Hey Beehaw (and friends)! What’re you reading?
Previously I had these thread labelled as monthly threads, but I have had an incredibly busy few months and had not been able to keep up with it. So this is now going to be a general sticky that will be replaced “every so often” when the previous thread gets overly full :)
Novels, nonfiction, ebooks, audiobooks, graphic novels, etc - everything counts!
I have been reading the Wheel of Time series for the first time (by Robert Jordan). Currently starting Crown of Swords, book 7.
Recently placed a request in my library for the following, hopefully they’ll be coming in within the next week:
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How Far the Light Reaches: A Life in Ten Sea Creatures by Sabrina Imbler
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Yellowface by R.F. Kuang
Back when I was on Twitter I used to follow a bunch of writers and Yellowface was so entertaining in its portrayal of that domain. Idk if you have heard about the recent Cait Corran scandal but it had me thinking about that book again.
I had no idea of this - I just googled it and it’s almost exactly like something out of the book.
I really enjoyed Yellowface, it’s a great read and a bit of a black comedy in places!
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Swastika Night. It’s like 1984 if the nazis had won. Published in 1937. Enjoying so far.
I’ve been reading The Culture series by Iain M Banks. I gave up on the first book a while back, which I’ve heard is quite common, but I plan to go back and finish it.
I’ve just read The Player Of Games and Excession and both are exceptional.
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I finished Consider Phlebas on my commute - I still don’t rank it quite as highly as the others but it came to life more at the end. My favourite bit was when Horza was trapped on the cannibal cult island. Completely irrelevant to the plot but some excellent wtf storytelling!
Working my way through Anne McCaffrey’s Pern novels again. Read them first as a child and it’s lovely being back in that world again
The Bands of Mourning by Brandon Sanderson. It’s been my favorite of the mistborn era 2 books, and I’ve heard the finale is even better
I finished Ignition! and am about to start The Player of Games from the Culture series. I really enjoyed Consider Phlebas, but I’ve been trying to switch off between fiction and nonfiction.
I only noticed this comment now, I’ve been reading the Culture series too - I enjoyed the world building in Consider Phlebas a lot but after a while I just wanted it to finish. So I skipped on and read a few others in the series then came back to finish it.
The Player Of Games was brilliant, enjoy!
Underworld by Don DeLillo
Words of Radiance (book 2 of Stormlight) by Brandon Sanderson. Stormlight is my first dip into Branderson’s work and I wish I had done so sooner.
I’m making my way through the Lyonesse trilogy by Jack Vance. I’ve read the Dutch version many years ago and it’s a real treat to read it again English.
It’s basically one gigantic fairy tale and I’m loving all of it…I just finished Trail of the Lost: The Relentless Search to Bring Home the Missing Hikers of the Pacific Crest Trail and it was a pretty interesting read. There is a local mycologist who disappeared on a hike around here a few years ago and I still wonder what happened to her and if they’ll ever find her.
Orientalism by Edward Said Super relevant now.
Just for Fun: The Story of an Accidental Revolutionary by Linus Torvalds and David Diamond.
Just started Blindsight. I’m really enjoying some sci-fi with religious undertones. Hyperion is in the mail for my next one.
I really enjoyed CJ Archer’s Glass and Steel series (and the Glass Library so far). So when I saw
ScribdEverand had her Ministry of Curiosities series on audiobook last week, I jumped right on it. I’m really enjoying it 2.5 books in. Victorian England is a fascinating setting, but a lot of books trying to replicate the style just aren’t that pleasant to read. Archer does a good job of using it without shoving it in your face by over explaining, and her magic is presented in a way where staying in the shadows is plausible.Archer and Sherry Thomas’s Lady Sherlock series are interesting to me because I like the story telling and character development, but they both handle the setting in a way that doesn’t just ignore how actually awful the era was for women. They put their characters in position to directly clash with the harsh restrictions of the society in compelling ways.
Right now I’m reading Fledgling by Octavia Butler. It’s an interesting twist on what a “vampire novel” is, and I’m enjoying it a lot! I’m also reading Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion by Jia Tolentino. This one is great so far, every single essay has had a line or two that has really made me stop and think.
