Rhea Reads #3

Last thread wasn't anywhere near full, but I want my new categories up at the top.

My top level categories are:
Cat 1 (Classics by Women)
Cat 2 (New Books)
Cat 3 (Moderate Reading)
Cat 4 (Light Reading)
Cat 5 (Started Series)

Each of these categories are subdivided. I want to try to keep the number of Cat 1-3 books I'm reading the same in each, but there's no limit on the number of Cat 4 and Cat 5 books I read (and I expect to read way more of them).

Cat 6 (Influences) is my special category. I want to read an 'influence' for all the books read in Cats 1-3. Which makes Cat 6 three times the size of the other three. An 'influence' could be anything referenced within a book, recommended by an author during an interview, listed on a wikipedia page as an influence, or otherwise connected. I also want to read NF related to each Cat 1 book.

Cat 7 (NF) is for NF on reading/media and NF on critical theory. I found books on these topics that I think are alright and I'm going to explore their citation lists and recommended reading.

Category 1: Classics by Women

---Subcategory B: Corvey Women Writers on the Web
Queued: Disobedience (next up) and Plain Sense by Eugenia de Acton

---Subcategory C: Classic Gothic Fiction
Queued: The Fashionable Friend by Elizabeth Bonhote, The Two Mentors by Clara Reeve

---Subcategory D: A Library of Medieval Women
Queued: Hildegard of Bingen on Natural Philosophy and Medicine and Women Saints' Lives in Old English Prose

---Subcategory E: The Other Voice in Early Modern Europe
Queued: Florentine Drama for Convent and Festival by Antonia Pulci and Autobiography of an Aspiring Saint by Cecilia Ferrazzi

---Subcategory F: Books from a classics TBR list
Queued: Lady Murasaki's Diary, and Sarashina Diary

---Subcategory A: 18th c UK authors
Queued: The Rambles of Mr Frankly, Published by his Sister and Olivia, or, The Deserted Bride by Elizabeth Bonhote

Finished: Hortensia, or, The Distressed Wife by Elizabeth Bonhote (A)

Category 2: New Books

---Subcategory B: Translation Database Books
Queued: The Creak on the Stairs by Eva Bjorg Aegisdottir and Life After Kafka by Magdalena Platzova

---Subcategory C: Graywolf Press
Queued: The Hormone by Tilsa Otta and Anima by Kapka Kassabova

---Subcategory A: Less Common Library of Congress Call Numbers
Queued: The House of Edrisis by Ghazaleh Alizadeh and If Only by Vigdis Hjorth

Finished: Ghostroots by 'Pemi Aguda (A)

Category 3: Moderate Reading

---Subcategory A: Authors I've Read Before and Liked
Queued: Arabian Jazz by Diana Abu-Jaber and Origin by Diana Abu-Jaber

---Subcategory B: Books I Own
Queued: Hotel Silence by Adur Ava Olafsdottir and The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai

---Subcategory C: International Reading TBR #1
Queued: Frontier by Can Xue and Republic of Dreams by Nelida Pinon

---Subcategory D: International Reading TBR #2
Queued: An Algerian Childhood: A Collection of Autobiographical Narratives by Leila Sebbar and Fantasia: An Algerian Cavalade by Assia Djebar

---Subcategory E: Books that Got Put on Hold Earlier, Etc.
Queued: Poems by Emily Dickinson and The Autobiography of Alice B Toklas by Gertrude Stein

Category 4: Light Reading

---Subcategory C: Modern Gothic
Queued: The Pride of the Peacock by Victoria Holt (next up) and Gabrielle by Kathleen Norris

---Subcategory D: Books I Own
Queued: Chosen by random #

---Subcategory A: Classic SFF
Queued: An Uncrowned King by Sydney C Grier + the rest of the series

---Subcategory B: Authors I've Read Before and Liked
Queued: Chosen by random # from a tag

Finished: The Conjurers by Marilyn Harris (A), and My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier (B)

Category 5: Series I've started

---Science Fiction
Started Series: Space Opera by Catherynne Valente (1), Solar System by Leigh Brackett (1), Witch World by Andre Norton (27), Federated Sentient Planets by Anne McCaffrey (47)

---Historical / General Fiction / Contemporary
Started Series: Plantagenet and Tudor by Philippa Gregory (2), Prairie Trilogy by Willa Cather (2), Tripych by Eva Baltasar (2), Alberta Trilogy by Cora Sandel (1), Olav Audunsson by Sigrid Undset (4), Scarlet Pimpernel by Emma Orczy (14)

---Horror / Paranormal Romance
Started Series: African Immortals by Tananarive Due (3), Black Dagger Brotherhood by JR Ward (31)

---Fantasy
Started Series: Eternal Sky Universe by Elizabeth Bear (6), Kushiel's Legacy by Jacqueline Carey (9), Deryni Novels by Katherine Kurtz (14)

---Books by CJ Cherryh (throwing in everything by this author in here.
Queue: Rusalka Trilogy ('89-'91), Tripoint ('94, Alliance-Union), Finisterre ('95-'96), Fortress ('95-'06), Lois & Clarke ('96), Finity's End ('97, Alliance-Union), Gene Wars ('01-'04), Regenesis ('09), Alliance Rising / Alliance Unbound ('19-'24), Foreigner ('94-'23)

Finished: Lover Unleashed by JR Ward, Sword of Darkness, Knight of Darkness, and Daemon's Angel by Sherrilyn Kenyon, and The Secret of Sinharat / The People of the Talisman by Leigh Brackett

Category 6: Influences

---Subcategory A: Influences on all books read in Categories 1-3:
Birds of America by Lorrie Moore (via Ghostroots from Cat 2) (currently-reading)

---Subcategory B: NF related to all books read in Categories 1 (or 2-3 if I feel like it)
Currently Empty

Finished: The History of Lady Julia Mandeville by Frances Brooke (6A: Influence on Hortensia), Romantic Fiction and Literary Excess in the Minerva Press Era by Hannah Doherty Hudson (6B: Related to Hortensia)



Category 7: NF

---Subcategory A: NF on Reading / Media (Citations from 'Reading Bestsellers' by Danielle Fuller)
Queued: YouTube: Online Video and Participatory Culture by Jean Burgess and Joshua (next-up)

---Subcategory B: NF on Critical Theory (Citations from 'Critical Theory Today' by Lois Tyson)
Queued: Colonialism/Postcolonialism by Ania Loomba (currently-reading)

Currently Reading:

Category 3: Moderate Reading: Arabian Jazz by Diana Abu-Jaber
Category 5: Started Series: El Dorado by Emma Orczy and Born of Shadows by Sherrilyn Kenyon
Category 6A: Influence on "_": Collected Stories by Lorrie Moore (Ghostroots)

Category 7A: NF on Media/Reading: YouTube: Online Video and Participatory Culture by Jean Burgess and Joshua Green
Category 7B: NF on Critical Theory: Colonialism/Postcolonialism by Ania Loomba

On hold:
Category 1: Classics by Women (behind the Cat 3 and Cat 6A books)
Category 2: New Books (behind the Cat 3 and Cat 6A books)
Category 4: Light Reading (not reading anything atm)
Category 6B: NF related to "Cat 1 Book" (behind the Cat 3 and Cat 6A books)

Reading Goals, November 20th
Read Romantic Fiction and Literary Excess in the Minerva Press Era (Cat 6B: NF related to Hortensia)
Read up to p112 Colonialism/Postcolonialism (Cat 7A: NF on Critical Theory)
The People of the Talisman (Cat 5: Started Series)

Read Arabian Jazz (Cat 3A: Moderate Reading, Favorite Authors)
Read up to p200 Birds of America by Lorrie Moore (Cat 6A: Influence on Arabian Jazz)
Read The Pride of the Peacock (Cat 4C: Modern Gothic)

Notes / Reading Diary

Nov 20th: Finished The History of Lady Julia Mandeville by Frances Brooke (Cat 6A: Influence on Hortensia). Very interestingly plotted, I had a great time with it. I have the sequel, The History of Charles Mandeville queued for after I finish my current batch, same category.

Finished Romantic Fiction and Literary Excess in the Minerva Press Era (Cat 6B: NF related to Hortensia. The last chapter before the conclusion, on Walter Scott, was killer to get through. I don't think it was any different than the others but I'm just not interested in Scott.

Dropping Race after Technology: Abolitionist Tools for the New Jim Code (Cat 7A: NF on Critical Theory), there's nothing wrong with any of the content I read but I can't stand the organization / writing style. Not interested in Narratives, Nerdfighters, and New Media, so that means the replacement is with YouTube: Online Video and Participatory Culture.

Nov 21th: Finished the section in Colonialism/Postcolonialism (Cat 7B: NF on Critical Theory) I wanted to read. Finished Daemon's Angel by Sherrilyn Kenyon (Cat 5: Started Series). Seems like it now has a connection to one of her Hellchaser books within the Hunter Legends overarching universe. Starting Born of Shadows by Sherrilyn Kenyon (Cat 5: Started Series).

Nov 22nd: Finished Born of Shadows by Sherrilyn Kenyon (Cat 5: Started Series), was gonna start the next one but not feeling it somehow. Going to read The People of the Talisman (Cat 5: Started Series).

Dec 6th: Went into a major reading slump, I considered dropping most of what I was currently reading but I changed my mind, I think it has to with some life thing and my mood, not the books I'm reading. I did drop Born of Shadows by Sherrilyn Kenyon - multiple things were wrong with that book.

One thing I'm going to change is that since Collected Stories by Lorrie Moore intimidates me, it's long, I'm going to sub Birds of America. I'm also going to move any series I start from their original categories to Category 5 (Started Series) once I've read the first book. That moves The History of Charles Mandeville by Frances Brooke from Category 6 (Influences) to Category 5, so it's no longer queued before everything else in Category 1 (Classics by Women).

Also going to play a random number game with the novels I'm currently reading.

1. Arabian Jazz (25p)
2. The Pride of the Peacock (25p)
3. Birds of America (1 story)
4. People of the Talisman 10%

I got 4, People of the Talisman, read up to 60%.

Dec 7th: Got 4 again.

Dec 10th: Haven't been in such a long reading slump in years. Gonna just continue with People of the Talisman. Have like 10% left, not really enjoying it. I don't remember feeling so bored with the short story it's expanded from. (Finished it.)