The kids are back in school… or soon will be, offer void in the Southern Hemisphere. Reading lists have been issued and groaned over, so what are you reading instead of what you’re supposed to be reading?
I am forty pages from completing the 4th Sandman Slim book Devil Said Bang, I wasn’t totally sold with the first book, but they are getting better, grittier and I’m adoring the fact that it’s not just a rehasing of the Judeo-Christian Bible and Mythos… it’s beginning to look like Cthulhu smash time!
I also started The Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee translated by Robert van Gulik.
Khadaji was one of the earlier members of the SDMB, and he was well-known as a kindly person who always had something encouraging to say, particularly in the self-improvement threads. He was also a voracious, omnivorous reader, and he started these monthly book threads. Sadly, he passed away in January 2013, and we decided to rename these monthly threads in his honor.
I finished Rocks Fall, Everyone Dies, by Lindsay Ribar, a YA novel about a family with bizarre magical powers. It explores the timeless theme of “if you had magical abilities, would that make you act like a total dick?” I LOVED THIS. I was so impressed how the author managed to make the reader understand the situation the protagonist is in (with the magical powers) and have some real sympathy for him, even when he keeps making terrible interpersonal decisions.
I also read Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel, which was decent enough. It’s not going to tax you intellectually or anything drastic, but it was a fun story about the discovery of a piece of alien technology. A quick read, and it’s the first in a series but it would work fine as a stand-alone if you don’t want to commit.
Misnomer and DZedNConfused, I was sorry to learn you are going through some sad times.
Plodding along with the humongous Against the Day, by Thomas Pynchon. Almost halfway through. It’s a great book, but moving a quarter of the way around the world and trying to get all set up sure takes away from your reading time.
Please add my condolences to Misnomer and DZedNConfused.
I finished Devil Said Bang the 4th Sandman Slim novel today. Richard Kadrey is getting a much better grip on his character’s personality and the book was a smooth read.
I dove back into The Pinball Effect by James Burke today. It is not as well written as the original Connections or The Day the Universe Changed, it’s pretty obvious this book is boiled down from the Connections 2 scripts, which is really sad… and a little bit boring.
Also making a bit of headway in The Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee now that the lengthy lecture/explanation of Chines literary forms is over.
I just finished the audiobook of Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng. Pretty well-written, but very depressing, about a 1970s Ohio family coming apart at the seams after the mysterious death of one of the children. It’s all about loss, grief, secrets and missed connections. There’s a more upbeat “where are they now” concluding chapter that feels kind of pasted-on, as if the editor insisted Ng couldn’t end on too gloomy a note.
I’ve begun another audiobook, Gillian Flynn’s Dark Places, which IMHO isn’t as good as her masterpiece, Gone Girl. It’s about a little girl, now grown, the sole survivor of a family which was murdered in 1985, trying to figure out what really happened that dark January night in rural Missouri.
Still enjoying Ian Toll’s Six Frigates, about the early years of the U.S. Navy. I’m up to the War of 1812 and its celebrated battles at sea.
Also on the naval front, I’ve begun Adm. Sandy Woodward’s One Hundred Days, about commanding the Royal Navy’s task force during the 1982 Falklands War. He had to juggle political imperatives, tenuous logistics, iffy new technology and a very tight timetable to defeat Argentina before winter set in. Very interesting and well-written, with just the right amount of characteristically dry British humor.
It’s one of the better naval history books I’ve ever read. Thoroughly-researched and a lively writing style. The Barbary Pirates, the Quasi-War with France, British impressment and the War of 1812 are all well-covered. And I hadn’t known there was so much dueling in the Navy back then!
Most of the naval history I’ve read has usually been ancillary to other war events. The book I read on the Lusitania was an exception, as is the one I mentioned above that I’m presently reading: a little-known naval disaster in a little-known staging port, with a resulting explosion greater than anything seen up until that time. I think the news of it was likely overshadowed by other WWI events.
I read a chapter in The Palace Job by Patrick Weekes. I’m hoping it settles down, he seems kind of all over the place in terms of tone but the imagery is pretty cool.
(I haz new dog, misnomer, I wanted to wait, but it was too lonely)
Awww! Congrats on the new pup. I know a lot of people who were surprised by how quickly they got/were ready for a new dog.
To continue the hijack for a minute, my friend’s viewings are this afternoon/evening (at the same funeral home we used for my mom, almost exactly 10 months ago). I’ll be driving to Maryland shortly after lunch. It’s going to be a very hard day, but I know getting through it is the first step toward healing. I’m spending the night up there; my Kindle is in my overnight bag!
After a long summer of too much work and not enough reading, I’ve finally had some time recently. I read and recommend City of Stairs, by Robert Jackson Bennett. I’m having a hard time summarizing it, but it’s a fantasy novel and the first in a series. Currently, I’ve switched gears completely and am reading The Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff. I came across it on a couple ‘best books of 2015’ lists and it piqued my curiosity. I’m not that far into it, but the jury is still out about how much I’ll like it.
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I know a lot of people who were surprised by how quickly they got/were ready for a new dog.