<–The State of the Reader: 7/1/20         The State of the Reader: 7/29/20–>

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: 3

• Circus Girl, The Hunter, and Mirror Boy by J. Y. Yang – $0.99 @ Amazon
• The Killing Moon by N. K. Jemisin (Dreamblood #1) – $9.99 @ Amazon
• Dearest Jay: A Ghost Story by B. W. Ginsburg – $2.99 @ Amazon

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Finished: 1

Title: The Last Thing You See
Series: Rachel Dixon
Author: Marie Batiste
Date Added: March 26, 2020
Date Started: June 23, 2020
Date Finished: July 9, 2020

Media: eBook/Kindle

This ended a bit more abruptly than I was expecting, but then I remembered that it’s a series.  The author does a fantastic job making you absolutely loathe the killer and his “associates.”  You know I love my sympathetic villains, but there’s something about having one that you just absolutely hate and want to see tortured just like their victims.  It’s something I’ve done before myself.  There’s a dark catharsis in having a character do despicable things so that you don’t feel terrible when your hero skins them alive.  I don’t know if that’s the route this is going to go, but I’ll be rooting for Rachel if it does.

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Currently Reading

Title: The Killing Moon
Series: Dreamblood
Author: N. K. Jemisin
Date Added: August 17, 2017
Date Started: July 13, 2020

Media: eBook/Kindle
Progress: 12%

I have the first two books in her Broken Kingdoms series, but it might be a while until I read them since they’re physical copies, and I have a looooong list of those I need to read.  I really wanted to give N.K. Jemisin a try because everyone tells me about her, so I bought this and started reading it for my Kindle title.  I am not disappointed.  One, the default person in this novel is Black.  That’s…refreshing because it’s so different.  If you ask most people to think of a person, they’ll usually picture a cis white man.  There are lots of reasons behind this (mostly media representation), so it’s a phenomenal departure when the script is flipped.

Jemisin also does something I absolutely love; she presents something the characters know, but that the reader can only speculate it, and I’m not talking about worldly jargon.  There have been several instances where she’ll bring up a situation that a character will have a strong reaction to.  It makes you wonder what the rest of the story is, nor does she make you wait too long.  I don’t know if I’m explaining it that well, but suffice it to say it makes you want to continue with the story to find out more.

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

Media: Hardback
Progress: 87%

I honestly think Leavitt created a love triangle story without making it seem like a love triangle.  I was absolutely convinced from the first chapter that Keturah was going to end up with Death, but then another contender presented himself (though I’m really curious how she didn’t figure it out without help lol), so now I’m not sure WHAT’S going to happen, though I suspect it will be tragic.

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: 29%

Okay, my interest in this has been renewed.  Nothing really happened in the text; I think I might’ve just been tired or something.

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

Media: eBook/Kindle
Progress: 61%

So the way vampires are made in this is very interesting, and since this is like the seminal text ON vampires, it’s fascinating to see how such a process evolved from here.  Pretty much once a vampire bites you, you are doomed to become one when you die unless that vampire is destroyed.  Once you’re bitten, you’re in a type of thrall to them (which explains both Renfield and Lucy), but once again if that vampire is killed, you’re free and your soul is saved from becoming UnDead.

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So I’m having major computer problems right now.  So much so that I’m trying to restore it back to a prior state; will more than likely have to reinstall Windows; and I’m currently updating this from my husband’s desktop.  I’ve been thinking about buying a new computer for the past few months, but it was really only to be able to stream and LP.  Now I actually might need a new computer.  I don’t know if it’s an HP issue.  I’ve heard some people complain about Windows 10, but the hubs hasn’t had problems on his gaming laptop, so I don’t know.  

Right now I can obviously do this on another machine, and I could potentially edit, but my Northern Lights audio recording project isn’t something I can really move.  I guess if I really had to, I could, but I’d have to download Windows Movie Maker on here as well as OneNote plus constantly backing things up is a hassle.  The real problem is sitting here really hurts my back   I’m also annoyed because I just signed up for Jazzercise On Demand, which is streaming dance aerobics (super cheap at $20 a month), and I was going to do that after I logged off of work, but I’ve been dealing with computer shenanigans since then.  At least I’m less angry than I was last time.  I’m just…resigned to it at this point lol.

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<–The State of the Reader: 7/1/20         The State of the Reader: 7/29/20–>