What are you reading/listening to this week? (November 1st, 2023)

My surgery went fantastic! Heres to a week of some intense reading and getting started on NaNoWriMo!

So glad to hear it!!
Great news! All the best for a complete recovery!

I’m reading “Homegoing”. I am liking the historical backdrop, but man that’s a sad book! I’m starting to be a bit fed up with the impression that nothing ever goes smoothly.

Reading "Fathers and Sons" by Turgenev and occasionally listening to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series.

I don’t have anything at the moment, but just finished Legends and Lattes which was cute and cozy reading. I kind of need low brainpower books right now. Maybe some trashy romance novels or grocery store mysteries. Any suggestions for the quintessential dumb read?

Light-ish romances I've read semi-recently: Strange Love by Ann Anguire (fun and surprisingly engaging sci fi alien romance), The Elf Tangent (fantasy adventure).

Not a romance but low brain power required: Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson (young adult fantasy adventure, power of friendship).

Lightning fast read, frequently gets emotional + medium brain power required: Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells.

And I personally tend to go for either fanfiction or progression fantasy/litrpg when I want something easy to read. The Wandering Inn was my gateway drug to the former.
- Thanks for all these recommendations! I’ll check them out!!

I've just started a re-read of the "Old Kingdom" series by Garth Nix for the Nth time. One of my all time favorites, Tim Curry as a narrator is phenomenal.

I'm stuck in a bit of a rut at the moment. One got a bunch of credits on Audible but most books I've tried i have not enjoyed and end up returning.

Feudal society by Marc Bloch. Non-fiction history book about - you guessed it - feudal society in Medieval Europe, namely France, Great Britain and Germany. It's a bit outdated (namely regarding the usage of some terms) but it's still very engrossing. Used to be mandatory reading if you wanted to know more about Western Europe in the Middle Ages.

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

How is it?
- So far, I think it's charming: an exciting fantasy adventure in a modern setting. I think if you like other books by Neil Gaiman, you'll like this one as well. If you haven't read any Gaiman books before, this is probably a good place to start.

I've not long started book two of 'The Passage' trilogy by Justin Cronin.

Out of nowhere I dove into Tarot: History, Symbolism and Divination. I'm only interested in the first two of these keywords so I probably will drop it once it gets into the more mystical stuff, but the history section has been fun and interesting so far. Especially the long, long chapter which could be titled "how French occultists were wrong about everything and making shit up all the time". Petty drama in occult communities is always entertaining, and historical occultists are no exception.

Recently finished Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson, and just started The Legend of Drizzt: The collected stories by R.A. Salvatore

I'm in a little bit of a drought, I don't have a list of books I'm interested in next, so I'm picking up random stuff here and there. If anyone has some suggestions for some fantasy or not-so-dense sci-fi, I'd love to check them out.

If you’re looking for something lighter, Travis Baldree’s Legends and Lattes is really good for a bit more of the cozy Fantasy Genre. The Prequel is out here in a week or so. I really enjoyed the Fred, The Vampire Accountant series by Drew Hayes as well as The Rook Files by Daniel O’Malley as well.

The earliest Fred books can feel as though they are written almost as multiple vignettes where the resolution can feel a bit deus ex machina, but it is on purpose to the larger arc.

The Rook has been out for a while now and had a show made from it, but the show really didn’t capture the feel of why the book was so good.
- Thanks for the suggestions, all those are new titles to me so I'll be sure to check them out!
- I just finished Legends and Lattes! It’s definitely a lighthearted book. Maybe I’ll pick up the prequel this week. I don’t have anything on the docket!

The most recent Ant-Man movie had a subplot where Scott Lang had written a book called Look Out For The Little Guy. Marvel actually released it and so I read that. Other than a few moments that were a bit too one the nose as being references to moments in the movies, it was a pretty enjoyable read.

Beyond that, I had paused The Aeronaut’s Windlass by Jim Butcher to read the Ant-Man book, so it’s time to get back to that and finish it up.

I'm reading Lone Women by Victor LaValle. The last couple of books I read were kind of challenging so I'm enjoying reading a book that's just a good story to get lost in.

I’ve really enjoyed his stuff lately.
- This is the first thing I've read by him but I'm so down to read more if you have recs.

I'm thinking of starting to read my 6yo some classic books, a few chapters each night. Have reviewed a bunch on Common Sense Media and am thinking I'll go with The Jungle Book.

A bit newer, but I'm thinking Charlie and the Chocolate Factory may be next.

As a kid, I absolutely loved Roal Dahl!
- We tried the BFG but that had some stuff that was a little scary, plus we lost the book before we managed to finish it. I'm hoping this one has less man-eating giants.

I have a bunch going on at once lol

In Every Mirror She's Black by Lola Akerstrom. Good turn your brain off read so far.
Smarter, Sharper Thinking by Jenny Brockis. Not a turn your brain off read. Mentions a lot of "should be common sense" things and kinda cements my distaste for self help books
Still very slowly reading Paradise Lost by John Milton. My brain can only handle so much in a day