<–The State of the Reader: 1/12/22         The State of the Reader: 2/9/22–>

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

• Flowers for the Sea by Zin E. Rocklyn – $3.99 @ Amazon Kindle
• Wisdom Check by Katherine McIntyre (Dungeons and Dating) – $3.99 @ Amazon Kindle
• House of Sky and Breath by Sarah J. Maas (Crescent City) – $21.99 @ Barnes and Noble (Preorder)
• That House That Walked Between Worlds by Jenny Schwartz (Uncertain Sanctuary) – $0.99 @ Amazon Kindle

Total: $30.96

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Books Finished: 2

Title: Elric of Melniboné
Series: The Elric Saga
Author: Michael Moorcock
Date Added: October 21, 2016
Date Started: October 14, 2021
Date Finished: January 23, 2022

Media: Paperback

This book surprised me.  I really wasn’t expecting the depth and paradigm subversions it provided.  I looked up some of the reviews and discovered the author was not a fan of Tolkien.  He liked him well enough as a person, but had some major critiques about his work, and the critiques are valid.  I respect Tolkien as a seminal foundation of modern fantasy, but it’s impossible to ignore the eugenics inherent in his work as well as what’s described as “Merry England,” a term I’d never heard, but a concept I’ve certainly encountered.

Elric’s first novel did not end as I thought it would, but it did end in a way that made perfect sense for the author’s views and the direction he’s leading his character.  It’s…oddly progressive, which makes sense based on Moorcock’s statement about how “one should serve neither gods nor masters” since he himself is an anarchist.   While his novels typically feature aristocratic heroes and gods et al, they usually end with the fore mentioned in mind.

I will definitely be continuing this series, though it seems as though the books in it aren’t that easy to get a hold of.  They’re a bit more expensive than I thought they’d be so I might wait a bit. I’d like to get physical copies since that’s where I started.

Title: My Little Pony/Transformers: Friendship in Disguise
Series: My Little Pony/Transformers
Author: Ian Flynn
Date Added: October 2, 2021
Date Started: October 30, 2021
Date Finished: January 25, 2022

Media: Paperback

Yes, I finally finished this lol.  I started picking it up usually while waiting for my take out to be delivered, since I could knock out a few “chapters” in that time.  It was more like a series of vignettes about how each of the Mane Six handle the situation, and of course Discord is around to mix things up.

I really liked how this didn’t show the ponies as remotely helpless in the face of giant, antagonistic robots, which Optimus Prime rightly points out in the finale chapter.  They were, quite easily in some cases, holding their own against the invaders with the Autobots as their allies.

I’ll have to continue this one, too, because the end drops a major bomb about what’s going to happen next.

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Currently Reading

Title: Six of Crows
Series: Six of Crows
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Date Added: February 19, 2016
Date Started: December 31, 2021

Media: eBook/Kindle (Library)
Progress: 48%

Holy fuck am I all in for this now.  I’m so glad I kept reading.  Once the chapters started going into the characters’ backstories and pasts I had to continue.  Kaz’s background is fucking harrowing.  I just finished that not that long ago and my god.  The trauma in this story is real, and these are children, the oldest is not even 20 and they’ve been through the worst this world has to offer.  What I read is only the first thing he had to do to survive.  I know it gets much worse.  I also have absolutely no idea what’s going to happen; it could go any number of ways, and I need to know how it plays out.  I actually really love when a novel does this to me.  When I’m not sure due to how I feel about the characters, but the plot is engaging enough to keep me going and then I get interested in them.  Y’all know I’m a sucker for a tragic backstory 😂

Title: The Vela
Series Title: The Vela
Authors: Yoon Ha Lee, Becky Chambers, Rivers Solomon, and SL Huang
Date Added: October 2, 2021
Date Started: December 21, 2021

Media: eBook/Kindle
Progress: 24%

I just started the part that’s by Rivers Solomon, which I’m very interested in.  They’re one of those authors I haven’t read yet, but have a ton of books on my list for as “really want to read.”  I didn’t get much of this read these past two weeks since I’ve been into Six of Crows, and I’ve already had to renew that once.

Title: Ireland’s Immortals: A History of the Gods of Irish Myth
Author: Mark Williams
Date Added: October 5, 2017
Date Started: December 15, 2021

Media: Hardback
Progress: 24%

I have 50 more pages to get through until Chapter 5.  I was going to reread The Mabinogion Tetralogy by Evangeline Walton, but I decided to read the new book I just got Ecofeminism next.  I really wish I could say I had a structure to how I’m doing my research, but I really don’t.  I kind of want to start working on essays again even though of course I’m still studying, but I think there are some things I could still write.

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: 81%

I’m so close to finishing this, and I can tell the story is wrapping up, spiraling towards its conclusion.  This is another one where I have no idea what’s going to happen, who’s going to survive, what the world will look like after it’s all said and done.  The possibilities are endless.

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I was behind two books in my challenge but with finishing MLP and the Moorcock I’m back on track.  I really hope I can finish the Sabaa Tahir series, and if I’m not done Leigh Bardugo’s by next update, I’ll have to renew again.  I have a feeling Six of Crows is going to be my insomnia go to read though.

Speaking of sleep or lack thereof, I had to take a nap after work before doing this since I maybe got three hours last night?  I’m hoping the few hours I took this evening will help, but it’s always a crap shoot.  Oh well, I have books and tomorrow’s coffee to look forward to.

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<–The State of the Reader: 1/12/22         The State of the Reader: 2/9/22–>