The Brothers Karamazov is the 2nd most abused book on my bookshelf. All the highlighted quotes, all the dog-eared pages, all the everything. It is soooo good (and absolutely f'ckin metal). And to think, the only reason I picked it up in the first place is b/c of William Shatner (who played Alyosha in the 1958 film, which I absolutely cannot recommend). I tried reading a lot more Dostoevsky after it and nothing quite hit the same. Still chasing that high.

this but crime and punishment for me. i think about it always, i constantly reference it in my writing,,, russian classical lit is built different fr

Mind if I ask which translation you worked through? Super curious! I started with Pevear&Volokhonsky but found it very hard to read, moved to Ignat Avsey and it’s been incredible, a totally different experience. I pair it with McDuff’s audiobook and it’s been great fun as well.

Also, the poster for the 1958 film on Letterboxd is absolutely hilarious to me, I’ve considered putting it on for fun…Alyosha is very bald. Is that him on the poster??? On the other hand, I watched the first 15 mins of the 1968 Soviet adaptation and was deeply mesmerized by Mitya’s outburst at the church. Interesting directorial decisions.

I also have this feeling that I won’t like Dostoevsky’s other work very much. I loved C&P in high school—but I don’t know if I can see myself revisiting that book again. It was a lot. Honestly, it was like if we just had Mitya’s POV but for all 800+ pages of The Brother’s Karamazov…and I love Mitya, even though I know he’s a very pathetic man, but he’s...a lot! Just cleared book 8 with him and it was Dostoevsky in his absolute element—a dire man, who was perhaps good at one point in his life, now in dire straits, on the brink of a mental break. He does a good job of illustrating that chaos—my vague recollection of C&P was that it was full of that emotion—but by the time I finished Book 8 I was like. Yeah. That’s enough Mitya for now, thank god that’s over.

TBK is helped by its really big and varied cast—all of whom I think Dostoevsky does very well at exploring in extraordinary depth, as well as keeping their characterizations very consistent. It’s like a very deconstructed soap opera. In the way that Twin Peaks was both a soap opera and a self-aware soap opera, TBK gives that soap opera vibe of unbelievable theatrics + drama tempered with philosophical, solopsistic monologues as well as this vague sense that every character seems…aware of what their ending will look like. I have so many thoughts on this book! Glad to see a few of us have read it as well.

I wish that it wasn’t presented as “the best novel in the world” or something to be intimidated by…TBK hasn’t been intimidating at all, is actually a much easier read than my last read from Umberto Eco, and I’ve really liked it! I also like learning that it was serialized in a newspaper or magazine of some sort? It definitely feels like I’m tuning into “this week’s episode on the Brother’s Karamzov” with every chapter, hahah!

In other news—started Vincent Bevins’ The Jakarta Method. Chapter 1 was absolutely bleak. The audiobook version helps move it along, since it has so much information—might stick to the audiobook for most of my nonfiction recs, at least as much as I can help it.

i've forgotten how to read, unfortunately. i have this issue where if i don't immediately start another book after i finish one, i struggle to keep up the momentum. the books i'm reading rn are books that in theory, on paper, i should be all about. might be one of those situations where i just gotta start fresh and come back to the ones i'm trying to read rn. 

maybe i just need something completely different from what i'm reading rn. i haven't read a fiction book in almost 2 months, maybe i'll read some braindead procedural or something. 

taking recommendations if anyone's got them. i'm trying to be more open minded and try books that normally i wouldn't, and i've been pleasantly surprised a few times! but brownie points if your rec is horror, procedural/law thrillers, thrillers in general, sci fi or any/all of the above

I am similar to the above LOL. I love reading but it's hard for me to get into and keep up with.

However, I am way better with graphic novels so I'm reading Yona of the Dawn. I want to start Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi though for the setting and to gain some inspiration for an upcoming site.

Have you read Carmen Maria Machado's short story collection, "Her Body and Other Parties"?
A few stories are horror, one is a deconstructed procedural + horror. She's also a wlw and her stories are about wlw as well. Content warnings can be checked here: app.thestorygraph.com/books/17646859-a40d-406e-bb2e-57e81ba0e6ec

When I'm in a reading rut, I usually reread favorites, or look at short story collections so that I can read them completely out of order. Did that with Machado a few years back, actually.

omg! i remember when this came out, and i totally forgot about it. thank you for the rec, i will see if can grab it on like, spotify or libby or smth

Maeve Fly has one of my favorite narrators I’ve read in a long time. Sociopathy oozing off the pages with searing judgment and laser-focused perception of every other character and the world around her, set against a really compelling backdrop of LA. She’s unrepentantly horrible and her inner monologue is delightfully readable.

Curious to hear how you like this -- Kingsolver has been on my list for a hot minute, but I've never taken the time to read.

been multi-reading since i've been slumped, usually prefer a proportionate number of nonfiction to the fiction i've been reading, leading us to —

the bands of mourning by brandon sanderson, half for inspiration purposes and half since i last read shadows of self back in like... 2018, really enjoyed it. the original mistborn trilogy holds a significant place in my heart since reading it from 2017-2018, and while i don't consider the wax and wayne series to be On That Level, it's still a fun romp and i love this version of the setting more than the original trilogy's. this book has been on my physical tbr shelf ever since i finished shadows of self, so it's been a long time coming.

for the nonfiction i've opted to start, that would be freedom is a constant struggle: ferguson, palestine, and the foundations of a movement by angela davis. not that far in yet to develop a substantial opinion on the piece, but i do at least find the writing more digestible than ayittey's defeating dictators, which was the last nonfiction book i read of a similar vibe and energy. 

after this, i'm likely gonna be starting either annie bot by sierra greer, victim by andrew boryga, or shorefall by robert jackson bennett. for nonfiction, i'm looking at light in gaza: writings born in fire, edited by jehad abusalim et al. but we'll see where my energy takes me after my current reads.

Silk and Steel series by Ariana Nash