Recent Reads: April 2017

Apr. 30th, 2017 06:12 pm
zetasyanthis: (Default)
So... I've been reading a lot this year, and wanted to share a few books that have really hit me hard in the last few months. I'm not going to touch on all of them (see my Goodreads for specific reviews), but I wanted to call out a few that were so very, very special. (As always, my complete (and freshly updated) recommends list is here.)
 
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Technically, I read this last year, but it was so beautiful and so wonderful that I couldn't help but share it. Rue's given a pretty bad hand at the start, but she's amazing and eventually finds her way. I never expected a message of hope so profound from what I thought was a simple adventure book, but I should have known better after reading Ventus. Thanks, Karl. <3
 
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The Slow Regard of Silent Things
The Wise Man's Fear
 
This series by Patrick Rothfuss absolutely blew me away. It's fantasy, and beautifully written, but what really makes it are the characters, torn and broken as they are. If anything, I read these too quickly, and should have given myself more time to cry while reading them. I do not even have the words to explain my heartbreak here.
 
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This broke my heart in myriad ways, and I really needed to cry those tears. In many ways I'm both Regan *and* Luna, and I don't think I've ever cried so hard before.
 
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Respect... Holy moly, is that a loaded word with me. I too grew up in a household that preached respect while really speaking of obedience. Can't say I was as brave as Pen in this book, but I wish I'd been. >.<
 
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Different tack on this one... This is probably one of the most important books I've ever read as far as shaping my world view. It tells the story of a Jewish journalist who traveled to Germany after World War II to find out why what had happened had happened. My therapist actually picked up a copy of this one, and she liked it too. Hard read, but very topical, and I highly recommend it.
 
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And because I follow this subreddit, here are a couple of *awesome* writing prompts that have come up lately!
 
 

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Kvothe

Feb. 26th, 2017 09:25 am
zetasyanthis: (Default)
CW: Mental damage, mentions of suicide.
 
It's been a while since I've written a journal, and it hasn't really been much fun. Some good things have happened, some bad ones, and I'm pretty sure I've been hurting myself by not working some of this out on paper. This is my attempt to deal with some of that.
 
You're probably wondering about the title of the journal, and I should probably try to make some sense of that.
 
I recently read a couple books that have kicked me a bit out of sorts. The Name of the Wind, The Slow Regard of Silent Things, and The Wise Man's Fear devastated me in a way I never expected. There's... a lot of pain in those books, and there's a lot of pain in my heart, and I don't know how to deal with it either. There are a lot of days where I just want to curl up and die.
 
I want to cry, and shake, and cry and hide... to disappear completely. I want my mind to stop grinding against itself like shattered glass, screaming breaking noises, and screeching noises, and screaming and screaming and screaming until I finally die. I fight insanity *every* *single* *day*, the loss of self and heart and home that seems to be ever stronger. I hold death itself at bay with fear and force of will, and fear the loss of myself far, far more than that of my body. And yet, I know what the grip of insanity feels like, and it would kill me in an instant.
 
I just want to stop being ripped apart inside. I want to be able to function as a normal human being. I want safety, and sanity, and home and love and quiet. I want to be able to listen to music without it having to be a shield against my fear. I want to be able to feel my cat's love, and my girlfriend's, and that of all those who try to tell me they care. I want to stop being broken inside, and I want to cry. >.<
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Books, Books, Books!

Dec. 26th, 2012 01:19 am
zetasyanthis: (Default)
I always bring a ton of books with me when I travel, regardless of what I plan to be doing.  So far, of the books I brought with me, I've finished two of them!  Quick little reviews follow:

The Green Fairy by Kyell Gold (6/5 - Masterpiece)
This is probably one of the best books I have ever read, and I don't know if my words can do it half the justice it's worth.  Still, I have to try...  Kyell himself, normally a writer of gay erotic fiction, describes it as a 'non-erotic gay non-love story,' and although that's technically correct, it doesn't even begin to touch on the mastery in this book.  Swapping back and forth from a confessional letter from the days of revolutionary France and a modern day coming of age story, this book manages to mix the two with the help of a little Absinthe and a whole lot of self-reflection.  There are only two things I have ever described as a masterpiece up until this point.  This is now the third.

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N. K. Jemisin (5/5)
Nominated for the Hugo and Nebula awards, this book is a hell of a read as well, though a little jerky to get started with.  The author intentionally switches tense, time, and place at a moments notice, requiring you to stay on your feet and really pay attention, lest you lose important details.  That said, her use of foreshadowing and tiny little nudges/brush-strokes all along the read really pays off at the end.  Gods, godesses, their lovers, and intricate power struggles twist and turn like the great spire of Sky itself being woven from the finest golden thread.  The finish is every bit as amazing as you'd expect it to be, and I can't wait to read the rest of this trilogy!

The Broken Kingdoms by N. K. Jemisin (5/5)
I can't say much about it, since it's part two of the trilogy and I don't want to give spoilers, but wow...

The Kingdom of Gods by N. K. Jemisin (5/5)
A finale I could never have imagined when I started the first of these three books...  Absolutely magnificent.

I'll update this as I go and add whatever else I manage to finish this trip.  I'm going to try and log the books I read from now on and see if I can't at least throw out a review from time to time!
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