Last Friday I finished Babel, my 11th book of 2026! This was book number 8 off my physical TBR, leaving 28 to go!

Babel, by R.F. Kuang, is a surprisingly accurate Historical Fantasy about colonialism, violent resistance, and national identities. For me, it was a 5 star book.

I don't know much about history, so when I read the foreword of this book and saw that it was talking about the few minor changes Kuang made to the dates of events for this story, I was surprised at how accurate it ended up being.

It's also amazing to me how applicable it is to the modern world. Like Down and Out in Paris and London, everything it talks about is so present in our world today, even if it's not in exactly the same ways.

This goes right next to Down and Out in Paris in London on my "read politically" shelf.

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