What I'm Reading Now

When I’m not writing, or wasting my time on social media, I’m reading. I’ve been a voracious reader since I was a child. I spent more time reading than I did playing with my siblings or my few friends. I would take books to school and hide them under my desk to read during lectures. I would read in the car, on the bus, anywhere I was sitting for more than a minute at a time. This lasted through college, when I would read during cross country road trips, book propped up on the steering wheel as I cruised down the interstate. I’m not saying that was necessarily a good decision, but it’s indicative of how devoted to reading I have always been.

These days, I read only when I’m not actively working on writing or editing a book, as when I’m writing, all my free time goes to the book. I’m currently in between writing projects, so at the moment I’m reading several things, all of which I want to tell you about.

What I’m Reading Online

I discovered online fiction a few years ago, and have embraced the medium as a fantastic addition to the literary world. There are fan fictions, web comics, web serials, all fabulous mediums for conveying a story.

I am currently rereading a web serial by an author who goes by Wildbow. I have read much of his online work, and I am frankly astounded that he is able to crank out such sprawling epics publishing once or twice a week for years on end. The serial I’m currently reading is titled Ward, and it is the story of a superheroine dealing with the fallout after the destruction of the multiverse at the hands of a nearly omnipotent being.

Ward is a sequel to the serial Worm. I love Worm. I have probably read it a half dozen times. It’s the reason I discovered Wildbow in the first place. Worm deals with power and compromises and control, focused on a supervillain turned heroine and her various teams and relationships as the world ends around them. Worm is spectacular.

Ward is less dynamic, more focused on trauma and recovery, which doesn’t quite reach me in the same way. Wildbow himself has indicated he doesn’t think Ward hits quite the same way as Worm, but the incredibly creative way he utilizes a ridiculously broad range of superpowers is consistent across the two works, and worth the read by itself.

A word of caution: both Worm and Ward are LONG. I think Wildbow said each amounted to something like a dozen books. As someone who loves long works, loves getting to spend so much time with characters I get to know more deeply, this is a huge selling point for me, but it could be a bit of a commitment for others.

Additionally, while the sex and language are relatively scarce, there is much and even graphic violence throughout these two web serials. Not intended for younger audiences.

What I’m Reading in the Flesh

A good friend of mine has been bugging me to read a book he said is his favorite fantasy ever, so I finally broke down and borrowed it from the library. That book is Black Leopard, Red Wolf, first book of the Dark Star Trilogy, by Jamaican author Marlon James.

Let me just say, this book is an absolute trip. It is unlike anything I’ve ever read before. It is an African fantasy steeped in African lore and cultural mythos. The narrator strikes me as untrustworthy, partially due to the Anansi-style traditional narration, but also due to the plot being narrated through a series of non-chronological flashbacks. The whole story, the narrator, the events, the relationships, everything is fluid and almost ephemeral.

The book is the account of the narrator, a man named Tracker, while he is in prison after the events of the narration. Tracker has the ability to find anyone once he has smelled them, alive or in the lands of the dead. He leaves an abusive home, and his name, behind and sets out to return to his roots, finding family, friends, lovers, and enemies on the way.

Genrally, I binge books, frequently devouring an entire book in a single sitting. This book challenges me. It is not an easy book to run through, forcing me to slow down let the book take me down the vibrant, curving road of its journey. I can’t wait to see where it goes.

What I’m Listening to

I try to go for walks when weather and my schedule allow, and while I walk, I listen to audiobooks. I don’t generally go for audiobooks, when just sitting around, as I can read something like four times as fast as I can listen to a narration, but when I’m walking, I enjoy letting a book happen to me.

I just finished the first book in one of my favorite duologies, Under Heaven, by Guy Gavriel Kay, one of my favorite authors. Under Heaven takes place in a narrowly fictional Tang dynasty in China, leading up to and during the An Lushan rebellion. It is beautiful.

The second book in the duology is called A River of Stars, and it takes place several hundred years later, after China has surrendered much territory to northern steppe riders and lost the fabled Silk Roads. A small steppe tribe overthrows the northern empire and comes flooding into China, where one military leader succeeds in driving them back. He is on the verge of retaking the lost Chinese lands when politics intervenes.

Honestly, read absolutely any Guy Gavriel Kay you can get your hands on. His lyrical, almost poetic prose is reason enough, but his compelling characters and his trenchant grasp of significant moments in history are just as valid reasons.

PS - each picture links to where you can find the material. Non-affiliate links for Amazon.