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What are you reading in December 2024?
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I'm working my way through the OZ books, in part because my library has most of them in nice big hardcovers, quality reprints of the art. I'm surprised by how much I like them.
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I decided to start December with the first short story collection related to our series read, Spoils of War by Adrian Tchaikovsky. I’m about a third through it and finding it to be a perfect choice for me right now since my attention span is very short with lots of other things keeping me from immersing myself in a big book.
I also started listening to Lady in the Lake by Laura Lippman but I am setting that aside for now in order to listen to Somewhere Beyond the Sea by T.J. Klune instead.
Reading Dawn by Octavia E Butler and rereading The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester. Last month I started an Indigenous Writers reading challenge and am now down to my last two selections for that. Currently reading The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline and after that I will read As Many Ships as Stars by Weyodi Oldbear.
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I gave that book a 10/10 rating when I read it a few years ago. I also rated books 2 & 3 in the Xenogenesis trilogy very highly. Those were the first books I’d read by Butler.
I'm about halfway through it and I'm just so impressed with Butler's creativity. She was incredible.
CJ wrote: "Last month I started an Indigenous Writers reading challenge...."Ooh, any standouts??
Dawn wrote: "CJ wrote: "Last month I started an Indigenous Writers reading challenge...."Ooh, any standouts??"
Yes! Moon of Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice. A post-apocalyptic story that takes place in a First Nation community already on the outskirts. I'm told the follow-up novel, Moon of the Turning Leaves is even better.
I also really enjoyed Fevered Star by Rebecca Roanhorse; it's the second in her Between Earth and Sky fantasy series set in a pre-Columbian Mesoamerica-like world. And 1666 by Lora Chilton, a well-researched fictionized telling of the Patawomeck after encountering British colonists. A sad, difficult read.
If you liked Moon of the Crusted Snow, you will like the sequel. He is a good writer. I'm hoping for more books by him in the future. I will check out Rebecca Roanhorse, though I probably won't be able to read 1666. I still haven't been able to get past the first few chapters of Five Little Indians because it is too depressing and sad.
Dawn wrote: "I am currently reading The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi."I have given up on this. Didn't work for me. Also gave up on The Blighted Stars.
I have now moved on to The Cloud Roads which is working much better for me.
Dawn wrote: "If you liked Moon of the Crusted Snow, you will like the sequel. He is a good writer. I'm hoping for more books by him in the future. ."
I just got approved for a card at another library in my state and their digital catalog has the sequel so I immediately put a hold on it. I'm baffled as to why my local library hasn't gotten it in yet--they are really good at getting in titles by Indigenous writers because there's a lot of local interest in those kinds of books.
I feel you with 1666. It's a hard read.
I too gave up on The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi. I tried like 3 times and then saw Booktuber/Booktoker Michael Kist's thoughts on it and decided to just give up. Really cool cover though. I have The Cloud Roads too--I hope to read that in 2025.
I have very good access to Canadian Indigenous writers, but don't always check out those from other countries. So if you find anything good....I do really like Indigenous literature, I've been trying to read more the last few years. Good to know I'm not the only one to give up, it gets such a high rating, I always wonder if I'm missing something.
I'm up to Chapter 6 of The Cloud Roads, still enjoying it. Maybe a little juvenile, but I was looking for a more relaxing read, so it's working for me.
Loved the Cloud Road books and The Moon of the books. First very different reasons haha.actually maybe not. The characters in both came alive for me.
I'm up to Chapter 15 now, close to the end of the book. Still really good. I think Martha Wells is good at creating characters. I've read all the Murderbot books and thought I would try some of her others. Have you tried any of her other books? I'm eyeing up her newest series "The Rising World" now.
I have read all the Murderbot stuff I can get, including the 3 short stories available (one's in the anthology, Take Us to a Better Place and it's a kind of creepy story about the prototypes before SecUnits) and Witch King (I have the upcoming Demon Queen pre-ordered). I personally love Witch King. I think it's one the best fantasy novels I've ever read. I wish other people loved it as much as me. It seems to resonate a lot with other queer people like me who have lived through a lot of trauma. The way the novel is structured is a bit challenging to some readers, as Wells just throws the reader into this new world and then inserts chapters of the main character's past so you learn bit by bit what he's been through. Wells avoids big exposition dumps, except for some stuff in the chapters about the MC's past, and instead makes seemingly every sentence count toward revealing her characters over the course of the novel. It's just masterfully written but sadly, a lot of fantasy readers want their exposition dumps and have gotten mad over this novel because they felt "lost" not knowing what was going on right away.
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I read City of Bones, which I rated 4/5 stars. I also read the first Murderbot book but when I realized it was going to be a series, I decided to wait to read any more until she finished the series. I have several of her other books on my shelf, as yet unread.
The first 4 Murderbot novellas are kind of their own complete series within the larger series. It seems Wells once thought she would just end the series there. The three books after that are a full-length novel that takes places after the first 4 novellas, a 5th novella that's sort of a stand-alone murder mystery and a 2nd novel that left the series open for Wells to return to if she chooses. It's not clear if she'll write more Murderbot at this point--she seems focused on getting back to her fantasy writing.
I have not read any of the Murderbot short stories. Mostly because I can't be bothered to track them down most of the time. Might have to try for that prototype SecUnit story though, sounds interesting. I will have to try the Witch King. See if my library has any more of her books.
I hadn't even noticed City of Bones, so I'll check that out too.
Thanks!
CJ wrote: "I have read all the Murderbot stuff I can get, including the 3 short stories available (one's in the anthology, Take Us to a Better Place and it's a kind of creepy story about the p..."Oh, I did not know about that one. I've got to grab it as I'm in theprocess of a series reread. :)
For anyone interested:
Take Us to a Better Place looks to be free on Amazon Kindle (not part of Kindle unlimited).
The rest of the series, other than book7, is also free with Kindle Unlimited.
Thanks. I picked it up. Free means I can just read the one story. :)
I really liked The Cloud Road, so I'm now listening to the second book in the series, The Serpent Sea.
Dawn wrote: "I really liked The Cloud Road, so I'm now listening to the second book in the series, The Serpent Sea."Second book wasn't as good, some pacing issues with the storytelling, but now I'm moving on to the third book in the series, The Siren Depths.
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Shel wrote: "I finally finished The Air War this morning. I'll be glad to get to the next book but first I have a few library books to get through. First up: Dreadful by [author:..."Kinda want to know how "Dreadful" is, I like that killer moat squid and garlic festival are part of the description. Like, what is so special about a garlic festival in this story?
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I've just gotten to the garlic festival. I'm enjoying the book immensely. :)
I will add it to my library 'For Later' list and try it out. :)
I have gotten distracted by some library holds that came in, so the The Books of the Raksura series is on hold so I could read The Oldest Cure in the World: Adventures in the Art and Science of Fasting, which I liked. Some very interesting ideas. I also have Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory and In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction to start, hopefully today.
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I finished it yesterday and found it great fun. It calls out a lot of cliched tropes and is structured quite cleverly. Definitely recommended!
Edited to add: I just started Stories of Your Life and Others, finally!
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And so I am finally reading The Air War. Also still listening to Somewhere Beyond the Sea.
Its been insane as we had to get a final release out for the year at work and have been swiftly running out of time. Its kind of hindered my Murderbot reread fest since I've been working 10h days.Holiday traffic is in full swing, so commutes have also been averaging 1.5 to 2 hours one way. Bad for sleep or any relaxation time at home, but bonus for audiobooks.
So I've gotten through the reread fest of the first 4 books of the Bobiverse series and have just started Not Till We Are Lost which is new for me.
I have some vacation time coming up over the holidays, so planning on trying to get through Murderbot. But I also have a second play through of Veilguard ready to go, so more distractions. At least that will be an enjoyable distraction. :)
My trick to having enough time to read was getting cancer. I don't recommend that. But I hope you get through your 10h days OK and can get some rest. Would hate for you to delay your Murderbot reread for too long! I recently finished Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang and I only liked one story ("Story of Your Life") and struggled through the rest. I sometimes think I just do not like short stories as a medium.
Another recent read was Hardwired by Walter Jon Williams. Liked it a lot. It's one of the better works I've read so far for my cyberpunk/biopunk reading project.
Then today I read two great novels: Solaris by Stanislaw Lem and The Stepford Wives by Ira Levin. So glad that I made time to read them. These are the kind of novels that I want to google academic articles about them, because they give me so much to think about.
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I finished Stories of Your Life and Others and now I'm about halfway through The Lost Apothecary, which I'm really enjoying.
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I read a lot when I went through cancer treatment, but I had to be pretty selective about what I read. Lots of Terry Pratchett, as I recall. Sending good thoughts!
I sometimes think I just do not like short stories as a medium.
I generally don’t care for short stories either, but I am finding that I like them more when they are adjuncts to a book or series I’m reading, like some of the short stories/novellas that accompanied The Expanse series or the ones I’ve been reading that go with the Shadows of the Apt series.
Kathi wrote: "I read a lot when I went through cancer treatment, but I had to be pretty selective about what I read. Lots of Terry Pratchett, as I recall. Sending good thoughts!"Thank you! I have been avoiding nonfiction this year because my present reality is enough for me to deal with, and have just focused on fiction for the escapism. Shortly after my cancer dx earlier this year I looked for something specifically for the escapism and started the Legend of Drizzt series and then the Murderbot Diaries. There have been a couple of fiction books I DNF's over the year because I didn't want to subject myself to that book's depictions of things like body disfigurement or disability (looking at you, Joe Abercrombie). So yeah, I have been mindful.
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I'm currently reading an oldie, The Dark World by Henry Kuttner. His wife CL Moore isn't credited in this, but they collaborated a lot and I see her touches on the prose. It's an indulgent, pulpy fantasy with an older aesthetic that many readers would consider passé now but I find interesting.
Also reading Calypso by Oliver K. Langmead, which is SF told in verse. So far, it's better than I expected. It's a legit SF story and the poetry is well-written and accessible. I'm very interested in how the whole book shapes up.
Trying The Spellshop. A little too much romance for me, compared to the fact that she's not looking for romance and has so much other interesting stuff going on her life that I want to read more about. (p.70)
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Probably continuing Shadows of the Apt next when I finish it.
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I read Veiled Intentions by Michael R. Miller, book 2 in The Dragon’s Blade trilogy, 8/10. Whew! So many battles! So many plots within plots! And so many tangled familial relationships! I had a little trouble keeping things straight. Overall, I thought this was a stronger “middle” book that some trilogies have—there were major plot developments and some resolutions, but of course, more than enough remains unresolved for the final book to be intriguing. I like the way the author shows the price of using the magic of the Cascade; this magic is not benign. It’s highly addictive, difficult to control, and can be destructive to both the wielder and the object at which it’s aimed. Would the world be better without it, as Brackendon thinks? But since it seems to be a natural force, it probably can’t be totally eradicated. I am interested to see what happens with that storyline. I also like the way several of the characters have grown & changed (sometimes in fits & starts and rather reluctantly).
My free trial of Amazon Music Unlimited runs out soon & I have not finished listening to Somewhere Beyond the Sea by T.J. Klune, so I may need to get a free trial of Audible for a month & make a concerted effort to listen more—I’m only 1/3 done! I looked at the audiobook through Libby at my local library, but it’s a “several months” wait.
Taking a break from fantasy with Seven Dials by Anne Perry before I dive into the next Shadows of the Apt book, War Master's Gate.
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Beyond Reality
Books mentioned in this topic
War Master's Gate (other topics)Seven Dials (other topics)
Somewhere Beyond the Sea (other topics)
Veiled Intentions (other topics)
The Air War (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Michael R. Miller (other topics)Anne Perry (other topics)
T.J. Klune (other topics)
Adrian Tchaikovsky (other topics)
Jenny Eclair (other topics)
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