Still reading Whispers Underground by Ben Aaronovitch. Book 3 of Rivers of London series.
Didn’t really get much to read this week, so at same place as last week.
What about all of you? What have you been reading or listening to lately?
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Just finished Team of Teams by General Stanley McChrystal (and others), it’s excellent!
The Escape Artist: The Man Who Broke Out of Auschwitz to Warn the World by Jonathan Freedland was fantastic!
Also finished The Years of Rice and Salt by Kim Stanley Robinson. It’s just okay. I keep trying to get into historical fiction and it’s just not my thing so maybe don’t take my word on it.
Just started The Revenge of Power: How Autocrats Are Reinventing Politics for the 21st Century by Moisés Naím and The Culture Code by Daniel Coyle. So far both look to be excellent.
I finished The Laat Lifeboat by Hazel Gaynor. It’s a fictionalized retelling about a British ship carrying evacuated children to Canada that was hit by a torpedo from a Nazi U boat. One lifeboat was not rescued for many days. I usually don’t enjoy fictionalized retellings like this, but I actually really enjoyed this one. The author took the facts surrounding the lifeboat and populated it with entirely fictional characters, giving her more leeway to properly plot the story out and give depth without having to make up things about real people.
I just started Grendel by John Gardner, a retelling of Beowulf from the monster’s point of view. Too early to say how I feel.
I just finished listening to this. I was a wild listen/read. There is a shit load of illegal activity that goes on in and around Fort Bragg.
Who know that if you put thousands of people who are basically trained assassins who are highly trained at surveillance and clandestine operations they would start doing heaps of illegal shit?
Answer EVERYONE
The book spent a lot of time illustrating the incredible number of murders, drug over doses and drug trafficking that goes on in and round Ft Bragg.
The book also spends about the same amount of time illustrating how the GWOT basically fuels the world’s supply of Herroin.
On a personal note: I was in the Army for 6 years and Fort Bragg is one of those posts that is just revered in the Army. All I ever heard was how great things were there. It was interesting to learn about another side of that place.
Who know that if you put thousands of people who are basically trained assassins who are highly trained at surveillance and clandestine operations they would start doing heaps of illegal shit?
Answer EVERYONE
And the utter lack of accountability and blank checks given to spec ops after the GWOT started!
Just finished “Rogue agent” by Skyler Ramirez, which I liked a lot. I wasn’t through with his “Dumb luck and dead heroes” series just yet, but I needed a change from the same two characters’ first person thing. Also just finished the audiobook for “The eye of the Bedlam bride” by Matt Dinniman. Great book, but I will probably just read the next book. Listening on my commute takes too long, it took me over two months to finish it.
Halfway through Kaiju preservation society. A real page turner.
Fire and blood, the origin of the iron throne. But in french because I need to practice that skill.
Kaiju Preservation Society was my first Scalzi and it is so good. I’ll probably buy some fancy collectors edition one day to have in my bookshelves.
I always scoff at how cheesy Scalzi’s book synopses sound but then I burn through them in a day or two. Starter Villain especially.
I didn’t get much reading done this week either; still reading My Name is Nobody by Matthew Richardson.
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Read DuMort by Michelle Tang (gaslamp horror, novella) | bingo: minority author, short, new, steppin’ up
In a city where even speaking the names of the dead is a punishable blasphemy, an upper-class woman seeks out an occultist to help rid her of an angry ghost.
I wanted something compelling to get me back into my reading groove, and this helped, I think? It definitely had some cool ideas and the world-building was strong for the length, but it was also a little too yearn-y for my taste, and I would have liked more description of what went down at the end. Enjoyable, though.
That sounds interesting. Will take a look.
Finished listening to Fury of the Gods by John Gwynne over the weekend. Loved the whole trilogy, would recommend.
Started listening to Babel by RF Kuang. I am not sure where I was recommended this from but its… interesting is i guess the best word i can use to describe it.
Still physically working through Lady of the Lake the last book in Witcher series. It just feels disconnected so far so it feels hard to get into
Babel is recommended quite often, so it could be anywhere, though the reactions here are generally mixed.
Currently, I’m reading Annie Bot by Sierra Greer. This one is so good and I am really enjoying it. There is so much about autonomy, self realization, and how to recognize abuse. Fantastic book so far.
I just finished The Two Lies of Faven Scythe by Megan O’Keefe and I really enjoyed it. Then Star Trek, Vol 1: Godshock, loved it but I’m trying to find vol 2 at the library, I might have to request it from a different library system.
I just finished reading the series The Green Bone Saga by Fonda Lee. Overall I liked the series - it was more of a business drama / political family drama with a sprinkling of fantasy. I thought the final book was more of an extended epilogue, with frequent time jumps. I found it a bit difficult to reconcile the rapid aging of characters I still felt were young.
I am now reading Blood over Bright Haven by M. L. Wang at the recommendation of my wife. I have really loved this one - it’s been very interesting even though it has been a tiny bit predictable.
After that, I’m debating rereading The Expanse as I really loved it.
The Expanse is soooo good! I’ve been rereading that via audiobook.
I finished James by Percival Everett and I really enjoyed his sense of humor and use of irony, and I found it to be a fast-paced read.
Up next will be The First Three Minutes: A Modern View of the Origin of the Universe by Steven Weinberg, which was recommended by Neil DeGrasse Tyson on his StarTalk podcast.
I read It’s Lonely at the Center of the Earth yesterday and loved it. I’d like to read more GNs, I mostly read manga, but there doesn’t seem to be many realistic fiction GNs? I’m not that interested in fantasy/supernatural stuff usually. So if anyone knows any good realistic GNs I’m open to suggestions 😋
I’m also reading Creation and Anarchy by Agamben, but I’ve been a bit distracted by Silksong so it’s taking a while, whoopsie~
Never heard of It’s Lonely at the Center of the Earth, going to check it out!
Cool, I hope you’ll love it at least half as much as I did!
For graphic novels: Have you read Persepolis? Also recommend Fun Home.
Thank you! Persepolis was on my to-read already, but those are great recommendations :)
Fun Home and Are You My Mother? are both superb.
I also personally like Derf Backderf, especially My Friend Dahmer and Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio.
Thank you!
if Beale st. could talk by Baldwin.
Just finished Eversion by Alistair Reynolds and started Century Rain by him. I love his work but haven’t read these.
I went into both relatively blind and don’t regret it.
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I vote for trashy Battletech novels!
Stephen kings Dead Zone. Awesome book.
Just finished the clockwork angels trilogy and brave new world.
