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29 February 2024 07:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
a_small_dragonEllis' Reading: February!
A Wizard of Earthsea and Tombs of Atuan by Ursula Le Guin:
I've read these before and it was very nice to read them again alongside Shelved by Genre. Other peoples' tastes are so useful as a way to understand one's own preferences. Tombs of Atuan is such a big inspiration, too. I think a particular children's story idea I have nurtured for a long time may have grown out of reading it and works inspired by it.
Honor Among Thieves:
A YA book about a teen (living) spaceship romance, guardian abuse (between spaceships), sort of rags-to-riches in that YA way. It was cute! Sort of bemused me with how it set up for further books.
The Citadel of Weeping Pearls and The Tea Master and the Detective by Aliette de Bodard.
I think I liked Tea Master better. Aliette is very good at writing women disliking each other, whether in a familial or romantic way. It was easier to parse the action in Citadel than Tea Master, though. I am looking forward to reading her most recent Xuya novella and then starting the two novels. I've had some issues with the audiobook reader's pronunciation at this point and may switch to physical copies.
The Faggots and Their Friends Between Revolutions
An interesting read. A very, very 70s read. This one was a continuation of my foray into utopian works. I have a few more to check out in that category eventually.
Various webnovels many of which aren't worth mentioning, but including:
A Practical Guide to Sorcery by Alyssa Ellis (Books 1-4)
I don't remember how I even found this. It was at some point during my virus-induced mental haze. It reads like a fanfiction, but I enjoy the 'identity porn', as they call it in the fic world. It relies on the main character developing multiple alternate personas, one with powers far beyond what she is actually capable of, and needing to maintain the personas to stay alive.
Super Supportive by Sleyca (up to Chapter 122)
I guess I'm in the (large) target audience for this. It really hits my guilty pleasure reading points (very slow pace, mix of slice of life with action, worldbuilding, focus on character motivations, litRPG elements). So I did end up reading it over the course of two days almost without sleeping and having a job interview in between. But I succeeded at the interview, so...
DNF: Lightless by C. A. Higgins, The House of Shattered Wings by Aliette de Bodard, The Farthest Shore by Ursula Le Guin
Lightless: uncompelling, heterosexual, relies on the concept of sociopathy in a tiresome way, didn't even have more than a cursory mention of AI in the part I got through.
The House of Shattered Wings: I just don't think I like the urban fantasy genre much most of the time.
The Farthest Shore: I couldn't get through it, even for Shelved by Genre. I don't think I liked it much the last time I read it either.
TBR: The Tyrant Baru Cormorant, Exordia, The Saint of Bright Doors, labyrinth nonfiction, Delany novellas, Seven of Infinities.
A Wizard of Earthsea and Tombs of Atuan by Ursula Le Guin:
I've read these before and it was very nice to read them again alongside Shelved by Genre. Other peoples' tastes are so useful as a way to understand one's own preferences. Tombs of Atuan is such a big inspiration, too. I think a particular children's story idea I have nurtured for a long time may have grown out of reading it and works inspired by it.
Honor Among Thieves:
A YA book about a teen (living) spaceship romance, guardian abuse (between spaceships), sort of rags-to-riches in that YA way. It was cute! Sort of bemused me with how it set up for further books.
The Citadel of Weeping Pearls and The Tea Master and the Detective by Aliette de Bodard.
I think I liked Tea Master better. Aliette is very good at writing women disliking each other, whether in a familial or romantic way. It was easier to parse the action in Citadel than Tea Master, though. I am looking forward to reading her most recent Xuya novella and then starting the two novels. I've had some issues with the audiobook reader's pronunciation at this point and may switch to physical copies.
The Faggots and Their Friends Between Revolutions
An interesting read. A very, very 70s read. This one was a continuation of my foray into utopian works. I have a few more to check out in that category eventually.
Various webnovels many of which aren't worth mentioning, but including:
A Practical Guide to Sorcery by Alyssa Ellis (Books 1-4)
I don't remember how I even found this. It was at some point during my virus-induced mental haze. It reads like a fanfiction, but I enjoy the 'identity porn', as they call it in the fic world. It relies on the main character developing multiple alternate personas, one with powers far beyond what she is actually capable of, and needing to maintain the personas to stay alive.
Super Supportive by Sleyca (up to Chapter 122)
I guess I'm in the (large) target audience for this. It really hits my guilty pleasure reading points (very slow pace, mix of slice of life with action, worldbuilding, focus on character motivations, litRPG elements). So I did end up reading it over the course of two days almost without sleeping and having a job interview in between. But I succeeded at the interview, so...
DNF: Lightless by C. A. Higgins, The House of Shattered Wings by Aliette de Bodard, The Farthest Shore by Ursula Le Guin
Lightless: uncompelling, heterosexual, relies on the concept of sociopathy in a tiresome way, didn't even have more than a cursory mention of AI in the part I got through.
The House of Shattered Wings: I just don't think I like the urban fantasy genre much most of the time.
The Farthest Shore: I couldn't get through it, even for Shelved by Genre. I don't think I liked it much the last time I read it either.
TBR: The Tyrant Baru Cormorant, Exordia, The Saint of Bright Doors, labyrinth nonfiction, Delany novellas, Seven of Infinities.