The Ballad of Frankie Silver by Sharon McCrumb.

The sheriff of a fictional rural county in East Tennessee is invited to witness the execution of a local man he arrested 20 years ago for a double murder on the Appalachian Trail. He remembers what the then sheriff told him at the trial:

There’s only two murder cases in these mountains I’m not happy with. One is the fellow you’re about to put on death row, and the other is Frankie Silver.

So he ruminates over both of these cases, wondering if justice was served, or if something was missed. The Frankie Silver case is told through Burgess Gaither, clerk of the court that tried and executed her.

I think I’ll count this for folklore (3A) bingo square. The author did significant historical research into Frankie’s case which after 200 years is probably more legend than fact. Other of McCrumb’s novels might also be good recommendations for this category, or just in general.

I just read 1984 because it feels relevant (unfortunately). Overall, very interesting and obviously bleak…

I am now reading The Poppy War and am enjoying it so far.

Finished Streams of Silver by R. A. Salvatore. 2nd books in Icewind Dale Trilogy (sub series in Forgotten Realms series).

The book is a very quick and easy read. Took me about 2 and half months, but that’s mostly because of my personal life, in normal situation, I guess I would’ve finished it in a week or so, maybe even less.

Thinking about starting the Witcher series by Andrzej Sapkowski, I read most of it a long time ago, but didn’t finish the series, so thinking about reading it again, and completing it, but I don’t have the books, so will start something else if I don’t buy them today/tomorrow.

Howling Dark by Christopher Ruocchio. It’s a space epic. Pretty good so far. The first book is a bit of a slog but really picks up in the later 3rd. The second book is much better so far. Still kind of a slow read though. 80 short 10ish page chapters is a slowdown factor for me. If it was 15 to 20 pages it would be paced better imo.

Just finished Pax Romana. Not much that was brand new to me in it, but it reinforced my views on ‘barbarian’ polities relations with the Empire as dynamic and active, rather than passive and reactive.

On my third pass though of all 41 Discworld novels in the past 18-months. Yeah, turned into a fanatic. So wish I had started years ago. Catching all the jokes, references, etc. might take a dozen readings. I’m sure I’m missing many by virtue of not being British.

Too many quotes, too many favorite characters, couldn’t scratch the surface talking about them. The characters and real-world parallels make for the best fiction I’ve ever read.

If these don’t serve to whet your appetite, maybe it won’t be your jam.

From the book I’m on now:

“…but what should we do when the highborn and wealthy take to crime? Indeed, if a poor man will spend a year in prison for stealing out of hunger, how high would the gallows need to be to hang the rich man who breaks the law out of greed?”

Found a related one looking for the above:

“He hadn’t had much experience with the rich and powerful. Coppers didn’t, as a rule. It wasn’t that they were less prone to commit crimes, it was just that the crimes they committed tended to be so far above the normal level of criminality that they were beyond the reach of men with bad boots and rusting mail. Owning a hundred slum properties wasn’t a crime, although living in one was, almost. Being an Assassin—the Guild never actually said so, but an important qualification was being the son or daughter of a gentleman—wasn’t a crime. If you had enough money, you could hardly commit crimes at all. You just perpetrated amusing little peccadilloes.”

A favorite:

Granny Weatherwax, the greatest witch the Discworld has seen, discussing theology with a young priest:

“There’s no grays, only white that’s got grubby. I’m surprised you don’t know that. And sin, young man, is when you treat people like things. Including yourself. That’s what sin is.”

“It’s a lot more complicated than that–”

“No. It ain’t. When people say things are a lot more complicated than that, they means they’re getting worried that they won’t like the truth. People as things, that’s where it starts.”

“Oh, I’m sure there are worse crimes–”

“But they starts with thinking about people as things…”

Oh, hell, one more:

“I was walking along the bank of a stream when I saw a mother otter with her cubs, a very endearing sight, I’m sure you’ll agree. And even as I watched, the mother otter dived into the water and came up with a plump salmon, which she subdued and dragged onto a half submerged log.

As she ate it, while of course it was still alive, the body split and I remember to this day the sweet pinkness of its roes as they spilled out, much to the delight of the baby otters, who scrambled over themselves to feed on the delicacy. One of nature’s wonders, gentlemen. Mother and children dining upon mother and children. And that is when I first learned about evil. It is built into the very nature of the universe. Every world spins in pain.

If there is any kind of supreme being, I told myself, it is up to all of us to become his moral superior.”

Currently reading The Lost Cause by Cory Doctorow. Not sure how I feel about it yet. The positivity and inclusiveness were nice at first, but it’s being laid on so thick that it’s starting to feel uncomfortable. Like fan service in an anime.

It’s really good at making you feel like peace and progress are fragile while fascism feels iron-clad.

I just re-read Neuromancer and then read Count Zero for the first time, absolutely loved it. I’m starting Mona Lisa Overdrive tomorrow.

I am also still slogging through the Night’s Dawn series by Peter F. Hamilton, and I kind of hate it.

Close to halfway through Sword of the Lictor, book three of the new sun series. Really enjoying the weirdness of the setting. Tons of interesting characters and locations, the main plot moves kind of slowly while the main character gets side tracked or waylaid and those are some of the best parts, especially since they all become meaningful as it goes on.

Realized by the end of the first book that it’s clearly a major influence for the Troika! tabletop role playing game, which made some of the more archaic terminology more familiar. Finally fully understand what an Alzabo is.

I just finished Rick Riordan’s Daughter of the Deep - it was really enjoyable. While I doubt the twist is super hard to predict if you try, it really caught me off guard.

I’m about to start the second book in Cinda Williams Chima’s Runestone Saga, Bane of Asgard. I really loved the first one, and am quite excited to dig into the next.

I just started Never Flinch, by Stephen King. I’m an absolute fan of Stephen King, so I couldn’t not start reading it.

Just finished Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson.

Now I’m halfway though Everything Is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection by John Green.

I would highly recommend both books if you like to see how our world is sculpted by generations of racial and political abuse.

I have plenty of books I’m partway through I should be reading, but Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid just came out and instantly jumped to the top of my list. Been looking forward to this one!

I have a reading book and a listening book on the go. Still working on Stormlight Archive book 5: Wind and Truth. The good guys just experienced another major setback, and the setbacks keep piling up. Makes it a bit hard to want to carry on even though you know most things will turn out in the end.

I’m also listening to Brandon Sanderson’s The Reckoners series. I’m on book 3 and been just loving the premise of “What if there are superheroes, but they’re all evil? What do the regular people do?”.

I finished Richard Vandermarck recently. It’s a bit old-fashioned (with a focus on Christian religion), but a good story about a young woman’s tragic first love and then getting a second chance with a family friend years later.