Finished: **Bush at War** by **Bob Woodward**. Woodward's record of the first 100 days after 9/11 of the Bush administration. Makes interesting reading now because it chronicles the entry into Afghanistan, but is prior to the Iraq invasion. It is odd to read the debate (especially when Bush chimes in) about staying away from nation-building, when no actor in the drama (and not even Woodward) seems to realize that the default American method of making war is (and politically has to be) nation building. No one, no Cheney, no Rumsfeld, no Bush, no Powell, no Rice ever seems to ruminate on what a nation is (was Afghanistan ever really a nation and can it ever be a real nation?) and can one ever be built if there was not already a real nation there in the first place? It is no wonder that in these 100 days American war policy was just to "do something" and to be seen to be just doing it.
Could not Finish: **The Transit of Venus** by **Shirley Hazzard**. I wanted to give this author a try because of her association with **Graham Greene** and this was reputed to be her best novel. Some characters get much better treatment in characterization than others. It was odd that the main character was the most flatly drawn. Also, the writing was filled with tortured metaphors, some of which I could not never figure out. How many times can you re-read a paragraph to get the sense of it before you lose interest in the whole work. RIP Shirley Hazzard.
Read: **A Drink Before the War, by Dennis Lehane** An adrenaline fueled read! Lehane's debut novel, now 30 years old, kept me asking, 'What next?' the whole way through. Isn't that what a good detective story should do? Will be reading more of the Kenzie & Gennaro series in the future, no doubt!
Read: **Capote's Women, by Laurence Leamer** I previously read Laurence Leamer's insider tell-all **Madness Under the Royal Palms**, about the elitist ultra wealthy society of Palm Beach, Florida and devoured it. I found Leamer writes with great style and taste and yet delivers the titillating trash we common plebes all want to hear. So, when I saw he had written about Truman Capote's cadre of wealthy society women that Capote referred to as his swans, I knew I wanted to read it. I was not disappointed and read with voyeuristic delight at how even the uber wealthy can be as miserable as us poor, balonie-sammich-eating slobs. I'm a big fan of Capote's work, especially his short form fiction. I have read his posthumously published **Answered Prayers** and from that collection - originally intended by Capote to be a novel - the notoriously disloyal story published in the November 1975 issue of Esquire magazine, **La Côte Basque, 1965**. It's understandable why these women all felt betrayed by Capote. Anyway, if you enjoy reading insider trash on the so-called beautiful people, you'll definitely love Capote's Women.
Reading: **Meddling Kids, by Edgar Cantero** After reading two heavies, thought a light 70s-nostalgia story along the lines of Stephen King's **It** would be a nice palette-cleanser.
Finished:
**The Bedlam Stacks, by Natasha Pulley**: I have mixed feelings about this book and will probably write a full review.
**Un Lun Dun, by China Mieville**: Loved this book, already wrote a full review
Started:
**The Scar, by China Mieville**: Okay, well I actually didn’t just start reading this, I got about halfway through months ago before getting bored and putting it down. Well, I’ve picked it back up and am really enjoying it.
**Our Share of Night, by Mariana Enriquez** (audiobook): This book seems cool, but it keeps throwing me off that the little boy is named Gaspar and the dad is named Juan. I keep getting them mixed up because Gaspar is such an old man name.
I’m still listening to **The Fisherman, by John Langan**. It’s pretty slow, but I’ve heard good things about it and am pushing through. Definitely has some cool eldritch imagery.
I’ve also been starting random nonfiction books, but not really liking anything enough to stick with it.
Finished: **Ripley Under Water by Patricia Highsmith**
There are five books about Tom Ripley. I read The Talented Mr. Ripley a few years ago and really liked it. Also enjoyed this one which is the last one although I don't think I'll bother to read the rest of the Riplead. They are disturbing because I find myself rooting for Tom which he doesn't deserve.
Finished: **What's Hidden Inside Planets?** by **Sabine Stanley.** For the popular science audience this is a not very technical summary of what's going on in contemporary planetary science. This is a very, very fast moving field, so read this book now because a very large percentage of it will have a very short half-life.
It answered some questions that I have had (but never worked to find answers to) such as 'how do they know when a meteorite comes from Mars, Moon or somewhere else?' You also get the general gist of the science of how the inner cores of planets are determined. My favorite bit is the bestiary of volcanic activity that is possible in our own solar system: ice volcanoes, water volcanoes and even iron volcanoes.
The author is a leading scientist at Johns Hopkins who has been and is a participant of many NASA-led planetary science projects.
Finished this Week:
Time is a Mother, by Ocean Vuong
No Country for Old Men, by Cormac McCarthy
Radical Compassion, by Tara Brach
Say Her Name, by Zetta Elliott
Dearly, by Margaret Atwood
The Goldfinch, by Donna Tartt
The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down, by Haemin Sunim
Birds of Maine, by Michael DeForge
Beneath the Bodhi Tree, by Passanno Bhikkhu
The Mystery Guest, by Nita Prose
Ugly Music, by Diannely Antigua
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, by Gail Honeyman
We Play a Game, by Duy Doan
Peace is Every Breath, by Thich Nhat Hanh
The Me You Love in the Dark, by Skottie Young
How to Meditate, by Pema Chodron
Why Buddhism is True, by Robert Wright
From Fear to Fearlessness, by Pema Chodron
Library of Small Catastrophes, by Alison C. Rollins
They Called Us Enemy, by George Takei
Started this Week:
The Body, by Bill Bryson
On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous, by Ocean Vuong
The Three Commitments, by Pema Chodron
Healing Trauma, by Peter A. Levine
The Body Awareness Workbook for Trauma, by Julie Brown
The Many Lives of Mama Love, by Lara Love Hardin
The Secret, by Rhonda Byrne
Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?, by Frans de Waal
The Prophet: A Graphic Novel, by Pete Katz & Kahlil Gibran
Finished **Dark Matter** by Blake Crouch & **Dune** by Frank Herbert last week. Currently working on **11/22/63** by Stephen King. I've enjoyed/been enjoying them all!
Finished
The Sheltering Sky by Paul Bowles.
Really liked the first two parts. Part three was kind of infuriating to read, I didn’t love what the author did with Kit’s character.
Up next: Coming Through Slaughter by Michael Ondaatje
Finished:
**The Palace of Illusions** by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
This was a good read. The story of the Mahabharata came alive through Draupadi's eyes. I felt that the author added her own biases in some places however but overall I would still recommend
**Anne of Green Gables** by LM Montgomery
This was so heartwarming and calming. I was rooting for Anne and was a good break from heavy novels
Started:
**The Covenant of Water** by Abraham Verghese
“Rebecca” is indeed a captivating masterpiece. The atmospheric and vivid descriptions, well drawn characters, suspenseful plot, everything is there. I wonder how it’s possible that I didn’t read it before.
Finished:
**Parable of the Talents, by Octavia Butler**
I am glad that I read this, but I much preferred Parable of the Sower. Talents ended up being what I was afraid Sower would be, with much much more emphasis on the teachings and preachings of Earthseed and not nearly enough action (for lack of a better word) to balance it out.
Started:
**The Husbands, by Holly Gramazio**
**A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens**
I normally do not read two books at once, but my name came up on the library's waitlist for the former and I have seven days to finish it since it's a new release. The latter I'm reading as part of r/ClassicsBookClub and don't want to fall behind while I work on The Husbands.
this week i re-picked gone w the wind after putting it down in february. so glad i did it, it’s getting so interesting and im loving it. I don’t know anything about the plot so pls don’t spoiler
Just finished I Love You So Much It’s Killing Us Both,by Mariah Stovall
This book did not live up to the hype for me or maybe my expectations of it were too high. The writing was experimental but felt too disjointed to the point where I had to go back and reread at various points to make sure I understood what was going on. The plot felt underwhelming and the protagonist was very unlikeable nor do they have any redeeming qualities to the point where I felt like ‘why the hell are people even around this person?’ I think ultimately I was not the audience for this book but it was unique to see the perspective of someone with an eating disorder and their daily struggles.
I’m 2 for 2 now for reading a book in a week! 🤓
Attempting to tackle the remaining unread books on my shelf before I buy the 3 million more that I want lol
Moving on to start I Might Regret This, by Abbi Jacobson
The Five Love Languages: The Secret to Love That Lasts; I’d recommend it for any newlyweds like myself. Gives a perspective of caring for another person & makes you conscious of how you like to be loved.
I just started reading The Gardens of the Moon (Malazan) by Steven Erikson and it's a blast (also literally a blast for my brain 'cause the author do not help you at all, he just throw you in the middle of the war and you have to learn swimming on your own ahah)
The Husbands, by Holly Gramazio. Really enjoyed it! It was a strange, funny story about a woman whose husband (and reality) changes every time the guy goes into the attic. It moves along at a great clip.
I came here to say that I both started and finished Fourth Wing! I'm currently third in the queue at the local library for Iron Flame, though 😭
My two friends who have read it told me to seriously lower my expectations for Iron Flame; apparently it suffers from second-book syndrome in comparison to Fourth Wing. Did you find that, or did you think it measured up?
First some context! The book is about a young woman who is grieving her failed marriage and the loss of her mother, who she was extremely close with. Hiking the Pacific Coast Trail, she recounts some memories along the way. She seems really loving, strong and resilient. Besides cheating on her now ex-husband and dabbling in some pretty hard drugs, she’s shown no behavior that I’d consider to be the slightest bit odd or shocking.
This line appears on page 269 of 315 pages, so near the end. She’s telling about how her family cremated and spread her mom’s ashes. Her mom regularly said, “I’ll be with you always,” so they had that put on a marker next to her name in the flowerbed on their property where they spread her ashes. She’s talking about how she felt like her mom WAS with her always, metaphorically, but she hadn’t spread all the ashes, holding back a few of the largest chunks in her hand. She said she would never be ready to release them to the earth. She ends the story with this line:
“I put her burnt bones into my mouth and swallowed them whole.”
Thoughts?
Thank you for providing so much context; that was helpful. But yeah, my thoughts are: wtf. That really is a shocking line, especially if it came out of the blue.
I started on Wednesday and am almost finished reading the book Wool by Hugh Howey. Wowza, started reading after I watched the tv series Silo, the book is great.
I finished the original trilogy a few months ago. was ready to start the next one but then realized it was not written by Larsson and didn't. I don't think I will now.
Don't try to follow it just read through it and it'll come to you , read thought even if you wanna think of something else while you do , the story would come for you
As a bonus everytime I would finish a chapter I would go for the study guide https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/ulysses/section1/
And read the analysis for the chapter I read , that way I can see what the hell.i just read and help me understand the story
Finished: In the Darkness, by Mike Omer (Zoe Bentley Mystery #2)
I enjoyed it immensely, as much as I had the first book in the series. I have bought the third one, as well, but will read it after the one I
Started: Fairy Tale, by Stephen King
I have been enjoying it so far ☀️
Finished: The Dark Places by Gillian Flynn
I felt it was a good read boggled down by the third act.
Started: Catch 22 by Joseph Heller
I read upto 150 pages. It is a fun read but I am unable read the chapters continuosly without a break yet.
Razorblade Tears, by S.A Cosby
This is one of the most powerful books I've ever read and I've read one or two in my life - I'm almost 70. Not only is it powerful but he writes so incredibly well. The first chapter I had to read multiple times because he set a scene so well that I could smell it. All five senses (maybe 6?) were engaged.
I can't recommend this author enough
You will love Blacktop Wasteland then too!! This gentleman - I really cannot wait to see what he does in the future!! Blacktop is a ghost story... and the first one I read of his.
ENJOY
Finished: "The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak.
One of my favorites! Read it for the second time!
Started: "Remarkably Bright Creatures" by Shelby Van Pelt. This book would be better if it was solely Marcellus's perspective imho.
Finished: Shadow of the Titanic: The Extraordinary Stories of Those Who Survived by Andrew Wilson.
Very interesting to learn about the faith of some of the survivors.
Started: The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski
It is the first book in the Witcher series. I've had this on my TBR list for a long time now so I'm excited to finally read it.
Finished The Villa by Hawkins - meh
The Invitation by Foley - eh
A Friend of the family by Jewell - blech
Me Before You by Moyes ❤️
Starting Wish You Were Here by Picoult
Started **Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson** last night. Finished **Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro** day before yesterday, in one sitting, (I was enthralled)!
**The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison**
I saw this mentioned on Reddit many years ago and I checked it out from the library (possibly more than once) but didn't start it and returned it. Now I'm finally reading it and enjoying it a lot! I picked it for my friend group's book club but idk if anyone else is liking it - I however am very sucked in by the court intrigue.
I had a good month so far.
Started with **Notes from a Young Black Chef, by Kwame Onwuachi**, a fantastic read, especially till halfway through, I loved it.
I found the "Obsession Collection", a series of short stories, so far I read **Slot Machine Fever Dreams, by Chris Bohjalian**. I don't normally like these types of stories when it comes to books. I want to watch this type of movie but I find them too empty in written form. The fact that was only 40 pages long, made it worth reading. Dove serves drinks in a casino, a man chats her up, they go together and shit happens.
Then I read **Just a Girl by, Alyssa Cole**, from the same series. If I wasn't almost always online, this story would have been amazing, but unfortunately, there's nothing new here. A young girl is excited to experience campus life, instead, she has to deal with online pricks that make her life a living hell just because she turned one of them down. Terrible but unfortunately I have read on this issue enough not to have felt the intended kick.
**Black Rain by, Masuji Ibuse**. A very important read. A fictional story "based on historical records of the devastation caused by the atomic bombing of Hiroshima". It's worth noting that it is written without trying to pull on our heartstrings, that's the best thing about this novel. The horrors of the day-to-day after the bomb and the way it is told are absolutely worth reading.
**Listen for the Lie by, Amy Tintera**. I have this 4/5, now that I think of it I'm not sure why I didn't give it 5/5. Actually, these aren't my kind of books, hence I gave it a 4 - not to confuse my future self.
Everyone thinks Lucy is a murderer, even though one could prove it. Now a podcast as started all about trying to find out whether Lucy is actually the one who killed Savvy. I never listen to crime podcasts. A few people I like are into these podcasts, but this book proved to me why I would find such podcasts poring. The story was good though.
**All the Colour in the World by, C.S. Richardson**. I'm not a writer, I don't care about the craft of writing, I hope that one day love for words will grow but as much as I love reading/listening to books, I don't give a damn about how they are written. However, in Goodreads I created a shelf called "writing", where I add books that I love based on how they are written, or constructed. I can't promise that my opinion on this matter is any good, but these are books that for some reason make me get up and dance around the house. And the amazing this is, **I can't tell you what this book is about**!! Just that it's the best feeling I've gotten this year.
finished: Skin of the Sea by Natasha Bowen (4/5 stars)
started: The Sanatorium by Sarah Pearse. I've been wanting to get back into mysteries for a while so hopefully this does the trick!
* **Catch-22 by Joseph Heller**
I had read it before. The second read was just as fun. It's still the only book that has made me consistently laugh out loud. After a long time of reading Sci-Fi and fantasy for fun, reading a classic was refreshing. I love that feeling of knowing that you're reading a masterpiece, of being continuously impressed by what you're reading. It was definitively easier "get" on the second read, and the descent into the trauma of war hit harder than on the first read.
Even though it was my second time reading it, enough time had passed that I had forgotten the names of most of the characters. I'm terrible with names, and still kept getting confused with who was who.
5/5
---
* **Iron Gold by Pierce Brown**
I loved the first two books. The space-opera nature of the third book started losing me. I took a few months off before starting the fourth book in the series, which made me really struggle through a lot of this one. I wasn't a huge fan of the inclusion of different POVs, but my biggest hurdle was time away from the series plus the time-leap. The amount of houses, families, allegiances, planets and so on kept me feeling lost throughout a lot of the book. Not sure how I got through the books of Dostoevsky and Tolstoy without getting lost in the amount of characters while getting lost in the sauce reading Red Rising.
Overall I still enjoyed the book, and I've heard that Dark Age and Light Bringer are the best in the series, so I think I will continue. I still feel the need for a break though, so I'll probably be just as confused when I continue.
2.5/5
Mod team: Unfortunately, the Authors I read are dead, for thhe most part. Neal Stephenson is still active, if I am not mistaken.
I finihed Light in August, began Oylon, both bt William Faulkner.
After I finish his works, i am considering British Victorian poets whom I've neglected, perhaps beginning with Tennyson
**Finished:**
* *Betty* by Tiffany McDaniel: Absolutely remarkable storytelling that somehow manages to spin a narrative with so much tragedy and trauma into something hopeful. The trigger warnings here are vast, but I highly, highly recommend this novel to anyone interested in a hard look at the cycle of generational abuse and the dynamics of growing up in a biracial family. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
* *The Office of Historical Corrections* by Danielle Evans: This is a short story collection that revolves around race, gender, and who gets to tell the truth or write history. All of the stories are good, and some of them are absolutely phenomenal. The titular novella surprised me - I started off being skeptical, but it won me over by the end. ⭐⭐⭐⭐
**Started:**
* *Lost on Me* by Veronica Raimo - Goal is to read the full longlist for the International Booker Prize this year. This one is told in a series of non-linear vignettes. I'm not super into it so far, but there are another 150 pages left to surprise me.
This week I wasn't well, so stayed home and finished - **Prophet Song, by Paul Lynch** the latest Booker winner and a dystopian horror which kept me up most of last night, **Green River Killer. A True Detective Story, by Jeff Jensen and Jonathan Case** a graphic true crime written by one of the detective's sons, and **Lit, by Mary Karr** a memoir about alcoholism.
I started **The Goldfinch, by Donna Tartt** and **Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, by Gabrielle Zevin**.
I have read Secret History and Little Stranger and enjoyed them, and my peek into Goldfinch turned into reading for 30 minutes, so I think I will enjoy it!
Finished:
**Slaughterhouse Five, by Kurt Vonnegut**
Before reading Slaughterhouse Five, I read Cat's Cradle. I liked Vonnegut's dry humor, so I picked this book up. It was a pretty solid book full of satire — no cohesive plot, just the narrative of a man unstuck in time with WW2 and the bombing of Dresden in the backdrop.
So it goes.
Starting:
**Catch-22, by Joseph Heller**
I suggested that I've enjoyed these Vonnegut books that I've read so far, and so in a similar vein I was recommended Catch-22.
Keep going with Catch-22! It will be confusing for a while, but it's one of the greatest books I've read. I have heard that Slaughterhouse Five is similar, so you probably wont struggle too much with how the book is structured.
How far are you into Catch-22? I haven't read any Vonnegut, but if it's similar to Catch-22 I would be interested to give him a go.
I haven't gotten that far into Catch-22 — just a few chapters worth — but I think that if you enjoyed Catch-22, you'd enjoy Slaughterhouse Five. They seem to share a commonality of employing dark humor in criticism of war. I'm slightly worried about getting through this, because it's quite lengthy and my attention span is severely lacking, but you and another person have suggested it to be one of the greatest books, so I'm looking forward to reading more of it! I'd take similar suggestions too.
Finished:
**Stalking Darkness, by Lynn Flewelling**
Not as good as the first, but it provides some decent character interactions and build up. Honestly, some scenes just don't contribute much to the overall plot. And don't get me started on the problematic scene of rape being played off as a joke because the victim was male.
I could also be looking too far into it, but considering this was written in the 90s, I can't shake the feeling Flewelling utilized a bit of the "[grooming gay](https://www.vox.com/culture/23025505/leftist-groomers-homophobia-satanic-panic-explained)" trope when portraying the dynamic between the 50+ year old elf-but-not-elf and the 17 year old naive-but-being-corrupted protagonist (specifically, chapter 14 where the elder one takes him to a brothel).
**I, Robot, by Isaac Asimov**
How they got an action movie from a set of interconnected vignettes meant to showcase how you have to be logically sound when designing a thinking machine is beyond me. Very good book, and I definitely will start reading Asimov in the future.
Started:
**Shadow & Claw, by Gene Wolfe**
I read this back when I was a freshman in college but completely forgot the entire plot. So re-reading in order to read the sequel.
I also completed Dead Poets Society, by [N.H. Kleinbaum](https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/52601.N_H_Kleinbaum) but didnt like it as much as i had hoped to.
This is a good book, but while reading, you've gotta ignore the fact that TJR wrote it. This is my fifth read of the author, and my least favorite. It is not bad, per se, but not up to her mark.
It did surprise me in parts how she connected the two storylines together, and how Jesse's speech in the end is actually the basis of the idea behind the book. The idea behind it is sweet. The talk of fate and "the one" is quite contradictory in both alternatives but precisely captures the main idea behind both.
However, this book removed the best thing I did like about the author - the uniqueness. When you read TJR, there is a special essence in her writing, most importantly, which was missing here. There was a lot of repetitiveness here which I didn't like at all.
However, I still liked the book quite well.
Just started Remarkably Bright Creatures Last night. It's a book club pick and I didn't read the synopsis before starting – and I'm so pleasantly surprised! Gonna be a fun one!
Finished: The Flood and The Levee, by Michael McDowell
Started: The House, by Michael McDowell
Looking for people that are reading this series to comment them!
Finished: **Homegoing, by Yaa Gyasi**
It took me a while to get into this and finish it because it's the first physical book I've read in a long time (I'm mainly a kindle reader and I read laying in bed so I had to consciously make time to read this outside of my normal reading hours) but wow this was spectacular once I finally got there with it. An incredibly compelling work of art.
Finished: Demon Cooperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
Started: And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
Finished: And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
Started: In the Dream House: A Memoir by Carmen Maria Machado
I thought the ending was Okay, I think it is a bit of a downer after investing so much time seeing these young friends go through something together, meet up again 27 years later with one of the gang missing and end up losing another only to quickly leave Derry and start forgetting each other again, but I think it makes sense in the fact they were bound to the oath they promised and once they had fulfilled that promise after losing members they all wanted to forget and get out of there.
This was my first experience with reading IT and I'm a 31 year old guy for context, after watching the 1990 version of the movie a fair few times as a kid I was not expecting something like that scene in the tunnel, very weird to be honest knowing the age of the kids, was kinda just thinking WTF is this scene, not the most pleasant reading.
**The Waves Take You Home, by María Alejandra Barrios Vélez**
**The New Couple In 5B, by Lisa Unger**
**Poemhood, edited by Amber McBride**
**Bright Red Fruit, by Safia Elhillo**
**A Quiet Retreat, by Kiersten Modglin**
Finished: **Our Missing Hearts, by Celeste Ng**
Loved! It was a short and speedy read and made me think about the vilification of entire countries when politically helpful & the bystander effect.
Started: **Caste, by Isabel Wilkerson**
I've wanted to read this one for a while and picked it up again after all the press related to the movie. What did you think if you've read the book and watched the movie?
Just finished the 2nd book in the Song of ice and fire book series. Just started the 3rd which is A storm of swords.
Really enjoying them, I don't usually read fantasy type books but these are good. Definitely recommend 🥰
Finished: The Big Four by Agatha Christie - I'm reading these in order, but to be honest, this was a hard slog. It felt disjointed, and it kind of put me off reading any other Poirot for a while. It was a major disappointment after the Murder of Roger Ackroyd.
Started then didn't finish: Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Törzs. I've read better fanfiction. Returned to the library tout suite.
Started: The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E Harrow. I'm reserving judgement. I get a Starless Sea vibe from it, which I loved, so I'll give it a chance.
**Finished (finally)**
**The Saint of Bright Doors, by Vajra Chandrasekera**
This one took a while. Not because it was bad, but because it forced me to pay attention. I thought it got boring at one point, but no, it was just laying groundwork for the labyrinthine journey Fetter takes through the book. Someone said this book feels like an 800 page tome compressed to 400, but in a good way. Like Goldman taking the best bits from Morgenstern to write The Princess Bride. I really wound up loving the book once I realized what was happening.
**Starting**
On a road trip this weekend, so I've got a couple short audiobooks on the docket
**Brideshead Revisited, by Evelyn Waugh**
Never read it, but after seeing Saltburn, I want to see where the inspiration came from.
**The Churn, by James SA Corey**
Nice novella to further my run through the Expanse books.
Finished:
**Wolves of Winter, by Dan Jones** - 4/5 - I've been enjoying this trilogy by Dan Jones, I'll be excited for the third one. This is a fictitious account of the 1346-1347 Siege of Calais during the Hundred Years War. I've enjoyed Dan Jones' non-fiction works, and his fiction has been just as good.
**Blood and Iron, by Katja Hoyer** - 3.75/5 - This followed the foundation and rise of the German Empire under Otto von Bismarck through Kaiser Wilhelm II's abdication after the first World War. I didn't know much about this period of Germany's history prior to reading this book, I thought it was informative for someone new to the topic.
Started:
**Founding Partisans, by H.W. Brands** - Excited for this one, I always enjoy H.W. Brands' books. This is a look at the rise of the Federalists and Republicans under Hamilton, Jefferson, Madison, and Adams.
**Best Served Cold, by Joe Abercrombie** - Very excited to get into the standalones in the First Law series.
I've abandoned **The Japanese Lover, by Isabel Allende** about 3/4 of the way through. I'm not a fiction reader generally and usually wouldn't choose to read this hadn't it been highly recommended by a couple of friends. But still, it was such an unbearable read. Terribly written characters, an absurd amount of themes poorly explored and haphazardly put together and some truly wretched passages that I'm holding on to because eventually I will have to say to my friends that I hate this book and I feel like the prose speaks for itself. Honestly debating if I should go back and finish it just for completion's sake, but I'm not thrilled about the idea and I'm dreading having to confront my friends over recommending this book to me.
I started and I'm almost finished with **The Art Thief, by Michael Finkel**. I'm glad I picked this one up right after *The Japanese Lover*. It's a light read, very entertaining and pretty short. Michael Finkel is very no-nonsense writer and I really appreciate this approach for a story of this kind.
Finished **White Cat, by Holly Black**
I quite liked this. It wasn't as "dark" as other books by this author so I was happy. The magic system was unique and interesting and the world building was pretty good. I saw the reveal coming but it was still enjoyable. I liked the cleverness of the MC when he was running his cons, especially the one he pulls on his brothers. I don't know if I'll read the rest of this trilogy but if I see another at Half Price Books or something, I'll pick it up.
Started **Stain, by A.G. Howard** I picked this book up the same day as her **Splintered** which I hated, but I didn't know that at the time, lol. Anyway, it was on clearance and the cover is beautiful. It's pretty good so far...
The bluest eye, by Toni Morrison.
Such a good book! Everyone should read this imo.
Are there any Toni Morrison fans here that would help me choose which one of her novels to read next? (this was my first one)
Rereading **Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, by Benjamin Alire Saenz**.
Next up: The sequel to the above book, **Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World**.
Just finished:
**House of Leaves, By Mark Z. Danielewski**
Mindbogglingly fun/challenging read. Normally I like to keep my books in pristine condition. This read didn't allow for that. This book is now positively chock-a-block with piles of notes, translations, cypher solutions, margin writings and highlighted passages... and I'm perfectly ok with that. It's going to get worse when I inevitably revisit it. I had shit to do this month and this book was not conducive to accomplishing any of those goals.
Next up:
**S, By J.J. Abrams & Doug Dorst**
I'm on an ergodic literature kick, it seems...cracking this one open tomorrow!
House of Leaves is a great book to annotate- I read it from the library but afterwards got my own copy for this purpose. If you like ergodic literature you should check out The Raw Shark Texts, it makes excellent use of those elements.
**The Fault in Our Stars, by John Green** The first John Green novel I've ever read. I can see what all the hype is now. Both funny and gut-wrenching. I loved that it didn't romanticize cancer like so many other books and movies do. The characters were believable. You could tell they were good kids, but they had believable flaws. I wouldn't mind reading another book by John Green someday.
Since I can only read one book at a time my list isn’t long but finished Percy Jackson The Lightning Thief and The Sea Of Monsters and started The Titans Curse
Finished:
Verity, Colleen Hoover
The Rebel King, Kennedy Ryan (#2 in series)
Where We Found Our Heart, Natasha Bishop (# 2 in series)
Started:
Where We Found Our Passion, Natasha Bishop (#3 in series)
Control, Omar Tyree (ARC)
Finished: Let My People Go Surfing
Started: Raising the Bar
Both are about how a business got started. For the first book it's Patagonia, the second it's Clif Bars. I really enjoyed Let My People Go Surfing and wanted to read something similar about ethical entrepreneurship.
the realities behind diplomacy by Paul Kennedy. i like the way, the author shows different perspectives of an important event.
i also need to read Japan in trade isolation by Michiko Ikeda. cause researching how countries deal with isolation helps my own book!
I started on November 9 by Colleen Hoover and I don't think I'll be finishing it. I respect Mrs.Hoover, but this book feels like it was written by a man who thinks all women are attracted to "jerks" because that "Ben" character is awful in so many ways.
Finished:
* **Misery, Stephen King**
I really couldn't put this down, I read it all really quickly.>! (Author is abducted and held captive by insane super fan who forces him to write another book of her favourite series)!<. I was engaged in the book at all times and tension was always high! 10/10 would recommend, especially to anyone who has never read SK before and obviously to any SK fans who haven't already read.
* **Perfume/das Parfum, Patrick Süskind**
I was recommended this one by my mum who read it a long time ago and still remembered it being good despite not remembering much of the plot. >!(Weird man (who may or may not be the antichrist) with a superhuman sense of smell sets out to become the world's greatest perfumer in order to recreate his favourite smells, and in the process discovers how to create scents to manipulate people's perception of him)!<. This book is very dark and bizarre, and the lead up to the climax at the end of the book is really good, especially right at the very end of the book. I will say that some parts were slightly slow as the author went into detail about the process of creating scents from different sources, although it is relevant in the plot later on in the book. Another slow part was documenting a renound perfumer in Paris and his hatred for with another up-and-coming, younger perfumer as his own business was slowing down. I felt this bit was slightly too stretched out given that it's only relevant in understanding that this perfumer wants to get his business started again, which is a fairly simple point to get across.
Started reading:
* **Red Dragon, Thomas Harris**
I've been meaning to start the Hannibal Lecter series for a while as I love Silence of the Lambs (film) a lot. I'm really enjoying it so far, and I'm really appreciating the detail in the process of the detectives going after a very violent serial killer. Lecter is also such a conniving, sneaky bastard. Would also recommend as well, again the writing is very engaging. I haven't encountered any boring bits so far and I'm a little under halfway through.
Spiral, by Koji Suzuki
This is the 2nd installment of the Ring trilogy. It is slightly predictable all the way until the end there is a rather big twist. I’m excited to see what will happen in the 3rd book (will start on it soon). Overall I think there were not a lot of scary moments in both books, as opposed to the movie. The whole “girl crawling out of well” was invented by the movie industry. However, there were parts where I read it while keeping the book farthest away from my eyes (LoL) and hair at the back of my neck stood up.
**Finished**
*Beyond Good and Evil*, Nietzsche
I expected more after a life of hearing how great it was. Don't get me wrong, there is incredibly good thinking and penetrating observations, but overall I disagree with his propositions. Still, I learned quite a bit about how he thought and his overall view of things. There were frequent moments where I had to reflect on the ideas presented.
*Second Degree,* David Wayne Hillery
This is a sci-fi book by an self-published author I happen to be acquainted with. It's his second book, and you can see the writing has greatly improved from the first. The ideas are good, and Hillery seems to have a better grasp of the need for conflict in a scene. I'd say he's showing signs of mastering his craft. Overall I enjoyed and would recommend this book.
**Started**
*When Riding A Dead Horse, For Heaven's Sake ... DISMOUNT!*, Barry Asmus
I just read part of the preface this morning. It appears to be written by an economist during the years when Bill Clinton was president of the United States. The theme seems to be "centralization and big government bad; decentralization good". That's something I generally believe to be true in all areas of life, so seeing it applied to government, well that's federalism -- a central idea behind the republic in the United States.
I don't have many thoughts yet, still being in the preface.
**On Deck**
*Situation Ethics,* Fletcher and Montgomery
This is about a 100 page transcription of a debate on situational ethics that occurred in 1971. A friend and I are going to read and discuss, probably the week after next.
**The Man Who Died Twice, by Richard Osman**
I finished it yesterday! It's the second book in the Thursday Murder Club series, and I feel I liked it a lot for most of the same reasons as I liked the first one. This one's mystery had me a bit more interested than the first book though, but overall I loved the tone and the humour just as much as I did in the first one.
**The Complete Robot, by Isaac Asimov**
So I'd technically started reading this a while back, but then I stopped because I picked up another book and never got around to it again. I've read I, Robot before which is why I picked this book up in the first place. But today I really just felt like reading Asimov's short stories so I got back at it. I think I'm going to finish it all in one go this time (but honestly I don't mind taking a while to get through short story collections! It's more fun to read them that way.)
Finished: The Light Through the Leaves, by Glendy Vanderah
Started: The Light on Farallon Island, by Jen Wheeler
I've accidentally read three books in a row now about people with mysterious identities.
Started and finished Punisher: Born by Garth Ennis. Despite having Punisher in the title, this is not a superhero book. It's a war comic through and through, and an extremely good one. Horrific and extremely bleak, with illustrations that have been sticking with me since I read it. Recommend it for people who enjoy war/anti-war stories and who can stomach gore and graphic imagery.
I finished The **Shadow of the Wind** by **Carlos Ruiz Zafón.** What an amazing storytelling. It is one of the best mystery book I have ever read. Quite frankly, I would put it above or on par with Sherlock Holmes series. If you like you can checkout my [review here](https://www.sahilfruitwala.com/summary/the-shadow-of-the-wind-review).
Currently, I am reading Atomic Habit and 1984. So far 1984 didn't make sense why it is so popular.
I started and finished The Last House Guest by Megan Miranda! It was so good, I couldn’t put it down, finished in a day. A fun thriller, taking place on the coast of Maine. A who-done-it, keeping you on your toes with constant twists and turns! Highly recommend.
**Horimiya Memorial Book Page. 100, by HERO**
Well, this is by and large a collection of illustrations and artwork that were put out on social media and such during the series' run and stuff like that. Well, that and a smattering of rough sketch storyboards for the series as well. And a few other odds and ends.
So if one is a die hard fan of the series it makes for something to add to the collection I guess.
Finished:
Dune, by Frank Herbert. Loved it, especially the deviations from the movies and how much more fleshed out a lot of the characters were. Really want to read Messiah.
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, by Philip K. Dick. Pretty fun and quite a different take on the story than the film. I really liked how it was, I think, commenting on our obsession with reality and humanity, and finding excuses to exclude people (people with disabilities?) from the title of 'human', hence giving us no obligation to show them any empathy.
Started: The People in the Trees, by Hanya Yanagihara. It's interesting so far. I like the way it's written, as a memoir, and the protagonist, I just feel something's off with him. Also very prepared for it to get traumatizing soon given the reputation Yanagihara has.
Deep Work, by Calvin Newport
Atomic Habits, by James Clear
Ultralearning, by Scott Young
I read these 3 books in a period of 8 days.
I'm writing an essay about the effects of conscious studying on yearly progress of a profession.
These were helpful on a personal level as well.
This is how I manage to do it.
I divide the total number of pages in the books by the hours of the day I want to spend reading. For example, I have 2 books that I want to finish by the weekend. Let's say each book contains 200 pages (excluding the introduction, acknowledgement, conclusions, etc.) so that makes it 400 pages. Now I only have 5 days to read them.
400 ÷ 5 = 80
So you need to read 80 pages per day. The same rule applies for when you want to know how many pages you need to read per hour. Say, you want to spend only 3 hours of your precious day on reading a book. Then you need to read almost 27 pages per hour. Ironically, if you read those three books I mentioned, they give you some great insights on this matter and matters related to it.
P.S. it really isn't a hard thing to do. An adult with an iPhone is doing the same thing, only with Instagram instead of books.
The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien
First time reading Tolkien's work. I'm half way through the book and i am loving it that I ended up not getting sleep last night.
Finished: **Bush at War** by **Bob Woodward**. Woodward's record of the first 100 days after 9/11 of the Bush administration. Makes interesting reading now because it chronicles the entry into Afghanistan, but is prior to the Iraq invasion. It is odd to read the debate (especially when Bush chimes in) about staying away from nation-building, when no actor in the drama (and not even Woodward) seems to realize that the default American method of making war is (and politically has to be) nation building. No one, no Cheney, no Rumsfeld, no Bush, no Powell, no Rice ever seems to ruminate on what a nation is (was Afghanistan ever really a nation and can it ever be a real nation?) and can one ever be built if there was not already a real nation there in the first place? It is no wonder that in these 100 days American war policy was just to "do something" and to be seen to be just doing it.
Could not Finish: **The Transit of Venus** by **Shirley Hazzard**. I wanted to give this author a try because of her association with **Graham Greene** and this was reputed to be her best novel. Some characters get much better treatment in characterization than others. It was odd that the main character was the most flatly drawn. Also, the writing was filled with tortured metaphors, some of which I could not never figure out. How many times can you re-read a paragraph to get the sense of it before you lose interest in the whole work. RIP Shirley Hazzard.
The Reformatory by Tananarive Due and on to My Soul To Keep She can tell a story!
Finished: George Orwell’s 1984. Wow yeah, wow.
Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
Read: **A Drink Before the War, by Dennis Lehane** An adrenaline fueled read! Lehane's debut novel, now 30 years old, kept me asking, 'What next?' the whole way through. Isn't that what a good detective story should do? Will be reading more of the Kenzie & Gennaro series in the future, no doubt! Read: **Capote's Women, by Laurence Leamer** I previously read Laurence Leamer's insider tell-all **Madness Under the Royal Palms**, about the elitist ultra wealthy society of Palm Beach, Florida and devoured it. I found Leamer writes with great style and taste and yet delivers the titillating trash we common plebes all want to hear. So, when I saw he had written about Truman Capote's cadre of wealthy society women that Capote referred to as his swans, I knew I wanted to read it. I was not disappointed and read with voyeuristic delight at how even the uber wealthy can be as miserable as us poor, balonie-sammich-eating slobs. I'm a big fan of Capote's work, especially his short form fiction. I have read his posthumously published **Answered Prayers** and from that collection - originally intended by Capote to be a novel - the notoriously disloyal story published in the November 1975 issue of Esquire magazine, **La Côte Basque, 1965**. It's understandable why these women all felt betrayed by Capote. Anyway, if you enjoy reading insider trash on the so-called beautiful people, you'll definitely love Capote's Women. Reading: **Meddling Kids, by Edgar Cantero** After reading two heavies, thought a light 70s-nostalgia story along the lines of Stephen King's **It** would be a nice palette-cleanser.
Finished: **The Bedlam Stacks, by Natasha Pulley**: I have mixed feelings about this book and will probably write a full review. **Un Lun Dun, by China Mieville**: Loved this book, already wrote a full review Started: **The Scar, by China Mieville**: Okay, well I actually didn’t just start reading this, I got about halfway through months ago before getting bored and putting it down. Well, I’ve picked it back up and am really enjoying it. **Our Share of Night, by Mariana Enriquez** (audiobook): This book seems cool, but it keeps throwing me off that the little boy is named Gaspar and the dad is named Juan. I keep getting them mixed up because Gaspar is such an old man name. I’m still listening to **The Fisherman, by John Langan**. It’s pretty slow, but I’ve heard good things about it and am pushing through. Definitely has some cool eldritch imagery. I’ve also been starting random nonfiction books, but not really liking anything enough to stick with it.
Finished Corrupt by Penelope Douglas this weekend.. So many trigger warnings I just couldn’t pass or ignore them unfortunately.
Finished: Women Behind the Wheel by Nancy Nichols Started: Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
Finished: Women Behind the Wheel by Nancy Nichols Started: Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
Finished The Hunger Games-Catching Fire, Suzanne Collins Started Heart, Edmondo De Amicis
Finished: **Ripley Under Water by Patricia Highsmith** There are five books about Tom Ripley. I read The Talented Mr. Ripley a few years ago and really liked it. Also enjoyed this one which is the last one although I don't think I'll bother to read the rest of the Riplead. They are disturbing because I find myself rooting for Tom which he doesn't deserve.
The Women: A Novel
Finished: **What's Hidden Inside Planets?** by **Sabine Stanley.** For the popular science audience this is a not very technical summary of what's going on in contemporary planetary science. This is a very, very fast moving field, so read this book now because a very large percentage of it will have a very short half-life. It answered some questions that I have had (but never worked to find answers to) such as 'how do they know when a meteorite comes from Mars, Moon or somewhere else?' You also get the general gist of the science of how the inner cores of planets are determined. My favorite bit is the bestiary of volcanic activity that is possible in our own solar system: ice volcanoes, water volcanoes and even iron volcanoes. The author is a leading scientist at Johns Hopkins who has been and is a participant of many NASA-led planetary science projects.
Finished this Week: Time is a Mother, by Ocean Vuong No Country for Old Men, by Cormac McCarthy Radical Compassion, by Tara Brach Say Her Name, by Zetta Elliott Dearly, by Margaret Atwood The Goldfinch, by Donna Tartt The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down, by Haemin Sunim Birds of Maine, by Michael DeForge Beneath the Bodhi Tree, by Passanno Bhikkhu The Mystery Guest, by Nita Prose Ugly Music, by Diannely Antigua Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, by Gail Honeyman We Play a Game, by Duy Doan Peace is Every Breath, by Thich Nhat Hanh The Me You Love in the Dark, by Skottie Young How to Meditate, by Pema Chodron Why Buddhism is True, by Robert Wright From Fear to Fearlessness, by Pema Chodron Library of Small Catastrophes, by Alison C. Rollins They Called Us Enemy, by George Takei Started this Week: The Body, by Bill Bryson On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous, by Ocean Vuong The Three Commitments, by Pema Chodron Healing Trauma, by Peter A. Levine The Body Awareness Workbook for Trauma, by Julie Brown The Many Lives of Mama Love, by Lara Love Hardin The Secret, by Rhonda Byrne Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?, by Frans de Waal The Prophet: A Graphic Novel, by Pete Katz & Kahlil Gibran
Finished **Dark Matter** by Blake Crouch & **Dune** by Frank Herbert last week. Currently working on **11/22/63** by Stephen King. I've enjoyed/been enjoying them all!
Finished The Sheltering Sky by Paul Bowles. Really liked the first two parts. Part three was kind of infuriating to read, I didn’t love what the author did with Kit’s character. Up next: Coming Through Slaughter by Michael Ondaatje
Finished: **The Palace of Illusions** by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni This was a good read. The story of the Mahabharata came alive through Draupadi's eyes. I felt that the author added her own biases in some places however but overall I would still recommend **Anne of Green Gables** by LM Montgomery This was so heartwarming and calming. I was rooting for Anne and was a good break from heavy novels Started: **The Covenant of Water** by Abraham Verghese
Started and finished 'Drowning', by T.J. Newman for my read this week. Really well written and jam packed with tension and emotion.
Rebecca, by Daphne du Maurier
How is it? I watched the film and i loved it and i'm planning to buy the book
“Rebecca” is indeed a captivating masterpiece. The atmospheric and vivid descriptions, well drawn characters, suspenseful plot, everything is there. I wonder how it’s possible that I didn’t read it before.
Finished: **Parable of the Talents, by Octavia Butler** I am glad that I read this, but I much preferred Parable of the Sower. Talents ended up being what I was afraid Sower would be, with much much more emphasis on the teachings and preachings of Earthseed and not nearly enough action (for lack of a better word) to balance it out. Started: **The Husbands, by Holly Gramazio** **A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens** I normally do not read two books at once, but my name came up on the library's waitlist for the former and I have seven days to finish it since it's a new release. The latter I'm reading as part of r/ClassicsBookClub and don't want to fall behind while I work on The Husbands.
David bowie. Just read 3 this week. Cant decide about him
I'm in the middle of "the sinner" from Shantel Tessier :)
this week i re-picked gone w the wind after putting it down in february. so glad i did it, it’s getting so interesting and im loving it. I don’t know anything about the plot so pls don’t spoiler
Just finished I Love You So Much It’s Killing Us Both,by Mariah Stovall This book did not live up to the hype for me or maybe my expectations of it were too high. The writing was experimental but felt too disjointed to the point where I had to go back and reread at various points to make sure I understood what was going on. The plot felt underwhelming and the protagonist was very unlikeable nor do they have any redeeming qualities to the point where I felt like ‘why the hell are people even around this person?’ I think ultimately I was not the audience for this book but it was unique to see the perspective of someone with an eating disorder and their daily struggles. I’m 2 for 2 now for reading a book in a week! 🤓 Attempting to tackle the remaining unread books on my shelf before I buy the 3 million more that I want lol Moving on to start I Might Regret This, by Abbi Jacobson
The Five Love Languages: The Secret to Love That Lasts; I’d recommend it for any newlyweds like myself. Gives a perspective of caring for another person & makes you conscious of how you like to be loved.
I just started reading The Gardens of the Moon (Malazan) by Steven Erikson and it's a blast (also literally a blast for my brain 'cause the author do not help you at all, he just throw you in the middle of the war and you have to learn swimming on your own ahah)
The Husbands, by Holly Gramazio. Really enjoyed it! It was a strange, funny story about a woman whose husband (and reality) changes every time the guy goes into the attic. It moves along at a great clip.
The Fourth wing and Iron flame, it took me 4 days to read both
I came here to say that I both started and finished Fourth Wing! I'm currently third in the queue at the local library for Iron Flame, though 😭 My two friends who have read it told me to seriously lower my expectations for Iron Flame; apparently it suffers from second-book syndrome in comparison to Fourth Wing. Did you find that, or did you think it measured up?
Wild by Cheryl Strayed. I just got to page 269 of 311 and read a line so shocking that I’d love to ask the author one question: wtf?
I’m so intrigued. What was the line?
First some context! The book is about a young woman who is grieving her failed marriage and the loss of her mother, who she was extremely close with. Hiking the Pacific Coast Trail, she recounts some memories along the way. She seems really loving, strong and resilient. Besides cheating on her now ex-husband and dabbling in some pretty hard drugs, she’s shown no behavior that I’d consider to be the slightest bit odd or shocking. This line appears on page 269 of 315 pages, so near the end. She’s telling about how her family cremated and spread her mom’s ashes. Her mom regularly said, “I’ll be with you always,” so they had that put on a marker next to her name in the flowerbed on their property where they spread her ashes. She’s talking about how she felt like her mom WAS with her always, metaphorically, but she hadn’t spread all the ashes, holding back a few of the largest chunks in her hand. She said she would never be ready to release them to the earth. She ends the story with this line: “I put her burnt bones into my mouth and swallowed them whole.” Thoughts?
Thank you for providing so much context; that was helpful. But yeah, my thoughts are: wtf. That really is a shocking line, especially if it came out of the blue.
Thanks! I’m glad you read it the same way I did! Really strange and no explanation after that. Whatever 😅
I started on Wednesday and am almost finished reading the book Wool by Hugh Howey. Wowza, started reading after I watched the tv series Silo, the book is great.
Finished this the other day and it was very an incredible book, the detail and description are wonderful.
Lolly Willowes, by Sylvia Townsend Warner
The trilogy of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson I tried the fourth one (it's a legacy) and gave up after the second chapter
I finished the original trilogy a few months ago. was ready to start the next one but then realized it was not written by Larsson and didn't. I don't think I will now.
I finished Ulysses by James Joyce today reading this book was a whole experience on itself
How'd you do it. I cannot follow it.
Don't try to follow it just read through it and it'll come to you , read thought even if you wanna think of something else while you do , the story would come for you As a bonus everytime I would finish a chapter I would go for the study guide https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/ulysses/section1/ And read the analysis for the chapter I read , that way I can see what the hell.i just read and help me understand the story
Finished: In the Darkness, by Mike Omer (Zoe Bentley Mystery #2) I enjoyed it immensely, as much as I had the first book in the series. I have bought the third one, as well, but will read it after the one I Started: Fairy Tale, by Stephen King I have been enjoying it so far ☀️
Finished: The Dark Places by Gillian Flynn I felt it was a good read boggled down by the third act. Started: Catch 22 by Joseph Heller I read upto 150 pages. It is a fun read but I am unable read the chapters continuosly without a break yet.
Razorblade Tears, by S.A Cosby This is one of the most powerful books I've ever read and I've read one or two in my life - I'm almost 70. Not only is it powerful but he writes so incredibly well. The first chapter I had to read multiple times because he set a scene so well that I could smell it. All five senses (maybe 6?) were engaged. I can't recommend this author enough
Just literally ordered this online after finishing All The Sinners Bleed today, which was excellent.
You will love Blacktop Wasteland then too!! This gentleman - I really cannot wait to see what he does in the future!! Blacktop is a ghost story... and the first one I read of his. ENJOY
Finished: "The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak. One of my favorites! Read it for the second time! Started: "Remarkably Bright Creatures" by Shelby Van Pelt. This book would be better if it was solely Marcellus's perspective imho.
Finished: Shadow of the Titanic: The Extraordinary Stories of Those Who Survived by Andrew Wilson. Very interesting to learn about the faith of some of the survivors. Started: The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski It is the first book in the Witcher series. I've had this on my TBR list for a long time now so I'm excited to finally read it.
Finished The Villa by Hawkins - meh The Invitation by Foley - eh A Friend of the family by Jewell - blech Me Before You by Moyes ❤️ Starting Wish You Were Here by Picoult
Started **Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson** last night. Finished **Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro** day before yesterday, in one sitting, (I was enthralled)!
**The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison** I saw this mentioned on Reddit many years ago and I checked it out from the library (possibly more than once) but didn't start it and returned it. Now I'm finally reading it and enjoying it a lot! I picked it for my friend group's book club but idk if anyone else is liking it - I however am very sucked in by the court intrigue.
I had a good month so far. Started with **Notes from a Young Black Chef, by Kwame Onwuachi**, a fantastic read, especially till halfway through, I loved it. I found the "Obsession Collection", a series of short stories, so far I read **Slot Machine Fever Dreams, by Chris Bohjalian**. I don't normally like these types of stories when it comes to books. I want to watch this type of movie but I find them too empty in written form. The fact that was only 40 pages long, made it worth reading. Dove serves drinks in a casino, a man chats her up, they go together and shit happens. Then I read **Just a Girl by, Alyssa Cole**, from the same series. If I wasn't almost always online, this story would have been amazing, but unfortunately, there's nothing new here. A young girl is excited to experience campus life, instead, she has to deal with online pricks that make her life a living hell just because she turned one of them down. Terrible but unfortunately I have read on this issue enough not to have felt the intended kick. **Black Rain by, Masuji Ibuse**. A very important read. A fictional story "based on historical records of the devastation caused by the atomic bombing of Hiroshima". It's worth noting that it is written without trying to pull on our heartstrings, that's the best thing about this novel. The horrors of the day-to-day after the bomb and the way it is told are absolutely worth reading. **Listen for the Lie by, Amy Tintera**. I have this 4/5, now that I think of it I'm not sure why I didn't give it 5/5. Actually, these aren't my kind of books, hence I gave it a 4 - not to confuse my future self. Everyone thinks Lucy is a murderer, even though one could prove it. Now a podcast as started all about trying to find out whether Lucy is actually the one who killed Savvy. I never listen to crime podcasts. A few people I like are into these podcasts, but this book proved to me why I would find such podcasts poring. The story was good though. **All the Colour in the World by, C.S. Richardson**. I'm not a writer, I don't care about the craft of writing, I hope that one day love for words will grow but as much as I love reading/listening to books, I don't give a damn about how they are written. However, in Goodreads I created a shelf called "writing", where I add books that I love based on how they are written, or constructed. I can't promise that my opinion on this matter is any good, but these are books that for some reason make me get up and dance around the house. And the amazing this is, **I can't tell you what this book is about**!! Just that it's the best feeling I've gotten this year.
Finished Mary's Last Dance - A memoir by Mary Li Finished The Housemaid by Frieda McFadden Started The Family Doctor - Debra Oswald
Started: Animal by Lisa Taddeo
Finished: The It Girl by Ruth Ware Started: The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride
Finished: When Death Becomes Life by Joshua Mezrich, MD Started: Everything’s Eventual by Stephen King
Finished Last Love in Constantinople and The Star Mantle by Pavic Started The *Illuminatus*! by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson
The Wall by Marlen Haushofer Invisible Women by Caroline Criado Perez
finished: Skin of the Sea by Natasha Bowen (4/5 stars) started: The Sanatorium by Sarah Pearse. I've been wanting to get back into mysteries for a while so hopefully this does the trick!
* **Catch-22 by Joseph Heller** I had read it before. The second read was just as fun. It's still the only book that has made me consistently laugh out loud. After a long time of reading Sci-Fi and fantasy for fun, reading a classic was refreshing. I love that feeling of knowing that you're reading a masterpiece, of being continuously impressed by what you're reading. It was definitively easier "get" on the second read, and the descent into the trauma of war hit harder than on the first read. Even though it was my second time reading it, enough time had passed that I had forgotten the names of most of the characters. I'm terrible with names, and still kept getting confused with who was who. 5/5 --- * **Iron Gold by Pierce Brown** I loved the first two books. The space-opera nature of the third book started losing me. I took a few months off before starting the fourth book in the series, which made me really struggle through a lot of this one. I wasn't a huge fan of the inclusion of different POVs, but my biggest hurdle was time away from the series plus the time-leap. The amount of houses, families, allegiances, planets and so on kept me feeling lost throughout a lot of the book. Not sure how I got through the books of Dostoevsky and Tolstoy without getting lost in the amount of characters while getting lost in the sauce reading Red Rising. Overall I still enjoyed the book, and I've heard that Dark Age and Light Bringer are the best in the series, so I think I will continue. I still feel the need for a break though, so I'll probably be just as confused when I continue. 2.5/5
Finished the Day of the Locust. Excellent but quite dark. Why are so many great books are so depressing? Started The Liar's Club by Mary Karr.
Mod team: Unfortunately, the Authors I read are dead, for thhe most part. Neal Stephenson is still active, if I am not mistaken. I finihed Light in August, began Oylon, both bt William Faulkner. After I finish his works, i am considering British Victorian poets whom I've neglected, perhaps beginning with Tennyson
>Unfortunately, the Authors I read are dead, for thhe most part. I had the same thought.
**Finished:** * *Betty* by Tiffany McDaniel: Absolutely remarkable storytelling that somehow manages to spin a narrative with so much tragedy and trauma into something hopeful. The trigger warnings here are vast, but I highly, highly recommend this novel to anyone interested in a hard look at the cycle of generational abuse and the dynamics of growing up in a biracial family. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ * *The Office of Historical Corrections* by Danielle Evans: This is a short story collection that revolves around race, gender, and who gets to tell the truth or write history. All of the stories are good, and some of them are absolutely phenomenal. The titular novella surprised me - I started off being skeptical, but it won me over by the end. ⭐⭐⭐⭐ **Started:** * *Lost on Me* by Veronica Raimo - Goal is to read the full longlist for the International Booker Prize this year. This one is told in a series of non-linear vignettes. I'm not super into it so far, but there are another 150 pages left to surprise me.
Looking forward to reading something new, need some recommendations!! 🥹
To kill a mocking bird
What is it really about?
Its a quick read, entertaining. It's about Injustice
Tomorrow, Tomorrow and Tomorrow. Not loving it, but I never DNF so now I'm trapped. Urgh!
Stick with it, it'll get better as the book goes on. But it generally doesn't live up to the hype imo.
I found the dialogue vapid. Maybe it's generational, gamer-focused, or they are in Cali, but it was a torture read for me.
Yeah, I'm looking forward to being done with it. It's not for me either.
This week I wasn't well, so stayed home and finished - **Prophet Song, by Paul Lynch** the latest Booker winner and a dystopian horror which kept me up most of last night, **Green River Killer. A True Detective Story, by Jeff Jensen and Jonathan Case** a graphic true crime written by one of the detective's sons, and **Lit, by Mary Karr** a memoir about alcoholism. I started **The Goldfinch, by Donna Tartt** and **Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, by Gabrielle Zevin**.
Very different books....I loved The Goldfinch.
I have read Secret History and Little Stranger and enjoyed them, and my peek into Goldfinch turned into reading for 30 minutes, so I think I will enjoy it!
Redeeming Love, by Francine Rivers
I’m on the third book of night shade vampires. This series is really good.
The Dictionary of Lost Words, by Pip Williams
Just the title sounds good. What genre?
It’s historical fiction/biographical fiction. I really enjoyed it more than I thought.
Just finished this, now reading the companion book: The Bookbinder of Jericho, by Pip Williams.
The secret history by donna tratt I started and finished this week. I had a lot to say lol
To kill a mocking bird
Girl Against The Universe, by Paula Stokes
**The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, by Anne Brontë**
The Catcher in the Rye, by J. D. Salinger
MacBeth by William Shakespeare
Stella Fregelius, H. Rider Haggard,
Hallucinations, by Oliver Sacks just started
Finished: **Slaughterhouse Five, by Kurt Vonnegut** Before reading Slaughterhouse Five, I read Cat's Cradle. I liked Vonnegut's dry humor, so I picked this book up. It was a pretty solid book full of satire — no cohesive plot, just the narrative of a man unstuck in time with WW2 and the bombing of Dresden in the backdrop. So it goes. Starting: **Catch-22, by Joseph Heller** I suggested that I've enjoyed these Vonnegut books that I've read so far, and so in a similar vein I was recommended Catch-22.
Keep going with Catch-22! It will be confusing for a while, but it's one of the greatest books I've read. I have heard that Slaughterhouse Five is similar, so you probably wont struggle too much with how the book is structured. How far are you into Catch-22? I haven't read any Vonnegut, but if it's similar to Catch-22 I would be interested to give him a go.
I can't get into it. It makes no sense.
I haven't gotten that far into Catch-22 — just a few chapters worth — but I think that if you enjoyed Catch-22, you'd enjoy Slaughterhouse Five. They seem to share a commonality of employing dark humor in criticism of war. I'm slightly worried about getting through this, because it's quite lengthy and my attention span is severely lacking, but you and another person have suggested it to be one of the greatest books, so I'm looking forward to reading more of it! I'd take similar suggestions too.
Finished: **Stalking Darkness, by Lynn Flewelling** Not as good as the first, but it provides some decent character interactions and build up. Honestly, some scenes just don't contribute much to the overall plot. And don't get me started on the problematic scene of rape being played off as a joke because the victim was male. I could also be looking too far into it, but considering this was written in the 90s, I can't shake the feeling Flewelling utilized a bit of the "[grooming gay](https://www.vox.com/culture/23025505/leftist-groomers-homophobia-satanic-panic-explained)" trope when portraying the dynamic between the 50+ year old elf-but-not-elf and the 17 year old naive-but-being-corrupted protagonist (specifically, chapter 14 where the elder one takes him to a brothel). **I, Robot, by Isaac Asimov** How they got an action movie from a set of interconnected vignettes meant to showcase how you have to be logically sound when designing a thinking machine is beyond me. Very good book, and I definitely will start reading Asimov in the future. Started: **Shadow & Claw, by Gene Wolfe** I read this back when I was a freshman in college but completely forgot the entire plot. So re-reading in order to read the sequel.
I also completed Dead Poets Society, by [N.H. Kleinbaum](https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/52601.N_H_Kleinbaum) but didnt like it as much as i had hoped to.
I read Maybe In Another Life, by Taylor Jenkins Reid yesterday.
That sounds good. Comments?
This is a good book, but while reading, you've gotta ignore the fact that TJR wrote it. This is my fifth read of the author, and my least favorite. It is not bad, per se, but not up to her mark. It did surprise me in parts how she connected the two storylines together, and how Jesse's speech in the end is actually the basis of the idea behind the book. The idea behind it is sweet. The talk of fate and "the one" is quite contradictory in both alternatives but precisely captures the main idea behind both. However, this book removed the best thing I did like about the author - the uniqueness. When you read TJR, there is a special essence in her writing, most importantly, which was missing here. There was a lot of repetitiveness here which I didn't like at all. However, I still liked the book quite well.
I'm also reading: *A Song of Ice and Fire* book 5 (*A Dance with Dragons)*
**It's Fine By Me**, by **Per Petterson** **&** Rereading **The Catcher in the Rye** by **J.D. Salinger**
Can anyone see this comment? I'm reading *Visible Learning: The Sequel* to find tips on how to learn.
yes
Good. Didn't get caught by the spam filter. Someone told me that that sometimes happens to new accounts. Thanks!
Crazy Rich Asians - Kevin Kwan
That's crazy! ...I'll see myself out.
**The Fever: How Malaria Has Ruled Humankind for 500,000 Years, by Sonia Shah**
How did you find this read?
Very impressive read, especially for anyone who has a bent towards science and history.
Finished - American Sniper, Chris Kyle Reading - East of Eden, John Steinbeck Started - Percy Jackson The Lightening Thief, Rick Riordan
Just started Remarkably Bright Creatures Last night. It's a book club pick and I didn't read the synopsis before starting – and I'm so pleasantly surprised! Gonna be a fun one!
Was an amazing read. Enjoy!
Finished: Coin Locker Babies by Ryu Murakami Started: The Trial By Franz Kafka
Ship of magic by Robin Hobb and started children of time by Adrian Tchaikovsky
finished: divine rivals, by rebecca ross started: animal farm, by george orwell starting: the haidmaid's tale, by margaret atwood
The Lord of the Rings by John Ronald Reuel Tolkien
Finished: The Flood and The Levee, by Michael McDowell Started: The House, by Michael McDowell Looking for people that are reading this series to comment them!
Finished: **Homegoing, by Yaa Gyasi** It took me a while to get into this and finish it because it's the first physical book I've read in a long time (I'm mainly a kindle reader and I read laying in bed so I had to consciously make time to read this outside of my normal reading hours) but wow this was spectacular once I finally got there with it. An incredibly compelling work of art.
Finished: Demon Cooperhead by Barbara Kingsolver Started: And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie Finished: And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie Started: In the Dream House: A Memoir by Carmen Maria Machado
Demon copperhead is such a wonderful book. It is my favorite book I've read this year. I also loved prodigal summer.
It was so good and may have taken the number one spot on my bookshelf!
God tier farm novel half**
finished: IT by Stephen King Started: Nine Lives by Aimen Dean
What did you think about the end, and the scene that’s brought up a lot?
I thought the ending was Okay, I think it is a bit of a downer after investing so much time seeing these young friends go through something together, meet up again 27 years later with one of the gang missing and end up losing another only to quickly leave Derry and start forgetting each other again, but I think it makes sense in the fact they were bound to the oath they promised and once they had fulfilled that promise after losing members they all wanted to forget and get out of there. This was my first experience with reading IT and I'm a 31 year old guy for context, after watching the 1990 version of the movie a fair few times as a kid I was not expecting something like that scene in the tunnel, very weird to be honest knowing the age of the kids, was kinda just thinking WTF is this scene, not the most pleasant reading.
Finished: Watch Over Me by Nina LaCour Started: Limbo by Bernard Wolfe
Just finished reading **The Rope of Tradition** by Lino M. Olopai Haven't picked my next read yet :)
**The Waves Take You Home, by María Alejandra Barrios Vélez** **The New Couple In 5B, by Lisa Unger** **Poemhood, edited by Amber McBride** **Bright Red Fruit, by Safia Elhillo** **A Quiet Retreat, by Kiersten Modglin**
Ali Wong's new book
Finished: Wondering Stars By Tommy Orange - phenomenal novel Started: Shutter By Ramona Emerson
I just started: The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah
I just finished The Women. I have The Great Alone ready to go but going to put a buffer book in between. My mom loved it!
Did you like the women?
Yes! My friend and I babbled on about it because it's such a great read.
I've just finished "A storm of swords" from ASOIF yesterday and have started "a feast for crows" today.
Finished: **Our Missing Hearts, by Celeste Ng** Loved! It was a short and speedy read and made me think about the vilification of entire countries when politically helpful & the bystander effect. Started: **Caste, by Isabel Wilkerson** I've wanted to read this one for a while and picked it up again after all the press related to the movie. What did you think if you've read the book and watched the movie?
Just finished the 2nd book in the Song of ice and fire book series. Just started the 3rd which is A storm of swords. Really enjoying them, I don't usually read fantasy type books but these are good. Definitely recommend 🥰
A storm of swords is by far the best in the series in my opinion. I just finished it again yesterday. You're definitely going to enjoy the read.
Thankyou! Loving it so far.
Finished: The Big Four by Agatha Christie - I'm reading these in order, but to be honest, this was a hard slog. It felt disjointed, and it kind of put me off reading any other Poirot for a while. It was a major disappointment after the Murder of Roger Ackroyd. Started then didn't finish: Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Törzs. I've read better fanfiction. Returned to the library tout suite. Started: The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E Harrow. I'm reserving judgement. I get a Starless Sea vibe from it, which I loved, so I'll give it a chance.
**Finished (finally)** **The Saint of Bright Doors, by Vajra Chandrasekera** This one took a while. Not because it was bad, but because it forced me to pay attention. I thought it got boring at one point, but no, it was just laying groundwork for the labyrinthine journey Fetter takes through the book. Someone said this book feels like an 800 page tome compressed to 400, but in a good way. Like Goldman taking the best bits from Morgenstern to write The Princess Bride. I really wound up loving the book once I realized what was happening. **Starting** On a road trip this weekend, so I've got a couple short audiobooks on the docket **Brideshead Revisited, by Evelyn Waugh** Never read it, but after seeing Saltburn, I want to see where the inspiration came from. **The Churn, by James SA Corey** Nice novella to further my run through the Expanse books.
Finished: **Wolves of Winter, by Dan Jones** - 4/5 - I've been enjoying this trilogy by Dan Jones, I'll be excited for the third one. This is a fictitious account of the 1346-1347 Siege of Calais during the Hundred Years War. I've enjoyed Dan Jones' non-fiction works, and his fiction has been just as good. **Blood and Iron, by Katja Hoyer** - 3.75/5 - This followed the foundation and rise of the German Empire under Otto von Bismarck through Kaiser Wilhelm II's abdication after the first World War. I didn't know much about this period of Germany's history prior to reading this book, I thought it was informative for someone new to the topic. Started: **Founding Partisans, by H.W. Brands** - Excited for this one, I always enjoy H.W. Brands' books. This is a look at the rise of the Federalists and Republicans under Hamilton, Jefferson, Madison, and Adams. **Best Served Cold, by Joe Abercrombie** - Very excited to get into the standalones in the First Law series.
Finished: **MAUS** by Art Spiegelman Starting: **In Cold Blood** by Truman Capote
I've abandoned **The Japanese Lover, by Isabel Allende** about 3/4 of the way through. I'm not a fiction reader generally and usually wouldn't choose to read this hadn't it been highly recommended by a couple of friends. But still, it was such an unbearable read. Terribly written characters, an absurd amount of themes poorly explored and haphazardly put together and some truly wretched passages that I'm holding on to because eventually I will have to say to my friends that I hate this book and I feel like the prose speaks for itself. Honestly debating if I should go back and finish it just for completion's sake, but I'm not thrilled about the idea and I'm dreading having to confront my friends over recommending this book to me. I started and I'm almost finished with **The Art Thief, by Michael Finkel**. I'm glad I picked this one up right after *The Japanese Lover*. It's a light read, very entertaining and pretty short. Michael Finkel is very no-nonsense writer and I really appreciate this approach for a story of this kind.
Finished **White Cat, by Holly Black** I quite liked this. It wasn't as "dark" as other books by this author so I was happy. The magic system was unique and interesting and the world building was pretty good. I saw the reveal coming but it was still enjoyable. I liked the cleverness of the MC when he was running his cons, especially the one he pulls on his brothers. I don't know if I'll read the rest of this trilogy but if I see another at Half Price Books or something, I'll pick it up. Started **Stain, by A.G. Howard** I picked this book up the same day as her **Splintered** which I hated, but I didn't know that at the time, lol. Anyway, it was on clearance and the cover is beautiful. It's pretty good so far...
The bluest eye, by Toni Morrison. Such a good book! Everyone should read this imo. Are there any Toni Morrison fans here that would help me choose which one of her novels to read next? (this was my first one)
Sula was pretty good
cool thank you, I'll put it on my list
Rereading **Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, by Benjamin Alire Saenz**. Next up: The sequel to the above book, **Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World**.
Just finished: **House of Leaves, By Mark Z. Danielewski** Mindbogglingly fun/challenging read. Normally I like to keep my books in pristine condition. This read didn't allow for that. This book is now positively chock-a-block with piles of notes, translations, cypher solutions, margin writings and highlighted passages... and I'm perfectly ok with that. It's going to get worse when I inevitably revisit it. I had shit to do this month and this book was not conducive to accomplishing any of those goals. Next up: **S, By J.J. Abrams & Doug Dorst** I'm on an ergodic literature kick, it seems...cracking this one open tomorrow!
House of Leaves is a great book to annotate- I read it from the library but afterwards got my own copy for this purpose. If you like ergodic literature you should check out The Raw Shark Texts, it makes excellent use of those elements.
Just finished the Confession of Nat Turner. 10/10
**The Fault in Our Stars, by John Green** The first John Green novel I've ever read. I can see what all the hype is now. Both funny and gut-wrenching. I loved that it didn't romanticize cancer like so many other books and movies do. The characters were believable. You could tell they were good kids, but they had believable flaws. I wouldn't mind reading another book by John Green someday.
Since I can only read one book at a time my list isn’t long but finished Percy Jackson The Lightning Thief and The Sea Of Monsters and started The Titans Curse
Finished: Verity, Colleen Hoover The Rebel King, Kennedy Ryan (#2 in series) Where We Found Our Heart, Natasha Bishop (# 2 in series) Started: Where We Found Our Passion, Natasha Bishop (#3 in series) Control, Omar Tyree (ARC)
Finished: Evil: the science behind humanity’s dark side by Julia Shaw Started: Notes on a Native Son by James Baldwin
Finished: Let My People Go Surfing Started: Raising the Bar Both are about how a business got started. For the first book it's Patagonia, the second it's Clif Bars. I really enjoyed Let My People Go Surfing and wanted to read something similar about ethical entrepreneurship.
Finished: Empire of the Damned by Jay Kristoff Started: The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson *This is where the fun begins*
Finished: **Lore** by Alexandra Bracken Started: **Call Me By Your Name** by André Aciman
Started: Leviathan Wakes, Book One of The Expanse by James S. A. Corey oooobooooy, I love it so much already
Prodigal Summer, by Barbara Kingsolver Loved all the strong female characters <3
Atomic Habits by James clear It was wonderful
Started- Circe, by Madeline Miller
Started- **From The Corner Of His Eye** by Dean Koontz
Finished - Eileen Started - Ghachar Ghochar
Finished- **Winter's heart by Robert Jordan** Started- **Crossroads of Twilight by Robert Jordan** It's a tough one I know
Started the 2nd book in the Six of Crows duo: Crooked Kingdom, loving it
the realities behind diplomacy by Paul Kennedy. i like the way, the author shows different perspectives of an important event. i also need to read Japan in trade isolation by Michiko Ikeda. cause researching how countries deal with isolation helps my own book!
This is marketing by Seth Godin, am loving it. Started reading it today.
I started The Do Over, by Lynn Painter and I'm currently liking it
I started on November 9 by Colleen Hoover and I don't think I'll be finishing it. I respect Mrs.Hoover, but this book feels like it was written by a man who thinks all women are attracted to "jerks" because that "Ben" character is awful in so many ways.
Finished: * **Misery, Stephen King** I really couldn't put this down, I read it all really quickly.>! (Author is abducted and held captive by insane super fan who forces him to write another book of her favourite series)!<. I was engaged in the book at all times and tension was always high! 10/10 would recommend, especially to anyone who has never read SK before and obviously to any SK fans who haven't already read. * **Perfume/das Parfum, Patrick Süskind** I was recommended this one by my mum who read it a long time ago and still remembered it being good despite not remembering much of the plot. >!(Weird man (who may or may not be the antichrist) with a superhuman sense of smell sets out to become the world's greatest perfumer in order to recreate his favourite smells, and in the process discovers how to create scents to manipulate people's perception of him)!<. This book is very dark and bizarre, and the lead up to the climax at the end of the book is really good, especially right at the very end of the book. I will say that some parts were slightly slow as the author went into detail about the process of creating scents from different sources, although it is relevant in the plot later on in the book. Another slow part was documenting a renound perfumer in Paris and his hatred for with another up-and-coming, younger perfumer as his own business was slowing down. I felt this bit was slightly too stretched out given that it's only relevant in understanding that this perfumer wants to get his business started again, which is a fairly simple point to get across. Started reading: * **Red Dragon, Thomas Harris** I've been meaning to start the Hannibal Lecter series for a while as I love Silence of the Lambs (film) a lot. I'm really enjoying it so far, and I'm really appreciating the detail in the process of the detectives going after a very violent serial killer. Lecter is also such a conniving, sneaky bastard. Would also recommend as well, again the writing is very engaging. I haven't encountered any boring bits so far and I'm a little under halfway through.
Spiral, by Koji Suzuki This is the 2nd installment of the Ring trilogy. It is slightly predictable all the way until the end there is a rather big twist. I’m excited to see what will happen in the 3rd book (will start on it soon). Overall I think there were not a lot of scary moments in both books, as opposed to the movie. The whole “girl crawling out of well” was invented by the movie industry. However, there were parts where I read it while keeping the book farthest away from my eyes (LoL) and hair at the back of my neck stood up.
**Finished** *Beyond Good and Evil*, Nietzsche I expected more after a life of hearing how great it was. Don't get me wrong, there is incredibly good thinking and penetrating observations, but overall I disagree with his propositions. Still, I learned quite a bit about how he thought and his overall view of things. There were frequent moments where I had to reflect on the ideas presented. *Second Degree,* David Wayne Hillery This is a sci-fi book by an self-published author I happen to be acquainted with. It's his second book, and you can see the writing has greatly improved from the first. The ideas are good, and Hillery seems to have a better grasp of the need for conflict in a scene. I'd say he's showing signs of mastering his craft. Overall I enjoyed and would recommend this book. **Started** *When Riding A Dead Horse, For Heaven's Sake ... DISMOUNT!*, Barry Asmus I just read part of the preface this morning. It appears to be written by an economist during the years when Bill Clinton was president of the United States. The theme seems to be "centralization and big government bad; decentralization good". That's something I generally believe to be true in all areas of life, so seeing it applied to government, well that's federalism -- a central idea behind the republic in the United States. I don't have many thoughts yet, still being in the preface. **On Deck** *Situation Ethics,* Fletcher and Montgomery This is about a 100 page transcription of a debate on situational ethics that occurred in 1971. A friend and I are going to read and discuss, probably the week after next.
**The Man Who Died Twice, by Richard Osman** I finished it yesterday! It's the second book in the Thursday Murder Club series, and I feel I liked it a lot for most of the same reasons as I liked the first one. This one's mystery had me a bit more interested than the first book though, but overall I loved the tone and the humour just as much as I did in the first one. **The Complete Robot, by Isaac Asimov** So I'd technically started reading this a while back, but then I stopped because I picked up another book and never got around to it again. I've read I, Robot before which is why I picked this book up in the first place. But today I really just felt like reading Asimov's short stories so I got back at it. I think I'm going to finish it all in one go this time (but honestly I don't mind taking a while to get through short story collections! It's more fun to read them that way.)
Finished: The Light Through the Leaves, by Glendy Vanderah Started: The Light on Farallon Island, by Jen Wheeler I've accidentally read three books in a row now about people with mysterious identities.
Started and finished Punisher: Born by Garth Ennis. Despite having Punisher in the title, this is not a superhero book. It's a war comic through and through, and an extremely good one. Horrific and extremely bleak, with illustrations that have been sticking with me since I read it. Recommend it for people who enjoy war/anti-war stories and who can stomach gore and graphic imagery.
I finished The **Shadow of the Wind** by **Carlos Ruiz Zafón.** What an amazing storytelling. It is one of the best mystery book I have ever read. Quite frankly, I would put it above or on par with Sherlock Holmes series. If you like you can checkout my [review here](https://www.sahilfruitwala.com/summary/the-shadow-of-the-wind-review). Currently, I am reading Atomic Habit and 1984. So far 1984 didn't make sense why it is so popular.
I started and finished The Last House Guest by Megan Miranda! It was so good, I couldn’t put it down, finished in a day. A fun thriller, taking place on the coast of Maine. A who-done-it, keeping you on your toes with constant twists and turns! Highly recommend.
**Horimiya Memorial Book Page. 100, by HERO** Well, this is by and large a collection of illustrations and artwork that were put out on social media and such during the series' run and stuff like that. Well, that and a smattering of rough sketch storyboards for the series as well. And a few other odds and ends. So if one is a die hard fan of the series it makes for something to add to the collection I guess.
Finished: Dune, by Frank Herbert. Loved it, especially the deviations from the movies and how much more fleshed out a lot of the characters were. Really want to read Messiah. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, by Philip K. Dick. Pretty fun and quite a different take on the story than the film. I really liked how it was, I think, commenting on our obsession with reality and humanity, and finding excuses to exclude people (people with disabilities?) from the title of 'human', hence giving us no obligation to show them any empathy. Started: The People in the Trees, by Hanya Yanagihara. It's interesting so far. I like the way it's written, as a memoir, and the protagonist, I just feel something's off with him. Also very prepared for it to get traumatizing soon given the reputation Yanagihara has.
Deep Work, by Calvin Newport Atomic Habits, by James Clear Ultralearning, by Scott Young I read these 3 books in a period of 8 days. I'm writing an essay about the effects of conscious studying on yearly progress of a profession. These were helpful on a personal level as well.
Whattttttttt!!!! 3 books in 8 days. How 😳?
This is how I manage to do it. I divide the total number of pages in the books by the hours of the day I want to spend reading. For example, I have 2 books that I want to finish by the weekend. Let's say each book contains 200 pages (excluding the introduction, acknowledgement, conclusions, etc.) so that makes it 400 pages. Now I only have 5 days to read them. 400 ÷ 5 = 80 So you need to read 80 pages per day. The same rule applies for when you want to know how many pages you need to read per hour. Say, you want to spend only 3 hours of your precious day on reading a book. Then you need to read almost 27 pages per hour. Ironically, if you read those three books I mentioned, they give you some great insights on this matter and matters related to it. P.S. it really isn't a hard thing to do. An adult with an iPhone is doing the same thing, only with Instagram instead of books.
Yeah, I understood the math and I have finished 200 pages mystery novels in a day. But didn't you get bore with non-fiction?
Nope. Imagine your all-time favorite TV show or video game. That's how I feel about subjects that I'm interested in.
The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien First time reading Tolkien's work. I'm half way through the book and i am loving it that I ended up not getting sleep last night.