The front cover of A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess. It features a smiling skeleton leaning lazily in front of us, while holding a bottle of milk and wearing a bowler hat.

Vacation read #2 is A Clockwork Orange. Having some idea of the content (never seen the movie either) I had put this off for a long time but finally gave it a go. While it lived up to its reputation, I found it very readable and thoughtful in ways that surprised me. Glad I read it.

The front cover of Falconer by John Cheever. A purple cover with stylized writing and little else.

Today's beach read was another of Time's top 100, this time Falconer by John Cheever and oh boy was it a ride. Quite an interesting read but still unsure how to process it.

Tiny Bookshop!

My favourite line from the article.

"We shall never allow our treaties to be broken, and we will never bend the knee to foreign tyrants or their useful idiots.”

Love it.

Week long vacation begun. 6 books packed. Can't wait!

Finally got around to reading Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. An absolute classic and for good reason. My 29th read of Time's top 100 novels.

I may check out the others! Good to know they are worth sticking with.

Wrapped up Ann Leckie's Ancillary Justice and really enjoyed it. I wasn't sure what to expect going in. Knew nothing about it really but more recent SF is hit or miss for me. Very worthy of the awards it won in my opinion.

The latest episode of Starship Alexandria is such a great example of why I love the podcast. Great episode looking at the Dungeons and Dragons film. Check it out!

Finally, just completed Babel on audiobook. I think I have the same love/hate for it as many others who have read it and will leave it there. 27th Nebula done. Working my way through.

Front cover of the book titled The Moon the Sun Forgot. A phallic looking ship is surrounded by colourful lights.

Also completed the Moon the Sun Forgot by BJ Wagner - a local Alberta author. Always happy to support new authors nearby and have now read both book by small publisher @mythicroads.bsky.social . I wouldn't say I am the target audience for these books but glad to have read them.

The front cover of The Doloriad by Missouri Williams featuring evergreen trees and simple green writing.

Been busy but still fitting in reading. Recently completed The Doloriad by Missouri Williams. Post-apocalyptic fever dream of a book that was tough to read both for its prose and its subject matter. Didn't hate it and its stuck with me a while. Lots to unpack even if I am not smart enough to do so.

Just finished reading this. Congrats to the author!

The front cover of War and Peace, translated by Constance Garnett.

This chonky boy has had my attention since the start of the year but finally finished it in February. Back to more SF. Amazing book of course.

I don't recall when I DNF'ed it, but I think it was even earlier.

It was an easy read and presented a future that is not unfamiliar to those who are familiar with post-apocalyptic writing. I have to say that I was let down and thought this would be better than it was. Maybe it was my expectations that are to be blamed.

To me this book read more like an attempt to wrap a story like "The Day After" or "Threads" in some journalistic plausibility to get some attention on it. It appears that it works. However, I personally feel that I'd rather just read fiction if I can't trust the accuracy of what is written.

The front cover of Nuclear War A Scenario by Annie Jacobsen Features a mushroom cloud on the front cover with little else.

Had a day off and decided to sit down and read 'Nuclear War A Scenario' by Annie Jacobsen. I am making more of an effort to read more non-fiction this year but this was quite a "fictiony" non-fiction book. From the moment a quote from Louis XIV was attributed to Napoleon I struggled with it.

I think your way is likely a more enjoyable experience for books like this with a twist that sort of comes out of nowhere. I definitely lean towards the analyst as I go method. I grew up reading Encyclopedia Brown books!

A little swerve in my usual reading as book club decided to take on The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware. A pretty standard fare mystery book that left me mostly unsatisfied by the end. I like mysteries where the twist can be deduced ahead of time by a careful reader but this felt too random at the end.

As a Canadian, this feels like my experience when I first encountered Irish Road Bowling.

Definitely easier (and in my opinion more enjoyable but thats very subjective) reads than Dhalgren. I made it through I think 4 of his books before finally deciding they are not for me. Some people love his stuff though.

I felt the same.

I don't consider myself to really be overly educated or cultured but Isaac was able to make me feel a part of some large conversations without making me feel dumb, which I really appreciated. I hesitate to know who to suggest the book to except to say that if you think you might enjoy it you will.

I wouldn't say that this is a book for those who are looking for anything close to typical science fiction. I am not qualified to really get into that genre discussion to be fair, but that's my sense. I feel like this book can be enjoyed by anyone who reads any type of genre, with SF being just one.

It's not an exceptionally long book but it so beautifully covers many topics. Addiction, relationships, parenting, government, history, art, being trans and more! There are a few times when the prose feels a little overdone, but those moments are swamped by the rest of the fantastic writing.

Just wrapped up Notes from a Regicide by @isaac-fellman.bsky.social and it was wonderful. While I suppose it is SF, that particular aspect of the book felt somewhat incidental. Had it been lifted out and placed in another genre, place, or time, the reading experience would have been as great.

You did great!

I've got the hardcover first edition. Kind of a weird cover.

Quick point of note on the podcast. Regina is pronounced Ree Jy Na. Now, as a Canadian I have butchered far too many places names over the pond, so no judgement. Just thought I would mention it! Nice to hear some thoughts on this book.

Juice has been sitting on my shelf for a while now. Need to get around to it eventually.