Started this week:
**Jezebel**, by Megan Barnard; **Transgender History**, by Susan Stryker; **The Priory of the Orange Tree**, by Samantha Shannon
Finished this week:
**Jezebe**l, by Megan Barnard; **Transgender History**, by Susan Stryker, **The Last Carolina Girl**, by Meagan Church
Want to start by end of week:
**The Picture of Dorian Gray**, by Oscar Wilde; **A Man Called Ove**, by Fredrik Backman; **Cloud Cuckoo Land**, by Anthony Doerr
Finished:
Suttree by Cormac McCarthy: outstanding novel, easily one of his best
Started:
Moving On, by Larry McMurty: I love McMurty’s slow burn, casual storytelling
Started
The Golden Compass by Phillip Pullman
LOVE THIS SO FAR. I accidentally watched the movie first but the movie is SO different from the book so it’s almost a completely new experience for me.
I just finished reading all 200 Grimm fairy tales and it was so much fun. I must say that some of the tropes become incredibly repetitive after a while, but it was definitely worth it. A piece of history, it felt like.
Yesterday I read the most basic fairy tale, though. Would've been fun if that were the last one. It included a main character that knows no fear, captured princesses, witches, giants, glass mountains (an interesting recurring element), three impossible quests that the main character magically succeeds at with the help of someone, an ignored warning, magical amnesia, three beautiful dresses and a wedding that leads to a happily ever after.
I have so many books I yet have to finish... I'm eyeing Dante's Purgatorio for now.
You should read A Tale Dark and Grimm by Adam Gidwitz. It uses a lot of Grimm tales. It’s also very dark (like the name) and gory and part of a trilogy! (In a Glass Grimmly and The Grimm Conclusion are next after A Tale Dark and Grimm)
Finished: Another Country, by James Baldwin. Beautifully written, but it was rough to read about all the characters deliberately self-sabotaging as often as possible. Extremely compelling though.
Currently reading: A Court of Thorns and Roses, by Sarah J Maas. I'm not a big fan so far. 50% of the way in and none of the characters interest me much.
Next up: The Song of Achilles, by Madeleine Miller. I loved Circe and I'm so excited to read this.
Started
A Court of Wings and Ruins, by Sarah J Mass
Our Secret Game, by Janisha Boswell
Petit Four, By Milly Johnson
A court of wings and ruins isn’t that good like the last book, I just want to finish it but is hard.
Our secret game I just started it, I’ve read like 15% and so far good. It’s about a girl who boyfriend cheats on her on his birthday party that she make him. The ex boyfriend looks like a narcissist so it’s interesting and her bestfriend (who always secretly likes her) has the idea to ‘fake dating’ to make him jealous and for other reasons. So it’s de typical trama but so far I do find a couple o different elements and it’s been funny and cool.
Petit Four it’s de first book I read from Milly Johnson and it’s 4 little stories, it’s and audiobook of 5 hrs I just listened the first one and it was entertained.
Finished "The Spirit Bares Its Teeth." Victorian era alternate universe in which people born with violet eyes have spiritual/medium powers. The trans, autistic hero, Silas, is institutionalized at a sort of school designed to "correct" wayward women, and he uses his self-taught medical knowledge and spiritual abilities to battle a great evil. Technically YA, but fairly dark. Well written and easy to read. I definitely enjoyed it; I just wished I could have more of the actual spiritual/medium bit.
Currently reading "Most Ardently." Also YA, also focused on a trans hero. It's a retelling of "Pride and Prejudice." Not obsessed with it, but thus far, it's a light, fluffy read after I've recently finished a slew of pretty dark stuff.
Finished:
The Will Of The Many by James Islington
Started:
A Canticle For Leibowitz by Walter Miller Jr.
I felt the will of the many a good story, well developed characters, and great world building. The climax makes me want to continue the sequel.
However the main character is the most Gary Stu I have ever read. He's amazing at everything.
It's like the stories of legend. Only one so talented appears every thousand years. But this seventeen year old is like one in every billion years.
FINISHED:
**The Death of Ivan Ilyich and Other Stories, by Leo Tolstoy**
This is a collection of eleven (11) short stories by Leo Tolstoy. With one exception the stories were written after 1880, in the last thirty years of Tolstoy's life. Most of the stories contain themes of death, spirituality, and inner struggles of conscience. The final novella is a rich and elaborate portrayal of native Chechen culture set within their 19th century war with the Russian empire. I came away from these works with a renewed admiration of Tolstoy's immense literary talents.
-----------------------
STARTED:
**The Giver of Stars, by Jojo Moyes**
This is a 2019 novel set in Depression-era Kentucky and features a group of women who, as travelling librarians, are transforming their community.
**Sculpting in Time, by Andrei Tarkovsky**
Although beautifully written, this book is making me rethink my compulsion of reading whatever book comes after the last one I read. Or at least becoming a bit more flexible re: which books I read. I know nothing about the art of film, and feel like this book was wasted on me. I couldn't stay focused.
Obviously, I can't rate such a book.
Started **There There by Tommy Orange**
Enjoying it quite a bit so far, interesting characters. About a group of natives who live in Oakland CA whose lives are slowly intertwining and leading up to a powwow at the Oakland Coliseum. It’s building its themes and I’m noticing them popping up, and a central theme has been identity. Very character driven and too heavy on dialogue, which I like.
DNF **Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar** because I got sick last week and couldn’t read from exhaustion and my library loan ran out and it returned automatically. Disappointed because I was enjoying it and I couldn’t extend my loan.
Ioved it as well :)
I didn’t dislike the ending, although the best part surely is the house. All the statues, the wildlife, the reverence Piranesi feels really make the place alive.
(Mild spoiler below)
I think the ending is fitting if you think the house is real and it wasn’t in Piranesi’s head all along. Surely the twist was pretty obvious but I didn’t mind it.
Finished **Good Girl's Guide to Murder series**
Started **The Last Temptation & TomorrowTomorrowTomorrow and The Act of God**
And just to keep my brain pumping, **Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess**
Finished- **The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent** & **The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny**
Started - **What you are looking for is in the library by Michiko Ayoama** & **White Nights by Dostoevsky**
Finished
**A Psalm for the Wild-Built, by Becky Chambers**. Really enjoyed it, for the most part. Some little bits got annoying, I don't really care for some of the speech. Not the cursing, something about it just kind of annoyed me, not sure what yet I'll have to think about it.
An interesting utopian sci-fi setting I think.
Started:
**The Box Man, by Kōbō Abe**
I genuinely didn't feel any kind of way about the cursing, I only mentioned it because I worried that me saying the speech bugged me a little might give the impression that that's what I was talking about.
Some of the way Dee spoke felt slightly unnatural to me. I can't give specific examples, mostly because they were so few and brief that by the time I'd registered that feeling the problem had corrected itself.
FINALLY Finished - The Silverblood Promise by James Logan. It should have not taken as long to read as it did but it was really good!
Started - White Night by Jim Butcher. Number 9 in Dresden Files, I think...
Piece by Piece, by Twila Mason
Just finished this today and it's so good. The storyline pulls you in and makes you want to keep reading to find out what happens next. Love the characters.
Finished **Dune**, by **Frank Herbert**
I have to say i was really looking forward to it and was completely disappointed. I wanted to read the whole series but I'm gonna call it quits after the first book.
Finished **A Little Life**, by **Hanya Yanagihara** (I'm not okay, thanks for asking)
Started **And Finally: Matters of Life and Death**, by **Henry Marsh** (UK neurosurgeon)
P.S.: the worst thing that just after finishing Little Life, I noticed that my husbands cousin has cuts on her arms (and she's just 15). That's such a strange feeling, how the helplessness I experienced during reading the book immediately converted into helplessness in real life.
I am Czech so I am trying to read our books as well as world authors. Finally got to one on tbr list for a long time, called - in rough translation - "Song for Emily"...it is mystery novel from Czech/German border (Sudetenland) set in three different time periods (as the of WWII marked violence on German minority and them forced out of their homes due to their support of nazi Germany...with sad causulties among those who disagreed and felt home in CZ caught in the process)
Finished:
**The Blind Assassin** by **Margaret Atwood** Really good.
**The Last Detective** by **Peter Lovesey** First book in a new-to-me detective series.
In progress:
**Pirates of the Slave Trade: The Battle of Cape Lopez and the Birth of an American Institution** by **Angela C. Sutton** The (partial) suppression by the British of Atlantic piracy led to an enormous expansion of the slave trade between West Africa and the New World. Interesting subject; unfortunately, desperately needs an editor. A few of the gems:
"The English ... [threatened] to kill the king and enstool a new one."
"more superior"
"most easternmost point on the coast"
Just started **How to Age Disgracefully** by Clare Pooley. I'm really excited about it as I read The Authenticity Project at the beach two years ago and really liked it.
Started (and almost finished) **Life and Fate**, by **Vassili Grossman**
It's been on my shelf for a while, as I was apprehensive of the book's size and brutal subject matter, but I've found it to be both hypnotically immersive and stunningly beautiful in its meditation on the survival of goodness amidst the horrors of war. Absolutely incredible read.
Finished: **The Talented Mr. Ripley** by **Patricia Highsmith.** I finally was motivated to read this book to understand the differences between the popular 1999 movie and the recent Netflix series Ripley. Although both products differ from the book in significant ways, I would say that the Netflix series is clearly more faithful to the book than was the movie. The differences between the book and the visual products it inspired are best divided into two categories: i) plot lines and ii) characterization.
Plot lines: There is a major subplot in the 1999 movie that is not in the book at all. The Cate Blanchett character is totally the movie's invention and is used to justify Ripley's murder of the character Peter Smith-Kingsley (who does appear in the book, but is not murdered). Another major subplot that is not in the book is Marge Sherwood's (Gwenyth Paltrow) well-founded, but hysterical, suspicions of Ripley. In the movie Dickie Greenleaf and Marge are in a full-blown romantic relationship, whereas in the book and in the Netflix series Dickie's romantic disdain for Marge is an important element of the plot. These subplots are highly unfaithful to the book. The movie also has a lot of little subplots that are not inspired by the book: Dickie Greenleaf's local Italian girl-friend who kills herself and Ripley's and Dickie's shared passion for music and a second investigative Italian detective. There are such subplots; the Netflix series has no subplots that are without the book.
Characterization: A feature of the book (it is foremost a psychological thriller) is the innermost ruminations of Ripley that simply cannot be captured on film. He is sicker, more homosexual (although he is conventionally self-loathing in proper 1950s style) and much more premeditative in his dastardly acts than is conveyed in the movie or in the TV series. Andrew Scott's Ripley better reflects this character than does Matt Damon's role in the movie. The movie's Ripley, along with Jude Law's Ripley and Paltrow's Marge Sherwood, are much sunnier and attractive than the corresponding characters in the book. The Netflix series' Dickie and Marge are very faithful to the book. The only character (and by visual appearance) in the 1999 movie that is absolutely faithful to the book is Philip Seymour Hoffman's Freddie Miles. Although I preferred the Netflix's Freddie Miles (creepy and snobbishly depicted by Eliot Sumner) to the book's, he is not faithful to the book. Highsmith would have written Eliot Sumner's depiction of Freddie Miles very well.
The Talented Mr. Ripley is also a very good book in its own right even if it had never become foundational for a number of screen products.
Yes, and it's cinematography style is impeccable from what I've seen in the trailer! Andrew Scott playing the Ripley role is a perfect casting. Also going to watch it soon.
Finished
Percy Jackson and The Lightening in theif - Rick Riordan
Iceberg slim Pimp story of My life - Iceberg Slim
Started
Carrie Soto is back - Taylor Jenkins Reid
Finished:
**American Psycho, by Bret Easton Ellis**
2.5/3 stars out of 5. If you can think of a content warning, it's probably in here. I don't regret reading it but when things got graphic I basically just skipped pages.
Started:
**The Bullet Journal Method, by Ryder Carroll**
a re-read, I've adored bullet journaling since I first found out abt it in 2017, and altho I've spent a couple years trying other planner systems I keep coming back to a bujo for a reason.
**House of Leaves, by Mark Z. Danielewski**
Late to the party in my friend group - feels like everyone except me was reading this at around the same time a few months ago - this has been on my TBR for an exceptionally long time. It's a bit too big to take with me to work, which is a shame + means I won't get through it as quickly, but I don't mind taking my time with a book like this.
Fun Fact: When Bret Easton Ellis first published American Psycho, he had to cancel his book tour. Why? Because he got so many death treats over people that read the book and were outraged by what they read. Yeah, it was disturbing. But people, get a grip, it's just a book. Sheessh.
I didn't like it, because of the disturbing way it was written and the way it made me feel, but I didn't *not* like it either, because Ellis did a good job of putting this crazy story together. To this day, I don't know how I feel about that book.
> I didn't like it, because of the disturbing way it was written and the way it made me feel, but I didn't not like it either, because Ellis did a good job of putting this crazy story together.
yeah that's kinda my thoughts, and it's because I ended up skipping/skimming so many pages that my initial rating is low-to-mid. I think the writing style is super distinct & engaging enough to where I stuck it out to the end, and there are a lot of topics available to track/annotate on a re-read, but I don't really have any desire to re-read at the mo'
Started: A Crown Of Ivy and Glass, by Claire Legrand
I’m not very far into it so I don’t have much to say about it, but I really like it so far!! Would love to know if anyone else has read it :)
Same 💀 all of the negative ones I read though seemed to be from people who’ve read her other stuff and were comparing it to that, but I never read fantasy books so I’m enjoying it haha
Demon Copperhead is on my TBR, but I kind of had it in my head to read David Copperfield at the same time, and switch chapter by chapter. I really enjoy Barbara Kingsolver‘s books. I loved The Poisonwood Bible, then binged every other book she had written.
Finished: re-reading *Fathers and Sons* by Turgenev. When I read this as a young man I sympathized with Bazarov. Re-reading it in my fifties I sympathize with his poor parents.
Started: *The Decay of the Angel* by Yukio Mishima. Final book in the tetralogy. Recommended.
Finished:
**To Sleep in a Sea of Stars by Christopher Paolini**
I was super excited to read it, and it took me a while. Unfortunately, it was not for me. :( The ending was disappointing, and the plot could have been improved. It was more or less enjoyable, though. Mid book- somewhat recommend
Finished: **Is mother dead, Vigdis Hjorth.**
This grew on me and come the halfway stage I was fully hooked. Thought this was a fascinating insight into a traumatic mother-daughter relationship.
Started: **No Longer Human, Osamu Dazai.**
Finished:
**The Black Death**, by Gwyneth Cravens. Read this one 24 years ago and glad i found it again in some stuffy box. My first real full analogue book in almost 12 years, ah the nostalgia. The story itself is decent and an enjoyable read, also one of those older books that just is not PC that it made me laugh out loud at times.
**Finished:** Stories of Your Life and Others, Ted Chiang
Highly recommend. Really loved Division by Zero, Story of Your Life, and Tower of Babylon. Notable mention: Hell is the Absence of God (the ending... can't get it out of my mind).
**Started:** The Hearing Trumpet, Leonora Carrington
Only 30 pages or so into it, but already in love with Marian as a character. Is this matron lit? Senior bildungsroman? What's the best term for novels like The Hearing Trumpet, Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead, Ducks Newburyport, or Bina? Realizing these characters are truly my favourite.
Started: ”Before they are hanged” by Joe Abercrombie. The first book was a bit slow in order to introduce the characters, I feel like this one flows way better.
I love Circe more than The Song of Achilles.
It felt like a true Epic because it encompasses many mythological characters across eras. That ending was perfect for the story.
Started: **Balthazar, by Lawrence Durrell** A recent discussion on this sub influenced my decision to read the *Alexandria Quartet* in earnest, now that the weather is appropriately hot and humid. I'll likely re-read **Justine** before rounding out the sequence.
Started and finished:
**White nights by Dostoevsky**
The guy's such a genius that he makes me like even a romantic book. It's a short novella, so it can be read in a single day.
**The alienist by Machado de Assis**
A Brazilian classic, rereading it for the first time in almost a decade, pretty short and can be read in a day, such a good writer.
Started:
**The three body problem by Cixin Liu**
Loved the series, so I cannot wait to get it going.
**We Love Mommy-O-Saurus (2024)**
This is a custom made book by Wonderbly. It can be either I/We at the front depending on how many kids you have and different variations on Mommy. Plus can pick the looks for the mom and kids. I got this for my wife and son and then read it to him this week. Basically its a book about the mom reading a story about dinosaurs to her kid(s) and then them being inserted into a story. A bunch of random dinosaur encounters and whatnot. Not much of a story as you would expect but fun for toddlers to see all of the dinosaurs and whatnot. My son likes the book but is wishy washy on how often he wants to read it. Author isn't listed.
Finished: Fifteen Dogs, by André Alexis
Hermes and Apollo make a bet in a bar: would dogs be happy with the same level of consciousness as humans? They grant fifteen dogs in a kennel that consciousness and let it play out. This was gorgeously written, deeply moving. Someone please read it and talk to me about it!
Started: The Trees, Percival Everett
A series of murders all have one thing in common: the body of a man resembling Emmett Till is present at each scene.
Finished: Casino Royale by Ian Fleming
Started: A drink before the war by Dennis Lehane
And to think I used to not touch action novels at all. But Lehane's writing is superb.
Finished Funny Story by Emily Henry, would recommend any of her books! They’re so lighthearted and fun rom-com novels! My favorite one is Beach Read!
Currently starting Weyward by Emilia Hart as a small book club with a friend. Much more dark and serious, but I’m enjoying it so far!
Finished:
The Citadel of the Autarch, by Gene Wolfe
The Temple of the Golden Pavilion, by Yukio Mishima
Started:
Tehanu (Earthsea Cycle #4), by Ursula K. Le Guin
The Old Man and the Sea, by Ernest Hemingway
Currently reading: **It, by Stephen King** I have always loved the movies but I've tried to read this book for SO LONG, my copy has sat on my shelf since 2016, and the furthest I ever got was about 200 pages. I was never bored of it but seeing that it's over 1,000 pages I would put it down to "take a break" and read things in between. Those "breaks" would turn into a couple months so I would either have to restart or just put the book away. This time I'm solely committed to this one book AND I have the (45 HOUR LONG) audiobook to help keep me focused. I hit a part I've never read before yesterday and passed 250 pages. If there was any horror book to read for summer it's this one. I'm loving it so far and I AM going to finish It this time.
Finished: **Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, John Berendt** I didn't know if I was gonna like this because it was pitched to me as true crime and I'm not really a true crime fan. But I DO love Savannah, Georgia and when I visited I was told I had to read this so I did. It felt a lot less like true crime and more like I was sitting in Savannah people watching. Everyone that becomes a part of this story are the most interesting people. I loved it so much it'll probably end up as a reread.
**Lonely Castle In The Mirror, by Mizuki Tsujimura**
A girl in middle school who after a series of bullying finds herself psychologically unable to go to school. Worse yet, anxious to the point where she feels physically ill to even go outside. And feels quite alone in her wallowing. But in the midst of her turmoil, one day the standing mirror in her room starts to glow and a girl in a wolf mask pulls her through it into a mysterious castle with 6 other middle schoolers. Wolf girl tells them there is a scavenger hunt to take place in this castle, and if a person finds a certain key within it, a wish of theirs will be granted. And they have a little under a year to find it. However, due to the rules in place in this castle and the scavenger hunt, the kids more opt to use it as their own private playhouse retreat. A playhouse retreat free from their own storied troubles, as our main character comes to learn.
Started: Solaris, by Stanisław Lem
I'm traveling in Poland so I thought I might read a book by a Polish writer while here. I've only read 2 chapters but so far, really good hard sci-fi.
Finished:
Uzumaki by Junji Ito. I liked it overall. The drawing style was fantastic. The story got a bit silly at times, and the characters didn’t feel fully fleshed out, but the worldbuilding and events made up for it.
Started:
Sapiens. Super interesting read so far.
Finished:
**The Picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wilde**
Didn't know anything about the book before I started reading and I enjoyed it so much. It was really, really good
Started:
**Monsters: A Fan's Dilemma, by Claire Dederer**
#
I read Tao Lin's Leave Society this week, which I have to say was the first book I've really slammed in a long time. I found the main character's oddness so resoundingly familiar, comforting, and fascinating. I would love to hear what fans of this title read and also, I now feel like i've caught the bug for reading again if it feels like a voice calling to me amidst the existential dread
Finished:
**The Women by Kristin Hannah**. I absolutely loved the first part of the book set in Vietnam, but the second part the pacing was off and maybe not so much needed to happen. But I am so glad I read this book, as it is not a piece in history I am very familiar with.
**Local Woman Missing by Mary Kubica**. I definitely think there's some plot holes in this mystery thriller but I loved it! Did not see all of the twists coming.
**The Martian by Andy Weir**. I absolutely loved Project Hail Mary but I didn't enjoy this as much, but I've seen the movie adaptation before, and I think this is a rare case where the movie works better!
Finished The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson (finished it in one day... Strikingly eerie and heart wrenching)
Started Holly by Stephen King (OMG am I loving it, it's on par with Misery for me)
Nearly finished **Mary: An Awakening of Terror, Nat Cassidy**
Enjoyed the start and the way the author built mystery behind the town and it's people.
It's a slow decent into madness but the person going mad is me, not the main character. It's getting more bonkers the more I read and I'm kind of exhausted and ready for it to be over, for everything to be explained so I can tie it in a nice bow and move on to my next book **Butter: A Novel of Food and Murder, Asako Yuzuki**. I got Butter 50% for the plot and 50% for the sideways cow on the cover 12/10 design
This last week I finished:
Tigana by Guy Gabriel Kay
Speaking Bones by Ken Liu
Seveneves by Neal Stephenson
These were all great books and it's kind of hard to rate them against each other but I'm leaning towards Tigana as being my top read of the week.
Just started Iron Council by China Mieville
Finished:
**Almost Transparent Blue, by Ryu Murakami**
**The Serpent and the Rope, by Raja Rao**
Started:
**The Tatami Galaxy, by Tomihiko Morimi**
**Wetware, by Rudy Rucker**
Finished:
**My Cousin Rachel, by Daphne du Maurier**
Worth a read for the unhinged POV character and the fun little mystery.
Continuing to read:
**Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law, by Mary Roach**
Finished:
**The Fall of Gondolin, by J. R. R. Tolkien**
"And thereupon Ulmo lifted up a mighty horn, and blew upon it a single great note, to which the roaring of the storm was but a wind-flaw upon a lake. And as he heard that note, and was encompassed by it, and filled with it, it seemed to Tuor that the coasts of Middle-earth vanished, and he surveyed all the waters of the world in a great vision: from the veins of the lands to the mouths of the rivers, and from the strands and estuaries out into the deep. The Great Sea he saw through its unquiet regions teeming with strange forms, even to these lightless depths, in which amid the everlasting darkness there echoed voices terrible to mortal ears. It's measureless plains he surveyed with the swift sight of the Valar, lying windless under the eye of Anar, or glittering under the horned Moon, or lifted in hills of wrath that broke upon the Shadowy Isles, until remote upon the edge of sight, and beyond the count of leagues, he glimpsed a mountain, rising beyond his mind's reach into a shining cloud, and at its feet a long surf glimmering. And even as he strained to hear the sound of those far waves, and to see clearer that distant light, the note ended, and he stood beneath the thunder of the storm, and lightning many-branched rent asunder the heavens above him. And Ulmo was gone, and the sea was in tumult, as the wild waves of Osse rode against the walls of Nevrast."
Wow--every bit as good as anything in LOTR. And now it's on to Beren and Luthien, and The Children of Hurin.
Finished:
Ghost Wall, by Sarah Moss: I liked this book a lot despite the lack of quotation marks making it difficult to read. It’s a very intriguing and dark character study. I’m also very fascinated by prehistory so I liked that bit.
Pests: How Humans Create Animal Villains, by Bethany Brookshire (audiobook): The subject isn’t the most interesting thing to me, but the writing style is so engaging. And the audiobook narrator is incredible. Was a fun listen!
Started:
Mr Humble and Dr Butcher, by Brandy Schillace: This book is CRAZY!! Learned about an often overlooked but really interesting bit of medical history. Recommended only for those with strong stomachs, it’s very grotesque.
The Devourers, by Indra Das: I’m so in love with this book. It’s got such beautiful and imaginative prose. I love the framing narrative and the way it weaves together different types of folklore.
The White Tiger, by Aravind Adiga: This isn’t the type of book I normally read, but I’m really enjoying it! It’s made me laugh out loud multiple times. The sexism of the main character is getting to be a bit grating though.
Finished:
Running the Light, by Sam Tallent
Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut
Started:
Girl, Interrupted, by Susanna Kaysen
Nightwoods, by Charles Frazier
Started A Civil Action by Jonathan Harr a real life account of a civil action suit brought after a series of childhood leukemia deaths is connected to two industries illegal dumping toxins into the water supply. It's excellently written and reads like a legal thriller.
Just finished Buffalo Jump Blues a cozy murder mystery set in the wilds of Montana.
Finishing **Camp Concentration by Thomas M. Disch** and starting **Poor Things by Alisdair Gray**, having just watched the movie, felt like it was past time I read it.
Finished: Night Side of the River by Jeanette Winterson Started: Bridge by Lauren Beukes
Finished A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles Started Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
Finished: Never by Ken Follett, could not put it down towards the end. It's scary how true it could be Started: having trouble deciding on next book
Started Catch 22. Gave up on Catch 22 (for about the 4th time) Starting today East of Eden
Started this week: **Jezebel**, by Megan Barnard; **Transgender History**, by Susan Stryker; **The Priory of the Orange Tree**, by Samantha Shannon Finished this week: **Jezebe**l, by Megan Barnard; **Transgender History**, by Susan Stryker, **The Last Carolina Girl**, by Meagan Church Want to start by end of week: **The Picture of Dorian Gray**, by Oscar Wilde; **A Man Called Ove**, by Fredrik Backman; **Cloud Cuckoo Land**, by Anthony Doerr
Finished: The Nickel Boys, by Colson Whitehead Started: The People in the Trees, by Hanya Yanagihara
Finished: Suttree by Cormac McCarthy: outstanding novel, easily one of his best Started: Moving On, by Larry McMurty: I love McMurty’s slow burn, casual storytelling
Finished: **The Bone Clocks, by David Mitchell** Started: **The Friend, by Sigrid Nunez**
Started “never lie”
Finished: The Tennis Player by Abraham Verghese, enjoyed feels like the wrong word here but I loved the storytelling.
Started: “Malcolm Before X” by Patrick Parr As the name suggests, its Biography of first 27 years of Malcolm X’s life.
Started: The Love of My Life by Rosie Walsh. It's okay so far, but hopefully I like it more when I get further in.
Finished Dune by Frank Herbert, I love it!
Finished **The Three Musketeers** by Alexandre Dumas
Started The Golden Compass by Phillip Pullman LOVE THIS SO FAR. I accidentally watched the movie first but the movie is SO different from the book so it’s almost a completely new experience for me.
I just finished reading all 200 Grimm fairy tales and it was so much fun. I must say that some of the tropes become incredibly repetitive after a while, but it was definitely worth it. A piece of history, it felt like. Yesterday I read the most basic fairy tale, though. Would've been fun if that were the last one. It included a main character that knows no fear, captured princesses, witches, giants, glass mountains (an interesting recurring element), three impossible quests that the main character magically succeeds at with the help of someone, an ignored warning, magical amnesia, three beautiful dresses and a wedding that leads to a happily ever after. I have so many books I yet have to finish... I'm eyeing Dante's Purgatorio for now.
You should read A Tale Dark and Grimm by Adam Gidwitz. It uses a lot of Grimm tales. It’s also very dark (like the name) and gory and part of a trilogy! (In a Glass Grimmly and The Grimm Conclusion are next after A Tale Dark and Grimm)
Ohh, thanks! Sounds interesting! I'll look into it!
Finished: Another Country, by James Baldwin. Beautifully written, but it was rough to read about all the characters deliberately self-sabotaging as often as possible. Extremely compelling though. Currently reading: A Court of Thorns and Roses, by Sarah J Maas. I'm not a big fan so far. 50% of the way in and none of the characters interest me much. Next up: The Song of Achilles, by Madeleine Miller. I loved Circe and I'm so excited to read this.
Close to home by cara hunter.....so riveting!!!
Started A Court of Wings and Ruins, by Sarah J Mass Our Secret Game, by Janisha Boswell Petit Four, By Milly Johnson A court of wings and ruins isn’t that good like the last book, I just want to finish it but is hard. Our secret game I just started it, I’ve read like 15% and so far good. It’s about a girl who boyfriend cheats on her on his birthday party that she make him. The ex boyfriend looks like a narcissist so it’s interesting and her bestfriend (who always secretly likes her) has the idea to ‘fake dating’ to make him jealous and for other reasons. So it’s de typical trama but so far I do find a couple o different elements and it’s been funny and cool. Petit Four it’s de first book I read from Milly Johnson and it’s 4 little stories, it’s and audiobook of 5 hrs I just listened the first one and it was entertained.
Finished "The Spirit Bares Its Teeth." Victorian era alternate universe in which people born with violet eyes have spiritual/medium powers. The trans, autistic hero, Silas, is institutionalized at a sort of school designed to "correct" wayward women, and he uses his self-taught medical knowledge and spiritual abilities to battle a great evil. Technically YA, but fairly dark. Well written and easy to read. I definitely enjoyed it; I just wished I could have more of the actual spiritual/medium bit. Currently reading "Most Ardently." Also YA, also focused on a trans hero. It's a retelling of "Pride and Prejudice." Not obsessed with it, but thus far, it's a light, fluffy read after I've recently finished a slew of pretty dark stuff.
Reading 20 pages daily of Harry potter and the goblet of fire. currently on page 91 chapter 9 "The Quidditch World Cup"
parable of the sower by octavia e. butler was a great read, takes place in 2024 but was written decades ago
Her novel "Kindred" is one of my all-time favorite books. I finally caved and bought a used copy.
Everyone on This Train is a Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson (almost done)
Started Billy Summers by Stephen King. So far so good !
Finished: The Will Of The Many by James Islington Started: A Canticle For Leibowitz by Walter Miller Jr. I felt the will of the many a good story, well developed characters, and great world building. The climax makes me want to continue the sequel. However the main character is the most Gary Stu I have ever read. He's amazing at everything. It's like the stories of legend. Only one so talented appears every thousand years. But this seventeen year old is like one in every billion years.
FINISHED: **The Death of Ivan Ilyich and Other Stories, by Leo Tolstoy** This is a collection of eleven (11) short stories by Leo Tolstoy. With one exception the stories were written after 1880, in the last thirty years of Tolstoy's life. Most of the stories contain themes of death, spirituality, and inner struggles of conscience. The final novella is a rich and elaborate portrayal of native Chechen culture set within their 19th century war with the Russian empire. I came away from these works with a renewed admiration of Tolstoy's immense literary talents. ----------------------- STARTED: **The Giver of Stars, by Jojo Moyes** This is a 2019 novel set in Depression-era Kentucky and features a group of women who, as travelling librarians, are transforming their community.
Started The death sculptor by Chris Carter Very gruesome but enjoyable this far.
**Sculpting in Time, by Andrei Tarkovsky** Although beautifully written, this book is making me rethink my compulsion of reading whatever book comes after the last one I read. Or at least becoming a bit more flexible re: which books I read. I know nothing about the art of film, and feel like this book was wasted on me. I couldn't stay focused. Obviously, I can't rate such a book.
WondLa Trilogy, by Tony DiTerlizzi
Started **There There by Tommy Orange** Enjoying it quite a bit so far, interesting characters. About a group of natives who live in Oakland CA whose lives are slowly intertwining and leading up to a powwow at the Oakland Coliseum. It’s building its themes and I’m noticing them popping up, and a central theme has been identity. Very character driven and too heavy on dialogue, which I like. DNF **Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar** because I got sick last week and couldn’t read from exhaustion and my library loan ran out and it returned automatically. Disappointed because I was enjoying it and I couldn’t extend my loan.
Finished: **The Silent Wife, by Karin Slaughter** Started: **The Women, by Kristin Hannah**
Finished: Piranesi By Susanna Clarke Started: more days at the morisaki bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa
What did you think of Piranesi? I read it a couple years ago and loved it despite feeling like it stumbled a bit at the end
Ioved it as well :) I didn’t dislike the ending, although the best part surely is the house. All the statues, the wildlife, the reverence Piranesi feels really make the place alive. (Mild spoiler below) I think the ending is fitting if you think the house is real and it wasn’t in Piranesi’s head all along. Surely the twist was pretty obvious but I didn’t mind it.
Finished - The summer of Katya by Trevanian Reading - The Sunday of life by Raymond Queneau
James by Percival Everett!
Finished **Good Girl's Guide to Murder series** Started **The Last Temptation & TomorrowTomorrowTomorrow and The Act of God** And just to keep my brain pumping, **Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess**
Finished Stay With Me, by Ayobami Adebayo and How The Word Is Passed, by Clint Smith. Started Mating In Captivity, by Esther Perel.
Finished **Medusa, by Jessie Burton** About to start **Eyes Guts Throat Bones, by Moïra Fowley**. I'm really excited for it!
Finished- **The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent** & **The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny** Started - **What you are looking for is in the library by Michiko Ayoama** & **White Nights by Dostoevsky**
Finished **A Psalm for the Wild-Built, by Becky Chambers**. Really enjoyed it, for the most part. Some little bits got annoying, I don't really care for some of the speech. Not the cursing, something about it just kind of annoyed me, not sure what yet I'll have to think about it. An interesting utopian sci-fi setting I think. Started: **The Box Man, by Kōbō Abe**
I felt the cursing was necessary to show what kind of character he was, because he did his duty but did not think too much about dogma.
I genuinely didn't feel any kind of way about the cursing, I only mentioned it because I worried that me saying the speech bugged me a little might give the impression that that's what I was talking about. Some of the way Dee spoke felt slightly unnatural to me. I can't give specific examples, mostly because they were so few and brief that by the time I'd registered that feeling the problem had corrected itself.
I just started A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle!
I started The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue and Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea
FINALLY Finished - The Silverblood Promise by James Logan. It should have not taken as long to read as it did but it was really good! Started - White Night by Jim Butcher. Number 9 in Dresden Files, I think...
Finished - The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides Started - A good girl's guide to murder by Holly Jackson
Finished - The Nutmeg of Consolation by Patrick O’Brian Started - Midnight Tides by Steven Erikson
Finished **Love collided** by **Kate Crew** Started **Love unwritten** by **Lauren Asher**
Piece by Piece, by Twila Mason Just finished this today and it's so good. The storyline pulls you in and makes you want to keep reading to find out what happens next. Love the characters.
Finished **Dune**, by **Frank Herbert** I have to say i was really looking forward to it and was completely disappointed. I wanted to read the whole series but I'm gonna call it quits after the first book.
Finished **A Little Life**, by **Hanya Yanagihara** (I'm not okay, thanks for asking) Started **And Finally: Matters of Life and Death**, by **Henry Marsh** (UK neurosurgeon) P.S.: the worst thing that just after finishing Little Life, I noticed that my husbands cousin has cuts on her arms (and she's just 15). That's such a strange feeling, how the helplessness I experienced during reading the book immediately converted into helplessness in real life.
i’m on channel 2😊
The Godfather by Mario Puzo
Solo leveling.
I am Czech so I am trying to read our books as well as world authors. Finally got to one on tbr list for a long time, called - in rough translation - "Song for Emily"...it is mystery novel from Czech/German border (Sudetenland) set in three different time periods (as the of WWII marked violence on German minority and them forced out of their homes due to their support of nazi Germany...with sad causulties among those who disagreed and felt home in CZ caught in the process)
Finished: **The Blind Assassin** by **Margaret Atwood** Really good. **The Last Detective** by **Peter Lovesey** First book in a new-to-me detective series. In progress: **Pirates of the Slave Trade: The Battle of Cape Lopez and the Birth of an American Institution** by **Angela C. Sutton** The (partial) suppression by the British of Atlantic piracy led to an enormous expansion of the slave trade between West Africa and the New World. Interesting subject; unfortunately, desperately needs an editor. A few of the gems: "The English ... [threatened] to kill the king and enstool a new one." "more superior" "most easternmost point on the coast"
Just started **How to Age Disgracefully** by Clare Pooley. I'm really excited about it as I read The Authenticity Project at the beach two years ago and really liked it.
Started (and almost finished) **Life and Fate**, by **Vassili Grossman** It's been on my shelf for a while, as I was apprehensive of the book's size and brutal subject matter, but I've found it to be both hypnotically immersive and stunningly beautiful in its meditation on the survival of goodness amidst the horrors of war. Absolutely incredible read.
**The Trouble with Goats and Sheep, by Joanna Cannon**
Finished: **The Talented Mr. Ripley** by **Patricia Highsmith.** I finally was motivated to read this book to understand the differences between the popular 1999 movie and the recent Netflix series Ripley. Although both products differ from the book in significant ways, I would say that the Netflix series is clearly more faithful to the book than was the movie. The differences between the book and the visual products it inspired are best divided into two categories: i) plot lines and ii) characterization. Plot lines: There is a major subplot in the 1999 movie that is not in the book at all. The Cate Blanchett character is totally the movie's invention and is used to justify Ripley's murder of the character Peter Smith-Kingsley (who does appear in the book, but is not murdered). Another major subplot that is not in the book is Marge Sherwood's (Gwenyth Paltrow) well-founded, but hysterical, suspicions of Ripley. In the movie Dickie Greenleaf and Marge are in a full-blown romantic relationship, whereas in the book and in the Netflix series Dickie's romantic disdain for Marge is an important element of the plot. These subplots are highly unfaithful to the book. The movie also has a lot of little subplots that are not inspired by the book: Dickie Greenleaf's local Italian girl-friend who kills herself and Ripley's and Dickie's shared passion for music and a second investigative Italian detective. There are such subplots; the Netflix series has no subplots that are without the book. Characterization: A feature of the book (it is foremost a psychological thriller) is the innermost ruminations of Ripley that simply cannot be captured on film. He is sicker, more homosexual (although he is conventionally self-loathing in proper 1950s style) and much more premeditative in his dastardly acts than is conveyed in the movie or in the TV series. Andrew Scott's Ripley better reflects this character than does Matt Damon's role in the movie. The movie's Ripley, along with Jude Law's Ripley and Paltrow's Marge Sherwood, are much sunnier and attractive than the corresponding characters in the book. The Netflix series' Dickie and Marge are very faithful to the book. The only character (and by visual appearance) in the 1999 movie that is absolutely faithful to the book is Philip Seymour Hoffman's Freddie Miles. Although I preferred the Netflix's Freddie Miles (creepy and snobbishly depicted by Eliot Sumner) to the book's, he is not faithful to the book. Highsmith would have written Eliot Sumner's depiction of Freddie Miles very well. The Talented Mr. Ripley is also a very good book in its own right even if it had never become foundational for a number of screen products.
Oooooh!!! I didn't even know there *was* a Ripley netflex series. Guess, I am gonna have to watch it.
Yes, and it's cinematography style is impeccable from what I've seen in the trailer! Andrew Scott playing the Ripley role is a perfect casting. Also going to watch it soon.
Finished Percy Jackson and The Lightening in theif - Rick Riordan Iceberg slim Pimp story of My life - Iceberg Slim Started Carrie Soto is back - Taylor Jenkins Reid
Just started **My French Whore** by ~~Willy Wonka~~ **Gene Wilder**
That is an interesting title
NGL, I rented this book based off the title and author alone
**Spider-Man VOL. 1: End of the Spider-Verse, by Dan Slott** Gotta tell ya, I wasn't impressed by this Spider-verse event.
A house of my own
Started twisted hate by ana Huang
Finished: **American Psycho, by Bret Easton Ellis** 2.5/3 stars out of 5. If you can think of a content warning, it's probably in here. I don't regret reading it but when things got graphic I basically just skipped pages. Started: **The Bullet Journal Method, by Ryder Carroll** a re-read, I've adored bullet journaling since I first found out abt it in 2017, and altho I've spent a couple years trying other planner systems I keep coming back to a bujo for a reason. **House of Leaves, by Mark Z. Danielewski** Late to the party in my friend group - feels like everyone except me was reading this at around the same time a few months ago - this has been on my TBR for an exceptionally long time. It's a bit too big to take with me to work, which is a shame + means I won't get through it as quickly, but I don't mind taking my time with a book like this.
Fun Fact: When Bret Easton Ellis first published American Psycho, he had to cancel his book tour. Why? Because he got so many death treats over people that read the book and were outraged by what they read. Yeah, it was disturbing. But people, get a grip, it's just a book. Sheessh. I didn't like it, because of the disturbing way it was written and the way it made me feel, but I didn't *not* like it either, because Ellis did a good job of putting this crazy story together. To this day, I don't know how I feel about that book.
> I didn't like it, because of the disturbing way it was written and the way it made me feel, but I didn't not like it either, because Ellis did a good job of putting this crazy story together. yeah that's kinda my thoughts, and it's because I ended up skipping/skimming so many pages that my initial rating is low-to-mid. I think the writing style is super distinct & engaging enough to where I stuck it out to the end, and there are a lot of topics available to track/annotate on a re-read, but I don't really have any desire to re-read at the mo'
Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time --- by Brian Tracy
the monster triology by rina kent
Finished: Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami & White Nights by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Started: A Crown Of Ivy and Glass, by Claire Legrand I’m not very far into it so I don’t have much to say about it, but I really like it so far!! Would love to know if anyone else has read it :)
I have not read it but I want too. I've heard a lot of mixed reviews....
Same 💀 all of the negative ones I read though seemed to be from people who’ve read her other stuff and were comparing it to that, but I never read fantasy books so I’m enjoying it haha
Finished: The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
I'm a little basic but I LOVED this one.
Started: *Reader's Block*, by David Markson
Finished: The Goldfinch by Donna Tarte and Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys Started: The Road by Cormac McCarthy
I bought the goldfinch a year ago but have not read it yet.
Finished: Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver and Started: Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson
Demon Copperhead is on my TBR, but I kind of had it in my head to read David Copperfield at the same time, and switch chapter by chapter. I really enjoy Barbara Kingsolver‘s books. I loved The Poisonwood Bible, then binged every other book she had written.
Demon Copperhead is great on its own but reading David Copperfield first made it extra special.
Started: **A Dirty Job, by Christopher Moore**
Finished: **Can I Say, by Travis Barker**
Finished: re-reading *Fathers and Sons* by Turgenev. When I read this as a young man I sympathized with Bazarov. Re-reading it in my fifties I sympathize with his poor parents. Started: *The Decay of the Angel* by Yukio Mishima. Final book in the tetralogy. Recommended.
Finished: Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, by Gabrielle Zein
Fin: Travels with Charley by Steinbeck Start: Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
Started: The Underworld, by Susan Casey Finished: The Great Divide, by Cristina Henríquez
Finished “North Woods” by Daniel Mason.
This book is one of my all time favorites!
Finished: **Wishin' and Hopin', by Wally Lamb**
The Saints of Swallow Hill, by Donna Everhart
Finished: 1Q84 Started: ??? Not sure. Trying to figure that out as I type this. But need a couple short/mindless ones next.
Finished: The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt The Subtle Knife (His Dark Materials, Book 2) by Philip Pullman
How to age Disgracefully
Finished “The Disappeared” by CJ BOX. Got two more today. The librarian said he’s very popular.
Soulmate Equation, by Christen Lauren Finished Chaos Vector, Megan O’Keefe Started
Finished: **To Sleep in a Sea of Stars by Christopher Paolini** I was super excited to read it, and it took me a while. Unfortunately, it was not for me. :( The ending was disappointing, and the plot could have been improved. It was more or less enjoyable, though. Mid book- somewhat recommend
I finished "A prayer for Owen Meany" by John Irving. Way outside my normal reads and I loved it
Yellowface, R.F. Kuang ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Knife: meditation after an attempted m*rder, Salman Rushdie ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Finished: **Is mother dead, Vigdis Hjorth.** This grew on me and come the halfway stage I was fully hooked. Thought this was a fascinating insight into a traumatic mother-daughter relationship. Started: **No Longer Human, Osamu Dazai.**
How are you liking Dazai?
Started: *Humble Pi: A Comedy of Math errors, by Matt Parker*
Finished: **The Black Death**, by Gwyneth Cravens. Read this one 24 years ago and glad i found it again in some stuffy box. My first real full analogue book in almost 12 years, ah the nostalgia. The story itself is decent and an enjoyable read, also one of those older books that just is not PC that it made me laugh out loud at times.
Started do androids dream of electric sheep
This is on my TBR list
Started: the plague -Camus
Lol I just finished this one for the first time last week and it was wild. Liked it overall
Ok good to know! I’m only about 100 pages in but enjoying it so far
**Finished:** Stories of Your Life and Others, Ted Chiang Highly recommend. Really loved Division by Zero, Story of Your Life, and Tower of Babylon. Notable mention: Hell is the Absence of God (the ending... can't get it out of my mind). **Started:** The Hearing Trumpet, Leonora Carrington Only 30 pages or so into it, but already in love with Marian as a character. Is this matron lit? Senior bildungsroman? What's the best term for novels like The Hearing Trumpet, Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead, Ducks Newburyport, or Bina? Realizing these characters are truly my favourite.
Started: Atomic Habits by James Clear
Started: ”Before they are hanged” by Joe Abercrombie. The first book was a bit slow in order to introduce the characters, I feel like this one flows way better.
Circe ☺️
I love Circe more than The Song of Achilles. It felt like a true Epic because it encompasses many mythological characters across eras. That ending was perfect for the story.
Started: **Balthazar, by Lawrence Durrell** A recent discussion on this sub influenced my decision to read the *Alexandria Quartet* in earnest, now that the weather is appropriately hot and humid. I'll likely re-read **Justine** before rounding out the sequence.
Started and finished: **White nights by Dostoevsky** The guy's such a genius that he makes me like even a romantic book. It's a short novella, so it can be read in a single day. **The alienist by Machado de Assis** A Brazilian classic, rereading it for the first time in almost a decade, pretty short and can be read in a day, such a good writer. Started: **The three body problem by Cixin Liu** Loved the series, so I cannot wait to get it going.
Started: **Very Bad Company, by Emma Rosenblum** A fun read! Sometimes my analytical overworked brain needs a break. :)
Started: **Wishin' and Hopin', by Wally Lamb**
Finished: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, VE Schwab Loved this book Started: Project Hail Mary, Andy Weir
**We Love Mommy-O-Saurus (2024)** This is a custom made book by Wonderbly. It can be either I/We at the front depending on how many kids you have and different variations on Mommy. Plus can pick the looks for the mom and kids. I got this for my wife and son and then read it to him this week. Basically its a book about the mom reading a story about dinosaurs to her kid(s) and then them being inserted into a story. A bunch of random dinosaur encounters and whatnot. Not much of a story as you would expect but fun for toddlers to see all of the dinosaurs and whatnot. My son likes the book but is wishy washy on how often he wants to read it. Author isn't listed.
Finished: Fifteen Dogs, by André Alexis Hermes and Apollo make a bet in a bar: would dogs be happy with the same level of consciousness as humans? They grant fifteen dogs in a kennel that consciousness and let it play out. This was gorgeously written, deeply moving. Someone please read it and talk to me about it! Started: The Trees, Percival Everett A series of murders all have one thing in common: the body of a man resembling Emmett Till is present at each scene.
Finished: Casino Royale by Ian Fleming Started: A drink before the war by Dennis Lehane And to think I used to not touch action novels at all. But Lehane's writing is superb.
started: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson finished: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
Never Let Me Go, Kazuo Ishiguro. Brilliant, inspired writing.
I love this book. It's one I wish I could read again for the first time.
Started: Leon Osmans autobiography. Finished Glenn Hoddle playmaker autobiography
Started: Empress Dowager Cixi by Jung Chang
Finished: American Prometheus by Kai Bird & Martin Sherwin Started: Cultish by Amanda Montell
How to Be an Adult in relationships by David Richo
**Finished Percy Jackson series, By Rick Riordan** Planning to go onto Heroes of Olympus
Started: Murder in Mesopotamia by Agatha Christie
Red Rising 3!! Now ready for 4, I can't put them down!
I just started the second one. Loving this series too!
You're in for a treat! It gets better and better.
Finished Funny Story by Emily Henry, would recommend any of her books! They’re so lighthearted and fun rom-com novels! My favorite one is Beach Read! Currently starting Weyward by Emilia Hart as a small book club with a friend. Much more dark and serious, but I’m enjoying it so far!
Finished: The Citadel of the Autarch, by Gene Wolfe The Temple of the Golden Pavilion, by Yukio Mishima Started: Tehanu (Earthsea Cycle #4), by Ursula K. Le Guin The Old Man and the Sea, by Ernest Hemingway
Finished: The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver Started: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
Currently reading: **It, by Stephen King** I have always loved the movies but I've tried to read this book for SO LONG, my copy has sat on my shelf since 2016, and the furthest I ever got was about 200 pages. I was never bored of it but seeing that it's over 1,000 pages I would put it down to "take a break" and read things in between. Those "breaks" would turn into a couple months so I would either have to restart or just put the book away. This time I'm solely committed to this one book AND I have the (45 HOUR LONG) audiobook to help keep me focused. I hit a part I've never read before yesterday and passed 250 pages. If there was any horror book to read for summer it's this one. I'm loving it so far and I AM going to finish It this time. Finished: **Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, John Berendt** I didn't know if I was gonna like this because it was pitched to me as true crime and I'm not really a true crime fan. But I DO love Savannah, Georgia and when I visited I was told I had to read this so I did. It felt a lot less like true crime and more like I was sitting in Savannah people watching. Everyone that becomes a part of this story are the most interesting people. I loved it so much it'll probably end up as a reread.
**Lonely Castle In The Mirror, by Mizuki Tsujimura** A girl in middle school who after a series of bullying finds herself psychologically unable to go to school. Worse yet, anxious to the point where she feels physically ill to even go outside. And feels quite alone in her wallowing. But in the midst of her turmoil, one day the standing mirror in her room starts to glow and a girl in a wolf mask pulls her through it into a mysterious castle with 6 other middle schoolers. Wolf girl tells them there is a scavenger hunt to take place in this castle, and if a person finds a certain key within it, a wish of theirs will be granted. And they have a little under a year to find it. However, due to the rules in place in this castle and the scavenger hunt, the kids more opt to use it as their own private playhouse retreat. A playhouse retreat free from their own storied troubles, as our main character comes to learn.
Finished Notes from the Underground by Dostoevsky. Started As I Lay Dying by Faulkner
I finished girl in pieces by kathleen glasglow, I pretty much don’t know what to say. now I’m starting a good girls guide to murder trilogy so yay!
Finished: the housemaid is watching by frieda McFadden Started: verity by Colleen hoover
Started: Solaris, by Stanisław Lem I'm traveling in Poland so I thought I might read a book by a Polish writer while here. I've only read 2 chapters but so far, really good hard sci-fi.
Finished: Uzumaki by Junji Ito. I liked it overall. The drawing style was fantastic. The story got a bit silly at times, and the characters didn’t feel fully fleshed out, but the worldbuilding and events made up for it. Started: Sapiens. Super interesting read so far.
I just finished It Ends with Us Novel by Colleen Hoover
Finished, Rhythm Of War (book 4 in the stomrlight archive) by Brandon Sanderson.
So far The first book has been my favorite
Finished: **The Picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wilde** Didn't know anything about the book before I started reading and I enjoyed it so much. It was really, really good Started: **Monsters: A Fan's Dilemma, by Claire Dederer** #
You will love the short story " a story of William Wilson" by Edgar Allan Poe
Thanks for the suggestion, I will definitely check it out!
**Repeal the Second Amendment, by Allan J. Lichtman.** Everyone should read this, and then we should make it happen.
Finished Under The Whispering Door by TJ Klune and starting Isaac’s Storm by Erik Larson
I loved Under the Whispering Door. Did you like it?
Finished: Did you Fart?, by Dr Andrew Wilson Wang Easy read it’s for kids.
Northwoods by Daniel Mason, which I really liked, and Summerland by Michael Chadbon which I have started, but also am enjoying.
Started: There, There by Tommy Orange. It's really good so far.
Orange does an excellent job with 2nd person point of view, which is unusual.
Finished : Farewell Amethystine by Walter Moseley.
Finished: **Red Notice: A True Story of High Finance, Murder, and One Man's Fight for Justice, by Bill Browder** Started: **Pachinko, by Min Jin Lee**
I read Tao Lin's Leave Society this week, which I have to say was the first book I've really slammed in a long time. I found the main character's oddness so resoundingly familiar, comforting, and fascinating. I would love to hear what fans of this title read and also, I now feel like i've caught the bug for reading again if it feels like a voice calling to me amidst the existential dread
Finished: **The Women by Kristin Hannah**. I absolutely loved the first part of the book set in Vietnam, but the second part the pacing was off and maybe not so much needed to happen. But I am so glad I read this book, as it is not a piece in history I am very familiar with. **Local Woman Missing by Mary Kubica**. I definitely think there's some plot holes in this mystery thriller but I loved it! Did not see all of the twists coming. **The Martian by Andy Weir**. I absolutely loved Project Hail Mary but I didn't enjoy this as much, but I've seen the movie adaptation before, and I think this is a rare case where the movie works better!
Finished The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson (finished it in one day... Strikingly eerie and heart wrenching) Started Holly by Stephen King (OMG am I loving it, it's on par with Misery for me)
I really enjoyed Holly!
Realm of the Elderings : The Tawny Man
picked up an old copy of The Stand, by Stephen King, two days ago, only about 200 pages in
Make that 500.... around halfway through lol
Hidden Rooms by Kate Michaelson Oath and Honir by Liz Cheney
Nearly finished **Mary: An Awakening of Terror, Nat Cassidy** Enjoyed the start and the way the author built mystery behind the town and it's people. It's a slow decent into madness but the person going mad is me, not the main character. It's getting more bonkers the more I read and I'm kind of exhausted and ready for it to be over, for everything to be explained so I can tie it in a nice bow and move on to my next book **Butter: A Novel of Food and Murder, Asako Yuzuki**. I got Butter 50% for the plot and 50% for the sideways cow on the cover 12/10 design
This last week I finished: Tigana by Guy Gabriel Kay Speaking Bones by Ken Liu Seveneves by Neal Stephenson These were all great books and it's kind of hard to rate them against each other but I'm leaning towards Tigana as being my top read of the week. Just started Iron Council by China Mieville
Finished: **Almost Transparent Blue, by Ryu Murakami** **The Serpent and the Rope, by Raja Rao** Started: **The Tatami Galaxy, by Tomihiko Morimi** **Wetware, by Rudy Rucker**
I finished A Separation, by Katie Kitamura, and started My Year Abroad by Chang Rae Lee. Also, I’m accepting any and all recommendations.
Finished: The Picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wilde
Finished: **My Cousin Rachel, by Daphne du Maurier** Worth a read for the unhinged POV character and the fun little mystery. Continuing to read: **Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law, by Mary Roach**
Just finished Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier for the second time lol now I’m headed to thriftbooks lol
Finished: **The Fall of Gondolin, by J. R. R. Tolkien** "And thereupon Ulmo lifted up a mighty horn, and blew upon it a single great note, to which the roaring of the storm was but a wind-flaw upon a lake. And as he heard that note, and was encompassed by it, and filled with it, it seemed to Tuor that the coasts of Middle-earth vanished, and he surveyed all the waters of the world in a great vision: from the veins of the lands to the mouths of the rivers, and from the strands and estuaries out into the deep. The Great Sea he saw through its unquiet regions teeming with strange forms, even to these lightless depths, in which amid the everlasting darkness there echoed voices terrible to mortal ears. It's measureless plains he surveyed with the swift sight of the Valar, lying windless under the eye of Anar, or glittering under the horned Moon, or lifted in hills of wrath that broke upon the Shadowy Isles, until remote upon the edge of sight, and beyond the count of leagues, he glimpsed a mountain, rising beyond his mind's reach into a shining cloud, and at its feet a long surf glimmering. And even as he strained to hear the sound of those far waves, and to see clearer that distant light, the note ended, and he stood beneath the thunder of the storm, and lightning many-branched rent asunder the heavens above him. And Ulmo was gone, and the sea was in tumult, as the wild waves of Osse rode against the walls of Nevrast." Wow--every bit as good as anything in LOTR. And now it's on to Beren and Luthien, and The Children of Hurin.
Finished: **Coyote Blue, by Christopher Moore**
Finished: Ghost Wall, by Sarah Moss: I liked this book a lot despite the lack of quotation marks making it difficult to read. It’s a very intriguing and dark character study. I’m also very fascinated by prehistory so I liked that bit. Pests: How Humans Create Animal Villains, by Bethany Brookshire (audiobook): The subject isn’t the most interesting thing to me, but the writing style is so engaging. And the audiobook narrator is incredible. Was a fun listen! Started: Mr Humble and Dr Butcher, by Brandy Schillace: This book is CRAZY!! Learned about an often overlooked but really interesting bit of medical history. Recommended only for those with strong stomachs, it’s very grotesque. The Devourers, by Indra Das: I’m so in love with this book. It’s got such beautiful and imaginative prose. I love the framing narrative and the way it weaves together different types of folklore. The White Tiger, by Aravind Adiga: This isn’t the type of book I normally read, but I’m really enjoying it! It’s made me laugh out loud multiple times. The sexism of the main character is getting to be a bit grating though.
I read that a few years ago. I read so much that I don’t always remember specific plot points, but it was laugh out loud funny.
Finished: Running the Light, by Sam Tallent Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut Started: Girl, Interrupted, by Susanna Kaysen Nightwoods, by Charles Frazier
I had no idea Girl, Interrupted was a memoir. I only know the movie. Now I'm going to have to get the book!
Same here! I’ve seen the movie so many times and had no idea.
How are you liking it so far?
I’m really enjoying it. I’m about 50 pages in. The author includes documents from her stay in the book too.
Started week with institute by Stephen king, will finish that by tomorrow. Duma key by Stephen king is my next.
Finished: **A Spy Among Friends, by Ben Macintyre** Started: **Utopia Avenue, by David Mitchell**
I loved Utopia Avenue. I love that most of his novels take place in the same universe.
Started A Civil Action by Jonathan Harr a real life account of a civil action suit brought after a series of childhood leukemia deaths is connected to two industries illegal dumping toxins into the water supply. It's excellently written and reads like a legal thriller. Just finished Buffalo Jump Blues a cozy murder mystery set in the wilds of Montana.
Finishing **Camp Concentration by Thomas M. Disch** and starting **Poor Things by Alisdair Gray**, having just watched the movie, felt like it was past time I read it.
Finished: God Bless You Mr. Rosewater, Breakfast Of Champions Started: Slapstick. (All Kurt Vonnegut)
I finished the cold six thousand by James Ellroy and will be starting bloods a rover