EPBOT Readers discussion

Have a little time so I'll get a check in post up!

Not a whole lot to report since I just posted Monday. Teddy's off to radiation, still doing pretty well. Cranky, but hanging in there, over half done. He'll be happy for the weekend!

Book club Don't forget the book club is reading The Left Handed Book Sellers of London by Garth Nix! The threads are up in the book club folder. I know some people have posted already. I'll be leaving them open, so no rush.

This week I finished:

The Maid - Finished this since Monday at least. I liked it quite a bit. Didn't actually see the ending coming. I liked the narrator a lot. Her voice was weirdly familiar although I haven't actually seen the actress in much. Reminded me of the Daisy Jones narrator I think. I think she brought it to life a lot. Molly was clearly written to be neurodivergent, though it was never explicitly stated that she was diagnosed with anything. I liked how they balanced that just because she didn't always grasp something that would have been obvious to someone else, it didn't mean she was stupid.

The Bone Season - I can't remember if i was still finishing or did finish this for last check in. It's finished now anyhow. It was just ok, a bit disappointing. I don't think i'll continue the series.

Currently reading:

A Day of Fallen Night - Getting into this one, it's a long read but trying not to rush it since the world building is so complex. Kind of wishing I had re-read Priory but that's also an 800 page book. This is set before it, so I'm having trouble remembering all the characters that WILL come to remember if any of them are being set up now.

What Moves the Dead - audio book, although I haven't really started it much. I got a few sentences in and decided I didn't have the attention span just yet. Will probably start it on a walk later.

QOTW:
What books do you recommend to others?

I don't tend to have blanket books I recommend to others. I like to know what kind of books they normally like to read, and then i'll sort through books I've read and figure out ones I think they might like. I'll even recommend ones that I don't necessarily like, if i think they might based on what THEY like. One of my all time favorite books is The Night Circus and I almost never recommend it to people. It's a polarizing book that people tend to love or hate, because it's very atmospheric. I love the dreamy quality to it and the way it makes me feel and think and imagine, and a lot of people just find it boring. I'm not going to recommend it to people who generally like reading stuff with action or adventure or mostly read mysteries or romance etc. I want people to like the books I recommend, and want to talk books with me, not just force people to read the books I read.

Happy Thursday! I'm glad Teddy's doing okay, Sheri. Hoping his treatment continues to go well. <3

Finished:
Witch King by Martha Wells - for the Popsugar mythical creatures prompt. Epic fantasy, and Wells does not hold your hand through the world-building. Personally, I loved it.

Comics & manga:
Lovesick Ellie, Vol. 6 through Lovesick Ellie, Vol. 12 (rather than list them all out)
Witch Watch, Vol. 4: Release the Romance
Wolf Girl and Black Prince, Vol. 1
The King's Beast, Vol. 10
How Do We Relationship?, Vol. 8

Currently reading:
Translation State by Ann Leckie - I'm just starting this now. I wonder if I should have re-read some of Leckie's previous books first, but so far, so good.

Upcoming/Planned:
The Grimoire of Grave Fates (anthology)
Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

QOTW:
Same as you, Sheri, I try to recommend based on someone's preferences, if I know them. If I don't, I try to get a sense of what they like, then look at my own shelves to find something.

There are books I recommend as often as possible. In case anyone wants one, these are normally my "starter" recs. :)

Fantasy:
Little Thieves
The Palace Job
The Thief
Most anything by T. Kingfisher (Usually Clockwork Boys to start)

Sci-fi:
All Systems Red
Ancillary Justice
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet

Manga:
Yona of the Dawn, Vol. 1 (fantasy)
Natsume's Book of Friends, Volume 1 (urban fantasy)
Skip and Loafer, Vol. 1 (slice of life/romance)
Witch Hat Atelier, Vol. 1 (fantasy)

I'm in my end-of-school-year reading slump right now, where I barely have the brain for books as I'm crawling towards the finish line (two more weeks)....

I've only finished one new book in the past 2 weeks, and it's a short one: Spear by Nicola Griffith, a queer feminist re-imagining of the King Arthur legend from the POV of a minor side character. Definitely recommended! I've read a few of Griffith's other books and since this one is so short it doesn't have quite as much depth as her others, but it's excellent for a novella.

In parental bedtime reading, I finished Dragonquest with my 12-year-old and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe with my 8-year-old, so we're now moving on to Dragonsong with the big guy and Prince Caspian with the little one (I have STRONG feelings about reading the Narnia books in publication order, not internal chronological order).

I started Excuse Me While I Disappear: Tales of Midlife Mayhem last night when I just wanted something to read but didn't feel up to anything with a plot (it had been a free kindle first download), but I don't think I'll pick it back up again. I was put off within the first two pages when she started making snarky comments about bridesmaids who she thought shouldn't be wearing sleeveless dresses, because heaven forbid someone sees their *gasp* flabby arms? So I don't know that I'll pick it back up again. I do have A Psalm for the Wild-Built waiting for me at the library and it seems like the kind of book I can handle right now, so when I have a chance to go pick it up that will be next.

QOTW: I will also only recommend books if I know something about the reading tastes of the person I'm talking to. Some of my favorites to recommend are the Parasol Protectorate books by Gail Carriger, the historical fantasy books by Guy Gavriel Kay, ANYTHING by N.K. Jemisin. For brainy historical fiction, the Lymond Chronicles by Dorothy Dunnett (they are not easy reads, but the payoff is intense). And for nerdy nonfiction, anything by Mary Roach or Sam Kean.

I hope everyone is successfully avoiding smog! I'm far enough south that it hasn't been much of an issue.

Sherlock Holmes and the Molly-Boy Murders - Someone is targeting young trans women, raising fears of another Ripper in London. All our major characters are very accepting of said women: Holmes, Watson, Lestrade (who is jibe-tradingly friends with Holmes), and even Mycroft (who is initially skeptical but comes around by the end). On one hand, I don't mind some wish-fulfilment anachronism; on the other, it didn't really feel believable within the canon (see: Holmes's somewhat complicated views on women). More annoyingly, the author used so many sentence fragments. All the time. For no good reason. In the narration. I'm sorry, but that's just not Watson's voice.

The Real Queen Charlotte - This was listed as an activity option in the "Queen Charlotte" category for the library's summer reading program. It felt sort of like reading an expanded Wikipedia article with a lot of primary sources inserted. I would have liked a bit more day-to-day stuff about Johann Christian Bach and details of the gardens and such, but I guess the author was trying to get through the queen's life in a reasonably slim volume, which she did competently. Now I get the reading minutes plus 20 activity points!

QOTW: Yeah, you gotta tailor your recs when possible. I don't usually recommend to many people, just a few whose tastes I know pretty well, or if someone posts a call for suggestions with clear parameters and I think I have a good fit.
I agree that Becky Chambers is a good general recommendation; in addition to Small, Angry Planet, I think Psalm is good because it is short, so it's not a big commitment, and it's just so sweet. (Shel I hope you love it!)
I try to bring up A Guide to the Birds of East Africa whenever it seems to fit. (Shel did like that one, yay!)
For classic mystery fans, Magpie Murders is my absolute must-read, but I feel like most people sufficiently into the genre to fully appreciate it have already heard of it.

I’m in Michigan, we’re getting some light haze and poor air quality. Nothing compared to New York, I think the lakes are dispersing a lot of it. So far the levels have been at “warning for those who are in sensitive groups”, like asthma, bad allergies, lung conditions, etc. I think we’re in the 150 range compared to New York’s 400 something. Not bad right now, it’s dispersed down to “moderate”.

We've been doing okay here in New England. Tuesday was bad but the last two days have been much better. But my daughter in the Hartford area has it bad. It doesn't take much distance here to go from green/yellow line to deep into the red. Maybe 20 miles.

This week I finished A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail. It was okay for me. It was entertaining enough but not overwhelming to me.

I just started Lessons in Chemistry for neighborhood book club. I'm enjoying it generally so far (about 20% in). But the part I'm in is taking place in 1952 and there are several things that I'm thinking "I highly doubt that would have happened in 1952. Nope."

And Sheri, I needed an "in stock" library book and your message came in exactly while I was looking online so I picked up The Maid.

QOTW:
In the past few months I've joined and become semi-active on reddit and particularly in the "suggestmeabook" group. The demographics seem to skew to sci-fi so I've recommended a bunch of Scalzi, Murderbot, etc, but I've certainly recommended The Thursday Murder Club as well as others. It obviously depends a lot on what the original poster asks for.

It is harder to recommend books more generaly IRL for me unless I know the person and their tastes really well.