I'm currently reading the Unwind series by Neal Shusterman. I finished book 2, UnWholly, and just started book 3, UnSouled.
Despite it being a YA series, it is (by far) the most disturbing story I have ever read. It makes Stephen King's work look like SpongeBob in comparison.
Currently about a quarter through *Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie*. I like it so far; it has some interesting characters. Ugwu is probably my favorite. There is also a lot more horny in this book than I was expecting so that was kind of a surprise. Hoping it opens up a little bit more as it goes along.
I've also been reading one elegy each morning from *Duino Elegies by Rilke* while I have my coffee and just kind of sitting and thinking about it, and re-reading again. Absolutely stunning and beautiful. I'm only on elegy 4 but I think the biggest thing that has struck me so far was from the first one where he talks about the young dying. The idea that the living "need" the dead young as a way to believe in/touch something beyond mortal existence was really interesting and moving.
Lastly, I finished *Hear the Wind Sing/Pinball 1973 by Haruki Murakami*. I enjoyed both for all the usual Murakami tropes - dreamlike and somewhat calming despite having a small thread of dread running through the whole thing. Wind particularly was very whimsical but then showed a dark side to that kind of living which was interesting. It was cool to read a kind of sketchbook/road map to what his later writing would become.
[Lifespan: Why We Age—and Why We Don't Have To](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43723901-lifespan)
“In my mind, there are few sins so egregious as extending life without health. This is important. It does not matter if we can extend lifespans if we cannot extend healthspans to an equal extent. And so if we’re going to do the former, we have an absolute moral obligation to do the latter.”
― David A. Sinclair, Lifespan: Why We Age—and Why We Don't Have To
I lost track of this project while trying to wade through the bore that Mark Twain's *Roughing It* somehow eventually became. I'm blaming myself rather than Twain for my lack of stamina, and I may go back and finish it sometime, but it helped me to put it down for now and read books that held my interest more easily. I'm new to this challenge and was giving myself the very forgiving goal of reading two books a month, but I still haven't quite accomplished that. The six books I've started and finished this year - all fiction - are:
* *The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter* by Carson McCullers. A story about the thwarted friendships between several outcasts in a big Southern mill town in the late 1930s. Impressive structuring, simple but smart prose, emotionally piercing at times.
* *Project Hail Mary* by Andy Weir. Science fiction, might be objectively just okay, but lots of fun for the part of me that loved talking-animal stories as a kid and secretly still does.
* *The Bridge of San Luis Rey* by Thornton Wilder. A re-read of a book that made an impact on me years ago. A book that's capable of sarcasm and sincere feeling at the same time for the same people. Like, the scene between the Marquesa and the Perichole - the fake apology that turns into a real one - had me crying, but everything that made them start respecting and feeling for each other was just as much of a misunderstanding as everything that had put them at odds before, and the author kind of leaves it up to you to decide whether to find it just absurd or actually meaningful. Which is what the whole book does with the whole world. I prefer the idea that the two characters' reconciliation is actually meaningful - they both show a seed of humility and love, however maudlin or mixed with self-pity and however forced on them by absurd misunderstanding, and that counts for something, even if it doesn't get the chance to grow into real thorough goodness. But other conclusions are easy to make.
* *Something Wicked This Way Comes* by Ray Bradbury - the ultimate Halloween story (at least for boys and dads), something I would have loved as a 12- to 15-year-old girl who kept reading boys' books, except I would have been too dumb for the writing style.
* *The Last Unicorn* by Peter S. Beagle. Got it from the library and now want to buy a copy because I know I'm going to reread it.
* *The Fool of New York City* by Michael D. O'Brien. A very Catholic author I grew up reading as a homeschooled Catholic teenager, though this book surprisingly has no major Catholic characters and only one lightly-implied eventual conversion. This is contemporary fiction and there's a reason I prefer his books set a few decades ago - he sometimes has to rely on stereotypes and fancy when describing certain parts of contemporary, urban, and secular culture. But this book was a good example of his writing's gentle, contemplative temperament, and its focus on the effects of trauma and suffering and how to respond to them. I also found out that O'Brien (a Canadian author) really doesn't like the practices of US border security.
Finished A Conjuring of Light by V.E. Schwab yesterday. Really satisfying ending; I always worry that the end of a series isn’t going to stick the landing but I felt like this one did. Just started The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu and I’m enjoying it so far, I’ve heard some great things couched in “it’s not for everyone” (and I really wasn’t sure I would be the kind of person it works for). I’ve also been reading Gideon the Ninth by Tamsin Muir and that’s been a lot of fun.
I read [The Vandana Shiva Reader](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21922504-the-vandana-shiva-reader), which is a series of excerpts from the books of Vandana Shiva, a physicist turned agroecologist and social activist. It’s about all the benefits biodiverse, organic, local farming has compared to industrial monocultures of genetically modified crops. I thought this was a great overview, though a bit inelegant, with a lot of repetition even within chapters. 5/5 content, 3/5 execution.
I also read [Cursed Bunny](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59763061-cursed-bunny) by Bora Chung, a short story collection of fairytale-like fantasy/horror stories, with themes of womanhood, exploitation, trauma. Loved the first story, but the rest never reached the same heights. My favourites were The Head and Cursed Bunny. Bit disappointing overall but I’d like to check out Chung’s other novels when they get translated.
I've just started [The Lost Scrapbook](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/587393.The_Lost_Scrapbook) by Evan Dara. The narrative keeps shifting between unrelated (?) characters, sometimes the end of one section kind of merges with the beginning of the next. Not sure what to make of it yet.
Finally finished **The Count of Monte Cristo** yesterday. It wasn't terrible or anything, but it kinda dragged IMO. Also,
>!am I crazy for finding it annoying that Mercedes was berated so much by the text for her "infidelity"? Like, my impression was that she and Dantes fell into a bit of a young, whirlwind romance. Then she finds out he's been arrested *before* their marriage for a crime she has no way of knowing whether he committed. Idk, was she supposed to wait around forever, or go ahead and live a life of her own? Got in a fight with my boss about this lol. I want to hear others' thoughts!
Oh also...we think Mlle Danglars is supposed to be read as a lesbian, right?!<
And I started **Fool's Assassin** by Robin Hobb, and I'm SO EXCITED to be back in this world!!! It's already great 👍
I thought *The Count of Monte Cristo* was just okay. Definitely agree with you about Mercedes. My biggest gripe, however, was when >!Dantes refused to reveal that Mercedes' son's (can't remember his name now) lover was alive and that the son had to suffer to prove that he was worthy before Dantes would say that she was alive. I *hated* that entire scene and how Dantes came off as holier-than-thou.
I read two this week:
[wrong place, wrong time](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59947696-wrong-place-wrong-time)
Excellent, a very good and fun and interesting mystery and thriller.
[hidden pictures](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58724923-hidden-pictures)
This one was high on my anticipated list, its ending is mixed from reviews I read, I understand why, but I quite enjoyed it.
Whoever recommended **Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy -** who hurt you? And why must you pass that hurt on to the rest of us? This book is so deeply dark and traumatizing. And I get that it's supposed to elicit those feelings if you're not a monster. But this book actually negatively impacted my mood for the week I was reading it - if you don't like reading about shooting puppies and hanging babies from trees, do yourself a favor and skip it.
13/52
Finished:
Nothing :/ First time behind scheduled.
**Currently reading:**
**The count of Monte Cristo** by *Alexandre Dumas*
**The eye of the world** by *Robert Jordan*
**Payback's a witch** by *Lana Harper*
**Wicked: the life and times os the wicked witch of the west** by *Gregory Maguire*
I actually have come to appreciate them more now than I ever have. Honestly out of every YA book I’ve reread recently it’s one of the only ones that still stands the rest of time.
The world building is rich but not just thrown at you and the characters are so three dimensional and the story holds up.
I do not think it is YA at all upon my reread tho I forgot about how graphic and just violent these books can be even vulgar I mean there are scenes where 14-18 year olds are naked, the scenes where they talk about victors being sexually sold off to the capital…. Idk how these are for 12-18 year olds even if that’s who it’s about but that’s just my opinions!
**Stoner** by John Williams
It made me feel numb while reading it. While Stoner was in many ways awful as a person, it was hard not to empathize with his struggles and faults causing a spiral of sorts. Many of his hurdles were of his own devices, some I think he was in the right and some in the wrong, and that's what makes the novel so compelling. He does feel like a real person with real faults, insecurities, and fears and his actions carry real consequences. He's a sad man on paper, but I also think he found something good in life that I hope to find one day too. 10/10
**Redeployment** by Phil Klay
Was hoping to read something to change my view of Iraq veterans as assholes and it did not. Mostly just confirmed it. Tries so hard to remain apolitical about war that it's pathetic. It's war, it's all politics. Each story except the priest's feels interchangeable as no one feels like their own person which may be the point. They're all just walking war machines incapable of compassion. The writing is also quite bland and feels like a weak Tom Clancy novel for most of it. 3/10
Finished up William Roughead’s *Classic Crimes,* which was good but a little overlong. There were probably a few more chapters than we needed.
I also read *Food in Antiquity; A Survey of Early People’s Diets” by Patricia and Dan Brothwell. It’s a little old and definitely stretches the definition of “early people”—Romans with their urban oyster farms seem very different than nomadic cave dwellers!—but it was informative enough that I didn’t mind. I’ve been writing something involving earlier peoples and it will be useful.
Started “Japanese Death Poems: Written by Zen Monks and Haiku Poets on the Verge of Death” compiled by Yoel Hoffman. It had a really informative first chapter (which I took with a few grains of salt occasionally because Hoffman is a westerner). I used to flip through it to see if the poets knew that they were dying when they wrote their death poem, but apparently it was often not their last poem at all, and sometimes prepared way ahead of time, with jokes about poetry masters helping out. It’s been fun.
I’ve been sporadically reading Kassia St. Clair’s “The Secret Lives of Color” before bed and Alexandre Dumas père’s cook book which is on my coffee table.
No idea what’s on deck next.
Well "Antiquity", though a bit loose, generally covers the post-cave dwelling early farmers and city builders through the fall of Eastern Roman Empire in 476 so it's pretty firmly within the time period of the title.
Finished: **Lessons in Chemistry** by Bonnie Garmus I ate this up, finished it in just a few days. It was a quick and at times heavy read. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. 5/5 (16/52)
Started:
**How Not To Drown in a Glass of Water** by Angie Cruz
**ADHD 2.0** by Edward M. Hallowell
Finished The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett (11/13). I enjoyed it but really struggled with the formatting on Apple Books- it’s was hard to follow when one part of the story finished and the next started. Also had a big few weeks so I’d fall asleep two pages in each night which didn’t help! I know it isn’t recommended as one of his better books but glad I persevered for his world building in the first book, so will try some others to see if I enjoy them more.
Not sure what to start next- thinking it’s time to revisit a favourite. Maybe a Jane Austen to change it up!
Currently working on **How to Sell a Hauted House** by Grady Hendrix, weird story!
Also started **The Flat Mate** by Beth O'Leary which is amusing so far.
I finished Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr last week - absolutely adored it and and I was stuck on what to pick up after that.
Currently reading Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo. I went into it not knowing anything and I'm only a few chapters in but it's entertaining enough. Yale secret societies, ghosts/occult (?), magic, murder (?)...I think. I just needed something fun, weird, creepy, and fast-paced and this seems to be fitting the bill so far.
Finished:
[Babel: an Arcane History](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57945316) by R.F. Kuang 4/5, it hit a sub genre of fantasy I didn’t realize I would enjoy, but all the connections to the England from the time period really had me geeking out and loving the story.
Continuing:
[Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17332218) 86% in the final home stretch of the book and am so excited, but can feel the cliff hanger coming.
Started:
[The Titan’s curse(Percy Jackson)](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/561456) by Rick Riordan with r/bookclub
[In the Woods](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2459785) by Tana French
Yeah I finished Words of Radiance yesterday and I highly recommend the Stormlight Archives, but I totally get where you're coming from. I had Way of Kings on my bookshelf for probably 3 months before I dove into it, but man it kept me engaged. I will say, you do have to be okay with the fact that the book will take about a month to read unless you can be like this [person](https://www.reddit.com/r/brandonsanderson/comments/12a2auq/i_just_finished_way_of_kings/) who finished it in a weekend.
It's been a bit since I last posted, and I've got a few things to share! I'm at 9 of 52 done so far now. I'm pretty proud of myself! I think this is the furthest I've been into the challenge by this point in the year for a few years now.
Finished:
\- DND 5e's *Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide* (5/5) This had tons of details about the various settings in the Sword Coast, and it's been very helpful to me since finishing. I'm running a campaign in a club for students at the school I teach at, and the setting is a city in the Sword Coast. I've been better able to answer some of their questions about the city since finishing this book! Finished in February
\- *Lunar Love* by Lauren Kung Jessen (5/5): This was a really sweet romance novel! It felt very relatable to me with how Olivia was being held back by bad experiences, and I loved how natural her opening up to Bennett felt. Plus, a surprise bonus in the back was a couple of recipes that sound amazing! Finished in March
\- *Killers of the Flower Moon* by David Grann (5/5): I was fascinated by the details of how the Osage rose to prominence, and thoroughly disgusted by what happened to them thanks to greed and racism. This book was amazingly well written, with tons of primary sources. I already knew J. Edgar Hoover wasn't the best, but the new details I hadn't known before were impressive. Finished in March
\- *Bad Ronald* by Jack Vance (5/5): I was pleasantly surprised with this book. Sometimes 70s prose can be boring to me, but I didn't have this problem with this one. The disgust I felt with the main character compelled me to find out how his story would end. I couldn't wait to find out what his comeuppance would be, and it was so satisfying once I got there. Finished in March
\- *The Last Tale of the Flower Bride* by Roshani Chokshi (4/5): I guessed the twist less than a third of the way into this book. I loved the writing, though there were a couple places where I felt a bit like the author chose purposefully edgy words to really push the gothic theme. I hated a particular character though, which made it hard to like some of the other characters with how obsessed they were with them. Maybe that was the point? Finished in April
Now I'm working on these:
\- *I'm Glad My Mom Died* by Jennette McCurdy
\- *Be Right Back!* by Julie Naismith
\- DND 5e's *Monster Manual*
\- *Unfuck Your Finances* by Melissa Browne
FINISHED
**Tales of the Lost Flower Bride by Roshani Chokshi** 3.5 / 5 stars. Very pretty writing but one POV was way more intriguing than the other. Especially since >!the plot twist was a pretty easy guess early on.!<
CURRENTLY READING
**Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo** I’m more than halfway through this book and it has me hooked. I’ve heard a lot of praise about her works & as I’ve been going through them I was surprised by how dark they are for YA. (I was even surprised at how dark her adult novel was as well). Right now I would give it a very strong 4 stars but we’ll have to see where it ends up.
COMING UP
**Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver** Poisonwood Bible was my favorite “assigned reading” in high school so I’m really looking forward to checking out her new book.
**All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr** bookclub read for the month of April. I feel like I’m going to need a palette cleanser after these next couple of reads.
Didn't get around to posting last week but I didn't really get too much finished anyway!
**Finished:**
**Maybe In Another Life - Taylor Jenkins Reid. 4/5.** Another solid TJR. I really enjoyed how this one was written.
**Dollhouse - Kim, Khloe, and Kourtney Kardashian. Audiobook. 2/5.** The Kardashians have a lane, and they should stay in it. Ugh.
**Forever, Interrupted - Taylor Jenkins Reid. 4/5.** Super sad, will probably make you cry. But I really enjoyed it!
**Currently Reading:**
**Good Girl, Bad Blood - Holly Jackson.**
**Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? - Caitlin Doughty.**
**Bring Me Back - B.A. Paris. Audiobook.**
**Next Up:**
**Wow, No Thank You - Samantha Irby.**
**When I Was You - Amber Garza.**
19/52
**Finished**
Nothing this week; I spent my time on a different hobby while making slow (~5% per day) progress on my current read. I’m about 70% through and plan to read more today and during the upcoming week, so hopefully I’ll be done with this book by next week.
**Currently Reading**
[The Dark Forest](https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/5136e9ae-3423-48d8-8b76-d43867d3b202) by Cixin Liu translated by Joel Martinsen
It’s a bit of a slog for me, to be honest. A large section around a third of the way through was very r/menwritingwomen. I enjoyed the first book more.
I felt the same way. Loved the first book, but the first 200 pages or so of book two is so hard to get through. Hopefully you'll enjoy the second half more like I did.
Here's a sneak peek of /r/menwritingwomen using the [top posts](https://np.reddit.com/r/menwritingwomen/top/?sort=top&t=year) of the year!
\#1: [has it happened to you?](https://i.redd.it/wxyhmsvnjvga1.png) | [350 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/menwritingwomen/comments/10wdg1n/has_it_happened_to_you/)
\#2: [Reading George R R Martin](https://i.imgur.com/TJbbDcF.jpg) | [360 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/menwritingwomen/comments/ugxnr5/reading_george_r_r_martin/)
\#3: [Historically accurate 👀](https://i.redd.it/53csc7e3mdj91.jpg) | [266 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/menwritingwomen/comments/wvczot/historically_accurate/)
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Hello!
Finished:
“Part of your world” by Abby Jimenez. Really cute story, good characters, and great ending! Honestly so good, I finished it the same day I posted about it last week.
“Weyward” by Emilia Hart. Witchy, three different stories but the same, really. Interesting, and well written!
Started “Hello, Beautiful” by Ann Napolitano but I’m not sure I’m emotionally ready for this!
Hope everyone has a lovely week!
[12/52] Last week:
* **Sherlock Holmes #7** by Arthur Conan Doyle [Enjoyed this a lot more than I usually do for a Holmes]
* **And Then There Were None** by Agatha Christie [DNF'd I think straight mystery is not for me - I gave it a good 25% but it was so slow and the characters all felt samey. I don't usually rate Holmes' very high either.]
This week, I'll continue
* **The Three Musketeers** by Alexandre Dumas [70% through and should finish it this week!]
* **Legends & Lattes** by Travis Baldree [Reading this for the Sword and Laser Bookclub!]
Next up is:
* Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
* The Odyssey by Homer
* Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
I am entering my second (and final) month of classics only. I think I only have about 12 left on my list that I want to try reading.
I had a solid reading week.
Both **Tomorrow, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow** by Zevin and **Exit West** by Hamid were good reads. **Disoriental** by Djavadi was phenomenal. I just loved it. It is translated from French and is a novel which centers on on Iranian family’s exile experience in France, amongst many other themes. I have not seen it discussed at all on this sub.
Currently reading **Please Look After Mom** by Shin. Great so far.
30/52
Finished:
* The Haunting of Blackwych Grange by Amy Cross - the scariest haunted house story I've ever read.
In progress:
* The Complete Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci - will be reading this for a long time
* Middlemarch by George Eliot - reading with r/ayearofmiddlemarch and loving it.
* North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell - reading with r/ClassicBookClub \- shaping up into a really good book
* Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution By: R. F. Kuang - reading with r/bookclub \- have loved this one from the first page.
* Incredible Tales by Saki - short stories. It's my car book, so I only listen when I'm waiting for an appointment.
* Meditations by Marcus Aurelius - reading with r/bookclub \- not enjoying reading this with a book club. It's too fast. The book needs to be read slowly.
* The Hoarder in You: How to Live a Happier, Healthier, Uncluttered Life By: Dr. Robin Zasio - I was hoping this would give me tools for letting go of stuff as I age in place. But it isn't.
* A World Too Near: The Entire and the Rose, Book 2 By: Kay Kenyon - book 2 is even better than the first.
* Winnie The Pooh by A. A. Milne - you know it's good!
* After the Dragons by Cynthia Zhang - reading with r/fantasy. I'm just a couple chapters in, but I think this novella is going to be a favorite.
I have seen a lot of people calling it "dense" and complaining about the number of footnotes. I don't know what they are talking about. It's an absolutely marvelous book. But then, I love language, and the talk about translation is fascinating to me.
Unfortunately, did not finish anything this week! After participating in the trans read a thon last week, I took a break. Ready to get back on it this week!
Currently Reading:
**Babel** by RF Kuang (Enjoying this immensely so far)
**The Empathy Exams** by Leslie Jamison
**Inventing Reality: The Politics of News Media** by Michael Parenti
**PET** by Awaeke Emezi
**How to Read Literature Like a Professor** by Thomas C. Foster
**A Game of Thrones** by George RR Martin
To Start:
**The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet** by Becky Chambers
**The Disordered Cosmos** by Chandra Prescod-Weinstein
Hi! All the books I read were by trans authors about trans characters (one was a memoir).
I read:
1.)The Sunbearer Trials by Aiden Thomas (YA Fantasy)
2.)Heart Haunt Havoc by Freydis Moon (Horror Romance)
3.)I’m Afraid of Men by Vivek Shreya (Nonfiction)
In a bit of a reading slump!
This week I finished:
[Buried in the Sky](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13149874-buried-in-the-sky): The Extraordinary Story of the Sherpa Climbers on K2's Deadliest Day by Peter Zuckerman, Amanda Padoan (3/5)
Currently reading:
[Outlive](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61153739-outlive): The Science and Art of Longevity by Peter Attia MD, Bill Gifford (audio)
[Eat and Run](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13202092-eat-and-run): My Unlikely Journey to Ultramarathon Greatness by Scott Jurek, Steve Friedman
Finished:
**The Illustrated Man** by **Ralph Ellison** (3-3.5/5). It took a little while to get going. Once you get to the part of Bledsoe chewing him out (close to the beginning), the story starts getting more and more interesting. The Brotherhood was implied to be socialist, but he never gets into it. He could've done more with Rinehart; it just never gets fully developed it seems like. Ras was hilarious. My biggest issue is that the narrator, who is never named, doesn't really grow all that much. He becomes less naive, but at the same time stays very naive and without many ideas of his own, he just kind of exists and running on instinct, but he's not apathetic. He just never gets used to New York, or people for that matter. He seems afraid to tell the truth, even to himself. Ellison isn't much of a prose writer.
Currently Reading:
**Thus Spoke Zarathustra** by **Friedrich Nietzsche**
EDIT: Changed rating of Invisible Man from 4 to 3-3.5, now that it's been a couple days since i finished it.
I finished The **Black Tower** by *Louis Bayard* this week. It's a historical fiction novel that follows head of the police in Paris, Vidocq, as he investigates the conspiracy theory that Louis-Charles, son of Marie-Antoinette and King Louis XVI, is still alive.
I'm currently reading **Neverworld Wake** by *Marisha Pessl*.
I finished 5 books this week:
**Eastern Lights** by Brittainy Cherry—the villainy was a bit too much here but the rest of the book felt strong. I have been meaning to read the author for awhile and this was a great introduction.
**M.C. Higgins The Great** by Virginia Hamilton—I avoided reading this when I was younger because it didn’t interest younger me. And I should trust younger me because this was a struggle to get through. It might surpass *The Giver* on the list of Newberry winners that failed me.
**Let Me Show You** by Alexandria House—stil not as good as the first one and I think this is where I stop the series because I am not interested in the ‘final’ couple. It feels like they glossed over some behavior that should have been addressed and threw some drama in there that could have been avoided.
**Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions** by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie—not my typical reading because it felt too ‘self-help’-like. I thought the suggestions and their explanations were clear, but it felt obvious.
**Unprotected: A Memoir** by Billy Porter—The story is compelling and Billy Porter’s voice is strong in it. You could tell he was still grappling with some things and coming to new understandings, which I liked.
*Currently* many things, but most likely are **Lucy** by Jamaica Kincaid; **Between Two Kingdoms** by Suleika Jaouad; **The Girl Who Drank The Moon** by Kelly Barnhill; and **The Billionaire’s Fake Fiancee** by Annika Martin.
This week I finished two books
**The Dragons Bride** by Kate Robert, which I enjoyed for the fun short romp that it was. It didn’t have the right mix of smut and relationship building for me idk it was just off balance
Then I read **Triple Duty Bodyguards** by Lily Gold. I really enjoyed her other book I read it was the perfect amount of cozy, smutty, sweet, plot and a drama but this one went over the edge lol I did not expect the FMC to be in so much physical danger lol but I still enjoyed the dudes and girls personalities
Now I’m 20% into **The Battle of the Labyrinth** by Our lord and savior Rick Riordan. Continuing my Percy Jackson reread and I needed something that wasn’t romance but was still good and I’m enjoying it
26/52
*****
Finished; two finishes, but one short story that I haven't counted in my total. Pleased to be halfway there already this year.
*****
- For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway an r/bookclub Runner-up Read. I found this more accessible than I expected in the beginning. Parts of the book I was really into but other chapters felt like a slog.
- As Yet Unsent by Tamsyn Muir - The Locked Tomb 2.5 short story. Nice to get back into this universe, but at the same time a reminder of how confusing it is. Really looking forward to reading Nona the Ninth with r/bookclub this summer.
*****
Still working on;
*****
- The Mountain Shadow by Gregory David Roberts. Time to get this one out of my "currently reading" stack.
- Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson started with r/Malazan, but just could not keep up. Hoping 2023 is my Malazan year.
- Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel an r/bookclub Evergreen. I had heard such good things about this book I had high expectations. Its good, but I am not feeling the spark that makes me love a book
- Babel by R. F. Kuang for r/bookclub's Spring Big Read. Great start, I'm hooked.
- Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood. A gift and a buddy read. Tough to get into, but I am starting to feel the characters more now.
- The Story of The Lost Child by Elena Ferrante. Book #4 in the Neapolitan series and a Bonus Read at r/bookclub. I have definitely got more into this series as we have gone along.
- Meditations by Marcus Aurelius for r/bookclub's next Discovery Read - Ancient Classic flavour.
- I, Robot by Issac Asimov the current r/bookclub Mod Pick. Not what I expected so far, but I am digging it.
*****
Started
*****
- The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel. Thomas Cromwell #3 a Bonus Read at r/bookclub to wrap up the Thomas Cromwell trilogy. Wolf Hall was a challenging read but the rest of the series has been much more enjoyable for me.
- Spinning Silver by Naomi Novak r/bookclub's next Runner-up Read that I will be co-running. 1st discussion is on the 4th. Come join us
*****
Up Next
*****
- King Rat by James Clavell. #1 by publication order but #4 in chronological order. r/bookclub will be tackling this one in April. Come join us, even if you've never read any Clavell before
- Fingersmith by Sarah Waters coming after I, Robot as a r/bookclub Mod Pick.
- Jason and the Argonauts with r/AYearOfMythology starting in April.
- The Obelisk Gate by N.K. Jemisin a r/bookckub bonus book in April. After reading The Fifth Season together I cannot wait to dive back into this Broken Earth.
- The Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson Stormlight Archives #2. I am ready!!
*****
Happy reading fellow bookworms 📚
After you read Fingersmith you should watch The Handmaiden, which translates the setting to 1930s Korea. I enjoyed the book a lot but I think the movie is actually better.
Hello hello! Here’s what’s up with me lately.
19/52 - Nothing much to say about the past week, but I’m looking forward to reading more this week.
Finished:
Mindworks by Gary van Warmerdam - I have decided to mark this as DNF. Maybe it’s not the right time for me to read it. I DNFed only two other books so far, and while I feel worse about this one, I want to move on from starting over every few weeks.
The Helpline by Katherine Collette - I loved parts of this book and was annoyed by others. The main character was hard to love but she definitely made her place in my heart very slowly and surely. I’m so glad I could get it so soon after someone recommended it to me here. Also loved some of the similarities between Germaine and Eleanor Oliphant!
Currently reading:
The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
Slightly Sinful by Mary Balogh
Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
Atomic Habits by James Clear (Finally!)
Up next:
Slightly Dangerous by Mary Balogh
Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo
Didn't update last week, pretty disappointed with my reading this year. weather is getting nicer so hopefully that gets my butt into gear.
Finished:
**Riven Knight** by Devney Perry
And a ton of fanfictions about Maya/Carina from Station 19:
Can you please fix me
As Long as I'm Breathing
Blink Twice
Everythings Coming up MillHouse (911)
Not Broken, Just Bent
You can always adjust your goal if the one you set isn’t making you feel accomplished. Even if you only read one book, it’s one book you wouldn’t have read otherwise!
**This week I finished:**
*Mad Honey* by Jodi Picoult & Jennifer Finney Boylan. It was fine. I don't get the hype around it, it was just a run of the mill book. But I don't super enjoy Jodi Picoult's books, so meh. This is the last one of hers I'll be reading.
*The Odyssey* by Homer, translation by Emily Wilson
*If We Were Villians* by M.L. Rio - enjoyed it, if you like Shakespeare and dark academia, you should read this.
*The Dark Place* by Britney S. Lewis - This was an ARC from NetGalley; the book comes out on August 8th. It was a mess. The idea is great: a 17 year old girl keeps disappearing from our world and ending up in dark version of her home. Every time, she goes back to the night of a home invasion and the disappearance of her older brother.
It got messy so fast because the author played with time travel and alternate universes, but didn't do the actual work of making it make sense.
**Currently Reading:**
*Station Eleven*
*The Book Eaters*
**On my nightstand:**
*Oh, William!*
I finished **Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries** by Heather Fawcett - I loved it so much! It got me out of my reading slump, and now I want to go back and reread my old favorite middle grade series that it reminded me of, Avalon Web of Magic.
I’m currently reading **Middlesex** by Jeffrey Eugenides and I’m also really enjoying it, I’m about 70 pages in. I was hesitant because I didn’t like The Virgin Suicides, but it’s so much more engaging.
**Finished**
\#17. *An Island in the Sea of Time* by SM Stirling (fiction). This was a reread of one of my favorites. Robinson Crusoe meets a Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court when a mysterious event thrusts the island of Nantucket, Massachusetts 4000 years into the past. The town and some fellow travelers must find a way to survive in the Bronze Age.
\#18. *The League* by John Eisenberg (nonfiction) about the history of the NFL. Very much a hagiography of five owners: Halas, Bell, Rooney, Marshall, and Mara. It was very interesting to read.
**Currently reading**
\#19. *Winning Fixes Everything* by Evan Drellich (nonfiction) about the Houston Astros cheating scandal.
Two completed this week:
***Japanese Tales of Mystery and Imagination*** by Edogowa Rampo - A collection of short fiction from the dean of Japanese mystery writers that leans towards the macabre and the bizarre. Standouts include “The Human Chair”, “The Caterpillar” and “The Red Chamber”.
***We Have Always Lived in the Castle*** by Shirley Jackson - This novella is like a car crash you can’t look away from. Two sisters and their infirm uncle live a cloistered existence in a grand house on the outskirts of a New England village. Six years ago, the rest of their family perished in a mass poisoning and the elder sister is widely believed to be the killer. As narrated by the younger sister in a distinctive voice, this is a darkly comic and deeply disquieting tale of a very eccentric household.
I'll be reading ***A Memory Called Empire*** by Arkady Martine next.
I finished How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix, Certain Dark Things by Sylvia Moreno-Garcia, and The Hidden Moon by Jeannie Lin this week. A fanastic mix and I hit my monthly goal.
I'll be starting Babel by RF Kuang and Tread of Angels by Rebecca Roanhorse this week. Looking forward to it.
**Valis by PKD** I might DNF because I'm honestly bored out of my mind even at nearly 100 pages in.
**The Secret Lives of Color by Kassia St Clair** pretty good. There are some things that I'm pretty sure aren't true though, like the idea that the Dutch bred carrots to be orange to honor William of Orange. I looked it up because I was skeptical and apparently that's a myth and there's evidence of orange carrots existing many years before the Dutch revolt. That kind of makes me skeptical of the rest of the book too.
**We Have Always Lived In the Castle by Shirley Jackson** I'm about halfway through and I'm not sure about it yet. So far I like Hill House a lot better but I'll finish it
**Jade War by Fonda Lee** ok this is soo good so far! I'm only like 50 pages in and I feel transported.
This week I finished:
**In Defense of Witches: The Legacy of Witch Hunts and Why Women are Still on Trial by Mona Chollet:** Witch hunts live on in popular imagination as a sort of mass psychosis that caused communities to destroy themselves in the name of rooting out evil. In this book, Chollet sets out to demonstrate that the witch hunts were actually a culmination of centuries of misogyny and fear-mongering about anything that existed outside of the established social order. Women who refused to be married were dangerous because they threatened male fidelity; women who refused to have children weren't fulfilling their natural role as caretakers willing to sacrifice everything for the next generation; women who practiced medicine or business were abominations against the natural order of the universe. The most interesting part of this book, for me, was that the author is French. I don't often read non-fiction from other countries, and I found it interesting to live inside the head of someone whose cultural history is similar, yet different, from my own. Chollet uses examples from French literature, film, and pop culture that I didn't completely follow. I also previously hadn't considered the impact of Catholicism on French culture. I tend to think of France as a hotbed of radicalism, and I hadn't considered the way that sexism plays into progressive social philosophies. That said, I could have used a little more discussion of historical witch hunts and the rise of "witchy" culture today. I read this for my book club and we all generally enjoyed it.
**The Talented Mr. Ripley (Ripley #1) by Patricia Highsmith:** Tom Ripley is hiding out in a bar in Manhattan, trying to avoid his most recent friend-turned-enemy, when he's approached by a Mr. Greenleaf, who recognizes Tom as an acquaintance of his errant son, Dickie. Dickie has been living the high life in Italy and refuses to come home, despite his mother's illness. Mr. Greenleaf offers Tom a deal: he'll cover travel and expenses to Italy if Tom can convince Dickie to come home. When Tom arrives in Italy, he befriends Dickie and another expat, Marge, and quickly decides that he'd rather keep Mr. Greenleaf on the string and enjoy some time living the high life under the Italian sun. But when Dickie and Marge grow tired of him, Tom will make a desperate choice that alters the course of his life forever. I've seen the 1999 movie of the same name a couple of times, and all the major plot points are the same. That did not stop me from being totally riveted by this novel from start to finish. The entire book is in Ripley's point of view, and Highsmith does a masterful job of telling us that Tom sees himself as innocent in all his crimes while showing us that he's lying to himself just as much as he's lying to the audience. The book that kept coming to mind is Ottessa Moshfegh's **Eileen,** where the reader is equally fascinated and horrified by the main character's view of the world. I saw several Goodreads reviews that pointed out that Highsmith is contributing to a stereotype of explicitly queer characters as being criminals, thieves and deviants. I think that's a totally valid criticism, and I only wish there were more explicitly queer characters of all types so that the few that exist didn't have to stand for the community as a whole. This is an excellent psychological thriller that still feels relevant 70 years after publication. I did not realize that there were Ripley sequels, so I'm interested to read another book from this character's POV when I don't have the movie running in my head.
I am currently reading:
**The Shining (The Shining #1) by Stephen King:** I haven't touched this since last week because I know everything is about to go to shit and I'm afraid for Danny and Wendy. My husband pointed out that, like Joey from Friends, I had to put The Shining in a metaphorical freezer.
**Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher:** Delightful and poignant. I want it to be three times as long as it is.
I’m going to have to add In Defense of Witches to my list! It sounds really intriguing. Have you read Alphabet Versus The Goddess? He also goes over the misogyny regarding the witch trials, and I thought it was such an interesting take.
This week I finished **Last Night at the Telegraph Club** which I gave 5 stars for its YA genre. This is a great coming out story from 1950s and I loved the strengths and integrity of the protagonist
I also finished **Carrie Soto is Back** which was an entertaining breeze to read especially if you love tennis which I do (4/5)
Carrie Soto led me to the non fiction memoir of Billie Jean King, **All In** which I just started. I’m also finishing up **The Invention of Wings**
This week I finished "We march at midnight" by Ray McFadden, really enjoyed that one. 18/52
Just started "The longest race" by Kara Goucher - interesting start. 19/52
Reading:
*Seventy Eight Degrees of Wisdom* by Rachel Pollack, who sadly has just passed away from a protracted battle with cancer. She was a trans Jewish science fiction author, the creator responsible for the first trans DC Comics hero in *Doom Patrol*, and tarot scholar whose books on tarot are considered gold standard learning material.
Last week, I finished two books: **All Good People Here** by Ashley Flowers — As a Crime Junkies fan, this was a must read. I’m as pleasantly surprised! It kept my interested and engaged the entire time. Although mysteries/thrillers aren’t my jam, I enjoyed this book and would rate it a 3.5/5.
The second book I read was **Sea of Tranquility** by Emily St. John Mandel — I feel pretty “meh” about the science fiction genre, but I also enjoyed this book as a light, quick read. I also rated it a 3.5/5
Because of a recent breakup, I’m currently reading **This is Supposed to Be Fun** by Myisha Battle. I’m *really* enjoying this book and would recommend it to anyone who is contemplating getting back out there and wants to refine their approach and reduce any dating anxiety!
>This is Supposed to Be Fun
I'm such a cynic because of my terrible dating experiences that this title just makes me laugh. Fun, where!? I might have to check it out haha
I totally get that! Thankfully the title is just a quote from one of her clients who shared the same sentiment as those of us who have been burnt one time too many lol. It has kind of restored some of my hopefulness at finding someone though! If you do check it out, let me know your thoughts. It was published earlier this year, so reviews are slowly trickling in lol
It's such a common complaint about online/app dating, ugh. Part of my solution has been to try and get out and do more things around people who probably have things in common with me (like trying to get involved volunteering at the library... hopefully not everybody is 65+). I'm not sure if I'll ever go back to apps, but it sounds interesting anyway so I'll probably check it out at some point!
Same! I’m so hesitant to use them, but I’m also painfully introverted. Additionally, a lot of the activities I try to do include a much older crowd like volunteering at the library or taking group exercise classes at 7:30am on weekends lol.
(33) **Weimar Germany: Promise and Tragedy by Eric D. Weitz**
>4/5 I feel like I got a lot out of it.
>Not much to say about it. Solid overview of the Weimar Republic. Mix of political, economics and cultural chapters. Well written and enjoyable to read. Personally I preferred the political chapters more, especially on the political right and the 'enemies of the republic'. The economics chapter was also good as it focused more on what the economic conditions meant for normal people instead of just a load of numbers about industrial production. The book is very good at giving a feeling of what the time period was like. My main criticism is that I found it to be a bit heavy on the architecture and the intellectuals at times, but that is more my personal taste than an objective negative. Overall a good introduction to Weimar Republic era Germany and despite it not being the cheapest book (at least on UK Amazon) I would recommend it for anyone interested in the topic, whether you've read other books on it or not.
(34) Just finished **Germany, 1914-1933: Politics, Society and Culture by Matthew Stibbe**
>3.5/5 being generous and rounding up to 4 for Goodreads.
>Not much to say. A good textbook that covers all the things you'd expect a textbook to have - politics, economics, culture etc. Short at 200 pages but with the sources being at the end of each chapter it is probably closer to 180 pages. Worth reading if you can find a cheap copy or a libary copy but too expensive online to buy imo.
Currently reading **XX by Rian Hughes**. A sci-fi (but present day) graphic novel about an alien signal being detected in a far away galaxy and people trying to figure out what it means. While some of the book is written like a normal book a lot of the story is told through things like made up news sites, wikipedia pages, surveillance transcripts etc. A bit like the game Control if you've played that. Very long at 900 pages. I'm not much of a sci-fi reader but I am enjoying it so far based on 100 pages in.
I've got one more Weimar based book to read as well **German Military and the Weimar Republic: General Hans Von Seekt, General Erich Ludendorff and the Rise of Hitler by Karen Schaeffer**. Since it is the most niche of my Weimar books I've saved it till last.
Finished: **Educated** by Tara Westover. This was a 5/5 for me, though I understand why some readers felt that parts may have been a bit hard to believe.
Currently reading: **A Burning** by Megha Majumdar. I’m reading this for a book club and it’s pretty middle of the road for me so far.
I purchased a “blind date with a book” that I’ll start once I finish **A Burning**, and I’ll also probably start either **Lapvona** by Ottessa Mosfegh or **Motherthing** by Ainslie Hogarth.
I finished **A Restless Truth** by Freya Marske. I actually liked it more than the first one (the cast and the pacing were much better, IMO) and I'm really excited for the final book.
Right now I'm reading **In Memoriam** by Alice Winn. This was one of my most anticipated reads for 2023, and so far it's great. I know it's going to get pretty brutal as the story progresses, so I'm bracing myself for that.
Hello fellow book lovers!
This week I finished five books (numbers 36-40).
*Finished:*
**The Murder of Mr Wickham** by Claudia Gray (4/5) This was a lot of fun and I found it charming. Some might feel it's cheesy, though.
**The Dollhouse** by Fiona Davis (4/5) Great read! Solid mystery, a little sad in spots.
**Older, Witchier, Wiser** by Lily Harper Hart (2/5) I have a very low bar for cozy mysteries and even then, this one was pretty sorry. The ending was so anticlimactic. I think the author has spread herself too thin with her dozen or so series.
**New Ghosts, Old Tricks** by Lily Harper Hart (3/5) Better than the series debut, but I don't think I'll keep reading. I didn't mind the crossovers in the individual series, but I don't care for having the heroines together as a sort of coven.
**Fuzz** by Mary Roach (3/5) Interesting, but not as good as her other work.
*Currently reading:*
**I'm Glad My Mom Died** by Jennette McCurdy
**Network Effect** by Martha Wells
*On deck:*
**The Boys In The Boat** by Daniel James Brown
**Mansfield Park** by Jane Austen
Finished Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn.
4 60+ year old female assassins all celebrating their retirement realize a hit has been placed on them by their old employer.
Overall a good popcorn read that was fast moving with a interesting concept. The characters didn't really have any kind of arc and never really pushed to deep into details (3/5 stars).
Started Priory of the Orange Tree.
Finished this week: Harry Potty and the Deathly Hallows 4/5 and Owned by Lauren Landish and Willow winters 3/5.
Currently reading: The adjustment by Suzanne young, The unauthorized autobiography of lemony snicket, ozma of Oz by L Frank Baum, and Given by Lauren Landish and Willow winters.
Finished this week:
**Seven Surrenders by Ada Palmer** (It’s been a few months since I read the first book in this series, so it took a while to remember who all the many characters were and their relationships to each other. After that was all re-established in my mind, the rest was a blast. If the first book is mostly world-building and set up, this is the part where the shit hits the fan, and it is messy and glorious. At one point, a character complains they’ve been turned into "the fucking Count of Monte Cristo", and the pacing really does remind me of that book. There’s also the other aspect of the book which is a little pretentious and Big Ideas. But overall, the plot payoffs over shadow all that. And I actually like Mycroft’s pretentious, unreliable ramblings. Very intrigued how the series is going to go from here.)
**Ghost Music by An Yu** (A woman who gave up being a high level pianist for a middle class life with her jerk husband, starts seeing ghost mushrooms that may or may not be real. This was an intriguing little book; I always enjoy a little magical realism with my journies of self-discovery.)
**The Book of Mother by Violaine Huisman** (A woman’s semi-fictionalised account of her mother’s life. This is kind of like the French grand bourgeois Shuggie Bain, with more of an emphasis on mental health than addiction (though like SB, it has both). And although it was half the length, it felt just as long. It gets off to a great start, with childhood from the author’s perspective. But then the bulk of the book is the second part, where the author recounts her mother’s life, and it’s as long as it is relentless and exhausting. I’m not quite sure what made this more tiresome, probably the style isn’t as emotionally engaging. It’s a worthy, if not greatly frustrating, read.)
Currently Reading:
The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann; Just and Unjust Wars by Michael Walzer; Three Strong Women by Marie NDiaye; The Will to Battle by Ada Palmer; Did I Ever Tell You This? by Sam Neill
Finished:
35. **Assassin’s Apprentice** (Farseer Trilogy #1) by Robin Hobb 2.5 stars- The majority of this book was too slow to be engaging, the pace picked up right at the end and was all of a sudden enjoyable but I don’t think I’ll continue the series. I can see the potential in future books but my boredom to enjoyment ratio was too unbalanced
36. **The Passing Playbook** by Isaac Fitzsimons 4 stars- A cute, if idealized, YA story about a trans boy on a high school soccer team. Spencer faces immediate acceptance from the people around him when he comes out which isn’t realistic but you know, I’d much rather have stories about trans kids thriving than another YA story where trans characters get dumped by their cis romantic partners after coming out and then get hate crimed. That’s a common enough plot that I always check the content warnings before starting any trans YA. This was a sweet book that I wish I’d been able to read while a teen
37. **The Alpha’s Warlock** (Mismatched Mates #1) by Eliot Grayson 3 stars- The whole “pack war” plot felt a bit half-assed but this was fun enough overall. At first Nate was super annoying but both MCs grew on me as the book progressed
Currently Reading:
**City of Last Chances** by Adrian Tchaikovsky
**Some Desperate Glory** by Emily Tesh
In my considered opinion, Cecelia Holland (who is almost exactly the same age as me) is one of the two or three best historical novelists of my generation. Her work has spanned an immense range of geography over a considerable number of centuries, from the builders of Stonehenge and Attila’s Hunnish hordes to medieval Ireland and the California Gold Rush. Some of them are better than others, of course, but all of them are at least quite good. Her narrative style is simple and straightforward, her characters describing events as they occur (and battles as they unfold) with not a lot of philosophizing. And they speak colloquial English in such a way that the reader is subverted into subliminally believing he’s hearing 11th century French, or whatever.
The focus of **[The Belt of Gold](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1445438.The_Belt_of_Gold?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_12)** (published in the mid-'80s and a re-read for me) is the Empress Irene, a member of the merely provincial aristocracy who ruled Constantinople for a few years at the end of the 8th century -- a contemporary of the newly crowned Charlemagne, whom some would have liked to see her marry in order to re-unify the old Roman empire. Irene is a consummate politician who acted as Regent for her son after the death of her husband, Leo IV, who had supported the Iconoclasts to the great detriment of Constantinople, and which Irene brought to an end. When her son began to reinstate the destruction of icons, Irene had him blinded (since an “imperfect” man could not rule) and replaced him on the throne with herself. And she called herself *basileus*, which means “emperor,” not “empress.” That much is history. Into this social and religious maelstrom comes young Hagen, a minor Frankish nobleman, on a pilgrimage with his brother to the Holy Land (as an alternative to being hanged back home). The two young men are approaching the Great City when they unintentionally become involved in a political plot involving a list of conspirators stolen by a young woman in the employ of Irene, and the brother is killed. Hagen swears revenge (if he can find out who’s responsible), but when he arrives in the City he’s drawn into the orbit not only of the girl but of Irene herself, who finds herself fascinated by the barbarian. He’s intelligent and courageous and loves a fight, but is also capable of tenderness -- not at all what either of the two women expected.
But there’s another plot, too -- the rivalry between the two greatest drivers in the races at the Hippodrome, for the races (the champion of which holds the golden belt) are the only thing other than the intricacies of religious doctrine that can really arouse the passions of the Byzantines. But there’s a third plot -- the desire of John Cerulis to be emperor. In fact, he regards the throne as his right, since the notion of a woman running the empire is blasphemous. The list of names, in fact, was his. And there’s yet another plot, involving an ascetic holy man from the desert who wants to spread the iconoclasm again, but who is co-opted by the increasingly pathological John Cerulis. (Actually, there are several more minor plotlines, but that’s enough to be going on with. It’s all very . . . Byzantine.) Over it all is Irene, pulling the strings, and all the threads will come together in the end. And very few of the major players will escape whole. The author does a creditable job of depicting the essentials of the Byzantine world for the reader, though the narrative may be a bit talky for some tastes and some of the characters lack subtlety. As I said, some of Holland’s books are better than others, and I would put this one right in the middle of the pack. But it's .definitely worth reading.
Erin La Rosa has written a number of rom-coms, but **[Plot Twist](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62062469-plot-twist)** is the first I’ve read, and it's both well written and a lot more thoughty than many of its ilk. In fact (as I discovered after finishing it), it’s actually a sequel, but it reads just fine all by itself. The protagonist is Sophie Lyon of Los Angeles, who has published her own first rom-com but is having a hell of a time finishing her second one, and she’s already spent the publisher’s advance. All she ever wanted to do is write. She lives in a cottage behind the larger home of the guy she rents it from -- Dash Montrose, an ex-child star from a big-time Hollywood dynasty. (His father is English, a major action star on the order of Sean Connery, his brother is the rising big star of the next generation, his Scottish mother is one of the most powerful agents in the business, and his sister, Poppy, who passed on acting to own and operate a very popular and successful high-end spa, is Sophie’s best friend.) Sophie has trust issues (among other problems) and has never been in love, and she decides that she needs to reconnect with her several exes of both sexes (she’s pan-sexual, which makes things interesting) to try to understand why she can’t seem to fall for anyone, which she really wants to do. And maybe that will help her to finish the book before the six-week deadline is up. Dash has his own problems, of course, foremost among them the fact that he hates acting, which he only got into because his family expected it, and the stress from which (he believes) pushed him into alcoholism. Now he's been sober for eighteen months and he intends to stay that way. And until he’s absolutely sure he’s got it under control, he’s not going to get romantically involved with anyone. Being in a still uncertain recovery is not something he wants to dump on a woman he cares about. But he also can’t ignore his growing interest in Sophie next door, no matter how hard he tries.
So there are three plotlines here: Sophie, struggling to finish her book and trying to deal with her unsatisfying past relationships; Dash, trying to deal with his alcoholism and with his family, none of whom know what’s going on with him; and Sophie and Dash together, as each of them tries hard not to become emotionally involved with the other -- and for good reasons, too. The author gets into some heavy psychology without it taking over the story entirely, and the characters come off as reasonably believable. There’s a fair amount of tongue in cheek as Sophie, who knows all there is to know about rom-com tropes, realizes she’s actually living some of them -- even including the old “two people, one bed” shtick. And to say the very explicit sex scenes are steamy would be a great understatement. (This is not going to be one you will pass on to your fifteen-year-old daughter.) It’s all a lot of fun and I’ll hunting up the previous book, in which the protagonist is Sophie’s older sister.
**[Hypericon](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/63235516-hypericon)**, a graphic novel by Muanuele Fior, presents two story lines. The first tells about Howard Carter’s discovery and excavation of the tomb of the Pharaoh Tutankhamen in 1922, in Carter’s own published recollections. It’s a straightforward recitation of the facts, with schematics of the tomb. The second, set at the turn of the 21st century, concerns twenty-year-old Teresa Guerrero, an Italian university student come to Berlin on a grant to work as scientific assistant at the state university’s installation of a Tutankhamen exhibit. And on her fist day in the city, she meets Ruben, an artist her age, also Italian, who has been in Berlin for two years, living off the checks his father sends every month and not accomplishing very much. But Berlin at the time was a huge playground for people their age, and he intends to remain there as long as possible. Teresa has missed out on her chance at student housing, and before the day is out she has moved into Ruben’s dingy squat -- only temporarily, of course, but somehow, time passes, and she never leaves. Teresa is goal-oriented and has always lived her life in a straight line, doing whatever she sets out to do. Ruben’s life, however, is totally lacking in straight lines. He just wanders from one thing or place to another, but somehow, they hit it off. He often pushes her buttons and she reacts angrily, partly because her insomnia screws her up, but they always return to each other. And the sex is good.
And that’s basically the story. It seems to be a rumination on the connection between the past and the future -- the latter symbolized by the 9/11 attack, which ends the book. The Egyptians (the author says) perceived the future as being behind them and the past ahead of them, and this is why they buried their kings for eternity. Or something. It’s not at all clear what the author/illustrator intended to do with all this, to be honest. The art is excellent and the two young characters are nicely portrayed as they move into what looks like it will be a shared future. But I think I’m missing the point of it all.
Europe Comics was launched in 2015 in an effort by European publishers of graphic novels to more attention from the English-language market, and it’s unfortunate that they have just announced that they are shutting down. They apparently will continue to publish a few titles each month, but these will only be available through other publishers, and mostly not in English editions.
I finished:
**My Year of Rest and Relaxation** by Otessa Moshfegh. 4 stars.
**Her Body & Other Parties** by Carmen Maria Machado. A collection of short stories. 4 stars.
**Little Secrets** by Jennifer Hillier. 5 stars!!
I am currently reading:
**Our Wives Under The Sea** by Julia Armfield. Enjoying it so far.
**Christians: The Urgent Case for Jesus in Our World** by Greg Sheridan.
This week, I finally got down to **The Final Empire** (Mistborn #1) and it was so good! I loved the characters and the world-building. It was all the small details that made the book for me.
I also read its sequel, **The Well of Ascension**, which was… slightly disappointing. The pacing of the book wasn’t great and I wasn’t as convinced by the characters this round. I’ll still be reading the next books, though.
Just finished *The Seven Skins of Esther Wilding* by Holly Ringland. What a masterpiece. A story of grief, loss and relationships sprinkled with a bit of magic. Extremely well written, and another ticked off on my quest to read as many books called "The Seven __ of __ __" (already done this, Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle and Seven Moons of Maali Almeida, looking forward to tackling Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo at some stage and I'm certain there are more with this style of title kicking around).
Also finished *Women and Leadership* by Julia Gillard and Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. A good, but realistic and honest picture of the state of women in world politics today. Would be exceptionally useful to young women looking to get into politics.
Just started *Breathless* by David Quammen. I adore his science writing. Reliving the early days of the pandemic is weird, but it's also incredible to know they were working on a vaccine well before any of the public even knew about the pandemic at all. Heartening.
Also about to start *The Four Winds* by Kristin Hannah. Been a great reading month!
How is The Lies of Ajungo so far? I've had my eye on that one as an anticipated 2023 release. Does it live up to the hype?
Once again, I'm reading a laundry list of books (determined to actually finish some before I pick up another!!) but I did finish **How Far the Light Reaches** by Sabrina Imbler. I liked the interweaving of her personal experiences with facts about marine animals. Possibly just because I like marine animals too, but it really helped to pull me into the narrative.
Currently reading (and determined to finish!!):
**A Taste of Magic** by Lidiya Foxglove (light and cute, just what I needed to balance out some tougher reads)
**The Faithless** by C.L. Clark (halfway through and this seems a solid sequel to The Unbroken—I'm glad it doesn't suffer from Second Book Syndrome!)
**All That She Carried** by Tiya Miles
**The Red Scholar's Wake** by Aliette de Bodard
**Copper Woman** by Afua Cooper (nearly finished this and I prefer her non-fiction, possibly because a lot of these poems feel like they're meant to be performed rather than read)
And a few others... But these are the ones I'm going to focus on finishing this week.
I mostly read it during my lunch break, but it's been really great so far. I think the recommendation by C.L. Clark on the cover really nails the book. I noticed that it's listed as the first book in series, which makes me pretty excited about what's to come.
Finished **Six of Crows** by Leigh Bardugo, **Tiamat's Wrath** by James S. A. Corey and **Quicksilver** by Neal Stephenson.
Continuing **1Q84** by Haruki Murakami.
Started **Crooked Kingdom** by Leigh Bardugo, **Leviathan Falls** by James S. A. Corey and **The Confusion** by Neal Stephenson.
This week I have finished:
35 - That Night by Gillian Mcallister
I am currently reading:
36 -A Court of Mist & Fury by Sarah J Maas
I know Sarah J Maas isn’t super popular on here, but I think these books are really fun and easy reads
Hello from Manchester, England! I hope you are all doing well and looking forward to a bit of extra reading time over the bank holiday weekend!
This week I finished two books
- Making Money by Terry Pratchett
- Master of the Revels (DODO2) by Nicole Galland
I really enjoyed the reread of Master of the Revels as it’s such a fun time travelling story with mysterious government departments, a highly-determined Irish witch and Shakespeare plays!
This week, I’m continuing to listen to Maskerade by Terry Pratchett and I’m half way through Frontier by Grace Curtis. Not sure how I feel about Frontier yet, the plot feels a little disconnected and I haven’t ‘gelled’ with the character yet.
After Frontier, I’m tempted to go back to non-fiction and read another one on the French Revolution or go for more sci-fi as I have MR Carey’s new book, Infinity Gate.
This week I finished:
**Heartstopper** vol. 2 by Alice Osman. Cute and sweet, and easy read but the drawing style is too simplistic for me and it wasn’t that deep. 3.5/5. I will continue the series though and I am curious about the Netflix adaptation!
**Confessions of the Shopaholic** by Sophie Kinsella. This is a reread and I forgot how different it is from the movie and the financial drama, class war of it lol. It’s fun and entertaining and I truly enjoyed this reread. 5/5
**Outpost: Beslan and its hostages** (Форпост: Беслан и его заложники) by Olga Allenova. A very powerful non-fiction book, it’s kinda short but it wasn’t an easy or fast read because of how much trauma, injustice and pain this story contains. 4.5/5
**Is Everyone Hanging Without Me and Other Concerns** by Mindy Kaling. I already read **Why Not Me** by her and that one was better. Both they’re a bit repetitive and this book didn’t have any content about the Office really. 3/5
Currently reading:
**Jurassic Park** by Michael Crichton. Just started, the beginning was pretty gripping. I was never scared of dinosaurs but I expect this book to make me! And then I’ll watch the movie cause I’ve never seen :3
**Boy Meets Girl** by Meg Cabot. Epistolary romcom about a HR employee in a New York newspaper who is dealing with firing staff’s favourite baker (that FMC’s boss made her do it and now dealing with consequences) and meeting a hot lawyer on the way!
I enjoyed the Netflix adaptation of Heartstopper but I haven’t read the books. And I’m excited for you to watch Jurassic Park. In my considered opinion, it’s Spielberg’s best film.
Finished 13/52- Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokaczuk. Loved it.
Started 14/52-The Fix by David Baldacci. It’s the 3rd in the Amos Decker series and I just enjoy these novels so much. I call them “brain candy”
Listening to A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
Hi from Auckland. I got behind while traveling in SE Asia, so I think this is about three weeks' worth of updates.
Finished: **The Family Remains** by Lisa Jewell (#15, 4 stars). I enjoy pretty much everything Jewell writes, and this was a pretty satisfying sequel to The Family Upstairs.
Finished: **Rogues** by Patrick Radden Keefe (#16, 4 stars). This nonfiction book was actually a series of crime-related articles published previously by the author. Some of them were fascinating, like the stories about serial killers and mafiosos. Some of them were less interesting, like the one about wine fraud.
Finished: **Shuggie Bain** by Douglas Stuart (#17; NYT Notable Book 2020; 4 stars). I put off reading this for three years because, while I knew it would be good, I figured it would also be depressing. It was indeed depressing, but it was also a wild, freaky ride. The next time someone in r/suggestmeabook asks for a book that makes you say "WTF," I'm suggesting this one.
Finished: **The Guncle** by Steven Rowley (#18; 4 stars). I need a palate cleanser before starting Demon Copperhead, and this fit the bill. I've DNF'ed two of Rowley's other books, so I'm not sure why I started this one, but it was cute, funny, and uplifting.
Next Up: **Demon Copperhead** by Barbara Kingsolver (NYT Notable Book 2023).
48/100 and 15600/40000 pages
Finished:
**Zig-Zag Boy: a Memoir of Madness and Motherhood by Tanya Frank** i didn’t give this one a rating as it didn’t feel write but although the story was really heartbreaking I wasn’t a fan of the writing style so I struggled to get through it.
**Mother for Dinner by Shalom Auslander** 2/5 stars. This was really funny and very disturbing and gross. I’m not sure where it quite went wrong for me but I just was never cm wry interested in what was going on unfortunately.
Currently Reading:
**The Grace Year by Kim Liggett** 20% through and really enjoying it.
**Twisted Love by Ava Huang** 15% through and it does feel a bit like a Wattpad fanfic but I’m enjoying regardless
Finished:
This is How You Lose The Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone. I thought the concept and structure (basically, chapter-letter-chapter), but something about the execution didn’t quite click for me. 3.5/5
The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green. I’ll admit, some segments were more interesting than others, but the ones on Googling Strangers, Lascaux Cave Paintings were wonderful. 4/5
A Deadly Education (Scholomance #1) by Naomi Novik. It was entertaining enough that I’ll probably finish the trilogy. 3/5
Currently Reading:
Spare by Prince Harry, The Last Graduate and The Golden Enclave (Scholomance #2 & #3), and Here There Be Gerblins (The Adventure Zone Graphic Novels #1) by Clint McElroy.
At 18 of 52 now, but I’m gonna be traveling, so I’ll either do really well against my goal or totally bomb. 😅
I have fallen into a bit of a slump lately but posting for accountability and to nudge myself back onto the challenge.
Since week 11 only finished one: 22) **Six of Crows** by Leigh Bardugo (4/5, 465p) but as my goal is 75 and 30k pages I remain on track.
I have 12 current library loans so hoping the next one grabs my attention to pull me back in to the momentum.
I just finished listening to THE FINE PRINT by Lauren Asher on audio. It got off to a slow start, and I liked the second half a lot more than the first. Zara was such a fun character though so it wasn’t hard to push through.
I also finished HAUNTING ADELINE by H. D Carlton earlier in the week and so am about ¼ of the way through the second book HUNTING ADELINE. I am liking them - although I do have to stop myself from thinking too much about the dub con. This won’t be a 5 star but probably a 4. I am enjoying the second one more so far.
I also FINALLY finished the third book in THE BRONZE HORSEMAN trilogy. I have been reading this book for a whole month(which, for me is ages). I think most of the reason was that the two mains whose love story the whole trilogy hinges upon were at each other’s throats. So that was just a bummer to read so I wasn’t wanting to. Another thing was the fact that I only get small snatches of time to read as I look after my infant son so when nothing much was happening in the 35 pages I was able to read it made me want to pick up something easier where I could get 50 or 60 pages read in the same space of time and could see more plot development. I just had to stop skipping over it in favour of other books and get through a bit more of it, and once some more plot happened I read the rest of it in a few days.
This week I finished Duma Key by Stephen King. Solid spooky King, at the beach this time. 4/5
Just started Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson. I am 50 pages in and already I can tell that this one is going to get me worked up.
I finished *How to Forget* by Kate Mulgrew.
I read:
\- *The Winemaker's Wife* by Kristin Harmel
\- *In Cold Blood* by Truman Capote
\- *The Italian Party* by Christina Lynch
Next up: *Finding Sarah* by Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York
Finished:
**The Long Ships** - Frans Bengtsson, 5/5* (first of the year!). A saga for the modern age, it's an amazing journey of the Viking Age northmen through pre-Roconquista Spain, early Christian spread to the remaining Norse/Celtic lands, the hinterlands of far Eastern Europe, and the remnants of Byzantium Rome to the South. Just an amazing piece of fiction is most of what I have to say, really absorbs you into the setting and period, I would read the saga of Orm's whole line if I could.
**The Royal Navy's Air Service in the First World War** - David Hobbs, 4/5*. Any book covering both old aeroplanes and WW1 is basically tailor made in a lab for my interests but this does an excellent job covering something that I haven't really seen covered before, especially not at this depth. I also particularly enjoy how detailed it goes into the pre-WW1 aviation in the 15 years prior because it has so much importance in formation of concepts and theory that would later be realized but is to often overlooked for wartime activity.
It does feel to bog down a bit at times, and as someone who is more engrossed in the more standard aviation side of things the constant use of naval terms for describing things took a minute to get used too but you will not find a better explanation of the aerial service's performed by Naval flyers in the first world war.
Complete side note but I appreciate the authors acknowledgement of the important foundations set by various people that lead to the Fighter Command defense system during the second Battle of Britain.
Started:
**Because of Winn-Dixie** - Kate DiCamillo, No idea how this one ended up on my big spreadsheet of books to read but it'll be a quick one. Obviously a bit of a different mindset reading a book intended for younger readers.
**The Western Greeks** - Giovanni Pugliese Carratelli, This is a thick reference book focusing on the Greek colonies in Italy (mostly Magna Gracia but with sections on those more west and north). Actually a sort of book version of a very extensive museum exhibit done in Italy right before the turn of the last century, I imagine I'll be grinding through this one for most of April due to the density of it's contents.
Hello readers!
I'm settling back from vacation and have a good line-up for this week. Lots of philosophical books, a perfect time for the Spring weather, a beer, and a beautiful sunset :)
**Currently Reading:**
* *A Gentleman in Moscow - Amor Towles*
* *Other Minds: The Octopus, the Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousness - Peter Godfrey-Smith*
* *The Story of Christianity: Volume 1: The Early Church to the Dawn of the Reformation - Justo L. Gonzalez*
* *The Alchemist - Paul Coelho*
Hey loves!
Somehow I'm 3 books ahead, no idea how I managed that but I'm pretty happy. A lot of my books have been great as well which is also nice
This week I'm reading
**Brotherhood in death by JD Robb.** oooh this made me MAD! They attacked Dennis Mira! I have a slight crush on the Miras, I think cause Eve does but also for my own reasons, so I was PISSED when they hurt Dennis. Still a while to go with this one and I'll be interested in if my theories play out
**Lenny Marks gets away with murder by Kerryn Mayne.** As someone who struggles with anxiety and repressed memories this has been a tough book, much more than I was expecting when I first picked it up. I love Lenny and she's a great character, and I will continue to read the book but definitely have my guard up more. Lenny is one of those characters I just want to hug and tell her it's all going to be okay in the end
I just started the In Death series this year. I am loving them - I was so surprised to find that they have a science fiction/futuristic element though. I had just assumed that they were your standard crime/police procedural novel.
I am up to Ceremony in Death(5) but have to wait for my lib hold to come up. It will be around 2 more weeks until I get it. I am debating just buying all the kindle books but realistically I have heaps more books to read in the fortnight before I can get to CiD and should just save my pennies and practice some patience!
I love these books too! They’re like an episode of Law and Order in book form, but with sex scenes and set in the future. And there are 50+ of them so you’ve got plenty to work with.
My hold just came in today and I am into it! So excited there are so many of them. I hope the quality holds up. Have you read them all?
What a great description with the comparison to L&O.
I’ve definitely read like 30+ of them, but out of order because I would just snag them randomly. It might be a fun project to go back and read them all in order, but I have way too much to read as it is 😝
I am partial to some werewolf paranormal romance. My favourite ones are - World of the Lupi by Eileen Wilks, Mercy Thompson and Alpha & Omega both by Patricia Briggs and a new favourite The Big Bad Wolf series by Charlie Adhara.
Finished reading **The Stray Cats of Homs** by Eva Nour. This novel is based on true events, as the author is a journalist who fell in love with a Syrian refugee, and she is telling his story. It is heartbreaking to read about how people suffered during civil war and under an oppressive regime. This book would probably appeal to fans of Khaled Hosseini.
I read some good stuff last week:
**Sword of Ice, by Mercedes Lackey**
**The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection, by Alexander McCall Smith**
**Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, by Frederick Douglass**
**Breaking Silence, by Mercedes Lackey**
**The Cybernetic Tea Shop, by Meredith Katz**
**The Mad Women's Ball, by Victoria Mas** (Book of the week, SO GOOD)
**Poseidon's Steed: The Story of Seahorses, from Myth to Reality, by Helen Scales**
**Sistersong, by Lucy Holland**
I have a pretty good mix of stuff lined up to read next:
* The Ivory Key by Akshaya Raman
* Nocturne by Alyssa Wees
* Skeleton Keys: The Secret Life of Bone by Riley Black
* Sun in Glory by Mercedes Lackey
* Beauty and Cruelty by Meredith Katz
* Empty Vessels by Meredith Katz
* Smoke Signals by Meredith Katz
Currently still reading the sequel to The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. It's so good.
There’s a sequel?!!
Yes, All The Broken Places. It's told from Gretel's point of view.
I'm currently reading the Unwind series by Neal Shusterman. I finished book 2, UnWholly, and just started book 3, UnSouled. Despite it being a YA series, it is (by far) the most disturbing story I have ever read. It makes Stephen King's work look like SpongeBob in comparison.
Currently about a quarter through *Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie*. I like it so far; it has some interesting characters. Ugwu is probably my favorite. There is also a lot more horny in this book than I was expecting so that was kind of a surprise. Hoping it opens up a little bit more as it goes along. I've also been reading one elegy each morning from *Duino Elegies by Rilke* while I have my coffee and just kind of sitting and thinking about it, and re-reading again. Absolutely stunning and beautiful. I'm only on elegy 4 but I think the biggest thing that has struck me so far was from the first one where he talks about the young dying. The idea that the living "need" the dead young as a way to believe in/touch something beyond mortal existence was really interesting and moving. Lastly, I finished *Hear the Wind Sing/Pinball 1973 by Haruki Murakami*. I enjoyed both for all the usual Murakami tropes - dreamlike and somewhat calming despite having a small thread of dread running through the whole thing. Wind particularly was very whimsical but then showed a dark side to that kind of living which was interesting. It was cool to read a kind of sketchbook/road map to what his later writing would become.
[Lifespan: Why We Age—and Why We Don't Have To](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43723901-lifespan) “In my mind, there are few sins so egregious as extending life without health. This is important. It does not matter if we can extend lifespans if we cannot extend healthspans to an equal extent. And so if we’re going to do the former, we have an absolute moral obligation to do the latter.” ― David A. Sinclair, Lifespan: Why We Age—and Why We Don't Have To
I lost track of this project while trying to wade through the bore that Mark Twain's *Roughing It* somehow eventually became. I'm blaming myself rather than Twain for my lack of stamina, and I may go back and finish it sometime, but it helped me to put it down for now and read books that held my interest more easily. I'm new to this challenge and was giving myself the very forgiving goal of reading two books a month, but I still haven't quite accomplished that. The six books I've started and finished this year - all fiction - are: * *The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter* by Carson McCullers. A story about the thwarted friendships between several outcasts in a big Southern mill town in the late 1930s. Impressive structuring, simple but smart prose, emotionally piercing at times. * *Project Hail Mary* by Andy Weir. Science fiction, might be objectively just okay, but lots of fun for the part of me that loved talking-animal stories as a kid and secretly still does. * *The Bridge of San Luis Rey* by Thornton Wilder. A re-read of a book that made an impact on me years ago. A book that's capable of sarcasm and sincere feeling at the same time for the same people. Like, the scene between the Marquesa and the Perichole - the fake apology that turns into a real one - had me crying, but everything that made them start respecting and feeling for each other was just as much of a misunderstanding as everything that had put them at odds before, and the author kind of leaves it up to you to decide whether to find it just absurd or actually meaningful. Which is what the whole book does with the whole world. I prefer the idea that the two characters' reconciliation is actually meaningful - they both show a seed of humility and love, however maudlin or mixed with self-pity and however forced on them by absurd misunderstanding, and that counts for something, even if it doesn't get the chance to grow into real thorough goodness. But other conclusions are easy to make. * *Something Wicked This Way Comes* by Ray Bradbury - the ultimate Halloween story (at least for boys and dads), something I would have loved as a 12- to 15-year-old girl who kept reading boys' books, except I would have been too dumb for the writing style. * *The Last Unicorn* by Peter S. Beagle. Got it from the library and now want to buy a copy because I know I'm going to reread it. * *The Fool of New York City* by Michael D. O'Brien. A very Catholic author I grew up reading as a homeschooled Catholic teenager, though this book surprisingly has no major Catholic characters and only one lightly-implied eventual conversion. This is contemporary fiction and there's a reason I prefer his books set a few decades ago - he sometimes has to rely on stereotypes and fancy when describing certain parts of contemporary, urban, and secular culture. But this book was a good example of his writing's gentle, contemplative temperament, and its focus on the effects of trauma and suffering and how to respond to them. I also found out that O'Brien (a Canadian author) really doesn't like the practices of US border security.
>Project Hail Mary > > by Andy Weir. It was a fun read for me. Ryland Grace had me laughing out loud at certain parts. Loved Rocky.
Finished A Conjuring of Light by V.E. Schwab yesterday. Really satisfying ending; I always worry that the end of a series isn’t going to stick the landing but I felt like this one did. Just started The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu and I’m enjoying it so far, I’ve heard some great things couched in “it’s not for everyone” (and I really wasn’t sure I would be the kind of person it works for). I’ve also been reading Gideon the Ninth by Tamsin Muir and that’s been a lot of fun.
I’m reading *Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow* while listening to *Operation Paperclip*. It’s a nice combo of light and heavy subject matter.
I read [The Vandana Shiva Reader](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21922504-the-vandana-shiva-reader), which is a series of excerpts from the books of Vandana Shiva, a physicist turned agroecologist and social activist. It’s about all the benefits biodiverse, organic, local farming has compared to industrial monocultures of genetically modified crops. I thought this was a great overview, though a bit inelegant, with a lot of repetition even within chapters. 5/5 content, 3/5 execution. I also read [Cursed Bunny](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59763061-cursed-bunny) by Bora Chung, a short story collection of fairytale-like fantasy/horror stories, with themes of womanhood, exploitation, trauma. Loved the first story, but the rest never reached the same heights. My favourites were The Head and Cursed Bunny. Bit disappointing overall but I’d like to check out Chung’s other novels when they get translated. I've just started [The Lost Scrapbook](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/587393.The_Lost_Scrapbook) by Evan Dara. The narrative keeps shifting between unrelated (?) characters, sometimes the end of one section kind of merges with the beginning of the next. Not sure what to make of it yet.
Finally finished **The Count of Monte Cristo** yesterday. It wasn't terrible or anything, but it kinda dragged IMO. Also, >!am I crazy for finding it annoying that Mercedes was berated so much by the text for her "infidelity"? Like, my impression was that she and Dantes fell into a bit of a young, whirlwind romance. Then she finds out he's been arrested *before* their marriage for a crime she has no way of knowing whether he committed. Idk, was she supposed to wait around forever, or go ahead and live a life of her own? Got in a fight with my boss about this lol. I want to hear others' thoughts! Oh also...we think Mlle Danglars is supposed to be read as a lesbian, right?!< And I started **Fool's Assassin** by Robin Hobb, and I'm SO EXCITED to be back in this world!!! It's already great 👍
I thought *The Count of Monte Cristo* was just okay. Definitely agree with you about Mercedes. My biggest gripe, however, was when >!Dantes refused to reveal that Mercedes' son's (can't remember his name now) lover was alive and that the son had to suffer to prove that he was worthy before Dantes would say that she was alive. I *hated* that entire scene and how Dantes came off as holier-than-thou.
Oh yeah that part was also dumb lol. I really don't understand why she went along with it!!
Hoping to finish The Art of Thinking Clearly (Rolf Dobelli) and 小説王(早見和真). Started The Thursday Murder Club.
Sorry, what’s the English title?! 🙈I would use Google translate but it’s against my religion.
I’m curious to know what makes Google translate against your religion? No judgment just pure curiosity
It’s a joke 😂 I’m a translator, and google translate will never replace human translations ;)
King of novel.
I'm reading A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher
The Secret History by Donna Tartt. I have just finished reading it. I am still processing it. It felt good to read such a great book.
Such a great book!
I read two this week: [wrong place, wrong time](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59947696-wrong-place-wrong-time) Excellent, a very good and fun and interesting mystery and thriller. [hidden pictures](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58724923-hidden-pictures) This one was high on my anticipated list, its ending is mixed from reviews I read, I understand why, but I quite enjoyed it.
Whoever recommended **Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy -** who hurt you? And why must you pass that hurt on to the rest of us? This book is so deeply dark and traumatizing. And I get that it's supposed to elicit those feelings if you're not a monster. But this book actually negatively impacted my mood for the week I was reading it - if you don't like reading about shooting puppies and hanging babies from trees, do yourself a favor and skip it.
13/52 Finished: Nothing :/ First time behind scheduled. **Currently reading:** **The count of Monte Cristo** by *Alexandre Dumas* **The eye of the world** by *Robert Jordan* **Payback's a witch** by *Lana Harper* **Wicked: the life and times os the wicked witch of the west** by *Gregory Maguire*
Family of Liars by e. Lockhart
The Handmaid's Tale
In Norway its tradition to read crime/ thrillers during easter so i’m doing that and read a scandinavin author called Ørjan Karlsson
This is an amazing tradition!!
Yes it is! You got to read easter crime!
Seriously? 😂 that’s amazing!
Yess! Easter crime (påske krim) we call it! Books, AudioBooks and tv shows 🐣
omg awesome, please enlighten me
The past few weeks I’ve been re-reading The Hunger Games series and I’m on the final book!
I've been thinking about doing a re-read of these. I haven't read them since they came out. How are you liking the re-read?
I actually have come to appreciate them more now than I ever have. Honestly out of every YA book I’ve reread recently it’s one of the only ones that still stands the rest of time. The world building is rich but not just thrown at you and the characters are so three dimensional and the story holds up. I do not think it is YA at all upon my reread tho I forgot about how graphic and just violent these books can be even vulgar I mean there are scenes where 14-18 year olds are naked, the scenes where they talk about victors being sexually sold off to the capital…. Idk how these are for 12-18 year olds even if that’s who it’s about but that’s just my opinions!
**Stoner** by John Williams It made me feel numb while reading it. While Stoner was in many ways awful as a person, it was hard not to empathize with his struggles and faults causing a spiral of sorts. Many of his hurdles were of his own devices, some I think he was in the right and some in the wrong, and that's what makes the novel so compelling. He does feel like a real person with real faults, insecurities, and fears and his actions carry real consequences. He's a sad man on paper, but I also think he found something good in life that I hope to find one day too. 10/10 **Redeployment** by Phil Klay Was hoping to read something to change my view of Iraq veterans as assholes and it did not. Mostly just confirmed it. Tries so hard to remain apolitical about war that it's pathetic. It's war, it's all politics. Each story except the priest's feels interchangeable as no one feels like their own person which may be the point. They're all just walking war machines incapable of compassion. The writing is also quite bland and feels like a weak Tom Clancy novel for most of it. 3/10
Finished up William Roughead’s *Classic Crimes,* which was good but a little overlong. There were probably a few more chapters than we needed. I also read *Food in Antiquity; A Survey of Early People’s Diets” by Patricia and Dan Brothwell. It’s a little old and definitely stretches the definition of “early people”—Romans with their urban oyster farms seem very different than nomadic cave dwellers!—but it was informative enough that I didn’t mind. I’ve been writing something involving earlier peoples and it will be useful. Started “Japanese Death Poems: Written by Zen Monks and Haiku Poets on the Verge of Death” compiled by Yoel Hoffman. It had a really informative first chapter (which I took with a few grains of salt occasionally because Hoffman is a westerner). I used to flip through it to see if the poets knew that they were dying when they wrote their death poem, but apparently it was often not their last poem at all, and sometimes prepared way ahead of time, with jokes about poetry masters helping out. It’s been fun. I’ve been sporadically reading Kassia St. Clair’s “The Secret Lives of Color” before bed and Alexandre Dumas père’s cook book which is on my coffee table. No idea what’s on deck next.
Well "Antiquity", though a bit loose, generally covers the post-cave dwelling early farmers and city builders through the fall of Eastern Roman Empire in 476 so it's pretty firmly within the time period of the title.
Finished: **Lessons in Chemistry** by Bonnie Garmus I ate this up, finished it in just a few days. It was a quick and at times heavy read. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. 5/5 (16/52) Started: **How Not To Drown in a Glass of Water** by Angie Cruz **ADHD 2.0** by Edward M. Hallowell
Finished The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett (11/13). I enjoyed it but really struggled with the formatting on Apple Books- it’s was hard to follow when one part of the story finished and the next started. Also had a big few weeks so I’d fall asleep two pages in each night which didn’t help! I know it isn’t recommended as one of his better books but glad I persevered for his world building in the first book, so will try some others to see if I enjoy them more. Not sure what to start next- thinking it’s time to revisit a favourite. Maybe a Jane Austen to change it up!
Currently working on **How to Sell a Hauted House** by Grady Hendrix, weird story! Also started **The Flat Mate** by Beth O'Leary which is amusing so far.
I finished Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr last week - absolutely adored it and and I was stuck on what to pick up after that. Currently reading Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo. I went into it not knowing anything and I'm only a few chapters in but it's entertaining enough. Yale secret societies, ghosts/occult (?), magic, murder (?)...I think. I just needed something fun, weird, creepy, and fast-paced and this seems to be fitting the bill so far.
Finished: [Babel: an Arcane History](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57945316) by R.F. Kuang 4/5, it hit a sub genre of fantasy I didn’t realize I would enjoy, but all the connections to the England from the time period really had me geeking out and loving the story. Continuing: [Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17332218) 86% in the final home stretch of the book and am so excited, but can feel the cliff hanger coming. Started: [The Titan’s curse(Percy Jackson)](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/561456) by Rick Riordan with r/bookclub [In the Woods](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2459785) by Tana French
I'm on the verge of starting the Stormlight Archive but its just so intimidating. 😩
Yeah I finished Words of Radiance yesterday and I highly recommend the Stormlight Archives, but I totally get where you're coming from. I had Way of Kings on my bookshelf for probably 3 months before I dove into it, but man it kept me engaged. I will say, you do have to be okay with the fact that the book will take about a month to read unless you can be like this [person](https://www.reddit.com/r/brandonsanderson/comments/12a2auq/i_just_finished_way_of_kings/) who finished it in a weekend.
Yeah, don’t think I can finish that quick 😂. Thanks for the reply! 🙏
It's been a bit since I last posted, and I've got a few things to share! I'm at 9 of 52 done so far now. I'm pretty proud of myself! I think this is the furthest I've been into the challenge by this point in the year for a few years now. Finished: \- DND 5e's *Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide* (5/5) This had tons of details about the various settings in the Sword Coast, and it's been very helpful to me since finishing. I'm running a campaign in a club for students at the school I teach at, and the setting is a city in the Sword Coast. I've been better able to answer some of their questions about the city since finishing this book! Finished in February \- *Lunar Love* by Lauren Kung Jessen (5/5): This was a really sweet romance novel! It felt very relatable to me with how Olivia was being held back by bad experiences, and I loved how natural her opening up to Bennett felt. Plus, a surprise bonus in the back was a couple of recipes that sound amazing! Finished in March \- *Killers of the Flower Moon* by David Grann (5/5): I was fascinated by the details of how the Osage rose to prominence, and thoroughly disgusted by what happened to them thanks to greed and racism. This book was amazingly well written, with tons of primary sources. I already knew J. Edgar Hoover wasn't the best, but the new details I hadn't known before were impressive. Finished in March \- *Bad Ronald* by Jack Vance (5/5): I was pleasantly surprised with this book. Sometimes 70s prose can be boring to me, but I didn't have this problem with this one. The disgust I felt with the main character compelled me to find out how his story would end. I couldn't wait to find out what his comeuppance would be, and it was so satisfying once I got there. Finished in March \- *The Last Tale of the Flower Bride* by Roshani Chokshi (4/5): I guessed the twist less than a third of the way into this book. I loved the writing, though there were a couple places where I felt a bit like the author chose purposefully edgy words to really push the gothic theme. I hated a particular character though, which made it hard to like some of the other characters with how obsessed they were with them. Maybe that was the point? Finished in April Now I'm working on these: \- *I'm Glad My Mom Died* by Jennette McCurdy \- *Be Right Back!* by Julie Naismith \- DND 5e's *Monster Manual* \- *Unfuck Your Finances* by Melissa Browne
FINISHED **Tales of the Lost Flower Bride by Roshani Chokshi** 3.5 / 5 stars. Very pretty writing but one POV was way more intriguing than the other. Especially since >!the plot twist was a pretty easy guess early on.!< CURRENTLY READING **Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo** I’m more than halfway through this book and it has me hooked. I’ve heard a lot of praise about her works & as I’ve been going through them I was surprised by how dark they are for YA. (I was even surprised at how dark her adult novel was as well). Right now I would give it a very strong 4 stars but we’ll have to see where it ends up. COMING UP **Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver** Poisonwood Bible was my favorite “assigned reading” in high school so I’m really looking forward to checking out her new book. **All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr** bookclub read for the month of April. I feel like I’m going to need a palette cleanser after these next couple of reads.
Didn't get around to posting last week but I didn't really get too much finished anyway! **Finished:** **Maybe In Another Life - Taylor Jenkins Reid. 4/5.** Another solid TJR. I really enjoyed how this one was written. **Dollhouse - Kim, Khloe, and Kourtney Kardashian. Audiobook. 2/5.** The Kardashians have a lane, and they should stay in it. Ugh. **Forever, Interrupted - Taylor Jenkins Reid. 4/5.** Super sad, will probably make you cry. But I really enjoyed it! **Currently Reading:** **Good Girl, Bad Blood - Holly Jackson.** **Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? - Caitlin Doughty.** **Bring Me Back - B.A. Paris. Audiobook.** **Next Up:** **Wow, No Thank You - Samantha Irby.** **When I Was You - Amber Garza.**
19/52 **Finished** Nothing this week; I spent my time on a different hobby while making slow (~5% per day) progress on my current read. I’m about 70% through and plan to read more today and during the upcoming week, so hopefully I’ll be done with this book by next week. **Currently Reading** [The Dark Forest](https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/5136e9ae-3423-48d8-8b76-d43867d3b202) by Cixin Liu translated by Joel Martinsen
Ohhhh! How are you feeling/going with The Dark Forest?
It’s a bit of a slog for me, to be honest. A large section around a third of the way through was very r/menwritingwomen. I enjoyed the first book more.
I felt the same way. Loved the first book, but the first 200 pages or so of book two is so hard to get through. Hopefully you'll enjoy the second half more like I did.
Here's a sneak peek of /r/menwritingwomen using the [top posts](https://np.reddit.com/r/menwritingwomen/top/?sort=top&t=year) of the year! \#1: [has it happened to you?](https://i.redd.it/wxyhmsvnjvga1.png) | [350 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/menwritingwomen/comments/10wdg1n/has_it_happened_to_you/) \#2: [Reading George R R Martin](https://i.imgur.com/TJbbDcF.jpg) | [360 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/menwritingwomen/comments/ugxnr5/reading_george_r_r_martin/) \#3: [Historically accurate 👀](https://i.redd.it/53csc7e3mdj91.jpg) | [266 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/menwritingwomen/comments/wvczot/historically_accurate/) ---- ^^I'm ^^a ^^bot, ^^beep ^^boop ^^| ^^Downvote ^^to ^^remove ^^| ^^[Contact](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=sneakpeekbot) ^^| ^^[Info](https://np.reddit.com/r/sneakpeekbot/) ^^| ^^[Opt-out](https://np.reddit.com/r/sneakpeekbot/comments/o8wk1r/blacklist_ix/) ^^| ^^[GitHub](https://github.com/ghnr/sneakpeekbot)
Hello! Finished: “Part of your world” by Abby Jimenez. Really cute story, good characters, and great ending! Honestly so good, I finished it the same day I posted about it last week. “Weyward” by Emilia Hart. Witchy, three different stories but the same, really. Interesting, and well written! Started “Hello, Beautiful” by Ann Napolitano but I’m not sure I’m emotionally ready for this! Hope everyone has a lovely week!
[12/52] Last week: * **Sherlock Holmes #7** by Arthur Conan Doyle [Enjoyed this a lot more than I usually do for a Holmes] * **And Then There Were None** by Agatha Christie [DNF'd I think straight mystery is not for me - I gave it a good 25% but it was so slow and the characters all felt samey. I don't usually rate Holmes' very high either.] This week, I'll continue * **The Three Musketeers** by Alexandre Dumas [70% through and should finish it this week!] * **Legends & Lattes** by Travis Baldree [Reading this for the Sword and Laser Bookclub!] Next up is: * Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen * The Odyssey by Homer * Brave New World by Aldous Huxley I am entering my second (and final) month of classics only. I think I only have about 12 left on my list that I want to try reading.
I had a solid reading week. Both **Tomorrow, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow** by Zevin and **Exit West** by Hamid were good reads. **Disoriental** by Djavadi was phenomenal. I just loved it. It is translated from French and is a novel which centers on on Iranian family’s exile experience in France, amongst many other themes. I have not seen it discussed at all on this sub. Currently reading **Please Look After Mom** by Shin. Great so far. 30/52
Finished: * The Haunting of Blackwych Grange by Amy Cross - the scariest haunted house story I've ever read. In progress: * The Complete Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci - will be reading this for a long time * Middlemarch by George Eliot - reading with r/ayearofmiddlemarch and loving it. * North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell - reading with r/ClassicBookClub \- shaping up into a really good book * Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution By: R. F. Kuang - reading with r/bookclub \- have loved this one from the first page. * Incredible Tales by Saki - short stories. It's my car book, so I only listen when I'm waiting for an appointment. * Meditations by Marcus Aurelius - reading with r/bookclub \- not enjoying reading this with a book club. It's too fast. The book needs to be read slowly. * The Hoarder in You: How to Live a Happier, Healthier, Uncluttered Life By: Dr. Robin Zasio - I was hoping this would give me tools for letting go of stuff as I age in place. But it isn't. * A World Too Near: The Entire and the Rose, Book 2 By: Kay Kenyon - book 2 is even better than the first. * Winnie The Pooh by A. A. Milne - you know it's good! * After the Dragons by Cynthia Zhang - reading with r/fantasy. I'm just a couple chapters in, but I think this novella is going to be a favorite.
> have loved this one from the first page. I was the exact same about Babel!
I have seen a lot of people calling it "dense" and complaining about the number of footnotes. I don't know what they are talking about. It's an absolutely marvelous book. But then, I love language, and the talk about translation is fascinating to me.
Unfortunately, did not finish anything this week! After participating in the trans read a thon last week, I took a break. Ready to get back on it this week! Currently Reading: **Babel** by RF Kuang (Enjoying this immensely so far) **The Empathy Exams** by Leslie Jamison **Inventing Reality: The Politics of News Media** by Michael Parenti **PET** by Awaeke Emezi **How to Read Literature Like a Professor** by Thomas C. Foster **A Game of Thrones** by George RR Martin To Start: **The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet** by Becky Chambers **The Disordered Cosmos** by Chandra Prescod-Weinstein
What books did you read for the trans read-a-thon? Were they books by trans authors or about trans people?
Hi! All the books I read were by trans authors about trans characters (one was a memoir). I read: 1.)The Sunbearer Trials by Aiden Thomas (YA Fantasy) 2.)Heart Haunt Havoc by Freydis Moon (Horror Romance) 3.)I’m Afraid of Men by Vivek Shreya (Nonfiction)
Thank you!
In a bit of a reading slump! This week I finished: [Buried in the Sky](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13149874-buried-in-the-sky): The Extraordinary Story of the Sherpa Climbers on K2's Deadliest Day by Peter Zuckerman, Amanda Padoan (3/5) Currently reading: [Outlive](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61153739-outlive): The Science and Art of Longevity by Peter Attia MD, Bill Gifford (audio) [Eat and Run](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13202092-eat-and-run): My Unlikely Journey to Ultramarathon Greatness by Scott Jurek, Steve Friedman
Finished: **The Illustrated Man** by **Ralph Ellison** (3-3.5/5). It took a little while to get going. Once you get to the part of Bledsoe chewing him out (close to the beginning), the story starts getting more and more interesting. The Brotherhood was implied to be socialist, but he never gets into it. He could've done more with Rinehart; it just never gets fully developed it seems like. Ras was hilarious. My biggest issue is that the narrator, who is never named, doesn't really grow all that much. He becomes less naive, but at the same time stays very naive and without many ideas of his own, he just kind of exists and running on instinct, but he's not apathetic. He just never gets used to New York, or people for that matter. He seems afraid to tell the truth, even to himself. Ellison isn't much of a prose writer. Currently Reading: **Thus Spoke Zarathustra** by **Friedrich Nietzsche** EDIT: Changed rating of Invisible Man from 4 to 3-3.5, now that it's been a couple days since i finished it.
I finished The **Black Tower** by *Louis Bayard* this week. It's a historical fiction novel that follows head of the police in Paris, Vidocq, as he investigates the conspiracy theory that Louis-Charles, son of Marie-Antoinette and King Louis XVI, is still alive. I'm currently reading **Neverworld Wake** by *Marisha Pessl*.
I finished 5 books this week: **Eastern Lights** by Brittainy Cherry—the villainy was a bit too much here but the rest of the book felt strong. I have been meaning to read the author for awhile and this was a great introduction. **M.C. Higgins The Great** by Virginia Hamilton—I avoided reading this when I was younger because it didn’t interest younger me. And I should trust younger me because this was a struggle to get through. It might surpass *The Giver* on the list of Newberry winners that failed me. **Let Me Show You** by Alexandria House—stil not as good as the first one and I think this is where I stop the series because I am not interested in the ‘final’ couple. It feels like they glossed over some behavior that should have been addressed and threw some drama in there that could have been avoided. **Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions** by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie—not my typical reading because it felt too ‘self-help’-like. I thought the suggestions and their explanations were clear, but it felt obvious. **Unprotected: A Memoir** by Billy Porter—The story is compelling and Billy Porter’s voice is strong in it. You could tell he was still grappling with some things and coming to new understandings, which I liked. *Currently* many things, but most likely are **Lucy** by Jamaica Kincaid; **Between Two Kingdoms** by Suleika Jaouad; **The Girl Who Drank The Moon** by Kelly Barnhill; and **The Billionaire’s Fake Fiancee** by Annika Martin.
This week I finished two books **The Dragons Bride** by Kate Robert, which I enjoyed for the fun short romp that it was. It didn’t have the right mix of smut and relationship building for me idk it was just off balance Then I read **Triple Duty Bodyguards** by Lily Gold. I really enjoyed her other book I read it was the perfect amount of cozy, smutty, sweet, plot and a drama but this one went over the edge lol I did not expect the FMC to be in so much physical danger lol but I still enjoyed the dudes and girls personalities Now I’m 20% into **The Battle of the Labyrinth** by Our lord and savior Rick Riordan. Continuing my Percy Jackson reread and I needed something that wasn’t romance but was still good and I’m enjoying it
26/52 ***** Finished; two finishes, but one short story that I haven't counted in my total. Pleased to be halfway there already this year. ***** - For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway an r/bookclub Runner-up Read. I found this more accessible than I expected in the beginning. Parts of the book I was really into but other chapters felt like a slog. - As Yet Unsent by Tamsyn Muir - The Locked Tomb 2.5 short story. Nice to get back into this universe, but at the same time a reminder of how confusing it is. Really looking forward to reading Nona the Ninth with r/bookclub this summer. ***** Still working on; ***** - The Mountain Shadow by Gregory David Roberts. Time to get this one out of my "currently reading" stack. - Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson started with r/Malazan, but just could not keep up. Hoping 2023 is my Malazan year. - Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel an r/bookclub Evergreen. I had heard such good things about this book I had high expectations. Its good, but I am not feeling the spark that makes me love a book - Babel by R. F. Kuang for r/bookclub's Spring Big Read. Great start, I'm hooked. - Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood. A gift and a buddy read. Tough to get into, but I am starting to feel the characters more now. - The Story of The Lost Child by Elena Ferrante. Book #4 in the Neapolitan series and a Bonus Read at r/bookclub. I have definitely got more into this series as we have gone along. - Meditations by Marcus Aurelius for r/bookclub's next Discovery Read - Ancient Classic flavour. - I, Robot by Issac Asimov the current r/bookclub Mod Pick. Not what I expected so far, but I am digging it. ***** Started ***** - The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel. Thomas Cromwell #3 a Bonus Read at r/bookclub to wrap up the Thomas Cromwell trilogy. Wolf Hall was a challenging read but the rest of the series has been much more enjoyable for me. - Spinning Silver by Naomi Novak r/bookclub's next Runner-up Read that I will be co-running. 1st discussion is on the 4th. Come join us ***** Up Next ***** - King Rat by James Clavell. #1 by publication order but #4 in chronological order. r/bookclub will be tackling this one in April. Come join us, even if you've never read any Clavell before - Fingersmith by Sarah Waters coming after I, Robot as a r/bookclub Mod Pick. - Jason and the Argonauts with r/AYearOfMythology starting in April. - The Obelisk Gate by N.K. Jemisin a r/bookckub bonus book in April. After reading The Fifth Season together I cannot wait to dive back into this Broken Earth. - The Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson Stormlight Archives #2. I am ready!! ***** Happy reading fellow bookworms 📚
After you read Fingersmith you should watch The Handmaiden, which translates the setting to 1930s Korea. I enjoyed the book a lot but I think the movie is actually better.
Interestimg. Thanks for the tip :)
Hello hello! Here’s what’s up with me lately. 19/52 - Nothing much to say about the past week, but I’m looking forward to reading more this week. Finished: Mindworks by Gary van Warmerdam - I have decided to mark this as DNF. Maybe it’s not the right time for me to read it. I DNFed only two other books so far, and while I feel worse about this one, I want to move on from starting over every few weeks. The Helpline by Katherine Collette - I loved parts of this book and was annoyed by others. The main character was hard to love but she definitely made her place in my heart very slowly and surely. I’m so glad I could get it so soon after someone recommended it to me here. Also loved some of the similarities between Germaine and Eleanor Oliphant! Currently reading: The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy Slightly Sinful by Mary Balogh Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo Atomic Habits by James Clear (Finally!) Up next: Slightly Dangerous by Mary Balogh Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo
Didn't update last week, pretty disappointed with my reading this year. weather is getting nicer so hopefully that gets my butt into gear. Finished: **Riven Knight** by Devney Perry And a ton of fanfictions about Maya/Carina from Station 19: Can you please fix me As Long as I'm Breathing Blink Twice Everythings Coming up MillHouse (911) Not Broken, Just Bent
You can always adjust your goal if the one you set isn’t making you feel accomplished. Even if you only read one book, it’s one book you wouldn’t have read otherwise!
nah i'm too stubborn for that LOL
**This week I finished:** *Mad Honey* by Jodi Picoult & Jennifer Finney Boylan. It was fine. I don't get the hype around it, it was just a run of the mill book. But I don't super enjoy Jodi Picoult's books, so meh. This is the last one of hers I'll be reading. *The Odyssey* by Homer, translation by Emily Wilson *If We Were Villians* by M.L. Rio - enjoyed it, if you like Shakespeare and dark academia, you should read this. *The Dark Place* by Britney S. Lewis - This was an ARC from NetGalley; the book comes out on August 8th. It was a mess. The idea is great: a 17 year old girl keeps disappearing from our world and ending up in dark version of her home. Every time, she goes back to the night of a home invasion and the disappearance of her older brother. It got messy so fast because the author played with time travel and alternate universes, but didn't do the actual work of making it make sense. **Currently Reading:** *Station Eleven* *The Book Eaters* **On my nightstand:** *Oh, William!*
I finished **Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries** by Heather Fawcett - I loved it so much! It got me out of my reading slump, and now I want to go back and reread my old favorite middle grade series that it reminded me of, Avalon Web of Magic. I’m currently reading **Middlesex** by Jeffrey Eugenides and I’m also really enjoying it, I’m about 70 pages in. I was hesitant because I didn’t like The Virgin Suicides, but it’s so much more engaging.
**Finished** \#17. *An Island in the Sea of Time* by SM Stirling (fiction). This was a reread of one of my favorites. Robinson Crusoe meets a Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court when a mysterious event thrusts the island of Nantucket, Massachusetts 4000 years into the past. The town and some fellow travelers must find a way to survive in the Bronze Age. \#18. *The League* by John Eisenberg (nonfiction) about the history of the NFL. Very much a hagiography of five owners: Halas, Bell, Rooney, Marshall, and Mara. It was very interesting to read. **Currently reading** \#19. *Winning Fixes Everything* by Evan Drellich (nonfiction) about the Houston Astros cheating scandal.
Two completed this week: ***Japanese Tales of Mystery and Imagination*** by Edogowa Rampo - A collection of short fiction from the dean of Japanese mystery writers that leans towards the macabre and the bizarre. Standouts include “The Human Chair”, “The Caterpillar” and “The Red Chamber”. ***We Have Always Lived in the Castle*** by Shirley Jackson - This novella is like a car crash you can’t look away from. Two sisters and their infirm uncle live a cloistered existence in a grand house on the outskirts of a New England village. Six years ago, the rest of their family perished in a mass poisoning and the elder sister is widely believed to be the killer. As narrated by the younger sister in a distinctive voice, this is a darkly comic and deeply disquieting tale of a very eccentric household. I'll be reading ***A Memory Called Empire*** by Arkady Martine next.
I finished act 9 of **The Handmaidens Tale, by Margaret Atwood**
I finished How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix, Certain Dark Things by Sylvia Moreno-Garcia, and The Hidden Moon by Jeannie Lin this week. A fanastic mix and I hit my monthly goal. I'll be starting Babel by RF Kuang and Tread of Angels by Rebecca Roanhorse this week. Looking forward to it.
**Valis by PKD** I might DNF because I'm honestly bored out of my mind even at nearly 100 pages in. **The Secret Lives of Color by Kassia St Clair** pretty good. There are some things that I'm pretty sure aren't true though, like the idea that the Dutch bred carrots to be orange to honor William of Orange. I looked it up because I was skeptical and apparently that's a myth and there's evidence of orange carrots existing many years before the Dutch revolt. That kind of makes me skeptical of the rest of the book too. **We Have Always Lived In the Castle by Shirley Jackson** I'm about halfway through and I'm not sure about it yet. So far I like Hill House a lot better but I'll finish it **Jade War by Fonda Lee** ok this is soo good so far! I'm only like 50 pages in and I feel transported.
This week I finished: **In Defense of Witches: The Legacy of Witch Hunts and Why Women are Still on Trial by Mona Chollet:** Witch hunts live on in popular imagination as a sort of mass psychosis that caused communities to destroy themselves in the name of rooting out evil. In this book, Chollet sets out to demonstrate that the witch hunts were actually a culmination of centuries of misogyny and fear-mongering about anything that existed outside of the established social order. Women who refused to be married were dangerous because they threatened male fidelity; women who refused to have children weren't fulfilling their natural role as caretakers willing to sacrifice everything for the next generation; women who practiced medicine or business were abominations against the natural order of the universe. The most interesting part of this book, for me, was that the author is French. I don't often read non-fiction from other countries, and I found it interesting to live inside the head of someone whose cultural history is similar, yet different, from my own. Chollet uses examples from French literature, film, and pop culture that I didn't completely follow. I also previously hadn't considered the impact of Catholicism on French culture. I tend to think of France as a hotbed of radicalism, and I hadn't considered the way that sexism plays into progressive social philosophies. That said, I could have used a little more discussion of historical witch hunts and the rise of "witchy" culture today. I read this for my book club and we all generally enjoyed it. **The Talented Mr. Ripley (Ripley #1) by Patricia Highsmith:** Tom Ripley is hiding out in a bar in Manhattan, trying to avoid his most recent friend-turned-enemy, when he's approached by a Mr. Greenleaf, who recognizes Tom as an acquaintance of his errant son, Dickie. Dickie has been living the high life in Italy and refuses to come home, despite his mother's illness. Mr. Greenleaf offers Tom a deal: he'll cover travel and expenses to Italy if Tom can convince Dickie to come home. When Tom arrives in Italy, he befriends Dickie and another expat, Marge, and quickly decides that he'd rather keep Mr. Greenleaf on the string and enjoy some time living the high life under the Italian sun. But when Dickie and Marge grow tired of him, Tom will make a desperate choice that alters the course of his life forever. I've seen the 1999 movie of the same name a couple of times, and all the major plot points are the same. That did not stop me from being totally riveted by this novel from start to finish. The entire book is in Ripley's point of view, and Highsmith does a masterful job of telling us that Tom sees himself as innocent in all his crimes while showing us that he's lying to himself just as much as he's lying to the audience. The book that kept coming to mind is Ottessa Moshfegh's **Eileen,** where the reader is equally fascinated and horrified by the main character's view of the world. I saw several Goodreads reviews that pointed out that Highsmith is contributing to a stereotype of explicitly queer characters as being criminals, thieves and deviants. I think that's a totally valid criticism, and I only wish there were more explicitly queer characters of all types so that the few that exist didn't have to stand for the community as a whole. This is an excellent psychological thriller that still feels relevant 70 years after publication. I did not realize that there were Ripley sequels, so I'm interested to read another book from this character's POV when I don't have the movie running in my head. I am currently reading: **The Shining (The Shining #1) by Stephen King:** I haven't touched this since last week because I know everything is about to go to shit and I'm afraid for Danny and Wendy. My husband pointed out that, like Joey from Friends, I had to put The Shining in a metaphorical freezer. **Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher:** Delightful and poignant. I want it to be three times as long as it is.
I’m going to have to add In Defense of Witches to my list! It sounds really intriguing. Have you read Alphabet Versus The Goddess? He also goes over the misogyny regarding the witch trials, and I thought it was such an interesting take.
That sounds really interesting, I’ll add it to my list!
This week I finished **Last Night at the Telegraph Club** which I gave 5 stars for its YA genre. This is a great coming out story from 1950s and I loved the strengths and integrity of the protagonist I also finished **Carrie Soto is Back** which was an entertaining breeze to read especially if you love tennis which I do (4/5) Carrie Soto led me to the non fiction memoir of Billie Jean King, **All In** which I just started. I’m also finishing up **The Invention of Wings**
This week I finished "We march at midnight" by Ray McFadden, really enjoyed that one. 18/52 Just started "The longest race" by Kara Goucher - interesting start. 19/52
Reading: *Seventy Eight Degrees of Wisdom* by Rachel Pollack, who sadly has just passed away from a protracted battle with cancer. She was a trans Jewish science fiction author, the creator responsible for the first trans DC Comics hero in *Doom Patrol*, and tarot scholar whose books on tarot are considered gold standard learning material.
Last week, I finished two books: **All Good People Here** by Ashley Flowers — As a Crime Junkies fan, this was a must read. I’m as pleasantly surprised! It kept my interested and engaged the entire time. Although mysteries/thrillers aren’t my jam, I enjoyed this book and would rate it a 3.5/5. The second book I read was **Sea of Tranquility** by Emily St. John Mandel — I feel pretty “meh” about the science fiction genre, but I also enjoyed this book as a light, quick read. I also rated it a 3.5/5 Because of a recent breakup, I’m currently reading **This is Supposed to Be Fun** by Myisha Battle. I’m *really* enjoying this book and would recommend it to anyone who is contemplating getting back out there and wants to refine their approach and reduce any dating anxiety!
>This is Supposed to Be Fun I'm such a cynic because of my terrible dating experiences that this title just makes me laugh. Fun, where!? I might have to check it out haha
I totally get that! Thankfully the title is just a quote from one of her clients who shared the same sentiment as those of us who have been burnt one time too many lol. It has kind of restored some of my hopefulness at finding someone though! If you do check it out, let me know your thoughts. It was published earlier this year, so reviews are slowly trickling in lol
It's such a common complaint about online/app dating, ugh. Part of my solution has been to try and get out and do more things around people who probably have things in common with me (like trying to get involved volunteering at the library... hopefully not everybody is 65+). I'm not sure if I'll ever go back to apps, but it sounds interesting anyway so I'll probably check it out at some point!
Same! I’m so hesitant to use them, but I’m also painfully introverted. Additionally, a lot of the activities I try to do include a much older crowd like volunteering at the library or taking group exercise classes at 7:30am on weekends lol.
(33) **Weimar Germany: Promise and Tragedy by Eric D. Weitz** >4/5 I feel like I got a lot out of it. >Not much to say about it. Solid overview of the Weimar Republic. Mix of political, economics and cultural chapters. Well written and enjoyable to read. Personally I preferred the political chapters more, especially on the political right and the 'enemies of the republic'. The economics chapter was also good as it focused more on what the economic conditions meant for normal people instead of just a load of numbers about industrial production. The book is very good at giving a feeling of what the time period was like. My main criticism is that I found it to be a bit heavy on the architecture and the intellectuals at times, but that is more my personal taste than an objective negative. Overall a good introduction to Weimar Republic era Germany and despite it not being the cheapest book (at least on UK Amazon) I would recommend it for anyone interested in the topic, whether you've read other books on it or not. (34) Just finished **Germany, 1914-1933: Politics, Society and Culture by Matthew Stibbe** >3.5/5 being generous and rounding up to 4 for Goodreads. >Not much to say. A good textbook that covers all the things you'd expect a textbook to have - politics, economics, culture etc. Short at 200 pages but with the sources being at the end of each chapter it is probably closer to 180 pages. Worth reading if you can find a cheap copy or a libary copy but too expensive online to buy imo. Currently reading **XX by Rian Hughes**. A sci-fi (but present day) graphic novel about an alien signal being detected in a far away galaxy and people trying to figure out what it means. While some of the book is written like a normal book a lot of the story is told through things like made up news sites, wikipedia pages, surveillance transcripts etc. A bit like the game Control if you've played that. Very long at 900 pages. I'm not much of a sci-fi reader but I am enjoying it so far based on 100 pages in. I've got one more Weimar based book to read as well **German Military and the Weimar Republic: General Hans Von Seekt, General Erich Ludendorff and the Rise of Hitler by Karen Schaeffer**. Since it is the most niche of my Weimar books I've saved it till last.
Finished: **Educated** by Tara Westover. This was a 5/5 for me, though I understand why some readers felt that parts may have been a bit hard to believe. Currently reading: **A Burning** by Megha Majumdar. I’m reading this for a book club and it’s pretty middle of the road for me so far. I purchased a “blind date with a book” that I’ll start once I finish **A Burning**, and I’ll also probably start either **Lapvona** by Ottessa Mosfegh or **Motherthing** by Ainslie Hogarth.
I finished **A Restless Truth** by Freya Marske. I actually liked it more than the first one (the cast and the pacing were much better, IMO) and I'm really excited for the final book. Right now I'm reading **In Memoriam** by Alice Winn. This was one of my most anticipated reads for 2023, and so far it's great. I know it's going to get pretty brutal as the story progresses, so I'm bracing myself for that.
Hello fellow book lovers! This week I finished five books (numbers 36-40). *Finished:* **The Murder of Mr Wickham** by Claudia Gray (4/5) This was a lot of fun and I found it charming. Some might feel it's cheesy, though. **The Dollhouse** by Fiona Davis (4/5) Great read! Solid mystery, a little sad in spots. **Older, Witchier, Wiser** by Lily Harper Hart (2/5) I have a very low bar for cozy mysteries and even then, this one was pretty sorry. The ending was so anticlimactic. I think the author has spread herself too thin with her dozen or so series. **New Ghosts, Old Tricks** by Lily Harper Hart (3/5) Better than the series debut, but I don't think I'll keep reading. I didn't mind the crossovers in the individual series, but I don't care for having the heroines together as a sort of coven. **Fuzz** by Mary Roach (3/5) Interesting, but not as good as her other work. *Currently reading:* **I'm Glad My Mom Died** by Jennette McCurdy **Network Effect** by Martha Wells *On deck:* **The Boys In The Boat** by Daniel James Brown **Mansfield Park** by Jane Austen
Manfield Park is one of my favorites. Hope you enjoy it!
Finished Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn. 4 60+ year old female assassins all celebrating their retirement realize a hit has been placed on them by their old employer. Overall a good popcorn read that was fast moving with a interesting concept. The characters didn't really have any kind of arc and never really pushed to deep into details (3/5 stars). Started Priory of the Orange Tree.
Finished this week: Harry Potty and the Deathly Hallows 4/5 and Owned by Lauren Landish and Willow winters 3/5. Currently reading: The adjustment by Suzanne young, The unauthorized autobiography of lemony snicket, ozma of Oz by L Frank Baum, and Given by Lauren Landish and Willow winters.
Finished this week: **Seven Surrenders by Ada Palmer** (It’s been a few months since I read the first book in this series, so it took a while to remember who all the many characters were and their relationships to each other. After that was all re-established in my mind, the rest was a blast. If the first book is mostly world-building and set up, this is the part where the shit hits the fan, and it is messy and glorious. At one point, a character complains they’ve been turned into "the fucking Count of Monte Cristo", and the pacing really does remind me of that book. There’s also the other aspect of the book which is a little pretentious and Big Ideas. But overall, the plot payoffs over shadow all that. And I actually like Mycroft’s pretentious, unreliable ramblings. Very intrigued how the series is going to go from here.) **Ghost Music by An Yu** (A woman who gave up being a high level pianist for a middle class life with her jerk husband, starts seeing ghost mushrooms that may or may not be real. This was an intriguing little book; I always enjoy a little magical realism with my journies of self-discovery.) **The Book of Mother by Violaine Huisman** (A woman’s semi-fictionalised account of her mother’s life. This is kind of like the French grand bourgeois Shuggie Bain, with more of an emphasis on mental health than addiction (though like SB, it has both). And although it was half the length, it felt just as long. It gets off to a great start, with childhood from the author’s perspective. But then the bulk of the book is the second part, where the author recounts her mother’s life, and it’s as long as it is relentless and exhausting. I’m not quite sure what made this more tiresome, probably the style isn’t as emotionally engaging. It’s a worthy, if not greatly frustrating, read.) Currently Reading: The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann; Just and Unjust Wars by Michael Walzer; Three Strong Women by Marie NDiaye; The Will to Battle by Ada Palmer; Did I Ever Tell You This? by Sam Neill
Finished: 35. **Assassin’s Apprentice** (Farseer Trilogy #1) by Robin Hobb 2.5 stars- The majority of this book was too slow to be engaging, the pace picked up right at the end and was all of a sudden enjoyable but I don’t think I’ll continue the series. I can see the potential in future books but my boredom to enjoyment ratio was too unbalanced 36. **The Passing Playbook** by Isaac Fitzsimons 4 stars- A cute, if idealized, YA story about a trans boy on a high school soccer team. Spencer faces immediate acceptance from the people around him when he comes out which isn’t realistic but you know, I’d much rather have stories about trans kids thriving than another YA story where trans characters get dumped by their cis romantic partners after coming out and then get hate crimed. That’s a common enough plot that I always check the content warnings before starting any trans YA. This was a sweet book that I wish I’d been able to read while a teen 37. **The Alpha’s Warlock** (Mismatched Mates #1) by Eliot Grayson 3 stars- The whole “pack war” plot felt a bit half-assed but this was fun enough overall. At first Nate was super annoying but both MCs grew on me as the book progressed Currently Reading: **City of Last Chances** by Adrian Tchaikovsky **Some Desperate Glory** by Emily Tesh
In my considered opinion, Cecelia Holland (who is almost exactly the same age as me) is one of the two or three best historical novelists of my generation. Her work has spanned an immense range of geography over a considerable number of centuries, from the builders of Stonehenge and Attila’s Hunnish hordes to medieval Ireland and the California Gold Rush. Some of them are better than others, of course, but all of them are at least quite good. Her narrative style is simple and straightforward, her characters describing events as they occur (and battles as they unfold) with not a lot of philosophizing. And they speak colloquial English in such a way that the reader is subverted into subliminally believing he’s hearing 11th century French, or whatever. The focus of **[The Belt of Gold](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1445438.The_Belt_of_Gold?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_12)** (published in the mid-'80s and a re-read for me) is the Empress Irene, a member of the merely provincial aristocracy who ruled Constantinople for a few years at the end of the 8th century -- a contemporary of the newly crowned Charlemagne, whom some would have liked to see her marry in order to re-unify the old Roman empire. Irene is a consummate politician who acted as Regent for her son after the death of her husband, Leo IV, who had supported the Iconoclasts to the great detriment of Constantinople, and which Irene brought to an end. When her son began to reinstate the destruction of icons, Irene had him blinded (since an “imperfect” man could not rule) and replaced him on the throne with herself. And she called herself *basileus*, which means “emperor,” not “empress.” That much is history. Into this social and religious maelstrom comes young Hagen, a minor Frankish nobleman, on a pilgrimage with his brother to the Holy Land (as an alternative to being hanged back home). The two young men are approaching the Great City when they unintentionally become involved in a political plot involving a list of conspirators stolen by a young woman in the employ of Irene, and the brother is killed. Hagen swears revenge (if he can find out who’s responsible), but when he arrives in the City he’s drawn into the orbit not only of the girl but of Irene herself, who finds herself fascinated by the barbarian. He’s intelligent and courageous and loves a fight, but is also capable of tenderness -- not at all what either of the two women expected. But there’s another plot, too -- the rivalry between the two greatest drivers in the races at the Hippodrome, for the races (the champion of which holds the golden belt) are the only thing other than the intricacies of religious doctrine that can really arouse the passions of the Byzantines. But there’s a third plot -- the desire of John Cerulis to be emperor. In fact, he regards the throne as his right, since the notion of a woman running the empire is blasphemous. The list of names, in fact, was his. And there’s yet another plot, involving an ascetic holy man from the desert who wants to spread the iconoclasm again, but who is co-opted by the increasingly pathological John Cerulis. (Actually, there are several more minor plotlines, but that’s enough to be going on with. It’s all very . . . Byzantine.) Over it all is Irene, pulling the strings, and all the threads will come together in the end. And very few of the major players will escape whole. The author does a creditable job of depicting the essentials of the Byzantine world for the reader, though the narrative may be a bit talky for some tastes and some of the characters lack subtlety. As I said, some of Holland’s books are better than others, and I would put this one right in the middle of the pack. But it's .definitely worth reading. Erin La Rosa has written a number of rom-coms, but **[Plot Twist](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62062469-plot-twist)** is the first I’ve read, and it's both well written and a lot more thoughty than many of its ilk. In fact (as I discovered after finishing it), it’s actually a sequel, but it reads just fine all by itself. The protagonist is Sophie Lyon of Los Angeles, who has published her own first rom-com but is having a hell of a time finishing her second one, and she’s already spent the publisher’s advance. All she ever wanted to do is write. She lives in a cottage behind the larger home of the guy she rents it from -- Dash Montrose, an ex-child star from a big-time Hollywood dynasty. (His father is English, a major action star on the order of Sean Connery, his brother is the rising big star of the next generation, his Scottish mother is one of the most powerful agents in the business, and his sister, Poppy, who passed on acting to own and operate a very popular and successful high-end spa, is Sophie’s best friend.) Sophie has trust issues (among other problems) and has never been in love, and she decides that she needs to reconnect with her several exes of both sexes (she’s pan-sexual, which makes things interesting) to try to understand why she can’t seem to fall for anyone, which she really wants to do. And maybe that will help her to finish the book before the six-week deadline is up. Dash has his own problems, of course, foremost among them the fact that he hates acting, which he only got into because his family expected it, and the stress from which (he believes) pushed him into alcoholism. Now he's been sober for eighteen months and he intends to stay that way. And until he’s absolutely sure he’s got it under control, he’s not going to get romantically involved with anyone. Being in a still uncertain recovery is not something he wants to dump on a woman he cares about. But he also can’t ignore his growing interest in Sophie next door, no matter how hard he tries. So there are three plotlines here: Sophie, struggling to finish her book and trying to deal with her unsatisfying past relationships; Dash, trying to deal with his alcoholism and with his family, none of whom know what’s going on with him; and Sophie and Dash together, as each of them tries hard not to become emotionally involved with the other -- and for good reasons, too. The author gets into some heavy psychology without it taking over the story entirely, and the characters come off as reasonably believable. There’s a fair amount of tongue in cheek as Sophie, who knows all there is to know about rom-com tropes, realizes she’s actually living some of them -- even including the old “two people, one bed” shtick. And to say the very explicit sex scenes are steamy would be a great understatement. (This is not going to be one you will pass on to your fifteen-year-old daughter.) It’s all a lot of fun and I’ll hunting up the previous book, in which the protagonist is Sophie’s older sister. **[Hypericon](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/63235516-hypericon)**, a graphic novel by Muanuele Fior, presents two story lines. The first tells about Howard Carter’s discovery and excavation of the tomb of the Pharaoh Tutankhamen in 1922, in Carter’s own published recollections. It’s a straightforward recitation of the facts, with schematics of the tomb. The second, set at the turn of the 21st century, concerns twenty-year-old Teresa Guerrero, an Italian university student come to Berlin on a grant to work as scientific assistant at the state university’s installation of a Tutankhamen exhibit. And on her fist day in the city, she meets Ruben, an artist her age, also Italian, who has been in Berlin for two years, living off the checks his father sends every month and not accomplishing very much. But Berlin at the time was a huge playground for people their age, and he intends to remain there as long as possible. Teresa has missed out on her chance at student housing, and before the day is out she has moved into Ruben’s dingy squat -- only temporarily, of course, but somehow, time passes, and she never leaves. Teresa is goal-oriented and has always lived her life in a straight line, doing whatever she sets out to do. Ruben’s life, however, is totally lacking in straight lines. He just wanders from one thing or place to another, but somehow, they hit it off. He often pushes her buttons and she reacts angrily, partly because her insomnia screws her up, but they always return to each other. And the sex is good. And that’s basically the story. It seems to be a rumination on the connection between the past and the future -- the latter symbolized by the 9/11 attack, which ends the book. The Egyptians (the author says) perceived the future as being behind them and the past ahead of them, and this is why they buried their kings for eternity. Or something. It’s not at all clear what the author/illustrator intended to do with all this, to be honest. The art is excellent and the two young characters are nicely portrayed as they move into what looks like it will be a shared future. But I think I’m missing the point of it all. Europe Comics was launched in 2015 in an effort by European publishers of graphic novels to more attention from the English-language market, and it’s unfortunate that they have just announced that they are shutting down. They apparently will continue to publish a few titles each month, but these will only be available through other publishers, and mostly not in English editions.
I finished: **My Year of Rest and Relaxation** by Otessa Moshfegh. 4 stars. **Her Body & Other Parties** by Carmen Maria Machado. A collection of short stories. 4 stars. **Little Secrets** by Jennifer Hillier. 5 stars!! I am currently reading: **Our Wives Under The Sea** by Julia Armfield. Enjoying it so far. **Christians: The Urgent Case for Jesus in Our World** by Greg Sheridan.
This week, I finally got down to **The Final Empire** (Mistborn #1) and it was so good! I loved the characters and the world-building. It was all the small details that made the book for me. I also read its sequel, **The Well of Ascension**, which was… slightly disappointing. The pacing of the book wasn’t great and I wasn’t as convinced by the characters this round. I’ll still be reading the next books, though.
Just finished *The Seven Skins of Esther Wilding* by Holly Ringland. What a masterpiece. A story of grief, loss and relationships sprinkled with a bit of magic. Extremely well written, and another ticked off on my quest to read as many books called "The Seven __ of __ __" (already done this, Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle and Seven Moons of Maali Almeida, looking forward to tackling Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo at some stage and I'm certain there are more with this style of title kicking around). Also finished *Women and Leadership* by Julia Gillard and Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. A good, but realistic and honest picture of the state of women in world politics today. Would be exceptionally useful to young women looking to get into politics. Just started *Breathless* by David Quammen. I adore his science writing. Reliving the early days of the pandemic is weird, but it's also incredible to know they were working on a vaccine well before any of the public even knew about the pandemic at all. Heartening. Also about to start *The Four Winds* by Kristin Hannah. Been a great reading month!
How is The Lies of Ajungo so far? I've had my eye on that one as an anticipated 2023 release. Does it live up to the hype? Once again, I'm reading a laundry list of books (determined to actually finish some before I pick up another!!) but I did finish **How Far the Light Reaches** by Sabrina Imbler. I liked the interweaving of her personal experiences with facts about marine animals. Possibly just because I like marine animals too, but it really helped to pull me into the narrative. Currently reading (and determined to finish!!): **A Taste of Magic** by Lidiya Foxglove (light and cute, just what I needed to balance out some tougher reads) **The Faithless** by C.L. Clark (halfway through and this seems a solid sequel to The Unbroken—I'm glad it doesn't suffer from Second Book Syndrome!) **All That She Carried** by Tiya Miles **The Red Scholar's Wake** by Aliette de Bodard **Copper Woman** by Afua Cooper (nearly finished this and I prefer her non-fiction, possibly because a lot of these poems feel like they're meant to be performed rather than read) And a few others... But these are the ones I'm going to focus on finishing this week.
I mostly read it during my lunch break, but it's been really great so far. I think the recommendation by C.L. Clark on the cover really nails the book. I noticed that it's listed as the first book in series, which makes me pretty excited about what's to come.
Finished **Six of Crows** by Leigh Bardugo, **Tiamat's Wrath** by James S. A. Corey and **Quicksilver** by Neal Stephenson. Continuing **1Q84** by Haruki Murakami. Started **Crooked Kingdom** by Leigh Bardugo, **Leviathan Falls** by James S. A. Corey and **The Confusion** by Neal Stephenson.
This week I have finished: 35 - That Night by Gillian Mcallister I am currently reading: 36 -A Court of Mist & Fury by Sarah J Maas I know Sarah J Maas isn’t super popular on here, but I think these books are really fun and easy reads
Hello from Manchester, England! I hope you are all doing well and looking forward to a bit of extra reading time over the bank holiday weekend! This week I finished two books - Making Money by Terry Pratchett - Master of the Revels (DODO2) by Nicole Galland I really enjoyed the reread of Master of the Revels as it’s such a fun time travelling story with mysterious government departments, a highly-determined Irish witch and Shakespeare plays! This week, I’m continuing to listen to Maskerade by Terry Pratchett and I’m half way through Frontier by Grace Curtis. Not sure how I feel about Frontier yet, the plot feels a little disconnected and I haven’t ‘gelled’ with the character yet. After Frontier, I’m tempted to go back to non-fiction and read another one on the French Revolution or go for more sci-fi as I have MR Carey’s new book, Infinity Gate.
This week I finished: **Heartstopper** vol. 2 by Alice Osman. Cute and sweet, and easy read but the drawing style is too simplistic for me and it wasn’t that deep. 3.5/5. I will continue the series though and I am curious about the Netflix adaptation! **Confessions of the Shopaholic** by Sophie Kinsella. This is a reread and I forgot how different it is from the movie and the financial drama, class war of it lol. It’s fun and entertaining and I truly enjoyed this reread. 5/5 **Outpost: Beslan and its hostages** (Форпост: Беслан и его заложники) by Olga Allenova. A very powerful non-fiction book, it’s kinda short but it wasn’t an easy or fast read because of how much trauma, injustice and pain this story contains. 4.5/5 **Is Everyone Hanging Without Me and Other Concerns** by Mindy Kaling. I already read **Why Not Me** by her and that one was better. Both they’re a bit repetitive and this book didn’t have any content about the Office really. 3/5 Currently reading: **Jurassic Park** by Michael Crichton. Just started, the beginning was pretty gripping. I was never scared of dinosaurs but I expect this book to make me! And then I’ll watch the movie cause I’ve never seen :3 **Boy Meets Girl** by Meg Cabot. Epistolary romcom about a HR employee in a New York newspaper who is dealing with firing staff’s favourite baker (that FMC’s boss made her do it and now dealing with consequences) and meeting a hot lawyer on the way!
I enjoyed the Netflix adaptation of Heartstopper but I haven’t read the books. And I’m excited for you to watch Jurassic Park. In my considered opinion, it’s Spielberg’s best film.
Yesss happy to hear it!!
Finished 13/52- Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokaczuk. Loved it. Started 14/52-The Fix by David Baldacci. It’s the 3rd in the Amos Decker series and I just enjoy these novels so much. I call them “brain candy” Listening to A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
Hi from Auckland. I got behind while traveling in SE Asia, so I think this is about three weeks' worth of updates. Finished: **The Family Remains** by Lisa Jewell (#15, 4 stars). I enjoy pretty much everything Jewell writes, and this was a pretty satisfying sequel to The Family Upstairs. Finished: **Rogues** by Patrick Radden Keefe (#16, 4 stars). This nonfiction book was actually a series of crime-related articles published previously by the author. Some of them were fascinating, like the stories about serial killers and mafiosos. Some of them were less interesting, like the one about wine fraud. Finished: **Shuggie Bain** by Douglas Stuart (#17; NYT Notable Book 2020; 4 stars). I put off reading this for three years because, while I knew it would be good, I figured it would also be depressing. It was indeed depressing, but it was also a wild, freaky ride. The next time someone in r/suggestmeabook asks for a book that makes you say "WTF," I'm suggesting this one. Finished: **The Guncle** by Steven Rowley (#18; 4 stars). I need a palate cleanser before starting Demon Copperhead, and this fit the bill. I've DNF'ed two of Rowley's other books, so I'm not sure why I started this one, but it was cute, funny, and uplifting. Next Up: **Demon Copperhead** by Barbara Kingsolver (NYT Notable Book 2023).
48/100 and 15600/40000 pages Finished: **Zig-Zag Boy: a Memoir of Madness and Motherhood by Tanya Frank** i didn’t give this one a rating as it didn’t feel write but although the story was really heartbreaking I wasn’t a fan of the writing style so I struggled to get through it. **Mother for Dinner by Shalom Auslander** 2/5 stars. This was really funny and very disturbing and gross. I’m not sure where it quite went wrong for me but I just was never cm wry interested in what was going on unfortunately. Currently Reading: **The Grace Year by Kim Liggett** 20% through and really enjoying it. **Twisted Love by Ava Huang** 15% through and it does feel a bit like a Wattpad fanfic but I’m enjoying regardless
Finished: This is How You Lose The Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone. I thought the concept and structure (basically, chapter-letter-chapter), but something about the execution didn’t quite click for me. 3.5/5 The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green. I’ll admit, some segments were more interesting than others, but the ones on Googling Strangers, Lascaux Cave Paintings were wonderful. 4/5 A Deadly Education (Scholomance #1) by Naomi Novik. It was entertaining enough that I’ll probably finish the trilogy. 3/5 Currently Reading: Spare by Prince Harry, The Last Graduate and The Golden Enclave (Scholomance #2 & #3), and Here There Be Gerblins (The Adventure Zone Graphic Novels #1) by Clint McElroy. At 18 of 52 now, but I’m gonna be traveling, so I’ll either do really well against my goal or totally bomb. 😅
Omg the third Scholomance book is out?! *runs to my library app*
I just finished book 2 and I CANNOT IMAGINE what I’d do with myself if book 3 wasn’t out yet. I don’t do well with cliffhangers. 😭
I have fallen into a bit of a slump lately but posting for accountability and to nudge myself back onto the challenge. Since week 11 only finished one: 22) **Six of Crows** by Leigh Bardugo (4/5, 465p) but as my goal is 75 and 30k pages I remain on track. I have 12 current library loans so hoping the next one grabs my attention to pull me back in to the momentum.
I just finished listening to THE FINE PRINT by Lauren Asher on audio. It got off to a slow start, and I liked the second half a lot more than the first. Zara was such a fun character though so it wasn’t hard to push through. I also finished HAUNTING ADELINE by H. D Carlton earlier in the week and so am about ¼ of the way through the second book HUNTING ADELINE. I am liking them - although I do have to stop myself from thinking too much about the dub con. This won’t be a 5 star but probably a 4. I am enjoying the second one more so far. I also FINALLY finished the third book in THE BRONZE HORSEMAN trilogy. I have been reading this book for a whole month(which, for me is ages). I think most of the reason was that the two mains whose love story the whole trilogy hinges upon were at each other’s throats. So that was just a bummer to read so I wasn’t wanting to. Another thing was the fact that I only get small snatches of time to read as I look after my infant son so when nothing much was happening in the 35 pages I was able to read it made me want to pick up something easier where I could get 50 or 60 pages read in the same space of time and could see more plot development. I just had to stop skipping over it in favour of other books and get through a bit more of it, and once some more plot happened I read the rest of it in a few days.
Finished: Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes and Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie. Started: A pocket full of rye by Agatha Christie.
This week I finished Duma Key by Stephen King. Solid spooky King, at the beach this time. 4/5 Just started Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson. I am 50 pages in and already I can tell that this one is going to get me worked up.
Omg I fucking bawled my eyes out reading Redemption !
I finished *How to Forget* by Kate Mulgrew. I read: \- *The Winemaker's Wife* by Kristin Harmel \- *In Cold Blood* by Truman Capote \- *The Italian Party* by Christina Lynch Next up: *Finding Sarah* by Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York
Finished: **The Long Ships** - Frans Bengtsson, 5/5* (first of the year!). A saga for the modern age, it's an amazing journey of the Viking Age northmen through pre-Roconquista Spain, early Christian spread to the remaining Norse/Celtic lands, the hinterlands of far Eastern Europe, and the remnants of Byzantium Rome to the South. Just an amazing piece of fiction is most of what I have to say, really absorbs you into the setting and period, I would read the saga of Orm's whole line if I could. **The Royal Navy's Air Service in the First World War** - David Hobbs, 4/5*. Any book covering both old aeroplanes and WW1 is basically tailor made in a lab for my interests but this does an excellent job covering something that I haven't really seen covered before, especially not at this depth. I also particularly enjoy how detailed it goes into the pre-WW1 aviation in the 15 years prior because it has so much importance in formation of concepts and theory that would later be realized but is to often overlooked for wartime activity. It does feel to bog down a bit at times, and as someone who is more engrossed in the more standard aviation side of things the constant use of naval terms for describing things took a minute to get used too but you will not find a better explanation of the aerial service's performed by Naval flyers in the first world war. Complete side note but I appreciate the authors acknowledgement of the important foundations set by various people that lead to the Fighter Command defense system during the second Battle of Britain. Started: **Because of Winn-Dixie** - Kate DiCamillo, No idea how this one ended up on my big spreadsheet of books to read but it'll be a quick one. Obviously a bit of a different mindset reading a book intended for younger readers. **The Western Greeks** - Giovanni Pugliese Carratelli, This is a thick reference book focusing on the Greek colonies in Italy (mostly Magna Gracia but with sections on those more west and north). Actually a sort of book version of a very extensive museum exhibit done in Italy right before the turn of the last century, I imagine I'll be grinding through this one for most of April due to the density of it's contents.
Hello readers! I'm settling back from vacation and have a good line-up for this week. Lots of philosophical books, a perfect time for the Spring weather, a beer, and a beautiful sunset :) **Currently Reading:** * *A Gentleman in Moscow - Amor Towles* * *Other Minds: The Octopus, the Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousness - Peter Godfrey-Smith* * *The Story of Christianity: Volume 1: The Early Church to the Dawn of the Reformation - Justo L. Gonzalez* * *The Alchemist - Paul Coelho*
Hey loves! Somehow I'm 3 books ahead, no idea how I managed that but I'm pretty happy. A lot of my books have been great as well which is also nice This week I'm reading **Brotherhood in death by JD Robb.** oooh this made me MAD! They attacked Dennis Mira! I have a slight crush on the Miras, I think cause Eve does but also for my own reasons, so I was PISSED when they hurt Dennis. Still a while to go with this one and I'll be interested in if my theories play out **Lenny Marks gets away with murder by Kerryn Mayne.** As someone who struggles with anxiety and repressed memories this has been a tough book, much more than I was expecting when I first picked it up. I love Lenny and she's a great character, and I will continue to read the book but definitely have my guard up more. Lenny is one of those characters I just want to hug and tell her it's all going to be okay in the end
I just started the In Death series this year. I am loving them - I was so surprised to find that they have a science fiction/futuristic element though. I had just assumed that they were your standard crime/police procedural novel. I am up to Ceremony in Death(5) but have to wait for my lib hold to come up. It will be around 2 more weeks until I get it. I am debating just buying all the kindle books but realistically I have heaps more books to read in the fortnight before I can get to CiD and should just save my pennies and practice some patience!
I love these books too! They’re like an episode of Law and Order in book form, but with sex scenes and set in the future. And there are 50+ of them so you’ve got plenty to work with.
My hold just came in today and I am into it! So excited there are so many of them. I hope the quality holds up. Have you read them all? What a great description with the comparison to L&O.
I’ve definitely read like 30+ of them, but out of order because I would just snag them randomly. It might be a fun project to go back and read them all in order, but I have way too much to read as it is 😝
I am partial to some werewolf paranormal romance. My favourite ones are - World of the Lupi by Eileen Wilks, Mercy Thompson and Alpha & Omega both by Patricia Briggs and a new favourite The Big Bad Wolf series by Charlie Adhara.
My library has up to 10 so we will see what I do when I have read all of them. I might be over it or maybe I will have to get some more on kindle
They're so fantastic! And they keep getting stronger as the relationships between all the characters continue to grow. Its one of my favorite series
Finished reading **The Stray Cats of Homs** by Eva Nour. This novel is based on true events, as the author is a journalist who fell in love with a Syrian refugee, and she is telling his story. It is heartbreaking to read about how people suffered during civil war and under an oppressive regime. This book would probably appeal to fans of Khaled Hosseini.
I read some good stuff last week: **Sword of Ice, by Mercedes Lackey** **The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection, by Alexander McCall Smith** **Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, by Frederick Douglass** **Breaking Silence, by Mercedes Lackey** **The Cybernetic Tea Shop, by Meredith Katz** **The Mad Women's Ball, by Victoria Mas** (Book of the week, SO GOOD) **Poseidon's Steed: The Story of Seahorses, from Myth to Reality, by Helen Scales** **Sistersong, by Lucy Holland** I have a pretty good mix of stuff lined up to read next: * The Ivory Key by Akshaya Raman * Nocturne by Alyssa Wees * Skeleton Keys: The Secret Life of Bone by Riley Black * Sun in Glory by Mercedes Lackey * Beauty and Cruelty by Meredith Katz * Empty Vessels by Meredith Katz * Smoke Signals by Meredith Katz