reading update

[queenslayerbee]

This week I devoured Harrow the Ninth and absolutely loved it. I liked the first book, but this novel took the series to another level. I quite enjoyed getting to read something a little different, and piecing together the answers by the information that slowly trickled chapter after chapter. I want to read something else in between this and the third installment, but I can't wait to read that one. I look forward to catching up and finally being able to look at what my TLT mutuals have been saying without fearing getting myself spoioled LOL.

I also read a few short stories by the same author: Chew and The Woman in the Hill, two independent stories both available in Nightmare Magazine, and The Mysterious Study of Doctor Sex, set in TLT universe, a little tale of an adventure Camilla and Palmedes have as teens that shows a bit of how the Sixth House works. 

What I've picked for the in-between of TLT was a reread of The Clan of the Cave Bear. There's a good chance I might only read that first book, but who knows. Maybe this time around I finish the saga. I think I made it to the beginning of the 5th book, back when I first picked them as a preteen. 

And I've started Yellowface, which has been on my TBR for a while. R. F. Kuang seems to be a hit-or-miss for people, as an author, but that first chapter and the narrator's voice hooked me immediately. I'm not surprised, because a friend of mine read it over a year ago and shared some quotes that felt very, very promising.

On the non-fiction side of things, I finished The Feminist Killjoy Handbook by Sara Ahmed, which I wholeheartedly recommend. I also read a few hand-picked essay chapters from larger books: Hélène Cixoux's "Coming to Writing", which will merit a second, more paused read to digest every bit, and Tricia Lootens's "Whose Hand Was I Holding?: Familial and Sexual Politics in Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House". 

Comics-wise, there's not much to tell. I continue to enjoy Absolute Wonder Woman. I'm keeping up with Iron Man and the West Coast Avengers runs; they're better than most Tony runs of the recent past LOL, but I might only give them a few more issues to impress me. And I'll probably stop reading Wayne Family Adventures until the arc is over, at least, because the last few issues have done little more than aggravate me, and I have a firm "if it sucks, hit da bricks" philosophy with comic books.

Comments

[senmut]

I really enjoy the first three books of Ayla's discoveries and journey. Four had some things I liked, but not the over all arc. And, well, Five and Six were dutifully read once or twice, but there's a reason I tend to AU if I write them.

[queenslayerbee]

My favourite is the first one by far, and I quite liked the third one, with Ayla meeting more people. My biggest problem is that I really don't care for Jondalar LOL. Which makes the idea of getting through books two through six... challenging. Because the books really, really want me to care for Jondalar, and I felt like I was fighting them every step of the way añlsdjfaf.

[senmut]

I skim a lot, LOL. As I have not liked Blond Bitch Boy for a very long time.