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I finished up “The End of Eternity” and have moved back to a SW book. The next is a short story collection, “Tales of the Bounty Hunters”. Five stories about various bounty hunters a few years after Aldeeran was vanished.
Next will be “The Bicentenial Man” by Isaac Asimov, it’s been made into a major motion picture.
o7 Robyn Williams.
I finished Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wistwell and really enjoyed it. It was very cozy and won a Hugo go so I’ve got some options for where to put it for Bingo, now I’m moving to a House of Frank by Kay Synclaire I think (alternatively The Ogress and the Orphans by Kelly Barnhill, both have orange aspects of the cover).
Finished "this inevitable ruin" by Matt Dinniman. Didn't have a lot of time to read recently, but finished the last third of it on Monday. I liked it a lot, I was kind of bummed out on this series earlier this year after finishing "The Butcher's Masquerade", which felt to long and dragging.
Just started reading "Salvager: A Military Science Fiction Adventure" by Scott Moon. I'm three chapters in, and it's okay so far, but a bit early to have a feel for it yet.
I just received Rising Up and Rising Down: Some Thoughts on Violence, Freedom and Urgent Means by William T. Vollmann in the mail this morning. It's the abridged version of his seven volume series. I've been wanting to read Vollmann for a few months. With the world in the state that it's in it seemed like a good choice to start with. I'm looking forward to reading it.
I'm about a quarter of the way through To Kill a Mockingbird. Atticus seems like such a decent person in comparison to some of the other characters. The way in which the book is told through the eyes of a kid is expertly done - you really get a sense of their childhood innocence as they come to understand the ways of the world. I'm looking forward to reading on.
We named our youngest Atticus after that character. Then the other book came out.
I finished up Martha Wells - Star Wars “Razors Edge” and have moved on to Isaac Asimovs “The End of Eternity” it’s my last scifi book of his that’s related to his broader Foundations universe.
Although the three stand alone scifi novels were eventually alluded to in the Foundation universe. It’s not really related though. Just a passing reference to a bygone time.
Just gave up on the latest Dan Brown novel. Really bad. Starting to wonder if it was written by a ghostwriter or AI. Life is too short and there are too many other good books to waste time finishing a bad one.
that sounds right, Dan Brown is a bit of a hack, or at least that's what I've heard - he's commercially successful, though!
EDIT: I've seen Umberto Eco recommended as a Dan Brown alternative, I reallt enjoyed Name of the Rose but I think Foucault's Pendulum is usually recommended for Dan Brown fans who want something better.
I'm currently reading 'The wind in the willows' which I should finish later today.
Next on my list is 'The road' by Jack London, an autobiography of the author's life as a homeless person in the early part of the 20th century.
I've been reading Circe by Madeline Miller. I had it on a to-read list for a long time and finally started it. I've really been enjoying it so far.
I listened to the audiobook of this a few months ago. I really enjoyed the story
I'm listening to A Night in the Lonesome October. And I just added a Star Trek book to my DNF list. Not a terribly bad story, just not the one I thought it was.
Which Star Trek book was that?
The one I started was Star Trek Movie Tie In by Alan Dean Foster. The one I wanted was the Motion Picture novel by Roddenberry.
Ah okay. Thanks for the info.
I'm reading The Worm and His Kings by Hailey Piper, and then (hopefully) starting All of Us Murderers by K.J. Charles, which came out today.
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This was billed as a retelling of Snow White, but while it certainly uses elements from that story, it's mostly its own thing. If you like T. Kingfisher's other fantasy/fairy tale stuff, you'll probably like this, too.
And if someone hasn't read any T. Kingfisher book, which one would you recommend they start with?
I've only read a few of her books, so that's probably a better question for @JaymesRS@literature.cafe, honestly. I started with Nettle & Bone, though, which is probably as good a place as any. One note: her MCs seem to generally all have a very similar "plucky heroine" kind of voice, which may affect how well her horror novels work for you, if you're thinking of starting there (I'm not a fan, but I do still have What Moves the Dead on my TBR pile).
Thanks for summoning him. Will try Nettle & Bone.
I did specifically like the MC for Nettle and Bone because while she was plucky heroine, she was also like ... pragmatic middle aged woman which I like and don't feel is quite so common.
Edit to add: I went ahead and looked it up. She's maybe not quite middle aged being 30, but she feels at least more mature than lots of MCs.
Pragmatic middle aged woman as heroine in fantasy? What is happening here!?
True! Agreed. Hemlock & Silver's MC is also pragmatic and middle-aged, btw, which is nice.
I’d start with the World of the White Rat. There are a couple connected books that all exist in the larger world but while they are internally referential occasionally, they aren’t all sequels. My first was Paladin’s Grace, and I find that to be a great start. I don’t know if I’d call it romantasy, but it is definitely a fantasy with a romance sub plot that is important to the whole story. The big picture for that particular series is: “What do you do if you’re Paladin for a god that dies and how do you cope?”
If you want to try something that’s a one off, Nettle & Bone is good.
If you want a short story, A Wizards Guide to Defensive Baking
Thanks, I think I'll try with Nettle & Bone first, but will pick up World of the White Rat if that isn't available.
Just as an aside “World of the White Rat” is kind of the overarching term for the interconnected books. The series are Clocktaur War duology, Swordheart (eventually to become a trilogy, but works as a standalone), and the Saint of Steel (the paladins I mentioned) series.
I just finished reading "Final Lap" by Jessica Alter. Really fun upbeat hope punk sort of book. I liked it quite a lot.
It's Banned Books Week, so I downloaded a pdf of The Turner Diaries. I'm told this book is considered inspirational by those who think having a race war would be fun and glorious. It might also be of interest to non-racists with morbid curiosity about White Nationalist ideology. Otherwise, I do not recommend it for its literary value. I read this so you don't have to.
Thanks for the sacrifice!
Just finished System Collapse by Martha Wells (book seven in the Murderbot series). I liked all the books in this series, and they are an easy recommend!
Currently reading How to be Perfect by Michael Schur and Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann.
How to be Perfect is a good intro to ethics written by the creator of The Good Place. If you're interested in learning about ethics and don't know where to start I'd recommend it.
I'm only a couple chapters into Three Bags Full, so I don't have much to say yet. The premise is a flock of sheep solving the murder of their herder. It's enjoyable so far.
I’ll second How to be Perfect. A really good introduction to ethical philosophy, and if you get the Audiobook there are a lot of fun cameos.
How to be Perfect is great.
Heh, nice name.
Three Bags Full sounds interesting, would love to hear your opinion after you have finished it.
Just finished Looking Glass Sound by Catriona Ward. Her books are always very twisty and I love them.
Now rereading The Damnation Game by Clive Barker. I remember it has some delightfully disturbing body horror, but cant remember anything about the story.
Also reading Ultra-Processed People by Chris van Tulleken, all about the current science on ultra-processed foods. Highly recommend.
Ultra-Processed People has been on my wishlist for a while, but completely forgot about that. Will check if they have a copy on my next visit to bookshop. Thanks for the recommendation!
I can recommend "Matrix" by Lauren Groff.
It's the year 1158 and an 18 year old bastard daughter has been named abbess of a small convent. Elizabeth needed to get the girl out of the court, and the convent seems like a good place to hide her.
Just a well written glimpse into life in those days.
I just finished up Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune. I know this was a deeply personal book for him, but it feels like one of his weaker ones. I started Three Kinds of Lucky by Kim Harrison, and it's got the interesting premise of what to do with magical waste.
Currently almost done with the Skyward series by Brandon Sanderson. Totally sci-fi fantasy fluff books, but they're fun. Reminds me a bit of Andy Weir.
Yeah, it's a pretty fun series. I have got his The Reckoners series, another YA, non-Cosmere series, will start it soon-ish.
I read the first seven stories of The End of the World As We Know It, the short story collection based on the world of Stephen King’s The Stand.
I realize I don’t like the varying quality of short story collections, so I won’t be reading much more of this one. I have other things to read and apparently my “bar” is too high.
I enjoyed the first four stories, but to me the quality started to drop significantly. Stories 4, 5, 6, and 7 all felt more like reading Stephen King short story contest entries instead of a book I paid for.
Many of the stories tactlessly insert references to The Stand’s time period, references to Stephen King, or intentional gross-out scenes. Story seven literally starts with the protagonist watching a VHS of Creepshow just to shoe-horn a Stephen King reference in there.
There are somewhat specific references to the 2020 pandemic (CDC says a vaccine in one week, running out of toilet paper as a joke) in a couple stories, which broke suspension of disbelief for me.
The antagonist of story 7 is a criminal so tough that the law just “ceased trying to rehabilitate him.” That is, when someone went missing from the town pre-flu, they assume it was this killer walking around town that the law just didn’t care about. In 1990.
I would have probably really enjoyed the top 12 stories but it’s hard to want to sift through the many other stories that to me seem to be included unnecessarily.
I'm still working my way through Unzipping Gender: Sex, Cross-Dressing and Culture, by Charlotte Suthrell.
What drew you to read this book?
The past year or two, sexual and gender variance (outside of cis-hetero-normativity) has grabbed my attention as a fascinating topic for understanding the world around me as well as helping me grow as a human. I've read a handful of books discussing inclusive theological aspects of sex/gender variance (Adrian Thatcher's Gender and Christian Ethics, Susannah Cornwall's Constructive Theology and Gender variance to name a few), as well as Queer Theology in a broad sense (Patrick Cheng's Radical Love: An Introduction to Queer Theology, Marcella Althaus-Reid's Indecent Theology and The Queer God to name a few).
I was raised in a conservative environment which sex and gender variance were viewed as problematic or something that needed curing through religion, and I'm trying to move towards a more open and understanding mindset in which I can celebrate sex and gender variance and perhaps even explore it in my own life.
Have you read Hanna Reichel? I have not read this book, but I've listened to some interviews they've done and am currently reading their devotional book. This is more theology focused: https://www.wjkbooks.com/bookproduct/0664268196-after-method/
Not sure of your religious background, but I'm an ex-evangelical and, while I'm a white, straight, middle-aged guy, I've found nothing has helped me more than reading non-white and/or non-cis folks in recent years. Mainly because it's perspectives that I have not only appreciated before, but actively thought of as bad in the past.
I have not, but I'll have to check that out! Thanks for the rec.
oh interesting, thanks for those titles as well - I might have to look into them
I guess I'm left wondering why theology in particular? As a discipline I guess I wouldn't expect to learn as much about sex and gender as apologetics for how to retain your religious commitments / faith in light of traditionally bigoted stances in religious dogma - but that's just a guess. Maybe it helps you explore that connection between gender variance and the way religion was presented as a treatment?
I'm also interested in sex and gender, but I don't know where your interests lie exactly to know whether you would be interested in the books I've read.
Regardless, I would be careful about Suthrell's framing of the Hijra as cross-dressers ... one way to interpret the author's perspective is as transphobic, viewing the Hijra as fundamentally male and rejecting their gender. Meanwhile, Hijra included intersex people and people who transformed their bodies with surgeries to fit better as their female gender, people we certainly wouldn't view as male.
The book is from 2004 when the research on brain sex and the etiology of gender dysphoria was not as robust as it is now, so it's not surprising the author might be ignorant of the facts we now have about gender diverse people, so just be aware of that ignorance and its potential for creating harm. I'm always happy to point to resources if you want them, but I don't want to assume this is where your interest lies.
I highly recommend those books, and have some others along those lines if you're interested.
In regards to "why theology in particular": my conservative upbringing was essentially "this is our limited view of what's acceptable as a Christian, anything outside that isn't right". Now, I'm not ready to abandon my faith in exchange for inclusion of "others", so I turned to theological authors to see what they have to say on the matter as an attempt to find inclusion within that faith; Thatcher, Cornwall, and Althaus-Reid are/were college professors of various flavors of theology and also claim a Christian faith, so I believe their works are pertinent here. To summarize: I was taught that judgment of GSMs was inherently expected in the faith (with the understanding that GSMs were living outside God's direction), but now I want to learn about explicit inclusion of GSMs in the faith where a person doesn't have to abandon their homosexuality or variant gender expression in order to find inclusion in the faith.
I've definitely picked up on some of the outdated-ness of the book. Hijras aren't just crossdressers in the Western understanding of the term, but rather a third gender specific to Indian society as a result of their representation in Hindu mythology in texts like the Ramayana and Mahabharata. Outside of Hinduism, some Hijras have converted to Islam. Some join the Hijra community out of necessity (being outcast by family or community) or by choice (preferring a feminine role in society or feminine clothing). It's been an enlightening read so far. "Surgery" to become a Hijra is a bit of a misnomer, as it's far more of a ceremony involving the community, and the process involves some string and two sharp cuts to remove the genitals; some don't even survive, which is explained as a battle between the gods of good and evil.
The other half of the book is about transvestites (again, an outdated term nowadays) in the UK, which is much closer to my situation.
This chain is getting a bit long, so feel free to DM me!
I started reading If We Burn: The Mass Protest Decade and the Missing Revolution by Vincent Bevins. Given what's happening around the world in Indonesia, Nepal and others, it feels like we're in the sequel to the Arab Spring and I want to "catch up on the prequel" so to speak.