Tag: reading memes

What are you reading Wednesday

Posted May 17, 2017 by Nicky in General / 0 Comments

Cover of Sunbolt by Intisar KhananiWhat have you recently finished reading?

Words and Rules, by Steven Pinker, which had a lot of overlap with his other book, The Language Instinct. Interesting stuff, but mostly I let it wash over me unless he’s talking about brain structures, which is more my field. Once that was finished, I also promptly read Sunbolt by Intisar Khanani, all in one go. Fun, but the last half of it reminded me so much of Robin McKinley’s Sunshine that I’m tempted to revisit that now…Cover of New Scientist: How Your Brain Works

Oh, and then later today I finished up reading Sean Stewart’s Passion Play, which was powerful and disturbing and I need to sit with it a bit longer.

What are you currently reading?

The New Scientist Instant Expert book on the human brain. My kinda thing, obviously, so I’ll probably enjoy it, though it’s more basic than I might hope.

What will you read next?

Goodness knows. Whatever comes up next on my Kindle when I can’t sleep, probably!

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What are you reading “Wednesday”

Posted May 11, 2017 by Nicky in General / 2 Comments

Shush, it’s Wednesday. Totally.

What have you recently finished reading?

Cover of Killing Gravity by Corey J. WhiteI finished Killing Gravity, by Corey J. White last night. It’s basically if River Tam was a lot more active about chasing down the people who messed with her brain, and a bit more sane. I love the idea of voidwitchery. I do wish it hadn’t ended there, though; I want Mookie to be safe!

What are you currently reading?

Cover of Within the Sanctuary of Wings by Marie BrennanWithin the Sanctuary of Wings! I’m sort of pacing myself with it, because I don’t want it to be over. Also, I got to a certain bit in the middle and just… yelped and immediately laid hands on copies for my wife to read. Like, nowNow. Why isn’t she reading them???

What will you read next?

I don’t know. I’m thinking maybe Martha Wells’ Tor.com novella, All Systems Red. I wanted to read Sean Stewart’s Passion Play, but the Kindle version from Netgalley is just a mess, missing all kinds of punctuation and the middles of some words. Whaa.

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What are you reading Wednesday

Posted May 3, 2017 by Nicky in General / 6 Comments

Cover of Ancillary Justice by Ann LeckieWhat have you recently finished reading?

I just finished a reread of Ann Leckie’s Ancillary Justice, yesterday. I actually liked it more this time — I think because I wasn’t thinking about the clever treatment of gender as much, but just about revisiting the world and story. And it did help that I knew what to expect; I’m one of those people who likes spoilers.

What are you currently reading?Cover of Radiance by Catherynne M. Valente

Catherynne M. Valente’s Radiance. It’s my book club read on Habitica (in the Legendary Book Club guild, if you’re a member). I didn’t actually expect to get sucked into it so quickly — I tend to struggle with Valente’s work because the imagery is just so dense and I’m not visual at all. I thought that’d go double for a book revolving around cinema. But no, I’m intrigued and eating it up.

What will you read next?

I’d like to read Within the Sanctuary of Wings, and maybe start rereading City of Stairs and City of Blades, ready to read City of Miracles once I get back to Britain and my copy has arrived. But knowing me, I might get distracted by something else. I have some books due back at the library, after all.

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What are you reading Wednesday

Posted April 5, 2017 by Nicky in General / 4 Comments

What have you recently finished reading?

I juuust finished The Vital Question, by Nick Lane. I’d like to read some papers on this kind of thing, rather than a pop science book; he seems so certain about how life evolved and why life anywhere in the universe is probably under the same constraints! And the best bit is, this is kind of my field, so I probably can follow up on some of it. It does give me that wonder-of-science feeling.

What are you currently reading?

I just started The Furthest Station, by Ben Aaronovitch, and other than that I think Samuel R. Delany’s Nova is next on my list to finish.

What will you read next?

I haven’t really decided that yet… I have a new method which my wife taught me. I pick five books out that I’d like to read, she picks two of them, and then I pick one of those two. It seems to be working surprisingly well so far. And I should do that now, probably.

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What are you reading Wednesday

Posted March 1, 2017 by Nicky in General / 0 Comments

What have you recently finished reading?

T. Kingfisher’s Summer in Orcus! For which I have many hearts, as it is the kind of self-aware portal fantasy that I needed right now. I love Reginald and Glorious and even the Antelope Woman, and I want to wander through Orcus and see the birds dancing.

What are you currently reading?

Um, well, I might still be partway through more or less the same books as last week: After Atlas, The Dragonbone Chair (reread), The Stars are Legion… I think that’s it. Probably.

What are you planning to read next?

Probably a couple of ARCs — Kiernan’s Agents of Dreamland is next up on the list, I think. After that, some non-fiction. A friend told me that Nick Lane’s The Vital Question is a difficult one, so now I’m curious.

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What are you reading Wednesday

Posted February 15, 2017 by Nicky in General / 4 Comments

What have you recently finished reading?

Francis Pryor’s Britain AD, with which I had a lot of arguments. I don’t dispute his understanding of archaeology, but I’m not sure about his grasp of linguistics, genetics or literature, which unfortunately come into this somewhat and appear to counter some of his theories. But I have a whooole post on that coming in… uh, April. So I’ll stop now.

What are you currently reading?

I’m still reading Ellen Klages’ Wicked Wonders, rereading Tad Williams’ The Dragonbone Chair, and I’ve started on On the Origin of Species — Darwin, of course. It’s a little slow going, but as a biologist in the making, I feel like I really should read it — and he argued his case very, very well. I’ve also still got The Stars are Legion…

What are you planning to read next?

I’m trying not to plan what to read next! I need to get some of the books I’m already reading squared away. I’m going to focus on Wicked Wonders next, I think.

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What are you reading Wednesday

Posted January 25, 2017 by Nicky in General / 4 Comments

Every time I firmly promise myself I won’t miss this again, something comes up and I miss it for weeks. Sorryyy.

What have you recently finished reading?

I finished up a reread of Naomi Novik’s His Majesty’s Dragon — and have raided the library here in Leuven for the next few books. It’s better than I remembered, actually; the alternate history is careful and clever, and Laurence’s relationship with Temeraire is sweet. Things which are meant to be emotionally affecting really, really are. And corners are not cut just to give you a nice ending to a story arc.

What are you currently reading?

The Burning Page, by Genevieve Cogman. I’ve nearly finished it now, which is both exciting and a little daunting. There are going to be more books, right? Right??

What are you planning to read next?

I’m not sure. I might try and finish Dark Sky, by Mike Brooks, as I am enjoying it and I’m not sure why I put it down. I’ve also been meaning to reread The Summer Tree, by Guy Gavriel Kay, or possibly his Sailing to Sarantium. Hmmmm, so many choices…

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What are you reading Wednesday

Posted December 7, 2016 by Nicky in General / 4 Comments

It’s been a couple of weeks since I did this last because I’ve been so busy with assignments. Fortunately, I’ve had a bit more time to myself this week, so this feature is back!

What have you recently finished reading?

I’ve been rereading the Narnia books, so I just finished The Horse and his Boy. I read in chronological, rather than publishing order, so I’ve already read The Magician’s Nephew and The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. I still love the narration. Lewis managed to get something wonderfully warm into it, particularly in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and less so in some of the others. But it is so preachy. Partly just because of the target audience (kids) and writing style (somewhat didactic), but also because of the Christian overtones.

I actually spoke to someone recently who hadn’t figured out that Aslan = Jesus? I actually miss having that kind of innocence about the books, because knowing it’s an allegory and being able to identify all the various points with clear correspondences takes away some of the fun.

I’ve also been rereading Sarah Zettel’s Camelot books, though so far I’ve only finished Camelot’s Shadow. It’s probably my favourite of the four because it has the story of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelle. There’s some minor typographical and editing issues that are driving me a little bit nuts in the UK editions. Like when Father is used as a name but not capitalised! But it’s a very interesting take on the Arthurian legends, even with the romances being the foreground. I love the fact that the matter of succession has been considered, and Gawain is openly being groomed to follow Arthur, while Guinevere has an active role in running Camelot, and… so on. I need to write my review, clearly.

What are you currently reading?

I’ve finished most of the books I have on the go at the moment. I’m partway through rereading Throne of Glass, by Sarah J. Maas; hopefully, I’ll catch up with the series this time. I still feel the same about it as I did the first time. It’s fun, but it’s not nearly perfect.

Next up: Camelot’s Honour, Prince Caspian, Crown of Midnight…

What are you planning to read next?

After dropping my reading goals, I’m trying to find more joy in my reading again, so I’m doing quite a bit of rereading. I know I want to reread The Invisible Library and The Masked City, by Genevieve Cogman, so I can get round to reading the new one. I just got approved for the ARC! I also want to reread Guy Gavriel Kay’s Fionavar Tapestry trilogy, and Robin McKinley’s Sunshine, as well as finish rereading Sarah Zettel’s Camelot books, the Narnia books and of course, Tolkien’s The Return of the King.

I’m also trying not to plan too far ahead. I finish a book; I pick up the next one which makes me smile.

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This Is My Genre, Show Me Yours

Posted November 17, 2016 by Nicky in General / 2 Comments

Saw this tag out in the wilds of Lucille @ A Dragon in Space‘s blog, and thought, yep! This sounds interesting.

This is my genre, show me yours!

The Rules:

  • Credit Drew @ TheTattooedBookGeek as the creator of the tag, either use the created tag name graphic or create your own and link back to my blog.
  • Answer the questions.
  • Tag as many people as you want.

Because I’m contrary and have no art skills, I am not creating a graphic.

1. What’s your favourite genre?

Probably fantasy. I mean, I’m really eclectic and wander into science fiction, crime/mystery, non-fiction and even romance. But unless I can sneak in sci-fi too by calling it speculative fiction… actually, yes, let’s do that. My favourite genre is speculative fiction.

2. Who’s your favourite author from the genre?

This is a really big ask. I mean, there’s Tolkien, because his work is an enduring love of mine. Well, I faltered a bit as a teen, but then read Ursula Le Guin’s essays and came to appreciate all over again the good parts of The Lord of the Rings, like the wry notes of humour. And then my degree taught me to appreciate the deep background, linguistic brilliance, etc.

And come to that, there’s Ursula Le Guin, whose works were also formative for me.

But if we’re talking whose work I pounce on immediately, I guess we’re at Jo Walton. She is not only an awesome writer who wrote Among Others, a book which reflects my own heart, but she is also a friend and giver of great advice.

3. What is it about the genre that keeps pulling you back?

The sheer variety, I think. One minute I can travel with Bilbo from the Shire, and the next I can travel by sandworm across Arrakis, or struggle to get home from Mars with Mark Watney. There seems to be just about no limit to the different books I could easily lay hand on even in my own collection.

4. What’s the book that started your love for your favourite genre?

That’s an easy one! The Hobbit! I probably wrecked my eyes reading that book — my parents told me I had to sleep and to stop turning my bedside light on. So I read by the light of the streetlamp… two houses away.

5. If you had to recommend at least one book from your favourite genre to a non-reader/someone looking to start reading that genre, what book would you choose and why?

No, no, this is silly, I’d need to know the person and their preferences. You have to tailor your recs, or it makes no sense. But for a lot of people, I might go with Harry Potter. It seems to have been a gateway drug for many, and it’s a pretty pacy, easy read.

6. Why do you read?

Why can’t I stop? Not that I want to.

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What are you reading Wednesday

Posted November 16, 2016 by Nicky in General / 4 Comments

What have you recently finished reading?
Mara Wilson’s biography, Where Am I Now? Obviously, I wanted to be Matilda as a kid, so it was interesting to catch up with the life of someone who lived the dream… sort of. It’s quite touching in places, and she writes frankly about her anxiety disorder. I found it entertaining and worth the read.

What are you currently reading?
On the go right now… The Return of the King, as I finally finish off my reread, and Dark Sky, by Mike Brooks — the sequel to Dark Run. Tolkien’s work is fascinating, of course, although for once I think maybe I’m not quite in the right mood. Dark Sky is entertaining, though I’ve got a bit bogged down in the current section with the riot. I’m not entirely sure why. Perhaps I’m just being picky in general about my books. It wouldn’t be the first time…

What are you planning to read next?
I’ve got a tonne of non-fiction reviews all lined up to post at around the same time, so I think I’m going to try and make sure it’s fiction, at least. I have to look at my reading challenge prompts that are left; stuff like ‘a book I haven’t read since high school’ and ‘a book and its prequel’. Hmm…

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