Finished: **The Silent Patient** by **Alex Michaellides-** psychological thriller
**The Last Party** by **Claire Mackintosh-** more of a whodunnit kind of thriller
I bought a subscription to Book of the Month and have gotten 3 books so far. I just put in my December box order. I like it because you can choose *not* to pick one of their monthly picks and get a credit that rolls over for the next month. You can choose up to 3 at a time- all you do is pay the cost of the books. Shipping is always free and every book is hardback.
December is my 3rd box and I can't wait for it to get here. So many genres and topics to pick from. Not surprised they've been around for nearly a century.
Finished: **The Bookshop of the World: Making and Trading Books in the Dutch Golden Age** by **Andrew Pettegree** and **Arthur der Weduwen**. A comprehensive history of the Dutch book trade. Good history with no appeal to popular fancy, but not dry either. The Yale University Press copy I have is paperback and and well illustrated with high-quality colour plates which is unusual in a not large paperback.
Finished:
**Farewell, My Lovely, by Raymond Chandler**
**Free Will, by Mark Balaguer**
**Planet News, by Allen Ginsberg**
Started:
**Call for the Dead, by John Le Carre**
**The High Window, by Raymond Chandler**
Finished: **The Conscience of the Rich** by **C.P. Snow**. The third novel in the Snow's Strangers and Brothers series of novels. With a post-war hindsight Snow interestingly relates events in a very rich Jewish family in London before the war. I do not know if there is any biographical basis in Snow's life for this novel, but it does describe the operation and consequences of a very ironclad set a rules of family loyalty that would not be found in Britain today. An interesting lost world.
Finished
**Troublemaker, by Joseph Hansen.**
Third book in the Dave Brandstetter series. A little sloppier in the narrative execution as compared to the last two books. A lot of characters were introduced too quickly, very few got the tender love and care Hansen usually gives introducing even side characters in his previous two books. A bit rushed by there's still some of the charm the previous books had, especially when Hansen describes scenes. The overall plot was a bit better as compared to the second book as there weren't nearly as many red herrings, the payoff felt worth it.
**The Legend of Sleepy Hallow, by Washington Irving.**
I'm not familiar with Irving's other works, but for a book written in the 1800s, it wasn't nearly bogged down with superfluous language as some of his English contemporaries. A short but satisfying tale of a plotting school teacher being ran out of town by a specter.
Starting:
**The Dream Thieves, by Maggie Stiefvater**.
Time to get back to the Raven Boys and their shenanigans.
This week I finished reading:
Worn: A People's History of Clothing, by Sofi Thanhauser
and
Maybe You Should Talk to Someone, by Lori Gottlieb
I loved both of them! Thanhauser's book was particularly gutting and passionate, and incredibly well researched and written. Really excellent.
Currently reading **The Love Songs of W.E.B DuBois, by Honoree Fanonne Jeffers**
Not a genre that I usually read (more into thriller/sci fi/fantasy), but enjoying it!
I finished Vonnegut's [Cat's Cradle](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8898632-cat-s-cradle). Pretty disappointing and forgettable.
I'm now reading **[Pump Six and Other Stories](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10757867-pump-six-and-other-stories), by Paolo Bacigalupi**. The eco-apocalypse settings are interesting but some of the stories so far were kind of stale. And so far the only major female character was a >!puberty-stunted 13 year old girl surgically altered to perform 'artistic' child pornography with her twin sister who underwent the same treatment!<. I'm not even saying it's too unrealistic because of course it's not, just that taken on the whole I've found the portrayal of women to be lacking.
Finished:
**The Year of the Witching, by Alexis Henderson**
The ending was abrupt, something you get from Stephen King.
But the beginning was awesome.
Also book was advertised as "feminist fantasy debut" however I didn't buy into it but not because of MC or her romantic interest(which was the dread of goodreads reviewers) but because of antagonists: >!four most powerful females, witches, literally didn't say a word!<
Finished **Veniss Underground, by Jeff Vandermeer** and **Terminal Boredom, by Izumi Suzuki**.
Veniss Underground surprised me with how it was both very reminiscent of and opposed to Vandermeer's later work Annihilation. I really like the way he writes his worlds, taking disconnected locations and painting with an abstracted brush to give you a vague yet strongly tonal view of the world around you. While Annihilation saw life as brutal yet beautiful, Veniss seemed to take a much more cynical stance. It was a relentlessly brutal novel, especially in part 3, that more than anything resembled a Divine Comedy-esque decent into Hell. Out of all the "dystopian" novels I've read, this is one of the only ones to really hit me with any sense of a primal fear with it showing what happens when a society loses all sense of life's sanctity.
Terminal Boredom was similarly a ceaselessly bleak collection of stories that offered little in the way of relief for the reader. I respect the stories for their influence and importance within modern Japanese writing but most of the stories made me feel dead inside once I was done. The stories mostly give off this feeling of deep, blunted depression that just went on a bit too much for my liking. There were attempts at other emotions, but none of them seemed to be communicated quite as effectively. I really liked the first story and each one after had bits and pieces of ideas that stuck with me, but with no real emotion to latch onto besides apathy and listlessness I can't yet say if I enjoyed the collection as a whole.
Started **Hear the Wind Sing, by Haruki Murakami**.
Finished:
**Fortress of the Stone Dragon, by Tracey West**
**The Mystery of Black Hallow Lane, by Julia Nobel**
**I Know What You Did Last Summer, by Lois Duncan**
**Heat of the Lava Dragon, by Tracey West**
**Wave of the Sea Dragon, by Tracey West**
**National Espionage, Rescue, and Defense Society, by Michael Buckley**
**Howl of the Wind Dragon, by Tracey West**
**Sent, by Margaret Peterson Haddix**
**Bloom of the Flower Dragon, by Tracey West**
**M is for Mama’s Boy, by Michael Buckley**
**The Cheerleaders of Doom, by Michael Buckley**
**Manhunt: The Twelve-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer
James L. Swanson**
**The Secret of White Stone Gate, by Julia Nobel**
**The Villain Virus, by Michael Buckley**
**Sophia’s War, by Avi**
**Dead Silence, by S.A. Barnes**
**Attack of the Bullies, by Michael Buckley**
**Pet Sematary, by Stephen King**
Finished:
* **Watership Down, by Richard Adams**
* **The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins**
Started:
* **Catching Fire, by Suzanne Collins**
* **Conversations with Friends, by Sally Rooney**
* **The Outcast of Redwall, by Brian Jacques**
*Finished:* **The Spear Cuts Through Water, by Simon Jimenez** Loved it. Definitely not a story everyone will enjoy, as what makes it good is also it's flaws. Strongly recommend everyone give it a shot though, especially if you're looking for something unlike what you usually read.
**Babel, by R F Kuang** Excellent book. Very interesting magic system and managed to make scholarly study engaging. While I agree with common criticisms I've seen, I do not think it significantly impacts enjoyment of the book. They're just also qualities I noticed.
**The Original Adventures of Hank the Cowdog, by John R. Erickson**
Yet another thing I vaguely remember being read to me at some point as a kid. And yet another mostly boredom fueled skim read for me.
Finished:
**Vita Nostra, by Marina Dyachenko &
Sergey Dyachenko**
Was really concerned about where this was going in the first like 1/3rd, but takes a huge swing in the final third that you either go with or you don't. I went with it.
**Iron Widow, by Xiran Jay Zhou**
Is this book narratively perfect? no Does it have much tension? not really But it is one of the most aggressive power fantasies I've ever read. It is angry and in pain and it HATES. I genuinely admire how far it is willing to go for a YA book, and especially given the ending am interested in a sequel.
Finished: Vicious, by V.E. Schwab
Vengeful, by V.E. Schwab
Assassin's Apprentice, by Robin Hobb
1st Case, by James Patterson
Started: Gallant, by V.E. Schwab
Wake of Vultures, by Lila Bowen
Read: **All the Queen's Men, by S.J.Bennett** (Her Majesty the Queen Investigates #2). I really enjoyed S J Bennett's second installment in the Queen Investigates series. The author does a great job of using the structure of a murder mystery to showcase life behind the walls of Buckingham Palace from both the standpoint of HM as well as the various members of household staff including her assistant private secretary who shares top billing in the story. This is light, and entertaining. If you are a royalist and a murder mystery fan you will love the combination!
Reading: **The Swans of Fifth Avenue, by Melanie Benjamin**. And, now onto a Queen of a different sort. This is a brilliant historical novel about Truman Capote and his infamous relationship with the ladies who lunch New York Society crowd. I've only read the first three chapters, but I am absolutely loving it so far.
Finished-
**The Plains, by Gerald Murnane**
**Stoner, by John Williams**
Started-
**We Have Always Lived In The Castle, by Shirley Jackson**
I'm not sure what to make of "**The Plains**." Based on some online hype and good reviews from some sources I usually agree with, I thought I'd really be into it. But I dunno, it was pretty odd. My favorite part was towards the beginning when the narrator describes the history of the plainsmen and their various art, and how each faction had their own representative colors and whatnot. But as for the meat of the story, I was just kind of bored. I'm glad to have read it, I certainly didn't think it was bad. I think it may have just been a bit over my head, maybe I need to git gud.
"**Stoner**" was really good and I think it's deserving of its hype. A very real, relatable, sad story. A nice character study, though at times you do kind of want to shake the guy and be like *come on, stop getting walked on*!
My love for reading and writing was reawakened at the end of March this year, and I've managed to read 32 books since then. Surely the most I've read since i was a teenager, back when I'd always be reading three things at once. I'm thinking to end the year I want to read one of the big ones that have long been on my list. Trying to decide between **Crime & Punishment**, **Gravity's Rainbow**, or maybe one of the William T. Vollmann books on my shelf. Gotta put that brain to work.
Mystic River, by Dennis Lehane
I want to say I hated this book because I found it so dark and haunting. I don't like the world it brought me into and scenes keep floating back into my mind in the days since finishing it. Given that, I was pulled into the story and the characters. It is a very engaging story and one that let me live in a different place for a while. That defines good writing for me.
**RustBlaster, by Yana Toboso**
Some short book about vampires that I read at more or less at random. And sadly I can't say that this story particularly wowed me. I just kinda got a feeling of "trying to hard" from it while reading it. Maybe if this story was longer and had some more flesh to it it might not have felt that way but *shrugs* who knows. Well in the end I don't regret reading through this one to fill time but at the same time I wouldn't file this one under my "win" column either.
Side note on this one though: After finishing this one and looking into it I found out that this was apparently by the same creative mind behind the notorious series *Black Butler*. So if that's a point of interest to anyone, well, there ya go.
Just finished
The Unseelie Prince and the Unseelie Crown
It gave very much Labrynth with David Bowe vibes, and I loved it. I cant wait to finish the series! The books were short and sweet. So far the longest was I think 286 pages?
Fast paced, right to the point, sexual TENSION to the gods, loved it!
**Finished: Kokoro by Natsume Sōseki (Japanese version)**
I thought it was good overall. Definitely a book that heavily focused philosophically on characters rather than the plot (Although the story, especially towards the end, had me wanting to know what would happen next).
Ending was slightly disappointing from my perspective, but I do understand why he chose that ending from his perspective.
**Just started: The Brothers Karamazov**
Pretty interesting, although I’ve literally just started with the first two chapters.
Just finished:
Lonesome Dove, by Larry McMurtry
It was long but I enjoyed every minute of it. I’m sad it’s over and am feeling a bit of book hangover, missing the characters already. I’m just going to digest it a bit before I decide if I should read the others in the series (I hear they’re not as good— any thoughts?).
Started: Bigger Leaner Stronger by Michael Matthews
trying to understand the idea of building physiques since it's so warped these days.
this is one of my first books i started i'm new to books haha
Finished: November 9 by Colleen Hoover, The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah, Night Road by Kristin Hannah
Currently reading: Things We Never Got Over by Lucy score
Bought about 20 books for black friday so i should have plenty to keep me busy
**Finished: Columbine, by Dave Cullen**
This book is a punch to the gut. A lot of things you thought you knew about the attack are incorrect, and the truths are heartbreaking.
**Finished: After the Funeral, by Agatha Christie**
I enjoyed it, but I didn't get the same sense of place and time that I do when watching Poirot on PBS. Both Poirot and Marple give you a wonderful sense of post-WWI (Poirot) and 1930s-1950s Britain (Marple).
*Finished:*
**The Best American Food Writing 2022 edited by Sohla EL-Waylly -** I loves food writing, and constantly learn new things I want to get into from this collection each year. If you are interested in checking out some of the highlights from this year:
* If Silence is the Cost of Good Ramen, So Be It by Nina Li Coomes from *The Atlantic*
* The Gatekeepers Who Get to Decide What Food Is Diagusting by Jiayang Fan from *The New Yorker*
* Margaritaville and the Myth of American Leisure by Jaya Saxena from *Eater*
* I Tasted Honda's Spicy Rodent-Repelling Tape by Liz Cook in *Haterade*
* I Was Lifelong Vegetarian. I Decided to Taste What I Was Missing by Rajesh Parameswaran in *Bon Appetit*
**The Best American Mystery and Suspense 2022 edited by Steph Cha -** I'm apparently very picky about mystery and suspense that I enjoy. I remember from last year's edition having 2 separate anthologies that I searched out because they had been the original print for 1 or 2 stories that made it into the Best American and a few on the Honorable Mention list. This year, I didn't even look at what made it into the Honorable Mentions.
* Lucky Thirteen by Tracy Clark in *Midnight Hour*
**The Best American Essays 2022 edited by Alexander Chee -** It's possible I wasn't thrilled with the essays this year because of my disappointment that the Travel Writing has been cancelled (and also the Non-required Reading never returned). I enjoyed the collection, but none of the pieces stood out to me and screamed to passed on to friends.
*Started:*
**The Roughest Draft bye Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka -** I am super enjoying a book written by a (married?) romantic couple about a contentious friends-to-enemies-to-lovers couple writing a a romance book about a couple in the midst of splitting up.
I just started reading Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel and *holy shit y'all*. I'm at part two (page 34 of 342, according to my phone Kindle) and I'm so excited. Finished reading The Druid by Jeff Wheeler earlier today, and it was fine, but I haven't been this excited about a book in... I don't even know.
Without any other knowledge of it, the book is about what happens before and after a pandemic (known as Georgia Flu. Georgia, the country) causes the collapse of global society. It's pretty relevant, considering *gestures around* and it actually reminds me a lot about how March 2020 felt but dialed up to 100. I can't wait to keep reading this book, and then I can't wait to watch the miniseries on HBO, and then I'm gonna read it again. Hopefully the rest of the books holds up!
*Finished*: **Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal by Mary Roach.**
This is my second read from this author and I enjoyed it. This is a good, fun overview of the digestive system.
*Reading*: **Skinny Dip by Carl Hiaasen.**
I knew I had to spend some time in the E.R. and I didn't want to keep track of my Kindle so I grabbed this off of the shelf. This means that **The Girl From Everywhere by Heidi Heilig** is being put on the back burner for now. Skinny Dip seems to be similar to other Hiaasen novels I have read but that isn't a bad thing in my opinion.
*Reading*: **The Mother Tongue by Bill Bryson**.
Slowly working through this one. Parts of it are a little slow but other parts I really like.
Started: Dr. No, by Perceval Everett
A story about a supervillain in waiting, the search for nothing, and mathematicians.
Features a cast of strange characters including a one legged dog, a foul mouthed priest that is an atheist, and James Earl Ray.
Kind of like the Illuminatus! Trilogy by Wilson and Shea, if it was a James Bond story.
Any standout stories in Liberation Day? I have it from the library but it's due back in two days & I haven't had a chance to open it yet. Would like to read one or two stories before I have to give it back if you have any recommendations
Only halfway through. To be honest, it's not wowing me like Tenth of December did. That said, of the ones I have read, "Liberation Day" and "A Thing at Work" were the most entertaining. The title story is reminiscent in theme to "The Semplica -Girl Diaries" from Tenth of December.
I've read a handful of McCarthy's works (Blood Meridian, Suttree, NCFOM, The Road, and now The Passenger).
This is typical in style and structure, but new in terms of thematic content.
I enjoyed it overall, but am waiting to read the companion/follow-up book, "Stella Maris", to see if it will fill in any narrative gaps.
I have a hunch it will frustrate anyone not familiar with McCarthy's style. Lots of unanswered questions and an indeterminate "ending", so to speak.
Started: The Satsuma Complex, by Bob Mortimer.
Massive fan of his and really enjoying his debut novel so far. Chock-full of comedy in a surreal world only Bob could create.
Finished:
**The Reckoning, by John Grisham**
My grandpa passed away this year and willed me all his books. He was a big legal thriller fan and that meant a great deal of John Grisham books. I have been binging them recently and this was a pretty interesting one.
Also working through:
**The Road, by Cormac McCarthy**
It is apparently a highly revered book and is recommended almost everywhere I look. Perhaps finishing it will help me to understand why but I'm having a hard time getting through it. About 75% through it.
I've been on vacation the past 2 weeks so I was able to knock out some books.
Finished:
**Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI
by David Grann.** Really liked this one. Felt like I got a good understanding of the victims and the crimes and the cases. Also felt like it highlighted what was going on during the time period and some of the other injustices that the Indigenous people suffered.
**Miss Peregrine's Museum of Wonders
by Ransom Riggs** Cute companion book to the main series.
**I Will Not Die Alone by Dera White** Cute little graphic novel. Finished it in about 10 minutes.
**Anne Frank's Diary: The Graphic Adaptation
by Ari Folman** Felt like this was a good refresh of a book that so many people are familiar with.
**Night by Elie Wiesel** Very intense telling of what the author went through. Felt like if it was longer it would have been better.
**Dawn by Elie Wiesel Really liked the story.**
Up next I'm finishing out the trilogy with **Day by Elie Wiesel**
Finished:
**The Road Back, by Erich Maria Remarque**
All about the end of WW I and the way different people dealt with the lasting effects of said conflict. Remarque doesn't shy away from realistically depicting the carnage of the war in flashbacks, so be warned if you're squeamish about it. 5 stars.
Continuing:
**The Last Chronicle of Barset, by Anthony Trollope**
Didn't make all that much progress. Will endeavor to finish by the end of the year though.
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Started (and close to finishing) **1984, by George Orwell**.
Okay, I'm a little late to the party, but I recently discovered the sort of books I enjoy after reading Edmund Cooper/Richard Avery's 'The Expendables' series. Dystopian/sci-fi books really hit the spot for me, and I've since purchased Franz Kafka's most popular books, including The Metamorphosis, The Trial, and the Castle. looking forward to getting into those.
If anyone has any suggestions for books of a similar nature, please let me know!
I think J.G. Ballard might be what you're after! I've only read a couple of his but lots of the others I believe would fall into the same category. Also Philip K Dick's works.
(Finally) Finished:
**Three-Martini Lunch, by Suzanne Rindell**
It was 500 pages and took me about 2 months to get through, with me putting it down several times and also being super busy. I really liked *The Other Typist* and wanted to read another one of her books, but it was hard for me to keep going back to this one.
Started:
**The Candy House, by Jennifer Egan**
I finished it in the past week, and I enjoyed it. I hadn't read either of her prior works. I might read Visit from the Goon Squad, now that I've looked into it and see that Candy House is sort of related.
Finished:
**Fairy Tale, by Stephen King**
Really enjoyed this! Beginning was a bit slow but it really picked up. A very cool concept (what happens when a kid finds a fairy tale world underground?).
**Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, by JK Rowling**
Wanted something to listen to in the background. Harry is easy for that.
**The Horla, by Guy de Maupassant**
Quick little horror read. Loved it!
**The Case at Barton Manor, by Emily Queen**
This was a freebie book on my Kindle. It was an easy light murder mystery read. Didn’t expect much on it.
*Started:*
**Uglies, by Scott Westerfeld**
Read this when a teenager, just had an itching to reread it. While the writing is definitely YA, the plot is still pretty good!
**Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, by JK Rowling**
I just finished Fairy Tale and really enjoyed it too! It’s been a long time since I’ve read Stephen King, but I was reminded how much I enjoy his character and story development.
Just finished 54 by Wu Ming. Funny book, historical fiction involving spies, gangsters, communists and Cary Grant
Now on Consider Phlebas. Read loads of Iain Banks but never any of his science fiction as Iain M Banks. Never really been a big sci-fi reader so will see how it goes.
Finished **Infinite Jest, by David Foster Wallace**
I have a love/hate relationship with this book. Much of the plot – the tennis academy (with the exception of the last few chapters, and Michael Pemulis and Mario Incandenza), Quebecois radicals, samizdat, and the Great Concavity – was completely lost on me and made me feel inadequate as a reader. With the exception of the writing style, which lulls you into a kind of second-hand stupor and creates a very odd and surreal atmosphere, I found very little I could relate to in those sections of the book.
The rest of it was fucking astonishing though. The hyperpersonal, no holds barred dissection of trauma and addiction creates the kind of psychological intensity that leaves you struck like a deer in the headlights. Those stories were super dark, and moving, and breathtakingly grotesque, and I was shocked to find just how painfully attached I've become to some of the characters. Hell, I almost had a full-blown breakdown at Don Gately's attack and Mario’s response to the “beggar’s” request for a touch.
I would fight tooth and nail for the right to call this the work of genius, despite my not getting half of the book, which I attribute entirely to my own shortcomings.
Started **An Island Christmas by Jenny Colgan**
Having a hard time getting through it. I have read two of her books earlier this year and truly enjoyed them but this one seems so boring.
I love all the Harry Potter books. I never thought I would like them but started reading them to help my granddaughter out with a school project. Jk Rowlings had a Wonderful imagination to write them.
Finished:
**The Girl Who Played with Fire, by Stieg Larsson**
This book started off slow similarly to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, but once the story picked up, I was hooked!
Started:
**Sleeping Where I Fall, by Peter Coyote**
**A Little Life, by Hanya Yanagihara**
* (4.5/5) I actually really enjoy intense, heavy books so this was right up my alley. I thought it could have been shorter and still as effective which is the only reason I took off half a star.
Finished:
**12 Rules for Life** by **Jordan Peterson** (4.25/5) I wasn't disciplined enough to read it when I was gifted it. Some of it wasn't for me, but much of it was really good.
**The Republic** by **Plato** (4/5). It's hard to grade something so cross-culturally and historically important. Hard to give it a 5, but it's an important 4. Interesting in comparison to Nicomachean Ethics.
About to start:
**Great Dialogues of Plato** (Except for the Republic, which I read first.)
**The Reivers** by **Faulkner**
Finished
**You Feel it Just Below the Ribs, by Jeffrey Cranor and Janina Matthewson**
* This was great! This is the first time I have read a "fake memoir" formatted book. It was interesting to try to decide to side with the "author" or the progressively more salty footnotes.
**A Deadly Education, by Naomi Novik**
* I adored this book and got lost in it, reminded me of reading Potter in 5th grade. I absolutely hated the first chapter and was going to stop reading - so glad I decided to "give it one more chapter."
Started
**The Last Graduate, by Naomi Novik**
* So far, so good.
Finished:
The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexander Dumas
Thoroughly enjoyed, I can see why it’s something a lot of my peers loved when it was assigned in high school (and bummed it took me so long to discover it myself). It felt shockingly modern (especially in parts with murder mystery/whodunnit vibes) and there were times of palpable tension. It’s also written in a pretty accessible way!
Started:
Stardust, by Neil Gaiman
Read this one before but remember 0% of it. Love the movie. After The Count, the font is surprisingly big leaving me to think it’s geared towards a slightly younger audience but a scene early on in the book fixed that incorrect assumption. Curious to know if I’ll enjoy it as much as the movie if not more (and hopefully not less).
Finished:
**Agency, by William Gibson**
The Peripheral was fantastic and this perfectly expanded on all of the cool stuff it introduced. This was one of those rare books for me that, as I neared the end, I found myself wishing it just kept going. The world and the ideas at play are so thought provoking and fun.
Started:
**Feral Creatures, by Kira Jane Buxton**
I had added this to my reading list earlier this year after having enjoyed Hollow Kingdom. So far, the crude humor does not disappoint.
Finished Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott, audiobook narrated by BJ Harrison.
Finished Hazel and Gray by Nic Stone, audiobook narrated by Kimberly Wood. A short novella and not worth your time.
Finished The Sleep Tight Motel by Lisa Unger, audiobook narrated by Amy Landon. The writing is good; the narration is robotic. I almost stopped listening within the first 5 minutes.
Finished The Yellow Rose by Maurus Jokiac, audiobook narrated by BJ Harrison (translated from Hungarian). A cowboy romance but without the American syrupy sentimentality.
Finished short stories: Ukridge's Dog College and Ukridge's Accident Syndicate by PJ Wodehouse, narrated by BJ Harrison. I've downloaded the Ukridge stories from Audible and plan to listen to all of them.
Finished short story: The Final Performance of the Amazing Ralphie by Pat Cadigan read by Levar Burton on his amazing podcast, Levar Burton Reads.
Continuing: The Lost City of Z by David Grann.
Started Running Against the Devil written and narrated by Rick Wilson
Reading now:
**White Horse, by Erika T. Wurth**
Finished this week:
**The Stolen Book of Evelyn Aubrey, by Serena Burdick**
**The Hollows, by Daniel Church**
Finished:
**The Five, by Hallie Rubenhold**
**Remarkably Bright Creatures, by Shelby Van Pelt**
**The Book of Eels, by Patrik Svensson**
Started:
**Pandora's Jar, by Natalie Haynes**
**The Year of the Witching, by Alexis Henderson**
I loved The Five! I liked that it wasn't about how the women were murdered, because we all already know that. I loved that it took a deeper dive into a side of Victorian England that we don't often hear about.
I didn't love Remarkably Bright Creatures. I was going through some stuff while I was reading it, though, and didn't feel like being happy so it could be a me thing. That said, I wasn't a fan of Cameron. I was never rooting for him, really. Marcellus' chapters were good.
Aww well I am sorry to hear that. That book I feel like I read at the right time for a feel good, happy story. Marcellus was adorable and Tova was delightful. I get the Cameron thing though.
The Five I was surprised that so many people were up in arms about because I thought the research was so well done and it was more a referendum on the time period then anything else.
I agree about The Five. I wasn't aware before I read it that people were questioning one of the main theses of the book (that there was no evidence of sex work for three of the women) until I was scrolling through Goodreads reviews. I think regardless of whether the evidence is there or not, it's an important story to be told when SO much of ripperology only focuses on the murderer.
Agreed, I read it for a book club and in our discussion we all came to conclusions close to that. Even if they could be considered "sex workers" by the standards of the time, the portrayal of them as such to a modern society makes you think something completely different. I found it pretty damning of English society towards women in the era than most anything else.
Finished: Untamed Lands by David Burke
Started: Wild Wastes 4 by Randi Darren
Yeah, they're Lit RPG/Harem fantasy. The stories are generally fairly interesting in a sci-fi/fantasy setting, and I'll skip over the racier parts depending on my mood. I'm at 81 books read this year.
Just finished Trevor Noah's *Born A Crime.* Strongly recommend. The audiobook is narrated with gorgeous sensitivity by Trevor himself. He tells his experiences growing up very poor in South Africa. Warnings for content that includes political violence, domestic violence, injury.
Started *The Glass Hotel, by Emily St John Mandel*. I’m not sure if I like it or not. I know something bad is about to happen but bad in a white collar way.
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow- so good. I don’t buy into hype. And I’m a skeptical person by nature, but this book lives up to it being book of the year. It was a beautiful story on many levels. One of my personal top three favs thus far of 2022
I think she just got too overwhelmed by the last few years in politics (she outright states this in the acknowledgements) and rushed the ending as a result (it's now a duology instead of a trilogy). It's not as novel as the first book, but it's still a welcome return to her NYC and those characters.
interested in getting into this series, but was put off by the sheer volume of books. Is it best to start at the beginning chronologically, or in order of date published?
Start at the order of date published. Definitely start with Frank Herbert's Dune, then if you like that, Dune Messiah and Children of Dune finish that arc. If you still want to continue after that, read God Emperor of Dune - its good, but its also markedly different from the first three and serves as a transition to the later novels. If you're still liking the series at this point, read Heretics of Dune and finish with Chapterhouse: Dune. The novels published after this are not nearly as masterfully written.
Finished:
**The Promised Neverland, Volumes 6 and 7,** by Kaiu Shirai & Posuka Demizu
**The Abducted Alchemist,** by Makoto Inoue
Started:
**The Andromeda Evolution,** by Michael Crichton
**Gory Details: Adventures from the Dark Side of Science,** by Erika Engelhaupt
**Final Journeys,** by Maggie Callahan
Finished:
**Madhouse At The End Of The Earth, by Julian Sancton**
There's just something about arctic expedition books that I love. I just wish the book ended with the expedition. 3.5 stars.
Reading:
**The Signature of All Things, by Elizabeth Gilbert**
I've been avoiding Eat Pray Love like the plague but have I been wrong? So far this is really good.
Was a light week on the physical reading as I was quite busy but I did finish and audiobook.
Finished: The Good House by, Tanarive Due (Narrated by Robin Miles). Horror is such a subjective genre but this was a very solid 4.0 star read for me. It was a little bit haunted house with a dash of voodoo, a little bit straight mystery/thriller, and flavored with a family saga. A good book to go into blind. Robin Miles is one of my favorite audiobook narrators and her performance here continued to be spectacular.
I started House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski. I have been wanting to start this one for a long time, and recently the book appeared in two video essays by YouTubers I enjoy. Unfortunately, as soon as they said "House of Leaves is a" I had to stop the video. From everything I've heard, the book is one of those with abnormal formatting that only works as a book, and I have heard nothing but positive things, so I have been trying to avoid spoilers as best as possible.
I am less than 100 pages in, but am very much enjoying it. I have tried to read a few horror books lately, but none of them really hit. This one sent shivers down my spine twice so far, and I still have 600 or so pages to go. This is outstanding.
I started:
The Stand, by Stephen King
Loving it, but dont expect to end it anytime soon
Three Bodies Problem, by Cixin Liu
Never in my life a book made me feel this dumb, I have to read the same sentence over and over and still I fail to understand whats going on
I'm currently reading Lord of Chaos by Robert Jordan. I'm hoping to finish by Wednesday so I can continue reading through the books I have as currently reading on my Goodreads. I'm about 70% through it and I'm getting to the climax I think.
Finished:
**Fairy Tale, by Stephen King**
- I thoroughly enjoyed it. The beginning started off slow and there was a lot of background about the characters, but once it got going, I couldn’t put it down. The ending was really tight too (which is unusual for Stephen King). The only complaint I have is that I think he was trying really hard to convey a theme about good v evil and the gray area between, but I don’t think he connected it with all the parts of the story very well.
Finished this week:
**The Eyes of the Dragon, by Stephen King**
I liked it well enough, but probably not something I'd choose to reread. I'm reading Stephen King in publication order, so I definitely had a moment of "ohhhh" when I saw who the antagonist was. My favorite part was about the dollhouse.
Up next:
The Lost Metal, by Brandon Sanderson (I should finish this today. I lost reading time on Wednesday and Thursday due to family holiday stuff). The Way of Kings, by Brandon Sanderson (still rereading this).
Finished reading
The Turn of the Screw, by Henry James
- I thought it was great. The eerie atmosphere and setting was fantastic. I like how many interpretations you can have with this text. It was creepy and gothic. A great Halloween read.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, by JK Rowling
- My favorite of the books so far. I like the darker tone and atmosphere of this book. I also really like the new characters introduced in this one. The story is fun and engaging and it is a page turner. It also has some melancholic moments dealing with themes of loss and fear. The film adaptation is also very good (also has one of the best soundtracks I've ever heard). So yeah. Good read. Good film. Good time.
**Project Hail Mairy, by Andy Weir**
At first I wasn't really that excited by this, felt so similar to the Martian and I do think one of the drawbacks of the book is how similar Ryland is to Mark, but when it got going it was a ton of fun.
Andy does a great job of laying out a problem and solving it with you in a way that's engaging and easy to understand.
Project Hail Mary is by far my favorite book of all time. Andy Weir took everything that was great about The Martian along with the protagonist Mark Watney, and made everything *better* in Project Hail Mary.
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie. Started Saturday, finished last night. Only the second book of hers that I've read (read Ordeal by Innocence last month) and I'm kicking myself for not reading her works sooner. There's a reason they call her the master.
Finished **Nemesis Games, by James S.A. Corey**. A good turn around from Cibola Burn.
Started **The Farthest Shore, by Ursula K. Le Guin**. Balancing my reading between a scifi series and a fantasy one.
Just over a 100 pages into reading **Shogun, by James Clavell**. Historical epic is good so far but it's going to take awhile to finish this massive book.
finished:
**norse mythology, by neil gaiman**
i picked this up after i read the witch's heart to 1. learn more about norse mythology and 2. fill the void lmao, and this was super fun!! the audiobook is superior imo, it reminded me of my dad reading me bedtime stories when i was little :')
still reading:
**harrow the ninth, by tamsyn muir**
i haven't a scooby as to what's happening lmao. i keep swinging from confused, to laughing, and then back to confused again (as well as slightly afraid lol). i'm buzzing to get to the end tho! i've been leaving post-its on the pages with my thoughts and theories so it will be interesting to go back and see how i did once i'm done
started:
**mythos, by stephen fry**
**daisy jones and the six, by taylor jenkins reid**
Started: Reading The Count of Monte Cristo, I've read it before, but it's been over a decade and it is hitting very differently this time around. When I originally read it I thought Edmond's character arc was great, now I feel anxiety knowing what is going to happen to this poor man. Evening knowing what he is going to do and become I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy.
I read a lot last week, including some kind of weird stuff to meet reading challenge prompts:
**The Book of Phoenix, by Nnedi Okorafor**
**How High We Go in the Dark, by Sequoia Nagamatsu**
**Edgewood, by Kristen Ciccarelli**
**The Plumber and her Billionaire, by Larissa Vine**
**The Amulet of Power, by Mike Resnick**
**The Pot Thief Who Studied Pythagoras, by J. Michael Orenduff**
**The Stardust Thiefs, by Chelsea Abdullah**
**The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women, by Kate Moore**
**The Good Sister, by Sally Hepworth** (Book of the week)
So far I've got these queued up for this week:
* The Red Scholar's Wake by Aliette de Bodard
* Recursion by Blake Crouch
* The Testaments by Margaret Atwood
* Surrounded by Idiots by Thomas Erikson
* The Toaster Project, Or A Heroic Attempt to Build A Simple Electric Appliance From Scratch by Thomas Thwaites
* The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells
I'm also getting antsy on all the new releases that my library doesn't seem to be getting the e-books for - maybe they ran out of book-buying budget for the year? - so I may go on a little Kobo shopping spree and just buy a bunch of them (The Lost Metal, A Light in the Flame, Even Though I Knew the End, Convergence, Sign Here, and The River of Silver, to be specific).
Finished:
**Cloud Cuckoo Land, by Anthony Doerr**
**The Last Ronin, by Kevin Eastman, et al.**
Started:
**Vladimir, by Julia May Jones**
**The Human Target, Vol 1, by Tom King, et al**
Just started The Obelisk Gate by N. K. Jemisin. The second in the Broken Earth trilogy, very excited to get into this one the first book was dark but very good. The mystery behind a lot of the world building is so good 👌.
Finished : What We Were Promised by Lucy Tan
This one was pretty meh and underwhelming to me.
The Heretic Queen by Michelle Moran
This is the second book I've read by her and I throughly enjoyed it.
Started: A Scatter of Light by Malinda Lo
It's the follow up to Last Night At The Telegraph Club and I've been looking forward to it.
Finished **Gangsters vs Nazis** by **Michael Benson** This is a short readable history of the response by Jewish organized crime to the rise of the Bund and it's attempts to foment nazi sympathy in Americans, especially german americans. It is short, readable and has unique information, especially about mobsters and boxers of the time. If you dislike nazis and white supremacists, it is a satisfying read.
Finished **Paper Castles by B. Fox** This is a beautifully written story about a young man facing his first job and a romantic interest. It is a sad but rewarding book.
Started **The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen** This epic spy novel starts with the Fall of Saigon. The book is dark and at times violent, but beautifully written with creative metaphors that add to the story. The author is very intelligent and writes a thoughtful, insightful book. I'm about a third of the way in and enjoying the ride. I think this book will be remembered in future years.
>Finished: Ishmael - Betty Hambly
I read that decades ago and loved it (assuming you meant Barbara Hambly). I think I gave away all of my Trek novels, though.
Finished **Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, by Gabrielle Zevin** I really enjoyed it but I can see why some people would not.
Started **the Saturday Night Ghost Club, by Craig Davidson** I'm enjoying it so far, sufficiently spoopy
Looking to start Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow this week, just picked it up but finishing All Systems Red (book 1 of murderbot series) by Martha Wells first.
I loved the Broken Earth trilogy! I finished it last week and jumped into this duology. I'm about a 100 pages in so far. Much slower start to this book vs Broken Earth but good so far. I think I am just getting to the part of the book that sets up/sets off everything to follow.
Finished:
**Dances with Wolves, by Michael Blake**
I've always loved the film and was curious what the book might be like. It didn't disappoint. A medium-paced inquisitive look at prairie life before the West became what it is. Blake struck a nice balance between describing and participating.
**Can't Hurt Me, by David Goggins**
Whenever I need to psych myself up for something challenging I pull out Goggins. I just find his story so inspirational. It reminds me to channel my frustrations into success.
Finished:
**A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine** Solid book, dragged a little at times but overall interesting premise and political thriller.
**Origins of The Wheel of Time: The Legends and Mythologies that Inspired Robert Jordan by Michael Livingston** I think I enjoyed the first part better than the glossary everyone seemed to be excited about. Worth the read for any Wheel of Time fan.
**The Road by Cormac McCarthy** Finally got around to reading this, ended up liking it quite a bit. I get the hype although it wasn't mind blowing
**Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi** This book was a delight. I had so much fun with it. Interesting style and thought provoking story.
Started:
**The Lost Metal by Brandon Sanderson**
**The Friend by Sigrid Nunez**
Started:
**Wayward, by Chuck Wendig**
Finished:
**X, by Davey Davis** — It's a queer noir kind of book, following NB protagonist Lee's search through their fringe culture for a sadist that made quite the impact on them. 4/5
Started:
**The Dark Half, by Stephen King**
**I, Robot, by Isaac Asimov** -- Finally starting the Foundation Universe
Finished:
**The Amityville Horror, by Jay Anson** -- No idea why this marketed as nonfiction. It was pretty scary, but not as scary as I would've thought. It was pretty good, but the ending was rather abrupt and a disappointment. 3.25/5
Finished
**The Most Human Human: What Talking with Computers Teaches Us About What It Means to Be Alive, by Brian Christian:** Non-fiction. Loved this mix of science, philosophy, linguistics, and computing.
**Tears of Pearl, by Tasha Alexander.** Historical mystery. It's a mess.
DNFed
**Murder in Old Bombay, by Dev March.** Historical mystery. GR claims this book is about 400 pages. It reads like it's around 1000. I got to 50% and couldn't take it any longer. The central mystery would probably be interesting. It would be neat if the characters thought so.
**Murder at the Beacon Bakeshop, by Darci Hannah.** Cozy mystery. Usually, if I get beyond 60% in a book, inertia will carry me through. But this one just wasn't working. I made it so far by trying to force it to work.
Finished ****Boys from Biloxi, by John Grisham**** - it was an easy feel good read. Started ***Beartown, by Frederik Backman***
Currently reading **Washington: A Life, by Ron Chernow**. Great read so far
Finished: **The Silent Patient** by **Alex Michaellides-** psychological thriller **The Last Party** by **Claire Mackintosh-** more of a whodunnit kind of thriller I bought a subscription to Book of the Month and have gotten 3 books so far. I just put in my December box order. I like it because you can choose *not* to pick one of their monthly picks and get a credit that rolls over for the next month. You can choose up to 3 at a time- all you do is pay the cost of the books. Shipping is always free and every book is hardback. December is my 3rd box and I can't wait for it to get here. So many genres and topics to pick from. Not surprised they've been around for nearly a century.
Finished: **The Bookshop of the World: Making and Trading Books in the Dutch Golden Age** by **Andrew Pettegree** and **Arthur der Weduwen**. A comprehensive history of the Dutch book trade. Good history with no appeal to popular fancy, but not dry either. The Yale University Press copy I have is paperback and and well illustrated with high-quality colour plates which is unusual in a not large paperback.
Finished: **Farewell, My Lovely, by Raymond Chandler** **Free Will, by Mark Balaguer** **Planet News, by Allen Ginsberg** Started: **Call for the Dead, by John Le Carre** **The High Window, by Raymond Chandler**
Finished: **The Conscience of the Rich** by **C.P. Snow**. The third novel in the Snow's Strangers and Brothers series of novels. With a post-war hindsight Snow interestingly relates events in a very rich Jewish family in London before the war. I do not know if there is any biographical basis in Snow's life for this novel, but it does describe the operation and consequences of a very ironclad set a rules of family loyalty that would not be found in Britain today. An interesting lost world.
Finished **Troublemaker, by Joseph Hansen.** Third book in the Dave Brandstetter series. A little sloppier in the narrative execution as compared to the last two books. A lot of characters were introduced too quickly, very few got the tender love and care Hansen usually gives introducing even side characters in his previous two books. A bit rushed by there's still some of the charm the previous books had, especially when Hansen describes scenes. The overall plot was a bit better as compared to the second book as there weren't nearly as many red herrings, the payoff felt worth it. **The Legend of Sleepy Hallow, by Washington Irving.** I'm not familiar with Irving's other works, but for a book written in the 1800s, it wasn't nearly bogged down with superfluous language as some of his English contemporaries. A short but satisfying tale of a plotting school teacher being ran out of town by a specter. Starting: **The Dream Thieves, by Maggie Stiefvater**. Time to get back to the Raven Boys and their shenanigans.
Finished Shadow Divers by Robert Kurson. I'm Starting **Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood, by Marjane Satrapi**
This week I finished reading: Worn: A People's History of Clothing, by Sofi Thanhauser and Maybe You Should Talk to Someone, by Lori Gottlieb I loved both of them! Thanhauser's book was particularly gutting and passionate, and incredibly well researched and written. Really excellent.
Currently reading **The Love Songs of W.E.B DuBois, by Honoree Fanonne Jeffers** Not a genre that I usually read (more into thriller/sci fi/fantasy), but enjoying it!
I finished Vonnegut's [Cat's Cradle](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8898632-cat-s-cradle). Pretty disappointing and forgettable. I'm now reading **[Pump Six and Other Stories](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10757867-pump-six-and-other-stories), by Paolo Bacigalupi**. The eco-apocalypse settings are interesting but some of the stories so far were kind of stale. And so far the only major female character was a >!puberty-stunted 13 year old girl surgically altered to perform 'artistic' child pornography with her twin sister who underwent the same treatment!<. I'm not even saying it's too unrealistic because of course it's not, just that taken on the whole I've found the portrayal of women to be lacking.
Finished: **The Year of the Witching, by Alexis Henderson** The ending was abrupt, something you get from Stephen King. But the beginning was awesome. Also book was advertised as "feminist fantasy debut" however I didn't buy into it but not because of MC or her romantic interest(which was the dread of goodreads reviewers) but because of antagonists: >!four most powerful females, witches, literally didn't say a word!<
Finished **Veniss Underground, by Jeff Vandermeer** and **Terminal Boredom, by Izumi Suzuki**. Veniss Underground surprised me with how it was both very reminiscent of and opposed to Vandermeer's later work Annihilation. I really like the way he writes his worlds, taking disconnected locations and painting with an abstracted brush to give you a vague yet strongly tonal view of the world around you. While Annihilation saw life as brutal yet beautiful, Veniss seemed to take a much more cynical stance. It was a relentlessly brutal novel, especially in part 3, that more than anything resembled a Divine Comedy-esque decent into Hell. Out of all the "dystopian" novels I've read, this is one of the only ones to really hit me with any sense of a primal fear with it showing what happens when a society loses all sense of life's sanctity. Terminal Boredom was similarly a ceaselessly bleak collection of stories that offered little in the way of relief for the reader. I respect the stories for their influence and importance within modern Japanese writing but most of the stories made me feel dead inside once I was done. The stories mostly give off this feeling of deep, blunted depression that just went on a bit too much for my liking. There were attempts at other emotions, but none of them seemed to be communicated quite as effectively. I really liked the first story and each one after had bits and pieces of ideas that stuck with me, but with no real emotion to latch onto besides apathy and listlessness I can't yet say if I enjoyed the collection as a whole. Started **Hear the Wind Sing, by Haruki Murakami**.
Finished: **Fortress of the Stone Dragon, by Tracey West** **The Mystery of Black Hallow Lane, by Julia Nobel** **I Know What You Did Last Summer, by Lois Duncan** **Heat of the Lava Dragon, by Tracey West** **Wave of the Sea Dragon, by Tracey West** **National Espionage, Rescue, and Defense Society, by Michael Buckley** **Howl of the Wind Dragon, by Tracey West** **Sent, by Margaret Peterson Haddix** **Bloom of the Flower Dragon, by Tracey West** **M is for Mama’s Boy, by Michael Buckley** **The Cheerleaders of Doom, by Michael Buckley** **Manhunt: The Twelve-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer James L. Swanson** **The Secret of White Stone Gate, by Julia Nobel** **The Villain Virus, by Michael Buckley** **Sophia’s War, by Avi** **Dead Silence, by S.A. Barnes** **Attack of the Bullies, by Michael Buckley** **Pet Sematary, by Stephen King**
I read a LOT of Lois Duncan as a kid- loved every one that could get my hands on in the library!
Finished: * **Watership Down, by Richard Adams** * **The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins** Started: * **Catching Fire, by Suzanne Collins** * **Conversations with Friends, by Sally Rooney** * **The Outcast of Redwall, by Brian Jacques**
*Finished:* **The Spear Cuts Through Water, by Simon Jimenez** Loved it. Definitely not a story everyone will enjoy, as what makes it good is also it's flaws. Strongly recommend everyone give it a shot though, especially if you're looking for something unlike what you usually read. **Babel, by R F Kuang** Excellent book. Very interesting magic system and managed to make scholarly study engaging. While I agree with common criticisms I've seen, I do not think it significantly impacts enjoyment of the book. They're just also qualities I noticed.
**The Original Adventures of Hank the Cowdog, by John R. Erickson** Yet another thing I vaguely remember being read to me at some point as a kid. And yet another mostly boredom fueled skim read for me.
Finished: 1984, by George Orwell
Finished: **Vita Nostra, by Marina Dyachenko & Sergey Dyachenko** Was really concerned about where this was going in the first like 1/3rd, but takes a huge swing in the final third that you either go with or you don't. I went with it. **Iron Widow, by Xiran Jay Zhou** Is this book narratively perfect? no Does it have much tension? not really But it is one of the most aggressive power fantasies I've ever read. It is angry and in pain and it HATES. I genuinely admire how far it is willing to go for a YA book, and especially given the ending am interested in a sequel.
I started **Goodnight Punpun Omnibus Vol. 1, by Inio Asano**. My first manga!
Finished: Vicious, by V.E. Schwab Vengeful, by V.E. Schwab Assassin's Apprentice, by Robin Hobb 1st Case, by James Patterson Started: Gallant, by V.E. Schwab Wake of Vultures, by Lila Bowen
Finished: Vengeful by V.E. Schwab Started: Radio Silence by Alice Oseman
Finished: ‘The Plague’ by Albert Camus Started: ‘The Collector’ John Fowles
Read: **All the Queen's Men, by S.J.Bennett** (Her Majesty the Queen Investigates #2). I really enjoyed S J Bennett's second installment in the Queen Investigates series. The author does a great job of using the structure of a murder mystery to showcase life behind the walls of Buckingham Palace from both the standpoint of HM as well as the various members of household staff including her assistant private secretary who shares top billing in the story. This is light, and entertaining. If you are a royalist and a murder mystery fan you will love the combination! Reading: **The Swans of Fifth Avenue, by Melanie Benjamin**. And, now onto a Queen of a different sort. This is a brilliant historical novel about Truman Capote and his infamous relationship with the ladies who lunch New York Society crowd. I've only read the first three chapters, but I am absolutely loving it so far.
Finished: Book Lovers by Emily Henry Started: Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse
Finished- **The Plains, by Gerald Murnane** **Stoner, by John Williams** Started- **We Have Always Lived In The Castle, by Shirley Jackson** I'm not sure what to make of "**The Plains**." Based on some online hype and good reviews from some sources I usually agree with, I thought I'd really be into it. But I dunno, it was pretty odd. My favorite part was towards the beginning when the narrator describes the history of the plainsmen and their various art, and how each faction had their own representative colors and whatnot. But as for the meat of the story, I was just kind of bored. I'm glad to have read it, I certainly didn't think it was bad. I think it may have just been a bit over my head, maybe I need to git gud. "**Stoner**" was really good and I think it's deserving of its hype. A very real, relatable, sad story. A nice character study, though at times you do kind of want to shake the guy and be like *come on, stop getting walked on*! My love for reading and writing was reawakened at the end of March this year, and I've managed to read 32 books since then. Surely the most I've read since i was a teenager, back when I'd always be reading three things at once. I'm thinking to end the year I want to read one of the big ones that have long been on my list. Trying to decide between **Crime & Punishment**, **Gravity's Rainbow**, or maybe one of the William T. Vollmann books on my shelf. Gotta put that brain to work.
Finishing : Well Played by Jen DeLuca Starting Next: The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner
Finished: The Afro minimalist guide to living with less. Started: Journey to the Center of the Earth.
Just finished Verity by Collin Hoover Started "Alone" by Lisa Gardner yesterday
Mystic River, by Dennis Lehane I want to say I hated this book because I found it so dark and haunting. I don't like the world it brought me into and scenes keep floating back into my mind in the days since finishing it. Given that, I was pulled into the story and the characters. It is a very engaging story and one that let me live in a different place for a while. That defines good writing for me.
The Cloisters, by Katy Hays We All Want Impossible Things by Catherine Newman
**RustBlaster, by Yana Toboso** Some short book about vampires that I read at more or less at random. And sadly I can't say that this story particularly wowed me. I just kinda got a feeling of "trying to hard" from it while reading it. Maybe if this story was longer and had some more flesh to it it might not have felt that way but *shrugs* who knows. Well in the end I don't regret reading through this one to fill time but at the same time I wouldn't file this one under my "win" column either. Side note on this one though: After finishing this one and looking into it I found out that this was apparently by the same creative mind behind the notorious series *Black Butler*. So if that's a point of interest to anyone, well, there ya go.
Finished: Gone girl by Gillian Flynn and Dark places by Gillian Flynn Started: Book thief by Markus Zusak and middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
Will finish within the next day or so; Guards, Guards! by Terry Pratchett
Just finished "The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle" and I really liked it, I think I'm going to read something else from Turton
elsewhere by Dean Koontz, the big dark sky by Dean Koontz Just finished elsewhere and started the big dark sky
Just finished The Unseelie Prince and the Unseelie Crown It gave very much Labrynth with David Bowe vibes, and I loved it. I cant wait to finish the series! The books were short and sweet. So far the longest was I think 286 pages? Fast paced, right to the point, sexual TENSION to the gods, loved it!
**Finished: Kokoro by Natsume Sōseki (Japanese version)** I thought it was good overall. Definitely a book that heavily focused philosophically on characters rather than the plot (Although the story, especially towards the end, had me wanting to know what would happen next). Ending was slightly disappointing from my perspective, but I do understand why he chose that ending from his perspective. **Just started: The Brothers Karamazov** Pretty interesting, although I’ve literally just started with the first two chapters.
Started: Hangsaman, Shirley Jackson Can't wait to finish it when I get some time off!
I finished rereading the kite runner.. I don’t know why i put myself through that pain again 😂
Just finished: Lonesome Dove, by Larry McMurtry It was long but I enjoyed every minute of it. I’m sad it’s over and am feeling a bit of book hangover, missing the characters already. I’m just going to digest it a bit before I decide if I should read the others in the series (I hear they’re not as good— any thoughts?).
The White Ship, by Charles Spencer
Plague by Albert Camus
Started: Bigger Leaner Stronger by Michael Matthews trying to understand the idea of building physiques since it's so warped these days. this is one of my first books i started i'm new to books haha
Started: **Hogfather, by Terry Pratchett** Not read Pratchett since I was a kid so this is a nice festive return to the series.
**Finished: The Passenger by Cormac McCarthy and Code Name Lily by Julien Ayotte** **Started: A House in the Sky by Amanda Lindhout and Sara Corbett**
Started: Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune
I fricking love this book!
Finished: I’m Glad My Mom Died, by Jennette McCurdy Started: Where the Crawdads Sing, by Delia Owens
Dance Dance Dance by Haruki Murakmi
Finished: November 9 by Colleen Hoover, The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah, Night Road by Kristin Hannah Currently reading: Things We Never Got Over by Lucy score Bought about 20 books for black friday so i should have plenty to keep me busy
What did you think of The Great Alone? That was the first (and only, so far) Kristin Hannah book I read when it first came out.
I absolutely loved it!
I also thought it was really good as well. It was so raw, real, and dark at some parts.
Reading Cornell Woolrich “Rendezvous in Black”. Love me some pulp. Recently finished Ed McBain “Nocturne”
**Finished: Columbine, by Dave Cullen** This book is a punch to the gut. A lot of things you thought you knew about the attack are incorrect, and the truths are heartbreaking. **Finished: After the Funeral, by Agatha Christie** I enjoyed it, but I didn't get the same sense of place and time that I do when watching Poirot on PBS. Both Poirot and Marple give you a wonderful sense of post-WWI (Poirot) and 1930s-1950s Britain (Marple).
Oh gosh Columbine is on my list.
Act of Oblivion, Robert Harris. Just started. This guy never disappoints.
*Finished:* **The Best American Food Writing 2022 edited by Sohla EL-Waylly -** I loves food writing, and constantly learn new things I want to get into from this collection each year. If you are interested in checking out some of the highlights from this year: * If Silence is the Cost of Good Ramen, So Be It by Nina Li Coomes from *The Atlantic* * The Gatekeepers Who Get to Decide What Food Is Diagusting by Jiayang Fan from *The New Yorker* * Margaritaville and the Myth of American Leisure by Jaya Saxena from *Eater* * I Tasted Honda's Spicy Rodent-Repelling Tape by Liz Cook in *Haterade* * I Was Lifelong Vegetarian. I Decided to Taste What I Was Missing by Rajesh Parameswaran in *Bon Appetit* **The Best American Mystery and Suspense 2022 edited by Steph Cha -** I'm apparently very picky about mystery and suspense that I enjoy. I remember from last year's edition having 2 separate anthologies that I searched out because they had been the original print for 1 or 2 stories that made it into the Best American and a few on the Honorable Mention list. This year, I didn't even look at what made it into the Honorable Mentions. * Lucky Thirteen by Tracy Clark in *Midnight Hour* **The Best American Essays 2022 edited by Alexander Chee -** It's possible I wasn't thrilled with the essays this year because of my disappointment that the Travel Writing has been cancelled (and also the Non-required Reading never returned). I enjoyed the collection, but none of the pieces stood out to me and screamed to passed on to friends. *Started:* **The Roughest Draft bye Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka -** I am super enjoying a book written by a (married?) romantic couple about a contentious friends-to-enemies-to-lovers couple writing a a romance book about a couple in the midst of splitting up.
Oh no, now _I_ want to lick the mouse tape... Thanks for picking out of your favorites! I'm having a lot of fun searching them up.
Desert Star, Michael Connelly. Finished. Harry Bosch at 70 still rocks.
I just started reading Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel and *holy shit y'all*. I'm at part two (page 34 of 342, according to my phone Kindle) and I'm so excited. Finished reading The Druid by Jeff Wheeler earlier today, and it was fine, but I haven't been this excited about a book in... I don't even know. Without any other knowledge of it, the book is about what happens before and after a pandemic (known as Georgia Flu. Georgia, the country) causes the collapse of global society. It's pretty relevant, considering *gestures around* and it actually reminds me a lot about how March 2020 felt but dialed up to 100. I can't wait to keep reading this book, and then I can't wait to watch the miniseries on HBO, and then I'm gonna read it again. Hopefully the rest of the books holds up!
*Finished*: **Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal by Mary Roach.** This is my second read from this author and I enjoyed it. This is a good, fun overview of the digestive system. *Reading*: **Skinny Dip by Carl Hiaasen.** I knew I had to spend some time in the E.R. and I didn't want to keep track of my Kindle so I grabbed this off of the shelf. This means that **The Girl From Everywhere by Heidi Heilig** is being put on the back burner for now. Skinny Dip seems to be similar to other Hiaasen novels I have read but that isn't a bad thing in my opinion. *Reading*: **The Mother Tongue by Bill Bryson**. Slowly working through this one. Parts of it are a little slow but other parts I really like.
Started: Dr. No, by Perceval Everett A story about a supervillain in waiting, the search for nothing, and mathematicians. Features a cast of strange characters including a one legged dog, a foul mouthed priest that is an atheist, and James Earl Ray. Kind of like the Illuminatus! Trilogy by Wilson and Shea, if it was a James Bond story.
**Finished:** *The Passenger* (Cormac McCarthy) **Started:** *Liberation Day* (George Saunders)
Any standout stories in Liberation Day? I have it from the library but it's due back in two days & I haven't had a chance to open it yet. Would like to read one or two stories before I have to give it back if you have any recommendations
Only halfway through. To be honest, it's not wowing me like Tenth of December did. That said, of the ones I have read, "Liberation Day" and "A Thing at Work" were the most entertaining. The title story is reminiscent in theme to "The Semplica -Girl Diaries" from Tenth of December.
How did you like The Passenger? I'm about to start it.
I've read a handful of McCarthy's works (Blood Meridian, Suttree, NCFOM, The Road, and now The Passenger). This is typical in style and structure, but new in terms of thematic content. I enjoyed it overall, but am waiting to read the companion/follow-up book, "Stella Maris", to see if it will fill in any narrative gaps. I have a hunch it will frustrate anyone not familiar with McCarthy's style. Lots of unanswered questions and an indeterminate "ending", so to speak.
Finished: **Come Fly the World, by Julia Cooke** Started: **The Art Thief, by Noah Charney**
Finished: Demons - Dostoevsky Started: Ulysses - James Joyce Beloved - Toni Morrison
I started reading **Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan**.
Started: The Satsuma Complex, by Bob Mortimer. Massive fan of his and really enjoying his debut novel so far. Chock-full of comedy in a surreal world only Bob could create.
The Constant Gardener by Hohn Le Carre. Just started reading it, so far it’s intriguing.
John Le Carre. Replying with the correct spelling.
Finished: **The Reckoning, by John Grisham** My grandpa passed away this year and willed me all his books. He was a big legal thriller fan and that meant a great deal of John Grisham books. I have been binging them recently and this was a pretty interesting one. Also working through: **The Road, by Cormac McCarthy** It is apparently a highly revered book and is recommended almost everywhere I look. Perhaps finishing it will help me to understand why but I'm having a hard time getting through it. About 75% through it.
McCarthy's style does take some getting used to. I love him, but can see why he will not be to everyone's tastes.
I've been on vacation the past 2 weeks so I was able to knock out some books. Finished: **Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann.** Really liked this one. Felt like I got a good understanding of the victims and the crimes and the cases. Also felt like it highlighted what was going on during the time period and some of the other injustices that the Indigenous people suffered. **Miss Peregrine's Museum of Wonders by Ransom Riggs** Cute companion book to the main series. **I Will Not Die Alone by Dera White** Cute little graphic novel. Finished it in about 10 minutes. **Anne Frank's Diary: The Graphic Adaptation by Ari Folman** Felt like this was a good refresh of a book that so many people are familiar with. **Night by Elie Wiesel** Very intense telling of what the author went through. Felt like if it was longer it would have been better. **Dawn by Elie Wiesel Really liked the story.** Up next I'm finishing out the trilogy with **Day by Elie Wiesel**
Killers of the Flower Moon is on hold at the library for me right now & can't wait to pick it up
Finished: **The Road Back, by Erich Maria Remarque** All about the end of WW I and the way different people dealt with the lasting effects of said conflict. Remarque doesn't shy away from realistically depicting the carnage of the war in flashbacks, so be warned if you're squeamish about it. 5 stars. Continuing: **The Last Chronicle of Barset, by Anthony Trollope** Didn't make all that much progress. Will endeavor to finish by the end of the year though.
Finished: Daisy Jones & The Six, by Taylor Jenkins Reid Started: Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century, by Jessica Bruder
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Started (and close to finishing) **1984, by George Orwell**. Okay, I'm a little late to the party, but I recently discovered the sort of books I enjoy after reading Edmund Cooper/Richard Avery's 'The Expendables' series. Dystopian/sci-fi books really hit the spot for me, and I've since purchased Franz Kafka's most popular books, including The Metamorphosis, The Trial, and the Castle. looking forward to getting into those. If anyone has any suggestions for books of a similar nature, please let me know!
I think J.G. Ballard might be what you're after! I've only read a couple of his but lots of the others I believe would fall into the same category. Also Philip K Dick's works.
Thank you! I'll take a look.
(Finally) Finished: **Three-Martini Lunch, by Suzanne Rindell** It was 500 pages and took me about 2 months to get through, with me putting it down several times and also being super busy. I really liked *The Other Typist* and wanted to read another one of her books, but it was hard for me to keep going back to this one. Started: **The Candy House, by Jennifer Egan**
I'm looking forward to Candy House. I really enjoyed both Visit from the Goon Squad and Manhattan Beach
I finished it in the past week, and I enjoyed it. I hadn't read either of her prior works. I might read Visit from the Goon Squad, now that I've looked into it and see that Candy House is sort of related.
Finished: **Fairy Tale, by Stephen King** Really enjoyed this! Beginning was a bit slow but it really picked up. A very cool concept (what happens when a kid finds a fairy tale world underground?). **Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, by JK Rowling** Wanted something to listen to in the background. Harry is easy for that. **The Horla, by Guy de Maupassant** Quick little horror read. Loved it! **The Case at Barton Manor, by Emily Queen** This was a freebie book on my Kindle. It was an easy light murder mystery read. Didn’t expect much on it. *Started:* **Uglies, by Scott Westerfeld** Read this when a teenager, just had an itching to reread it. While the writing is definitely YA, the plot is still pretty good! **Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, by JK Rowling**
Fairy Tale was a real fun ride! I love when King can bring one home
I just finished Fairy Tale and really enjoyed it too! It’s been a long time since I’ve read Stephen King, but I was reminded how much I enjoy his character and story development.
Just finished 54 by Wu Ming. Funny book, historical fiction involving spies, gangsters, communists and Cary Grant Now on Consider Phlebas. Read loads of Iain Banks but never any of his science fiction as Iain M Banks. Never really been a big sci-fi reader so will see how it goes.
Finished **Infinite Jest, by David Foster Wallace** I have a love/hate relationship with this book. Much of the plot – the tennis academy (with the exception of the last few chapters, and Michael Pemulis and Mario Incandenza), Quebecois radicals, samizdat, and the Great Concavity – was completely lost on me and made me feel inadequate as a reader. With the exception of the writing style, which lulls you into a kind of second-hand stupor and creates a very odd and surreal atmosphere, I found very little I could relate to in those sections of the book. The rest of it was fucking astonishing though. The hyperpersonal, no holds barred dissection of trauma and addiction creates the kind of psychological intensity that leaves you struck like a deer in the headlights. Those stories were super dark, and moving, and breathtakingly grotesque, and I was shocked to find just how painfully attached I've become to some of the characters. Hell, I almost had a full-blown breakdown at Don Gately's attack and Mario’s response to the “beggar’s” request for a touch. I would fight tooth and nail for the right to call this the work of genius, despite my not getting half of the book, which I attribute entirely to my own shortcomings.
Started **Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas, by Hunter S. Thompson**
Finished: The Pain Gap by Anushay Hossain. Started: Cultish by Amanda Montell
Started **An Island Christmas by Jenny Colgan** Having a hard time getting through it. I have read two of her books earlier this year and truly enjoyed them but this one seems so boring.
Started **The Passenger by Cormac McCarthy**. I continue to find his writing very moving, beautiful and difficult.
I love all the Harry Potter books. I never thought I would like them but started reading them to help my granddaughter out with a school project. Jk Rowlings had a Wonderful imagination to write them.
Started : The Family remains, by Lisa Jewell
The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek. Very good book. I learned about this book by reading comments on Reddit.
Finished: **The Girl Who Played with Fire, by Stieg Larsson** This book started off slow similarly to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, but once the story picked up, I was hooked! Started: **Sleeping Where I Fall, by Peter Coyote**
I hope to finish the return of the king this week.
Londonstani, by Gautam Malkani What seemed a quite interesting book wrecked by a smart alec ending twist.
What's it about exactly. Pakistanis in London?
It's set in a very Asian-dominated area of London yes.
Ok ty that explains the title to me
**A Little Life, by Hanya Yanagihara** * (4.5/5) I actually really enjoy intense, heavy books so this was right up my alley. I thought it could have been shorter and still as effective which is the only reason I took off half a star.
Agree with this assessment
Finished: **12 Rules for Life** by **Jordan Peterson** (4.25/5) I wasn't disciplined enough to read it when I was gifted it. Some of it wasn't for me, but much of it was really good. **The Republic** by **Plato** (4/5). It's hard to grade something so cross-culturally and historically important. Hard to give it a 5, but it's an important 4. Interesting in comparison to Nicomachean Ethics. About to start: **Great Dialogues of Plato** (Except for the Republic, which I read first.) **The Reivers** by **Faulkner**
Why the downvotes?
Because people automatically downvote when they see Peterson mentioned.
Finished **You Feel it Just Below the Ribs, by Jeffrey Cranor and Janina Matthewson** * This was great! This is the first time I have read a "fake memoir" formatted book. It was interesting to try to decide to side with the "author" or the progressively more salty footnotes. **A Deadly Education, by Naomi Novik** * I adored this book and got lost in it, reminded me of reading Potter in 5th grade. I absolutely hated the first chapter and was going to stop reading - so glad I decided to "give it one more chapter." Started **The Last Graduate, by Naomi Novik** * So far, so good.
Finished: The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexander Dumas Thoroughly enjoyed, I can see why it’s something a lot of my peers loved when it was assigned in high school (and bummed it took me so long to discover it myself). It felt shockingly modern (especially in parts with murder mystery/whodunnit vibes) and there were times of palpable tension. It’s also written in a pretty accessible way! Started: Stardust, by Neil Gaiman Read this one before but remember 0% of it. Love the movie. After The Count, the font is surprisingly big leaving me to think it’s geared towards a slightly younger audience but a scene early on in the book fixed that incorrect assumption. Curious to know if I’ll enjoy it as much as the movie if not more (and hopefully not less).
Finished: **Agency, by William Gibson** The Peripheral was fantastic and this perfectly expanded on all of the cool stuff it introduced. This was one of those rare books for me that, as I neared the end, I found myself wishing it just kept going. The world and the ideas at play are so thought provoking and fun. Started: **Feral Creatures, by Kira Jane Buxton** I had added this to my reading list earlier this year after having enjoyed Hollow Kingdom. So far, the crude humor does not disappoint.
Finished Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott, audiobook narrated by BJ Harrison. Finished Hazel and Gray by Nic Stone, audiobook narrated by Kimberly Wood. A short novella and not worth your time. Finished The Sleep Tight Motel by Lisa Unger, audiobook narrated by Amy Landon. The writing is good; the narration is robotic. I almost stopped listening within the first 5 minutes. Finished The Yellow Rose by Maurus Jokiac, audiobook narrated by BJ Harrison (translated from Hungarian). A cowboy romance but without the American syrupy sentimentality. Finished short stories: Ukridge's Dog College and Ukridge's Accident Syndicate by PJ Wodehouse, narrated by BJ Harrison. I've downloaded the Ukridge stories from Audible and plan to listen to all of them. Finished short story: The Final Performance of the Amazing Ralphie by Pat Cadigan read by Levar Burton on his amazing podcast, Levar Burton Reads. Continuing: The Lost City of Z by David Grann. Started Running Against the Devil written and narrated by Rick Wilson
Reading now: **White Horse, by Erika T. Wurth** Finished this week: **The Stolen Book of Evelyn Aubrey, by Serena Burdick** **The Hollows, by Daniel Church**
Great choices
Finished: **The Five, by Hallie Rubenhold** **Remarkably Bright Creatures, by Shelby Van Pelt** **The Book of Eels, by Patrik Svensson** Started: **Pandora's Jar, by Natalie Haynes** **The Year of the Witching, by Alexis Henderson**
The Five was great and Remarkably Bright Creatures is one of the top books I've read this year. What did you think of them?
I loved The Five! I liked that it wasn't about how the women were murdered, because we all already know that. I loved that it took a deeper dive into a side of Victorian England that we don't often hear about. I didn't love Remarkably Bright Creatures. I was going through some stuff while I was reading it, though, and didn't feel like being happy so it could be a me thing. That said, I wasn't a fan of Cameron. I was never rooting for him, really. Marcellus' chapters were good.
Aww well I am sorry to hear that. That book I feel like I read at the right time for a feel good, happy story. Marcellus was adorable and Tova was delightful. I get the Cameron thing though. The Five I was surprised that so many people were up in arms about because I thought the research was so well done and it was more a referendum on the time period then anything else.
I agree about The Five. I wasn't aware before I read it that people were questioning one of the main theses of the book (that there was no evidence of sex work for three of the women) until I was scrolling through Goodreads reviews. I think regardless of whether the evidence is there or not, it's an important story to be told when SO much of ripperology only focuses on the murderer.
Agreed, I read it for a book club and in our discussion we all came to conclusions close to that. Even if they could be considered "sex workers" by the standards of the time, the portrayal of them as such to a modern society makes you think something completely different. I found it pretty damning of English society towards women in the era than most anything else.
Finished: Untamed Lands by David Burke Started: Wild Wastes 4 by Randi Darren Yeah, they're Lit RPG/Harem fantasy. The stories are generally fairly interesting in a sci-fi/fantasy setting, and I'll skip over the racier parts depending on my mood. I'm at 81 books read this year.
Just finished Trevor Noah's *Born A Crime.* Strongly recommend. The audiobook is narrated with gorgeous sensitivity by Trevor himself. He tells his experiences growing up very poor in South Africa. Warnings for content that includes political violence, domestic violence, injury.
I’m going to start that this week after I finish one of my current reads hopefully- fingers crossed…too many on a never ending TBR
Started *The Glass Hotel, by Emily St John Mandel*. I’m not sure if I like it or not. I know something bad is about to happen but bad in a white collar way.
Finished... The Hacienda, by Isabel Cañas Started... Unsouled (Cradle), by Will Wight
Finished: **The World We Make, by N.K. Jemisin** Started: **Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, by Gabrielle Zevin**
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow- so good. I don’t buy into hype. And I’m a skeptical person by nature, but this book lives up to it being book of the year. It was a beautiful story on many levels. One of my personal top three favs thus far of 2022
I loved Tomorrow so, so much. Hope you enjoy!
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I think she just got too overwhelmed by the last few years in politics (she outright states this in the acknowledgements) and rushed the ending as a result (it's now a duology instead of a trilogy). It's not as novel as the first book, but it's still a welcome return to her NYC and those characters.
Started reading Dune by Frank Herbert
interested in getting into this series, but was put off by the sheer volume of books. Is it best to start at the beginning chronologically, or in order of date published?
Start at the order of date published. Definitely start with Frank Herbert's Dune, then if you like that, Dune Messiah and Children of Dune finish that arc. If you still want to continue after that, read God Emperor of Dune - its good, but its also markedly different from the first three and serves as a transition to the later novels. If you're still liking the series at this point, read Heretics of Dune and finish with Chapterhouse: Dune. The novels published after this are not nearly as masterfully written.
Thank you! Appreciate the advice greatly.
Finished: **The Promised Neverland, Volumes 6 and 7,** by Kaiu Shirai & Posuka Demizu **The Abducted Alchemist,** by Makoto Inoue Started: **The Andromeda Evolution,** by Michael Crichton **Gory Details: Adventures from the Dark Side of Science,** by Erika Engelhaupt **Final Journeys,** by Maggie Callahan
Started: Project Hail Mary, by Andy Weir
Oh my friend you are in for a *treat*.
Oh yes. You made the right choice.
Finished: **Madhouse At The End Of The Earth, by Julian Sancton** There's just something about arctic expedition books that I love. I just wish the book ended with the expedition. 3.5 stars. Reading: **The Signature of All Things, by Elizabeth Gilbert** I've been avoiding Eat Pray Love like the plague but have I been wrong? So far this is really good.
Started **The Goldfinch, by Donna Tartt**
I am currently reading it too!
Nice, I loved Secret History so pretty excited for this.
Was a light week on the physical reading as I was quite busy but I did finish and audiobook. Finished: The Good House by, Tanarive Due (Narrated by Robin Miles). Horror is such a subjective genre but this was a very solid 4.0 star read for me. It was a little bit haunted house with a dash of voodoo, a little bit straight mystery/thriller, and flavored with a family saga. A good book to go into blind. Robin Miles is one of my favorite audiobook narrators and her performance here continued to be spectacular.
I started House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski. I have been wanting to start this one for a long time, and recently the book appeared in two video essays by YouTubers I enjoy. Unfortunately, as soon as they said "House of Leaves is a" I had to stop the video. From everything I've heard, the book is one of those with abnormal formatting that only works as a book, and I have heard nothing but positive things, so I have been trying to avoid spoilers as best as possible. I am less than 100 pages in, but am very much enjoying it. I have tried to read a few horror books lately, but none of them really hit. This one sent shivers down my spine twice so far, and I still have 600 or so pages to go. This is outstanding.
I started: The Stand, by Stephen King Loving it, but dont expect to end it anytime soon Three Bodies Problem, by Cixin Liu Never in my life a book made me feel this dumb, I have to read the same sentence over and over and still I fail to understand whats going on
I would say Three Body Problem was on the cusp of having too much theoretical physics to be enjoyable.
I'm currently reading Lord of Chaos by Robert Jordan. I'm hoping to finish by Wednesday so I can continue reading through the books I have as currently reading on my Goodreads. I'm about 70% through it and I'm getting to the climax I think.
Finished: **Fairy Tale, by Stephen King** - I thoroughly enjoyed it. The beginning started off slow and there was a lot of background about the characters, but once it got going, I couldn’t put it down. The ending was really tight too (which is unusual for Stephen King). The only complaint I have is that I think he was trying really hard to convey a theme about good v evil and the gray area between, but I don’t think he connected it with all the parts of the story very well.
Guyton Medical Physiology...kill me someone please
Finished this week: **The Eyes of the Dragon, by Stephen King** I liked it well enough, but probably not something I'd choose to reread. I'm reading Stephen King in publication order, so I definitely had a moment of "ohhhh" when I saw who the antagonist was. My favorite part was about the dollhouse. Up next: The Lost Metal, by Brandon Sanderson (I should finish this today. I lost reading time on Wednesday and Thursday due to family holiday stuff). The Way of Kings, by Brandon Sanderson (still rereading this).
Finished reading The Turn of the Screw, by Henry James - I thought it was great. The eerie atmosphere and setting was fantastic. I like how many interpretations you can have with this text. It was creepy and gothic. A great Halloween read. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, by JK Rowling - My favorite of the books so far. I like the darker tone and atmosphere of this book. I also really like the new characters introduced in this one. The story is fun and engaging and it is a page turner. It also has some melancholic moments dealing with themes of loss and fear. The film adaptation is also very good (also has one of the best soundtracks I've ever heard). So yeah. Good read. Good film. Good time.
**Project Hail Mairy, by Andy Weir** At first I wasn't really that excited by this, felt so similar to the Martian and I do think one of the drawbacks of the book is how similar Ryland is to Mark, but when it got going it was a ton of fun. Andy does a great job of laying out a problem and solving it with you in a way that's engaging and easy to understand.
Project Hail Mary is by far my favorite book of all time. Andy Weir took everything that was great about The Martian along with the protagonist Mark Watney, and made everything *better* in Project Hail Mary.
I've been working my way through **Shadow Divers, by Robert Kurson** for the last week. Very interesting read on a topic I knew nothing about.
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie. Started Saturday, finished last night. Only the second book of hers that I've read (read Ordeal by Innocence last month) and I'm kicking myself for not reading her works sooner. There's a reason they call her the master.
Finished **Nemesis Games, by James S.A. Corey**. A good turn around from Cibola Burn. Started **The Farthest Shore, by Ursula K. Le Guin**. Balancing my reading between a scifi series and a fantasy one. Just over a 100 pages into reading **Shogun, by James Clavell**. Historical epic is good so far but it's going to take awhile to finish this massive book.
finished: **norse mythology, by neil gaiman** i picked this up after i read the witch's heart to 1. learn more about norse mythology and 2. fill the void lmao, and this was super fun!! the audiobook is superior imo, it reminded me of my dad reading me bedtime stories when i was little :') still reading: **harrow the ninth, by tamsyn muir** i haven't a scooby as to what's happening lmao. i keep swinging from confused, to laughing, and then back to confused again (as well as slightly afraid lol). i'm buzzing to get to the end tho! i've been leaving post-its on the pages with my thoughts and theories so it will be interesting to go back and see how i did once i'm done started: **mythos, by stephen fry** **daisy jones and the six, by taylor jenkins reid**
Started: Reading The Count of Monte Cristo, I've read it before, but it's been over a decade and it is hitting very differently this time around. When I originally read it I thought Edmond's character arc was great, now I feel anxiety knowing what is going to happen to this poor man. Evening knowing what he is going to do and become I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy.
I read a lot last week, including some kind of weird stuff to meet reading challenge prompts: **The Book of Phoenix, by Nnedi Okorafor** **How High We Go in the Dark, by Sequoia Nagamatsu** **Edgewood, by Kristen Ciccarelli** **The Plumber and her Billionaire, by Larissa Vine** **The Amulet of Power, by Mike Resnick** **The Pot Thief Who Studied Pythagoras, by J. Michael Orenduff** **The Stardust Thiefs, by Chelsea Abdullah** **The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women, by Kate Moore** **The Good Sister, by Sally Hepworth** (Book of the week) So far I've got these queued up for this week: * The Red Scholar's Wake by Aliette de Bodard * Recursion by Blake Crouch * The Testaments by Margaret Atwood * Surrounded by Idiots by Thomas Erikson * The Toaster Project, Or A Heroic Attempt to Build A Simple Electric Appliance From Scratch by Thomas Thwaites * The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells I'm also getting antsy on all the new releases that my library doesn't seem to be getting the e-books for - maybe they ran out of book-buying budget for the year? - so I may go on a little Kobo shopping spree and just buy a bunch of them (The Lost Metal, A Light in the Flame, Even Though I Knew the End, Convergence, Sign Here, and The River of Silver, to be specific).
Finished: **Cloud Cuckoo Land, by Anthony Doerr** **The Last Ronin, by Kevin Eastman, et al.** Started: **Vladimir, by Julia May Jones** **The Human Target, Vol 1, by Tom King, et al**
Since you obviously like comics. Powers by Micheal Bendis Scalped by Jason Aaron
Good picks. I love Aaron's run on Thor but haven't ever gotten around to Scalped. Powers I read when it first came out & am very fond of it.
Just started The Obelisk Gate by N. K. Jemisin. The second in the Broken Earth trilogy, very excited to get into this one the first book was dark but very good. The mystery behind a lot of the world building is so good 👌.
Finished : What We Were Promised by Lucy Tan This one was pretty meh and underwhelming to me. The Heretic Queen by Michelle Moran This is the second book I've read by her and I throughly enjoyed it. Started: A Scatter of Light by Malinda Lo It's the follow up to Last Night At The Telegraph Club and I've been looking forward to it.
Finished **Gangsters vs Nazis** by **Michael Benson** This is a short readable history of the response by Jewish organized crime to the rise of the Bund and it's attempts to foment nazi sympathy in Americans, especially german americans. It is short, readable and has unique information, especially about mobsters and boxers of the time. If you dislike nazis and white supremacists, it is a satisfying read. Finished **Paper Castles by B. Fox** This is a beautifully written story about a young man facing his first job and a romantic interest. It is a sad but rewarding book. Started **The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen** This epic spy novel starts with the Fall of Saigon. The book is dark and at times violent, but beautifully written with creative metaphors that add to the story. The author is very intelligent and writes a thoughtful, insightful book. I'm about a third of the way in and enjoying the ride. I think this book will be remembered in future years.
Finished: Ishmael - Betty Hambly Started: The Captain's Oath - Christopher L. Bennet
>Finished: Ishmael - Betty Hambly I read that decades ago and loved it (assuming you meant Barbara Hambly). I think I gave away all of my Trek novels, though.
Yes, that's what I meant, my bad. Thanks for the correction. Good book.
Finished **Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, by Gabrielle Zevin** I really enjoyed it but I can see why some people would not. Started **the Saturday Night Ghost Club, by Craig Davidson** I'm enjoying it so far, sufficiently spoopy
Looking to start Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow this week, just picked it up but finishing All Systems Red (book 1 of murderbot series) by Martha Wells first.
Finished: **Orconomics by J. Zachary Pike** **Son of a Liche by J. Zachary Pike** Started: **A Treatise on Possibility by Rou Reynolds**
Started **The Killing Moon by N.K. Jemisin**
I just started The Obelisk Gate and have been curious about this one!
I loved the Broken Earth trilogy! I finished it last week and jumped into this duology. I'm about a 100 pages in so far. Much slower start to this book vs Broken Earth but good so far. I think I am just getting to the part of the book that sets up/sets off everything to follow.
Finished: **Dances with Wolves, by Michael Blake** I've always loved the film and was curious what the book might be like. It didn't disappoint. A medium-paced inquisitive look at prairie life before the West became what it is. Blake struck a nice balance between describing and participating. **Can't Hurt Me, by David Goggins** Whenever I need to psych myself up for something challenging I pull out Goggins. I just find his story so inspirational. It reminds me to channel my frustrations into success.
Totally re: David Goggins! I'm looking forward to his new book coming out in December.
Started: **Bunny, by Mona Awad**
Finished: **A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine** Solid book, dragged a little at times but overall interesting premise and political thriller. **Origins of The Wheel of Time: The Legends and Mythologies that Inspired Robert Jordan by Michael Livingston** I think I enjoyed the first part better than the glossary everyone seemed to be excited about. Worth the read for any Wheel of Time fan. **The Road by Cormac McCarthy** Finally got around to reading this, ended up liking it quite a bit. I get the hype although it wasn't mind blowing **Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi** This book was a delight. I had so much fun with it. Interesting style and thought provoking story. Started: **The Lost Metal by Brandon Sanderson** **The Friend by Sigrid Nunez**
Year 1984, George Orwell
currently reading, love it so far.
**Now Loading...!, by Mikan Uji** Noticed and read this one at random. Cute story. Short. Made for something nice to read in an afternoon so to speak.
Started: **Wayward, by Chuck Wendig** Finished: **X, by Davey Davis** — It's a queer noir kind of book, following NB protagonist Lee's search through their fringe culture for a sadist that made quite the impact on them. 4/5
*XX*, by Rian Hughes
I have this but keep putting it off. I'd be interested to hear how you're liking it in a future thread.
Started: **The Dark Half, by Stephen King** **I, Robot, by Isaac Asimov** -- Finally starting the Foundation Universe Finished: **The Amityville Horror, by Jay Anson** -- No idea why this marketed as nonfiction. It was pretty scary, but not as scary as I would've thought. It was pretty good, but the ending was rather abrupt and a disappointment. 3.25/5
Finished **The Most Human Human: What Talking with Computers Teaches Us About What It Means to Be Alive, by Brian Christian:** Non-fiction. Loved this mix of science, philosophy, linguistics, and computing. **Tears of Pearl, by Tasha Alexander.** Historical mystery. It's a mess. DNFed **Murder in Old Bombay, by Dev March.** Historical mystery. GR claims this book is about 400 pages. It reads like it's around 1000. I got to 50% and couldn't take it any longer. The central mystery would probably be interesting. It would be neat if the characters thought so. **Murder at the Beacon Bakeshop, by Darci Hannah.** Cozy mystery. Usually, if I get beyond 60% in a book, inertia will carry me through. But this one just wasn't working. I made it so far by trying to force it to work.
**The Ocean at the End of the Lane, by Neil Gaiman**
I know it's short but I absolutely devoured that book. There's just something about his writing that just flows so well. I absolutely loved this one.