San Antonio Public Library discussion

Been a few months since we managed this, so let's go again:

What are you reading this month?

I've got two; Colleen McCullough's First Man in Rome and Rebecca Roanhorse's Trail of Lightning.

First Man in Rome is a massive tome about the rise of Gaius Marius, a few years before the famous Gaius Julius Caesar was born (it was, in fact, Caesar's great-uncle who suggested a union between Gaius Marius's brother-in-law and his own niece, Aurelia, according to this). The series is long... several 600+ page books that got her an honorary doctorate. A good read, but a lot to work through.

Trail of Lightning is a bit easier. Post-apocalyptic fantasy, where most of the US is covered in the Big Water, and Mags, our heroine, is a monster-hunter on Dineh (Navajo) land. Roanhorse is married to a Navajo, and works a lot of their religion and stories into the story.

I'm reading Juliet Takes a Breath and just finished the series Our Dreams at Dusk.

Juliet Takes a Breath is a really unusual YA that's contemporary fiction confronting racism and sexism, but also culture shock within the US; Juliet is Puerto Rican and from the Bronx and has her world rocked by a book written by a white hippie in Portland, then takes on an internship with her. So far I'm really loving this book and I'm sad the author's graphic novel, BB Free, was canceled due to COVID.

Our Dreams at Dusk is a manga series that's mostly realistic with some magical elements that follows a high school boy trying to understand his sexuality while learning about queer identities and how they can work for different people. It's beautiful visually and emotionally, and I'm devastated that it was only four volumes long.

I finished reading Secrets from the Deep by Linda Fairstein, a middle grade mystery novel about a gold doubloon; and The Canning Season by Polly Horvath, a realistic, contemporary YA novel which has an unusual plot and some humor.
I am currently listening to Tess of the Road by Rachel Hartman; Tess is the half sister of Serafina of Hartman's Serafina novels. I am also reading Treasury of Greek Mythology: Classic Stories of Gods, Goddesses, Heroes & Monsters by Donna Jo Napoli, and The Killings at Kingfisher Hill by Sophie Hannah.

Finally finished "Trail of Lightning" that I began back in June. It wasn't bad, but I don't know if I'll go for the sequel; I felt I was too much in the dark about things.

Still plugging away at First Man in Rome by Colleen McCullough. This must be my fourth or fifth time reading it, and I still enjoy it.

Started working on bell hook's "The Will to Change", about men and masculinity, and how patriarchy hurts men by insisting that they display no feelings and form few meaningful emotional connections with anyone but their significant others.

Congrats on finishing Trail of Lightning! It's a certain kind of satisfaction to make it through a book that's been hard to finish.

Ooh that bell hooks sounds fantastic. I'm adding that to my TBR; I need to read more of hooks' works anyway.

I read the first volume of Wotakoi: love is hard for otaku. It was cute, but the first half felt very disjointed, and in general it's got some assumptions on gender and relationships that I'm not crazy about so I don't think I'll keep reading.

I've been re-reading the Eve Dallas series by J.D. Robb. I've had very little luck the last few months in reading anything new.

Finished Trophy Hunt by C.J. Box and on to Killer Heat by Linda Fairstein.

Finally finished First Man in Rome, and moved on to The Grass Crown.

Finished Juliet Takes a Breath last week, and just started Priory of the Orange Tree. Been a while since I've read such a long book and I'm excited.

Also listening to the audiobook of Gideon the Ninth, because I might have a slight obsession with this series now (I've already read the book).

Well, it's a year later but this IS December, so still on topic. =) I'm about to finish the audiobook of A Promised Land by Barack Obama. Never thought I'd find nuanced political insights so entertaining. It definitely helps to sell it that he's narrating his own book.

I may or may not complete Becoming by Michelle Obama before year end, especially since I just learned Steve Alten has a new Meg series book out that I somehow missed.

What I finished reading in December:
Aunt Dimity and the Family Tree
Stone Cold
A Flood of Evidence: 40 Reasons Noah and the Ark Still Matter
Mississippi Jack: Being an Account of the Further Waterborne Adventures of Jacky Faber, Midshipman, Fine Lady, and Lily of the West
Children of the Salmon and Other Irish Folk Tales
Collared
Busman's Honeymoon
(plus about 50 picture books)

What I am still reading in December:
Aunt Dimity Takes a Holiday
The Masked City
Before I Fall
Before I Go to Sleep

Ian wrote: "Well, it's a year later but this IS December, so still on topic. =) I'm about to finish the audiobook of A Promised Land by Barack Obama. Never thought I'd find nuanced political insights so entert..." Thanks for the tip. I think I'll give A Promised Land a try in audio format. Personally, I found Becoming to be very interesting--and it caused me to re-evaluate some public events.

Ian wrote: "Well, it's a year later but this IS December, so still on topic. =) I'm about to finish the audiobook of A Promised Land by Barack Obama. Never thought I'd find nuanced political insights so entert..."

Yes, he's a talented speaker so it follows that he writes well. I have always admired him. Very talented.