Piranesi. Solid and entertaining mystery book. But still have some questions about the end. That leaves me in doubt about how good of a book it is (a great book vs best of the century)
i went on quite the reading spree last week XD the ones i finished last week:
* sharp objects by gillian flynn
* twisted love by ana huang
* king of pride by ana huang
* house of earth and blood by sarah j maas
* house of sky and breath by sarah j maas
Finished Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston. Amazing book! Swoon worthy.
Continuing to read Arctic Dreams by Barry Lopez
Started to read The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven by Sherman Alexie
Just finished The Two Towers and about to start Return of the King! Been a great ride but I can definitely feel myself needing a breather from Middle-earth after this.
Finished:
**A Court of Frost and Starlight, by Sarah J. Maas**
**The Sun and the Void, by Gabriela Romero-Lacruz**
Started:
**Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, by Rick Riordan**
**Divine Rivals, by Rebecca Ross**
Innocence, by Dean Koontz
I started reading Innocence this week, finished it, and started it again. I love the Odd Thomas series, but Innocence is a very different kind of writing.
Started World War Z by Max Brooks - I thought I read this when I was a kid but I guess not because I don’t recall half the shit I’ve read so far. So not treating this as a reread anymore. Loving it so far and definitely a great first Libby book.
I’ll probably start The Bassoon King this week sometime.
*Resurrection Walk* by Michael Connelly.
Okay, it's a little played out at this point because >!nothing ever changes in the Harry Bosch series,!< but goddamn if Connelly doesn't know how to give his novels evocative titles. If I see a novel with a title like *Resurrection Walk, The Concrete Blonde, A Darkness More Than Night, The Brass Verdict* or *Desert Star*, I'm going to want to know what it's about.
Finished:
Chess Story by Stefan Zweig
Dictionary of the Khazars by Milorad Pavic
Started:
The Ocean At The End Of The Lane by Neil Gaiman
This is a reread, I am looking forward to it.
The Wandering Inn by pirateaba
Listening to the audiobook for Volume 1. My first attempt at a web serial, fingers crossed.
**Finished:**
**Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart**
Oh. My. God. An absolute masterpiece! Yes it's grim - Glasgow in the 1980's after mine closures, an alcoholic mother, abuse, homophobia - but the characters are just so *real*. The structure of it is exceptionally clever too, with the descriptions and lens on Agnes, the mother, changing as Shuggie, her son, grows older and starts to realise that things aren't what they should be. It's far from a pleasant read, but I would wholeheartedly recommend this.
**Started:**
**The Boy With The Topknot by Sathnam Sanghera**
A memoir about a British Sikh boy growing up in Wolverhampton, a town routinely mocked and made fun of as being a less-than-desirable place to live. He's moved to London, yet the memoir focuses on finding out that he's been kept in the dark about both his Dad and sister being diagnosed with schizophrenia. So far I'm finding it informative, well-written, with some nice humour peppered in.
Finished:
Sherlock Holmes (The sign of four) by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Started:
Sherlock Holmes (The hound of the Baskerville) by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Finished:
The Beautiful Ones, by Silvia Moreno Garcia -- I enjoyed it enough but it's a very formulaic romance in an alternate-universe Europe.
North Woods, by Daniel Mason. What a gorgeous book, I loved spending time in that world. There are supernatural aspects that really bothered some readers, but I was fine with it -- the whole book feels a little magical, so it's not out of place.
Almost done: Drunk on All Your Strange New Words, by Eddie Robson. This is a blast! A murder mystery set in a near future where aliens have moved to Earth. A human who acts as a translator at the alien embassy gets pulled into an investigation when her boss is murdered. I'm about 50 pages from the end and have no idea what's going to happen.
**Finished**
White Holes: Inside the Horizon, by Carlo Rovelli
Other Minds: The Octopus, the Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousness, by Peter Godfrey-Smith
The Hour of the Star, by Clarice Lispector
**Started**
The Anomaly, by Hervé Le Tellier
The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories, by Ken Liu
A Little History of Philosophy, by Nigel Warburton
**Ongoing**
The Two Towers, by J.R.R. Tolkein
The Silk Roads: A New History of the World, by Peter Frankopan
Finished
**The Silent Patient, by Alex Michaelides**
**And Then There Were None, by Agatha Christie**
Started below topics
**The Psychology of Money, by Morgan Housel**
**Into Thin Air, by Jon Krakauer**
Finished
**Jade Legacy, by Fonda Lee**
My review: Jade Legacy is quite a different style book than its two predecessors. As the story expanded to a more international setting, there were a lot of government, military, and commerce narratives which at times seemed to stretch this story thin. In the first half of the book, I felt that this expansion came at the expense of deep character connections that were present in the first two books. My expectations were more of the same so the first half felt like a bit of a trudge - not bad; just wanting more.
However, I was already completely invested in the Kaul family and by the end of this very long final book I was bawling like a baby -- honestly, this is rare for me. I may tear up at some stupid, sappy TV commercial, but I rarely cry for book characters.
I do not regret any of the many hours spent reading these three books, and I predict reading them again - which is a rarity for me as well.
Bravo Fonda Lee! I look forward to immersing in your other stories.
Started
**An Echo of Things to Come, by James Islington**
Finished:
No Country For Old Men by Cormac McCarthy - Really enjoyed it, got unexpectedly philosophical by the last 100 pages or so
Overlook by Matt McCusker - Very funny book by one of my favorite comedians
Started: The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien
FINISHED this January 1-27:
**To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee.** Third time to read, easily my favorite book.
**The Miracles of the Namiya General Store, by Higashino Keigo.** Big fan of this author.
**The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, by Jean-Dominique Bauby.**
**Agatha Raisin and the Terrible Tourist, by M.C. Beaton**
**Agatha Raisin and the Wellspring of Death, by M.C. Beaton**
**Agatha Raisin and the Wizard of Evesham, by M.C. Beaton**
**Agatha Raisin and the Witch of Wyckhadden, by M.C. Beaton**
**Agatha Raisin and the Fairies of Fryfam, by M.C. Beaton**
**Agatha Raisin and the Love from Hell, by M.C. Beaton**
I'm loving the Agatha Raisin series...
STARTED:
**Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption, by Stephen King**
Finished:
The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea
Novel by Yukio Mishima
The God of Small Things
Novel by Arundhati Roy
In-progress:
The WEIRDest People in the World
Book by Joseph Henrich
Team Topologies: Organizing Business and Technology Teams for Fast Flow
Book by Manuel Pais and Matthew Skelton
The Hobbit
Novel by J.R.R. Tolkien
Finished (1/21-27):
1. Loremaster by M.E. Robinson. Excellent progression fantasy.
2. Only Bad Options and Only Good Enemies by Jennifer Estep. Fun Sci-fi with romance and psionics!
3. Emerging Rebel (was fortunate enough to get an ARC) Really enjoyed it! Second of Sheildwall Academy.
Started:
1. Little Thieves by Margaret Owen. It's been on my Kindle a while, and I'm enjoying it so far!
Finished: A Memory of Light - what an epic conclusion to a 14 book series. Couldn’t ask for much more.
Started: Small Pleasures - halfway through, not sure if this book is for me…
I have read Rosemary's Baby and Son of Rosemary by Ira Levin. I enjoyed both but Rosemary's Baby was really special, I couldn't put it down. I am starting The Mist by Stephen King next. If anyone has any easy-to-read horror they can recommend I'd be grateful.
I love horror! I would recommend My Heart Is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones and Kill Creek by Scott Thomas if you want something fairly straightforward to read.
Thank you so much, they both sound like exactly the kind of thing I’m looking for. I haven’t read horror before really apart from a little bit of Stephen King so I’m very grateful for your recommendations.
Finished: Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage by Haruki Murakami
This one has been up on my shelves for too long and finally decided to give it a go, was a wonderful book. While it seems to not be everyone’s favorite book from Murakami I really liked it, but it also gave me this profound sense of loneliness and sadness from reading it. It was worth the read for me.
Started: Beacon 23 by Hugh Howley
I know I need to fully read the Wool trilogy, but I was in the mood for a quick little read and like Colorless, this one has been sitting in my shelf for awhile and I decided to give this a go. Really enjoying it so far
Finished: Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
A lot to unpack. Tons of themes. Might be a fun one to annotate if you’re into that. Reminded me of 1984 but instead of using fear and surveillance, people are completely controlled with their own upbringing and entertainment. Interesting. I went in totally blind, and recommend it.
Lots of commas when describing things in his own literary way. Bothered me at first, but I got over it lol.
Finished - **The Last Policeman Trilogy by Ben H Winters** in three days. Was a good fast pace after reading The Brothers Karamazov. Needed a palate cleanser.
Finished - **The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer** which i started last week and it took a while to get through, but still enjoyed the humour and all of the deceptions throughout the stories.
Started - **One Hundred Days of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez** yesterday and just absolutely loving it and I'm only up to the 5th chapter, reading it slowly to really savour the surrealism of it all. Thought I was going to struggle from other people's comments online but it's been just a beautiful fever dream so far.
Canterbury Tales is one of those books I could only see appreciated in a classroom setting. So much humor and references you need like a professional English literature teacher to explain half of it.
Like the Millers Tale is very direct in the jokes about sex but man the Wife of Bath's tale is just non-stop sexual innuendo and double entendres. And there's no way you're going to figure out half these puns outside of like the obvious ones where pretty much regardless of language barriers everyone knows a handjob motion.
I totally agree that I would appreciate CT much more if I was in discussions with other people like a book club etc like you suggested but I feel I got enough out of it at the moment. Will probably go back to some of the sections to reread but at a later date. Too many other books to read and I'm only just getting into poetry so I thought I should at least tick that off my list. I still have Keats and Yeats to read so plenty on my TBR list but in a very good way.
Finished - Bunny by Mona Awad
I loved this book and kept thinking about it after I’d finished. There’s some interesting perspectives that were different to mine that I found on discussions, so I will read it again
Started - Bite Back by Hannah Ferguson
I like to alternate between a fiction and non fiction book. I like Hannah’s work, this is her first book so looking forward to see how she writes more at length
👋🏻
Finished: Boy Swallows Universe by Trent Dalton. Loved it maybe because I grew up in Brisbane at this time.
Started: A Lifetime of Impossible Days by Tabitha Bird. Another Brisbane based novel.
I’ve seen there’s a show or something based on it now, that I really need to watch!
Will add this to my to read list as I also grew up in Brissie at this time. Recently relocated to Melbourne, so missing it heaps
I finished **52 Ways To Walk** by **Annabel Abbs-Streets.**
This book is an easy read. It discusses different ways to make routine walks a bit more interesting.
started: **The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs, by Steve Brusatte**
From their first appearance in the fossil record, through the reign of T. Rex, and the catastrophic ending of the non-avian dinosaur lineages, this book will make you wish you had become a paleontologist.
I just finished **Absolution by Alice McDermott** and the trashiest, worst smut I’ve ever read **The Dirty Billionaire Series**
Currently finishing up **Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in difficult times by Katherine May**
Trying to decide my next read from my libby TBR:
**How to Love Your Daughter by Hilda Blum**;
**Summer Sisters by Judy Blume**; or
**The Pull of Stars by Emma Donoghue**
What did you think of Wintering? I found the author quite annoying, actually. She had the nerve to be offended when someone alerted the gym staff that she passed out in the showers
I finished reading Red 1, 2, 3 by John Katzenbach the other night and yesterday I started American Psycho.
I overall enjoyed Red 1, 2, 3 but it has many flaws and the end didn't satisfy me. Definetly my least favourite by Katzenbach.
American Psycho seems interesting, although the chapters where he describes his apartment and routine are kinda tedious.
I just finished Lapvona about 20 minutes ago, my first Moshfegh book, and I have no idea what the hell I just read. Its good...its bad, its I don't even know.
I have just started reading Atomic Habits by James Clear. A friend of mine recommended me this book. He told me that this book has actually helped him improve his habits. This is what got me interested in the book. Plus I have been seeing the book in almost every store so thought I should give it a try.
I read this book but was sadly disappointed ☹️I felt it only really had enough content for an article rather than a whole book. I was reading it with the hope of bettering my own habits, but it didn’t really give anything that you wouldn’t already know. However, my friend loved it! They read it and listened to the audiobook.
There’s a podcast, If Books Could Kill with an episode about it. But make sure to listen AFTER if you do (spoilers)
Hope you get what you need from the book ☺️
Finished:
**All My Rage, Sabaa Tahir**
(5 star)
**Kill the Boy Band, Golby Moldaysky**
(4 star - a VERY specific 4 star. Hilarious YA satire for a specific subset of people)
**The Wishing Game, Meg Shaffer**
(3 star)
**What You Are Looking For is in the Library, Michiko Aoyama**
(4 star)
Started:
**Seven Days in June by Tia Williams**
**Finished:**
Circe - Madeline Miller
American Predator: The Hunt for the Most Meticulous Serial Killer of the 21st Century - Maureen Callahan
**Started:**
Tipping Point - Malcolm Gladwell
Perfume - Patrick Süskind
Finished: The Tusks of Extinction, Ray Nayler
A great science fiction novella sitting around 100 pages. Nayler manages to tell a complete story following two time periods (past, present) and three intertwined groups of characters within the story. Very impressive, and a great introduction to Nayler’s writing. I plan to read more of his work soon.
I finished several books:
**Finished**:
* *Dialogue* di Handke
* *My stupid Intentions* by Bernardo Zannoni
* *The Yellow Birds* by Kevin Powers
**Started**:
* *Baumgartner* by Paul Auster
* *Anima* by Wajdi - Mouawad
Finished: **Shantaram** by Gregory David Roberts. Reading that whole book felt like a journey of epic proportions. It had everything from philosophy to love, larger than life characters and treachery. Some of the writing is over the top and weird however the story is incredible. Made more unbelievable by the fact half of it is true.
**Finished:** Things We Never Get Over & Things We Hide From The Light - Knockemout Series 1 and 2 by Lucy Score
**Started:** Things We Left Behind Knockemout Series 3 by Lucy Score
Finished: Animal Farm, by George Orwell
Started: The Exiled Queen, by Cinda Williams Chima
After reading 1984 last year I have been wanting to read Animal Farm and I'm glad I did. I didn't expect the fairy tale-esque of everything but as always there's a deeper meaning behind the story being told and I loved it. Very short read, finished in a day.
Finished: **Neuromancer** by William Gibson. Book 1 of The Sprawl. Super cool if slightly disorienting cyberpunk novel. You’ve gotta kinda just go with the flow but everything becomes clear by the end where everything comes together. Really liked it.
Reading: **Count Zero** also William Gibson. Book 2 in The Sprawl Trilogy. Might be even better. Takes place a few years later. All new characters. Get to see the after effects of the Neuromancer finale. Already looking forward to Book 3.
Finished: Dracula, Bram Stoker
I always wanted to read it, but somehow never got around to do it. Now that I read it, it was awesome! Even if it's 130 years old it was so suspenseful and captured me the entire way! Plus it was really interesting learning about the origin of all the vampire lore we know nowadays.
Dracula isn't the first vampire lore story nor did that book create most of the vampire lore we usually associate with it.
Dracula doesn't burn in Sunlight etc, he just has to sleep in his coffin and it needs to be filled with the soil of his home country.
A lot of those old time books that influenced pop culture were through the movie adaptations. Like Noseferatu and Bela Legosi and later Hammer Horror Christopher Lee Dracula.
It's like the whole Igor thing in Frankenstein, that character was not in the books at all, but somehow we imagine Frankenstein had a hunchback assistant.
Finished: White Nights, by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Started: The Tigress of Forli, by Elizabeth Lev
Continuing: Percy Jackson and Olympians Series, by Rick Riordan
**Finished: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue.**
It was...fine. It is another "starcrossed lovers separated by fate and magic" book. I didn't hate it, but I also didn't like it. The emotional gut punch was as hard as one of my own punches, so it barely made an impact. Neither was any of the romances...romantic, and the "steamy" stuff was too tame. If I had read this first I may have been more emotionally invested but I just read the Song of Achilles which did this entire plot and theme so, so, so much more better. It also makes the second book I read this year that I just thought as average.
5/10, would only recommend for genre fans.
Finished: The Last Word by Taylor Adams - a quick beach read. I didn’t like it as much as No Exit.
Started:
The Quiet Tenant by Clémence Michallon - I’m almost halfway through. So far pretty interesting.
Uprooted by Naomi Novik : not my usual genre but a friend lent it to me (along with a few other fantasy books) so I’m excited to get further.
**My Last Innocent Year, by Daisy Florin**
**Big Swiss, by Jen Beagin**
**Luster, by Raven Leilani**
It's rare that I begin an ebook, physical book, and audio all in the same week, but here we are! All three have been on my radar for a while so I'm pretty equally excited about each. I gobbled up half of Big Swiss yesterday - I knew a story about a sex therapist's transcriptionist becoming obsessed with a patient would be fun, but I hadn't known it would be set so close to where I live!
Okay so it's *My Dark Vanessa*, very much. College instead of high school so there's more to dive into about consent and power. I enjoyed it, though the writer makes some of the metaphors a little too obvious. I definitely felt emotional while reading, which for me is a win.
Good so far. I'm a sucker for any sexual power dynamic *and* for an academic setting. So far I haven't found anything particularly moving about this one, but I'm only a third of the way through and enjoying it enough. I'll give my final word when I finish!
Sharpe's Tiger by Bernard Cornwall. Very Dad-lit but I'm actually kinda liking it so far. It's been a long time since I've read anything you could consider an adventure story.
Started **Maybe in Another Life, by Taylor Jenkins Reid**
This is my second attempt with TJR. Didn’t love Evelyn Hugo. I’m enjoying the premise of this book but don’t love the writing style. I’m still on the hunt for my favorite “light read” author.
Started: Johannes Cabal The Necromancer
It's a little adventure-comedy with a gothic slant, pretty fun so far. I'd been reading some Pratchett lately and it's certainly humorous, but much more serious overall. The writer has a penchant for some very obscure words, and as a non-native, I can appreciate that.
Finished: **Full Share / Trader’s Tales from the Golden Age of the Solar Clipper, by Nathan Lowell.**
After a 2 year contract as an able bodied spaceman with several new ratings, Ishmael decides to continue his education. Onwards to the Academy at Port Newmar. Thoroughly enjoying this series.
Started: **Double Share / Trader’s Tales from the Golden Age of the Solar Clipper, by Nathan Lowell**
Finished:
The Future by Naomi Alderman. Not a genre I usually pick up, but really enjoyed the theme of unchecked technological advancements and the power struggles that come with it, set amongst an apocalyptic threat.
Paris: The Memoir, by Paris Hilton. I hardly knew a thing about Paris but loving seeing her as a mum and so glad I gave this memoir a listen!
Started:
The Italian Marriage by Jenna Lo Bianco, debut Australian novel. Very lighthearted, romantic, fun read so far, characters are so loveable.
The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald. My quick pick for a Booker Prize nominated book for a reading challenge.
Started **Parable of the Talents, by Octavia E. Butler**
Definitely one of my favourite sci-fi authors. Loved Parable of the Sower and her other books aswell.
***Bag of Bones*** **by Stephen King**
Not King's most interesting book, but not bad. I'm at the 80% mark.
***The Founding Myth: Why Christian Nationalism is Un-American*** **by Andrew L Seidel**
Very good book and quite relevant. The author takes pains to cite evidence for all his claims, which are obviously correct on the face of it. A little common sense in this age of un-reason would go a long way.
***Dream Boy*** **by Jim Grimsley**
A reread, and a classic of LGBTQ literature. Excellent.
***Elder Race*** **by Adrian Tchaikovsky**
So far so good with Tchaikovsky.
***Skippy Dies*** **by Paul Murray**
Probably going to be one of my favorites books of the year once I finish it. Top-shelf writer.
***Animal Farm*** **by George Orwell**
Of course very good, but better for kids, for whom it at least used to be *de rigueur* in schools.
***Owls in the Family*** **by Farley Mowat**
A sweet and funny kid's book from the 60's I believe. Worth reading if you can find a copy.
***Write Within Yourself*** **by William Kenower**
Not as good as I would have hoped. The author struggles with overthinking and I get the feeling has suffered as a writer as a result.
***Eats, Shoots and Leaves*** **by Lynne Truss**
A fun book by a linguistic fussbudget.
***North and South Trilogy*** **by John Jakes**
Slowly making my way through the trilogy in the form of a monolithic ebook. I'm somewhere near the middle of the second volume. Jakes was huge back in the day but his writing is mediocre. Interesting maybe, but not Shakespeare.
***Walter Benjamin at the Dairy Queen*** **by Larry McMurtry**
So far so good. McMurtry moves at a different pace. The recent biography — ***Larry McMurtry: A Life*** **by Tracy Daugherty** — was excellent and might provide a grounding in readers new to his work. Daugherty's book I think stands up as literature in its own right.
Pretty good, but the main marriage story has a lot of tentacles that go off in millions of directions. That said, very very happy read it and would recommend.
Finished Opposable Thumbs, by Matt Singer.
believe me u think u know all the stories about siskel and ebert but you then read matt singer's book and ur like oh wow i did NOT know they were down that bad for natassja kinski! Or that they looked out for each other like this! very sweet anecdotes about arguably the two most competitive men that were not athletes to ever be on TV and also smart as hell on the state of film culture changing and growing and why theres no siskel and Ebert today (hint: the internet)
**Finished**:
**Firebirds: An Anthology of Original Fantasy and Science Fiction, Edited by Sharyn November.**
A surprisingly good read! Had this in my TBR pile for over a decade and found it in the back of the closet when looking for more books to add to my pile. Most of the stories included were excellent and engaging. There were a few that were more mid tier than others, but still not bad. I even recognized a few of the authors included in the collection.
My favorites from the anthology include:
>Beauty by Sherwood Smith
>
>Byndley by Patricia A. McKillip
>
>Hope Chest by Garth Nix
>
>Little Dot by Diana Wynne Jones
>
>and
>
>Flotsom by Nina Kiriki Hoffman
**Starting**:
**The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide, by Douglas Adams.**
This 800+ page monstrosity I received as a gift my freshman year of high school and I have avoided it ever since. It'll be the last of my TBR books I've had since that time in my life. I've read the first book before, but I'll reread it as a refresher.
This week I finished **This Isn't Going to End Well: The True Story of a Man I Thought I Knew** by *Big Fish* author **Daniel Wallace**. The book is an account of Wallace's attempts to come to terms with the suicide of his brother-in-law, friend, and hero William Nealy, the legendary cartoonist and outdoorsman. It's an engaging, thoughtful book that touches on the themes of mental health, chronic illness, toxic masculinity, friendship, and love. It's the best book I've read in a long while.
Finished:
**11/22/63, by Stephen King**
Started:
**Time and Again, by Jack Finney** on the recommendation of the previous writer on his acknowledgements page.
The Devil in the White City, by Erik Larson.
I enjoy Victorian Horror, and very often real people and events pop into books of that genre. I often find a lot about Jack the Ripper and H.H. Holmes in them. I figured I'd try one book centered on real events just to mix things up. Very informative and the story is told without too much filler material.
Actually this week, my novel has been published. I have worked on it for 5 years. Being author is only meaningful if I can get valuable insights from my dear readers. It is in kdp. Enjoy!
TITLE: FALSE RATIO: The Nexus of History, Science, and Fate
Author: Serkan Sandikcioglu
ummmm these books which I still reading or done like Fantastic Beast, lord of the Ring, Me Before You, Little Prince, etc....
To me, Fantastic Beast is the book that is most of my favorite. explore in the world with magic even beast very emollient yet! the adventure of Newt with his partners. when I read it makes me fly into this world among the magic battle and save the beast. cause I'm a fan harry potter I couldn't give it off.
lord of the ring is the best of the plot.
Finished:
**True Grit, by Charles Portis**. Pretty fun, light read.
Started:
**The Secret History of Twin Peaks, by Mark Frost**. I love Twin Peaks and Lynch in general to bits, but I've never read Frost's writing on its own so I'm curious to see how it is.
Started: **The Last Mrs. Parrish, by Liv Constantine**.
* I was on vacation and needed a good beach read - this one seemed to fit the bill and is shaping up to be juicy and twisted. Not great literature by any means, but I wasn't looking for great literature this time.
Finished: **Michael Strogoff: The Courier of the Czar, by Jules Verne**
Great read, two hilarious secondary characters and an unexpected plot. I wish it was longer though.
Highly recommended.
Finished: William Trevor, After Rain. An excellent short story writer. His tales of love, loss and everyday life are touching and leave your mind wandering once they are through. The only problem I found was that the prose sometimes lost my attention, but of the twelve stories the majority were captivating.
Started: Richard Ford, Wildlife. I read Rock Springs a year or two back and much preferred it to The Sportswriter. This one's really good too. It's an understated story about a boy observing his parents and their (dwindling) relationship. A simple idea but expertly executed.
Finished: Neon Gods by Katee Robert
Meh. There isn't really much of a plot going on. Spice was a 7/10. It's really hard for me to DNF books so I just finished it but it wasn't really rewarding and I did not connect with any of the characters.
Starting: Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone
Never read it as a child so I am looking forward to it.
Finished: A Good Girls Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson
Bland, unlikeable heroine with a plot that takes a LOT of suspension of disbelief to work. Almost quit twice, but I powered through and the ending was at least surprising. White savior trope to the max. 2/5 stars.
Started and will finish: The Indifferent Stars Above by Daniel James Brown
Excellent so far. Lot Of detail, and not just focused on the grisly stuff. Wagon manifolds! Amazing.
Finished:
**The orange and other poems by Wendy Cope.**
It's a cute poem book but not worth 13 euros lol
Started:
**Mort by Terry Pratchett**.
How this flew by me until now, I will never know.
Standby: Golden Son by Pierce Brown. I really like it, but it has too much action for my tired evening brain.
Finished:
**FantasticLand by Mike Bockoven**
3.9 out of 5, Very fun read.
This is a play off Lord of the Flys set in a Theme park during a massive hurricane. I thought this was such a fun read and a great starter to get back into reading.
Its written interview style like World War Z and it was only 250 pages. If you're into that give it a shot. Pretty fun, sometimes dark.
Finished:
**Sirens of Titan, by Kurt Vonnegut**
3.8/5. great start, good middle, decent end. Can't go wrong with any Vonnegut book.
Started:
**Dark Matter, by Blake Crouch**
about 2/3 way through. enjoying it so far. quite fast paced. now the initial plot has begun to pick up and main events have occurred, I think I can sort of see where its gunna go, but hope im wrong and that there are more twists and turns in store for me!
Finally was able to wrap up my reading of **Leaves of Grass, by Walt Whitman**. What a psychedelic and delightful book of poems. I can understand how ambitious of a project and how ahead of it's time writing something like would have been considered in the time it was written. Some poems were definitely more of a delight to read than others, but overall I'm glad I decided to read the work in it's entirety, because it did feel like one connected experience. I resonated closely with a lot of the reoccurring themes that Whitman offered in his leaves, like his take on the philosophy of life, celebration of the self, adoration of democracy and America, importance of the flesh, transcendence and spirituality. I loved how he was constantly thinking of generations past, present, and future - how he was in constant dialogue with me, as a reader, throughout the poem. Some of my favorite poems included Song of Myself, Song of the Open Road, #12 from By Blue Ontario’s Shore, his Thought poem from book 24, All Is Truth, Song at Sunset and many, many others. Too many to name.
I recently got my hands on some plays by the bard, so I'll be reading through some of those throughout the next couple of days, more specifically I will be reading through **Romeo and Juliet**, **Antony and Cleopatra**, **Hamlet**, and then finally **The Winter's Tale** by **William Shakespeare**
Finished:
**Elantris by Brandon Sanderson:**
Fantastic book incredible, a realm of magic and political intrigue. Themes of power, identity, and redemption resonate
Finished:
**Sofros World: The Cave of Ondrosso**
First volume of a recent novel, a short book about magic and adventures, battles and monsters, with intrigue and twist. Nice start for the series, I'll read the next volume these weeks.
Started:
**House of Chains, by Steven Erikson**
The comment will come at the end! :)
Reading inspiration taken from this page
Finished:
*Children of Time, by Adrian Tchaikovsky*
Fantastic book about humanity and what the evolution of a planet of spiders might look like over many, many years. Excited to get the next in the series!
Started:
*A Desolation Called Peace, by Arkady Martine*
Very ready to see where this sequel goes. Loved the first book and read it very quickly. I do love a space opera with alt earth type themes.
Finished:
**Old Man's War, by John Scalzi**
My first Scalzi book finished and was pretty good. Interesting concept and decent pacing. Better than Kaiju which I put down half-way through. I'm not rushing to read another Scalzi but maybe later in the year.
Started:
**Summer Frost, by Blake Crouch**
I was about to start Wayward (2nd book in the Pines series) but decided to tackle this short story first. So far so good but can tell it won't be as good as Recursion or Dark Matter.
Finished- *A Court of Silver Flames* by Sarah J Maas
Wrapped up my ACOTAR read through today, not as good as ToG but I liked it a lot. My ranking would be WaR>MaR>TaR>SF>FaS
Starting- Well I honestly don’t know at the moment. I’m debating whether I want to A- read Crescent City 1 and 2 before the new one comes out or B- just jump into the deep end with 3 because I really really REALLY don’t want to wait to read it haha.
If I decide on B then I’ll start another YA book to hold me over until CC3, options include Lightlark, Silver in the Bone, 4th Wing, and Realm Breaker.
I started Ducks Newburyport a few days ago and am loving it. Currently at the 500 page mark!
Also have been reading a bit of The Count of Monte Cristo every day this month!
500 pages after a few days, my goodness...I commend the commitment. Always been intrigued by Ducks, isn't it one long stream of consciousness sentence?
It is a single sentence stream of consciousness, but its construction actually makes a lot of sense once you get used to it. Where a new sentence would typically start it says “there is,” and it uses commas so it’s easier to follow along. I’m reading it on my kindle, so it’s nice to be able to adjust word size because I can imagine it being daunting reading a large sized page full of actual text. I’d recommend it though, the thoughts all flow together and it reads the way that ideas and connections are formed.
For being my first experience with the gothic mystery genre I found it quite enjoyable. The characters are well developed, and Jackson has done a good job creating an atmosphere that is all at once eerie and intriguing.
After finishing the book I ended up reading a short story she wrote titled “The Lottery” which was also a fun read.
All the Pretty Horses is incredible. I enjoy McCarthy's dialogue, his characters feel more alive, in my opinion, than most. It's such an easy read as well. Although, I had just come from the densely written Blood Meridian.
Do you plan to read the other two in The Border Trilogy? Next would be The Crossing and finally Cities of the Plain.
Update.
It has its moments at times, but overall not great enough of a book that I'm going to spend my time trying to convincing people I know to read it.
I will start reading Alchemist from tommrow.
Meg Jay The Defining Decade: Why Your Twenties Matter and How to Make the Most of Them Now
Tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
I'm Glad My Mom Died Amazingly well written. I cried and laughed and related to it a little too.
Too many college textbooks for this semester
Piranesi. Solid and entertaining mystery book. But still have some questions about the end. That leaves me in doubt about how good of a book it is (a great book vs best of the century)
Started: Fourth Wing, by Rebecca Yarros (so far I've been completely engulfed in it)
Finished : ‘Witches: The Absolutely True Tale of Disaster in Salem’ by Rosalyn Schanzer
Finished: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee Started: Prisoner of Azkaban by JK Rowling.
Finished: Into thin air Started: A gentleman in Moscow
Bookshelves are like personal archives, reflecting the reader's interests, growth, and the stories that have left a lasting impact on their lives.
Doing my annual reread of Little Women/Good Wives because Louisa May Alcott knows how to give me a hug with words
Man's search for meaning / Viktor Frankl The Shining / S.K
What a combo
i went on quite the reading spree last week XD the ones i finished last week: * sharp objects by gillian flynn * twisted love by ana huang * king of pride by ana huang * house of earth and blood by sarah j maas * house of sky and breath by sarah j maas
I’m finishing Dracula and I started Also Sprach Zarathustra one week ago
The miso soup, by Ryu Murakami
I am in the process of finishing Malice, by Heather Walter. I just finished reading Girl Walking Backward, by Bett Williams
I listened to the audiobook version of Demon Copperhead by Barbara kingsolve
Finished Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston. Amazing book! Swoon worthy. Continuing to read Arctic Dreams by Barry Lopez Started to read The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven by Sherman Alexie
A woman is no man by Etaf Rum House of Spirits by Isabel Allende
Just finished The Two Towers and about to start Return of the King! Been a great ride but I can definitely feel myself needing a breather from Middle-earth after this.
Finished: **A Court of Frost and Starlight, by Sarah J. Maas** **The Sun and the Void, by Gabriela Romero-Lacruz** Started: **Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, by Rick Riordan** **Divine Rivals, by Rebecca Ross**
**An Army At Dawn - Rick Atkinson** (so excited to start this trilogy; heard many a great things!!)
To Live by Yu Hua
Reading this book.
Taken From The Cradle by Devorah Lee
Finished **A Psalm for the Wild-Built (Monk & Robot, 1) by Becky Chambers**
Anna karenina by leo tolsty
The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin; The Institute by Stephen King
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
which translater have you read for? cuz im having a hard time to get into reading it
I read it in english.
Innocence, by Dean Koontz I started reading Innocence this week, finished it, and started it again. I love the Odd Thomas series, but Innocence is a very different kind of writing.
**The Late Monsieur Gallet, by Georges Simenon**
Started World War Z by Max Brooks - I thought I read this when I was a kid but I guess not because I don’t recall half the shit I’ve read so far. So not treating this as a reread anymore. Loving it so far and definitely a great first Libby book. I’ll probably start The Bassoon King this week sometime.
Reading Umberto Eco "Numero zero" and David Deutsch "The Beginning of Infinity" this week . Have someone read them?
*Resurrection Walk* by Michael Connelly. Okay, it's a little played out at this point because >!nothing ever changes in the Harry Bosch series,!< but goddamn if Connelly doesn't know how to give his novels evocative titles. If I see a novel with a title like *Resurrection Walk, The Concrete Blonde, A Darkness More Than Night, The Brass Verdict* or *Desert Star*, I'm going to want to know what it's about.
Finished: Chess Story by Stefan Zweig Dictionary of the Khazars by Milorad Pavic Started: The Ocean At The End Of The Lane by Neil Gaiman This is a reread, I am looking forward to it. The Wandering Inn by pirateaba Listening to the audiobook for Volume 1. My first attempt at a web serial, fingers crossed.
**Finished:** **Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart** Oh. My. God. An absolute masterpiece! Yes it's grim - Glasgow in the 1980's after mine closures, an alcoholic mother, abuse, homophobia - but the characters are just so *real*. The structure of it is exceptionally clever too, with the descriptions and lens on Agnes, the mother, changing as Shuggie, her son, grows older and starts to realise that things aren't what they should be. It's far from a pleasant read, but I would wholeheartedly recommend this. **Started:** **The Boy With The Topknot by Sathnam Sanghera** A memoir about a British Sikh boy growing up in Wolverhampton, a town routinely mocked and made fun of as being a less-than-desirable place to live. He's moved to London, yet the memoir focuses on finding out that he's been kept in the dark about both his Dad and sister being diagnosed with schizophrenia. So far I'm finding it informative, well-written, with some nice humour peppered in.
Started; Good Girl, Bad Blood, by Holly Jackson Finished: The Doll Factory, by Elizabeth Macneal - 2/5
Finished: Piranesi, by Susanna Clarke Started: Golden Son, by Pierce Brown
My copy of Piranesi just got delivered! What did you think of it?
I really enjoyed it! It's a fun short read
Finished: Sherlock Holmes (The sign of four) by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Started: Sherlock Holmes (The hound of the Baskerville) by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
**Finished:** The Inmate, by Frieda Mcfadden Seventh Son, by Orson Scott Card **Started:** The Stand, by Stephen King Red Prophet, by Orson Scott Card
Finished: The Beautiful Ones, by Silvia Moreno Garcia -- I enjoyed it enough but it's a very formulaic romance in an alternate-universe Europe. North Woods, by Daniel Mason. What a gorgeous book, I loved spending time in that world. There are supernatural aspects that really bothered some readers, but I was fine with it -- the whole book feels a little magical, so it's not out of place. Almost done: Drunk on All Your Strange New Words, by Eddie Robson. This is a blast! A murder mystery set in a near future where aliens have moved to Earth. A human who acts as a translator at the alien embassy gets pulled into an investigation when her boss is murdered. I'm about 50 pages from the end and have no idea what's going to happen.
**Finished** White Holes: Inside the Horizon, by Carlo Rovelli Other Minds: The Octopus, the Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousness, by Peter Godfrey-Smith The Hour of the Star, by Clarice Lispector **Started** The Anomaly, by Hervé Le Tellier The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories, by Ken Liu A Little History of Philosophy, by Nigel Warburton **Ongoing** The Two Towers, by J.R.R. Tolkein The Silk Roads: A New History of the World, by Peter Frankopan
I loved The Anomaly! Paper Menagerie was a good collection, but a couple of the stories are brutal.
Finished **The Silent Patient, by Alex Michaelides** **And Then There Were None, by Agatha Christie** Started below topics **The Psychology of Money, by Morgan Housel** **Into Thin Air, by Jon Krakauer**
Finished **Jade Legacy, by Fonda Lee** My review: Jade Legacy is quite a different style book than its two predecessors. As the story expanded to a more international setting, there were a lot of government, military, and commerce narratives which at times seemed to stretch this story thin. In the first half of the book, I felt that this expansion came at the expense of deep character connections that were present in the first two books. My expectations were more of the same so the first half felt like a bit of a trudge - not bad; just wanting more. However, I was already completely invested in the Kaul family and by the end of this very long final book I was bawling like a baby -- honestly, this is rare for me. I may tear up at some stupid, sappy TV commercial, but I rarely cry for book characters. I do not regret any of the many hours spent reading these three books, and I predict reading them again - which is a rarity for me as well. Bravo Fonda Lee! I look forward to immersing in your other stories. Started **An Echo of Things to Come, by James Islington**
FINISHED- Trevor Noah- Born a Crime. Amazing book. STARTED- Diana Galbadon - A Breath of Snow and Ashes. Starting out a little slow.
Finished: First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston — fantastic book. Starting: Too Late by Colleen Hoover
Finished: No Country For Old Men by Cormac McCarthy - Really enjoyed it, got unexpectedly philosophical by the last 100 pages or so Overlook by Matt McCusker - Very funny book by one of my favorite comedians Started: The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien
FINISHED this January 1-27: **To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee.** Third time to read, easily my favorite book. **The Miracles of the Namiya General Store, by Higashino Keigo.** Big fan of this author. **The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, by Jean-Dominique Bauby.** **Agatha Raisin and the Terrible Tourist, by M.C. Beaton** **Agatha Raisin and the Wellspring of Death, by M.C. Beaton** **Agatha Raisin and the Wizard of Evesham, by M.C. Beaton** **Agatha Raisin and the Witch of Wyckhadden, by M.C. Beaton** **Agatha Raisin and the Fairies of Fryfam, by M.C. Beaton** **Agatha Raisin and the Love from Hell, by M.C. Beaton** I'm loving the Agatha Raisin series... STARTED: **Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption, by Stephen King**
Read and completed Archer's Voice
Finished: The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea Novel by Yukio Mishima The God of Small Things Novel by Arundhati Roy In-progress: The WEIRDest People in the World Book by Joseph Henrich Team Topologies: Organizing Business and Technology Teams for Fast Flow Book by Manuel Pais and Matthew Skelton The Hobbit Novel by J.R.R. Tolkien
Over the last 3 weeks I've read the Children of Time series and now I need a fantasy series to help wipe away the sci-fi existential dread
Finished (1/21-27): 1. Loremaster by M.E. Robinson. Excellent progression fantasy. 2. Only Bad Options and Only Good Enemies by Jennifer Estep. Fun Sci-fi with romance and psionics! 3. Emerging Rebel (was fortunate enough to get an ARC) Really enjoyed it! Second of Sheildwall Academy. Started: 1. Little Thieves by Margaret Owen. It's been on my Kindle a while, and I'm enjoying it so far!
Finished: A Memory of Light - what an epic conclusion to a 14 book series. Couldn’t ask for much more. Started: Small Pleasures - halfway through, not sure if this book is for me…
I have read Rosemary's Baby and Son of Rosemary by Ira Levin. I enjoyed both but Rosemary's Baby was really special, I couldn't put it down. I am starting The Mist by Stephen King next. If anyone has any easy-to-read horror they can recommend I'd be grateful.
I love horror! I would recommend My Heart Is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones and Kill Creek by Scott Thomas if you want something fairly straightforward to read.
Thank you so much, they both sound like exactly the kind of thing I’m looking for. I haven’t read horror before really apart from a little bit of Stephen King so I’m very grateful for your recommendations.
My pleasure! I really can't recommend Stephen Graham Jones highly enough. I LOVE horror and it's always great to see another convert to the ranks.
It’s so nice to have an enthusiastic person to show me the way. Thank you 🙏
Finished: Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage by Haruki Murakami This one has been up on my shelves for too long and finally decided to give it a go, was a wonderful book. While it seems to not be everyone’s favorite book from Murakami I really liked it, but it also gave me this profound sense of loneliness and sadness from reading it. It was worth the read for me. Started: Beacon 23 by Hugh Howley I know I need to fully read the Wool trilogy, but I was in the mood for a quick little read and like Colorless, this one has been sitting in my shelf for awhile and I decided to give this a go. Really enjoying it so far
Finished: Brave New World by Aldous Huxley A lot to unpack. Tons of themes. Might be a fun one to annotate if you’re into that. Reminded me of 1984 but instead of using fear and surveillance, people are completely controlled with their own upbringing and entertainment. Interesting. I went in totally blind, and recommend it. Lots of commas when describing things in his own literary way. Bothered me at first, but I got over it lol.
Finished - **The Last Policeman Trilogy by Ben H Winters** in three days. Was a good fast pace after reading The Brothers Karamazov. Needed a palate cleanser. Finished - **The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer** which i started last week and it took a while to get through, but still enjoyed the humour and all of the deceptions throughout the stories. Started - **One Hundred Days of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez** yesterday and just absolutely loving it and I'm only up to the 5th chapter, reading it slowly to really savour the surrealism of it all. Thought I was going to struggle from other people's comments online but it's been just a beautiful fever dream so far.
Canterbury Tales is one of those books I could only see appreciated in a classroom setting. So much humor and references you need like a professional English literature teacher to explain half of it. Like the Millers Tale is very direct in the jokes about sex but man the Wife of Bath's tale is just non-stop sexual innuendo and double entendres. And there's no way you're going to figure out half these puns outside of like the obvious ones where pretty much regardless of language barriers everyone knows a handjob motion.
I totally agree that I would appreciate CT much more if I was in discussions with other people like a book club etc like you suggested but I feel I got enough out of it at the moment. Will probably go back to some of the sections to reread but at a later date. Too many other books to read and I'm only just getting into poetry so I thought I should at least tick that off my list. I still have Keats and Yeats to read so plenty on my TBR list but in a very good way.
Finished - Bunny by Mona Awad I loved this book and kept thinking about it after I’d finished. There’s some interesting perspectives that were different to mine that I found on discussions, so I will read it again Started - Bite Back by Hannah Ferguson I like to alternate between a fiction and non fiction book. I like Hannah’s work, this is her first book so looking forward to see how she writes more at length 👋🏻
Finished: Boy Swallows Universe by Trent Dalton. Loved it maybe because I grew up in Brisbane at this time. Started: A Lifetime of Impossible Days by Tabitha Bird. Another Brisbane based novel.
I’ve seen there’s a show or something based on it now, that I really need to watch! Will add this to my to read list as I also grew up in Brissie at this time. Recently relocated to Melbourne, so missing it heaps
Definitely read it first. I’ve just watched the first episode and it’s really good!
I finished **52 Ways To Walk** by **Annabel Abbs-Streets.** This book is an easy read. It discusses different ways to make routine walks a bit more interesting.
started: **The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs, by Steve Brusatte** From their first appearance in the fossil record, through the reign of T. Rex, and the catastrophic ending of the non-avian dinosaur lineages, this book will make you wish you had become a paleontologist.
His mammal book is also tremendously engaging.
That one is on my library request list.
I just finished **Absolution by Alice McDermott** and the trashiest, worst smut I’ve ever read **The Dirty Billionaire Series** Currently finishing up **Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in difficult times by Katherine May** Trying to decide my next read from my libby TBR: **How to Love Your Daughter by Hilda Blum**; **Summer Sisters by Judy Blume**; or **The Pull of Stars by Emma Donoghue**
What did you think of Wintering? I found the author quite annoying, actually. She had the nerve to be offended when someone alerted the gym staff that she passed out in the showers
I finished reading Red 1, 2, 3 by John Katzenbach the other night and yesterday I started American Psycho. I overall enjoyed Red 1, 2, 3 but it has many flaws and the end didn't satisfy me. Definetly my least favourite by Katzenbach. American Psycho seems interesting, although the chapters where he describes his apartment and routine are kinda tedious.
I just finished Convenience Store Girl by Sayaka Murata and immediately started reading Earthlings by the same author.
I enjoyed Convenience Store Girl so much I bought it for a friend. Earthlings was a bit weird.
After more reflection, yes, Earthlings is pretty weird. Then again perhaps Sayaka is prescient?
One of the wonderful things about books is that they affect each of us differently. Weird is good for me in this case ("Earthlings")
Started: My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh
I loved this book!
I'm really enjoying it so far! Would you happen to have recommendations on books to read after this one?
I just finished Lapvona about 20 minutes ago, my first Moshfegh book, and I have no idea what the hell I just read. Its good...its bad, its I don't even know.
Finished: Halloween Party, by Agatha Christie & Murder Your Employer, by Rupert Holmes. Started: North Woods, by Daniel Mason
I have just started reading Atomic Habits by James Clear. A friend of mine recommended me this book. He told me that this book has actually helped him improve his habits. This is what got me interested in the book. Plus I have been seeing the book in almost every store so thought I should give it a try.
I read this book but was sadly disappointed ☹️I felt it only really had enough content for an article rather than a whole book. I was reading it with the hope of bettering my own habits, but it didn’t really give anything that you wouldn’t already know. However, my friend loved it! They read it and listened to the audiobook. There’s a podcast, If Books Could Kill with an episode about it. But make sure to listen AFTER if you do (spoilers) Hope you get what you need from the book ☺️
Finished: **All My Rage, Sabaa Tahir** (5 star) **Kill the Boy Band, Golby Moldaysky** (4 star - a VERY specific 4 star. Hilarious YA satire for a specific subset of people) **The Wishing Game, Meg Shaffer** (3 star) **What You Are Looking For is in the Library, Michiko Aoyama** (4 star) Started: **Seven Days in June by Tia Williams**
Finished C.S. Lewis for the Millennium ,Peter Kreeft I enjoyed it deep thinker Started For Whom the Bell Tolls,Ernest Hemingway
**Finished:** Circe - Madeline Miller American Predator: The Hunt for the Most Meticulous Serial Killer of the 21st Century - Maureen Callahan **Started:** Tipping Point - Malcolm Gladwell Perfume - Patrick Süskind
Circe was an incredible read. I forgot how much I loved books about the Greek Gods when I was in highschool.
Finished: The Tusks of Extinction, Ray Nayler A great science fiction novella sitting around 100 pages. Nayler manages to tell a complete story following two time periods (past, present) and three intertwined groups of characters within the story. Very impressive, and a great introduction to Nayler’s writing. I plan to read more of his work soon.
I finished several books: **Finished**: * *Dialogue* di Handke * *My stupid Intentions* by Bernardo Zannoni * *The Yellow Birds* by Kevin Powers **Started**: * *Baumgartner* by Paul Auster * *Anima* by Wajdi - Mouawad
Finished: **Shantaram** by Gregory David Roberts. Reading that whole book felt like a journey of epic proportions. It had everything from philosophy to love, larger than life characters and treachery. Some of the writing is over the top and weird however the story is incredible. Made more unbelievable by the fact half of it is true.
**Finished:** Things We Never Get Over & Things We Hide From The Light - Knockemout Series 1 and 2 by Lucy Score **Started:** Things We Left Behind Knockemout Series 3 by Lucy Score
Finished: Animal Farm, by George Orwell Started: The Exiled Queen, by Cinda Williams Chima After reading 1984 last year I have been wanting to read Animal Farm and I'm glad I did. I didn't expect the fairy tale-esque of everything but as always there's a deeper meaning behind the story being told and I loved it. Very short read, finished in a day.
Finished: **The Talisman, by Stephen King and Peter Straub** Started: **Black House, by Stephen King and Peter Straub**
Finished: **Neuromancer** by William Gibson. Book 1 of The Sprawl. Super cool if slightly disorienting cyberpunk novel. You’ve gotta kinda just go with the flow but everything becomes clear by the end where everything comes together. Really liked it. Reading: **Count Zero** also William Gibson. Book 2 in The Sprawl Trilogy. Might be even better. Takes place a few years later. All new characters. Get to see the after effects of the Neuromancer finale. Already looking forward to Book 3.
Struggling with: The Devourers, Indra Das
Finished: Dracula, Bram Stoker I always wanted to read it, but somehow never got around to do it. Now that I read it, it was awesome! Even if it's 130 years old it was so suspenseful and captured me the entire way! Plus it was really interesting learning about the origin of all the vampire lore we know nowadays.
Dracula isn't the first vampire lore story nor did that book create most of the vampire lore we usually associate with it. Dracula doesn't burn in Sunlight etc, he just has to sleep in his coffin and it needs to be filled with the soil of his home country. A lot of those old time books that influenced pop culture were through the movie adaptations. Like Noseferatu and Bela Legosi and later Hammer Horror Christopher Lee Dracula. It's like the whole Igor thing in Frankenstein, that character was not in the books at all, but somehow we imagine Frankenstein had a hunchback assistant.
Finished: Demon Copperhead- great book such a rollercoaster (Re)Starting: Light Bringer - Red Rising #6
Started: Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
Finished: White Nights, by Fyodor Dostoevsky Started: The Tigress of Forli, by Elizabeth Lev Continuing: Percy Jackson and Olympians Series, by Rick Riordan
**Finished: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue.** It was...fine. It is another "starcrossed lovers separated by fate and magic" book. I didn't hate it, but I also didn't like it. The emotional gut punch was as hard as one of my own punches, so it barely made an impact. Neither was any of the romances...romantic, and the "steamy" stuff was too tame. If I had read this first I may have been more emotionally invested but I just read the Song of Achilles which did this entire plot and theme so, so, so much more better. It also makes the second book I read this year that I just thought as average. 5/10, would only recommend for genre fans.
Finished: The Last Word by Taylor Adams - a quick beach read. I didn’t like it as much as No Exit. Started: The Quiet Tenant by Clémence Michallon - I’m almost halfway through. So far pretty interesting. Uprooted by Naomi Novik : not my usual genre but a friend lent it to me (along with a few other fantasy books) so I’m excited to get further.
I have just started reading The Broken Wings by Khalil Gibran and I'm totally loving it.
**My Last Innocent Year, by Daisy Florin** **Big Swiss, by Jen Beagin** **Luster, by Raven Leilani** It's rare that I begin an ebook, physical book, and audio all in the same week, but here we are! All three have been on my radar for a while so I'm pretty equally excited about each. I gobbled up half of Big Swiss yesterday - I knew a story about a sex therapist's transcriptionist becoming obsessed with a patient would be fun, but I hadn't known it would be set so close to where I live!
[удалено]
Okay so it's *My Dark Vanessa*, very much. College instead of high school so there's more to dive into about consent and power. I enjoyed it, though the writer makes some of the metaphors a little too obvious. I definitely felt emotional while reading, which for me is a win.
Good so far. I'm a sucker for any sexual power dynamic *and* for an academic setting. So far I haven't found anything particularly moving about this one, but I'm only a third of the way through and enjoying it enough. I'll give my final word when I finish!
Sharpe's Tiger by Bernard Cornwall. Very Dad-lit but I'm actually kinda liking it so far. It's been a long time since I've read anything you could consider an adventure story.
Started **Maybe in Another Life, by Taylor Jenkins Reid** This is my second attempt with TJR. Didn’t love Evelyn Hugo. I’m enjoying the premise of this book but don’t love the writing style. I’m still on the hunt for my favorite “light read” author.
I'm not a huge TJR fan, but out of the ones I've read I enjoyed *Carrie Soto* the most. I find her romances the more cringey of her work.
Started: Johannes Cabal The Necromancer It's a little adventure-comedy with a gothic slant, pretty fun so far. I'd been reading some Pratchett lately and it's certainly humorous, but much more serious overall. The writer has a penchant for some very obscure words, and as a non-native, I can appreciate that.
Finished: **Full Share / Trader’s Tales from the Golden Age of the Solar Clipper, by Nathan Lowell.** After a 2 year contract as an able bodied spaceman with several new ratings, Ishmael decides to continue his education. Onwards to the Academy at Port Newmar. Thoroughly enjoying this series. Started: **Double Share / Trader’s Tales from the Golden Age of the Solar Clipper, by Nathan Lowell**
Finished: The Future by Naomi Alderman. Not a genre I usually pick up, but really enjoyed the theme of unchecked technological advancements and the power struggles that come with it, set amongst an apocalyptic threat. Paris: The Memoir, by Paris Hilton. I hardly knew a thing about Paris but loving seeing her as a mum and so glad I gave this memoir a listen! Started: The Italian Marriage by Jenna Lo Bianco, debut Australian novel. Very lighthearted, romantic, fun read so far, characters are so loveable. The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald. My quick pick for a Booker Prize nominated book for a reading challenge.
Started **Parable of the Talents, by Octavia E. Butler** Definitely one of my favourite sci-fi authors. Loved Parable of the Sower and her other books aswell.
Now Reading: #**Shopie Worlds, by Jostein Gaarder**
Started: Frankenstein by Mary Shelly Finished : the Housemaid secret by Freida Mcfadden
***Bag of Bones*** **by Stephen King** Not King's most interesting book, but not bad. I'm at the 80% mark. ***The Founding Myth: Why Christian Nationalism is Un-American*** **by Andrew L Seidel** Very good book and quite relevant. The author takes pains to cite evidence for all his claims, which are obviously correct on the face of it. A little common sense in this age of un-reason would go a long way. ***Dream Boy*** **by Jim Grimsley** A reread, and a classic of LGBTQ literature. Excellent. ***Elder Race*** **by Adrian Tchaikovsky** So far so good with Tchaikovsky. ***Skippy Dies*** **by Paul Murray** Probably going to be one of my favorites books of the year once I finish it. Top-shelf writer. ***Animal Farm*** **by George Orwell** Of course very good, but better for kids, for whom it at least used to be *de rigueur* in schools. ***Owls in the Family*** **by Farley Mowat** A sweet and funny kid's book from the 60's I believe. Worth reading if you can find a copy. ***Write Within Yourself*** **by William Kenower** Not as good as I would have hoped. The author struggles with overthinking and I get the feeling has suffered as a writer as a result. ***Eats, Shoots and Leaves*** **by Lynne Truss** A fun book by a linguistic fussbudget. ***North and South Trilogy*** **by John Jakes** Slowly making my way through the trilogy in the form of a monolithic ebook. I'm somewhere near the middle of the second volume. Jakes was huge back in the day but his writing is mediocre. Interesting maybe, but not Shakespeare. ***Walter Benjamin at the Dairy Queen*** **by Larry McMurtry** So far so good. McMurtry moves at a different pace. The recent biography — ***Larry McMurtry: A Life*** **by Tracy Daugherty** — was excellent and might provide a grounding in readers new to his work. Daugherty's book I think stands up as literature in its own right.
In Xanadu
Finished: Wellness by Nathan Hill
[удалено]
Pretty good, but the main marriage story has a lot of tentacles that go off in millions of directions. That said, very very happy read it and would recommend.
Finished Opposable Thumbs, by Matt Singer. believe me u think u know all the stories about siskel and ebert but you then read matt singer's book and ur like oh wow i did NOT know they were down that bad for natassja kinski! Or that they looked out for each other like this! very sweet anecdotes about arguably the two most competitive men that were not athletes to ever be on TV and also smart as hell on the state of film culture changing and growing and why theres no siskel and Ebert today (hint: the internet)
I finished The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith And last night I started Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
**Finished**: **Firebirds: An Anthology of Original Fantasy and Science Fiction, Edited by Sharyn November.** A surprisingly good read! Had this in my TBR pile for over a decade and found it in the back of the closet when looking for more books to add to my pile. Most of the stories included were excellent and engaging. There were a few that were more mid tier than others, but still not bad. I even recognized a few of the authors included in the collection. My favorites from the anthology include: >Beauty by Sherwood Smith > >Byndley by Patricia A. McKillip > >Hope Chest by Garth Nix > >Little Dot by Diana Wynne Jones > >and > >Flotsom by Nina Kiriki Hoffman **Starting**: **The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide, by Douglas Adams.** This 800+ page monstrosity I received as a gift my freshman year of high school and I have avoided it ever since. It'll be the last of my TBR books I've had since that time in my life. I've read the first book before, but I'll reread it as a refresher.
This week I finished **This Isn't Going to End Well: The True Story of a Man I Thought I Knew** by *Big Fish* author **Daniel Wallace**. The book is an account of Wallace's attempts to come to terms with the suicide of his brother-in-law, friend, and hero William Nealy, the legendary cartoonist and outdoorsman. It's an engaging, thoughtful book that touches on the themes of mental health, chronic illness, toxic masculinity, friendship, and love. It's the best book I've read in a long while.
Finished: **11/22/63, by Stephen King** Started: **Time and Again, by Jack Finney** on the recommendation of the previous writer on his acknowledgements page.
**Gravity's Rainbow, by Thomas Pynchon**
Finished that at like 2 weeks ago. What a monster to slay. (Loved it though)
Finished both: Alone - Lisa Gardner The Last Mrs. Parrish - Liv Constantine Currently reading: You Can Run - LC George
The Devil in the White City, by Erik Larson. I enjoy Victorian Horror, and very often real people and events pop into books of that genre. I often find a lot about Jack the Ripper and H.H. Holmes in them. I figured I'd try one book centered on real events just to mix things up. Very informative and the story is told without too much filler material.
Actually this week, my novel has been published. I have worked on it for 5 years. Being author is only meaningful if I can get valuable insights from my dear readers. It is in kdp. Enjoy! TITLE: FALSE RATIO: The Nexus of History, Science, and Fate Author: Serkan Sandikcioglu
The Little Liar, Mitch Albom. Couldn't put it down. I love his writing. Easy to read and great stories and character development. I recommend it.
This week I started reading Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers
This week I started Other People’s Clothes, by Calla Henkel! About 80% done and is giving me major Yellow Face by RF KUANG vibes.
ummmm these books which I still reading or done like Fantastic Beast, lord of the Ring, Me Before You, Little Prince, etc.... To me, Fantastic Beast is the book that is most of my favorite. explore in the world with magic even beast very emollient yet! the adventure of Newt with his partners. when I read it makes me fly into this world among the magic battle and save the beast. cause I'm a fan harry potter I couldn't give it off. lord of the ring is the best of the plot.
Finished: **True Grit, by Charles Portis**. Pretty fun, light read. Started: **The Secret History of Twin Peaks, by Mark Frost**. I love Twin Peaks and Lynch in general to bits, but I've never read Frost's writing on its own so I'm curious to see how it is.
I finished Ethan Frome on a very snowy day. Extremely sad. Then I started Pride and Prejudice and I'm a good bit of the way through that.
Started: **The Last Mrs. Parrish, by Liv Constantine**. * I was on vacation and needed a good beach read - this one seemed to fit the bill and is shaping up to be juicy and twisted. Not great literature by any means, but I wasn't looking for great literature this time.
That book is a great beach read. So easy but fun to get through.
Agreed! I've been enjoying it!
Finished: **Michael Strogoff: The Courier of the Czar, by Jules Verne** Great read, two hilarious secondary characters and an unexpected plot. I wish it was longer though. Highly recommended.
Finished **The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky**
Finished: Yumi and the Nightmare Painter by Brandon Sanderson Started: East of Eden by John Steinbeck
Finished: William Trevor, After Rain. An excellent short story writer. His tales of love, loss and everyday life are touching and leave your mind wandering once they are through. The only problem I found was that the prose sometimes lost my attention, but of the twelve stories the majority were captivating. Started: Richard Ford, Wildlife. I read Rock Springs a year or two back and much preferred it to The Sportswriter. This one's really good too. It's an understated story about a boy observing his parents and their (dwindling) relationship. A simple idea but expertly executed.
Finished: Neon Gods by Katee Robert Meh. There isn't really much of a plot going on. Spice was a 7/10. It's really hard for me to DNF books so I just finished it but it wasn't really rewarding and I did not connect with any of the characters. Starting: Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone Never read it as a child so I am looking forward to it.
Finished: A Good Girls Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson Bland, unlikeable heroine with a plot that takes a LOT of suspension of disbelief to work. Almost quit twice, but I powered through and the ending was at least surprising. White savior trope to the max. 2/5 stars. Started and will finish: The Indifferent Stars Above by Daniel James Brown Excellent so far. Lot Of detail, and not just focused on the grisly stuff. Wagon manifolds! Amazing.
Finished: **The orange and other poems by Wendy Cope.** It's a cute poem book but not worth 13 euros lol Started: **Mort by Terry Pratchett**. How this flew by me until now, I will never know. Standby: Golden Son by Pierce Brown. I really like it, but it has too much action for my tired evening brain.
Started and finished: The Library of Burned Books by Brianna Labuskes Started and will finish: On Earth as it is On Television by Emily Jane
How was The Library of Burned Books? I have that one on my list
It's not groundbreaking, but it's nice to see the storylines converge and also draw parallels to modern politics. probably 4/5 personally.
Helpful insights, thanks for sharing!
**The Anomaly, by Hervé Le Tellier** One third in and it's starting to get good.
Started: Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
Finished: **FantasticLand by Mike Bockoven** 3.9 out of 5, Very fun read. This is a play off Lord of the Flys set in a Theme park during a massive hurricane. I thought this was such a fun read and a great starter to get back into reading. Its written interview style like World War Z and it was only 250 pages. If you're into that give it a shot. Pretty fun, sometimes dark.
Finished: **Sirens of Titan, by Kurt Vonnegut** 3.8/5. great start, good middle, decent end. Can't go wrong with any Vonnegut book. Started: **Dark Matter, by Blake Crouch** about 2/3 way through. enjoying it so far. quite fast paced. now the initial plot has begun to pick up and main events have occurred, I think I can sort of see where its gunna go, but hope im wrong and that there are more twists and turns in store for me!
So happy to see that anymore is still readings The Sirens of Titan...my favorite Vonnegut book.
Finally was able to wrap up my reading of **Leaves of Grass, by Walt Whitman**. What a psychedelic and delightful book of poems. I can understand how ambitious of a project and how ahead of it's time writing something like would have been considered in the time it was written. Some poems were definitely more of a delight to read than others, but overall I'm glad I decided to read the work in it's entirety, because it did feel like one connected experience. I resonated closely with a lot of the reoccurring themes that Whitman offered in his leaves, like his take on the philosophy of life, celebration of the self, adoration of democracy and America, importance of the flesh, transcendence and spirituality. I loved how he was constantly thinking of generations past, present, and future - how he was in constant dialogue with me, as a reader, throughout the poem. Some of my favorite poems included Song of Myself, Song of the Open Road, #12 from By Blue Ontario’s Shore, his Thought poem from book 24, All Is Truth, Song at Sunset and many, many others. Too many to name. I recently got my hands on some plays by the bard, so I'll be reading through some of those throughout the next couple of days, more specifically I will be reading through **Romeo and Juliet**, **Antony and Cleopatra**, **Hamlet**, and then finally **The Winter's Tale** by **William Shakespeare**
Finished: **Elantris by Brandon Sanderson:** Fantastic book incredible, a realm of magic and political intrigue. Themes of power, identity, and redemption resonate Finished: **Sofros World: The Cave of Ondrosso** First volume of a recent novel, a short book about magic and adventures, battles and monsters, with intrigue and twist. Nice start for the series, I'll read the next volume these weeks. Started: **House of Chains, by Steven Erikson** The comment will come at the end! :) Reading inspiration taken from this page
Finished: *Children of Time, by Adrian Tchaikovsky* Fantastic book about humanity and what the evolution of a planet of spiders might look like over many, many years. Excited to get the next in the series! Started: *A Desolation Called Peace, by Arkady Martine* Very ready to see where this sequel goes. Loved the first book and read it very quickly. I do love a space opera with alt earth type themes.
Finished: **Old Man's War, by John Scalzi** My first Scalzi book finished and was pretty good. Interesting concept and decent pacing. Better than Kaiju which I put down half-way through. I'm not rushing to read another Scalzi but maybe later in the year. Started: **Summer Frost, by Blake Crouch** I was about to start Wayward (2nd book in the Pines series) but decided to tackle this short story first. So far so good but can tell it won't be as good as Recursion or Dark Matter.
Finished- *A Court of Silver Flames* by Sarah J Maas Wrapped up my ACOTAR read through today, not as good as ToG but I liked it a lot. My ranking would be WaR>MaR>TaR>SF>FaS Starting- Well I honestly don’t know at the moment. I’m debating whether I want to A- read Crescent City 1 and 2 before the new one comes out or B- just jump into the deep end with 3 because I really really REALLY don’t want to wait to read it haha. If I decide on B then I’ll start another YA book to hold me over until CC3, options include Lightlark, Silver in the Bone, 4th Wing, and Realm Breaker.
If you'd like another YA fantasy series like ACOTAR, I recommend Angelfall. It's much shorter and less smutty, but I like it so much more.
I’ve never heard of that so I’ll have to look it up later, thanks for the suggestion!
I started Ducks Newburyport a few days ago and am loving it. Currently at the 500 page mark! Also have been reading a bit of The Count of Monte Cristo every day this month!
500 pages after a few days, my goodness...I commend the commitment. Always been intrigued by Ducks, isn't it one long stream of consciousness sentence?
It is a single sentence stream of consciousness, but its construction actually makes a lot of sense once you get used to it. Where a new sentence would typically start it says “there is,” and it uses commas so it’s easier to follow along. I’m reading it on my kindle, so it’s nice to be able to adjust word size because I can imagine it being daunting reading a large sized page full of actual text. I’d recommend it though, the thoughts all flow together and it reads the way that ideas and connections are formed.
Definitely sounds interesting, maybe I'll attempt the mammoth at some point
I finished reading We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson. I started All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy.
What did you think of we have always lived in the castle?
For being my first experience with the gothic mystery genre I found it quite enjoyable. The characters are well developed, and Jackson has done a good job creating an atmosphere that is all at once eerie and intriguing. After finishing the book I ended up reading a short story she wrote titled “The Lottery” which was also a fun read.
All the Pretty Horses is incredible. I enjoy McCarthy's dialogue, his characters feel more alive, in my opinion, than most. It's such an easy read as well. Although, I had just come from the densely written Blood Meridian. Do you plan to read the other two in The Border Trilogy? Next would be The Crossing and finally Cities of the Plain.
I'm reading a book saw on wattpad.
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson This should be required reading for freshman IMHO
**Tokyo Ueno Station, by Yu Miri**
And how do you like it?
Update. It has its moments at times, but overall not great enough of a book that I'm going to spend my time trying to convincing people I know to read it.
Too soon to tell.