<–The State of the Reader: 7/13/22         The State of the Reader: 8/10/22–>

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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Books Purchased: 2

• Intelligence Check by Katherine McIntyre (Dungeons and Dating) – $0.99 @ Amazon Kindle
• A Talent for Trouble by Landra Graf (Bad Boys of Space) – $1.99 @ Amazon Kindle

Total: $2.98

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Books Finished: 0

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Books DNF: 1

Title: The Darkest Part of the Forest
Author: Holly Black
Date Added: June 21, 2016
Date Started: June 28, 2022

Media: eBook/Kindle

I called it quits, and I think I understand why it has the lower rating.  It’s one of those intriguing at the outset stories that can’t keep up its momentum, and this one is more egregious because the author presents a thing we know has to happen (coffin boy waking up) and she has to maintain interest once that happens.  That can be accomplished by keeping some mystery about him or making him appealing in some other way.  Unfortunately, she does neither.  He’s…kind of a jackass lol, and the only reason either of the characters are interested in him romantically is for the sake of the plot.

I’m also not a big fan of the “fairies vs. humans” motif especially since the Fair Folk are indigenous to the land and, well, yeah, it’s their land.  Not that I think the tourists who wind up on their bad side deserve their fate, but if you’re going to ask me to pick sides in a land war, I’m siding with who was there first.

I’ll review this at some point and talk about more issues as well as the potential the novel had.  I still want to give her Folk of the Air series a try.

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Books On Hold: 0

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Books Reading: 5

Title: The Ippos King
Series: Wraith Kings
Author: Grace Draven
Date Added: May 25, 2017
Date Started: June 29, 2022

Media: eBook/Kindle
Progress: 40%

The one minor and I mean minor potential issue with this is Draven has the same penchant for over description as yours truly.  I love describing my characters’ detailed traits and quirks, and I can tell she loves it, too, with how often she mentions sha-Anhuset’s “black claws,” and Serovek’s “dark blue eyes.”  I don’t mind it (I can’t count how often I describe “long eyelashes” lol), as I think it helps keep in mind the differences between the Kai and humans, and because it’s a romance, it also focuses on traits the characters notice and/or might find interesting, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there were some critiques of this.  I often cut some of my darlings out because I felt they were too much, so it’s kind of refreshing to see a decently established author doing it.

Title: Ecofeminism
Series Title: Critique Influence Change
Authors: Maria Mies & Vandana Shiva
Date Added: July 13, 2020
Date Started: May 3, 2022

Media: Paperback
Progress: 5%

I’m going to be reading this for a long time.  I’ve been going through my planned essays to see what books I have listed as references, and I believe there were at least eight that had this one.  I should try to get more done each session, but I take so many notes.  I do think I’ll go for the long haul on this one since it’s integral to so many essays.

Title: Belly of the Beast: The Politics of Anti-Fatness as Anti-Blackness
Author: Da’Shaun Harrison
Date Added: February 11, 2022
Date Started: May 2, 2022

Media: Paperback
Progress: 13%

I may put this on hold not because there’s anything wrong it, but I just don’t seem to be in the headspace for it.  It does mention ED and body dysmorphia, and I’ve been having some problems with that lately.  I also have this book about orishas I’ve been wanting to read, so I might shelve this for a bit and come back to it.

Title: The King in Yellow
Author: Robert W. Chambers
Date Added: August 4, 2019
Date Restarted: April 17, 2022

Media: eBook/Kindle
Progress: 57%

Chugging along with this.  The last story I finished was titled “The Street of the Four Winds,” and I’m current in “The Street of the First Shell,” so I’m wondering if this pattern will continue.

Title: House of Sky and Breath
Series: Crescent City
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Date Added: March 7, 2021
Date Started: February 23, 2022

Media: Physical/Hardback
Progress: 43%

These characters are going to kill me with the danger they get into.  Like Maas is too damn good at making you care about people.  The world isn’t our own, but it’s so similar in so many ways to show how how fantasy can enhance a topic to better hold up a mirror for those who can see.  Also, I always end up right because I’m too goddamn good at pattern recognition lol.

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I really, really need something fun to watch when I don’t feel like watching drama haha.   I started this show called Feel Good, which is great.  It’s about this Canadian lesbian comedienne (I’m blanking on her name omg) living in England trying to make a career for herself in smaller nightclubs, but the only person who laughs at her jokes is this (seemingly) straight woman named George.  Well they hit it off and the comedienne is the first woman George has ever dated, but it turns out they both have secrets, and the drama ensues.  It’s good, but not great for when I just want something chill lol.

I need to go back to my world-building D:  It’s not that I don’t like it; I’m just kind of stuck right now between what I said in my first novel and what I now have to figure out.  I might have to change stuff, which is fine.  It’s just the process of puzzling it out.

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<–The State of the Reader: 7/13/22         The State of the Reader: 8/10/22–>