This is why real print and paper books matter. Their materiality tells parallel stories about the people who owned and loved them, and how they related to the ideas in the books.
My second book for AANHPI Heritage Month is The Fortunes of Jaded Women by Carolyn Huynh.
Partial synopsis from the inside book jacket: “Everyone in Orange County’s Little Saigon knew that the Dương sisters were cursed.
It started with their ancestor Oanh, who dared to leave her marriage for true love. So a fearsome Vietnamese witch cursed Oanh and her descendants so that they would never know love or happiness, and the Dương women would give birth to daughters, never sons.
A multinarrative novel brimming with levity and candor, The Fortunes of Jaded Women is about mourning, meddling, celebrating, and healing together as a family. It shows how Vietnamese women emerge victorious, even if the world is against them.”
Artist compiles 1,984 copies of Orwell’s 1984 on the small island where he wrote it, commemorating 75 years of publication.
That this story is timeless tells us something about our world.
Via @guardian @bookstodon#bookstodon#books#reading#fascism
Just went to The Bookshop on the Heath, which was a location not once but twice for separate episodes of Spooks. Bought this, seeing it's all the rage... 😏📚📖 #books#bookstodon@bookstodon
I'm a big fan of Isabel Waidner and have read all of her #novels (which makes them the only contemporary writer I've read ALL the books ;). This is my take on their latest novel: Corey Fa Does Social Mobility.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ #literature#queer#lgbtqia#reading@bookstodon
This book was absolutely unhinged. That’s the best way I can describe it. The main character was unhinged, the way the book took a turn and nearly became a horror novel was unhinged. The way it ended was unhinged. I was getting so enraged at the main character’s behavior that I was live reacting as I read in a mutual’s DMs who had just finished reading the book the week prior.
Would I read this book again? Probably. Not anytime in the near future though. Aside from the insane plot line, this book touched on themes like interpersonal racism, discrimination, identity and authenticity, representation, cultural appropriation, and cancel culture.
@alexisbushnell@infinitesoleil@bookstodon Coincidentally
A tech report just got covered on slashdot: there's a known bug with propagation of links with images causing temporary transfer overloads, especially on smaller servers. The lag symptom I saw is not mentioned, but I wonder if it might be related.
Full disclosure: I know Alex Cochran. But that’s not why I was so knocked out by this book. ‘The Pollutant Speaks’ is a beautifully written exploration of themes I’m already obsessive about: social justice, the philosophy of language, aliens, big spaceships…
I need some new science fiction to read, who has some suggestions? I don't like military sci-fi. For reference, my favorite series is the Expanse, I also enjoyed Scalzi's Collapsing Empire, I love Robert Charles Wilson's books. I mostly enjoy space operas and unique stories about technology, for example I really liked the recent book Mountain in the Sea about AI and intelligent octopus. Suggestions from the awesome Bookstodon community? @bookstodon#Bookstodon#Scifi#ScienceFiction
Somewhat meh set of April reads, though The Night Tiger and The Hunter were definitely high points. Some fun romances by Alexis Hall and Cat Sebastian too.
can someone please explain to me why some books do that thing where the cover doesn't go all the way to the edge? like, the cover has a half-inch strip missing to expose the page underneath (usually the page underneath has quotes or whatever).
@raccoonformality@bookstodon It's called a "stepback cover". It was often used with Romance novels where behind the cover is a sexier image. I guess it's a marketing tactic to invite the person browsing the book display to open the cover to see underneath?