Books that I’ve either read or wanted to read.
Finished reading: Blood rising by Markus Redmond 📚
This book follows up on the Markus Redmond’s Blood Slaves. It’s not as brutal as the first book, but can still be pretty hard to read during some of the violent parts. Still has some scenes that made me wonder what exactly the author wants to do.
Finished reading: All Accounts Settled: Fred the Vampire Accountant #9 by Drew Hayes 📚
A very satisfying ending to the series. Everything pretty much gets wrapped up which is good because I don’t know how you could have upped the stakes anymore with these characters.
Finished reading: Blood Slaves by Markus Redmond 📚
This was a hard one for me to read because of the violence that happens throughout the book. I’m happy that I stuck with it. Not a great book but still entertaining.
Finished reading: All Hail Chaos by Sarah Rees Brennan 📚
In stories there are two ways to end a character. There is the death of the character; for example Mercutio from Romeo and Juliet. And then there’s when you kill any reasonable reason to like a character; for example Jacob from the Twilight Saga. In the first book, you can think of our “villains” as people making the most of a situation that they have no control over and working with characters that they didn’t feel were real. In this one, it feels as if bad people are doing the worst thing they can think of simply because they are bad people.
Finished reading: As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride by Cary Elwes 📚
This was a real treat. I loved all the joy that the people making the film seemed to have. I was listening to the audiobook and it was narrated by the wonderful Cary Elwes and friends. I miss Rob Reiner.
Did not finish: The Way of Kings Book One of the Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson 📚
I checked it out from the library, but things got really busy at home and there’s a pretty long waitlist. So, I gave it up just when it really started to get good.
Finished reading: The Assassins of Thasalon: A Penric & Desdemona Novella in the World of the Five Gods by Lois McMaster Bujold 📚
I enjoyed this book in that it had various twists and turns and yet still felt cut and dry.
Finished reading: The Perfect Divorce by Jeneva Rose 📚
I don’t like most of the characters in the book. I’m reading in order to see if and when they get what’s coming to them. Sometimes, I yell at them to think. For some reason, they can’t hear me.
Finished reading: The Prisoner of Limnos: A Fantasy Novella in the World of the Five Gods (Penric & Desdemona Series, Book 6) by Lois McMaster Bujold 📚
I really enjoy these books. There isn’t a lot of lore that you have to remember between installments.
Finished reading: Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It by Cory Doctorow 📚
It’s one thing to know that things are messed up and another to see it all laid out in print.
Finished reading: Penric’s Fox: A Fantasy Novella in the World of the Five Gods (Penric & Desdemona) by Lois McMaster Bujold 📚
I’m going through these like candy!
Finished reading: Penric and the Shaman by Lois McMaster Bujold 📚
The story has magic, but it’s not about the magic. It’s about friends that we make along the way. This one is about grief, guilt, and what our legacy in life is.
Finished reading: Penric’s Demon: A Fantasy Novella in the World of the Five Gods (Curse of Chalion Series) by Lois McMaster Bujold 📚
This one was nice and short. I finished this one and completed the second one in the series in the very same day.
Finished reading: The Midnight Bargain by C. L. Polk 📚
I read this on recommendation of an Incomparable episode. The whole time, I was thinking about how a parent could treat their daughters in this manner. The saddest part is that this is probably the most realistic part of it.
Finished reading: The Non-Designer’s Design Book by Robin P. Williams 📚
I read it as IndieWeb Book Club and it was suggested by Al Abut.
It’s a pretty quick read.
Finished reading: How to Think Like a Roman Emperor by Donald J. Robertson 📚
I did this one as an audiobook and I think I might check it out from my library again sometime next year. It was a great introduction to stoicism. Some parts do seem to drag on though…
Currently reading: How to Think Like a Roman Emperor by Donald J. Robertson 📚
I’m at 33% and it’s more of a history of Stoicism at this point.
Finished reading: Everything Is Tuberculosis by John Green 📚
I really enjoyed this book and I think current events have made it very relevant.
Finished reading: Artificial Condition by Martha Wells 📚
This one didn’t have as much action as the first as it focused on the intrigues that happen in the books universe. I feel that this gives the reader more of an understanding of the character and what it means to deal with trauma from the past and how it defines you in the future.
Finished reading: All Systems Red by Martha Wells 📚
It was a fun short read. I’m now excited about the upcoming tv show. Unfortunately, I won’t have time to watch it until June.
This was a delightful combination of palace intrigue, mystery, and exploring how we deal with grief and abuse. All of it self-contained and easy to follow from start to finish.
Currently reading: The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison 📚
I’m really enjoying it as an audio book, but this leads to me getting the names mixed up.
I heard about this book📚 on episode 757 of The Incomparable podcast. It seemed like a nice little distraction and was a nice little adventure.
Finished reading: Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir 📚
Finished reading: The Perfect Marriage by Jeneva Rose 📚
It is not a good book. I don’t recall the last time I read a book where I was so angry with the main characters. I think I kept going because my wife and I were trying to figure out how this was a best seller.
I know why now because this book just makes you shake your head with the audacity of what happens.
Currently reading: How to Calm Your Mind by Chris Bailey 📚
Finished reading: Long Live Evil by Sarah Rees Brennan 📚
I really had trouble putting this book down. I really enjoyed having a female protagonist in a fantasy novel who has some drive and initiative.
At the end, I’m conflicted between seeing where the story goes and having it end in fear that it won’t be able to continue to satisfy.
Finished reading: The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson 📚
And by “Finished”, I mean I put it down after the second chapter. The title captures your imagination but it really felt like it was relying on that too much and then began complaining about what’s wrong with the world.
Finished reading: My Murder by Katie Williams 📚
Jason Snell had been promoting this book on one of his podcasts. Luckily it was available via Libby from my local library as an audiobook and I devoured it in a few days.
Truthfully, it has a lot of things that I have seen in other books but the way that it’s combined is done very well. I can see this being turned into some kind of tv mini series.
The only complaint is that it feels somehow too short and too long at the same time. I think it’s because it seems to drag after the first 3rd and then the conclusion seems to wrap up so neatly and quick that it kind of makes you wonder.
Finished reading: Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman 📚 - ★★★★☆
I’ve never been so relieved for being reminded that I’m going to die.In fact, there is humor found throughout the book related to this very topic.
Truth is, we don’t really know how much time we have and with this world. You only have this moment in time, make the right choice for you. If it doesn’t work out, you have to accept it and make another choice another action.
I’ll see you next week.
Maybe.