I just started The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson today, and I’m already about a third of the way through. Oof, man, this one hurts. That opening chapter is unforgettable and terrifying.

I finished For We Are Many by Dennis Taylor - and about halfway through All These Worlds by Dennis Taylor. This is the third book in the series, and third I’m reading in 3 weeks - they are so much fun. The most enjoyable reads I’ve been through in a while!

I also just added Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons to my kindle today. I’m really hoping for some closure from this book. I was really put-off by the complete lack of any resolution in the last book - just one big lead up.

[Audio] The Restaurant at the End of the Universe by Douglas Adams, narrated by Martin Freeman. I’ve read Hitchhikers Guide several times but have never continued the series. I’m not sure why, but I’m having a bit of trouble focusing on this audiobook. Maybe because it seem to be a lot of random explanations about unnecessary things…

At the start of the week I listened to Beneath Dark Waters by Karen Rose. I intended to listen to it on release, but since I got it as an audiobook and I was on vacation, it didn’t end up working out that way. Rose is my favorite author and this doesn’t disappoint. As I just started watching 24 for the first time in a long time, it finally clicked with me that that’s the itch Karen Rose scratches for me. The pacing of the story telling feels very comparable. There are less (but not none) outright traitors, the crimes are other types of sadistic monsters than terrorists (including sex crimes against kids in some), and the arc is built around a romance between two main characters, but just the way the story keeps moving forward and getting deeper (with characters that really flesh out over time) strikes a similar chord to me.

Still working on Stormlight Archive (on Words of Radiance) on ebook. It’s still insanely long and I find the world and the characters fascinating. I’m almost to the point of pulling the trigger on them all on audiobook so I have time for them because it’s so good, but I’m not sure it will feel right.

After finishing with Rose, I listened to several County Cork books by Sheila Connolly. It’s a light little mystery series where the main character honors her grandmother’s wish to visit where the grandmother grew up in Ireland, ends up finding her place there, decides to stay, and winds up on the periphery of a bunch of murders and solving them. As always with these small town mystery series, you have to suspend disbelief on the murder rate, but I like a blend of lighter world- and character- building to balance out the heavier stuff, and I like the flavor of this one well enough.

I’m still on the same 2 physical books as last week, but I have a new audiobook I’ve started on.

[Physical]
The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy Ultimate Collection - Douglas Adams
Just about done working my way back through this series. Another week or two and it’ll be back on the shelf for a while. Such a fun journey to go through once in a while though.

The Way Of Kings - Brandon Sanderson
I’m within 100 pages of finishing this tome. This is a long book (and the sequel is longer!), but it’s so good. I can’t believe I haven’t torn through Sanderson stuff sooner - between this series and the Mistborn series, he is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors.

[Audio]
A Spy Among Friends - Ben Macentyre
This is an interesting nonfiction about a British intelligence officer named Kim Philby who turned out to be a Soviet spy. It’s pretty good so far.