Forums » Smalltalk » Looking for Book/Music Recommendations!

Hello, hello! Just looking to start a Small Talk topic on music and book recommendations!

What's a novel that you just can't put down?

What's a song that's been stuck in your head recently?

All-in-all, this is just a great way for us to share what we like and (possibly) make new friends!

XOXO,
SmallTownWitch (a.k.a Haley)

I've been getting into the early music of Joan Baez and Bob Dylan after seeing the movie 'A Complete Unknown'. The song in my head though is Joan Baez's 'Diamonds and Rust' which is Joan revisiting her and Bob Dylan's relationship in the early 1960s.

I'm currently re-reading The Children of Hurin by Christopher Tolkien. I've been addicted to Middle Earth since first reading Lord of the Rings. Yes, I'm an old fart.

Interesting song! It's not bad at all! It's not the style of music I would normally gravitate towards (and neither is Bob Dylan's), but I remember when we covered him in high school when I took the elective class "Music History."

Thank you for sharing "Diamonds and Rust" with me! I definitely added it to my Spotify playlist!

I just finished reading Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell. So much plot twist, so much thrills. It made me hook on how the story developed into something that made you turned "Oh My God". If you like mystery and suspense story I'd recommend you to read this!!!

Thank you so much! I'll certainly check it out!

May not be an uncommon book, but I have to say The count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. When I heard it was that long I calculated it would take me around three months to finish it, but I read it in around two weeks. I DEVOURED that book.

I was going on a bit of a Tina Turner watch last night, and now I have 'River deep, mountain high' stuck in my head.

The most recent things I've read: Everything of Brandon Sanderson's Cosmere novels. The Stormlight Archive (now my fav series ever) Mistborn Era 1 and 2 and all the more stand alone novels that are still part of the Cosmere. From there I moved on to Cradle, by Will Wight, which I was not sure if I would like it or not, but ended up really loving it. I'm currently reading Robin Hobb's Farseer Trilogy and just utterly enthralled. She writes so beautifully, and even though it's a little different from my usual prefs (I enjoy heavy magic, and multiple perspectives, third person, this is a less magical fantasy world with a single first person perspective) The series is wonderful.

Music - Current song obsession is Seed of Night by Kardashev.

If the simple act of reading LotR makes you old, that makes two of us (*/ω＼*) My introduction to those stories were watching the movies (on DVD! The correct extended edition! The one with just as much bonus material as movie!) with my dad when I was uh, eight or ten years old, maybe. Began reading the trilogy for the first time when I was 13. And then afterwards, instead of reading 'The Hobbit' like a normal person, I started 'The Silmarillion'. I don't think I was old enough to grasp literally any of it at the time, but I was the kind of kid that ploughed through books because it was easier than making friends. I should give it a reread once I'm not in the middle of four... other books...

One of which is 'Neuromancer' by William Gibson! Heartily recommended for any fans of the cyberpunk genre simply because it was The Beginning. It's so interesting to read a 1980's view of the distant future - like, our main character simultaneously interacts with insanely complicated AIs that are barely distinguishable from humans, and then also uses dial-up. I've just read the chapter where we learn more of Molly's backstory. I was really waiting for the other shoe to drop with her; of course she used to be a doll. I really appreciated the narration in that section, with Case being horrified and Molly actively trying to suppress how insanely brutal and dehumanizing it is to completely give up control of your own body for purposes you're never meant to know. Those themes, so much more than all the cyborg bodymodifications, really underpins the genre for me.



Robin Hobb and BrandoSando are two authors I simply can't pull myself together to pick up, despite all the praise they receive. For a long time, it was because I was sick of endless series, and then, uh, I went and began 'Malazan Book of the Fallen' (10 books!) instead. So now I'm just out of excuses. Except for the fact of the already-neverending Mount TBR (ˉ▽￣～)

... I could tell you the year and how old I was when I first read Lord of the Rings, but then you'd see that I likely had thawed out when the ice sheets melted after the last Ice Age. I'll just say my youngest was ten when we went to see Fellowship of the Ring in 2001.

I read Robin Hobbs's Farseer Trilogy (Assassin's Apprentice, Royal Assassin, Assassin's Quest) and though it was decent reading, there was something falling short with the story. I enjoyed the first book enough to want to read the second, but things seemed to go flat with me in it. I read the third because I was determined to finish the trilogy. That was a long time ago, and I heard from people I respect say that her writing has gotten much better. I was debating reading the Rain Wild Chronicles but haven't mustered up enough spoons to get the books yet.

I started to read Steven Erickson's Malazan Books of the Fallen when I saw another author I really like give an resounding endorsement: Having read and loved Glen Cook's Black Company series (also ten books, but the first three can stand alone as a trilogy), I took that endorsement to heart and bought Gardens of the Moon. I have read the first four books but needed a break so stopped there. I may pick it up again at some point.


Since we're at the risk of hijacking the Small Town Witch's recommendation thread, I will bring it around and say I do recommend Glen Cook's 'Black Company' series. It isn't for everyone as the consensus seems either readers like it or hate it. The writing style is from the viewpoint of the foot-soldier, and the grit can get into the teeth of many, but I found it quite enjoyable, especially the first three books (Black Company, Shadows Linger, The White Rose). I did read the ten books of the series, and the end of #10 'Soldiers Live', it seemed it might be a wrap.

But incessant rumours were always floating by of another book coming. Green Ronin released a D&D 3e Black Company module, and after re-releasing the ten books as an omnibus 'Chronicles of the Black Company', a new book came after seventeen years by the name of 'Port of Shadows'. I bought it in 2018 but have yet to read it. And in writing this reply, I just discovered that there is a new Black Company book that was released in April called 'Lies Weeping'. That does it! I'm ordering this new book and I'm starting my read through 'Port of Shadows' today! It's been a long time since I've been in the Black Company world...

And for music, I throw out this beautiful duet from the 1967. Leonard Cohen and Julie Felix - Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye.

Thanks! I've not read that one, but I'll certainly give it a try!

I've been seeing a lot of Sanderson's work buzzing around! I've yet to decide if I'll give it a shot, but I think I will!

If you like magical dragon themed romance fantasy novels, I recommend checking out the Empyrean series starting with Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros!