What’s the last book you finished?

[.: Meri :.]

I recently finished volume 5 of Durarara!! by Ryohgo Narita. Technically a re-read, but I never properly finished the novels, and so I started them over last year or so. I really like this arc in the story, and this volume also started the series of mini-chapters that are literally just my favorite character prattling on for several pages, so no complaints there.

 

[cardboardcanaries]

I finished A Little Life recently. Beautifully written but also very disturbing!!!

 

[Neb]

I finished Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler. It wasn’t my favorite book by her, but it was still well above average. I’m looking forward to reading the sequel.

 

[savanniebananie]

I just finished Remember Me by Christopher Pike. Quite possibly the best book I have ever read!

 

[kayleee]

I recently finished Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson; the series as a whole is intriguing to me, but the books are so long I found myself skimming a lot of it to be honest. I got the gist of the story but there’s just sooooo much information, it was hard to give it my full attention lol. I’ll read the next installment in the series eventually, but I’m going to give myself a break and read some other books I’ve been meaning to get to first before I dive back in!

 

[Alienfish]

Finished the first volume of a Swedish manga/yonkoma strip series, called "Mitt liv i Japan"(My Life in Japan the actual Japanese title is really long, but google Åsa Ekström if you're interested). It's rather entertaining and it's always nice to see the country and culture from people living there rather than some wishful thinking from Western perspectives. I do think it suffers from the typical "omg Japanese people doesn't have this, that, nor lots of equality" etc. Western comments rather than actually trying to penetrate why society is as it is and such. I mean sure you want to educate but being mandatory critical rather than trying to see why is like... eh.

However I do appreciate the takes on how Japan has changed thru the last 10-20 years, for good and bad.

 

[TurnipBell20]

I finished Diary of a Wimpy Kid - The Deep End a while ago. Didn’t take me very long to read, lol. I know it’s a children‘s book, but it‘s still funny and relatable.

 

[visibleghost]

university literature - Om undran inför samhället (wonders fore society, sort of) by Johan Asplund. In its short span of 120 or so small pages it managed to touch on a lot of different topics and i honestly felt more and more confused as I continued reading. think I will have to read it again to understand what the main takeaway points are.

The conclusive notes I took were the following: "Freud. Mother marriage. Perceive something as something, can change. Elephant picture. Suicide. Freud again. Newton. Mona Lisa. Leonardo da Vinci - Freud's interpretation." so uh yea he spoke about a lot of stuff and it was confusing.

 

[S.J.]

I've been reading a few books from the "classics" section lately. I recently finished One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (apparently it's on a lot of high school reading lists, but this was my first time reading it), and I'm currently reading The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway. They're both really short books of only 150-200 pages, so they're relatively easy to get through since I've been short on time.

 

[Autumn247]

Just finished The Lost Prince by Julie Kagawa, and about to start the next book in her series

 

[LadyDestani]

Today I finished The Eye of the World, the first book in the Wheel of Time series, and I really enjoyed it! I watched the Wheel of Time TV series on Amazon and I loved it so much I had to buy the books. There are quite a few differences between the TV series and the book series. In most cases, I liked the book better, which is pretty typical for me. However, there is one thing that I think the TV series did better than the book. I'll put it in a spoiler.

Spoiler

The TV series treated it as an ensemble cast and gave each of the characters purpose and a time to shine. The book focused much more on Rand and I found that the few chapters that followed the other characters were actually my favorites. I much preferred reading about Nynaeve or Perrin because I felt more of a connection to them. I thought the ending was handled better in the TV series as well because of the distribution of duties among the different characters. They all had a place to be and something important to do, whereas in the book they were all just sort of tagging along with Rand and it was all about him.

That minor complaint aside, I still really liked the book and look forward to reading more in the series.

 

[Romaki]

The last book I finished was The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.

Honestly more enjoyable because I didn't remember anything about the series.

If you're new to Hunger Games, maybe consider starting with this one. I think it'd be interesting.

Spoiler

I legit thought Snow was an ancestor and not the same guy. Really made his psychotic turn at the end that much more surprising. The Hunger Games aspect of the book is really good, much more enjoyable because it's more chaotic and less experienced. The romance worked great as well, with a mentor and a participant. I really wish it was a standalone story and not the backstory of a villain. They do explain it but I don't think it explains his turn at all. Live long enough to become the villain... snore. I think it'd be more interesting if Snow's "father" would have been anti-Hunger Games because of his love to the districts after his time there. That Snow for example doesn't know the truth about his mother being a Hunger Games survivor. It's also weird that in reality Snow's first real love is a Hunger Games survivor that may still be alive during the main series. I just looked it up because it's been a while but apparently they surpressed the 10th Hunger Games because it sucked and wasn't broadcasted outside the Capitol I think. But I feel like enough people should have remember, it should have been an urban legend at least. Not that it wasn't written after the first trilogy, but it's just weird because it follows an established character from the main series. It should have been Snow's father. Because I really liked that dude, but the backstory doesn't make the villain he becomes more complex. Because he's just not complex at all in the main series. It'd be interesting if he was.

My boy Sejanus deserved better though!!

 

[Firesquids]

I'm not usually a big reader, but I was recently asked to read a book by my friend's father and thought why not. The book he thrust upon me is titled "Bell Prater's Boy" by Ruth White.
I thought it was an interesting read. The novel focuses on a theme that I resonate with in particular, the frustration over how your family and your culture control how you can physically present, and how others make assumptions about you based on how you look. Also the themes of parallel words and escaping a life of misery to a magical place behind the mirror.
The novel's story is a glimpse into the protagonist Gypsy and her cousin Woodrow's immediate family's history. It reminds me of a couple of games I've played, "What Remains of Edith Finch" and "The Vanishing of Ethan Carter". All three stories are an experience of piecing together a family's story based snippets of information about it's members.
The stories also all feature supernatural elements while remaining grounded in reality.
I'd recommend any of these stories, I enjoyed experiencing them.

 

[Soigne]

i just finished death in her hands by ottessa moshfegh. i fell victim to seeing everyone hype it up on tiktok, and unsurprisingly it fell flat for me. it was just okay.

 

[Shiny Shiny Engine]

reverend w. awdry's complete collection of thomas the tank engine and friends books, who knew talking trains are so goddamn cool.

 

[absol]

moonwalking with einstein
pretty cool book, I love reading about productivity, studying and memorization techniques

 

[Introspective Onlooker]

Just finished one of James Patterson's many book series — one of them aimed towards a junior high demographic, Katt vs. Dogg (2019). It takes the trope of cats and dogs being natural enemies and subverts it through its two protagonists, Molly and Oscar, while invoking underlying themes such as prejudice, and how we should put aside our differences to help a fellow being in need. I bought the book mostly because I already bought its sequel, Katt Loves Dog (2021), back in February. It's a similar premise, but it involves two other characters that make up a large focus of the book, and has a similar message while giving the audience some background on why Molly and Oscar's families have a history with each other.

 

[Neb]

I finished Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata a few weeks ago. The translation was sublime. If you told me the book was written in English first I would’ve believed you. The problem is the ending. Without spoiling anything it felt like everything that happened in the book was pointless. I’m still looking forward to seeing what else the writer makes though.

 

[Radio]

Been rather sick these past few days, I managed to finish up two books.

Six of Crows: I really liked this one. The plot itself was meh and the heist aspect could have been written better, but what really shone for me were the characters. In a short amount of time, the other really built up the characters to be unique with interesting backstories and likeable in their own ways. I could read a slice of life book about their everyday happenings with the bickering and be satisfied.

Roar by Cecilia Ahern: a collection of short stories centred around woman. It's surreal and takes literal experiences and makes them more abstract in a way to really drive home the point and I like that a lot. Easy to put down and pick up as the stories are rather short. It was a thought-provoking read.

 

[Chris]

I woke-up really tense this morning, so I decided to finish off The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood before I started for the day. It did not calm me down. I can't even begin to describe how angry this book makes me - in a way that is intended, I'm sure. It's also far too relevant right now with the situation in the U.S.

My partner loaned me the sequel and I wish I could get stuck into that right now, but I've work to do.