Finished my first book of the year, The Picture of Dorian Gray. It was good! I particularly enjoyed the character of Lord Henry and his barrage of hot takes. For my modern/twisted sensibilities, Dorian's "sins" were a bit too tame, but the theme of aesthetcism and class remains relevant. 💙📚 #booksky

Managed to finish Shirley Jackson's We Have Always Lived in the Castle, finishing off my goal of reading 12 books in 2025 on the very last day of the year. I was interested in reading some gothic fiction, and this was a pretty compelling and quick read, with a pretty unnerving PoV. #booksky 💙📚

Loved Nettle & Bone, a great take on a "dark fairy tale," and very wittily written. It is the first book I have read by T. Kingfisher / Ursula Vernon, but if this is the kind of writing and story I can expect from her, it won't be the last. #booksky 💙📚

I learned about Roadside Picnic through the TTRPG Heart's list of inspirations, and I can certainly see the influences. Great concept, a pretty breezy read, and it really came together for me in the final chapter.📚💙

Finally finished The Other Wind, and thus the whole Cycle. A nice ending that ties everything neatly together. I enjoyed the larger and more varied cast for a change of pace for the series. #Earthsea #booksky

After reading the first one or two tales in Tales from Earthsea, I thought it might be my favorite so far in the cycle, but, save for the last one, I ended up liking each tale a bit less than the previous one. Still very good, and I liked seeing new people and places. #Earthsea #booksky

Just finished Tehanu, which is definitely my favorite of the Earthsea Cycle so far. It is quite different, and feels a bit like the Tombs to Shore's Wizard, but I enjoyed how it was about "common" and domestic life, gender, the grandness and freedom of a humble life, etc. #Earthsea #booksky

Didn't quite like The Farthest Shore as much as the previous two. There are some great quotes, mostly by Sparrowhawk, and it is fun to see him as the teacher rather than the student, but Arren felt a bit like a blank slate. The book is fairly dreary. I like what it went for, but I was a bit unmoved.

I was waiting a bit in the first half of The Tombs of Atuan for "the turning point," but it was a pretty interesting setting for this type of book. I think the book gets a lot of its power from how it contrasts and compares to A Wizard of Earthsea.

Been reading Ursula K. Le Guin's #Earthsea books for the first time, and I am halfway through now. A Wizard of Earthsea surprised me with how the first couple of chapters were written, but I really enjoyed it. It had a wonderful sense of empathy, which has so far continued through all the books. 📚💙

Finally finished China Miéville's The Scar, after completely falling out of my "read 12 books in an year" goal. Like Perdido Street Station, the world-building and setting is just incredible. #booksky 💙📚

The book I've been reading this Februrary is China Miéville's Perdido Street Station, the first in his Bas-Lag Trilogy, due to the TTRPG The Wildsea citing it as an influence. Really unique and engrossing worldbuilding, very inspiring as I had hoped it would be. The ending was pretty brutal. 💙📚

Finished reading A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine as the first step in my goal of reading twelve books this year. I liked it even more than the first book in the series, how wide is the concept of "you" indeed. 💙📚

A lot more playtime and especially plays this year, playing Button Shy games helped with the plays.

Thought it was interesting