What are you reading now?

Harry Potter and The Order of The Phoenix. I'm reading the series once again because it's absolutely genius and for I sincerely miss Sirius Black and also Hagrid every now and then. I know Sirius was an degenerate imbecile for he tormented Snape during his years in Hogwarts but on the other hand he isn't supposed to be a perfect character. Perhaps he unleashed his pent-up feelings of his Dark Arts family onto Severus since he saw that unpleasant aptitude in Snape, who was already broken and weakened by abusive father thus an easy target.
To acquire variety, I also study french language and scandinavian mythology. When I'm in the mood I also study some zoology.
 
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Tempests and Slaughter
by Tamora Pierce.

I first discovered Tamora Pierce in the late 90s. By then she had been writing for twenty years. she has written about 20 books. I'm pretty sure I read all of them.

She is considered a YA fantasy writer. I think the reason it took me so long to discover her was that I didn't look in that corner of the library. Maybe it was after I got into Harry Potter that I started looking at the YA shelves.

Her books all take place in the same Universe. A magical pre-technological world. A lot of the main characters are children or at least start out that way. Lots of heroines. Basically Sword and Sorcery.

Super popular with middle school girls. so if you have any birthday presents to buy this summer you might consider this. PTA approved. :)

4.5 stars.
 
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Brain On Fire
by Susannah Cahalan

Watched the movie on Netflix, starring Chloë Grace Moretz (Kick ***). It was ok. Became interested in reading the book. I saw I could borrow (download) the Audiobook from my library. Not read by the author but read by a talented voice actress. Since the book is written in the first person its perfect as bedtime stories. I also used it on some long hikes.

If you are not familiar with the movie or book its about a young woman who contracts a rare neurological autoimmune disease, known as anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis. Basically, she goes crazy and no one knows why. The book works on many levels. As an autobiography, a medical mystery story, and an editorial on modern health care.
 
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A Call to Vengence
by David Weber, Timothy Zahn, with Thomas Pope

This is the newest book in the Honorverse. Honorverse refers to the 30 or so books that take place in the same universe that Honor Harrington lives in. All the books are space operas. Spaceships, space battles, and lots of different planets. No aliens tho.

On Basilisk Station is the first book in the series. And most of the books are basically stand alone. but I think they are best read in order.
 
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Sax said:
Re-reading "The Story of B". Daniel Quinn's Ishmael trilogy has probably influenced my worldview more than any other literature. Highly recommended!
Click to expand...

hi Sax

Finished Ishmael - it was very good and definitely made me look at many things differently and helped me to understand many things in my life and why I have spent so much energy trying to be a Leaver.

Haven't been able to get the next two yet, have just finished Beyond Civilization and that was very good.

I wrote the following yesterday after reading the first part of Beyond Civilization:

We can't just turn away, we have to turn towards.

What did the current president, of the USA, as a candidate, offer to Americans that the other candidate did not?

A vision, a new direction, a promise of becoming a tribe, once again, something we all long for.

It didn't seem to matter that the vision was cloudy, the direction was maybe misguided, the tribe was exclusive rather than inclusive and monochrome rather than diverse.

Why is the pushback so agressive? The vision and direction are directly contrary to many, many Americans' vision of themselves and doesn't sit well in their hearts. The swamp is not draining, instead it is becoming smellier and messier as those in it fight amongst themselves to rule it and we are all sitting around the edges on bleachers watching the show and holding up score cards to rate our favorite contestants.

Despite the fact that so many people lead very solitary lives, even within crowded cities, we all want to be useful, appreciated, helpful members of a tribe that has a vision. When that desire to be part of a tribe which supports our ideals is not met then we risk becoming part of something else that is not a all what we truly desire. Does any child grow up saying they wish to be a bank robber? a drug dealer? a pimp? a rich man? no! Most say they wish to be a firefighter, a police officer, a doctor... heroes they can see that help other people. They equate helping with love and love with helping and who doesn't want to be surrounded by love. Somewhere along the way those ideals fall to side because the culture and the environment may be such that just surviving becomes the most important ideal.

How to get back to a vision of the country that doesn't include just surviving as its ideal? Elect officials, at all levels, that can present you with a vision that reaches your heart. It's not enough to be against something or someone, you have to have something to strive towards. An ideal that is inclusive, diverse, colorful, joyful where animals, children and adults and seniors thrive. It can be done, one household, one neighbourhood, one village/town/city, one state at a time. Don't accept anything less!

Emma JC
 
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Shirley Jackson
The Lottery and other stories / George Orwell Down and Out in Paris and London
 
Born A Crime
by Trevor Noah.

I was all excited that my library had the audiobook Born A Crime by Trevor Noah, read by Trevor Noah. When I finally got it, it was on CD. Doh!

I'm fine now. I got the ebook version.

So far it's great.

Here is a little sample from the audiobook
https://www.brillianceaudio.com/product?i=29063
 
Just finished The Dark Forest by Cixin Liu, part 2 of a Chinese sci-fi trilogy. If Arthur C. Clarke, Nietzsche and H.P. Lovecraft co-wrote a novel...
 
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Spinning Silver
By Naomi Novik

This is the 11th book I have read by Ms. Novik. The first nine books were the Temeraire series. They are what we speculative fiction fans call Alternate Histories. Think speculative fiction combined with historical fiction. This series is if during the Napoleonic wars both sides had dragons. And the dragons could talk. And fly.

Spinning Silver is a re-telling of a fairy tale. I've always liked this sub-genre. Ella Enchanted is probably the best known of these books. I've always thought the books by Robin Mckinley were some of the best examples.

It seems like Naomi Novik is excelling here, too. First with Uprooted and now with Spinning Silver. SS is pretty fantastic. A complicated story with lots of characters, constantly switching the point of view, and several intertwining plot threads. Not to mention some very surprising twists and turns. Except for the part where they all live happily ever after. The three main protagonists are all girls which makes it very modern and timely.
 
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I just finished Small Great Things, by Jodi Picoult. I am going to the library either today or tomorrow to pick up a few books. :) Night Road, by Kirstin Hannah, is first on my list.
 
Cormoran Strike Novels
By Robert Galbraith (AKA JK Rowling)

The fourth book in the series, Lethal White, just came out. I got mine from the library. I put it on hold as soon as I got a notification it was going to be published. Looks like I was right at the top of the waiting list.

I discovered that there is a TV series based on the books. Just seven episodes for the first three books. They were great but I wish they spent a little more time on the last book. Anyway, it was a good refresher to get me ready for the new book. Look for it on BBC or Cinemax. I think it might also be available on YouTube. The casting of the characters is spot on.

For those of you who aren't familiar, it's a very true to the genre murder mystery with a hard-boiled private detective. The thing that makes these books so enjoyable is that his secretary is a big part of the book. She is a very appealing and complex character.
 
Kate Alcott - a very interesting author (pseudonym for journalist Patricia O'Brien) - she writes about well known historical events and fictionalizes them - I love the combo. The sinking of the Titanic was one topic she addressed and woman's rights and fight for relevance seems to be a theme in all of them. Very entertaining and very educational at the same time.

Emma JC
 
@Emma JC
I love that kind of stuff. Doing well know historical events can be sort of challenging. It can be sort of limiting.

Something similar is a book I found and read last month. I forgot to include it here.

The 100-Year Old Man Who Climbed Out The Window and Disappeared
by Jonas Jonasson

The 100-year old man has quite the adventure in this book, interacting with police detectives, criminals, and elephants.
One of the best parts is his flashbacks to adventures he had in earlier days, interacting with Stalin, Churchill, Truman, and others. Sort of like Forest Gump but over 100 years and fueled by vodka. It's a real fun read. It has been made into a movie. And the author has several other books. They are all on my list now.
Highly recommended.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007MB5OCE/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i0
 
There is a sequel to The 100 year old man book - The Accidental Further Adventures of the Hundred-Year-Old Man (2018)

I think I watched the movie a long time ago - will check out the books. Thank you.

Emma JC
 
There is a book called the 101-year old man who....
but I haven't found it to read it. Both books were made into movies. My library has the first one, Netflix has the second. the reviews have been lukewarm. the main complaint is that the movies had to cut so much out.

Higher on my list is the Girl Who Saved The King of Sweden. I've already checked it out of my library.
 
Lethal White
By Robert Galbraith (AKA JK Rowling)

I got this book about a week ago and I just inhaled it. I really really liked it. Maybe not as much as some of the others in the series. It seems like each book gets more complicated and longer. I also found that the first 100 pages the romantic angle of the book was getting on my nerves. But I think that was on purpose.

But I recommend it highly to any fan of mysteries.
 
I am in the beginning of "The Deep End of the Ocean," by Jacquelyn Mitchard. I haven't quite gotten hooked yet, but it seems really good so far.
 

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