Just finished A Woman of No Importance, by Sonia Purnell. As a French speaking Belgian, I never before heard about this resistance hero. I enjoyed very much this history book which is just very well written. On the story itself, it produced some thinking about why Virginia Hall is so lowly known. I therefore learned a lot with another point of view of WW2 than what the after-war propaganda wanted the people to retain and therefore what remained in history books. All about how she was badly considered just because she had not the right gender was very disturbing too. I advise anyone interested in history to read this book.

I’m going to start reading As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow, by Zoulfa Katouh.

The Last Mandarin

I’m going to gut it out but I think this book would be better read than listened to. The story is pretty slow to start and the narrators voice grates on my nerves which is usually enough to return it but not here

It by Stephen King. I have seen the made for TV movie with Tim Curry and the first part of the recently made movies. Finally getting around to reading the book now.

I’ve finally started The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. I’m not sure when I’ll finish it, but so far, it’s much better than I was expecting. At the very least, I hate Danglars and am hoping there’s not some stupid parable of Christian forgiveness at the end, because I want that guy to get destroyed.

I often have a hard time enjoying older books, but I’m surprised so far at how very human all these characters Dumas is writing feel. Aside from the obviously dated aspects of the novel, it feels very much like they could be anyone I know today.

Also recently finished Queen of Faces by Petra Lord, which I picked up by mistake thinking it was an adult novel for some reason, lol. But I gave it a chance since I had it, and stuck with the YA novel anyway because the world was somewhat interesting. Honestly, it felt like it should have been an adult book. It barely made use of the magic academy, which in hindsight should have been a redflag that it was indeed YA. The anime vibe was strange (they kept using ‘manga’ instead of ‘comic’ in a fictional world with no Japan, and their ‘unique’ magic had names). The characters were pretty flat, and I’m pretty sure I wasn’t supposed to find Ori as the most interesting character. Also, the real villain of the story was obvious. If you like YA, it’s good enough. I’m certainly not the audience, but it was enjoyable for what it was.

Just finished The Book Witch with my wife.

Kind of burnt out after trying to get friends to read books with me, I’ve started and put down several books as they’ve said yes and then no. Might take a break from reading.

Down to the last 10% or so of Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir. I complained last week that it was taking a long time to get where it was going, and it still is, imo, even though I’m in the part frostypanda said was the good bit. (They were right, for the record.) I don’t dislike it, or regret reading it, but I do want to be done already.

To learn more about this fictional countryman of mine, I’ve started reading (only) the Hercule Poirot books by Agatha Christie. Currently in the middle of number 3: The Murder of Roger Ackroyd.

I’m almost done with The Shadow of the Torturer by Gene Wolfe, and I have to admit, I have no clue what’s going on and am totally disengaged. The beginning and middle were so much more compelling and the book takes such a strange turn when he leaves the citadel. Everything afterwards reads like some sort of dream sequence where no one’s actions or behaviour make any sense.

I read “I Am My Own Wife” a 2004 play by Doug Wright about Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, a german transvestite who lived through the nazi and communist regimes. It’s a one-man show, so it read pretty well, and the subject matter was fascinating, and I thought the author’s self-insert was actually a pretty good way to organize the play. I also read “Fefu and Her Friends,” a 1990 second wave feminist play by Maria Irene Fornes in which the audience breaks into four groups and watches the four scenes of the second act in round robin fashion. I’m gonna be honest, I know this is an Important Play, but I didn’t really get it, I suspect because I didn’t see it staged. I also read a collection of poems called “Withdrawing In Disgust Is Not The Same Thing As Apathy” by Mark Beechill and I don’t really know how to explain it other than it felt like a collection of poems intended to get upvotes on reddit? It was kind of uncanny. It was fun but lacked substance.

Love Beyond Monogamy by Brian Murphy, and Goldfinger by Ian Fleming.

Finished “the wandering inn” volume 3 by pirateaba, and continued with volume 4. I’ve been reading a lot over the weekend, and most parts of the books were very enjoyable. At the moment, I’m in one of the what feels as weaker chapters. Some fans like to claim that this series is the longest read in word count ever*, but I think to make the web serial into proper books it could do with a lot less. It would make reading them even more enjoyable for me.

*only true in a very narrow definition

Finished reading, “The Thrice-Bound Fool” by Christopher Buehlman. The ending to it was great, but I still think the “The Daughter’s War” was the best of out all three books out so far.

I’m almost finished reading, “The Maidens” by Alex Michaelides. It’s an interesting read so far. I enjoyed his previous work, “Silent Patient”

Been reading Camp Damascus by Chuck Tingle, yes that one, it’s pretty good, I enjoy that autism is the thing that allows you to see demons. It’s genuinely sinister, especially knowing this evil isn’t imprisoned to the page.

Finished “a swim in a pond in the rain” by George Saunders. Quite good, sort of a writers analysis of Russian short stories. Reading “Mind the science” which is also pretty enjoyable.

Currently halfway through listening to a collection of short stories called Seasons of Glass and Iron by Amal El-Mohtar

And about 1/3 through We are Legion (We are Bob) by Dennis E. Taylor

Enjoying both so far! Have already placed a request for the next Bobiverse book from the Library.