#glory o'brien's history of the future

[lambergeier]

2023 bookpost 🥳🥳🥳

43 books read this year! about 2/3rds of last year's number, but i fell off pace in summer and for the last two months and never actually have a target or care about my pace anyways, so 43 is a good solid number imho. as last year, full list with light commentary below, recs are bolded:

JANUARY

Neuromancer by William Gibson

The Browns of California: The Family Dynasty that Transformed a State and Shaped a Nation by Miriam Pawel (i am punished for my desire to learn more about the two governors brown's effects on the state of california with: family hagiography. should have known tbh)

Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman (SOOOOOO GOOD. apocalyptic/religious horror in 1350's france during the black plauge. for fans of the terror, and fans of people who are in love but for whom the love won't alwayshelp!)

The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel (hilary ilu u were one of the greatest novelists of the past hundred years it was an honor to be alive at the same time as you. this could have been 200 pages shorter. ilu tho)

Did Ye Hear Mammy Died? by Seamas O’Reilly (short, sweet childhood memoir of the irish writer/comedian who, famously, tweeted that story about meeting the president of ireland on ketamine.)

FEBRUARY

Either/Or by Elif Bautman (girls can i tell you. i didn't realize this was a sequel until like 100 pages into the book. that was on me.)

Two Doctors Gorski by Isaac Fellman (ah mr fellman. lol)

The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka (really cool piece of fiction, first half told from the collective viewpoint of a group of regulars at a public swimming pool, second half about the one specific swimmer who's losing her independence to dementia. short, packs a punch)

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier (UNDEFEATED!)

One Man’s Terrorist: a Political History of the IRA by Peter Finn

Nightcrawlers by Leila Mottley (love to see local 22yos succeed wildly. does NOT mean this book was good god bless)

MARCH

The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa

The Passenger by Cormac McCarthy

Stella Maris by Cormac McCarthy (to be clear, if you are not a cormac mccarthy fan, these books will not make you his fan. they are very much about this man's incredible hopelessness regarding a world that has invented and used the atomic bomb. what can be redeemed, etc etc. i loved them, despite a major part of the plot being consensual sibling incest, they were beautiful and phenomenal, they were not light reading)

APRIL

A Smile in his Lifetime by Joseph Hansen

Glory by NoViolet Bulawayo (cannot recommend the audiobook highly enough. emma read the paper copy to catch up to where i was in the audiobook so we could listen together on a car trip, and she agreesTM that the audiobook is the way to go)

MAY

Barbarian Days by William Finnegan

The Dark Lord of Derkholm by Dianna Wynne Jones

JUNE

We Don’t Know Ourselves by Fintan O’Toole (really really really cool nonfiction about ireland since the 1950s, part autobiography, more parts cultural history of a very quickly changing nation. fascinating to read this within 12 months of finn's one man's terrorist, which was a very leftist history of the IRA, and keefe's say nothing, which was an only very slightly leftist history of the IRA that was most interested in like, how compelling the history is (not a drag on it). o'toole not as big on the IRA as the other two! understandable!)

JULY

The Binding by Bridget Collins

The War That Killed Achilles by Caroline Alexander (for all fans of the history of the story of the illiad!!! short and passionate!)

Flux by Jinwoo Chong (solid new debut scifi - who thought it could still happen!)

I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jeanette McCurdy

The Witch King by Martha Wells (this book sucked ass!!! have mentioned this several times already this year!!!)

An Oral History of the New York Commune, 2052–2072 by Eman Abdelhadi and M. E. O'Brien (some things about this book were fun, many were infuriating, absolute worst had to be the insistence that in the future: therapy would solve even more problems that it does today :))

The Last Samurai by Helen DeWitt (see my beautiful wife's post on the subject)

Stay True by Hua Hsu (beautiful, deserves the pulitzer, not 100% my thing but still very good)

AUGUST

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver (the voice was hard to get used to for the first 50 pages, but i ended up really liking this tbh. i've never read copperfield, so not sure if that improved the experience)

Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner

The Boys by Katie Hafner (a mistake to read this, but at least the twist was funny! there wasn't anything else in the book, but only a partial waste of time at the end)

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin (finally read this, which has truly polarized my extended social circle, but i ended up liking it. i didn't always get what it was doing 100% of the time, and didn't so much feel compelled to find out, but i tore through it and will always be a sucker for a story about that doesn't fix you but does keep you alive. can see both sides of this debate)

American Overdose: The Opioid Tragedy in Three Acts by Chris McGreal (we have to kill every sackler. solid history of the epidemic. EVERY sackler.)

SEPTEMBER

The Season by Kristen Richardson (half-baked history of the debutante social ritual. but, not like there's many other histories of the subject!)

All the Horses of Iceland by Sarah Tolmie

Big Swiss by Jen Beagin (funny, contained extensive dirtbag lesbian behaviors, but lacked some heft at the end)

In Memoriam by Alice Winn (do you s2b2? do you want some solid, tome-like origfic? do you want all of those things and also siegfried sassoon rpf? well great news!)

Now We Shall Be Entirely Free by Andrew Miller (pleaseeeeeee tell me if you have read this or do read this it was SOOOOOO GOOD and i had NEVER heard of this guy before!!! fantastically written prose, everything builds with infinite dread to a single horrible punchline, i am still wowed thinking about it)

The Trees by Percival Everett (haha hey wanna get fucked up. dark dark dark comedy)

OCTOBER

Flowers from the Storm by Laura Kinsale (really enjoyable if slightly overlong romance novel that i got off a rec list for historical romances with disabled love interests. does a really good interesting job of giving the love interest full breadth and agency despite severe processing impairment following a stroke)

Mobility by Linda Kiesling

The Rachel Incident by Rachel O’Donahughe

NOVEMBER

NO BOOK NOVEMBER MFS

DECEMBER

Not Even the Dead by Juan Gómez Bárcena (would also like to know if anyone else has read this so we can try and figure out what the fuck was going on right at the end!! also the fact that this is primarily about mexican history, written by a spaniard, with the specter of the US very prominent in the book is like. hm i would love to be able to read some mexican press reviews of this lol)

When Crack Was King: A People's History of a Misunderstood Era by Donovan X. Ramsey (picked this up following the opioid book, which discussed but didn't go deep on how the country's reaction to the opioid epidemic was so vastly different from the crack epidemic. put a lot of stuff into context lmao.)

WAIT AT SOME POINT THIS YEAR I REREAD RUMO AND HIS MIRACULOUS ADVENTURES BY WALTER MOERS. I DON'T KNOW WHEN. DIDN'T WRITE IT DOWN. BUT I DID REREAD IT. 44 BOOKS. shout out to mr. moers for writing some extremely fucking creepy books for teenagers <3

okay i was gonna do more about like general trends and vibes of this year's books, also about the four books i am still reading rn lol, but i have been typing for soooooooooooo long so i'm just gonna reblog with more thots in the morning. stay prepared everyone

[hopefullyandrogynousartist]

ohhhhhhh I am so completely utterly normal about these characters

damn i think i love my main characters

(no pressure) tagging <3 : @minecraft-parrot-enthusiast @smokinghotcrow @heartlessraccoon @barbakikka @matriarchyuzi @bubbled-clouds

5 Favourite Characters Poll (Tag Game)

I was tag by: @star-mum

Rules: make a poll with five of your all time favourite characters and then tag five people to do the same. See which character is everyone's favourite.

Thanks you so much for the tag

Tags <3: @meeks-beas @practically-an-x-man @outer-space-face @trashworldblog @mydearlybeloathed

[reviewthisbook]

Reading Roundup: April 2020

Favourite > First & Then: Emma Mills - Finally made it to Emma Mills’ first novel, and it was great as usual. Good times.

Least Favourite > 16 Ways to Break a Heart: Lauren Strasnick - This is one of those books about toxic people with little to no redemption and you start to wonder what the point of the entire story is if everyone remains horrible. At first I really liked the writing and the voice but pretty soon things got way too dramatic for no reason. Just outrageous behaviour. It was not enjoyable to read.

Reread > The Luxe: Anna Godbersen

[nondualreality]

Not living your life is just like killing yourself, only it takes longer.

A.S. King, Glory O'Brien's History of the Future

[asreadbydana]

Contemporary-A-Thon TBR

Hello readers, it’s time for another read-a-thon! 

This time around I will be participating in the Contemporary-A-Thon from February 11 through February 17. There are 7 reading challenges and I will be attempting to meet them by reading these 4 books:

Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward

The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan

Four Weeks, Five People by Jennifer Yu

Glory O'Brien's History of the Future by A.S. King

[housemavencalore]

Free yourself. Have the courage.

Ellie Heffner, Glory O’Brien’s History of the Future

[catmint1]

Not living your life is just like killing yourself, only it takes longer.

A.S. King, Glory O'Brien’s History of the Future

[diaryofabookgirl]

Women In Young Adult Literature

This Wednesday we're celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women on International Women's Day. I’d like to use that as an opportunity to talk about a few of my favorite female characters in Young Adult books. Careful if you haven’t read these books because of possible spoilers.

Cather Avery (Fangirl)

Cather Avery and her twin sister Wren are starting college and Wren has announced she wants to discover college on her own, leaving an introvert Cath hiding out in her dorm, writing fan fiction. I really liked that Fangirl was about Cath as a character at first and everything else second. Cath is shy and introvert but she’s also sure of who she is and isn’t ashamed of that.

Madeline Whittier (Everything Everything)

Madeline has a rare illness which prevents her from leaving her house, but Maddy is a happy teenage girl. She reads a lot, takes classes online, has a friend in the form of her nurse. Despite the fact that she was missing out on so much in her life, she keeps being optimistic. It is impossible not to like her. Of course, she was also moody and curious. This curiosity eventually leads her to uncover a secret that will change everything for her.

Glory O’Brien (Glory O’Brien’s History of the Future)

One evening Glory and her best friend mix up beer with the remains of a bat (that is as weird as it sounds). Next thing they know they can see people’s pasts and futures. Glory becomes obsessed with the second civil war and decided to write down every piece of information she gathers from seeing people’s futures. I loved how Glory handled seeing the future. She questioned everything in her past and present; her future, the strange hippie community across the street and especially her mother’s suicide and what I means for her.

Rose Hathaway (Vampire Academy-series)

Rose Hathaway is a Dhampir and thus fated to guard a Moroi. She's determined to protect her best friend Lissa, a royal Moroi. Rose is sarcastic and insubordinate but she is fiercely loyal to Lissa. Over the course of the series Rose loves and loses Dimitri. The loss of him puts her friendship with Lissa and even her life at stake.

Mara Dyer (Mara Dyer trilogy and upcoming Shaw Confessions)

She has to power to kill people with a thought, but is she a villain? Throughout this trilogy, Mara tries to figure out what is happening with her. She means no harm, but around her people start dying under strange circumstances. She tries to understand her powers and is put in dangerous situations because of it. To get herself out of these situations she must use her power and questions who she is when she does.

Gwendolyn Shepard (Ruby Red)

Kerstin Gier gives us curious and funny heroines. These characteristics often put them in complicated situations. Take Gwendolyn, (Gwyneth in the US/UK editions) for example. She can travel through time but it isn’t nearly as fun as it sounds. She always taught her cousin would inherit the time travel gene, she isn’t ready to fulfill tasks that would take her across time. Yet, Gwendolyn uncovers the truth and stands her ground while taking on an ancient organization.

Shahrzad Al-Khayzuran (The Wrath and the Dawn)

She marries the Caliph, not to love him and be his bride, but to kill him. Khalid has had countless wives and has killed every one of them, including her best friend. But when Shahrzad finds out her husband is cursed she takes it upon herself to save him and their people. Shahrzad can come across as spoiled, but she also doesn’t take shit from anyone and doesn’t like to be told what to do.

Inej Ghafa & Nina Zenik (Six Of Crows)

Inej can climb the most impossible buildings. She grew up with loving parents but was separated from them and sold to a brothel. Her time there still causes her anxiety. Nina was a member of the second army in the Ravkan war. She's a heartrender. Nina loves her power, she loves food and she loves Matthias, who is supposed to be her enemy, and she knows he loves her too. Nina is determined to show him Grisha aren't evil like he has been told, to not only accept her but her kind as well. Inej and Nina are just as much a part of The Dregs as the boys and just as important for their mission.

Kestrel Trajan (The Winner’s trilogy)

As the general's daughter Kestrel knows politics very well. She has always had a privileged life. When Valorians and Herrani's go to war, Kestrel is put in a difficult position. Her people are in the wrong, but they are her people. Arin isn't one of them. He's her slave, the boy she's in love with. She has to help his people. Kestrel is often put before terrible options but they are her only options and what do you choose when the outcome is bound to be horrible either way?

Verity (Code name Verity)

“Kiss me, Hardy. Kiss me, quick!” Well, if this book didn’t destroy me. Verity is captured by Nazi’s and tortured until she agrees to write down everything she knows - everything. The first half of the book is her confession, the second half is told from her best friend’s POV. Maddie and Verity are major friendship goals. Their story was so inspiring and completely heartbreaking at the same time.

Bianca (The DUFF)

The Designated Ugly Fat Friend is what Robbie calls Bianca, explaining that it isn’t a bad thing, but it’s a fact. Bianca tries to not let this bother her, but it does. She is the DUFF. Despite the fact that he hates Robbie the two of them start a friends-with-benefits relation, except for the “friends” part because they hate each other. The book discusses many others topics, such as friendship, neglect, alcoholism and divorce. Bianca uses the words ‘slut’ and 'whore’ a lot throughout the book. In the end, she comes to a nice conclusion about these labels and ultimately it’s a good message. I would also recommend Kody’s other YA novels.

Linh Cinder (Cinder)

So far I’ve only read the first book in the Lunar Chronicles series, but it was enough to see that Cinder is bad-ass. She’s funny and sassy and the best mechanic in New Beijing. Instead of going to the Prince' ball she'd rather use that opportunity to elope from her evil guardian. Things don't go as planned when it's discovered that Cinder is a Lunar, that she has powers, and that if the Lunar queen finds out, she will take Cinder to Luna and most likely kill her.

[words-going-across-the-universe]

I will do great things. You will do great things. Most people can't handle that. Can you?

A.S. King, Glory O'Brien's History of the Future

[iwillreadyourbooks]

Glory O’Brien’s History of the Future By A.S.King

[kattra]

What I'm Reading

DECEMBER READS Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia Tales From Watership Down by Richard Adams (SS) Ten Arguments For Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now by Jaron Lanier (NF) Five Little Indians by Michelle Good ** You'll Be the Death of Me by Karen M. McManus A Portable Paradise by Roger Paradise (P) Before the Coffee Gets Cold: Tales from the Cafe by Toshikazu Kawaguchi All the Feels by Olivia Dade When Sorrows Come by Seanan McGuire Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self by Danielle Evans (SS) The Reader on the 6.27 by Jean-Paul Didierlaurent Birds Art Life by Kyo Maclear (NF) Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer A Princess of Roumania by Paul Park This Accident of Being Lost by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson (P/SS) Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan ** Hotel Silence by Auður A. Ólafsdóttir What Lies Behind by J.T. Ellison Chosen Ones by Veronica Roth Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy **

(184 books read / 180 books goal)

Currently Reading: Read, Listen, Tell: Indigenous Stories From Turtle Island edited by McCall/Reder/Gaertner/Hill (NF/SS) Psychic Witch: A Metaphysical Guide to Meditation, Magick & Manifestation by Mat Auryn (NF) Switch by A.S. King Bright Dead Things by Ada Limón (P)* The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories by Susanna Clarke (SS)

* - re-read / ** - 4+ star rating on my goodreads GN - graphic novel // NF - non-fiction // P - poetry SS - short story/anthology / AB - audiobook

TBR: Glory O'Brien's History of the Future by A.S. King* ** How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories by Holly Black (SS) I'm Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid The Pisces by Melissa Broder Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion by Jia Tolentino (NF)

[millennial-book-review]

Glory O'Brien's History of the Future

I just finished Glory O'Brien's History of the Future and my review is now live.

Glory O’Brien’s History of the Future is a 2014 young adult fantasy novel by A.S. King. It was published by Little, Brown books for Young Readers in October 2014. Following its release, the book was nominated for several awards, including 2015 Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award, and won the 2015 NAIBA Book of the Year for Young Adult award. Graduating from high school is a time of limitless…

[books-n-quotes]

Not living your life is just like killing yourself, only it takes longer.

A.S. King, Glory O'Brien’s History of the Future

[reviewthisbook]

I may have used the shut-down for the past three months to order from Book Outlet three times...

[downtownbumbling]

Glory O'Brien's History of the Future!

YA titles must contain one of the following words or you have to pay a fine:

blood crow queen ice crown fire bone true academy magic glass shade kingdom world shadow song sun ember secret legend star raven thief

[asreadbydana]

February TBR

Here are the books I am hoping to get to this month! 

Since it’s Black History Month I am making it a priority to read some of the books on my TBR that are written by Black authors. I am also hoping to participate in Contemporary-A-Thon so that I can kind of force myself to pick up the non-Fantasy books on my shelf, lol. 

What are you planning to read in February??