jan/feb reading list

feb 10 2022

One of my classes this semester is held in my university's big library (inventively called the "Main Library"), which gives me a much-needed excuse to start actually checking out books from there. Of course, their shelving system is quite possibly the most confusing thing I've ever encountered, but once my friend showed me how to actually track down the shelf I knew the book I was looking for was located, I was all set.

I found the Le Guin shelf, and I've been slowly reading everything the library has from/about her over the past couple weeks. The fun thing about being at a university library is that there's a mix of Le Guin's own books and academic writing written about her, all on the same shelf. So far I've read one of Le Guin's poetry collections, Incredible Good Fortune, and some lesser known fiction work from her like The Word For World Is Forest and Lavinia (both of which I liked a lot), as well as some interviews with her and collections of essays written by her. I also read Amy Clarke's book Le Guin's Journey to Post Feminism, which was an interesting and insightful read even if I didn't agree with everything she said, especially the parts about The Other Wind. It definitely made me want to reread The Other Wind just so I could argue properly... which made me want to reread of the whole Earthsea series for good measure. I just finished The Wave in the Mind, a collection of essays by Le Guin, and now I'm about to start Searoad.

I've been about a hundred pages into The Burning God by R.F Kuang since I started reading it on January 1st, although truthfully it's more accurate to say I haven't been reading it. Not because I don't like it or anything, just because I've been so busy with school that I haven't been able to give it the attention it deserves. I also think some of it is reluctance to finish the series and be done with these wonderful world and characters that Kuang wrote. But spring break will definitely give me the time I need to finish it properly!

What have you been reading in January and February?