Finished Sour Cherry, by Natalia Thodoridou, abd Daydreaming in the Solar System: Surfing Saturn’s Ring’s, Golfing on the Moon, and Other Adventures in Space Exploration, by John E. Moores and Jesse Rogerson. Both were interesting, although in very different ways. (A new take on “Bluebeard” and enjoyable descriptions of worlds in our solar system.)
Next up: This Is Improbably Too: Synchronized Cows, Speedy Brain Extractors, and More WTF Research, by Marc Abrahams; and Automatic Noodle, by Annalee Newitz, a science fiction novel.
Finished This Is Improbable Too: Synchronized Cows, Speedy Brain Extractors, and More WTF Research, by Marc Abrahams; and Automatic Noodle, by Annalee Newitz. Both of them were okay.
Next up: Evergreen: The Trees That Shaped America, by Trent Preszler, and Emma Tupper’s Diary, by Peter Dickinson.
Finished Evergreen: The Trees That Shaped America, by Trent Preszler, which is the best nonfiction book I’ve read so far this year. Also finished Emma Tupper’s Diary, by Peter Dickinson. It’s a kid’s book, and I enjoyed it. However, since it’s about kids exploring a Scottish loch in a mini submarine, Submarine Summer would’ve been a much more exciting title. (That hypothetical title seems to have been available.)
Next up: The Strange Bird by Jeff Vandermeer, and Trope-ing the Light Fantastic: The Science Behind the Fiction, by Edward M. Lerner.
Never got any better. Didn’t pass my 50-page rule, and I gave up on it.
Just zipped through a YA graphic novel of Moby Dick by that Melville guy, adapted by David Rodriguez and illustrated by Ignacio Segesso. Not all that great, and just 80 pages long. As you might expect, a lot gets left out.
Now almost halfway through John Grisham’s The Whistler, which was very slow in getting started but is now, after a somewhat unexpected murder, moving along at a good clip. Two State of Florida investigators are drawn into a case involving a Native American casino, organized crime and an allegedly crooked local judge.
Finished Stan and Ollie by Simon Louvish. Long, but very well researched and well-written. Unfortunately, I’m not really the target audience – I’m not a big Laurel and Hardy fan.
Before I begin Four-Sided Triangle, I’m reading another Nero Wolfe novel I haven’t yet read – Where there’s a Will.
On audio, I finished Quantum Tempest and havent really picked a next book. I’m glancing over my MP# audiobook collection.
My bedside reading on my e-reader is still The Penguin Book of Mermaids, which is surprisingly good, with most of the entries either taken from old, unfamiliar works or from very recent translations.
Oh dear, I just finished Nonesuch too, but I loved it!
One of the things I liked most about it was that it was so immersive. It swallowed up my tedious, anxious everyday thoughts into the story whenever I was reading it. The descriptions were extensive at times, but drew me in.
The setting, of a city going on with daily life as the shadow of fascism fell over it, felt real enough to connect to things that worry me in reality, but far enough removed to allow enjoyment. I sure hope someone out there is consorting with the supernatural on our behalf.
The ending was crushing, but as it’s to be continued, I really want to know what happens next.
I don’t know, I agree with most of what you said but still wasn’t very satisfied with the book, may be I was just not in the mood for that kind of book.
Finished Playing for Pizza, by John Grisham. A washed-up pro American football player reluctantly signs a deal with literally the last team in the world that will take him – the Parma Panthers in northern Italy. Shenanigans ensue. Not your usual Grisham read, not a legal thriller at all, not even close, but a very cute fish-out-of-water story. I’m somewhat surprised no one has turned it into a movie yet. I really enjoyed this book, and I hate football. It’s good for when you’re not in the mood for anything too heavy. I was surprised to learn the Parma Panthers are real, as is the Italian Football League they compete in. Apparently, Grisham stumbled across them while researching a different book. I finished it while we were condo-searching upcountry last week. We were successful. Found a place we liked and signed a lease on a two-bedroom unit in the seaside resort of Hua Hin, on the Gulf of Thailand coast of the Malay Peninsula, less than three hours south of Bangkok. Will move in on July 1.
Have started another Grisham, Camino Ghosts, the third book in his Camino Island series.
Yesterday I read Strangers on a Train, the second book in the newest Nancy Drew series by “Carolyn Keene”. (I wonder who’s writing this lot – Garis, Benson and McFarlane are all dead, and I’m sure most of the other old ghosts are, too.) I decided I might as well give Honor Harrington a try, so I got Honor of the Queen, the second book of that series, too, and finished reading it this afternoon. Second book in each series because the first books had been checked out; I put those on hold and was actually able to pick them both up this afternoon.
I liked Playing for Pizza (including its initial Cleveland setting), but you’re right, it’s definitely not your typical Grisham book. I read somewhere that he enjoyed an Italian vacation so much that he decided to incorporate some of his experiences into his next book.
The Left Hand of Darkness The Turn of the Screw A Farewell to Arms Rebecca Dracula Heart of Darkness Nineteen Eighty-Four The Great Gatsby Pride and Prejudice
I’d say Left Hand, Farewell to Arms, Rebecca and Gatsby would be my favorites of those. I also have a lot of personal favorites that aren’t likely to ever show up on lists like this.
I also started two on the list:
My Antonia The Leopard
I didn’t finish them, though. Just didn’t grab me, although I gave them my customary 50 pages.
Catch-22 A Farewell to Arms Rebecca Dracula Invisible Man The Handmaid’s Tale Great Expectations David Copperfield Frankenstein Wuthering Heights Nineteen Eighty-Four Moby-Dick The Great Gatsby Jane Eyre
Catch-22 is one of my all-time favorite novels. Dracula and The Handmaid’s Tale would also appear on my personal Favorite Novels list.
Finished The Perfect Marriage by Jeneva Rose. A good murder mystery. The protagonist is a highly successful criminal defense attorney who puts much more effort into her career than into her marriage. But when her husband is accused of murdering his mistress, she must use all her skills to prove he wasn’t the culprit. I thought I had it figured out, until a very surprising plot twist at the end of the book.
