<–The State of the Reader: 6/3/20         The State of the Reader: 7/1/20–>

A biweekly post updated every other Wednesday detailing my current reading projects and what new titles I’ve added to my to-read list.  Title links go to Goodreads, and if you have an account there feel free to friend me!  I’d love to see what you’re reading and/or planning to read.

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Purchased: 4

• A Dead Djinn in Cairo by P. Djèlí Clark – $0.99 @ Amazon
• Orishas, Goddesses, and Voodoo Queens: The Divine Feminine in the African Religious Traditions by Lilith Dorsey – $16.79 @ Amazon
• Supernice: Smile. Or Else. by Petra Jacob – $0.99 @ Amazon
• The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe by Kij Johnson – $3.99 @ Amazon

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Currently Reading

Title: Keturah and Lord Death
Author: Martine Leavitt
Date Added: August 16, 2016
Date Added: June 6, 2020

Media: Hardback
Progress: 26%

I love Death and the Maiden stories.  Shocking, I know considering everything I’ve written has been one.  This is no different.   Keturah literally meets Death after chasing a hart into the forest and wandering for days.  She manages to strike a bargain with him: if she can find someone to love her in the next 24 hours then she can keep her life, otherwise Death will marry her instead.  I already know how it’s going to end, but I can’t wait to see how it gets there.

Title: Supernice: Smile. Or Else.
Author: Petra Jacob
Date Added: June 11, 2020
Date Started: May 20, 2020

Media: eBook
Progress: 75%

How, you ask, did I start reading this in May but didn’t add or buy it until June?  If I’ve said it once I’ve said it a thousand times: I am a time wizard…or I received an advance copy from the author who’s a friend of mine.  I think the time wizard thing is much more probable, because it seems pretty out there that I’d have friends, but whatever  you’d like to believe.

Anyway, this is one of those stories where the bad thing seems kind of good initially (re: all the “we’re the virus!” talk).  People are forced to be nice.  Until you realize people are forced to be nice.  As it is in our world, it will be the children who save us, which is a terrible burden to put on them, but if YA fiction has taught me anything it’s that the younger generation is more than up to the task.

Title: Gods and Myths of Northern Europe
Author: Hilda Roderick Ellis Davidson
Date Added: September 21, 2017
Date Started: May 1, 2020

Media: Paperback
Progress: 26%

Reading this reveals where Tolkien got so many of his ideas.  I mean some of it is pretty obvious, but it’s still fascinating to confirm.

Title: Dracula
Author: Bram Stoker
Date Added: May 16, 2015
Date Started: February 13, 2020

Media: eBook/Kindle
Progress: 39%

I honestly don’t feel like I’m giving this the time it deserves.  It’s really good.  I like how it’s told in snippets and vignettes from different perspectives.  No one has said the word “vampire” yet (I don’t think…), but we all know what’s going on with Lucy and the asylum patient.

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I’m only one book ahead of my reading challenge.  I was three books ahead for a few months, and it looks like the Nalini Singh was the last one I finished.  I’ve been pretty much ignoring the next physical fantasy book I’d planned to read in favor of the ones I’ve really wanted to for a while, and I like that decision.  I think I’ll finish Supernice by next update and could probably knock out Keturah.  I’m waiting for the library to offer holds/interlibrary loans again so I can put a request in.  My latest borrow is due in July.  I think I took it out in December?.  I’m not even going to bother talking about the foolishness of reopening because I don’t have the energy, but no one should be shocked by the results.  I’m going to stay in my hermit hole.

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<–The State of the Reader: 6/3/20         The State of the Reader: 7/1/20–>