(no subject)

One thing I'm having to remind myself of lately is that I very much enjoy Dreamwidth as a social media platform but am not much like a lot of the people who find this format useful! I don't make lists, or follow routines, or write out all my goals for the year or set myself homework. I very much admire people who do! But I was getting a bit--but why don't I go swimming three times a week/read all the Hugo nominees/make spreadsheets about the recipes I tried/save all my tabs/etc?

Because I am not remotely that sort of person, that's why, and that's fine. I do log the books I read in a year, and otherwise have not followed a routine or done things in a set order since 2005, and that really is fine.

On a sort of similar note, I've been wondering about cross-posting my Goodreads reviews here just so I have a better way of keeping them together than... well, than Goodrads. I read a lot of romance and women's fiction as we know, plus a significant slice of SFF, detective fiction, poetry and a very little non-fiction. (I try not to read depressing non-fiction, which limits me to some pop science and pop engineering, some twentieth/twenty-first century history, and the odd memoir. History, politics and climate change being closed off to you does sort of limit your participation in the genre.) I don't read anything ever described as literary fiction, or horror, and I don't read books by men (I mean, not very much; I'm sometimes persuaded). I always used to like to think I read widely! I mean, I probably do compared to some and not at all compared to others.

Anyway, I may post them, because I think I am funny (sometimes). The last books I read were a Sophie Ranald romance, Out With The Ex In With The New (fun but clearly her early work), When The Tiger Came Down The Mountain (the second Singing Hills book by Nghi Vo, I've just discovered this series and just love it, love it, could eat every word like candy) and right now it's These Burning Stars (space opera by Bethany Jacobs), and another Ranald. My next after these is either The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty (I liked The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi, the fantasy pirate book, so much that I've decided to check out the author's back catalogue) or it's a reread of Ancillary Justice, which oddly I had as an ARC and haven't reread since. And poetry is an ongoing thing, for me, I've got one Brian Bilston book and also the collected works of Kathleen Jamie on the side table to dip into before bed.

(Kathleen Jamie! Maybe my most favourite poet, in moods and lights. Other than all the others who are my favourite poets.) Speaking of going to bed, which I hate these days for reasons.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Posted by

kass

I'm not on goodreads, but I suspect I would enjoy seeing what you are reading, fwiw.

Posted by

sixbeforelunch

Seconding this

Posted by

princessofgeeks

OMG I am so unorganized.

I don't keep track of stuff or give myself homework either.

*fistbump*

Posted by

musesfool

I am also not good at doing that sort of tracking! And you should totally post your book reviews here. I liked When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain, but I really, really liked The Empress of Salt and Fortune.

I also really enjoyed Chakraborty's Daevabad trilogy so I'd be interested in hearing what you think of it. (I have the pirate book on my list but haven't gotten to it yet.)

Posted by

raven

Same! I thought Salt and Fortune was the best book I'd read in years, and enjoyed the tiger book but without the blown-away feeling. I will report back on City of Brass!

Posted by

asakiyume

I wonder if I follow you on Goodreads? I'll have to check! I would love to hear your thoughts on all those books! (I realize you're musing here because you're thinking of posting here, but since you might not....)

Posted by

raven

You do now! And I think I'm going to do it, at least for a bit.

Posted by

asakiyume

Yes indeed! And I loved the reviews I first looked at. Also the review of my own book (thank you!) but I didn't put a thumbs up on that because I maintain the fiction of letting people review unencumbered by the anxious author ;-)

Posted by

raven

I really must read your other book! I enjoyed the first so much.

Posted by

lamentables

I have spent a career being organised and keeping other people organised, so my non-work life is anything but. I haven't even logged my reading for the past few years, but started again in January because illness and retirement mean I'm doing so much more of it and I'd lost track of what was read/tbr.
I have been thinking that talking about what I'm reading might be a way back into posting.
I also really enjoyed the fantasy pirate book and have The City of Brass lined up to read in the near future.

Posted by

raven

I think it's really easy to forget sometimes - I mean, I do - that it's not obligatory, and you can give it up or never do it or whatever. Which isn't to say I don't enjoy seeing what you're reading. <3

Posted by

msilverstar

I would love to read your book reviews, might jog me into reading books again instead of just fanfic and work.

Posted by

cmcmck

If I could only choose one poet I'd struggle between Hopkins and Housman.

Edited on 2024-05-18 11:52 am (UTC)

Posted by

raven

As someone who doesn't read books by men, I have to say I haven't read either 😂

Posted by

philomytha

I would love to read your book reviews! I don't use DW in a systematic way either, and yes, I also sometimes get that feeling of why am I not the sort of person who keeps an organised list of books or anything else, but I'm not - my own book reviews are very haphazard. But I'd especially love your reviews for women's fiction and poetry, both genres I enjoy when I pick up but don't pick up that often.

Posted by

raven

I like your book/tv/film reviews very much, when you post them - I know more about WW2 than i did before you fell headlong into Biggles fandom!

(ps. if it's an option for you at some point, I am pretty sure you'd love Operation Mincemeat, the musical. I think you must know the story, but it is just such an incredible rendering of it.)

Posted by

philomytha

Oh yes,

black_bentley was also reccing that to me on the strength of having been to see it several times, but I couldn't get tickets for when we were up in London... perhaps they'll take it on tour soon.

Posted by

toft

I would enjoy your reviews/posts about books!

Posted by

nnozomi

I'd enjoy reading your book reviews here. (Also I am so with you about not reading depressing non-fiction.)

I very much enjoy Dreamwidth as a social media platform but am not much like a lot of the people who find this format useful!
I always think of Dreamwidth as a kind of updated decentralized version of Mass-Observation, which leaves a lot of room for variations.

Posted by

raven

I'm very fond of the idea of Mass Observation, while finding it rather intimidating in practice! But it's a good comparison.

Posted by

pauraque

I would be very interested in your Goodreads reviews!

I'm very much one of those people with the lists and routines and spreadsheets, and I hadn't thought about that as being a thing that's common to a lot of people on DW, but I think you're right that it is. Part of what I don't like about algorithm-based social media is that it isn't in order. I don't want to see a bunch of random stuff, I want to see everything in a chronological list.

Posted by

raven

I agree - I think you can force a lot of social media to be in date order, but by no means all. Mostly, though, I like dw because it's long-form and asynchronous, and you actually get to know people. Lists are part of that I guess!

Posted by

dolorosa_12

For what it's worth, I would very much enjoy reading cross-posted Goodreads reviews, because (other than day-to-day life stuff), book reviews are my favourite thing to read on Dreamwidth.

Posted by

raven

Me too really! I'm going to do it.

Posted by

chestnut_pod

Aren't the Singing Hills books just the best? I would read as many as Nghi Vo ever felt like writing, just infinite popcorn novellas in that world! Tiger is one of my favorites; it has my favorite diegetic folktales of the lot. Empress still has to be the one I think is "best," for the beautiful intricacy of the plot and the simply gorgeous sense of place. Rabbit, Empress Mother of my heart! Chih doesn't get to be as much of a character as in latter installments, though, for which I most like book 4. Honestly, the only one I haven't cared for much was book 3, and even that was a good time. Very much looking forward to the one that was just released this last Tuesday.

And to the point, I'd certainly be interested to see your reviews posted here; I like your book thoughts when I do see them.

(And… I have to admit your opening paragraph reminded me that I have a detailed spreadsheet about heirloom bean varieties that I meant to share on DW but never did. You pinned me like a butterfly.)

Posted by

raven

Heirloom bean varieties! God tier. 😂 I agree so hard about Nghi Vo - I cannot believe I let them pass me by until now.

Posted by

rmc28

I would love to read your book reviews and I am probably never going to get signed up on Goodreads to do so there, so consider this another vote for crossposting :-)

Posted by

raven

Hee, duly noted!

Posted by

lovelythings

I would love to read your reviews! I enjoyed These Burning Stars.

Posted by

raven

I think I will post them!

Posted by

scribe

I love friends' book reviews on Dreamwidth, it's where I get a good portion of my own to-read list from these days! For my own two cents, I found City of Brass to have quite a slow start, but I absolutely loved it (and the rest of the series) once it got going. And aren't the Singing Hills books fabulous?