I’m not sure how helpful this will be, but generally speaking, I tend to only buy books that I’ve already read and enjoyed enough to want a copy of my own, with exceptions being sequels and authors I know I like. (I also usually buy used, when I do.) Depending where you are, you probably have a few (legal) ways to do it this way, too.

If you want to read something specific:

• Libraries. If you’re interested in a new release or very popular work, you might have to wait a while for your turn, but otherwise, it should be relatively easy to get a lot of things, either in person, through library apps, or through interlibrary loans.
• Kindle Unlimited. I don’t personally have experience with this one, as I’m not a big Amazon fan, but seems like a good way to stretch your book allowance/limit regret at picking a dud.

If you just want to try a variety of things, risk-free, to see what you might like:

• Little free libraries. Heavily dependent on whatever others donate, but if you’re lucky enough to have one near you, you might find something worth trying.
• Public domain. Obviously, limited to very old stuff, but maybe you’ll find something interesting.
• Assuming you’re reading fiction, some publishers, fiction magazines, and authors offer free things (full e-books, excerpts, short fiction, etc) on their sites. Short stories can be a great way to get a feel for many authors quickly.

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As to your other question: I find paperbacks way more comfortable to hold one-handed; no need to choose between eating and reading! They’re also usually smaller and lighter than hardcovers, so you can 1) fit more in less space, and 2) carry more at once when you move or rearrange.

Finished To Catch a Thief by David Dodge. Enjoyable suspense mystery, but definitely of its time (casual Roma racist stereotypes, side couple with an age gap we might side-eye today). Definitely a more methodical, serious story than the movie, which I watched after.

Bingo squares: Older than You (1952), What’s Yours Is Mine, Eazy Breazy Read-zie, Now a Major Motion Picture, (alt) A Change in Perspective

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I tried reading The Gathering by C.J. Tudor, a horror police procedural in a world where vampires publicly exist, because I like horror and police procedurals, but… all I did was remind myself that vampires just really aren’t my thing most of the time. The writing was compelling, so I might go back to it at some point, or try something else by that author.

Started The House on the Borderland by William Hope Hodgson.

Did a quick search, looks like ExeKiller, which isn’t out yet. Hope you find something good to play in the meantime!

Nightride.FM has datawave (sort of 80s/early 90s computer-aesthetic synthwave) and horrorwave (darkwave subgenre, very 80s horror movie inspired) stations.

And Saryn Prime.

Finished Relic by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child last night. One of the authors worked in the real-life counterpart of the book’s museum setting for a few years, and it shows: there was lots of interesting detail about the parts the public doesn’t get to see. In general, I thought this was a fun enough popcorn read, although the first 60% seemed a little slow for something billed as a mystery horror thriller. Not sure I want to read any of the sequels, but I’ll probably check out the movie to see how good an adaptation it is.

Bingo squares: It Takes Two; Disability Representation; Eazy, Breazy, Read-zie; Now a Major Motion Picture; Mashup (debatable); Institutional HM; (alt) A Change in Perspective

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I’m planning to start To Catch a Thief by David Dodge next.

I’m a serial lurker, but I’ve been wanting to say thank you for putting this community together, and doing all the hard work to keep it going! I appreciate the wide variety of trailers you pick out; it’s a nice mix of mainstream stuff and more niche things I wouldn’t otherwise know existed.

My favorite tank! I never use her 1 or 4, though, and should probably subsume something over one of them. Aegis Storm is ok as a panic CC when playing in a group, but not being able to use my loadout at the same time is so off-putting. As for Balefire, I’ve never found it to be better than my regular weapons, and I don’t find it fun to use.

I really enjoyed Caveat, despite the utterly ridiculous setup, so I’m down to give this a shot.

Coincidentally, I just saw a new releases list from February that had the sequel on it: it’s called Red Side Story.

Not a weapon, but a type: I love blade and whips. They’re cool-looking, and the stance feels good.

Currently about 60 pages into Relic by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. It’s alright so far, but I’m not super invested.

I also read Strange Dogs by James SA Corey, which I’d been putting off. Unlike some of the other Expanse novellas, the show followed this one pretty closely (from my memory of it, anyway). Luckily, it was short, and I can move on to Auberon without feeling guilty I’d skipped something.

I found full matches on youtube! I was expecting like an hour-long, large-scale hockey brawl, but most of what I watched was players standing around, squaring up, or on the ground in wrestling holds, punctuated by brief moments of the ball-holder actually trying to score. It sounds like the current rules (rightly) forbid a lot of the stuff that would get people too badly hurt. The ref and pre-game procession wear period clothing, though, which is cool.

If it helps, I found books 5 and 6 of The Expanse less obnoxious than the show re: the whole family drama thing (if, like me, that’s where your biggest hangup is). I didn’t enjoy them as much as previous entries, but book 7 (imo) goes back to being pretty solid.

Since you mentioned Duviri, I’m gonna assume you’ve done some circuit/orowyrm, so you’re already getting an idea of frames/weapons you might want to have for your collection. Everyone jives with different stuff, so if it feels good to play, or sounds good on the wiki (and the grind seems reasonable), go for it. Worst case, you end up selling it after leveling it to max.

• A lot of mods are worth collecting (although some are too rare or niche to bother with). Check the wiki, look at build sites for equipment you already use, and see if anything you don’t have (and can access easily) could make a big difference.
• Faction rep is always worth getting at some point (especially the ones SolOrion mentioned). When you hit MR8, you might want to grab the helminth segment from the Deimos family at rank 3, as well.

Sidenote: since the anniversary’s going on right now, make sure to do any weapon alerts that come up in the next few weeks: they come with their own weapon slots (which you keep even if you delete the weapons later), and are pre-installed with catalysts.

Absolutely. It feels to me like it’s trying to fill a niche that doesn’t need filling. Sometimes I like a gun like that anyway, but this one’s going in the guns-I-never-use pile.

So I had the same first impression (and I’m still not sold on it, tbh), but I just did some testing, and here’s some things:

• the punch-through evolution works on both modes
• fire rate mods/evo make it feel a lot better
• the last evo that gives crit per/stack in incarnon mode (devastation cascade) seems to be the key, paired with…
• a grouping ability like pull, airburst, or bastille is super helpful
• a lot of builds I saw used ruinous extension, as well, to help hit more targets; if you’re not using a grouping ability, this might be helpful, but otherwise, I’m not sure if it makes a big difference

I feel better about it than I did, but there’s plenty of less fussy weapons I’d rather use instead. Maybe I’m missing something, too?

I just started Catfish Lullaby by A.C. Wise. I read a short story by them in a horror anthology a while back, and liked it enough to want to give their other work a try.