Finally got some reading time and finished Rosemary and Rue by Seanan McGuire (first book in her October Daye urban fantasy series)!
It’s a very quick book, which is kind of ironic for me to say, since I took months to finish it, but finished the last third or so of the book in a single sitting.
There were certain things in the start that I didn’t like, but was enjoying the book by the time I finished it. Would love to read more in the series.
What about all of you, what have you been reading or listening to lately?
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Rereading The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin definitely recommend it for its depiction and criticism of a potential utopian anarchist society.
I was about to grab that from the library the other day, but then I saw it was the listed as being in the middle of a series. Does it fare well on its own or should I start with something else?
Yes it fares well on its own none of the books in the “Hainish Cycle” are really in the same story they just share a vague universe with intersecting technology and multi-planet organzations but barely intersect so all can read on their own very easily.
Just the other day I found a copy of this at a yard sale. A vintage, cheap feeling paperback, which (materially) feels so classy now by way of contrast with most of my other books.
Glad to see the high praise of it! Grabbed it on a whim. When I get to it, will be the first of Le Guin’s that I’ve read.
Listening to The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch. About halfway through and enjoying it a lot. Great performance by the narrator Michael Page!
Might be my favourite book of all time.
Just finished reading Bloom by Delilah S Dawson for the podcast which is a sapphic horror. My teen offspring tells me its called ‘cottagecore’ whatever the fuck that means. I’ll reserve verdict until we record the episode!
Currently dipping in and out of The Real and the Unreal , which is Ursula K LeGuin’s short story collection. Brilliant as you would expect. Just about to start King Sorrow by Joe Hill. Got mixed opinions on his previous stuff so we’ll see how this one pans out.
I’m continuing through the Miss Peregrine’s School for Peculiar Children series and about to start Red Rising.
I’m about 1/4 into The Aeronaut’s Windlass. Might be my first non-Dresden Butcher book. I’ve had the paperback on my shelf for some years but I picked up an invisible copy from the library to read on my commute. I like it so far. It’s an interesting steampunk setting, action forward, likable main cast.
And my beloved and I are reading the Hobbit to each other. Just got to the spiders
There is No Anti-Memetics Division (QNTM) and Machine Vendetta by Alastair Reynolds, book 3 in The Prefect series set in the Revelation Space universe. It’s pretty good. AR is awesome, RS one of my favorite universes.
Started ‘Till we have Faces’, a novel by C.S. Lewis. I quite like this author and reading the first chapter of the book make me think I won’t be disappointed this time either.
Lewis is the author of ‘Narnia’, but he is also (and, imho, foremost) a christian author that has written really deep essays well worth reading even if you’re not the religious kind of person (I’m not). A book like ‘The Abolition of Man’ should be considered a must read to anyone worrying about the type of society we’re building today.
It’s a (short) collection of 3 (or is it 4?) lectures he did back in 1942 aimed at… British bomber pilots (young people expected to erase entire cities) in which he discusses what it means to educate children and why it should matter how we decide to do it. He also points out how easily education can be used to create… a lesser, smaller, or heartless, kind of humanity, or no humanity. Hence the title of the book. A great book.
Listened to a couple of Outlanders then moved on the book 8 of Dungeon Crawler Carl. Just finished that last night so I’ll jump back into more outlanders for a bit whilst I decide what to read next!
Eva zu Beck’s memoir The Wilder Way. As someone who has occasionally dreamed of leaving my life behind and becoming a nomad, it’s interesting to read the story of someone who did just that.
Earlier today I finished reading Call Me by Your Name. Bittersweet and very poetic, I really enjoyed it. The book club I’m in is going to watch the film adaptation later this week.
Next up is Slaughterhouse Five. It’s been on my TBR for ages.
The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien and Christopher Tolkien, for the first time in like twenty or so years.
I’m reading Er mor død by Vigdis Hjorth. I picked it up at the library from a table set aside for staff favorites. It’s about a a woman estranged from her parents who returns to her home town at sixty and wrestles with trying to understand her mother and herself. The main character is, however, somewhat hard to like as she starts stalking her mother and sister and quite obsessed. So far the book has been pretty good. I am myself estranged from a parent, and I think I’ve been processing that on some level lately. No regrets, but these things are always complicated. I find it kind of funny, I find it kind of sad, my parent was also estranged from their parent. I guess it runs in the family.
Just finished Moneyball by Michael Lewis. I think the movie adaptation told a better story, but the book was full of interesting tidbits.
Almost done with Canon by Paige Lewis. A fun, madcap adventure about two women charged by God to defeat The Bad Guys.
Who’s the next Lewis you’ll be reading?
Hah! Hadn’t noticed that… no other Lewises in my queue
Just finished The Memory Police today. Thought it was great! Some beats were very clearly telegraphed, but it was nice how it emphasized atmosphere and attitude in the face of loss.
Earlier this week I finished Dragon’s Teeth and Thunderstones. Still agree with my initial impression that it’s mostly not my jam. But I thought it was a little more interesting near the end.
Headed back to the library today for another couple of books. Between the ones I just read, and my next couple, should be able to wrangle that pretty close to a bingo. Memory Police is written on a different continent, and the fossil book can fill either ‘nature elements’ square or the ‘supplemental info’ one (almost any non-fiction fits that last one I think).
I just chugged through the last third of The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell so I didn’t have to say I was still reading it for the billionth week in a row. I’m conflicted: the story was interesting and well-written, but it never really grabbed me. Normally I’d blame this on pacing, but I didn’t find it overly slow, so I’m not sure why I didn’t take to it more.
Now to pick out something new!
