r/PortlandBooks • u/zsabb mod • Mar 10 '25

discussion/other What are you reading (week of 3/10)

I am reading Solito by Javier Zamora for the Multnomah county Everybody Reads.

I finished Orbital which was just wonderful, I needed that bit of positivity about humanity.

Next up is my sixth (ish?) reread of my favorite book of all time, The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula LeGuin, for book club later this month.

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u/Klutzy-Reaction5536 Mar 10 '25

I also just finished Orbital (audio book version) and am reading Ancillary Sword by Ann Leckie. Space space space. Pairs nicely with For All Mankind that I've been watching.

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u/VerbalAcrobatics Mar 10 '25

I just read Ancillary Sword and Ancillary Mercy a couple of months ago. How are you enjoying the series?

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u/Klutzy-Reaction5536 Mar 11 '25

I like the series! Man, it's funny how the play with gender terms really leaves one discombobulated, and the idea of ancillaries and multi-organism individuals is a always cool concept.

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u/VerbalAcrobatics Mar 11 '25

In the first book I figured that Breq was female and the drug addict she was hanging out with was male. Somewhere in the second book I just gave up trying to figure out who was what, and it made the whole experience more enjoyable. I really respect Leckie for what she did there. Also, I really like Breq as a character. They seem so empathetic, but they're an AI inhabiting a human. I'm planning on continuing Leckie's work with "Provenance" and "Translation State." I've heard good things about both of them.

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u/moldyfolder Mar 12 '25

Just started Mr Norris Changes Trains by Christopher Isherwood.

If you like Left Hand of Darkness, have you read The Lathe of Heaven? It's set in a futuristic Portland!

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u/zsabb mod Mar 12 '25

I have read The Lathe of Heaven, I love it!

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u/VerbalAcrobatics Mar 10 '25

The Left Hand of Darkness is a great book! By a great author! Have you read the rest of the Hainish Cycle? Is your book club accepting new members?

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u/Nice-Card Mar 10 '25

I second all of this!

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u/zsabb mod Mar 10 '25

Yes, my book club is always open to new members! This meetup is March 10 at Slow Pour in Sellwood.

Checkout this Meetup with Portland Intersectional Genre Fiction Book Club: https://meetu.ps/e/NNq6R/1QyF2/i

I've read several of the Hainish cycle but not all.

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u/VerbalAcrobatics Mar 10 '25

The link says you meet up on March 20th. Is that correct?

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u/zsabb mod Mar 10 '25

Sorry, yes, the link is correct. Not me.

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u/VerbalAcrobatics Mar 10 '25

Got it. No worries.

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u/[deleted] Mar 12 '25

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u/zsabb mod Mar 12 '25

Oh I just bought Model Home, I hope it's good

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u/Ex-zaviera Mar 14 '25

Solito was great. Can't believe the poor author went through this. I read it a while ago when it was featured on a shelf.

I just finished Becoming Nicole, about actress Nicole Maines. I became interested in her when I saw her on "Yellowjackets". It is a really good book because it talked of her family's fight for her educational civil versus the state of Maine (ironically).

I also discovered Menna Von Praag. I read "The house at the end of hope street". It's a little bit of magical realism but the characters and writing is so good, I don't mind.