28/?
I've seen Karen Armstrong's books since I worked as a manager at Barnes & Noble in the early 2000s while I was recovering from Lyme. For whatever reason, I was not ever tempted enough to pick one up and read it.
One of my neighbors recommended the Spiral Staircase the other day so I borrowed it. It was a really good book for me at this moment in time. There's a lot about her inner personal story that I relate to - even though outer circumstances appear to be quite different. And, as the best authors do, she shines a light and a potential pathway of understanding.
I'm not sure I know how to explain it right now but the past three books that I've read all seem to connect with one another. I'm glad I read her, and have borrowed a few other books.
#MagpieReads #books #reading #autobiography #religion
27/?
Well ... this was a strange, disturbing book. I don't do well with surreal stories - especially living in this unaccountably surreal time.
It's considered a SF Masterwork from the late 80s. Well written, a story stuffed with stories. I ... am not sure if I will read it again - and that's unusual for me.
#MagpieReads #books #reading #sff
26/?
Rarely do I read fiction that isn't speculative - but this book was another recommended by Jo Walton so I tried it. I liked it.
It was a peaceful slice of life about the women in an English Benedictine convent in the mid 1950s through the 1960s. It is definitely a product of its time (published in 1969) but I found it inspiring.
#MagpieReads #books #reading #nuns
25/?
Just finished listening to Martha Wells new Murderbot Diaries audiobook - Platform Decay.
No spoilers - it is excellent!
24/?
I've been reading Michelle Sagara's books for about 25 years. She's prolific - both as Sagara and as Michelle West. I adore her found families, the individual characters, and her maturing over the years as a writer committed to her craft.
This is book 20 in Kaylin's story and book 24 in Elantra. She's beginning to tie some of the many threads together toward a resolution in unexpected and delightful ways.
23/?
Jo Walton has a column in Reactor magazine with what she's reading currently and some extra recommendations.
Cameron Reed's recent release, "what we are seeking" was one that she did not describe at all other than to give high praise. So I borrowed it from the library and just finished. It is something I need to read again in a day or two.
It is difficult for me to describe - yes, there are spaceships, and humans exploring the galaxy, and a continuing relationship with earth, and an exploration of what might happen when radically different cultures are trying to find a way to live with one another, including alien cultures, an exploration of gender and relationships and sexuality. I think it's worth a read.
#MagpieReads #books #reading #scifi
22/?
Did I Tell You About the Light?
Although Rosemary Kirstein did not finish the steerswoman series (yet? 🤞), she does have a current Patreon with an ongoing series of letters slowly unfolding into a story told through poems. All kinds of poems. It's beautiful and poignant and stirs my imagination.
Of the stories I've read, these are my Locus Award choices this year:
*Death of the Author, Nnedi Okorafor
*Queen Demon, Martha Wells
*The Tomb of Dragons, Katherine Addison
*A Mouthful of Dust, Nghi Vo
*Barnacle, Kate Elliott
#MagpieReads
#sff #LocusAward #reading #books
https://locusmag.com/2026/04/2026-top-ten-finalists-for-locus-awards/
18-21/?
A number of people on here have recommended the Steerswoman series by Rosemary Kirstein. I'm glad I listened, the books are excellent, the characters are wonderful, the world building is great, and I enjoyed all of them very much.
There's just one drawback. She published the first book in 1989 and the fourth book came out in in 2004. But the final two books are yet to be ... written? released? published? In any case - not available 😖
If you enjoy a good story and are not attached to having any kind of resolution or completion, other than in your own imagination, I highly recommend.
🌈🕯️Curious Magpie🕯️🌈