Karlstar's 2026 Road of Reading 3

The old one was too long, time for a new thread!

December/January reading
The Fellowship of the Ring
Limits of Power by Elizabeth Moon
A Conversation in Blood by Paul S. Kemp
City of Fortune: How Venice Ruled the Seas by Roger Crowley
City in Glass by Nghi Vo
Rules of Civility by Amor Towles

February Reading
Sassinak by Elizabeth Moon and Anne McCaffrey
The Death of Sleep by Jody Lynn Nye and Anne McCaffrey
Generation Warriors by Elizabeth moon and A. M.
The Masters of Solitude by Marvin Kaye and Parke Godwin
Old Mars by G. Martin and G. Dozois
Clockwork Destiny by Kevin J. Anderson and Neil Peart

March reading
White Wolf by David Gemmell
Homegoing by Frederik Pohl
Stolen Crown by Dennis McKiernan
The Soul of America by Jon Meacham
Tigana by G. G. Kay (re-read)

April reading
The Berserker Throne by Fred Saberhagen
War and Peace - up to 13%!
A Pilgrimage of Swords by Anthony Ryan
Transcription by Kate Atkinson
Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett
Worth Dying For by Lee Child
2113: Stories inspired by the music of Rush by Kevin J. Anderson

May reading
The Kraken's Tooth by Anthony Ryan
The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie
Penric's Demon by L. M. Bujold
Penric's Shaman by L. M. Bujold
The Hallowed Hunt by L. M. Bujold
Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Human Division #3 We Only Need the Heads by John Scalzi
Human Division #4 A Voice in the Wilderness by John Scalzi
Rapport by Martha Wells (non-Murderbot short story)
Human Division #5 Tales from the Clarke by John Scalzi
The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook by Matt Dinniman
The Gate of the Feral Gods by Matt Dinniman

June reading
Finity's End by C. J. Cherryh
Dear Future: You Can Keep the Change by Ronee Hulk (ER book)

The usual explanation of my rating system, with updated statistics from my library here on LT.

I use a 1 to 10 rating system because I started rating books on the internet using a 10 point system and because I like the additional granularity. Checking my LT ratings, I have given out over 600 8+ ratings, but I don't think I should make it even harder give out 8/10 ratings, so it is now a Top 600. I only have about 134 books rated 9 stars or higher, so either I'm being too tough or there just aren't that many 9 or 10 star books. My most common rating is 6, I like most of what I read. Here's my rating scale explained.

1 - So bad, I couldn't finish it. DO NOT READ!!!
2 - Could have finished, but didn't. Do not read. This one means I made a conscious choice not to finish, usually about halfway through the book. Something is seriously wrong here.
3 - Finished it, but had to force myself. Not recommended, unless it is part of a series you really need to finish.
4 - Finished it, but really didn't like it. Not recommended unless you really need something to read.
5 - Decent book, recommended if you have spare time and need something to read.
6 - Good book, I enjoyed it, and would recommend it.
7 - Good book, recommended for everyone. I may have read it more than once, and would consider buying the hardcover edition.
8 - Great book, I would put it in the Top 600* of all time. Read more than once, I probably have the hardcover.
9 - Great book, top 100* all time. Read more than once, if I don't have the hardcover edition, I want one!
10 - All-time great book, top 50 material. Read more than twice, I probably have more than one copy/edition.

My ratings also include the Slogging Through The Mud (STTM) rating/index. This goes back to one of Elizabeth Moon's Paksenarrion books where she spends WAY too much time actually describing how the army spent days slogging through the mud. If there is a lot of travel in the book and too much time describing the traveling, the STTM rating will be high. The STTM rating also encompasses non-slogging travel and character growth, if there is any.

* My 8 star and 9-10 star ratings now exceed 600 and 100, but close enough.

Happy New Thread! :)

Happy New Thread! You've gotten through so many titles this year! I am beginning to feel as if I need to up my game a bit.

>2 Alexandra_book_life: >3 jillmwo: Thank you!

>3 jillmwo: I've made more of an effort this year to step away from the computer and read, plus all the hospital waiting time has given me time to read.

Happy New Thread.

>5 pgmcc: Thanks Peter.

Wishing you a very happy and bountiful new thread!

Happy new thread

According to today's post by Merriam-Webster, we call unsolicited emails and messages 'spam', because of the Monty Python spam skit. Apparently someone used the term back in the early days of the internet and it stuck.

>7 clamairy: >8 hfglen: Thank you!

>9 Karlstar:
I remember the skit:

"Spam! Spam! Spam! Spam!Spam! Spam!Spam! Spam!Spam! Spam!Spam! Spam!Spam! Spam!Spam! Spam!Spam! Spam!Spam! Spam!Spam! Spam!Spam! Spam!Spam! Spam!Spam! Spam!Spam! Spam!Spam! Spam!Spam! Spam!Spam! Spam!Spam! Spam!Spam! Spam!Spam! Spam!..."

>11 pgmcc: "Spamity spam!"

Happy new thread

>13 Narilka: Thank you!

A beautiful day to sit by the lake and enjoy a little picnic. We picked up some cheese, fruit, jam and bread from a local bakery, plus some of our homemade hot pepper jelly. The weather was perfect, though a little hazy.

>14 Karlstar:
Very nice. What body of water is that?

>14 Karlstar: Gorgeous! I hope you can hang out there a while, and that your brought books to read.

>14 Karlstar: Oh my! I wouldn't want to leave.

>15 pgmcc: Lake Ontario, about 25 minutes from us and only about 10 minutes past our favorite farm stand. Toronto is across the lake to the NW, but wasn't visible today. We have been to a beach on Lake Erie, but that was a couple of years ago.

>16 clamairy: We stayed for a bit, no books, just our picnic.

>17 catzteach: I could have easily stayed longer. It is a quiet and peaceful spot.

>14 Karlstar: cheese, fruit, jam and bread. What a really lovely lunch to go with the view. I hope this was a really calming day for you.

>19 jillmwo: It was, thank you. I try to get up there multiple times once the weather warms, but this was the first time we remembered to bring a picnic. Next time we need to bring our camp/tailgate chairs, so we can choose the best spot to sit.

>14 Karlstar: Beautiful! Your picknick sounds perfect :)

Working my way through Finity's End, slowly. The beginning is slow while she uncovers the plot and we spend a lot of time in Fletcher's head.

>21 Alexandra_book_life: Thank you. The lake is always beautiful this time of year. Really, all year, but the weather was perfect.