Book Recs and Reviews

[cotton]

I'm always looking for book recommendations, so I wanted to create a thread for people to talk about what they're reading!

Personally, I recently enjoyed Kikuko Tsumura's There's No Such Thing As An Easy Job. It's a fun, surreal book about the increasingly bizarre jobs the protagonist's takes on and the unique ways each one tires her out.

I also just finished James Baldwin's If Beale Street Could Talk, and I had to lie down after. I'd mostly read his essays before, and now I'm trying to read more of his fiction. I don't think anyone's written more beautifully about love than him. (That last sentence could also be revised to read, "I don't think anyone's written more beautifully than him.")

 

[Tsushi]

I recently listened to Howl's Moving Castle! It was a lot of fun! I think the movie was a good adaptation but if you love the movie it's definitely worth getting some of the extra characters and characterization. Howl is even more whiny in the book, it's a hoot!

 

[The_Walking_Pie]

For detective/crime novels, I just finished reading Lavender House by Lev A.C. Rosen and it was a pretty good read (also the first book I've finished this year. XD) I'd also recommend The Human Flies by Hans Olav Lahlum. I finished it last summer and I'm buying the second book to read over my summer vacation this year.

As for just in general, A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving (it's hard to descripe, but it's my favorite book and it made me cry), A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman (a book about an old curmudgeon and how he eventually endears himself to the neighborhood after his wife's death, also made me cry but less so), Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao (fun fantasy with mechs but also randomly a bit that feels like the hunger games with propaganda and stuff), and On the Edge of Gone by Corinne Duyvis (a book about the apocalypse as its happening. Loads of fun, and it also has autism rep in it).

Also The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, a book about a man who sells his soul so that he stays beautiful. Good classical literature.

 

[cotton]

Last year, I read It Came From the Closet: Queer Reflections On Horror (edited by Joe Vallese), which is a collection essays by queer writers about their relationships with horror movies and monsters, and I'm still thinking about it. A really neat collection of queer readings of horror, and working through the tension of seeing a part of yourself reflected in fiction and the uneasy relationship the horror genre has historically had with queerness. Man.

Currently, I'm reading Seeing Like a State: How Certain Schemes to Improve the Human Condition Have Failed, by James Scott, and it's so good. Scott writes very clearly about the mechanisms of state power that are easy to overlook. I'm reading about maps, taxes, scientific forestry, and modernist city planning like !

 

[Tsushi]

I finally got around to We Do This Til We Free Us by Mariame Kaba about the ideology towards prison abolition and political struggle towards that goal. It was really good! If you have any interest in that subject, she has incredibly thoughtful insights.

I'm midway through Braiding Sweetgrass now, which is about plant science from an Indigenous perspective with some autobiographical aspects in terms of her relationship to motherhood etc. It's something that has positively impacted my thinking a lot in terms of relationships to plants and ecosystems. I assume it will continue to be a really impactful text for me so I have to read it slowly to really take it in.

 

[lupingavemebrainrot]

book recs please note outside of lupin III I am a dark romance/edgy content enthuist so my recs might have problematic content:
1. bastian by solche

Spoiler: triggers:bastian

theres a rape arc, like a whole ass rape arc

2. cry even better if you beg By Solche

Spoiler: triggers

lots of dub-con, really up to reader interuptation, make sure your reading offiicial yonder translation and not the ftl as the ftl makes the male lead alot worse

3. The vampire lestat By Anne Rice

Spoiler: triggers

some parts get bloody also lestat has an unhealthy fixation on both akasha louis

4. The claiming of sleeping beauty, all three volumes, by anne rice, might be found under neath the pen name Anne Rampling

Spoiler: Triggers

beginning dub con, but its pratically grimms fairy tales meets 50 shades of grey the universe pratically subjects all princesses and princes to slave treament for a few years before being returned home

5. Belinda by anne rice underneaht the pen name anne rampling

Spoiler: triggers

the plot focuses on a 44 year old man and childrens book illustrator's fixation on a sixteen year old girl, hardest book I've read so far right next to solches work

6. Sun god by nan ryan

Spoiler: triggers

racism, one of the key plot points is that the male lead gets whipped, for being half native half mexican and fucking a white woman in 1840s texas, this spurs a revenge plot on the female lead with lots of dub con and just borderline abuse, there is no happy ending, no redemption, just pain and more pain, that will have you bawling el capitan

I've only listed the triggers because while I can handle most plot lines and stories, not everybody can.

Honorable mentions:
Bury my heart at wounded knee

one of my favorite books not really fiction it documents some of the suffering the native americans went through during americas expansionist days.

Daughter of fortune by isabel allende
focuses on a journey about a girl who goes chasing after her lover during the wild west gold rush, has a happy unconvential ending. really tugs at your heart strings at times.

The other boleyn girl
much better then the movie
The king maker
like game of thrones, but it actually happened in history, infact I encourage anyone who is a fan of game of thrones to research and consume media related to 100 years war of england, or the war of roses, as that is the main inspo to the game of thrones, and hell of alot more interesting as it actually happened.
the concubine by norah lofts
this one probably a bit more historically accurate then the other boleyn girl, you get a better sense of the time period. and the literal title is how the spanish ambassdor referenced anne during the time period as "the concubine" given they didn't see englands move to protestanism as legit.

 

[Tsushi]

I recently finished The Left Hand of Darkness a classic from 1969 by Ursula K LeGuin! It's a Science Fiction book about a man landing on another planet trying to be a means of first contact to the people who live there. If you know Star Trek, think like Star Fleet contacting a new alien planet to try to make an alliance, but a lot different from Star Fleet in terms of organization and how they operate. I don't want to spoil more since the details of the mission and of the planet are some of the most interesting aspects that slowly emerge as you read.

 

[Hooder]

Would anyone be willing to recommend me some stuff?

I'm looking for something that itches a bit of Shin Megami Tensei setting?
the closest I hear about is Neverwhere

I'm up for anything really, romance is even fine as long as it isn't the main focus.

 

[lupingavemebrainrot]

Would anyone be willing to recommend me some stuff?

I'm looking for something that itches a bit of Shin Megami Tensei setting?
the closest I hear about is Neverwhere

I'm up for anything really, romance is even fine as long as it isn't the main focus.

only close reccomendation I have is:
I have no mouth and I must scream, by Harlan Ellison, its a light read, pratically a novella.

Actual "hate" monlogue read by the author for the video game yes you should play it it really expands on the lore and character back stories harlan ellison really brings the crazy out of AM:

 

[Seroster]

I don't think I'd suggest this to anyone who hasn't read science fiction before, but The Quantum Thief by Hannu Rajaniemi is a bit of a crazy science fiction novel in which the titular character is based on the original Arsene Lupin and that is why I think to bring it up here.

There are two sequels but I don't feel they are quite as good as the first.

Trying to think of more thieves in genre fiction, there's also The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch which is a very good fantasy story with thieves, again with sequels which don't quite live up to the original, but the first is still great.

 

[Seroster]

Other things I have recently read and enjoyed:

Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz. It's the near future and there are sentient robots. A group of restaurant robots find themselves abandoned and decide to open a noodle shop together despite it not reaaaally being legal for them to do so. This is a novella that will make you feel good and I very much enjoyed it.

Spear by Nicola Griffith. Another novella, this one is a spin on part of the stories of King Arthur, with a gender-flipped knight, some F/F romance, and a lot of Welsh mythology and magic. Gorgeously written, in a way that reminded me of Ursula K LeGuin's Earthsea books - both are written by really great prose writers who are deliberately choosing to write simply.

The mimicking of known successes by Malka Older. This is also a novella, science fiction again. I like a good story about thieves but also love a good "pastiche" of classic detective fiction. This is the first of three novellas featuring two characters, Pleiti and Mossa, who are analogues for Dr Watson and Sherlock Holmes, if they were both women and had previously been in a relationship! And were living on connected space stations orbiting Jupiter along with the other last remnants of humanity. Despite that seemingly dark setting, these are warmly comforting. The "platforms" and rail connections between them echo the trains of Victorian England, and the mystery is enjoyable. Here there are two sequels (so far) and I have to say that I did enjoy them as much as the first book.

 

[Tsushi]

Recent reads I liked:
Dragonfall and Emberclaw by LR Lam. If you like dragons and a slow build queer relationship in an interesting world, I can absolutely recommend these!

Greenteeth by Molly O'Neill. Very fun exploration of UK folklore via two moms looking to protect their little village from a great evil. I really enjoyed the water swamp monster main character.

 

[ZackLoup]

Shameless self promotion: I released my novel that has been over a decade in the making, finally, over the summer! https://baddogbooks.com/product/friendly-fire/
(DM me if you want to read it but can't afford it! I can send you the eBook. I'd rather get people to read it than have the money!)

Synopsis:
Hoping to find greater meaning in his life and escape his fate as a small-town coal miner, Axel Ridenhour enlists as a solider following the promise of adventure and glory.

Luck launches him into an extremely successful military career.

But as he experiences war firsthand, Axel soon finds out that the world isn’t as black and white as he’s been led to believe. He struggles to reconcile his part in what he comes to know as an incredibly corrupt government.

Eventually, Axel will have to make a choice between staying his course, or being the hero he’d always dreamed of.

Friendly Fire explores gray morality, forbidden romance, found family, and how one person could change not only their own life, but the world around them by taking a stand for what’s right.

 

[Seroster]

I've got a book coming to me at the library called A Philosophy of Thieves. Seems to use the science fiction idea of "something awful for viewing entertainment" (like a bloodsport) but with thievery instead of killing. I'm not wild about that fictional setup but I'm going to give it a try. Will report back when I'm done reading it.

"The Canarviers are the premier performance thieves in New Washington, blending astonishing acrobatics, clever misdirection, and daring escapes to entertain their rich patrons. As King Canarvier has always told his children, their work is art. Who else could titillate audiences with illicit history lessons and tease them through the gaps in their much-prized security? Now that they’re adults, King’s children feel their divisions more than their bonds. Roosa attends an exclusive finishing university, blending in so well she’s unsure where she belongs. Her brother Dax craves a chance to prove himself, stifling under his father’s caution. Then King disappears. With only days to buy mercy before their father is lost forever, Roo and Dax must compete in a high-stakes Grand Heist, pushing down their resentments to work together. Against a technocrat wagering more than he can lose, a security chief with a taste for pain, and a society beauty with secrets of her own, any misstep promises catastrophic ruin."


I also read a cozy fantasy called The Spellshop. Pretty good. Some m/f romance, though no sex scenes fwiw.

 

[The Gentleman Thief]

I planned to comment on this a while ago, but my memory is crap. I am a huge fan of Golden Age Detective Fiction. Most people know about Agatha Christie (she is the bestselling novelist of all time after all) but there are lot more awesome authors as well. John Dickson Carr writes locked room mysteries (man is killed in a locked and guarded room), he is one the more technical authors using complex tricks, but he ties it all together with an excellent narrative. I just finished He Who Whispers today and it was fantastic. Japan does a lot of good, locked room murders as well; The Honjin Murders is a good example. I hear good things about the Tokyo Zodiac Murders as well, but I forgot to get it (my memory has become a running joke in my life). This is getting long so I am going to lightning round list off the commonly accepted to be great authors and books all of these are good so if you see one in a library or find one lying around give it a go. Dorothy L Sayers, Ngiao Marsh, Decagon House Murders, Arsene Lupin series (believe or not he often serves the role of detective in many of his stories), and Anthony Horowitz.

 

[Seroster]

I have read umpteen books by Sayers, Christie, and Allingham. In the past year I read several by Josephine Tey - The Man in the Queue, Shilling for Candles, To Love And Be Wise. and The Singing Sands. (I read The Daughter of Time years ago.) Also I've re-read a great many Rex Stout (Nero Wolfe) mysteries.

I mentioned the novellas by Malka Older above but there are some other science fiction or fantasy pastiches as well. The Tainted Cup, by Robert Jackson Bennett, is very much a Nero Wolfe pastiche and a very good fantasy novel.

 

[The Gentleman Thief]

I actually got the Tainted Cup thanks to your recommendation. It was a good read and I was pleasantly surprised at how closely it adhered to tropes of the classic mystery. The trouble with fantastical mysteries I find is that in a world with magic or even advanced science there may be methods of murder that we as a reader are simply unaware of. You don’t want to go to heavy on exposition in the beginning but you also don’t want to cheat your reader. This book managed it well though and one of these days i’ll get the next one

I have read umpteen books by Sayers, Christie, and Allingham. In the past year I read several by Josephine Tey - The Man in the Queue, Shilling for Candles, To Love And Be Wise. and The Singing Sands. (I read The Daughter of Time years ago.) Also I've re-read a great many Rex Stout (Nero Wolfe) mysteries.

I mentioned the novellas by Malka Older above but there are some other science fiction or fantasy pastiches as well. The Tainted Cup, by Robert Jackson Bennett, is very much a Nero Wolfe pastiche and a very good fantasy novel.

 

[Seroster]

Agreed, you don't want to cheat your reader.

I'm really glad you enjoyed the book!

 

[Hooder]

Since I'm online again I thought I'd suggest "The Immortal Hulk" comic run by Al Ewing
It's a very body horror si-fi story

you do need some casual knowledge of The Hulk/Banner but if you're into Comics at all I highly recommend it!

I'm also re reading the Deltora series which was my go to fantasy as a kid, I think it holds up as a adult to some extent.

 

[Tsushi]

About halfway on A Wizard of Earthsea from the absurdly talented Ursula K Le Guin. I can see what the hype was about lol in some ways these concepts have been incorporated into a lot of modern stuff, but still the characters and emotional stakes of it feel so compelling.