Wednesday again, and a little break to talk books! Whew.

What have you recently finished reading?

Mostly just manga. I’m now working my way through The Other World’s Books Depend on the Bean Counter (Kazuki Irodori adapting Yatsuki Wakutsu’s light novel), and I’m enjoying it. I’m curious to read the light novels, as well, though I’m not actually sure if either manga or light novels are a finished series. Aresh’s interest in Seiichirou is cute, but I’ll get frustrated if they don’t start to communicate about that soon.

What are you currently reading?

The only thing that’s really close to an active read is Daniel M. Ford’s Necrobane, which I haven’t picked up in a few days. I’m enjoying it, but I just don’t have the attention span while I’m digging deep to get my assignments done. I am still reading something from Serial Reader, at least, which is Baroness Emma Orczy‘s Unravelled Knots at the moment. I’m not a huge fan of her “The Old Man in the Corner” mystery stories, having read a bunch of them in British Library Crime Classic collections, but I’m curious enough about them to keep reading, at least at this bitesize pace!

What will you read next?

I really don’t know. Because it’s on my Litsy Book Spin Bingo card, I’m thinking about Hetta Howes’ Poet Mystic Widow Wife, and I’m also very curious about Liz Pelly’s Mood Machine as a counterpoint to the other book I read about music streaming. But I’m having a bit of trouble settling down to read because of my assignments and moving-related upheaval, so we’ll see.

What about you?

It’s that time again!

What have you recently finished reading?

Anthony Boucher’s Rocket to the Morgue, which is a fascinating meeting of two genres I love: it’s a mystery, but it’s a mystery about the classic pulp era of SF, and a lot of the characters are based on those writers: Heinlein, L. Ron Hubbard, etc. It feels weirdly like a book that could be written now out of nostalgia, though it was first published in 1942. I enjoyed it, and I’m curious about the other books featuring Sister Ursula.

What are you currently reading?

I started Daniel M. Ford’s Necrobane finally, yesterday — I meant to start it soon after finishing The Warden, but got distracted, as I often do. It took me a minute to pick up some of the threads again, but I’m enjoying it so far, and feel like some of the things that annoyed me have improved (Aelis doesn’t talk to herself so much).

Wish she’d talk to other people more, though… she’s keeping a secret she really ought not keep. As so often, I expect that to soon drive some drama.

I’m also reading Glenn McDonald’s You Have Not Yet Heard Your Favourite Song, which… it’s so not my area, it’s a little hard to evaluate it, to be honest. He’s very pro-streaming and pretty pro-Spotify, but at the same time, shares some of my values about listening diversely and artists getting paid.

What will you read next?

Liz Pelly’s Mood Machine: The Rise of Spotify and the Costs of the Perfect Playlist should be an excellent counterpoint to You Have Not Yet Heard Your Favourite Song, so I might go with that. I’m also eyeing up some E.C.R. Lorac books which turn out to be available on Kobo Plus. In terms of the #BookSpin challenge on Litsy, I should read Robert Jackson Bennett’s A Drop of Corruption and Hetta Howe’s Poet Mystic Widow Wife, to get my #BookSpin and work toward a bingo.

But, as ever, who knows?!

What about you?

Yay! Time to talk about books. Yep, it’s Wednesday.

What have you recently finished reading?

The last couple of things I’ve read were really short; the second volume of Dan Abnett’s Immortal Red Sonja, which I didn’t like, and Alix E. Harrow’s “The Knight and the Butcherbird”, which I did enjoy and is going to linger with me a bit. I’ve been needing short books a bit, since things are busy, and those both filled a hole.

Before that, I finished up reading Lara Maiklem’s A Mudlarking Year, which was very like the first book by her I read (Mudlarking). I liked it less than I liked Mudlarking, oddly enough for the same reasons as I liked that one, perhaps partly because I’d read more criticism of her possessive attitude over “her patch” and so on.

What are you currently reading?

I’m close to finishing up with Scarhaven Keep (J.S. Fletcher), which is a classic mystery that’s going exactly where I expected it to. There’s just one thing I’m wondering about, and I’m not sure I see where that’s going. Or rather, I hope that my vague thought is wrong, because that would be an annoying turn and I don’t think it’d make a lot of sense.

I’m also reading Peter Ackroyd’s Queer City, and I’m… not enchanted? It just feels like a series of lists, somehow: it’s a lot of information, and that without numbered references, so it’s hard to follow up even though there’s quite a lot of sources listed at the end. And it just doesn’t feel very… lively? I don’t know. Non-fiction can be very engaging, but this one’s not grabbing me.

What will you read next?

I’m not sure, as usual. I half-started Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones’ The Cleopatras, a couple of weeks ago, but barely passed the prologue. It’s on my Book Spin Bingo card for this month again, so I might dig further into that and get properly started. The Book Spin and Double Spin choices are Robert Jackson Bennett’s A Drop of Corruption and Anthony Boucher’s Rocket to the Morgue, so those are options too.

Or something totally random. Who knows!

How about you?

Hello all! Yesterday was “patch day” in FFXIV, with a new raid wing released — which might mean nothing to most of you, but mostly it means “ouch, busy time with a hobby!” So I haven’t been reading a whole lot, but I’m hoping to fix that somewhat tomorrow.

What have you recently finished reading?

The last thing I finished was Mortal Follies, by Alexis Hall. I went into it really not sure if I’d get along with the prominent non-involved narrator’s voice, and ended up loving it. I feel like maybe it could’ve been trimmed and tightened here and there, but mostly when it was over I was annoyed there wasn’t just a bit more.

I’ve also been mainlining the Fence graphic novels by C.S. Pacat and Johanna the Mad, and I’m also annoyed there wasn’t more! I love Seiji and Nicholas, and the supporting cast too.

What are you currently reading?

Actually… nothing, which is kind of the problem. If I had something I was partway through, I’d probably be doing a better job at picking something up… but nothing’s really grabbing me. Or the books I want to read are not the ones I think I “should” be reading (in order to make progress on the book spin bingo challenge on Litsy).

Which strikes me as very silly now I write it out — who cares if this isn’t a book I put on this month’s card? Gaah, brain.

What will you read next?

I don’t know! Same problem applies. I’m currently tempted by a book on Jane Austen I got recently (Jane Austen in 41 Objects, by Kathryn Sunderland), or Molly O’Neill’s Greenteeth. I’m not a huge fan of Jane Austen, but I love that kind of format for non-fiction… and Greenteeth sounds really good too.

So I guess it depends whether my brain keeps on insisting on the bingo card books!

How about you?

What have you recently finished reading?

The last thing I finished was Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales, which I’d stalled on for a bit due to life stuff. It took a bit to nudge me back into it, since I was halfway through and had stopped at a weird spot — but not that much, ahaha. I read the last 150 pages or so in two big gulps. I really liked it; I’m not sure if it’s actually the conclusion or there are thoughts about more, but it makes a good potential conclusion.

What are you currently reading?

Most of my other current reads are stalled for similar reasons, but yesterday I started reading Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones’ The Cleopatras, which I’m fascinated by so far — it’s really interesting to see “the” Cleopatra as part of a dynasty of remarkable women.

I’m also reading Scarhaven Keep by J.S. Fletcher, via Serial Reader. So far it’s… well, it feels like a classic mystery, which it is, and that sort of familiar structure is very comforting to me. I’m enjoying it, although so far it’s not particularly remarkable.

What will you be reading next?

As soon as I’m done with my tasks for the day, I want to make a start on Everything is Tuberculosis (John Green). Tuberculosis is a bit of a special interest for me, and it sounds like for him too (based on the blurb on the back), and I’d love to have a pop-science book about TB to recommend people.

(If you take one thing away from my blog, please let it be that TB is still a very important disease, and in some ways a growing — not diminishing! — threat. It’s the biggest cause of death by a single infectious disease in the world.)

Other than that, I want to start on the third volume of The Apothecary Diaries light novels soon, especially since finishing that would get me a bingo in the Litsy book bingo game I play.

How about you?

What have you recently finished reading?

The last thing I finished was Fighting Fit, by Laura Dawes, which was all about the multi-level effort to keep Britain healthy during WWII. Some of it I knew already, but a lot of the details I didn’t. I found it really readable and enjoyable, except maybe the chapter on scabies (really made me feel itchy, gah).

On the same day I also finished The Roads to Rome, which I ultimately found a really annoying read where I struggled to retain anything no matter how carefully I tried to pay attention. Probably a bit too much of a travelogue for me.

What are you currently reading?

I’m most of the way through The Virtues of Underwear, by Nina Edwards, which I’m enjoying — even if it introduced me to the concept of the, I kid you not, “corset hoodie”. Which sounds like a travesty to me, I’ll be honest.

Other than that, I’m partway through Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales, by Heather Fawcett, which I paused for really not fitting the mood. I might be ready to get back to it now.

What will you read next?

As usual, that’s hard to answer. More rereads of A Gentle Noble’s Vacation Recommendation, for sure, and I should start on reading more of my library books, so maybe Zen Cho’s Spirits Abroad.

What are you reading?

Hello all. Trying to get back to normal after a rough week with a bereavement, so here’s a little pinch of routine for me.

What have you recently finished reading?

Feels like a lifetime ago, but I actually started rereading A Gentle Noble’s Vacation Recommendation. I really only just read it, but a reread has already proved useful, reminding me where Lizel found the map that is only finally fully explained in volume 10, and some of the circumstances around meeting Ray (and then Shadow). Odd some of the details my brain didn’t hang onto, but a comforting reread is really just the ticket right now anyway.

What are you currently reading?

Most actively, I’ve started on A Brief History of the Countryside in 100 Objects, by Sally Coulthard. In format and topic, it’s pretty much guaranteed to be soothing to me, and indeed it is. As often happens with non-fiction aimed at a very broad audience, I wanna stick “citation needed” all over it, because there’s no way to track a particular assertion in the text to a source, argh! But it is more or less what I expected it to be, and that’s nice.

I’m also partway through a few other books, including The Rainfall Market (You Yeong-Gwang) and Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales (Heather Fawcett), but I’m not in a fiction mood and never am in this kind of situation, so knowing myself well, I’ve laid those aside for a few days.

What will you be reading next?

I’m probably going to continue my reread of A Gentle Noble’s Vacation Recommendation, as a volume of that works well with my bedside light’s sleep timer to put me in a good mood for sleep. But since I’m generally focusing on non-fiction for now, the next non-manga I read will likely be The Virtues of Underwear (Nina Edwards) or Fighting Fit (Laura Dawes).

What are you reading?

What have you recently finished reading?

I think the last two books I finished were A Pirate’s Life for Tea (Rebecca Thorne) and my advance copy of The Tomb of Dragons (Katherine Addison). The complexity and richness of the worldbuilding in Addison’s work was cruel to A Pirate’s Life for Tea, though also I just found that the tone didn’t suit my mood and it all felt… kind of juvenile.

As for The Tomb of Dragons, I won’t talk in terms of spoilers (unless someone wants to send a private message and ask me something specific), but I was disappointed about a particular development in a way that makes me feel betrayed as a reader. There were lovely things about it, but there was a major thing that just… didn’t make sense to me as a choice.

What are you currently reading?

I’ve started a bunch of hares at once, hoping to get a blackout on my BookSpinBingo card on Litsy. Most notably, I’m diving into Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales (Heather Fawcett), and am honestly impressed with myself for actually starting on it so quickly. So far I can’t really comment on the plot.

I’ve also started Joan Cockin’s Villainy at Vespers, which I’m enjoying — classic crime seemed to be indicated for my current mood. In the same vein, though a very different genre, I picked up some more non-fiction to suit my mood: Close Encounters of the Fungal Kind (Richard Fortey), though I think I prefer his books on palaeontology, actually (his actual subject).

What will you be reading next?

That’s a mystery to everyone, including myself. But I think volume three of The Apothecary Diaries (light novel) might be indicated — or a mass-reread of the manga A Gentle Noble’s Vacation Recommendation. It hasn’t been long at all since I read them, but I don’t always feel I understand the characters yet, and reading them again quite quickly might actually help connect some dots.

Plus, the antics of Lizel, Gil and Eleven are just entertaining, even if the author persists in claiming they’re all just friends, despite the hair-stroking, face-touching, nibbling-on-fingers-type behaviour they indulge in.

What about you?

Good afternoon! I’m writing this in somewhat of a hurry, as I have a date with a bunch of library holds waiting for pickup, but let’s see…

What have you recently finished reading?

I juuust finished the second volume of the light novel The Apothecary Diaries (not the manga). I really liked it, and it really turns out that I shouldn’t have gone to bed last night without spending another 5-10 minutes to finish it, because my brain kept oooon turning over the conclusion of the story, wondering if I’d understood what was going to happen right. (I had.)

I guess I need to order volume four, lest I mainline volume three just as quickly.

What are you currently reading?

I’m a chunk of the way into the third Hilary Tamar book, The Sirens Sang of Murder, by Sarah Caudwell. I’m really enjoying this series and its wit, and this pack of ridiculous lawyers. I have posted jokingly elsewebs that I think it’s very rude of the author to have only written four books in this series, and to have died, and I maintain the joke while feeling compelled to remind everyone firmly that it is, indeed, a joke. (Yes, someone took me seriously and yelled about it.)

The introduction to this one was very tantalising and I’m very curious how Julia’s going to get arrested. Again.

I’m also reading The Unmaking of June Farrow, by Adrienne Young, but it’s not really sticking with me… and Unlikeable Female Characters, by Anna Bogutskaya, which I’m finding frustratingly obvious (which makes me re-evaluate how much I liked her book on horror).

What will you be reading next?

Signs generally point to the next (and last) Hilary Tamar book, honestly. It’s comparatively rare for me to read a series in close sequence, but these books have been suiting my mood beautifully. There are also a number of books I need to get to for the “BookSpin” and “BookSpinBingo” challenges on Litsy, though, so I might pick up one of those.

How about you?!

February’s a marathon of studying; I’m having fun with it, but it does put a bit of a damper on reading time. Still, here we go with the usual weekly update!

What have you recently finished reading?

I’m about to (finally) finish The Spellshop. I stalled on reading it at first, mostly just because of mood reasons, but I got back into it in the last week and read it in big chunks. I love Meep and Caz (the sentient plants), and I do enjoy the cosiness of it, though I found Kiela’s relationship with Larran a bit rushed.

Before that, I finished up Around the World in 80 Birds, by Mike Unwin, which I liked — it’s really beautifully illustrated, though a bit less whimsical than some of the illustrations in other books of this series.

What are you currently reading?

The Light Eaters, by Zoë Schlanger, a book about plant intelligence. So far it’s discussing plant senses, not so much intelligence — which is fascinating in its own right, since a lot of people don’t even realise plants have senses, let alone imagine the idea of plant “intelligence”. I’m not sure how we’re going to define intelligence for these purposes, but I look forward to finding out.

What will you be reading next?

Uhhh, good question! I have a few eARCs lined up, and I’ve finished my reread of Katherine Addison’s The Witness for the Dead and The Grief of Stones, so I might start by reading The Tomb of Dragons. After that, I just got approved for T. Kingfisher’s Hemlock & Silver, and Robert Jackson Bennett’s A Drop of Corruption, so I miiiight focus on those. I’m trying not to let a backlog of books acquired in 2025 develop to go with the older backlog of… everything else. We’ll see!

How about you?