RIP (Read In Progress) Wednesday

[quillpunk]

Yet another Wednesday has arrived. What are you reading? 👀

Comments

[quillpunk]

Waves vaguely. No change. Still on The Martian, Beware of Chicken 3 and Biggles Learns to Fly. Basically I'm making no progress at all this month, sigh. However, I did raid my library today! Picked up four books, among them Caliban's War and Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries :D

[yhlee]

I may have to try The Martian on my own! I've been wanting to try it for ages. (My husband noped out of reading it together because he's an astrophysicist. I suspect it would feel too much like work. Also, "Mars is a death planet! You'd have a better chance of surviving in Death Valley! At least in Death Valley there's in principle a 7-11 you can someday get to!" lol.)

I really loved Biggles Learns to Fly and should resume reading Biggles books too. :3

[quillpunk]

Yeah, I liked the movie and I had a really good time with Project Hail Mary, so I'm excited for it! Only a few chapters in, but I do like it so far :D

Biggles Learns to Fly was really fun. There was a lot of times where I stopped and went 'oh that's really cool imagery' and it had such a good flow. It's only like the fourth Biggles book I've read, but I'm definitely going to keep reading!

[starfleetbrat]

I'm still reading The Stardust Grail by Yume Kitasei, almost three quarters of the way through. I am enjoying it, but feel like its taking me a while get through. Sometimes that happens I guess.

also been re-reading some old fanfic.

super excited though because I found out becky chambers is working on a new novel! But it won't be a Wayfarers novel, nor will it be a Monk & Robot one. Its something in a new setting! hype!

[white_aster]

Ooh, interesting! I have complex thoughts about Chambers (I keep loving her ideas just not how they're written), so I keep being interested every time she puts out something new, hoping maybe someday her style/approach will match up with what I'm looking for.

[valoise]

Yay for another Chambers novel. She's my comfort read sff author.

[mucky]

Kairos by Jenny Erpenbeck. I previously read, and enjoyed, Go, Went, Gone, and I'm liking the intimate angles of this one. Go, Went, Gone was more social commentary — I don't like any one less than the other, but it's nice to see that Erpenbeck can do both. Plus, Kairos got everything I like: classical music! East Germany! Complex couple with a large age difference! Hofmann's translation is also fantastic, so that helps.

On the side I also have The Book of Disquiet (Fernando Pessoa) and The Body Keeps the Score (Bessel van der Kolk), both of which I have to consume in small bites.

[althea_valara]

I am actually reading a book for once! I'm reading Lock In by John Scalzi. It's a re-re-read (at least my third time through it) because my library is having a book group discussion about it, and I just LOVE this novel.

(I used to be a voracious reader as a kid/early adult, but now I find it difficult to read. Which makes me sad because I do love stories. So any time I *do* read now is a cause to celebrate.)

[white_aster]

I hear you. I went through a stretch where video games and the internet and fanfiction just eclipsed reading for me. Then I started reading again while I took the shuttle to work, and eventually ramped back up. Then I started taking out ebooks via the library when the pandemic started, and now that it's so frictionless, I've usually got two or three books going at once. Free books are a powerful motivator for me. :P

[white_aster]

I finished On Call by Anthony Fauci - my final view is that it's a solid memoir, probably of particular interest to anyone with an interest in science, as he uses it to describe some of the issues he's dealt with. Politically, I honestly felt he wasn't there to trash talk anyone. He makes a good case for him just trying to do his job, and trying to do what's best for public health based on the science at the time, and I believed him. He obviously caught a lot of flak for that, and he does describe the rather scary situations that put him and his family in. However, despite that, he was tactful about discussing politicians, even if he had a rocky relationship with them. Someone else may read it differently, but honestly I thought he was very tactful, given :waves hand vaguely: everything he's been caught up in.

On the other end of the spectrum, I also read Moose by T.J. Land, which is an adorable short story from the POV of a stray kitten whose heart is full of both love and murder.

I am still reading Fool's Run by Patricia McKillip - stuff has happened now (about halfway in), and some things have been revealed, and I am at least moderately curious how it will end up. However, given this is McKillip, I'm expecting a lot of pretty symbolism and vagueness and handwaving.

Am also still reading The Kindness of Meat by T.J. Land, which is going well but needs to have some action happen soon. Thankfully, it seems like they are going to be meeting aliens soon, so there is that!

I've also started reading a free ebook that I picked up somewhere of The Absolute at Large by Karel Čapek. This is satirical speculative fiction from the 20s which is about the consequences of someone inventing a machine that produces essentially infinite power but also in the process releases (Westernesque, Christianesque) divinity as a byproduct. Meaning that the trainwreck of capitalism and religion results in religious fervor, visions, goodwill-to-fellow-man, and other, darker religious impulses being spread far and wide. The book is of course dryly skewering religion, capitalism, and politics. Though it is a bit slow at times, every time I pick it up I find myself smiling wryly at something in it.

[ebaths]

The Absolute at Large! I love Čapek, and enjoyed this book when I read it maybe 5-6 years ago (during my Čapek phase haha). I remember it being a bit slow, like you mentioned, but I enjoyed it. I have an affinity for his style of dry, cynical humor. My favorite of his is War with the Newts, which is sort of similar in that it’s also a satirical speculative fiction.

(Apologies if you already know all this) Newts is about the discovery of a new animal (the titular newt) and their exploitation by humanity, eventually leading to war. It’s also very similar to R.U.R., Čapek’s play about humans creating robots and eventually being destroyed by them (this play is where the word “robot” originates! Robota is Czech for a kind of forced labor.) Both have themes of an exploited “second-class” group rising up against humanity.

I find it really interesting to read science/speculative fiction that was written (relatively) so long ago. It’s interesting to see what things feel “dated” and what things feel familiar. R.U.R. reads like a blueprint for so much sci-fi, like Philip K. Dick’s or Isaac Asimov’s works about robots/androids/AI. The Absolute at Large remains unique in a way that I like—the concept reminds me of something that might come up in a Kurt Vonnegut story, maybe? But it doesn’t feel like ground that’s been well-tred.

I also enjoyed your thoughts on On Call—it sounds interesting.

[white_aster]

Yes! I had heard of Čapek because of R.U.R. and that was one reason I picked up Absolute. Given how much I've been enjoying that, I've actually picked up R.U.R. as well, since the same ebook place has both of them for free (https://standardebooks.org - I recommend them for all your now-in-public-domain reading needs!). Oddly, reading them both at the same time has this very strange AU going on in my head where both the robots and the Absolute are happening at the same time. :P

[yhlee]

Yes, I remember that phenomenon! Like trying E. E. "Doc" Smith's Lensmen or Buck Rogers or Tom Corbett and going "This is so cliché" (and some of it probably was?) except in a number of cases they FOUNDED or popularized a bunch of now-hoary space opera tropes!

[wearing_tearing]

Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez - my first time reading a Jimenez work! The banter is excellent, but some of the emotional turmoil is rubbing me the wrong way. The book deals heavily with unresolved trauma and, at 70%, that's starting to affect me in some way. I am very curious to see how the romance plot is going to conclude, though!

An Education in Malice by S.T. Gibson - I am a huuuuuuuuuuuuuge Carmilla fan and a huge A Dowry of Blood fan, so a retelling by Gibson? I had to pick it up! I'm about a quarter of the way in and the dark academia vibes are very well written. Gibson has turned some things on their head in regard to the original story in a way I'm not sure I enjoy... I will keep reading because some elements are really intriguing!

[jajalala]

Oooh if you have any thorough thoughts on An Education in Malice after you're done I'd love to hear them (like if u posted a review on booknook or something)--I like the concept but am curious if the execution lives up to the excitement of the premise.

[wearing_tearing]

I'll definitely post something somewhere and will link you! So far: the setting/ambience is amazing and the prose is beautiful. I'm a bit unsure about the characterization and relationship dynamics when comparing it to Carmilla the novel, specifically when it comes to De Lafontaine.

[wearing_tearing]

I posted my thoughts on StoryGraph! Spoiler: I did not have a good time.

[jajalala]

Ohoho thank u for sharing your thoughts! This is good to know, I will not be putting the book on my reading list anytime soon

[wearing_tearing]

No problem at all! S.T. Gibson is now 1:2 on the hit/miss board for me with An Education in Malice :(

[vriddy]

Gonna start Tress on the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson! I read Yumi and the Nightmare Painter and I feel like these two are the ones I usually get recs for, from the 4 novels he wrote during lockdowns.

[yhlee]

I'm still slowly reading Rachel Rosen's Cascade - no reflection on the book, I'm a slow reader generally. Delightfully sharp prose and a wicked sense of humor and sharply observed characters.

I started Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher (Codex Alera book 1), which my husband and I picked up because I'd been curious about the series for some time and I'd heard it was something that would appeal to Brandon Sanderson fans. (My husband loves Brandon Sanderson's books, and we like to read books together so we can discuss them.) He reports that it was very good and I'm already very intrigued by the opening.

OTOH, there seems to be some kind of magic referred to as "furycraft" and I did a double-take when my brain misread it as "furrycraft," which is VERY PROBABLY not what Jim Butcher meant...me...to associate...with...okay, I'm going to hide now. XD

[olivermoss]

I am a bit into Tales from a Gas Station and have barely started Liar City.

[zenigotchas]

I'm still chipping away at A Study of Dragons. I have a lot of feelings about it because the author is an incredible writer who is very concise, clear, with a vast amount of knowledge about Eastern dragons--Chinese dragons specifically. But he doesn't seem to know as much about Western dragons, which is a shame since this book is meant to compare and contrast both critters, I'm left with a lot of questions. It's not a bad book of course, just that no book will ever be perfect, it's no exception to that rule.

[petrea_mitchell]

Still making my way through the Crown Colony series. Singapore has switched from dealing with racist British overlords of varying competence to racist Japanese overlords of varying competence, but as of book 6, which I've just started, it's mid-1945, and I believe the next book is post-WWII. As well as the murder mysteries being well-constructed, I'm enjoying seeing the protagonist and her home change from book to book.

[gloss]

I finished Cherryh's The Paladin, which was excellent but also (deliberately) enraging, and now I think I'll return to the second volume of Little Mushroom.

[givemeyourhonor]

Still reading through The Bone Doll's Twin and I'm loving it. I'm just rooting for this kid. I also think it's interesting when we're in Tobin's point of view since only reader knows why all this suffering is happening. I've been really excited for my bedtime reading sessions. Might be one of my top books of the year at this rate.

[valoise]

Finished Every Living Thing by James Herriot. This is the last book in the series and I am amazed that I loved every one of them.

The President's Kitchen Cabinet by Adrian Miller. Barely started but I think I'm really going to like it.

[jajalala]

I'm currently reading "The Romance Recipe" by Ruby Barrett... The first bit was a little frustrating bc I think there was supposed to be an "enemies to lovers" vibe, but I mostly felt like "Holy shit if my coworker/boss were that frustrating to work with, I would NOT be fantasizing about taking off her blouse!" I'm about 3/4ths of the way through now though and am liking it more.

The other book I'm reading is called "Chicks in Chainmail"... yeah, no really XD. It's an anthology of feminist stories themed around powerful women in fantasy settings. It was published in 1995, so it's kind of a snapshot of certain feminist critiques in fantasy stories at the time with a cheeky vibe. So far it's been super fun! Some of the stories remind me of Terry Pratchett, and it makes me wonder how much of the style I associate with Pratchett is primarily Pratchett and how much was the general milieu of fantasy fiction of the era. It's a fun vibe so far, though I've only read through a few of the stories.

(I first picked this book up because I was truly just enthralled with the cover... sharing here for others to enjoy, please imagine this on an adorable little paperback found deep in the shelves of a convention bookstore):

[white_aster]

I remember when this came out! :D I want to say I read it, but I do remember it was quite a revolutionary thing to have an entire book at the time with all female main characters. I believe it was the first in a series of these anthologies

[jajalala]

Omg! That's wild to hear that having all female main character anthology was such a revolutionary thing back then! It's also interesting to me while reading it that I see both men and women author names for the stories... I feel like if someone did this nowadays, they'd be a lot more likely to push for #OwnVoices and have all women writers, but it's charming to see men involved and pushing forward feminist agendas as well in their stories.

Yes there's definitely a series, the shelf I picked it from had I think two others with a similar naming scheme... although I did not purchase them. Now that I'm reading this one and enjoying it, I think if I see them again I'll buy the others as well!

[vriddy]

Damn, I love that cover 😍 XD (but like, really!!)

[jajalala]

Me too! It certainly caught my attention XD

[ebaths]

I’m a few puzzles into The Chess Mysteries of Sherlock Holmes by Raymond Smullyan, which is a selection of 50 chess puzzles that have to do with what he calls “retrograde analysis” (logically deducing what happened previously in a chess game), all wrapped in a Holmes and Watson mystery setting. I like the…I think I would call it “camp” of the narrative so far. I’m also enjoying the puzzles themselves—I think the limitations of chess make the perfect playground for these kinds of unique logical puzzles (clear rules, but enough variety to make them extremely challenging). The narrative makes it a lot more interesting than a dry book of just puzzles also—I love Watson’s reactions to everything.

I’m also reading The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin. I really love this book, and hope to write a long reflection on it (fingers crossed!) I’m a huge Le Guin fan so virtually everything she wrote I love, but The Dispossessed is special somehow…but I should wait until I’m finished before I make any claims. Very excited to see how things go from here (I’m almost halfway through now).