Rivers Solomon

The State of the Reader: 4/6/22

/ The Shameful Narcissist / 4 Comments

<–The State of the Reader: 3/23/22         The State of the Reader: 4/20/22–>

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: 2

Total: $1.57

Books Finished: 2

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
Date Finished: April 2, 2022

Cover of The Vela by Yoon Ha Lee, Becky Chambers, Rivers Solomon, and SL HuangMedia: eBook/Kindle

Finally finished this, though to be fair I did take some breaks because the borrowed eBook was more engaging.  It was often difficult to stay motivated with this novel, though I can’t say it was uninteresting.  I liked the characters and their motivations were both logically and psychologically sounds.  It’s also nice to see non-binary people getting some representation without it being a “thing.”  All of the characters were morally grey even the ones with good intentions, and it was pretty realistic to what would happen in such a situation.  If the richest/most powerful i.e. capitalists of today were available, you’re goddamn right they’d try to mine the sun without any care for how it would affect them or the rest of the galaxy.  I saw Don’t Look Up.  I’m obsessed with FFVII, and they all have the same motif.  I mean fuck, we’re already doing it!  Climate change is driven by the richest nations, but it mostly affects the poorest.  Parts of the ending served to enrage me, but in a “good” way.  It goes along with the theme of “deserving” that permeates the latter parts of the story.

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The State of the Reader: 3/23/22

/ The Shameful Narcissist / 2 Comments

<–The State of the Reader: 3/9/22         The State of the Reader: 4/6/22–>

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: $12.97

Books Finished: 0

Currently Reading

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

Cover of House of Sky and Breath by Sarah J. Maas (Crescent City)Media: Physical/Hardback
Progress: 7%

Slow progress is better than no progress at all.

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The State of the Reader: 3/9/22

/ The Shameful Narcissist / 6 Comments

<–The State of the Reader: 2/23/22         The State of the Reader: 3/23/22–>

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: 2

Total: $25.98

Books Finished: 0

Currently Reading

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

Cover of House of Sky and Breath by Sarah J. Maas (Crescent City)Media: Physical/Hardback
Progress: 5%

Maas knows how to make you care about someone in just a few pages.  The prologue concerns a character we’ve never met before, but what the author does with her is brilliant.  We were given a hint of what the world was like for humans, but with Sophie, it draws into brutal focus.

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The State of the Reader: 2/23/22

/ The Shameful Narcissist / 4 Comments

<–The State of the Reader: 2/9/22         The State of the Reader: 3/9/22–>

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.

Purchased: 3

Total: $9.97

Books Finished: 1

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
Date Finished: February 18, 2022

Cover of A Sky Beyond the Storm by Sabaa TahirMedia: Hardback

After nearly a year I finally finished it, and just in time, too, since my next read arrived in the mail a few days ago lol.  It’s not the book on my “to read next” list, but it’s Sarah J. Maas’ next release for her Crescent City Series so I can’t wait.

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The State of the Reader: 2/9/22

/ The Shameful Narcissist / 6 Comments

<–The State of the Reader: 1/26/22         The State of the Reader: 2/23/22–>

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: 0

Books Finished: 1

Title: Six of Crows
Series: Six of Crows
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Date Added: February 19, 2016
Date Started: December 31, 2021
Date Finished: January 31, 2022

Cover of Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo (Six of Crows)Media: eBook/Kindle (Library)

I wasn’t expecting it to end when it do, which was entirely due to the percentage being thrown off by the sample of the second book in the duology.  I knew this was split into two parts, but I wasn’t sure how it was going to be delineated.  I have Crooked Kingdom on hold, but I’m not sure where I am in line.  I was going to add another library book to the rotation, but I think I want to finish The Vela first.

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The State of the Reader: 1/26/22

/ The Shameful Narcissist / 5 Comments

<–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.

Purchased: 4

Total: $30.96

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

Cover of Elric of Melniboné by Michael MoorcockMedia: 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.

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The State of the Reader: 1/12/22

/ The Shameful Narcissist / 2 Comments

<–The State of the Reader: 12/29/21         The State of the Reader: 1/26/22–>

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: 7

Total: $52.94

Books Finished: 0

Currently Reading

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

Cover of Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo (Six of Crows)Media: eBook/Kindle (Library)
Progress: 14%

I’m not generally a fan of heist novels, and like The Lies of Locke Lamora, none of the characters are overly likable.  I definitely have sympathy for them and their situation, but the thing that’s keeping me interested is less the job and more everyone’s backstory.  I’m not sure how long I’m going to keep reading this (it’s due back on the 20th unless I renew), but even if I DNF, I will definitely read more from this author.

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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.

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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.

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