Pseudo reading wednesday
Nov. 11th, 2021 11:18 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dhampyresaFirst. fanloremod has confirmed "we will ensure that we are in full compliance with any privacy laws that may apply" about the Fanlore picture policy.
Books I've finished reading
I'm going to put up two alphabetical lists (fiction and non-fiction) of the books I've finished since the start of the year. I'll also give a short description and opinion of each. That way, even if I forget to write up more detailed reviews later, there'll be still be a record of some kind. If any book is of particular interest, let me know!
NON-FICTION
Ainsi soit-elle by Benoîte Groult: French non-fiction book about Olympe de Gouges, a French proto-feminist who lived in the 18th century/during the French Revolution. The first part is Groult's biography of de Gouges, the second de Gouges' own writing, including the one she's most famous for "Déclaration des droits de la femme et de la citoyenne" / "Declaration of the rights of women and female citizens". Very interesting, would reccomend.
Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou: It's about Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos. It was interesting, though I preferred the part of the book before Carreyrou joined the narrative (he's the one who revealed the scam).
Conquering Fat Logic by Nadja Herman: Interesting and the author has an engaging voice, but I didn't learn as much about nutrition as I thought I would. Not because the information wasn't there, I don't think, but more because I knew more than I thought I did. Go team, I guess.
Le génie lesbien by Alice Coffin: French non-fiction about lesbians and lesbian history etc. I read it because of the controversy -- which was stupid and clearly from people who didn't read the book --, but I'm glad I did. It was very interesting. (I have to admit that the few times Coffin talks about trans people or trans issues something struck me as a bit off but I can't point to anything specific, beyond the deadnaming and misgendering of Elliot Page, but given that the book came out before his trans coming out I can hardly fault Coffin for.)
The Bullet Journal Method by Ryder Carroll: Exactly what it says on the tin. The inventor of the Bullet Journal explains what it is and how he came up with it (to deal with his ADHD). Funnier than I expected! And one of the chapters opened with a quote by Hannibal so you know I had to love it. I read this because I picked up journalling earlier this year and wanted to see if bullet journalling was for me which nyergh? I use a very simplified/dirty version of bullet journalling. Whatever works works!
The Financial Diet: A Total Beginner’s Guide To Getting Good With Money by Chelsea Fagan: Also what it says on the tin. It's written by and for US citizens but the non-US specific advice is very good -- I, a FrenchTM, cannot comment on the US specific advice. I found out about this book from having followed channel of the same name for a while.
What we don’t talk about when we talk about fat by Aubrey Gordon: This book is extremely frustrating because, on the one hand, the author makes some excellent points, but on the other hand, she undermines her own points by cherrypicking, misinterpreting or not understanding the science and doing things like linking to an article on Slate or something. Much science very peer review wow.
FICTION
Anno Dracula by Kim Newman: Jack the Ripper in a world where Dracula murdered van Helsing and married Queen Victoria. I enjoyed it, but I have SO MANY nitpicks about it interpretation of Dracula (the historical figure), Dracula (the fictional character) and Dracula (the book -- both the plot and characters). A not insignificant part of my enjoyment was noticing all the references to other Victorian works of fiction and in one case, adaptations of Dracula (the armadillo is a DEEP cut).
Catfishing on Catnet by Naomi Kritzer: Benevolent AI running a website/chat program helps teeanger investigates WTF is up with her mom. Things escalate from there. This was GREAT. Would happily recommend! Looking forward to the next one.
Civilisations by Laurent Binet: Alternate history in which the Inca come to Europe. Very enjoyable, if told in a way that's very much more "telling" than "showing. Had a lot of fun piecing together who was who as seen through the Inca's eyes. The book suffers, imho, from the last section being either longer than necessary or not long enough. Would still reccomend. It's been translated into English.
Le club des punks contre l’apocalypse zombie by Karim Berrouka: What it says on the tin: punks vs zombies. It did two pretty nifty things with zombie lore I'd never seen before (and the idea of taking over a medieval castle to protect against zombies is PURE GENIUS) and was very entertaining, but I found the ending disappointing. It was very nice to read a SFF book set in Paris and a zombie story that wasn't all about guns. I'd reccomend it overall but be warned that it is French on hard mode.
The Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allan Poe: It's available on its on project Gutenberg, it counts as a book, ok. Rich fuckboy locks himself and 500 of his closest friends in a castle as a plague rages outside; everybody dies. Very cathartic.
The Ivies by Alexa Donne: YA thriller. Highschool girl turns up murdered after promising her friends she wouldn't apply to Harvard but applying and getting in anyway. The other girl in the friend group in the same situation investigates. I wouldn't have picked this up if I wasn't following the author's youtube channel but I have no regrets. I enjoyed it.
Thirteen Storeys byJohnny D'Ville Jonathan "Not fictional" Sims: Interlinked horror short stories building up to a climax involving all the protagonists. I did not love all the short stories equally but I loved them all. Excellent horror, very reccomend.
Bonus book I can't talk about: [redacted] by A Friend: beta read of unpublished book. I enjoyed it and that's all I have to say about that.
Not included: comics! And all the books I read while in the hospital, because that was last year.
What I'm currently reading
Men who hate women by Laura Bates: It's about misogyny and though interesting is very harrowing. Put it down halfway through about a month ago for my mental health, have started poking at it again.
The King in Yellow by Robert W. Chambers: This is very different from what I had osmosed and very enjoyable so far. But! It was published in 1895, is set in 1920 and mentions a war with Germany that ended recently. WHAT DID YOU KNOW R W CHAMBERS WHAT DID YOU KNOW
What I'm reading next
Not a clue! I'm going to keep alternating fiction and non fiction though, I think. If artbooks count as reading, probably read a bunch of those.
fanloremod has confirmed "we will ensure that we are in full compliance with any privacy laws that may apply" about the Fanlore picture policy.Books I've finished reading
I'm going to put up two alphabetical lists (fiction and non-fiction) of the books I've finished since the start of the year. I'll also give a short description and opinion of each. That way, even if I forget to write up more detailed reviews later, there'll be still be a record of some kind. If any book is of particular interest, let me know!
NON-FICTION
Ainsi soit-elle by Benoîte Groult: French non-fiction book about Olympe de Gouges, a French proto-feminist who lived in the 18th century/during the French Revolution. The first part is Groult's biography of de Gouges, the second de Gouges' own writing, including the one she's most famous for "Déclaration des droits de la femme et de la citoyenne" / "Declaration of the rights of women and female citizens". Very interesting, would reccomend.
Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou: It's about Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos. It was interesting, though I preferred the part of the book before Carreyrou joined the narrative (he's the one who revealed the scam).
Conquering Fat Logic by Nadja Herman: Interesting and the author has an engaging voice, but I didn't learn as much about nutrition as I thought I would. Not because the information wasn't there, I don't think, but more because I knew more than I thought I did. Go team, I guess.
Le génie lesbien by Alice Coffin: French non-fiction about lesbians and lesbian history etc. I read it because of the controversy -- which was stupid and clearly from people who didn't read the book --, but I'm glad I did. It was very interesting. (I have to admit that the few times Coffin talks about trans people or trans issues something struck me as a bit off but I can't point to anything specific, beyond the deadnaming and misgendering of Elliot Page, but given that the book came out before his trans coming out I can hardly fault Coffin for.)
The Bullet Journal Method by Ryder Carroll: Exactly what it says on the tin. The inventor of the Bullet Journal explains what it is and how he came up with it (to deal with his ADHD). Funnier than I expected! And one of the chapters opened with a quote by Hannibal so you know I had to love it. I read this because I picked up journalling earlier this year and wanted to see if bullet journalling was for me which nyergh? I use a very simplified/dirty version of bullet journalling. Whatever works works!
The Financial Diet: A Total Beginner’s Guide To Getting Good With Money by Chelsea Fagan: Also what it says on the tin. It's written by and for US citizens but the non-US specific advice is very good -- I, a FrenchTM, cannot comment on the US specific advice. I found out about this book from having followed channel of the same name for a while.
What we don’t talk about when we talk about fat by Aubrey Gordon: This book is extremely frustrating because, on the one hand, the author makes some excellent points, but on the other hand, she undermines her own points by cherrypicking, misinterpreting or not understanding the science and doing things like linking to an article on Slate or something. Much science very peer review wow.
FICTION
Anno Dracula by Kim Newman: Jack the Ripper in a world where Dracula murdered van Helsing and married Queen Victoria. I enjoyed it, but I have SO MANY nitpicks about it interpretation of Dracula (the historical figure), Dracula (the fictional character) and Dracula (the book -- both the plot and characters). A not insignificant part of my enjoyment was noticing all the references to other Victorian works of fiction and in one case, adaptations of Dracula (the armadillo is a DEEP cut).
Catfishing on Catnet by Naomi Kritzer: Benevolent AI running a website/chat program helps teeanger investigates WTF is up with her mom. Things escalate from there. This was GREAT. Would happily recommend! Looking forward to the next one.
Civilisations by Laurent Binet: Alternate history in which the Inca come to Europe. Very enjoyable, if told in a way that's very much more "telling" than "showing. Had a lot of fun piecing together who was who as seen through the Inca's eyes. The book suffers, imho, from the last section being either longer than necessary or not long enough. Would still reccomend. It's been translated into English.
Le club des punks contre l’apocalypse zombie by Karim Berrouka: What it says on the tin: punks vs zombies. It did two pretty nifty things with zombie lore I'd never seen before (and the idea of taking over a medieval castle to protect against zombies is PURE GENIUS) and was very entertaining, but I found the ending disappointing. It was very nice to read a SFF book set in Paris and a zombie story that wasn't all about guns. I'd reccomend it overall but be warned that it is French on hard mode.
The Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allan Poe: It's available on its on project Gutenberg, it counts as a book, ok. Rich fuckboy locks himself and 500 of his closest friends in a castle as a plague rages outside; everybody dies. Very cathartic.
The Ivies by Alexa Donne: YA thriller. Highschool girl turns up murdered after promising her friends she wouldn't apply to Harvard but applying and getting in anyway. The other girl in the friend group in the same situation investigates. I wouldn't have picked this up if I wasn't following the author's youtube channel but I have no regrets. I enjoyed it.
Thirteen Storeys by
Bonus book I can't talk about: [redacted] by A Friend: beta read of unpublished book. I enjoyed it and that's all I have to say about that.
Not included: comics! And all the books I read while in the hospital, because that was last year.
What I'm currently reading
Men who hate women by Laura Bates: It's about misogyny and though interesting is very harrowing. Put it down halfway through about a month ago for my mental health, have started poking at it again.
The King in Yellow by Robert W. Chambers: This is very different from what I had osmosed and very enjoyable so far. But! It was published in 1895, is set in 1920 and mentions a war with Germany that ended recently. WHAT DID YOU KNOW R W CHAMBERS WHAT DID YOU KNOW
What I'm reading next
Not a clue! I'm going to keep alternating fiction and non fiction though, I think. If artbooks count as reading, probably read a bunch of those.
(no subject)
Date: 2021-11-12 02:39 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2021-11-12 10:25 am (UTC)I guess you just need to close the gates and you're safe? Well, except for getting food and water.