No voy a pedirle a nadie que me crea
I Don't Expect Anyone to Believe Me

Story about a mexican phd student who moves to spain but gets involved with the mexican cartel and it changes his relationship, life, and even thesis topic! The cartel leader makes it so he has to meet some girl with a f***ed up smile cause she's some politicians daughter. He eventually starts kickin' it with her and his GF get's jealous. Cool story with multiple perspectives, and a really interesting twist at the end. Definitely give it a read

“Love him,’ said Jacques, with vehemence, ‘love him and let him love you. Do you think anything else under heaven really matters?"

this is my favorite read of 2023 so far. this is my first Baldwin book and yea... believe the hype. completely and utterly enthralling. heartbreaking with such beautifully, sweet prose. James Baldwin was a master of his craft. Truly undeniable story telling abilities.

I’ve been slacking. I finished Siddhartha by Herman Hesse. That was a fun little book. It’s short and sweet and I think kinda tells this spiritual journey in a compact way. Like a 7/10 if that’s your thing, I’m not overly into books like that but enjoyed it otherwise.

Also read Inherent Vice by Tommy P and that was a trip in a half. Definitely felt like the soul sister to CL49, but the clearer, makes more sense, type of way. felt that the Shasta s\*\*\*scene was out of the blue and warranted. Him beating the s\*\*\* of Puck was a tense scene though. Was kinda cool reading Doc lose his cool . Overall fun book a solid 8/10, much easier to follow then what I have read from him.

Next I’m reading Gravity's Rainbow.

Any good sci-fi books? I recently finished my reread of the original 6 Dune books. Very tempted to read the sequels n prequels by Brian Herbert, although I haven’t heard great things about them. I’m afraid they could potentially ruin how I view the series.

6/5

“Did you ever say Yes to one joy? O my friends, then you said Yes to all woe as well. All things are chained and entwined together, all things are in love; if ever you wanted one moment twice, if ever you said: ‘You please me, happiness, instant, moment!’ then you wanted everything to return! you wanted everything anew, everything eternal, everything chained, entwined together, everything in love, O that is how you loved the world, you everlasting men, loved it eternally and for all time: and you say even to woe:’ Go, but return!’ For all joy wants -eternity!”

“Am I understood? - Dionysus against the crucified”

Ngl I think he was already going insane when he wrote this. I know it’s kinda tongue and cheek, but it’s not much different from older work in tone but then dialled up a ten times in ridiculousness lol.

True
He did also be pretty explicit about what his writings are trying to say

others can give you recommendations for fantasy/sci-fi series, but if you're looking for some good standalone sci-fi books

Slaughterhouse Five, Cat's Cradle, or Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut

Under The Skin or The Book of Strange New Things by Michel Faber

Stories of Your Life and Others or Exhalation by Ted Chiang (short stories)

Snow Crash or Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson

Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

Neuromancer by William Gibson

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

I'm not a huge sci-fi fan but I enjoyed all of those

Will add these to my list, I decided to start with The Three Body Problem

This one was a tough read, both because there are some horrific things happening throughout the book and also because it was slow paced. For a book about a war it sure took a long time to get some action. Perhaps I'm not as well educated on the gospels as some other readers, but despite having heard this described as a retelling of the Jesus story I did not see it. I think the framing of the baron and the journalist discussing the fate of Canudos is interesting, and when the book starts to hop perspectives 3-4 times per chapter it became far more engaging for me. Overall I did enjoy it despite being somewhat of a slog, and Vargas Llosa writes beautifully about the country and landscapes of Brazil. I think there are a couple dozen well developed characters, and the tragedy of Canudos is gripping throughout.

The Rediscovery of Man by Cordwainer Smith (collection of inventive and emotional short stories)

Replying late, but I read Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion last summer and they blew me away. Obviously super critically acclaimed and hyped, but they totally lived up to it for me. I’m actually liked Fall even more than Hyperion.

Also if you’re passionate about social issues / politics check out Ursula Le Guin if you haven’t before. Recently got into her work and I’m totally enamoured by it.

Just finished the Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula Le Guin recently and it was phenomenal. A science fiction book about a representative of a type of galactic treaty system that travels to new worlds with the hopes of recruiting new planets to join their treaty. The book tackles topics like gender, sexism, cultural and social conditioning and patriotism. It came out in 1969, so it isn’t perfect in ifs execution on gender discourse, but incredibly progressive for it’s time and there is still so much to glean from this book. Just really really fantastic. Can’t wait to dive into more of Ursula’s work.

do you still update the goodreads list

nah it's been a while, I'll see if I can update it sometime soon

:​

Examines the lives of several scientists whose discoveries have pushed the boundaries of human knowledge. As it happens each of the scientists in this book also went insane around the same time they made these discoveries; this book leans more towards a "gazing into the void" thing than "these people were just predisposed to a certain kind of neuroticism" thing. Making a book about mathematicians and physicists be this fascinating and gripping is an incredible talent. The book's thesis seems to be something about losing sight of how one's discovery will change the world in the excitement of the discovery itself.

The prose of the book is gorgeous, the descriptions of the locations visited feel real and awe inspiring. Labatut is able to give a contextually useful explanation of the science discussed without boring the reader, I was familiar with some of the theorems in the book but even the ones I wasn't familiar with were within grasp after their chapter.

Most importantly I came away from this book with the feeling that I understood humanity a little better. Best book I've read in a long long time.

Pure nonsense, sometimes enjoyable nonsense. But mostly just unintelligible, uninteresting, unsatisfying nonsense. This is like a 4/10

10/10, one of the best books I’ve read, simply an incredible depiction of a man trying to scrape through life

8.5/10, excellent and thought-provoking, but some small parts felt a bit clunky

7/10, novels of manners aren’t really my thing but it was well-written and the story was good enough; also made me wonder why the American aristocracy depicted within has almost entirely disappeared

That top one sounds cool

Just a bunch of musings on life and death from one of the coolest people ever. Probably would've been boring in the hands of someone less capable but she makes it work

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Pretty amazing piece of non-fiction. Aikins is a Canadian journalist who spent a lot of the 2000s and 2010s reporting from Afghanistan. His friend Omar decides he has to flee the country to escape the Taliban so Aikins goes undercover on the refugee trail with him. They're constantly pushed back by dodgy smugglers, corrupt police and bureaucracy designed to dehumanise the vulnerable. It's equal parts heartbreaking and hopeful, and really shines a light on the human side of the refugee crisis

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F***ing masterpiece man. Even beyond the constant Cain and Abel parallels the whole book just feels biblical. So much life contained in one story. Legendary s***

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The least plot driven of all the Vonneguts I've read and by far the most heavy handed with it's themes (feels like it's bashing you over the head with them on every page). Also maybe the most heartwarming. Love how even in a critique of the insanity of capitalism he still manages to keep things fun and funny

Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan

short novella about a small Irish town and a working class man faced with a moral dilemma come Christmas time. Keegan was very concise with her storytelling but still able to deliver a moving finish, would recommend this one and will check out her other novella

8/10

La Pista de Hielo (The Skating Rink) by Roberto Bolaño

novel about a crime commited at a clandestine skating rink. interesting seeing Bolaño take on a whodunit but it fell a bit short for me. written from the POV of three male characters but they were a bit redundant. read this in Spanish and sometimes I get a little bit lost with Bolaño while other times I'm captivated by his prose. this was one of the former, though there were parts I still liked. gonna give his posthumous collection of short stories El Secreto del Mal a go then try to tackle 2666 before the year ends

7/10

All The Sinners Bleed by S.A. Cosby

third book I've read by S.A. Cosby and just as good as the others. you know what you're getting with this author; gritty modern noir set in the south with racial tensions and a lawman or criminal struggling with morality. this was his darkest book, yet thankfully he didn't go into much detail in the graphic parts. enjoyable police procedural that touched on current issues without being preachy. Cosby is definitely an author whose work I will always check out

8.5/10

La Fiesta del Chivo (The Feast of the Goat) by Mario Vargas Llosa

first book I've read by Llosa and I was very impressed. it's a historical fiction novel about the Trujillo dictatorship in the Dominican Republic mid 20th century. puts you in the shoes of the main characters as well as those affected by the dictatorship and efforts to overthrow it. this book was really hyped up as one of the best Latin American novelas of the 21st century and a political thriller and it fully delivered for me. the characters were well written, the ugliness and idolatry of a dictatorship were on full display, and the pace and development of the plot were perfectly executed. read this one in Spanish and his language was the right balance of clear and poetic when it needed to be. I'm sure it would hold up in English too. can tell this story is gonna stick with me and it's my favorite read of the year so far

10/10

i've heard a lot of great things about claire keegan...i need to read her works

yea I was impressed by the pacing and ending. just saw they're coming out with a movie adaptation of Small Things Like These starring Cillian Murphy, should be good

I've got Fiesta del Chivo sitting on my shelf rn, I finished The War of the End of the World and Death in the Andes by Llosa earlier this year and loved them both. Can't wait to hear what you think about 2666, one of my favorites this year!

the wager is on my list...cant wait to read that one