The Dawn of Everything by David Graeber and David Wengrow
I'm a fan of history and learning how many things we take for granted about human society, even among the most scholarly of us, is absurd. Almost the entirety of our backward projection of humanity is based on faulty accounts and educated but incorrect guesses, and an updated take with modern evidence is really enlightening. I highly recommend checking out a ebook sample on google if you have even a passing interest in anthropology or politics to see what preconceived notions they challenge. I was actually kinda mortified of by how much inherent bias I had toward earlier societies and I consider myself decently well-rounded. Turns out a lot of our foundational knowledge about how society developed was made up on the fly and can't be corroborated by any evidence.
Just started The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jimenez. It's a fantasy book with the narration told through basically everyone involved, past/present, alive and dead. I personally am so deeply in love with how it's written. It's interesting, something I haven't seen before, and the grand tale being played out is wild as fuck. It's on the more graphic end of the scale with what happens to people but I definitely don't mind. I'm. Very excited to see what chaos will continue to happen.
I have about 75 pages left in the book Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon.
After about 700 pages, I don't think I could really explain or summarize most of what I have read, and I'm not sure I would feel comfortable describing the parts that were clear to me in a public forum, lol. For real, there are parts in the book that are very profound, but there's also sections that are some of the most disgusting things I have ever read. I both highly recommend reading this book, and just as highly recommend never ever reading this book. If you have ever watched the episode of South Park where the boys write The Tale of Scrotie McBoogerballs, I would say that book is probably the closest thing out there to Gravity's Rainbow. I think I kind of get what is going on with the S-gerat, the cause and effect stuff with Slothrop, and I'm following along with the whole immipolex-g plot. Other than that it has mostly just been a haze of confusion and absurdity for me. If anyone has read this book and has any tips to keep in mind for the ending, or can provide any clarity for the sections I have covered so far, I would totally appreciate it!
I just finished The Interdependency audiobook series by John Scalzi. Those are some really good books. Good story all the way through. But I'm not a huge fan of Wil Wheaton's narration. It's just not that good to me and he's used too much.
I'm about to start Finish Line, book 11 of the Hard Luck Hank series. It's a sci-fi comedy series. They're kinda dumb, but between the writing and narrator's performance, it just tickles my funny bone. It's nice to have series that are there mostly for humor. I love good narratives, but it's nice to take a break and have a laugh
I just finished The Doomsday Book by Connie Willis. Most of her other work I had read was pretty lighthearted, so despite the title, I was unprepared for the sucker punch this book was.
To be clear, the book was amazing and I recommend it. It deals with pandemics, with modern and historical. The amazing thing to me is that it was written in 1992, but feels like it could be an alternate history of our current timeline.
But now I need something light. I just ... didn't have the heart to take a chance on anything new, so I have fallen way back to Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke. Clinical exploration of interstellar vehicle mechanics is pretty much what I need right now.
Clarke also wrote my favorite short story of all time, "The Nine Billion Names of God". You can hear it read here, less than 20 minutes. If you want more in that vein, Childhood's End is a quick read that will probably stick with you.
I'm interested in recommendations for lighter fire in fantasy and science fiction. Some things that came to mind I have read are the Eddie Lacrosse books by Alex Bledsoe (basically noir detective in a fantasy world) and, more recently, The Black Tongue Thief by Christopher Buehlman.
My father is an absolute bookworm, he'll devour books and we always have great conversations about what we're reading at the moment. We take turns making recommendations to eachother, especially if we've actually bought the book and not just gotten it from the library.
I've just finished 'I Am Pilgrim' (truly amazing) and have now started Tom Clancy's "Rainbow Six' - both I've gotten for free / Dad gave them to me to read.
Loving Rainbow Six - it's aged quite well and doesn't seem dated in the slightest; which can be a problem for some of the older books in the genre as technology has moved on quite far since it's released!
Just finished The Mote in God's Eye. It's... interesting. The story is pretty good but oof, it's very old fashioned which feels quite at odds with the future setting. Mainly in regards to the patriachical society and monarchy. But I did enjoy it though I thought the ending to be a bit weak. Also feels like it could've been trimmed a little. The book's title is a stunner though.
Just started Pandora's Star. Only about 10% in. Some good world building so far and I'm intrigued. Who doesn't like a Dyson sphere?
We just went to the local library last week for the first time in years. I grabbed a couple mysteries, including Dancing in the Dark by Stuart M. Kaminsky. It's part of the Toby Peters series, a noir-style detective series set in 1930's/40's Hollywood with big celebrity cameos every chapter. They're fun reads, kinda simple and on the campier side, but that's just fun. This one was set in Marxh 1943 and featured Fred Astaire getting tangled up with a mob boss.
I also got The Secrets of Gaslight Lane by M.R.C. Kasasian. Fourth in the Gower St. Detectives series, a good detective series in Victorian England about a grumpy and sharp-tongued detective named Sidney Grice and his ward March Middleton. These are definitely more on the gritty side (they're how I learned that boiling animals alive makes the skin looser), and Grice is one of the most genuinely unpleasant detectives I've seen in fiction. Which is, in fact, a compliment. I'd hate to interact with the guy, but it's nice to see major characters who are genuinely asocial and overly smug now and then.
I'm 90% sure I haven't read this one yet, but I might have since it's been a few years since I checked them out. My memory is fuzzy since it's been a while, and the descriptions aren't enough to tell me. I'll find out soon when I actually start reading it and see if the scenes are familiar!
After having played Cthulhu Wars for a few years now, I’ve started reading some of the underlying stories from the Lovecraftian universe. Currently on The King in Yellow. Pretty good stories, but something that really stood out was the casual anti-semitism, which makes it mildly uncomfortable at times.
I’m about 20% into John Steinbeck’s Travels with Charley. I used to love Steinbeck but haven’t read him for at least a couple decades. I still love his style but the misogyny is kind of a downer. I don’t know if I was too young to notice it before or it didn’t come up in other works. Aside: I’m delighted by so many sci-fi folks, here! That is more my usual fare.
I'm about halfway through 'the three body problem' by cixin Liu. Very good so far and more readable than I was expecting for a hard sci fi book. I have had the trilogy on my shelf for a while now and decided to dive in.
The first Mistborn trilogy by Brandon Sanderson - this series was flat out amazing, one of the best fantasy series I've ever read
The first two books of the Voyage of the Jerle Shannara trilogy by Terry Brooks - I read this series as a kid, so it's a lot of nostalgia for me. Still a pretty good series, but more enjoyable if you've read other books in the Shannara series
Outliers by Malcom Gladwell - Also a book that I read a long time ago, it really changed my worldview when I read it and still holds up today. To dramatically oversimplify it takes a look at statistical anomalies in successful people and what causes these "outliers".
I'm also continually reading the manual of Epictetus, one page a day
Just finished up Translator State by Ann Leckie, and I'm rereading Raven Tower by her right now.
She's probably my favorite author, and the Sci-Fi universe that she's built between her Ancillary Trilogy, Provenance, and now Translator State is incredible. Frankly, it's gotten kind of weird in Provenance and Translator State, but somehow it just works. Technically Provenance and Translator State exist as stand alone books -- you don't need to read the Trilogy to understand what's going on (the events of it are referenced, but kind of the same way the Clone Wars existed in Star Wars -- a big event but outside of the scope of the story), but they both throw readers into the deep end of her worldbuilding, while Ancillary Justice and co. build up to the weirdness.
Raven Tower on the other hand is a great fantasy novel about old gods and new gods and intrigue in whole. I recently read more about it and did not catch how the plot was a retelling of a very famous story - one omitted for the sake of avoiding spoilers, though maybe I was just oblivious to it! Rereading it is enjoyable - I love Leckie's treatment of gods and their magic, and the extra parallels I'm now catching made it worth revisiting, 2-3 years after I first read it.
After reading a string of books/authors who sung the praises of Marcel Proust, I decided to give him a try and read a complete collection of the short stories he published before he buckled down and wrote "In Search of Lost Time."
I can't see what all the fuss was about, but I'll chalk it up to being early in his career, as well as my belonging to an entirely different zeitgeist. I can certainly see his disillusionment with high society, but to read story after story of members of the aristocracy pining for unrequited/"impossible" love, individuals with regrets for wasted lives, etc. makes me weary after a mere 200 pages. Can't imagine going through 4k pages of the same content.
Recently, I just started "The Book of Yokai" by Michael Dylan Foster, and I've found that to be much more satisfying.
I've just finished The Death of Vivek Oji by Ekweke Emezi and started Eating to Extinction by Dan Saladino.
I came on to Emezis work first through PET years ago, which is targeted more at young adult readers but is still very worth your time. Vivek is very adult by comparison, but it's also extremely intimate and sensual. The author highlights such minute details about their characters that give you this very physical, almost erotic feeling for them, from the way sweat mats their hair to the scents noticed in an embrace. On top, Emezi jumps along the timeline of the titular characters life (and death) and between the perspectives of both them and their close acquaintances without ever making you feel like you lost the plot. Instead I felt more like I was reading a mystery novel, slowly piecing together the who, what, and why and I got a clearer picture of who the characters really were. It was beautifully written novel and I absolutely recommend it. I think I'll look to read Freshwater from them next.
I've only just started reading Eating to Extinction but I like the premise a lot. As someone interested in the long term sustainability of agriculture, I have a feeling it will be full of important lessons on the necessity of diversity in what we grow and eat. I'm keen to see where it goes, but given it's size I do worry it might become tiresome around the middle. I suppose we'll see how much I'm able to get through!
I finished Artificial Condition by Martha Wells, the second Murderbot book. I am really enjoying murderbot, a modern science fiction twist on the alienated noir-ish main character who investigates things and has adventures.
I finished Beyond, the first of the Valdemar founding trilogy by Mercedes Lackey. This is a fun story in a universe that I was invested in in my teens and 20s. I recommend it.
I finished Maestro by Peter Goldsworthy, a coming of age novel set in Australia, featuring a mysterious music teacher who is a concentration camp survivor. This is an excellent book. Thought provoking.
I am continuing Lady Death a memoir of Pavlichenko the WWII sniper for the USSR. The soviets used women in combat in ways that were not typical for the time. Pavlichenko is a good writer.
I started Librarian Tales by William Ottens which is funny.
I started Different: Gender Through the Eyes of a Primatologist by Frans de Waal. It is interesting to read a book about biological and behavioral sexual differences written by a man who sincerely calls himself a feminist and includes a supportive chapter related to transgender people. So far, this is an insightful and interesting book.
I've just finished A Prayer for Owen Meany. I first read it about 10 years ago and I've been craving a re-read for a while now. I don't want to spoil anything, but I love the progression through the story split into those smaller anecdotes which inevitably end up having some greater meaning. There are parts of it that I could do without (and IMO make it feel a bit padded) but on the whole it is a book I love.
Project 2025, that massive conservative manifesto and transition plan for the US government. As much as I’d rather not, I need to deeply understand for myself what is happening in my home country. I’m also casually borrowing the most controversial US school library books. These two reading targets are unfortunately interlinked.
Just finished the last available book in the Red Rising series by Pierce Brown. SciFi/Fantasy pulling heavily from Roman history and time honored class war/social stratification themes. Started out sort of young adult (but rather violent) flavor told in 1st person from a single character’s point of view. After 1st book the YA flavor goes away altogether. As books progress it moves into 1st person narrative from multiple character’s points of view. Really enjoyed the series over all and looking forward to the final book in series when published.
I'm currently reading Blindfold: A Memoir of Capture, Torture, and Enlightenment by Theo Padnos. It's a memoir of the 2 years he spent as a captive of al Qaeda in Syria. It's fascinating and offers a look into a situation that most people will (thankfully) never find themselves in.
I'm currently halfway through Stephen Markley's (author of Ohio) The Deluge. It's about where our current course of action (or lack there of) regarding climate change is likely to lead us. It is told through the lense of a diverse cast of characters ranging from climate activists to drug addicts and follows their lives through the coming decades. It is very depressing how possible the world it paints seems, but I just can't put it down.
I recently finished the first book in the sci-fi Bobiverse series, We Are Legion, after seeing someone recommend it here. I enjoyed it and am looking forward to seeing what happens to the many things the author set up for future books.
Harry Potter & The Cursed Child - JKR Opinion: Just finished all 7 Potter books so, continuing. Not liking it as must as the classic 7 books.
We Are All Targets - Matt Potter Opinion: He did an AMA on reddit, that's where I heard of it. So far trying to like it, writing style is "all over the place", if that's a style. Very long sentences with a lot of info. Not thoroughly enjoying it as much but will give it more time.
Timeline - Michael Crichton Opinion: You could say I'm a new-ish reader. As a kid I read a lot of sci-fi (Star Wars) and now that I'm picking up reading again I'm going thru the usual recommended lists. Never read any Crichton, but I am liking it. The pace is good, easy to read at a good pace.
OR I'm just a nerd and really like sci-fi / fiction. I've read a lot R.A. Salvatore (Dark Elf), Orson Scott Card, etc. When it comes to autobiographies, or non-fiction... I take a long time and get easily bored. Self-help books in particular I feel like it's a chore to pick it up.
The semester (my penultimate in law school) is ramping up, so I;ve not read as much as I'd like. That said, I'm reading or recently finished:
The Fall of Gondolin edited by Christopher Tolkien – I'm nearly finished with the telling of the main story; can't wait to delve into the manuscripts and supplemental materials that accompany the rest of this book.
And a Bottle of Rum: A History of the New World in Ten Cocktails by Wayne Curtis – This book was a fun read (I've gotten into good sipping rums recently), with each chapter highlighting a different rum cocktail. Rum is the quintessential American spirit, derived from industrial waste (molasses), but died out after the Revolutionary War (most of the Caribbean sugar colonies were U.K. territories) in favor of local whiskey, but then had a resurgence after Prohibition in Tiki culture.
Timewalkers: The Prehistory of Global Colonization by Clive Gamble (1993) – This book synthesizes much of the [then-current] stage of research into prehistoric hominids and early humanity, which has been a really interesting, if slightly dense, read since I grew up in an evangelical household that taught young-earth creationism. I haven't looked to see what's changed in the 30 years since publication, but the reviews in academic journals at the time of publication were strong.
The Dawn of Everything by David Graeber and David Wengrow
I'm a fan of history and learning how many things we take for granted about human society, even among the most scholarly of us, is absurd. Almost the entirety of our backward projection of humanity is based on faulty accounts and educated but incorrect guesses, and an updated take with modern evidence is really enlightening. I highly recommend checking out a ebook sample on google if you have even a passing interest in anthropology or politics to see what preconceived notions they challenge. I was actually kinda mortified of by how much inherent bias I had toward earlier societies and I consider myself decently well-rounded. Turns out a lot of our foundational knowledge about how society developed was made up on the fly and can't be corroborated by any evidence.
Just started The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jimenez. It's a fantasy book with the narration told through basically everyone involved, past/present, alive and dead. I personally am so deeply in love with how it's written. It's interesting, something I haven't seen before, and the grand tale being played out is wild as fuck. It's on the more graphic end of the scale with what happens to people but I definitely don't mind. I'm. Very excited to see what chaos will continue to happen.
I have about 75 pages left in the book Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon.
After about 700 pages, I don't think I could really explain or summarize most of what I have read, and I'm not sure I would feel comfortable describing the parts that were clear to me in a public forum, lol. For real, there are parts in the book that are very profound, but there's also sections that are some of the most disgusting things I have ever read. I both highly recommend reading this book, and just as highly recommend never ever reading this book. If you have ever watched the episode of South Park where the boys write The Tale of Scrotie McBoogerballs, I would say that book is probably the closest thing out there to Gravity's Rainbow. I think I kind of get what is going on with the S-gerat, the cause and effect stuff with Slothrop, and I'm following along with the whole immipolex-g plot. Other than that it has mostly just been a haze of confusion and absurdity for me. If anyone has read this book and has any tips to keep in mind for the ending, or can provide any clarity for the sections I have covered so far, I would totally appreciate it!
I just finished The Interdependency audiobook series by John Scalzi. Those are some really good books. Good story all the way through. But I'm not a huge fan of Wil Wheaton's narration. It's just not that good to me and he's used too much.
I'm about to start Finish Line, book 11 of the Hard Luck Hank series. It's a sci-fi comedy series. They're kinda dumb, but between the writing and narrator's performance, it just tickles my funny bone. It's nice to have series that are there mostly for humor. I love good narratives, but it's nice to take a break and have a laugh
I just finished The Doomsday Book by Connie Willis. Most of her other work I had read was pretty lighthearted, so despite the title, I was unprepared for the sucker punch this book was.
To be clear, the book was amazing and I recommend it. It deals with pandemics, with modern and historical. The amazing thing to me is that it was written in 1992, but feels like it could be an alternate history of our current timeline.
But now I need something light. I just ... didn't have the heart to take a chance on anything new, so I have fallen way back to Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke. Clinical exploration of interstellar vehicle mechanics is pretty much what I need right now.
Clarke also wrote my favorite short story of all time, "The Nine Billion Names of God". You can hear it read here, less than 20 minutes. If you want more in that vein, Childhood's End is a quick read that will probably stick with you.
I'm interested in recommendations for lighter fire in fantasy and science fiction. Some things that came to mind I have read are the Eddie Lacrosse books by Alex Bledsoe (basically noir detective in a fantasy world) and, more recently, The Black Tongue Thief by Christopher Buehlman.
I’ve just started reading Titus Groan by Mervyn Peake.
And, as an aside, what an interesting name that is - Mervyn Laurence Peake.
I’ve been meaning to delve into this series for a good while now, so hip hip hooray for me, the time has finally come!
Perhaps one day I will finish The Culture: Use of Weapons by Iain M. Banks.
just finished book 1 of the Honor Harrington series by David Weber. book 2 on the way for some vacation reading next week
My father is an absolute bookworm, he'll devour books and we always have great conversations about what we're reading at the moment. We take turns making recommendations to eachother, especially if we've actually bought the book and not just gotten it from the library.
I've just finished 'I Am Pilgrim' (truly amazing) and have now started Tom Clancy's "Rainbow Six' - both I've gotten for free / Dad gave them to me to read.
Loving Rainbow Six - it's aged quite well and doesn't seem dated in the slightest; which can be a problem for some of the older books in the genre as technology has moved on quite far since it's released!
Just finished The Mote in God's Eye. It's... interesting. The story is pretty good but oof, it's very old fashioned which feels quite at odds with the future setting. Mainly in regards to the patriachical society and monarchy. But I did enjoy it though I thought the ending to be a bit weak. Also feels like it could've been trimmed a little. The book's title is a stunner though.
Just started Pandora's Star. Only about 10% in. Some good world building so far and I'm intrigued. Who doesn't like a Dyson sphere?
We just went to the local library last week for the first time in years. I grabbed a couple mysteries, including Dancing in the Dark by Stuart M. Kaminsky. It's part of the Toby Peters series, a noir-style detective series set in 1930's/40's Hollywood with big celebrity cameos every chapter. They're fun reads, kinda simple and on the campier side, but that's just fun. This one was set in Marxh 1943 and featured Fred Astaire getting tangled up with a mob boss.
I also got The Secrets of Gaslight Lane by M.R.C. Kasasian. Fourth in the Gower St. Detectives series, a good detective series in Victorian England about a grumpy and sharp-tongued detective named Sidney Grice and his ward March Middleton. These are definitely more on the gritty side (they're how I learned that boiling animals alive makes the skin looser), and Grice is one of the most genuinely unpleasant detectives I've seen in fiction. Which is, in fact, a compliment. I'd hate to interact with the guy, but it's nice to see major characters who are genuinely asocial and overly smug now and then.
I'm 90% sure I haven't read this one yet, but I might have since it's been a few years since I checked them out. My memory is fuzzy since it's been a while, and the descriptions aren't enough to tell me. I'll find out soon when I actually start reading it and see if the scenes are familiar!
After having played Cthulhu Wars for a few years now, I’ve started reading some of the underlying stories from the Lovecraftian universe. Currently on The King in Yellow. Pretty good stories, but something that really stood out was the casual anti-semitism, which makes it mildly uncomfortable at times.
I’m about 20% into John Steinbeck’s Travels with Charley. I used to love Steinbeck but haven’t read him for at least a couple decades. I still love his style but the misogyny is kind of a downer. I don’t know if I was too young to notice it before or it didn’t come up in other works. Aside: I’m delighted by so many sci-fi folks, here! That is more my usual fare.
I'm about halfway through 'the three body problem' by cixin Liu. Very good so far and more readable than I was expecting for a hard sci fi book. I have had the trilogy on my shelf for a while now and decided to dive in.
Man I'm a huge book worm, this last month I read:
The first Mistborn trilogy by Brandon Sanderson - this series was flat out amazing, one of the best fantasy series I've ever read
The first two books of the Voyage of the Jerle Shannara trilogy by Terry Brooks - I read this series as a kid, so it's a lot of nostalgia for me. Still a pretty good series, but more enjoyable if you've read other books in the Shannara series
Outliers by Malcom Gladwell - Also a book that I read a long time ago, it really changed my worldview when I read it and still holds up today. To dramatically oversimplify it takes a look at statistical anomalies in successful people and what causes these "outliers".
I'm also continually reading the manual of Epictetus, one page a day
Currently listening to The Internet Con - How to seize the means of computation by Cory Doctorow.
Just started reading Gödel, Escher, Bach and hoping I stick with it this time.
Just finished up Translator State by Ann Leckie, and I'm rereading Raven Tower by her right now.
She's probably my favorite author, and the Sci-Fi universe that she's built between her Ancillary Trilogy, Provenance, and now Translator State is incredible. Frankly, it's gotten kind of weird in Provenance and Translator State, but somehow it just works. Technically Provenance and Translator State exist as stand alone books -- you don't need to read the Trilogy to understand what's going on (the events of it are referenced, but kind of the same way the Clone Wars existed in Star Wars -- a big event but outside of the scope of the story), but they both throw readers into the deep end of her worldbuilding, while Ancillary Justice and co. build up to the weirdness.
Raven Tower on the other hand is a great fantasy novel about old gods and new gods and intrigue in whole. I recently read more about it and did not catch how the plot was a retelling of a very famous story - one omitted for the sake of avoiding spoilers, though maybe I was just oblivious to it! Rereading it is enjoyable - I love Leckie's treatment of gods and their magic, and the extra parallels I'm now catching made it worth revisiting, 2-3 years after I first read it.
After reading a string of books/authors who sung the praises of Marcel Proust, I decided to give him a try and read a complete collection of the short stories he published before he buckled down and wrote "In Search of Lost Time."
I can't see what all the fuss was about, but I'll chalk it up to being early in his career, as well as my belonging to an entirely different zeitgeist. I can certainly see his disillusionment with high society, but to read story after story of members of the aristocracy pining for unrequited/"impossible" love, individuals with regrets for wasted lives, etc. makes me weary after a mere 200 pages. Can't imagine going through 4k pages of the same content.
Recently, I just started "The Book of Yokai" by Michael Dylan Foster, and I've found that to be much more satisfying.
I've just finished The Death of Vivek Oji by Ekweke Emezi and started Eating to Extinction by Dan Saladino.
I came on to Emezis work first through PET years ago, which is targeted more at young adult readers but is still very worth your time. Vivek is very adult by comparison, but it's also extremely intimate and sensual. The author highlights such minute details about their characters that give you this very physical, almost erotic feeling for them, from the way sweat mats their hair to the scents noticed in an embrace. On top, Emezi jumps along the timeline of the titular characters life (and death) and between the perspectives of both them and their close acquaintances without ever making you feel like you lost the plot. Instead I felt more like I was reading a mystery novel, slowly piecing together the who, what, and why and I got a clearer picture of who the characters really were. It was beautifully written novel and I absolutely recommend it. I think I'll look to read Freshwater from them next.
I've only just started reading Eating to Extinction but I like the premise a lot. As someone interested in the long term sustainability of agriculture, I have a feeling it will be full of important lessons on the necessity of diversity in what we grow and eat. I'm keen to see where it goes, but given it's size I do worry it might become tiresome around the middle. I suppose we'll see how much I'm able to get through!
I finished Artificial Condition by Martha Wells, the second Murderbot book. I am really enjoying murderbot, a modern science fiction twist on the alienated noir-ish main character who investigates things and has adventures.
I finished Beyond, the first of the Valdemar founding trilogy by Mercedes Lackey. This is a fun story in a universe that I was invested in in my teens and 20s. I recommend it.
I finished Maestro by Peter Goldsworthy, a coming of age novel set in Australia, featuring a mysterious music teacher who is a concentration camp survivor. This is an excellent book. Thought provoking.
I am continuing Lady Death a memoir of Pavlichenko the WWII sniper for the USSR. The soviets used women in combat in ways that were not typical for the time. Pavlichenko is a good writer.
I started Librarian Tales by William Ottens which is funny.
I started Different: Gender Through the Eyes of a Primatologist by Frans de Waal. It is interesting to read a book about biological and behavioral sexual differences written by a man who sincerely calls himself a feminist and includes a supportive chapter related to transgender people. So far, this is an insightful and interesting book.
I've just finished A Prayer for Owen Meany. I first read it about 10 years ago and I've been craving a re-read for a while now. I don't want to spoil anything, but I love the progression through the story split into those smaller anecdotes which inevitably end up having some greater meaning. There are parts of it that I could do without (and IMO make it feel a bit padded) but on the whole it is a book I love.
Project 2025, that massive conservative manifesto and transition plan for the US government. As much as I’d rather not, I need to deeply understand for myself what is happening in my home country. I’m also casually borrowing the most controversial US school library books. These two reading targets are unfortunately interlinked.
Currently reading the Silo series of books after watching season 1 of the TV show. Halfway through the second book and loving it.
Just finished the last available book in the Red Rising series by Pierce Brown. SciFi/Fantasy pulling heavily from Roman history and time honored class war/social stratification themes. Started out sort of young adult (but rather violent) flavor told in 1st person from a single character’s point of view. After 1st book the YA flavor goes away altogether. As books progress it moves into 1st person narrative from multiple character’s points of view. Really enjoyed the series over all and looking forward to the final book in series when published.
I'm currently reading Blindfold: A Memoir of Capture, Torture, and Enlightenment by Theo Padnos. It's a memoir of the 2 years he spent as a captive of al Qaeda in Syria. It's fascinating and offers a look into a situation that most people will (thankfully) never find themselves in.
I'm currently halfway through Stephen Markley's (author of Ohio) The Deluge. It's about where our current course of action (or lack there of) regarding climate change is likely to lead us. It is told through the lense of a diverse cast of characters ranging from climate activists to drug addicts and follows their lives through the coming decades. It is very depressing how possible the world it paints seems, but I just can't put it down.
I recently finished the first book in the sci-fi Bobiverse series, We Are Legion, after seeing someone recommend it here. I enjoyed it and am looking forward to seeing what happens to the many things the author set up for future books.
The Struggle for a Decent Politics: On "Liberal" As An Adjective by Michael Walzer, reviewed here
https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsereviewofbooks/2023/05/30/book-review-the-struggle-for-a-decent-politics-on-liberal-as-an-adjective-by-michael-walzer/
and here
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10064938/
I think the next book after that is going to be The Chinese Myths: A Guide to the Gods and Legends by Tao Tao Liu
no context, no explanation, just give it a chance:
https://www.sbnation.com/a/17776-football
I'm reading 2 books (and started a 3rd):
Opinion: Just finished all 7 Potter books so, continuing. Not liking it as must as the classic 7 books.
Opinion: He did an AMA on reddit, that's where I heard of it. So far trying to like it, writing style is "all over the place", if that's a style. Very long sentences with a lot of info. Not thoroughly enjoying it as much but will give it more time.
Opinion: You could say I'm a new-ish reader. As a kid I read a lot of sci-fi (Star Wars) and now that I'm picking up reading again I'm going thru the usual recommended lists. Never read any Crichton, but I am liking it. The pace is good, easy to read at a good pace.
OR I'm just a nerd and really like sci-fi / fiction. I've read a lot R.A. Salvatore (Dark Elf), Orson Scott Card, etc. When it comes to autobiographies, or non-fiction... I take a long time and get easily bored. Self-help books in particular I feel like it's a chore to pick it up.
The semester (my penultimate in law school) is ramping up, so I;ve not read as much as I'd like. That said, I'm reading or recently finished: