Naomi Novik's A Deadly Education was such a joy that the next day I went to the library to check out the sequel, even though I had Thomas Harris's Hannibal already checked out and waiting for me.
Naomi Novik's A Deadly Education was such a joy that the next day I went to the library to check out the sequel, even though I had Thomas Harris's Hannibal already checked out and waiting for me.
I really enjoyed that trilogy, and I think it sticks the landing - I liked how much stuff tied together in the end.
Naomi Novik's A Deadly Education was such a joy that the next day I went to the library to check out the sequel, even though I had Thomas Harris's Hannibal already checked out and waiting for me.
I loved that series. So very, very snarky.
It's so different to her earlier work, I loved it.
Trichy in good company.
Well-deserved. It's a great book.
I have never really been an audiobook person but today I discovered that Werner Herzog narrates his on autobiography, and how can I not experience that.
I got almost 70% through Gideon before having to return it to the library, and I might have to just buy it so I don't have to wait ten weeks for it to come back to me. This library app was supposed to save me money...
Just finished This is How You Lose the Time War a really fun sci-fi adventure about two operatives on opposite sides of a time war that leave letters for each other. Sort of Doctor Who meets Romeo and Juliet. It's a pretty short one, only 250 pages on my phone app, but absolutely beautiful.
Got through Anne of Green Gables collection. wholesome book if you ignore the causal racism character flaws. What was most off putting was the lack of pushback on it. You have a character being talk badly about because she almost said darn. Then you have character using the n word with nothing said about it. Native were called savages with no god loves all people. One character was so glad her friends secret love wasn't fat or bald which to her made him easier to love. And yet she got so upset when people commented on a aspect of her body.
Granted these moments were few and far between but they kind of hit me hard. Are these really good people if they only have a kind word for people that look like them? I don't think so.
Got through Anne of Green Gables collection. wholesome book if you ignore the causal racism character flaws. What was most off putting was the lack of pushback on it. You have a character being talk badly about because she almost said darn. Then you have character using the n word with nothing said about it. Native were called savages with no god loves all people. One character was so glad her friends secret love wasn't fat or bald which to her made him easier to love. And yet she got so upset when people commented on a aspect of her body.
Granted these moments were few and far between but they kind of hit me hard. Are these really good people if they only have a kind word for people that look like them? I don't think so.
Yup. I grew up with the books and movies, and there are not great things in those stories. The Anne with an E show fixed everything for me by not ignoring but ADDRESSING those issues and making them a part of the story. Anne's character in that show is one of my favorite characters ever.
Quintin_Stone wrote:Naomi Novik's A Deadly Education was such a joy that the next day I went to the library to check out the sequel, even though I had Thomas Harris's Hannibal already checked out and waiting for me.
I really enjoyed that trilogy, and I think it sticks the landing - I liked how much stuff tied together in the end.
Yes, I finished the trilogy and I wanted to say what a joy it was to read.
I'm a bit behind the times (so my wife tells me), but I finished Educated by Tara Westover. Whoa. I don't get much into non-fiction, but this reads like fiction (because it's show bat-shit crazy).
Westover grew up in a fundamentalist Mormon household that was nearly off-the-grid in Idaho. The book details her upbringing in that community with home-schooling-turned-no-schooling, her first baby steps to go to college, and ultimately how she earned a PhD in history. At Cambridge.
It is heavy in so many ways, and rife with instances of physical and mental abuse. But wow it is impactful.
At any rate, I recommend it. Not for the faint of heart.
Got through Anne of Green Gables collection. wholesome book if you ignore the causal racism character flaws. What was most off putting was the lack of pushback on it. You have a character being talk badly about because she almost said darn. Then you have character using the n word with nothing said about it. Native were called savages with no god loves all people. One character was so glad her friends secret love wasn't fat or bald which to her made him easier to love. And yet she got so upset when people commented on a aspect of her body.
Granted these moments were few and far between but they kind of hit me hard. Are these really good people if they only have a kind word for people that look like them? I don't think so.
Why would you expect pushback against those issues in a book that was written in 1908?
Baron Of Hell wrote:Got through Anne of Green Gables collection. wholesome book if you ignore the causal racism character flaws. What was most off putting was the lack of pushback on it. You have a character being talk badly about because she almost said darn. Then you have character using the n word with nothing said about it. Native were called savages with no god loves all people. One character was so glad her friends secret love wasn't fat or bald which to her made him easier to love. And yet she got so upset when people commented on a aspect of her body.
Granted these moments were few and far between but they kind of hit me hard. Are these really good people if they only have a kind word for people that look like them? I don't think so.
Why would you expect pushback against those issues in a book that was written in 1908?
1908 you say? In the time of the dinosaur. How I hate those dirty savage dinosaurs for turning their backs on god. That is why he nuked them like sodom and gomorrah. I can I understand why there was no pushed back on what was said about dinosaurs, filthy animals.
Armor by John Steakley
The book has three major storylines that converge on each other. One story is about Felix. Felix is a soldier that against the odds has survived many drops into extremely dangerous war zones. From his perspective we see a gritty war against giants ants.
The book then makes a extreme tone shift into another story about Jack Crow. Jack Crow is a famous space pirate. We first meet him during a space prison break that plays out like a disney cartoon.
The next part of the book is a merger of the two stories with Jack and Felix growing into better people or different people or maybe the same people with different goals. I don't know, its weird. Not bad weird. Things happen
I liked the book. I think I would have like it more if it was all Felix. His story was like following a single soldier in Starcraft. His battle armor gave us the nice scifi feel.
That's an old school classic. It spawned a lot of modern military SF.
Yeah, I really enjoyed Armor. I should read it again.
I got almost 70% through Gideon before having to return it to the library, and I might have to just buy it so I don't have to wait ten weeks for it to come back to me. This library app was supposed to save me money...
So I put in a hold at my library for a physical copy, too. And that one came in before the digital one came back around. Picked it up on Friday and finished this morning. It was amazing and intense and weird all the way through to a terrific ending. There's no way that a follow-up can really beat that feeling of discovery from a wholly new world of weirdness, but I look forward to the sequels, too. I will definitely reread the first at some point too.
Also started The Masked City, the second book to Genevieve Cogman's urban fantasy Library series.
I'm giving a shout out to my partners first book that released today. It's a murder mystery that takes place on Martha's Vineyard. She's pretty excited as it has been a long process.
New Vlad Taltos novel, "Lyorn", is out on Kindle. Probably regular release too.
Also Leigh Bardugo's new book, "The Familiar", is out. I can't recommend her books enough to do them justice. Kind of... Urban fantasy horror? But this is Renaissance urban fantasy horror... She also wrote the Grishaverse novels, and the very good "Ninth House", which is much more adult. All very tasty.
Also Leigh Bardugo's new book, "The Familiar", is out.
I have this to read this evening. Probably pound it out in one sitting, her last few have just grabbed me.
New Vlad Taltos novel, "Lyorn", is out on Kindle. Probably regular release too.
I've yet to see the reasoning behind it but Brust has been VERY slow on releasing his work digitally. I think Lyorn has been out for hardcover for almost a year now. I think it will be another year, if ever, it gets released to audio. He's done this pattern on like his last 4-5 books.
Had to stop reading The Road as a bedtime book, cos that made for some weird emotions to fall asleep to.
Very much enjoying the bleakness of it now I'm reading it during the day tho.
Had to stop reading The Road as a bedtime book, cos that made for some weird emotions to fall asleep to.
McCarthy books have a tendency to do that. I recall having some weird bad dreams while reading Blood Meridian.
I just read Stephen l Peck’s A Short Stay In Hell. a novella with an existentialist take on Borges story the Library of Babel. I loved it. It starts out with a humorous tone but delves into some dark places quickly. It makes its point quickly and gets out which I always appreciate. As it’s a philosophical take your mileage will very much vary but if you have a spare evening I heartily recommend trying it. Only a pound on kindle!
Just finished Annalee Newitz The Terraformers and was blown away- it’s a “big ideas” solarpunk story set 60k years in the future in a universe where most people are grown like plants rather than born, most animal life above the level of (but also including) earthworms have been uplifted, and all sentient life whether it’s animal, human, or machine is granted personhood. The story spans a millennia and follows 3 characters engineered to finish terraforming a planet for a corporation which intends to turn it into a tourist trap, and who each decide to fight in their own way to make the planet a home for everyone.
I may just have to order it or pick it up on the way home
That sounds really cool.
I recently read "The Night Circus" and absolutely loved it.
Just finished Annalee Newitz The Terraformers and was blown away- it’s a “big ideas” solarpunk story set 60k years in the future in a universe where most people are grown like plants rather than born, most animal life above the level of (but also including) earthworms have been uplifted, and all sentient life whether it’s animal, human, or machine is granted personhood. The story spans a millennia and follows 3 characters engineered to finish terraforming a planet for a corporation which intends to turn it into a tourist trap, and who each decide to fight in their own way to make the planet a home for everyone.
This sounds amazing.
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