Depressingly, it is already the middle of January and I have not done half the things I told myself I was going to… except for conquering December’s to read pile.
In January, my reading pile continues the works in translation kick.
All these books have been sitting on my shelf for… awhile, even the one you can’t see because it’s an ebook.*
Once again, I have promised myself that I can’t buy any new books until I have decimated this pile. Once again I swear, I really truly do, that I’ll stick to it – holds up three fingers in a Girl Scout salute. Promise**.
On the pile:
A Hero Born by Jin Yong
I like danmei, I really do, but sometimes I’d like to read other stuff as well… which is why I bought A Hero Born. Also it’s a classic (which is usually a turn off for me, but I guess no one is telling me I have to read it this time so… 🤷).
I started reading it and… it’s very telly, and we all know how much I dislike telly books. Still, I’m gonna give it another go,
Wish me luck (or simply non-telly books, that’d be cool).
The Night Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko
Yonks ago, I saw the movie (at the theatre, with subtitles) and loved it. The movie was a dark, crazy, imaginative ride and I wanted more. I watched the sequel when it came out (not as good) and finally added the book to my collection (during my last works in translation kick) and it’s been sitting there ever since.
The Stranger by Max Frei
The Stranger sounded really good when I bought it, a kind of dark Russian version of The Dresden Files but the first couple of pages didn’t catch me so… that’s as far as I got.
I’m gonna give it another go, see if it improves on second reading and if not… There are plenty more books on the shelf.
The book you can’t see…
The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski
This has been sitting on my ereader for ages. I started reading it at some point (because Henry Cavil) and put it down again because I didn’t like the writing… or something, I don’t know what it was.
I picked it up again the other day though and… I must have been on something the first time I read it because the writing’s great!
Last but not least, the big, chonking elephant at the bottom of the stack…
The Legend of Empress Fuyao by Tian Xiaguiyuan
This one is not a translation but the original work in the original language (Chinese). It’s my aspirational book, the one I’m going to read at some point in the near-ish future, when I finally graduate from reading Chinese kids books***.
The Legend of Empress Fuyao is a historical martial arts fantasy (or wuxia) about a young woman who kicks butt and takes names, all the way from her origins as a maidservant to Empress. It’s meant to be one of the best female-led stories in the genre (as far as I’m aware, so take that with a large grain of salt), which is my catnip.
Like most of the other books on this pile, I saw the TV show first 🤪 It also rocks. You should track it down and binge that sucker.
FYI Fuyao is not actually on my to read list just yet because… well… I can’t actually read it with my kindergarten Chinese.
Hit reply and tell me what you’re reading!
*Ereaders do not make for pretty pictures, not that anyone’s going to be framing my shelfies any time soon.
**That Xmas book haul totally was not cheating; I didn’t buy the books, my Secret Santas did.
***That could take awhile…