Books (General)

[marble sinew]

Didn't Season 1 have like 5 time skips?

[zinc flicker]

Post time skip HotD / F and B ||Rhaenyra should have stayed a spoiled entitled brat. It’s her whole shtick ||

HotD + F and B || post time skip they also should have focused on Alicent’s kids more in S1 and not intentionally demonized Aegon. Alicent should not have made up with Rhaenyra. The Strong boys should have been just as bad as the Targ boys. (Like, Jace and Luce are kinda awful in the book) Vaemond should have been justified and not just power hungry.

And like the biggest thing of all is the S1 treatment of Aegon, setting him up as the bad guy to Rhaenyra’s story. || these are all things in S1 that seeded the S2 problems.

||oh also Daemon! All the bad things he does happen off camera so we can’t make him seem as bad as Aemond!||

[viral fractal]

||I disagree with the Strong boys being just as bad as the Targ boys, Jace in the books kinda is a moral paragon. That said they should have had Daeron early and not made Aegon so bad (Aemond being an anime villain is enough)||

[zinc flicker]

||I mean a few things they did were bad: Jace is supposed to dance with Helaena insultingly to Aegon (in the show he’s all noble for it but he does it intentionally to spite Aegon in the book). Luce stabs Aemond out of pure malice. Luce also just kinda mocks him for years about it. ||

||the Strong boys are supposed to be propagating the issue too||

||I agree about anime villain Aemond but it only works if Daemon matches ||

F and B || it is important to note Jace dances with Helaena to publicly humiliate Aegon||

HotD and FandB || I forgot about Laenor! Yeah Rhaenyra should’ve killed Laenor ||

[junior dew]

I use the margins app now. Apparently it’s iOS only rn though, as it’s newer

[lusty meteor]

He said he wants to work on dunk and egg novellas and a F and B sequel. Its over

[wet belfry]

Yknow

[alpine drum]

I think that GRRM (or potentially someone else if his wishes aren't followed) could get Winds of Winder to a Wind and Truth status pretty easily if that makes sense

[wet belfry]

I'm sitting here thinking "man the only other author I can even think of who has a book in this extended editing purgatory is Scott Lynch" and that led me down a rabbit hole where I discovered he and GRRM have the same publisher

[lusty meteor]

Does rothfuss not count?

[wet belfry]

Editing purgatory specifically

Last I heard Rothfuss' publisher said they'd never received a single page from him

[lusty meteor]

I dont think winds is in editing purgatory i just think it is not done

[wet belfry]

Lynch turned in Thorn of Emberlain like four years ago now

[zinc flicker]

Not by GRRM

[vital ibex]

Its not done but hes still revising and editing as he goes

[wet belfry]

I'm also taking this analysis as mostly correct

[hollow hedge]

Published but not finished, whatever 70% of the book he says he has, we'll see it eventually

[zinc flicker]

I think the estate will sell after he’s dead

And someone will finish it

Going against GRRM’s wishes

[wet belfry]

If, as he says, he's sitting at 1.1k pages, he's sitting on a mostly-done book which he hasn't finished probably because it has issues that need to be resolved sooner before an ending that makes sense comes together

[marble sinew]

He has everything done except the plot

[hollow hedge]

I honestly don't think that will happen, George has the resources to leave the rights in the control of a foundation in his name, managed by people he trusts for at least a generation or two

[wet belfry]

If he ever does finish it, I think it'll be done very suddenly

[old bone]

all this when he had marketed himself saying his trilogy was already completely written

that's why his stings more than GRRM

[marble sinew]

I suspect he's got it in a done* state, and the asterisk is that he can't make the conclusion he reached work with where the series is supposed to go

[wet belfry]

Rothfuss has entirely trashed multiple versions of Doors of Stone over the years, by his own account

[lucid isle]

I'm reading book 5 now and book 3 has been my least favourite so far

[hollow hedge]

yeah, I don't know if Rothfuss was explicitly lying when he said he had Doors of Stone, so much as he eventually realized that the book sucks

I've always been under the impression that Rothfuss would eventually reach a copout ending of 'I don't really want to talk about all that interesting stuff'

[wet belfry]

I think he's in too deep in his own head to pull out of whatever tailspin he's in

[lusty meteor]

Manuscript pages isnt actual pages. I think swords was 1500?

[marble sinew]

Actual pages aren't actual pages, I'm sure if I tried hard enough I could make WaT a 1-page book

[wet belfry]

The last I've heard from Rothfuss is that his non-wife wife was taking the kids and leaving him and he was going through an extended and ugly non-divorce divorce

[proper silo]

non-wife and non-divorce?

[lusty meteor]

Both books 1 and 2 went through major rewrites. I dont think the proto doors of stone bears any resemblance to the story now

[wet belfry]

Never got married but had been together for like 15 years

Common law sort of scenario

[marble sinew]

Rothfuss is very much a hippy, and he's split with the mother of his children

[proper silo]

ah, i see

[hollow hedge]

I think George's basic intent was that he has a certain ending point that he wants to reach with Winds, he doesn't necessarily want the cliffhangers and loose ends of the past two books

it's not just reach X pages and print

try to end the story arc, if not the series

[lusty meteor]

Rothfuss has a bad combination of psychological blocks and in story problems. Having one is surmountable. Both is a death sentence

[hollow hedge]

I could imagine Rothfuss one day swallowing his pride and releasing some version of the book that he doesn't artistically believe in, but only if the day comes where he really needs the money

I don't think Rothfuss will ever finish the book in a sense that he's satisfied with it

[lucid isle]

I want to read The Wise Man's Fear, but at the same time I don't want to leave myself on an infinite cliffhanger

[random dome]

oh yeah i'm allergic to apple products so that one would not work for me 😅

[wet belfry]

Which won't ever happen if he keeps skimming huge amounts of money off his shady charity

[lusty meteor]

He did get payed an absurd amount of money to release chapter 1 and hasnt so

[hollow hedge]

eventually his shady charity is gonna run out of money, is the allusion here

[random dome]

my work phone is an iphone and i loathe the thing b/c i have no idea how to do anything in it

[lusty meteor]

I will not read WMF until DoS gets a release date

[lucid isle]

This is where I am

[hollow hedge]

I read Name of the Wind and that was enough for me, it was interesting enough and I don't regret it, but I don't know if I'd read more even if Rothfuss puts out a Doors release date

[lusty meteor]

I liked but didnt love notw so i am not pressed about it

Asoiaf hurts bad on the other hand

[hollow hedge]

I'd read more if Doors of Stone comes out and it gets glowing, rave reviews, and sounds like it's honestly a fantastic book, but I doubt that so hard I'd barely consider it a possibility

[viral fractal]

Delusion

[hollow hedge]

I think it's delusional to say it won't be published, but like I said, finishing it is a different question entirely, no shot at this point that it'll be finished

[lucid isle]

What is Asoiaf...

Did you sneeze?

[wet belfry]

I can see GRRM torching his stuff from his deathbed in a final fit of artistic pride

[viral fractal]

||I think dancing with Helaena is ambiguous but yeah, I do think the Aemond vs Luce thing was hurt by Aemonds actor post time skip looking so much older than Lucerys||

[wet belfry]

A Song of Ice and Fire

Game of Thrones book series

[viral fractal]

||Daemon should’ve killed him and Harwin 😔 ||

[lucid isle]

Gotcha thanks

[hollow hedge]

George has talked on his blog about scenes he expects us to see after he's gone, and has frequently praised the Tolkein estate's curation of his works, I don't think George has any interest in destroying the work he's already done, he just doesn't want more done in his name

[zinc flicker]

I forgot that (F and B) ||Rhaenyra orders Vaemond beheaded and fed to Syrax (by Daemon). Then, Viserys orders his entire family’s tongues cut out||

[junior dew]

I haven’t read ASOIAF and don’t plan to at this rate.

I read KKC back in college. I remember liking it quite a bit then but I have forgotten so much that I would have to reread if DoS ever released, so I am super not pressed about it. Would be cool to see it release one day. But if it doesn’t then well I have plenty to read as is

[lucid isle]

I've tried to read A Game of Thrones twice now and can't get into it

[hollow hedge]

I think the first three ASOIAF books are 100% worth reading even if nothing else is ever published, it's a reasonably satisfying end to a story arc even if there are stories on the horizon that would never be finished

[lusty meteor]

Of the unfinished series, kharkanas and gentleman bastards will get finished. KKC and ASoIaF wont, is my guess

[zinc flicker]

F and B and HotD ||losing that ambiguity does make him more “noble” tho||

[vital ibex]

And Dragonsteel will never start

[brazen pilot]

i was looking at erikson's facebook last night and he said kharkanas would be done by christmas, last summer

but now he said it'll be done by spring

[lusty meteor]

Hype

[wet belfry]

Was that before or after Christopher Tolkien died and the rest of the estate decided to cash out?

[lusty meteor]

Is there a reason they didnt give amazon the rights to the Silmarillion?

[wet belfry]

I believe it is because New Line still had them?

I disagree with nearly all of Christopher Tolkien's artistic sensibilities but at least he was an effective warden agains the Rings of Power type vultures

[hollow hedge]

I think George is well aware that he can't prevent unauthorized sequels from being made forever. Even the best case scenario, the series eventually hits public domain in a hundred years or whatever the law of the time says

but I think he'd still like to hold out as long as they can, even if there's a 20 year gap between his death and someone attempting to finish it, like, how many people will even care to read some author's version of the ending then?

[wet belfry]

I can see a mix of the Tolkien estate kind of just getting their bag, his ongoing beef with HBO's adaptations, and just generally being a crotchety old man coming to a deathbed decision to throw it all out despite what he's previously said, especially since he's never seemed terribly thrilled about someone else finishing his work

[hollow hedge]

I just think he distinguishes between 'someone else finishing his work' and 'publishing what he's already written', I don't think the two ideas are connected

[wet belfry]

Depends on what decisions he has / has not made, I guess

If his posthumous editor is making basic plot decisions he never figured out to make whatever gets published more of an actual book, that's a second author and not really an editor anymore

[lusty meteor]

Idk what is worse optics, Martin doing a bunch of things that isnt writing the book or Rothfuss doing nothing but not writing the book

[hollow hedge]

I don't see why they would? I don't think he would direct his estate to fill in any gaps of the material he leaves behind, I don't expect he would want more than a line edit

[wet belfry]

Rothfuss spends about four months a year doing his charity, and used to spend a good deal of the rest of the year on the convention circuit. Not sure if he still does the latter or not

[hollow hedge]

I think the only decisions an editor would make are like, if George wrote three versions of a chapter and wasn't sure which one to use, which one do they include?

[lusty meteor]

Editors dont make decisions like that for george

That has happened by the way

[hollow hedge]

obviously not, during his life time, but that's not what we're talking about

[wet belfry]

As I understand it Christopher Tolkien wrote a good deal of what amounts to original prose to get his father's notes into publishable form. If GRRM hasn't written something that like baseline works, they either have to take a best guess or they can't publish

[minor sleet]

It’s gonna be best guess

Because the money is just too good to turn down

[wet belfry]

Right, and best guess sort of definitionally requires taking an authorial place in the product and not just an editorial one

[lusty meteor]

It is so crazy to me that there is a file on some computers somewhere with these manuscripts

I guess not necessarily for rothfuss smh

[hollow hedge]

I haven't read all the extended middle earth stories so I honestly can't say there, but I don't think George is looking for anyone to take an authorial place

[minor sleet]

I think at this point the question is more “will it be published while he lives or posthumously” and the extent to which someone else would have to edit or create the story if it is posthumous

My pet theory is that they’re done but he’s got them locked in a vault for a year after his dead

[wet belfry]

Which is why, even after all he's said, I think he might destroy what he has before he dies

[minor sleet]

Well George you better get on that. Because any of us could die at any time

[hollow hedge]

I think he just needs to issue clear instructions, and nominate people he can trusts to manage his affairs

[minor sleet]

We could all be hit by a bus tomorrow

[hollow hedge]

I mostly just expect it to be, "I have 1,100 pages, we publish 1,100 pages", and that's that

[wet belfry]

I don't disagree but clear instructions and trusted managers only go so far if he's got plot elements he needs to figure out to make his story work

[hollow hedge]

(note that George has already shared hundreds of pages with his editors in NY, so there's no 'fully' destroying it either way)

[wet belfry]

I genuinely think they can't do that

[hollow hedge]

I genuinely think they can, based on what I know about his process (he only really adds to that page count when he considers a chapter 'finished')

[wet belfry]

If later chapters don't fit together in a way that's baseline parseable, they won't publish

[lusty meteor]

WoT only worked bc rj had notes, his editor was all in on the process, and brandon had clout to make narrative decision

[alpine drum]

I mean, the published Dance without it's final chapters

I think GRRM is trying everything he can to avoid doing that again

[hollow hedge]

it's going to be a collection of chapters that just fizzle out without reaching their intended conclusion, George could publish hundreds of pages almost immediately if he were so inclined, that's basically what happened with Dance anyway, they just kinda said 'enough is enough, we'll publish what you have', and George didn't have the clout at the time to hold off

he's talked about having a few storylines of Winds chapters entirely finished (such as Tyrion), as another example

maybe there will be continuity errors between them in their current state, but it's not something a publisher would worry about

(given the presumed circumstances)

[alpine drum]

based on what I've gleaned I think if he were willing to publish Winds in a state where individual character arcs for the book wrap up but it doesn't come together then I think it could be published by the end of the year easily

[ivory cypress]

I want these books to come out so I can watch people be disappointed with them from a distance and feel a tongue clucking auntie type of "well so it goes"

[hollow hedge]

I can't imagine anyone has such high hopes for Winds anymore, at this point it's more curiosity

[lusty meteor]

It will be hard for winds to disappoint, bc the expectation now is we dont get it lmao

[hollow hedge]

like I'm really interested to read it, but my expectations are quite limited

[wet belfry]

The duality of man

[hollow hedge]

I wouldn't be at all surprised if it was a thousand pages of George spinning his wheels and making as much plot progression as two TV episodes

[alpine drum]

I think GRRM set up a lot of interesting stuff which I think he will write (in many cases probably already has written) well

[alpine drum]

given that the preview chapters we have gotten do more that that already idk where this sentiment comes from

[hollow hedge]

that's not how I remember the preview chapters, but it's been a decade since I read them

[wet belfry]

I honestly think this would be me except I feel like I know too much to be at a distance, largely because there was a good six month period of time leading up to the final season of the show where I couldn't go to any space on my ship where someone was not watching Game of Thrones

I read the books in like 2013ish and I didn't particularly like them

[alpine drum]

Winds ||Dany is about to meet the Ironborn and leave the city. Storm's End has already fallen to Faegon. Ramsey's army is about to be defeated. Jon is about to be resurrected and head south. Euron is about to take the Hightower ||

[lusty meteor]

george's problem has always been getting big events to happen in the right order, not just spinning his wheels and not getting to them

the logistics are as big of a barrier than anything else

i think asoiaf is still worth reading, but i will only recc it once it is clear whether it will be finished

[hollow hedge]

I suppose it's a matter of perspective, there are a lot of things in books like Feast and Dance that I look at as wheel spinning but other readers really enjoyed, not something that really makes sense to argue about

[lusty meteor]

boiled leather order redeemed those books for me

but they are still way too bloated and meandering

[ivory cypress]

yeah i can see that, can't get the distance from it back sometimes

[lusty meteor]

also imagine this channel if winds drops lmao

@viral fractal might get banned

[zinc flicker]

Legit I just want an ending to all the hanging plot threads and Idc how I get it.

[zinc flicker]

Camille and I just need to write it

You’ll get your 1k page (ASOIAF) ||Brienne x Jaime|| smut and like it

[hollow hedge]

I think there’s merit to just having a book of someone like James Hibberd just talking through the various storylines with George, what he was trying to accomplish, what went right and wrong, changes made along the way, might be a more interesting book than Winds itself

They did something like that for the TV show

[viral fractal]

It’s so over if winds drops

I am not finishing that PhD

[lusty meteor]

you really cant win

winds doesnt come out: disaster

winds does come out: disaster

[viral fractal]

The only way to win is not to read Asoiaf in the first place

[wraith lynx]

glances at my tbr so... about that 😅

[low hill]

I read Game of Thrones and never felt any urge to continue onto whatever the second one was called.

[viral fractal]

Could never be me

[alpine drum]

I do honestly think that even in it's unfinished state there is more reward to get from ASOIAF than there is disappointment

[viral fractal]

It is still one of my favourite books of all time

I wish to god it were finished but I still adore it

[viral fractal]

Depression

[velvet umbra]

if anything publishable exists in any form a corporation will get hold of it and publish it there is simply too much money on the table

[long sorrel]

I'm surprised it was only 65%

[low hill]

It felt as though it would be more negative, yes.

[lusty meteor]

copium is strong

it would have been more negative if i specified published by George

[frozen glacier]

I think we get 2-3 Dunk and egg, fire and blood 2 and then wind in 2034

Dream of spring I think we never get but I think we get winds

[royal carbon]

Hope springs eternal

[frozen glacier]

I feel pretty confident we will get at least 2 dunk and egg books. Low key I think it’s his favorite and he’d prioritize it and the show over asoiaf

[viral fractal]

Please god if we get winds by 2034 that would be a miracle

[lusty meteor]

is dunk and egg that good

[alpine drum]

Have you read it?

I quite like them

I think GRRM likes them because
A) the lower stakes means canoninicity it less of an issue
B) hes always liked writing short stories
C) the single perspective is probably easier to get into the headspace for

[lusty meteor]

i have sworn off asoiaf until winds

havent read fire and blood either

[viral fractal]

Fire and blood kinda sucked

It was just a spoof of English history

You could’ve read a textbook about England from the Norman conquest to Henry vii and got exactly the same thing

[lusty meteor]

i dont like in world histories

they are never that interesting

the narrative gimmick runs out on like page 50

[alpine drum]

The illustrated Dunk and Egg collection is very good

Im cautiously optimistic about the show now that I know its apparently more of a movie (6 episodes each 30 minutes long)

An 8 hour run time would have been glacial

[vital ibex]

I still think Winds will release

ADoS is obviously never happening though

[frozen glacier]

Per word I like it more but it is simply lesser in total volume and depth

I also like fire and blood becuase I think it’s written in such a fun way to encourage critical thinking about the setting

[hollow hedge]

I did specify that I thought it would be published but not finished

I figure I’m not the only one who expects that

[proper silo]

Managed to read the entire first volume of this book (I am not retyping the title, it's way too long 😫 ), and I have to say, the awful title does hide a really entertaining story

It's a clown show, but like, (affectionately)

[long sorrel]

so, what type of concubine was it in the end?

[proper silo]

It's definitely not as extreme as Captive Prince seems to be The whole premise for the relationship is that the main character knows that the concubine guy is destined to eventually take revenge and murder him, so he's being real nice (while pretending to be real not nice in public)

It's definitely a more lighthearted readd

[long sorrel]

aaah, I see

[proper silo]

(general stuff) ||Half this story runs on the two main leads misreading each other so completely, they end up having two separate conversations and two separate ideas of what their relationship is actually like, which normally annoys me but really works here, probably because thus far, it has mostly been played for humour. Plus, aside from this relationship snafu, the main protagonist is actually smart, when it comes to dealing with politics.||

||And it's funny to see the concubine guy be the one who falls in love first, and falls hard, like bro is going "I am going to protect him and care for him and treasure him always" in his head while the protagonist is still in the stage of "I think I have a decent chance of not getting murdered by this guy 😃"||

Anyway, yeah, it's fun, I can recommend it thus far

[zinc flicker]

I think we get ADoS in 2036

[viral fractal]

Okay that’s delusional

[zinc flicker]

By a writer that’s not GRRM posthumously after the estate sells off his life’s work

[viral fractal]

Okay that might happen

[long sorrel]

A Drop of Scorruption?

you think he's gonna be dead in 10 y?

[zinc flicker]

My mom re: GoT + ASOIAF || “Jaime has to be cool he slept with Brienne”||

[proper silo]

same tags ||You've heard of STDs, now introducing: STCs, sexually-transmitted coolness||

[minor sleet]

Wait is he lying about his second r

[zinc flicker]

My mom supports the agenda

[minor sleet]

Where’s the other r, George Raymond Martin

[long sorrel]

I know, it's just also a really weird thing to think

of like, living people

[snow vessel]

I miiight get bury our bones for an irl friend...

She's asked for books we think she'd like, I'm thinking of getting her Bury our Bones and Gideon the Ninth

[zinc flicker]

I do think it’s morbid and insensitive, but it is also a reality GRRM needs to be thinking of (and refuses to acknowledge)

[long sorrel]

I don't think he needs to at all if he doesn't want to lol

[lusty meteor]

I think its fair to criticize Geroge for promising X books and delivering less

I just dont think that should bridge into assaulting his character

Or yelling he is going to die at a con

[long sorrel]

critizicing for not delivering isn't the same as considering he needs to look at his own mortality for the sake of the book fans though

critizing is always fair, as long as it's not done so agressively, but he doesn't actually owe anyone anything

[lusty meteor]

I think if winds wasnt so delayed it would be a fair convo to have, but now it comes of as mean spiriting

Like if the cosmere isnt done when brandon is 75 im sure people will ask what his plans

Actually he probably infodump them during a magic the gathering stream

[long sorrel]

I have 0 expectations the cosmere will be finished

[zinc flicker]

I mean look at Robert Jordan. He prepared for it.

[snow vessel]

Especially when we keep getting new eras and projects announced

[zinc flicker]

I think, really, a lot of fans just want honesty. He says he’s writing, but it seems like he isn’t and he’s stringing along fans saying he’ll finish the series when it’s become pretty clear he won’t.

[long sorrel]

I absolutely understand that

[zinc flicker]

I don’t think he owes anyone anything

[long sorrel]

But if he doesn't want to do plans for his eventual death then he doesn't, was my point.

I have no idea what's actually going on with him, in between me not following it and just the general stringing along as you said

[viral fractal]

I am super frustrated but speculating on his death feels a lil ick

But yeah at that point it’s the elephant in the room

I know he’s said he wants to destroy everything unpublished but I devoutly hope he won’t

[vital ibex]

we might actually get the whole story of the cosmere including side stories if he stops magicking up mistborn eras out of thin air

[velvet umbra]

I guess he added it later?

[snow vessel]

-# gestures at cyberpunkborn

[vital ibex]

im genuinely salty about this

[snow vessel]

I like the idea and would be a lot less irked if there wasn't so much else to get to already

[velvet umbra]

I don't view it from like a "he owes us this" perspective I just think he would probably like to leave things off on a more positive note and cement the series legacy and just going "yeah yeah Im workin on it" for 20-30 years until he, well can't anymore is not a good way to do that

obv I dont know the guy and I don't think it's really the place of strangers to convince him of it but also at this point I'm not judging people for in their own separate conversations about it acknowledging the reality of the situation

[lusty meteor]

i think the frustration with george is generational at this point

on three separate occasions he has sad sorry for the long wait but it was worth it bc i can finish the series quickly now

and each time the wait has only increased

while he simultaneously has been doing very public other asoiaf related stuff

[velvet umbra]

I don't actually think this is as much of an issue as people make it out to be but I get why its frustrating

[lusty meteor]

he wrote an entire separate asoiaf book after dance with dragons

[velvet umbra]

like the World Con incident a bunch of people were like "well why is he even there and not writing the book instead?" and like I don't think if he had skipped World Con a couple years we would be meaningfully further along

[velvet umbra]

I think people just get annoyed at these things cause they're something concrete to point the finger at

I don't think they're the reason the book is delayed

[zinc flicker]

I agree tbh

[velvet umbra]

if it was just a matter of needing X time to write the book and that was the issue maybe but there's clearly more to it than that imo

people say he just stopped trying and is lying about ever writing but I don't believe that

[zinc flicker]

GRRM seems like a mood writer and he’s never in the mood

[lusty meteor]

im pretty sure he has said in blog posts that he is delaying working on winds to do scripts or press or whatever

[velvet umbra]

I think he has had specific aspects of the story he can't crack/isn't satisfied with

[zinc flicker]

What he needs is a younger writer to help him organize all the plot threads and finalize a timeline and cowrite it, but he has said that is never happening

[lusty meteor]

now whether he would have actually worked on winds during that time is up for speculation

[velvet umbra]

even if he did I don't think it would have solved the problem is my point

I don't think the hangups on Winds are a function of lack of time spent pressing keys

[lusty meteor]

everyday its crazier erikson finished book of the fallen

[zinc flicker]

This, specifically, is what the issue is for me. Because the solution is right there, but GRRM is very prideful (rightfully!) and he won’t budge on saying he’s gonna finish it

[lusty meteor]

plotting the rest of the books is a math problem

[velvet umbra]

I think he absolutely needs help but because of the way some fans have brought the topic up he views doing that as just going "well Im gonna die time to let someone else do it"

which it isnt necessarily but I think he views it that way

[zinc flicker]

I often think of the story plots and how much I loved the characters and interweaving events and how it feels like I’ll never get the resolution I crave

[viral fractal]

yeah, and even if it never gets finished im grateful for what we have

i will just genuinely be really sad if it never gets finished

[zinc flicker]

For me, I just want it finished

[velvet umbra]

He just seems like between rude fan comments, the show reaction making him second guess the ending, the complexity of the plot, and how anticipated it is he's gotten way too in his own head about it

[zinc flicker]

He’s also depressed

[lusty meteor]

it sucks bc asoiaf is the type of story that really needs an ending

[viral fractal]

the show was definitely kinda a bad thing in hindsight

[velvet umbra]

if I had to guess I would imagine there are parts of the book he has fully reworked like 20 times

[zinc flicker]

He is also super pissy about HotD

[viral fractal]

gotta be bad for his blood pressure 😭

[zinc flicker]

He just needs an outline like damn

[lusty meteor]

glass houses tbh

[velvet umbra]

more so than Season 8 even though Season 8 was way more egregious which imo is very indicative of his mental state around the whole thing

[zinc flicker]

Say what you will about Sanderson, the man has contingencies and outlines and plans and notes

[lusty meteor]

season 8 really is one of the worst seasons of tv i have ever seen

[velvet umbra]

he has a classic old man problem of being stuck in his ways

[zinc flicker]

S8 was a byproduct of the books not being finished. HotD feels like a personal betrayal to GRRM.

[lusty meteor]

anyone else remember the starbucks cups?

[zinc flicker]

Only W was ||Brienne x Jaime. But he immediately ditched her lol||

[velvet umbra]

he needs some of his colleagues like Abercrombie or the Expanse guy to just have a frank conversation of like "man your system is clearly not up to getting past this step you gotta try outlines"

[zinc flicker]

Remember when GRRM posted that blog post about HotD

And Camille and I were in here eating popcorn

[lusty meteor]

||he literally walked to his death for no reason smh||

[zinc flicker]

ASOIAF ||man just thinking about the Grand Northern Conspiracy, Lady Stoneheart, Brienne getting hung, Sansa in the Vale, etc.|| so much stuff I am DESPERATE to know about

[lusty meteor]

i dont want the expanse guys finishing his books tbh

they are on the other end of the spectrum

[velvet umbra]

my thing is he HAS to have at least a few of these mostly figured out

he can't be stuck at square one on all of them

[zinc flicker]

It really bums me out

[lusty meteor]

the alt shift x video on ||the grand northern conspiracy is top 10 yt videos of all time||

[zinc flicker]

I love this story

[lusty meteor]

he is probably waffling on some storyline no on cares about

[vital ibex]

the last time a mainline book finished writing was the year Ty Franck (his personal assistant) left to start writing The Expanse

[velvet umbra]

if he could just get some stuff locked in by splitting the book like he did for Feast/Dance I think that would help but hes too stubborn

[lusty meteor]

adwd ||like quinton||

[zinc flicker]

||the Grand Northern Conspiracy going without resolution this long just drives me batty||

[zinc flicker]

😭

ASOIAF ||we still don’t know who Azor Ahai is||

[viral fractal]

Every time I think about Asoiaf I just get so hyped

[zinc flicker]

I just get sad

[viral fractal]

Well I get sad after

[junior dew]

My random prediction is GRRM will live to be 102 and will release Winds in 2029 and Dream of Spring at age 96

[minor sleet]

An extra year of life for every time he puts up with the morbid question of “have you picked out who will inherit your work after your impending death of old age?”

[junior dew]

Just living off of pure spite

[royal carbon]

He would never die at that rate

[minor sleet]

Hence why he keeps giving interviews and going to cons

[oblique zodiac]

Hi

This is my next book called "School Days with a Pig" written by a Japanese author named Buta ga Ita Kyōshitsu

It is about a real elementary school class in Japan that decided to raise a pig together as part of a life-education project. And it wasn't in storygraph so I added it myself

[snow vessel]

Bunny ch11 ||what on earth... ||

||NO idea what's going on anymore||

[oblique zodiac]

Awww. There are actual photos of children taking care of the pig

[merry galleon]

YES! Two more books that I ordered are coming in a couple of days.

[wet belfry]

Youtube is throwing a seven and a half hour "summary" of Mistborn at me by Daniel Greene

I think I'd rather just listen to the audiobook at that point

[lusty meteor]

That aint a summary that is an audiobook

[oblique zodiac]

waat

Comments say that Brandon himself appeared, though I'm not sure when yet

[little dock]

I think it’s a trilogy summary so it’s still shorter than listening to the whole thing

[wet belfry]

Sure but is it shorter enough to be like

Useful

Who is this for

[spring turtle]

People who have already read the book and want something on in the background

[long sorrel]

definetely people that have already read it, maybe want a reminder that's not just 2 paragraphs

or the few people that didn't like Era 1 but want to read everything after? Though I think that's definetely an outlier case

[little dock]

He’s been doing this for a few series (WoT, Green Bone, Red Rising) as a way for people who read the book but don’t want to/have time to reread it but want details. Or for people who have been curious about something but don’t want to actually read it all. Idk exactly who, but people do watch them. They have a decent number of views, especially considering their length.

[vital ibex]

I dont watch them myself but extremely long summary videos do really well on youtube

[velvet umbra]

I watched the WoT one albeit not at one time

I just went back to the timestamp of the previous book before starting the next one

[snow vessel]

Is it generally recommended to read lotr or the hobbit first?

[velvet umbra]

I dont think it really matters

given I would assume most people interested know the like handful of relevant things from the hobbit that come up in LOTR

[ivory cypress]

i think the hobbit first is best, one of the reasons being it's a little easier to make the mental jump towards the more serious lotr rather than go from serious to lighter

[brazen pilot]

i'm not sure why you wouldn't do the hobbit first

unless you like

were really really excited to read lotr and had zero interest in the hobbit

[forest sierra]

I really don't think it matters at all

Hobbit takes place far enough into the past that you can read it as a palette cleansing prequel after LOTR

[lusty meteor]

Hobbit also takes like 4 hours to read

[velvet umbra]

just mood reading

but like honestly if you're putting this much thought into what you read you probably do enough to just knock a book that short and light out in a day

[alpine drum]

if you can get it, I recommend the graphic novel adaptation of the Hobbit

https://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/The_Hobbit_(comic_book)

[ivory cypress]

love this. in the Tuyo World Companion, character listing, when you get to the main character of many of the books:

[oblique zodiac]

Tree Girl is the only 5 star book I've read this year

[oblique zodiac]

Pig Book ||Hmm. Would you eat the pig you've taken care of for 3 years? The students are currently discussing on what they should do with the pig because graduation is coming soon.||

||I see how having these serious discussions as a child play a big part of their growth—something I was missing.||

[cloud socket]

I feel like the tone is different too - Hobbit is a little more whimsical, and the narration shows a bit of cheekiness whereas I think LOTR is more serious but it's been a while since I've reread them

[merry galleon]

30 days until “Of Blood and Fire” is rereleased and I can get my copy!

[oblique zodiac]

Finished this book! I didn't have a good time reading this book because my mind kept spiraling constantly, but it was a good book.

[twin hull]

I’m approaching the end of my current reading pile and opening the door to y’all’s recommendations, particularly things you would say are like a personal 9/10 or better.

[low hill]

What sort of things have you liked previously/recently?

[twin hull]

I particularly like books about clear-thinking people who do things, which has driven me into the arms of works like Worth the Candle and Arcane Ascension, but this also extended to the further reaches like The Traitor Baru Cormorant. (I would classify all of these at least on the edge of “rationalfiction”, but that’s not a requirement, just to explain what connects them in my mind).

I’ve also been okay with unpolished first-draft chaos like Worm, if the thing it has to say is interesting enough.

I’m generally trying to stay with works that are either complete, or soon complete, or made by an author who is pumping out the pages as if they had no other hobbies.

[forest sierra]

Have you read Dandelion Dynasty?

Ken Liu is not a compulsive writer but the series is completed and it's the most intelligent fantasy series I've read

It's full of a lot of thinking and planning and, uniquely, engineering

So much engineering

And if you want someone who pumps out pages as if they had nothing else to do, you could try Adrian Tchaikovsky if you haven't heard of him

[sleek jungle]

Jumping from Worth the Candle and AA, three recommendations immediately come to mind
Cradle by Will Wight
Mother of Learning by Nobody123
Destiny's Crucible by Olan Thorensen

Also, Bobiverse by Dennis E. Taylor

If we're talking about 10\10 best in genre about competent people solving problems, then Project Hail Mary and The Martian by Andy Weir

[twin hull]

I’ve read these, and found that they didn’t hit for me. The defining feature for so much of core progression fantasy seems to be that they are relaxing to the reader, that there isn’t actually anything threatening happening. Which is also why they only begrudgingly accept SlA as an edge case. And while Cradle 1 is an adventure novel, after that it just turns into the endless cycle of John Cradle practicing, and his problems often fading away before he even has to face them.
Similar feelings for MoL, which I can excuse, it’s more of a historical curiosity at this point than a stand-out of the genre?

And yes, Weir’s books are a better fit, I did read those

[sleek jungle]

I had the same reaction you had to Cradle, except to Baru Cormorant. To each their own

[spiral jungle]

I enjoyed Bobiverse, though I do think it's a struggle (in general not just in the bobiverse) to maintain the tension / feeling of there being dangers/problems when you have characters who are hyper competent and grow in power/resources. I mean I think it exists in other kinds of media too. Writers like characters to be powerful and cool, and then struggle to find ways to challenge them enough without hitting them with the stupid bat.

[junior dew]

Omg someone else who has read Dandelion Dynasty

I second Dandelion Dynasty and Tchaikovsky

[low hill]

I've read the first one.

[forest sierra]

I found Cradle to be like fast food

Looking back, most of the books sucked

But I'll be lying if I said I didn't eat them up back to back to back

[forest sierra]

Book 1 of Dandelion Dynasty is more like book 0

[junior dew]

I have to ask, have you read Broken Earth yet?

[forest sierra]

It's a prologue that pretty much covers the rise of the Han dynasty beat by beat with some names changed
From the second book it reads much less like a Wikipedia entry and actually gets original

Not that the first one is bad

[low hill]

Mmm. I didn't really enjoy the first one...

[forest sierra]

Give the second one a try

It's very different

If you don't enjoy it then oh well

[low hill]

-# And given I've already gone off on a rant about books acting as a setup for the rest of the series this week I probably shouldn't do that again just yet.

[forest sierra]

There are very few things I mind if they're done well

[twin hull]

I read the first one, and found it was a bit too suffering-focused? I was told it reduces that later on, but the sauce of the first one didn’t really draw me in, “women suffering” is one of my few things that can make me really walk away from something

[junior dew]

Yeah I will say book 1 of Dandelion Dynasty I was initially like it was solid but not a 10/10 for me, but it retroactively gained a ton of points for me because of how great the subsequent books were and how great of a job book 1 did at building the foundation those books rested upon

[forest sierra]

I think my main problem with the first two Dandy Dynasty books is how uh, adamant Ken Liu is in the presentation of his ideas of things, sometimes even feeling hamfisty
And I say that for things I both agree and disagree with

The latter two books massively improve upon this with nuance

[versed agate]

Speaking of Worm, Practical Guide to Evil?
The author is in the middle of publishing, so I'm not entirely sure what's online Vs (Amazon) ebook

[twin hull]

I checked practical guide recently, and it’s currently not really available it seems (and there’s especially no audio variant, which I usually hope for)

[junior dew]

Ahh gotcha that’s fair!

[forest sierra]

I might try DCC but Cradle and TWI did much damage to my perception of litRPGs

[twin hull]

Hmm!

[junior dew]

Have you done Realm of the Elderlings yet by chance? Or Children of Time?

[forest sierra]

Adrian Tchaikovsky is the infinite TBR hack

Moreso than Sanderson at this point

[junior dew]

Sword of Kaigen is also a 10/10 for me

[old bone]

Have you read Parable of the Sower. Wonderful relevant social scifi

[junior dew]

Though I guess that one I wouldn’t recommend for you because suffering stuff (it’s a war tragedy)

[versed agate]

You might also like Codex Alera
Author is challenged to combine "lost Roman legion" and "Pokémon", succeedes with flying colours by adding a touch of avatar (Jim Butcher's usual foibles are present, if toned down, the protagonist is no Harry Dresden)

[twin hull]

While I’m here already coming across a bit complainy, let me speak about dungeon crawler Carl for a moment: Listen it’s competently written. It’s a normal litrpg. But I don’t think it’s a stand out title in the field.

And most importantly, I find it to be surprisingly cruel? Like, for a book that advertises itself as primarily comedy, isn’t it weird that this book needs basically every single content warning that exists including mega-genocide, and it constantly reminds you of this fact, and you’re still supposed to laugh about the funny cat? I found this hard to do.

[twin hull]

Did read those long ago. Probably feels harder to read now than when I did it

[old bone]

Have you checked out uhh Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy

And uhh A Psalm for the Wild Built

ot Kazuo Ishiguro stuff like Never Let Me Go

[twin hull]

I grew up on Terry and Douglas, yes. My “everyone should read this” reminder this year is “last chance to see” (book), which is the setup written decades before this punchline https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9T1vfsHYiKY

And I read psalm this month actually, you’re honing in

[old bone]

Check out this book on Goodreads: Space Opera https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24100285-space-opera

This is more self indulgent than Hitchhikers, but that decision actually really works well for this book

I would say Comedy is kinda similar to HitchHikers

just a different brand of absurdity

@twin hull

[hollow hedge]

if you're looking for English teacher artistic merit in the genre, you'll like DCC less than Cradle without a question

DCC is a good time but it's not deep

[forest sierra]

Idc too much about artistic credit I just need the stories to not storming suck

I mean I like Mistborn

[old bone]

Time to write a dissertion in the structure of DCC

[junior dew]

Huh… I’m realizing how many of the best books I’ve read/how many of the most impactful books include people suffering in some form but channeled through incredible character work. Not all, but quite a number of them. Hadn’t quite realized this until that comment was made and it made me have to rethink the suggestions

[forest sierra]

And Sanderson is someone I'd very rarely consider particularly deep out of Stormlight and TES

[hollow hedge]

sure, I caught your meaning

[junior dew]

I really enjoyed Recursion by Blake Crouch. Dark Matter was also fun.

Neither are really absurdist though. Those are more speculative fiction

[old bone]

I would add WoA to that list but I agree

[old bone]

Oh no

[forest sierra]

Hm WOA had a modicum of depth too ig

[old bone]

you are inviting a KholinStark rant

[junior dew]

Oh?

[forest sierra]

I haven't read Recursion though

[old bone]

Dude is a Dark Matter HATER

[forest sierra]

But Dark Matter was mid as hell yeah

[junior dew]

I liked Recursion much more than Dark Matter

[forest sierra]

It felt like a Dan Brown book

[twin hull]

I think the “default” progression fantasy in the chill-but-adventure that I would recommend by now is Bog Standard Isekai (the title means “high quality” in universe, not “boring”)

[junior dew]

But I didn’t hate Dark Matter

[old bone]

I like it for that yea

[forest sierra]

Which is pretty much one of the worst things I can say about a book

[old bone]

:kekge:

[junior dew]

Never read Dan Brown myself

[forest sierra]

You just need to read one

[old bone]

I would say Blake Crouch is that but more interesting scifi

He's just this Generation's Michael Crichton

[forest sierra]

Ok yeah I'll say that Dark Matter's premise was initially interesting

It just used it in a very basic way

[old bone]

Yeah the goal is like a page turner that utilizes it enough to create a personal thriller story

than a really in depth utilization of the concept

[junior dew]

Yeah like I said, I was much higher on Recursion

[old bone]

I think Recursion is also that way but just slightly better

[twin hull]

Also, you know it’s not a full disqualifier. I think “Sorrowland” is great, and that definitely features a woman experiencing some hardship. But it’s not constantly focussed on that, instead it’s more like.. you know, persevering in the face of trials.
(Also, maybe audience warning, this is an adults book, even if it isn’t prurient)

[forest sierra]

Unless my book club brings it up I am very unlikely to ever try out Blake Crouch again

[old bone]

Try a Crichton tho?

[forest sierra]

Too much good stuff out there to give him another chance for no reason

Certainly

[vital ibex]

WoA all ||Idk the well was not much bigger than person sized right? Not very deep at all||

[junior dew]

Yeah for sure. I don’t mind a good page turner and the concept I think was really neat + I think he handled it well

[old bone]

Smth like Airframe or State of Fear

[old bone]

I think you would like "One Day All This Will Be Yours".
It's like 8th Doctor (Doctor Who) but if concepts were used more interesting and stakes had more dread inspired (but its not really the narrator having/experiencing suffering but just small insights into the past events)

[junior dew]

I’m really curious what modern day me would think of Verity. I read that probably in 2018 or 2019 and I will admit I ate it all up in one night back then

[old bone]

I had to read it for my gf err ex

I disliked it

[junior dew]

Yeah I’ve read so much more since then. Granted I enjoyed the book back then

Perhaps one of these days I’ll give it another read

[forest sierra]

I had to read Angels and Demons for my ex crush

[twin hull]

Also as a Trigun, I assume you’ve read Time War, Goro

[forest sierra]

Probably the worst book I've ever read

[old bone]

It's forever in my tbr and I still haven't gotten to it yet unfortunately

and yes it was due to that Trigun fan that it came to my tbr

[twin hull]

You should have followed biggolas advice

[old bone]

I am just very moody in what I start

[junior dew]

Lol, my gf’s recommendations tend to hit so good. Dandelion Dynasty, The Girl With the Louding Voice, Homegoing, Sword of Kaigen, Broken Earth. Some of the best books and series I’ve read

[old bone]

Haven't gotten that specific mood yet

[forest sierra]

Yeah my ex crush...well let's just say there are many reasons I put that ex in there

[junior dew]

Lol

[twin hull]

Are you saying your ex has bad book taste

[forest sierra]

But I am uni now and am surrounded by people with similar tastes!

[old bone]

I have had Solanin in paused for 4 years now ScienceBird. That's like how moody I am

(its just a 2 volume manga and I read first volume)

[old bone]

I think surrounded by Similar taste is also bad

but probably better too ig

[junior dew]

Licanius and WoTM I think are the first recs by my gf that haven’t been 10/10s for me. Still enjoyable granted

[old bone]

I have to be caught up on JJK and say I like CSM. (They Don't read books(

[forest sierra]

I prefer being in a comfort zone when it comes to the arts
I read/watch/play to entertain more than challenge myself

But I still like some substance and not pure "entertainment"

There's a balance in there somewhere

[old bone]

I try stuff. I have found I don't hate any genre or w/e unless it's Urban fantasy

and things that make me dislike stuff are extremely uhh nitpicky?

Like KholinStark knows why I hated HoA

and its not a reason anyone would think a person would have

[twin hull]

Alternate pitch for This is How You Lose The Time War: it’s that Dr Who special where Mr. Bean is the Dr. and he keeps one-upping The Master with “yes I foresaw your plan and so I went there BEFORE you did and…” but as a play by post RPG with lesbians

[low hill]

-# Rowan Attkinson.

[old bone]

Nice. Another mood to watch out for 🙏

I hope to get to it soon yes

[sleek jungle]

Book 1 is great, but there's no concrete eta for book 2 except "sometime in 2026" because of some issue with the paperbacks

[forest sierra]

Hell if I know
Last I checked she had stopped referencing books, anime (when I gave anime a try for the first time because of her) and even removed all the poetry and short prose she used to post on her account to appeal to gymbros
That's when I decided we no longer existed in the same world and it's best for me to no longer look back
And with that I'll also stop elaborating on this topic here

[twin hull]

Understandable

[old bone]

Oh wait uhh ScienceBird
Have you heard of The Tainted Cup

[twin hull]

The friends at the table community keeps bringing it up, I only know of the name

[sleek jungle]

Tainted Cup is an awesome fantasy detective story.

[low hill]

And it's my least favourite of the seven books of his I've read.

[forest sierra]

Robert Jordan Branderson

[old bone]

City of Stairs fan or Founders trilogy fan

[versed agate]

Founders 😬 ||I really wasn't expecting it, but I do NOT vibe with the way he handled the hive mind stuff||

[long sorrel]

I should finish Divine Cities...

[sleek jungle]

After Founders and Divine Cities, I'm kinda scared RJB will go in a weird direction I'll dislike in Leviathan books as well. But I loved the two books we got so far!

[versed agate]

yes you should 😠

[alpine drum]

if you want to read those instead of Malazan I will allow it

[twin hull]

Alright, I'm loaning and getting all the books mentioned at me (that I didn't have anything to say against), this should tide me over again for a bit

So thank you for all the input!

[versed agate]

and they never trusted us again

[junior dew]

I should read tainted cup this year

And mercy of gods

And the final architecture books

And Earthsea…

[twin hull]

and unsong

[junior dew]

What is unsong?

Next up on my docket after Licanius book 3 is Cage of Souls or City of Brass. Leaning City of Brass

[sleek jungle]

Mercy of Gods sequel releases this spring!
It also fits into the competent people solve problems niche btw

[junior dew]

Yeah I saw that it’s coming up! And tainted cup 3 I believe I saw is this year too

And Children of Time book 4 this year too! I never expected to get a book 4

So that’s hype

[twin hull]

unsong pitch: In modern day, suddenly, specifically the old testament becomes factually true. Humanity has to cope. It uhh, a funny epic about kabbalah?

This book is available as an online text/podcast audiobook for free, and in a self-published print version that has some content updates based on feedback. I think the print is an improvement, but the original is by far not unreadable. If you know "worm", I think you could compare it to that: the author actually went back and changed things instead of forever leaving it in its original state. Also to be clear, it's unrelated in content to worm

[versed agate]

oh man, Unsong. My favourite book I did not understand

Unsong all ||Uriel is Best Boy. He just wants everything to keep working||

[twin hull]

||Uriel is incredible.|| I think this author, when he's being funny, is as close as I can get to a living pterry. If you would like to first be convinced of what he can do, here's a bit of short fiction he wrote https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/idol-words (4500 words)

[junior dew]

I feel like I’ve seen worm mentioned a few times now too

[versed agate]

it's the Ur Webserial

[twin hull]

Worm's author is this guy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YcG6l08Xco

[versed agate]

oh, you said you like suffering through character study?

you will (probably) like worm

[junior dew]

Wait, for real!?

[twin hull]

the character, not the youtuber

[junior dew]

Oh lol

[junior dew]

I wouldn’t say I like suffering. That’s not why I read it. But I’ve noticed that a lot of my top reads tend to fall within that realm - Girl with the Louding Voice, Broken Earth, Sword of Kaigen, RoTE, Homegoing, Beartown somewhat.

I think maybe if anything it has to do with human resilience in the face of extremely challenging circumstances?

Or it could just be that those books all happened to be written extremely well and the suffering through-line is just coincidental?

[versed agate]

I doubt Worm is up to those standards (I try to be aware of my rose tinted vision), but I do think it fits that description

the unofficial Motto of Wildbow (the author) is "and then it got worse"

[junior dew]

I do think that I tend to be more resilient to those really heavy books than some though. Or I just really am bad at recognizing what books are heavy

Granted a few definitely made me cry at times sooooo…

Maybe it’s not that

[versed agate]

if you want to read it, you can find it here https://parahumans.wordpress.com/

[junior dew]

Perhaps it’s the books’ ability to make me feel really strong emotions

[junior dew]

Lol oof. Yeah I could say a few other books I’ve been very fond of have been guilty of that

[twin hull]

I wrote about worm (and how to read/listen to it) at the start of this blog post https://vetaro.wordpress.com/2024/06/18/2024-in-review-first-half/

[junior dew]

If I read it I’m going to just go in knowing nothing

May be a while though. Next physical/non-audiobook reads are House of Leaves and Left Hand of Darkness

[oblique zodiac]

Idk if this will interest you, but I very much enjoyed "Tree Girl" by Ben Mikaelsen. It's not fantasy, but it's a personal 5/5.

[twin hull]

my blog isn't about what's in there, it's more along the lines of "hey which book of sanderson do I start with"

[junior dew]

Oh yeah Kindred was peak too, but also in that same vein of yeah there’s some heaviness there

[oblique zodiac]

I am so annoyed that all librarys around me close for today. I really wanted to start a new book

[twin hull]

particularly, there are multiple audiobook versions, and I give advice on which to pick

[versed agate]

||Wildbow does not describe what any place looks like, in general. I spent this entire book knowing abstractly what any place of action looks like, without ever knowing where anything or anyone is in relation. He often doesn’t even do a three word description of any place. ||
LMAO I never noticed this. He's gotten better in his recent works

[long sorrel]

I'm only missing the last book

[versed agate]

which reminds me, I should catch up on Seek

[long sorrel]

Yes

[long sorrel]

Yes

[versed agate]

oh, fun fact, the producer of Worm Unabridged is actually on this server

[twin hull]

oh wow, the internet is small

[versed niche]

The Hobbit re read is complete!

On to LotR

[oblique zodiac]

oh nevermimd. there's another one nearby thats open. Never been to this one though

[random dome]

I've been enjoying DCC, though I do have some issues with it here and there

I've never read a litrpg before and I was honestly pretty turned off by the concept. Went in with pretty low expectations, but it's been better than I thought it'd be

I also don't usually listen to audiobooks, but my friend who recommended them to me swore that the audiobook version was the way to go, and I think he was right. The voice acting of the narrator, Jeff Hays, is a lot of the fun

Hays is not only very talented, but there's also a kind of meta banter between Dinniman, the author, and Hays, where you can see as the books go on, Dinniman comes up with increasingly outlandish accent and voice descriptions for new characters and Hays not only does a fantastic job of performing them, but also stays consistent with them as the character keeps showing up

You know like you get a fire demon lady whose voice is described as "matter-of-fact, southern-belle-but-also-German" and then... wow, yeah that's exactly what that sounded like once you hear it

[junior dew]

Yeah Hays is a true one man show

I really have no idea what I would have thought of the series without Hays

[random dome]

I really don't think I would have stuck with the written version the way I am with the audiobooks

[versed agate]

Will Wight has similar fun with Travis Baldree

[random dome]

The plot and characters aren't anything lifechanging, but I found there was more depth to the character arcs than I thought there'd be, which was a nice surprise

[forest sierra]

This sounds great

[junior dew]

Yeah they’re surprisingly well done

[forest sierra]

Cause I was apprehensive about the series despite the overwhelming amount of praise but I have switched to audio so this should be a much better experience

[random dome]

It's not ever going to be my favorite series ever, but it's a nice way to pass time and it's fun

[forest sierra]

Me watching Vox Machina

[junior dew]

Yeah that checks out for me too. It’s not amongst my all time favorites, but it’s enjoyable

[random dome]

Carl is a kind of protagonist that I didn't think I'd personally enjoy because I really didn't think I was the target audience here, but he's won me over anyway (DCC #1) ||And Donut is really wonderful. I love cats regardless and she's really very very sweet.||

DCC #4, mid-book spoilers ||I just got to the part where Carl remembers his dad smashing a fish tank and how he'd decided as a kid he never wanted pets again because they just die... and thinking about how he was going to steal Donut because Beatrice was going to get rid of her (and the mounting clues that Donut was aware Beatrice was going to do this and is still in denial about it, which Carl is letting her pretend everything was ok) is just like... oh that hits my heart real hard. ||

DCC #4, general ||It makes me think about how Dalish would feel if I ever had to leave her or give her up and that hurts so bad. Like, I know she cries when I leave the house, and even when there's other people around, if I go, she specifically will cry to try to get me to come back. Pets have their own kinds of bonds and they don't understand why their people do the things they do sometimes 😭 ||

[hollow hedge]

Matt always releases a lot of preview chapters on Patreon, like more than Brandon (possibly the entire book), but I really can’t read this series without him

[ivory cypress]

Broken Earth is incredible; love Robert Jackson Bennett, but I also gotta say my top authors who give me my regular 9/10s and 10/10s are Kate Elliott, Martha Wells, T Kingfisher and for indie authors, I'm ALL into Victoria Goddard and Rachel Neumeier

i read the first two Dandelion Dynasty books and LOVED THEM, i still have to get to the third and fourth books

[long sorrel]

Ah, Rachel Neumeier is the author of Tuyo

I can't read that name normally 😩

[ivory cypress]

how are you reading it unnormally?

also i'm now and truly caught up on tuyo after finishing the world companion last night and i'm BEREFT i need moooooore

[long sorrel]

Well tuyo means "yours" in spanish

So it just sounds like... really sappy?

[ivory cypress]

ah!

in this book, it's a fantasy-Inuit term for the son of the tribe's lord or warleader left for an enemy tribe to torture to death to end an enmity!

[long sorrel]

Then there's one of the books called "Suelen" right? which means like the verb you'd use for "usually"

[ivory cypress]

yeah, the books after Tuyo then go to first names of characters or peoples they introduce/focus on

Suelen is the name of a dude. an old doctor dude

[long sorrel]

It's such a weird name from my spanish perspective haha

[twin hull]

Same with Frieren

[lusty meteor]

Just finished The Sun Also Rises

Im conflicted on it

[lusty meteor]

Probably should read a different hemingway

[junior dew]

You absolutely do!!!! Book 3 was my personal favorite, but book 4 also slapped so hard. Super satisfying series

[junior dew]

Victoria Goddard and Rachel Neumeier what do you most recommend?

[ivory cypress]

Victoria Goddard I would say Hands of the Emperor or Stargazy Pie, very different vibes in the same universe. Stargazy Pie is a little weaker but the series improves like immediately in book 2 and on

I started Rachel Neumeier with Winter of Ice and Iron, but then I fell into her Tuyo series starting with a book of the same name and. I'm desperate for more

i guess i'll check out her Griffin Mage trilogy now

i'm expecting two more Tuyo books this year

and probably two more Tuyo books a year for a couple more years until she's finished her current bucket of ideas for the world

[junior dew]

Thanks! Adding to the TBR!

[long sorrel]

Hands of the Emperor

I need to read more by her

[lusty meteor]

i am slowly making my storygraph

man i have read a lot of books

[alpine drum]

I feel like I'm too far gone in terms of reading without having logged anything to start how

[lusty meteor]

just log it over time when you remember

best to start now

[alpine drum]

but log is how?

it'd just be a list of books I have read with no info on when or what i would grade it

[long sorrel]

I just started one year

and nothing prior to that is there

Now it has 2 full years which is a lot of books

or maybe 3? I think I added 2023 retroactively because I had the finish dates on my tablet

[wet belfry]

I don't know that that will help

Hemingway is very one note

[tight kindle]

I started December '24. Nothing before that so 2025 was my first full year!

[lusty meteor]

ill give old man and the sea a try at some point

i thought the sun also rises just overstayed its welcome

which is weird bc the book is so short

[wet belfry]

He does work better in short fiction

If length was your only problem then Old Man might work

[ivory cypress]

i went through and added some but i didn't ffel like being exhaustive

[brazen pilot]

if instead of old man in the sea it was old man yaoi then he would be heming gay

[ivory cypress]

and then just when i start, it's easy to keep up than log everything i ever read

[long sorrel]

I could add some stuff but i don't remember everything I've read...

I also would like to log it in the correct decade at least

Which is one more reason to not bother

The only thing I could accurately log are my childhood books

I just saw this, I don't know if I've come across before and didn't notice, however. The word AI snatched my attention since I don't usually read this bit.

No AI has been used for any part of this book.

2025 book

[zealous harness]

Anyone else looking forward to Tuesday and Dresden Files: 12 Months?

[hollow hedge]

Sure, at least a little

Part of me is expecting another Peace Talks, something that feels more like the first half of a book

[mild lance]

HWFWM 1.68 ||I’m enjoying this book enough although there are some clear flaws. I kind of wish we had a bigger focus on Belinda and Sophie than Jason, they seem more interesting||

Oh yeah I’m reading HWFWM, forgot to mention that before lol

[hushed kettle]

DUDE

Why did (RR all) ||lysanders voice actor change in dark age i hate ittttt||

Im listening to the audiobook

[west gate]

should i read wheel of time

[snow vessel]

If you want to

I would say its worth it

[hollow hedge]

WoT isn’t exactly perfect, it has its strengths and weaknesses, so it’d be easier to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ with more information about what someone likes and dislikes in books, but if you’re in 17s there’s a reasonably strong chance you’ll like it

[oblique zodiac]

https://youtu.be/xWNXqwMtPbk?si=SPBii9aO_v6mgKlP

[snow vessel]

WoT isn't perfect but no series is, I think the good bits massively outweigh the flaws

[tight kindle]

The Fifth Season 20 ||poly moment||

[marble sinew]

WoT is influential for a reason, but at times it makes it amazingly clear how far society's come in the last 35 years.

[velvet umbra]

I really do think it's one of those "if you like the genre you have to try it at least once" things

it has a lot of flaws (many of which are themselves emblematic of the genre at the time) but the highs and things it does well just have a special something to them that nothing else really does imo

[proper silo]

@long sorrel I ended up picking up Captive Prince since you were recommending it so 😁

Literally the first actual line of the story is a character bragging about how amazing their slaves are

This book wastes absolutely 0 time on setting up the premise

(I'll probably read it while also reading Remnant of Filth, which will surely lead to absolutely no issues with information retention)

[tight kindle]

Finished The Fifth Season.
Good book.

Might be my first five star of the year

[tight kindle]

Now I need to pick a palate cleanser before I dive into Lightbringer 👀

[light drum]

Anyone have any recommendations for MilFics

[somber timber]

The sixth season

[tight kindle]

I think @low hill I'm going to grab The Hollow and the Haunted

[long sorrel]

It really truly doesn't

[snow vessel]

MilFics?

[low hill]

Enjoy. :⁠-⁠)

[tight kindle]

Mmmm my hold on Don't Let the Forest In is getting close as well

[oblique zodiac]

Military fiction, I think

[light drum]

Military Fiction

[snow vessel]

ooh I've heard of that one

Oooooh I might want to read that soon myself...

[tight kindle]

I think Banished read it

[oblique zodiac]

My next book on my list is "Pippi Longstocking" by Astrid Lindgren. It was in the children's section lol

[tight kindle]

The Hollow and the Haunted 1 ||Omg he's an Earl Grey lover.
Also this book's opening line is just absolutely banger.||

[proper silo]

My brilliant plan of alternating between reading Captive Prince and Remnant of Filth had been somewhat derailed by the fact that Remnant of Filth pulled me in far too well for me to switch to a different book now

Speaking of which, the author has truly reached new heights when it comes to how fast she can get a couple together

Our heroes have not only started a relationship by the time the book begins, they've also already manages to break up

Romance speedrun any% world record to be sure

[twin hull]

Well it IS a children’s book

[oblique zodiac]

yeah it definitely is

[oblique zodiac]

this is definitely the most boring book 😭

[snow vessel]

-# no the most boring book is the children's book brandon wrote

[oblique zodiac]

Finished it finally. First time finishing a book in a single day this year

[twin hull]

Astrid Lindgren wrote books that kind of famously had practically no conflict in them, especially the children of byllerby. The only time I’ve seen something as deliberately uneventful was when I checked out Beware of Chicken.

[merry galleon]

I’m at 228 pages on Titan’s Nest!

Titan’s Nest ||there’s a dark side to the Bitten Knights!?|| it’s getting really interesting!

[oblique zodiac]

Yeah, I pointed that out in my review in Storygraph. I loved how free Pippi was in contrast to my own experience in grade school

my next book on my list is "Matilda" by Roald Dahl

I watched the movie

hmm

this too is in the children's section

[minor sleet]

I remember there being conflict in Pippi Longstocking

[oblique zodiac]

oh, you guys actually read that book?

[minor sleet]

Yes

It’s not as popular as it used to be, but it’s one of the books I read because my mother liked them as a kid

I liked Pippi WAAAAAAAY more than I liked Anne of Green Gables because she had a horse and got to go on adventures and has a pirate father and is super strong

Anne was just… a normal girl in a Canada with an explicable crush on a guy who was rude to her

[oblique zodiac]

The children section is closed for today, so my next book on my list that I'll be reading is "Bartolomé: The Infanta's Pet" by Rachel van Kooij

[twin hull]

Pippi longstocking also has a quite famous TV adaptation

[ripe tide]

Pippi is a ton of fun. I've read it a couple of times (not sure if the whole series, but at least 3 books) both as a kid, and then the first for my children's lit class a few years ago.

[sleek jungle]

Frontlines by Marko Kloos
Planetside by Michael Mammay
Poor Man's Fight by Elliot Kay
Black Fleet by Joshua Dalzelle

[wraith lynx]

I need to finish The Wicked King... 🤔

[long sorrel]

😔

[wraith lynx]

TWK general ||That thing happened again where the book is excellent but I got fed UP with how everyone treated Jude like trash 😭 girlie doesn't deserve this||

But I have time today and maybe like 20% of the book left 😂

[random dome]

Ooooh

[untold leaf]

Welp, my hold on Castle in the Sky became available again, so I guess I have to finish that now. It's a sequel to Howl's Moving Castle, but I haven't found it to be as enjoyable.

[jagged lake]

I was confused until I realized I was thinking of Castles in the Sky (BBC Two television docudrama). It was seeming like a significant tonal shift.

[deft stream]

Is it good? I have been wanting to read it

[proper silo]

I cannot tell you more than the fact that the start of the first chapter is very in-your-face about what's going on in this setting 😅 I started reading it but then switched over to Remnant of Filth cause I have RoF in physical and thus can bring it into the office, while I can't bring my phone (and the books on it) in

(which, we had such an unproductive day in the office, I read 350 pages of Remnant of Filth and still got all my tasks for the day done 🙃 )

So, ask me tomorrow

[long sorrel]

you read the entire book?

[proper silo]

Well, I have thirty pages left in volume 1

[proper silo]

well, and that's those thirty pages done

It's interesting to compare Remnant of Filth to Erha, cause it's like... it's definitely got much slower start, and a lot of the characters feel like they're mixing traits from various Erha characters, but it's definitely its own thing. I'm enjoying it so far, it's drawn me in.

(also, the main protagonist is super up my alley, so that helps a ton )

Remnant of Filth general ||Also I am lowkey curious why Meatbun has such an obsession with comparing her characters to canids. First Mo Ran gets called a dog every chance, and now Gu Mang keeps getting called a "lone wolf", spends some time living with wolves, and even has a wolf-like warrior spirit. It's a little funny.||

[merry galleon]

I just got these two books yesterday! I’m already reading the second book.

[snow vessel]

Might finish TVA now

39 minutes left

[snow vessel]

Ok, finished The Vampire Armand

[snow vessel]

I think my next audiobook read might be either What Moves The Dead or The Hobbit

[white pond]

The Hobbit (my beloved)

[long sorrel]

What Moves the Dead !

[snow vessel]

...well that puts me back at square one, guys xD

I know there's a lot of discourse about spoilers but Ive just had an experience of spoilers actually being a good thing. I've been enjoying the other book I'm reading right now, but sort of slowly struggling to understand what the book actually is. I feel like it started with a clear identity that has become more muddled over time. Anyways, I decided to look up some full-book analysis to see what other people thought and while I did get spoiled on some big plot points, I think it's reinvigorated my interest in the book and just given me a lot more interest in finishing it

[lusty meteor]

Losing motivation to read is a great use case for spoilers

[snow vessel]

This was also just... I feel like there were ideas I was picking up on but I just could not for the life of me fit them together

And that was really bothering me, so even if it took a few spoilers, getting some help seeing the whole picture helped

[junior dew]

Less than 10 hours left in Licanius!

Liking book 3 more than book 2 so far

I think the recap/summary of the first 2 books at the start of book 3 helped with some of the stuff I thought I had gotten mixed up during book 2

And I think I have a better grasp on who is who/what is what in some of the places where it was causing confusion lol

[brazen pilot]

Dreams of Steel 33 ||Soulcatcher is definitely just trying to move things toward whatever climax she has planned. She can help the company for now but can't be trusted.||

[frozen glacier]

That’s just a summary of the character

[brazen pilot]

Dreams of Steel 35 ||Lady killed all the priests. Honestly so valid of her.||

Dreams of Steel 36 ||The fact that the Radisha is horrified but sees the opportunity is what makes it land.||

[frozen glacier]

||Tbf hot || dreams of steel

[tight kindle]

I might end up the facilitator of an LGBTQ+ book club officially tied to my university

[brazen pilot]

Dreams of Steel 37 ||Lady's got some of Soulcatcher's hairs. That could be useful.||

||And Croaker's! Very useful.||

||She suspects that Croaker lives...||

||nope she doesn't realize 😭||

||SHE GOT THAT HER SISTER IS ALIVE BUT NOT THAT CROAKER IS AAAAAAAH||

it's peak

[analog geode]

@zinc flicker P&P 2.9 ||Mr. Darcy is so odd. Just tell her you’re interested!||

[zinc flicker]

||He’s anxious and shy and also a jerk ||

[analog geode]

||He keeps giving up perfect opportunities to get to know her in favor of pouting!||

[zinc flicker]

P and P || Average socially anxious single ||

[analog geode]

Hey, we’re not that bad!

[zinc flicker]

P and P ||yeah! We’re at least nice about it ||

[analog geode]

Omg ||I can’t believe he was the one who convinced Mr Bingley to leave Netherfield!||

Omg omg

||He chose now to confess his love?!!||

[abstract kiln]

Beware of chicken volume 5 all ||don't mind me just basking in finishing PEAK FICTION
The fights were PEAK
The characters were PEAK
The payoff on lore was PEAK
I hope Fa Ram never has to go to war like that again, but damn if it wasn't awesome watching them all go to town. In the winter, without Tianlans help for most of it no less. Heck Wa Shi didn't need her help in the end at all that rascal of a dragon||

[analog geode]

P&P 2.12 ||I wonder if he’s telling the truth about Mr Wickham||

[brazen pilot]

Dreams of Steel 37 ||You know, Croaker is such a man. Got a message through to Lady through making little models. If they retired he'd make a model train set.||

Dreams of Steel 39 ||I like how Longshadow has a bunch of wrong guesses, which he's not wrong to consider, about what's going on.||

[proper silo]

Captive Prince 1 ||I know this world doesn't have photography, but it's still incredibly funny to me that the people who decided to make Damen a slave think they can just send their (former) crown prince to the crown prince of a foreign country and not have him be recognized immediately||

||lmao, and going by Laurent's reaction, he recognized Damen immediately. Good going, guys, this whole "pass the crown prince off as a criminal" trick lasted all of 5 seconds||

[vagrant torrent]

Finally finished my first book of the year! 🤩

AND IT IS FIVE STARS 🥹

[analog geode]

Congrats!

[low hill]

@ripe tide Finished Mask of Mirrors last night. Glad I decided to re-read it as I'd forgotten a fair few of the details.
||Completely forgotten about the curse subplot for example. I had remembered Leato dies, but thought it was much later in the book, at the end almost, instead of only halfway through.
I got the Rook's identity wrong, but I think in exactly the same way as the first time through, which suggests to me that the foreshadowing is off in some way.
I think there's some stuff that must be in book two that I half remember because I was waiting for it to happen in this one when the relevant foreshadowing began.
I remain fascinated by both main sets of magic and how they overlap.
The continued "we just don't care" about anything LGBT+ is refreshing.||

[twin hull]

Following the earlier recs, I started with practical guide to evil. I expected this to be more of a “I’m a self made girl becoming an evil lord” story, but this is like a different angle of “||the dark lord has won and this young girl with a grudge has to learn from a grungly older man how to become crime girl||” which I have heard somewhere before

[low hill]

Re: the Rook: ||Could also be memories from the second book filtering backwards of course.|| We'll see in another week or so, I suppose.

[frozen glacier]

||Nah croaker would make toy armies of the varies black company eras not trains ||

[ripe tide]

I do know of people who have figured out the Rook. Marie says the experience is all over tje spectrum from what she can tell.

Also lol about remembering book 2 stuff and expecting it to happen. I can relate.

[oblique zodiac]

Bartolomé: The Infanta's Pet ||This book is about Bartolomé who is a drawf with malformed physical appearance. His father keeps him locked up in the house, unseen by others, because he is a disgrace to his family. It is very interesting and sweet to see, however, that his brothers and sisters try their best to help him learn to write.||

[low hill]

[Mask of Mirrors] ||All the signs seem to me to point at the sword tutor lady whose name I've forgotten, because Grey is too obvious a choice.||

[ripe tide]

🍿

[snow vessel]

I have absolutely no idea what is going on in this book anymore

[snow vessel]

Ok I really have no idea what's going on

[low hill]

What are you reading now?

[snow vessel]

Bunny by Mona Awad

Been reading it physically over the last few days, just getting to the end now

I keep thinking I know roughly what the story's gonna look like and then something happens that totally surprises me

[uncut shoal]

I'm playing this game where you sometimes get to recommend books to people. One person was like, "I want literary fiction. I'm a huge fan of The Invisible Lives of Addie La Rue." So of course, I up and recommended "Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil" and completely failed the recommendation 😄

I was like, so happy that Bury Our Bones was one of the things I could recommend at the time, and just went 😮 when it failed hahhaa

[oblique zodiac]

Don Quixote sounds like a good book

[deft stream]

Personally I didn't liked it, I read it for school and the only part I liked was Marcela the Shepard. I know the context and the ideas behind it but it was just not for me

[uncut shoal]

It was sad. I like the musical, for the music/verse though

I am I, Don Quixote, The Lord of La Mancha, My destiny calls and I go, And the wild winds of fortune Will carry me onward, Oh whithersoever they blow!

Such a great song

[oblique zodiac]

Bartolomé: The Infanta's Pet 18 ||Craziest thing just happened. Bartolomé was going home after his secret writing lesson, but he ended up catching the eye of the beautiful princess who called him a "dog" and wanted to keep him. Bartolomé's father was the coach which made it even more intense.||

[lucid isle]

I think I'm a little Dungeon Crawler Carl'd out. 3/4 through book 5, it's great but I defo need to dive into something different soon

[minor sleet]

Don Quixote was so funny

Sancho Panza kept saying that he never used idioms, but he knew the perfect one for this situation

https://tenor.com/view/limbus-company-rocinante-don-quixote-don-quixote-gif-11949686678033511805

[oblique zodiac]

Bartolomé: The Infanta's Pet Part 1 ||Bartolomé is being taken to the palace now—because of the princess's request—after the father brutally punched the sister and the mother because he found out they were taking him outside to teach him how to read.||

I only know the term in korean, but I think "omniscient author's point of view" is the right term? This book uses it and the last book I remember had the same POV was Dune

[proper silo]

Captive Prince 2, suggestive ||Staring at the author like I'm Doakes cause I know she has a thing for exhibitionism but I can't conclusively prove it ||

[minor sleet]

Semi related but Pacat is both she/her and he/him now

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._S._Pacat

I get the impression that writing those books was formative on multiple levels

[proper silo]

Huh

This book is... genuinely uncomfortable to read right now

I've gotta say, the promise of there eventually being a good plot is doing a lot of heavy lifting in terms of making me push through this chapter

[deft stream]

TIL a new slur

It was on the statement in personal life like 5 times

[minor sleet]

No don’t acquire new slurs and then @ me, I don’t wanna teach people new slurs

[snow vessel]

Wait, an Australian he/him/she/her??

-# I say as an Australian who tends to use he/him/she/her

[minor sleet]

Two of you now

[long sorrel]

I can imagine where you're at 🤔

[versed agate]

because they're australian and

in Australian English it may be considered non-offensive depending on how the word is used, due to reclamation and changing connotations

[long sorrel]

Positively it means we won't be using this word by mistake in conversation. (Not that I probably would have but now we know)

[zinc flicker]

P and P ||the confession scene is so funny lol||

P and P || “you’re poor and your family sucks and I think you’re dumb but I love you even tho I really think I shouldn’t. Marry me?”||

||it’s even funnier when she stayed home because of a “headache” and then has to listen to all that ||

[oblique zodiac]

||I feel like an idiot thinking that Bartolomé was going to get together with the princess somehow. The princess was 5 years old.||

Bartolomé: The Infanta's Pet Part 2, Chapter 5 ||Hmm. The princess likes her new "dog" very much. I wonder if this will help Bartolomé somehow.||

[low hill]

Oops, accidentallied a whole book while I was waiting for the computer to start up...

[oblique zodiac]

Bartolomé: The Infanta's Pet Part 2 ||Oh wow. This is actually based off of real royalty. There is a scene of this popular painter drawing the princess, and I just found out it's a real painting.||

[oblique zodiac]

Part 2 ||It's so odd.. He learned to read and write in Part 1, and now he's.. becoming a painter..?||

[proper silo]

Captive Prince 3 ||I wonder if we'll ever get Laurent POVs. I assume right now he's being kept away from the mic to hide the (poorly-hidden) fact that he knows Damen's identity, but once that's out, will we see his narration too? I am terribly curious what his takes on this whole situation are.||

new word learned: appurtenance

[twin hull]

also apparently this word means something completely different in australia? It's not like c%#t (australia vs. rest of the world), it seems to refer to a different group of people in aus than in britain really.

[long sorrel]

That's what the wiki said yeah

[vagrant torrent]

Thanks! The book is Watchmen!

[proper silo]

Captive Prince 4 ||"This physician wore a gown that reached to the floor and a hat shaped like a loaf of bread." Excuse me, are the Veretian physicians wearing chef hats? Because that's my mental image right now, that they're dressed like stereotypical chefs ||

[oblique zodiac]

Finished "Bartolomé: The Infanta's Pet" after an 8 hour reading session! I give it.. a 4.25.

[proper silo]

out of 5 or out of 10?

[oblique zodiac]

5

[proper silo]

ah! nice

[proper silo]

Captive Prince 5 ||Ugh. Laurent better bring a Damen Apology Form whenever he decides he wants to be the love interest cause goddamn I wanna punch him in the face right now||

[long sorrel]

I love Laurent

... this checks out, yes.

[minor sleet]

He is a jackass yes

[proper silo]

Yeah, but like... there is a fine line (actually not a fine line, a very thick and signposted line) between jackass and ||what he did to Damien here|| and the latter's gonna need an apology in my books 😤

[vagrant torrent]

Watchmen || I am finally done. After about 10 days, I am finally done reading Watchmen. It was an incredibly dense story but every moment was worth it. Everything came together magnificently in the end. Watchmen is a magnificent piece of art. This was a great choice for my first comic book. ||

|| So much happened that I’m not sure how to reflect the book’s plot in words. All I know is it’s a masterclass in writing ||

[proper silo]

Captive Prince 11 ||Oh gods. Knowing that Nicaise is Regent's pet, and now Regent saying Laurent used to be "such a lovely boy" is painting a picture and I do not like the picture that is being painted here ||

||Like there is an implication, isn't there||

[long sorrel]

the setting is a lot more nuanced than it appears to at first 😬

both for better and worse

[proper silo]

that's one way of putting it, i suppose

[vagrant torrent]

Okay now I can put Watchmen into words

😁

Watchmen || Everything weaved together beautifully in the last two chapters. And it all shook me to the core. The brilliance, moral ambiguity, and insidiousness of Ozymandias’ plan. The reveal he enacted the teleportation 35 minutes ago. All the foreshadowing with the island. The shadow of the man and woman making love. All the focus on the impending World War Three. Rorschach’s death being an ironic twist on him denying the world’s request for help. ||

[analog geode]

P&P 3.3 ||Ahhhhhhh they are so cute!||

[potent linden]

an editor did a whoopsie

[long sorrel]

What's funny about Pacat is that after reading the books I had a hunch this was the case, don't ask me why I just did. Which I usually don't, I don't particularly pay any attention to authors genders but in Pacat's case I felt I might misgender her by mistake? So I looked it up (not very well, obviously) and didn't find anything about it so I went with she/her which is how it's listed in many places.

I had a long conversation about gender with my mom today.

[buoyant whale]

Does she get it

[long sorrel]

My mom?

[buoyant whale]

Yea

[analog geode]

Fixed

[long sorrel]

My mom's idea about gender is the same as mine, so yes

she just doesn't have the vocabulary to talk about it

thus the long conversation

It is cause I was talking about the MC of the book I'm reading which is fluid in every sense, not just gender and she didn't really understand what I meant by fluid, nor what gender fluid means (in general terms), so she started talking about how the people that she knows as gender fluid explain that about themselves (which is quite far away from the "general terms")

[junior dew]

Licanius book 3 chapter 22 || This is really giving Christianity ||

[proper silo]

Well, I finished Captive Prince

It was a bit of a chore to get into and... realign the brain to the setting, but I have reached the plot and it is as intersting as I hoped, so I'm interested in continuing

[long sorrel]

the beginning is a bit rough

[proper silo]

Yeah, the second chapter in particular is a bit... much

[long sorrel]

||It has a lot of stuff that feels it's there for shock value, and then later it turns out that it isn't, but it could have been more nuanced on the beginning||

where does captive prince end?

[proper silo]

Captive Prince end ||they're departing the palace for that border region place; Damen tried and failed to escape, and Laurent is bringing him along as a guard||

Current predictions, just so I can say "I knew it" later (or you can laugh at me for not knowing "it" at all): ||(1) Laurent 100% knows that Damen is Damianos and killed Auguste, that's why he's being such an ass to Damen; (2) Regent 100%... did things to Laurent when Laurent was a kid and that's why Laurent is so (understadably) sex-averse nowadays; (3) there's probably gonna be a civil war in Akielos and Damen is gonna use that opportunity to "come back from the dead" and take the throne; (4) Gavart is gonna try things with either one of Laurent's soldiers or Laurent himself, and that's how Damen is gonna get the chance to stab him properly||

Also, I really hope there'll be Laurent POVs in the next book, ||though I fear it's not gonna happen until the book finally fesses up to the fact he knows who Damen is||

[long sorrel]

🍿

[long sorrel]

||Is this the chapter with the guy at the bench or whatever?||

(trying to define the scene in #1404497733108236318 appropriate terms 😅)

[proper silo]

||It's the one with the arena "fights" that also introduces Nicaise||

[long sorrel]

Yeah... yeah

||I understand the thing that the author is doing with Nicaise but i'm not entirely sure those "fights" were necessary at all 😬 ||

[proper silo]

If I recognize the one you're describing correctly, that one was also a lot, that was the one that made me demand a Damen Apology Form from Laurent

[long sorrel]

I think the author is trying to set up a "look at the differences between these societies" and didn't know how to exactly do it without this stuff? At least that's the feel I got from it

I think the only thing I was uncomfy with in the entire series was ||Nicaise|| and that's 100% meant to do so, for obvious reasons

||WELL, not Nicaise himself, but the situation with him||

[proper silo]

Yeah, like the shock was the point, it's in-character, but still...

Well, at any rate, that's past

[long sorrel]

Yeah

[proper silo]

Now it's time for ||Damen's Adventures in Bodyguarding a Jackass||

[long sorrel]

I love Laurent so much 😌

The more I read the more I liked him

[proper silo]

I am currently at the "I'm seeing potential to like him" phase

But I'm still gonna need that apology form

[long sorrel]

General for the whole series, and spoilers for book 1. ||Like, it doesn't excuse anything of what he does, but he is very much just so much my type of character, he is working with what he has even if that F-s up everyone around him and I appreciate him for that (even if that results in... terrible actions here and there, just little details y'know? (/j))||

[proper silo]

yeah, that's fair, I just need to... I don't know, see a bit more of him?

Aside from small flashes here and there, he's been a little one-note throughout the first book

Prince's Gambit 1 ||Mannn, I am going to cheer and holler once Govert kicks the bucket||

[long sorrel]

yeah that's totally fair Captive's Prince ||Mostly lets you delve into Damen and dig into the setting, then it does a lot of setup but it doesn't really start digging into them or Laurent||

Well, I'm glad the plot was hooking you a bit, you never know

[proper silo]

Prince's Gambit 1 ||"[Laurent] and his uncle came here a great deal together, in the year or two after Marlas." Uhuh ||

[proper silo]

Yeah, I am genuinely invested

And I really like Damen

[long sorrel]

yeah, I thought he was gonna be just very "big warrior" generic guy

[proper silo]

yeah, he's got more depth than that, makes him a very up-my-alley character

Captive Prince ||the scene where he agrees to do whatever Laurent wants to save the slaves really got me as like, yeah, I like him a ton (and I think it did something for Laurent too, given that was one of the moments where I could see more of his personality beyond "world's top Damen-hater" coming through)||

[snow vessel]

Finished Bunny. That was quite different to what I expected, and I think I'm still settling my thoughts on it and processing how the ending fits with the rest of the story, but I liked it

[long sorrel]

who's the author?

[alpine drum]

If i didnt know better I would say usha has a bot that pings her when the b word is mentioned

[long sorrel]

https://tenor.com/view/bunny-whack-bunny-rabbot-rabbit-gif-26369515

[snow vessel]

Mona awad

[long sorrel]

I've had this book in my sights because of the name and cover

but never looked into it enough to decide if I want it in my tbr

[snow vessel]

Oh really?! XD

I think I'd recommend it. I enjoyed it

I do see that it's tagged as horror and I'd maybe say don't go in expecting it to be a full horror book?

It has some spooky elements but I think one of the things I had to adjust to was that it didn't feel like it was a horror book. It was doing something different to that, and just had some bits of horror involved

[long sorrel]

I don't like horror (pure horror) so that's good

[snow vessel]

Really it feels to me like the book is about the main character and their relationships with the rest of the main cast, and the horror/unusual elements are there to serve that

Rather than being centred on some form of horror

But I mainly say that because I went in expecting a bit more horror and had to adjust my expectations mid-way

[long sorrel]

mhmmm

I have quite a few horror books on my tbr, all are physical too, I only got around to a few

(from that set)

I think I love spooky settings but mostly I love body horror

more than horror (the genre)

I like messed up settings a lot too 🤔 but this is hard to explain

[snow vessel]

-# the book did this quite a bit. I had to readjust my expectations a number of times and I don't know if it entirely clicked together until near the end

[long sorrel]

This is like, horror (genre) does have some elements to it about how the plot goes, or how the characters feel, but I like the settings of like... (idk, take Alice themed stuff where things are nonsensical in a way that are creepy), and it doesn't necessarily require that the characters engage with the setting in a way that fits "horror"

just like with romance I have a really hard time explaining what exactly I like/dislike in the genre

[forest sierra]

I too like horror and romance if they're in a story but not on their own

the subtler the better

[long sorrel]

I don't actually like romance particularly if it's in a story, either. Except a few exceptions

[snow vessel]

I don't know if I've read much horror

[long sorrel]

those exceptions also apply to like, pure Romance books

I just have a really hard time explaining or distinguishing on my own what does exceptions are

[snow vessel]

Huh, fair enough

[long sorrel]

for horror I do have it a bit easier, I can tell I love body horror, and creepy stuff, and I quite dislike paranormal horror like it just doesn't do it

everything else I don't know how to define

[rugged tartan]

Another genre discussion to follow up "Is jank a genre?" from last night and I'm on break so I can't justify getting involved and contributing because I'n gonna get like, one message in 😭

[long sorrel]

do you like "jank" in books?

(whatever that is)

[snow vessel]

What is jank 😭

[torpid kiln]

Should I read Captive Prince?

I’ve read fanfic for it but not it itself

[rugged tartan]

Printing errors and typos

Wait shoot I replied to the wrong message

[long sorrel]

okay that isn't the fun type of jank

[rugged tartan]

I would agree, yes

[snow vessel]

For me romance is like... I tend to enjoy it. Then there are rarer cases where I really enjoy it and it's like, one of the standout things for the book. And then there's maybe a handful where it even sticks with me after I'm done reading in the same way characters/moments will

[long sorrel]

I think there's a type of storytelling that is jank

[rugged tartan]

Although I guess you could also point to like, books that mess with the medium in inyeresting ways, like House of Leaves, or Plexus...

[long sorrel]

where it throws your brain around and then pulls

[snow vessel]

I don't often tend to dislike it but also not every romance engages me to the level of some

[long sorrel]

I did think of House of Leaves as a type of jank

[torpid kiln]

I love House of Leaves so much

[long sorrel]

I have to purposely ignore it

I do not like "romantic" things

and most romance has romantic things

but romantic things are 🤮 or 💤 or both

So I just gloss it over

[rugged tartan]

I gotta get back to it but my copy is on the other side of country nearly, with my mom back in Florida 😭

[long sorrel]

I haven't read it, but I do have my copy

I did buy it physical since it seems that type of book

I think Starless Sea is slightly jank (highly)

[rugged tartan]

Well, break is over, goodbye for now...

[snow vessel]

My unread HoL copy is glaring at me from my shelf right now

[torpid kiln]

I like my romance tragic and queer, I don’t tend to read romance stories because a lot of them are straight and happy

[long sorrel]

if you mean with a not-happy ending then Romance (the genre) just doesn't do that

There's a looooot of queer if you look for it

if you mean tragic during the plot then there's a lot of that (though not necessarily good)

[torpid kiln]

Yeah I like tragic during the plot but a hopeful ending at the very least

[snow vessel]

I don't even know what sort of romance I like

[long sorrel]

there's quite a lot of this

[snow vessel]

I had a lot of fun with the simple straight romance book I read last year. I've enjoyed quite a few straight romances. I've enjoyed quite a few doomed romances. I would say I like messy romances but I don't always, and I like a bunch of regular ones

[torpid kiln]

I can’t remember the last time I’ve read a romance book that I liked, but I read a lot of romantic fanfic and love it

[long sorrel]

I don't have a specific preference of queer over non-queer...

But I think queer things have more freedom to do whatever they want

So in general the queer stuff I read ends up being better

[snow vessel]

The two romances/ships that have stuck with me most at the moment are non-canon queer romance ships from manga

[long sorrel]

because I don't particularly like the formulaic stuff

[snow vessel]

I think a big factor for me is just like... how well the author feels like they get the relationship

[long sorrel]

I think one of the romance plots that have stuck with me the most is Inda... which is... weird

[snow vessel]

If it feels like the author really understands the relationship and its complexities and all, it'll probably hit better for me

Compared to a different one

[long sorrel]

Most of the romance stuff I read is in the smut and idgaf about the romance anyway

[snow vessel]

I'm not sure really

Scanning my shelves, i think the evocation/summoner's circle books and the Cruel prince series stand out as my favourite romances

[torpid kiln]

Idk why fanfic hits harder for me than actual romantic literature

[snow vessel]

Or, books with my favourite romance

[long sorrel]

I don't care a LOT about the romance in Summoner's Circle?

Which is interesting because that is a very important part of the plot

and what I like the most about the books are the characters relationships so like

Idk, I don't get it either

I like the relationships a lot