What are you currently reading?

[Lallafa]

Just finished book 2 of the Scholomance (The Last Graduate) by Naomi Novak. It ended on a kinda cliffhanger and I am waiting on pins and needles for book 3 to get here! It's maybe an especially fun one for this community because the narrator often generates magic through physical exercise haha.

While waiting for book 3, I am currently reading The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab which is about a girl who becomes (basically) immortal, but no one can remember her. Really beautiful writing.

What she needs are stories.
Stories are a way to preserve one's self. To be remembered. And to forget.
Stories come in so many forms: in charcoal, and in song, in paintings, poems, films. And books.
Books, she has found, are a way to live a thousand lives—or to find strength in a very long one.

 

[koriandr]

View attachment 4

What are you currently reading?

Currently reading "Psychoanalysis", it's a whole house of a book lol. It has some interesting theories built on top and around Freud's

 

[lofivelcro]

@PetiteSheWolf personally, if it's just about tracking books and getting recommendations, I like Storygraph more. Mostly because it's not so cluttered, drawing my attention elsewhere all the time. The reviews are more concise, imo. I also like the (absence of a proper) community more. It also has nice statistics.

 

[Sif_Shepard]

@Lallafa Ooo I didn't know there was going to be a third! I have the first two on my wishlist, it's awesome to hear they're good! I was gifted Spinning Silver for Christmas a couple years ago and really liked it, and I got Uprooted after that. Scholomance is going to be next

 

[Nevetharine]

I'm reading The Egyptian Book of the Dead.

Very scholarly of me, I know.

I like reading educational stuff as long as it isn't boring (that is, something I'm interested in) and in a language I can comprehend. Not textbook language where they purposely use the most complicated words in the dictionary.

 

[Anek]

Today I finished "Born to Run", as Neila mentioned it was her inspiration for loving to run.
I have to say, it really was inspiring!! I can't wait to get started again, so far I have dusted off my old vibram five fingers and as soon as I'm done with this month's programs I'll get going.

 

[LizardFriend95]

@PetiteSheWolf personally, if it's just about tracking books and getting recommendations, I like Storygraph more. Mostly because it's not so cluttered, drawing my attention elsewhere all the time. The reviews are more concise, imo. I also like the (absence of a proper) community more. It also has nice statistics.

I’ve gotten Storygraph recently and I found it confusing. I don’t know if I’m missing something.

 

[lofivelcro]

I’ve gotten Storygraph recently and I found it confusing. I don’t know if I’m missing something.

Interesting, I found Goodreads confusing but had no problems navigating around Storygraph. What exactly is the issue? Maybe I can help.

 

[AquaMarie]

E-book: A Symphony of Echoes by Jodi Taylor. The second in the time traveling Chronicals of St. Marys series, which I've really enjoyed. This one's off to a good start!

Paper book: The Library: A Fragile History by Andrew Pettegree and Arthur der Weduwen. A history of libraries is not something I have contemplated before, but I thought it sounded interesting.

 

[Andi64]

"Absolution Gap", the third and last (so far) part of the Inhibitor Trilogy set in the Revelation Space universe by Alastair Reynolds. He worked for ESA so he has some idea of how to make a 'believable' space opera. I read "Pushing Ice" by him before that and if there are any astronomy geeks out there, have a look at the Janus orbit, very strange...

 

[PetiteSheWolf]

"Dune". Well... I fully get the high status this book has. But ... not fully in love. So warning, as I know we got some fans here , this is my opinion.

First off, yes, it is well written, and with a world building that's very detailed, very coherent and immersive. It is also very solid in presenting shadings of a messiah character, definitely food for thoughts. So yes, I understand why it is so highy rated, and glad to have added it to my knowledge.

However, I never quite .. got into it. First reason may be that I was missing something in the characterisation. The baddies were very-very-baddy-baddies (the baron, without a single redeeming feature, Beast - c'mon, we never even get to experience first hand why he is called like that, and Feyd-Rautha, a caricature of a spoiled-tirant-child if I dare be so critical), and lacked nuances. And well... there are no goodies, except maybe Duke Leto (RIP too soon, and needed for the lose-your-father-to-become-great trope), and Chani (who deserves better than shadows of concubinage), and they could have been more developped. Jessica and Paul are complex, but I just couldn't relate / empathise, same with little Alia (besides, the image of a 4-years-old with the mind of an old wise crone is very disturbing).

Some stuff kind of annoyed me, like Paul's power despite all his doubts - not a single failure if I recall. Jessica felt "OP" to me too, for example when she and Paul meet the fremen in the desert while on the run, and in a few gestures she awes those people, who are supposed to be great warriors, into amazement and immediate acceptance with her "weirding way".

Finally, I was disturbed by the caste system and situation of women - I understand we come to this book with higher sensitivities to that than when it was written, but I winced at the slaves combats / slaves presents in Harkonnen scenes where they were basically nameless animals. As for women... I "understand" why he does that, but Paul taking Irulan as wife (but not fully, nooooo.... ), putting both Chani and her in a very uncomfortable situation of polygamy, but also clearly unequal polygamy (unequal status, and unequal affection), sits very poorly with me. And don't forget the bene gesserit "breeding" scheme. Same, our sensitivities today are different, but still, a program where smart women organize to breed a messiah - without clearly telling the men around them, and accepting themselves some big shadows in their past (like Jessica not knowing she was the baron's daughter)... Yuck.

Well, there we go, folks, but hoping I haven't made any ennemy and tried to argument my position solidely, LOL!

Any way, read on, folks!

 

[PetiteSheWolf]

addendum, I created a goodread account, so if you wanna friend me, let me know!
and @Froud , reading a cozy mistery that takes place in Brussels, and features Magritte (and a song of Jacques Brel, clearly, too, LOL), so I thought of you!

 

[Froud]

Oh Dune in on my shelves for a couple of months now but the reading queue is enormous. (I am quite compulsive about books).

I have just finished Joyland from Stephen King and it is a masterclass of story telling. I loved it.
Now,



I will share my thoughts. Perhaps. We will see ^^.

Feel free to add me as a friend: here is the link.

What is the title of the book you are reading? That rings a bell

Bon vendredi!

 

[Booster2442]

View attachment 4

What are you currently reading?

Trying to get back into reading so I plan on reading Carrie by Stephen King this weekend

 

[Froud]

Excellent choice!

 

[LizardFriend95]

Interesting, I found Goodreads confusing but had no problems navigating around Storygraph. What exactly is the issue? Maybe I can help.

I think I’ve figured it out mostly. I just find Goodreads easier and more convenient to manage.

 

[LizardFriend95]

addendum, I created a goodread account, so if you wanna friend me, let me know!
and @Froud , reading a cozy mistery that takes place in Brussels, and features Magritte (and a song of Jacques Brel, clearly, too, LOL), so I thought of you!

Hope you enjoy using Goodreads!

 

[MissSmilla]

I'm currently reading Unseen Academicals by Terry Pratchett.

Thing is, I have a serious impulse control problem when it comes to books. I will not stop if a book interests me (which it usually does when I haven't read it yet), with costs to sleep, work productivity, and general sanity.* So what I do is, I read the discworld series again and again. All the way to The Shepherd's Crown and then start again with The Colour of Magic. Obviously I like some books better than others, and sometimes I will be tempted to skip one, but I usually don't and so right now I'm nearing the end of the cycle again. I do intersperse it with other books, sometimes I just need an undemanding romance, sometimes I'll revisit the fabulous works of Jane Austen, sometimes I read nonfiction, sometimes I will read something new if circumstances are good (like, I have more time on my hands for a period). But mostly it's the good old discworld for me. Terry Pratchett was a true artist and there's like 40 of them, so it stays interesting, but as I know them well, I do not stay up way too long reading.

*To illustrate: five years ago, my husband gave me the first two Harry Potter books on december 6th. I had not read them, and for a good reason. By january 6th, I had finished all seven. And given that I'm very thin-skinned emotionally, I only really enjoyed the first two, the others were too dark for me. So weeks of my life were spent reading and reading about Death Eaters and horrible teachers and Dementors, while on the train, eating, breastfeeding my daughter, instead of sleeping... it was not fun. I was not able to stop. I did learn from the experience, though, and when he gave me the Game of Thrones books some time later, I never even started.

 

[lofivelcro]

I think I’ve figured it out mostly. I just find Goodreads easier and more convenient to manage.

I used Storygraph first, so I'm used to it. I can imagine it's different the other way round. But it's good to have choice and not be forced to use one service, because nothing else exists.

 

[ura]

George Orwell - 1984
chewing away at it for the past few weeks

 

[PetiteSheWolf]

Oh Dune in on my shelves for a couple of months now but the reading queue is enormous. (I am quite compulsive about books).

I have just finished Joyland from Stephen King and it is a masterclass of story telling. I loved it.
Now,



I will share my thoughts. Perhaps. We will see ^^.

Feel free to add me as a friend: here is the link.

What is the title of the book you are reading? That rings a bell

Bon vendredi!

It is

Les Folles enquêtes de Magritte et Georgette : Nom d'une pipe !​

Still having to figure how to insert a book like you just did, looks neat!

My own handle is Louve de France (yep, fan of "les rois maudits" ) if anyone here wanna friend me too ( tagging @LizardFriend95 on the way, LOL)

 

[Anek]

@MissSmilla I have a similar problem, especially if I read in bed before sleep. So in bed I only read Harry Potter in a cycle over and over. Last night I finished the 7th and restarted the 1st. I've been doing this since the 7th came out so it's now what, 15 years? Works perfectly

Otherwise currently reading "The Madness of Crowds", very nice. And scary. Not in Halloween scary, in "humans are terrible" scary.

 

[SkorpionUK]

I've joined my local library, hooray! Even better, it's a walk away.
The first book I borrowed was a German crime novel, as was the second. The first was fun, the second is a slog but hopefully I'll learn something... or walk back to the library soon.

Question for the other German-speakers here: do you read in German and if so, how do you find out about books? I was away for decades and read/write English all day long, I've really lost touch.

 

[Andi64]

@SkorpionUK I mostly read Sci-Fi these days and the interesting stuff is in English, so I have not read a German book in decades. The bestseller list of Der Spiegel used to be a reliable source for book-tips. There are different sections (Belletristik, Sachbuch...) and different editions (Hardcover = Neuerscheinungen, Paperback, Taschenbuch).

 

[Froud]

It is

Les Folles enquêtes de Magritte et Georgette : Nom d'une pipe !​

Still having to figure how to insert a book like you just did, looks neat!

My own handle is Louve de France (yep, fan of "les rois maudits" ) if anyone here wanna friend me too ( tagging @LizardFriend95 on the way, LOL)

Héhé, gotcha =)

Thank you for the friend request and for the title of the book!

 

[SkorpionUK]

@SkorpionUK I mostly read Sci-Fi these days and the interesting stuff is in English, so I have not read a German book in decades. The bestseller list of Der Spiegel used to be a reliable source for book-tips. There are different sections (Belletristik, Sachbuch...) and different editions (Hardcover = Neuerscheinungen, Paperback, Taschenbuch).

Yeah I'm a big SF nerd too, and I genuinely love the English language so it's _hard_ veering away from where I naturally want to go!

Good point, the library has a section at the front for the current bestsellers - those cost extra but maybe if I find older ones. That said, the Sachbücher are 90% junk so I'm wary, as usual, of genpop opinions! Does the FAZ still have a decent Feuilleton?

 

[Froud]

By the way, @LizardFriend95 , I sent you a friend request on Goodreads as well

 

[Froud]

Yeah I'm a big SF nerd too, and I genuinely love the English language so it's _hard_ veering away from where I naturally want to go!

Good point, the library has a section at the front for the current bestsellers - those cost extra but maybe if I find older ones. That said, the Sachbücher are 90% junk so I'm wary, as usual, of genpop opinions! Does the FAZ still have a decent Feuilleton?

I am a French speaker but since 2000'sish I read in English to improve my vocabulary. So except the books originally written in French or the one I am being given, I almost read the books in English.
And even if I have started to learn German, I am not confident yet to start a book in German, not even a newspaper ^^

In your case, if the book is a german book, do you prefer the translation?

 

[SkorpionUK]

Yeah German is not too easy to learn - but at least it's consistent!

In your case, if the book is a german book, do you prefer the translation?

Urgh no! I am a translator, and I've discovered I can neither read English translations of German books NOR German translations of English books. I keep mentally editing and criticising the word choices, or at least thinking about the text on a linguistic level, and it takes me out of the story or content too much.

Naturally, there are a LOT of German translations of popular world literature, at least in the library, yet I'm trying to focus on German writers only. That's the struggle.

 

[Froud]

I fully understand you. I am not linguist or translator or anything close, but sometime the translations are somewhat 'insert a screeching sound'. Worst I have see, '50 nuances de gris' in French. I had to leave it for the sake of my mental health (it was for a dare).

When I will be ready to read in German, I will ask you for a tip

 

[SkorpionUK]

When I will be ready to read in German, I will ask you for a tip

I'll, ummm, try to be ready!

But actually, I have a tip already: when you're learning a new language, a really helpful thing is to pick a book you know and like, and read it in your target language. You already know what's happening, so you can just focus on the language AND you're not so advanced that you encounter the problem mentioned above. If you pick a simple enough text, you can do it at any stage of your learning: I did this with Le Petit Prince (in French) and Harry Potter (in Dutch). I am by no means an accomplished speaker of either language, but studying them gave me a purpose for learning the vocab and I could see it in actual use.

Maybe pick a recent book, though, no point sounding like the King James Bible or whatever.

 

[Froud]

Thank you very much!
I will keep you posted!

 

[Andi64]

@Froud Try watching German movies with the German subtitles on. It helped my Spanish.

 

[jasontodd427]

I don’t really have time to read anything due to college, but I do listen to The Art of War, the Tao Te Ching, and a Dark Psychology book

 

[Froud]

@Froud Try watching German movies with the German subtitles on. It helped my Spanish.

Indded, that is what I did for English and Dutch, and it proved it well
I did watch ARTE a lot but I am too junior in German.

 

[AquaMarie]

E-book: Minor Mage by T. Kingfisher. She's my favorite author, and this book is a fun, fast read.

Paper book: A Thousand Steps Into Night by Traci Chee. A bit of a slow start, but it's got a really interesting premise, and I'm a sucker for anything Japanese and Japanese -inspired.

 

[SkorpionUK]

I'm back on my Michael Connelly BS - I started The Gods of Guilt ages ago but forgot enough that I've now re-started.
The last German crime novel was a bust, boo. Finished it just to get to the end. Not gonna touch the Spreewald series again though.

 

[BravoLimaPoppa]

Finished A Half Built Garden by Ruthana Emrys. Quiet and slow moving, but not bad at all. I'd love to see more of that setting pre-contact.
Back to Needle and many, many other ebooks.

 

[Anek]

I tried "Babysitter" by Joyce Carol Oats and I stopped after 145 pages, it was not good, very bad. Main character was so annoying! Nothing really happened! This is supposed to be a thriller/social commentary story, but nope, all we got was the inner monologue of a weak person with excursus on imaginary death.
This was the second bad one in a row, just before I finished "Let's pretend this never happened" which was supposed to be funny but all I read was the inner monologue of an insane person.

So now "What If? 2" which is awesome! I love xkcd and I loved his previous books. I was crying from laughing already and I'm only 80 pages in.

 

[SkorpionUK]

I love xkcd

xkcd is great!

 

[Hwestneth]

Just finished No Way Down by Graham Bowley. It talks about the K2 disaster in 2008. Definitely an interesting read. You'd think it would caution you off of even thinking of climbing these mountains, but it actually piqued my interest towards doing it even though I'm probably not going to. It's a bit hard to really envision such conditions from the comfort of civilization.

 

[NancyTree]

I just finished book 3 of the Earth's Children series from Jean M. Auel. It's so many pages I won't reach my reading challenge on Goodreads
I've read the series before a few years back, funny how you read things differently a second time. At least it helps me knowing that the story will be a bit slow, (and knowing vaguely how it ends); the first time I was pretty impatient to know what would happen so I missed a few things. I'm reading it more carefully now and like it even more.

I've sent @Froud and @PetiteSheWolf a friend request on Goodreads

 

[Hammerhand]

Currently four books:
-The Holy Bible (ESV)
Read NIV last year and I'm enjoying a different translation.
-Tender Warrior
Started too long ago, should be done this month.
-The Home Blacksmith
Definitely helpful for my blacksmithing hobby
-The Abyss Beyond Dreams
Sci Fi with a touch of spooky/cosmic fear.

 

[Froud]

I just finished book 3 of the Earth's Children series from Jean M. Auel. It's so many pages I won't reach my reading challenge on Goodreads
I've read the series before a few years back, funny how you read things differently a second time. At least it helps me knowing that the story will be a bit slow, (and knowing vaguely how it ends); the first time I was pretty impatient to know what would happen so I missed a few things. I'm reading it more carefully now and like it even more.

I've sent @Froud and @PetiteSheWolf a friend request on Goodreads

Gotcha

 

[BrigidForged]

Currently reading a book called Flatland: A Romance of Multiple Dimensions, which is about a world with only two dimensions, where the inhabitants are geometric shapes and lines and there is a social class system based on how many sides one has. Then one day, a three dimensional being enters this world.

 

[SkorpionUK]

Flatland

The Edwin Abbott one? Cool! I have that lying around somewhere but haven't started it. What do you think of it?

 

[Froud]

I am done with 'La Vérité sur l'Affaire Harry Quedbert': not bad bad, not good good, a bit too long and too many unnecessary twists and subplots.
Now, I am in Jo Nesbø 'Cockroaches' (Harry Hole N°2)

 

[SkorpionUK]

I'm back on my Michael Connelly BS - I started The Gods of Guilt ages ago but forgot enough that I've now re-started.

Finished it this morning when I couldn't sleep.
I've no idea whether I have the next book in the series, if yes, that's next.
If not... hmm... I would very much like to continue with Nona the Ninth and I don't know what's stopping me.

 

[Anek]

Current reading "Great Circle", about a woman who tried to fly around the globe in the '50s. Not sure if it's real or fiction but it's really good so far.

 

[BrigidForged]

The Edwin Abbott one? Cool! I have that lying around somewhere but haven't started it. What do you think of it?

Sorry I only just saw your reply!

Yeah that one. It is really interesting as a thought experiment but so far there is no real plot to it? It’s just explanations about the world.

Also, it reads like Imperial classism at its best. Although I read that it’s supposed to be satire, but reading it today is still a bit… wow.