An Ember in the Ashes

The State of the Reader: 7/14/21

/ The Shameful Narcissist / 8 Comments

<–The State of the Reader: 6/30/21         The State of the Reader: 7/28/21–>

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.

Purchased: 3

Total: $12.88

Books DNF: 1

Title: The Magnum Opus: Seek and You Shall Find
Authors: Christopher & Christine Kezelos
Date Added: October 7, 2020
Date Started: July 1, 2021
Date DNF: July 14, 2021

Cover of The Magnum Opus: Seek and You Shall Find by Christopher & Christine KezelosMedia: eBook/Kindle
Progress at DNF: 43%

I had such high hopes for this after watching the charming (if a little creepy) short film (thank you By Hook or By Book for featuring this on your Whimsical Wednesday post!).  The novel promised to expand upon the story and show what happened after the making was done and the original Maker disappeared into glitter.  Initially, I was intrigued if saddened by the turn of events, but still interested even though where the plot was going was blatantly clear.  I almost shelved it a few times before, but things kept happening to hold my interest for a little longer, but I have to be honest: the novel direly needs a good editor.  There were not only the little errors e.g. missing commas in dialogue tags and misspellings, but the chapter would just switch perpsectives without a break, and I mean characters that were in completely different places.

Continue reading →

The State of the Reader: 6/30/21

/ The Shameful Narcissist / 2 Comments

<–The State of the Reader: 6/13/21         The State of the Reader: 7/14/21–>

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.

Purchased: 3

Total: $4.98

Books Finished: 1

Title: Black Helicopters
Series Title: Tinfoil Dossier
Author: Caitlín R. Kiernan
Date Added: April 19, 2021
Date Started: May 31, 2021
Date Finished: June 30, 2021

Cover of Black Helicopters by Caitlín R. Kiernan (Tinfoil Dossier #2)Media: eBook/Kindle

I think the author lost a bit of the thread in the gimmick.  I could tell she was going for a meta sort of narrative where the presentation was just as muddled and strange as what was happening within.  Each chapter took place in a different time, place, and focused on a different character from the last.  The problem with this is in trying to show the lack of cohesion, the novel suffered from the same.  Where Agents of Dreamland bounced between around two perspectives and times and did a good job with its Lovecraftian mythos, this did too much to be scattered.  There was one chapter where the characters’ dialogue was all in French.  I was able to understand a little of it, but there was no translation provided, and this was common throughout for other things.  I get the desire to have a sense of being unmoored, but there’s a difference between making a novel obsucre and making the presentation such.  I hope I’ll be better able to clarify when I review, because (fittingly or ironically), I’m having trouble making myself clear lol.

Continue reading →

The State of the Reader: 6/16/21

/ The Shameful Narcissist / 14 Comments

<–The State of the Reader: 6/2/21         The State of the Reader: 6/30/21–>

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.

Purchased: 1

Books Finished: 0

Currently Reading

Title: Black Helicopters
Series Title: Tinfoil Dossier
Author: Caitlín R. Kiernan
Date Added: April 19, 2021
Date Started: May 31, 2021

Cover of Black Helicopters by Caitlín R. Kiernan (Tinfoil Dossier #2)Media: eBook/Kindle
Progress: 50%

I’m not as into this one as I was the first one.  It jumps around a bit more than Agents of Dreamland, which only had two viewpoints.  While I get the stakes are upped and we’re seeing the expansion of what happened in the first novel, it can be a bit hard to keep up with…or maybe it’s just me.

Continue reading →

The State of the Reader: 6/2/21

/ The Shameful Narcissist / 4 Comments

<–The State of the Reader: 5/19/21         The State of the Reader: 6/16/21–>

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.

Purchased: 7

Total: $29.49

Books Finished: 2

Title: They don’t make plus size space suits
Author: Ali Thompson
Date Added: May 16, 2019
Date Started: May 19, 2021
Date Finished: May 21, 2021

Cover of They don't make plus size space suits by Ali ThompsonMedia: eBook/Kindle

I think I wanted a little bit more from this as in more stories.  It was very short, but a very exemplary first effort.  I follow the author on Twitter.  She’s not shy with her opinions, and I hope she writes more.

Continue reading →

The State of the Reader: 5/19/21

/ The Shameful Narcissist / 8 Comments

<–The State of the Reader: 5/5/21         The State of the Reader: 6/2/21–>

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.

Purchased: 1

Books Finished: 1

Title: The Library at Mount Char
Author: Scott Hawkins
Date Added: August 10, 2016
Date Started: March 31, 2021

Cover of The Library at Mount Char by Scott HawkinsMedia: eBook/Kindle

I do not know how to talk about this book.  I have literally never read anything like this before, and you need to understand…I’ve read thousands of books, seen hundreds of movies, and played/watched a myriad games.  Yes, it has aspects of many other stories, but unlike my other comparisons, nothing is really one to one.  It’s an apotheosis and revenge story.  There are sentences that contain hilarity and horror all in one.  I cannot talk to you about this book.  It may be the best one I’ve read all year.

Continue reading →

The State of the Reader: 5/5/21

/ The Shameful Narcissist / 7 Comments

<–The State of the Reader: 4/21/21         The State of the Reader: 5/19/21–>

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.

Purchased: 1

Books Finished: 0

Currently Reading

Title: Psychology and Alchemy
Series: Jung’s Collected Works
Author: C. G. Jung
Date Added: July 20, 2019
Date Started: April 9, 2021

Cover of Psychology and Alchemy by C. G. JungMedia: Paperback
Progress: 4%

I think I read about two paragraphs a session with this, because there’s just so much to absorb.  I haven’t even gotten to anything alchemical yet lol; I’m still in the introduction which is about the religious and psychological problems of alchemy.  Again, I’m really considering jumping back and forth between these heavier volumes.  Like after I finish the introduction for this, I might read the next chapter of Ireland’s Immortals then after that maybe start something else.  I don’t know; I need to figure out a good system for it.

Continue reading →

The State of the Reader: 4/21/21

/ The Shameful Narcissist / 8 Comments

<–The State of the Reader: 4/7/21         The State of the Reader: 5/5/21–>

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.

Purchased: 6

Total: $31.94

Books Finished: 1

Title: Agents of Dreamland
Series: Tinfoil Dossier
Author: Caitlín R. Kiernan
Date Added: October 31, 2020
Date Started: March 30, 2021
Date Finished: April 19, 2021

Cover of Agents of Dreamland by Caitlín R. Kiernan (Tinfoil Dossier)Media: eBook/Kindle

The close of this came abruptly, which I suppose is how normal people will experience the end of the world.  It was very much in the spirit of Lovecraft with more horrifying questions for each answer.  Each chapter had me wondering when the hell it was taking place, which is pretty meta for one of the characters who mentally travels through time.

I bought the next book immediately (as seen in the Purchased section above).  It has a mien of both Lovecraft and a hardboiled detective story, not a combination I’ve seen before.

Continue reading →

The State of the Reader: 4/7/21

/ The Shameful Narcissist / 5 Comments

<–The State of the Reader: 3/24/21         The State of the Reader: 4/21/21–>

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.

Purchased: 1

Books Finished: 3

Title: Night Fire
Series Title: Night Fire Trilogy
Author: Catherine Coulter
Date Added: February 22, 2021
Date Started: February 23, 2021
Date Finished: March 26, 2021

Cover of Night Fire by Catherine CoulterMedia: eBook/Kindle

Rereading something you haven’t read in years is similar to rereading old writing in that you realize how much you’ve grown as a person.  Anything I wrote ten plus years ago is full of cringe (even if some parts might still be salvageable…at least that’s what I hope for The Serpent’s Tale lol).  That’s what reading this was like.  When I did so in high school I loved certain parts of it, but now that I’m more aware of problematic tropes, they greatly lesson my ardor.  This is one of those novels where I learn what not to do (especially in a hurt/comfort motif) by reading it.  It was also written in the late 80’s, which had a wildly different ethos for romance.  It’s grown up as much as I have in that time.

Continue reading →

The State of the Reader: 3/24/21

/ The Shameful Narcissist / 7 Comments

<–The State of the Reader: 3/10/21         The State of the Reader: 4/7/21–>

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.

Purchased: 0

Books Finished: 0

Currently Reading

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

Cover of The Oedipus Trilogy by Sophocles

Media: Paperback
Progress: 7%

As mentioned last week, I’ve read Oedipus Rex, but not the other two books in the Cycle, and I’m obviously reading/rereading this for research purposes even though I’ve already used it in an essay.  Oops.

Continue reading →

The State of the Reader: 1/13/21

/ The Shameful Narcissist / 6 Comments

<–The State of the Reader: 12/30/20         The State of the Reader: 1/27/21–>

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.

Purchased: 11

Total: $133.14

Continue reading →