Finished this week:

Crooked Kingdom, by Leigh Bardugo - A fairly satisfying conclusion to this pair of books. I 'd love to read more set in this universe so I think I'll likely pick up the other trilogy set in this world. Like the first one, this is funny and lively with humor and good character development to pair with a more outlandish by the page heist story.

Paper Girls Vol. 2, by Brian K. Vaughn - I enjoyed the first one so I borrowed the second and third (and spoiler, now the fourth as well). Second one wasn't as strong as the first I felt, but still good.

Paper Girls Vol. 3, by Brian K. Vaughn Third one was great, and the fourth one is sitting in my backpack currently.

Sex Criminals Vol. 3: Three The Hard Way, by Matt Fraction It had been a while since I read the first 11 or 12 issues of this, so I re-read a couple of those prior to reading volume three. This one seemed to be the lowpoint for me (still really good though) since it got strangely meta and did some fourth wall breaking, but the story is still novel and I'm interested to see where it goes next.

All Systems Red, by Martha Wells - The final novella I needed to read for all of the nominations for the Hugo, it was just on the wait list for ever. Ultimately pretty good, although I'd say the character of Murderbot was maybe stronger than the story as a whole. Possibly would not have been my choice for the winner, but I would certainly read more in this world.

Currently reading:

Wool Omnibus Edition, by Hugh Howey - New nothing about this really except it kept showing up in my goodreads recommendations. Just started the third of the novellas that comprise this. Interesting so far.

Finished The Trouble with Goats and Sheep, by Joanna Cannon. About two little girls trying to solve a woman's disappearance on their street -- but really about how judgmental and petty people can be. It was just okay to me, not that great.

Then quickly read All Systems Red: Murderbot Diaries, by Martha Wells. This was a great sci-fi novella about a security robot with feelings. I am glad there is to be a sequel to it!

Now reading Two Girls Down, by Louisa Luna. A police procedural / private detective mystery about two missing girls. It's not bad so far.

I finished All Systems Red, by Martha Wells. It was funny. Murderbot is pretty adorable.

I started Less, by Andrew Sean Greer. It's funny and sweet and sad, and I'm enjoying it.

I also started IQ84, by Haruki Murakami. So far, it mostly seems to be about boobs and experiences related to boobs. Or at least, that's what the author talks about the most. I'm only three chapters in. Maybe he moves on to other topics soon. So far, still ambivalent about the book, but lots of people like it so I probably just need to get further in.

The other two books I started were The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, by Robert Heinlein, which I'm enjoying well enough, and Gods, Monsters, and the Lucky Peach, by Kelly Robson, which needs more descriptions.

I normally don't read this much sci-fi, but everything that has been coming in from my requests at the library has been sci-fi recently.

Start Reading:

The Hate U Give, by Angie Thomas - Excited to read this for a IRL book club. I've wanted to pick this up for awhile.

How To Kill A City: Gentrification, Inequality, and the Fight for the Neighborhood, by Peter Moskowitz - My husband and I have danced around the idea of buying a house. We got into a discussion about what causes gentrification, when does it start, how to buy into a neighborhood that's in third cycle of it's life cycle, and other questions. Hoping that this will lead me down a path to learn more about neighborhoods and densely populated cities.

All Systems Red: The Murder Bot Diaries, by Martha Wells - Eager to read this one before it has to go back to the library. I've waiting to read it since late last year.

Saga: Volume 7, by Brian K. Vaughan, Fiona Staples

Finished this week:

Saga: Volume 6, by Brian K. Vaughan, Fiona Staples - Really enjoyed this and the momentum is still going. I cannot wait to read the next issue. Starting to consider picking up the entire series.

Stay with Me, by Ayobami Adebayo - I just finished this and I have so many feelings. So many. Glad I read it. It brought up great topics that happen in a marriage but I don't think that I ever want to read it again. I think it's something that everyone should pick up and read. I will definitely read this author again.

Finished:

• We, the Drowned, by Carsten Jensen - Absolutely heart wrenching. Slow in parts, it took me a little longer than a typical novel of this size. I got a great visual of an ever overcast ocean sky throughout this novel and it makes a case for pessimism. There is always a storm on the horizon and there are some visuals in this book that will live with you until your last water filled breath.

• All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries #1), by Martha Wells - Well, now I've got to read the rest of them as soon as possible! Fantastic story, it was exactly what I was hoping for in a iRobot (the movie) self-aware robot narrative.

• Artificial Condition, (The Murderbot Diaries #2), by Martha Wells - The story continues as you continue to follow the evolution of Murderbot. His interactions with ART really elevated the story to another level. Perhaps I relate to Murderbot's feelings towards humans and his interactions with them A LITTLE too much.

Currently Reading:

• The Stranger Beside Me, by Ann Rule - Just started this one. I've always been intrigued by the mind of serial killers (Ted Bundy in this case), and the lives they live behind the shadows. Reading the 2008 "Final" revision.

• Rogue Protocol (The Murderbot Diaries #3), by Martha Wells - Nom Nom Nom, can't wait for #4 and the full length novel due 2020.

I just finished Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, by Hunter S Thompson. This just became one of my personal favorites - I enjoyed it from cover to cover and I'd love to read it again some time.

I also just finished Pandemic, by A. G. Riddle. I read a review about it that described it as being "as tightly wound as a Swiss watch" and I'm inclined to agree, though the author definitely pushes it with how much he gets away with hiding stuff from the reader.

Also a book that I forgot to add a while ago but felt like adding to the data count: All Systems Red, by Martha Wells. It's short but sweet - it's designed to give you a glimpse of what it's like to adjust to human life as an outsider and goes about it in a pretty clever way. If you like sci-fi, you'll like this.

Started Blood Meridian, by Cormac Mccarthy. I've never been big on Westerns but I've heard such good things about this book that I couldn't resist. I hope it lives up to the hype.

Finished:

The Fox's Tower and Other Tales, by Yoon Ha Lee - Fun little collection of short fantasy stories. I liked it. Some were definitely better than others.

All Systems Red, by Martha Wells - This one was awesome. I can't wait for the next ones in the Murderbot Diaries series.

Little Girls, by Nicholas Aflleje - This was was alright. Parts were creepy and intriguing, but the good parts couldn't hold up the rest of it.

Reading:

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking, by Susan Cain - I'm still early in this one, but it looks like I'll like it.

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, by Haruki Murakami - A bit over half way through, but I'm really enjoying it. This book feels magical even when nothing is happening.

Permafrost, by Alastair Reynolds - It took some effort to get going on this one, but I'm really liking it now.

Last week I finished:

All Systems Red by Martha Wells

This is the first book I’ve read about an AI that’s kept my interest. Short, entertaining. It was a good audiobook. I’ll be revisiting the series for sure.

Wolves in the Land of Salmon by David Moskowitz

Nonfiction about wolves in the Pacific Northwest, the various packs there, human attitudes, etc. Not as riveting as some nonfiction, but it was interesting, particularly the bits about coastal wolves, opportunistic wolf diets, and fishing wolves.

Short things:

• “Dundun” by Denis Johnson (Jesus’ Son)
• “Man Crawling out of Trees” by Annie Proulx (Bad Dirt)
• “Witness” by Walter Jon Williams (Wild Cards)
• “Real Women Have Bodies” by Carmen Maria Machado (Her Body and Other Parties)
• “I Was a Teenage Werewolf” by Dale Bailey (Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2017)
• “The Contest” by Annie Proulx (Bad Dirt)
• "Hamsa, Hamsa, Hamsa, Tfu, Tfu, Tfu” by Alicia Schreibman (Upside Down: Inverted Tropes in Storytelling)
• “The Wamsutter Wolf” by Annie Proulx (Bad Dirt)
• “All the Dead Pilots” by William Faulkner (Collected Stories)
• “Eight Bites” by Carmen Maria Machado (Her Body and Other Parties)
• “The Venus Effect” by Joseph Allen Hill (Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2017) (WOW WOW WOW)

Working on:

• White Teeth by Zadie Smith
• Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami (for /r/bookclub)
• The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
• Circe by Madeline Miller

All Systems Red, by Martha Wells and A Closed and Common Orbit, by Becky Chambers

Finished:

The Power, by Naomi Alderman

• I really enjoyed this. I loved the semi slow-burn pace, how society was shifting under "the power", especially the way the characters react to losing/gaining power (It was giving me serious Handmaid's Tale vibes at some points, and it turn's out, Atwood herself was a mentor for Alderman!)

All Systems Red, by Martha Wells

• This was a pretty good read as well, perfectly lighthearted at the right times, short and sweet (especially having just finished The Power). I have such a soft spot in my heart for characters who just wanna be left alone and watch some shows, especially robot characters in a future universe! I almost wish it were a smidgen longer so that I could enjoy more of the little universe and characters.

Starting:

Not sure yet. I've been going off of this list, sort of. If anyone has any good reads (partial to one-offs), please throw them my way. Might glance at some of the finished reads here and find something to start!

Just finished: A Natural History of Dragons, by Marie Brennan. I really enjoyed it! It's a pretty light fantasy read; I think what I appreciated the most is that, since it's framed as the main character writing her memoirs many years later, she can look back and call herself out for problematic behavior (e.g. classism).

Just started: All Systems Red, by Martha Wells. Heard about this from the Hugos and decided to give it a shot. I'm excited!

Finished Steelheart, by Brandon Sanderson yesterday. It's good, not great. It's probably his weakest book I've read yet.

Finished So You've Been Publicaly Shamed, by Jon Ronson. I enjoyed it, but it was boring at times.

Continuing both Dune, by Frank Herbert and All Systems Red, by Martha Wells.

Losing the Nobel Prize: A Story of Cosmology, Ambition, and the Perils of Science's Highest Honor, by Brian Keating A very strange science book. The cosmology part is fantastic. But the author is totally obsessed with the Nobel prize, and completely unhealthily. (He prematurely announces a mistaken result, as part of a strategy to win.) He also assumes that every scientist is primarily motivated by wanting to win the Nobel prize, which is ridiculous.

Italian Ways: On and Off the Rails from Milan to Palermo, by Tim Parks A filler book. I've never taken an Italian train, so couldn't recognize many of the details, but it was fun to travel through Italy.

The Big Over Easy: A Nursery Crime, by Jasper Fforde Fforde stories always have a good main gimmick, and then lots of small ideas that often go a bit too far. In this case, police investigations are made based on their literary merits.

All Systems Red: The Murderbot Diaries, by Martha Wells Fast action sci-fi novella. Not remarkable.

A Rising Man: A Novel, by Abir Mukherjee Historical mystery fiction set in early 20th century India. It starts off very unsteadily, with out-of-place history lessons. But Mukherjee's writing gets stronger toward the end.

The Fire Next Time, by James Baldwin Not the most compelling.

The Lost Man, by Jane Harper This was a fascinating portrait of Australian ranchers. A different world. There's not a lot of plot or mystery, but it is still a page turner.

Finished last week: A Natural History of Dragons, by Marie Brennan and All Systems Red, by Martha Wells. Both were entertaining, but All Systems Red was phenomenal. Funny and cynical and heartwarming. Can't wait to read the next three novellas.

Currently reading: Midnight Never Come, by Marie Brennan. Normally I take more of a break between books by the same author, but this one happened to be available at the library and I want to make sure I finish it before the due date. It's faerie intrigue intertwined with Queen Elizabeth I's court, and the two go so well together that I'm surprised nobody (that I know of) has done this already. I'm enjoying it.

Oh man, I had slowed down there for a while, but knocked out some hard copy books and a couple audiobooks!

Finished:

The Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons

All Systems Red by Martha Wells

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

Currently Reading:

The Three Body Problem by Cixin Liu

The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson

This weekend I finished all of the Murderbot Diaries novellas:

All Systems Red, by Martha Wells

Artificial Condition, by Martha Wells

Rogue Protocol, by Martha Wells

Exit Strategy, by Martha Wells

I'm not a hard scifi person, and I could not put these down once I started them because they are so character driven. Anyone with anxiety or shy introverts will appreciate the main character, a self-described horrible murderbot human/robot construct who hacked their governor module. Instead of going on a murderous rampage to kill all humans, they downloads thousands of hours of television shows to watch. While they are intensely anxious about humans and totally apathetic about their job, they still try to keep their human clients alive on an alien world.

Finished The Boy on the Bridge, by MR Carey and read All Systems Red, by Martha Wells.

TBOTB was a fine followup to TGWATG. Even if being a prequel you knew more or less what the end result was going to be. Not sure if I was a fan of the epilogue or not. I guess it continued the theme of hope if nothing else.

All Systems Red was a fun quick read. Like most good novellas, I was left wishing there was more.

Currently about a third through Lightning, by Dean Koontz.

This week I finished Kings of the Wyld, by Nicholas Eames. That book was a lot of fun. I started reading All Systems Red, by Martha Wells Haven't heard anything about it; but it sounds like a cool story... I'm on chapter 4 and so far so good.

I just finished All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries, #1, by Martha Wells A quick novella with a lot of action and likable characters. I knocked it out in three days. I started reading Meddling Kids, by Edgar Cantero,