<–The State of the Reader: 8/11/21         The State of the Reader: 9/22/21–>

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: 7

• 2043…A Merman I Should Be by Nisi Shawl (Black Stars) – $0.00 @ Amazon Kindle (Borrowed)
• The Black Pages by Nnedi Okorafor (Black Stars) – $0.00 @ Amazon Kindle (Borrowed)
• These Alien Skies by C. T. Rwizi (Black Stars) – $0.00 @ Amazon Kindle (Borrowed)
• The Visit by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichi (Black Stars) – $0.00 @ Amazon Kindle (Borrowed)
• Clap Back by Nalo Hopkinson (Black Stars) – $0.00 @ Amazon Kindle (Borrowed)
• We Travel the Spaceways by Victor LaValle (Black Stars) – $0.00 @ Amazon Kindle (Borrowed)
• Dread Nation by Justina Ireland (Dread Nation) – $1.99 @ Amazon Kindle

Total: $1.99

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Books Finished: 0

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Currently Reading

Title: Something from the Nightside
Series: Nightside
Author: Simon R. Green
Date Added: July 1, 2017
Date Started: August 27, 2021

Media: eBook/Kindle
Progress: 48%

My interest in this has unfortunately waned the more progress I make.  It had your stereotypical, trope-y, PI stuff, but I loved the way it was written.  Green really captured that “hard-boiled detective” feel (even though John Taylor insists that’s not what he is).  It was immediately reminiscent of Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files, which if you know me is…not really a compliment.  I read the first and second books in that series quite a few years apart and when I got through the latter, it left a really bad, misogynistic taste in my mouth.  This novel has some problems with that, but it’s not really my major issue (yet).  The vibe I was getting from Taylor was more akin to John Constantine and less Harry Dresden, but I have some issues with how quickly the romance angle gets underway.  I always worry I’m being a hypocrite with that since it can be really hard to know when to switch when you’re doing a sort of Enemies to Lovers thing, but here it just seems really contrived, and it’s dampening my enjoyment.  I actually started reading this because I wasn’t enjoying the Le Guin book as much, and now I’m having a similar problem.  I’m going to keep pushing through.  I’m about halfway done, so hopefully I can finish it.

Title: Maternal Horror Film: Melodrama and Motherhood
Author: Sarah Arnold
Date Added: July 20, 2019
Date Started: August 17, 2021

Media: Hardback
Progress: 6%

God save me from old white men and their batshittery.  Freud was bad enough, but I completely forgot about Lacan *facepalm*  I will say the notes I’m getting are phenomenal for the research I’m trying to do, so I suppose I’ll keep wading through the misogynistic muck.

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: 69%

I’m currently slogging througgh “Vaster Than Empires But More Slow,” a story I was never able to even manage half of the last time I tried.  I’m more intrigued, especially since it’s about a seemingly sentient planet that’s hostile to humans (gee I wonder why I’d be interested in that), but it’s still a bit of a slog.

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

Media: Paperback
Progress: 75%

I started the last play Antigone (I love that name), and Oedipus’ daughter/sister wants to bury her brothers, but Creon, who seems to be the main villain in two-thirds of the trilogy, won’t allow it.  Antigone asks her sister for help, but Ismene isn’t willing to defy Creon, so Annie gonna do it herself.

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: 60%

I’m probably going to have to read a summary of this entire quartest once I’m done, because there’s so much I’ve forgotten.

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Most of the books I “bought” this week were really borrowed through Amazon Kindle.  You can borrow up to a dozen or so at a time, so I had to return six I hadn’t read yet.  I’m going to try to read these before I borrow any more.

I’m on vacation for the next two weeks, so I’m hoping I can finish at least one of these books!

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<–The State of the Reader: 8/11/21         The State of the Reader: 9/22/21–>