What I Just Finished Reading

Trees vol. 1 – Warren Ellis
The eight issues collected in this volume eventually came together better than I'd expected them to, and I will progress at some point to volume 2. Some of Ellis' social commentary grates, but overall, he's one of the more incisive authors in the medium in this regard and that's the case here.


What I Am Currently Reading

The Strangler Vine – M.J. Carter 
Some of my favorite scenes in the last 100 pages are coming up, and I'm slowing down to try to get to them over the weekend.

Western Power in Asia – Arthur Cotterell
I've moved on to the conquest of Malacca and the Acehnese uprising in response. It's good stuff; I'd had no idea Aceh was such a powerhouse back in the day.

Myth-Making and Religious Extremism and Their Roots in Crises – Arthur Neal & Helen Youngelson-Neal
This week's chapter focused on why people enter and become disillusioned with organized religious groups. Neal and Youngelson-Neal don't offer any insight beyond the readily apparent, but they did reference several other scholars whose work I will probably look into.

A Darker Shade of Magic – V.E. Schwab
A third of the way through, it possesses many of the elements I love – world-hopping, blood magic, alternate Londons, hints of pirates to come – but it all leaves me cold. The characters feel like paper dolls more than people. At least it reads quickly.

Indonesian: A Comprehensive Grammar – James Sneddon, K. Alexander Adelaar, Dwi Djenar
This week's sections revolved around ber- and men- verb conjugations. I considered myself solid on this topic already, but Sneddon et al. added a great deal more to my understanding.

Sang Alkemis – Paulo Coelho
It doesn't get any less smarmy in Indonesian. Still, I forge on.

禅、シンプル生活のすすめ – 枡野俊明 (Zen, Shimpuru Seikatsu no Susume – Masuno Shunmyo)
I first read this over six years ago and found it pleasant, if not particularly memorable. Last November, another volume I'd picked up in BookOff and was very much enjoying struck me as familiar – it was also by Masuno. As I liked the latter one so much I thought I'd revisit this and see if my opinions have changed with the passage of time. I'm doing a chapter a night before going to bed. So far, so good.


What I'm Reading Next

The Game of Kings – Dorothy Dunnett
I'm more in the mood for historical fantasy than straight historical fiction, and will probably pout for a bit because Pascat's so recently spoiled me with a slashy version of the former. But it comes recommended and has lots of stars on LT.

これで以上です。
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