What Are You Reading, Part 2

[The Unknown Ajah]

1 hour ago, Matrim's Dice said:

Not too late, I started Memory of Light a few days ago  Thanks, I'll give it a try. The language level that I don't mind goes up to about Scythe, Neal Shusterman, and since the author of Power Mage was Brandon's student I can't imagine it'd be more than that.

Just looked at my copy, language is limited to "God" and content is similar to Warbreaker but in different ways.

[Spren of Kindness]

I read One Second After yesterday.  It was an interesting book.  Given my sample pool of 1990s - 2000s fiction, I actually liked it a lot more than I expected to.

[StormingTexan]

Reading The Backyard Starship. It is a fun light read so far. 

[The Sibling]

Re-reading How to train Your Dragon. I loved these book when I was little, and now my little brother just started reading them obsessively. Just going through a fe old favorites for nostalgia purposes.

[aneonfoxtribute]

I finished Harrow the Ninth. I uh...... don't understand anything. I'm immensely confused.

[Briar King]

Gaunt’s Ghost 13 is my current main read.

[The Unknown Ajah]

Just finished Hitchhiker's guide to the Galaxy. I read a compiled edition, which meant it had Restaurant at the End of the Universe, So Long and Thanks for the Fish, and a couple other short stories. I couldn't get through Mostly Harmless and skimmer Young Zaphod plays it safe, but I read everything else and enjoyed most of them.

Going to start the Licanius Trilogy book One next. One chapter in and I'm already very interested. 

Edited April 25, 2022 by The Unknown Novel

[Spren of Kindness]

I'm starting The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane tomorrow - it looks pretty interesting.  I'm also toying with the idea of a Wheel of Time reread.

[The Bookwyrm]

I'm currently reading through the Shadow Saga series by Orson Scott Card. (I recently finished his Ender Saga.) I need to hurry up and finish it, because then I need to read the Foundation Series by Isaac Asimov before Brandon Sanderson's Secret Projects come out. (But knowing how fast I gobble up good books, I'll probably be looking for something to fill the time between Foundation and SP1.)

I really need to read Wheel of Time again. I got to book eight on my first attempt, and then just fell out of it because I started reading other books when I shouldn't have. 

 

[Lego Mistborn]

Yes Yes Yes. I must tell you Bean is my favorite Ender's Saga Character. I'm also in the middle of WoT 4, but it might take me a while since my life is very busy till at least the end of May.

[StormingTexan]

On 4/25/2022 at 11:59 AM, The Unknown Novel said:

Going to start the Licanius Trilogy book One next. One chapter in and I'm already very interested. 

Love these books just re-read them about a month ago.

[Spren of Kindness]

Took me two days to finish The Eye of the World!  I was right - now that I've finished the whole series, going back to the beginning, it's not nearly as daunting.  It also adds a lovely sense of mourning?  Or inevitability?  To the story, because now I know where these characters will end up, and it changes the feelings.  (Big spoiler below - specifically A Memory of Light.)

Spoiler

For example, Egwene.  I was reading one of the Caemlyn scenes - and it's a fairly lighthearted scene, the Emond's Field five are happy, and finding a little peace in the storm, and it struck me.  She will die the Amyrlin Seat.  And that is so wildly different from the girl she is now.

Interestingly, while I have not watched the Amazon show, and have no plans too, I have associated a few of the faces with the characters, namely Rand and Perrin.  It's actually helpful, because by having a specific face in mind, I can picture the emotions better, which helps me emphasize with the characters.

Next up: The Shadowy Horses!  Ghosts, Roman legions, and Scotland!  Very intriguing!

Edited April 29, 2022 by Spren of Kindness

[Condensation]

*Oh* I have the *best* book ever! Found it recently and can't stop rereading it. Defy the Night by Brigid Kemmerer (really good author check out her stuff)

The *WORLDBUILDING* and the *TWISTS* it's all mapped so *PERFECTLY* ah so good

[microwave]

On 8/4/2016 at 10:56 AM, Wychmire said:

I just Finished Legends: Darkstalker by Tui T Sutherland. Which while being written for children is still quite a good book.

If you decide to read it please note that it is not the first book. it can be read as the first book. But it was written as an explanation for the second series arc.

i agree but in the graphic novels they just seem a bit darker with the blood and the detail with all their deaths

[Condensation]

I've been obsessively re-reading The Q by Beth Brower. It's so good!!!

Romance, though. If that's a turn-off, Beth Brower's books are not for you.

[Eluvianii]

Been reading xxxHolic recently. Started years ago but never got too far. Now I'm practically binging it and am about 2/3 of the way done.

The narrative style is something I hadn't seen before. At first it's only short stories so it's pretty much a monster-of-the-week kind of series. But as arcs start getting longer, the story isn't afraid to have more than one happening at the same time.

Protagonist will be saying goodbye to Important Character 1, as he worries about the recent events in Storyline 1. He doesn't have time to dwell on it however because Important Character 2 calls him urgently about the now beginning Storyline 2. We get some of that and it's a lot of emotion so how about a break with a short one-off story or two? Oh right, Storyline 1 is still happening, so we go back to that.

So yeah, this thing is pretty much burnout-proof. Iirc the anime changes that and focuses on one story at a time. Probably a good call if they knew they weren't going to adapt the whole thing, this structure gets pretty nuts the farther the story goes.

About the story itself, this manga is killing me. I watched the anime and it's good but now I realize how much was cut from it, especially from the second season. Mainly in terms of emotions. Characters who get punished and learn their lesson in the adaptation straight up die in the manga. A character suffering from already bad emotional damage from her mother in the anime goes full trauma and domestic violence here. On that note what was an almost nonexistent motivation and rushed resolution for said mother turned into a much deeper and tragic character. And the protagonist, covering only half the story they only scratch the surface of how good this protagonist is.

I want to cry and as much as I don't consider a good idea to binge good stories, this may not last the weekend.

[Spren of Kindness]

Read All Quiet On The Western Front.  I definitely get why this book is considered to be so good.  I did not enjoy reading it, but at the same time, it's a very important? might be the word? story.

[Orlion Blight]

9 hours ago, Spren of Kindness said:

Read All Quiet On The Western Front.  I definitely get why this book is considered to be so good.  I did not enjoy reading it, but at the same time, it's a very important? might be the word? story.

I think a lot of times, the current "reader culture" values entertainment/ enjoyment at the expense of all else.

In this case, edification! It's an edifying novel that's well-crafted and is even more important for you or I because it comes from the "enemy" and humanized them.

So you aren't "wrong" for not enjoying it. Part of growing as a reader is realizing that some books aren't for mere escapism. And recognizing when you can/want to read a book for edification and letting it sit when what you want is entertainment. 

Hopefully that didn't come out too snooty

[Spren of Kindness]

2 minutes ago, Orlion Blight said:

I think a lot of times, the current "reader culture" values entertainment/ enjoyment at the expense of all else.

In this case, edification! It's an edifying novel that's well-crafted and is even more important for you or I because it comes from the "enemy" and humanized them.

So you aren't "wrong" for not enjoying it. Part of growing as a reader is realizing that some books aren't for mere escapism. And recognizing when you can/want to read a book for edification and letting it sit when what you want is entertainment. 

Hopefully that didn't come out too snooty

Not at all!  You essentially said what I already knew, and it's something I'm working on growing out of as I get a bit older and I can see things in a more nuanced light.

[Medium]

Currently reading Cress, the third Lunar Chronicles book, after reading Cinder and Scarlet, which are books 1 and 2.

[Morningtide]

2 hours ago, CalanoCorvus said:

Currently reading Cress, the third Lunar Chronicles book, after reading Cinder and Scarlet, which are books 1 and 2.

Yes!!!! These are so good!!!! Anything by Marissa Meyer is amazing. I recommend all her books. 

On a similar note, I just finished Supernova, which is the third book in the Renegades series by Marissa Meyer. 

[Eluvianii]

Finished xxxHolic. I, am in a bit of a shock right now. It took finishing the thing for me to realize I had already read the ending long ago and had simply been graced with 3-4 volumes worth of epilogue. 

So I had effectively read a bittersweet ending and was prolonging my suffering by watching it turn into a downright depressing ending.

It's abrupt and unsatisfying really. An utterly beautiful journey that led nowhere near where I expected it to and was cut short before it got to any discernable destination. 

Now, do I regret it? Not in the slightest. These are characters that I've come to love and it's nice to see them move forward. Really it was a single character that got the short end of the stick but, I should stop. 

The story itself was good. Exactly my kind of story, this is a very specific kind of urban/supernatural fantasy that I often look for but rarely find. Folklore tales are real, there's a spiritual world, supernatural afflictions and possessions are often rooted in the possessed's own vices (hence the name, Holic), and it doesn't revolve around physically fighting the things, though it doesn't shy away from it on occasion. 

There's action but it's not the focus, there's romance but it's not the focus. The focus is a mix of daily life and learning about both spirit and human nature and I just live for that kind of thing.

The story also has a really strong focus on the nothing is a coincidence philosophy, and you know, as common as that thing is, this may be the first story to make me begin to believe it. "There is no such thing as coincidence in this world. There is only hitsuzen" has been ingrained in my mind as one of the most memorable quotes ever, as has been most of what Yuuko said because she's a walking quote machine. 

Also even if it did have a weird ending, there is a glimmer of hope. Apparently the sequel explores a way that could turn the story around. As if the entirety of the original manga was meant to end as unsatisfyingly as it did. Don't know if it's true as I haven't read it yet but I'll cling to anything I can here. It's also been left on hiatus for 7 years which CLAMP is known to do but apparently they just announced they'll end that hiatus next year. I'd be surprised at this amazing coincidence but if the series taught me something is that there's no such thing. 

[Boomerang Guy]

I am rereading ELANTRIS!

[Hollow Graves]

Rereading Shadow Queen by C. J. Redwine.

Highly recommended if you like fairytale-ish retellings.

[Morningtide]

I'm reading The Last Hours, which is a Shadowhunters series. It's pretty good. Also picked up a book from the library called Ink and Bone. It sounded interesting!