podcasts while running.

Now I find that I love them. I've only listened to a few, but really enjoyed them and found them exceptionally effective in melting away the miles on the road.
Click to expand...
Similarly, I started regularly listening to audiobooks while rucking. I mostly do histories. I think I'm going to get through 8-10 this year.
 
Last edited:
mgarbowski said:
Similarly, I started regularly listening to audiobooks while rucking. I mostly do histories. I think I'm going to get through 8-10 this year.
Click to expand...
Wow. After the podcast discussion I thought for sure you were a hard no on audiobooks.

ETA. Since you mentioned histories. I very much enjoyed Unbroken, by Laura Hillenbrand, as an audiobook.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top