Well! I haven't posted here in a while, so here are the books I've read in the past three weeks:

• I finished Infinite Jest, by David Foster Wallace;
• I reread Coraline, by Neil Gaiman;
• I read The Crying of Lot 49, by Thomas Pynchon;
• I read What If? by Randall Munroe;
• I read Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut;
• and I just now finished Blood Meridian, by Cormac McCarthy.

Whew. Hot damn. Now I'm onto Against the Day, by Thomas Pynchon and I'm not sure what else. I'm thinking about digging into 100 Years of Solitude or Ulysses (which I've been meaning to get to) or The Bell Jar, but I'm not committing to anything yet.

Slaughter-House Five, by Kurt Vonnegut

The Invention of Morel, by Adolfo Bioy Casares

This book deals with fantastic themes but is grounded in romance-- the romance of desires and that of ideas. Want to read more books of this nature, books that tread the lines of fantasy and romance with an existential voice driving the narrative.

Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut

A wild ride, that left me questioning how we perceive time, and how trauma can affect one's view on their past. It also asks questions about why trauma is seen as necessary, as constant in the unfolding of the universe. A very good anti glacier book. I hate glaciers now.

Samskara, by U.R.Ananthamurthy

This was an intriguing read. It's intended as an allegory, and in that respect, gives the reader a lot of room to interpret the book's narrative. There was some reallly effective imagery, and the usage of Hindu myth was well done. Was not a fan of the way some characters (especially women) were written, but I chalk that up to the fact that it's an allegory. Plus, there could be stuff lost in translation.

The Thing with Feathers: The Surprising Lives of Birds and What They Reveal About Being Human, by Noah Strycker

Finished. I saw the cover in the book strip of this subreddit a few weeks ago and was intrigued. My first book strip pick up! Thanks, fellow Redditor! I really enjoyed this one.

Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut

Finished Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut.

Thoroughly enjoyed it. My first read from Vonnegut. A funny-but-not-funny book. I can't exactly put my finger on why, but I feel like Vonnegut just jives with me. I will definitely be reading more by him. The gf has an old copy Hocus Pocus on the shelf, will probably give it a go soon.

Started Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick.

Just saw Upgrade (awesome movie btw), but it didn't quite scratch my cyberpunk itch. I've also never seen the Bladerunner movies, more motivation to finish the book.

edit: book title formatting

Half way through slaughterhouse five by Kurt Vonnegut. Was recommended somewhere on here.

I'm reading Invisible Man, by Ralph Ellison.

I'm re-reading Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut.

Finished reading The Name of the Wind, by Patrick Rothfuss - I really enjoyed this book and plan to read the 2nd in the series soon. I've seen a few people who felt that it was very slow and nothing really happened throughout which I can agree with to a degree. Personally, the world itself caught me and I found myself counting the hours before I could get back to reading it again.

Started and finished Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut - This was an enjoyable short read although I feel that most of it went over my head :/

Started reading Salem's Lot, by Stephen King - I'm genuinely anxious to read this due to what I've heard about it. I'm not very good with horror in general and mostly avoid it. Not sure what I'm getting myself into here. Currently only about 20 pages in.

This week I read Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut

I started reading Invisible Cities and The Nonexistent Knight by Italo Calvino

Midnight's Children, by Salman Rushdie

This was a bit of a tough one. Took a while to read. Rushdie is a great writer who tells an incredibly convoluted story in the magical realism manner. It's one of those books that refuses to be summed up in anything but chunky paragraphs, so I won't even attempt it here. I'm on a quest to read all the Booker Prize winning novels (I haven't gotten very far) and this is often regarded as one of the best.

Slaughterhouse Five, by Kurt Vonnegut

This is another tough one to summarise. The narrative ping pongs around all over the place; it whirls around and curves back in on itself. Vonnegut even apologises it in a preface disguised as the first chapter. Ostensibly, it's Vonnegut's great novel about the Dresden firebombing, and he tells you exactly how it ends right at the start. It's good though. Very good. It's a short little thing so it doesn't threaten to overstay its welcome (unlike Rushdie's aforementioned behemoth). Also after reading it you can add on 'so it goes' to the end of every other sentence. This post is over. So it goes.

Just finished Who Do You Love, by Jennifer Weiner
About to start Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut

I really enjoy non-fiction, so i'm reading Why We Sleep, by Matthew Walker, with Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, by Robert B. Cialdini and Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, by Yuval Noah Harari sprinkled in between.

I've tried to get into fiction. I recently finished Guards! Guards!, by Terry Pratchett and Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut, and though both were highly recommended, it felt like a chore finishing them. Maybe I just didn't get it. I'll keep trying to add a bit of fiction to my reading list.

Just starting Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut now.

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!

I just finished All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren, which completely blew me away. Started working on a re-read of Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut for its 50th anniversary. It's my favorite book, but I haven't re-read it it 5 or 6 years, so I'm looking forward to it.

Still trying to cut down on my simultaneous reads, so we’re looking at mostly finishes:

Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut was my Year of Reddit book for April, and my first time reading it. It was enjoyable, and might have been a little more enjoyable without so much hype, but I went through it very quickly and thought it was well worth the time. “So it goes” started annoying me right away but I have to admit it was used to alright effect a couple times, and that wouldn’t have worked without it being so insanely repetitious.

Blackbeard the Pirate, by Robert E. Lee is a biography of Edward Teach (Blackbeard) that’s well worth your time. It’s not very long but is very well researched from primary sources. It’s perhaps not as swashbuckling as some folks might expect, but Lee certainly does lean into (and almost glamorize) Teach’s exploits.

Packing for Mars, by Mary Roach - A reread that was as good as the first time. Lots of fun stuff and recommended to most anyone. You don’t even have to be particularly interested in space travel to enjoy it.

Pygmy, by Chuck Palahniuk - Alright, I’ve only read one other Palahniuk book and I can’t even remember which one. Since I couldn’t really recall why I didn’t like him I figured fair is fair, I’ll give it another go. This was the only thing checked in at the library so maybe not the best way to choose, but man. I honestly didn’t know defamiliarization could be used to make something even more boring and clichéd than if it were described in a more common way. I was stunned I tell ya.

How I Conquered Your Planet, by John Swartzwelder - Book 3 in the Frank Burly detective series, and as insane as you’d guess. Swartzwelder’s written 59 episodes of The Simpsons, and the show’s least sensical jokes and sight gags are often credited to him.

Also started a couple things, or will be shortly. The Tempest, by William Shakespeare for the Gutenberg selection of r/bookclub’s May run, and A Confederacy of Dunces, by John Kennedy Toole for its modern selection.

Finished reading Slaughterhouse Five, by Kurt Vonnegut, The Remains of the Day, by Kazuo Ishiguro and In the Beginning was the Sea, by Tomás González. It's been a productive week in relation to reading.

I enjoyed all three books for different reasons. Vonnegut's darkly comic, matter of fact prose and non-conventional narrative structure made "Slaughterhouse Five" unlike anything else I've read. As this was the first of his works I've tried, I'll definitely make sure to check out more down the line.

"Remains of the Day" was very moving, sad and beautifully understated. Wasn't expecting much going into it but so glad I gave it a chance.

As for the González novel, it was dark, grim, foreboding and unsettling. Definitely one that lingers on in the mind after you've put it down.

Next on the list is Silence, by Shusaku Endo. Looking forward to it.

Finished:

Lord of the Flies, by William Golding Pretty good, now I understand where that Simpsons episode came from.

Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck Really good, also tons of references I now understand

Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegt Really good, liked the writing style a lot.

Started:

A Clockwork Orange, by Anthony Burgess Loved it from the start, figuring out the language has been reallly fun.

I just finished Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut

I’m still looking for what I’ll read next, it’ll most likely be a medieval fantasy. Suggestions are welcome!

I had an impromptu break from classes due to Hurricane Florence so I had time to read.

I finished World War Z: an Oral History of the Zombie War, by Max Brooks. I had a hell of a fun time with this one, and I loved how international the whole conflict was. It discussed propaganda and logistics and politics and all the other things that would logically ensue from the zombie apocalypse. It was also eminently and often disturbingly human - the real terror from this book comes not from the zombies but from how human beings respond to them. Highly recommended.

I read Perfect Soldiers: The 9/11 Hijackers, Who They Were, Why They Did It, by Terry McDermott. I started this on the anniversary of the attack because I had bought the book at a church book sale and I thought it was appropriate. I'm very impressed with the research that McDermott did, and how he avoided demonizing the attackers. These were not creatures from hell, but rather otherwise normal human beings who were alienated by society and found solace in radical ideologies, a topic which in this day and age has great relevance. Recommended to anyone interested.

I read Bush At War, by Bob Woodward. I read this as something of a counterpoint to the McDermott book lest I become too jingoistic (I don't think I did, thankfully). Woodward's portrait of Bush in the hundred days after 9/11 was more positive than I had expected from one of the men who had broken Watergate. Bush here is portrayed as a well-meaning man who was more than a little overwhelmed by the circumstance (and I'm not convinced it wouldn't have done the same to anyone else who had held the office at the time). An illuminating look into the White House in that time.

I read Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi. Only the first of the duology. I liked the look into the authoritarian regimes that had governed Iran both pre and post revolution, and how Satrapi did not spare either from justly deserved criticism. Satrapi also has a good sense of humor.

I read Maus, by Art Spiegelman. Spiegelman is very good at using the somewhat bizarre concept of representing Jews as mice and Nazis as cats (and other nationalities as different animals) to stunning effect. The sheer terror of the Holocaust is on full display, and the visual medium is used to its fullest. Spiegelman's portrayal of himself reckoning with the past has a lot of pathos, and his portrayal of his father Vladek is properly nuanced but ultimately sympathetic. An amazing work.

I read Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut. This is one of those books I felt stupid after finishing. Vonnegut clearly had an ambitious idea for his book, and I doubt I fully understood it. It's a book that's hard to describe and hard to categorize. I found the jumping back and forth in time interesting, as did I the utterly alien Tralfamadorians and their culture and way of viewing the universe. Definitely a book that I'll think about more.

I read Lazarus: the First Collection, by Greg Rucka, Michael Lark, and Santi Arcas. I'm not really sure why my father had this in the basement bookshelves, but it was there. I had heard good things about Rucka so I gave it a shot, and I enjoyed it. It's a very good 'modern' dystopia when so many of our images of dystopia come from the early to mid twentieth century. The worldbuilding shined here in all its bleak and depressing glory, and Forever as a character was quite interesting. If I can get my hands on another collection I'll read it.

I read The Martian Chronicles, by Ray Bradbury. Yet another book I felt stupid after reading. As Bradbury says in the prologue, it's more mythology than pure science fiction, and it has the proper epic scope that mythology entails. The settlement of Mars, and the displacement of the original inhabitants, is done with a real care for the human and nonhuman beings affected by the change, and human quirks are on full display; I particularly liked the one with the guy who recreates the House of Usher and the 'Romeo and Juliet parody' near the end. Another book I'll think about more.

I read Coolidge, by Amity Shlaes. A biography of the titular president. Shlaes clearly has a conservative, small-government, fiscal responsibility worldview which I don't think impacts the text too much (some bits in the prologue and epilogue) - the whole portrayal struck me as evenhanded. I learned a lot about the man and his philosophy, with his origins in Vermont and governorship of Massachusetts. The part about the Boston Police Strike stood out to me in particular, partially because I had not heard of that event previously. Recommended to those interested.

I intend to start The Fight to Save Juarez, by Ricardo Ainslie soon. I haven't actually started, but I need some more Latin American history, and I know little about the Drug War. I'll post about it next week.

This week I finished:

• Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies, by Nick Bostrom
• Man's Search for Meaning, by Viktor E. Frankl
• Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut

Now I to want to start a other book but I don't know which one I should start with.

Finished: Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut

Started: Down and Out in Paris and London, by George Orwell

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.

Finished:

• **Unf*ck Yourself: Get Out of Your Head and Into Your Life, by Gary John Bishop** First book I've read like this and I really enjoyed it. I took away a lot of helpful information that I've come to realize that I'm already applying to my personal life.

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• **Slaughterhouse Five, by Kurt Vonnegut** Over the years of following this sub, I've read a thousand times that this is one of those books that you must read before you die. So I did. It was ok, maybe a little better than ok. I just didn't know what to expect going into it and at first it was kind of confusing. But by the end of the book, I found that I actually enjoyed it well enough, especially seeing as it's not usually the type of book I choose to read. But it was nice to branch out a bit from my norm and be able to appreciate a book I initially knew nothing about. I guess now, according to reddit, I may die, as I have finally read it... So it goes.

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Started:

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• **Darkly Dreaming Dexter, by Jeff Lindsay** I loved the TV series and I've had a few of these laying around for a while, so I figured why not. I'm about half way through now and I really appreciate Lindsay's writing style. It makes me realize how well they did at conveying Dexter's characted into film.

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I've just finished Nausea, by Jean-Paul Sartre, and I'm starting Slaughterhouse-five, by Kurt Vonnegut.

Just finished Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut

And...it was okay. Interesting premise, intriguing ideas, but I found the staccato simplicity of his prose increasingly irritating. It felt very affected. Definitely did not live up to the hype. But not a bad book.

And have started Caliban's War, by James S. A. Corey

Finished: Slaughterhouse Five, by Kurt Vonnegut And it is definitely one of my favorite books I’ve ever read. I picked up Cat’s Cradle and Sirens of Titan, but I haven’t started them yet.

Started: Intruder in the Dust, by William Faulkner And even though I can’t find much discussion about it on here I’ve enjoyed it so far!

Finally finished Acceptance, by Jeff VanderMeer.

It was a slog in parts, but finished strong, I think. I carried straight on through the trilogy, which is something I haven’t done in years. I generally avoid series like the plague.

I’m looking to start one if the following, and I’ll take suggestions on which one:

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, by Haruki Murakami

Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut

Florida, by Lauren Groff

Finished up Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut.

Notes From Underground, by Dostoevsky Slaughterhouse Five, by Kurt Vonnegut

Finished Slaugterhouse five, by Kurt Vonnegut

Started reading Siddhartha, by Hermann Hesse

Just finished: Watership Down, by Richard Adams

Loved it! I went in completely blind. Nice to have a feel-good book to make me warm and fuzzy inside. A foil to the dystopian sci-fi I've read recently (1984 and Brave New World). The anthropomorphized animals made me nostalgic for some of the Redwall books I read when I was younger.

Just started: Farenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury.

Right back into the dystopian novels. Wanted to get a re-read in before watching the HBO adaptation. My poor paperback from high school English has seen better days. Perhaps it deserves a replacement.

Edit: Powered through Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury in one sitting, oops.

On to Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut.

Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut

My second Vonnegut novel, after Cat's Cradle. I've heard that this is supposed to be one of his most well known work, so I thought it was time to check it out.

Finished:

Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI, by David Grann

-One of the best books I've ever read and I usually prefer fiction!

Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut

-I always like to read something new and then something classic I've never read before. Gave this a go and enjoyed it for the most part. Must have been quite the game-changer when it was released in '69.

Started:

Recursion, by Blake Crouch

-Excited for this one after taking a chance with Dark Matter a few years ago. It's already being developed by Netflix and may spawn into other series on the platform.

Lie with Me: A Novel, by Phillipe Besson and Molly Ringwald

-Call Me by Your Name gutted me deeply a few years ago. Not sure if I'm emotionally ready for this one!

I'm easing myself back into the rhythm of reading after a very lengthy hiatus. So I'm going for accessible, easy to follow novels for the time being. I finished The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini which I enjoyed immensely and Siddhartha, by Hermann Hesse which was well written and not without its charm but with that being said, it didn't exactly enthral me.

Currently I've just started reading Slaughterhouse Five, by Kurt Vonnegut and am looking forward to getting through it and seeing if it's as good as I've heard.

Finished Zodiak, by Neal Stephenson

Started Slaughterhouse Five, by Kurt Vonnegut

Almost finished with Good Omens, by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. going to start Slaughterhouse Five, by Kurt Vonnegut tomorrow.

Just started:
Slaughterhouse Five, by Kurt Vonnegut

Taking a break from:
Choke, by Chuck Palahniuk

Finished American Gods, by Neil Gaiman. It was a 10th anniversary version and in the foreword he said people either love or hate this book. I disagree. I still don't know whether I like it or not. I've actually never felt so undecided about a book before. I do not think it's the masterpiece some people think it is, but I think it's got good points.

Started Slaughterhouse Five, by Kurt Vonnegut. This one's been on my list for a long time. I haven't got very far so I can't speak to the plot so much, but the writing style is really interesting.

Currently I am reading Slaughter-House Five, by Kurt Vonnegut i have been putting of reading this book despite having it in my possession for some time. I about half way through it and I still have mixed emotions on the characters and the plot.

Started:

Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut

Florida by Lauren Groff

Have never been much of a reader, but been getting into it lately; wanted to thank you guys for the existence of this community.

Finished:

Never Have your Dog Stuffed by Alan Alda

MASH: A Novel about 3 army doctors by Richard Hooker

Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut

Currently reading:

American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis

The Mint by T.E. Lawrence

I just finished Slaughterhouse Five and felt that I had missed numerous subliminal messages/underlying tones. To me, it was narration of wartime Europe through Billy and the time travelling and such was essentially a manifestation of post war trauma perhaps? Good diction though. Anyone else's insight into this would be greatly appreciated

Just finished Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut. A quick but engrossing read. One minute I'm laughing, the next I'm wondering if I'm in an existential crisis. A funny but sad book. So it goes.

I'm currently reading Children of Earth and Sky, by Guy Gavriel Kay. This is my first GGK book and I'm loving it. His prose is beautiful and the characters have compelling backgrounds. I can't put it down.

Slaughterhouse - Five, by Kurt Vonnegut

I had read Breakfast of Champions last year in the space of two days and really enjoyed it so I decided I should probably read the book everybody talks about.

So far I actually do prefer it to Breakfast , but the two of them really scream Vonnegut from the first page. His sense of humour is fantastic and even with such a grim backstory to the plot it has made me laugh out loud, which happens with very few books