Good morning Blue Sky! Hope you’re all ok? Today I’ll be enjoying the sun and finally reading The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K Le Guin. What are you reading at the moment!
Replies
After years of reading mostly in English, I have read in my native Finnish for the last few days. Jalat ilmassa by Antti Rönkä was spot on about bullying, and had some beautiful descriptions of nature.
jul 13, 2025, 1:13 pm • 5 1 • view
Spent yesterday reading my first ever Batman (Court/City of Owls) and having fun with those! Today I'm onto the Green Man's Challenge by the ever-wonderful Juliet McKenna. Enjoy your Le Guin 😁
jul 13, 2025, 8:53 am • 7 1 • view
Morning Womble! I'm reading The Potency of Ungovernable Impulses by @older.bsky.social, the third in her fabulous Mossa and Pleiti series.
jul 13, 2025, 9:15 am • 15 2 • view
❤️💖❤️
jul 13, 2025, 9:49 am • 2 0 • view
Thanks for the reminder of this series! Enjoyed the first and now just checked out the 2nd one.
jul 13, 2025, 3:19 pm • 3 1 • view
What's the series about? That's a great title...
jul 13, 2025, 11:09 am • 3 0 • view
They're science fiction cosy mysteries with a definite Sherlock Holmesey vibe, but sapphic. The first one is The Mimicking of Known Successes.
jul 13, 2025, 12:39 pm • 10 3 • view
They’re **so** good! I’m reading the latest one as slowly as I can just to make it last.
jul 13, 2025, 8:59 pm • 4 1 • view
And the setting is brilliant. The clouds of Jupiter.
jul 13, 2025, 9:36 pm • 3 0 • view
That sounds cool, thank you!
jul 14, 2025, 6:22 am • 3 0 • view
Kraken by China Meiville at the farm, The Unconquered Country by Geoff Ryman at home x
jul 13, 2025, 8:35 am • 7 1 • view
I've just started Magic for Nothing, Seanan McGuire's 6th InCryptid book, in which she switches the narrator again. Too soon to say how I'll like Antimony telling the story.
jul 13, 2025, 12:57 pm • 3 1 • view
Morning! Just started an ARC of @edenroyce.bsky.social new southern gothic historical fantasy Psychopomp and Circumstance!
jul 13, 2025, 9:12 am • 8 1 • view
Good morning Womble! I've nearly finished A Court of Thorns And Roses by Sarah J. Maas. A bit overwritten for my taste and highly derivative, but an enjoyable read nonetheless.
jul 13, 2025, 8:37 am • 3 1 • view
I liked the second one in the series better. Do you think you continue?
jul 13, 2025, 12:37 pm • 1 0 • view
I'll see how this one ends! I might do. Tbf I often don't complete a full series (or, I take a while to get back into it) irrespective of how much I liked the writing.
jul 13, 2025, 2:47 pm • 2 0 • view
I struggled through the last one, tbh. Since the next one isn't out yet, I will have some time to forget that 😅
jul 13, 2025, 3:40 pm • 1 0 • view
after having paused I'm back to reading Cursed in the Lost City by Gabby Hutchinson Crouch
jul 13, 2025, 8:44 am • 10 1 • view
I was wondering about getting this as I loved her Rook family books.
jul 13, 2025, 8:46 am • 3 0 • view
the first was a really good read, fun
jul 13, 2025, 8:48 am • 2 0 • view
Great Robots of History, which is an interesting one author collection. And looking forward to Spies on Safari, which is #2 of the Repurposed Spy series
jul 13, 2025, 7:57 am • 4 1 • view
Currently halfway through reading Connie Willis Doomsday Book and loving every second of it. The research she must have done for the project must have been astounding and enough to fill three cathedrals!
jul 13, 2025, 5:34 pm • 8 1 • view
Morning Womble! That reminds me I've got The Lathe of Heaven on my shelf waiting to be read as well. Currently reading The Magic Circle by @barryryerson.bsky.social. I'm just over 70% through and it's a cracking story! Great mix of magic and sci-fi.
jul 13, 2025, 9:05 am • 5 3 • view
Aww, thank you! 😊
jul 13, 2025, 9:17 am • 2 0 • view
Afternoon Womble! Hope you enjoy TLOH! I'm just diving into a brilliant ARC of PROJECT HANUMAN by @stewarthotston.com, but also reading I WHO HAVE NEVER KNOWN MEN by Jacqueline Harpman on the side
jul 13, 2025, 1:10 pm • 4 1 • view
Hello Womble! Nearing the end of Stephen Graham Jones’ 3rd in Jade’s fab trilogy, The Angel of Indian Lake. Still working carefully through Karen Hao’s Empire of AI, which is actually much scarier than the SGJ book. Also, this is Ursula, and she highly approves your recent reading.
jul 13, 2025, 4:42 pm • 5 1 • view
Afternoon Womble! I'm reading Triangulum by Masande Ntshanga. Been on the tbr for a while now, really good so far
jul 13, 2025, 12:52 pm • 1 1 • view
Morning Womble. Good reading week as on hols. The Secret Room by Jane Casey, The Green Man's Heir by Juliet McKenna, Falling in Love by Donna Leon. Now starting Fatal Grace by Louise Penny.
jul 13, 2025, 8:59 am • 8 1 • view
I really liked the green Man's heir. Very refreshing
jul 13, 2025, 12:31 pm • 3 0 • view
A gorgeous series
jul 13, 2025, 12:37 pm • 4 0 • view
I'm working my way slowly through Charlie Jane Anders' book of short stories, Even Greater Mistakes. I wasn't sure if it was quite my cup of tea until I got to Rat Catcher's Yellows, a story about dementia and the way a game about a kingdom of cats helped the sufferers and their carers. Brilliant!
jul 13, 2025, 7:53 am • 7 1 • view
Good morning it defo is. I'm reading Hangsaman by Shirley Jackson. I keep falling asleep after a page or 2 so will have to start again, again. Nae idea what's gan on.
jul 13, 2025, 8:54 am • 5 1 • view
Afternoon. I’ll be reading Neon Rain by Sean K. Reynolds, Dominique Dickey and Bruce R. Cordell/Monte Cook Games.
jul 13, 2025, 12:36 pm • 1 1 • view
Afternoon Womble. Still reading The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes
jul 13, 2025, 1:59 pm • 3 1 • view
Good morning Womble. I'm reading "The Biggest Number in the World" by David Darling and Agnijo Banerjee. Pop mathematics. Not sure about the title; only on Chapter 6 and they're already talking about numbers that won't fit in the entire observable universe.
jul 13, 2025, 10:05 am • 5 1 • view
I’m reading Pale Grey Dot by Don Miasek today and I’m enjoying the sun too.
jul 13, 2025, 5:04 pm • 1 1 • view
I am listening to DAYS OF SHATTERED FAITH by @aptshadow.bsky.social and reading an ARC of QUEEN DEMON by @marthawells.com
jul 13, 2025, 12:29 pm • 10 1 • view
Hi Womble, I'm still soldiering on with The Malazan Book of the Fallen. Up to #7 Midnight Tides now. Still gripped by the scope of the story but getting close to the climax now (ish!).
jul 13, 2025, 9:24 am • 5 1 • view
Code Dependent by Madhumita Murgia. It's an absolutely fascinating if slightly terrifying investigation into AI
jul 13, 2025, 11:13 am • 5 1 • view
Morning Womble. ATM I am reading Thunder on the Mountain by Venero Aranno and on audio I am listening to The Final Girl’s support group by Grady Hendrix
jul 13, 2025, 10:20 am • 4 1 • view
Good morning Womble. Currently I'm reading Brother Cadfael's Penance, the last one.
jul 13, 2025, 10:09 am • 7 1 • view
You might enjoy this then. Signed, a fellow Cadfael fan. bsky.app/profile/greg...
jul 13, 2025, 11:06 am • 3 0 • view
I'm reading The Starving Saints by Caitlin Starling for fiction and The Light Eaters by Zoe Schlanger for nonfiction
jul 13, 2025, 1:12 pm • 1 1 • view
Good morning young Womble! Today I shall be finishing The City of Last Chances, first book in The Tyrant Philosophers by the inimitable Adrian Tchaikovsky. Not my usual cuppa char - I'm not a big fantasy reader - but it's outstanding. Top notch world building.
jul 13, 2025, 8:08 am • 12 1 • view
It’s a genius fantasy series!
jul 13, 2025, 8:13 am • 3 0 • view
Happy Sunday Womble! I'm reading Saint Death's Daughter by C.S.E. Cooney, and really enjoying it. Lots of twists and turns... some of which I can spot, some I can't, and everytime I think I know where it's going, something unexpected happens! Great stuff. 💙📚🪐
jul 13, 2025, 1:45 pm • 3 1 • view
Good morning, Womble! Hope you’re having a lovely day. I am closing in on the end of Tove Alsterdal’s We Know You Remember… which, as I read it, actually think more and more that I’ve read before.
jul 13, 2025, 11:41 am • 1 1 • view
Probably going to finish Rackham's Trees and Woodlands while the Spouse shops for groceries. Also reading Brenchley's Radhika Rages at the Crater School, and about to start the new Aaronovitch.
jul 13, 2025, 12:53 pm • 1 1 • view
Still have Hastings' The Secret War for insomnia reading, but I may move it to a daytime read because it's really gripping & I haven't had much insomnia in the past week; I'm missing it. (I don't read to fall asleep; that doesn't work. I read something interesting to fill the time without fretting.)
jul 13, 2025, 12:53 pm • 1 1 • view
I’m reading about the ‘Lost Countries of South America’, showing how the legacies of indigenous and African resistance movements continue to influence the region
jul 13, 2025, 8:20 am • 12 2 • view
Oooh, this looks outstanding! I'm so glad you posted about it!
jul 13, 2025, 9:40 am • 4 0 • view
Same!
jul 13, 2025, 1:07 pm • 2 0 • view
Morning Womble! Sunday is changeover day again (I must read lots on Saturday or something). Finished Mania by Lionel Shriver and starting The Life Impossible by Matt Haig.
jul 13, 2025, 8:45 am • 4 0 • view
Morning ToberMoriarty 😆 In the eyes: The Gathering by C. J. Tudor In the ears: City of Stairs by Robert Jackson Bennett
jul 13, 2025, 8:00 am • 5 1 • view
City of Stairs is fantastic, if you enjoy it the other two books in the series are well worth a read.
jul 13, 2025, 8:43 am • 2 0 • view
I'm about 40% in and enjoying it so far 😀
jul 13, 2025, 8:56 am • 2 0 • view
Ah the location of the Assassins convention - I’ve alerted those who need to know
jul 13, 2025, 8:02 am • 3 0 • view
Your secret group of assassins who weren't invited?
jul 13, 2025, 8:03 am • 2 0 • view
Why would if such a group existed give up our luxury hotel spa treatment?
jul 13, 2025, 8:14 am • 3 0 • view
To attempt infiltration even though that always fails?
jul 13, 2025, 8:18 am • 0 0 • view
Yeah who do you think would own your hotel and has all your banking details now 😇
jul 13, 2025, 8:24 am • 3 0 • view
Who said anything about a hotel? *Laughs*
jul 13, 2025, 8:28 am • 1 0 • view
Oh it’s the amateur gathering my errors - enjoy the b&b
jul 13, 2025, 8:33 am • 2 0 • view
Oh my sweet summer child, you really have no idea. *Smirks*
jul 13, 2025, 8:41 am • 2 0 • view
Hi, Womble. I just finished The Lost Passenger by Frances Quinn this morning so I'm on to The Murder Next Door by Sarah Bell next
jul 13, 2025, 8:40 am • 5 1 • view
Good morning! Today I'm reading The Hero and the Crown, by Robin McKinley.
jul 13, 2025, 11:17 am • 6 1 • view
A classic!
jul 13, 2025, 12:01 pm • 2 0 • view
Love that book
jul 13, 2025, 11:32 am • 3 0 • view
So good!!
jul 13, 2025, 11:31 am • 2 0 • view
Great choice!
jul 13, 2025, 11:31 am • 2 0 • view
Morning! Currently reading Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami (been on my tbr for years). Also picked up a historical mystery set in tudor England, Of Blood Descended by Steven Veerapen.
jul 13, 2025, 8:28 am • 7 1 • view
Firstly ❤️ all things Le Guin. Secondly I’m reading Other Words for Smoke by Sarah Maria Griffin which is demonic, witchy and a lot of fun!
jul 13, 2025, 1:19 pm • 1 1 • view
Ha! I wondered what galactic podcast inspired that particular read? 😀
jul 13, 2025, 9:49 am • 2 0 • view
That one and my ongoing Le Guin project coincided nicely!
jul 13, 2025, 9:50 am • 3 0 • view
Very cool 🙂 I always think people should read more of her short stories. The one about the immortals constantly comes back to me, even if I can't remember its name. And Omelas, of course, will never age.
jul 13, 2025, 9:52 am • 3 0 • view
Good morning & happy Sunday! Finished re-reading Dorothy Dunnett's The Disorderly Knights early this morning before the heat started. Was more intense than I remembered (the Hot Trodd, aargh) so taking a break from the series with Charlotte Tierney's The Cat Bride. Also intense but differently so.
jul 13, 2025, 7:53 am • 9 2 • view
Morning! I'm sort of between books atm, but I brought 3 Tales of the Weird collections from the British Library; Phantoms of Kernow, Cornish Horrors and Spores of Doom, to flick through
jul 13, 2025, 10:26 am • 6 1 • view
Morning Womble! The Lathe of Heaven is a good choice - I'm just finishing up a light read, 'The Black Wolves of Boston' by Wen Spencer.
jul 13, 2025, 7:45 am • 5 1 • view
Happy Sunday Womble! Safely home from Australia, and ready to start my next read: returning to Eruvia to complete Rooks & Ruin at last with The Ivory Tomb by Melissa Caruso 🔥
jul 13, 2025, 10:33 am • 7 1 • view
Good afternoon, Womble! I'm continuing with non-fiction Hiroshima Nagaski by Paul Ham (711 pages! 564 without appendices, notes etc). Currently on p147.
jul 13, 2025, 1:08 pm • 2 1 • view
I have been spoiled rotten and sent an ARC of Brigands and Breadknives by Travis Baldree 😍 And I'm laid up *again* so I have time to read it, in between being grumpy about not being allowed to move At least the book is fun so far 😅
jul 13, 2025, 8:26 am • 8 1 • view
Turn the pages gently and hope you feel better soon
jul 13, 2025, 8:34 am • 2 0 • view
Morning Womble! I'm currently reading the Battletech novel Decision at Thunder Rift, as I thought I should probably be reading more of the genre I write in (military mech SF) 🤖⚙️💥
jul 13, 2025, 8:17 am • 21 3 • view
Read this a as kid when it first came out. The scene with the Locust trapped in the alley and the Inferno launcher stayed with me to this day!
jul 13, 2025, 4:40 pm • 2 0 • view
Haven't got to that bit yet 😁 I'm not at all familiar with the Battletech lore, but it seems to be yet another SFF universe that's been heavily influenced by DUNE WRT to high-tech feudal societies, noble houses, etc... (not that I'm complaining 😆❤️⚙️⚔️)
jul 13, 2025, 6:24 pm • 2 0 • view
Make sure to check out some of Michael A. Stackpole’s work for some of the very best Battletech! Cheers!
jul 13, 2025, 9:26 pm • 2 0 • view
ah, the origins of the Gray Death Legion. Remember reading this in my teens. It's good, and I continued to read a lot of those Battletech novels. Have fun!
jul 13, 2025, 2:46 pm • 2 0 • view
It's a shame that military SF novels (esp. featuring mechs) are so rare outside big IPs these days (Warhammer 40K, some Star Wars, etc), so it's nice to read something that's so thematically/conceptually similar to what I write 😁 (Iron Widow and Moonstorm are recent exceptions...)
jul 13, 2025, 3:23 pm • 2 0 • view
Have you tried Yoon Ha Lee’s Machineries of Empire series? I think they fit the bill.
jul 13, 2025, 4:22 pm • 2 0 • view
I've heard good things about it - but I really wasn't a fan of Moonstorm, so am reluctant to try Yoon Ha Lee's other novels😅 (IDK, maybe Moonstorm just had too much of a YA vibe - which wouldn't normally be a problem, but is the only thing I can think of which might separate it from his other work)
jul 13, 2025, 4:49 pm • 0 0 • view
Machineries is definitely not YA very political, lots of amoral characters deciding what is the right thing to do also deliciously weird
jul 13, 2025, 4:59 pm • 4 0 • view
Yes, well described. I haven’t read Moonstorm, but this series is complex and imaginative, very adult— and weird! Also, military strategy and world building definitely figure.
jul 13, 2025, 5:07 pm • 3 0 • view
Thats a good one. I read a ton of BT in the 90s and for some reason never read this one until a couple years ago.
jul 13, 2025, 4:12 pm • 2 0 • view
Good afternoon Womble! Listening to Overgrowth by Mira Grant. Alien plants, I love them.
jul 13, 2025, 12:54 pm • 2 1 • view
Good Morning Womble I'm currently reading The Book of Records by Madeleine Thien, first off a stack of preorders I should get to now Hugo/Clarke reading is complete. Enjoying it so far, it's beautifully written and the truly liminal Shore is so far compelling as a backdrop to the characters.
jul 13, 2025, 9:24 am • 4 1 • view
I'm nearing the end of The Crows by CM Rosen & it's one of my favorite reads of the last 10 years. I'm also buddy reading book 2 of the Dresden Files with my partner. I know them very well. But this gives me the chance to read them with author-brain turned on and I also want to run the ttrpg soon
jul 13, 2025, 9:05 am • 5 1 • view
Morning Womble, I am good and hope you are too. My plan to only read Broken Homes by Ben Aaronovitch was overturned by the arrival of The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare by @poopraven.bsky.social writing as Roxy Chambers and it is brilliant and wonderful and I loved it.
jul 13, 2025, 8:49 am • 11 3 • view
Greetings, Womble! I'm just getting into Future's Edge by Gareth Powell, with John Wiswell's Wearing the Lion next. I then have a stack awaiting that includes Stark Holborn's Ten Low and William Gibson's Neuromancer. Yeah, yeah, I never read it yet, so 😛
jul 13, 2025, 3:21 pm • 1 1 • view
Hello Womble. About to finish "The three body problem" by Cixin Liu. A rather strange first half but very exciting second.
jul 13, 2025, 12:27 pm • 4 1 • view
Morning Womble. I'm alternating between Bear Head by Adrian Tchaikovsky on kindle, and Lost Acre by Andrew Caldecott on tree. Really enjoying both.
jul 13, 2025, 9:35 am • 5 1 • view
I’m sitting in the garden listening to Kim Stanley Robinson’s Red Mars
jul 13, 2025, 1:20 pm • 3 1 • view
Just started Sleeper Beach by Nick Harkaway.
jul 13, 2025, 7:53 am • 5 1 • view
Hello Womble. It's already 27º at 5.30 am and I have an outdoor family lunch for 15 to prepare for today, but I'll try to find some minutes to read from Ben Aaronovitch's Winter's Gift, Christian Cameron's The Venetian Heretic, John Connolly's The Killing Kind, or Stephen King's Four Past Midnight.
jul 13, 2025, 9:39 am • 6 1 • view
I loved Winter's Gift. I was lucky enough to get a proof copy and it came with a snow globe! I love it. ❄️
jul 13, 2025, 11:17 am • 4 0 • view
😍 It was one of my favorites!
jul 13, 2025, 11:47 am • 2 0 • view
Since I’m loving the show I thought I’d give this classic a try😼
jul 13, 2025, 10:47 pm • 7 2 • view
I am reading the Infinite and the Divine, a WH40k book my son really enjoyed and wanted me to read.
jul 13, 2025, 8:40 am • 8 1 • view
That is in my TBR. I hope it is fun.
jul 13, 2025, 1:02 pm • 3 0 • view
Seems to be. :)
jul 13, 2025, 1:43 pm • 4 0 • view
Of Men and Angels by Michael Arditti. A novel exploring homosexuals trying to be Christians and Christians trying to be homosexual throughout time. I cannot do it justice.
jul 13, 2025, 8:50 am • 6 1 • view
Hey Womble! I’ve fallen down the rabbit hole of the Wonderland anthology. It’s rather frabjous so far.
jul 13, 2025, 12:10 pm • 5 1 • view
Good morning. I've recently finished The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera, and I'm now reading The Master of Samar by Melissa Scott.
jul 13, 2025, 10:43 am • 5 1 • view
Good afternoon Womble! Just finished When the Moon Hits Your Eye, by @scalzi.com which was a much needed lighter and sometimes LOL story. Next up is The Last Hour Between Worlds, by @melissacaruso.bsky.social
jul 13, 2025, 3:13 pm • 3 1 • view
I need to get back in Le Guin. Just finished Julian by Gore Vidal, a fascinating slice of a part of history i just didn't know about. The cusp of Christianity vs "Old Religions". Now jumping into the warm embrace of Colin Cotterill's Dr siri series. Cozy without the doilies.
jul 13, 2025, 5:17 pm • 1 1 • view
Hello Womble, I just finished Model Home by Rivers Solomon. Highly recommend for anyone looking for a creepy but heartbreaking read.
jul 13, 2025, 10:06 am • 10 1 • view
Morning Womble! I've just finished Isolation Island by Louise Minchin. Planning to start Titanium Noir by @nickharkaway.com before the day is out.
jul 13, 2025, 8:08 am • 7 1 • view
Lathe of Heaven is a great chewy read doing a lot in 184 pages. Review to come! Next up The Vengeance by Emma Newman for some nautical fantasy
jul 13, 2025, 3:57 pm • 4 0 • view
I'll never not be impressed by Le Guin's ability to elegantly write a lot in few pages. I think a re-read of The Lathe of Heaven is long overdue.
jul 13, 2025, 5:06 pm • 1 0 • view
The Lady In The Lake - my first Raymond Chandler (although I've seen film adaptations, including the 1st person POV film of TLITL).
jul 13, 2025, 9:16 am • 4 1 • view
Morning, Womble! Just finishing The Raven Scholar by Antonia Hodgson. It's the first big chonking fantasy book in YEARS that's managed to keep my attention for 800 pages. (Sadly my focus isn't improving; it's just that good.)
jul 13, 2025, 3:40 pm • 2 1 • view
Have sadly had to temporarily abandon The Doors of Eden by @aptshadow.bsky.social just before the end as could not bring it on holiday with me 😭 but at least I have The Saint of Bright Doors by @vajra.me to console me.
jul 13, 2025, 11:06 am • 9 1 • view
I’m reading The Outsider by Stephen King, part of my re read of the Holly Gibney books, a character I adore and love and identify very heavily with
jul 13, 2025, 8:58 am • 5 1 • view
Hi Womble, I'm reading The Incandescent by Emily Tesh.
jul 13, 2025, 8:23 am • 5 1 • view
Good morning, after getting annoyed at, and swiftly DNF'ing, Extremophile, Floating Hotel & The Ministry of Time, I am captivated by Creation Lake by Rachel Kushner - shortlisted for the Booker 2024. It's the story of an American spy who is in France, and maybe an unreliable narrator 😅
jul 13, 2025, 8:09 am • 5 1 • view
Glad I’m not the only one not that impressed with Ministry of Time, I did finish it though.
jul 13, 2025, 8:42 am • 1 0 • view
I didn't get very far, but I couldn't process some of the main character's statements, and I was going to struggle. Kudos on finishing it.
jul 13, 2025, 8:45 am • 1 0 • view
Oh I loved Ministry and Extremophile 😍
jul 13, 2025, 8:13 am • 3 0 • view
I know! What does that mean for future recommendations? Can I ever trust your reviews again?? What does that say about my taste? Sunday morning existential crisis.
jul 13, 2025, 8:21 am • 3 0 • view
You shall be cast into the sea of eternal darkness when I arise into my final incarnation Womb-la The Destroyer of TBRs but don’t forget to stay hydrated today and nothing to worry about 😇
jul 13, 2025, 8:24 am • 4 0 • view
That final incarceration is going to be a while, I reckon. I am just going to barricade myself in my home using this handy pile of hardback books, just in case.
jul 13, 2025, 8:27 am • 1 0 • view
It’s ok I rule TBr space you’re locked in with me
jul 13, 2025, 8:38 am • 2 0 • view
I recommend a reread of something fluffy that you love
jul 13, 2025, 8:31 am • 3 0 • view
I am fluffy!
jul 13, 2025, 8:38 am • 3 0 • view
Oh, I misunderstood ‘reading something fluffy’. Does this mean, like Drag Race, that the library is open?
jul 13, 2025, 8:41 am • 0 0 • view
Yeah, anything that is a comfort read, something you've read before. For me might be Pratchett or Hitchhikers or Murderbot
jul 13, 2025, 8:48 am • 1 0 • view
fluffy = easy to read, something you don't have to think about too much
jul 13, 2025, 8:49 am • 1 0 • view
Agreed. Or my second thought was to read the next in a series, so I know the style of narration. In each of those three, there were aspects of the approach (especially through infodumping as worldbuilding/biographies so early on ) that just didn't impress me.
jul 13, 2025, 8:38 am • 1 0 • view
Sack all narrators, it's the only way.
jul 13, 2025, 9:35 am • 2 0 • view
Embracing DNFing is probably easier!
jul 13, 2025, 9:36 am • 2 0 • view
Loved Creation Lake! A peek behind the curtain…
jul 13, 2025, 9:17 am • 2 0 • view
Morning womble, hope you're good as well, I'm reading the newest Lisa jewell the now
jul 13, 2025, 9:48 am • 3 1 • view
Reading Oathbound by Tracy Deonn (bit long...) from the library and Fathomfolk (intriguing!) by Eliza Chan
jul 13, 2025, 11:19 am • 2 1 • view
Morning Wombler! A little tired and melty, here. I am on The Way Up is Death by @danhanks.bsky.social. Early pages yet but inimitable Hanksian style to this new tale.
jul 13, 2025, 8:49 am • 6 1 • view
I'm late to this, but I will absolutely run with 'Hanksian style' from now on. :) Hope the rest was enjoyed!
aug 1, 2025, 12:16 pm • 3 0 • view
It is brilliant. Dare I say your best yet!
aug 1, 2025, 12:23 pm • 2 0 • view
Please: DARE! That's so lovely of you to say, thank you. Really glad you're enjoying it. I definitely took things in a different direction with this one, but I am pretty proud of it!
aug 1, 2025, 3:57 pm • 3 0 • view
Morning, Womble! Currently reading “The Haunting of Tram 015” by P Djeli Clark and George Saunders’ “A Swim in a Pond in the Rain,” which is fast becoming a favorite writing book.
jul 13, 2025, 8:01 am • 9 1 • view
Morning! I'm just starting this for my next book club read. I like that it's based on a real all-female crime gang from the 1920s.
jul 13, 2025, 10:24 am • 6 1 • view
Finished Mick Herron's Slow Horses and am currently in the middle of Dead Lions. Having quit the TV series almost at the start because I thought the books would work better for me, I am now freshly embarked on Season 1 as well. Much more fun when I already know what's going on, lol.
jul 14, 2025, 2:49 am • 4 1 • view
a mix of Adrian Tchaikovsky's Eyes of the Void and that book about Chicago's Second City that I found in Oxfam for 99p
jul 13, 2025, 8:50 am • 6 1 • view
Hello lovely Womble! I am reading the last part of Death in the Spires (really fab!) by K J Charles; for work I'm being entertained by We Interrupt This Program by the insanely talented @randeedawn.com, and I am starting to consider my next read - possibly finally starting Wolf Hall.
jul 13, 2025, 10:59 am • 8 1 • view
Wolf Hall, and the rest of the trilogy, are some of my favorite books ever, and I mostly read science fiction. They’re just incredible.
jul 13, 2025, 11:16 am • 4 0 • view
Wolf Hall has been on my TBR a while now, I really should start it soon
jul 13, 2025, 12:28 pm • 2 0 • view
+1 for Wolf Hall!
jul 13, 2025, 3:15 pm • 1 0 • view
I'm reading yet another book about Russia's war on Ukraine, Overreach by Owen Matthews. At this point I've read so many I no longer expect to learn much, and it's mostly a sort of compulsion. But this one is covering different material—it's focused on Russian politics—so I'm learning quite a lot!👍
jul 13, 2025, 8:33 am • 10 1 • view
Ooh, do you have particular recommendations on the topic for someone who hasn't read much?
jul 13, 2025, 12:56 pm • 1 0 • view
Sure! Hands-down best account of the 2022 invasion is Our Enemies Will Vanish by Yaroslav Trofimov, a journalist with great writing, mobility, and access. This is what it was like on the ground for Ukrainian civilians, soldiers, and officials. Includes a quick overview of the decades of lead-up. 1/5
jul 14, 2025, 8:58 am • 3 0 • view
To my knowledge, there is no general account (at least in English) of the war beyond mid-2023. But a few titles on tangential topics that I found especially enlightening are: 2/5
jul 14, 2025, 8:59 am • 2 0 • view
Russia's War by Jade McGlynn. A moderately scholarly but very readable analysis of Russia’s domestic war propaganda and information control. I found it fascinating! 3/5
jul 14, 2025, 9:00 am • 2 0 • view
The Showman by Simon Shuster. A biography of Zelensky. While it’s clear the presidential office carefully curated the info Shuster had access to, it's not a hagiography; it's an engaging read, and it covers a lot of material I haven't seen elsewhere. 4/5
jul 14, 2025, 9:01 am • 3 0 • view
Thank you so much!
jul 14, 2025, 9:54 am • 0 0 • view
Downfall by Mark Galeotti & Anna Arutunyan. In 2023 war news seemed to center on the Wagner group (Russian mercenaries), its founder Prigozhin, and his ultimate mutiny. This is a comparatively brief account of Prigozhin's rise and fall and the events that kept WarTwitter riveted that year! 5/5
jul 14, 2025, 9:02 am • 2 0 • view
A lot of it is Shuster's own opinion/narrative and information he had previously reported.
jul 14, 2025, 9:34 am • 2 0 • view
Hey Womble! I'm reading The Scum Villain's Self Saving System and it's insanely funny omg I'm just laughing my way through it. I don't know the genre it's parodying well, but there's enough typical fantasy tropes that I can pick it up 😁
jul 13, 2025, 7:51 am • 6 2 • view
Omg adding to TBR immed
jul 13, 2025, 9:14 am • 2 0 • view
Tell me if/when you get to it, I'm binging the whole first book rn haha it's so silly
jul 13, 2025, 10:12 am • 3 0 • view
my library apps dont have it but i put in a request!
jul 13, 2025, 12:37 pm • 2 0 • view
my library hold for Katherine Addison's Tomb of Dragons came in, interrupting my read of Blair Fell's Disco Witches of Fire Island (also very good but Thara Celehar's latest sadsack adventure in bureaucratic disillusionment jumped the line)
jul 13, 2025, 2:09 pm • 4 1 • view
I read this too fast, and had the following thoughts, in the following order: 1) 'sadsack adventure in bureaucratic disillusionment' -- ugh! who wants to read THAT?? 2) Oh, it's a description of Tomb of Dragons 3) Yeah, ok, accurate 4) Gosh, I love that series so much!
jul 13, 2025, 3:28 pm • 3 0 • view
there is no good time quite like thara's endless bad time
jul 13, 2025, 3:31 pm • 1 0 • view
Stars and Ravens by Mika Hunter and Francis Deer (which I'm loving, but which is taking a long time due to Thesis 🙃) www.goodreads.com/book/show/51...
jul 13, 2025, 9:00 am • 6 2 • view
Good morning Womble. A bit cloudy today , so perfect weather to be reading inside. The book today is - The Night Parade by Ronald Malfi
jul 13, 2025, 9:38 am • 5 1 • view
Hello, Womble! Starting my Summer plan to read through the Ursula K. Le Guin award shortlist, so today I'm reading Andrea Hairston's "Archangels of Funk" by the sea. Really digging it so far!
jul 13, 2025, 5:15 pm • 0 0 • view
Good morning! I literally just finished the amazing Voyage of the Damned by Frances White and now I'm reading Can't Spell Treason without Tea by Rebecca Thorne and nearing the end of The Siege of Burning Grass by Premee Mohammed
jul 13, 2025, 8:59 am • 6 1 • view
Morning Womble! I'm on the final 200 pages of Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke and having a brilliant time
jul 13, 2025, 10:01 am • 11 1 • view
Love this one so much!!!
jul 13, 2025, 10:58 am • 2 0 • view
Dinghai Fusheng Record by Fei Tian Ye Xiang
jul 13, 2025, 9:05 am • 4 1 • view
That sounds interesting!
jul 13, 2025, 9:13 am • 2 0 • view
Only to chapter four and its been great so far but Ive been reading another series by the author so Im 100% sure its going to be a ton of fun 🥰
jul 13, 2025, 9:18 am • 4 0 • view
Oooo!
jul 13, 2025, 9:26 am • 2 0 • view
Good morning! I just finished Gautam Bhatia's excellent 'The Sentence' with my coffee, and have now started Sean Lusks's 'A Woman of Opinion'.
jul 13, 2025, 7:47 am • 9 1 • view
Morning Womble! I'm reading @rainewilson.bsky.social's The Salt Oracle (out in November!) and it's moody and mysterious and fantastic, as her books always are. I wish *I* was in the ocean on a floating college right now - the ocean breeze would be lovely (just gotta watch out for digital ghosts!)
jul 13, 2025, 9:58 am • 9 3 • view
🤗🤗🤗
jul 13, 2025, 1:13 pm • 1 0 • view
I've been reading B Catling's Hollow. It's a hallucinatory journey across a Hieronymus Bosch mutating world bordering on apocalypse. The characters & the fable are engaging enough that you can feel them putting deep roots, but it's a maze with too many dead ends. An interesting, if flawed experiment
jul 13, 2025, 8:33 am • 13 1 • view
It is an ugly book, but it is the ugliness that is its genius. It sort of introduced me, via threads, to equally fantastic books like Between Two Fires, Once Was Willem.
jul 13, 2025, 5:27 pm • 2 0 • view
wow, hats off to you. I've tried several times to read B. Catling's books (e.g. The Vorrh), but was unable to complete them. I usually like quirky stories, but those are just quirky in a way that did not work for me.
jul 13, 2025, 10:25 am • 2 0 • view
I've definitely found you have to be in the right mood to read them. The same as the Gormenghast books or even something like Gene Wolfe’s Book of the New Sun or Iain M Banks' Culture stories for me. I had to go back to the 2nd Vorrh book a few times before it clicked.
jul 13, 2025, 10:38 am • 3 0 • view
👀👀👀
jul 13, 2025, 9:01 am • 1 0 • view
I adore this book (I am also an interesting, if flawed, experiment).
jul 13, 2025, 9:15 am • 3 0 • view
Just finished the latest Rivers of London (shades of The Jennifer Morgue) and the latest Paperback Sleuth. About 85% the way through Heart of the Wyrdwood, excellent, as you know. And then the latest DV Bishop - Carnival of Lies - where Otto goes to Venice, in 1539.
jul 13, 2025, 8:29 am • 8 1 • view
Maps of Imaginary Towns by @bradleybooks.bsky.social ❤️ Perfect coffee time reading
jul 13, 2025, 8:20 am • 6 1 • view
That does sound good.
jul 13, 2025, 8:30 am • 2 0 • view
After having finished both the excellent broken earth and forsaken trilogies, I am now enjoying some straightforward weird characters in the devils. Good tip for the Le Guin book, enjoyed her book of writing tips and excercises.
jul 13, 2025, 3:50 pm • 2 1 • view
Network Effect by Martha Wells 🥰
jul 13, 2025, 8:09 am • 14 1 • view
Good day all. I am struggling with Joe Abercrombie's The Devils. I will get to the end.
jul 13, 2025, 1:06 pm • 2 1 • view
Afternoon our Womble! I'm reading Tir by Carwyn Graves - a social & ecological history of the Welsh landscape. Beautiful & inspiring, and lots of it is new to me despite growing up in Eryri.
jul 13, 2025, 1:36 pm • 1 1 • view
A few years ago I ran through a bunch of Le Guin’s novels after finding them at a used books store. They absolutely stand up to the test of time.
jul 14, 2025, 8:23 am • 1 0 • view
Loving the 12th book in the Chronicles of St Mary’s series by @www.joditaylorbooks.com
jul 13, 2025, 8:41 am • 10 1 • view
Somewhat late to the party, but I'm reading The Help by Kathryn Stockett and *loving* it. Half way through...
jul 14, 2025, 6:46 pm • 1 0 • view
Evening Womble, I’m absolutely loving Ada Palmer’s Inventing The Renaissance, a fascinating deep dive into why everyone’s (including her own) models of the renaissance are flawed.
jul 13, 2025, 9:18 am • 4 1 • view
Good evening Womble! I have been enjoying the cool sea breeze on Formby Beach today, with a suitably relaxing read: The Devils by Joe Abercrombie
jul 13, 2025, 5:27 pm • 3 1 • view
I’m also reading: Kindle: The Scapegoat by Daphne du Maurier Audio: A Perfect Spy by John le Carre
jul 13, 2025, 5:28 pm • 2 1 • view
Morning! Spice and Smoke by Suleikha Snyder, a polyamorous romance set behind the scenes in Bollywood
jul 13, 2025, 7:59 am • 6 1 • view
Anil’s Ghost by Michael Ondaatje
jul 13, 2025, 9:10 am • 1 1 • view
Morning! I've just started The Gardeners' Club by Marnie Riches which seems good so far.
jul 13, 2025, 9:20 am • 3 1 • view
Good morning! I’m enthralled by Butler’s Parable of the Sower. I started reading it last year on the days it was set. Now reading ahead. I finally finished the Expanse. Wrote about it here: ko-fi.com/post/Review-...
jul 13, 2025, 7:57 am • 7 1 • view
Good morning, Womble! I'm almost finished Laura Elliott's Awakened, and thoroughly enjoying it - a modern gothic horror, which skilfully talks about our relationship with sleep, memory, and chronic illness
jul 13, 2025, 9:38 am • 6 1 • view