Oh, I liked that one, Paintcharge! There is also a sequel in the works, entitled Zoe Punches the Future in the Dick. I’m sorry, but that title makes me laugh every time. 
The library pulled back my audiobook of Stacy Schiff’s A Great Improvisation because someone had a hold on it (I hate it when they do that). So I’ve turned to George R.R. Martin’s sf novel Dying of the Light, about a rogue planet moving out of the habitable zone of a red giant, and the adventures of a small group of people who have not yet left the nearly-depopulated world. I read it in the mid-Nineties and enjoyed it, although I remember very little of it now. So far, so good on my second reading.
Started yesterday on Alex Trebek’s autobiography, The Answer Is…Reflections on My Life. It’s a pretty quick read, and doesn’t try to fill in all the blanks, but instead is a series of chronologically ordered anecdotes. Much more entertaining that way, I think.
I just finished Children of Blood and Bone, epic high YA fantasy set in a quasi-African kingdom. It was good but not great; I’ll read the sequel if I get around to it, but am not rushing. It’s lovely that so much fantasy is being written set in worlds other than Ye Olde Medieval England Middle-Earth ripoffs, and I’m so there for that; but other than the setting, it was a pretty conventional hero’s journey with romance setup.
Currently reading Reaganland which despite the title is more of an assessment on Carterland.
You can never have too many Abercrombie books.
The trouble with peace is excellent - tanned it in two sittings as I was laid up with a cold. I’m a big JA fan so admittedly always enjoy his characters, dialog etc, but I think he is pushing this story somewhere new with some strong voices. Clear he has complete mastery of his style.
Definitely some questions over the plot - not holes, but the evolution of one main character really drives the book and it’s not entirely believable IMHO. It also ends in whatever the opposite of a cliff-hanger is, so intrigued to see where the third book takes us.
Another fan of John Dies at the End here.
Finished Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke. Brilliant. It’s the best book I’ve read this year.
Now I’m reading I Work at the Public Library: A Collection of Crazy Stories from the Stacks, by Gina Sheridan.
Yes, I’m hoping to finish the Dune novel before I see the adaptation. The trailer was completely incomprehensible, but the giant sand worm was glorious!
Glad you liked it! I also recommend this Clarke collection of short stories, at least two of which are set in the same universe as JSMN:
https://www.amazon.com/Ladies-Grace-Adieu-Susanna-Clarke/dp/0747592403/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=susannah+clarke&qid=1600800294&s=books&sr=1-3
And I see she has a new book just out:
https://www.amazon.com/Piranesi-Susanna-Clarke/dp/163557563X/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=susannah+clarke&qid=1600800328&s=books&sr=1-1
My husband has asked for both books for assorted upcoming gift-giving occasions.
I’m starting Piranesi in the morning.
Currently rereading Fritz Leiber’s Lankhmar stories, as well as some of his other works. Haven’t visited them since early high school, got a hankering, and the library system had them. Introduced the Mrs to his wonderful style of writing.
As usual, I am the weirdo here: I thought it was too long, too rambling and terribly boring in places. I quite liked several of the characters, Strange and Norrel NOT being any of them, but the overall was just… messy.
To each their own! I loved it, footnotes and all.
After Strange & Norrell, I expected Piranesi to be another doorstop, but it’s quite slender at 245 pages. Also very intriguing so far.
DZedNConfused, I understand your feeling about Strange & Norrell…the footnote thing was annoying, and as you said, the plot rambled. But once I gave up the idea of getting from point A to point B and just relaxed into the prose, I enjoyed it more.
An excellent approach.
Yeah, the footnotes were 100% an affectation, and one way or another they’re gonna change how much you enjoy the book. I found them delightful, but if I hadn’t loved them, I would’ve hated them. It took me awhile to get into the story; eventually, though, the pace picked up, and it remains one of my all-time favorite fantasies.
It didn’t work with Danielewski’s House of Leaves, though. 