###Currently reading:

Conversation in the Cathedral, by Mario Vargas Llosa

I'm about 70% done, it's a long read but so worth it. It's a bit difficult to get the hang of it at first but it's incredibly good and gets easier after the first part. Really recommend it, I had forgotten how much I enjoy Vargas Llosa's style (several years ago I read The Feast of the Goat which was also amazing).

Stories of Your Life and Others, by Ted Chiang

I read the first two stories, the first one (Tower of Babylon) was alright but nothing too special. I loved the second one (Understand), just read it last night and couldn't put the book down even though I was really tired. I look forward to the other stories.

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

Started this yesterday and since it's short I'm already close to the half point. The subject is interesting (life in a soviet work camp) but I find the style a bit dry.

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###Finished:

The War of the Worlds, by H.G. Wells

I liked it but I expected a bit more from this, after hearing so much about it over the years. At times I felt like I needed a map of London and the surroundings to follow the story. It was OK but I don't think I'll be reading more by Wells in the near future.

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###Coming up next:

Seven Years in Tibet, by Heinrich Harrer

Kiss of the Spider Woman, by Manuel Puig

Add me on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/juanreads

After years of not reading anything really I've read 8 books in 2019 and I'm trying to go through my Goodreads 'to read' list. Looking forward to making new friends there: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/88616238-juan

###Currently reading:

Conversación En La Catedral, by Mario Vargas LLosa (a third of the way through, loving it)

The War of the Worlds, by H.G. Wells (about 25% done, I like the story but am struggling to read it in English which isn't my native language)

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###Finished:

Two Boys Kissing, by David Levithan

I didn't like it at all but I pushed myself to finish it, I didn't like the style of writing at all. I want to find a good LGBT story but I'm afraid that, like movies in the genre, it all ends up filled with clichés. If anyone has any recommendations please let me know!

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###Coming up next:

Seven Years in Tibet, by Heinrich Harrer

Stories of Your Life and Others, by Ted Chiang

I started and finished Ready Player One, by Ernest Cline. This has been on my "to read" list for years and I decided to pick a book off the list at random. I grew up in the 1980s and I love my computer games so I really enjoyed all the references to 1980s pop culture. The underlying story was a bit cliche I thought but I still really enjoyed it due to the references. I bought the film adaptaption yesterday and started to watch it but didn't enjoy it so much so gave up after about 30 minutes. Perhaps it was too soon after finishing the book so I will give it another go some time.

I started Stories of Your Life, by Ted Chiang which is a collection of short stories. I'm about halfway through and it's decent so far.

I read volumes 20 to 23 of The Walking Dead, by Robert Kirkman. This covered the storyline involving the Saviours which I really enjoyed and I have just started the storyline with the Whisperers. I have put a reserve on volume 24 to 26 at my local library and I'm hoping they will arrive this week so I can continue.

I also read volumes 1 and 2 of Gyo, by Junji Ito which is another graphic novel. I first came across Junji Ito about a year ago and I have been working through all his stuff. I found Gyo a bit average and wonder if I'm over saturated from reading all his work in such a short space of time. Volume 2 included the short story The Enigma of Amigara Fault which is the first horror short I read by Junji Ito and I thought it was amazing so got me into him.

Last week, I started and finished the short story collection Stories of Your Life and Others, by Ted Chiang. Very good collection of mostly sci-fi but also some religiously themed books. If you liked the movie Arrival it was based off of a short story in this collection.

Now, I'm reading Woolly: The True Story of the Quest to Revive One of History's Most Iconic Extinct Creatures, by Ben Mezrich. I only picked it up because I was getting on an airplane, had nothing to read, and this was the only thing I could find that wasn't crappy suspense or romance but I am liking it so far.

###Currently reading:

Seven Years in Tibet, by Heinrich Harrer

Really interesting book, I feel like it's lacking in style but the subject matter is really interesting. Looking forward to finishing this week.

Kiss of the Spider Woman, by Manuel Puig

Half way through. This book is almost a theater play, consists only of dialogs between two prisoners in Argentina in the 1970s (one of them homosexual and the other one communist) and most of it is recounting films the gay one saw. I liked it a lot when it was starting but I love and hate the characters at the same time. It is still very interesting and I usually have a hard time puting the book down.

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###Finished:

Conversation in the Cathedral, by Mario Vargas Llosa

Favourite book of the year, an absolute masterpiece. It is difficult to get started, Vargas Llosa switches narrators and timelines in the same paragraph, sometimes even the same sentences. However, if you just keep reading the story becomes a fascinating account of Perú's 50s through 70s history (which in a way is similar to all of South America's). Really can't recommend this enough.

Stories of Your Life and Others, by Ted Chiang

Absolutely loved these stories, I want to gift this book to so many people and I'm looking forward to reading other books by Chiang. Even though the first story was the one I liked the least it is still a good one, and the rest of the book is absolutely amazing (except maybe for "The Evolution of Human Science" which is only 3 pages long and didn't do much for me). Definitely give this a read if you enjoy science fiction or are looking for short stories.

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

I read this because it was in an article about books recommended by David Bowie. I didn't really like it that much. Sure, it is an interesting account of the day to day life in a Soviet concentration camp, but I found the style too dry for my taste. I guess if I was more familiar with the Russian culture I could get more into it. I read a Spanish translation, maybe a lot is lost there.

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###Coming up next:

Dune, by Frank Herbert

I was going to wait to read this, but seeing as there's a subreddit read along going on now I thought I'd give this a chance.

The Lost Steps, by Alejo Carpentier

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Add me on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/juanreads

Finished:

A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L'Engle and it was exactly the wild trip of the imagination that fans have claimed it to be. Does a great job of answering the question, "What is it that makes us uniquely human?" Some elements feel a little hokey (like the physical form of IT) but I give that a free pass because it was written over half a century ago.

Started:

Stories of Your Life and Others, by Ted Chiang I've heard about the movie Arrival but haven't seen it yet. Still, I figured this is as good a time as any to read the short story it was based on. I'm warming up by reading some of the other stories in the anthology, and I'm just going to say "Tower of Babylon" gave me that first exploding-brain moment that apparently is Chiang's trademark.

I just finished Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, by Susanna Clarke. This book grew on me, from thinking it was a bit boring to laughing at the dry humor and looking forward to reading it. I think this is the type of book that benefits from a re-read.

I'm going to start The heart goes last, by Margaret Atwood and Stories of your life and others, by Ted Chiang.

Stories of Your Life and Others, by Ted Chiang

Finished:

Stories of Your Life and Others, by Ted Chiang (aka Arrival)

Insert galaxy brain meme here. Lived up to all the hype people were talking about, and then some. Sometimes even the way Chiang tells the story is part of the twist, like his use of future tense in the title story, or the various, subjective first-person accounts in "Liking What You See." Then I find out he wrote most of these about 20 years ago. Boy am I behind on the curve.

Started:

Skyfarer, by Joseph Brassey

Need to come down to earth (ha!) with some light action-adventure popcorn. Anything that gets billed as Star Wars meets Final Fantasy has my interest.

Finished Stories of Your Life and Others, by Ted Chiang

Starting Disgrace, by J.M. Coetzee

I finished Stories of Your Life and Others, by Ted Chiang. Nice collection of short stories with a science/mathematical theme. I enjoyed them all.

I got up to Volume 27 of The Walking Dead, by Robert Kirkman. This series is really getting exciting and at some points I was so keen to know what happened next on certain story lines I skipped ahead to see how things developed.

I started The Return of the Native, by Thomas Hardy. I struggled with this as first and I am considering giving it up. I will persevere as I have struggled with classics in the past but ended up really enjoying them. If this one doesn't work out it will end up being a bit of a grind.

The Heart Goes Last, by Margaret Atwood. I don't really know what to think about this book, it's wacky but smart, I think? I'll get back to you when I finish it.

Stories of your life and others, by Ted Chiang. So far almost all the short stories in this book have been amazing, and I'm usually not one for short stories. Highly recommend, even though I haven't finished the last ones.

Finished:

American Gods, by Neil Gaiman

Started:

Washington: A Life, by Ron Chernow

Still Reading:

Stories of Your Life and Others, by Ted Chiang

Started: Story of your Life, by Ted Chiang

I've finished Stories of Your Life and other, by Ted Chiang it was really great. He packs so much into his stories, even character and place names have a second reference to the theme or plot. I highly recommend this collection. We read the edition with 8 stories(including the basis for the movie Arrival) for bookclub and it was a hit!

This week I'm starting in on The Man in the High Castle, by Philip K Dick again for book club. We've inadvertently ended up a bunch of recently adapted works.

Finished: Eld, by Mats Strandberg and Sara Bergmark Elfgren, the second part of the Engelsfors trilogy. I loved this book, so I'm very excited to see how they finish off the trilogy.

Currently reading: Stories of your life and others, by Ted Chiang. This is a collection of short stories, and the two I've finished so far have been great. The heart goes last, by Margaret Atwood. It's okay so far, but I think there's potential for it to develop into something interesting.