Literature

I randomly picked up Ruth Ozeki's Tale for the Time Being at the library and couldn't put it down. It really was the level up of literature I have been waiting for. While it did have a few words I needed to look up, it was generally very approachable and enjoyable to get through. What I also appreciated was that even though some of the subject matter is difficult, it is not so detailed and exploitive that it created a triggering response, at least for me. I really look forward to reading more of her work. I'm shocked I had never heard of her and only bumped into this book by chance!

I just finished 'Player of Games' - Ian M. Banks. I liked it, it felt immersive.

Just started The Passenger by the late great Cormac McCarthy. I'm about a 3rd through, listening on audio book via Libby (read at 85% speed). It's a little hard not to put it in the context of No Country and the border trilogy - Mr. M does seem to have a type. I'm pleased that many of McCarthy's liberties with words seem to come through on audio, but I imagine I'm missing a lot. All in all I'm enjoying it. Next up my book club is reading All The Pretty Horses, so I'm in for the ride as it were. (Weirdly, there was a longer wait for his other work than The Passenger. I guess people are in the wait and see mode).

A friend recommended Midlife by Kieran Setiya. I have to say - it's quite dense, and I feel like I'm not doing it justice. I'll definitely keep going.

Friend's bookclub has been working through The Locked Tomb trilogy which has been fun (both to read and to watch other people encounter).

Outside of that, I've been slowly working my way through The Knot Book (about mathematical topology, not kinky stuff), a book about "The Shambhala guide to Sufism", and "Inside Scientology".

I've been going through library books trying to find something at least somewhat straightforward about the modern Sufis and their beliefs/texts/rituals, but all the books I've encountered so far seem to be way more concerned with the historical lens of "Westerners through the centuries trying to grapple with the concept of Sufism and disagreeing with each other about what it is".

Just finished off The Deep by Rivers Solomon, a novella inspired by a song inspired by another song. Very compelling, character-driven narrative about generational trauma and slavery, plus a tinge of romance for the MC. Would recommend.

'glyph' by Percival Everett (who has rapidly become one of my favorite authors).

Just finished the Remembrance of Earth's Past trilogy by Cixin Liu a couple days ago...it's reminded me of how mind-blowing and mind-expanding sci-fi can be. It's an incredibly bleak and yet somehow still hopeful series and aside from issues with how Liu handles characters, I can't wait to re-read it after I've had some time to digest the ideas in it. Definitely recommend if you like big ideas in sci-fi and can deal with some iffy character writing.

Right now I am reading An Urban History Of China by John Lincoln. It might not be everyone's cup of tea, but I am enjoying reading it, since I am a sucker for anything history.

About to dive into The Tin Drum again. Last read it 30 years ago...