#2022reading

I’ve been having some trouble getting into reading anything the last couple of weeks. I set aside the book I was struggling with and picked up a quicker read, just so I could feel like I finished something. This is a middle grade book based on a video game that I’ll probably never play. But it’s a Star Wars book, and it features a bounty hunter that’s actually two Jawas in a trench coat, one standing on top of the other, so I was always gonna read it at some point. It was quick and it was fun, and now I want a sequel. Or an Utooni solo novel spin off. #thismakesmehappy #2022reading #books #starwars #starwarsbooks #lucasfilm #starwarshunters #battleforthearena #markoshiro https://www.instagram.com/p/Cp-j_szJpuQ/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

This week’s new arrivals. Mostly Kickstarter awards including the long-awaited Aztec Ace collection, along with a preorder (the Beaumont collection) and the next books in series I’m reading. #thismakesmehappy #books #2022reading #toberead #tobereadpile https://www.instagram.com/p/Coz_ZQjPb7v/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

This is the first Cusk that I’ve read, and was a book club selection. I’m planning to read the Outline trilogy, and someone who’d finished that was interested in this newer one. I thought it was quite good, and then found it was very interesting to learn about the original works that inspired this novel.

This was a book club selection, and took up quite a chunk of late 2022. I really enjoyed it despite my aversion to old-timey stuff. It was interesting to see a cult leader’s rise to power through the eyes of the people surrounding him (and yente who sees all, of course). Way different feeling than Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead, which I loved. This was a much more expansive book, and I appreciated all of the historical detail, but I doubt I’d have made it through without a book club - that said, I’m glad I finished and felt it paid off.

I’ve read a lot of Elizabeth Ellen, and I always enjoy it. I’m not sure if it’s her writing, or the voyeuristic feel I get reading her stuff, both are at work. This collection of short stories was particularly strong, and braided together well.

This chapbook is part of a collection of short fiction from Korea. I really enjoyed this - not as much as I loved Human Acts or The Vegetarian, but it’s a good story and I like the way it slowly reveals itself.