Benjanun Sriduangkaew

The State of the Reader: 12/14/22

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<–The State of the Reader: 11/30/22         The State of the Reader: 3/8/23–>

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.

Books Purchased: 3

Total: $15.97

Books Finished: 0

Books On Hold: 1

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

Cover of Ecofeminism by Maria Mies & Vandana ShivaMedia: Paperback

I shelved this in order to switch to another research book for a bit.  I got some amazing notes from this one, and obviously intend to go back.

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The State of the Reader: 4/20/22

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<–The State of the Reader: 4/6/22         The State of the Reader: 5/4/22–>

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.

Purchased: 4

Total: $13.46

Books Finished: 1

Title: The Comedy of Errors
Author: William Shakespeare
Date Added: March 6, 2018
Date Started: February 6, 2022

Cover of The Comedy of Errors by William ShakespeareMedia: eBook/Kindle

The end went exactly as I thought with the exception of one thing.  I thought two people were going to get together but that was never confirmed.  They’re still my OTP though, so if I write my own retelling it’s happening.

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The State of the Reader: 5/19/21

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<–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.

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The Books of 2020

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So 2020, am I right?  What else can be said about the year that hasn’t already been spoken?

Let’s talk books!

I’m going to do it a bit differently than I did it last year.  I found a template that I created but never used so this year I decided to remedy that.

Favorite Book

Cover of Pestilence by Laura Thalassa

Pestilence by Laura Thalassa

I haven’t reviewed this yet, so I don’t want to say too much, but I knew this had the highest chance of being my GOAT for 2020.  A bold claim, I know, since I finished reading it in February, and indeed, there was another book that almost edged it out, but I’m a sucker for fantasy/sci-fi with realistic emotional impact, and the female MC is so 2020 it hurts.  We all know the 2020 attitude of *shrug* “Yeah that might as well happen” regardless of what batshit crazy thing occurs, and after surviving literal pestilence, Sarah would react just like that to our own.

Favorite Series

Set of Guild Hunter books by Nalini Singh

Guild Hunter Series by Nalini Singh

I have so far completed the second book of this series, but it’s still my favorite for 2020.  I mean it’s a paranormal romance series about ANGELS ffs, so easy sell.  Anyway, per the the third book’s blurb, the main angel’s evil mom shows back up to drive him into wrathful insanity so that’ll be a totally new thing for me to read about *nods* EXCITING.

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The State of the Reader: 1/29/20

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<–The State of the Reader: 1/15/20         The State of the Reader: 2/12/20–>

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.

Books Purchased

Books Finished: 1

Title: Mirrorstrike
Series Title: Her Pitiless Command
Author: Benjanun Sriduangkaew
Date Added: December 5, 2019
Date Started: December 27, 2019
Date Finished: January 16, 2020

Mirrorstrike by Benjanun SriduangkaewMedia: eBook/Kindle

This is one of the best series I’ve ever read, and it absolutely captures Faulkner’s quote about the human heart in conflict with itself.  While I’m completely satisfied with the ending, I heard from the author herself that she’s working on a third, which I most certainly will read.

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The Books of 2019

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Goodreads Challenge: 20
Books Finished: 20
Books DNF: 5

I lowered my challenge from 50 books to 20 in 2019, and I think this was a good idea.  I’m keeping that same energy in 2020, plus it goes with the number.  I still have book reviews from 2018 to write, so the lower number theoretically helps bring that down, too (not…really).

Because I only read 20 books, I’m going to list them all here in no particular order at first then the Top 10 after.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by F. Scott Fitzgerald (Classic)

You really have to keep your present sensibilities in check in order to garner what Fitzgerald was after.  It’s not a bad message about how we treat the very young vs. the very old, but it comes with a whole bunch of yikes.

Antony and Cleopatra by William Shakespeare (Classic)

The question of Cleopatra’s betrayal is still up in the air, and the ruminations on the concept are far more fascinating than the answer.

The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux (Classic)

Oh my fucking god, this was almost laughably bad in so many ways.  I’m glad I read it, but it was dry and plodding for so many chapters.  The most interesting parts involved the Persian who doesn’t even get a name.  Raoul’s character as well as Eric’s were greatly improved by Andrew Lloyd Weber’s musical, which greatly improved upon many aspects of Leroux’s work.

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The State of the Reader: 1/15/20

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<–The State of the Reader: 1/1/20         The State of the Reader: 1/29/20–>

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.

Books Purchased

Books Finished: 2

Title: Star Trek: Picard – Countdown #1
Series Title: Star Trek: Picard – Countdown
Author: Kirsten Beyer
Artists: Mike Johnson & Ángel Hernández
Date Added: January 5, 2020
Date Started: January 5, 2020
Date Finished: January 8, 2020

Star Trek: Picard - Countdown #1 coverMedia: eBook/Kindle

I don’t know if this is common knowledge, but I try to live my life in a way that Captain Picard would be proud.  He is best captain (don’t even @ me), my favorite one (sorry Steve Rogers, you’re second though), and only the most English man to ever English playing a French man.  I’m so stoked for the Picard series and this comic is a precursor to that.  If you’re into Star Trek and are planning to watch the Picard series, I highly recommend.

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The State of the Reader: 1/1/20

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<–The State of the Reader: 12/18/19         The State of the Reader: 1/15/20–>

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.

Books Finished: 1

Title: The Nutcracker Curse
Series Title: Cursed Fairy Tale
Author: Margo Ryerkerk
Date Added: May 24, 2019
Date Started: December 9, 2019
Date Finished: December 25, 2019

The Nutcracker Curse by Margo RyerkerkMedia: eBook/Kindle

Blatantly obvious conclusion but still an oddly enjoyable novel.  It’s not the type of story I’d gush about, but it was interesting enough to keep me reading.  I do think it would benefit from some better editing, nor do I think I’m going to rush to get the author’s next book, but I wouldn’t necessarily say no to reading another.

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The State of the Reader: 12/18/19

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<–The State of the Reader: 12/4/19         The State of the Reader: 1/1/20–>

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.

Books Obtained: 5

  • Air Awakens by Elisa Kova (Air Awakens) – $0.00 @ Amazon
  • The First Girl Child by Amy Harmon – $1.99 @ Amazon
  • Extracted by R. R. Haywood (Extracted Trilogy) – $0.99 @ Amazon
  • The Collected Stories of Arthur C. Clarke by Arthur C. Clarke – $0.00 @ Amazon
  • Mirrorstrike by Benjanun Sriduangkaew  (Her Pitiless Command) – $4.99 @ Amazon

Books Finished: 3

Title: Winterglass
Series: Her Pitiless Command
Author: Benjanun Sriduangkaew
Date Added: March 3, 2019
Date Started: November 21, 2019
Date Finished: December 5, 2019

Winterglass coverMedia: eBook/Kindle

The second book came out merely days after I finished this, and not only is that awesome because I can complete the duology, but it also proved me kind of right.  Let me explain…as mentioned in the last update, one of the main characters, the general Lussadh, uses she/her pronouns, but her titles are stereotypically masculine e.g. prince, lord, etc.  Later in the novel, Nuawa, the other MC mentions that she’s neither a man nor a woman (which means she’s non-binary or genderfluid I suppose), and in my head I’m seeing her as sort of a cross between my two favorite generals: Celes from FFVI and Sephiroth from FFVII who are female and male respectively but also super beautiful.  Lussadh is on the cover of the second book, and I WAS KINDA RIGHT.

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The State of the Reader: 12/4/19

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<–The State of the Reader: 10/23/19         The State of the Reader: 12/18/19–>

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.

Books Obtained: 7

Books Finished: 1

Title: Vita Nostra
Series: Метаморфозы (Metamorphoses)
Author: Marina & Sergey Dyachenko
Date Added: December 22, 2018
Date Started: September 23, 2019
Date Finished: November 20, 2019

Vita Nostra by Marina & Sergey DyachenkoMedia: eBook/Kindle

Most of my notes for this are in my Kindle copy, but this book was fantastic.  It’s described as similar to Harry Potter, but the only similarity is that both books are about going away to school.  While Rowling’s series certainly has its positives (and negatives, mostly due to the author not knowing when to just stop), Vita Nostra is an existential masterpiece that shares more paradigms with time loop narratives than HP, but I hesitate to compare it fully to any of those either.  It really is unique and shows why it’s so important to experience media from different cultures.  I’m sad none of the other books in the series have been translated, and I really hope that happens soon.

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