What are you reading in 2025?

[Nellisir]

Ok wow, such a strong reaction REALLY makes me curious!

It's...a certain kind of literature. From what little I know of his other work, it might be of a kind. And my reaction certainly said more about me than the book itself.

I took a class in college (way, way, way back...) on Chinese Literature. The instructor was Chinese*. And it made me aware of how "American" my biases and tastes were, in literature and storytelling. The conclusion of a number of those books rubbed me the same way, albeit less strongly. They just weren't...satisfying. To me. I like to think I've come to understand them more, but I'm not sure I'll ever "agree" with them.

*I mention this only to say that it wasn't an American instructor picking books they weren't familiar with the background context of.

 

[Pale Violet Light]

I haven't finished the book yet, but a lot of time has passed for Tenar…

I’m more talking about the world than the character. But honestly I’m still sore about The Farthest Shore. The Tombs of Atuan is perhaps my favorite YA novel of all time, and getting to the sequel and finding Tenar had been replaced by some bland prince was a rude shock.

 

[Cadence]

Red them through to my son (the big Vess art one) when he was 10 - with a few selective deletions of paragraphs in the later 3 volumes. He is a fan of all of them.

 

[Richards]

I read it like 10-13 years ago. Literally hurled it across the room upon finishing it.

The one time I hurled a book across the room was quite involuntary. I was a teenager, reading a scary novel in bed. My bed was situated halfway along the wall, with a floor lamp behind the headboard that was pointed over the headboard my way, which gave me much more light to read by than the overhead light, which was off. The book was about these little monsters creeping about in an old house, and I was at a part in the novel when they were approaching someone unaware of their presence, who was asleep in bed (and about to become their next victim). The little monsters were right about to strike...when the lightbulb suddenly burned out of my floor lamp.

I flinched like a madman, sending the book flying up over my head and across the room as I gave a shriek that would no doubt make a little girl proud. Then I slid off the bed and crawled over to the light switch to turn on the overhead light, so I could find my book (and figure out what page I was on when it took its sudden aerial trip). I don't think I got any more reading done that night.

Johnathan