There are cockroaches in Mexico big enough to own property.

Cordelia ,'Lessons'


Literary Buffistas 3: Don't Parse the Blurb, Dear.

There's more to life than watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer! No. Really, there is! Honestly! Here's a place for Buffistas to come and discuss what it is they're reading, their favorite authors and poets. "Geez. Crack a book sometime."


Pix - Feb 20, 2023 9:34:27 am PST #27567 of 27939
We're all getting played with, babe. -Weird Barbie

Princess Bride vibes with a woman with much more agency? Yes, please. "Tress and the Emerald Sea" by Brandon Sanderson (a secret project he wrote for his wife). Loved it.


amyparker - Feb 20, 2023 1:44:36 pm PST #27568 of 27939
In the end it's only ever been one step, and then the next.

a loaned copy of Le Guin's Always Coming Home which I must read and return before its owner thinks I've absconded with it for good

The owner knows where you live and has two other copies, you're fine. I will tell you that until you believe me. :-D


Steph L. - Feb 20, 2023 4:43:59 pm PST #27569 of 27939
Apparently if you're enough of a power nerd, there is nothing that cannot be flowcharted.

In my continuing meander through dark academia, yesterday I finished If We Were Villains. And yes, it is a lot a lot A LOT like The Secret History, not just thematically, but in terms of character beats and certain plot elements. Even so, I really liked it.

I think the next dark academia book I read will be Bunny, by Mona Awad. While I wait for that at the library, I have A Restless Truth, the second book in the series that started with A Marvellous Light, by Freya Marske.


Beverly - Feb 21, 2023 1:09:57 am PST #27570 of 27939
Days shrink and grow cold, sunlight through leaves is my song. Winter is long.

Jess, I'm so excited about the new book--the collection of shorts, right? Ratcatcher's Daughter is in that, and other delicious things only available on Kindle which I've not read.

Thank you Parker. I'll try to feel less guilt. (sheepish smile)


Toddson - Feb 21, 2023 5:37:05 am PST #27571 of 27939
Friends don't let friends read "Atlas Shrugged"

I can vouch for The Alice Network - I read it and enjoyed it a lot (although there were parts that made me wince). I've read most of Kate Quinn's WWII books and recently started her Diamond Eye. She also wrote The Rose Code, about three women working as code breakers at Bletchley Park.

edited because they make me WINCE


Jessica - Feb 21, 2023 8:22:59 am PST #27572 of 27939
If I want to become a cloud of bats, does each bat need a separate vaccination?

Jess, I'm so excited about the new book--the collection of shorts, right?

I forgot about the shorts (title by our own Fay!) - I was talking about Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen


Beverly - Feb 21, 2023 12:31:43 pm PST #27573 of 27939
Days shrink and grow cold, sunlight through leaves is my song. Winter is long.

Oh yes, that too! A (wrote surfeit, which is untrue) plethora of riches!

It's been years since I read them but I loved Helen McInnes' WWII spy novels. I don't know if they'd hold up today, but if you like WWII spy books, and if you can find them, you might give them a try.


Cashmere - Feb 24, 2023 7:10:19 pm PST #27574 of 27939
Now tagless for your comfort.

I can't wait for The Secret Life of Country Gentlemen! That will be part of a duology!

I'm almost done with Lavender House by AC Rosen and I still don't know who did it!! (It's a new, historical, queer noir mystery.


-t - Feb 25, 2023 4:45:38 pm PST #27575 of 27939
I am a woman of various inclinations and only some of the time are they to burn everything down in frustration

Pix, I have seen the name Brandon Sanderson bandied about but I haven’t been able to tell if he’s someone I want to read or not. The references always seem to be more about his fan base than books. Would this Tress be a good one to try out or is there a more or less standard beginning book I should jump back to?


Pix - Feb 25, 2023 5:41:29 pm PST #27576 of 27939
We're all getting played with, babe. -Weird Barbie

I like almost all of his work, honestly. Tress is completely different than his "normal" stuff, but it's a lovely piece. I absolutely recommend it.

If you want to try one of his series, I recommend starting at the beginning of the Mistborn series with "The Final Empire." Alternatively, start the Stormlight series with "The Way of Kings." Both excellent.

But read Tress regardless.