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What are you reading these days?
What are you reading currently? Fiction or non-fiction or poetry, any genre, any language! Tell us what you're reading, and talk about it a bit.
What are you reading currently? Fiction or non-fiction or poetry, any genre, any language! Tell us what you're reading, and talk about it a bit.
I've surprised myself by getting into "Cozy Fantasy". That is to say, Fantasy or scifi books that don't really have a lot of dire conflict, and are mostly about the relationships between a bunch of characters.
For example "Legends & Lattes" about an Orc warrior that retires to start a coffee shop. Or "The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet" about the crew of a long haul space ship.
I read both on a whim and absolutely loved them.
Cozy fantasy is very nice! I recommend The Spellshop and The Enchanted Greenhouse by Sarah Beth Durst if you're looking for more! (The Enchanted Greenhouse takes place in snowy winter and it's very much a "curl up with hot chocolate by the fire" kind of read. The Spellshop is, too, but it's more summery.)
Thank you for this!
I have long but really slow work days, "cozy fantasy" is a perfect genre to listen to while still keeping part of my brain on "prepared to jump in when needed"-mode.
"The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet" is really cozy!
Cozy fantasy is the genre I didn't know I needed. I've never read something of this subgenre that I can recall, but I immediately know the exact vibe and feel a book of this type would have. I think I'm going to check out your first recommendation and go from there.
I haven’t read that Becky Chamber’s novel, but Monk and Robot is a fantastic little cozy read if you haven’t already
The wayfarers is a really lovely anthology series that has more plot, less philosophy compared to Monk and Robot but very similar vibes.
I love both (and Chambers is writing again!)
Currently reading Cormac McCarthy's 'Blood Meridian'. I've previously read 'The Road' and 'All The Pretty Horses' and didn't really think much of either of them, sure, better than most things being written by a (at the time) living author but still not comparable to the literature of the past. Saw that 'Blood Meridian' kept being called his Masterpiece and that it was a relatively difficult read. I'm almost done the book now and while the very minimal punctuation is a neat concept I haven't found the book 'difficult' to read at all. The language is absolutely beautiful and dense, reminds me a little bit of Moby Dick (in reality, not even comparable) but it has that feel.
The novel is very violent and dark, but not gratuitously so? I've very much enjoyed the character of The Judge and wish we could have heard more from him throughout the book. Definitely the best book of his I have read so far, but I think it is still missing something for me, maybe he needs to spend more time in the characters heads? What is The Judge thinking? What is The Kid thinking as this violence envelops him? Not a lot of reflection going on here, maybe that's some of the point. The violence is presented as indifferent and constant, as if the violence is as common to life as breathing and it is done without thought or reason. I haven't really processed the book too much yet, going to have to think about this one more when finished. 8/10.
Im a fan of McCarthy, having read "The Road", "Blood Meridian", "The Passenger", and am now starting "All The Pretty Horses." Its been about ten years since I read it in highschool, but I definitely think that the lack of internal monologue in Blood Meridian is intentional. Mostly to keep you on edge and not exactly comfortable or rooting for any of the characters barring maybe the Kid as the focal point character. And partly because I think McCarthy's characters tend to speak through their actions more than anything else. We dont get to know these people on an internal level, so it puts the onus more on us to suss out their values, intentions etc. Its down to interpretation and your personal values and beliefs to inform you on characters. I can definitely see this being a con to some, but its something I really love about his books.
Something I love about McCarthy's dialogue is how odd and specific the subjects of conversation are, and especially how much is always left unsaid. A recent example that springs to mind is the conversation between the father and son at the start of All The Pretty Horses, where its dripping with words left unsaid and a conversation dancing around the true subject. In the end, the dad is unable to communicate sincerely, and shares a gambling anecdote instead. There is something so real and sad about this moment. I feel like most of us can relate or are close to someone who can, as a failure to communicate is all to common. Its like McCarthy plucks stories of people from real life and puts them on the page, in a prose both flowery in vocabulary and brutalist in tone.
But this feeling is most prevalent, in my experience, in the Passenger. It was one of the last books he wrote before he died, with a sister book releasing shortly after. I haven't read the sister book yet, but the passenger was a great blend of conspiratorial mystery and the hyper specific conversations I love. There is just something so Real about the way he writes them. Its impressive how defined the voice of each character is, often carrying pages of conversation without ever telling you " ___ said, ___ exclaimed." Most often you just know intuitively who is talking. The main character and the choices they make, the consuqences of those choices, the relationships they have with their sister and family, all are bizarre and tragic.
Its a really good read, highly recommend you give it a shot when you next have the energy for one of his books. Would love to hear your thoughts on Blood Meridian when you have had time to process. The plan is to read the border trilogy and then circle back to Blood Meridian for a proper reread.
Blood Meridian is without a doubt a masterpiece. There are some books I finish and don't really think much about, others I think about a lot over long periods of time. I've been thinking a lot about Blood Meridian over the last few days since I finished it. It's actually not that I'm thinking about the book as a whole too much, I'm thinking a lot about The Judge.
Some mythic Nietzschean Ubermensch living Beyond Good and Evil... and a fabulous dancer, what a character! I would have liked more of the judge but maybe that also would have spoiled it, maybe things like that are best left for Dostoevsky. Outside the judge I don't think the book is that strong, maybe I wish there was more than just the violence to ponder over?
I really enjoyed McCarthy's use of language, a dictionary is required for sure. 8/10 based on how great a character the judge is and how good the writing is. I need to think and read about this one a bunch more.
I will admit, I have not read much classic literature. Im in my mid twenties, so by the time I would be reading them in highshool, the curriculum had opted for slightly more contemporary literature (Night, 1984, The Things They Carried, Things Fall Apart, The Road, In Cold Blood etc.), but even in my AP classes, we never touched anything near russian literature or Moby Dick. Honestly, McCarthy is probably the closest thing to that level that I read.
Digression aside, its been just shy of a decade since I read blood meridian, so forgive any mistakes here. I remember interesting commentary on the US Military and their relationship with the Natives on the land. A lot of the group the Kid travels with is or was military, and it might be that I was reading "The Things they Carried" and "All Quiet on the Western Front" around the same time for school, but I found the depiction of the other members of the group and that aspect of their characters very fascinating. Seeing different depictions of the military in differnt historical eras, but seeing the same rot and callousness of the military on the display in all of them. I could see lumping this in with violence in terms of pondering, however. And it might be something that is largely personal to my own experience and not really supported in the text.
I do agree the Judge was by far the best part of the book. His description is one that immediately produced haunting visual imagery that has stuck with me to this day. He has an otherworldy presence throughout the book, silver tongued and manipulative to everyone around him with unsettling ease. He has stuck with me as one of my favorite antagonists in literature.
I think your last sentence is something I feel with all of his books I have read so far. They really inspire me to analyze them deeper and I often keep thinking about them long after i finished reading. I still think about moments and the themes from the Passenger frequently, despite having finished the book years ago. I have even been considering doing what is essentially a book report for the Border Trilogy, assuming i find enough there to write about.
Checkout what Harold Bloom had to say about Blood Meridian. To have him gush about so modern of a work is really rare and he is definitely worth listening to about anything related to literature.
i decided to read Blood Meridian again, thanks to you! I love this book so much. I might grep a list of every -wise word, too.
I'm still thinking about it. Definitely a book that sticks with you and keeps you thinking. Masterpiece.
yeah, I love it. This is my third go-around. I might just read it every year.
also, 'coastwise, flatwise, crabwise, endwise, sunwise, tailorwise, planewise, sheetwise, quarterwise' :)
I just started reading "Rockets and People" by Boris Chertok. It's a recounting of his life as an aerospace engineer in the soviet union starting from when he was born in 1912. While it's interesting for what it says about the development of aerospace, it's also informative in what goes on in the background (i.e. October revolution, death of Lenin, stalin's purges, WW2, etc.). It is incredibly detailed, being a series of 4 books, which is a bit intimidating. NASA funded a translation and host free to download pdfs online as well, which is very nice.
Would recommend for anyone interested in USSR or aerospace history!
I'm almost finished with Born a Crime: Stories from a South African childhood by Trevor Noah, and it's an amazing autobiographical look at how universal the symptoms of poverty are as well as the unique conditions of South Africa in the last years of Apartheid and the culture following its collapse. It's hilarious and tragic at the same time, and I can't believe there hasn't been a movie adapted from it yet. I would recommend this book to anyone, and for people who came from unforgiving circumstances I would consider it a must-read.
Born a Crime was Tildes Book Club selection for February, earlier this year. So once you finish it you might be interested in the Tildes Book Club discussion on it. Feel free to join in the discussion too, BTW. On Tildes, even older topics like that one can be revitalized with new comments being made in them, thanks to Activity Sort.
That's good to know, thank you so much! I think I was reading Lonesome Dove at the time and hadn't even noticed that in my feed, I definitely missed out that month!
We just voted on a new schedule. If you want to see it, you can. If you would like to be notified of what the book club is doing, that can also be arranged.
Just found the schedule, thank you for letting me know! I will definitely be making an effort to keep up with at least part of the calendar, as there are several titles in there I have been looking forward to reading, or have heard opinions on but have yet to have read for myself.
I'm currently reading The Moon is a harsh mistress.
I read it for the man and the super computer, but got a book about revolution instead. I'm enjoying it so far.
The world building is especially good. Luna does feel lived in.
A Beginner's Guide to Targeted Cancer Treatments by Elaine Vickers: https://www.wiley.com/en-dk/A+Beginner's+Guide+to+Targeted+Cancer+Treatments+and+Cancer+Immunotherapy%2C+2nd+Edition-p-9781119834083. I’m trying to find a way to work in the field and focus on designing immunotherapies.
Currently reading: Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry, about a third of the way in. It strikes me as similar to The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo but make it a romance. I'm hoping it gets better, feels very meh right now. I like everybody but the main characters, lol. Also listening to Dune Messiah, only at about 15%, taking a break from that while sick because I don't enjoy having headphones on currently. Same story with A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge, which I'm listening to with my partner for our September library book club.
Next up is Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver, Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo, and... I don't know, after that, maybe I'll finally read something from my own bookshelf instead of the library!
Just finished: Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut for tildes book club. I didn't like the irreverent tone and it made it hard for me to want to keep reading the book. The Songbird and the Heart of Stone by Carissa Broadbent. This was the first book of Carissa's that really flopped for me. I found it way too underdeveloped despite it being almost 500 pages. Just before that, I listened to The Heart Forger by Rin Chupeco, which is the second book in a trilogy. I found the first one really frustrating because there are two timelines being told in an alternating fashion, with the one that occurred earlier not actually providing much context for what's happening in present day - and the earlier timeline didn't end at the beginning of the present day timeline in either book, so there's a big chunk of context missing from both books. Some people love it. I hate it. I wish it had just been told in a linear fashion. But now I've read two books so I guess I'll read the third to see how they tie it all together.
I'm just finishing At the feet of the sun, the sequel to hands of the emperor.
I'm reading Pillars of the earth.
I'm finishing Cats cradle for Tildes book club.
I started a biography of columnist Molly ivins rest in peace.
I just started Dungeon Crawler Carl the other day and am about 10 chapters in - it's incredibly fun! Highly recommend.
For anyone who hasn't heard of it, it's a LitRPG. The main character gets dropped into a multi-level dungeon and has to make his way down the "levels" of the dungeon. He himself levels up as he fights mobs, similar to an RPG, gets loot, etc.
There are overarching themes of fighting fascist governments. I've heard it described as a cross between Ready Player One, The Lord of the Rings, and Star Wars: Andor. It's a full series, slated for 10 books - I think there are seven out now? I think there's also a TV show in the works.
Finished Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott yesterday and started re-reading George Saunder's Civilwarland in Bad Decline again today.
Bird by Bird is a great book for (aspiring) writers, especially if you're of the neurodivergent kind. Unlike other craft books, it's actually funny and real. Ms. Lamott has a real way for comforting neurotic, anxious writers and inspiring them and if you're someone who's trying to write, I highly suggest it. More so than something like Stephen King's "On Writing" (not that there's anything wrong with that one).
That doesn't happen often, but finishing The Empty Mirror: Experiences in a Japanese Zen Monastery felt like losing a friend. It is the real story of a Westerner who drops unannounced at a Zen monastery in Japan looking for instruction. I believe it takes place in the 1950s or 1960s, I can't remember right now.
I assume the events in this book were fictionalized to some extent, but at its core, it felt very real. Unlike most books about Zen this one is very practical. There is some speculation, but it is all rooted in actual practices and events. Because of that, it speaks to me on a deeper level. We are not spared from the day-to-day details. In fact, those are the best bits. I love how the author's metaphysical expectations relate to very mundane things.
This is an enjoyable book partly because it feels like you are doing something too, as if the author's struggles were our own. That is, of course, a lie. I can't even begin to imagine how tough it was to endure such rigorous training. The ending is just a point in time at which the book stopped being written. You feel like you're missing some kind of solace or resolution. It is appropriately very Zen.
This is one of the best books I have ever read.
Unfortunately, the author's next book, about his experiences at a Zen community in the US, is not easily available as an ebook. Only PDF. And importing it is prohibitively expensive.
My reading has fallen off a cliff due to my dog's surgery/recovery changing up my habits and making it harder to focus. I just today finished the book I started 2 weeks ago: The Hobbit. It was OK. A nice enough pleasant read but nothing I found especially interesting or enjoyable. If it weren't for it being so famous I don't think I'd especially remember much about it a year from now. I feel bad for Smaug, it's one of those stories where the protagonists feel like the real bad guys.
I also started Stephen King's On Writing. Got past the first autobiographical section to where he discourages adverbs. I've had much less capacity to write than read since then so that's been on pause.
I'm not sure what I'll read next. I'll probably be better able to get some reading in this weekend. I got a copy of that new The Stand anthology that feels very tempting but 800 pages feels a tad intimidating given it just took me 2 weeks to do 300 pages.
I'm also due to get some alpha feedback on that thing I've been writing. So maybe I'll just read my draft again.
Edit: eventually decided on Boomsday. I forget where I read someone recommending that, maybe on here?
Would you mind sharing your thoughts on Smaug as a character vs the dwarves + Bilbo?
The Hobbit is my comfort read book and probably one of the books I've read the most over the years and I don't think I've read someone mentioning feeling that way about the plot
I mean Smaug certainly wasn't blameless but for what we actually see in the book he just acted out in anger after a bunch of murderous thieves broke into his home.
You wake up in the middle of the night to a strange draft and realize someone cut a hole into your bedroom. You discover the home intruders responsible are hiding in your crawlspace and realize they're trying to steal your valuables. You can't quite reach where they're hiding and you live in the middle of nowhere so you can't just call the police. You catch one of them sneaking out of the crawlspace back into your bedroom and, in between mocking you, he drops that one of your neighbors (that you've been feuding with forever) was involved. Rage overrides your better senses and you go over to that neighbor's house, leaving the burglars to continue robbing you. At your neighbor's house you get in a fight with their large family and cause some damage as they're pelting you with sticks and stones. Eventually one of them eventually hits you in an old wound and you drop dead.
What you don't know is the people behind your break-in is a gang of the descendants of the previous owners of your house who you evicted many many years ago. They believe their historic grievance gives them more right to your house than you, its long-standing resident. The burglar they hired (with a promise of a fraction of your possessions) stole even his robbery tool from your neighbor down the street! They always hoped to murder you in your sleep so they could steal not only all your possessions but your home itself; they waste no time before claiming possession upon realizing you're dead. And as your body grows cold they cause a fucking "race war" between all your neighbors.
Thanks for sharing! That is an interesting reading of the story, and I appreciate you taking the time to type it out. I found your break-down of the events humorous, and got a chuckle at the characterization of Smaug burning down Lake Town as a form of heated dispute with his neighbors. It made me picture a nigh invulnerable person having a yelling match with their neighbor down the road while ignoring all the people who are throwing stuff at him until someone throws a rock that hits the tiny square millimeter of vulnerable skin on his chest, and he just collapses.
Imagine the posts on Nextdoor.
"Some weird guy knocked on my door and tricked me out of my jewelry! I think he might've been a scammer? I'm elderly, and he was gone before I even knew what happened! Everyone WATCH OUT!"
"That guy came to my house, too! He was all smooth talk, but he never let me get a good look at him, and my cameras didn't catch him, either! I woke up with him lurking IN MY BEDROOM! I ran out of the house to my other neighbors' place, but they shot at me! What is wrong with people!? This neighborhood has gotten so dangerous, not like it used to be!"
"Why didn't you lock your doors? I guess common sense ain't so common anymore. It's your own fault!"
"Hail damage? Get your FREE roof estimate TODAY!"
It's been a while and some books since I read the Hobbit, but as far as my recollection goes that seems like very much adopting Smaugs narrative beyond the actual facts?
Wouldn't the actual analogy be:
You went on a murder-pillage spree across an entire town (to keep the "out in the middle of nowhere paradigm you used, despite my initial instinct being an entire block). Killed or sent away everybody living there, some of them resettling nearby and others going to exile far away. And you did keep the stuff from all of them obviously.
And then the descendant(s) of the dude whose house you took up residence in with your loot hire a "professional" to take a particular item back from you. Upon realizing that they stopped by the close community of descendants of those aggrieved by you you fly into a murderous rage and go burn down their second village as well (giving a real huffing and puffing wolf energy). You get killed through luck/skill by those victim-descended victims.
At which point there does somewhat erupt a race-war, because everyone you stole from wants their shit back except the (descendant of the) dude whose house you put your stash considers all its contents to be his.
I mean, yeah, Thorin's a right bastard there and could have avoided that mess by handing over a rightful amount of gold from the start. But also, he didn't steal all that gold.
E: Even if you argue regarding only what we see in the book, I don't recall Smaug having a different narrative of how he got that gold and mountain, so there's no reason to consider Thorin's background statements to be disputed.
Your comment made me think about how Smaug did probably plunder Dale as well as Erebor which would also entitle some of people living in Lake Town a portion of those riches beyond what was promised them for assisting Thorin and co.
I might be mistaken, but I vaguely have that in memory as being explicitly stated as such - that yes the Dalefolk say outright some of that gold in there is actually ours taken by the dragon just as yours was.
Just finished Shattered Sword, and am planning to start reading Black Shoe Carrier Admiral.
So I guess books that re-examine major parts of the Pacific War which were incorrectly analyzed by earlier historians.
Shattered Sword is especially impressive, considering that practically every English language history of the battle, if it was written before Shattered Sword, is entirely incorrect. The story of how the authors figured out what actually happened and were able to correct a lie which had stood unchallenged for almost 80 years is honestly more interesting than anything that happened in 1942.
Currently about 75% of the way through The Man in the Rubber Mask by Robert Llewelyn. It's pretty light fare that won't really interest anyone except fans of Red Dwarf.
I read The Bones of Birka. It's a history of the Birka grave Bj 581, which is a grave in Sweden that was first discovered in 1878 and assumed to be a high status male warrior until somewhat recently, where the remains were instead discovered to be that of a woman. I did actually already know a fair bit about the site itself and the recent findings, but I lacked some of the historical knowledge of the site and the methodology of uncovering a grave like this and how the knowledge of the person within can evolve over 150 years. It's a short and informative read if you want an interesting subject to learn about for an afternoon or two.
Interestingly, the author, C. M. Surrisi, notes in the acknowledgements that she was inspired to write this book after attending a lecture given by Charlotte Hedenstierna-Jonson and Neil Price in 2019 at the American Swedish Institute in Minneapolis... I was actually at that very same lecture! At the time, I was in a viking reenactment group and we were booked as entertainment for the night. The institute had an exhibit with a bunch of historical artifacts, then there was the lecture, then our group was telling stories and talking about lifestyle, and there was some other stuff going on. I actually entirely forgot that I attended that lecture and performed there until I picked this book up, so there's a chance the author might have heard me telling stories as well, ha.
Currently reading Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantell, about a third of the way through. I knew little about Thomas Cromwell before starting it and am very much enjoying the rich layers of history and character study. However, the writing style is very unique, and I’m not sure I’m fully convinced by it, though I do think it’s growing on me. People complain most often about the “he” thing. For the those who haven’t read, Mantell uses the pronoun “he” relentlessly, where it would be much more natural and useful to use the character in questions name. However once you understand that all ambiguous “he’s” likely refer to Cromwell himself, the problem is more or less solved, and you can begin to appreciate the voyeuristic intimate tone they help to convey. It is also written in the present tense which I tend to find quite jarring, and has a tempo can sometimes feel erratic as we jump between scenes from sentence to sentence. And yet, it works. I think this is because it is done with total intentionality and confidence. Mantell knows what she’s doing and honestly I’m enjoying the ride.
I finally finished 1Q84 - Part 3 by Haruki Murakami.
I must say that I felt it dragged on for a while in the middle part. Then again, when I think about what could have been taken away, I'm not so sure. Every line of the story made sense and needed to be there.
Spoilers ahead
Maybe only the part where Tengo ends up in bed with one of the nurses of his fathers nursing home. This felt a bit out of place. Then again, there is another tie in with the murder of Aomames friend, Tengos mother and the attempt on the nurses life. I feel that these are connected, they should be connected.On the other hand, Haruki Murakami has Aomame directly call out Chekhov's gun and how the principle is subverted in this story. So maybe the strangling murders have no connection at all.
I have to say that I liked the ending very much. There was a drastic episode of violence, which was an interesting counterpoint to the rest of the rather slow moving story of two lovers searching each other.
And how Tengo and Aomame finally meet was so beautifully written that I got goosebumps while reading this part.
With this book finished, I'm now moving on to Verzweiflungen (Despairs) by Heike Geißler. I'm already 40 pages in and I have to say that there were some really sobering takes, but also some very funny ones. Let's see where it takes me.
Hey @fazit,
I just started Part 3 two days ago. I'm a pretty slow reader, sorry. Thanks for using the spoiler feature. I will have to circle back and read your comment fully when I finish.
I haven't heard of Heike Geißler. Will look her up.
No need to be sorry, this is not a contest :D enjoy the journey!
Not sure if Geißler is necessarily up your alley, frankly it is quite different to the Murakami books, it is just the next book I had on my "to-read" list.
I just reached book 4 of the Dagger and Coin series by Daniel Abraham. I am listening to the audio book version, which I can only do when commuting before work... and I find myself often taking extra long routes just to get more time to listen. The series started fairly slow in my opinion. I was a little frustrated with all of the disjointed POV character stories in the first book. But after everything tied together, it just keeps getting better and I can't stop. The only issue I have now is with the Clara chapters, which just seem a little too anticlimactic compared to the other POV characters. It's just hard to transition from epic journeys to assassinate the spider goddess to family/court lady political drama.
Once I finish this one I have no idea which series I will tackle next.
The Technological Society by Jacques Ellul. It tries to explain the role of technique in every aspect of the society. Here's a byte of what he means by technological society from on of his interviews: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2ZDZya3fS0