These are the books that I really want to read asap, so I'd like to stick to the list. I might change the fantasy title at some point the same way I adjusted the list earlier. I'm already eyeing a book from my shelf, seems like a light read. At least lighter for my brain because it's in Polish. But maybe I should challenge myself to read the one in English. It's just something to consider.

Gotta love cpt. Sparrow logic

You're a teacher, that's already intelectual to me

Maybe that book isn't as disappointing, if it has some nice excercises to share.

Yeah, some of the exercises are actually interesting.
Although most of them are complex, they require a lot of time (I mean, when they tell you to reserve a whole afternoon... I don't know who has that much spare time but definetely not me) or they require interaction with other people.
But they are mostly interesting, and the book is not bad at all.
It's just not what I had expected.

Started reading The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin. The writing is so weird.
The narrative is written, no wait, let me back up, no wait, There's a bird.
So far that's they feel of it. First person, so it's her thoughts and the feel so jumbled between giving details and explaining things. It is confusing to read at times for me. I'm not too terribly far in yet so I hope I get used to it soon or gets. Never read a book written like this before so could be why I'm thrown off.

Also thinking about going to the library tonight (finally) and getting a membership so I can start borrowing ebooks to broaden my reading since I only ever purchase and read fantasy.

I'm really not fond of first-person narratives, unless they are non-fiction.
Nonfiction I don't mind so much, because it really is the author telling us as the readers, in their own words, whatever it is they're telling us. (Usually autobiographies, sometimes it's travelogues, or a letter collection, or whatever)

Fictional first-person stuff... not so fond of that. It almost always makes me itch to pull out a red pen and start editing.

Yup, not a first-person fan, too. It's somehow cringy. It feels like a self-insert sort of thing. Or a fan-fiction. Idk, something like that.

It feels off to me. I've read first person before, clearly, but it's the way it's written too is just weird. The author randomly brings up something, like teasing the reader, and then has the character go "no wait, not yet." like ??? Overall, I got around 60 pages into it and it's interesting.

I also don't know if it's because it's first person, but I'm having a hard time picturing the characters and the scenes. I try to do stories theater style in my head as an outside observer (clearly).

First person is tricky, but when it's well done it can create a very interesing atmosphere.
Handmaid's tale comes to mind. You follow the narrator not fully understanding the world she's living in because you only see the pieces she's telling you about.

But if the author does not get to convey that kind of atmosphere then it sometimes looks a bit... ridiculous?
I suppose it's a risky choice for a writer.

The weird thing is, I was confused in the beginning because she tried to explain stuff that I wasn't ready for, but now it makes sense. But then she keeps dropping things like "remember this for later." it literally said that at one point. Like why bring it up now and not later when it really matters? Then she keeps using words in all of my reading I have never heard before (learning some new words though!)

That being said, it's not bad? It's just enough interesting to keep me wanting to read more of it. Which I hope it will be for the rest because I have the whole trilogy as ebooks.

Oh, Rubie, I missed the part of your post about the library!
Definitely do it!
Library membership is 100% worth it!!


One of the most well done epistolary novels I've ever read was "The Enchanted Chocolate Pot" or maybe it was called "Sorcery and Cecelia"? Not sure.
By Caroline Stevermer and Patricia Wrede.
It was an example of 1st person narrative... kind of. The whole novel is a series of letters written back and forth between the characters, and each letter is written in first person, of course, because it's a character writing to a cousin/friend about what happened to them.
Really well done.

Set in a fantasy version of Regency-era England. I think.

I kind of want to read it again now.

(I didn't much care for Handmaid's Tale. I read it, but it felt oddly... what's the word.... pretentious?
Like the author was self-conscious about every choice and was preaching at the reader through the story. Maybe. Not sure that's it. I've definitely read other books that were MUCH more obvious about that, this was subtle, and subtle doesn't usually bother me....
I'm not actually sure why it didn't grip me.
My friends really liked it, so I wasn't able to analyze it very well because I didn't want to say anything that might ruin their enjoyment of it, so it's sat there as a little puzzle in the back of my mind ever since. I don't want to reread it (why would I reread something I didn't enjoy?) but since it had all the elements of books I normally love (well-developed interesting characters, language use was highly skilled, the plot wasn't so fast-paced it felt rushed, consistent logic both internal to the character and throughout the world, etc. All the things I normally look for), it's a puzzle. It should have been a great book.... but it just didn't work for me for some reason. Maybe I'll try it again in another decade or so)

I'm still debating about what books to bring on the trip. It has to be something I will enjoy rereading many many times (because you can't pack enough books for a week without an extra suitcase), but it can't be such a precious book that I'd mind if it ends up getting lost or stolen. I'm thinking if I can limit it to 4 that'd work.
I don't want to bring the textbooks because those are really expensive to replace if something happens to it, even though a single textbook would last the whole trip.
Maybe I'll bring along Bridge at Remagen and try to finally finish that thing!!

Totally forgot to stop by when I was up next to it =/ I like got home and realized I had forgotten. I was looking at the online catalogues and databases I can use with a membership and it's so much. Like I want to try audiobooks (but I don't can't those as reading) and they have a membership to an audiolibrary so yeah maybe next week I will go since I'm going to take full advantage of the nice weather tomorrow so probably won't make it before it closes.

I love those kinds of books. I might have to read that one. Those books just flow so well. I read one that was a diary of a girl living her life as the world was changing/ending because the moon got knocked closer to earth. I will need to look it up. I read it back in high school and loved it.

My mom read that one and she said it was effed up lol.

How many are you packing? I remember when I went to Japan in 2019 I brought a 700 page book with me and had it finished before the trip was finished. Luckily I had some ebooks downloaded to my phone that I could read.