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Ryan
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Reading slump for a cause! I'm learning Spanish via comprehensible input, which is working WAY better for me than when I studied French via traditional methods years ago. But averaging almost 4 hours a day is sapping my reading time. Though, in a few months, I'll be reading in Spanish...
Oct 16, 2025 08:45AM Add a comment

Ryan
Ryan is 99% done with Death Beside the Seaside (Lady Hardcastle Mystery, #6)
There were elements here of locked room and spy thriller, not to mention some spectacular leaps of logic, that made it not as interesting for me as some of the other titles in the series, but the charm of Emily and Flo keep it at a solid 3 stars.
Jul 17, 2025 04:25PM Add a comment
Death Beside the Seaside (Lady Hardcastle Mystery, #6)

Ryan
Ryan is 99% done with Everybody Wins: Four Decades of the Greatest Board Games Ever Made
I was playing wargames and RPGs 40 years ago and CCGs nearly 30 years ago, but eurogames are a much more recent find for me. This is quite limited in scope, discussing mostly just the Spiel des Jares winners (and notables), but in that way it's also focused. Really pretty cool to see how tabletops have evolved since the first award in 1979.
Jul 13, 2025 01:27AM Add a comment
Everybody Wins: Four Decades of the Greatest Board Games Ever Made

Ryan
Ryan is on page 103 of 104 of Elizabeth & Her German Garden
Well-written and intelligent, beautifully pastoral.
Jul 10, 2025 04:52PM Add a comment
Elizabeth & Her German Garden

Ryan
Ryan is 99% done with The Cat I Never Named : A True Story of Love, War, and Survival
I thought this was really good as a story of the war in Bosnia - I was there as a tourist in the late 90s and I really enjoyed the author's perspective, but as a story about a cat I couldn't help but be disappointed at the end.
Jul 08, 2025 06:40PM Add a comment
The Cat I Never Named : A True Story of Love, War, and Survival

Ryan
Ryan is 36% done with The Last Man Standing
A solid post-apocalyptic tale. I didn't find it quite as literary as something like Station Eleven and it's way more brutal than The Road, but it's worth a read if you steel your sensitivities beforehand.
Jul 07, 2025 04:57PM Add a comment
The Last Man Standing

Ryan
Ryan is on page 123 of 212 of Frankenstein
Jun 06, 2025 05:48PM Add a comment
Frankenstein

Ryan
Ryan is 99% done with The Uncommon Reader
One could hope that everything one reads is this absorbingly charming.
Jun 06, 2025 03:10PM Add a comment
The Uncommon Reader

Ryan
Ryan is 99% done with Golden State
I found this unconvincing. If you're looking for alternate universe detective noir, China Mieville really pulled it off with The City and the City. If you're looking for great fiction from Ben Winters, try The Last Policeman trilogy, which was, for me, completely convincing.
May 31, 2025 11:17AM Add a comment
Golden State

Ryan
Ryan is 69% done with 1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed
Though I am neither an archaeologist nor a scholar of ancient history, my next cat will definitely be named Šuppiluliuma III.
May 19, 2025 08:12PM Add a comment
1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed

Ryan
Ryan is on page 130 of 731 of Buddenbrooks: The Decline of a Family
It's early yet, but this is reading like it has a high probability of being my favorite book since Adam Bede 9 or 10 months ago.
Apr 12, 2025 11:06AM Add a comment
Buddenbrooks: The Decline of a Family

Ryan
Ryan is on page 223 of 224 of Northanger Abbey
Brilliant, loved it.
Mar 06, 2025 02:53PM Add a comment
Northanger Abbey

Ryan
Ryan is on page 138 of 224 of Northanger Abbey
The lowest rated of the major works, which is not at all how I'm experiencing it. I'm moving through it relatively quickly, kind of funny how Austen is by far the least dense of the 12 books I have going right now.
Mar 04, 2025 10:50AM Add a comment
Northanger Abbey

Ryan
Ryan is on page 267 of 288 of Brave New World
4.5
Feb 14, 2025 12:00PM Add a comment
Brave New World

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