Lo > Recent Status Updates

Only read 20 pages, and I realized a) this is going to be even better than I thought, which is saying something as I checked my library's website every day for months so I could get an early hold, but also b) this is way too emotionally intense for my current life situation. Looking forward to coming back to it asap. It really seems like a wild ride I can't wait to take.

Minor problem: when I read, it's hard not to stop every two pages and gush about it. Thankfully, my spouse is ultra patient, but still. Must let the spell weave its magic for him!

Ok, I know I liked this when I read it, but it was too weird/complex to easily process. It stuck with me far more than most books, and I found myself thinking about it and mentioning it to my husband regularly. I convinced him to read it out loud with me. I'm already like ELEVEN STARS HOLY CRAP. It's so good, I had to grow to appreciate its genius. THIS IS MY READ OF THE PANDEMIC. possibly decade. I'm so hyped!

'(although, as the saying goes, "Before diagnosing people with depression, make sure they're not surrounded by assholes")'

Wow, I've never heard this one before, and I really wish I had. Especially 15 years ago! Better late than never.

Post Pandemic Reading List!!!

I'm going to use this space to keep a list of not-yet-published books that I know will someday exist and will want to read, because I can't figure where else on GR to make a list like this. Suggestions encouraged!

- In-depth investigation about early testing failures/lack
- Fauci memoir
- Field-level memoir by someone who works for the CDC, exposing institutional fails (cont below)

There's so many great books out this fall (even a new Lady Sherlock, l'squee!), but I cannot think about anything but this. I wish my library could get it faster! It's a sign of progress that I sometimes know what I need nowadays, and boy my 2020 NEEDS THIS. *runs in excited circles*

"I always forget fear is a conquerable thing, but I learn it over and over again, and that, I guess, is better than never learning it."

My hold came through on the audiobook! Paper book coming in the next week... I'm so excited! The library caught me by surprise and I just had some sort of literary seizure. Let's hope this isn't disappointing like the new Hiaasen!

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!

JESUS H. CHRIST, DAVIDSON!!!!

Good god, I don't think I've ever been so angry at a fictional character. Davidson is so brilliantly done, and yet AK@#($*@FRJK( J@(QJ#(!J!!!!!!!

Well played, Ursula K. Le Guin.

"How the League worked and what sort of policies it was developing could not yet be guessed from the flat directives of the Administration. Dongh was worried by these multiple-choice futures, but Lyubov enjoyed them. IN DIVERSITY IS LIFE AND WHERE THERE'S LIFE THERE'S HOPE, was the general sum of his creed, a modest one to be sure." Emphasis mine, this is the #1 thought I've returned to over the past few years!!

"He tried to tell himself that Selver had not been rejecting him, Lyubov, but him as a Terran. It made no difference. It never does."

TRUTH!!!

"The country is a mess -- and people come back here. They run from the others. From the law. And they live alone. Even strangers. They're tough, there's no friendliness in their eyes. If they get drunk, they're liable to burn something down. At night we sleep with axes and pitchforks under our beds. In the kitchen next to the door, there's a hammer."
Continues to meet my great/depressing expectations!

"What should I tell you? Death is the fairest thing in the world. No one's ever gotten out of it. The earth takes everyone -- the kind, the cruel, the sinners. Aside from that, there's no fairness on earth."

I can already tell this is going to be as good as it is depressing, which is quite a lot.

"No one wants to die," said Becka. "But some people don't want to live in any of the ways that are allowed."

The longer I think about this, the deeper it seems.

Unexpectedly heartbreaking line:

"What's a library?"

My heart!!!!

I'm enjoying this, but it's increasingly hard to see any outcome but a total collapse of space-time. Or, better yet, an extinction-level event caused solely by mass hysteria, that would be cool! Unfortunately, I'm sure whatever happens will be something more positive, but really hard to believe.

Also on this page: "vituperative" and, incredibly, "fundament" to refer to a child's butt.

Next paragraph, he uses "transpicuous" to mean "you can see through it." I'm in favor of using large/obscure words to get a more precise meaning, but this is just needless pretension! Maybe it's to make the readers feel soooo smart?

really, "catachthonic" for "underground"? Now I remember why I was so bored for most of this book... you are trying way too hard, Neal!

This book has THE MOST unlikable main character I've ever encountered. It's weird to find myself saying that about a toy bunny from a children's book, but wow he is the WORST. I get that it's probably a setup for character growth, but I don't even know if we'll be able to get through it.

Note: I called him "bunny" specifically b/c he finds the word derogatory. I try to be respectful, but he earned it.

I've never felt so conflicted between "I do not want to know what's going to happen" and "I literally cannot stop reading this."

JFC I just read the introduction and MY MIND IS ALREADY BLOWN *insert many expletives and much enthusiasm*

JFC I just read the introduction and MY MIND IS ALREADY BLOWN *insert many expletives and much enthusiasm*

"Dani's father had always told her that secrets made her strong. Her maestras had told her restraint made her strong. But Dani knew now that to crack open what you thought you knew, to allow it to scar with truth, that was what made you truly strong."

I want to co-sign so hard! Being vulnerable to truth and others is the ultimate power move, but is hilariously viewed as weakness so often.

"The goal, ultimately, was successful camouflage as a human woman."

LOL that is painfully relatable!

I am increasingly confused by this series, namely a) why do I feel compelled to keep reading them, and b) how the hell are they going to make the sequel movies, since the plot of the first movie essentially makes the sequel plots impossible.

I can already tell I'll be seeing the 2nd movie alone on a Tuesday afternoon... because I must... know...

"Ch 23: As the helicopter sped north along the coast, Eugenie frowned out the window. One minute she'd been watching snowy egrets scatter like confetti across a carpet of mangroves, then, abruptly, the view had changed to a dreary checkerboard of parking lots, condo towers, and suburbs. She had anticipated a rush of relief at the first sight of civilization, but instead, she felt depressed." = ODE TO FLORIDA!

JFC I can't remember the last time I was so confused by a book, bordering on insulted. I finished but I need a cooling off period before reviewing, like the waiting period to buy a handgun.

On the bright side, my husband listened to me rant about it so much! Bless him.

Wait, hold up, does he believe that she's really pregnant? If not, why the threatening demands to get married. If so, why is he offering her alcohol? And we're supposed to admire his intelligence and how he knows what's best for others? Did an editor read this? I'm so confused.