M. N. Reading - 2025

[muggle not]

1.  Tooth and Claw - Craig Johnson - 3/5 : Not one of his better books. one of the Longmire Series books but before he was Sheriff. 

takes place in the Arctic and the main plot is an oversized Polar Bear that is a stalker and killer.

 

I am starting to read The Left Hand of Darkness written by the Legendary Ursula K. Le Quin. I am looking forward to reading this book. 

Edited January 24 by muggle not

[muggle not]

2. The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Quin - 5/5  - I will re-read this book sometime in the near future as there is much understanding to be gained from Le Quin's writing in the book

 

 

I have this book ( JAMES ) on hold at the library and hope to get it soon, comments from Amazon:

 

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER• NATIONAL BOOK AWARD WINNER • A brilliant, action-packed reimagining of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, both harrowing and darkly humorous, told from the enslaved Jim's point of view

NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD FINALIST • ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW'S 10 BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR • SHORTLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE • KIRKUS PRIZE WINNER

In development as a feature film to be produced by Steven Spielberg •  A Best Book of the Year: The New York Times Book Review, LA Times, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The Economist, TIME, and more.

"Genius"—The Atlantic • "A masterpiece that will help redefine one of the classics of American literature, while also being a major achievement on its own."—Chicago Tribune • "A provocative, enlightening literary work of art."—The Boston Globe • "Everett’s most thrilling novel, but also his most soulful."—The New York Times

When the enslaved Jim overhears that he is about to be sold to a man in New Orleans, separated from his wife and daughter forever, he decides to hide on nearby Jackson Island until he can formulate a plan. Meanwhile, Huck Finn has faked his own death to escape his violent father, recently returned to town. As all readers of American literature know, thus begins the dangerous and transcendent journey by raft down the Mississippi River toward the elusive and too-often-unreliable promise of the Free States and beyond.

 

 

Edited January 30 by muggle not

[muggle not]

1. Tooth and Claw - Craig Johnson - 3/5

2. The left hand of Darkness - Ursula K. Le Quin - 5/5

3. To Die For - David Baldacci - 4/5

[muggle not]

On 2/2/2025 at 8:46 PM, muggle not said:

1. Tooth and Claw - Craig Johnson - 3/5

2. The left hand of Darkness - Ursula K. Le Quin - 5/5

3. To Die For - David Baldacci - 4/5

4. All the Colors of the Dark - Chris Whitman - 4.5/5 - excellent book. The last 70 pages or so I could not put the book down and it was probably one of the better endings that I have read for many years.

[France]

On 2/9/2025 at 12:54 AM, muggle not said:

4. All the Colors of the Dark - Chris Whitman - 4.5/5 - excellent book. The last 70 pages or so I could not put the book down and it was probably one of the better endings that I have read for many years.

I agree. It's rare to find a book with a genuinely unputdownable ending, that was ne of them.

[muggle not]

5. James - Percival Everett - 4/5 - A re-telling of Huckleberry Finn from the perspective of Jim. Good story and writing with some interesting insights. There is one big surprise in the book. However, the ending was not quite as good as i thought it should have been, seems like they "dropped Huckleberry" from the writing.

6. - Onyx - Rebecca Yarrros - 4.5/5 - A continuation of books 1 & 2. I continue to find this Series to be very good reading. Love the interaction by the Dragons. Yarrros though continues to spend way too much writing of sex in the book. I find myself skipping over those lengthy pages.

Edited May 9 by muggle not

[France]

3 hours ago, muggle not said:

. Yarrros though continues to spend way too much writing of sex in the book. I find myself skipping over those lengthy pages.

Me too!

[muggle not]

On 5/9/2025 at 10:05 AM, muggle not said:

5. James - Percival Everett - 4/5 - A re-telling of Huckleberry Finn from the perspective of Jim. Good story and writing with some interesting insights. There is one big surprise in the book. However, the ending was not quite as good as i thought it should have been, seems like they "dropped Huckleberry" from the writing.

6. - Onyx - Rebecca Yarrros - 4.5/5 - A continuation of books 1 & 2. I continue to find this Series to be very good reading. Love the interaction by the Dragons. Yarrros though continues to spend way too much writing of sex in the book. I find myself skipping over those lengthy pages.

It seems as though I may have underestimated the writing in the book "James" as I see in this Sunday's newspaper that it won the Pullitzer prize for fiction:

 

‘James’ wins the 2025 Pulitzer Prize in fiction - The Washington Post

‘James’ wins the Pulitzer Prize for fiction

Percival Everett’s novel was honored at the 2025 awards, along with other books in the categories of fiction, general nonfiction, memoir, poetry, history and biography.

[lunababymoonchild]

Just because the book won a prize doesn’t mean that you are obliged to like it, it simply won a prize. Reading is totally subjective, I have no idea how these prizes are judged but it’s how the book and it’s prose and story make you feel as a reader that’s important not the winning of a prize. And you’re allowed to disagree with those who judged the book prize-worthy, that’s your privilege as a reader 🙂