Reading
Note that I find the overwhelming majority of books I read by just wandering the local library. Although I've found some gems I probably wouldn't have read otherwise through this method, recently I've been I leave with books that:
- Look interesting!
- I can slip past my parents without getting caught :(
(While I have pirated books to read digitally in private, a computer screen greatly diminishes my ability to read, so I rarely do it.)
My Favorite Books
...I have no goddamn idea, my head goes completely blank when I try to complete this list. Guess I'll just publish this page and fill this in later.
Some Fiction I've Read...
...When I Was A Kid
Watership Down by Richard Adams - Actually, this probably makes my favorite book list. I first read it when I was 12, introduced to it by my mom, who said it was the first "big book" she'd ever read. Now (I think) the same goes for me!
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne (Gutenberg/Wikisource/LibriVox) - This is the only book that's made me cry, and I honestly don't know why.
The Islander by Cynthia Rylant - This might very well be the book that's stayed clearest in my mind over the years since I first read it. The concept of the sea angel most of all has influenced me <3
The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick
The Marvels by Brian Selznick - As you can probably tell, I really love this guy's illustrations and the stories he tells, even now that I'm older <3
The Squire's Tale by Gerald Morris - I remember this one pretty well, mostly for it's quiet feeling that something more was beneath the surface.
The Missing (series) by Margaret Peterson Haddix - I remember these being pretty good although I can't remember much of them, save for a few very strange and unique moments.
The Secret Series (series) by Pseudonymous Bosch
The 39 Clues (series) by various authors - I read literally ALL of these when I was 11-12 even though there are like 50 of them. Thinking back to the concepts they explored makes me think I'd hate them if I read them now, but I bet they've left at least a little mark on my mind due to how many of them I read, so I will remember them here.
...Now That I'm Older
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien - Reading this makes me feel a bit like Tolkien's work is going the way of Citizen Kane, as being passively exposed to the cliches it created ever since I was young made the experience incredibly boring.
Tales of Mystery and Imagination by Edgar Allan Poe
Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino
The Employees by Olga Ravn - Found this kinda irritating tbh. I'm not even fully sure why yet. Maybe it's how the characters all write in the same poetic philosophical-ass way as the author, rather than having their own distinct "voices"?
Foster by Claire Keegan
No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai - I ain't even gonna try to form a hot take about this one. Be sure to check out the Junji Ito adaptation!!!
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath (Faded Page) - I don't think this has aged nearly as well as the people I've heard talking about it say it has, but I think I ultimately appreciated it's existence.
The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle
Some Nonfiction Books I Read...
...About Science Shit
The Uninhabitable Earth by David Wallace-Wells - Terrifying.
Language: The Cultural Tool by Daniel L. Everett
Knowledge is Beautiful by David McCandless
Soonish by Kelly and Zach Weinersmith
The Information: A History, a Theory, a Flood by James Gleick
A Space Traveler’s Guide to the Solar System by Mark Thompson - Lost my attention pretty quickly but I learned the word syzygy from it so that's cool.
The Joy of x by Steven Strogatz - God I wanna understand math better. This book helped a little but I still struggle the same.
The Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomery
The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben
...About SOCIETY
Bullshit Jobs by David Graeber
How to Disappear by Akiko Busch
They Called Us Enemy by George Takei
The Human Swarm by Mark W. Moffett
...That Discuss Modern Tech Issues
Permanent Record by Edward Snowden
Life in Code by Ellen Ullman
Ghost in the Wires by Kevin Mitnick
Data and Goliath by Bruce Schneier
Biopunk by Marcus Wohlsen
Alone Together by Sherry Turkle
...About Lots of Things
Maus by Art Spiegelman
A Theory of Fun for Game Design by Raph Koster - Read this when I was 12, and it massively impacted my view of both games and art. However I can remember it had plenty of stuff that absolutely hasn't aged well and I'm not sure how much I'd fuck with it if I read it now.
Underland by Robert MacFarlane - Only read once. Don't remember much, but remember loving it.
Other
Online Format Fiction
!SCP Wiki
Orion's Arm (Best of Orion's Arm)
Reddit: Mother Horse Eyes
Mystery Flesh Pit National Park
Lexicon
rarissima: extremely rare books, manuscripts, or prints
tsundoku(積ん読): pile of/aquiring books one intends to read but hasn't gotten to yet, bibliophilia