What Are you Reading? Showing 16,151-16,200 of 16,523

[Loretta]

I just finished A Novel Murder. It is the third in a cozy mystery series by K.C. Wells. It was really enjoyable.

[Murphy]

I really love this series, it is fun and the mysteries are different! I hope she writes more of these. And you get vested in the secondary characters as well!

[KC]

Read The Art of the Heart - such a beautiful and moving short story.

[Antonella]

KC wrote: "Read The Art of the Heart - such a beautiful and moving short story."

Thank you for the rec. I've got dan Skinner's Memorizing You in my wishlist, it was high praised.

[Antonella]

Calathea wrote: "If you like the Murderbot series (I love it!) you might also like the Imperial Radch series by Ann Leckie, starting with Ancillary Justice. There's also a robot/ai as main character, unique look at the world and relationships and interesting linguistic features."

I don't know anything about the Murderbot series, but I warmly recommend Ann Leckie's Imperial Radch series.

And I've just read and loved Becky Chambers' The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, and the A Closed and Common Orbit. In the book 2 the main protagonist is an AI.

[Karen]

I read two books by Jenya Keefe. These seem to be her first two, but I saw that she also writes Teen Wolf fanfic... which I find intriguing since I read her GR bio after reading the books and sometimes I can sense that fanfic background, but not here.

The books are quite different in some ways. Relationship Material is set in the Pacific NW in a small town and a mostly rural setting. It's a contemporary about two men who both are damaged by their past. (Read the full GR blurb for this one for trigger warnings.) This may seem off-putting, but this is really well written and doesn't follow any of the usual tropes I kind of expected.

The Musician and the Monster is set mostly in one (very odd) mansion in Montana. It's also a contemporary, but an alternative reality contemporary. The "monster" is a fae/otherworld emissary to the human world. This story also defied expected tropes. I realized that so many fantasy/urban fantasy romances treat inter-species "intermingling" and attraction as a given, but Keefe strongly conveys a perception of wrongness and other. There's a political message there too. And I loved the descriptions of the two MCs' musical interactions and discussions.

The books also have in common being about characters who feel unworthy of love.

[Alison]

Not long ago, I read Wyldingwode, the final book in J. Tullos Hennig's queer Robin Hood fantasy series. It's amazing and it was a satisfying end to what is arguably my most favourite series ever. I absolutely loved it.

[KC]

Antonella wrote: "KC wrote: "Read The Art of the Heart - such a beautiful and moving short story."

Thank you for the rec. I've got dan Skinner's Memorizing You in my wishlist, it was..."

I loved Memorizing You, incredibly beautiful, lyrical writing, but it left me crying for days, literally. The story opens up the beautiful and the ugly in humanity in a way that no other book had for me.
The Art of the Heart is completely different. It's a sweet, beautiful, uplifting story.

[Josh]

Antonella wrote: "Did you know that you can pre-order
The 12.2-Per-Cent Solution (Holmes & Moriarity 5)?

Sadly it will be auto-delivered to your Kin..."

:-D :-D :-D

It gives me a guide post to the future--and I need those little markers right now.

[Josh]

Loretta wrote: "I just finished A Novel Murder. It is the third in a cozy mystery series by K.C. Wells. It was really enjoyable."

Oops. I went to buy this and see that I apparently already own it. :-D Perhaps I should actually read some of these books I buy!

[Antonella]

Josh wrote: "I went to buy this and see that I apparently already own it. :-D Perhaps I should actually read some of these books I buy! "

In fact amazon could make lots of money with me by avoiding to tell me that I already own some books I want to buy ;-).

[Josh]

Antonella wrote: "Josh wrote: "I went to buy this and see that I apparently already own it. :-D Perhaps I should actually read some of these books I buy! "

In fact amazon could make lots of money with me by avoidin..."

I was thinking that very thing!

[Antonella]

Next week I'll go and have fun watching the film The Personal History of David Copperfield.

I found this interesting article by the director:
'It's full of one-liners': Armando Iannucci on why we should all read David Copperfield
Even those who haven’t read it regard Dickens’s novel as a literary treasure, but when the screenwriter adapted it for cinema, he was surprised by how modern it felt

[Jordan]

I am in need of a little help regarding Lord of the White Hell, Book 1. Can someone tell me a little bit about the Sagrada Academy such as courses one might take there?

I ask because I'm creating a booklist for the library on fantasy magic schools, and I'm tailoring my annotations to be about the schools themselves and why the reader may want to attend them, instead of talking about the book's plot. Sadly, it's been so long since I've read these books, that I don't remember anything!

Thank you!

[SamSpayedPI]

Jordan wrote: "I am in need of a little help regarding Lord of the White Hell, Book 1. Can someone tell me a little bit about the Sagrada Academy such as courses one might take there?

I ask becau..."

Kiram's second year classes included: natural sciences (including electric currents); mathematics (at which he excelled); law (at which Nestor excelled); fine art (ditto); riding, history (in which Kiram struggled not to argue with the scholar's dogma) and war arts (at which both Kiram and Nestor were the worst in the school).

I'm not sure the Sagrada Academy was actually a magic school, just that Javier at least could perform magic.

Have you listed the Roke school for wizards in Earthsea?

[Jordan]

SamSpayedPI wrote: "Jordan wrote: "I am in need of a little help regarding Lord of the White Hell, Book 1. Can someone tell me a little bit about the Sagrada Academy such as courses one might take there..."

Yeah, it doesn't fit exactly, but technically it's a school in a fantasy novel, so I'm counting it!

Thank you!

And yes, I did include Roke!

[SamSpayedPI]

Jordan wrote: "Yeah, it doesn't fit exactly, but technically it's a school in a fantasy novel, so I'm counting it!

Thank you!

And yes, I did include Roke!"

It sounds like fun! Maybe you can share it when you're finished?

[Ije the Devourer of Books]

Jordan wrote: "I am in need of a little help regarding Lord of the White Hell, Book 1. Can someone tell me a little bit about the Sagrada Academy such as courses one might take there?

I ask becau..."

Your library sounds great Jordan. Please do share the list when you finish.

[Alison]

Jordan wrote: "I am in need of a little help regarding Lord of the White Hell, Book 1. Can someone tell me a little bit about the Sagrada Academy such as courses one might take there?

I ask becau..."

That's really cool, Jordan! I'd also love to see it when it's done. Any spoilers for where else is on the list? :)

[Jordan]

I can definitely share it when I’m done! There are sixteen titles on the list, including Harry Potter, The Magicians, Naomi Novik’s latest, and I can’t remember the rest off the top of my head. My annotations have to be really short, so I can’t say too much about each school. It’s harder than I thought it would be!

[Jordan]

BlindEye Books is coming out with Hell Cop in Audio! They posted about it on Instagram and I took the opportunity to ask if the Rifter was ever going to be turned into audio as they seem to be doing quite a few audios these days and they said "Well I'll never say never but right now it's not really on the horizon." :-( Major sad face. I just thought you'd want to know.

[Antonella]

Jordan wrote: "BlindEye Books is coming out with Hell Cop in Audio!"

I posted about this in the topic ''What we're listening to'' one week ago ;-).

Thank you for asking about The Rifter.

[Jordan]

Antonella wrote: "Jordan wrote: "BlindEye Books is coming out with Hell Cop in Audio!"

I posted about this in the topic ''What we're listening to'' one week ago ;-).

Thank you for asking about The ..."

You did, didn't you? lol. Well, I clearly thought it was worth repeating. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

[Jordan]

I promised to share the list when I was done. I hope it lives up to expectations!

School is in Session: 16 Titles Set at Fantastical Institutes of Higher Learning - https://bpl.bibliocommons.com/list/sh...

[Ije the Devourer of Books]

Thanks for sharing Jordan. Thats a really fascinating list! Lots to include in my 'want to read' list.

[SamSpayedPI]

Jordan wrote: "I promised to share the list when I was done. I hope it lives up to expectations!

School is in Session: 16 Titles Set at Fantastical Institutes of Higher Learning - https://bpl.bibliocommons.com/..."

It exceeds expectations! But is it too late to add Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West? And The House in the Cerulean Sea? I just thought of them.

[Jordan]

Thanks! I’m so glad you liked it!

Our lists can’t be too long, but if you can tell me about the schools in each, I can consider them! I’ve not read most of these, which makes it hard to write about them. Lol. Lots of internet research went into this!

[Alison]

Nice list, Jordan! Good work, as always. :)

[Antonella]

Jordan wrote: "I promised to share the list when I was done. I hope it lives up to expectations!

School is in Session: 16 Titles Set at Fantastical Institutes of Higher Learning - https://bpl.bibliocommons.com/..."

Great list, thank you for sharing. Because of it I decided to try Carry On by Rainbow Rowell. I had heard of it already many times.

[Jordan]

oh yay! I hope you like it!
Thank you!

[Alison]

Antonella wrote: "Great list, thank you for sharing. Because of it I decided to try Carry On by Rainbow Rowell. I had heard of it already many times.

I love Carry On. I bought it in print I liked it so much. I hope you enjoy it. The sequel is fantastic, too. Both warmly recommended. Glad to see it on the list! :)

[KC]

Read Oscar Wilde's The Canterville Ghost and Other Stories. I must have read these before because they were all vaguely familiar, but still found them very enjoyable. The writing is so very pleasant in all sorts of ways.

Next I want to reread his short stories The Happy Prince and Other Tales. These I remember reading and rereading as a kid, and I have very specific impressions of them, so I'm curious how they'll feel now.

[KC]

Klopp Actually: (Imaginary) Life with Football's Most Sensible Heartthrob - this was fun, and...different, and thought-provoking.

[Antonella]

I've just heard a review of It Can't Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis, written in 1935.

Here a before-Trump-review:
The 1935 novel that predicted the rise of Donald Trump

and an after-Trump-review:
It Can’t Happen Here: From Buzz Windrip and Doremus Jessup to Donald Trump and MSNBC

[KC]

Started three promising books:

1. Allie Brosh Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened - it's illustrated musings rather than only comics panels. I wasn't sure about the drawings at first, but now I love them, they're so expressive, and love the insights and humor.

2. Mystery: The Thursday Murder Club - pretty awesome so far.

3. Nonfiction: Atlas Obscura: An Explorer's Guide to the World's Hidden Wonders, for traveling vicariously and learning about weird and fascinating places and such.

[Alison]

KC wrote: "Started three promising books:

1. Allie Brosh Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened - it's illustrated musi..."

I just read the Allie Brosh book myself and it was awesome! I was also unsure about the art work initially, but it's so skilled underneath its simplicity. So funny and also so poignant. Her new book has just come out.

And yay for Richard Osman. I quite like him on the telly. I was going to have a look at his new book.

The atlas sounds very cool.

[Jordan]

I’m listening to the Murderbot series on Audiobook and loving it. I feel as if Murderbot and I would make best friends if we lived in the same universe... but I have a feeling Murderbot would not agree. Also, the diversity is off the charts!

[KC]

Alison wrote: "And yay for Richard Osman. I quite like him on the telly. I was going to have a look at his new book."

I haven't seen him on TV, so I'll check that out. The book is a cozy mystery, very well done so far, and I'm enjoying his sense of humor - subtle but effective, as it were. :-)

[KC]

Jordan wrote: "I feel as if Murderbot and I would make best friends if we lived in the same universe... but I have a feeling Murderbot would not agree."

My feelings exactly! :-)

[Calathea]

Jordan wrote: "I’m listening to the Murderbot series on Audiobook and loving it. I feel as if Murderbot and I would make best friends if we lived in the same universe... but I have a feeling Murderbot would not a..."

Yes! I startet a re-listen this week, too. Kevin R. Free (well-known and loved from Holmes & Moriarity series) is just so good. :-)

[SamSpayedPI]

I just read a children's "feminist" fairy tale: Petronella by Jay Williams. A copy with the original illustrations by Friso Henstra is available at the Internet Archive (if only for an hour, but you won't need longer than that to read it).

I was blown away by both the story and the illustrations (which are somewhat reminiscent of the Beatles' Yellow Submarine movie animation).

[Antonella]

I’ve heard an interview to Anthony Shugaar who just translated into English the «Favole al telefono» / Telephone Tales* by the beloved children’s author Gianni Rodari.

It's a collection of stories told every evening by an Italian travelling salesman to his daughter. He calls her from a pay phone and the stories have to last only the time of the special coin for the pay phone.

Long article from the NYT:
Famous in Italy, Rodari Reaches U.S. Shores With ‘Telephone Tales’

In the introduction to the interview as well as in the NYT article they mentioned the fact that Rodari is not more known in the US because of his left-wing positions.

The political message in his children’s books had more to do with developing a critical attitude toward the world as it is, capitalism included, rather than inculcating socialist ideals.

“His political project was freedom, the idea that the humankind could set itself free through the development of a critical sense,” Massini, the critic, said.


* I'm proud to say that I've managed to add the cover to the GR entry

[WMD]

Just finished Honeytrap Honeytrap
Highly recommend.
This was pretty different than I expected. More complicated and more rich. I liked these two heroes, they aren't cookie cutter handsome or slick, and this story has a realistic romantic pace for them. Slow burn, only a couple of detailed intimate mm scenes. Covers a relationship (fading in and out over decades) from the fifties to the nineties, starting deep in the cold war and out again. Themes: spies (not a high action story); road trip; cultural differences; shifting cultural landscapes; more subtly how homophobic policies and societies and societal power hierarchies cause vulnerabilities (to honeytraps among other things). Spare writing style, only a few typos. Some traumatic sexual harassment to one mc; brief history of mm assault for other.

[KC]

Read M. Arbon's short stories, each unique in its own way, but I think my favorite was A Chain of Beads, followed by Cup of Tea, then I Am the One Who Has You Now, and Programming.

[KC]

Also started three promising books:
Fiction:
- The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared
- Nothing to See Here
Both seem...wacky, in a good way.

- Mystery: Murder at the House of Rooster Happiness, taking place in Thailand, and the main character and tone are very much reminiscent of the The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, which I loved.

[WMD]

Hello
Went on vacation and read a lot.
Two anthologies:
Bad, Dad, and Dangerous and
Hell Cop
Usual variation in story quality/depth, but from some good ones from some of my favorite authors (T. A. Moore; Rhys Ford; Ginn Hale). I particularly liked the effort made in Hell Cop to tie the stories closer together, in the same world with overlapping characters. Worked for these authors, but I do like variety in my anthologies too!

Next in series:
From K. J. Charles' Will Darling Adventures
Slippery Creatures Great!

From Allie Therin's Magic in Manhattan series (fantasy in Prohibition era New York)
Starcrossed Good-Great!

From S. E. Harmon's Spectral File series:
Spooky Business Good- Great!

Reread a few faves:
Tallowwood by N. R. Walker and

The Digging Up Bones series by T. A. Moore
Bone to Pick and Skin and Bone

[KC]

WMD wrote: "Hello
Went on vacation and read a lot.
Two anthologies:
Bad, Dad, and Dangerous and
Hell Cop
Usual variation in story quality/depth, but from some good ones from som..."

The Hell Cop anthologies are awesome!

[Calathea]

KC wrote: "Also started three promising books:
Fiction:
- The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared
- "

My Dad laughed himself silly about that one. And that in and of itself was an event. I've never in my life saw him basically giggling at a book. :-D

[KC]

Calathea wrote: "KC wrote: "Also started three promising books:
Fiction:
- The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared
- "

My Dad laughed himself silly about that one. And that ..."

:-) It does have a giggling effect. Glad he enjoyed it.

[Karen]

WMD wrote: "Hello
Went on vacation and read a lot.
Two anthologies:
Bad, Dad, and Dangerous and
Hell Cop
Usual variation in story quality/depth, but from some good ones from som..."

Great list! I've read and enjoyed all of these except two. Book 3 in Spectral Files is waiting in my e-library, and I haven't read the Dad, Bad, and Dangerous anthology. Checking it out now...