That sounds pretty cool actually

the 3d tv’s were a super quick fad that went away in favor of uhd, hdr, and 4k i believe

I do the shard grind but that’s because I love messing around with the tools. Luckily I can farm 500-1000 rosaries relatively quickly and that lets me buy a full stock of shards and a backup of consumables if I do 1k

And shot his dog and possibly his minority next door neighbor

It pains me that we are quickly headed towards a time where this wont make sense to say anymore :(

Happy to recommend!

For Reynolds, if you want to try a standalone novel I would say House of Suns is a great place to start. Very fun read. If you want to get in to the meat and potatoes of his writing instead, I’d say just go ahead and jump right in with Revelation Space, which is the first full installment of the series by the same name.

As for Greg Egan, I started with Diaspora and after reading four or five others I think that was a lucky start. He’s basically the farthest point on the hard side of the soft-hard sf spectrum, and if you find Diaspora to be not quite to your liking, you almost certainly won’t like his other works as they are even more whacky. The other startinf point that could be good is Permutation City which is SLIGHTLY more grounded in the modern day and not as far-reaching in some ways. Still, it’s a crazy book because he doesn’t know how to not write crazy books. He always has resources on his website to help parse some of the more mathematical concepts so perusing that can help, or make things worse lol.

Addendum: my friend is an avid reader like me and also didnt care for Red Rising, largely due to the pacing, so don’t feel bad if that isn’t your cuppa tea.

I finished Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson this week. Great read! Stephenson is a very long-winded and meandering author but I love it every time.

I just got a copy of House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski because I was inspired by mushroommonk (I don’t know how to tag users) here in the comments. Super excited to finally crack this one open.

I am also about to start in on Ursula Le Guin but I dont know if I should start with The Left Hand of Darkness or The Word for World is Forest.

I’m sorry you didnt like red rising but I also totally get it. I had a lot of fun with them as I usually read more austere sf like Greg Egan, Alastair Reynolds, and Banks. So on that note; enjoy! The culture series is amazing and unique, and some of the best literature I’ve ever read. The Player of Games and Use of Weapons are at the top of my all-time favorites list.

I caved and stopped by Barnes and Noble after work so I’m about to get started lol

I really dig the vibe! Did you do the voice acting for the MC?

Solaris has been on my list for a long time but ive yet to find it anywhere

Journey before destination 🫡

I am waiting for a copy to come into my life by chance as I think that will add to the story. Cant wait for that day

I am envious! I wish I could read them all again for the first time

That is one of my favorite books of all time. I love almost all of Neal Stephenson and just finally finished Cryptonomicon this week.

😂

Weinberg was such an intellectual giant, I’ve been too intimidated to try his pop-sci type stuff. I think it’s time though.

Ah! I read about these in the past and wanted to put them in my tbr list but forgot, so thank you for the reminder

Lake of Darkness sounds like exactly what I’m looking for next, thanks!

Three full story playthroughs is a lot of dedication lol I love rdr2 but it sure drags on towards the end. Ive played to the late game probably six times but only actually pushed all the way to the end twice. Kudos!