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[Happosai]

Believe it or not these are not manga...The Slayers were originally written as novels. I used to read these between classes during college. Hajime Kanzaka once said that he wrote these based on his enjoyment playing Dungeons and dragons. They read well and I'm thinking of reading through them again.

 

[teezzy]

I feel like I'm getting dumber during quarantine. Time to change that.

 

[Happosai]

I feel like I'm getting dumber during quarantine. Time to change that.

Well, actually reading about economics can be a fun way to learn about how modern foreign trade has been progressing. I read this in 2009 and it was written in 2005; however, much is still relevant.

 

[FreedomOfSpeech]

Finished Win Bigly by Scott Adams and started Lolita. Also slogging away through Thus Spake Zarathustra.. it's tough.

 

[Hakiroto]

I just finished a short poetry book called Inquire Within. I've never, at least as an adult, read a poetry book but I heard an interview with this guy and really loved his work. I recommend listening to the book on Audible as he narrates his work exactly as it was meant to be.

 

[bad guy]

Got myself an used copy of Robinson Crusoe. The pages are old and yellow which fits the story.

 

[ESPOMAN]

I am around halfway done with 11/22/63. It is taking me a bit longer to read than I would like but whatever. Next I will read Mythology by Edith Hamilton because I think it is interesting.

 

[IDKFA]

Slightly shocking that this thread only has five pages at the time of writing. You should all be reading more, people! At least a book a week.

To be honest, I forget about this thread and admit I should be posting here more often. At least once a week

Anyway, I've just finished this book. An extremely interesting read. Not just because it discusses ways to scientifically prevent the ageing process, but also because of the philosophical and moral questions that arise from this. Highly recommended.

 

[snowamaonka]

Santa Muerte Salon - Viktor Khorunzhy

 

[Elpidio Valdés]

I'm slowly making my way through "Crime and Punishment". After going on a Dan Brown binge and reading all the Robert Langdon novels, loved all of them." Origins" was the weakest but it was still enjoyable. I'm finding Dostoevsky to be a bit of a tough read. The crazy Russian names are just confusing me to no end and his style of writing is unique to say the least. But I shall persevere.

 

[BigBooper]

Slightly shocking that this thread only has five pages at the time of writing. You should all be reading more, people! At least a book a week.

To be honest, I forget about this thread and admit I should be posting here more often. At least once a week

Anyway, I've just finished this book. An extremely interesting read. Not just because it discusses ways to scientifically prevent the ageing process, but also because of the philosophical and moral questions that arise from this. Highly recommended.

I've been negligent myself, only reading a couple of comics, and still a little of The Illustrated Man. Btw, I don't understand comics. I read some Peanuts or newspaper strip comics and like ok, but for deeper graphic novel type books, I'm left wishing it were just a regular book instead.

I've picked up a new ESV Bible too.

 

[FreedomOfSpeech]

Was thinking of reading something by Gad Saad. Anyone got a suggestion?

 

[0neAnd0nly]

I know plenty watch James Bond...
But anybody here read them? Casino Royale by Ian Fleming is a FANTASTIC read. Brutal, and a lot of fun, even if you have seen the movie.

 

[JJMC]

Got these and I'm 2/3rds in on the first book. Really enjoying it so far, the focus on emotions, politics and demeanor is very interesting to me.

 

[teezzy]

Was thinking of reading something by Gad Saad. Anyone got a suggestion?

I have The Parasitic Mind on an Amazon list once I read through all the new crap I already bought.

 

[ESPOMAN]

I am going to finish 11/22/63 either tonight or tomorrow. Next I will read the 1818 version of Frankenstein. I was going to read Mythology but I found a website that has all of the stories and whatever translated so I will just look at that.

 

[IDKFA]

Slightly shocking that this thread only has five pages at the time of writing. You should all be reading more, people! At least a book a week.

To be honest, I forget about this thread and admit I should be posting here more often. At least once a week

Anyway, I've just finished this book. An extremely interesting read. Not just because it discusses ways to scientifically prevent the ageing process, but also because of the philosophical and moral questions that arise from this. Highly recommended.

I promised to post here at least once a week and here I am. I finished the above book, although it left me with lot of questions around the morality of becoming biologically immortal. Definitely recommend read for anybody interested in ageing.

Anyway, on to this week's book.

I normally alternate between fiction and nonfiction, but this week I couldn't resist diving into this fascinating book. You're probably wondering how a book about fungi could be even slightly interesting. I also wondered the same, yet it's probably one of the best nonfiction books I've read this year.

I knew fungi were more than just mushrooms, but this book is blowing my mind and making me look at fungi in a completely new way. I'll let you know how I feel about it when I return to the thread next week.

 

[teezzy]

About as funny as I expected it to be, this is worth a read. Adam makes some great points here. Admittedly I'm a sucker for angry middle aged man rants, and a regular listener of Adam's podcast.

Still, this book had me laughing out loud more often than most. Occasionally some jokes will fall flat, and you'll kind of feel like Adam thinks he's more clever than he is or hes rambling like a disconnected celebrity, but these moments are few and far between as theres usually rescued by a much more biting section a few paragraphs down which will have you howling again.

Good easy reading here. Perfect for today's climate

 

[Hakiroto]

I just finished the quick read of Animal Farm and I'm about to start Flowers for Algernon.

 

[Grinchy]

I've been really slowing down on the Dark Tower series again. I'm about to finish the 5th book (and I read the 8th before it since it fits chronologically).

It could just be a result of reading them all back-to-back and not having years between them like those who read them while they were being released, but I'm feeling the fatigue. I mean, it's a 4,300 page story, so that's to be expected but I just am starting to feel like things are being stretched unnecessarily in parts. There's kinda no reason for some of these 700-800+ page entries, though I'm still enjoying it enough to want to see where it all goes.

 

[Thurible]

I've recently read a collection of short stories by Kafka and just finished "A Connecticut Yankee in King Authur's Court" by Twain.

I find Kafka's work to be quite strange. Many would describe him as "alienating" or "disorienting" and I can certainly see that perspective. I would describe it as a tad surreal. Much of the stories don't make sense from a literal stand point, and the behavior of the characters are off bizarre. Some of the weirdest tales I read were "Josephine the singer, or the mouse folk" and "A country doctor". Josephine the singer takes place in a world of mouse people. The narrator explains that his people both adore her and hate her. She is the only one of their kind who sings, though in actuality it may be some sort of tooting that all mice do. There are a ton of contradicting opinions of Josephine here, both of reverence and disgust. Her singing is both special and regular, she motivates people but also hinders them. Her disappearance at the end and the seeming indifference of the narrator suggests her role in the lives of these people ultimately does not matter. These mice folk exist only for work and experience hardship nearly all their lives, a singer is a bit of a reprieve, but ultimately unnecessary when survival is all that is on mind.

A country doctor is about a doctor who is about to leave on his carriage to see a patient. The carriage has no horse as his died the previous night. The doctor meets a groomsman in a sty who offers his horses to the doctor for the trip, but he assaults the Doctor's maid and attempts to break into her home. The doctor tries to intervene but he is immediately whisked away to the patient's home. 10 miles is traveled in under a second. He is concerned about going back and helping his maid while the patient's family try to get him to help their son. He dismisses the son as healthy as first but it turns out he is actually gravely ill. As he tries to console the patient and tell him he is fine so he can leave and save the maid, his family undresses the Doctor and puts him into the bed with the son while people sing some strange song about the Doctor. Eventually he gets to the carriage without his clothes but he realizes all is for naught.

 

[Thurible]

With a Connecticut Yankee, I ak constantly reminded of Twain's disdain for anything romantic. He abhors the ideals of chivalry and uses the guise of Hank to express this disdain. The old ways are archaic and evil, modern pragmatism is the way to go. Twain writes on slavery, silly superstition, oppressive hierachies, etc. However, while Hank rejects feudal Europe and tries to invent a modern american republic, it is undeniable that he is changed a little. As twain wrote, people are shaped by their "training" that is, by what is instilled upon them by the people around them. The 6th century people learn a bit from Hank but ultimately retain their ways as they were always taught and conditioned one way, even slaves respect their own role. Hank likewise is a victim of his own training. He believes in technology and democracy, and finds it difficult to think outside those lens. Despite championing such causes, It is interesting to see the utter hypocrisy of Hank. He sees the people of the 6th century as inferiors despite wanting equality. He has changed a bit though, living in a different world and adapting to the system he desires to abolish.

Also, as a catholic I feel a tad weird with all the anti-catholic sentiment in the novel, but I give it a pass. Anyway I find it both amusing and depressing at times. Twain being a humorist wrote several funny jokes and scenarios in the story, but it can also be rather heavy in tone at times. People die in horrible ways, and their families suffer awful fates.

Overall it was a pretty good story.

 

[Deleted member 801069]

I've been really slowing down on the Dark Tower series again. I'm about to finish the 5th book (and I read the 8th before it since it fits chronologically).

It could just be a result of reading them all back-to-back and not having years between them like those who read them while they were being released, but I'm feeling the fatigue. I mean, it's a 4,300 page story, so that's to be expected but I just am starting to feel like things are being stretched unnecessarily in parts. There's kinda no reason for some of these 700-800+ page entries, though I'm still enjoying it enough to want to see where it all goes.

Book 4 was my fav. So good.

 

[IDKFA]

I promised to post here at least once a week and here I am. I finished the above book, although it left me with lot of questions around the morality of becoming biologically immortal. Definitely recommend read for anybody interested in ageing.

Anyway, on to this week's book.

I normally alternate between fiction and nonfiction, but this week I couldn't resist diving into this fascinating book. You're probably wondering how a book about fungi could be even slightly interesting. I also wondered the same, yet it's probably one of the best nonfiction books I've read this year.

I knew fungi were more than just mushrooms, but this book is blowing my mind and making me look at fungi in a completely new way. I'll let you know how I feel about it when I return to the thread next week.

My word.

Entangled Life has now shot on to my top nonfiction book of 2020. Absolutely mind-blowing and has made me look at not only fungi, but the natural world itself in a completely different light. I'm also convinced that 'magic' mushrooms should be legalised. At the very least on medical grounds to treat mental health disorders such as aniexty or depression.

Anyway, on to this week's book.

I felt that I needed to take a step back from nonfiction and dive into some fiction, but not just any fiction. I wanted to read a 20th century classic. A book that was always on my 'must read' list, but I never got round to. So, as a history lover, I decided to read Robert Graves's I, Claudius.

I've been told it is one of the greatest historical fiction books of all time and one of the greatest books of the 20th century, so to say I'm looking forward to diving into this tonight would be a understatement. I'll let you know what I think next week.

 

[Hotty Botty]

Started this one. So far so good.

 

[Hakiroto]

I just finished Flowers for Algernon and I'm about to start The Little Book of Ikigai.

 

[IDKFA]

My word.

Entangled Life has now shot on to my top nonfiction book of 2020. Absolutely mind-blowing and has made me look at not only fungi, but the natural world itself in a completely different light. I'm also convinced that 'magic' mushrooms should be legalised. At the very least on medical grounds to treat mental health disorders such as aniexty or depression.

Anyway, on to this week's book.

I felt that I needed to take a step back from nonfiction and dive into some fiction, but not just any fiction. I wanted to read a 20th century classic. A book that was always on my 'must read' list, but I never got round to. So, as a history lover, I decided to read Robert Graves's I, Claudius.

I've been told it is one of the greatest historical fiction books of all time and one of the greatest books of the 20th century, so to say I'm looking forward to diving into this tonight would be a understatement. I'll let you know what I think next week.

I can't believe this thread has so few pages! Read more people! At least a book a week, minimum!

Anyway, after my finishing the above, I've now moved back to nonfiction. I, Claudius was good. I can't say I totally loved it. It took a while to get into, but overall it was a very good read.

Right, this week's book then

Dan Jones is currently building up a reputation of being one of the all time great historians. A good history book needs to tell a story, but it also needs to be factual at the same time. This is hard balancing act to achieve for a lot of historians, but Dan Jones has always been able to absolutely nail the balance and write absolutely engrossing historical books.

This is the only Dan Jones book I haven't read, which is shocking considering this is an era of history I'm well versed in, but I'm willing to see what fresh take Dan Jones can bring to the table.

The epic War of the Roses. The war that inspired George R R Martin's ASOIAF and some of Shakespeare's greatest plays.

I haven't been this excited to read a book in a long time.

 

[IDKFA]

I can't believe this thread has so few pages! Read more people! At least a book a week, minimum!

Anyway, after my finishing the above, I've now moved back to nonfiction. I, Claudius was good. I can't say I totally loved it. It took a while to get into, but overall it was a very good read.

Right, this week's book then

Dan Jones is currently building up a reputation of being one of the all time great historians. A good history book needs to tell a story, but it also needs to be factual at the same time. This is hard balancing act to achieve for a lot of historians, but Dan Jones has always been able to absolutely nail the balance and write absolutely engrossing historical books.

This is the only Dan Jones book I haven't read, which is shocking considering this is an era of history I'm well versed in, but I'm willing to see what fresh take Dan Jones can bring to the table.

The epic War of the Roses. The war that inspired George R R Martin's ASOIAF and some of Shakespeare's greatest plays.

I haven't been this excited to read a book in a long time.

Am I the only person who reads in this place? I might have to make a thread on the importance of reading to inspire this cultural wasteland.

Anyway, finished Hollow Crown and my word. What a brilliant historical read. I know a lot about the period, but I still learnt something new. The great thing about the book is that it doesn't just focus on the epic battles (Towton for example was an absolute meat grinder of a battle), but focus on the people and the politics of the era. The War of the Roses was actually an inspiration for George RR Martins A Song of Ice and Fire, and you can see that in his work. House York was House Stark. House Lancaster became House Lannister. Rob Stark is absolutely a fantasy version of Edward IV and so on. If you're a fan of Game of Thrones, or just Medieval history in general, then I'd highly recommend this book.

Next.

I'm not looking forward to this. I read Final Empire months ago after being told the Mistborn series was a fantasy classic, but to be honest I found the series a little dry and boring. It certainly didn't need to be as long as it was. I loved the magic system and the world, but there was a lot of padding that didn't need to be there. Also

Spoiler

I thought Kelsier dying the way he did was unintentionally hilarious. The thought of the dark lord bitch slapping him so hard that it tore off half his face and sent him flying had me rolling. Maybe I'm just sick?

Anyway, although I didn't enjoy book one, I need to finish the series. I just hope this be better than the first book.

 

[BigBooper]

Am I the only person who reads in this place?

I go through phases. Earlier this year I didn't game at all and read more. Now, I'm playing games like a madman. I will get back to it, I promise.

 

[IDKFA]

I go through phases. Earlier this year I didn't game at all and read more. Now, I'm playing games like a madman. I will get back to it, I promise.

Good to hear. Sometimes I go through phases, but I made a promise to myself that I would read a book a week in 2020. I'm not going to lapse now!

 

[quickwhips]

I'm reading the dichotomy of leadership right now and it's pretty damn good.

 

[JJMC]

Just finished reading this one regarding W40K and it was decent. Nothing to write home about but entertaining enough, although I think it ends up fizzling out towards the end.

 

[CalmYe]

Really enjoyed this book. It's one of the best Non-Stephen King horror I have read. Has shades of Pet Sematary and it has a story within a story but never gets confusing at all. Very gripping and highly recommended. 5/5.

 

[CalmYe]

I feel like I'm getting dumber during quarantine. Time to change that.

Read this book too if you're still interested:

Doesn't go too much into depth and great if you want overview on economic and social issues of the world. I'd give it a 4/5.

 

[IDKFA]

Am I the only person who reads in this place? I might have to make a thread on the importance of reading to inspire this cultural wasteland.

Anyway, finished Hollow Crown and my word. What a brilliant historical read. I know a lot about the period, but I still learnt something new. The great thing about the book is that it doesn't just focus on the epic battles (Towton for example was an absolute meat grinder of a battle), but focus on the people and the politics of the era. The War of the Roses was actually an inspiration for George RR Martins A Song of Ice and Fire, and you can see that in his work. House York was House Stark. House Lancaster became House Lannister. Rob Stark is absolutely a fantasy version of Edward IV and so on. If you're a fan of Game of Thrones, or just Medieval history in general, then I'd highly recommend this book.

Next.

I'm not looking forward to this. I read Final Empire months ago after being told the Mistborn series was a fantasy classic, but to be honest I found the series a little dry and boring. It certainly didn't need to be as long as it was. I loved the magic system and the world, but there was a lot of padding that didn't need to be there. Also

Spoiler

I thought Kelsier dying the way he did was unintentionally hilarious. The thought of the dark lord bitch slapping him so hard that it tore off half his face and sent him flying had me rolling. Maybe I'm just sick?

Anyway, although I didn't enjoy book one, I need to finish the series. I just hope this be better than the first book.

I've been slacking. After getting through the last book above, which I also found to be an effort to get through, I've been too busy with work to actually sit down with a book. Probably the first time in over a year that I've let my one book a week rule slip.

The Well of Ascension. Can't really say it was any better than the Final Empire to be honest. It wasn't bad, but wasn't great either. Just average. I'm hoping the final book is makes up for the last two.

Anyway, onto the book this week, and since my wife wants to get the Christmas decorations out this weekend, I thought it'd be a good time to reread this absolute classic of English literature.

I've read it twice before, and it's more of a novella than a full blown novel (I believe it clocks in at around 3000 words), but my word. What a read. There is a reason that Dickens was considered a master of his art, and this book certainly confirms that. If you only read one Dickens book in your life, make it this one.

 

[FreedomOfSpeech]

I'm reading Cynical Theories and it's making me very depressed.

Also bought some Camille Paglia books for the future.

 

[FreedomOfSpeech]

Ok I finally finished Cynical Theories.

It started with "We reject Social Justice, because we care about social justice".

It ended with "We deny that any approach that assumes a problem to exist (say, in a systematic way) and then searches "critically" to find proof of it, is of any significant worth".

I started reading it because I wanted to understand this sjw shit better, because it felt very wrong to me, but I was unable to articulate why.

Now, after reading the book I feel confident that I can verbally pwn any SJW. They are peddling horseshit after all.

 

[Arkam]

Did some traveling before and over the holiday and as a result knocked out a few books.


The Storm Before the Calm - George Friedman (2020)

An absolute must read for Americans IMO. Makes some very well founded cases on how the US is about to have a reckoning due to two cycles more or less aligning. To make his case Friedman does a fantastic job explaining the previous cycles, what precipitated them and how they in turn create the next problem. He does a superb job putting a lot of historical events in perspective and uses that logic to predict what will happen this time. It is really a great "follow up" if you read Friedman's 2009 work "The Next 100 years". Ten years later Friedman's predictions still hold steady. For those who are too lazy, the tl;dr is that shit is about to get a lot worse for next 8-12 years, but then be calm and prosperous for the following 50 years. And more importantly nothing that makes America, America is really going to change. Just how we execute against that foundation.


Disunited Nations - Peter Zeihan (2020)

A solid book to pair with the above, but is more focused on the World Order. And by that he means the US dominated military order that was birthed out of WW2. Zeihan presupposes that the US is moving away from (hands on) Global management and becoming more insular. He makes the case on why he see this trend and then goes on to discuss which nations will be winners and who will be losers when the Order disappears. Most of the reasoning is based on geography, as that defines what you can do as a nation, what you need and how you can obtain it. Zeihan goes country by country explaining why they are dependent on the order or not and then gives them a "report card". Highly recommended!

(while not required to enjoy then above, Kissinger's "World Order" is a great foundation of how/why the world works the way it does.)

Galapagos - Kurt Vonnegut (1985)

This will be the 7th Vonnegut novel I have read. I have loved them all. This is by far my least favorite. This one (like Cats Cradle) is a big build up to not much happening. But unlike Cats Cradle, there is nothing as interesting as Ice-9 to pull you in. Instead its the introduction of uninteresting and flat characters and endless foreshadowing (or just literally saying what will happen). I mean he even marks character who will die next and constantly reminds you of this. Its not a bad book by any means, just (for me) one of his weaker works. If you have never read Vonnegut you will likely enjoy it immensely. However I would recommend you start with something better like Sirens of Titan, Mother Night or Player Piano.

I'm slowly making my way through "Crime and Punishment". After going on a Dan Brown binge and reading all the Robert Langdon novels, loved all of them." Origins" was the weakest but it was still enjoyable. I'm finding Dostoevsky to be a bit of a tough read. The crazy Russian names are just confusing me to no end and his style of writing is unique to say the least. But I shall persevere.

I read Crime and Punishment this spring and had a similar experience. Was not a fun read as a result. It having some length didn't help. In the end I question if I did gain anymore than I would have from reading the Wikipedia article on the book. I think I get why he did what he did and what Dostoevsky was trying to convey... but could have just as easily created my own take based on confusion. The man likes to tell you EVERY thought Raskolnikov has. It was laborious at times. Especially when Raskolnikov does simply stupid things left and right.

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

I devoured Old Man's War by John Scalzi in a day. Not bad, but not great. Felt like an Arrange Mode for a Heinlein book, and I'd rather just read Heinlein. The dialogue and characters were teen fiction tier, which is probably why it was so quick to get through. The different alien races were cool to read about.

Switched over to Borrowed Man by Gene Wolfe and I'm enjoying it. It's a detective novel, starring the clone of a long-dead detective novelist. The setting is dark dystopia but the book hides it beneath the surface. Dialogue-heavy, with a lot of back and forth between the characters about their current puzzle or problem. Sometimes that style of writing gets on my nerves, but in this case it is in line with the mystery novel vibe.

Next I might move onto another Gene Wolfe book (Latro in the Mist) or maybe AA Attanasio or RA Lafferty. I need something of substance to take the sweetness of Old Man's War outta my mouth.

 

[Papa]

I devoured Old Man's War by John Scalzi in a day. Not bad, but not great. Felt like an Arrange Mode for a Heinlein book, and I'd rather just read Heinlein. The dialogue and characters were teen fiction tier, which is probably why it was so quick to get through. The different alien races were cool to read about.

Switched over to Borrowed Man by Gene Wolfe and I'm enjoying it. It's a detective novel, starring the clone of a long-dead detective novelist. The setting is dark dystopia but the book hides it beneath the surface. Dialogue-heavy, with a lot of back and forth between the characters about their current puzzle or problem. Sometimes that style of writing gets on my nerves, but in this case it is in line with the mystery novel vibe.

Next I might move onto another Gene Wolfe book (Latro in the Mist) or maybe AA Attanasio or RA Lafferty. I need something of substance to take the sweetness of Old Man's War outta my mouth.

I read Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe a while back because I heard it was like Dark Souls. Didn’t like it that much. Was kinda weird and disjointed.

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

I read Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe a while back because I heard it was like Dark Souls. Didn’t like it that much. Was kinda weird and disjointed.

Yeah I agree, it's both weird and disjointed. I felt disoriented the first time I read through and didn't fall totally in love until I re-read it. The middle series (Book of the Long Sun) is clearer, and Short Sun is the most readable. I know New Sun is a hard sell for a lot of readers but it is worth the effort imo.

He has plenty of "simpler" stuff that isn't as dense/tangled, and I'd put Borrowed Man in that category.

 

[Tesseract]

biden's books, sean carrol's books, some hawking and penrose

 

[Guileless]

I read Crime and Punishment this spring and had a similar experience. Was not a fun read as a result. It having some length didn't help. In the end I question if I did gain anymore than I would have from reading the Wikipedia article on the book. I think I get why he did what he did and what Dostoevsky was trying to convey... but could have just as easily created my own take based on confusion. The man likes to tell you EVERY thought Raskolnikov has. It was laborious at times. Especially when Raskolnikov does simply stupid things left and right.

I tried to read Demons this spring during lockdown when there wasn't shit going on. I got about a third into it and just couldn't continue. It was so damn hard to follow, even with the helpful footnotes added in the Penguin edition I have. It's still on my nightstand taunting me.

While I also gave up on Crime and Punishment in college, I read all of Anna Karenina (also in college) and loved it.

 

[Rillania]

Only a couple chapters in so far, but this is what I'm currently reading -

 

[FreedomOfSpeech]

I'm slogging through Camille Paglia's Sexual Personae.
It's clear once again my knowledge of western history is severely lacking.

I am looking for a book about how North Korea became the way it is; how did Kim Il Sung manage to get this crazy configuration in his country. A book about totalitarianism etc. Any suggestions?

 

[Jethalal]

Read a third of Salem's Lot, really loving it. Might displace Pet Sematary as King's horror best.

Recently finished The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides, it wasn't very well and I saw everything coming from a mile away. Avoid if you can.

 

[Guileless]

My Stephen King Top 5:

1. The Shining
2. It
3. Pet Sematary
4. 11/22/63
5. Salem's Lot

Disclaimer: never read any of the Gunslinger, The Stand or much of the new stuff.

At this point, the novels from the early 80s almost qualify as historical fiction. Everything about how the characters react would be so different now with cell phones and the internet.

 

[Jethalal]

My Stephen King Top 5:

1. The Shining
2. It
3. Pet Sematary
4. 11/22/63
5. Salem's Lot

Disclaimer: never read any of the Gunslinger, The Stand or much of the new stuff.

At this point, the novels from the early 80s almost qualify as historical fiction. Everything about how the characters react would be so different now with cell phones and the internet.

Our top 5 are very similar except for the arrangement. Mine would be:

1. It
2.Pet Sematary
3.11/22/63
4.The Shining
5.Misery

I believe Pet Sematary is best at horror aspects but the atmosphere and world-building for 'It' was better so I place it higher.

 

[Tesseract]

always something, right now it's a lot of assembler language and deep learning amidst a trove of unreal engine books

still reading three roads to quantum gravity by smolin, respectable grasp of thermodynamics

 

[Guileless]

Our top 5 are very similar except for the arrangement. Mine would be:

1. It
2.Pet Sematary
3.11/22/63
4.The Shining
5.Misery

I believe Pet Sematary is best at horror aspects but the atmosphere and world-building for 'It' was better so I place it higher.

Never read Misery - still haunted by a shot from the movie trailer of Kathy Bates bringing a mallet down on Jimmy Caan's manhood. No thanks!