William Shakespeare

The State of the Reader: 11/16/22

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<–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.

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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: 4/6/22

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<–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

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<–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: 12/30/20

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<–The State of the Reader: 12/16/20         The State of the Reader: 1/13/21–>

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: As You Like It
Author: William Shakespeare
Date Added: March 6, 2018
Date Started: September 3, 2020

Cover of As You Like It by William ShakespeareMedia: eBook/Kindle

I only had like one page left to read of this and finished it last session.  It is such a comedy in both the Shakespeare and “there are only seven types of plot” sense i.e. everyone gets married.  Oh and “rags to riches,” too, as the usurper duke finds Jesus, sees the error of his ways, and gives the old duke back his position.  There was a review on Goodreads that literally summed it up thus.   I still need to look up my own summary to make sure I didn’t miss anything, but this was one of Shakespeare’s easier plays to follow (despite the convoluted irony of Rosalind pretending to be Ganymede pretending to Rosalind, which frankly was hilarious), so I’m just doing that as a formality.

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The State of the Reader: 12/2/20

/ The Shameful Narcissist / 4 Comments

<–The State of the Reader: 11/18/20         The State of the Reader: 12/16/20–>

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.

Purchased: 3

Books Finished: 1

Title: The Snow Queen
Series Title: The Snow Queen Cycle
Author: Joan D. Vinge
Date Added: December 11, 2014
Date Started: September 22, 2020
Date Finished: November 26, 2020

Cover of the Snow Queen by Joan D. VingeMedia: Hardback (Library)

Another story about identity, huh…maybe if I’d read (more) sci-fi when I was younger, I wouldn’t be as shocked to find this trope.  I’m not really shocked; it’s common because it cuts to the core of what it means to be human.  “Who am I?” is a question all of us ask whether consciously or unconsciously at some point, and the answer is rarely simple, especially for those of us who experience Imposter Syndrome.

There are three other books in the series, but only one direct sequel The Summer Queen.  The other two focus on one of the cops or Blues.  I’d like to read them eventually.  The books are out of print, which makes them more expensive.  I’d like to pick up this one as well as the next, as I have to return it to the library in a few days, so I won’t have a reference for my eventual review when I get to it.

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The State of the Reader: 11/18/20

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<–The State of the Reader: 11/4/20         The State of the Reader: 12/2/20–>

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.

Purchased: 1

Currently Reading

Title: The Snow Queen
Series Title: The Snow Queen Cycle
Author: Joan D. Vinge
Date Added: December 11, 2014
Date Started: September 22, 2020

Cover of the Snow Queen by Joan D. VingeMedia: Hardback (Library)
Progress: 82%

Sparks is the most useless man ever like oh my god I’m so glad I’m reading this now and not when I was some moony teenager who would’ve been into that.  Dear god I hope Moon realizes he’s not worth her time.  I need to hurry up and finish this because it’s due December 9 and I don’t have any more renewals left.  I plan to buy the novel anyway as well as the sequel, though it’s a bit more expensive than most.  I thought this was one half of a duology with The Summer Queen (whom I’m assuming is going to be Moon), but there are apparently four novels in the Cycle.  According to the friend who put me onto this, they have more to do with the Blues aka space police that Moon and Sparks interact with, but I like those characters so I’m okay with that.

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