Finished:

Persepolis Rising by James S. A. Corey Well I got through it. It didn't really improve, and I'm annoyed that the crew is once more scattered. But I'm gonna read the next one. Maybe this is a set up to a more fun storyline. Or maybe I'm just losing my enthusiasm for the expanse. We shall see.

Started and put down:

The Strain by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan Having now attempted to consumed the Strain in all three formats, show comic and book, I now feel that I'm qualified to say that the Strain sucks, it has always sucked, and I can finally stop prodding it with a stick wondering if maybe it's better in this format or that one and trying so hard to find some way to enjoy it. I love del Toro. I just fucking hate the Strain.

Started:

Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood I'm enjoying this book, but there are many parts of it that are deeply uncomfortable to read. Sometimes in post apoc stuff you see the world as it was and you feel bad that it's gone. This is the opposite, you look at this world before and after humanity died and go "fucking good all you deserved it I hope you're rotting in a field somewhere and the wolvogs ate you."

The Sympathizer, by Viet Thanh Nguyen Almost done with this. It was difficult to read at times, but I think the pay off has been worth it. Definitely an amazing story.

Oryx and Crake, by Margaret Atwood I'm really enjoying this so far. I love the universe she's created and I love how she always has these slow buildups. I also love how Atwood always beautifully captures how much we can despise the people we consider our friends and family.

Finished:

Becoming, by Michelle Obama -- much as I truly admire Michelle Obama, it was just OK. The book did nothing to change my high opinion of the Obama family, but I did want it to be better. I want one of them to write a real, deep and hard-hitting analysis of their time in office...someday. This was a nice start, and interesting to read how much the West wing worried about the "optics" of Michelle. It again affirmed that the office of the Presidency is a thankless and rather horrible job for the family especially.

Dread Nation, by Justina Ireland -- a fun alternative history book about the Civil War being interrupted by the walking dead. An entertaining exploration of slavery and Native "school" systems, colorism and a host of other important topics + zombies!

The Spy and the Traitor, by Ben Macintyre -- nonfiction that reads like thrilling fiction. My favorite of Macintyre's historical spy books so far.

There Will Be No Miracles Here, by Casey Gerald -- I'm done with memoirs for a while. It's a form I just don't seem to love lately. Gerald's book is interesting, decently written, and important for the questions it raises about the American Dream and "pulling yourself up" sorts of "rags-to-riches" tales we tell in the US. I just didn't love the book. It was overly detailed in many places and didn't go deep enough on the most interesting questions it hoped to examine.

Oryx and Crake, by Margaret Atwood -- If all of the above underwhelmed me, Margaret Atwood saved the week. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of this trilogy. I gobbled this one up in a day over the weekend. Just couldn't put it down, including being a bit irritated in the grocery store when my reading was interrupted by actually getting to the front of the line.

Started:

My Sister, the Serial Killer, by Oyinkan Braithwaite

How Are You Going to Save Yourself, by JM Holmes -- short stories, very good thus far

Still working on:

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, by Becky Chambers

Since I seem to be in a book slump, save the (completely new to me) sci-fi stuff I've had some luck with recently, I plan on rereading some Delillo this week, probably starting with Americana, and I have Lorrie Moore's novel A Gate at the Stairs planned for this week too.

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Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel I loved this book and couldn't put it down. It reminded me a lot of The Road by Cormac McCarthy as the book follows a traveling performing group after a swine flu wipes out a lot of the worlds population.

Becoming by Michelle Obama I'm half way through Becoming and it's amazing. I'm really enjoying getting her perspective of the presidency, race in America and also just learning more about Michelle's amazing accomplishments.

Oryx and Crakes by Margaret Atwood - Just started this book and am enjoying it so far. I really love speculative fiction and am excited to finish this one up!

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I have started reading The Pillars of the Earth, by Ken Follett. I am about 300 pages in and thoroughly enjoying it. Despite being a massive book it's an easy read and I am getting through it at roughly 100 pages a day.

I am also listening too The Third Day, The Frost, by John Marsden which is the 3rd book in the tomorrow series.

Last week I finished reading Oryx and Crake, by Margaret Atwood. It is a re-read of my favourite book and enjoyed it just as much this time.

And I finished listening too The Dead of the Night, by John Marsden the second book in the Tomorrow series

The Drawing of the Three, by Stephen King

I finished this just a while ago and it was interesting to see how the prophecy from the prior book, The Gunslinger plays out. The true nature of the tower is as elusive as ever, and I'm excited for what's coming. The Dark Tower series is probably the first Stephen King work I've read, and so far it looks like it's shaping up to be something epic.

And I've started on Oryx and Crake, by Margaret Atwood.

This week I reread Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut. While I think I appreciate the humor and the ideas in the book more now than when I first read it, I still feel a little disappointed in this reread. I’m not sure why. Maybe I remember liking it a lot more than I liked it this time around, or maybe I just need some time to mull it over?

I also started rereading East of Eden, by John Steinbeck and I had totally forgotten how dense this book is. Enjoying it so far, but I can already tell this one is going to take me a while to get through.

Planning on starting my reread of Oryx and Crake, by Margaret Atwood tonight!

This week I am still rereading East of Eden, by John Steinbeck. I love this book, even more than I remember liking it the first time! There's so much packed in there, but the story moves along so well that I never feel like I'm bogged down by the philosophical conversations and family histories.

Also rereading Oryx and Crake, by Margaret Atwood this week. I enjoy her writing anyway, but I'm really appreciating how this novel is structured this time around. It's told in these short vignettes and jumps between the past and present, and I think that works really well for a post-apocalyptic tale.

This week I finished rereading East of Eden, by John Steinbeck. I definitely enjoyed it more the second time around! One thing I loved about this book was the realism and nuance of all the relationships that it portrayed- nothing is idealized and there are so many unmet expectations and pressures within each part of the story. But I also dislike Adam Trask the more I think about him, and I'm not sure that I like how Cathy is portrayed just as an artistic/thematic choice. In any case, all these characters will stick with me, and I had a great time revisiting this book.

Also finished Oryx and Crake, by Margaret Atwood this week, which I also loved. One thing I enjoyed about this book is how Atwood gives you just enough background and worldbuilding so you can understand what's going on, but doesn't derail the story to go into too much detail. She strikes a good balance between explanation and making the reader use their imagination.

As for books I started, I'm continuing the MaddAddam trilogy with The Year of the Flood, by Margaret Atwood and picking up the quintessential (perhaps) book in the "I read it in high school and never revisited it again" genre, Nineteen Eighty-Four, by George Orwell.

I am currently reading Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood. I read this about 10 years ago and became my favourite book of all time. Seeing if that has changed.

Last week I finished reading The Immortalist by Chloe Benjamin which I thought was good for 3/4 of the book but the ending fell apart.

I just finished listening to Tomorrow, when the war began by John Marsden and starting the next one later today on my drive home.

I finished: Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood

I started: Milkman by Anna Burns. I’m only 10% into it and not sure I’ll be able to stick it out.

Still reading through East of Eden, by John Steinbeck and Oryx and Crake, by Margaret Atwood right now. Still loving both, and I’ll probably finish both this week and have some more detailed thoughts then.

I finished Salem's Lot, by Stephen King last night. I enjoyed the pace of the book and how it was written. I didn't find it scary (it was recommended to me as "SUPER SCARY") and I think that's because I felt the characters were flat. King did a great job building the feel of the town with small introductions and stories about each character but I never felt fully attached to the main character(s) or their relationships. The Green Mile was my first King book and I adored that entire story. I think I ended up comparing the two books, which is unfair because they're very different. The Stand will by my next King book; I'm partial to dystopian.

I'm starting Golden Son, by Pierce Brown today and I am half way through Oryx and Crake, by Margaret Atwood. For my second Atwood novel, I've really enjoyed it.

Finished The Lies of Locke Lamora, by Scott Lynch a few days ago and started Oryx and Crake, by Margaret Atwood right after. Still have a couple books on back burner in low / dry points but haven't read them in a while with these two.

Still reading Oryx and Crake, by Margaret Atwood. It got real creepy real quick early on, but I'm liking it a lot so far. Not gonna be one of my favorites but it's pretty good regardless.

I finished Oryx and Crake, by Margaret Atwood on Sunday. I wasn't thrilled with it.The temporal perspective jumps detracted from the narrative structure instead of forming interesting parallels or well timed reveals for most of the novel (it worked for one scene near the end). The pace was slow for the first 60% of the book and there wasn't sufficient character or world building to warrant the slow pace. Atwood touched on topics covering the morality of large companies and genetic engineering but never delved in to the space.

Now I'm starting The Alloy of Law, by Brandon Sanderson. I'm excited for the setting. It seems like a melding of Victorian London, the Wild West, and (of course) high fantasy.

I'm also listening to The Lies of Locke Lamora, by Scott Lynch. I'm not too far in yet, but I'm curious about the setting and looking forward to the unveiling of the larger plot.

Finished:

Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood All I can say is I'm glad all of the squicky stuff was towards the beginning of the book, it let up on me at the end thankfully. Excellent story though, I'm really looking forward to reading the next book.

Started and put down:

Apocalypse Z: Dark Days by Manel Loureiro I enjoyed the first book in the series, but I got about 10 pages in and just got too uncomfortable at reading the book from the perspective of a 30+ year old dude really wanting to bang a 16 year old he'd saved. I get it's post apocalypse, zombies have eaten everyone, but c'mon man. Couldn't get past it. Maybe I'll try again later.

Started:

Blackwater by Michael McDowell This is a great book so far. It's neither tense nor thrilling but just a really good story about a tiny Alabama town in which some lady who looks normal but is also a secret river monster comes to town. I got recommended this one in a reddit thread awhile ago and boy I'm glad I followed up on that recommendation.

Finished: A Clockwork Orange, by Anthony Burgess

It was a nice book. But the ending left a bad taste in my mouth. Also, I didn't really understand why the denying of free will is something bad for criminals like Alex.

Started: Oryx and Crake, by Margaret Atwood

I finished Oryx and Crake, by Margaret Atwood a couple days ago and picked up Consider Phlebas, by Iain Banks which I had put on hold quite some time ago. I had stopped at around the midpoint so started there and I think I'm liking it more now than when I originally read it from the beginning.

Oryx and Crake was very good, but I wish I had been given a warning about the content in the book before reading it. I didn't expect there to be anything as dark as what was in the book and none of the recommendations I saw for it had any warning about it at all. The chapter where pretty much all of the darkest parts came out at once was a shock and made me sad.