The Toast discussion

Toasties, what are you reading right now? What's next?

I'm reading The City in the Lake (Rachel Neumeier). I finished Ancillary Mercy before it, and found it very satisfying.

A Brief History of Seven Killings. A difficult read in a lot of ways but very much worth it so far.

Adam Johnson's Fortune Smiles - just finished the first story, am eager for the rest. His novel The Orphan Master's Son was one of my absolute favorites when it came out.

Up next is Laura Kaye's Hard to Let Go in audio & Landfalls by Naomi J Williams

I am reading Under the Udala Trees. I'm enjoying it, though I'm moving through it very slowly.

I was recently contacted by our local magazine to write about a recently-read book (I'm SO fancy) and I think I'm going to choose You Too Can Have a Body Like Mine. The first 2/3 of that book was completely flawless, and I don't think I've ever read anything that better describes body dysmorphia without actually saying it.

Next up: Dead Soon Enough: A Juniper Song Mystery, The Story of My Teeth, and I suppose I should actually read All the Light We Cannot See for my book club. We'll see.

Sduff222 wrote: "I am reading Under the Udala Trees. I'm enjoying it, though I'm moving through it very slowly.

I was recently contacted by our local magazine to write about a recently-read book (..."

Fancy!!
Kleeman was interviewed on the So Many Damn Books podcast a couple of weeks ago, and I enjoyed it. I already liked her book so much, but this made me even more of a fan: http://www.somanydamnbooks.com/episod...

Are you reading the books in the alt-TOB? or the TOB long list? Or are the crossovers just coincidence?

Yep! The TOB longlist is probably...too long at this point, but I'm trying to do the alt-TOB. Definitely need to listen to So Many Damn Books!! Thanks for the tip!

Sduff222 wrote: "Yep! The TOB longlist is probably...too long at this point, but I'm trying to do the alt-TOB. Definitely need to listen to So Many Damn Books!! Thanks for the tip!"

Cool - alt-TOB fist bump. :D

Just finished Alexander Hamilton (I know, I know), which took me a very long time, so immediately read Wonder Woman, Vol. 1: Blood and Thor, Vol. 1: The Goddess of Thunder as kind of a reset. Next up is probably the newest Courtney Milan even though I have approximately a million books currently out from the library that I should read first. What is TOB?

How was Thor? I don't really read a lot of superhero comics, but the whole Goddess of Thunder thing is really appealing.

Oh! And the TOB is the tournament of books, run by The Morning News every spring. Nicole was a judge last year! Here's their longest for this year: http://www.themorningnews.org/article... They'll pick 16 books from this list, seed them, it them in brackets, and judges will read both and determine a winner.

Thor was good! I don't usually read a lot of superhero comics either, so this was kind of a departure for me, but I really liked the reinterpretation and I don't think that it depended too heavily on previous knowledge -- I've only seen the movies, this was my first foray into Marvel/DC comics.

And thanks - looks like something I should check out!

Currently reading State of Wonder by Ann Patchett, and A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki is next. I can't keep up with the TOB, but I do use it to help me find good stuff to read!

There are a couple of Tournament of Books-adjacent groups here on GR (well, probably more than a couple, but a couple I participate in.)

https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...
This is the one whose members arranged the alt-TOB. There are non-alt-TOB discussions there, as well.

https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...
This is a 'must be approved' group, but I'm a moderator so I can tell you we approve everyone. We pick a TOB-likely book to discuss each month (with spoiled & ongoing discussions) from April to Nov, and talk TOB-related stuff the other months, though it's also loose enough to go other directions.

Basically, there are a bunch of folk who love TOB a bunch, and can't shut up about books. You know, like us.

I recently finished A Brief History of Seven Killings, which took forever (it's good, but it's not easy). So ever since that I've been consuming snackier reads: I finished Slade House in a few days, Step Aside, Pops was gone pretty quickly too, and now I'm nearing the end of the very weird but quite fascinating the First Bad Man by Miranda July.

For Christmas, I'm planning to dive into a big book again: Elena Ferrante's Days of Abandonment (I haven't read any Ferrante yet, so I figured I'd start with the standalone one to see if I like her style before diving into the Neapolitan Novels)

I just finished Emma Newman's Planetfall. Anyone read it?

I just finished H is for Hawk, which I very much loved and was moved by. I've spent all morning listening to Helen Macdonald interviews. I have Redeployment and Wonder (by RJ Palacio) checked out to read next. Has anyone read either one??

I so enjoyed H is for Hawk, especially the earlier parts of it. It had such beautiful writing about grief.

I was also a fan of Redeployment. The voices were strong, and it was smoothly written.

Guys! I just finished American Housewife: Stories and it was hilarious. Highly recommended for fans of Kelly Link, though these stories don't get quite as weird. If you are on the fence, search out one of the stories - maybe "The Wainscoting War" or "Dumpster Diving with the Stars."

Another bonkers / funny-weird / thought-provoking one I just finished: The First Bad Man - not hilarious, but horrifying and good.

I read The First Bad Man recently too! Very strange, indeed, kept zagging where I expected it to zig. I'm reading Miranda July's book of short stories now, No One Belongs Here More Than You, and it's full of similar weirdos with weird and fascinating inner lives.

I have both of those books! But I've read neither because I have a hoarding problem.

Hello fellow Toasties! We have finally made a Goodreads account under our system name and I am excited to find my people. :-)

Right now we are reading H is for Hawk and when that is too heavy I am picking up The Fearless Treasure Seekers which is probably going to be awful since it is from the 50s and I think it is all about how wonderful it is to be colonialist, but Noel Streatfeild is a big big childhood favourite so I am going to see how it goes!

Right now I'm reading Camille Perri's The Assistants and hoping I make it through before the download expires! I'm finding it bitingly funny and dark, I love it so far.
Anyone else here use Penguin's First to Read program to get ARCs?

I haven't used Penguin's First to Read program, but I do use Netgalley and am consequently WAY behind in my reading. Like 75 books behind in my reading.

Speaking of ARCs, has anyone managed to get one for the new Tana French book?

Right now I'm reading Kitchens of the Great Midwest, which is great so far. Next up is the Welcome to Night Vale novel, whenever it's finally my turn for my library's e-audiobook, v excited.

Hello Toasties! @shandycats here, from Twitter and ToastCrumbs and originally The Toast. Mostly a lurker, but reaching out now that the Toast is wrapping up. I just read Fates & Furies (didn't love it) and am now reading The Shadow of the Wind, which is fun except for the pretty constant low-grade misogyny so far.

Hi Toasties! Also a long-time lurker, reaching out now. Currently reading Janet Mock's book, Redefining Realness, which I'm liking but not feeling spellbound by, and White is for Witching on recommendation from Toast and loving it!

Ooh my dear Toasties, I have been on a binge of cotton-candy mysteries for the last two weeks or so & refuse to feel any guilt about it. It's been phryne & miss marple & all of it a+ summertime!

I can't commit to just one book. I've been working on The Regional Office Is Under Attack! but keep getting distracted by things like Ms. Marvel, Vol. 3: Crushed, and Darth Vader and Friends.

Hello all! nicole_44 on The Toast and Slack.

I'm currently reading Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy with some friends, have Chernow's Hamilton and a short story collection on pause/backup, and just finished Lois Lane: Fallout. (On mobile, sorry for the lack of links!)

Sara wrote: "Hail, Toasties! I always have, like, five books going at once. Now is no exception.

I'm reading the new Mary Roach, Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans at War, and [book:The Myst..."

How is Grunt? I have it on request from the library.

Americanah I know I am super late to the party, but it came out when I was having a weird "I'm not reading anything that is all hyped up phase," which I am fortunately now over. I'm about halfway through and I really like it, although I think the sections from the guy's POV are much slower.

Kater wrote: "Hello Toasties! @shandycats here, from Twitter and ToastCrumbs and originally The Toast. Mostly a lurker, but reaching out now that the Toast is wrapping up. I just read Fates & Furies (didn't love..."

Is that "The Shadow of the Wind" by M.M. Kaye? I don't know anyone else who's read it - was my favorite book in high school and I later wrote a dissertation on it/her other works, including The Far Pavilions (even more low-grade misogyny!)

Am reading A Darker Shade of Magic; haven't read fantasy in forever and this one is awesome.

I just finished Roxane Gay's "Bad Feminist", and it was...disappointing? I felt like it was super basic, and kind of self indulgent. The prose wasn't clear or precise, and it was mostly her defending the books or movies she likes that are of questionable taste (in popular culture, at least)

I'm about to begin this book called "The Second Homeland", which is about Polish Refugees of the Second World War in India, and it looks like a wonderful read, with frankly unbelievable primary sources and rare archival material.

Sita wrote: "I just finished Roxane Gay's "Bad Feminist", and it was...disappointing? I felt like it was super basic, and kind of self indulgent. The prose wasn't clear or precise, and it was mostly her defendi..."

Totally with you! We read it for my book club, and I felt totally attacked for not enjoying it. I think much of what rubbed me the wrong way was the "blog lingo" she was using, which is often much more opinionated/authoritarian than other forms of writing? I enjoyed some of her more personal writing (the scrabble tournament or being a junior faculty member, for example), but anything that seemed to be stating The Truth on an issue where nuance is important and of value (ie trigger warnings) got my hackles up.

So glad to read this! I have the book on my to-read, but I've sort of avoided it, mostly because it's been such a hit with some of my friends and older students, and I am a little wary of things that get really hyped up.

Lisa wrote: "Sita wrote: "I just finished Roxane Gay's "Bad Feminist", and it was...disappointing? I felt like it was super basic, and kind of self indulgent. The prose wasn't clear or precise, and it was mostl..."

Agreed. I wish she'd polished it a bit more to make them sound like essays instead of blog posts. There was a tone of defensiveness and like you said, a sort of This Is The Right Opinion to it all. I can't really criticise the content, I guess? I mean, feminism is good! Make it intersectional feminism! Racism is bad! But I've been reading so many excellent essays on all of these on the internet, that reading a highly acclaimed but thoroughly underwhelming soup of Feminism 101 got on my nerves.

(Maybe I'm a bit biased, because I got in a bit of an argument with Roxane on twitter after she kept posting gross tweets about Margot Robbie's age)

I wiped out halfway through bad feminist just because I wasn't feeling it. I didn't even have a real issue with the tone, it just wasn't really the book I thought it would be. I think the book I thought it would be was really a longform of my all time favorite Onion article http://www.theonion.com/article/woman... and it was just sloggier than that. I loved untamed state and I saw roxane read about Twilight and it was great when she read it, but yeah Bad feminist didn't do it for me. If you want to read bad feminism I'd really suggest Elaine Dundy's novels. Those thrill me.