Finished the Babel series, so I feel accomplished. Now reading Krampus: The Yule Lord by Brom. The guy's been 2 for 2 so far (The Child Thief, Lost Gods)
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What'cha Reading?
- Thread starter Falselogic
- Start date
It ended up being my least favorite, but still solid. I'm going to try to catch his newest one some time next year. Moving on to Chasing the Boogeyman by Richard Chizmar
Wild Minds: The Artists and Rivalries that Inspired the Golden Age of Animation by Reid Mitenbuler
I'm reading that right now as well. I'm a huge fan, so I'm anticipating this to be a late year favorite
The Mel Brooks was fantastic, my favorite nonfiction of the year, easily. Done with new books for the year, and getting a start on my Wheel of Time read through project for 2022, and going all the way back to the beginning with The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan (this will be my third time reading this)
Agreed!
I've also started rereading Rendezvous with Rama after it was mentioned upthread, and so far it's very enjoyable. Every so often I need a reminder of how much I like Arthur C. Clarke.
Water Log by Roger Deakin is this beautiful simple book of the writer describing his outdoor swims across Great Britain. Whether it's among the islands of the Hebrides, the coast of Sussex or some nameless canal. It's really quite a lovely book.
This was one of the best years of reading for me, not just in terms of volume but also quality. I put together a twitter thread with short impressions of everything I completed here
but I'm most proud of this part
but I'm most proud of this part
Quality wise, this has been my best year, ever so slightly a bit more than last year. As to amount, last year was the best with 174 things. If I finish EOTW, I'll have read 172 things this year
I guess I'll share my favorites from the year:
Graphic novels
3. Spider-Man: Life Story
2. Saga
1. Invincible
Non-fiction
5. The Bradbury Chronicles
4. The Storyteller
3. VJ
2. The Star Wars Archives
1. All About Me!
Fiction
5. Foundation
4. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
3. This Tender Land
2. Guns of the Dawn
1. Sea of Rust
Graphic novels
3. Spider-Man: Life Story
2. Saga
1. Invincible
Non-fiction
5. The Bradbury Chronicles
4. The Storyteller
3. VJ
2. The Star Wars Archives
1. All About Me!
Fiction
5. Foundation
4. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
3. This Tender Land
2. Guns of the Dawn
1. Sea of Rust
My favorites of the year were:
Fiction
Network Effect by Martha Wells
The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich
Non-fiction
I read a handful but there wasn't anything that was favorite-worthy.
Audiobook
The Best of All Possible Worlds by Karen Lord, narr. Robin Miles
The Fellowship of the Ring by JRR Tolkien, narr. Rob Inglis
Graphic novel (manga)
I'm rotating through something like 30 series (easily bored). This is basically junk reading for me but these are the ones that stood out from the rest.
Natsume's Book of Friends v. 1-3
What Did You Eat Yesterday? v. 1-2
Girls' Last Tour v. 5-6 (end)
xxxHOLIC v. 10-12
Fiction
Network Effect by Martha Wells
The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich
Non-fiction
I read a handful but there wasn't anything that was favorite-worthy.
Audiobook
The Best of All Possible Worlds by Karen Lord, narr. Robin Miles
The Fellowship of the Ring by JRR Tolkien, narr. Rob Inglis
Graphic novel (manga)
I'm rotating through something like 30 series (easily bored). This is basically junk reading for me but these are the ones that stood out from the rest.
Natsume's Book of Friends v. 1-3
What Did You Eat Yesterday? v. 1-2
Girls' Last Tour v. 5-6 (end)
xxxHOLIC v. 10-12
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Violentvixen
(She/Her)
I often forget to track graphic novels I've read but all three issues of What Did You Eat Yesterday that came out this year are great.
Here's everything I rated five stars on Goodreads this year, I recommend them all:
Maria Headley's translation of Beowulf
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain by Nghi Vo
The Other Madisons by Bettye Kearse
Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro
Remote Control by Nnedi Okorafor
A Swim in a Pond in the Rain by George Saunders
Fun Home by Alison Bechdel
First Person Singular by Haruki Murakami
Broken by Jenny Lawson
Hidden Valley Road by Robert Kolker
So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
The Exeter Book Riddles
The Perfect Nine by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
Today a Woman Went Mad in the Supermarket by Helma Wolitzer
A Carnival of Snackery by David Sedaris
Never Saw Me Coming by Vera Kurian
Gastro Obsura by Cecily Wong
A while back I picked up a haul of Haruki Murakami books at a used book store that were in great condition and very cheap. Every now and then I'll pick one up and read it. I kept clumping them all back up together on my bookshelf and now I have no idea which ones I've read. Some are unique enough that I of course remember (Wind Up Bird, Hardboiled Wonderland, Kafka, etc) but others are just so similar in broad strokes I never know. "Oh, this is the dreamlike one with the lonely young man wandering around thinking about a woman that disappeared?"
Anyway, I'm reading Norwegian Wood for what may be the first or third time, I have no idea.
Anyway, I'm reading Norwegian Wood for what may be the first or third time, I have no idea.
Finished off The Faceless Old Woman Who Secretly Lives In Your House, which if you're in the mood for Additional Night Vale, will probably disappoint you; outside of a few injokes and references, there's barely a mention of the main series at all until the very end of the story. Instead it's entirely a history of the strangest characters in the series which is also almost entirely pretty underwhelmingly average; for a given value of "average" since it still involves being a member of a clandestine pirate illuminati and usurping a foreign power.
It was fine for what it was, but what it was is not what I was hoping to receive.
It was fine for what it was, but what it was is not what I was hoping to receive.
I knew it was coming but that doesn't seem to have helped. I still cried a little when I finished Where the Red Fern Grows. #OldDan #LittleAnn
Violentvixen
(She/Her)
The Inheritance of Orquidea Divina is absolutely stunning. I guess I'd call it magical realism but a bit more grounded and focused than others in the genre. Highly, highly recommended. My husband tried to make me stop reading it since it was way past bedtime and I growled at him because I was so close to finishing it. Worth being tired today.
The Answer Is...Reflections on My Life by Alex Trebek
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
Violentvixen
(She/Her)
I loved this one.
Along with finishing the Wheel of Time, I will be attempting to read one completed trilogy per month, and to start off, I have selected the Powder Mage Trilogy by Brian McClellan
Me too! It's on the short list of my favorites that I read last year.
Violentvixen
(She/Her)
I just finished the graphic novel Himawari House and really liked it. It's about three non-Japanese girls living in Japan for a year. Mainly focuses on the girl who was born in Japan but grew up in America but all their stories are really well done. Highly recommend this one.
The author also did George Takei's They Called Us Enemy which really should be read by every American. It's amazing how much people don't know about the camps.
The author also did George Takei's They Called Us Enemy which really should be read by every American. It's amazing how much people don't know about the camps.
Violentvixen
(She/Her)
Oh nice I didn't know about this book. People don't realize what a huge deal the Pure Food Act was. Wiley also had a big part in the cocaine/Coca-cola stuff a little later on. This is going on my list, glad you mentioned it!
The Jungle is probably the more well-known driver of making US food less deadly but isn't as based in science and pushes more of the social aspects. It's likely even less of a good meal time read as it was written to shock people into action. But damn did it work.
Done with the Powder Mage trilogy, I'll definitely give the follow up series a try some day. Now reading, Here We Go Again: My Life in Television by Betty White