Reading Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi. It, and couple of others, were recommended here recently, and is somewhat of a new genre for me, memoir / biography in graphic novel format, graphic memoir?
Got the omnibus edition, “The Complete Persepolis”, it’s a pretty interesting read. It’s about young girl in Iran during the Islamic Revolution of 1979, at least the first volume, after that it’s about her life after that.
What about all of you? What have you been reading or listening to lately?
For details on the c/Books bingo challenge that just restarted for the year, you can checkout the initial Book Bingo, and its Recommendation Post. Links are also present in our community sidebar.
Just started Washington At The Plow, a book about Washington’s life as a farmer and his thinking on the subject, very promising so far!
I finished up “The End of Eternity” and have moved back to a SW book. The next is a short story collection, “Tales of the Bounty Hunters”. Five stories about various bounty hunters a few years after Aldeeran was vanished.
Next will be “The Bicentenial Man” by Isaac Asimov, it’s been made into a major motion picture.
o7 Robyn Williams.
I finished Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wistwell and really enjoyed it. It was very cozy and won a Hugo go so I’ve got some options for where to put it for Bingo, now I’m moving to a House of Frank by Kay Synclaire I think (alternatively The Ogress and the Orphans by Kelly Barnhill, both have orange aspects of the cover).
Finished “this inevitable ruin” by Matt Dinniman. Didn’t have a lot of time to read recently, but finished the last third of it on Monday. I liked it a lot, I was kind of bummed out on this series earlier this year after finishing “The Butcher’s Masquerade”, which felt to long and dragging.
Just started reading “Salvager: A Military Science Fiction Adventure” by Scott Moon. I’m three chapters in, and it’s okay so far, but a bit early to have a feel for it yet.
I’m currently reading ‘The wind in the willows’ which I should finish later today.
Next on my list is ‘The road’ by Jack London, an autobiography of the author’s life as a homeless person in the early part of the 20th century.
I just received Rising Up and Rising Down: Some Thoughts on Violence, Freedom and Urgent Means by William T. Vollmann in the mail this morning. It’s the abridged version of his seven volume series. I’ve been wanting to read Vollmann for a few months. With the world in the state that it’s in it seemed like a good choice to start with. I’m looking forward to reading it.
Just gave up on the latest Dan Brown novel. Really bad. Starting to wonder if it was written by a ghostwriter or AI. Life is too short and there are too many other good books to waste time finishing a bad one.
that sounds right, Dan Brown is a bit of a hack, or at least that’s what I’ve heard - he’s commercially successful, though!
EDIT: I’ve seen Umberto Eco recommended as a Dan Brown alternative, I reallt enjoyed Name of the Rose but I think Foucault’s Pendulum is usually recommended for Dan Brown fans who want something better.
It’s Banned Books Week, so I downloaded a pdf of The Turner Diaries. I’m told this book is considered inspirational by those who think having a race war would be fun and glorious. It might also be of interest to non-racists with morbid curiosity about White Nationalist ideology. Otherwise, I do not recommend it for its literary value. I read this so you don’t have to.
Holy moly I just read the plot summary. Please be sure to take reading breaks from that one cauuuuse yikes
Thanks for the sacrifice!
I just finished reading “Final Lap” by Jessica Alter. Really fun upbeat hope punk sort of book. I liked it quite a lot.
I’m listening to A Night in the Lonesome October. And I just added a Star Trek book to my DNF list. Not a terribly bad story, just not the one I thought it was.
Which Star Trek book was that?
The one I started was Star Trek Movie Tie In by Alan Dean Foster. The one I wanted was the Motion Picture novel by Roddenberry.
Ah okay. Thanks for the info.
I’m reading The Worm and His Kings by Hailey Piper, and then (hopefully) starting All of Us Murderers by K.J. Charles, which came out today.
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Finished Hemlock & Silver by T. Kingfisher (fantasy with mild horror elements) | bingo: folklore, new, steppin’ up HM
This was billed as a retelling of Snow White, but while it certainly uses elements from that story, it’s mostly its own thing. If you like T. Kingfisher’s other fantasy/fairy tale stuff, you’ll probably like this, too.
And if someone hasn’t read any T. Kingfisher book, which one would you recommend they start with?
I’ve only read a few of her books, so that’s probably a better question for @[email protected], honestly. I started with Nettle & Bone, though, which is probably as good a place as any. One note: her MCs seem to generally all have a very similar “plucky heroine” kind of voice, which may affect how well her horror novels work for you, if you’re thinking of starting there (I’m not a fan, but I do still have What Moves the Dead on my TBR pile).
Thanks for summoning him. Will try Nettle & Bone.
I did specifically like the MC for Nettle and Bone because while she was plucky heroine, she was also like … pragmatic middle aged woman which I like and don’t feel is quite so common.
Edit to add: I went ahead and looked it up. She’s maybe not quite middle aged being 30, but she feels at least more mature than lots of MCs.
Pragmatic middle aged woman as heroine in fantasy? What is happening here!?
True! Agreed. Hemlock & Silver’s MC is also pragmatic and middle-aged, btw, which is nice.
I’d start with the World of the White Rat. There are a couple connected books that all exist in the larger world but while they are internally referential occasionally, they aren’t all sequels. My first was Paladin’s Grace, and I find that to be a great start. I don’t know if I’d call it romantasy, but it is definitely a fantasy with a romance sub plot that is important to the whole story. The big picture for that particular series is: “What do you do if you’re Paladin for a god that dies and how do you cope?”
If you want to try something that’s a one off, Nettle & Bone is good.
If you want a short story, A Wizards Guide to Defensive Baking
Thanks, I think I’ll try with Nettle & Bone first, but will pick up World of the White Rat if that isn’t available.
Just as an aside “World of the White Rat” is kind of the overarching term for the interconnected books. The series are Clocktaur War duology, Swordheart (eventually to become a trilogy, but works as a standalone), and the Saint of Steel (the paladins I mentioned) series.
Yeah, I looked it up.
I have ordered Nettle & Bone for now, will decide about the others after that.
I started reading If We Burn: The Mass Protest Decade and the Missing Revolution by Vincent Bevins. Given what’s happening around the world in Indonesia, Nepal and others, it feels like we’re in the sequel to the Arab Spring and I want to “catch up on the prequel” so to speak.
Just finished System Collapse by Martha Wells (book seven in the Murderbot series). I liked all the books in this series, and they are an easy recommend!
Currently reading How to be Perfect by Michael Schur and Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann.
How to be Perfect is a good intro to ethics written by the creator of The Good Place. If you’re interested in learning about ethics and don’t know where to start I’d recommend it.
I’m only a couple chapters into Three Bags Full, so I don’t have much to say yet. The premise is a flock of sheep solving the murder of their herder. It’s enjoyable so far.
I’ll second How to be Perfect. A really good introduction to ethical philosophy, and if you get the Audiobook there are a lot of fun cameos.
How to be Perfect is great.
Heh, nice name.
Three Bags Full sounds interesting, would love to hear your opinion after you have finished it.
Just finished Looking Glass Sound by Catriona Ward. Her books are always very twisty and I love them.
Now rereading The Damnation Game by Clive Barker. I remember it has some delightfully disturbing body horror, but cant remember anything about the story.
Also reading Ultra-Processed People by Chris van Tulleken, all about the current science on ultra-processed foods. Highly recommend.
Ultra-Processed People has been on my wishlist for a while, but completely forgot about that. Will check if they have a copy on my next visit to bookshop. Thanks for the recommendation!
I just finished up Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune. I know this was a deeply personal book for him, but it feels like one of his weaker ones. I started Three Kinds of Lucky by Kim Harrison, and it’s got the interesting premise of what to do with magical waste.
