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TBR Meme
I was tagged for this meme by ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
renay over on ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
ladybusiness.
1. What book have you been unable to finish? - No god but God by Reza Aslan. I started this book a couple of years back, and as often happens for me with non-fiction, I stalled out about halfway through, most likely because I got a new fiction book that I wanted to read more. I've picked it up a couple of times since, but once I lose my momentum on non-fiction reading, it's difficult to get it back.
2. Which book haven't you read yet because you haven't had the time? - Hamilton: The Revolution, aka the Hamiltome. This seems like a book that I should sit down with on a rainy weekend day and just absorb. Since it's now late October, I have to imagine that such a day is coming soon.
3. Which book haven't you read yet because it's a sequel? - Heir to Sevenwaters by Juliet Marillier. This is the fourth book in a trilogy, which is always going to give me pause because the story was done; do we really need to have more? (Looking on Goodreads, I see that there are several more books now, which I hadn't realized.) Also, this book came out almost a decade after the third volume, with the result being that it's been many years decade since I read the earlier volumes, and I've no idea whether I'll remember enough about the other books to have any context for this one.
4. Which book haven't you read yet because it's brand new? - Borderline by Mishell Baker. Okay, so this book isn't BRAND new, but it is from this year and I only got it a few weeks ago. Because I bought at the same time as The Fifth Season, it got deprioritized, but I really do want to pick it up soon.
5. Which book haven't you read yet because you read a book by the same author and didn’t enjoy it? - Anathem by Neal Stephenson. When I was younger and less jaded, I was a big fan of Stephenson's work. Then I lost my patience for a) reams of exposition, b) scientific/historical treatises disguised as fiction, and c) male authors who can't be bothered to write women as fully rounded characters. Which is to say that I bounced off The Baroque Cycle so hard that Stephenson went quickly from a "must read" to a "don't bother". And yet, this book got so much critical acclaim that I eventually bought it anyway, with every intention of giving him another chance. So far it hasn't happened with this book, even though I keep bringing it on vacation in hopes of forcing myself to start it. No luck yet, though. (However, I did eventually give Stephenson another shot, when Seveneves was short-listed for the Hugo this year. I liked that one well enough, so we'll see.)
6. Which book haven't you read yet because you’re just not in the mood for it? - Indexing by Seanan McGuire. Fairy tale retellings combined with classification nerdery and trope twisting ought to be catnip to me, and yet I still haven't been inspired to get started. This is another book that's come on multiple vacations and not yet been cracked. Maybe this should be my next read for Tales from the TBR.
7. Which book haven't you read yet because it’s humongous? - Little, Big by John Crowley. This book has been on my TBR for a very long time, on the strength of many recommendation, not least at least three or four FogCon panels, but it is a serious brick. Look for this one on an upcoming Tales from the TBR, too.
8. Which book haven't you read yet because because it was a cover buy that turned out to have poor reviews? - Boy, Snow, Bird by Helen Oyeyemi. Not so much a cover-based purchase, but it was getting buzz, and I also recall a strong rec from a bookstore employee. But that was before people started talking about its reputed poor handling of trans issues. So on the shelf it sits, at least for now.
9. What is the most intimidating book in your TBR pile? - Jaran by Kate Elliott. Not so much this book by itself, but the knowledge that it's the first book in a four volume epic series, a commitment I'm not quite ready for at the moment.
10. Who do you tag? - As always, entirely optional, but this time I'll pokeviolacea, lassarina, and umadoshi.
renay over on ladybusiness.1. What book have you been unable to finish? - No god but God by Reza Aslan. I started this book a couple of years back, and as often happens for me with non-fiction, I stalled out about halfway through, most likely because I got a new fiction book that I wanted to read more. I've picked it up a couple of times since, but once I lose my momentum on non-fiction reading, it's difficult to get it back.
2. Which book haven't you read yet because you haven't had the time? - Hamilton: The Revolution, aka the Hamiltome. This seems like a book that I should sit down with on a rainy weekend day and just absorb. Since it's now late October, I have to imagine that such a day is coming soon.
3. Which book haven't you read yet because it's a sequel? - Heir to Sevenwaters by Juliet Marillier. This is the fourth book in a trilogy, which is always going to give me pause because the story was done; do we really need to have more? (Looking on Goodreads, I see that there are several more books now, which I hadn't realized.) Also, this book came out almost a decade after the third volume, with the result being that it's been many years decade since I read the earlier volumes, and I've no idea whether I'll remember enough about the other books to have any context for this one.
4. Which book haven't you read yet because it's brand new? - Borderline by Mishell Baker. Okay, so this book isn't BRAND new, but it is from this year and I only got it a few weeks ago. Because I bought at the same time as The Fifth Season, it got deprioritized, but I really do want to pick it up soon.
5. Which book haven't you read yet because you read a book by the same author and didn’t enjoy it? - Anathem by Neal Stephenson. When I was younger and less jaded, I was a big fan of Stephenson's work. Then I lost my patience for a) reams of exposition, b) scientific/historical treatises disguised as fiction, and c) male authors who can't be bothered to write women as fully rounded characters. Which is to say that I bounced off The Baroque Cycle so hard that Stephenson went quickly from a "must read" to a "don't bother". And yet, this book got so much critical acclaim that I eventually bought it anyway, with every intention of giving him another chance. So far it hasn't happened with this book, even though I keep bringing it on vacation in hopes of forcing myself to start it. No luck yet, though. (However, I did eventually give Stephenson another shot, when Seveneves was short-listed for the Hugo this year. I liked that one well enough, so we'll see.)
6. Which book haven't you read yet because you’re just not in the mood for it? - Indexing by Seanan McGuire. Fairy tale retellings combined with classification nerdery and trope twisting ought to be catnip to me, and yet I still haven't been inspired to get started. This is another book that's come on multiple vacations and not yet been cracked. Maybe this should be my next read for Tales from the TBR.
7. Which book haven't you read yet because it’s humongous? - Little, Big by John Crowley. This book has been on my TBR for a very long time, on the strength of many recommendation, not least at least three or four FogCon panels, but it is a serious brick. Look for this one on an upcoming Tales from the TBR, too.
8. Which book haven't you read yet because because it was a cover buy that turned out to have poor reviews? - Boy, Snow, Bird by Helen Oyeyemi. Not so much a cover-based purchase, but it was getting buzz, and I also recall a strong rec from a bookstore employee. But that was before people started talking about its reputed poor handling of trans issues. So on the shelf it sits, at least for now.
9. What is the most intimidating book in your TBR pile? - Jaran by Kate Elliott. Not so much this book by itself, but the knowledge that it's the first book in a four volume epic series, a commitment I'm not quite ready for at the moment.
10. Who do you tag? - As always, entirely optional, but this time I'll poke
violacea, lassarina, and umadoshi.
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*pokes through search since I read it years ago* Here's an angry (locked) rant I made about the myth of Civilisation as a single narrative with rises and falls. Also "If the premise of your book is that people's value is directly proportional to their understanding of maths I expect to be wowed by your mathematical ideas, and so far I am very underwhelmed. Thus, by his own logic my opinion counts more than his and I say his book sucks."
Beyond it's terrible basic assumptions it was a fun science fiction book, as I recall, if suffering a bit from typical late Stephenson bloat.
no subject