Chiming in so as to be subscribed to the thread. Still on Imperium, by Robert Harris. A fictional (?) account of the life of the Roman orator Cicero, as told by one of his slaves. Enjoying it immensely but thought I would have finished it by now. Apparently, my shoulder problems have not reduced my activity that much, so I’ve not had the extra reading time I anticipated.
On page 674 of Nixonland by Rick Perlstein. Only 74 more pages to go and it has been a fascinating read. Particularly during this lovely election cycle. I have noticed some very interesting parallels to events in the book, especially in the section dealing with the election of 1954.
No idea what I will go to next.
I loved that book, but I remember it took me a while to get into it.
I recently finished Hit and Run, Lawrence Block’s most recent book about Keller, a hit man who is also an avid stamp collector.
Also The Towers of Trebizond, by Rose Macauley which seems to have been a huge hit when it came out in the 1950s, about English tourists in Turkey. It was dated, but in that good way where it is interesting to see that particular era.
And The Lightning Thief, by Rick Riordan, a YA book about a boy with superhuman abilities – I enjoyed this a lot, it was adventuresome and funny, but still a little bit of a Harry Potter knock-off but whatever. I guess.
Currently reading African American Men in College, which is non-fiction for work, and Living Dangerously, a biography of Merian C. Cooper, the guy who made King Kong.
I picked up *The Atrocity Archives *by Charles Stross, because I’ve read some of his short stories and was curious about his longer fiction. I’m only 20 pages in so far, but it’s awesome! Mathematics + Lovecraftian occultism + geeks + great language, what’s not to like?
Also reading Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami, and am a little disappointed. I loved Kafka on the Shore, and was expecting to be eaten alive by the story in much the same way. It hasn’t happened yet. I’m still waiting to be swept off my feet.
Just finished A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore and am starting Without Mercy by Toni L.P. Kelner – it’s the start of a new mystery series by her. I bought my copy from her a couple of weeks ago at the First Salem Literary Fest, and had her autograph it.
Finished You Want Fries With That? : a white-collar burnout experiences life at minimum wage by Prioleau Alexander. Pointless but funny. I paper-clipped the chapter about him working as an emergency room tech and gave it to my daughter to read.
Just starting on A Spot of Bother, a novel by Mark Haddon, who wrote The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. It’s okay.* I had to re-read the dust jacket synopsis at one point so I’d remember who was who, since it’s pretty light on characterization.
*That’s how I felt about Curious Incident too. I doubt I’ll continue reading this author.
Just cracked God Isn’t Great by Christopher Hitchens.
I also had trouble getting into the first 100 pages, but enjoyed it immensely by the end.
I’m reading Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency and finding it pleasantly goofy.
Picking up Jim Butcher’s Small Favor from the library today. I’ve been enjoying the series and am sad I’ll have to wait till 2009 for the next one.
Just finished Heartfelt, by Aidan Smith; a pretty funny, if predictable, memoir about a lifelong fan of Edinburgh’s Hibernian FC switching his allegiance for a year to Hibernian’s local archrival team, Heart of Midlothian FC.
And I just started Collapse by Jared Diamond. Only a few chapters in, but so far it seems a bit drier than Guns, Germs, and Steel, which I liked a lot.
Just finished The Sorcerer: Metamorphosis by Jack Whyte. I’ve lost steam on this series but it was ok.
Reading “Sam Patch: Ballad of a Jumping Man” by William Getz. So far, so good!
Also reading: Dove of the East by Mark Helprin. I’m not a huge fan of short stories so it’s a ‘meh’.
To be honest I wasn’t expecting much and I wound up enjoying The Forgotten Beasts of Eld quite a bit. I’m not a fan of that form of fantasy but McKillip’s book worked for me because of the depth of the characters. I appreciated that McKillip clearly recognized the hypocrisy and self-destruction in the positions of most of her characters (especially the protagonist) and built the story off that. A lesser writer would start from a very similar position and make it about the animals or tearing down the evil king but McKillip chose the more interesting story to tell.
Oh, and Chronospace showed up first for me so I’m hitting that next.
Finished Imperium, by Robert Harris. Excellent. An account of Cicero’s life as written by his former slave, Tiro. The main focus was on Cicero’s quest for the consulship in the Roman Republic. And I see nothing ever changes in politics. In an Author’s Note at the end, Harris informs the reader that most of the events in the book did happen, and none could be demonstrated not to have happened. Interestingly, he mentions that Plutarch and Asconius both attested to the real-life Tiro actually writing a life of Cicero, but the real one “vanished in the genral collapse of the Roman Empire.”
Next up: The 13th Warrior, by Michael Crichton. Its original title was apparently Eaters of the Dead, but it looks like it got changed when they made it into a film in 1999 starring Antonio Banderas and Omar Sharif. The full title is The 13th Warrior: The Manuscript of Ibn Fadlan, Relating His Experiences with the Northmen in AD 922.
**Siam Sam[/ B] wrote:
Yeah, you can see why they changed the title – who wants to see a movie called “Eaters of the Dead”. It sounds like a zombie flick.
The book was pretty good, and I liked it more than most Crichton. It’s essentially a retelling of “Beowulf”, although with lots of odd twists. You could make an interesting movie night out of the three recent versions of Beowulf and The 13th Warrior.
I am waiting with no patience for my autographed copy of “Toll the Hounds” to appear on my doorstep. I love this series.
22??? Holy crap…
AuntiePam, I really liked Softpoken it a lot – thanks for recommending it! I was gliding along thinking I was reading a slightly creepy book about marital angst and then… oh dear God! How long d’you suppose the nightmares will last?
Tell Me Where It Hurts: A Day of Humor, Healing, and Hope in My Life as an Animal Surgeon by Dr. Nick Trout.
I’ve Finished In the Woods by Tana French. * I thoroughly disappointed “police procedural.” The narrator is a whiny unpleasant pathetic lump. Although we are given reason for him being a mess, it doesn’t make it any more enjoyable. I will box the rest of my comments as they contain a spoiler: Of the two mysteries that had to be solved, one was solved, but not resolved satisfactorily. Yes, this happens in real life and maybe makes the book more real, but was a let down. The other was never solved and left hanging and empty, completing the let down of the book.
I finally put down * Slayer by Karen Koehler Some books are called page-turners because they are so exciting you can’t wait to get to the next page. This one was a page flipper, I was so bored I would flip pages looking for something interesting. I finally decided it just wasn’t worth the effort, I have too many books in the queue.
So glad you liked it. I was nauseated at the end, and not because of blood and gore. I felt gutshot.
Was this your first Shepard? He’s usually easier to handle.
Done. Well, that was pointless.
I don’t think I’ll have time to start anything else right away because I’m going on a trip starting Sunday. With an eye towards packing light, I plan to bring Tim Powers’ Earthquake Weather and T.H. White’s The Once and Future King.
The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes - and Why
Very interesting look at different reactions to disasters.