Another week where I didn’t get to read anything.
What about all of you? What have you been reading or listening to lately?
For details on the c/Books Bingo, check the Midpoint check-in post.
If there is another book that’s more aligned with fediverse values, I’m not sure what that is.
Yeah, it’s a fediverse favourite.
I finished There Is No Antimemetics Division by qntm last night. While the science fiction was cool, I had some difficulty because the timelines appeared to be jumping around. I guess it was thematic in the sense that our memories are/were incomplete similar to how a character might experience them in-story. I don’t read a whole lot of cosmic horror stuff, so the grandness of some of the descriptions felt different as though I were watching someone else play Shadow of the Colossus.
I’ve had 1Q84, Book 3 sitting on my desk begging and taunting me to finish it, so I might just get to that once and for all.
I also just read There Is No Antimemetics Divison and absolutely loved it. I get what you mean about the timelines but as an avid SCP content consumer I was pretty comfortable with it. It’s worth noting that the book is pretty much a compilation of what was originally a more serial publication so that probably contributed to the breaks.
Hold up. There’s more SCP content? Is there prerequisite reading that would’ve helped the story make more sense for me?
Oh boy, you’re in for a ride if you choose to go down this road lol. So the SCP Foundation is a wiki style serial and collaborative writing project that has been going strong since 2008. It’s a sort of spinoff of the creepypasta genre of web serial work that has a semi-codified structure. There are tens of thousands of entries at this point and the range of topics and styles is immense. There are some authors that have done far more work than others and have a sort of established mini-lore canonization that sometimes conflicts with other authors and sometimes fits nicely within them. It’s a true grab-bag of content so it’s hard to say where to begin but memtics and anti-memetics play an ENORMOUS role in many many many of the stories and concepts. edit: when this book was published as a book, they kind of changed some things around so it isnt technically part of the foundation, hence why they say “the organization” instead
FURTHER EDIT (sorry not sorry): here is a link to an entry by qntm that serves as a basis for the beginning of what became the book, but in true SCP format meaning it is written as an entry in a government style database and follows the established format of first discussing the Special Containment Procedures of the Keter class entity. SCP-055
That’s so interesting that the lore is created by a community, but even moreso that someone can actually author a work based on their contribution! Pretty interesting to see how far apart the first and last entries of the story were published. This is a rabbit hole I think I am ok skipping for now lol
As always, I’ve been keeping up with The Wandering Inn, reading the newest chapters as they drop on the website. Other than that I have a a good 8-9 smaller reads on RoyalRoad that I read ongoing as soon as chapters drop. Unfortunately I haven’t had the time or mental capacity to continue my “real” (aka physical) book
When the Moon Hits Your Eye - John Scalzi
Thr Fifth Elephant - Terry Pratchett
And re-listening through the Dungeon Crawler Carl series in anticipation of the new book releasing May 12
I’m reading The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune. This covers my last bingo square: Cozy. I’m still early on but I’m really enjoying it so far. It’s fun, not too serious, and exactly what I need right now.
Currently rereading the “Children of Time”-Series by Adrian Tchaikovsky because the fourth book was just released and I really like to experience the first three again.
I’m a sucker for good Sciency Science Fiction and this series ticks practically all boxes of my special interests.
Also listening to the Warhammer 40k Series “Ciaphas Cain” by Sandy Mitchell, because it’s funny and relaxing.
Also listening to “Sourcery” by Terry Pratchett on my way through the Discworld Series (again)
AT is one my favorite contemporary authors, prolific af. While I adore and appreciate CoT series, my favorite series of his is The Final Architecture. Dogs of War is also fantastic.
Highly recommend people to read the children of time series
Currently listening to the fourth book
I’m reading The Wax Child by Olga Ravn for next episode of the podcast. We found out after choosing it that it was longlisted for this years Booker Prize and to be honest, I can see why, it is utterly brilliant and, as athesitic Satanists, right up our street as its a re-telling of a 17th century Danish witch-burning - based, as they all were, on bullshit, lies and the male religious zealots hatred of women. Not a happy story but it is wonderfully written.
I’m also reading Kit Whitfield’s In The Heart of Hidden Things which is the second in her Gyrford Series - if you like fantasy novels set in a rural, agricultural alternative England in which the Fae are an everyday thing (not tinkerbell type faries, I mean proper morally ambiguous Gaelic/Celtic type faeries) then this series is for you.
To catch a fascist by Christopher Mathias
Shadow and Bone series
Reading “Mansfield Park” by Jane Austen ! I’m going through everything she’s written, I finished Pride & Prejudice a few weeks ago and I just got this one !
Finally finished Shadows Upon Time. Really enjoyed the sun eater series in the end. The first book took a bit to get past because it felt like it just was a lot of other books and movies.
Started the Gate of the Feral Gods. Book 4 in the Dungeon Crawler Carl series. Enjoying it so far but am not far in the book.
Will also probably start Project Hail Mary audiobook this week. Heard a lot of good so hope its not oversold
Currently reading The Will of the Many. It’s very decent. Great idea well implemented.
My main gripe is the author definitely used a thesaurus too much. I’m all for uncommon vocabulary (Adrian Tchaikovsky is a master here), it just goes too far on the odd occasion.
Minor gripe though. It’s very solid bedtime reading and I’ve enjoyed it. Nearly finished.
Veeerrryyy slowly making my way through The Cadaver Client by Frank Tuttle, number 4 in a fun series about a PI in a fantasy city. It’s nice and light (and very short), I just haven’t been reading more than a few pages a day.
This may not qualify as currently reading - however I just finished Nobody’s Girl by Virginia Roberts Giuffre yesterday. Fantastic and difficult (emotionally) read. Really connects the dots and gives an inside look into Epstein’s world as well as an incredible story of survival and self-empowerment.
I’m also re-reading 1984 by George Orwell. I read it for the first time ~15 years ago and it terrified me, now it’s terrifying in a whole new way.
Gonna need a lighthearted read after this.
Now reading “Newton’s wake” by Ken MacLeod. Haven’t read too much of it yet, but so far so good. I was previously reading “an inside job” by Daniel Silva, but I put it away. Like I mentioned last week, this series has always been very Israel-centered, but the last two books Silva is clearly ignoring the elephant in the room. He does so by pointing at several European countries. Once I noticed it while reading it, I also noticed the story was severely lacking in depth because of it, characters are very one dimensional and sometimes do very weird things just to get a plot twist going.
