Embassytown | 
pickThis is a rather unusual book: it has the coming-of-age material, and some love story, and there are aliens, and adventures, and diplomacy and war. But at the center of the story there is a language, an alien language that no single human can speak and special pairs of "ambassadors" are grown and trained to use it. I could never imagine, that Ferdinand de Saussure's linguistic theory can be turned into an interstellar adventure narrative #bookclub
so-soI've come to the conclusion that China Mieville is just not for me. The writing sounds so impressive that it's almost enjoyable, but I struggled to imagine the story or keep up with what was happening. I'm still not entirely convinced I know what happened in the story.
bailedMy second attempt after waiting a couple years but I just could not do it, though I did get past the info dump of the first 17% of the book. I think if I were younger with more free time I'd wade through to find out where the story goes. As it stands now, I really don't care about the protagonist, the gossip, or the socio-political drivers in the story.
I am posting one book per day from my extensive to-be-read collection. No description and providing no reason for wanting to read it, I just do. Some will be old, some will be new. Don‘t judge me - I have a lot of books. Join the fun if you want.
This is day 239 #bookstoread #tbrpile #bookstagram
pickEmbassytown ft my very needy cat.
Honestly loved this book. It was so incredibly inventive and I'm blown away by the world building and the breadth of understanding of such unknowable aliens and their language.
pickI have a very small stack of books, comprised chiefly of William Gibson‘s brilliant Neuromancer & now this one, which require more than one reading to really make sense of them, to appreciate the nuance & just exactly what the author has accomplished. Miéville is a writer with big ideas, one who asks big questions as he does in this book when he examines language as Language, the meeting of aliens & humans, the battle between old & new & more.⬇ï¸
Once again I mined the depths of my TBR stacks for my next book.
pickThis is a story about Language and language and really alien aliens that is going to live with me for a while, fermenting in my brain.
"It's some kind of coup for Wyatt that they're here. He's crowing so hard hens everywhere are getting randy."
pickFinished this sci fi novel #audiobook about a girl living in a human colony on an alien planet when everything starts to go bad between the two species. It took me awhile to get into this book, some of the world building was a bit of a drag for me in the beginning, but once the action started I enjoyed the book quite a bit. I have always thought the study of languages was fascinating, and languages and communication play a key role in this book.
so-soThe world-building was intense, and the payoff was mostly worth it. I enjoyed reading this book, but I kept putting it down and reading other things, which is never a good sign for me. I did really enjoy the linguistic theory though.
pickI'm calling this a pick even though my feelings were mixed. It's definitely Miéville at his driest, and most intellectual. Plot and character development often fell by the wayside in favor of ruminations on linguistic themes. But don't confuse "dry" with "unimaginative"- this novel is creative, complex, ambitious, and I suspect it rewards multiple readings.
I discussed it with my book club and all we could agree on is that China is a total babe.
I'm trying to focus on reading but the cuteness is just unbearable. #caturday #catsoflitsy
pickMy #Recommendsday pick (my first on Litsy!) is Embassytown by the excellent China Miéville. I've read a few of his books and this is by far my favourite! It's a Sci-Fi novel about alien communication with unique, thought provoking ideas and a literary slant. I'd heartily recommend this to fans of Neil Gaiman or John Scalzi!
Today's #booktober challenge , #outofthisworld , should have been easy for me. Over half my collection is set in other worlds. Over half of my 600 + books... 😩
I finally decided on Embassytown, because Arieka is the most alien place I have ever been taken by a book. It's not an easy read. It will stretch your mind. But it is SO worth it.
@RealLifeReading
Three hours of reading! I know it's not anywhere near 24 but getting three hours to sit down and read is mind blowing. It's definitely showing me how I can make more time for reading every day. And so far this book is as unique and exciting and mind bending as all of Mieville's other books. He's such an amazing writer. #24in48 @24in48
