Books Read 2021

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Fri Sep 10, 2021 7:45 pm

Wow, I do like Freeman. It seems he's from Duluth, and the few series I've read always found a way to be in that part of the country. His Jonathan Stride series is excellent, I haven't read anything from him a couple of years but he started another series around a detective out of Florida (who nevertheless ended up on the frozen tundra of Minnesota).

I'd be interested in reading his Bourne novels, although I ought read Ludlum's first. I saw the movies though!

hitbyambulance · Post by **hitbyambulance** » Sun Sep 12, 2021 5:29 am

Henry James - In the Cage : this was a 'two-fer' paperback with _The Turn of the Screw_. i got about 1/4 of the way through, then decided if i wanted to salvage this reading, i would have to start over - so i did. i think i enjoyed it, but maaaaan you gotta really work at untangling James' sentences, which seem to go on, and perhaps even longer, and, yes, very long indeed, with a comma placed here, and, a hyphen over here - and here - and perhaps another few commas there, with the whole of the sentence eventually, very surely, circling back upon itself, but, as usual, the redirection is masterful, with an example being that what appears to be a major developing plot element for most of the book - maybe even what appears to be the main point of the story - is revealed to be completely irrelevant and it is instead a relationship with an infrequently-mentioned side character that summarizes and encompasses the novella's primary theme.

Jaymann · Post by **Jaymann** » Sun Sep 12, 2021 9:41 am

He's no Ernest Hemingway.

Holman · Post by **Holman** » Sun Sep 12, 2021 9:42 am

hitbyambulance wrote: ↑Sun Sep 12, 2021 5:29 am Henry James - In the Cage : this was a 'two-fer' paperback with _The Turn of the Screw_. i got about 1/4 of the way through, then decided if i wanted to salvage this reading, i would have to start over - so i did. i think i enjoyed it, but maaaaan you gotta really work at untangling James' sentences, which seem to go on, and perhaps even longer, and, yes, very long indeed, with a comma placed here, and, a hyphen over here - and here - and perhaps another few commas there, with the whole of the sentence eventually, very surely, circling back upon itself, but, as usual, the redirection is masterful, with an example being that what appears to be a major developing plot element for most of the book - maybe even what appears to be the main point of the story - is revealed to be completely irrelevant and it is instead a relationship with an infrequently-mentioned side character that summarizes and encompasses the novella's primary theme.

Hipolito · Post by **Hipolito** » Sun Sep 12, 2021 9:48 pm

To further embarrass hitbyambulance with praise, I'm going to comment on a book he recommended ...

Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk (audiobook): I won't say much about the plot either, except that it's about an old Polish woman who's really into animal rights, astrology, and the poetry of William Blake. She's eccentric, the type of person who files a police report whenever she sees a dead animal in the forest. A person you'd dismiss as a crank.

For most of of the book, I wasn't sure whether I liked it as I didn't know where the story was going. It seemed to be about how difficult life is for elderly people as they become physically frail, isolated from society, and shunned for their way of thinking. I figured the main lesson would be that we should listen to them more and be more compassionate. That's not the most compelling theme, but I kept reading because of the good writing/translation, the fact that the author is a Nobel laureate, and, most of all, Beata Poźniak's narration. She lent a gradual pace and husky timbre to the adorably odd, occasionally profound protagonist.

The last couple of chapters, though, really brought it home. They were emotionally searing and morally challenging. I'll reflect on them for a long time. 6 out of 8 deer.

hitbyambulance · Post by **hitbyambulance** » Sun Sep 12, 2021 11:37 pm

i read the physical novel, but it seems likely i'll 're-read' it with the audiobook version.
one particular detail (of several) that i liked:

Spoiler:

[abandoned] Martha Wells - All Systems Red : i picked this up because people from diverse reading groups (admittedly, all sci-fi fans) all liked this. can't say i do - it has that overly-explainy nitpicky style of narration that needs to detail, comment on and justify every unfamiliar term and action to a 21st-century earth reader. i feel like i'm listening to a software dev trying to socialize. it's tiresome.

Hipolito · Post by **Hipolito** » Mon Sep 13, 2021 1:41 am

Interesting, I had not known that. I had just assumed that's how it was generally done.

I still might give Murderbot Diaries a try.

hitbyambulance · Post by **hitbyambulance** » Mon Sep 13, 2021 1:46 am

Hipolito wrote: ↑Mon Sep 13, 2021 1:41 am Interesting, I had not known that. I had just assumed that's how it was generally done.

i assume there are other low-key elements like that in the novel - things that are not necessary to know for the story itself, but that add extra minutia or fleshing out of a character in an 'easter egg' kind of way for certain readers.

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Mon Sep 13, 2021 9:42 pm

The Invention of Nature - Alexander von Humboldt's New World by Andrea Wulf (A)

This is a really good biography of a pre-Darwinian naturalist who was a superstar in his day. A generation before Darwin, Humboldt was a major influence, even meeting the younger Darwin late in life. His enduring legacy not only includes the Humboldt current off South America, many species of animals named for him, but also various towns and parks, including the notorious Humboldt Park here in Chicago. He was a true international superstar in a war-torn world (the Napoleonic Wars occurred during his lifetime and interfered with some of his travel).

Humboldt did field work well into his 60's, traversing vast tracks of Russia and Siberia while younger associates struggled to keep up. He was feted by kings, and scientists all over the world looked up to him. His adventures could be the stuff of Hollywood legend...say maybe Errol Flynn. I learned a lot about Darwin, first in school, then reading his books, but I don't think Darwin would have done what he did without Humboldt paving the way.

Scuzz · Post by **Scuzz** » Fri Sep 17, 2021 4:38 pm

Tiamat's Wrath by James S.A. Corey

This is book 8 of the Expanse series. In my opinion this is probably the best book since earlier on in the series. Sure, the plot is kinda based on what I think most people would consider the act of a madman but, the book often refers to said person as being an egotistical madman. It does also set up the final book. I think it is obvious where that will at least start out.

Overall a good read.

Post by **ImLawBoy** » Mon Sep 20, 2021 9:47 am

Finished Infinite by Brian Freeman. Dylan Moran has led a hard life. His dad shot and killed his mother and then turned the gun on himself when Dylan was 13 - all in front of Dylan. His best friend Roscoe became a priest on the south side of Chicago and was killed in a car accident after bailing Dylan out of jail following a bar fight. On the positive side, Dylan met his soon to be wife in the aftermath of the wreck, as she was the first person on scene. On the negative side, the book opens with Dylan still dripping wet following his car getting washed into a river during a heavy storm and he was unable to get his wife free. Like I said, it's a hard life. To make matters worse, women who look like his now dead wife are turning up dead and Dylan keeps thinking that he's seeing himself around town.

The book hinges on the "Many Worlds" theory, where there is a new world created for every decision you make - an infinite number of worlds for an infinite number of choices. It's all theoretical stuff, but one psychiatrist thinks she's found a way to bridge these many worlds . . . .

Infinite isn't great literature, but it's a quick, fun read. As I mentioned in a previous post, Freeman set the book in Chicago and he nails the geography - at times it feels like he's showing off. It's dark and violent and there are times when Freeman makes some questionable/unrealistic choices, presumably in the interest of mood or plot. The plot keeps moving along, though, so I guess it works.

Up next is No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy. I've heard this described as "lesser" McCarthy, but I was in the mood for him and this was on sale on Kindle a while back. The beginning is remarkably consistent with the movie - the Coen brothers seem to have stuck to the source material.

hitbyambulance · Post by **hitbyambulance** » Tue Sep 21, 2021 3:30 am

Dodie Smith - I Capture the Castle : a quite loquacious epistolarly novel from the '40s. is it YA? i think so - it's very close to the sort of everyday-life-details story i would have found ideal as a middle-schooler, and am pleased to find i am still just as into it now as i would have been then. for the most part, very engaging writing and can be both quite funny and sharp at times. truthfully, i _was_ annoyed by the obsession with marriage (as detailed at length by the narrator and her older sister), but it does play a large part in the whole theme (and is true to the setting in 1940's England). also it gave me a new appreciation for bull terriers (a dog breed i have been rather dismissive of before now)

jztemple2 · Post by **jztemple2** » Sun Sep 26, 2021 11:30 pm

Finished off another couple of books and I'll just put my year's list in spoiler tags for those interested. If you want more details on any books just ask, I'll be happy to discuss them.

Spoiler:

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Mon Sep 27, 2021 2:34 am

Finished The Bomber Mafia by Malcom Gladwell. I know someone else here already read it. I have most of his books except the Dog one. And it seems Bomber Mafia is down to $7.99 this week.

I both like and not like the presentation style, and while I do have subscription of his podcast, Revisionist History, I hadn't listened to the audio episodes of this book. So I'm not spoiled in any way.

As a history buff, I am aware of SOME of the decision points discussed in the book but not in the details as presented. And I am surprised at the lack of details on the Norden bombsight. It almost sounds as if it didn't really go through acceptance trials, but it did for years, and many improved models were made. before it became famous. There was also minimal discussion of the infighting between Army and Navy, nor how Sperry also contributed to the bombsight.

Instead, this is basically a changeover in USAAF ideology: can disrupting supply line end the war quicker? And Norden bombsight was hailed as what made that "air power strategy" possible, and when that failed to produce results, LeMay took over, and we end up with Dresden Firestorm and similar incendiary bombing of Japanese cities, because, as Gladwell postulated, LeMay was results-driven, while his predecessor was ideology driven. That just feels like over-simplification.

The ethical issue of bombing civilians to shorten the war was discussed, but it also feels a bit rushed.

All in all, interesting, but I'm not sure it really provided that much food for thought or debate about warfighting, strategy, air power, or even ethics. It is still a compelling book.

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Fri Oct 01, 2021 3:42 pm

So finally our library system got Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson -- I requested this several years ago. I seem to recall getting this on Audible, but it's not attached to my account.

54.5 hours. I believe this is the longest audiobook I've attempted -- a number of Stephen King books were in the 30+ range, Bolano's 2666 was in the mid-40's, as was the Autobiography of Mark Twain, Vol.1. I lost 4 days on the check out finishing another book. I'm going need to be diligent devoting all of my downtime to this one.

Hipolito · Post by **Hipolito** » Fri Oct 01, 2021 6:35 pm

jztemple2 wrote: ↑Sun Sep 26, 2021 11:30 pm Finished off another couple of books and I'll just put my year's list in spoiler tags for those interested. If you want more details on any books just ask, I'll be happy to discuss them.

A couple of general questions...
1) How do you find out about all these history books?!
2) Are there any you feel are must-reads for everyone?

jztemple2 · Post by **jztemple2** » Fri Oct 01, 2021 7:00 pm

Hipolito wrote: ↑Fri Oct 01, 2021 6:35 pm
jztemple2 wrote: ↑Sun Sep 26, 2021 11:30 pm Finished off another couple of books and I'll just put my year's list in spoiler tags for those interested. If you want more details on any books just ask, I'll be happy to discuss them.
A couple of general questions...
1) How do you find out about all these history books?!
2) Are there any you feel are must-reads for everyone?

1) I've been reading and collecting history books for several decades. I go to used book stores and library remainder sales. And since I've been buying books through third party sellers on Amazon I'm constant getting emails about this or that author. Also I'm signed up at BookBub to get notifications on Kindle history books.

2) I can't suggest any must-reads because everyone's taste is different. If someone is looking for a recommendation in a specific era, location or event, I might be able to help.

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Fri Oct 01, 2021 7:21 pm

jztemple2 wrote: ↑Fri Oct 01, 2021 7:00 pm 2) I can't suggest any must-reads because everyone's taste is different. If someone is looking for a recommendation in a specific era, location or event, I might be able to help.

There are, none the less, some books that transcend predisposed interest in the subject matter...these are the kind of books that trigger an interest in the subject. This might be what Hipolito is suggesting, but I'd be interested as well.

jztemple2 · Post by **jztemple2** » Fri Oct 01, 2021 8:42 pm

Jeff V wrote: ↑Fri Oct 01, 2021 7:21 pm
jztemple2 wrote: ↑Fri Oct 01, 2021 7:00 pm 2) I can't suggest any must-reads because everyone's taste is different. If someone is looking for a recommendation in a specific era, location or event, I might be able to help.
There are, none the less, some books that transcend predisposed interest in the subject matter...these are the kind of books that trigger an interest in the subject. This might be what Hipolito is suggesting, but I'd be interested as well.

Hmm, not sure about that, at least for me. I prefer more esoteric subject matter, for instance my current book is From Boiled Beef to Chicken Tikka: 500 Years of Feeding the British Army by Janet Macdonald. I tend to avoid popular books because, well, they tend to be written for a more general audience.

Oh, regarding where I find out about these books, I also am a member of Bookmooch.com and PaperbackSwap.com (the latter also has hardcovers available). PaperbackSwap.com has a method of sorting what books are available and newly posted by category, in my case history.

Post by **ImLawBoy** » Wed Oct 06, 2021 10:15 am

Finished No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy. I tend to read books before I see the movies they're based on, but this one happened in reverse. That means that the looks of the characters and their voices in my head were heavily influenced by what I saw on screen, but since it's a great movie with great performances, I don't think that was a problem. The plots of the book and movie are very closely aligned, with a few extra points in the book and some extra sheriff ruminatin' at the end. With that in mind, I won't bother recapping the plot. Rather, I'll just mention that I really enjoy McCarthy's prose. I think this is the third book of his that I've read (after The Road and Blood Meridian), and while his flow is a bit unconventional (doesn't use quotation marks, punctuation is optional), it's still easy and fun to read. This would be a good introduction to McCarthy for someone who has seen the movie because they'll be able to focus on the writing without worrying too much about keeping up with the plot and its twists.

Up Next is Under Color of Law by Aaron Philip Clark, which was an Amazon First Reads freebie. It has to do with a young Black LAPD officer and it seems it might mix a traditional crime story with racial/social justice issues from an interesting perspective.

Jaymann · Post by **Jaymann** » Wed Oct 06, 2021 3:27 pm

Just finished:

Sorry for the huge image (couldn't get bigimg to work), book 3 of the Age of Madness series. There are few authors that I consider must read, but Abercrombie is right at the top. This book does not disappoint. There was a major twist I did not see coming. I wasn't especially thrilled by the ending, but after all, he did put the dark in Grim Dark. He also set the stage for future work in this universe. 7/8 stabs in the back.

hitbyambulance · Post by **hitbyambulance** » Wed Oct 06, 2021 9:48 pm

hitbyambulance wrote: ↑Sun Sep 12, 2021 11:37 pm [abandoned] Martha Wells - All Systems Red : i picked this up because people from diverse reading groups (admittedly, all sci-fi fans) all liked this. can't say i do - it has that overly-explainy nitpicky style of narration that needs to detail, comment on and justify every unfamiliar term and action to a 21st-century earth reader. i feel like i'm listening to a software dev trying to socialize. it's tiresome.

at the insistence of people on another forum, i un-abandoned this and finished it. i truly do not see what the hype is about and have no particular desire to continue with this series.
for the record, i didn't enjoy Andy Weir's _The Martian_ either (which seems to have a similar style of narration)

Joseph Conrad - "An Outpost of Progress" : a short, light-hearted tale about some doofus white dudes left in charge of an unsuccessful and remote trading post in colonial Africa. incompetence, idiocy and arrogance give way to isolation, starvation and mental derangement; hijinks ensue

Roger Zelazny - _The Dead Man's Brother_ : a random Little Free Library selection. Zelazny is of course well known for SF, but this unpublished contemporary mystery-crime-thriller from the early '70s was discovered in the mid '00s and published under the Hard Case Crime imprint. the setup is ludicrous, but Zelazny does make a game try at making it seem maybe plausible. there are, however, several minor plot points introduced that are never resolved - or even really brought up again - and the whole thing seems like it's in need of a second editorial pass (probably feasible if the author was still alive and all). still interesting enough for a pulp-style read that doesn't insult one's intelligence.

disarm · Post by **disarm** » Wed Oct 06, 2021 11:42 pm

I finished Death's End by Cixin Liu, the final book of the 'Remembrance of Earth's Past' series, last night. This is the Chinese science fiction trilogy that starts with The Three Body Problem and chronicles the events that unfold following humanity's first discovery of intelligent life from another planet. This story starts in late-1960s communist China but eventually becomes a centuries-spanning tale as the human race is forced to cope with the reality that we are not alone in the universe, and that these other beings are not likely to be our friends.

It's hard to say much about the story that unfolds without giving too much away. One of the things this series does amazingly well is to constantly introduce new twists to take the story in unexpected directions, and saying too much could really take away from the experience. I can honestly say that I had no idea how the whole thing would end prior to turning the last page, but it was an almost perfect conclusion to follow all that had come before. Liu manages to tell an amazing tale involving the entire human race, while at the same time giving us deep, engaging individual characters as a means of guiding us through this very complex tale. This series is pretty heavy scifi, with a lot of detailed talk about physics and philosophy, but it is all done in a very approachable, understandable way.

I really can't say enough about how much I enjoyed this entire series. It's an incredibly creative, engaging, and thought provoking story that is unlike anything I've read before. I would love to share more details, but I think it would take away from the excitement for anyone who chooses to experience it for themselves. Just take my word that Cixin Liu has created an amazingly detailed world unlike any other that deserves to be visited by any science fiction fan.

Hipolito · Post by **Hipolito** » Fri Oct 08, 2021 9:26 pm

Reader's Block by David Markson (paperback): page 78 of this experimental novel states "I have a narrative. But you will be put to it to find it." I was not up to the task.

The book is single-sentence (sometimes single-word) paragraphs, spaced apart. Most of the sentences are random historical facts, including many accusations of anti-Semitism. But a few of them are about two characters, Reader and Protagonist, and what the author is proposing for them. Gradually, amidst the trivia and non sequiturs, some sort of setting and backstory for Reader and Protagonist develops. I guess this book is the author's process of asking himself (as Reader) what he wants the Protagonist's story to be, and failing to come up with anything coherent. Despite the title, it's really about writer's block.

Page 124 asks:

Is there such a word as "grue" if Nelson Goodman invented it to illustrate a philosophic point but it has no other application beyond that classroom context whatsoever?

I wonder how the author would react to the Zork games in which "grue" is the name of a deadly monster that is ever lurking but never seen.

Whatever this book is trying to do, it would have been better and wittier as a short story.

Kurt Vonnegut liked this book. I like Kurt Vonnegut. Therefore, I should like this book. But I don't. 1 out of 8 gravestones.

hitbyambulance · Post by **hitbyambulance** » Sat Oct 09, 2021 1:04 am

Hipolito wrote: ↑Fri Oct 08, 2021 9:26 pm The book is single-sentence (sometimes single-word) paragraphs, spaced apart. Most of the sentences are random historical facts, including many accusations of anti-Semitism.

say no more. i have added this to my reading queue

Hipolito · Post by **Hipolito** » Mon Oct 11, 2021 4:41 pm

hitbyambulance wrote: ↑Sat Oct 09, 2021 1:04 am
Hipolito wrote: ↑Fri Oct 08, 2021 9:26 pm The book is single-sentence (sometimes single-word) paragraphs, spaced apart. Most of the sentences are random historical facts, including many accusations of anti-Semitism.
say no more. i have added this to my reading queue

If you enjoy it, you'll be glad to know it's just the first book of the author's "Notecard Quartet" and they're all written like that! Although in the unlikely event that I read another book by him, I'd read Wittgenstein's Mistress instead. David Foster Wallace liked that one enough to write an afterword for it.

And now, my next read. It's a special one. After a year and a half of being an LibraryThing Early Reviewer, this is the first physical review copy I've won. (In LTER, if you request a book that's in electronic form, you have about a 50/50 chance of getting it. But physical books are much more sought after, so if you ask for one of those, your chance is probably less than 1%.) It's also the first LTER book that I'm rating positively.

What a striking cover! Anyone who sees it in a bookstore will be drawn to it.

The Weight of Sand: My 450 Days Held Hostage in the Sahara by Edith Blais (paperback, LibraryThing Early Review): While touring Africa in 2019, the Canadian author and her Italian friend were kidnapped at the border of Benin by armed Islamists. This book is about that experience, and I'll review it in three parts: pre-captivity, captivity, and post-captivity.

1) Pre-captivity

The first several chapters show that before her capture, the author lived a charmed life. She traveled to many places and met many people, and it all worked out well for her. She has a bohemian spirit and isn’t worried about her future or career; she just wants to have fun and see the world while supporting good causes.

The author does not weigh the plot down with details. At first I thought it strange that she did not mention the names of everyone meaningful to her or the streets where her various jobs were, as most memoirs do. But then I realized that the lack of such details made the story easier to grasp. As someone struggling to get through the Wheel of Time series, I appreciate this.

2) Captivity

The author maintains her economy of language to describe her captivity in stark terms. She sometimes had to lie in tight, vermin-infested spaces that were 120 °F in the shade, malnourished, with nothing to do but think about her plight. She was shuffled from one country to another (and from one terrorist cell to another) by captors who were capricious, superstitious, gynophobic, and inexplicable in their behavior.

She describes the varying personalities of her captors, giving each a nickname. Though they're all "bad guys," some were nicer to her than others. She found it wise to comply with their demands most of the time; otherwise, they might have physically and sexually abused her, which would have embittered her against them and made her captivity much more difficult to survive. But occasionally she was able to play on their fears and superstitions to improve her situation.

For a while, she was held along with a few other women who were in captivity longer than her, and who are probably still in captivity. They were kind to her and gave her writing materials with which she wrote poems. These poems are interspersed with the chapters. (My copy was missing most of the poetry, but that can happen with advance reader's copies so I'm not downrating the book for this.) I don't have a head for poetry, and these poems don't strike me as masterworks, though some are thematically interesting. What's important is that writing these poems helped the author retain her emotional fortitude. She was able to keep these poems hidden from the terrorists and valued them enough to hold onto them until she returned home.

3) Post-captivity

Fortunately, the book doesn't simply end when the author gets out. Transitioning back home is an adventure in itself. The author expresses gratitude for the many people in various countries’ governments who were working hard for her release and who staff the enlightened, well-funded systems that shepherded her back home. This book is a reminder of the good that governments and global coalitions do. It’s ignorant to judge these organizations solely by the negative press they receive.

The book has an brief afterword by a couple of political scientists who give some background on the terrorism and kidnapping situation in West Africa. It may be a sourly technical way to end the book, but it’s important to understand why these things happen.

Also, there's a wicked cool hand-drawn map showing where the author was captured and where she was taken.

Conclusion: I have read tales of captivity before, and initially thought this wouldn't be much different. But it surprised me and was a worthwhile read. It also made me wonder whether we’re expecting too much from a “global war on terror.” Maybe, in the long run, it’s better to peacefully go along, like the author did, but break the peace now and then to win opportunistic little victories, hoping that the enemy will lose too much ground in the long run. That seems to be the enemy's tactic, after all. 6 out of 8 sculptures of sun guardians.

hitbyambulance · Post by **hitbyambulance** » Mon Oct 11, 2021 11:22 pm

just got Jhumpa Lahiri's Whereabouts from the library and noticed immediately upon flipping to a random page that the text was upside down. other pages are all the same. i thought at first this was an artistic decision, but the entire block (read: all the pages) is inserted upside down: title page, colophon, "a note about the author", "a note about the text", everything. just to verify, i did some research and couldn't find any mention of this anywhere online. so that seems to make this the largest printing error i might have ever encountered from a major-ish publisher (Alfred A. Knopf, in this case).

Post by **ImLawBoy** » Tue Oct 19, 2021 10:49 am

Finished Under Color of Law by Aaron Philip Clark. This was a Kindle freebie that promised to put a new perspective on the L.A. crime thriller. Finn is a young LAPD detective, and the son of a former LAPD officer. The LAPD continues to be plagued by violence and discrimination against minorities. The twist here is that Finn is Black. When the naked body of an LAPD recruit, who happens to be the only Black recruit in the current class, is found, Finn is assigned the case.

The difficulty of being a proud police detective who is also keenly aware of and ashamed of his department's is interesting territory, and the book is at its strongest when Finn is trying to resolve his inner conflicts. He really wants to help heal the department from the inside, but he suspects this may not be possible. How much does he continue trying vs. putting his head down and just doing his job?

Unfortunately, the rest of the book doesn't really keep up. The murder-mystery lacks much in the way of mystery and the writing is very flat. While I don't expect every crime writer to be James Ellroy, I have some expectations about how a crime story is written. The writing here lacks the punch and rhythm of a really good crime story.

Up next is Talk to Me by T.C. Boyle. It's been a while since I've read any Boyle, but he was recently retweeted into my Twitter feed and I started following him. He's an amusing Twitter follow and when I saw he had a new book out, I figured I'd check it out. Not too sure of the story yet, but it involves chimps learning to talk via sign language, and is almost surely going to be better than Chrichton's Congo (low bar to clear here).

hitbyambulance · Post by **hitbyambulance** » Wed Oct 20, 2021 4:43 am

just finished this one

Susanna Clarke - Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell - and it was actually really good. for a first novel that took over a decade to compose, the writing is fantastic: an understated style parody/tribute to mid-19c novel narration that is always a delight to read, even over the length of this one (and i would have been fine with it being even longer) and is actually humorous more often than one would expect. i do wish more contemporary fantasy novels were written this well. the ending was a bit of a cop-out but the effort, as a whole, was more than good enough. well worth the time investment and i do recommend it to those who will not be bothered by a narrative that takes its time establishing its world (and does so convincingly and satisfyingly).

i do not know why TOR decided to publish this in one volume. a 1007 page mass-market paperback does not stand up very well to use.... (i found it in this condition in a Little Free Library - i taped up the pages when i was done, and am returning it to an LFL.)

Post by **ImLawBoy** » Wed Oct 20, 2021 10:11 am

I enjoyed that book a lot, although it did get to be a slog at points. If you liked it, give Piranesi by Clarke a try. It's much shorter but still fascinating.

Seeing the pictures of that book reminds me of how my friend read Infinite Jest. She would read it on the train in NYC, so to make it easier to handle she tore it into 3 parts - the main text in 2 parts and the end notes in the 3rd. She actually took that version to a book signing and had David Foster Wallace sign it. He apparently gave her some grief about it, and my friend claims she retorted by telling him to wash his hair.

Scuzz · Post by **Scuzz** » Wed Oct 20, 2021 3:00 pm

Anathem by Neal Stephenson

It took me three tries to finally get past the 30 page point in this book. Stephenson's word play really bothered me for some reason. But I finally got past that and I am glad I did. I think this is my favorite Stephenson book now. I had previously read Snow Crash and Cryptonomicon.

I liked Stephenson's world building in this book and his main characters. The ending was a little sketchy, and maybe could have used a little more explanation but I think some of that is just me missing a few clues. But how we got there was a great ride and having his main character tell the story worked very well.

I do recommend this book. A word of warning though, as in every Stephenson book there is a lot of stuff that you can just kind of ignore. He loves to explain every little detail, ad nauseum, perhaps in this book it was a little more necessary (some of it) but as in the past it is just there for the nerds who really get into that stuff.

hitbyambulance · Post by **hitbyambulance** » Wed Oct 20, 2021 3:40 pm

ImLawBoy wrote: ↑Wed Oct 20, 2021 10:11 am I enjoyed that book a lot, although it did get to be a slog at points. If you liked it, give Piranesi by Clarke a try. It's much shorter but still fascinating.

i actually wanted to read _Piranesi_ when it came out, but then i realized i had never gotten around to this one, so i thought i would get this one out of the way first - glad i finally did.

Scuzz wrote: ↑Wed Oct 20, 2021 3:00 pm Anathem by Neal Stephenson

It took me three tries to finally get past the 30 page point in this book.

i've mentioned this before, but the first ~third of this book is the best thing he's ever written.

i have _Termination Shock_ on hold at the library, whenever that's released (next month?)

Rumpy · Post by **Rumpy** » Wed Oct 20, 2021 4:09 pm

Scuzz wrote: ↑Wed Oct 20, 2021 3:00 pm Anathem by Neal Stephenson

It took me three tries to finally get past the 30 page point in this book. Stephenson's word play really bothered me for some reason. But I finally got past that and I am glad I did. I think this is my favorite Stephenson book now. I had previously read Snow Crash and Cryptonomicon.

I liked Stephenson's world building in this book and his main characters. The ending was a little sketchy, and maybe could have used a little more explanation but I think some of that is just me missing a few clues. But how we got there was a great ride and having his main character tell the story worked very well.

I think it's my favourite of his. The concept is great, and so is the worldbuilding and imagination, which really felt forward-thinking and original, and full of big ideas. It was really refreshing to see in a time when there are so many rehashes. It's also one of his best books in terms of how it flows. The one thing that disappointed me was towards the end. I'd love to see a miniseries adaptation of it.

Scuzz · Post by **Scuzz** » Wed Oct 20, 2021 6:11 pm

I do think this book would make a great mini-series, although it would require a lot of voice overs describing certain things.

Hipolito · Post by **Hipolito** » Sun Oct 24, 2021 10:50 pm

We by Yevgeny Zamyatin (paperback): This Russian novel is arguably the progenitor of the dystopian genre. I can see how it inspired one of my favorite books, George Orwell's 1984. It's a much different reading experience, though.

Written as the protagonist's personal journal, the book is about a man named D-503 who fervently believes in the rightness of OneState's totalitarian doctrine. In fact, he's the chief architect of the Integral, a spaceship that will bring to other planets OneState's promise of blissful society free of individuality. The writing has a strangely upbeat, fanciful style that reminds me of the writing in the game Space Rangers 2. I don't know whether this is because that's how the author wrote, the awkward translation to English by Clarence Brown, or both.

It's neat to see how the author envisioned the future from his 1920 perspective. Flying cars, excessive artificial light, and a great glass wall isolating mankind from nature. It surprises me how completely he imagines totalitarian society, given that he wrote this before the official start of the Soviet Union. In OneState, everyone has a number instead of a name, wears a uniform, and every hour of their lives is planned, right down to sex (which is the only time you're allowed to lower your blinds). There are some beautiful passages that depict D-503's tortuous internal conflict between his faith in OneState and his desire for the painful uncertainty of forbidden love.

Unfortunately, in the second half, the book went from awkward-but-enjoyable to just plain awkward. The protagonist fears that he's losing his sanity, and the prose-poetry used to depict this is a chore to read. I didn't enjoy wading through his angsty delusions, and even when he was back in reality, I found it hard to follow. It's a cool story overall, but I won't read it again unless someone rewrites it in more modern form. 4 out of 8 yunies.

Scuzz · Post by **Scuzz** » Thu Oct 28, 2021 1:48 pm

Iceberg by Clive Cussler

According to wiki this is the third Dirk Pitt book Cussler wrote. It reads like it. Pitt is about as cliche driven as you can get in this one, with very little explained about him personally. In later books you know his whole life but I think at this point in time Cussler was trying to write an American James Bond. Other than mentioning Pitt is a food expert we know nothing but that Pitt is a renowned womanizer. His boss's secretary on this one is, and I kid not, Tidi Royal. Anyway, this book was written in 1975 and carries some real cultural baggage from then that I won't get into because it may ruin the plot. But just let me note that it was enough to make me consider putting the book down for good.

So, while the plot is typical Dirk Pitt there is some stuff in this one (aside from the nonsensical nature of the plot) that makes it a book I can't recommend. And it's not that I have a problem with Cussler, I have read many of his adventure books, but this one in particular I have a problem with.

jztemple2 · Post by **jztemple2** » Fri Oct 29, 2021 4:48 pm

My read books since I posted a while back. Post any questions you have on them:

With the Camel Corps up the Nile by Count Gleichen
From Boiled Beef to Chicken Tikka: 500 Years of Feeding the British Army by Janet Macdonald
Grant's Tomb: The Epic Death of Ulysses S. Grant and the Making of an American Pantheon by Louis L. Picone
Like Wolves on the Fold: The Defence of Rorke's Drift by Mike Snook
Universe on a T-Shirt: The Quest for the Theory of Everything by Dan Falk
Schnellboote: A Complete Operational History by Lawrence Paterson
River of Darkness: Francisco Orellana's Legendary Voyage of Death and Discovery Down the Amazon by Buddy Levy
Red Coats & Grey Jackets: The Battle of Chippawa, 5 July 1814 by Donald E. Graves
Disney's Land: Walt Disney and the Invention of the Amusement Park That Changed the World by Richard Snow
The Campaign of the Cataracts (Expanded, Annotated) by William Francis Butler
Weapons of the Lewis and Clark Expedition by Jim Garry
Visions of a Flying Machine: The Wright Brothers and the Process of Invention by Peter L. Jakab
The Forgotten Founding Father: Noah Webster's Obsession and the Creation of an American Culture by Joshua Kendall
Relish: The Extraordinary Life of Alexis Soyer, Victorian Celebrity Chef by Ruth Cowen

Hipolito · Post by **Hipolito** » Sat Oct 30, 2021 12:56 pm

The Wheel of Time, Book 7: A Crown of Swords by Robert Jordan (hardcover + audiobook): This is the first book in the supposed slog of the series. To be honest, it's been a slog for me since book 4. And I like this one a little more than book 6. There are some long-needed telling-offs and putting-in-places. And while the ending isn't as banger as previous books, there are some cool happenings such as a hobo rumble.

This is the first book in the series to squarely address the problem of rape. It doesn't examine the issue in much detail, but it does explore the confused mix of emotions felt by a male victim of a female rapist. And the book acknowledges that in a world where women have most of the power, women can rape men and get away with it, and the male victims won't be taken seriously.

4 out of 8 gateways.

Hipolito · Post by **Hipolito** » Sun Oct 31, 2021 8:38 pm

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett (hardcover): This novel begins in the small town of Mallard, which is populated by light-skinned black people (and the lighter you look, the better you're regarded). It follows the lives of twin sisters from Mallard across several decades. The sisters are inseparable until one of them abruptly runs off to pursue her own life.

I didn't enjoy the first half of the book which focuses on one of the sisters. She's not the most interesting character and the story didn't seem to be going anywhere. But when the POV changed to the other sister, the themes of colorism and internalized racism hit me like a hammer. And as one member of my Black Lives Matter book club pointed out, this book is not just about black people passing as white, but also white people passing as non-racists.

From the halfway point, the book was shocking and suspenseful in showing how one might embrace internalized racism to avoid trauma. It ultimately spins out into an unsatisfying ending. But that might be one of the book's points: when racism complicates the lives of multiple generations, there can be no satisfying wrap-up. 5 out of 8 off-off-Broadway shows.

Post by **ImLawBoy** » Tue Nov 02, 2021 12:35 pm

Finished Wild Dog by Serge Joncour. I was reading a paper copy of this, as I received it as a throw-in when I ordered a book from a local bookstore a while back. It's a French novel (translated, because I don't speak French) that tells parallel stories from 1915 and 2017. In the first timeline, WWI has just started, and all of the able men from a remote farming town in France are called up to the war effort. Stuck in the area is a German big cat trainer who has no interest in the war and just wants to hide out with his lions and tigers until things settle down. The mayor of the town allows him to rent a house on top of a hard to access mount where he keeps his cats in cages. In the 2017 timeline, a movie producer and his retired actress wife are vacationing at that same house, which has electricity and running water, but that's about it. She just wants to get away from it all, but he hates the idea of being incommunicado with his untrustworthy, much younger business partners who are trying to urge him into a deal with Netflix. He comes to befriend the titular wild dog, who is almost more wolf than dog, and the area starts to grow on him.

Chapters alternate between 1915 and 2017, and it's not easy to tell where the story is going to go in either timeline. It's well written overall, although sometimes the wording was a bit odd. I blame the French being translated into British English (lots of superluous Us throughout) and hitting an American reader. Ultimately, I was let down by the ending in both timelines. The author seemed to be building and building to something big, but the conclusions were anticlimactic (although I did like how they tied together a bit).

I'm still reading Talk to Me by T.C. Boyle on Kindle, and I'm not sure what I'm going to pick up in paper next. I have less time these days for paper reading than I did during the start of the start of the pandemic, but we'll see.