Reading diary of larvapuppy
I will use this page to record my thoughts on the books that I read. I am by no means a professional book critic, so don't expect anything too in-depth or smart. I'm always looking for new book recommendations, so feel free to e-mail them to me!
| Favourite author | Ursula K. Le Guin |
| Favourite genres | Science fiction, fantasy, horror |
| Favourite series | The Dune Chronicles |
I have a backlog of articles/reviews to complete before this page's content can be considered "up to date"! Though the page was created 18/01/2024, I am including some reviews of books I read in the past so that the page isn't so empty. I may even reach further into my backlog of books to include reviews of old favourites.
Number read: 14 [original goal 25]
Number of non-fiction: 2
Most common genre: Science fiction & Fantasy
Lots of Le Guin.
I failed my reading challenge this year! Uh-oh. I blame school and work! I'm determined to do better next year!
I really liked reading the Book of the New Sun series last year, so I decided to pull the trigger and order this one as well. This book attempts to expand on some of the questions left unanswered in the main series. We get to open up the clock and check out some of the gears and springs- not always in the most satisfying way, mind you. What does it really mean for the New Sun to come? It’s weirder and more magical than you think! Are there androgynous horny space butterfly people in my area? Of course! Did we care about Apu Punchau that much? No, but there’s a whole section explaining him (I guess it was cool though)! What was Dorcas up to until now? Fuck if I know.
We get brought along on what is possibly Severian’s final adventure? There are more books set in this universe that I haven’t read yet, so I’m not sure if he shows up again in those, but I get the impression that he’s not the main focus at least. A seemingly infinitely large spaceship, one weird hairy guy, Severian making Gendo Ikari proud, tongueless making out, gruesome necromancy, and that one dream I have where I can swim underwater without needing air all happen. I joke, but the world of this series is seriously so weird and wonderful in such unexpected ways. The character of Severian is so solidly fleshed out by this point, and we really see everything through his eyes and biases in a way that makes for such an interesting story!
Gene just can’t stop cementing the fact that Severian is Jesus. Like, we should understand that in the first tetralogy, but if we didn’t get it then we *really* get it now. However, I think at the end of the day, I am not Catholic, and never will be educated enough on Catholic theology to fully understand or appreciate the Christian elements in Book of the New Sun or its sequels. And I am not smart enough to understand all of the regular themes either- it’s so dense. But I like reading analyses about them online! Anyway, it doesn’t mean that I didn’t enjoy the patchwork of science fiction concepts explored in the series, nor did it keep me from being hooked in to the wild ride that was Severian’s life.
I would recommend this book to anyone who has read the Book of the New Sun tetralogy and wants more! And you should!
My score: 4/5
Reading challenge status:
Book 14/25 for 2024
Review coming soon
My score: 4/5
Reading challenge status:
Book 13/25 for 2024
Review coming soon
My score: 4/5
Reading challenge status:
Book 12/25 for 2024
Review coming soon
My score: 5/5
Reading challenge status:
Book 11/25 for 2024
If my reading for this year so far has a theme, it’s definitely “feminist science fiction”. My library’s website recommended this book to me based on my borrowing history (LeGuin). It’s sarcastic and witty, satirizing typical sexist talking points, casual and institutional sexism, and the expectations and roles we force on women. Though it was written in the 1970s, sadly most of the messages still ring true almost 50 years after its original publication date.
The writing style is unique and took me a bit of time to get used to, but once I did it was plenty of fun. There is an interesting use of voice - Four Voices, or just One Voice, depending on how you look at it. All four main characters are technically the same person but from parallel universes, one is a point-blank self-insert with the same name as the author, and the perspective changes from section to section or even paragraph to paragraph. I learned not to worry too much about who was speaking; in the end it’s not a traditional plot-based story and more about the political satire you get to enjoy along the way.
I do feel the need to deduct a quarter-point due to some passages in the last section of the book that have a possibly transmisogynistic smell to them- they did take away from my enjoyment of the book. I’m not sure of Russ’s opinions on trans issues, so I tried to ignore it and finished the book. I may be able to make a more accurate assessment with further reading. Based on my experience with this book I’m planning on checking out some of Russ’s other work, namely “How To Suppress Women’s Writing” and some of her science fiction short stories.
My score: 4.75/5
Reading challenge status:
Book 10/25 for 2024
A collection of absolutely gorgeous science fiction short stories, many of which are tied in to LeGuin’s Hainish universe. My favourites were The Rock That Changed Things and Another Story or A Fisherman of the Inland Sea- the latter of which made me cry multiple times while reading.
In The Rock That Changed Things, LeGuin seems to ask: is there a correct way to interpret art? Who is allowed to tell stories about themselves, and is one group’s story more legitimate than another’s? Though the two groups in the story are divided along lines of caste rather than of gender, LeGuin presents a feminist message- the nurs are slaves, function as the society’s child-rearers, and despite constantly performing modesty are often victims of sexual violence; they labour to build up the story-sculptures of the obls and are not allowed to create their own canon. The nurs’ behaviour is looked upon as silly and their lives as inconsequential, allowing the obls to benefit from their free labour and spend their time philosophizing in their towers. I believe LeGuin referred to this story as a fable in her introduction, and it definitely reads like one. If I’d had the story read to me as a child, I would have most likely enjoyed it as a lesson on fairness and acceptance of different perspectives, though I wouldn’t have picked up on the political messaging.
Another Story is set in the universe of the Hainish Cycle, which I love. As someone who has a lot of regrets in life and has often wished for a second chance, this story hit hard and had me shedding more than a few tears. LeGuin’s alien settings are beautiful and her character-driven pieces are always deeply human. I’ll let potential readers experience the emotional beats of the story for themselves, without giving too much away. I highly recommend all of the Hainish stories and novels.
My score: 5/5
Reading challenge status:
Book 9/25 for 2024
Review coming soon
My score: 4.75/5
Reading challenge status:
Book 8/25 for 2024
Here we have a collection of Le Guin short stories about an individual who can travel between different alternate dimensions, called planes, when in the uncomfortable state of waiting for their next flight in an airport. See the pun? In the in-story universe, a woman named Sita Dulip has accidentally developed this method and shared it with a growing group of plane-shifting enthusiasts. Sita Dulip is however NOT the protagonist of the story, like the description on the back of the book would have you believe- this bothered me! You shouldn’t be allowed to write a synopsis for a book or even organize the cover illustration unless you’ve actually read it!
Ahem.
Ursula Le Guin’s father was an anthropologist, and cultural anthropology was one of her influences- both of these facts make the origin of the structure of this book very clear. Each story explores a different plane and the culture that inhabits it. There are sixteen stories altogether, serving as micro-vacations to each plane. The stories range in tone from funny, satirical, joyful, introspective, tragic, and disturbing. I enjoyed most of them immensely; my favourites were Porridge on Islac, Feeling at Home with the Hennebet, and Seasons of the Ansarac. There were one or two stories that I found less interest, but all are well-written.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in speculative fiction, enjoys books with political themes, likes learning about cultures other than your own(though the ones described in this book are fictional, the effect is similar), or who is a fan of Le Guin’s style and other works.
My score: 4/5
Reading challenge status:
Book 7/25 for 2024
This book starts in our species’s ancient past, then we fast forward to a near future where we have tentatively begun to venture out into the solar system. Finally, it details one man’s transcendence of his humanity.
Obviously the author’s important contributions to science fiction can’t be downplayed, but I think I just don’t vibe with his style as much as other classic sci-fi authors’. I find his characters all blend together, being basic men with Very Important Jobs but not very distinguishable personalities. I often get them mixed up while reading, though it doesn’t matter much; they’re kind of interchangeable and function mostly as a self-insert, without much introspection or internal character development. This can make for a boring read if the book’s plot doesn’t interest me, but that wasn’t an issue here.
The mysteries that are brought up are tantalizing, but little gets resolved concretely in the span of this novel- not always a bad thing, and there are sequels that likely expand upon them, but I’m not sure if I’m hooked enough to read them just yet. I’m sure I’ll pick them up someday.
I would recommend this book for anyone who, like me, wants to become more well-read in the genre of classic science fiction.
My score: 3.5/5
Reading challenge status:
Book 6/25 for 2024
This was a strange one for sure, but I genuinely enjoyed it! Lots of layers- a Christian galactic empire, an apocalyptic plague, weird alien sex, feminism, climbing monks, and horseback riding.
The story puts a magnifying glass up to male aggression and insecurity in two ways: the main character’s husband’s descent into madness is scrutinized; and similar themes of immaturity, power, and control are reflected in the actions of the Hippae (sexually violent psychic alien horses… yeah, I know). The Foxen (anthropomorphic alien fluff balls) seemed pretty cool, and I think it’s hilarious and awesome that the protagonist is a confirmed furry.
The story may seem a bit all over the place to some people but really the plot is solid and the themes are explored in interesting ways. It’s just the perfect blend of unique, uncomfortable and weird for me. It looks like there are two sequels; I’ve put them on my list to check out at a later date. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes unique science fiction and who can handle things that are a little unhinged on the surface.
My score: 4/5
Reading challenge status:
Book 5/25 for 2024
In this book, a psychologist discusses his interactions with his patients in a set of short stories. The stories are based on real encounters with the author’s patients, but any identifying information is omitted.
I enjoyed reading about his process for gently extracting details about a person’s life and emotions. Sometimes the psychologist would have to work slowly and for many, many sessions before he was able to understand his patient and begin to work through their issues with them. I greatly appreciate his careful approach, and wish that all psychologists took their jobs this seriously. Learning about all of these individuals, their different personalities and pasts, was oddly heartwarming - even though their stories were quite sad- thanks to the humanity and empathy displayed by the author, and the ways in which he was able to help them grow. We truly are all just people who want to fulfil our needs and desires.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in psychology, or who enjoys emotional, reflective stories.
My score: 4/5
Reading challenge status:
Book 4/25 for 2024
I like Patrick Stewart's acting, so I borrowed my mom's copy of this book out of curiosity (she has a big crush on him). I've never read a memoir before because I assume they are all boring, and I'm not interested in most celebrities. But I picked it up out of curiosity and ended up finishing it!
Patrick delves into his childhood and rise to fame in the first half or so of the book, then moves on to his acting career and romantic life in the second half. I really enjoyed reading about his early life; he grew up very poor but his talent, perserverence and positive attitude took him far. He paints a very clear picture of growing up in rural England in the 1940s and 50s. Our edition of the book had an insert featuring photos of Patrick throughout the different stages of his life, which made for a fun browse.
I found the second half a bit hard to get through; it was mostly a list of his acting jobs, and of his affairs. It seemed like a bit of a speedrun compared to the amount of time and care spent describing his early life. I can't really complain too much because it's his life, and I don't expect him to lie or embellish. I appreciate his honesty & don't expect him to disclose more than he wants to. It's just that the subject matter wasn't as interesting to me & I don't have much sympathy for people who cheat on their spouses. I still like him as an actor and think he's a generally good dude, but my opinion of him as a person is just slightly worse after reading about the affairs.
To recommend this book to you, I would say that it helps if you're a fan of Sir Stewart, or at least familiar with his work.
My score: 3.5/5
Reading challenge status:
Book 3/25 for 2024
As someone who's interested in horror and science fiction, I figured it was about time that I check out a bit of Lovecraft. I picked this book up new for $10 a few years ago but didn't read it until now. It collects a few of Lovecraft's stories relating to his most famous character, Cthulhu. The stories included are Dagon, The Call of Cthulhu, The Dunwich Horror, The Whisperer in Darkness, and The Haunter of the Dark.
Overall I enjoyed the book. I think the only major thing I disliked was the randomly sprinkled racist language that Lovecraft uses, though it was kind of a given considering what I've heard about him (guy was a major racist, in case you didn't know). One minor thing that I thought was funny was that Lovecraft uses the word Cyclopean at least once in each of the stories (I think?) in the compilation. I didn't know that Cyclopean meant "huge", so it just made me think of the mythical one-eyed creature. I also think it's funny that more than half of these stories are formatted as "some dude from academia comes across Cthulhu-related info and slowly gets more and more freaked out about it in his diary entries".
I know everyone considers The Call of Cthulhu a classic story, but I think my favourites from this compilation were The Dunwich Horror and The Whisperer in Darkness. The latter of the two especially had me on the edge of my seat with its suspense. I did find the main character to be a bit naïve in a way that seemed unrealistic, but it didn't keep me from enjoying the experience of the unfolding conspiracy.
My least favourite was probably The Haunter of the Dark. As the final story in the collection it made less of an impact on me after reading the other stories- it felt like it was a story on a smaller scale, being told about one guy's scary experience, if that makes sense. Compared to the other stories, where entire towns or larger groups of people are wrapped up in the horror, it fell a little flat.
Now, would I recommend this book? I'll hesitantly say yes- I wouldn't blame anyone if the author's racism made his works unreadable to them. Though distasteful to me, I can somewhat look past it for the love of horror & sci-fi, especially since the guy is dead and a lot of his work is in the public domain, so there's no way for him to profit off of me reading his stories. Plus, I wanted to know what all the fuss about Lovecraft's work was about. So if you're curious as well, and can stomach a few uncomfortable themes and passages, I'd say give it a shot. Other than the racism, the stories aren't too scary, but as a coward I did have trouble sleeping while reading this book.
The last few books have been more dour or depressing in tone, and this one was flat out scary, and I've been wanting to read something on the lighter side. So, next I'll be reading The Silmarillion by Tolkien, then most likely going on to re-read The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings series. Wish me luck! [Note from future Lith: I actually didn't end up finishing these in 2024... Maybe 2025?]
Reading challenge status:
Book 2/25 for 2024
I initially tried to read this book back in middle school (over 10 years ago), when I found it at my school library. I guess my attention span was weaker back then because I never managed to get past the first few chapters, even after trying it a second time. I recently found the book for $1 at my local public library's clear-out sale, and I was determined to get through it this time. And I did!
The main character is the subject of the famous oil painting of the same name, by Vermeer. In the book, she is named Griet, and is hired to work as maid in the painter's house. It was an interesting look at an imagined backstory for the painting. Much drama unfolds between Griet and the other members of the household, as well as her own family. Issues of class as well as women's issues are explored, along with Griet's romantic feelings for the fictionalized version of Vermeer.
The mood of the book is a bit depressing, but I didn't mind that too much. I liked reading about the everyday tasks of maids in 17th century Netherlands. Overall, I enjoyed the book, finding it an easy read. I would recommend this book for anyone interested in historical fiction or art history.
My score: 3.5/5
Reading challenge status:
Book 1/25 for 2024
Number read: 24 [original goal 20]
Number of non-fiction: 2
Most common genre: Fantasy
I was on a monster kick. Dystopian fiction and Le Guin were unavoidable for me, of course.
I'm happy with the amount & variety of books I read! Enjoyable stuff all around! Those Charlaine Harris ones were just so easy to get through.
If you want to be shocked & disturbed, this is the book for you (in a positive way).
So, this book is about a dystopian alternate universe where animal meat has become dangerous to eat. In response, we did the obvious thing and implemented human meat farms to supplement our protein. I mean, who wouldn't, right. Of course it's very political; the vegans are nodding their heads over in the corner, and other topics like feminism and homelessness are alluded to in the book as well. Full disclosure, there is a chapter that goes into graphic detail about a human being killed and processed as livestock in a factory, so watch out for that.
The protagonist is very unlikeable, and the content is graphic, but it was so intriguing to explore the book's twisted world. There's real desperation among the characters which leads them to do some crazy stuff. You can see how the in-story society's morals are breaking down. I was so glued to the book that I finished it in an afternoon, and I'm normally a fairly slow reader who takes at least a few days to finish a book.
Overall I liked the writing style and the plot; I found the book quite thrilling. The ending made my jaw drop, so I won't go into much detail; you should experience it for yourself if you decide to read. However, I suggest you look up content warnings for this book, because human gore and cannibalism are not the only ones to watch out for.
My score: 4.25/5