Had a blast reading this weekend. It was a holiday in Sweden so had 4 days off. It's seldom that I feel like can really enter *"the zone"* where I'm relaxed enough to truly enjoy reading, this weekend was one of those times.

Started and finished:
Cat's Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut
Nice but somewhat silly (in a good way) book. Fast read that left me with some thoughts that keep coming back.

The Giver, by Lois Lowry
If you check my post history you'll find I read this book almost a decade ago and that I recently decided I wanted to re-read it. It was as good as I remember, which was a pleasant surprise.

Started:
Darkness at Noon, by Arthur Koestler I've only made it one third through the book as of now and it's very enjoyable. Picked it up at a second-hand bookshop because I liked the cover. Had never heard of it beforehand.

Finished Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, by Robert Pirsig

I thought the ending and forward were really amazing.

Just started Cat's Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut

Never read anything by him, no idea what to expect.

Books Finished:

Anna Karenina, by Leo Tolstoy

I had heard so many good things about this book and how many people have considered this to be one of the best books ever written so I decided to give it a shot. WOW! This book took up a good portion of my summer (I'm a fairly slow reader) but I don't regret reading this and enjoyed it till the end. I'm surprised not too many talk about this book on this sub. It's just so impressive how Tolstoy is able to portray those small moments of thoughts people may have when doing certain activities or important life events. I ended up reading the Constance Garnett translation and I later found out that people seem to prefer the P&V translation better so I'll have to try and read through that version next time.

The Stranger, by Albert Camus

I wanted to finish one additional book before school started up so I decided to pick this book up to read. Even though this book is short and a quick read, I found the protagonist as well as his view of life interesting. I'd for sure be willing to read again. I'm also interested in reading some of Camus other works.

Started Reading:

Cat's Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut

I've read Slaughterhouse 5 many years ago and it was one of the few books (maybe the only book) I enjoyed reading when I was in high school so I wanted to find another book of Vonnegut's as a change of pace from the other books I have read recently.

Finished: God is not Great by Christopher Hitchens

I've never read Hitchens before but I have watched several of his debates. I am an atheist so his book was preaching to the choir, so to speak. I still enjoyed it. Taking a pause from the sci-fi/fantasy bender I've been on recently.

Almost finished: Cat's Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut

Read Slaughterhouse-Five earlier this year and fell in love with Vonnegut. Really enjoying Cat's Cradle. Sirens of Titan and Hocus Pocus to follow.

About to start: Ghostly, A Collection of Short Srories by Audrey Niffinger

Devoting October to horror. What next? Dracula? John Dies at the End? Something Wicked This Way Comes? The Outsider? Damned? Help me choose!

Recently, I finished Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn. I watched the first episode of the show and I knew I would fall in love with it and I wanted to read the book before I watched anymore. It was the first of her books I've read but it was fucking fantastic. Most thrillers feature a cookie cutter protagonist at the center of the action. Camille kind of floats through the background of the story yet you become invested more in this beautiful, self-destructive creature than the big murder mystery going on. I loved it but to be honest? The TV show was better.

Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut- I read Sirens of Titan last year and I'm making my way through his bibliography. I really like him, I really wish I could LOVE him. He's odd and eccentric and his writing is unique. But they kind of burn bright without exploding. And I think they could explode and burn so much brighter. I may be judging too soon (I haven't even read Slaughterhouse Five yet) but I'm hoping to expect one if his novels will blow me away.

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagahira Just starting this and I like it so far. I picked it because I'm in the mood for a book that'll annihilate me and all the critics say it will. I love long novels that rely on well-written characters and so far I'm invested in these guys so I'm expecting an emotional rollercoaster.

I finished East of Eden by John Steinbeck this week and it’s now one of my favourite books I’ve ever read, and there’s still so much more to read!

I also finished Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut which was my second ever Vonnegut book after reading slaughterhouse-5 in the middle of last year. Pretty good book although I think I preferred slaughterhouse, that’s not a knock against cat’s cradle though.

Last week was one of my best reading weeks ever and I’m having great “reading momentum”. Unfortunately I’m having exams this week, hopefully that doesn’t break the momentum.

Finished: Cat's Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut

Cat's Cradle was not what I expected when I started reading it but I enjoyed it none the less!

Started: Tolstoy, Rasputin, Others and Me: The Best of Teffi

This is a collection of stories by Russian writer Nadezhda Lokhvitskaya who's pen name is Teffi. She's was known for writing satirical works during the early 20th century. I honestly found this at a local book store the other day and it seemed interesting to me.

Started Cat's Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut. Just read Slaughterhouse Five a bit ago and really liked it, I love his style of writing. So far I really like this book too.

And started a re-read of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, by JK Rowling. I've watched the movies way too much and read the books way too little - I completely forgot that Harry and Hermione snuck Norbert out of the castle. Also, the books are much wittier than the movies.

Finished Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut. Absolutely loved this book, and really liked the shortness of the chapters. I'm OCD about putting a book down mid-chapter so this was more pleasant than I would have imagined hahah.

Started Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut

Will be starting The Man in the High Castle by Philip K Dick. This is my first PKD novel (wasn't really sure where to start, but this has an interesting premise) so I'm really looking forward to it.

Reread Cat's Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut. Yup, still good.

​

Now moving on to The Gene, by Siddartha Mukerjee. I educational Nonfiction, especially at a scientific level.

Cat’s Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut I really enjoyed the parts about bokonon and the importance of religion/faith in a society. But I feel I need to think a little more about the characters and their individual significances. A lot of the book wasn’t nearly as striking to me as Slaughterhouse Five or his short stories.

Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman

and

Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut

Finished Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut. My god, what a great read. When it was over I just walked around and basked in it for a few minutes. Nothing like the haze that comes along in the wake of finishing something you really took to.

About to start Meg by Steve Alten. I rewatched Jaws recently and remembered The Meg that's about to come out originally being a novel, so why not? Hope it's a fun summer yarn.

Just started reading Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut. Really amazing.

I still have a chapter left to read of How to Succeed With People by Paul McGee.

Today I will be starting Kiss That Frog! by Brian Tracy and Christina Tracy Stein and Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut.

Last week, I finished Cat's Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut and Stoner, by John Williams. I really enjoyed both of them but I'm not sure what I'm going to read next...I'm thinking more Vonnegut or maybe some Atwood.

Red Sister, by Mark Lawrence finished this a couple days ago, really enjoyed it. Felt like Harry Potter, but with assassins instead. It took a little while to hook me in, but once it did, I really enjoyed it even if this first book is kind of a slow burn. Really liked the characters, Nona, the teachers and classmates.

​

Rereading Cat's Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut first time I read it many years ago I thought it was okay, hoping now that Im older I can appreciate it more

I finished a duology of Star Wars books. For the display, these are

Survivor's Quest, by Timothy Zahn

Outbound Flight, by Timothy Zahn

Both of these were tremendous fun.

I read Cat's Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut. Now this one was really weird but in a good way. I liked the running tone of surreality throughout the whole thing. I still need to think about this one.

I read Through Darkest Europe, by Harry Turtledove. A decent book, but by no means his best. Kim Stanley Robinson did a better job with the same basic concept.

I read Zion's Fiction: a Treasury of Israeli Speculative Literature, edited by Sheldon Teitelbaum and Emanuel Lottem. An interesting anthology of Israeli science fiction and fantasy, with some really good stories. I also found the history of Israeli speculative fiction in the introduction to be fascinating, which led me to start:

O, Jerusalem!, by Larry Collins and Dominique LaPierre. Teitelbaum and Lottem argued that Israel was inspired by a science fiction novel, and from there I wanted to read more about Israeli history. This book is about the foundation of the modern state of Israel. I'm only some forty pages into it, but the writing is absolutely phenomenal. You can feel the jubilation of the Jews upon getting their own state, and the profound worry of the Arabs that this will lead to widespread strife. I am reading this with great interest.