What are you reading these days?

I just finished reading the fourth book in the Grand Illusion series by L. E. Modesitt, titled Legalist. It was okay, but took a little detour from the main series. I'm looking forward to finishing it with the fifth book.

Now, I'm reading how to be an epicurean by Catherine Wilson. I'm only through part one at the moment, so not much to comment on.

What I'm really looking forward to is the next book in the Ana and Din mystery series. It's been a fantastic series so far.

I mostly read horror, but I started Demon Copperhead this morning on my best friend's recommendation because she knows how much I liked East Of Eden. They have very similar vibes. I'm enjoying it so far.

I finished All The Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy. I overall liked it but I did think it was slow throughout the middle. I think it’s fascinating how McCarthy can wax on poetically about the setting and then when a character dies he states it in a short sentence. I’ve heard that’s how Blood Meridian is too.

I also read Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Which was a nice and easy read, very entertaining. I know Burroughs’ isn’t considered a great writer with his prose, but I liked it. I think it’s effective and vivid. There’s a propulsive quality to the way he writes. And I’m looking forward to reading A Princess of Mars.

Klara and the Sun is the first book I’ve read from Kazuo Ishiguro. I’ve seen the film adaptation of Never Let Me Go which I loved. And I read this as there’s a Jenna Ortega movie coming out in a few weeks that’s based on it. I liked it. It did feel a bit slight, and I think the thematic material is a bit obvious and writerly. It’s from the first person perspective of a robot and it does the thing of observing human behavior that I don’t love. Like “humans sometimes don’t say what they mean, how strange.” Like yeah I get it. I like his prose though. Very simple and easy to read, but from what I understand this is considered one of his weakest books. So when I pick up Nocturnes I expect something a bit more substantial.

I’ve also read three Shakespeare plays I’ve never read before. The only works from Shakespeare I was assigned were his sonnets, Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, and Macbeth. I was also assigned King Lear in college. So I read Julius Caesar, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Antony and Cleopatra. I find Shakespeare’s writing to be significantly easier for me to read now compared to when I was in high school when I would rely on the Sparksnotes translations. Now that I don’t have the added pressure of school I can just enjoy his work for what it primarily is: entertainment. I mean I liked Romeo and Juliet and Macbeth when I first read them. But, reading these three has been a treat. Especially the lyrical quality of Midsummer’s dialogue.

I was also in the middle of reading Vineland by Thomas Pynchon but lost a bit of steam a third of the way through. Same thing happened with All The Pretty Horses. Which is when I picked up the Shakespeare plays to read. I was liking it so far though. I didn’t expect it to be so funny (I thought PTA put all the humor in One Battle After Another) and I like how this is considered high brow despite the crude humor and frequent references to pop culture. Though I suppose that’s post-modernism in general.