You're probably fine reading in published order
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What'cha Reading?
- Thread starter Falselogic
- Start date
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- Tags
- prose and cons
it's only 8-10 books. if you start with Dragonbone Chair and go forward in pub order you're fine.
Terminal fantasy brain.
The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett
Violentvixen
(She/Her)
Just finished Chain Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah. One of those "I would personally give this a 1-2 star rating for my specific experience, but I still recommend other people read it as they may think it's 5 stars and it's an important topic" books. The violence/sexism/racism in this book is important because those things are real in the prison system and need to be discussed but it's hard.
I struggle with anything with multiple narrators/perspectives and this shifts so often and so quickly. I'm so glad I read it but I kept getting lost. I kind of want to reread a version that's just Thurwar and Staxxx to make sure I didn't miss the main story beats.
I struggle with anything with multiple narrators/perspectives and this shifts so often and so quickly. I'm so glad I read it but I kept getting lost. I kind of want to reread a version that's just Thurwar and Staxxx to make sure I didn't miss the main story beats.
zonetrope
(he/him)
I'm having the same experience down to the letter. I have 50 pages left and am struggling to muster up the energy to finish, but it's clearly an important work of fiction (and non-fiction, in a lot of ways) that people should at least attempt to experience.
Violentvixen
(She/Her)
I'm glad my post made sense, a bit later I was wondering if that was just rambling. Just so you're prepared the jumping gets even more frequent near the end. It's building up to action and I get it but it was hard.
Oh 100%.
zonetrope
(he/him)
Yeah, it made perfect sense. I actually just finished the book. I generally find action sequences in prose to be really difficult to follow, so while I found the chapters filling out the world and characters to be really engrossing, all of the fights were a confusing blur to me, including the ending.
I'm one of the people who give this book 5 stars and I'm really glad you both stuck with it. Thanks for giving it a chance.
We suffer together.
I read The Happiness Project by Suki Fleet. And a few other books I think.
I read this after reading Half-Drawn Boy (it's a really interesting read, check it out), and this is a "prequel" (even if it technically released first) that shows the origin of Gregor's parents. I like the whole cross-generational aspect, and a lot of scenes were actually enhanced by this unusual reading order. For example, I like the whole imaginary sea related prose that stretched across both books.
Bruno and Alexei are very interesting characters with a very cool journey. Despite the long and flowery prose, their romance was very lovely and believable. The world and the characters seem built up, and of course I love the long, detailed paragraphs of pure emotion. It may be a bit slow, but it's worth it in the end. However, it's a bit odd that both characters try to out self-deprecate each other. I guess it makes sense given their circumstances.
Now there's two things I didn't like at all, but they're spoilers and they only bring it down from a 5/5 to a 4/5. It's a generally unique read.
I read this after reading Half-Drawn Boy (it's a really interesting read, check it out), and this is a "prequel" (even if it technically released first) that shows the origin of Gregor's parents. I like the whole cross-generational aspect, and a lot of scenes were actually enhanced by this unusual reading order. For example, I like the whole imaginary sea related prose that stretched across both books.
Bruno and Alexei are very interesting characters with a very cool journey. Despite the long and flowery prose, their romance was very lovely and believable. The world and the characters seem built up, and of course I love the long, detailed paragraphs of pure emotion. It may be a bit slow, but it's worth it in the end. However, it's a bit odd that both characters try to out self-deprecate each other. I guess it makes sense given their circumstances.
Now there's two things I didn't like at all, but they're spoilers and they only bring it down from a 5/5 to a 4/5. It's a generally unique read.
I did an interview with Tad Williams about his books if yall were interested =)
Ended up finishing Rains of Liscor and The Tainted Cup. Looking forward to reading the sequel in April. Now, reading Mickey7 by Edward Ashton
Violentvixen
(She/Her)
Just finished The Message by Ta-Nehisi Coates. I really enjoyed the first couple essays and they had some beautiful, haunting sequences. But the last and longest essay was about Israel and Palestine and I had a tough time with it. Maybe it just meandered too much? Can't put my finger on it but I had a hard time with it. I absolutely 5-star recommend the first few, but it's hard to recommend the last essay, probably best to get from the library if you're interested. I also had the e-book which I think is a disservice as I would have preferred being able to flip back to previous pages more easily, it's such a pain on an e-reader.
I will say coming right off Chain Gang All-Stars into this (I've had both on hold for a while and both were ready at the same time) was interesting mindset-wise. I think I would have absorbed the Israel-Palestine piece differently if I'd read it in October 2024 when the book was published too.
I will say coming right off Chain Gang All-Stars into this (I've had both on hold for a while and both were ready at the same time) was interesting mindset-wise. I think I would have absorbed the Israel-Palestine piece differently if I'd read it in October 2024 when the book was published too.
Olli
(he/him)
I'm almost finished with Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!. It's a weird one. Feynman was obviously a very smart guy, a good story teller, and he achieved a lot in his life. He even managed moderate success in his many hobbies outside his primary focus of theoretical physics. Despite his achievements, he doesn't come off as particularly self-aggrandizing (he's more than willing to admit when a lucky guess makes him seem smart), but his self-awareness doesn't stop him from coming off as a womanizer given how much time he spends describing his time to get to know (mostly nameless, featureless) girls. He even learns some PUA strategies, even though he swears off them later. His three wives are also barely mentioned, and especially the second one mostly comes up in a bad light. I don't know. We're obviously only getting his perspective of things, but I'm left wondering what this celebrated genius scientist was actually like if even his funny anecdote book makes him seem a bit scetchy?
Violentvixen
(She/Her)
Welcome to being around male scientists in America (and the UK, from my understanding) from the 60s-80s. This is a book from the 80s and it shows.
Like astronauts of this heyday these men were already raised to think women were lesser like every other male of that time, but then you add the war and the importance of their work? Astronaut's wives were told to take beatings and never argue to avoid distracting their husbands. Everything the men were told was that they were the most important and it created behaviours that you can see in reruns on TV or old movies too.
I am in science so it didn't ultimately scare me away from the field but many women left. Also many women focused on biology instead of chemistry/physics because it has "less math" so "girls could do it". I toured multiple labs where jokes were made about upper level men banging the secretary, or they just straight up talked about the girls they'd had sex with recently. Pinup prints or straight up pictures of naked women were posted on lab walls "to keep everyone happy". At my old job a younger woman complained about an older man watching porn at work and you could see it on his computer from the hallway. Management said his knowledge was "one of a kind" and "too important to lose" so they just rearranged his office so his monitor no longer faced the hallway. I have others but I think you get the point, Feynman was not unique and this behaviour was basically encouraged.
In terms of being a woman in science it's much better now to enter the field (there is of course still a lot of work to do) but it took a while. But yeah, the reckoning never came for most members this older generation. The ones who were still in academia or running labs likely had some push from the #metoo movement and diversity training, but if the head of the department or your grant funding group doesn't care, why would you?
Does it excuse the behaviour? No, but if you have absolutely no pressure or impetus to change why would you? This is obviously a much more complex debate and yes, many men were not like this but you'll see something similar in most biographies from male scientists of that era. It's a time capsule and a reminder to think about how we speak around people about science and how they treat others.
I did enjoy the book and he cracked the veneer of the "stoic scientist in a suit", revolutionized many teaching methods and did humanize the field, made very good points about questioning committees (ironic) and of course had brilliant insights. But it wasn't until about 10-15 years later that people really thought about the impact of some of this behaviour rather than being "oh how wacky".
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A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher
I read this maybe last month? Sometime recently-ish. It was pretty alright!
jpfriction
(He, Him)
“Yeah I guess those parts aren’t great” was my analytical chem professor’s review of the PUA tutorials in the early aughts. I wonder if he still hands out the book.
I read Rey Tercerio's Northranger, and it was very good. I didn’t know that it was an adaptation of Jane Foster’s “Northranger Abbey” until the very end, and it’s quite surprising. I assumed it was a standalone thing. (I mean, even the word Northranger sounds stereotypically Texan.)
The graphic novel is drawn very well. I like the use of one singular color, dark maroon, having kind of a somber and mysterious mood.
The plot is a bit simple, but the characters are well-built enough to feel believable. It’s funny how Cade’s obsession with horror movies causes him to be suspicious of everyone. Even I kind of fell for it, especially with how ominously the other family is presented.
There’s a minor problems I have, but that’s about it. Mainly, I don’t like how Cade goes from here to there throughout Texas. In this short book, I think it would be better to give more time for each location, or have less locations.
The graphic novel is drawn very well. I like the use of one singular color, dark maroon, having kind of a somber and mysterious mood.
The plot is a bit simple, but the characters are well-built enough to feel believable. It’s funny how Cade’s obsession with horror movies causes him to be suspicious of everyone. Even I kind of fell for it, especially with how ominously the other family is presented.
There’s a minor problems I have, but that’s about it. Mainly, I don’t like how Cade goes from here to there throughout Texas. In this short book, I think it would be better to give more time for each location, or have less locations.
Olli
(he/him)
Yeah, it's a picture of its time for sure. It's good to hear things are slowly getting better, at least.
Violentvixen
(She/Her)
I'd be curious too. I hope there's another textbook/lecture series that improves upon Feynman's teaching methods and is used now but honestly haven't a clue.
Starting my February reading with the next installment in The Wandering Inn: Blood of Liscor and Song of the Beast by Carol Berg
Violentvixen
(She/Her)
Coming Home by Brittney Griner is, as expected, a very stressful read. Horrifying and the writing pulls you in but whoof. Also it's making me realize I've been on a string of books that are tough but good reads. I will read Parable of the Sower for the TT Book Club next but then I think I need to read some light fluff for a bit.
Beast didn't work out for me, so instead I'm reading Never by Ken Follett
Well, Never certainly had a gut punch ending. Since Red God is supposed to come out this year,. I'd thought I would get back into the Red Rising series with Iron Gold by Pierce Brown
Probably middle of next year, from what I've heard.
I binged a new comic from my school library, I Shall Never Fall In Love by Hari Connor.
The artstyle is a great blend of realistic designs and expressive faces. The story feels a bit simple and episodic at times, but it layers upon itself to create a fascinating romance with a high degree of historical accuracy and research.
The only complaint I have is there's too many characters introduced. It feels like all the girls not part of the main romance (Charlotte, Sophia, Caroline) are all fighting for screentime and relevancy while Georgie and Ellie endlessly. It works out in the end though; a happy ending in this time period seems very fortunate. It's a very fun and exciting comic from start to finish.
The artstyle is a great blend of realistic designs and expressive faces. The story feels a bit simple and episodic at times, but it layers upon itself to create a fascinating romance with a high degree of historical accuracy and research.
The only complaint I have is there's too many characters introduced. It feels like all the girls not part of the main romance (Charlotte, Sophia, Caroline) are all fighting for screentime and relevancy while Georgie and Ellie endlessly. It works out in the end though; a happy ending in this time period seems very fortunate. It's a very fun and exciting comic from start to finish.