I really wish I had read Black Swan Green and The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet before I had read The Bone Clocks.
I think there is a really nice progression from book to book
They can very much be enjoyed out of order though so don’t worry about that
Looking forward to reading his new one soon
Would love to be able to read Cloud Atlas for the first time again. It took me a few attempts, but it’s such a big payoff once you hit a stride with it.
Mmm good to know! I nearly went for Black Swan Green, but I was drawn to the fantasy sounding elements of Bone Clocks. Feels like a good standalone so far, so hopefully you’re right about that.
Ah wait, I got confused! It’s Black Swan Green I wasn’t that impressed with. And Slade House was also just okayish. I did really like Ghostwritten! Jacob, Cloud Atlas, and Bone Clocks are all great.
I bought the Vuong book last year when the Observer had a huge piece on it/him. I am intrigued by the sound of it.
I’ve written on here that I adored Cloud Atlas too, and it was the first I read. I want to now work my way through his others in sequence.
Like a few others on here, I love Stephen King, moreso his earlier stuff. It’s not always great literature, but he writes in a way that makes me want to keep reading. And you can’t say that about that many people.
finished moby dick 
got i am not your negro up next which is pretty short so that might be a one-sitting-er.
after that i’m gonna try stephen king’s needful things. kind of in the mood for something a bit more silly/horror but i swear to god if it’s the typical stephen king thing of slogging through 1000 pages and then absoutely shitting the bed right at the end i’m gonna be livid. without spoilers can any king fans confirm/deny?
I think I posted about it in this thread but I happened to be reading Station Eleven as Covid started appearing in the news.
I was on a heavily delayed train home, reading about a pandemic and hearing people talking about the pandemic. It was like the start of Half-Life or something
Started The Shining yesterday. I like The Shining so far.
I think for the right reader, On Earth we’re Briefly Gorgeous could be really well suited. I just felt like the prose jumped around a bit too often, and never really found a pace I liked. But could just be me.
Totes agree on Stephen King! It was my first go at his work, and I think it was the fastest I’ve finished a book in my life. Felt like a bit of a guilty pleasure.
I’ve read it twice, and I don’t think it does. It’s middle period of his stuff so kind of OK (as I think much later stuff is bad at endings). It works towards at the end as he brings together many threads. Which isn’t really too much of a spoiler. But it is at least 10 years since I read it.
Damn, I bet that totally wigged you out.
Read that a bit ago. I’ll say no more since you’ve not finished it but 
Yep and the day it was announced as a global pandemic I was reading a different book, and I’d gotten to the part where there’s an emergency evacuation of the entire town 
Just finished The Ninth Rain by Jen Williams, which has been mentioned a bit in the fantasy thread. Really good - nice to read some fantasy with a bit of Studio Ghibli kind of influence.
Now on Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout (follow up to Olive Kitteridge). Been slowly working through Elizabeth Strout’s books the last couple of years. Anne Tyler kinda vibe, possibly a bit better. One of those writers who nail mundane every day life.
Embarassed to say I’m still only halfway through Jerusalem. I liked the first book but this second one all set in Peter pan ghostly world is a bit of a slog.
I found that the easiest to get through. Reading the third, several months after, was when my determination and concentration wavered.
I’ve just finished Girl, Woman, Other and I didn’t quite click with it, which was disappointing as a friend with similar tastes really loved it.
I wasn’t too keen with the writing style, and I found a review online which just described it as a series of Guardian articles, which seemed like an accurate description to me. Plus each time I got to a new chapter about a new character I would then have to hear all their back stories, which felt like a bit of a slog to go through. There were good bits in it, especially at the very end, although even that was rushed and not much of a surprise.
Ahh I don’t know. The Testaments is definitely my favourite of the two Booker winners last year anyhow.
i’ve only got as far as the prologue but i’m already struggling lol
My Goodreads ‘currently reading’ list is entirely normal, yeah
I read that based on this, and the general blurb I could find. Really enjoyed it.
I ordered their latter, The Deep as well so will give that a read soon. Apparently it’s based on a clipping song.