club The Great Reading Thread of 2023

[Darciana]

10 hours ago, Scaly Freak said:

I created a section called "reading resources" at the end of the opening post for this thread, and added Thrift Books. I also added Bookshop.org because they support local bookstores and i like them.

 

If I see other good reading resources posted I will add them to the list and make sure it is transferred over to the 2024 thread, when that day comes.  

 

Oh much appreciated! I love supporting local bookstores as well so I especially appreciate any resources that assist in that.

[Heidi]

On 1/1/2023 at 11:05 PM, Defining said:

As always, thank you for starting the thread!  I have no idea what to do with a reading goal this year. I find myself going through binge sessions and then returning to 'old familiar' materials to refresh, and then feeling frustrated at not finding new stuff to read that I can really get IN to. Will have to put some thought into it...

I'm feeling this pretty thoroughly right now.

Our Missing Hearts was really just that good.

 

Also, someone mentioned The Tale of Edgar Sawtell (maybe @WolfDreamer?) and I'm here to encourage this selection!

[Heidi]

13 hours ago, Scaly Freak said:

I created a section called "reading resources" at the end of the opening post for this thread, and added Thrift Books. I also added Bookshop.org because they support local bookstores and i like them.

 

If I see other good reading resources posted I will add them to the list and make sure it is transferred over to the 2024 thread, when that day comes.  

Thank you!

[Heidi]

one of my favorite independent bookstores is Books & Crannies.

https://www.booksandcranniesva.com/

They ship anywhere!

[Heidi]

4 hours ago, Artemis Prime said:

I've never read her (I really thought I had, but when I checked my Goodreads I didn't have anything, so if I did I didn't log it) but I have heard good things about Everything I Never Told You.

I haven't read that one yet, but I fell in love with her style and the way she crafts and reveals characters in Little Fires Everywhere (also highly recommend this book).

Our Missing Hearts joins a small list of books written as amazing books that happen to reflect and hone our times.

From my blog post:

Each step along The Way of Authority, there have been artists showing us what we are living through, holding up a mirror to reflect, unsparingly, what we have become, to condense it all into a laser, a lighthouse beam flung through the dark future, illuminating the skerry landscape that lies ahead.

 

1984.

Fahrenheit 451.

The Man in the High Castle.

The Handmaid’s Tale.

Our Missing Hearts.

Celeste Ng has vaulted from amazing artist to Cassandra.

[WolfDreamer]

25 minutes ago, Heidi said:

Also, someone mentioned The Tale of Edgar Sawtell (maybe @WolfDreamer?) and I'm here to encourage this selection!

 

Yes, it was me. I've been eyeing that book for a few years now and feel it's finally time.

[Heidi]

Just now, WolfDreamer said:

 

Yes, it was me. I've been eyeing that book for a few years now and feel it's finally time.

Well, I adored it.  

Defeinitely intersted in your views, if you fee like sharing.

I read it over a decade ago, and back then I thought it belonged on the short list of whatever counts as "The Great American Novel"

[WolfDreamer]

14 hours ago, Scaly Freak said:

I created a section called "reading resources" at the end of the opening post for this thread, and added Thrift Books. I also added Bookshop.org because they support local bookstores and i like them.

 

If I see other good reading resources posted I will add them to the list and make sure it is transferred over to the 2024 thread, when that day comes.  

 

I haven't checked, but is Better World Books on that list? Discounted/used books, and for every book you buy they donate a book to a literacy program.

[Heidi]

28 minutes ago, WolfDreamer said:

for every book you buy they donate a book to a literacy program

o wow.

definitely adding them to my source list.

[MaeradCase]

19 hours ago, Artemis Prime said:

I enjoyed Shadow & Bone, but at some point that series kind of lost me. I finished it, but I don't remember a lot of it clearly. I liked Six of Crows much more. There's a bit of overlap in characters, but the two are mostly separate stories that take place in the same world. But then King of Scars starts to tie it all together and Rule of Wolves did an excellent job of resolving things. It was a good enough book that I was sad when Bardugo announced that she was taking a break from the Grisha-verse for the foreseeable future, although I much prefer authors to move on to other projects rather than continue to churn out books that have lost their heart. I thought things were left tidy enough that if she never writes another book in that world, there aren't burning lingering questions, but there are definitely directions to go in if she does decide to return to it down the road.

I first read her Language of Thorns, which I highly recommend, and have reread several times. I did read Shadow & Bone series, but the ending and love triangle was a bit meh? A friend keeps trying to get me on Six of Crows, but I haven't yet.

[Scaly Freak]

8 hours ago, Heidi said:

one of my favorite independent bookstores is Books & Crannies.

https://www.booksandcranniesva.com/

They ship anywhere!

 

Added!

 

7 hours ago, WolfDreamer said:

 

I haven't checked, but is Better World Books on that list? 

 

It is now...  

 

[Artemis Prime]

18 hours ago, MaeradCase said:

A friend keeps trying to get me on Six of Crows, but I haven't yet.

You should! Six of Crows is so much better than Shadow and Bone.

[Darciana]

21 hours ago, Heidi said:

o wow.

definitely adding them to my source list.

 

I very much agree. That line sold me. 

[Darciana]

1 hour ago, Artemis Prime said:

You should! Six of Crows is so much better than Shadow and Bone.

 

I just finished it last night (and began Crooked Kingdom)! It's delightful. I really enjoyed it despite it not quite being my normal genre. Definitely recommend. 

 

Turns out I own the Shadow & Bone Trilogy from years ago. My mom is shipping it to me today to read (I've read somewhere that reading Shadow & Bone trilogy and Six of Crows duology really help when it comes to reading King of Scars duology (Rule of Wolves was recommended and it's the second book in this). Since I own them, I'll give them a shot, even if I ruined them by reading Six of Crows first... oops?)

[Darciana]

Goal on track. I finished my first full book of 2023 in the nick of time last night with Six of Crows. 

 

Fortunately I have Crooked Kingdom already purchased and waiting which I began before bed. I now have 27 days remaining to finish that and stay on track. 

 

Plan/path forward for my own reference (and if anyone has recommendations because this is NOT set in stone):

• My mom is shipping me Shadow&Bone so that should cover March, April, and May (yay for saving money! I didn't know I had Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom at home already. Now she's inherited them haha)
• I have Stolen Heir (Holly Black) already and need to read it (June? Should be a quick read for me as I love Cruel Prince series)
• If it's released in time (says Spring 2023) Beck Michaels is releasing her Chronicles Book 1: King's Bride set in the same world as the Guardians of the Maiden series. Also, that should have book 4 coming out soon but she's focused on King's Bride first. Possibly a quick read? No clue.
• August, September, and October I have Chain of Gold, Chain of Iron, and already preordered Chain of Thorns (I think it was released yesterday? Or day before) by Cassandra Clare. 
• Throne of the Fallen (Envy standalone in the same world as Kingdom of the Wicked trilogy) is released Oct 3rd so I should have it just in time for my birthday, happy birthday, me! I'll save that for November. 
• No idea on December right now. My TBR is loooooooooong and I'm only adding more to it every day (just today I added about 10 books and most of them are just the first of a series). 

 

**Stepkids are here for summer so Memorial day weekend until first week of August I'm booked up. June and July we travel and are not home most weekends. I need quick easy reads if I want to stay on track with 1 book a month. 

[Artemis Prime]

23 hours ago, Darciana said:

Since I own them, I'll give them a shot, even if I ruined them by reading Six of Crows first... oops?

No ruination. Honestly, I barely remembered Shadow & Bone by the time I read Six of Crows. There is very little overlap between the two.  If anything, I'd have liked King of Scars/Rule of Wolves better if I remembered/felt more attached to the Shadow & Bone characters, but even without that, I liked it a lot.

[Darciana]

4 hours ago, Artemis Prime said:

No ruination. Honestly, I barely remembered Shadow & Bone by the time I read Six of Crows. There is very little overlap between the two.  If anything, I'd have liked King of Scars/Rule of Wolves better if I remembered/felt more attached to the Shadow & Bone characters, but even without that, I liked it a lot.

 

That's good to know. Maybe I'll find a way to slip King of Scars/Rule of Wolves in my year's reading plan if I can remember to budget more book shopping to get them (I can't buy just 1 or  2. Ever. It's impossible.) 

[Artemis Prime]

Just finished Guards! Guards! yesterday. I had a little trouble getting into it, but I ended up really liking it. Prachett's not at the height of his powers in this one, but he still makes me laugh. And I'm excited to see how the characters continue to develop in future City Watch books. But first I need to read Killers of a Certain Age for my book club and I'm itching to get to The Last Graduate as well.

[MaeradCase]

I started rereading The Books of Pellinor by Alison Croggan, and all the landscape and food descriptions are making me excited about second draft vibes - now that I know a skeleton of events, I can start building world content to envelop my story, right? 😍

[Artemis Prime]

Taking another stab at audiobooks. Usually my attention wanders and I end up missing things. I'm trying out Harry Potter while I cycle. So far it's going well. I'm still missing bits here and there, but I know these books well enough that it doesn't matter. Hopefully I can train myself well enough to eventually listen to a book I haven't already read seventeen times.

[MaeradCase]

1 hour ago, Artemis Prime said:

Taking another stab at audiobooks. Usually my attention wanders and I end up missing things. I'm trying out Harry Potter while I cycle. So far it's going well. I'm still missing bits here and there, but I know these books well enough that it doesn't matter. Hopefully I can train myself well enough to eventually listen to a book I haven't already read seventeen times.

You might also find a reader who keeps your attention when you try other books. It could be based on the story teller that they're not retaining your attention at 100%. Hope you stay safe while biking!

[Darciana]

So a wrench is thrown in my reading plans. Kind of. 

 

I forgot I signed up for my HOA's reading club. (I live on a ranch so it's not reaaaally an HOA. It's really fun, honestly). 

 

Starting March 1, we start and switch books once a month. Only pay for one book and get to read 12 I think it is? I know there's a limited number of spots for this club so there's a limit to the number of months/books that get passed around. So I guess, once I finish Crooked Kingdom (assuming I can stay on track. I'm a bit behind right now since its a short month and I forgot about that until recently), I'm forced to be on track for my goal for the rest of the year by nature of my book club. Not sure the titles or if I'll even like them, but it doesn't hurt to try. It was my 20 SOC to reach out and sign up. Been part of the ranch for 1 year this month (actually 1 year tomorrow!) and I've finally allowed myself to be involved in something. 

[Artemis Prime]

11 hours ago, MaeradCase said:

You might also find a reader who keeps your attention when you try other books. It could be based on the story teller that they're not retaining your attention at 100%.

I've been told this, but I don't think it is on them. I've tried lots of different ones. I just seem to need a visual component. Critical Role is actually what helped me realize that; I tried to listen to the podcast version of the episodes because I figured they're just sitting around a table, I don't really need to see them. But I could not follow the episode without a video. 

 

11 hours ago, MaeradCase said:

Hope you stay safe while biking!

Thanks! I'm actually on a trainer set up in my barn, so pretty secure. When I'm out on the trail, I don't like to listen to anything.

 

43 minutes ago, Darciana said:

Been part of the ranch for 1 year this month (actually 1 year tomorrow!) and I've finally allowed myself to be involved in something. 

This is very intriguing to me. What is this ranch thing you've joined? 

I joined an office book club last fall. The point is for us to read outside our normal genres, so mission accomplished, but I haven't been crazy about the picks so far.  Still, broaden the horizons and all that.

[Darciana]

Just now, Artemis Prime said:

This is very intriguing to me. What is this ranch thing you've joined? 

I joined an office book club last fall. The point is for us to read outside our normal genres, so mission accomplished, but I haven't been crazy about the picks so far.  Still, broaden the horizons and all that.

 

So this used to be strictly a cattle ranch. Then the owners turned it into a over 65 community and sold off tracks for people to build on within the ranch proper. Then, in the last 3 or so years, they've opened it up to anybody. They have tracts on this ranch for purchase, now more homes than empty land, but a few plots still available for building. Part of the agreement is that at least 75% (I think) of the acreage you own must be open to the grazing cattle (out of the 8 acres we own, only 1.5 acres or so are fenced in around the house, maybe less). Our HOA dues are to maintain roads, horses, and cattle. We can then apply for property tax agricultural exemption on the unfenced (open to grazing) land we own. There's a gardening club, a book club, they have a pickleball group, weekly trail rides on the horses as well as riding lessons, swimming pool, and main house that has games, a library, and a kitchen with a rentable pavilion outside. We have our own tiny airport and our own volunteer fire department on the ranch, as well. There's probably more I'm not yet aware of. I wanted to join the gardening club, but it's 9-10am Mondays and I have a weekly work meeting from 930-10 that I cannot miss so gardening club is out, sadly. I'm going to have to take an hour of vacation to go to the book club meeting to do the introductory meeting and get our first book since it's right smack dab in the middle of my workday. The downfall of it recently being a retirement/over 65 community, most things happen during the standard workday. I'm fortunate I work from home so this book club thing isn't too terrible to do since I'm not having to commute but maybe a mile, but I can't do a weekly thing like gardening club, as much as I'd love to. 

[Shello]

2 hours ago, Darciana said:

 

So this used to be strictly a cattle ranch. Then the owners turned it into a over 65 community and sold off tracks for people to build on within the ranch proper. Then, in the last 3 or so years, they've opened it up to anybody. They have tracts on this ranch for purchase, now more homes than empty land, but a few plots still available for building. Part of the agreement is that at least 75% (I think) of the acreage you own must be open to the grazing cattle (out of the 8 acres we own, only 1.5 acres or so are fenced in around the house, maybe less). Our HOA dues are to maintain roads, horses, and cattle. We can then apply for property tax agricultural exemption on the unfenced (open to grazing) land we own. There's a gardening club, a book club, they have a pickleball group, weekly trail rides on the horses as well as riding lessons, swimming pool, and main house that has games, a library, and a kitchen with a rentable pavilion outside. We have our own tiny airport and our own volunteer fire department on the ranch, as well. There's probably more I'm not yet aware of. I wanted to join the gardening club, but it's 9-10am Mondays and I have a weekly work meeting from 930-10 that I cannot miss so gardening club is out, sadly. I'm going to have to take an hour of vacation to go to the book club meeting to do the introductory meeting and get our first book since it's right smack dab in the middle of my workday. The downfall of it recently being a retirement/over 65 community, most things happen during the standard workday. I'm fortunate I work from home so this book club thing isn't too terrible to do since I'm not having to commute but maybe a mile, but I can't do a weekly thing like gardening club, as much as I'd love to. 

This is the coolest thing I've heard.  I want to be your neighbor (but totally not in a creepy way).