What are you reading?

[DeltaAro]

58 minutes ago, Nix said:

I did not read al the Tiffany Aching ones, but I did read all the rest ;) Most I borrowed from my local library.

That's ok, they aren't labeled "A Discworld Novel". 😉

I was browsing the books and saw the Maurice novel and bought it without reading the blurb because.. cats. And then wondered why it was labeled "Story of Discworld". After some pages it dawned upon me that I wasn't in the target audience. 😅

   Read?
1    x  The Colour of Magic
2    x  The Light Fantastic
3    x  Equal Rites
4    x  Mort
5    x  Sourcery
6       Wyrd Sisters
7    x  Pyramids
8    x  Guards! Guards!
9       Eric
10   x  Moving Pictures
11      Reaper Man
12      Witches Abroad
13   x  Small Gods
14      Lords and Ladies
15   x  Men at Arms
16      Soul Music
17   x  Interesting Times
18      Maskerade
19   x  Feet of Clay
20      Hogfather
21      Jingo
22      The Last Continent
23      Carpe Jugulum
24   x  The Fifth Elephant
25      The Truth
26   x  Thief of Time
27      The Last Hero
28   x  The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents
29   x  Night Watch
30      The Wee Free Men
31      Monstrous Regiment
32      A Hat Full of Sky
33      Going Postal
34      Thud!
35      Wintersmith
36      Making Money
37      Unseen Academicals
38      I Shall Wear Midnight
39      Snuff
40      Raising Steam
41      The Shepherd's Crown

I was more patient in the past... still I can't imagine reading them ALL...

1 hour ago, Nix said:

I have 21 of them on my bookshelf :)

I sold everything, all books. 😃 E-Reader... minimalism... but nowadays cluttercore is a trend and 21 discworld books are a good start. I just kept the two maps from the Discworld and Ankh-Morpork.

[Nix]

1 hour ago, DeltaAro said:

That's ok, they aren't labeled "A Discworld Novel". 😉

Yessss

1 hour ago, DeltaAro said:

was browsing the books and saw the Maurice novel and bought it without reading the blurb because.. cats. And then wondered why it was labeled "Story of Discworld". After some pages it dawned upon me that I wasn't in the target audience. 😅

Same! But that was while I was still in the library, so I just checked out a different Discworld novel 😅 

1 hour ago, DeltaAro said:

I sold everything, all books. 😃 E-Reader... minimalism... but nowadays cluttercore is a trend and 21 discworld books are a good start. I just kept the two maps from the Discworld and Ankh-Morpork.

Yep I love my e-reader, fantasy books tend to be kind of heavy to lug around. Some books I just can’t seem to part with, but I am slimming down on shelf space. I have the Discworld map too, plus one of the ‘science of discworld’ books. Oh! And I have the physical board game of ‘Thud!’ 
Well on my way to a cluttercore aesthetic it seems 😬

[DeltaAro]

16 hours ago, Nix said:

And I have the physical board game of ‘Thud!’ 

I didn't know about 'Thud!', interesting ... it looks like a variant of Hnefatafl. It even has a similar aesthetic since it's usually played on a cloth board.

Cluttercore!!! 😄

[whatistheromance]

On 10/26/2022 at 12:50 AM, Angrboda said:

What are you reading right now?

This forum 😉

[the more the merrier]

On 1/23/2023 at 10:24 PM, roboticanary said:

Im currently reading 'Roman Britain a new history' by Guy de la Bédoyère.

Really interesting book, sort of gives a good overview of things i sort of half remember from school or vaguely learned about from tv or visiting places,

Thanks for mentioning this, I'll check this out! Do you know 'Rome: Eternal City' by Ferdinand Addis? It's a pretty sweet intro! 'Emperor of Rome' by Mary Beard is also coming out in September and it sounds like it's going to be top-notch.

@roboticanary, as our Glorious Leader and a true Brit, will you be the one to write 'Aromantic Britain: A New History' for us?

[roboticanary]

17 minutes ago, the more the merrier said:

Do you know 'Rome: Eternal City' by Ferdinand Addis? It's a pretty sweet intro! 'Emperor of Rome' by Mary Beard is also coming out in September and it sounds like it's going to be top-notch.

Vaguely heard of it  cheers for mentioning it though, sounds like something I would enjoy.

18 minutes ago, the more the merrier said:

@roboticanary, as our Glorious Leader and a true Brit, will you be the one to write 'Aromantic Britain: A New History' for us?

Hmm, there's an idea.

Trouble is us aros haven't invaded Britain and subdued the local populace yet so I might have to wait a bit

[Sebastian The Bat]

I'm currently reading Hallucinations by Oliver Sacks, The body keeps the score by Bessel Van Der kolk, Odin by Diana L. Paxson, Ouran highschool host club by Bisco Hatori, Saint young men by Hikaru Nakamura and the three series of Cells at work by Yasuhiro Fukuda and Akane Shimizu. After I finish Hallucinations and The body keeps the score, (which I'm almost done with) I'm going to start reading The boy who was raised a dog by Bruce D. Perry and Maia Szalavitz. 

I did really enjoy To kill a mockingbird by Harper Lee, The great gatsby by Scott F. Fitzgerald and In cold blood by Truman Capote. With what most would call classic American literature I do have to take breaks from reading every so often or ill start to feel like the words become a big jumbled mess. I still enjoyed these stories despite that though and I do plan on reading them over again at some point. 

Ah, Im not sure how to answer this one. I think i prefer non-fiction a tad more over fiction. I tend to stay away from scifi, true crime, mystery and supernatural generas because they usually interest me less. Im not opposed to picking up new books however, In cold blood was an exception considering I had to read it for a grade and at some point I would love to read American psycho when my brain worms will allow me to do so. 

[DeltaAro]

On 10/26/2022 at 11:16 PM, Alaska Native Manitou said:

The book that changed my life is Custer Died for your Sins by Vine Deloria, Jr.

  What a mysterious title. It can't be just the literal meaning, though it is true. What's with the Jesus allusion?

8 hours ago, whatistheromance said:

This forum 😉

Anime subtitles!

I'm a real homme de lettres. I read so much.

[unromanceable_npc]

On 10/26/2022 at 9:50 AM, Angrboda said:

What are you reading right now?

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick (such a disappointing and dare I say juvenile read, this novel is incredibly dated, and I can't for the life of me take it seriously)

On 10/26/2022 at 9:50 AM, Angrboda said:

What are your favorite books?

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery is without a doubt one of my favourites.

On 10/26/2022 at 9:50 AM, Angrboda said:

What are your favorite genres?

Definitely fantasy and magical realism.

[Alaska Native Manitou]

3 hours ago, DeltaAro said:

  What a mysterious title. It can't be just the literal meaning, though it is true. What's with the Jesus allusion?

Anime subtitles!

I'm a real homme de lettres. I read so much.

Custer wasn't the only white person committing genocide against Native People back then; but he didn't get away with it as most of them did. While the killing of Custer was self-defense, his fellow racists made him into a martyr & used his death as an excuse to commit more hate crimes against us. It's just as dishonest as using a fictional character like Jesus as an example.

[hemogoblin]

Yay, a book thread!

Fantastic books I read last year that are worth mentioning:

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao (nonbinary author!). OMG love. Top fave book. This book broke so many tropes. The main character is a pissed off nonbinary person (presents as woman since there's not really terms for nonbinary in this world) on a mission of revenge who ends up in a polyam relationship because love triangles are trite! It's Pacific Rim meets ancient Chinese society. Book 2, Heavenly Tyrant, is expected out on my birthday this year (!!!), and I can NOT wait to read it.

Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor by Xiran Jay Zhao. A middle grade book Xiran wrote while waiting for royalties from Iron Widow to pay bills, and it's just as amazing. It's like Digimon/Pokemon Go meets ancient Chinese mythos. Just super fun.

The Memory Librarian by Janelle Monae & assorted authors. A collection of longer-short stories set in Janelle's Dirty Computer world exploring and expanding on the concepts introduced there. It's about surviving and thriving in a dystopic society where thought crimes are very much a thing and creativity and free expression are outlawed as dirty. I just love Janelle Monae and what their mind comes up with.

Girls of Paper and Fire trilogy by Natasha Ngan. As a sexual assault survivor, this book meant everything to me. The way Ngan expertly and compassionately navigated the loss of such an event and the many paths of coping and healing around it made me feel so seen. And I absolutely love the fantasy world she created where there are demons (fully anthropomorphic animal-types), humans, and hybrids (mostly human with clear demon features) - and, of course, magic. Every book in the series was strong, and each sequel introduced characters I fell even more in love with.

Clown Hunt by Judith Sonnet. Hardcore splatterpunk horror. I haven't read this genre since I was a teen, and this was a GREAT book back into the world of extremely-effed-up-stuff. It's so nice to find horror that isn't just deeply misogynistic, racist, and homophobic (Sonnet is a queer trans woman).

Your Body is Not Your Body short story anthology from Tenebrous Press. This was a very quickly put together anthology in light of the anti-trans bills coming up in Texas, where profits of the book went towards trans charities. (This was before the US decided to set itself on fire and have every single state introduce anti-trans bills.) I actually submitted a story that got rejected, but reading the book, I can see why! Everyone's work was sooooo good.

The Faceless Old Woman Who Secretly Lives In Your World a novel of the Night Vale universe. I loved the Faceless Old Woman character, but her backstory makes her EVEN better. Such a creative idea. I loved it.

Gideon The Ninth by Tamsyn Muir. This one has a huge fandom online, so I eventually bought in and gave it a try, about necromancers and their soldiers. In space. I honestly wasn't expecting to like this one as much as I did. I would say it was my second favorite read after Iron Widow. The voice is just so strong. Really makes the book. I'm nervous for how the voice is going to change for the next two books, but I gave in and bought them even though the second has really mixed reviews. The first was just that good that I'm willing to make that leap.

Discount Armageddon by Seanan McGuire. Discovered Seanan a few years ago thanks to her Wayward series. Thought she was pretty dope, so wanted to check out some more series, and the InCryptid series was definitely a good one for me! Magical realism is my jam. Another one with a great narrative voice, though not quite as strong as Gideon's.

I Want to be Where the Normal People Are by Rachel Bloom - nonfiction memoir. Very much Rachel's voice recognizable from her show Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. This book was too funny, but also touches on some poignant and difficult subjects that really makes you feel for Bloom.

Why Does He Do That? by Lundy Bancroft - nonfiction book about why abusers abuse. I put off reading this book for so long because I incorrectly assumed it would just focus on physical abuse. It was about so much more and really helped me articulate a lot of the experiences I went through. It was also the single most validating thing I've ever read about my experiences.

See What You Made Me Do by Jess Hill - nonfiction book about the culture of abuse. I would say Bancroft's book is required 101 reading, but Hill is excellent 202 or above reading. She really delves into concepts that Bancroft only introduced and explored a wide variety of aspects around abuse, including effectively proven ways to lessen and end domestic abuse. Be warned this book is a difficult, extremely upsetting read. Hill writes from an Australian perspective, and she gets right into the history of how colonialism and white supremacy brought abuse to Australia and made it so common place, including the history of Aboriginal women kept in cages as sex slaves, plus accounts of babies being raped by abusers - and the government tolerating and protecting it. Tough, tough stuff. Be careful when you read.

.

Current reads:

Coercive Control by Evan Stark - nonfiction book on a type of abuse called coercive control. I actually started out with Trauma and Recovery by Judith Herman, but I've been suuuuuper depressive and brain foggy and the book just required too much focus and thought to read, so I ended up finding Coercive Control on accident and getting sucked into it. It's along the lines of what's required from Bancroft's book, which is more...full of hooks and therefore easier to read (even though the subject matter is just as hard).

Pryce and Carter's Deep Space Survival Procedure & Protocol Manual by the folk behind the "Wolf 159" podcast. I only recently listened to Wolf 159 and fell in love with it. Even though it's over, I still wanted to support the pod. The Manual, which is the main character's copy from Wolf 159 (Doug), has his notes written all over it, which just sounds hilarious. I'm not far into it yet, but I have a feeling once I really start, I'll read it all in one sitting.

.

I have some books sitting out to be my next reads that I haven't decided between yet! I had picked one, and then big job changes happened, and I haven't felt like I had the time or energy to read rn. Coming up:

One Hand to Hold, One Hand to Carve by M. Shaw. A creepy little anthology about a cadaver that's been cut in half and living as Left and Right.

Portrait of a Thief by Grace D. Li. An art theft thriller about a group of Chinese folk decide to steal back Chinese cultural art and pieces that were stolen by European colonizers and kept locked up in European museums. The only novel upcoming on my list. I've been excited about this one for a while!

Antifa Splatterpunk short story anthology. Splatterpunk horror stories about fighting back against fascism.

Shredded short story anthology. Body horror stories about athletes/athletics. I consider myself fairly athletic and an (at home) gym rat, so I'm really excited to see what this one holds.

.

Since this is a reading thread, I also thought I'd mention here that there's a 25% off sale for pre-orders at B&N with the code PREORDER25 going through the 27th!

Edited January 26, 2023 by hemogoblin

[Ravensplat]

So currently reading Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller (retelling of the story of trojan war) and Children of Ruin by Adrain Tchaikovsky (second book in the series sci-fi far flung future after interstellar human empire has fallen). 

I also finished the Fantasy book Icebreaker by Glynn Stewart an author who I would highly recommend if you like Fantasy and Sci-Fi. Most books are Sci-Fi with fantasy elements but a few stand alone Fantasy book. City in the Sky is another standalone fantasy book which is great. May Sci-Fi series ranging from 3 books to 9 books with one other series about to have the 13 book release in Feb. My go to recommenced author for anyone really. 

I've also been dipping into Fan Fiction from Star Trek Discovery, HSMTMTS, Percy Jackson and She-Ra Princess of power so message me if you want reccomendations in any of them.

[Acearospec]

On 1/25/2023 at 7:51 PM, unromanceable_npc said:

L.M. Montgomery

I never read any of her "Anne" books, but I remember reading her "Emily" books when I was a kid & liking those. I like the inclusion of the supernatural element in them & some gothic novels like Jane Eyre, for example.

I generally prefer non-fiction, especially biographies & autobiographies, but I also enjoy some fiction from time to time (dystopian like "The Giver" & fantasy - "Fablehaven" series, & "Shadow & Bone" trilogy). I typically prefer young adult literature when I do read fiction, but I also like to read books from start to finish, which is way easier to do with these types.

That being said, the book I just finished was fantastic & I highly recommend it to anyone who likes non-fiction &/or science: I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life by Ed Yong. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27213168-i-contain-multitudes

[unromanceable_npc]

9 hours ago, Acearospec said:

 I like the inclusion of the supernatural element in them & some gothic novels like Jane Eyre, for example.

I’ve wanted to read Jane Eyre for so long now, but I never manage to get around to it…

9 hours ago, Acearospec said:

 "Shadow & Bone" trilogy

Have you read The Six of Crows duology by the same author? While I personally didn’t enjoy any of her books, from what I’ve seen, Bardugo’s later works in the same universe are generally well-liked, so they might be worth checking out.

[hemogoblin]

Quote

One Hand to Hold, One Hand to Carve by M. Shaw. A creepy little anthology about a cadaver that's been cut in half and living as Left and Right.

Portrait of a Thief by Grace D. Li. An art theft thriller about a group of Chinese folk decide to steal back Chinese cultural art and pieces that were stolen by European colonizers and kept locked up in European museums. The only novel upcoming on my list. I've been excited about this one for a while!

Decided to start with One Hand! Definitely weird horror. It was a lot more psychological than physical. I guess I wasn't not expecting that, but I also wasn't exactly expecting it. The ending, though. Dang. Hits right in the emotions.

Also read a tiny little short I got from an indie press called A Woman's Part about writing from the perspective of some of Shakespeare's women characters, plus blackout poetry pieces for them directly from Shakespeare's plays. I'm not a Shakespeare fan (I DO NOT GET ye olde English, and I never have any idea what's happening), but I really appreciated the chapbook. I'm thinking of shipping it to a friend for ris because ri does blackout poetry and likes Shakespeare, so no doubt ri'd enjoy it.

Halfway through Portrait of a Thief, and it's sooooooo good. I'm on the edge of my seat over the crew's fate. @_@ But there's only so long I can sit and read these days, lol. I could see myself reading this one all the way through if I was a teen still.

16 hours ago, unromanceable_npc said:

I’ve wanted to read Jane Eyre for so long now, but I never manage to get around to it…

It was one of our required readings in 11th grade, IIRC. I expected it to be like all the other classics that were jammed down our throats, so I was definitely phoning it in for most the book and doing quite a bit of skimming. Then I got to That Scene and was just like WHAT!? I thought I'd fallen asleep and started dreaming. xD There were very few required reading books I actually enjoyed, but Jane Eyre definitely could have been one if I'd realized what I was getting into from the beginning, lol. (At that point, we had so much reading and other assignments that I didn't feel I had time to go back and fully appreciate the book.)

[Acearospec]

On 2/5/2023 at 6:51 AM, unromanceable_npc said:

Have you read The Six of Crows duology by the same author? While I personally didn’t enjoy any of her books, from what I’ve seen, Bardugo’s later works in the same universe are generally well-liked, so they might be worth checking out.

Not yet, but I might check them out. Thanks for the recommendation. 🙂 I actually read Shadow & Bone because I liked the Netflix adaptation & wanted to compare. Usually I like books better than tv/movie representations, but in this case I actually preferred the show. 

On 2/5/2023 at 11:07 PM, hemogoblin said:

There were very few required reading books I actually enjoyed, but Jane Eyre definitely could have been one if I'd realized what I was getting into from the beginning, lol.

I agree - I tend to automatically reject required reading & have to really work to required material a fair chance/open mind. Jane Eyre was also required somewhere in my high school years, and the multiple choice quizzes to see if we were actually reading were lackluster measures of something, but certainly not reading comprehension. Luckily for me, I'd already read Jane Eyre in middle school by choice so I got to thoroughly enjoy it before schooling tried to drain the fun out of it for me. (Disclaimer: I say all of this, but am an educator & do appreciate the importance of reading.)

[Holmbo]

I'm reading A Meeting at Corvallis by S. M. Stirling. It's part of a series where all modern technology for some reason stopped working in 1998. It has great world building, exploring how people would live without modern technology when they still have all the knowledge from the modern world. 

Edited February 24, 2023 by Holmbo

[glypharia.exe]

I'm reading Gearbreakers by Zoe Hana Mikuta at the moment. It's a sci-fi book about colossal mechas, a tyrannical regime, and two girls (they are gay) on the opposite side of a war.

Generally, I like sci-fi and dystopian/apocalpytic books where it really makes you think about the world. One of my favorites in this genre are the books within the Arc of a Scythe.

[hemogoblin]

A friend sent me Orange World and Other Stories, so I'm reading that. The author is my friend's favorite. I'm not as into the stories (they're in no way bad or dull, just not quite my thing), but I want to read it to get to know the person that sent it to me better and be able to discuss it with her.

I won an advanced copy of On Earth As It Is On Television, so I'll be reading that next so I can help the author by reviewing it before its release. The back says for fans of Douglas Adams, so I'm pretty intrigued. The author even signed the copy and sent me a card and a 3D printed bookplate with the book, so that's very exciting and kind. I still need to thank her!

And my copy of Sister, Maiden, Monster came in, and it sounds VERY interesting. I can't wait to start it.

[Nix]

Just finished reading Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix, somehow completely missed this book when it came out. Story is pretty ok, but the presentation deserves 5 stars: 

I’ve worked retail for a long time so I agree that this was the real horror 😅

I’m diving into ACE by Angela Chen now. And I’ve bought Lock in by John Scalzi for my ereader.

[Nix]

Ok, I finished ACE by Angela Chen and it was really great! So great that I immediately gave it to a friend to read who said she wants to learn more about asexuality and aromanticism (yes, there is a chapter about it in there too :)

I’m halfway through ‘Lock in’ by John Scalzi but I had to stop reading it for a bit because… a new Brandon Sanderson book dropped into my mailbox on April the 1st (no joke) so I’m in the middle of that and it is a lot of fun!

[DeltaAro]

I'm reading README.txt: A Memoir by Chelsea Manning, and I'm nearly finished. It's a very important book by a very brave person.

Obviously, it centers about her motivations for becoming a whistleblower, how she did it, the truth about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the extreme punishment she had to endure.

But in equal measure it's also a biography and about her life as a queer person and her transition. I guess I understand a bit better how gender identity is so important for people, though it's still rather mysterious for me.

[hemogoblin]

On 3/7/2023 at 9:31 PM, hemogoblin said:

I won an advanced copy of On Earth As It Is On Television, so I'll be reading that next so I can help the author by reviewing it before its release.

Really enjoyed this one! Strange and unique and a lot more relaxing than my recent fare. Had a good amount of twists and turns that kept me on my toes.

On 3/7/2023 at 9:31 PM, hemogoblin said:

And my copy of Sister, Maiden, Monster came in, and it sounds VERY interesting. I can't wait to start it.

It was interesting! I'm not sure I could have ever truly predicted what a ride I was in for, lol. And man did it just keep escalating!

.

I've been halfway through Harrow the Ninth for months now because moving and starting a new job and a bunch of other factors totally threw me off, and I'm struggling really badly with executive dysfunction. D| I want to finish, I just don't know how to pick up the book again. Argh.

[Nix]

Oh I forgot to keep up with my read books here 😅

I’ll just… screenshot my list?

I really enjoyed the ‘Tales from the gas station’ books, so funny to have a protagonist go: ‘Nope, I’m not getting paid enough to deal with this’.

And two new Sanderson books, yay! 

I’m currently reading ‘Legend of the Storm Sneezer’ by Kristiana Sfirlea and it’s a fun, warm book (with aro ace main characters!) It’s a children’s book, so I sometimes have a little trouble focussing on the plot, but the main characters make up for that :)

[Holmbo]

I'm reading 1634: The Galileo Affair. It's the third book in the ring of fire series which is about some Americans getting transplanted back in time Germany during the 30 year war. The funny quirk of the book is an entire town gets transported so they have all the infrastructure and machines of the town.

I like all the focus on the cultural clashes between the different people and also the depiction of building institutions.

In the third book they're in Venice and not much have really happen so far. One of the pov characters is a love struck teenager who's pretty boring but other than that it's interesting. The pope seems to be up to something!