What are you reading? (June 2023)

The Murderbot Diaries.

I've been enjoying it, it has a surprising amount of heart for a series about an emotionally damaged not-robot.

I was put off by the pricing on these. Full price for novella length. I really enjoyed the first one, I'll grab the rest if they go on sale
I’ve reread the series more than once, and I hardly ever reread books—I just can’t get enough of Murderbot! I’m anxiously awaiting the new release, System Collapse, due out later this year.

My current read is Abarat by Clive Barker.

I'd not heard of it until last week, when folks on r/books were singing its praises in a thread, so figured I'd give it a shot. Yeah, it's enjoyable. Definitely aimed squarely at the middle of the YA crowd, but it's an easy read at a time when my brain isn't letting me really get into any books.

do comic books count? i just started reading DCeased. otherwise i've finally cracked open Lolita, it's an interesting but disgusting read.

I’m halfway into “Guards! Guards!” by Pratchett. My first story of his, and I’m having so much fun!

Once you've read that, get a copy of Nightwatch. Much the same cast of characters, but it's widely considered to be Terry's magnum opus. That book is a damn work of art.
#GNUTerryPratchett
- Yeah, I already have planned to read the whole night watch saga. Then I’ll see what other side of the Discworld to move on to
You'll love these books!
Jealous you get to read them all for the first time.
ahhhh welcome to the discworld!!

I have 2 going right now:

Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk
Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson

Snow Crash is good, but IDK. It just isn't pulling me in the way I expected it to, so it's taking me too long to get through.

Then I have some Jack Reacher novel on my bedside table waiting to be started, and I was just eyeballing a collection of H.P. Lovecraft stories on my shelf.

I’ve always got way too many books going at once. I’m listening to the audiobook of The Overstory by Richard Powers, one of my favorite authors who never disappoints, and, among others, I’m reading The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton—which is entertaining enough so far, but I’m reserving judgment—and Auē by Becky Manawatu, which is so emotionally devastating at times that I have to take it in small doses.

Just started Howl's Moving Castle. Liking it so far!

Not exactly like the movie, but it's pretty close.

I'm currently reading through Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson. I'm a fan of SciFi, and cyberpunk especially. This book was on my reading list, and I decided to pick it up while in the bookstore the other day.

So far I'm really enjoying it. It feels a bit more pulpy than some of the other cyberpunk classics such as Neuromancer and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, but that's not a bad thing. It certainly doesn't take away from the entertainment in my opinion. Not every book needs to have a grand philosophy behind it.

I guess I should finally read Snow Crash, but other books keep getting in the way. I just finished Neuromancer which surprised me with how well written it was. No idea why, but I expected the classics to be more … exhausting.

My 'big read' this year is Finnegans Wake - which I am (or have been) reading week by week along with the TrueLit sub on reddit. It would be a profoundly different experience to read it without the analysis and discussion going on there, so that is something...

Otherwise, I am reading The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher, which is engaging and entertaining, as was her The Hollow Places which I read immediately before. I am also dipping into a collection of the Para Handy tales by Neil Munro, which are a cosy - if stereotypical and patronising - glimpse into another time and pace of life.

I have just returned from a couple of weeks away during which I finished an anthology of Clarke Ashton Smith short fantasy tales (all about the atmosphere: story and worldbuilding are very much secondary and character scarcely features); Haldor Laxness's The Atom Station (a sparse look at the clash of modern - written in 1948 - and traditional Icelandic values); and Blackwood's The Willows (an extrapolation of the original idea of "panic" - as several of this other tales are).

The eyes of the dragon by Stephen King

Pattern Recognition, William Gibson.

Gibson is tough to get into, personally, but his stories are very cool!

Expeditionary Force: Match Game

Currently reading Hitch hikers guide to the galaxy really fun reads though it got weird in some places

I'm currently re-reading Transgender Warriors by Leslie Feinberg, for Pride Month!

I finally managed to read through Gardens of the Moon recently which I really liked, so now I'm on to Deadhouse Gates.

Black House, by Stephen King and Peter Straub

https://bookwyrm.social/book/1022818/s/black-house

Currently reading "Brave New World", Aldous Huxley. Next up Isaac Asimov's Foundation.

I usually have a print/ebook and an audio book (for the car) going at the same time.

For print book, currently reading Crooked Kingdom, one of the books in the Grishaverse series/world. I, uh, got a little obsessed after watching the first season of Shadow and Bone a year or two ago.

For audiobook, currently listening to Children of Ruin. Not too far into it yet, but I loved loved loved Children of Time (also listened to the audiobook version), so I'm excited to see where this one goes.

I really want to read Children of Time. I actually did start it and got half way through, but I have such an intense arachnophobia that I had to give up because I kept dreaming of spiders and waking up terrified. I enjoyed his writing style, though, and am curious about his new trilogy coming out.

The Count of Monte Cristo! Liking it so far and I've heard good things

I just got a copy of the Count of Monte Cristo. I’ve enjoyed every Dumas novel I’ve read, but I’m surprised at how many I’ve missed.

Neuromancer. It's okay so far.

I just finished Wolf in White Van by John Darnielle. I LOVED it.

This in on my TBR list. I had mixed feelings when I heard about it, but it gets great reviews. Glad to hear you enjoyed it.