Talk about books. What are you reading right now? What genres do you like? Is the current state of YA fiction abysmal??? (yes)

Right now I'm reading "The Brothers Karamazov" by Fyodor Dostoevsky. I'm not far enough to give any kind of opinion but it's actually pretty funny? I didn't expect to be laughing so much. I like autobiographies the most but I'm slowly getting into 1800s lit. I used to love mystery too and still have a soft spot for YA dystopia, admittedly.

Im almost done with Chomsky's Understanding Power. After that my intellectual era is over, going back to the good stuff (Michael Nava's gay attorney detective series).

I didn't read a book in a good while, but recently I wanted to re-read Murakami's After Dark but I ended up returning it to library to not keep it for too long. Right now I'm planning to re-read The Rat Trilogy incl. Dance, Dance, Dance. Especially Hear the Wind Sing/Pinball 1973 as I honestly prefer his work being more realist and with weird shit around female characters ngl. He can write great settings, seamlessly weave pop-culture references and build the atmosphere but I do wish he tried to write better women for real.

devon wrote: ↑Sun Oct 08, 2023 9:19 am I didn't read a book in a good while, but recently I wanted to re-read Murakami's After Dark but I ended up returning it to library to not keep it for too long. Right now I'm planning to re-read The Rat Trilogy incl. Dance, Dance, Dance. Especially Hear the Wind Sing/Pinball 1973 as I honestly prefer his work being more realist and with weird shit around female characters ngl. He can write great settings, seamlessly weave pop-culture references and build the atmosphere but I do wish he tried to write better women for real.

Some of Murakami's stuff is on my to-read list but I'm aware of how he writes women. I'll have to read for myself.

mima wrote: ↑Sun Oct 08, 2023 9:51 am

devon wrote: ↑Sun Oct 08, 2023 9:19 am I didn't read a book in a good while, but recently I wanted to re-read Murakami's After Dark but I ended up returning it to library to not keep it for too long. Right now I'm planning to re-read The Rat Trilogy incl. Dance, Dance, Dance. Especially Hear the Wind Sing/Pinball 1973 as I honestly prefer his work being more realist and with weird shit around female characters ngl. He can write great settings, seamlessly weave pop-culture references and build the atmosphere but I do wish he tried to write better women for real.

Some of Murakami's stuff is on my to-read list but I'm aware of how he writes women. I'll have to read for myself.

It depends on the book but honestly so far most offputting ones were Norwegian Wood (I couldn't finish reading it), South of the Border, West of the Sun and Sputnik Sweetheart (I have love/hate relationship with it, I love the mood and setting but I hate male narrator fetishizing his lesbian friend) so far for me. I didn't read few of his books though but I plan to.

I am not a bookworm so I don't read much, but since a few years ago I started reading more. I am currently reading Cien años de soledad to improve my Spanish skills but I'm getting annoyed by the story's direction ಠ益ಠ so it may take awhile for me to finish it. I am also reading this self help book, Don't Worry: 48 Lessons on Relieving Anxiety from a Zen Buddhist Monk, and I'm loving it, literally 90% of what the book says is exact what I needed right now lol

I dunno about YA fiction, but my favourite genres are children literature, picture books and self help books.

Ame wrote: ↑Sun Oct 08, 2023 10:18 pm I am not a bookworm so I don't read much, but since a few years ago I started reading more. I am currently reading Cien años de soledad to improve my Spanish skills but I'm getting annoyed by the story's direction ಠ益ಠ so it may take awhile for me to finish it. I am also reading this self help book, Don't Worry: 48 Lessons on Relieving Anxiety from a Zen Buddhist Monk, and I'm loving it, literally 90% of what the book says is exact what I needed right now lol

I dunno about YA fiction, but my favourite genres are children literature, picture books and self help books.

Reading books to help with learning a new language is fun but can be a drag having to look up words every two sentences. I command your determination! Self help books are good too, but my problem is that I'll get motivated for 3 days after reading and then forget about it haha. Children's literature is also fun, I'm thinking of rereading The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, it was great.

I have a novel I keep meaning to read but there it sits, on my shelf (or technically in my just-in-case hurricane evacuation bag at the moment, lol).

It's called Boy Robot, by Simon Curtis. The same Simon Curtis who wrote several songs that have been used in like a million AMVs, lol. It sounds neat, I like the premise, I just have a hard time getting myself to sit and read.

Currently I am reading Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine very slowly. It's hard for me to take a break from my other hobbies. I'm over a 1/4 of the way through it and I really am enjoying it.

I struggle to think of favorite genres. I just really like things that capture the dread of being a mentally ill woman.

mala wrote: ↑Mon Oct 09, 2023 5:03 am Currently I am reading Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine very slowly. It's hard for me to take a break from my other hobbies. I'm over a 1/4 of the way through it and I really am enjoying it.

I struggle to think of favorite genres. I just really like things that capture the dread of being a mentally ill woman.

I think I'll add that to my read list. I don't usually read romance (with the recent exception of Jane Eyre), but the protag seems pretty cool from the description. Mentally ill females are always a joy to read. No matter how unhinged they are, sometimes I can see myself in them, and that's cathartic to me.

CooperationIsKey wrote: ↑Mon Oct 09, 2023 5:00 am I just have a hard time getting myself to sit and read.

That was me for the past two years! I used to be such a bookworm, but before long I suddenly had a lot of difficulty committing to reading something. I would sit down and gobble 100 pages in one sitting, only to abandon it for months on end, even forever. As of late, I've made a concerted effort to start reading just a little bit every day and regain the happiness I used to have.