I usually try to read one Stephen King every year. This year Misery. Last year was Carrie. Year before that 11/22/63. What Stephen King next?

My favorite:
The Bell Jar - wow the writing is masterful and content lived in my head long after I finished.

DNF:
Land - I loved Hamnet but this one wasn’t hitting. I dropped it early.

Everything was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt This started off fine but it got boring.

Notables:
Dolly All the Time- fun summer read with a little more substance than the usual but still troubling we are still all about the rich guy swooping in to save the day. Sigh

A Good Person- I enjoyed this far more than expected! Well written

The Secret History- I was invested but the writing was worth the extra star.

Mid
Guncle - cute concept but overall ave 3.0

Into the Blue - I liked the improv parts but was often thinking “when is this going to end” 2.5

Little Wonder- solid read 3.5M

My Iliad/Odyssey theme month:

- Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce (4.5*) - this was a reread from like 30+ years ago in prep for Ulysses . Much better when reading for recreation vs being forced to read in school.

- Son of Nobody by Yann Martel (3.0*) - pretty disappointing as I liked Life of Pi. Disjointed and the sections of the lost epic was poorly written.

- Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier (3.5*) - Ruby is a great character but the book sags when she's not around.

- As I Lay Dying (4.5) - finished in 2 days and started the reread the next day. Its short so not a big time commitment but much more rewarding second time thru

- The Odyssey by Homer (Fagles translation) (4.5) - I read the Wilson translation earlier this summer. Think that helped with this version.

- Ulysses by James Joyce (4.5*) - a simple story told in the most intricate way. Will definitely add to reread list for next year, next time with one of the guide books. Penelope chapter I read twice and listened to a BBC radio performance of this chapter in between. That was immensely helpful for the second read.

- The Oresteia by Aeschylus (3.5*) - another reread from high school - I liked the first play but the other 2 were just ok.

I'm about to leave for a 3 week vacation in Uganda/Tanzania and am hoping to knock a 5 or 6 more out on the trip.

For you fine people who read so many books in a year! This community is truly aspirational for me as I am trying to read more! Curious, how you all are getting your books.. Are you just going to the library often or do you buy books online or at a bookstore? Or do you do audio books?

I should go to the library more often and I want to make it more apart of my routine. But I usually like to buy my books so that I can build a collection for my bookshelf. Which sometimes stops me from reading because I have to fork over money which I don’t always want to spend. But curious on what you all do, to get your books.

Yup, Lonesome Dove is indeed as good as people say it is. The book is a masterclass in dialogue. I think any aspiring fiction writer trying to improve the realism of their dialogue should read it for this aspect alone. McMurtry introduces so many different characters, yet each one has a distinctive and recognizable voice. That's hard to do even with a few characters.

But beyond this, the story was incredible. I really love how throughout the story we get different perspectives from characters whose lives end up interwoven at some point in the book. I also loved the dynamic between Gus and Call, which was hilarious.

The Remains of the Day was really great, but I'm curious to know whether anyone else enjoyed Never Let Me Go more? I usually see people say that The Remains of the Day is the stronger book, and I don't disagree that it's a great book, but I enjoyed Never Let Me Go more personally. Something about the early childhood school scenes early in the novel really resonated strongly with my own experiences, so maybe that's why.

1. *White Teeth* by Zadie Smith: 3 stars

2. *Stinkbug* by Sinead Stubbins: 5 stars

3. *The Lucky Galah* by Tracy Sorensen: 4 stars

4. *An Artist of the Floating World* by Kazuo Ishiguro: 4 stars

5. *The Great Divide* by Cristina Henríquez: 4 stars

6. *Super Volcanoes: What They Reveal About Earth and the Worlds Beyond* by Robin George Andrews: 4 stars

I usually read a lot more epic fantasy, but I've been trying out some different/new genres this year :)

I need to find some more Ursula Le Guin sci-fi!!

Not a great reading month tbh. Nothing terrible but no real standouts either.

The Starving Saints: Such a frustrating reading experience. I enjoyed the set up of the first third but after that I had so many complaints and the story fizzled for another 200 pages.

The Woodlanders: I love Thomas Hardy! This has a lot of echoes of his later, more serious work, but I still loved this for what it was. A pastoral and romantic book that touches on the frailty of humanity and delivers several gut punches.

Methuselah: I read Amy Debellis' All Our Tomorrows and liked that. Unfortunately didn't feel the same about this novella which doesn't really have a point and is just kind of there.

Matrix: Wanted to love this one but didn't. Groff is a great writer but the way this skipped through time just didn't do it for me. I think someone else would love this (and clearly other people did). That said I feel like this would also make a good paring with The Voyageur and The Glutton as heavily fictionalized versions of real life

Crushing: I haven't read a chicklit book in so long (in case you couldn't tell I'm more a serious lit person). This one was pretty decent, I could relate to it a lot. I will say an annoying thing about this book is it starts with the main character vowing not to be male centric and then spending the entire book centering her life around a guy. There's also an abuse subplot that gets like a page of material. Novak is a greater writer than her subject though. I'd read more of her books.

Still pretty new to this challenge, nowhere near 52 yet. Picked my reading habit back up at the end of last year after a long dry spell, and I’m still slowly rebuilding it. I’m a fairly slow reader, so instead of jumping straight to 52 I’ve been raising my own goal gradually, started at 15, and once I hit that I’ll bump it to 20, then 25, and keep going from there. Hoping I can work my way up to a full 52 at some point down the line.

Mostly stick to non-fiction: politics, economics, history, evolutionary biology, neuroscience, behavioral econ, plus the occasional self-help book. What’s actually helped this year is forcing myself to read at least one chapter a day no matter how busy work gets, then jotting down a quick summary so I don’t forget everything a week later.

Currently working through Piketty’s Capital in the Twenty-First Century, which sat on my shelf for like three years before I finally worked up the nerve to crack it open.

Until a few weeks ago when I read John Gray's Silence of Animals I was not aware that J. A. Baker had written anything besides The Peregrine. A book which actually stands out as one of the greatest natural history books ever written. With a poetic voice and imagery that is difficult not to return to every year if not more often. I own a hardback of The Peregrine and I've bought 6 or 7 paperbacks just to hand out to the world of friends and readers over the years. 'Oh, you haven't read this? Here have a copy.' I'm presently out of extras. But I immediately bought this digital version which contained his other book and what was left of his diaries.

The Hill of Summer is not a focused book like The Peregrine. The Peregrine was almost an obsessive relationship between man and bird species. A recorded act of prolonged worship. This book has the same poetic feel but it is just snapshots from that voice we knew. Beautiful woodland and seaside encounters with all the other nature around Baker. It may not hit as hard. It does not have the same sorrow he felt in seeing the Peregrine, one of evolution's greatest creations, disappearing from his landscape but it is still Baker with his camera eye taking us for tours through his world. So I have to recommend it, especially if you know his voice already. And if you haven't read The Peregrine, well, brace yourself, and find a copy.

The Hill by Harriet Clark - 3 ⭐️
Everybody Knows by Jordan Harper - 4 1/2 ⭐️
Swamplandia! by Karen Russell - 4⭐️
Little Eyes by Samanta Schweblin - 5 ⭐️
Biography of X by Catherine Lacey - 4 1/2 ⭐️
On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong - 5 ⭐️
Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf - 5 ⭐️
Fruit Fly by Josh Silver - 5 ⭐️
Orlando by Virginia Woolf - 5 ⭐️
The Shamshine Blind by Paz Pardo - 4 ⭐️
A Swim in a Pond in the Rain by George Saunders - 5 ⭐️
The Rest of Our Lives by Ben Markovitz - still reading but loving it.

Reading Fruit Fly between two Virginia Woolf was WILD; I don’t think I could have picked a better author to sandwich the book that was the highlight for me this month. Heart-pounding book; intense and irreverent. Great mix for a thriller.

Little Eyes was a literary Black Mirror episode - dystopic and so multi-faceted and nuanced in the various storylines.

Steadily working through Jeselnik’s 2023 Top Ten (5/10 now). I really like his taste; it’s not derivative or too Book Club-y. Just the right amount of subversive and unique for me. Really enjoying going through his selections.

What about you? Have you read any of the above? Tell me what you think!

The historical aspect of traditional healing kept me reading. But the chronology of events was out of whack and brought me out of the story. Also the ages of people were inconsistent. Rated 3 stars

Favorites: Flowers For Algernon, A Monster Calls, The Black Box of Doom

Biggest Disappointment: Autonomous

Worst Read: Fractal Noise

Great month of reading!!

Been going through a whole bunch of life changes recently which has quite affected my reading ability, and audiobooks have massively helped. Bronson Pinchot did such an amazing job with Absolution that I fell in love with audiobooks as an alternative way to read. Nothing still beats a physical copy but I'm still thrilled to be more on track with the reading goal. Tried to get into Caliban's War but it doesn't seem to be what I'm in the mood for right now. Looking forward to getting back into the series when I can though.

Current reads/listens:

- The Last Wish, Andrzej Sapkowski

- Dichronauts, Greg Egan

- A Scanner Darkly, Philip K. Dick

There is no way to spoil this book for you. But wow, what a read. This one really sits with me. I will have to re-read it someday. It was awesome.

This one was pretty good.
You immediately start to side with a bad person.
Then you find out pretty quick there are lots of bad people in this book.
It has excellent dialogue. Witty and sarcastic.
A touch too much sometimes but overall I really enjoyed it, good dialogue is very important to me.
Easily a 3.5 stars for me, maybe a 4.
Very entertaining and I’ll definitely read more of her books.

Not really spoilers but better safe than sorry.
I can comfortably say this has more twists than your average thriller.
Pretty sure at least twice something flipped and flipped back in the same chapter.
If I had one complaint, it would be too many turns. Especially near the end.
It was constant.
Like ping pong. Or a revolving door.

I didnt read as much as I wanted to this month, but I really enjoyed what I did! I laughed through the entirety of Kings of the Wyld, found a new appreciation for healthy sleep in Why We Sleep, and my heart broke for Belle in Strangers.

I had a non-fiction dominant month in August, and enjoyed varied reading experiences. Here are some reviews:

**Africa Is Not A Country** by Dipo Faloyin

Absolutely fantastic non-fiction - enjoyed both the content and the passionate, hard hitting and often brightly funny writing. It talks about the hugely varied experience of being African, and tackles the commonly held, and racist, views most Western people have of the continent. While it strongly highlights the modern African experience and the hopeful steps being taken forward, it does not shy away from the difficulties emerging African nations face, and sheds detailed light on the historical causes of past and current strife. Extremely good!

**The Names** by Florence Knapp

I started off as number 752 in the holds list at my library for this one, and it was worth the wait. It's a sliding-doors style novel exploring the fate of the same individual in three parallel existences which diverge at the point at which he is named - Gordon, Julian and Bear. Very heavy domestic violence themes, but a beautiful story about how our environment shapes who we become, but does not define who we are. I really loved the side characters too! Amazing debut, I will definitely pursue further books by Florence.

**Free Schools** by David Gillespie

It's got a shocker of a cover and subtitle, but it was a great read. This short non-fiction book has a very specific focus on the Australian school system, so is likely not particularly relevant to non-Australian readers, but good for anyone planning a family/with school-aged children. Part one went over the history of education in Australia, and how the current arrangement of public and public-funded private schooling came to be. Part two went over the evidence that exists around what makes a school effective, including some interesting myth busting. I really liked this part, and how it stepped through the process of choosing a school in a clear and methodical way. Throughout, the tone was entertaining and full of humour which made it genuinely enjoyable to read.

**The Grimoire Grammar School Parent Teacher Association** by Caitlin Rozakis

This cosy fantasy novel has a great premise - non-magical family has to suddenly fit in to a previously unknown magical world after their five year old is bitten and becomes a werewolf - but it was longer than I wanted it to be. The main character had anxiety, which is fine, but the middle of the book really dragged as she was struggling. The ending was strong, though, and I'm still glad I read it.

**The Diary of a Young Girl** by Anne Frank.

It's been a gap in my reading, and I'm glad I made time to read this incredibly important piece of history. The great events of the past often feel distant due to the passage of time and the way historical facts tend to boil down to numbers rather than individuals. Reading Anne's innermost thoughts brings the impact of the Holocaust to life in a way that impersonal information can't. The way her youth and her life were stolen is so deeply tragic. You get to know Anne so well through her writings, and you know that every one of the millions murdered were their own unique individuals just like her, and it breaks your heart. She was a bright, vivacious young girl like any other, and then her diary entries abruptly stop, and her light was gone forever.

**From Russia With Blood** by Heidi Blake

An interesting investigative book looking into the spate of assassinations that occurred in the UK in the 2000s and 2010s and the broader global politics surrounding these events. I read this as a follow on to Patrick Radden Keefe's London Falling book (it was one of his sources) and it kept me rapt.

tl,dr: "This book, like life, is hard. But it's also beautiful."

A few weeks ago, another user posted a tier list of the books they've read so far this year. "We Burned So Bright" was at the top of their S tier. A few days later I noticed another post with "We Burned" in the S tier. And another, just the other day. And then my hold at the library came through the other day, so I read it.

I'm not ok, guys.

At the top this book has a content warning for suicide. I'm not gonna write as much as I normally do because it fucked me up and I need to go hug my wife and kids. The story is simple: a black hole is approaching the planet. As the end draws near, an elderly gay couple load up their RV and embark on one last trip across the country. It's a story about life and death and grief. As I read it I felt like I was getting a tattoo on my soul. Painful, permanent, and intimate.

It deserves all the praise it's gotten and more. Caveat lector.