Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #magpiereads, aggregated by home.social.
"That's you, they say, pointing at a photograph -- a little boy at his first rodeo, in a baby blue cowboy outfit with suede fringe, standing awkwardly and squinting into the sun -- but they aren't pointing at a photograph, they are pointing at a story ..."
I Do Know Some Things - prose poems by Richard Siken
#MagpieReads #books #reading #poetry
I'm reading Adrian Tchaikovsky's Children of Strife. I like the Children of Time series, each book is thought provoking in ways that I wouldn't necessarily go on my own. But sometimes I feel like he's winking at me from behind his characters' shoulders saying, "aren't I clever!" and hoo boy does he rip down the tech bros in this book.
#books #reading #MagpieReads
I read a lot. I've been reading since I was taught by my two young aunts when I was 4. There are so many stories and authors who have changed and enhanced my life and given me so much joy.
Today I started reading The Unreal and the Real by Ursula Le Guin and I got a little teary. Not only does she write amazing and wonderful stories but - for me - her use of language is beyond beautiful, beyond powerful, something indescribable - ineffable. ✨
#MagpieReads #UrsulaKLeGuin
64/?
The Traveler by Joseph Eckert
I was a little hesitant about trusting this book but it was a well done story. I'm glad I read it - it was worth it but probably won't read it again. And that's okay.
“... Think about it for a moment,” she said. “The Earth’s traveling around the Sun. And the Sun itself is traveling—very quickly—around the center of the Milky Way, which is itself whirling through the universe at many hundreds of kilometers per second.”
“ So … I should be…”
“You should be floating around in empty space right now, quite dead, the Earth now eight days farther around the Sun than it was when you vanished, and the Sun eight days farther around the center of the Milky Way, and so on. But here you are ..."
63/?
The Last Contract of Isako by Fonda Lee.
A new-to-me author. I really enjoyed the book. I have more of her books on hold now at the library.
"... At this stage in her career, she ought to be settling into some sort of comfortable wise elder rule, one that affords undisputed respect yet pleasant anonymity. Things didn’t work out that way ..."
56-61/?
You know the feeling when someone mentions a food you particularly love to eat and then you can't stop thinking about the taste of that food until you satisfy that craving? That's what books are like for me.
Someone mentioned listening to Michael Sheen reading Philip Pullman's second trilogy and so I had to dive back into that world. Like this world, it's not an easy place to be. Which, for all the fantastical things, makes it relatable.
I reread them in the order of the history of the characters and the publishing history so I started with La Belle Sauvage in the Book of Dust trilogy then jumped to the His Dark Materials trilogy and then back to the Book of Dust for the last two in the series.
53-55/?
I'll be playing a little catch-up over the next few days since I haven't been posting in this thread much but I have certainly been reading.
This is the Sisters Avramapul trilogy from Victoria Goddard. Very short novels and great introduction to the characters that appear in other books of the nine worlds.
"Each of them beautiful, each of them wise, each of them beloved. Arzu the lioness, Pali the falcon, Satdeet the moon; as they grew in stature, in the songs of the hinterlands of Oclaresh people began to murmur of the bride-prices they would expect, and that no ordinary man could ever hope to pay. So say the stories."
#MagpieReads #reading #books #sff #VictoriaGoddard
@JeniParsons check out #MagpieReads for some of the books I've read this year. I haven't been keeping up so there's a whole bunch that I'm missing. I keep saying that I'll post the other others and I will at some point soon.
52/?
When I was a little girl I got a musical jewelry box as a gift. When I opened it, a little ballerina stood up and slowly spun en pointe. Around the outside of the box were illustrations of different emotions. The one I remember most was: tristesse.
TJ Klune's books are poignant and filled with love and tristesse. "We Burned So Bright" stayed with that atmosphere but took a unexpected side road. It's a short book and very intense.
The author's note at the beginning of the book lets you know that "this story explores love and grief ... there are discussions of death in different forms ... please read with care."
I did read it with care and it was worth every page. And I'll read it once again before I return it to the library.
#MagpieReads #reading #books #sff
52/?
I enjoyed reading Song of the Six Realms by Judy I Lin. A sweet book of folklore and romantasy.
I also really enjoyed her website with explanations of some of the folklore history and some excellent playlists.
https://judyilin.com/
#MagpieReads #reading #books #sff
51/?
I've really enjoyed all of the books in the Singing Hills series, and this is the latest, an origin story of Chih and Almost Brilliant.
* A Long and Speaking Silence by Nghi Vo
#MagpieReads #reading #books #sff
48-50/?
Final group of Victoria Goddard books that I've reread recently. (There are more that I'll return to - but I've been taking a little break to explore other books.)
* Portrait of a Wide Seas Islander
* Aurelius (to be called) Magnus
* Féonie and the Islander Regalia
Again, three short books that are interrelated with one another and with the larger story arcs of the nine worlds.
45-47/?
More Victoria Goddard rereads:
* The Return of Fitzroy Angursoll
* The Redoubtable Pali Avramapal
* At the Feet of the Sun
The three novels following The Hands of the Emperor.
Edit: #queer relationships are such a natural part of Goddard's nine worlds books that I don't think I've ever mentioned it. All the relationships - friends, families, lovers - with their difficulties and their challenges and their deep commitments are heartening.
#MagpieReads #reading #books #sff #VictoriaGoddard
42-44/?
Continuing with my Victoria Goddard rereads:
* The Game of Courts
* Terec and the Wild
* Terec and the Wall
These are three interrelated short books that give delightful clues to story arcs in other parts of the nine worlds.
#MagpieReads #reading #books #sff
41/?
I really enjoyed The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin. It was fun to take notes on all the clues in the characters to figure out the mystery. (confession: I take notes on characters and clues in almost all the books I read.)
"She said that she wrote for the child in herself, but for once I think she was wrong. I think she wrote for the adult in children. She never disrespected them or "wrote down", because she didn't know how." from the introduction by the author's friend and editor.
"... the book didn't lie about bigger things either: that parents were flawed, that adults were hiding secrets, that the world worked in ways that were both unclear and unfair. It was clear eyed in the many ways that people fail themselves and each other, and it offered no straightforward solutions to any of it." from @dansinker and his recent blogpost on the book.
40/?
I discovered Victoria Goddard in 2021 after reading this piece from Alexandra Rowland. They were (almost) over the top in praise but I could sense the sincerity. So I began my literary love affair with Cliopher (Kip) Mdang and Artorin Damara and the unfolding cast of friends and family and places in the nine worlds.
As I was finishing the book last night for the [mumble] time, I suddenly realized that although they are considered fantasy, for me they are fables, fairy tales, myths in the deepest senses.
https://reactormag.com/you-should-really-be-reading-victoria-goddards-nine-worlds-series/
#MagpieReads #books #reading #sff #bookstodon #VictoriaGoddard
39/?
The beginning of a long, endearing, remarkable relationship between the emperor/magus and his secretary - years? decades? centuries? They changed the world and themselves.
#MagpieReads #books #reading #sff #bookstodon #VictoriaGoddard
38/?
This charming little book is the prequel to Derring Do. But, as always, you can read it at any point in your journey through the nine worlds.
#MagpieReads #books #reading #sff #bookstodon
#VictoriaGoddard
37/?
I don't even know how to explain how much I love this book and how it moves me each time I read it. The characters are all dealing with an unimaginable catastrophe in which they lose their worlds, themselves, and one another and then somehow, over immense spans of time, find it all again.
Till human voices wake us by Victoria Goddard.
36/?
Listen, the world is shredding, fragmenting, unraveling. In the bigger picture and the long run it might not be a bad thing - but living through it is not fun, not peaceful, not easy to deal with.
So I'm returning to the worlds of Victoria Goddard. She writes stories - beautiful lyrical stories - about decent people who care about each other and are trying to make their world better for everyone despite the personal and global challenges they face. There's very little active violence and cruelty, almost none to be honest.
Victoria is another prolific writer and her books range from short sweet novellas to epic terms of 1000 pages.
Her books are definitely not published at any particular order. And reading them allows you to put together the puzzle of the nine worlds.
You can start anywhere, and this is as good a book to start with as any.
34-35/?
When I find a new author, fiction or not, I like to read a bunch of their books because ... I don't know, because I do.
I read Karen Armstrong's autobiography recently and so I read two more of her books.
I've been fascinated by sacred literature since I was a child. I appreciate that Armstrong delves into sacred literature of many of the world religions and picks out the commonalities and the jewels that they all teach.
32-33/?
I returned to Michelle West for a little comfort reading, visiting with character-friends.
I've been reading her books for almost 30 years and I'm really invested in her finishing this final arc of the 18 novels so far plus a bunch of novellas.
#MagpieReads #books #reading #sff #bookstodon
29-31/?
I haven't been keeping up with posting my books!
I read the Highroad Trilogy by Kate Elliott (formerly known as Alis Rasmussen). A fun space opera type series that includes: a passage of stars, revolution's shore, and the price of ransom. Partway through the first book I realized I had read it before and it was worth reading again.
18-21/?
A number of people on here have recommended the Steerswoman series by Rosemary Kirstein. I'm glad I listened, the books are excellent, the characters are wonderful, the world building is great, and I enjoyed all of them very much.
There's just one drawback. She published the first book in 1989 and the fourth book came out in in 2004. But the final two books are yet to be ... written? released? published? In any case - not available 😖
If you enjoy a good story and are not attached to having any kind of resolution or completion, other than in your own imagination, I highly recommend.
@OkieSpaceQueen you could check my books read this year with a bunch of recommendations #MagpieReads
14/?
I was so excited to discover that Blair Braverman has an illustrated book out about one of her sled dogs, Leap. It's a sweet story.
One of the few things I truly miss about Twitter is her story time threads about her dogs.
#dogsofmastodon
#uglydogs #BlairBraverman
#childrensbooks
#MagpieReads #books #reading
11/?
It's not that I haven't been reading/listening - but I've needed comfort rereads and I've been taking online classes.
Third time was the charm for this book - the narrator was excellent. It's listed as a middle school book but I found it engaging and not too young.
The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera
#scifi #MagpieReads #books #reading
10/?
Wow wow wow!
I completely forgot how fabulous the final book in this trilogy is. I'm so glad I reread it, it goes along with some other personal things that I've been contemplating. I love synchronicity.
#scifi #MagpieReads #books #reading
9/?
I've moved on to Chill, book 2 in the Jacob's Ladder trilogy by Elizabeth Bear. In case it's hard to tell, it's #scifi, maybe a space opera? This reread hold up, it's very good, worth reading.
I did take a little detour in between to try The Keeper of Magical Things, but it was a little too sweet and too pat for my taste.
#MagpieReads #books #reading