Finished Phoenix Rising: A Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences Novel a Steampunk novel set in the late 1800s. It was OK, but to be honest, I don’t even remember enough about it to give an overview. I may read the next one, but only if I see it and remember it.
But at the end
they get to see each other one last time before she dies as a very old woman. They end up spending virtually their entire lives with their true loves, although not, of course, sequentially. It was bittersweet but not depressing, I thought. YMMV.
Another vote for the book, by both me and the wife. (Followers of my pigeon thread will know that Henry was named after the protagonist of that book, as he first appeared while I was reading it.)
Electric Eden: Unearthing Britain’s Visionary Music
Interesting so far, I’ll have to go through it again and take notes on the early parts so I can track down and hear some of the stuff that’s being described. Once it gets to the late 50s/60s/70s I should be more familiar with the music.
It’s certainly well-written. Reading about music you haven’t actually heard is difficult, but the writer manages to make it sound interesting enough that I want to go and track it down. And the people described are endearingly eccentric.
Yeah, that was cheery as hell. :rolleyes:
Well, I never said it was cheery. :dubious:
It’s getting good reviews. I’ve read a couple of her previous and I’m hoping for this is good too.
This is one of the series that I prefer the audiobook for. The narrator, Ralph Cosham, is perfect. I just started listening to Trick of the Light last night.
Another good author to listen to is Tana French. I think she has a different narrator for each book, but the books are great to hear read with and Irish accent.
Just got Reamde delivered to the kindle last night.
Squirt!
I got Reamde last night, of course I finished it already! There’s one good thing about being unemployed:)
I liked it but the last third seemed to lack the punch and taut writing of the first 2/3rds.
I finished Night Birds by Thomas Maltman about a week ago, and I was really impressed. The context of the story - natives relationship to white settlers in the 1850s-70s - isn’t something I’ve really ever run across before.
Right now I’m reading The Dead Path by Australian author Stephen Irwin, and it’s a real page turner. I only picked it up this afternoon and I’m 175 pages into it. The protagonist’s tragic childhood reminds me a bit of In the Woods by Tana French, but there’s a much stronger supernatural vein to this one.
I just started “Odysseus in America” and in it the author goes book by book through the Odyssey and compares Odysseus’ actions with that of veterans returning from war. His case studies are from Vietnam but what he says is still very relevant. The book was written in '02 and as a vet I say anyone who works with vets, loves a vet, or is a vet (maybe all three at the same time) needs to read this book.
And, it makes me want to read the Odyssey.
Starting The Mad Bomber of New York: The Extraordinary True Story of the Manhunt that Paralyzed a City by Michael M. Greenburg.
I’ve only been able to grab about two hours in total to read since I got it, but it’s already got me hooked into the storyline.
How is this? They have it at the library and I was curious. I’ve never read Asimov and wasn’t sure where to begin.
Speaking of Asimov, right now I’m reading an Asmiov’s Science Fiction Hugo and Nebula Award Winning Fiction collection. It’s great, great stuff. So far every story I have read is excellent.
ETA: I’m still working on the Essential X-Men collections - right now I’m halfway through Volume 7, shortly after the mutant massacre. Crazy good!
I read Jhereg, by Steven Brust, which is the first in an old fantasy series. I’ve been meaning to read this for a while, but the description never sounded very interesting. It was a light-hearted caper story, and pretty entertaining. I’ve ordered the next few books.
The only other thing I’ve read by Brust is his strange little vampire novel Agyar, which I also liked. I hear good things about Freedom and Necessity, which he wrote with Emma Bull. I’ve only read her War for the Oaks.
I just finished The Attenbury Emeralds, by Jill Paton Walsh, who writes mysteries based on Dorothy Sayers’ characters. It was a decent read, but mostly served to make me want to re-read the original Lord Peter/Harriet stories. This Walsh book is set just after WWII (Peter is 60), when Peter and Harriet are watching the old social structures in England crumble. It has a lot of reminiscing - particularly Peter and Bunter discuss Peter’s fragile state of mind immediately after WWI, before he met Harriet.
I really enjoyed the series for a while. It kind of wandered a little and I lost interest. Some have said that he brought it back on track, but I haven’t gone back.
The series (for many years just a trilogy) is deservedly a classic, but hasn’t aged very well IMHO. The technology now seems almost quaint, and his attitudes towards women are definitely retro. It’s also quite a big chunk of literature to bite off and chew. I would suggest you read the first book that Asimov wrote in the series, Foundation, and see how you like it, or try one of his fine short story collections such as I, Robot or The Best of Isaac Asimov. My favorite short stories of his are “Nightfall,” “The Last Question” and “Victory Unintentional.”
*Maphead-Charting the Wide, Weird World of Geography Wonks *by Ken Jennings, yes that KJ
Time for another dog book. I’m reading Dog Years: A Memoir, by Mark Doty, who also happens to be one of my favorite poets. It’s really, really good.