<–The State of the Reader: 7/28/21         The State of the Reader: 8/25/21–>

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

• Prosper’s Demon by K. J. Parker (Prosper’s Demon) – $3.99 @ Amazon Kindle
• Where the Forest Meets the Stars by Glendy Vanderah – $1.99 @ Amazon Kindle
• Constance by Matthew FitzSimmons (Constance) – $0.00 @ Amazon Kindle
• The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher – $1.99 @ Amazon Kindle

Total: $7.97

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Books Finished: 0

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Currently Reading

Title: What Alice Forgot
Author: Liane Moriarity
Date Added: July 24, 2021
Date Started: August 9, 2021

Media: eBook/Kindle (Library)
Progress: 9%

Amnesia is such a common gimmick in fiction/fantasy, but that doesn’t make it any less intriguing (at least for me).  There’s a reason it’s so popular, because it presents an easy (if convenient) reason for a mystery, and there’s no better motivator for solving an enigma then when it involves yourself.  The main character Alice slips on her bike during spin class and wakes up with no memory of the past ten years.  She thinks she’s still pregnant with her first child and is in a loving relationship with her husband as they work on their house and prepare for the blessed event…but in reality Alice has three children, is in the midst of a divorce, and isn’t talking to her sister whose own point of view is extremely interesting.  Elisabeth (the sister) is writing letters to her therapist that resonate with me more than I’d like, so for many reasons this has become a book I look forward to reading every day.

Title: The Wind’s Twelve Quarters
Series: Hainish Cycle
Author: Ursula K. Le Guin
Date Added: August 30, 2014
Date Started: July 26, 2021

Media: eBook/Kindle
Progress: 40%

So far I’ve completely read every story I’ve come across, and while some are more to my liking than others, I haven’t hated any of them.  “The Winter King” was one I skipped years ago because it was too dry and political for my high school sensibilities, but I was able to appreciate it now (even if some of Le Guin’s viewpoints on gender/gender essentialism in her author’s note really show her age).

Title: Women, Monstrosity and Horror Film: Gynaehorror
Author: Erin Harrington
Date Added: July 20, 2019
Date Started: June 29, 2021

Media: Paperback
Progress: 11%

I finished the introduction and I think I’m going to do what I did with my last research book and put this one on hold to read the beginning of another.  I have no idea how many I’m going to do this with, but it gives me a variety of items to make an informed choice from.  I think I might try the Sarah Arnold about the same subject next.

Title: The Oedipus Trilogy
Series: The Theban Plays
Author: Sophocles
Date Added: July 25, 2020
Date Started: March 18, 2021

Media: Paperback
Progress: 60%

I wasn’t initially so keen on the second play Oedipus at Colonus, but I’m now really into it.  It has more action than the first part, which is classic of course, but mostly consists of people talking.  It’s much more passive whereas Colonus has Creon as the definite villain of the tale with him kidnapping Oedipus’ daughters as a way to get the old man to return to Thebes, and I really love how the ousted king is adamant in his own defense.  When Creon tries to throw his past “misdeeds” in his face, he comes back correctly with how Laius attacked him on the road and even more importantly all the shit that happened to him was set before his fucking birth.  Oedipus took it upon himself to abdicate the throne because he knew he couldn’t be the rightful king with his unfortunate background, and while this is elitism with a eugenics spin, I understand how/why it functions in the story.

Title: A Sky Beyond the Storm
Series: An Ember in the Ashes
Author: Sabaa Tahir
Date Added: November 1, 2020
Date Started: March 17, 2021

Media: Hardback
Progress: 52%

All I have to say about this novel this week is the bottom of all-encompassing wrath is always despair.

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I think I’m going to concentrate more on the Liane Moriarity book because it’s an eBook borrowed from the library.  I spent some time checking out the eBook site and putting the appropriate books onto a new “library ebook” shelf so I know which ones I can access in that way.  I got to around “C” in author last names.  What I’ve been doing when I read samples is checking the library site immediately to see if it’s available to borrow and in eBook format.  While I can of course go to the library, it’s just so much easier if I can borrow it on my Kindle.  I only put this one in for two weeks without checking to see if I could hold it for longer.  I’m pretty sure I can renew, but it would awesome if I could finish it in that time.  It’s around 500 pages though, so I’m not sure.  I’ll have to up how many chapters I read a day.

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<–The State of the Reader: 7/28/21         The State of the Reader: 8/25/21–>