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Comment by ChrisMarshallNY | Hacker News Reader

These threads often end up, with everyone trying to prove they are literary scholars.

I prefer junky fantasy books. I'm really too old and cynical to give a damn what y'all think of me.

I probably liked David Edding's Belgariad series, along with the Mallorean series, the most. I reread them, regularly, and go through all ten books, in a couple of weeks. They are an easy read.

Also, Glen Cook's Black Company books are awesome. It's a toss-up, between them. Eleven books, in that series. His Garret PI series are fun, but really kind of "filler."

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> These threads often end up, with everyone trying to prove they are literary scholars

I see a wide variety of answers ITT. Some are very "literary" fiction e.g. Ulysses, others are lighter fare like Harry Potter, there's also a wide variety of non-fiction works from self-help to electronics manuals to philosophy. Have you considered that other people might actually have different tastes than you, and aren't trying to "prove" anything?

C'mon. This is HN.

People are trying to posture and prove all kinds of things.

Of course folks have different tastes (I'm the redneck engineer, in my family. Most of my other siblings think James Joyce is da thang, but they are also into posturing).

But it also intimidates folks into not sharing some really good stuff.

<< But it also intimidates folks into not sharing some really good stuff.

That is probably the saddest part that good things don't have enough time/chance to spread. I like to think that there are more Adams, Pratchetts out there, but they remain largely undiscovered due to this society pre-approved list of things you can 'consume'.

And good here does not automatically mean "Ulysses" ( which I hated -- and quite possibly misunderstood ). Some stuff can be just lazy popculture level navel gazing, but it does not mean it can't be fun as it revels in excess at the same time ( Rick and Morty comes to mind -- yes, it is not a book, but I am making a point.. how many kids you see reading for fun ).

<< People are trying to posture and prove all kinds of things.

Agreed, but it still does not seem as bad as other internet locales. And maybe it comes with socialization. At certain point we learn no one really cares. I know I stated some mildly pretentious stuff before. Seemed like a big deal then; now it is just an amusing memory.

> People are trying to posture and prove all kinds of things.

I would hope that it’s a mixture of personalities posting here, rather than a subset of people who are following some personal agenda.

This crowd is hopefully mature enough to avoid this type of behavior.

Well, there's careers being made, egos being stroked, and insecurities being salved.

It's not just a shared interest community. YC isn't a benevolent organization, and many of the folks, hereabouts, have some pretty serious cred (and money/power). Lots of folks want to get on their good side, and may think that frontin' is the best way.

Note that you're one of a minority of people here who aren't using a pseudonym.

I don't use my real name here precisely so that I don't have to worry about what other people will think about me when reading my comments.

I’m not sure it’s a minority. Folks out themselves, all the time, and I encountered a couple of companies, when I was still job-searching, that required my HN ID, in the application.

But the main reason I do it, is because it forces me to behave. I may come across as a bit “stuffy,” but I challenge folks to find anything I’ve posted here (or anywhere, in the last eight years or so), that would be considered “troll-ish.”

I used to be a troll. I feel the need for some atonement.

Also, I found out that we are nowhere near as anonymous as we think we are.

If we participate in a public forum, I feel as if we need to be aware that we each have a personal Responsibility to add to it, and that we should just assume that we will be held to account for our words.

Just like IRL.

I know, I know. That’s a “quaint” attitude, but it’s the one I have.

But it also intimidates folks into not sharing some really good stuff.

There's that, but there's also an element that's more "frustrates" than "intimidates" I think. Case in point: it's VERY rare in my experience, that one can mention Ayn Rand in any kind of favorable light here without getting downvoted to hell. Have that happen a few times, and one is probably going to start to develop a "well, my opinions aren't welcome here" response and quit sharing. Never mind that the person who mentions Rand quite possibly also likes many, many other things and would like to talk about them. And I'm reasonably sure this phenomenon isn't limited to Rand. I just noticed that, because I'm one of the people who does like Rand - and has been consistently down-voted to hell for it. :-)

> But it also intimidates folks into not sharing some really good stuff.

Do people really care what some other Internet rando thinks about their book preferences? FWIW (though of course could be missing some), I haven't seen any recommendations that have been dumped on. Heck, your comment recommending "junky fantasy books" is currently #2 for me, in a very long thread.

I quite enjoyed David Eddings books when I was younger as well. It came as a shock when I learned that he and his wife had been jailed for child abuse, which only became known after he died:

https://thewertzone.blogspot.com/2020/05/it-has-been-reveale...

Marion Zimmer Bradley too.

These threads often end up, with everyone trying to prove they are literary scholars.

Good point. I have to admit, I have some disdain for academic literary criticism, and I care very little about reading/liking the books one is "supposed" to like. Now of course I do in fact like some of those books, just by happenstance. But I don't define myself by seeking out the "blessed" books and reading and endorsing them.

And I like a lot of "low brow" / pulp-fiction stuff. Lots of horror (Dean Koontz, Stephen King, Clive Barker, etc), plenty of action/adventure novels by Lee Child, David Baldacci, Robert Ludlum, etc., and all sorts of sci-fi by authors of no particular note. And I don't mind admitting it. :-)

Scifi here but the most embarrassing one I have to admit to loving is the stainless steel rat series by Harry Harrison.

That series was great fun. (I wonder if stands the test of time since I last read it decades ago)

I also liked the Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells.

Awesomeness counts.

There were a lot of scifi mass market paperback titles back in the day where unless you know the exact title and author its lost to time.

There was this one scifi book I've been trying to find forever but no records (going on several decades now).

Two main characters were astronauts that crash landed on a earth-like planet with civilization in the middle ages. One became a trader, the other became leader of a militant order, where they had special techniques/knowledge that let them do amazing physical feats like hang by their fingertips on the edge of cliffs for several days.

Maybe someone knows it.

I couldn't get enough of the Goosebumps series when I was a kid. Just encountering the books and looking at the covers was an experience. I would get them from the school library.

Same! The first books I really remember reading for myself.

I loved the _Belgariad_ and _Mallorean_ years ago, and re-read them many times. Eddings then came out with a new series, whose name I've surprised; I read the first book and hated it.

And then, as I got older, I started to realize that most of the "good guys", other than Garion, were deeply-flawed awful people who would not be nearly as funny or heroic in real life as they were made out to be in the book. (Picture Polgara smashing everything in sight as she has a tantrum. Belgarath's no better.) And then I couldn't read them anymore, which is a pity.

It's not that I "outgrew" the genre by the way. I read as much fantasy as ever. But not this.

> I read the first book and hated it.

That was probably The Elder Gods series (Crystal Gorge, et al).

It is awful. I suspect it was written while he was dying of cancer, and his wife had a great deal of input.

The Redemption of Althalus is ... bearable, but not his best.

I enjoyed The Elenium and The Tamuli series. They had a lot of the character of The Belgariad, but bloodier.

When I was a kid, what got me into reading novels was Weis & Hickman's Darksword Trilogy. I loved the heck out of that series. I re-read it about once a year well into my 20s. Re-reading it in my 40s, it's definitely kind of cringe, but even now I still think it has some cool ideas.

The thing is, those books got a kid into reading. Now I've read thousands of books, but all my later pretentions to literacy started from that one experience which everyone else in the world would judge as junky.

I don't claim they're the best by most metrics. But as a catalyst for reading, they're right up there.

I second the Black Company. I recently turned some friends onto it and got back in as a consequence. It was such a great twist on how a dark fantasy reads. Totally agree for Garret PI.

I'll have to add my other fantasy favourites : The Kingkiller Chronicles (though be prepared to be left hanging) and the Stormlight Archives are truly excellent.

Came here just to search for the Stormlight Archive. I mean, my username is a reference to that series (:

A great fantasy book is "The Fifth Season" by N. K. Jemisin. The whole broken earth trilogy by Jemisin is amazing. Here's to fantasy books!

That IS great, but hardly trashy!

I really enjoyed that series. My mother was a geologist, and it was a fun time.

This is exactly the opposite of what GP wants. N.K. Jemisin does not write page turners. He's looking for compulsive schlock at the Edgar Rice Burroughs end of the spectrum.

“She.”

J. K. Jemisin is a woman (of color). I had no idea, myself, until after I had read The Broken Earth series, and wanted to find out more about the author.

I did enjoy her stuff, but it isn’t what I’d want on my Desert Island list.

You are a "he."

> it isn’t what I’d want on my Desert Island list.

That's what I said.

My apologies, then. I misread the post.

Thanks for the correction.

I've read all 20+ of the Jack Reacher books, some multiple times. Best bedtime reading I've found. Fun enough I actually want to go to bed. Shallow enough that if I miss a page or two because I'm drowsy, no big deal.

I've read all 20+ of the Jack Reacher books,

Same! I think they're great. But that's "great" when you appreciate them for what they are. I wouldn't compare, say, The Killing Floor to Nineteen Eighty Four or anything. But I'd say they're both great - in their respective ways.

Sometimes escape is just what people need, especially when they work in high stakes professions. The series was written well, though there were parts that were unbelievable, and the author's writing style was geared more towards children. If you look closely at his writing he often makes use of a technique at the time using double/synonym adjectives to describe important details. Kids pick the one they know, while reading making it more cohesive, quite subtle.

I tend to not like stories where the crux of the plot is a god/wizard did it but that is more personal preference. I'm a big fan of character development and growth through struggle. Superman/Thrice Blessed Man stories don't really appeal.

Personally I thought the Blue-rose Saga/Sparhawk series was much better, and had characters you weren't sure you liked at first (gritty han-shot first types).

Ever read Echoes of the Great Song (bit of a one-hit wonder from the author)?

> I prefer junky fantasy books.

Kindle books like that are what fill in the gaps in my free time. One recent fantasy series I liked was The Good Guys/The Bad Guys by Eric Ugland. Somehow kept me turning pages.

some others (not fantasy) Infinity Gate by M.R. Carey; Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin;

But sometimes there is a lot of dreck to wade through.

Been thinking of making a "stop reading and discard book" list like:

- main character has unknown/dead parents, is secretly "the chosen one"

- no plot, character goes there, minimal opposition, gets all the stuff.

- anything harem

The problem with a "kill list" like that is that most of these overused tropes are overused because originally, they worked really well. E.g. if you strictly followed the first item on your list, you'd miss out on the Belgariad, which is really quite good (in my opinion, and that of the GP poster, at least. I'm personally less sold on the Malloreon, it's a bit too much of a retread for my taste.)

That said, I do agree that too many red flags like that and I will put down a book. And some are stronger than others; I'm 100% with you on the harem thing because any book like that is most likely just an excuse for all the sex scenes.

I think I need a "kill list" when I'm just not engaged with the book.

There have actually been plenty of books that probably had elements on the list, but were thought provoking, entertaining, or had excellent character development or some other novelty that I didn't even think of stopping.

It's also interesting to look at the list when you're thinking about continuing with book 2 or book 3.

David Eddings' books are also my favorite of all time, agree about Belgariad and Mallorean. That reminds me that I should start them again. Thanks for bringing back a great memory!

I liked the first Belgariad book I got, but after a few more, I felt like reread the same book over and over. Same for Mallorean.

The Black Company is great, especially the first book.

In this vein, junkie Kindle Unlimited sci fi hits that spot for me too.

Currently reading a huge series with easily digestible books by Ryk Brown The Frontiers Saga.

Also anyone remember the old Sten books? There’s a modern rip off that’s very good, amusing and has cartoon violence it’s called the Undying Mercenary series by BV Larson.

And finally, Taken to the Stars and Backyard Starship get honorable mentions but really there is pretty much infinite versions of this shiz.

I've probably read certain Discworld books more than a few times, if they fit under this category of 'junky'

I'm midway through my second reading through the Discworld series. Several years ago I discovered that they were just the right mix of interesting enough to read yet sedate enough to not raise my adrenaline that I could read them and reliably fall asleep within 5-15 minutes of going to bed. This was a godsend because prior to discovering this, it took my brain anywhere between 1-2 hours EVERY night to settle down enough to actually fall asleep, if it ever happened. Lifelong chronic insomnia solved!

(I'm not sure this is the glowing review that most authors aspire to, but here we are.)

Anyway, MOST Discworld books are well worth the time. A few are difficult to follow because Pratchett tried a bit too hard to rely on context. And he often reuses major plot points. But the narration and dialogue are more than clever enough to make up for any of these.

I use these books for exactly the same reason! I had a really hard time falling asleep until I discovered that putting a Discworld novel on in one earbud was enough to silence the voices in my head long enough for me to fall asleep.

It used to be that I'd take an hour or more to fall asleep, now I'll often be asleep within one 5-minute run of the sleep timer.

I finished Discworld and have moved on to Stephen Fry's Sherlock Holmes, which has much the same effect.

    These threads often end up, with everyone trying to prove they are literary scholars.

Demonstrably untrue - for some definition of often. This thread shows people with genuine interests in books that are sometimes labelled literary.

Black Company is fun and the recently published editions by Midworld Press are really nice.

I'm with you! I've always had a hard time finding Literary Works anything but a total slog. Recently I tried The Road by Cormac McCarthy and just couldn't get through it. Far too grim for my taste.

Anyway, if this is where to share our trashy fantasy guilty pleasures, I recently discovered and devoured the Cradle series by Will Wight. Fun if you're at all into "progression fantasy" (also known as LitRPG) where the characters go through a very clearly-delineated "leveling up" process.

Also the only books I've ever run across with outtakes at the end, which I thought was fun.

My all time favorite fantasy series is Malazan - not a light read though, and probably not a series for anyone new to fantasy. One of the few series I will read again.

It's been a while since I read the belgariad and I don't think I ever picked up the mallorean. Thanks for reminding me about those books!

> I prefer junky fantasy books. I'm really too old and cynical to give a damn what y'all think of me.

I love this.

> I reread them, regularly, and go through all ten books,

That’s the best part! Coming back to the simple life on Faldors farm again.

Best fantasy series I read are the Elric universe ones

Try The Name of the Wind, basic but good.

"Name of the wind" would be on my desert island list!

The Elenium trilogy by Eddings is good as well.

It isn't hacker news until I see a reference [1] below the text, an unneccessary italicized portion, and some word salad about how we've been doing it all wrong but suddenly this simple change will revolutionise things moving forwards.

And if we're feeling crazy, __Some of this__

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