So, I was without a decent computer for a few months, hence my total lack of anything resembling any sort of an update about anything.

I thought I’d just do a little “roundup” of all the books we read while I was computer-less, rather than trying to do full post and backdate them or whatever.

So yeah, without further ado…

December: All Systems Red by Martha Wells

This novella, first in the Murderbot Diaries, was our December pick mostly due to it being reasonably short and that month being stupid busy.

I have to say, I felt a kinship with Murderbot upon initially meeting them.

I too know what it’s like to want to sit in my room and watch my shows and have everyone leave me alone because trying to act in a way that resembles normal is tiresome… I understand you, Murderbot.

Now, Murderbot isn’t given a gender here, but for some reason I coded them as female. I don’t really know why, other than I could see myself in them. Or maybe it was just kind of cool to think of them being all badass and also being female? I don’t know. The other ladies in the group were mixed, some read Murderbot as female and others as male.

I saw a on Twitter that V.E. Schwab coded them female too, so I feel marginally better that it wasn’t just me.

Anyway, good book, would like to read the rest of the series.

 

January: The Lies of Locke Lamont by Scott Lynch

Book one of The Gentlemen Bastards series

I do love a good heist story. This was more of a long con story, with some little heists mixed in, set in some weird-ass fantasy version of Venice. It eventually becomes a good story, but it took a while to get there.

Also, it’s was almost entirely dudes. Like, there’s two pretty badass women, but the one is just her husband’s wife, even though she’s an alchemical botanist or something (we don’t see her in her lab, ever), and the other one doesn’t show up until the third act, even though she basically runs the whole damn city as The Spider.

There are, of course, other women, but they serve little purpose beyond furthering the men’s plots. Even worse is that there is, or was, a girl in this gang, but she is only mentioned and never shown… apparently she doesn’t show up until the THIRD DAMN BOOK!

But aside from all that, I did wind up liking the book and am willing to read the rest of the series… I’ve been told there’s a badass pirate mom in the second book.

 

February: The Woodcutter by Lorn Wolf.

Soooooo, I didn’t actually read this book.

I figured I’m allowed to skip at least one book per book club year and I picked this one.

Don’t worry, Septa Unella will ring me out…

But at any rate, this will hopefully be the only time I do this “roundup” style and I get back into posting on the regular.

The March read is Binti by Nnedi Okorafor, another novella so everyone should be able to finish.

Until next time…

-A.