Weekend reading roundup (09 October 2017)

[nanila]

How did your weekend reading go? If you planned on anything specifically, did you read it?

Comments

[nanila]

I finished Maria Alyokhina's Riot Days memoir which was incredible and devastating (the illustrations were by her seven-year-old son, who lived with his grandparents whilst she spent two years in prison) and am now going, "Holy fuck, what do I follow that up with?"

[brithistorian]

I quit reading A Spoil of Office by Hamlin Garland after realizing there's a reason my American lit classes never mentioned it. The first part of the book, covering 19th century Iowa politics, is interesting enough if you're interested in that sort of thing, but as soon as our protagonist gets elected to Congress, goes to Washington DC, and starts encountering African-Americans on a regular basis, I noped right the hell out of there. I'm sure his views were entirely typical of the time, but the rest of the book wasn't good enough that I feel the need to subject myself to it at this time. (Quitting a book rather than slogging on is a huge step for me, something it took me forever to learn.)

I'm currently reading The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin and enjoying it thoroughly. Some of the best worldbuilding I've encountered in an SF/fantasy novel in quite some time.

[nanila]

Yowch. Well done recognising that the Garland book was doing you no good at all and quitting. (I, too, have struggled with the "but I started this book and therefore I must finish" indoctrination for a long time.)

I'm glad you're now reading something you enjoy!

[heliopausa]

One more read-through of the giant work report, final before printing, I hope. Caught up on a few DW friends' posts! :)
Newspapers, which wasn't all bad: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/nobel-peace-prize-winners-thought-it-was-a-hoax-20171007-gywao0.html

[nanila]

Hurrah for finishing Giant Work Report! I hope it has gone off to the Land of Submission now.

[heliopausa]

Yes - done and dusted, thank goodness!

[fiveforsilver]

One of the things I'm currently reading is Jane, Unlimited by Kristin Cashore, and I'm trying to decide if I want to bother finishing it or not. I'm over halfway through, but it's getting weird and frustrating. I talked to a friend who did manage to finish it and apparently it escalates, just getting weirder and more frustrating as the end approaches. So. I dunno.

[nanila]

That doesn't sound promising. Good luck with your decision.