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The Power
Naomi Alderman
In The Power the world is a recognisable place: there's a rich Nigerian kid who lounges around the family pool; a foster girl whose religious parents hide their true nature; a local American po...

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Comment from [Reddit user] with 8 upvotes on /r/books/

Started The Power, by Naomi Alderman. It's interesting so far and looks like it'll be a quick read.

Comment from [Reddit user] with 6 upvotes on /r/books/

Started and finished The Power, by Naomi Alderman. The most thought-provoking book I've read recently, though I don't think I entirely agree with what seems to be the book's conclusion. I had heard mixed reviews as far as the plot/pacing goes, but I thought those were very satisfying as well.

Comment from [Reddit user] with 6 upvotes on /r/books/

Finished:

The Power, by Naomi Alderman - The content of the last letter made this book so worth it.

The Stranger, by Albert Camus - I need to think more on this one. It was amazing how much could be conveyed in such a simple writing style.

The Dry, by Jane Harper - Finally, a good mystery that wasn't full of stupid twists and turns. Glad to know there are more out there with the same main character, I'll definitely be checking them out. This one reminded me of Tana French's In The Woods.

Started:

Between the World and Me, by Ta-Nehisi Coates

Still slogging through:

The Last Mrs. Parrish, by Liv Constantine - tell me it's worth it (?)

Comment from [Reddit user] with 5 upvotes on /r/books/

Finished SPQR, by Mary Beard

Just started The Power, by Naomi Alderman

Comment from [Reddit user] with 5 upvotes on /r/books/

Finished up The Last Olympian, by Rick Riordan which was a fun end to the Percy Jackson series. Also currently halfway through The Power, by Naomi Alderman which is pretty good. I had no idea what it was about going in, but I'm definitely riveted now. Not sure what's up next, no matter how hard I try to plan out my books I never really know what I'll be in the mood for once I finish one.

Comment from [Reddit user] with 5 upvotes on /r/books/

Finished up The Power, by Naomi Alderman and began Outliers, by Malcom Gladwell. Doing about half a chapter a day of that one in my attempt for more non-fiction in my life.

Also started Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, by Gail Honeyman. It's okay so far (about 25% in) but it's not a page turner yet. I've heard good things though, hopefully I'll finish it up this week.

Comment from [Reddit user] with 5 upvotes on /r/books/

Last week I finished On the Road, by Jack Kerouac and Fire and Fury, by Michael Wolff.

Last night I started The Power, by Naomi Alderman. It's really good so far!

Comment from [Reddit user] with 4 upvotes on /r/books/

Last week I finished:

The Power by Naomi Alderman

I want to talk about so much with this, but I’m not sure how without ruining it, so I will just say I loved it.

Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward

This was so good it hurt. I wish I could write like this. It was upsetting and I didn’t want to put it down and you could just feel the poverty and Jojo’s love for his baby sister and his mother messing things up and how broken his grandfather was and how terrible his father was. I hope she writes another book soon.

Short things:

  • “The Evolution of Human Science” by Ted Chiang (Stories of Your Life and Others)
  • “Little Frogs in a Ditch” by Tim Gatreaux (Best American Short Stories 1997)
  • “Jane Austen to Cassandra” by Jo Walton (Starlings)
  • “Williamsburg Bridge” by John Edgar Wideman (Best American Short Stories 2016)
  • “Don’t Eat Cat” by Jess Walter (We Live in Water)
  • “Unreliable Witness” by Jo Walton (Starlings)
  • “The Indian Wars Refought” by Annie Proulx (Bad Dirt)
  • “Illumination” by Nancy Reisman (Best American Short Stories 2001)
  • “Breatharians” by Callan Wink (Best American Short Stories 2013)

Working on:

  • Metamorphoses by Ovid (Charles Martin translation, for /r/canonade)
  • War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy (for /r/bookclub)
  • White Teeth by Zadie Smith
  • Dr. Zhivago by Boris Pasternak
  • The Book of Night with Moon by Diane Duane
  • Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly
  • Foreigner by C. J. Cherryh
Comment from [Reddit user] with 4 upvotes on /r/books/

Finished:

  • The Power, by Naomi Alderman - I didn't like this. I appreciate that it didn't take the theme of the world being peaceful because women were in charge compared to men. Turns out both genders can be assholes. What a surprise! /s Overall this book dragged on and I didn't care about the characters.
  • The Immortalists, by Chloe Benjamin - This book kept my attention although the beginning was off putting, specifically describing a teenage girl by her pubic hair and size of her breasts. That was unnecessary and didn't add to the book. The first half of the book is very different from the second half and improved.

This Week:

  • The Man in the High Castle, by Philip K. Dick
  • The Fifth Season, by N. K. Jemisin
Comment from [Reddit user] with 4 upvotes on /r/books/

I finished A Conspiracy in Belgravia, by Sherry Thomas. Second book in the Lady Sherlock series. I really liked both this book and the first in the series, and so I'm probably going to read some original Sherlock Holmes soon!

I also just started reading The Power, by Naomi Alderman... I really like it so far.

Comment from [Reddit user] with 4 upvotes on /r/books/

I finished a bunch of books this past week.

Smoke Gets In Your Eyes, by Caitlin Doughty. Interesting to hear some aspects of how a funeral home runs, and Doughty was an engaging writer.

A Murder of Mages, by Marshall Ryan Maresca. I'd read the first part of the Maradaine series. This is the Maradaine Constabulary series. The characters weren't as exciting as Veranix, but it was a fun read.

Promise of Blood, by Brian McClellan. It sounded from the summary like I'd really like this, but I only really liked one of the story lines.

Jewelweed, by David Rhodes. Sweet story about redemption and all that.

Heart of Iron, by Ashley Poston. It's Anastasia, the movie version of her story. But in space. With robots.

I also read a few Catholic books. If you can't tell yet, I had a bunch of books to return to the library and was trying to cram a bunch of reading in.

This week, I started.

Long Way Down, by Jason Reynolds

and

The Power, by Naomi Alderman

Not sure if I'll like either of them. I'm generally not a huge fan of books written in verse, like Long Way Down.

The Power sounds...not that interesting. I don't know. I'm reading it for a book club, and I'm not that far into it. Maybe the author does miraculous things with the premise that will dazzle me. However, women suddenly developing the unexplained ability to zap men just doesn't seem exciting to me. I'm generally not reading fiction for political reasons, and fiction books that are purely political just don't interest me. They rarely go anywhere truly exciting with their premise because they get really busy grandstanding. So hopefully it's more than that. I'll probably read the whole thing, even if it disappoints me. I like to finish my book club books.

Comment from [Reddit user] with 4 upvotes on /r/books/

Currently reading The Power, by Naomi Alderman I like it so far, but there's a lot going on. I think I'd like this better if it didn't have so many moving parts to it.

Comment from [Reddit user] with 3 upvotes on /r/books/

Since my last update a month ago I finished:

  • Six Stories, by Matt Wesolowski - Liked it. I thought it was an interesting way to solve a mystery.
  • Orphan Train, by Christina Baker Kline - Meh. I would be more interested in a nonfiction book about the orphan trains.
  • The Address, by Fiona Davis - Also meh.
  • The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly, by Sun-mi Hwang - Cute story.
  • The Great Alone, by Kristin Hannah - Also meh. The Nightingale wasn't my favorite but it's much better than this one.

I need to stop picking up contemporary fiction for a while.

Currently Reading:

  • The Power, by Naomi Alderman - I'm not sure about this book. The story idea is fine, it just seems written for the young adult category. I'm only 50 pages in so we'll see if it improves.
  • The Fifth Season, by N. K. Jemisin (hope to start this week)
Comment from [Reddit user] with 3 upvotes on /r/books/

The Power, by Naomi Alderman

Been in a reading slump for the past few months. Hoping this'll get me out of it seeing it's been on my tbr since publication.

Comment from [Reddit user] with 3 upvotes on /r/books/

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!

Comment from [Reddit user] with 3 upvotes on /r/books/

I finished The Power, by Naomi Alderman. 4.5 stars

I really enjoyed it but the ending left a lot of things unanswered which normally I don't mind but this felt like it was just left as they ran out of time.

I started, The Storm Crow, by Kalyn Josephson.

I have only heard one review for this book and it was praising it but I have nothing else to go on, so I am going in quite blind.

Comment from [Reddit user] with 3 upvotes on /r/books/

Finished:

The Power, by Naomi Alderman

This book kind of left me speechless at the end. I really enjoyed but it definitely left me with some complicated emotions. This one was one of those books I just could not put down.

The Bird King, by G. Willow Wilson

This was a really excellent reading week for me because I also thought this book was fantastic. This book was more of a journey than the first one. Some people complain that it's a bit too slow, but I didn't find that at all - I really wanted to soak in the imagery and the world-building. It was a nice mix of historical fiction mixed with fantasy and had some great twists and turns.

The Absolution, by Yrsa Sigurðardóttir

So I love Scandinavian crime fiction and I was eagerly looking forward to the English translation of Yrsa Sigurðardóttir's Children's House series to be released. Unfortunately, I was a bit let down by this one. It had your usual twists and turns but the plot was overly convoluted, in my opinion.

Comment from [Reddit user] with 2 upvotes on /r/books/

This week I finished I'll Be Gone in the Dark, by Michelle McNamara which I really enjoyed. I was very familiar with EAR/ONS so this was a good refresher.

I started and finished Baby Proof, by Emily Giffin I needed a nice, happy, floofy book. This one did the trick, a good palate cleanser.

Currently reading The Power, by Naomi Alderman which I'm liking so far.

Comment from [Reddit user] with 2 upvotes on /r/books/

The Haunting of Hill House, by Shirley Jackson

The Power, by Naomi Alderman

I'm currently reading The Power for my book club. This book has a pretty interesting premise!

Last month's book was The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. I had to miss the meeting because there were too many other things going on in my life. However, I still plan to finish it anyway so that I could discuss it at this month's pre-meeting dinner. :-)

Comment from [Reddit user] with 2 upvotes on /r/books/

Finished The power by Naomi Alderman, it was good but not mindblowing. The premise is good but the development is a bit slow... I'm trying to only read science fiction this year so I thought it would be a nice read.

Comment from [Reddit user] with 1 upvotes on /r/books/

The Mother In Law by Sally Hepworth

The writing itself was very good. The characters were built well so they were distinct people. However this was being sold as a thriller and it was a very lukewarm mystery. So I was left confused and disappointed

Recursion by Blake Crouch

So mind blowing, and honestly what I was hoping Dark Matter to be. I had to keep putting the book down after every chapter or so to recoup my thoughts and figure out what the hell was going on. Intense and I couldn't stop reading.

The Power by Naomi Alderman

This one made me...uncomfortable. It made me think a lot about power and reversal and feminism, but put into the world of, say, X-Men. It was a lot heavier than I was expecting it to be, but it was a good read.