#my wife's been trying to get me to read murderbot for ages

[thebookdragonsden]

Omg my wife's I just resolved a weeks long misunderstanding and I'm dying. Little backstory and to set the stage... we're both heavy readers but for the past five years my tastes have leaned pretty far outside of the general Western reader's interest sphere (about 50% danmei web novels, 40% manga/manhua, and 10% western published media) and my wife, while much wider in her reading tastes has recently been caught up Korean manhua and those really trashy translated web novels that FB advertises.

So her coworker had recently mentioned he was looking for LGBT SFF recs, specifically YA because he was not interested in reading sexual content. She mentioned this to me and after In Other Lands and FT Lukens we both just kind of stared at each other blankly. Most of my western media consumption has been LGBT but it's also been adult or new adult.

So anyway she starts poring through ideas and the going through other rec lists. I'm playing a timed game demo so I'm only half paying attention to what she says and finally we have an exchange that goes something like this:

Her: you've read the Witch King right?

Me: yeah, not too long ago.

Her: would you recommend it?

Me: definitely. I really enjoyed it. But I thought he wanted YA and LGBT recs?

Her: he does.

Me: ??? Okay. Well the LGBT content is pretty minimal, mostly side characters, no romance, and i wouldn't really characterize it as YA

Her: ???? But it's on this YA rec list

Me: ???????? They crazy

Her: Isn't the main character Trans?

Me: he's a demon possessing bodies. Sometimes they were male sometime they were female. Pretty sure the author stuck to male pronouns though. Is that trans?

Her: hm

Me: I'm serious though. Almost no romance. There's an established side lesbiam pairing but one of them is missing for most of the story and the MC has some ambiguous relationships and accusations made about other men but it's never overt or the focus.

Her: alright

Three weeks later I'm sending her a screenshot from Illumicrate's upcoming special editions for HE Edgmon, gushing about the editions but mentioning I didn't know the books themselves. My wife sent me screenshots of the original covers, a funny post the author had made when doing cover reveals and then mentioned it was the same author as the Witch King. To which I'm like ????????? But i thought... And then i start frantically googling.

So that's the story about how my wife and I had a very confusing conversation for both of us regarding a book recommendation, where I was talking about Witch King by Martha Wells and she was talking about The Witch King by HE Edgmon and titles are hard.

[cricketnationrise]

Books Read in quarantine: Part 2

part 1 is here.

26. Free Little Library by Naomi Kritzer: tor.com short story. there’s a magical being that uses the free little library as the ultimate resource in gaining power and bettering their society. cute with a vengeful twist.

27. Sinew and Steel and What They Told by Carrie Vaughn: tor.com short story. i don’t remember this one super well but i remember the structure being cool

28. The Naming by Alison Croggon: book 1 in The Books of Pellinor series. cool magic system, some chosen one and mistaken identity, family LITERALLY found. looking forward to the next one

29. CHECK, PLEASE!, BOOK 2: STICKS AND SCONES BY NGOZI UKAZU: volume 2 of an amazing web series turned graphic novel about a college hockey player who likes to bake and falls in love with his captain its FANTASTIC and i recommend this series to literally everyone i know

30. Eric by Terry Pratchett: Discworld #9. Faust retelling as the premise. guy tries to summon a demon. gets Rincewind and his Trunk out of the demon realm instead. hijinks ensue from there. you probably need some discworld knowledge to follow this one

31. The Secret Life of Sparrow Delaney by Suzanne Harper: middle grade coming of high school novel. Sparrow Delaney can see and talk to ghosts, but she’s keeping her powers from her family (also ghost seers) because she just wants to be normal. a new family moves to town after their oldest son dies. oldest son’s ghost is hanging around his little brother and meets sparrow

32. An Explorer’s Cartography of Already Settled Lands by Fran Wilde: tor.com short story. what can you map? just geography? how sad for you. this narrator can map all sorts of things from bird migrations to emotions of a city

33. The Queen of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner: book 2 in the Queen’s Thief series (complete now). i got into these because of a few different fanfics mentioning them and they are AMAZING I’m very annoyed i didn’t know about them sooner. political intrigue, gods, competent people doing their jobs, everyone underestimating said competent people

34. A Pound of Paper: Confessions of a Book Addict by John Baxter: so i stopped reading this one about halfway through because i didn’t need to read about the various orgies thrown by authors/literary agents this man attended. also he’s not so much into reading as collecting and that’s boring to me.

35. Love Charms and Other Catastrophes by Kimberly Karalius: book 2 in the Grimbaud series. definitely need to read the first book for context. but its a really sweet series with a dark underbelly that gives a nice contrast. think the paper magician series but milder on all fronts.

36. First Kisses and Other Misfortunes by Kimberly Karalius: set after book 1 in the Grimbaud series it expands on what happens to the main couple from book 1 before book 2 opens. read on swoonreads which is now fiercereads.

37. The Hollow Kingdom by Clare B. Dunkle: goblin king retelling. first in a trilogy. i enjoyed it, especially as the narrator sticks it to abuse family members

38. The Golden Specific by S.E. Grove: book 2 in the mapmakers trilogy. fascinating world building that you absolutely need the first book to understand. aimed at high schoolers. across the world there are different times existing at once. middle ages, technological age, 1800′s, and more times are interacting depending on where in the world you are. sometimes the lines shift.

39. The Crimson Skew by S. E. Grove: book 3 in the mapmakers trilogy. back in america a war is brewing that has managed to weaponize some sort of airborne disease/??? that explodes people. yeah. satisfying close to the series.

40. Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik: why why WHY was this my first Novik book. what was i waiting for??? polish folklore inspired. theres a winter (elf? goblin?) king who needs gold and wife. a fire demon trying to escape his (metaphorical) chains to take down the winter world. and a girl who can turn silver into gold. (by trading). politcal intrigue, magic, a really heavy crown. well worth the read. on a wavelength with the winternight series.

41. The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop: A Memoir, A History by Buzbee Lewis:  I picked this up because its about a bookstore and the author’s name is buzbee. cute little memoir with an overview of the history of books/bookstores from ancient times to now

42. All Systems Red by Martha Wells: book 1 in the murderbot diaries. this was actually a reread for me, but it had been long enough that i wanted to refresh and its a novella so its a fast read. A Security Unit (SecUnit) that calls itself Murderbot has hacked its own governor module so that it can watch its soap operas. Now if only the humans it was responsible for would stop being so dumb.

43. Artificial Condition by Martha Wells: book 2 in the Murderbot diaries. Murderbot has freed itself from its government contracts and is working on its own. Murderbot gets a lift to a planet from its past from an empty transport vehicle, named Asshole Research Transport (ART) by Murderbot.

44. Rogue Protocol by Martha Wells: book 3 in the Murderbot diaries. Murderbot’s story continues. pretty crucial that you read these in order. Murderbot continues to be put off by humans and their behavior. Still just trying to consume the media it wants without being bothered.

45. Exit Strategy by Martha Wells: book 4 in the Murderbot diaries. Murderbot meets back up with the humans from book 1. chaos ensues while trying to escape the company that Murderbot used to be contracted to.

46. Network Effect by Martha Wells: book 5 in the Murderbot diaries. first full length novel in the series. another one to come in April 2021. Murderbot gets kidnapped from its human friends. turns out ART needs some help and doesn’t have any other friends.

47. Airborn by Kenneth Oppel: steampunk pirates in airships. kind of similar in vibes to the aesthetic of the leviathan series, but strictly mechanical advancements. cool worldbuilding. teenage girl scientist protagonist. first in a series.

48. The Angel’s Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafón: book 2 in the cemetery of forgotton books series. very atmospheric. like you can almost see the fog while you read it. supernatural/elements of magical realism. helps if you read book 1

49. I Am, I Am, I Am: Seventeen Brushes with Death by Maggie O’Farrell: memoir told out of chronological order. each titled with the body part that almost caused death (neck, spine, blood, lungs, etc). by definition, not a happy read, but powerful. trigger warning for the neck story for an almost abduction/assault. content warning for chronic illness/disease.

50. Uncommon Type by Tom Hanks: yes that Tom Hanks. series of short stories. some of them are connected. i can’t remember anything super upsetting, and some of them are straight up comedic. elements of the absurd. in one a group of friends goes into space. like without nasa or any organization. they just. build a rocket. and go to space.

[sffbookclub]

A Girl Stumbles on SF Written for Her

I don’t think Fahrenheit 451 ever had a chance.

I read The Giver by Lois Lowry in my youth and honestly any dystopia is going to be measured by the level of mind-blowing that happened as I read that book. (None has measured up so far.)

Though for years I’ve sought out fantasy and hardly ever science fiction, I’ve recently discovered a certain streak of SF that does appeal to me greatly. It considers angles of humanity that I usually think of as the territory of fantasy: personhood, cultures, colonialism.

This discovery is all @ninjaeyecandy‘s fault.

It Started With a Murderbot

When @ninjaeyecandy started promoting All Systems Red, she naturally zeroed in on the appeal for her mutuals like me--a drama-bingeing socially anxious AI? It’s like a space-opera about me.

I’m not often drawn to science fiction (the bleakness, the military stuff, the horror of space) but this was a perfect compliment of things I like--a character I strongly identify with but also get to watch come from a totally different state of mind. A gripping situation in an unfamiliar world. Seeing someone try to be good and do the job they are really good at, despite incredible odds.

It was incredibly human, though the POV was unhuman, with an emotional core that made the premise work.

It was brief and good. And I had quite a wait before I could read any more. But I could now see the possibilities for SF to really speak to me. Luckily, another book had been lurking on my TBR for way too long....

The Imperial Radch is Having Personnel Issues

I bought Ancillary Justice at the Sirens conference last year, having heard a ton of buzz about it. (Sirens is a conference dedicated to women in fantasy: writers and characters. It is great. Yes, the topic wanders to SF, too.) 

Despite even reading Tumblr fandom stuff about it, I feel I came to the pretty fresh. I was surprised that the MC was a sentient ship, for instance, when I finally read the back copy. Though there were certain thematic similarities with All Systems Red, because of their MCs both being persons but not humans, the stories themselves had different directions.

Breq is signally different from Murderbot in that her memories are crystal clear, and she is angry. I don’t often read books where I enjoy a character being full of rage, but as a very old being in a very inadequate body, there was a sense of patience and calculation most vengeance-fueled characters are missing.

I immediately got the next two books out from the library. And the series did not disappoint. The personhood of Artificial Intelligence emerges as a major theme, which made me super-happy. Any SF where you have sentient beings in service to others because of their very natures is fraught ground--and I loved that Leckie took Breq from a very narrow focus, to fulfilling greater potential despite the crippling blow of losing everything but one sub-par body.

Miles Is Having An Interesting Year

I’ve heard a lot about Miles Vorkosigan, especially listed in collections of heroes with a certain flexible morality and reliance on their minds for derring-do.

I have been hesitant to pick up these books partly because of age and that sensation that if I didn’t like it I would probably be disappointing several friends. However, though there were bits I found a little rough going, overall Warrior’s Apprentice shared a lot of the attributes of my previous reads: a sense of humanity beyond just commerce, culture deeper than just politics, and the understandable concerns of specific people to ground a much broader scope of issues.

One of the blogposts that circulated recently talked about Lois McMaster Bujold neatly doing away with the problem of contraception in the first few pages, and another rebutted this with the fact that it is given consideration in several lights. Several cultures with different traditions and mores, including around sexuality, come up. This is the kind of deft touch that often is missing in futuristic or speculative worlds of various types.

Despite the fact that the hero of this book is a male of privilege from an imperialist heritage, he is also caught between two worlds, in his own way. His disability and upbringing give him insight that unfolds as he maneuvers his way into (and eventually out of) all his predicaments. Warrior’s Apprentice showed its age a little, especially set next to the two contemporary books, but it held up as a venerable ancestress of those novels.

The Male Touch

In a way, it’s unfair to compare Fahrenheit 451 to these books. It’s more an ancestor to Hunger Games than Ancillary Justice. Still, it was assigned in my Comp I class late into this reading spurt, and I couldn’t help but notice the comparative weaknesses. Not all of them excused by the fact that it is also significantly older than even Warrior’s Apprentice.

There is, of course, literary merit to F451. It has style that underscores the dehumanization of the characters, and the personification of things. I can see this working beautifully as a serialized men’s magazine story of speculative fiction.

The factors missing from its discussion are what makes me realize why I find the SF written by women so much more compelling.

(spoilers follow. you can skip to my summary if you want to read it for yourself.)

Montag Is Feeling A Little Nervy

The set-up of this book should be pretty familiar: books are banned, firemen are civil servants devoted to burning them (and the houses they find them in) and our hero is one of these.

An old woman dies in her house, burning herself with her books on purpose, and this rocks Our Hero Montag. There is an undercurrent of violence in his society, to suggest the barbaric nature of a culture without literature and free thought. But when Montag hits his wife, there is no inquiry into it, in the text. When he kills his boss (and coworkers, if my prof had the right idea: it’s not explicitly said) he notes that his boss wanted to die. But still, Montag KILLS him. And then he goes on to be warmly accepted into the arms of a circle of professors.

His wife tries to commit suicide, and then the next day is in denial she would ever do that. It’s clear their relationship is distant at best, and that this kind of isolation is normal in this culture, that everyone is leveled out, either by medication or cultural norms.

But this book never asks if Montag has any part in his wife’s depression. If he’s violent and dangerous. It’s very concerned with censorship and mass media, without entering into questions about community and relationship.

Who Owns The Planet? Who Owns The Bots?

The asking of these questions is the exact strength I find in Leckie, Wells, and Bujold’s work. While similar themes are explored by Max Gladstone in his fantasy series The Craft Sequence, but he is (in my somewhat greater experience of fantasy) the exception, not the norm, in considering these sorts of themes as a white American man.

Colonization is not morally neutral in any of the three former works. (F451 is so US-centric we don’t know if there’s just a civil war on or if another country exists outside this society.) 

The personhood of AI is a question in both Murderbot Chronicles and Imperial Radch. 

Leckie has brilliantly integrated the personhood of colonized cultures. The tendency of cultural imperialism to consider itself as having a higher being is literalized in the language of that culture. This is a lead-in to the question of whether the created beings of AI ships (who were programmed with a certain emotional range and independence of thought) can ever attain identity.

Wells is working in novella form, so in her first installment she has a tighter focus. What is the status of a “security” robot with artificial intelligence when its programming can betray it? If it has enough emotion to be emotionally detaching, is it a real person? If the people around it are startled by reminders of its vulnerability, when they bond with it, is it then a person?

The questions of ethics in rivalries on planets with resources and artifacts are in the background, but I fully expect them to be developed at some point in the future installments.

Bujold is writing in the 80s, more playfully engaging with the idea of feudal martial-culture planets, alongside bohemian neighbors who think war is barbaric, with clashes raising hackles around sex, gender, and bloodshed. Her hero has a feudal chivalry lurking in his treatment of the woman he’s in love with, but the influence of his mother’s culture makes him accept her desire to be involved in the fighting, and then choose her own partner. I do look forward to seeing what else she explored in the series, even if I don’t expect an interrogation of the premise of colonizing planets.

Reading these made me realized that what I want from SF is not see worlds built that are wholly bad, but to see characters who from the start are part of the struggle against injustice. Not to check out futures in which AI are sexy, and the world sleek, but where those AI are also questioning their place in the world. I’m excited to see women writers of SF rising to the occasion, and I’m excited to keep looking for this kind of literature with @sffbookclub.

There’s a lot more to discuss about these books together! I’d love to hear replies or even be tagged in response posts. :)

[willreadforbooze]

Hello!

Here’s our weekly wrap up from the WRFB crew =)

Ginny’s Updates:

Hi everyone, it’s been a great week. I went to go see My Brother, My Brother, and Me, and The Adventure Zone, and I even made it to the Ren Faire! I’m getting ready for a few book clubs and I”m trying to work my way through a few things.

Currently Reading:

Love a La Mode by Stephanie Kate Strohm: This is one of the books I’m reading for a book club. It’s about two teens that get accepted into a cooking school of some kind. I’m not super feeling it, but I am laughing that it was suggested by the person in the book club who would most hate having to read this book if someone else suggested it. (She somehow didn’t realize what the book would be about)

The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson: I literally just started this so I’m not really sure what it’s about. Reading the summary it sounds like our main character is super magic and is gonna be hunted down, but so far she just got married and does not seem happy that her husband is super attractive (mostly because she’s worried she doesn’t have much to offer, obviously this will be proved wrong).

Finished Reading:

Mine to Posses by Nalini Singh: This is book 4 of the Psy-Changeling series. Probably not my favorite. Clay and Talin have a slightly strange dynamic, and I kind of felt like the personal growth for both of them had weird timings. That being said, I love the plotlines that are moving between the books. 3.5/5

Breathless by Beverly Jenkins: This is the second book in the Old West Series. I read the first book a few weeks back and really enjoyed it. I liked the two characters in this book. Portia knows what she wants and is going to make sure she gets it. Kent has been humbled in his life and also knows what he wants. I will say this book struggles a little with telling rather than showing. The last few chapters of the book covered a lot of ground but it all felt like way too much. 3.5/5

Half a King by Joe Abercrombie: I felt a little leery about this book at first but it ended up being a solid read. Yarvi was going to go into religious service (basically) and ended up becoming a king. He also somehow manages to not do that well and becomes a slave and was determined to somehow get his throne back. The story brings in a delightful cast of characters and was in generally crazy enjoyable. 4/5

Artificial Condition by Martha Wells: This is the second book of the Murderbot series and boy is it great (do we have a review for this one?). I’m trying to figure out how to write this without spoiling. Murderbot is trying to find out about something that happened in their past. Murderbot continues to have an absolutely delightful personality and I love their point of view on the world. This book did a fun job of showing some of the flaws in their thought process, while also showing how fucking good they are at certain things. 5/5

Partials by Dan Wells: Post-apocalyptic world, humans created superhumans, a virus got sent out and suddenly a bunch of humans die and infants can’t survive. Rules have been put in place so that all women of a certain age have to be pregnant and yet this isn’t treated like a huge fucking deal. A teenage girl decides she’s the one who knows how to create a cure and goes on an adventure. I feel like I’ve seen a lot of the teenager saves the world and while parts of this were pretty unique, a lot of it felt pretty rote. 3/5

The Trouble With Christmas by Amy Andrews: We received this book in return for a free and honest review. so that’s what I’ll be doing. Suzanne is an artist who is escaping to a small town to try and get her muse back. Through quirky events (read: her not having enough of a backbone to let her mother know she needed a break) she ends up fake dating the surly Rancher Jake.  Also it’s set in Christmas. Think this is basically a Hallmark movie. I’ll be writing a review.

Paused

After the Flood by Kassandra Montag: I ended up setting this one down. It’s an arc we received and honestly I’m just struggling with it. The book is really really dark and while there’s hope in it, I just found it a little too difficult to push myself into reading it. At this point you can probably guess that I read a lot. I can usually tell if I”m not feeling a book if I keep finding ways to do things that aren’t reading. Which is what happened here, so I set it down. I might pick it back up, but it needed to at least go on hold.

Linz’s Updates

Well I was TRYING to celebrate fall’s arrival but it’s 90 degrees. Climate change is REAL.

What Linz read:

Recursion by Blake Crouch: Reviewed by Ginny (https://willreadforbooze.com/2019/06/07/drunk-review-recursion-by-blake-crouch/), read by many others. A cop and a scientist try to figure out why a mysterious affliction is infecting victims with memories of lives they never lived. Total mindfuck, really enjoyed it, 4 stars.

The Last Book Party by Karen Dukess: Perfectly acceptable novel about a 25yo girl having a quarterlife crisis in the ’80s. The writing was fine, the climax and resolution were a little too pat.

War Girls by Tochi Onyebuchi: UM WOW. JFC. WOW.

Bitter Orange by Claire Fuller: Uh, summer 1969, England, Frances is hired to research a dilapidated historic property for its new owner, along with a glamorous sexy couple. But they’re not all they seem, drama ensues–look, I’m actually a little salty about reading this book because I knew it wasn’t great, I just wanted to see how it resolved, and not much was resolved so now humph.

What Linz is currently reading:

I have The Book of Lost Saints by DJ Older and A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer slated next but I only finished Bitter Orange a few hours ago and I’m pissy so I’m taking a break to work out.

Sam’s Updates

What. A. Week. I feel like I say that every week, but I had my first Tarot reading today, and it sounds like it’s going to lighten up… but maybe not. We’ll see. I also didn’t get much reading done.

What I read this week:

Steeltide by Natalie C. Parker: This is the second book in the Seafire series, which I didn’t enjoy as much as I wanted to, but THIS book. I liked this book much better than the first one, though it was still not stellar. Caledonia is a fierce leading lady and I truly love that. Drunk review coming.

The Girl From Everywhere by Heidi Heilig: This story is about a girl on a pirate ship that can travel through time. Her dad, the captain, is tryna get back to Hawaii so he can save his wife, but it may mean that our lady may cease to exist. I… was right. I am not a big fan of this author. There were a few plot holes I couldnt really get behind and while it was better than other books I’ve read by her, I won’t be continuing with the series.

What I’m currently reading:

The Name of All Things by Jenn Lyons: This is the sequel to The Ruin of Kings a demon, chosen-one story but with such flare that I don’t even care. I’m gonna tell you Book 1’s synopsis. Our main man, Kihrin, in jail, and he’s telling his life story that ended him up where he was. It’s such a well-rounded story. It’s also hysterical. This is book 2 and I’m LOVING it.

Grace and Fury by Tracy Banghart: This is a YA story about a world where women have like… zero rights. Our main character has been selected to be a “Grace” which I’m assuming is like a harem for the heir to the throne? We’ll see. Listening on audio and I’ve only just started. Linz wrote a review for this when it came out.

Wild Beauty by Anna-Marie McLemore: I’ve literally just started this because I needed something to read on my phone while I was bored. I don’t know what it’s about yet.

Minda’s Updates

Amazing weekend. I started nesting aka painting our Pixar-inspired nursery. Any must-do tips for the space?

What Minda finished:

Mrs. Everything by Jennifer Weiner – All the feels story about two completely different sisters growing up in the counterculture 50s-60s era. Civil rights, LGBTQ love story, and psychedelic drugs, and the ties of a Jewish family. Review to come! 4/5 shots

What Minda is reading now:

Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia – Reading this one for book club this month! During the Jazz Age, a Cinderella-type Woman in a small Mexican town dreams of more to her life. Then a twist of fate finds her life tied to that of the Mayan god of death and send her on adventure into the Mayan underworld to fight for her life.

On Swift Horses by Shannon Pufahl – Still haven’t actually opened it, so not sure this counts as reading. This novel is historical fiction based on a brother-in-law and sister in the American west.

  Happy Reading!

Weekly Wrap Up: September 23-29, 2019 Hello! Here’s our weekly wrap up from the WRFB crew =) Ginny's Updates: Hi everyone, it's been a great week.

[willreadforbooze]

Hello!

Here’s our weekly wrap up from the WRFB crew =)

Sam’s Update:

I got a lot of reading done this week. I was in the Poconos for a friend’s birthday and it was super chill, then I made sure to dedicate some reading time since I have 5 (yes FIVE) more books to read to finish up my NEWTs.

What Sam finished this week:

NEWTs E-level Transfiguration: Age of Legend by Michael J Sullivan: This is the 4th installment of this series. This wasn’t my favorite of his books, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t exceptional. I love all of this man’s books. So much.

NEWTs O-level Transfiguration: Lady Smoke by Laura Sebastian: this is the sequel to Ash Princess. I think this one was ok, but not nearly as good as the first. Suffered from 2nd-book syndrome I think.

NEWTs A-level Ancient Runes: All Systems Red by Martha Wells: This was a re-read for me since I had basically forgotten the plot. I knew I loved Murderbot but not what had happened. I’m pretty happy with my reread (also switched this out from Radical Candor because that one was too long for this readathon)

NEWTs A-level Arithmancy: Fireborne by Rosaria Munda: Picked up this ARC at ALA and damn it was a good choice. Great debut, great story. Full review to come.

NEWTs E-level Charms: Illegal by Eoin Colfer: A graphic novel about a boy from Ghana trying to get to Europe for a better life. This was heartbreaking to see the boy go across the desert, across the sea, and all its horrors. Flew through this.

What Sam’s reading now:

NEWTs E-level Ancient Runes: Nottingham by Nathan Makaryk: Another ALA ARC grab, but am listening on audio since it came out on Aug 6th. In this story, Robin Hood follows King Richard on his crusade and it’s Maid Marian who is steals from the rich to give to the poor. Only just started but I am excite.

NEWTs O-level Charms: The Future of Another Timeline by Annalie Newitz: Considering I’m only a chapter in, I will save the summary and my thoughts until next week.

Ginny’s Update:

I hope you’ve had a great week and are ready to jump in to Monday proper. I have a massage lined up for tonight so regardless of how the actual day goes, I know I’m gonna have a great afternoon!

Currently Reading:

Normal People by Sally Rooney: I’ve heard such good things about this book and it finally came up from the library! It follows two teens, one popular/one not, as they start dating away from the public eye. I think it’s going to swap when they go to college but I haven’t gotten there yet. The characters are realistic and can be oblivious in the way I’ve always felt a little bit oblivious, so I’m enjoying it so far. 

Stormrise by Julian Boehme: I literally just started reading this so I’m like 20 pages in and don’t have much to say yes. Except apparently this is going to be Mulan but with dragons!!!!! I’ve been playing a lot of Skyrim recently so I AM HERE FOR DRAGONS!

Just Finished:

Visions of Heat by Nalini Singh: Yeah this is a series where I’m constantly either going to be reading one of the books, or will at least have it on hold at the library. This follows one of the secondary characters is the first book, and includes an F-psy who can forecast the future. There’s a lot of him trying to get her acclimated to physical contact which was not necessarily my jam. A little too much, i know better than her, which, ugh. Regardless, still a fun story and gets a 3.5/5

Hope Never Dies by Andrew Shaffer: I wrote a review. I have strong opinions. Book club for this is Wednesday… … … 

Forbidden by Beverly Jenkins: This will surprise no one but I follow a bunch of romance novelists on twitter. They are delightful and have definitely influenced my reading list. I’ve heard about this author forever and I’m disappointed it took me this long to finally read one of her books. Eddy is a badass and is slowly working her way towards California with both good and bad luck. Rhine is a former slave who is light skinned enough to pass as white and has decided to do so. They meet and there’s instant chemistry. Except Eddy shuts that shit down, she knows what happens between a mixed race couple after the civil war…. It’s delightful. 4/5

The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow: I love a good portal novel and whoo boy. I’m definitely writing a review of this one because I would like to honor January’s love and honor of writing and the power of the written word.

Midnight Blue-Light Special by Seanan McGuire: This is the sequel to Discount Armageddon which I read last week. The worlds that she builds are SO GREAT! Quick summary. Verity has been warned by her quasi-boyfriend that the Covenant are coming to New York for a purge. Obviously this is worriesome. Review forthcoming.

The Attack by Yasmina Khadra: In my head I’m singing “One of these things is not like the other.” This was a look at what happens in a country that has dealt with constant low level terrorism. The main character’s wife is a suicide bomber in an attack that kills a number of people. He decides he needs to figure out what happened and where he went wrong. The search is interesting, but I found the ending to be a little bit abrupt. While that makes sense in the narrative arc of the book, I still found myself disappointed that there wasn’t some sort of ending that allows Amin to choose a side and make a directional shift. 3/5

Minda’s Update:

Oof. Still doing NEWTs, but it’s slow going.

What Minda is reading now:

The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow – Moving along, but it’s moving slowly.

Space Opera by Catherynne M. Valente – Expected to pick this up last week, but didn’t. This week it is!

Linz’s Update:

Oh god I felt so ready for DragonCon and now I feel woefully underprepared. I literally went into my calendar and blocked next Saturday off to finish work.

What Linz read:

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern: YOU GUYSSSSSSSSSS. UGH. EVERYTHING.

The Candle and the Flame by Nafiza Asad: Middle East/central Asia-inspired debut fantasy, with djinn and lots of food and some great characters. (It was a solid debut and honestly I preferred it to City of Brass).

The Butterfly Garden by Dot Hutchinson: So, a bunch of girls were kidnapped by a rich crazy guy, who makes them live in a hidden garden and tattoos butterfly wings on their backs.They get rescued (THIS IS LITERALLY IN THE GOODREADS DESCRIPTION NOT A SPOILER), and the FBI tries to pick apart what happened with a cagey survivor. You def already knew what happened so it lost some of the potential tension, and the survivor isn’t really that mysterious, just has a drama-heavy backstory. It was fine?

After by Anna Todd: NOPE. Review forthcoming.

What Linz is currently reading:

I actually had to take a little reading break to get stuff done, but I *did* just get Samantha Shannon’s The Priory of the Orange Tree from the library, so likely starting that today, or my ARC of The Bone Houses by Emily Lloyd-Jones

Until next time, we remain forever drunkenly yours,

Sam, Melinda, Linz, and Ginny

Weekly Wrap-Up: August 11-18, 2019 Hello! Here's our weekly wrap up from the WRFB crew =) Sam's Update: I got a lot of reading done this week.