Library

The State of the Reader: 11/30/22

/ The Shameful Narcissist / 2 Comments

<–The State of the Reader: 11/16/22         The State of the Reader: 12/14/22–>

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.

Books Purchased: 1

Total: $2.99

Books Finished: 0

Books On Hold: 1

Title: The Cruel Prince
Series: The Folk of the Air
Author: Holly Black
Date Added: August 1, 2019
Date Started: October 31, 2022

Media: eBook/Kindle

Not on hold by choice.  The library loan ended before I could finish, and it’s a high demand book so I wasn’t able to renew.  I had to go back on the waiting list, so it’s on hold until I get it again.

Continue reading →

The State of the Reader: 11/16/22

/ The Shameful Narcissist / 5 Comments

<–The State of the Reader: 11/2/22         The State of the Reader: 11/30/22–>

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.

Books Purchased: 1

Total: $0.00

Books Finished: 1

Title: The Charmer, Volume 1
Series: Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter: Circus of the Damned
Author: Laurell K. Hamilton & Jessica Ruffner (adaptation)
Illustrator: Ron Lim
Date Added: September 25, 2022
Date Started: October 13, 2022
Date Finished: November 6, 2022

Cover of Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter: Circus of the Damned, Volume 1: The Charmer by Laurell K. HamiltonMedia: Paperback

I was 100% certain I was going to (want to) continue this series when I first started reading it, but as I mentioned last week I think I’ve matured beyond the “possessive paranormal boyfriend” type into more of the “protective but respecting of boundaries paranormal boyfriend/husbando type.”  I mean it’s what all of my fanfics focus on.  In all seriousness there’s a major issue with lack of consent and this whole concept of “owning” people (yes, vampires, lycanthropes et al are people insofar as they’re sentient beings), which is never challenged by the narrative.  If I do keep reading, though, I have enough conflicting feelings for it to make for some good critique.

Continue reading →

The State of the Reader: 9/7/22

/ The Shameful Narcissist / 3 Comments

<–The State of the Reader: 8/24/22         The State of the Reader: 9/21/22–>

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.

Books Purchased: 0

Books Finished: 2

Title: The Ippos King
Series: Wraith Kings
Author: Grace Draven
Date Added: May 25, 2017
Date Started: June 29, 2022
Date Finished: August 27, 2022

Cover of The Ippos King by Grace Draven (Wraith Kings #3)Media: eBook/Kindle

I like how Anhuset and Serovek’s relationship was a foil to Brishen and Ildiko from the first book even as the plot set up from there continued.  Draven really shines when it comes to these slow burn romances.

Title: Truly Madly Guilty
Author: Liane Moriarity
Date Added: February 22, 2022
Date Started: August 22, 2022
Date Finished: September 7, 2022

Cover of Truly Madly GuiltyMedia: eBook/Library

Finished it right at the wire.  The loan expires tomorrow, and there wasn’t a choice to renew.  This was okay.  I’m really familiar with the author’s formula now since I’ve read like five or six of her books.  She has some very boomerish views lol, but I guess that’s to be expected for a white Australian woman of her age.  Moriarity does shine in building up the tension and making you want to know what the hell happened.   It’s similar to how she did Big Little Lies, and her bait-and-switches are always excellent as is her foreshadowing.

Continue reading →

The State of the Reader: 8/10/22

/ The Shameful Narcissist / 5 Comments

<–The State of the Reader: 7/27/22         The State of the Reader: 8/24/22–>

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.

Books Purchased: 2

Total: $3.98

Books Finished: 0

Books DNF: 0

Books On Hold: 1

Title: Belly of the Beast: The Politics of Anti-Fatness as Anti-Blackness
Author: Da’Shaun L. Harrison
Date Added: February 11, 2022
Date Started: May 2, 2022
Date On Hold: August 1, 2022

Cover of Belly of the Beast by Da'Shaun HarrisonMedia: Paperback
Progress: 13%

This book is too heavy for me right now.  I’ve been struggling with what to watch lately, too.  I know those two sentences don’t seem to fit together, but they do.  There’s been this awkward balance of me needing something that will hold my attention but not be too intense.  Anyway, I’m going to shelve this for a bit and come back to it later.

Continue reading →

The State of the Reader: 12/29/21

/ The Shameful Narcissist / 11 Comments

<–The State of the Reader: 12/15/21         The State of the Reader: 1/12/22–>

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: 3

Total: $9.97

Books Finished: 2

Title: Every Heart a Doorway
Series: Wayward Children
Author: Seanan McGuire
Date Added: August 6, 2017
Date Started: Decembeer 1, 2021
Date Finished: December 16, 2021

Cover of Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire (Wayward Children)Media: eBook/Kindle

I knew this was the first novel in a series, but I was a little surprised by how abruptly it ended.  It wasn’t bad by any means, but I think I was expecting other characters’ stories to wrap up.  That happens in other installments though.  The next one is about the twins Jack and Jill, and it’s before they come to Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children.  Speaking of Eleanor I think I expected to see more of her in here, so I’m wondering if she has her own novel, too.  What I really liked about this book is the LGBTQ+ rep.  Nancy is ace and Kade is a trans boy.  I’m kind of hoping they get together (I’m a hopeless shipper lol).  Next year I really want to catch up on my series continuations, so I’ll have to throw this one on that pile, too.

Continue reading →

The State of the Reader: 12/15/21

/ The Shameful Narcissist / 10 Comments

<–The State of the Reader: 12/1/21         The State of the Reader: 12/29/21–>

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: 2

Total: $2.98

Books Finished: 1

Title: The Girl on the Train
Author: Paula Hawkins
Date Added: November 27, 2021
Date Started: December 2, 2021
Date Finished: December 14, 2021

Cover of The Girl on the Train by Paula HawkinsMedia: eBook

This is one of those novels were everyone is a fucking mess, but it does an excellent job of proving you don’t need likable characters to make a good story.  None of the POV characters are that admirable, but I found myself needing to sit with why I was so angry at the titular character Rachel.  She’s a depressed alcholic whose life has fallen apart, and I just found myself getting so annoyed with her when she relapsed, but…alcholism isn’t something that you can just overcome.   This is a similar thing that happened when I read Charle de Lint’s Memory and Dream.  The main character there was an abuse victim, and I got angry at her for not standing up to the abuse not realizing how terrible that kind of thinking is aka victim blaming.  You always think you’ll do differently in a situation, but you’re not in that situation.

Continue reading →