sanae started reading Shining by Damion Searls
A friend was giving away some books, this is the first of four. Now I have to actually read them
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This is mostly to keep track of books for my own interest. I hope to get back into reading novels and non-fiction which is of interest to other people at some point, but I've largely fallen out of the habit and mostly read to support other hobbies I have.
You can also find me at sanae@carfree.city.
I use the following rubric: 5 stars: one of my favourite books of all time 4 stars: loved this book, would recommend 3 stars: enjoyed this book, you might like it too 2 stars: did not like this book 1 star: did not like this book and would recommend that you not read it
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@graue Nothing immediately comes to mind, a lot of it I read more in my teens and it just kind of blurs together
It's not exactly the same but I liked The Bloody Chamber. Actually maybe I'm largely bored with Greek Mythology so no new take on it would seem that fresh
sanae reviewed Circe: A Novel by Madeline Miller
In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a …
Circe
3 stars
3 stars: enjoyed this book, you might like it too
It was cool, it was a fun read, I feel like I've read enough like feminist takes on mythology at this point that it didn't feel incredibly new. I do like the fact that it showed a lot of Circe's life and how she changed over the course of the story, as well as her perception of events.
Gods' Man
4 stars
4 stars: loved this book, would recommend
Public domain as of this year!
It has no words, so I wasn't sure if I wanted to track it. I came across it because I was looking for books that were public domain that have interesting images to use, and so I ended up reading through it.
It's a wordless novel, the precursor to graphic novels and comic strips. Apparently this was a whole thing in the 1920s and 30s. The art style is pretty cool - extremely dramatic woodcuts, making a lot of use of unusual perspectives, dramatic facial expressions and so on - I don't know enough about art to comment on it. I think it's worth a read (?) just because it's an interesting look at the very beginning of the medium.
Edit: you can read it here, though some of the images are split across PDF pages: commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Lynd_Ward_-_God%27s_Man.pdf
sanae reviewed Antigone by Jean Anouilh
Jean Anouilh's play Antigone is a tragedy inspired by Greek mythology and the play of …
Antigone (by Anouilh)
4 stars
I think I liked it more when I read it in high school, maybe my French was better, but still pretty good.
It's a play, based on the Greek play Antigone, though modern things like "driving fast cars" are present. I'm not putting any spoilers for that reason.
Most of the play is a dialogue between Antigone and Creon about when to do the thing you believe in. Creon argues that order must be maintained at all costs, that he is the only one who sees clearly that hard decisions must be made to maintain order, and does his best to convince Antigone to help him cover up what she'd done so he would not have to have her put to death. If the original story is a straightforward story of heroism in the face of tyranny, this raises all the questions that might come up in the real world. …
I think I liked it more when I read it in high school, maybe my French was better, but still pretty good.
It's a play, based on the Greek play Antigone, though modern things like "driving fast cars" are present. I'm not putting any spoilers for that reason.
Most of the play is a dialogue between Antigone and Creon about when to do the thing you believe in. Creon argues that order must be maintained at all costs, that he is the only one who sees clearly that hard decisions must be made to maintain order, and does his best to convince Antigone to help him cover up what she'd done so he would not have to have her put to death. If the original story is a straightforward story of heroism in the face of tyranny, this raises all the questions that might come up in the real world. But what if actually dying really sucks and living is good and life is beautiful? What if you'll hurt the people you care about? What if you're scared? What if the thing you do may have no effect on the world? Is it still worth it, to say no to something you know is wrong?
And maybe more insidiously, what if your allies are sometimes shitty people, or your cause is flawed, or you can't do a great job of making a dramatic speech about why you're right? What if the average person actually hates you for the decision you've made, or maybe worse, doesn't care? What if deep down you don't totally believe in all of the symbolism behind what you're doing? What if maybe you are in fact a bit self centered and over dramatic and immature? What if it isn't actually possible for an ordinary human to maintain the narrative of a straightforward and flawless hero?
It's kind of more of an essay in disguise than a story. Most stories of this kind are about the physical courage of resisting the tyrant, and come with a satisfying conclusion where the hero wins some kind of victory and is seen as a hero even if there is a moment of tragic self-sacrifice. This is a story that kind of asks, for real though, let's talk about what this might look like in real life.
One thing that is interesting about this story is that Antigone never quite has great answers to any of Creon's well-practiced arguments. She does not, as people say, defeat Creon in the marketplace of ideas. He does successfully fill her with doubt. She still chooses to act, and, as she points out, is the only one with real agency in this play, because Creon, through his rationalizations, has long ago chosen not to have any.
An important piece of context about this play is that it was written and performed in Nazi-occupied France, under Nazi censorship.
sanae reviewed Collected fictions by Jorge Luis Borges (Penguin Classics)
"Commemorating the hundredth anniversary of his birth, this centenary edition at last brings together all …
Borges
5 stars
5 stars: one of my favourite books of all time (actually probably my favourite)
This one is a collection of everything Borges wrote so I'm just rating the entire thing. If you haven't read Borges you need to go read Borges. All short stories so it's really easy to figure out if it's your thing or not. It's largely kind of science fiction adjacent - each story is about an idea - about reality, or infinity, or time or something.
copied from goodreads, read a long time ago
sanae reviewed The bloody chamber and other stories by Angela Carter
The Bloody Chamber—which includes the story that is the basis of Neil Jordan’s 1984 movie …
The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories
4 stars
Copying over from goodreads
Really good modern fairy tales, if you like your fairy tales more on the horror side.
A Natural History of Dragons
3 stars
3 stars: enjoyed this book, you might like it too
Copying over from goodreads
Fun but not particularly memorable
sanae reviewed Master of reality by John Darnielle (33 1/3)
Master of Reality
4 stars
Copying over from Goodreads
The main thing I remember about this one is that it is basically The Best Ever Death Metal Band Out Of Denton in the form of a novel
sanae reviewed A Darker Shade of Magic by V. E. Schwab (Shades of Magic, #1)
STEP INTO A UNIVERSE OF DARING ADVENTURE, THRILLING POWER, AND MULTIPLE LONDONS.
Kell is one …
A Darker Shade of Magic
3 stars
3 stars: enjoyed this book, you might like it too
Read this a while ago, copying over from goodreads
Great for when you're looking for something that's fun and action-filled.
sanae reviewed The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo (The Singing Hills Cycle, #1)
With the heart of an Atwood tale and the visuals of a classic Asian period …
The Empress of Salt and Fortune
4 stars
4 stars: loved it, would recommend
Copying over from goodreads, read it a while ago so my review is pretty short
A pretty quick read. Great for anyone who likes highly political medieval type fantasy (the time period - it's set in a more Asian-inspired world).
The Complete Illustrated History Of The Inca Empire
4 stars
4 stars: loved it, would recommend
an old book, copying over from goodreads
I checked this book out from the library in 2020 on the day everything shut down. This is what got me into the ancient peoples of the Americas as an adult, and what made me realize I knew absolutely nothing about them.
sanae reviewed Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor (The Nsibidi Scripts, #1)
Twelve-year-old Sunny Nwazue, an American-born albino child of Nigerian parents, moves with her family back …
Akata Witch
4 stars
4 stars: loved this book, would recommend
I didn't think it was that much like Harry Potter but I used to read a lot of pre-Harry Potter YA fantasy with similar themes as a kid
(I read this a long time ago, I'm copying over from Goodreads)