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I added you to the list. You have also inspired me to try reading more Korean books. I shouldn't let the fact that there's no translation hold me back!
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May 3, 2019 04:43
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Shame on me, I haven't posted in months. But hey, at least I've kept up with my reading. February 7. Nan-Core (Mahokaru Numata) - I didn’t take any notes on this one, and it didn’t leave a strong enough impression on me to write much about it three months later. Enough said. 8. The House on the Borderlands (William Hope Hodgson) - I read this because I read this was a big influence on Lovecraft, and I can see the early cosmic horror idea at play here. The book has its surreal moments, and it’s very creative, but overall, I thought the story was a slog with it’s overlong descriptions of events and settings. Still, it may be worth a read for Lovecraft fans. 9. A Collapse of Horses (Brian Evenson) - I really enjoy Evenson’s brand of horror. The stories rarely have a neat resolution, so I find them more unsettling with their lingering sense of uncertainty than outright scary. I thought this collection was great, especially with its characters who are often themselves unsettled and questioning their sense of reality by the end of their stories. March 10. The Hogwarts Collection (J.K. Rowling) - I read this because I was itching for some Harry Potter in my life and didn’t have the motivation to reread the novels. I wasn’t terribly impressed by the collection, but it did scratch my Harry itch. 11. Helium (Rudy Francisco) - This was a quick read for me, and the poems were a mixed bag. Francisco has some great poems about defining masculinity and self-acceptance, but they’re offset by uncomfortable poems that idolize women in (to me) weird ways. I can imagine I’d like most of these poems better if I saw Francisco perform them as spoken word pieces. 12. Poems New and Collected: 1957-1997 (Wisława Szymborska) - Szymborska is one of my favorite poets, and I loved having a chance to read this collection. Her poems approach deep human themes of love, loss, and human drama with plain and humble language. Reading her is kind of like having a quiet conversation with a wise neighborhood grandmother. 13. The New Voices of Fantasy (anthology) - As far as anthologies go, this one had a nice ratio of good stories to bad! April 14. A Confederacy of Dunces (John Kennedy Toole) - This is the third time I’ve read the book, and it’ll probably be the last. I still enjoyed the humor and seeing how cleverly crafted the story is. But some parts of the story (anything involving Mrs. Levy) are hard to read through when you know that there are much more entertaining parts coming. 15. A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court (Mark Twain) - The story is fairly ridiculous, but I suppose that’s the point. It’s got Twain’s trademark wit, and his jibes at class and religion are still relevant. Some of the more cynical parts in the book felt a little out of place or off-balance with the humor. But I enjoyed it overall. 16. Slaughterhouse-Five (Kurt Vonnegut) - There’s a lot going on in this book, but it doesn’t feel that way. The tone is oddly disengaged and calm, considering the hectic story events. But I guess that makes sense if you’re looking at the plot like a Tralfamadorian? So it goes. 17. Patina (Jason Reynolds) - I reread Reynolds’ Ghost with a class of reluctant readers this year and was reminded that Reynolds’ Track Series is solid young adult lit. So naturally I borrowed the second book of the series from the library soon after. There are heavy themes of teens dealing with family responsibilities and finding their own identities here. But Reynolds is light-handed with it, so his young readers don’t feel like they’re being preached to. And as a bonus, this book let me check off the sporty booklord challenge. 18. Because of Winn-Dixie (Kate DiCamillo) - Because sometimes you just want a short heartwarming story that makes you feel good about the world. 19. There There (Tommy Orange) - I’d like to write something clever to explain why this book is so powerful, but I’m still left speechless by the ending. The effort of mapping out the book’s different narrator’s and their relationships to each other was definitely worth it. Challenge Progress 1. Set a goal for number of books or another personal challenge. 19/50 2. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by women. 5/19 3. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by someone non-white. 6/19 4. Read a book by an author from every continent (N. America, S. America, Europe, Africa, Asia, Oceania). 3/6 5. Read at least one book by an LGBT author. 7. Participate in the TBB BotM thread at least once in 2019. 8. Ask another poster to issue you a wildcard, then read it. (Received but not read) 9. Get a recommendation from a friend or loved one. (Received but not read) 10. Read a book by a local author. 11. Read a book published in 2019. 12. Read a book with an awesome cover. 16. Read a play. 17. Read a book about feminism. 19. Read something biographical. 22. Read one book you didn’t finish in a previous attempt. 23. Read a book about art. 24. Read a book that is the basis for a movie/tv show you have already seen. clamcake fucked around with this message at 04:04 on May 4, 2019 |
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May 4, 2019 03:55
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cryptoclastic posted:I added you to the list. You have also inspired me to try reading more Korean books. I shouldn't let the fact that there's no translation hold me back! It does get a lot easier after you've got a couple under your belt. There's a lot of words that you really won't see/hear much outside of books, and a couple grammar things I really only ever see in books too. I actually started with the Korean translations of the Goosebumps books when I was first trying to read stuff that wasn't webtoons/manwha. They're pretty simple, I'm familiar with most of them vaguely since I read them as a kid, and some of them hold up pretty well!
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May 5, 2019 15:22
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April! 17. Baudolino. Umberto Eco. A great and funny mix of medieval historical facts with fictional events and beings by the mouth of the self-declared liar Baudolino. 18. American Gods. Neil Gaiman. There's something special about rereading books, you always find new things and this wasn't the exception. I liked it more than last time. 19. Great Expectations. Charles Dickens. A great classic and always a pleasure to reread. I really like the way the characters are formed, but the whole novel is very good. 20. Artemis Fowl. Eoin Colfer. A very light read, but pretty good if you don't have many expectations. 21. Goblin Slayer Vol 2. Kumo Kagyu. Things got more interesting, still, they toned down some of the most controversial parts of this manga. 1. Set a goal for number of books or another personal challenge. (21/60) 2. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by women. (3/12) 3. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by someone non-white. (4/12) 4. Read a book by an author from every continent (N. America, S. America, Europe, Africa, Asia, Oceania). (4/5) 6. Read at least one book by an indigenous author. 7. Participate in the TBB BotM thread at least once in 2019 (thread stickied each month at the top of the forum). 8. Ask another poster to issue you a wildcard, then read it. 10. Read a book by a local author. 11. Read a book published in 2019. 14. Read a poetry collection. 15. Read a collection of short stories. 17. Read a book about feminism. 18. Read a book involving sports. 23. Read a book about art.
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May 6, 2019 03:10
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March/April update since I forgot to post last month. Erstwhile: 1. The Count of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas. 2. Glasshjerte, Torkil Damhaug. 3. Penric's Demon, Lois McMaster Bujold. 4. The Wandering Earth, Liu Cixin. 5. The Gone World, Tom Sweterlitsch. 6. The Passage, Justin Cronin. 7. Before Mars, Emma Newman. New: 8. Fiasco, Stanislaw Lem. A tale of interstellar exploration and attempts at contacting an alien civilization, and catastrophic hubristic misunderstandings. Thirty years old but fresh as anything. Lem was a bloody genius. 9. Winter Tide, Ruthanna Emrys. A quite alternative look at Lovecraftian mythos, where the "deep ones" are presented as a valid branch of humanity, subject to prejudice and persecution. Good setting and characterization; the ending was a little unsatisfying but am interested to read the sequel(s). 10. Binti: The Night Masquerade by Nnedi Okorafor. #3 and possibly concluding novella. Okorafor delivers. Strength in endurance and acceptance, over prejudice and hate. Loved this. 11. Semiosis by Sue Burke. Generational tale of human colonists on a strange alien world having to come to terms with one or more very alien intelligences. Quite good. 12. Tiamat's Wrath by James S.A. Corey. #penultimate (supposedly) in the Expanse series, where again lots of poo poo hits the fan (but this time the poo poo sprays in some new directions). Have enjoyed the whole series so far, even the ones some other readers hate, so there. 13. DEMON-4 by David Mace. Was tipped off to this 1980s "lost author" by some of you other goons and went to the trouble of getting hold of some used paperbacks to check him out. This was some excellent poo poo; near-future post-WW3 story about claustrophobic submarine cybernetic warfare, quite lyrical and cynical at the same time, brief and to the point. Booklord challenge: 1. Set a goal for number of books or another personal challenge. - 13/40. 2. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by women. - 5/13 = 38%. 3. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by someone non-white. - 2/14 = 15% (unless you count Dumas just to be clever) 4. Read a book by an author from every continent (N. America, S. America, Europe, Africa, Asia, Oceania). - N. America, Europe, Asia 5. Read at least one book by an LGBT author. 6. Read at least one book by an indigenous author. 7. Participate in the TBB BotM thread at least once in 2019 (thread stickied each month at the top of the forum). 8. Ask another poster to issue you a wildcard, then read it. - have it assigned but not yet read. 9. Get a recommendation from a friend or loved one. 10. Read a book by a local author. - Glasshjerte 11. Read a book published in 2019. - Tiamat's Wrath 12. Read a book with an awesome cover. 13. Reread a book. 14. Read a poetry collection. 15. Read a collection of short stories. - The Wandering Earth 16. Read a play. 17. Read a book about feminism. 18. Read a book involving sports. 19. Read something biographical. 20. Read something that has been banned, censored, or challenged. 21. Read something in the public domain. - The Count of Monte Cristo 22. Read one book you didn’t finish in a previous attempt (think high school if nothing comes to mind!). 23. Read a book about art. 24. Read a book that is the basis for a movie/tv show you have already seen. - The Count of Monte Cristo
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May 6, 2019 09:08
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April was a slow month for reading. Busier with work, NHL playoffs and I just moved. Only managed 3 books. Up to 26 for the year, so more than half way there. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man I enjoyed the book. The sudden jumps to a different time and place with no context through me at times, but otherwise was easy to follow. I particularly enjoyed the bit taking place in university as he tries to craft a grand idea of what art and beauty are. I imagine many people who did university/grad school have had similar grand ideas of their chosen fields The Entropy Law and the Economic Process by Georgescu Roegen I've had this book sitting on my shelf for a couple of years so decided to give it a read. It was not at all what I expected. The first 200 pages are a philosophy of science largely focused on physics. Given that GR is not a physicist I imagine that there are many mistakes. His conception of entropy seems off, since he seems to apply it to materials. His critiques of economics are welcome though. The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende this was a great book. Imagine One Hundred Years of Solitude but written by a women related to Salvador Allende. Much of the book is carefree and quirky, but it works toward a heartwrenching conclusion. It centers around 4 or so generations of women who hold together a family as the world changes around them, and magic fades away, replaced by suffering (for the family at least) I actually didn't know she was related to Salvador Allende, but stopped to check toward the end of the book. Personal goal: read 5 books by Iraqi authors: 3/5 1 Set a goal for number of books or another personal challenge. 26/50 2 Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by women. 14/26 3 Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by someone non-white. 16/26 4 Read a book by an author from every continent ( 5 6 7 Participate in the TBB BotM thread at least once in 2019 (thread stickied each month at the top of the forum). 8 Ask another poster to issue you a wildcard, then read it. 9 10 11 Read a book published in 2019. 12 Read a book with an awesome cover. 13 Reread a book. 14 15 16 Read a play. 17 Read a book about feminism. 18 19 Read something biographical. 20 Read something that has been banned, censored, or challenged. 21 22 23 Read a book about art. 24 Read a book that is the basis for a movie/tv show you have already seen.
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May 7, 2019 01:57
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I didn't get much reading done in April, I was incredibly busy (I have a social life what) and had health issues compounding things. And then I just got mired in a book for the last half of the month and didn't finish it until today. Ugh. But I did get like 30 free books from my book club, so score! 23. Michael Redhill - Bellevue Square. Fractured, destabilizing exploration of identity. 4/5. 24. Stephen Leigh - Immortal Muse. Sweeping, aching, humane urban fantasy. This is what I want out of this genre. 5/5. 25. Anne McCaffrey - Decision at Doona. Pedestrian, outdated first-contact story. 2/5. 1. Set a goal for number of books or another personal challenge. 25/50 2. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by women. 16/25 3. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by someone non-white. 5/25 4. Read a book by an author from every continent ( 6. Read at least one book by an indigenous author. 8. Ask another poster to issue you a wildcard, then read it. 9. Get a recommendation from a friend or loved one. 10. Read a book by a local author. 11. Read a book published in 2019. 14. Read a poetry collection. 16. Read a play. 17. Read a book about feminism. 18. Read a book involving sports. 20. Read something that has been banned, censored, or challenged. 21. Read something in the public domain. 24. Read a book that is the basis for a movie/tv show you have already seen.
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May 9, 2019 02:04
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quote:
I read eight books in May. 24 - Revenger, by Alastair Reynolds. One of my favourite authors turns his hand to the "it's just cool" subject of space pirates! Two teenage girls run away from home to join the crew of a ship searching for ancient treasures. It's set far enough in the future that even the basic vocabulary of astronomy has changed, with some really fun anachronisms. The characters are broad archetypes, but some of them get some good moments, even if a couple of "redemption arcs" seem a little rushed. This book is apparently YA? But it gets pretty brutal and gory towards the end. It also features a classic Reynolds ending, which was pretty satisfying. 25 - Pinky And Pepper Forever, by Ivy Atoms. A short and wild graphic novel about artistic expression and self-destruction via Catholicism and BDSM. Atoms's childish style and bright, eye-searing colours make everything soupy and a litle bit manic, which enhances the narrative. It's cool! I liked it a lot. 26 - Your Black Friend And Other Strangers, by Ben Passmore. A collection of comics, some of them nonfiction essays and others more abstract or surreal narratives. Passmore's style is really nice, especially his use of colours, and even in the more rant-heavy pieces there's little momentum lost. The stories are largely about the black experience in '10s America, from activism to the day-to-day Struggle, with equal parts catharsis and humour. It really turned me on to his work, and I'll be following more! 27 - Queenie, by Candice Carty-Williams. Romance/comedy/drama about a 20-something black woman in London whose life starts to collapse around her during a separation from her long-term boyfriend. There is a lot of anger and anxiety in this book, about womanhood, about blackness, about relationships and friendships. Queenie is a good protagonist, likeable and believably flawed, though the .depths to which she's dragged by life do border on melodrama. Maybe that's why I liked her so much: she's not her own worst enemy, but she doesn't do herelf any favours. I found the subplot of her relationship with her mother to be especially powerful. I can already think of four or five people to recommend this book to 28 - Paul Takes The Form Of A Mortal Girl, by Andrea Lawlor. A beautiful and queer-as-hell novel about a young shapeshifter's journey of self-discovery, experimentation and self-knowledge. Paul's literal gender-fluidity allows him to pass not only as "male" or "female", but as different points on the gender and butch/femme spectrum, allowing him to move between cliques and communities at will. The book is saturated with early-mid 90s queer and popular culture, but never in an intrusive way; I got the sense that Lawlor had really lived in these times and places. The sex and romance are written with honesty and passion (even when they're less than passionate), and Paul's inner life is richly drawn. I found myself relating a little too well to certain passages. It's a very, very good book, and I'm so happy I picked it up. 29 - Girl Town, by Carolyn Nowak. A collection of comics centred around female friendships and desire. Nowak's style is soft and fluid, her characters are personable, and their emotions are well-realised. The standout is the longest story, 'Diana's Electric Tongue', which explores loss and grief and companionship through the story of a woman purchasing a robotic escort. There are no clean resolutions or neat endings in this collection, but nothing feels especially lacking. Nowak makes good comics. 30 - Sea-Witch Vol. 1: May She Lay Us Waste, by Moss Angel Witchmonstr. A small and strange and exciting work, heavily illustrated, and the first of a trilogy. This is a bizarre and intense transgender creation myth, where emotions are powerful and real but bodies and sexuality are complicated and sometimes abstracted almost to the point of unrecogniseability. It's an explicit and wild story of self-becoming and I want to read the other two instalments very soon. 31 - African Psycho, by Alain Mabanckou. Wearing his influences on his sleeve, Mabanckou takes the reader through the inner life of a Congolese man who decides to kill his girlfriend. The protagonist is a miserable societal outcast and petty criminal, who idolises a local serial killer and wishes to also "poo poo on society". His desperation for fame and notoriety clashes against his impotence, leading to a palpable frustration and a surprisingly satisfying ending. I liked this a lot, and want to read more of Mabanckou's stuff. 1. Set a goal for number of books or another personal challenge. - 31/52 2. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 1/3 of them are not written by men - 15 - 2, 3, 7, 11, 12, 14, 19, 21, 22, 23, 25, 27, 28, 29, 30 3. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 1/3 of them are written by someone non-white - 10 - 4, 7, 9, 10, 16, 17, 21, 26, 27, 31 4. Read a book by an author from every continent (N. America, S. America, Europe, Africa, Asia, Oceania). [*]N. America - 1, 3, 6, 7, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30 [*]S. America - [*]Europe - 2, 4, 5, 8, 12, 22, 23, 24, 27 [*]Africa - 31, [*]Asia - 9, 10, 17, 21 [*]Oceania - 6. Read at least one book by an indigenous author. 7. Participate in the TBB BotM thread at least once in 2019 (thread stickied each month at the top of the forum). 8. Ask another poster to issue you a wildcard, then read it. 10. Read a book by a local author. 13. Reread a book. 14. Read a poetry collection. 16. Read a play. 18. Read a book involving sports. 21. Read something in the public domain. 22. Read one book you didn’t finish in a previous attempt.
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Jun 1, 2019 14:37
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Books by women: 9/24 Non-fiction: 1/12 Full reviews on Goodreads. I've never read any of the Dalgliesh books before, and I basically only read The Black Tower because I wanted to see whether it was any better than Death Comes to Pemberley (which I read last year). It was. But it wasn't great. It seemed overly complex and had too many characters, to the point that once the killer was revealed I actually couldn't remember who he was or how he fitted in. I felt like I should have been taking notes. I didn't like The Forbidden City as much as Grey Star the Wizard. The difficulty was turned way down and and the story wasn't as good. A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian reminded me a lot of A Confederacy of Dunces, especially in that both of them are supposedly hilarious and yet I didn't find them amusing at all, and both are full of unpleasant characters. I didn't hate it, but I wouldn't recommend it. Unless you like A Confederacy of Dunces, in which case I guess you might also like this.
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Jun 2, 2019 10:11
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Everything Burrito posted:I'm not going to try to do all the challenges but I am interested in keeping track of a few of the broader stats out of the list. June 2: 58 books Authors : Women - 26 PoC - 4 LGBT - 17 Trying to keep track so I don't count anyone twice (other than if they hit more than one category), kinda wish I could just hit a button on goodreads and pull up more stats than # of books/pages/ratings.
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Jun 2, 2019 21:56
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I finished an astounding seven books this month; thanks finally wrapping up a bunch of books I've been plinking away at for months!! 1. Set a goal for number of books or another personal challenge. 14 of 30 so far; 7 of 10 Korean books complete 2. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by women. 3 of 14; 21% 3. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by someone non-white. 9 of 14; 64% 4. Read a book by an author from every continent ( 5. Read at least one book by an LGBT author. in progress: 단아한 고양이/The Graceful Cat by 달그네/Dalgeune 6. Read at least one book by an indigenous author. 7. Participate in the TBB BotM thread at least once in 2019 (thread stickied each month at the top of the forum). 8. Ask another poster to issue you a wildcard, then read it. 9. Get a recommendation from a friend or loved one. to read: Peter Darling 10. Read a book by a local author. in progress: 단아한 고야이/The Graceful Cat by 달그네/Dalgeune 11. Read a book published in 2019. - picked up a book of poetry that was published in 2019; that will cover my poetry collection as well. 12. 13. 14. Read a poetry collection. - got a book, just gotta read it 15. Read a collection of short stories. 16. Read a play. 17. Read a book about feminism. 18. Read a book involving sports. 19. 20. Read something that has been banned, censored, or challenged. 21. Read something in the public domain. - To do: The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins 22. 23. Read a book about art. 24. 2019 So Far 1.The Cooking Gene: A Journey Through African American Culinary History in the Old South by Michael W. Twitty 2. The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo 3. 흉가/The Haunted House by Shinzo Mitsuda 4. 돌이킬 수 없는 약속/The Unbreakable Promise by Gaku Yakumaru 5. The WoW Diary: A Journal of Computer Game Development by John Staats 6. Invitation to a Beheading by Vladimir Nabokov 7. 책을 지키려는 고양이/The Book-Guarding Cat by Sōsuke Natsukawa May Books 8. & 9. - 신세계에서 1/From the New World 1 & 신세계에서 2/From the New World 2 by Yusuke Kishi -- My friend found a fan translation of the books the anime Shinsekaiyori was based on, and we did a joint reading together. Honestly, if not for the fan translation to considerably speed up what I was having to understand in Korean, I don't think I'd have finished these so quickly. While it's a lot of work, being able to read a chapter in my main language before reading in Korean left most the puzzling to working out particular grammar patterns I hadn't seen before. I... can't recommend the fan translation, to be honest; it's not bad but it's not good either. It loses a lot of the nuances of how people talk in Japanese (which the Korean translation avoids due to the languages having a lot of similar grammar and such)(not the same, but much much closer than English), and so a lot of people end up sounding the same in the English fan translation. It's a shame, because this was a pretty incredible science fiction book. I loved the world building, the protagonist, the systems and such. I also could see it having some influence on later science fiction about psychokinesis in Japan too--there's a scene that it feels Psycho-Pass ripped straight from book 2 and adjusted to fit their setting. It also ruined the anime for me, in that the anime just flat doesn't have the time or space to breathe and really dig into the setup that the books do. The books do an excellent job of handing you all the pieces to figure out just how the central antagonist at the end would work. Felt a little weak on its condemnation of the 'utopia' power structures it was built on at the end though; other than that, I really enjoyed this one. 10. - 고양이 식당/Cat Restaurant by 최봉수/Bongsu Choi - Found this at the library when I returned From the New World; it's absolutely adorable and a really funny little story about a cat-owned restaurant. I loved the attention to detail, and Choi clearly loves both food and cats. 11. The Authoritarians by Bob Altemeyer - This is not a particularly difficult read; Altemeyer writes in a pretty clear and casual style. It was, however, some kind of difficult subject matter, and it feels ever more relevant in the current global political climate (and USA in particular). He goes through the ways that authoritarian followers work, the difference they have with the leaders they rally behind, and a kind of too-short suggestion for ways to combat this. Altemeyer has posted it free online here 12. 박물관의 고양이/The Museum's Cats by Ma Weidu - A Korean translation of a book written by Ma Weidu about some of the cats that live at the museum he founded in Beijing. The Gwanfu Art Museum in Beijing is a private art museum in Beijing; here, Weidu talks about six of the cats that live there. It's a frankly beautiful book and Weidu has a very warm and friendly writing style. I didn't really get into his poems about the cats, but the stories he told about how he met them, their personalities, and little things that had happened with them were really charming and he has a very warm tone. It's a very pretty and relaxing read. 13. A Horizon of Jostling Curiosities by Sam Keeper - A compilation of critical essays about hypercomics--form, structure, how the medium has been developing, and how they interact with their particular fandoms. There is of course some talk of Homestuck in this, but this particular set of essays is most interested in discussing the influences of technology on the developing medium and how different hypercomics have reacted to that. 14. A Bodyless and Timeless Persona by Sam Keeper - This is the essay compilation that discusses Homestuck--the narrative arcs, how the comic ended, and parallels with other mythology and structure. There's some really interesting stuff in here, even if I don't agree with it all; like usual, I really enjoy reading Keeper's takes on media even when I disagree with conclusions. Gertrude Perkins posted:24 - Revenger, by Alastair Reynolds. One of my favourite authors turns his hand to the "it's just cool" subject of space pirates! Two teenage girls run away from home to join the crew of a ship searching for ancient treasures. It's set far enough in the future that even the basic vocabulary of astronomy has changed, with some really fun anachronisms. The characters are broad archetypes, but some of them get some good moments, even if a couple of "redemption arcs" seem a little rushed. This book is apparently YA? But it gets pretty brutal and gory towards the end. It also features a classic Reynolds ending, which was pretty satisfying. Most of what you read sounds cool, but these five in particular stuck out--I'm going to try and check them out when I can clear some time up for them! edit: one day I'll learn how to post. felgs fucked around with this message at 05:22 on Jun 3, 2019 |
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Jun 3, 2019 05:17
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New for May! 8 books... and apparently I'm on a horror kick and didn't realize it! Also deleted all the completed challenges so I can focus on what still needs to be done to bask in the glory of my booklordship. 54. The Hunger - Alma Katsu - A weird horror novel about the Donner party. I was looking forward to this one for a while and honestly it's a massive dud, imo. The author didn't seem able to decide if she wanted to write a historical fiction novel or a horror novel or what, and manages instead to write a disconnected mess of a book that never really goes anywhere effectively. The horror aspects are vague and poorly developed, and the historical fiction aspect isn't engagingly written. It ends up feeling much more like someone just showing off how much research they've done. I wouldn't recommend it. 2 55. The Changeling - Victor LaValle - An interesting horror novel that digs into fatherhood, race, parenting fears, all kinds of interesting musings. I've actually started and bounced off it a couple of times, but I'm glad I finished this one. I'm generally kind of lukewarm on LaValle, I think he writes best in a shorter format (Ballad of Black Tom), but I did enjoy this book a lot more than Devil in Silver. Something about LaValle's prose or writing style doesn't always do it for me, and his books sometimes feel a bit anemic. This one had that issue too, though not as often as Devil. I think he hasn't yet hit his stride as a writer, and I'm interested to see the results when he does. 3 56. The Last Days of Jack Sparks - Jason Arnopp - A horror novel about a gonzo journalist trekking the globe to find evidence of the supernatural. It's a book that leans hard into making sure you know its narrator is unreliable, so when poo poo goes south, it's not really a surprise. The real surprise is how much different the end of the book is compared to the beginning, it definitely went places I wasn't expecting. Overall I'd call the book a little overwrought, and it tries a bit too hard to be clever, but it does do some interesting and surprising things. I would have liked a little less rapid explosive supernatural blowups and some more subtle atmosphere building scenes, but I accept that the former probably fit the book better. 57. Royal Assassin - Robin Hobb - Second book in the Farseer trilogy. I really liked this one as well, it's hard to say much about it without having to recap the whole first book. Ultimately more of the same kind of thing, possibly a bit longer and a bit slower than I'd prefer, but still very enjoyable. 2 58. Slade House - David Mitchell - This was an interesting twist on the classic haunted house story. Definitely not what I expected. It all wrapped up much more nicely than I expected, but it was good. I've since learned that this book is kind of a side-story to the book The Bone Clocks, which might make some of its pacing and plot points make a bit more sense in retrospect. That said, it's a good read on its own. 59. Black Mountain - Second Isaiah Coleridge book. The first Coleridge book felt like Barron trying to do a noir or modern crime novel (it vacillated hard between the two) and only sort of succeeding. This one, he ditched some of the plot trappings of a classic detective novel, but leaned hard into the snappy dialog. It didn't always work, but I think it was a positive step for the series. I think it'll take a book or two more before Barron really figures out how to write this character and draw out the stories in a satisfying way. This was definitely his first book that felt like a novel instead of a series of connected short stories. I could see some of the implications of the book making some readers mad, but honestly I'm more excited to see where the story goes than I was before. 60. The Incorruptibles - John Hornor Jacobs - Alternate history not-earth western/fantasy novel, complete with dwarves, elves, demons, and probably sea monsters? I generally liked this one, though it's the sort of book where you kinda just need to go with the story being told, and not put too much of the politics and character motivations under extreme scrutiny, or they don't hold up quite as well. Mostly just a fun book that's pretty different from most other fantasy I've read. 61. Fever Dream - Samanta Schweblin - I'm not certain how I feel about this one. It was a good book, and had some interesting things to say, framed in a unique (if, imo, somewhat tedious) storytelling mode. But in the balance, it was just not at all my cup of tea. Even for a book this short, I felt like it was too slow and overstayed its welcome. I feel like I say this about every other even remotely horror-leaning book I read, but here especially I think it would have worked just fine, if not better, as a short story. 2, 4 62. The Luminous Dead - Caitlin Starling - Futuristic caving survival horror. This book surprised me in a lot of ways. First off, I think it was too long, there was a lot of caving jargon that wasn't always very well described that got repeated too often, and in general the book retreaded some of the same moments unnecessarily. But that said, along with the fact that pretty much all the interaction in the book is between the same two characters, it was surprisingly engaging. Also very different from any other horror novel I've read. It surprised me at times, and really grabbed me near the end, after a slow first third and a just-fine middle section. Really excited to see this author put out more books. 2 quote:1. Set a goal for number of books or another personal challenge. 62/70
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Jun 3, 2019 16:55
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May was a pretty good month. There were a couple that fell short, but on the whole, a lot of good ones. I wrapped up the Every Continent Challenge. Also read a book by a local author, well, local to where I grew up at least. Given that it's the same state, I'm calling it good enough. It was also a really good book too! And by an LGBT author. Got through 9 in all, with 2 outstanding and 2 that were meh. 33. Houston, Houston, Do you Read by James Tiptree Jr. - Turns out James Tiptree is the pen name of Alice Bradley. I'd seen her bandied about some here recently as a sci fi writer of note, with comparisons to LeGuin and lamenting that she wasn't as well known. This was somewhere in the long short story or short novella range. It was a good story about a space ship that's gone off course. 34. Train Dreams by Denis Johnson - Another Victor LaValle rec, this from Twitter. It's a short book about an itinerant railroad worker and lumberjack that runs through the first half of the 20th century. It's really centered in the American West and you see as it goes the changes from that defined the times, as well as the struggles of the laborers that made it happen. This was a quick read, but a really good one. 35. The Sellout by Paul Beatty - So I've had this on my list since it won the Man Booker a couple years back, and I finally got around to it. This is a satire of post-racial America. As such, it probably hit a lot harder in the Obama years. It's harder now to believe that anyone could argue for a post racial America now. This was a surprisingly funny book, and I enjoyed it. 36. How the Garcia Girls Lost their Accent by Julia Alvarez - I'd read In the Time of the Butterflies by Alvarez here a couple years ago and really enjoyed it, so I'm back to check out this story of immigrant sisters. It starts at the end, with one sister returning after her long absence and works backwards, showing their struggles in school, in assimilating, and eventually the cause of emigration from the Dominican Republic. This was a good read and a well told immigrants' story. 37. Lot by Bryan Washington - Local (ish) book by an author from Houston. It's a set of linked short stories set in Houston. The main thread is a biracial young man and his family struggling to get by while he comes to terms with his sexuality. The are other related-ish stories scatter throughout about baseball, about boys hoping a viral video of a chupacabra will skyrocket them out of their circumstances, and more. It's a great series of stories, and one really rooted in Houston. You can feel the mugginess and sense the people and little hole in the wall restaurants and a lot of the good and bad in the city. Would definitely recommend. 38. The White Book by Han Kang - So before Han Kang was born, her mother lost a child, born quite premature and only living for a couple of hours. She works through her feelings on this, how it affected her parents and how the loss of a potential older sister changed her by reflecting on the color white. In snow, in baby's gowns, in all sorts of situations. It's a lovely and moving book. 39. Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss - Over a summer break, an anthropology class and an amateur enthusiast's family, spend a summer living like Iron Age Britons. You can kind of see where it's going when they start off talking about bog people and sacrifices. It's quick getting there, sacrificing tension and atmosphere along the way. This was a meh one. 40. The Magnetic Girl by Jessica Handler - Apparently based on a book by the titular Magnetic Girl, who traveled around the south and elsewhere performing feats of mesmerism and magnetism. This wasn't bad, but it just sort of is. There's nothing really driving the book. There's conflict inherent in the story (will she be exposed as a fraud? will she cure her brother?) but it's never really explored. The character's aren't really either. Wouldn't recommend. 41. Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time by Dava Sobel - A nonfiction book, though written as a popular history. Apparently prior to about 1750 it wasn't too hard at sea to tell how far north or south you were, as latitude can be determined with various solar indicators. However, there was no good way to tell how far East or West you were. We didn't know enough about the moon and stars to make that determination, and alternate methods like horology weren't advanced enough. So Britain sets a prize for anyone who can solve this problem. John Harrison is our titular lone genius trying to build a better clock. Arrayed against him is a hidebound committee who'd (according to Sobel) much prefer an astronomical solution. This was a quick compelling read and I feel like I learned something. As an added bonus you learn about Nevil Maskelyne, and can look up his wiki page to find at least one "editor" who feels like Sobel and others have unfairly maligned him. Ben Nevis posted:1. Ice by Anna Kavan Ben Nevis fucked around with this message at 23:04 on Jun 3, 2019 |
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Jun 3, 2019 18:07
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I continue to have fallen completely behind in my reading list but am trudging forward at least. Sandman Slim by Richard Kadrey The last of the urban fantasy books that I picked up to try to fill the space while waiting for Lies Sleeping in the Rivers of London series to come out. Truth be told I could have skipped both of those. It tries entirely too loving hard and Kadrey is up his own rear end about LA about as far as Aaronovitch is about London if that's possible. rear end in a top hat guy got dicked over by fellow magician assholes and is drug down to hell where he is made to fight assholes to amuse other assholes until he kills enough of hell's assholes to escape and claw his way up to kill off the assholes who hosed him over, but Things Are Not What They Seem! Don't waste your time with this. Read The Black God's Drum that was mentioned earlier in this thread; it's much better and is scratching the itch perfectly as I work my way through it. Satellite Night Fever by Jack Hopkins Pulp sci-fi at its absolute breezy best. It follows the QSNT news team as they blast around the solar system trying to figure out why a whole bunch of shaped nuclear charges were stolen from a mad scientist who originally planned on creating Venus' first tourist attraction. It's the third in the series and is heavily dated - some of the jokes are thrown at you fast and don't tend to land and the tip-off of it being fiction is not the fact that one of the news team members is a ten foot tall alien that looks like the cross between a line backer and a grizzly but that people actually pay enough attention to news for it to make a huge difference in things. Anyway, a decidedly late 80s/early 90s sci fi comedy that I tend to reread every few years for some unknowable reason. Ben Nevis posted:41. Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time by Dava Sobel - A nonfiction book, though written as a popular history. Apparently prior to about 1750 it wasn't too hard at sea to tell how far north or south you were, as latitude can be determined with various solar indicators. However, there was no good way to tell how far East or West you were. We didn't know enough about the moon and stars to make that determination, and alternate methods like horology weren't advanced enough. So Britain sets a prize for anyone who can solve this problem. John Harrison is our titular lone genius trying to build a better clock. Arrayed against him is a hidebound committee who'd (according to Sobel) much prefer an astronomical solution. This was a quick compelling read and I feel like I learned something. As an added bonus you learn about Nevil Maskelyne, and can look up his wiki page to find at least one "editor" who feels like Sobel and others have unfairly maligned him. If you're looking for a book or two of a similar vein I'd suggest either Inventing Air or The Ghost Map by Steven Johnson - I picked up Sobel's book after I finished the other two. I'm a bit of a sucker for the intersection of history like that.
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Jun 3, 2019 20:47
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citybeatnik posted:If you're looking for a book or two of a similar vein I'd suggest either Inventing Air or The Ghost Map by Steven Johnson - I picked up Sobel's book after I finished the other two. I'm a bit of a sucker for the intersection of history like that. I think I'd come across something about The Ghost Map before, and the library has that, so it's going on the list. Thanks!
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Jun 3, 2019 23:02
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May was quite productive! I enjoy reading again! I don't think I read anything I didn't enjoy. It was also very white. I need to read more people of color. I have a lot of Korean books on my to-read list, so it's time to crack into those. May 13. Gentlemen of the Road by Michael Chabon. Jews with Swords. The “true” title fits well. There were many fun little coincidences and tongue-in-cheek passages that all came together to create an exciting adventure. A very fun book. 14. A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman. My wife originally bought the Korean version of this for our trip to America. She never read it, and I never really gave it any thought until I saw it at my university library. I checked it out three months ago, and it was due this Friday so I decided to read it at the last minute so as not to return an unread book. It was extremely heartwarming and lovely. I really liked this book. 15. Autobiography of Death by Kim Hyesoon. A collection of poems about death. The poems were all written about certain events here in Korea. Something felt off to me, though. I think I need to learn more about poetry. 16. Life of Pi by Yann Martel. I always liked survival books as a kid, and this somewhat scratched that itch. The first part of the book was a bit of a drag, but I really enjoyed life in the raft. However, after the ending I was left scratching my head. Enjoyable. 17. Nevada by Imogen Binnie. I technically finished this June 2nd at like 12:30am, but I'm putting it here. It was an interesting read, but the drug use turned me off. I liked learning about life from a perspective I've never really thought about much. 1. Set a goal for number of books or another personal challenge. 17/40 2. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by women. 8/17 3. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by someone non-white. 5/17 4. Read a book by an author from every continent ( 6. Read at least one book by an indigenous author. 8. Ask another poster to issue you a wildcard, then read it. 11. Read a book published in 2019. 12. Read a book with an awesome cover. 17. Read a book about feminism. 18. Read a book involving sports. 21. Read something in the public domain. 22. Read one book you didn’t finish in a previous attempt (think high school if nothing comes to mind!). 23. Read a book about art. 24. Read a book that is the basis for a movie/tv show you have already seen.
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Jun 4, 2019 03:47
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cryptoclastic posted:14. A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman. My wife originally bought the Korean version of this for our trip to America. She never read it, and I never really gave it any thought until I saw it at my university library. I checked it out three months ago, and it was due this Friday so I decided to read it at the last minute so as not to return an unread book. It was extremely heartwarming and lovely. I really liked this book. Always excited to see people read this. It's just the thing when you need something uplifting.
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Jun 4, 2019 14:47
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Ben Nevis posted:Always excited to see people read this. It's just the thing when you need something uplifting. I’ve been recommending it to lots of other people as well. Just makes you feel warm and fuzzy. If you have any more suggestions in a similar vein I would love to hear them. Sometimes you really need a shot of sunshine.
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Jun 4, 2019 15:17
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May! 22. So Not a Hero. S.J. Delos. A pretty bad superhero story full of clichés and bad characters. Terrible, at least it was pretty short. 23. Gunnerkrigg Court, Vol. 4: Materia. Tom Siddell. A nice followup of the Gunnerkrigg series. I stopped reading the webcomic, but it gave us some nice books. 24. The Left Hand of Darkness. Ursula K. Le Guin. At first, it was kind of hard to imagine the Gethenians, but then everything clicks and it becomes awesome. A pretty good book. 25. Mrs. Dalloway. Virginia Woolf. This book was a little bit hard to read. Since this is my first read of a Woolf's book, I suppose I'm going to have to get used to her style. 26. 4.50 from Paddinton. Agatha Christie. A nice mystery book without much clues or interesting people besides Miss Marple... and she doesn't appear much either. Mediocre. 1. Set a goal for number of books or another personal challenge. (26/60) 2. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by women. (7/12) 3. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by someone non-white. (5/12) 4. Read a book by an author from every continent (N. America, S. America, Europe, Africa, Asia, Oceania). (4/5) 6. Read at least one book by an indigenous author. 7. Participate in the TBB BotM thread at least once in 2019 (thread stickied each month at the top of the forum). 8. Ask another poster to issue you a wildcard, then read it. 10. Read a book by a local author. 11. Read a book published in 2019. 14. Read a poetry collection. 17. Read a book about feminism. 18. Read a book involving sports. 23. Read a book about art.
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Jun 5, 2019 02:30
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Slowed down a bit but was traveling a great deal. Am also into a long one. May! Babel-17/Empire Star by Samuel Delany--a two in one but one binding counts for one book right? 1. Set a goal for number of books or another personal challenge. 14/20 2. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by women. 4/14 3. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by someone non-white. 2/14 4. Read a book by an author from every continent ( 6. Read at least one book by an indigenous author. 8. Ask another poster to issue you a wildcard, then read it. 10. Read a book by a local author. 13. Reread a book. 14. Read a poetry collection. 16. Read a play. 17. Read a book about feminism. 18. Read a book involving sports. 19. Read something biographical. 21. Read something in the public domain. 22. Read one book you didn’t finish in a previous attempt (think high school if nothing comes to mind!). 23. Read a book about art. 24. Read a book that is the basis for a movie/tv show you have already seen.
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Jun 5, 2019 14:43
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I'm slowing down and that's not good! I need to kick it up again! I did get a good number of challenges done this month though. 26. Will Ferguson - Beyond Belfast Lucious, layered Northern Ireland travelogue. 4/5. 27. Jasper Fforde - Early Riser I missed you so much Jasper! Intricate, dreaming speculative thriller. 4/5. 28. Sigrid Nunez - The Friend Self-absorbed meditation on writing. 4/5. 29. Paul Kalanithi - When Breath Becomes Air Incomplete illumination on life and death. 4/5. 1. Set a goal for number of books or another personal challenge. 29/50 2. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by women. 17/29 3. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by someone non-white. 6/29 4. Read a book by an author from every continent ( 6. Read at least one book by an indigenous author. 10. Read a book by a local author. 14. Read a poetry collection. 16. Read a play. 17. Read a book about feminism. 18. Read a book involving sports. 20. Read something that has been banned, censored, or challenged. 21. Read something in the public domain. 24. Read a book that is the basis for a movie/tv show you have already seen.
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Jun 5, 2019 21:35
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May! 33. How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe - Charles Yu 34. The Power of One - Bryce Courtenay 35. The Dictionary of Animal Languages - Helen Lipinski 36. Neverwhere - Neil Gaiman 37. The Refugees - Viet Thanh Nguyen 38. Cannibalism - Bill Schutt 39. Rum Punch - Elmore Leonard 40. The Old Drift - Namwali Serpell 41. Empire of Grass (Last King of Osten Ard #2) - Tad Williams 42. The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories - Susanna Clarke 43. Civilwarland in Bad Decline - George Saunders 44. The Orchardist - Amanda Coplin A really, really good month for reading a lot. Standouts included The Old Drift, a multigenerational novel set in Zimbabwe/Zambia, Empire of Grass, the continuation of Tad Williams's Osten Ard saga, and The Orchardist, which was a lovely book about family and loss. I went in hard with the short story collections, and would recommend any of the three I read - the first stories of The Refugees and Civilwarland in Bad Decline absolutely knocked me on my rear end. (The later Saunders stories, though, tended toward a somewhat meanspirited tone, which is in stark contrast to later Saunders I've read.) 1. Set a goal for number of books or another personal challenge. (44/50) 2. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by women. 47% 3. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by someone non-white. 31% 4. Read a book by an author from every continent (N. America, S. America, Europe, Africa, Asia, Oceania). - Nguyen 5. Read at least one book by an LGBT author. 6. Read at least one book by an indigenous author. 7. Participate in the TBB BotM thread at least once in 2019 (thread stickied each month at the top of the forum). 8. Ask another poster to issue you a wildcard, then read it. 9. Get a recommendation from a friend or loved one. 10. Read a book by a local author. 11. Read a book published in 2019. - The Old Drift, Empire of Grass 12. Read a book with an awesome cover. 13. Reread a book. - Neverwhere 14. Read a poetry collection. 15. Read a collection of short stories. - Refugees, Ladies of Grace Adieu, Civilwarland in Bad Decline 16. Read a play. 17. Read a book about feminism. 18. Read a book involving sports. - The Power of One (boxing) 19. 20. Read something that has been banned, censored, or challenged. 21. Read something in the public domain. 22. Read one book you didn’t finish in a previous attempt (think high school if nothing comes to mind!). 23. Read a book about art. 24. Read a book that is the basis for a movie/tv show you have already seen. - Rum Punch (basis of Jackie Brown) Any wildcard suggestions, anyone?
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Jun 6, 2019 04:47
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Chamberk posted:May! Malaria Dreams: An African Adventure by Stuart Stevens
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Jun 6, 2019 05:01
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FelicityGS posted:
Rad! Of the ones you highlighted, the one that's stuck with me the most is definitely Paul Takes The Form Of A Mortal Girl.
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Jun 25, 2019 18:36
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Posting a little early since I don't see myself finishing any of the other things I'm reading in the next day. I have no idea how to count my women, since Keeper identifies sometimes w she pronouns and sometimes not, and Lawlor identifies as nonbinary, so I'm just gonna. Leave it alone. 1. Set a goal for number of books or another personal challenge. 18 of 30 so far; 9 of 10 Korean books complete 2. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by women. 3 of 18; 17% 3. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by someone non-white. 11 of 18; 61% 4. Read a book by an author from every continent ( 5. 6. Read at least one book by an indigenous author. 7. Participate in the TBB BotM thread at least once in 2019 (thread stickied each month at the top of the forum). 8. Ask another poster to issue you a wildcard, then read it. 9. Get a recommendation from a friend or loved one. to read: Peter Darling 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. Read a poetry collection. - got a book, just gotta read it 15. Read a collection of short stories. - to do: 아직 우리에겐 시간이 있으니까/Because We Still Have Time 16. Read a play. 17. Read a book about feminism. 18. Read a book involving sports. 19. 20. Read something that has been banned, censored, or challenged. 21. Read something in the public domain. - To do: The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins 22. 23. 24. June Books 15. 단아한 고양이 1/The Graceful Cat 1 by 달그네/Dalgune - The first book was basically nonstop hours of absolutely adorable lesbian awakening as I attempted to not claw my face off over these two women clearly loving each other but one not knowing how to say that, and the other refusing to. I'd also say I could make a pretty strong case Ayeong is somewhere on the demi-romantic spectrum, since when she does think about how she feels about Dana, she pretty explicitly says she's never really thought about boys or girls, but boy howdy when she thinks about Dana.... 16. 단아한 고양이 2/The Graceful Cat 2 - Separating it out a bit from the former; the former had p much no real self-loathing or really bad things; I'd say book 2 doesn't either, but my response to it was also a bit different because they have kissed by this point and we get a lot of rejection of that and a pretty valid fear about how they could possibly have a future together in the book's clearly modern day Korea setting. Fortunately, it never really gets dark and they do decide they're going to do their best; it helps the supporting cast are all very supportive of their relationship and feelings for each other. 17. Who Killed the World: Solarpunk after the Apocalypse by Sam Keeper - Keeper published this at the start of the month, and I was of course very excited. It's a really fascinating look through what exactly we can take from the various -punk literary movements (cyberpunk, solarpunk, etc), the value they have considering the current state of climate change and so on. Not to mention there's some really interesting texts being examined for the throughline of the book, and managing to keep a realistic hope in the face of how hosed a lot of things are these days. If you have any interest at all in literary critiques and -punk literature, I really do recommend this--it's good stuff. 18. Paul Takes the Form of a Mortal Girl by Andrea Lawlor - I wish I hadn't read this. It is also extremely good. Maybe if it'd had been around a decade ago things would be different. That's about all I'm willing to say about it. Going to be taking a little break from fiction next month. 2019 So Far 1.The Cooking Gene: A Journey Through African American Culinary History in the Old South by Michael W. Twitty 2. The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo 3. 흉가/The Haunted House by Shinzo Mitsuda 4. 돌이킬 수 없는 약속/The Unbreakable Promise by Gaku Yakumaru 5. The WoW Diary: A Journal of Computer Game Development by John Staats 6. Invitation to a Beheading by Vladimir Nabokov 7. 책을 지키려는 고양이/The Book-Guarding Cat by Sōsuke Natsukawa 8 & 9. 신세계에서 1 & 2/From the New World 1 & 2 by Yusuke Kishi 10. 고양이 식당/Cat Restaurant by Bongsu Choi 11. The Authoritarians by Bob Altemeyer 12. 박물관의 고양이/The Museum's Cats by Ma Weidu 13. A Horizon of Jostling Curiosities by Sam Keeper 14. A Bodyless and Timeless Persona by Sam Keeper 15 & 16. 단아한 고양이 1/The Graceful Cat 1 by 달그네/Dalgune 17. Who Killed the World: Solarpunk after the Apocalypse by Sam Keeper 18. Paul Takes the Form of a Mortal Girl by Andrea Lawlor
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Jun 30, 2019 06:48
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June was a pretty solid month. 10 books, though a couple are short. One that I wasn't a huge fan of. Everything else fairly solid. Making a little progress on the challenges. I read a book about cheerleading, which is sport. And The Heart of a Dog is apparently in public domain, so there's 2 off. I keep putting off play, even though I have one sitting in the "next book up" spot, and it has been for over a month. Maybe July. 42. The Perilous Adventures of the Cowboy King: A Novel of Teddy Roosevelt and his Times by Jerome Charyn - A novelization of Teddy Roosevelt's life, as one might have guessed. It's in first person, so really gives Teddy a voice and tries to get at his reasons for things and ideas. I enjoyed this one. Also, this has knocked We Sold Our Souls off the "Awesome Cover" list. 43. The Heart of a Dog by Mikhail Bulgakov - Turns out if you give a dog a man's balls and pituitary, he turns into a real rear end in a top hat. 44. Pym by Mat Johnson - Pretty sure this was another rec from Victor Lavalle. I'm not sure how that keeps happening. This is written in response to The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket by Poe. Our main character is investigating the idea that Poe's Narrative of Pym was the literary start of "whiteness" in America. When he's denied tenure, he decides that Poe's Narrative was a novelization of real events and decides to follow Pym's path to Antarctica and try and find the mysterious island of black people. What follows takes the form of an adventure story that examines ideals of whiteness, blackness, and Thomas Kincaid. 45. Westside by WM Akers - Just after the turn of the 20th century, bad things began happening on the west side of New York. After a bunch of unexplained disappearances, a fence was built down Broadway, with the West Side isolated. In this, our protagonist works as a detective solving tiny mysteries. She's hired to search for a lost glove and naturally stumbles upon a greater mystery that may change New York forever. A pretty decent read for that sort of thing. 46. Dare Me by Megan Abbot - When a high school cheerleading gets a new coach a power struggle ensues between her and the former captain. As one might expect, this leads to a death. But was it murder? If so, who done it and why? This is all told by Abby, a natural born follower. A decent story of the psychological thriller sort. I felt it played a little unfair with some of what was concealed. 47. If Cats Disappeared from the World by Genki Kawamura - If you could extend your life by eliminating phones, would you? What about clocks? What about movies? What about cats? This brief volume explores those questions and in the process, their roles in our lives. This could have been real good, something is off in the voice though. I don't know if it's translation or what, but it's frustrating. 48. Your Favorite Band Cannot Save You by Scotto Moore - A music blogger discovers a new band. Their music is amazing and makes people want to listen over and over again. When he gets an exclusive interview, he discovers they might be up to something sinister. When people start dying after shows, it really seems that something might be going on. Nominally horror, this has some Lovecraftian elements. Also humor. Several bits made me laugh, though I'm not 100% sure it's intentional. Still a short, fun read. 49. The Gameshouse by Claire North - This is a linked trilogy of novellas exploring a gameshouse where people can wager anything, and the games played can change the world. We start with a woman playing a game to rig the election of the doge in Venice. Then a game of hide and seek where a man has wagered his memories in a terribly ill advised bet. The final story is a game of chess, with the world as the board. I feel like that stretches the metaphor a bit, but it continues the explanation for the purpose of the gameshouse and some of the fundamental conflicts of mankind. This wasn't the best book I've read by North, but it's pretty good anyways. 50. Gather the Fortunes by Brian Camp - Crescent City #2. Urban fantasy set in New Orleans, not really dead and not quite alive Renai is a psychopomp guiding souls to their fate, until one soul she's due to collect isn't there. As she tries to find him, it becomes clear that that are issues with the way death is handled, and it may be a real big problem. 51. Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah by Richard Bach - So I read this article lamenting that even really good fiction goes missing over time. The metric was to see how many books from the NYT Best Sellers list from the author's birth week were available at a local library. Turns out it's not many. So I pulled up mine and this was the most interesting looking book that week. I had to ILL it, as it wasn't available at my library. It's about a man who meets a fellow who quit being messiah. He learns the secrets of life. It's amusing, but it's all sort of The Secret. Ultimately, it's hard to enjoy anything that states people are unhappy because they choose to be. Ben Nevis posted:1. Ice by Anna Kavan
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Jul 1, 2019 20:35
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Ben Nevis posted:43. The Heart of a Dog by Mikhail Bulgakov - Turns out if you give a dog a man's balls and pituitary, he turns into a real rear end in a top hat. Most accurate review
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Jul 1, 2019 20:54
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Ben Nevis posted:
I actually picked up a used copy of the Korean translation of this book two weeks ago, though no idea when I'll get to it. I'll report back on how it fares when I do eventually get to it
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Jul 1, 2019 23:52
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FelicityGS posted:I actually picked up a used copy of the Korean translation of this book two weeks ago, though no idea when I'll get to it. I'll report back on how it fares when I do eventually get to it I'm curious. There's definitely the bones of a good and/or moving book in there. My issues could definitely have been a translator making some bad choices. I look forward to seeing what you thought!
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Jul 2, 2019 00:50
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quote:
I finished eight books in June: 32 - Pantheon, by Hamish Steele. From humble origins as a gag comic on Tumblr, it's been cool to see Steele's work grow and develop into a full-colour and well-received published book! As someone only vaguely familiar with Egyptian mythology, some parts definitely surprised me, particularly how blue it got. I suppose when you usually learn about ancient Egypt, in primary school, they leave out all the stuff about magical semen and bloody dismemberment. The sense of humour is very British-English, too, which surprised me, but added to the experience. The art style is clean and bright and vibrant, too. 33 - Everfair, by Nisi Shawl. An epic alternate-history with a broad cast of characters, set in and around what would have been Congo Free State. Shawl's setting imagines a timeline where Congolese natives had access to steam technology advanced enough to help resist Leopold II's colonial viciousness. Over the course of decades we follow (among other things) a fraught lesbian love story, the downfall and resurgence of a king, and the efforts of well-intentioned Europeans to carve out a utopia. Everyone is flawed, circumstances are never fully beneficial, and nobody gets exactly what they want. 34 - I've Got A Time Bomb, by Sybil Lamb. Intense, weird, grubby, violent, emotional, frustrated, extremely jittery. A cross-country adventure across a mid-apocalyptic United States ("Amerika") full of mostly-good sex, mostly-bad drugs and a rogue's gallery of odd and exhilerating characters. Loosely based on the author's own life experiences, the protagonist Sybil founds and co-runs a squatter commune in flood-ravaged New Orleans, crash-lands in isolated mountain farms, drives across salt wastes in a ice cream truck, and plunges into a city underground of hustlers, artists and sex workers. Along the way Lamb's frenetic prose style gives no fucks about the reader's comfort or sensibilities, and every sentence is electric. 35 - Nothing Is Okay, by Rachel Wiley. Poetry about being fat, being a woman, being mixed-race, being queer. Deeply personal and defiant and empowering, as well as very funny on occasion. I got a real sense of Wiley's personality from her words, and connected pretty strongly with some of the poems in here. Not all of them made such an impression, though. But I understand they're not really "for" me. 36 - Dorohedoro, Vol. 1, by Q. Hayashida. The first book of the grim and strange and gore-drenched manga about Kaiman, a man cursed with a lizard's head, hunting inter-dimensional "magic users" while trying to regain his original face. The cast of characters are quirky and fun, and the tone (as well as the sticky, grimy art style) give me early Jhonen Vasquez vibes. It's good, and I'll be reading the rest of it I'm sure. 37 -Born A Crime: Stories From A South African Childhood, by Trevor Noah. Listened to the audiobook of this, read by Noah himself. It's simply a very good autobiography, weaving together stories from his childhood up to his early twenties, with consistent themes of money, family, love, prejudice. The final chapter revolves around her, and it's emotional and gripping. A really good book that I've already recommended to people. 38 - Frankenstein In Baghdad. by Ahmed Saadawi. For a book billed as "darkly comic", I didn't get many laughs out of this. What I did get, though, was a depiction of people in an unstable city doing their best to assert themselves and their own identities through the tumult. Hadi, the junk dealer who puts together the "Whatsisname" creature, has the most interesting and satisfying individual arc, but there's a fun cast of characters who interact with each other less than I expected. The pacing can feel odd at times, but when Saadawi wants to he can be really intense and gripping. There's also a narrative thread about religion and comfort which in hindsight was really quite good. I liked this!! 39 - Happy!, by Grant Morrison & Darick Robertson. Cartoonishly grimdark hitman blood-and-swears story injected with a little blue dose of imagination fun. The Netflix series based on the comic does a lot to flesh it out from this slim four-issue miniseries, and in comparison the original comic here feels small and even a little bitter. Definitely not the best Morrison I've read. Robertson's artwork is definitely closer to his work on 'The Boys' than 'Transmetropolitan', which fits the mood pretty well. 1. Set a goal for number of books or another personal challenge. - 39/52 2. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 1/3 of them are not written by men - 19 - 2, 3, 7, 11, 12, 14, 19, 21, 22, 23, 25, 27, 28, 29, 30, 33, 34, 35, 36 3. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 1/3 of them are written by someone non-white - 15 - 4, 7, 9, 10, 16, 17, 21, 26, 27, 31, 33, 35, 36, 37, 38 4. Read a book by an author from every continent (N. America, S. America, Europe, Africa, Asia, Oceania). [*]N. America - 1, 3, 6, 7, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 33, 34, 35 [*]S. America - [*]Europe - 2, 4, 5, 8, 12, 22, 23, 24, 27, 32, 39 [*]Africa - 31, 37 [*]Asia - 9, 10, 17, 21, 36, 38 [*]Oceania - 6. Read at least one book by an indigenous author. 7. Participate in the TBB BotM thread at least once in 2019 (thread stickied each month at the top of the forum). 8. Ask another poster to issue you a wildcard, then read it. 10. Read a book by a local author. 13. Reread a book. 16. Read a play. 18. Read a book involving sports. 21. Read something in the public domain. 22. Read one book you didn’t finish in a previous attempt. FelicityGS posted:I have no idea how to count my women, since Keeper identifies sometimes w she pronouns and sometimes not, and Lawlor identifies as nonbinary, so I'm just gonna. Leave it alone. Personally that's why I changed mine from "books by women" to "books not by men", to keep things inclusive.
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Jul 2, 2019 02:38
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Ben Nevis posted:I'm curious. There's definitely the bones of a good and/or moving book in there. My issues could definitely have been a translator making some bad choices. I look forward to seeing what you thought! I've definitely found that for Japanese novels, I often end up preferring the Korean translation--a lot of it is that the languages are structurally closer, so while stuff gets lost still, it's not as much a trial as translating from Japanese or Korean to English. I've dabbled a teeny bit in Korean to English translation and Japanese to English and it's so hard to figure out how to keep meaning and make it sound good in English.
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Jul 2, 2019 02:50
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Bilirubin posted:Malaria Dreams: An African Adventure by Stuart Stevens noted! Okay, here's June: 45. Bastard out of Carolina - Dorothy Allison 46. Persuasion - Jane Austen 47. The Outsider - Stephen King 48. Flashman in the Great Game (Flashman #5) - George Macdonald Fraser 49. Doomsday Book - Connie Willis 50. Severance - Ling Ma 51. The Wolf Road - Beth Lewis 52. The Changeling - Victor LaValle 53. The Child - Jules Valles 54. Euphoria - Lily King I read a lot this month! There were some excellent ones and some pretty good ones. The Wolf Road was sort of post-apocalyptic lit, but was more of a survival story in the wilderness after the end, as a young girl finds out the man who raised her has a bit of a serial killing habit. The Changeling was one that hit very close to home, a sort of fantasy/horror about parenthood that had some very profound moments (although the end got a little too fantastical). And Bastard out of Carolina, a mostly-autobiographical story about a child growing up in a lower-class Carolina family, which has some very traumatic abuse scenes - not something I would recommend to all, but a spectacular and harrowing book. Doomsday Book, about a time-traveler who goes to the time of the bubonic plague, was pretty good (and very, very British at times). The Child, another autobiographic-ish novel from 19th century French writer Jules Valles, was a little disjointed but often funny. Persuasion is one of my favorite Jane Austens and it's always good to revisit a classic. And Flashman in the Great Game, about the British officer cad who this time gets involved in the Sepoy Mutiny, continues the Flashman tradition of being horny, funny, and surprisingly historically accurate. 1. Set a goal for number of books or another personal challenge. (54/50) 2. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by women. 45% 3. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by someone non-white. 33% 4. Read a book by an author from every continent ( 5. Read at least one book by an LGBT author. - Allison, Lewis 6. Read at least one book by an indigenous author. 7. Participate in the TBB BotM thread at least once in 2019 (thread stickied each month at the top of the forum). 8. Ask another poster to issue you a wildcard, then read it. 9. Get a recommendation from a friend or loved one. 10. Read a book by a local author. 11. 12. Read a book with an awesome cover. - Love the cover of "Bastard out of Carolina" 13. Reread a book. - Persuasion 14. Read a poetry collection. 15. 16. Read a play. 17. Read a book about feminism. 18. 19. 20. Read something that has been banned, censored, or challenged. - Bastard out of Carolina 21. Read something in the public domain. - Persuasion 22. Read one book you didn’t finish in a previous attempt (think high school if nothing comes to mind!). 23. Read a book about art. 24.
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Jul 3, 2019 04:41
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Can I join the challenge 6 months in? I realised I've hardly read anything this year so far and I'd like to change that. I think 15 books by the end of the year should be doable
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Jul 3, 2019 08:01
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Chamberk posted:And Bastard out of Carolina, a mostly-autobiographical story about a child growing up in a lower-class Carolina family, which has some very traumatic abuse scenes - not something I would recommend to all, but a spectacular and harrowing book. Having been raised in the Carolinas, this sounds like something I'd be into--it being mostly-autobiographical means they likely get a lot of the stuff I sometimes miss in there, and the stuff that reminds me why I left. I'll def have to pick this up; thanks for the warning about the abuse scenes.
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Jul 3, 2019 11:14
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Paperhouse posted:Can I join the challenge 6 months in? I realised I've hardly read anything this year so far and I'd like to change that. I think 15 books by the end of the year should be doable Of course, anyone can join at any time. I added you! Do you want to do the booklord challenge, or part of it, as well?
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Jul 4, 2019 02:23
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cryptoclastic posted:Of course, anyone can join at any time. I added you! Do you want to do the booklord challenge, or part of it, as well? I think I'm just going to keep it as simple as possible and get reading again without any other rules to complicate things! Started on The Chrysalids yesterday, seems interesting so far.
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Jul 4, 2019 16:29
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Paperhouse posted:Started on The Chrysalids yesterday, seems interesting so far.
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Jul 4, 2019 23:32
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Haven't posted in a couple of months. Also haven't read as much. Oh well I'm still on track to finish the challenge. May The Motorcycle Diaries- Ernesto Guevara My biographical book. Interesting getting some back story on the guy. Seems to develop a sort of continental identity. Long way to a small angry planet - Becky Chambers Kind of refreshing for a sci fi story to be so small and happy. More about personal relationships than saving the universe. It does seem like a series of episodes contained within a bigger story The Gallery of Lost Species - Nina Berkhout My planned local author, although I ended up reading two other Ottawa authors before this. This book actually takes place in Ottawa though, and contains my least favourite Ottawa 'myth': the Laff as a seedy dive bar. Maybe the place has changed in the last five years, but every neighbourhood in Winnipeg (where I'm from) has a seedier bar. The book itself is good, a story about shrinking dreams. The symbolism is a little too on point though, with the unicorns and cryptozooids. June Clearing the Plains - James Daschuk Hard to read book about the decline of indigenous peoples on the North American Plains, largely due to a starvation policy. Well researched an thorough, although it doesn't go in depth into the politics (both on the colonial side and the indigenous side) although that wasn't the primary point. Really shines a light on the genocide of indigenous peoples in Western Canada. The Marrow Thieves - Cherie Dimaline Post Apocalyptic story about a world where white people have stopped being able to dream, and hunt indigenous people to harvest their marrow to get the dreams back. A story about residential schools, but also the cultural and physical destruction of indigenous people and identity in the modern world. The characters are able to fight back by learning more about their indigenous cultures and ways of life, and live together in a community even if that is more dangerous in the short term. Personal goal: read 5 books by Iraqi authors: 3/5 1 Set a goal for number of books or another personal challenge. 31/50 2 Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by women. 17/26 3 Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by someone non-white. 18/26 4 Read a book by an author from every continent ( 5 6 7 Participate in the TBB BotM thread at least once in 2019 (thread stickied each month at the top of the forum). 8 Ask another poster to issue you a wildcard, then read it. 9 10 11 Read a book published in 2019. 12 Read a book with an awesome cover. 13 Reread a book. 14 15 16 Read a play. 17 Read a book about feminism. 18 19 20 Read something that has been banned, censored, or challenged. 21 22 23 Read a book about art. 24 Read a book that is the basis for a movie/tv show you have already seen.
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Jul 9, 2019 14:03
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More travel, and a stack of non-fiction has slowed me down again. June! Binti by Nnedi Okorafor--short novelette from a different perspective Perdido Street Station by China Mieville 1. Set a goal for number of books or another personal challenge. 16/20 2. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by women. 5/16 3. Of the books you read this year, make sure at least 20% of them are written by someone non-white. 3/16 4. Read a book by an author from every continent ( 6. Read at least one book by an indigenous author. 8. Ask another poster to issue you a wildcard, then read it. 10. Read a book by a local author. 13. Reread a book. 14. Read a poetry collection. 16. Read a play. 17. Read a book about feminism. 18. Read a book involving sports. 19. Read something biographical. 21. Read something in the public domain. 22. Read one book you didn’t finish in a previous attempt (think high school if nothing comes to mind!). 23. Read a book about art. 24. Read a book that is the basis for a movie/tv show you have already seen.
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Jul 9, 2019 15:04
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I've given up on hitting my goal for the year I think due to the absurd amount of poo poo I have going on in my life at the moment. My advice for everyone is to try to keep your major life milestones to just one a year as opposed to three of them within 4 months of one another. Anyway. Confederates in the Attic by Tony Horwitz I was given this one at Christmas by my future parents-in-law at the same time I got the one about Meigs. Been on my to do list for a while and it started off as a bit of a slog since it seemed focused on Civil War re-enactments and the like but it got in to some Neo-Confederate aspects and the racism still going on here in the South. Those parts were really drat cool and I realized looking back what he was trying to do with the earlier parts. Unfortunately it's really drat dated - it was published in 1999 and things have only gotten worse. But it's a good peek back at what all was going on during the time frame. I wouldn't mind finding something that's much more modern.
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Jul 9, 2019 21:51
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