Currently reading "The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle" by Haruki Murakami. I'm about a third of the way through it, great book so far, highly recommend.
this post was submitted on 24 Jun 2025
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I just finished reading Foreigner, by CJ Cherryh, which I thought was a fantastic book about first contact and understanding vs communication between alien races, though the main character can sound more than a little petulant as he gets jerked around, then because he can't relax he whines (a lot) about not having his human-goods catalogues so he can at least see a human face once in a while. Dude had a lot on his mind, so you know, I get it. For the book bingo I went with one book per square, and to be honest that was my free square because I bought almost all the books in the series and wanted to get reading them. Glad I did.
Before that I read By the Sword, by Mercedes Lackey; I'm lukewarm on it. Interesting world, great action-adventure stuff, and the main character is a likable, emotionally-mature woman leading a mercenary life in a rough world - it has its good points, but the overall tone of the story itself felt flat for me. I didn't know it's one of a bajillion books in the same world that Lackey wrote in, so IDK, might try another book from that pile sometime. For the bingo it satisfied the "Orange Cover Art" square due to lots of yellow leaves and hair in the art. Kind of a stretch, but I really couldn't find something more orange-y in my collection.
I'm currently reading Nine Princes in Amber, by Roger Zelazny. It's a really creative take on modern faerie-realm stuff that feels more like it pulls "modern day" back into European mythology rather than the way urban fantasy feels like it pulls fantasy into a more modern realism. The plot is fairly simple so far, but it's the first in a series of relatively short novels, so I might just read a few more of them in a row and see where it goes. For the bingo, this was the "Title with a Number in It" square.
This has been such a fun way to cut into my oversized library of books I haven't actually read yet.
CJ Cherryh and Roger Zelazny both are on my list but haven't gotten around to reading them yet. Don't see them getting mentioned these days either.
Zelazny wrote a fantastic short story called For A Breath I Tarry, and I wanted to read more of his work since then but only recently got the chance.
I'm halfway through listening to The Handmaid's Tale. I went in blind and there have been some moments which are shockingly similar to recent events in the USA. I'm loving the way the world is slowly revealed to the reader.
I have finally committed. I've started Sir Terry Pratchett's Disc World, starting with the Color of Magic, and I intend to proceed by publication order. We'll see how long this one takes to finish. 😛
I started reading that series recently as well, and I'm quite enjoying it, and I'm taking the same approach to reading them in publication order. I've got Witches Abroad on my to-read list for the bingo, for the "Cozy" square. I didn't enjoy Pyramids or Eric, though, those gave me weird vibes; I found Eric pretty dismissive of women, and Pyramids was weirdly insulting towards middle eastern contributions to science and math, but to be honest there were still parts of those books that were creative and worth reading, even if they didn't meet Pratchett's usual standards.
Hope you enjoy them.
I started in mostly the same order last year and I'm already nine books down. I wanted to carry on with the Rincewind arc more than start new ones, but I actually ended up delaying some of my favourites so far.
"Consider Phlebas", by Iain M. Banks.
A lemmy thread about favourite fictional society to live in introduced me to The Culture, I'm extremely intrigued by this post-scarcity anarchist space hippy commune and want to find out more.
It's british space opera, which I incredibly enjoy and it allegedly deconstructs the "lone protagonist has wide raging influence"-trope which I'm also going to enjoy.
Wind and Truth - Latest entry in Brian Sanderson's flagship Stormlight Archives fantasy series. I wanted to like it but if I'm being honest with myself, it's been going downhill since everyone became a Jedi in the second book.
lol at everyone becoming a Jedi, haven't seen it described like this before.
Dragons of Autumn Twilight, the first book in an excellent series that I haven't read for 15+ years. Catching up with my old friends has been fantastic.
Man, those books were my jam back in grade school. I gotta pick them up again sometime.
I've been working my way through the chronicles of the Black Company, currently on Silver Spike. I do love grounded, grim high fantasy with a mouthy but self-deprecating protagonist, might be my most pumpkin spice opinion ever
Recently finished Stephen Fry's Mythos audiobook, which is incredibly lovable. I listened through it twice in a row.
Ok I can’t stand it anymore.
Love the thread, but can you please put the word “to” after “listening”?
Again, with love…
Malazan Empire... Please don't ask me again for a year 😂
I'm reading Stalin: New Biography of a Dictator by Oleg Khlevniuk. Dictators feel timely, but also I felt like I didn't know Stalin's life well enough, despite how important he is in the story of the 20th century.
I also just finished Henry David Thoreau's essay Civil Disobedience. My local library had put it on display and it felt like a bit of a cheeky gesture. Unfortunately, I didn't like the essay all that much, as I find Thoreau's writing disagreeable - even when I agree with him. Perhaps he's just not my cup of tea.
Did you finish One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich? Or still reading it?
Yes, I finished it. It's not a long story, given that it's just a typical day from one prisoner's perspective. It was a good book, but also didn't have a lot to sink your teeth into. In this sense, even if it was written a 100 years earlier, The Dead House gives a more in-depth look into Russian/Soviet prison camps. Anyway, turns out prison camps are miserable places, where you have to scheme to get enough (and still too little) food and clothes and pretty much everything else you need. Russian winters are cold, and prison personnel cruel and prone to make arbitrary decisions. Yeah. Though I have to say, how this got published in Soviet Russia is a bit of a mystery to me, since it's pretty critical of the state.
I do intend to read more on Gulags, but I'll save that for another time.
Thanks for the info!
Though I have to say, how this got published in Soviet Russia is a bit of a mystery to me, since it’s pretty critical of the state.
It was during a brief thaw of destalinization. After Kruschechev's removal, the writer was persecuted and eventually expelled from the Soviet Union.
Currently reading The Midnight Library by Matt Haig and really enjoying it.
Audiobook: The Wandering Inn, book 13 by Pirateaba ... Kind of a standard "got sent to another world" litRPG, but it's quite fun with a well developed world and Andrea Parsneau brings life to every character
eBook: The Immortal Choir Holds Every Voice by Margaret Killjoy (book 3 of Danielle Caine) ... Not far in yet, but the series has been weird and good so far. A punk, queer, perpetual hitchhiker got introduced to magic by seeing a dead deer stomp a man to death and eat his heart. If that doesn't make you interested, the series probably isn't for you.
I read more than half of the first book, but found the main characters pretty annoying. Both the Inn lady and the runner.
I can see that, honestly :-D
I don't know if this will change anything, but, there was apparently a re-release of book 1 where the author re-wrote parts of it to bring it into quality standards with the rest of the books ... not sure which one you read, but, maybe it would make a difference? I got interested in it after the re-record, so, I dunno how big the differences are.
With that said, these books are around the size of The Stand by Stephen King, each, so, if you read half of it, you definitely gave it a fair shot, lol
I read it online recently, so should be the latest version.
I enjoyed the world building, and the writing is good, it's just the two main characters that I have some issue with. Probably just not for me.
Currently partway through The Dry by Jane Harper.
__
Finished:
Empire of Wild by Cherie Dimaline (horror-ish)
A Métis woman, whose husband has been missing for nearly a year, stumbles onto him acting as a preacher for a traveling Christian ministry. The problem is, not only is he like a different person, with no apparent memory of his past life, but there's also a rogarou hanging around him.
I thought the characters were really well done, but otherwise, I'd put this in the 'fine' category. I did enjoy the look into Métis culture and folklore, though; I'd always assumed that rogarou were just a twist on werewolves, but they're much more their own thing.
Bingo squares: minority author, folklore (HM), x of y
The Tomb of Dragons by Katherine Addison (cozy fantasy mystery)
Last book in the Cemeteries of Amalo trilogy, spin-off of The Goblin Emperor. Thara Celehar tries to adapt to the change in circumstance from the last book, and gets in the way of powerful people as he tries to follow his duty and calling (as is tradition).
This was a really satisfying conclusion to the trilogy, imo, wrapping up strands from the previous books and leaving the door open for more with the MC. I think this one upped the fantasy word quota a bit, though ("revethvezvaishor'avar", anyone?).
Bingo squares: orange, x of y, LGBTQIA+, new release, steppin' up (HM), political (HM), cozy (in the 'cozy mystery' sense: not graphic, overall fairly gentle tone, lots of interludes drinking tea or sharing a meal with friends)
Empire of Wild sounds interesting, how long is it? If it's not too long I can do with a "fine" book that is about something new and different.
It's about 300 pages, so not bad at all.
Yeah, that isn't much. Will add it to my list.
Trying to finish all of Hyperion again. Love Dan Simmons, and he's masterful at writing from different points of view, but I got bored around book 2 or 3. On 3 now!
Speaking of Simmons, Song of Kali is straight unnerving.
I definitely bounced off book 2 at first because they're so different. Once I'd accepted the choice it was a great read though
I'm at the end of Hyperion right now, and it's pretty fun. He really does a good job with different styles and voices.
I might get Song of Kali based on this recommendation, thanks!
Slow Horses by Mick Herron. I watched the series and now I've started the book series. Very British and very sarcastic, so it's been really good so far.
Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses by Robin Wall Kimmerer
There was someone here reading about Fungii recently, and now we have moss. Are you the same person?
Nope. Just a guy who had some moss volunteer in his garden last year and found a new passion.
Recently finished Gladiator, 24 Hours In Ancient Rome, and A Year In The Life Of Ancient Greece. All very light pieces by the same author, very fun reading.
Just cracking open Warrior of God: Jan Zizka and the Hussite Revolution right now.
Warrior of God: Jan Zizka and the Hussite Revolution was extremely poorly organized and edited. Would not recommend. Still, I've gained a firmer base of knowledge for future reading on the Hussites.
The final book of the Dark Tower series! Been slowly working my way through them, and just started the seventh volume.
"One more turn of the path, and then we reach the clearing."
You should write and let me know what you think of the end!
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