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I just finished reading a book to which I don't have the sequel _and_ the Minuteman system doesn't have the sequel. But BPL does! So I think my new mission (should I choose to accept it) is to get a BPL library card, and then ten thousand bonus points if I can figure out how to get their ebooks onto Talia and/or their physical books delivered to the library next to my workplace instead of downtown.
***
Mission accomplished (at least with the digital card), though no bonus points earned. But I did completely read the book on my work computer --it was short! But yeah, it's definitely time for another one of these posts before I start forgetting what I've consumed.
Finished Reading Recently:
OKAY SO! When last we checked in, I had finished All Systems Red (Murderbot diaries #1, by Martha Wells) and was excited to read Artificial Conditions. I managed that sometime last week, and then today among everything else I read1 I charged through Rogue Protocol. I don't yet have a copy of Network Effect which is #5. It's in transit to be picked up at my local library but I am very very reluctant to pick up #4, because the way I feel right now, having finished #3 about ten minutes ago, is that I could very easily read #s 4-7 tonight. They are _so fucking good_. Everyone who ever said good things about these books were telling the truth. The fight scenes are good, the feelings are SO GOOD, the complex human interactions are good, the pathos is heartbreakingly delightful, these books are GOOD.
Also last check had me finished Tamora Pierce's second Alanna book, at YTS I had enough downtime to polish off The Woman who Rides Like a Man, and today I finished Lioness Rampant. There are...some...uncomfortable colonialist narratives, huh? Also dang, I really truly love and appreciate how much of a slut Alanna is2 but she kinda sorta can't pick 'em. Liam is solidly _okay_ but has some *extremely* irritating moments, and Jon just straight up suuuucks all the time. George is better now that Alanna's into him too, I guess. I suppose I have to treasure Kel as my aspec heroine of choice.
(It's actually really interesting how I don't think anything in these books is really all that much cringier than the Lackey I have on frequent reread cycles, but maybe because I haven't reread them every eighteen months in the same way, they read more that way. I think Alanna and Kero would have a _great_ time together, as long as Alanna could hold her temper. Anyways, I should probably read through all of Daine and Kel next --I reread Daine not too many years ago, but I don't think I've read First Test since like...high school, despite rereading Squire once a year oslt.)
The Unshelved Book Club recommended Geography Club by Brett Hartinger. Well okay, technically they recommended the third in the series, which sounded *great* (queer student club serve as extras in a zombie movie) but when I saw there were earlier novels, I decided to give it a try. It was actually pretty fun! The narrative voice was charming and felt pretty realistic (although gosh, when I was sixteen I definitely didn't want to have The Sex this bad) and I appreciated the way it shook out. I have the second and third books checked out, but haven't gotten to them yet.
Unshelved also recommended Stoner and Spaz by Ron Koertge. I tore through that today --it's very short!-- and followed it up with the sequel, referenced at the start of this entry. I recommend reading them as a pair. They're not anything groundbreaking, but they're funny and touching and very human in the best possible way. I like human.
When trying to find a copy of The Pirate's Mixed Up Voyage for Talia, I stumbled across a Margaret Mahy easy reader called The Man Whose Mother Was a Pirate. It was charming, as only Mahy can write, but suffered from being on my ereader. I am so pissy that there is not an ebook of Mixed Up Voyage. I know it's an obscure little unknown middle grade chapter book from 1983 but it is my Favourite Book and I should have it in every format available.
In addition to all of the above, I read a goodly chunk of the ancient webcomic Wapsi Square, which I had apparently never read very much of in the past. I basically did the first major story arc, and I'm probably not going to continue. To be clear, I read _nine years_ of the comic, I just...liked seeing that much of the story and don't really think I need another one.
Currently Reading:
I have a bookmark in In the Serpent's Wake but have not read more. Slowly creeping my way through Squirrel Girl. Still reading Unshelved in free moments at work. As mentioned above, gonna charge through the Murderbot Diaries and then get real salty when there aren't any more.
The closest book to hand right now is Howl's Moving Castle though. A reread but a _good_ reread. I love me my disaster-girl Sophie. Almost as much as I love my horrible Zaphodic nightmarechild Howl.
Reading in the Future:
I currently have 29 books checked out from the library, and 10 more on hold. Let's do an annoyingly fast rundown:
2 ebooks that I need to click return on
3 Murderbot Diaries
2 sequels to Geography Club
Inside Job, by Connie Willis
6 Squirrel Girl GNs
Harriet the Spy, by Louise Fitzhugh, which I've never read but Unshelved's book club had good things to say and it is a classic
The First Rule of Punk, by Celia Perez, which I know nothing about but showed up in a search for something else and it looks cute
Fun Home, by Alison Bechdel (Unshelved rec)
The Plain Janes, by Cecil Castelucci (Unshelved rec)
Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts, by Kate Racculia, which was pinned up on the school library bulletin board as part of "check out these cool books set in the area!"
Bookhunter, by Jason Shinga (Unshelved rec, and insta-subscribe because of how much Shaenon Garrity _loves_ Shinga's work)
Modesty Blaise, by Peter O'Donnell
Whatcha Mean, What's a Zine?, nonfiction by Mark Todd (Unshelved rec)
Ella Minnow Pea, by Mark Dunn, which I've read before several years ago and is SO CLEVER and I'm interested to know if it holds up to a reread
Hidden Talents, by David Luber (Unshelved rec)
Howl's Moving Castle, by Diana Wynne Jones
In the Company of Ogres, by A. Lee Martinez (Unshelved rec)
Taken, by Edward Bloor (Unshelved rec, and to be clear, I'm really more likely to grab these when they're YA or Middle Grade, because of how fast I can chug through those.)
Debbie Harry Sings in French, by Meagan Brothers, and my first ever attempt to get something through a different system via ILL. Ezri helped. By which I mean, did absolutely all the scouting work for me. And yes, it's an Unshelved rec as well.
On hold:
Both ebook and paperbook copies of Network Effect so I can do a real good murderbot diaries binge.
The Lightning Thief, by Rick Riordan-- I think Unshelved rec'd it, but I also have been meaning to read some of these forever, I was about five years too old to get SUPER into them I think, and I remember them being some of the hottest shit known to childkind back in my substitute days. Plus my understanding is that Riordan operates as an anti-Rowling, and sucks considerably less than she does.
Theo Gray's Mad Science: Experiments you can do at home but probably shouldn't. Unshelved rec, and I don't tend to read a lot of nonfiction, but this one seems fun.
There Are No Shortcuts by Rafe Esquith, rec'd by Unshelved and if you tell anyone at my job I am reading a nonfiction book about education outside of work hours I will fight you, don't you dare make them think that's an okay thing to ask me to do3
The Warrior's Apprentice, by Lois McMaster Bujold -- I think Unshelved rec'd _something_ from Vorksagian, and I picked this one as "this one seems to be considered a good inroad?" but I will absolutely take advice, I've not read these ones.
Your Body is Not Your Body, a horror anthology that IIRC, BitterKarella contributed to. I don't read enough horror for how much I float around r/UnresolvedMysteries and the Longform.org crime section.
The City & The City by China Mieville, rec'd by Unshelved but I know jere7my _loves_ Mieville's stuff. I'm sorta expecting it to be way too smart and indigestible for me, but I ought to give it a try
Sideways Stories from Wayside School, by Louis Sacher, which has just taken _way_ longer to ebook over to me than the other three have.
A Deadly Education, by Naomi Novik, because one of these years I will successfully read Schoolmance.
........maybe I am not allowed to add any more books to my library piles for a while ;_;
~Sor
MOOP!
1: Clayton looked at me during lastprep, as I was tearing through a novel on my work laptop and not paying any attention to other banter, and observed that I currently had three different books in three different mediums (hardback, ereader, laptop) in front of me.
2: This is tongue-in-cheek, as Pierce observes in her afterword, three different sexual partners in the course of your life is, uh, not unusual.
3: Note that I am blatantly not bothering to read the nonfiction book bought for the math department and encouraged for us all to read, except when explicitly given time in my contracted hours to do so.
***
Mission accomplished (at least with the digital card), though no bonus points earned. But I did completely read the book on my work computer --it was short! But yeah, it's definitely time for another one of these posts before I start forgetting what I've consumed.
Finished Reading Recently:
OKAY SO! When last we checked in, I had finished All Systems Red (Murderbot diaries #1, by Martha Wells) and was excited to read Artificial Conditions. I managed that sometime last week, and then today among everything else I read1 I charged through Rogue Protocol. I don't yet have a copy of Network Effect which is #5. It's in transit to be picked up at my local library but I am very very reluctant to pick up #4, because the way I feel right now, having finished #3 about ten minutes ago, is that I could very easily read #s 4-7 tonight. They are _so fucking good_. Everyone who ever said good things about these books were telling the truth. The fight scenes are good, the feelings are SO GOOD, the complex human interactions are good, the pathos is heartbreakingly delightful, these books are GOOD.
Also last check had me finished Tamora Pierce's second Alanna book, at YTS I had enough downtime to polish off The Woman who Rides Like a Man, and today I finished Lioness Rampant. There are...some...uncomfortable colonialist narratives, huh? Also dang, I really truly love and appreciate how much of a slut Alanna is2 but she kinda sorta can't pick 'em. Liam is solidly _okay_ but has some *extremely* irritating moments, and Jon just straight up suuuucks all the time. George is better now that Alanna's into him too, I guess. I suppose I have to treasure Kel as my aspec heroine of choice.
(It's actually really interesting how I don't think anything in these books is really all that much cringier than the Lackey I have on frequent reread cycles, but maybe because I haven't reread them every eighteen months in the same way, they read more that way. I think Alanna and Kero would have a _great_ time together, as long as Alanna could hold her temper. Anyways, I should probably read through all of Daine and Kel next --I reread Daine not too many years ago, but I don't think I've read First Test since like...high school, despite rereading Squire once a year oslt.)
The Unshelved Book Club recommended Geography Club by Brett Hartinger. Well okay, technically they recommended the third in the series, which sounded *great* (queer student club serve as extras in a zombie movie) but when I saw there were earlier novels, I decided to give it a try. It was actually pretty fun! The narrative voice was charming and felt pretty realistic (although gosh, when I was sixteen I definitely didn't want to have The Sex this bad) and I appreciated the way it shook out. I have the second and third books checked out, but haven't gotten to them yet.
Unshelved also recommended Stoner and Spaz by Ron Koertge. I tore through that today --it's very short!-- and followed it up with the sequel, referenced at the start of this entry. I recommend reading them as a pair. They're not anything groundbreaking, but they're funny and touching and very human in the best possible way. I like human.
When trying to find a copy of The Pirate's Mixed Up Voyage for Talia, I stumbled across a Margaret Mahy easy reader called The Man Whose Mother Was a Pirate. It was charming, as only Mahy can write, but suffered from being on my ereader. I am so pissy that there is not an ebook of Mixed Up Voyage. I know it's an obscure little unknown middle grade chapter book from 1983 but it is my Favourite Book and I should have it in every format available.
In addition to all of the above, I read a goodly chunk of the ancient webcomic Wapsi Square, which I had apparently never read very much of in the past. I basically did the first major story arc, and I'm probably not going to continue. To be clear, I read _nine years_ of the comic, I just...liked seeing that much of the story and don't really think I need another one.
Currently Reading:
I have a bookmark in In the Serpent's Wake but have not read more. Slowly creeping my way through Squirrel Girl. Still reading Unshelved in free moments at work. As mentioned above, gonna charge through the Murderbot Diaries and then get real salty when there aren't any more.
The closest book to hand right now is Howl's Moving Castle though. A reread but a _good_ reread. I love me my disaster-girl Sophie. Almost as much as I love my horrible Zaphodic nightmarechild Howl.
Reading in the Future:
I currently have 29 books checked out from the library, and 10 more on hold. Let's do an annoyingly fast rundown:
2 ebooks that I need to click return on
3 Murderbot Diaries
2 sequels to Geography Club
Inside Job, by Connie Willis
6 Squirrel Girl GNs
Harriet the Spy, by Louise Fitzhugh, which I've never read but Unshelved's book club had good things to say and it is a classic
The First Rule of Punk, by Celia Perez, which I know nothing about but showed up in a search for something else and it looks cute
Fun Home, by Alison Bechdel (Unshelved rec)
The Plain Janes, by Cecil Castelucci (Unshelved rec)
Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts, by Kate Racculia, which was pinned up on the school library bulletin board as part of "check out these cool books set in the area!"
Bookhunter, by Jason Shinga (Unshelved rec, and insta-subscribe because of how much Shaenon Garrity _loves_ Shinga's work)
Modesty Blaise, by Peter O'Donnell
Whatcha Mean, What's a Zine?, nonfiction by Mark Todd (Unshelved rec)
Ella Minnow Pea, by Mark Dunn, which I've read before several years ago and is SO CLEVER and I'm interested to know if it holds up to a reread
Hidden Talents, by David Luber (Unshelved rec)
Howl's Moving Castle, by Diana Wynne Jones
In the Company of Ogres, by A. Lee Martinez (Unshelved rec)
Taken, by Edward Bloor (Unshelved rec, and to be clear, I'm really more likely to grab these when they're YA or Middle Grade, because of how fast I can chug through those.)
Debbie Harry Sings in French, by Meagan Brothers, and my first ever attempt to get something through a different system via ILL. Ezri helped. By which I mean, did absolutely all the scouting work for me. And yes, it's an Unshelved rec as well.
On hold:
Both ebook and paperbook copies of Network Effect so I can do a real good murderbot diaries binge.
The Lightning Thief, by Rick Riordan-- I think Unshelved rec'd it, but I also have been meaning to read some of these forever, I was about five years too old to get SUPER into them I think, and I remember them being some of the hottest shit known to childkind back in my substitute days. Plus my understanding is that Riordan operates as an anti-Rowling, and sucks considerably less than she does.
Theo Gray's Mad Science: Experiments you can do at home but probably shouldn't. Unshelved rec, and I don't tend to read a lot of nonfiction, but this one seems fun.
There Are No Shortcuts by Rafe Esquith, rec'd by Unshelved and if you tell anyone at my job I am reading a nonfiction book about education outside of work hours I will fight you, don't you dare make them think that's an okay thing to ask me to do3
The Warrior's Apprentice, by Lois McMaster Bujold -- I think Unshelved rec'd _something_ from Vorksagian, and I picked this one as "this one seems to be considered a good inroad?" but I will absolutely take advice, I've not read these ones.
Your Body is Not Your Body, a horror anthology that IIRC, BitterKarella contributed to. I don't read enough horror for how much I float around r/UnresolvedMysteries and the Longform.org crime section.
The City & The City by China Mieville, rec'd by Unshelved but I know jere7my _loves_ Mieville's stuff. I'm sorta expecting it to be way too smart and indigestible for me, but I ought to give it a try
Sideways Stories from Wayside School, by Louis Sacher, which has just taken _way_ longer to ebook over to me than the other three have.
A Deadly Education, by Naomi Novik, because one of these years I will successfully read Schoolmance.
........maybe I am not allowed to add any more books to my library piles for a while ;_;
~Sor
MOOP!
1: Clayton looked at me during lastprep, as I was tearing through a novel on my work laptop and not paying any attention to other banter, and observed that I currently had three different books in three different mediums (hardback, ereader, laptop) in front of me.
2: This is tongue-in-cheek, as Pierce observes in her afterword, three different sexual partners in the course of your life is, uh, not unusual.
3: Note that I am blatantly not bothering to read the nonfiction book bought for the math department and encouraged for us all to read, except when explicitly given time in my contracted hours to do so.