Books Read 2021

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Re: Books Read 2021

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And now for something completely different . . . .

We got the twins into checking out books online from the Chicago Public Library, and I've got the Libby app installed on my phone. While looking for books to recommend for the kids, I stumbled across Wings of Fire - The Dragonet Prophecy by Tui T. Sutherland. I checked it out so that I could check it out (ain't I clever?). This is a kid's novel about a world pretty much ruled by dragons. There's a big ol' dragon war going on led by three competing claims to the throne of the Sandwing kingdom (Queendom? Dragons appear to have a matriarchal society.). Different breeds/races of dragons have formed various alliances, and the types of dragons include Skywings, Mudwings, Seawings, Nightwings, Icewings, and Rainwings. The Talons of Peace have a prophecy that five particular dragonets (one each Sandwing, Skywing, Mudwing, Seawing, and Nightwing - fuck the Rainwings and Icewings, apparently) will band together to somehow bring peace to dragon world. The five of them are being kept hidden away under a mountain (except that the Skywing egg was broken before hatching, so they just replaced it with a Rainwing egg), but they're itching to get out. This is the first in what appears to be a lengthy series of Wings of Fire books. It's a bit much for the twins (they turn 7 next month), but they are reading the graphic novelization versions of the books.

Anyway, I actually read the whole thing. I recently read somewhere that if you're reviewing kids'/young adult books, you need to keep in mind the audience. I try to do that here, because the book was fundamentally pretty silly. The dragons have talons and claws at the ends of their arms, yet they have fine art and some architecture. Some of them wear jeweled clothes. They have obvious names (Clay is the main Mudwing, Tsunami is the main Seawing, etc.). The prose is not directed toward a 50 year old reader. If I were a kid, though, maybe I'd enjoy them. There's plenty of action and young dragonet angst. The book read really quickly. I'm not planning on reading any more, but if you have a 10 year old or so kid who wants some dragon-based fantasy, you could do worse.
El Guapo wrote: Mon May 24, 2021 12:45 pm Read book 1 and book 2 of the Max and the Midknights series at my son's request. It was really cute how excited he was to have me read it - "Have you gotten to the part with the dragon yet?" "have you met Conrad yet?" etc.

Books were solid well written kid graphic novels. Also was interesting to read an interview with the author (Lincoln Peirce) about the series. One early semi-twist is that Max is a girl. And apparently it was set up that way because the author and his friends (including Dev Pilkey of Dog Man and Stephan Pastis of Pearls Before Swine) realized that they've been pegged as "boy book authors", that only boys showed up to their book events, etc., so Lincoln wanted to write a book with a girl protagonist without it getting pigeonholed as a book only for girls.

Anyway, would recommend the books for people's kids.
These were available on the library app, so I checked out the sample. Seems pretty good, so I got the twins to look at them. I think girl twin got to it first (boy is on the waiting list), and I don't know how much she's actually reading. She's definitely getting some of it (she excitedly told me the other day that Max was a girl), but she has a tendency to skip over harder parts. Boy is a stronger reader, and I suspect he'll get into it when it's his turn.
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Re: Books Read 2021

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Extinct by RR Haywood

This is book three of the series and I assume the final one. As with the two previous books I find Haywood to be a good story teller, great with the action but really kind of lackluster with the dialogue. Maybe it's a British need to have comedy or whatever but there are some cringe worthy conversations in all three books. I would recommend the series based on the story and action.

Now, I would say the plot gets rather confusing at times as this series deals with time travel and there is a lot you just have to accept, but then why wouldn't you when it is about time travel. People coming and going into different time lines creating new ones etc. And in all that what is the real time line and how do our antagonists insure it's survival.
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Re: Books Read 2021

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Pretty sure that was the last one. I really enjoyed the trilogy. It wasn't high art or anything, but it was a lot of fun and I agree with you that Haywood can really write an action scene.
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Re: Books Read 2021

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ImLawBoy wrote: Wed Jun 02, 2021 2:01 pm And now for something completely different . . . .

We got the twins into checking out books online from the Chicago Public Library, and I've got the Libby app installed on my phone. While looking for books to recommend for the kids, I stumbled across Wings of Fire - The Dragonet Prophecy by Tui T. Sutherland. I checked it out so that I could check it out (ain't I clever?). This is a kid's novel about a world pretty much ruled by dragons. There's a big ol' dragon war going on led by three competing claims to the throne of the Sandwing kingdom (Queendom? Dragons appear to have a matriarchal society.). Different breeds/races of dragons have formed various alliances, and the types of dragons include Skywings, Mudwings, Seawings, Nightwings, Icewings, and Rainwings. The Talons of Peace have a prophecy that five particular dragonets (one each Sandwing, Skywing, Mudwing, Seawing, and Nightwing - fuck the Rainwings and Icewings, apparently) will band together to somehow bring peace to dragon world. The five of them are being kept hidden away under a mountain (except that the Skywing egg was broken before hatching, so they just replaced it with a Rainwing egg), but they're itching to get out. This is the first in what appears to be a lengthy series of Wings of Fire books. It's a bit much for the twins (they turn 7 next month), but they are reading the graphic novelization versions of the books.

Anyway, I actually read the whole thing. I recently read somewhere that if you're reviewing kids'/young adult books, you need to keep in mind the audience. I try to do that here, because the book was fundamentally pretty silly. The dragons have talons and claws at the ends of their arms, yet they have fine art and some architecture. Some of them wear jeweled clothes. They have obvious names (Clay is the main Mudwing, Tsunami is the main Seawing, etc.). The prose is not directed toward a 50 year old reader. If I were a kid, though, maybe I'd enjoy them. There's plenty of action and young dragonet angst. The book read really quickly. I'm not planning on reading any more, but if you have a 10 year old or so kid who wants some dragon-based fantasy, you could do worse.
El Guapo wrote: Mon May 24, 2021 12:45 pm Read book 1 and book 2 of the Max and the Midknights series at my son's request. It was really cute how excited he was to have me read it - "Have you gotten to the part with the dragon yet?" "have you met Conrad yet?" etc.

Books were solid well written kid graphic novels. Also was interesting to read an interview with the author (Lincoln Peirce) about the series. One early semi-twist is that Max is a girl. And apparently it was set up that way because the author and his friends (including Dev Pilkey of Dog Man and Stephan Pastis of Pearls Before Swine) realized that they've been pegged as "boy book authors", that only boys showed up to their book events, etc., so Lincoln wanted to write a book with a girl protagonist without it getting pigeonholed as a book only for girls.

Anyway, would recommend the books for people's kids.
These were available on the library app, so I checked out the sample. Seems pretty good, so I got the twins to look at them. I think girl twin got to it first (boy is on the waiting list), and I don't know how much she's actually reading. She's definitely getting some of it (she excitedly told me the other day that Max was a girl), but she has a tendency to skip over harder parts. Boy is a stronger reader, and I suspect he'll get into it when it's his turn.
My son loves the Wings of Fire series. He's only been reading the graphic novels to date (where they are now four books in, and working on the fifth adaptation). I've encouraged him to switch to the chapter books rather than wait for the whole series to be made into graphic novels, but nothing doing on that yet. But at least he enjoys the graphic novel versions, which are also very pretty.
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Re: Books Read 2021

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El Guapo wrote: Wed Jun 02, 2021 4:18 pm
ImLawBoy wrote: Wed Jun 02, 2021 2:01 pm And now for something completely different . . . .

We got the twins into checking out books online from the Chicago Public Library, and I've got the Libby app installed on my phone. While looking for books to recommend for the kids, I stumbled across Wings of Fire - The Dragonet Prophecy by Tui T. Sutherland. I checked it out so that I could check it out (ain't I clever?). This is a kid's novel about a world pretty much ruled by dragons. There's a big ol' dragon war going on led by three competing claims to the throne of the Sandwing kingdom (Queendom? Dragons appear to have a matriarchal society.). Different breeds/races of dragons have formed various alliances, and the types of dragons include Skywings, Mudwings, Seawings, Nightwings, Icewings, and Rainwings. The Talons of Peace have a prophecy that five particular dragonets (one each Sandwing, Skywing, Mudwing, Seawing, and Nightwing - fuck the Rainwings and Icewings, apparently) will band together to somehow bring peace to dragon world. The five of them are being kept hidden away under a mountain (except that the Skywing egg was broken before hatching, so they just replaced it with a Rainwing egg), but they're itching to get out. This is the first in what appears to be a lengthy series of Wings of Fire books. It's a bit much for the twins (they turn 7 next month), but they are reading the graphic novelization versions of the books.

Anyway, I actually read the whole thing. I recently read somewhere that if you're reviewing kids'/young adult books, you need to keep in mind the audience. I try to do that here, because the book was fundamentally pretty silly. The dragons have talons and claws at the ends of their arms, yet they have fine art and some architecture. Some of them wear jeweled clothes. They have obvious names (Clay is the main Mudwing, Tsunami is the main Seawing, etc.). The prose is not directed toward a 50 year old reader. If I were a kid, though, maybe I'd enjoy them. There's plenty of action and young dragonet angst. The book read really quickly. I'm not planning on reading any more, but if you have a 10 year old or so kid who wants some dragon-based fantasy, you could do worse.
El Guapo wrote: Mon May 24, 2021 12:45 pm Read book 1 and book 2 of the Max and the Midknights series at my son's request. It was really cute how excited he was to have me read it - "Have you gotten to the part with the dragon yet?" "have you met Conrad yet?" etc.

Books were solid well written kid graphic novels. Also was interesting to read an interview with the author (Lincoln Peirce) about the series. One early semi-twist is that Max is a girl. And apparently it was set up that way because the author and his friends (including Dev Pilkey of Dog Man and Stephan Pastis of Pearls Before Swine) realized that they've been pegged as "boy book authors", that only boys showed up to their book events, etc., so Lincoln wanted to write a book with a girl protagonist without it getting pigeonholed as a book only for girls.

Anyway, would recommend the books for people's kids.
These were available on the library app, so I checked out the sample. Seems pretty good, so I got the twins to look at them. I think girl twin got to it first (boy is on the waiting list), and I don't know how much she's actually reading. She's definitely getting some of it (she excitedly told me the other day that Max was a girl), but she has a tendency to skip over harder parts. Boy is a stronger reader, and I suspect he'll get into it when it's his turn.
My son loves the Wings of Fire series. He's only been reading the graphic novels to date (where they are now four books in, and working on the fifth adaptation). I've encouraged him to switch to the chapter books rather than wait for the whole series to be made into graphic novels, but nothing doing on that yet. But at least he enjoys the graphic novel versions, which are also very pretty.
My son loves them as well (just turned 10) and tore through them (chapter books). He is waiting on book 14 (currently on hold and wait listed at the library). I love the fact that he finds series that he can devour.

And although some things like claws and fine architecture may seem silly, it is no different than any of us nerd-o's and fascination with zealot like argument on 'canon' on certain subjects that are equally silly. :D

As a 40+ year old I read all the Harry potter books and thought them good. lots 'o silly stuff in those as well. A great story is a great story. Well, honestly, I can also sit down and watch Octonauts without a problem; great characters and all the biology is absolutely spot on. :wub:

Another series my son likes is the 'Amulet" books by Kazu Kibuishi. One of his friends got him into that series.
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Re: Books Read 2021

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A nonny mouse wrote: Wed Jun 02, 2021 4:38 pm As a 40+ year old I read all the Harry potter books and thought them good. lots 'o silly stuff in those as well. A great story is a great story.
I haven't read the Harry Potter books, but I've "overheard" a lot of them as my oldest son listened to the audio books (he's re-reading one of them right now). The Wings of Fire books are not on the same literary level as what I've heard of the Harry Potter books (but I suspect they're aimed younger than HP).
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Re: Books Read 2021

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My last read was Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese, an Ojibway author, which is quite profound and horrific, given the heart of the story is the Residential "school" system which has recently resurfaced in the news recently. Quite a good read and very enlightening as to what went on.
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Re: Books Read 2021

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ImLawBoy wrote: Wed Jun 02, 2021 2:22 pm Pretty sure that was the last one. I really enjoyed the trilogy. It wasn't high art or anything, but it was a lot of fun and I agree with you that Haywood can really write an action scene.
I do thank you for the recommendation. It was a fun read from a new author, at least new for me.
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Re: Books Read 2021

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ImLawBoy wrote: Wed Jun 02, 2021 5:09 pm
A nonny mouse wrote: Wed Jun 02, 2021 4:38 pm As a 40+ year old I read all the Harry potter books and thought them good. lots 'o silly stuff in those as well. A great story is a great story.
I haven't read the Harry Potter books, but I've "overheard" a lot of them as my oldest son listened to the audio books (he's re-reading one of them right now). The Wings of Fire books are not on the same literary level as what I've heard of the Harry Potter books (but I suspect they're aimed younger than HP).
True, the wings of fire are for a younger audience, and the harry potters get darker and darker as the series progresses. My son read the Potters (I can never think that name without it being in Alan Rickman's voice :D ) when he was 8-9 and didn't have a problem.

He just likes the wings of fire for the story. He is also a kid that read The Phantom Tollbooth in 2nd grade (when he was 7) and got it with the word play.

I can remember reading the Mack Bolan books when I was a young teenager, as silly as those were, and loving them. Everyone has their thing.

I am just happy he loves reading. :wub:
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Re: Books Read 2021

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A nonny mouse wrote: Thu Jun 03, 2021 4:52 pm the harry potters get darker and darker as the series progresses.
Like when Harry goes to Hogwarts prison for pimping Hermione to a stag party, conjures a shiv and stabs a lunch lady in order to escape and wreak terrible havoc upon the realm?

OK, I didn't read it, but if I were to imagine a dark Harry Potter it'd go something like that.
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Re: Books Read 2021

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Jeff V wrote: Fri Jun 04, 2021 12:15 am
A nonny mouse wrote: Thu Jun 03, 2021 4:52 pm the harry potters get darker and darker as the series progresses.
Like when Harry goes to Hogwarts prison for pimping Hermione to a stag party, conjures a shiv and stabs a lunch lady in order to escape and wreak terrible havoc upon the realm?

OK, I didn't read it, but if I were to imagine a dark Harry Potter it'd go something like that.
A story like that might get me to read one.
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Re: Books Read 2021

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Blackhawk wrote: Wed May 26, 2021 10:37 pm Does anyone have any suggestions for a good post-noir (IE - relatively modern) mystery/detective novel that's not cop-based? I'm in the mood, and as far as I can recall, The Maltese Falcon is the only detective/mystery novel I've read.
Does Dresden Files count? :)

There are a couple of Veronica Mars books from the last few years.
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Re: Books Read 2021

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Liar's Poker, by Michael Lewis (audio book)

I'm on a Michael Lewis kick, so got around to this one. This is one of his first (maybe his first?) book, about his time at Solomon Brothers. It's basically his intro to the world of investment banking and finance. Honestly he doesn't see much unique stuff - he gets an intro to the type of finance bro / dog eats dog world, the early days of the explosion in investment bank compensation, the early days of mortgage bonds, etc. But he's only there for roughly two years before he leaves. The book is interesting, and worth checking out if you're a Michael Lewis fan, and it has the upside of not being all that long, but otherwise it's pretty skippable.
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Re: Books Read 2021

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Image

What's Your Pronoun? Beyond He and She by Dennis Baron (he/him/his) (audiobook): The quest for a singular third-person gender neutral pronoun is centuries old, and invented pronouns like "xe," "hir," and "thon" are nothing new. In these times when we are learning that gender is fluid, I read this book hoping to make sense of it all.

English is actually a pretty gender-neutral (or "nonbinary" as some prefer) language compared to many others. The lack of a singular third-person gender neutral pronoun is a sticky exception, and kind of an accident. Originally, grammar schools only taught Latin, not English. The British decided that when gender was ambiguous, the male pronoun would be the default. When schools started teaching English, that "male superiority" rule simply carried over.

But, time and again, when the "he" pronoun appeared in laws, it was hypocritically interpreted as gender-neutral to ensure women could be taxed and jailed, and as male to prevent women from voting and holding office. The quest for a gender-neutral pronoun to prevent such discrimination was hotly political.

The book's chief thesis is that the solution already exists: singular "they." Singular "they" has been in widespread use for seven centuries, and embraced by authors from Shakespeare to Austen even when the gender is known. Grammarians who protest against it (as I once did) are churlish and impractical. Religious folks who feel oppressed when they can't call someone "he" or "she" are ignoring that they far outnumber nonbinary folks. (I would editorially add that the cornerstone of every faith is the Golden Rule, so why would any devout person address someone in a way that dehumanizes them?)

Those odd "neo-pronouns" like "xe," in practice, really only refer to the unique individual who goes by it. They are basically a substitute for the person's name, which makes them tricky for people to learn and embrace. For this reason, genderqueer people often go by "he" or "she" in a business setting and "they" in private.

The controversial Canadian laws that require the use of preferred pronouns in certain settings (like education, commerce, and housing) prevent people from using inappropriate pronouns to signal discrimination and create hostility against minorities. These laws are a weapon against the tyranny of the majority.

Early in the book, the author warns that it's based on his own limited research. But he did a lot of research, and slaps your fool head with tons of examples from law and literature. It doesn't make for the smoothest audiobook experience.

The writing style has just the right amount of wit and condescension that a book on grammar ought to have, and these are carried over to Paul Boehmer's narration. Boehmer uses a British accent when quoting British sources, which is distracting and unnecessary. Though it would have been amazing if had used regional accents for all the American and Canadian sources.

In the end, I accept but am not completely satisfied with the singular "they" solution. It can cause confusion with regard to what subject or object it's referring to. Then again, all pronouns have that problem. I think that, in the far future when we are hopefully more just and equal, we will use gender-neutral pronouns as a matter of course. And in the few remaining cases when a person's sex or gender matters, we will identify it in a way that is convenient and non-disparaging.

Rating: 5 out of 8 suffragists.
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Re: Books Read 2021

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John Milton - Samson Agonistes : some mildly interesting bible fanfic on Samson's time between getting captured by the Philistines and when he collapses the theatre on their heads, in the form of a 'closet play' where Samson more or less agonistesizes over his predicament for fifty pages
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Re: Books Read 2021

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Hipolito wrote: Thu Jun 10, 2021 11:54 pm Image

What's Your Pronoun? Beyond He and She by Dennis Baron (he/him/his) (audiobook): The quest for a singular third-person gender neutral pronoun is centuries old, and invented pronouns like "xe," "hir," and "thon" are nothing new. In these times when we are learning that gender is fluid, I read this book hoping to make sense of it all.
Does it discuss other cultures at all? Surprisingly, Tagalog does not have pronouns as we define them to be. It's my wife's most difficult concept in English. She applies he/she randomly.

That might help explain the preponderance of ladyboys there. We never could have pulled off our wedding without them.
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Re: Books Read 2021

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Jeff V wrote: Fri Jun 18, 2021 10:09 pm That might help explain the preponderance of ladyboys there. We never could have pulled off our wedding without them.
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Re: Books Read 2021

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I'm pretty sure I explained that previously. My wedding trip was about 3 weeks, and everything had to be done in order. First, I had to go to the embassy and get an affidavit that I had no previous marital obligations. Then we had to apply for our license, and this included a day of government counseling. So, with a about 10 days to go, we finally were cleared to proceed with the wedding. It was a week before the day that we nailed down the venue. We didn't get the judge until 3 days prior. We hired a gender-ambiguous team of videographers, the makeup dude was flaming gay, and our MC was trans. The flowers, cake, and formal wear were all provided by ladyboys or trans. ]

And it went off without a hitch.
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Re: Books Read 2021

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Jeff V wrote: Fri Jun 18, 2021 10:09 pm
Hipolito wrote: Thu Jun 10, 2021 11:54 pm Image

What's Your Pronoun? Beyond He and She by Dennis Baron (he/him/his) (audiobook): The quest for a singular third-person gender neutral pronoun is centuries old, and invented pronouns like "xe," "hir," and "thon" are nothing new. In these times when we are learning that gender is fluid, I read this book hoping to make sense of it all.
Does it discuss other cultures at all? Surprisingly, Tagalog does not have pronouns as we define them to be. It's my wife's most difficult concept in English. She applies he/she randomly.

That might help explain the preponderance of ladyboys there. We never could have pulled off our wedding without them.
I absolutely love the idea that ladyboys are common in the Philippines because of the lack of pronouns there! :D

To answer your question, I don't remember the book mentioning any non-Western cultures. It pretty much sticks to Britain, Canada, and USA. Given how some Eastern cultures acknowledge androgyny, transgenderism, and nonbinary gender, that would have been interesting to explore.

I'm reminded of the wonderful anime Your Name, a body-switching comedy. When the girl's mind is in the boy's body, she mistakenly uses female pronouns to refer to herself, confusing the boy's friends. Since English doesn't have gendered first-person pronouns, a lot of Western viewers probably miss that joke.
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Re: Books Read 2021

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Henry James - The Turn of the Screw : the writing (and especially, the dialog) in this is so _frustratingly_ Victorian-era vague you could really make this novella be about several different things (and whatever the actual events were, be whatever you think you want them to be). I admit there was great care in the crafting of this story to make it this way and generally I am fine with high levels of ambiguity, but there was too much wispy-washy indefinite allude-y avoidant "..." going on for my liking. and the repeated mentions of 'unspeakable horrors' that are of course, never described, in here are about on the level of the average H.P. Lovecraft tale... also! unrealistically melodramatic ending
Spoiler:
where of course someone has to die just to instill gravitas or whatever to the plot
- i hate that.

that said, despite the annoyingly convoluted sentence structures (at times), i read this in very few sittings as it did grab my attention for the duration of this ghost(?) story.

top Goodreads review sums it up well:
Spoiler:
WORDS WORDS WORDS IS THE HOUSE HAUNTED WORDS WORDS WORDS WORDS WORDS IS SHE CRAZY WORDS WORDS WORDS WORDS ARE THEY ALL CRAZY WORDS WORDS WORDS NO IT MUST BE HAUNTED WORDS WORDS WORDS NO SHE MUST BE CRAZY WORDS WORDS WORDS WORDS WORDS WORDS CRAZY WORDS SICKNESS WORDS WORDS WORDS DEATH THE END.
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Re: Books Read 2021

Post by xenocide »

Just a heads up audible has a decent sitewide sale going on. I'm up 20 new listens today. 10 of which are Malazan Book of the Fallen that I've wanted to listen to for a while.
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Re: Books Read 2021

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One Billion Americans: The Case for Thinking Bigger, by Matthew Yglesias (audio book)

Just finished this. This is essentially a policy book making the argument that the government should have an explicit policy of encouraging significant population growth (both via additional supports for parents and for expanded immigration) because it's good for the country and because it will help us keep up with larger population countries like China and India. I enjoyed the book (and mostly agree with it), though I somewhat regret reading this via audiobook. It's basically a series of policy recommendations, and while I find that interesting, it's harder to process and retain it as you listen to it usually while doing something else. I also was under the impression that it was almost entirely about immigration, which I wanted to hear more about, but it was mostly a variety of other topics (managing the impact of expanded population on housing, transit, etc.), and I was mostly interested in just learning more about immigration.

Anyway, it was fine. I'd recommend it if you're interested in general center-left policies and population growth issues.
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Re: Books Read 2021

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For Fathers Day I got gifted my first graphic novel:
Image

I was interested in this because of the rave reviews, but didn't want to invest my time in a full read, so this seemed a good way to go, and great illustrations:

Image

One of the reviewers complained, "I don't remember this much cleavage in the book." Works for me.
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Re: Books Read 2021

Post by Scuzz »

Breach of Promise by Perri O'Shaughnessy

This is another used book store purchase from pre-pandemic days that I finally got around to. A legal "thriller" about a female lawyer in Lake Tahoe who gets a chance at a big paycheck with a civil lawsuit for breach of promise. The book is probably too long with some really slow spots. Other parts are well done but the main protagonist just never really connects. We probably don't get enough back story on her and the current story makes her seem inadequate for the job. The murder takes place late in the book and while we don't know who the killer is, we can see the murder coming from miles away.

This is apparently the authors first use of this character, and I know there is at least one other book featuring her, but I have no real desire to read that one. I think it may just be that aside from her the characters around her are pretty weak and uninteresting.
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Re: Books Read 2021

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Evil Eye by Madhuri Shekar (audiobook): This Amazon-exclusive, audio-only horror tale is about a young Indian American woman named Pallavi. Independent-minded, she's been dodging her anxious, superstitious mom's attempts to arrange her marriage. On her own, she meets a Mr. Right that even mom should approve. But moms have secrets.

Unlike in most audiobooks, all the characters are voiced by different actors and there are sound effects and occasional background music. The narrative is epistolary, told through phone conversations and voicemails. A decent, attention-keeping listen for its 98-minute duration. Rating: 5 out of 8 dishes of gongura pulusu koora.
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Re: Books Read 2021

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Hipolito wrote: Wed Jun 23, 2021 10:12 pm
Unlike in most audiobooks, all the characters are voiced by different actors and there are sound effects and occasional background music. The narrative is epistolary, told through phone conversations and voicemails. A decent, attention-keeping listen for its 98-minute duration.
i think this is how the 'radio drama' makes a return
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Re: Books Read 2021

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Meditations by Marcus Aurelius (ebook): Without knowing it would be preserved and published, the ancient Roman emperor wrote this journal to collect his thoughts, understand the world, and psyche himself up to do better. It's a self-help book in the most literal sense.

Many people cherish Meditations because it not only provides Stoic philosophy that can be readily applied to daily life, but also shows that even the most powerful man in the world struggled to get out of bed every morning, overcome his fears and self-doubt, and deal with jerks without losing his composure.

It is repetitive, and the first several chapters are rather obsessed with death. But it is a worthwhile read.

The version I read was the George Long translation, which is full of old-fashioned words like "thou." Next time I'll read the Gregory Hays translation which uses contemporary English.

Favorite happy quote: "O Universe, everything is fruit to me which thy seasons bring!"

Rating: 6 out of 8 bees.
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Re: Books Read 2021

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Mass Effect: Revelation by Drew Karpyshyn (paperback): The recent re-release of the Mass Effect games, which I haven't played before, inspired me to read this prequel novel.

In mere decades, humanity has gone from discovering mass effect (allowing FTL travel) to being inducted into the galaxy-spanning Citadel Space. Lieutenant David Anderson, a hero from humanity's first war with aliens, is sent to investigate an incident at a top-secret research facility. His mission turns him into both hunter and prey, as he tries to infiltrate one conspiracy while hiding another.

This book may be derivative, pulpy sci-fi, but I enjoy it. The author, who also wrote the games, is deft at balancing character development, dialogue, action, and lore. The lore is my favorite aspect. I'm excited to start playing the games.

Rating: 6 out of 8 volus bartenders.
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Re: Books Read 2021

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Finished Later by Stephen King. King occasionally puts out a book on pulp crime fiction publisher Hard Case Crime - I think this is the third time he's done it. Of course, being King, Later is not strictly a crime novel and drifts into horror. This is the tale of a boy who sees dead people, and while King acknowledges Sixth Sense early on, he takes the story in a different direction. Basically, Jaime sees the ghost of dead people for a few days until they fade away. They look exactly like they did at the moment of death (which can be quite gruesome). He doesn't know why, but if he asks them a question, the ghosts have to respond truthfully.

This is a pretty short book by King's standards, and it moves along at a good pace. While I enjoy King's epic novels, it's sometimes quite fun to read him when he's forcing himself to be more disciplined with a short, fast-paced story (although the story takes place over the course of a decade plus, it doesn't linger too long anywhere). Worth reading.
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Re: Books Read 2021

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Finished The Key to Rebecca by Ken Follett a few days ago, and while I've read many Ken Follett books, this is definitely one of his better ones. It's a strange thing to say, but I feel that he's actually grown worse as an author instead of better. Many of his later works, no doubt influenced by his success of Pillars of the Earth have had a much more simplistic black & white writing style, where 'The Key to Rebecca' was more nuanced. I'm currently reading The Evening and the Morning, his recent Pillars of the Earth prequel and his writing and dialogue feel much more stilted, and whenever the characters talk, it feels like they're constantly overstating something. Characters reacting to something are comical as a result.
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Re: Books Read 2021

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I enjoyed his first book on the building of the gothic cathedral, I think it was Pillars of Earth, but I tried to read his trilogy about several families from WW1 to current times and I thought it was terrible. I think that was called the Century Trilogy. True soap opera crap.
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Re: Books Read 2021

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multiple translators - The Word Exchange: Anglo-Saxon Poems in Translation : i just got this from the library and found it so interesting that i ordered my own copy. dozens of Anglo-Saxon poem-type-þings with the original language on the left facing page and a translation on the right. foreword (and one text translated) by Seamus Heaney, and this, along with the Heaney-translated _Beowulf_ on my bookshelf, constitute a majority of the extant/surviving written Anglo-Saxon record.

Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels - The Communist Manifesto : this was really short so i don't have anything to say on this. i did find the intro (which was nearly as long as the text) to provide useful historical context. this edition hasn't been updated since 1964, apparently...
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Re: Books Read 2021

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Scuzz wrote: Tue Jul 06, 2021 2:38 pm I enjoyed his first book on the building of the gothic cathedral, I think it was Pillars of Earth, but I tried to read his trilogy about several families from WW1 to current times and I thought it was terrible. I think that was called the Century Trilogy. True soap opera crap.
Yep, Pillars. Then the sequel was World Without End, and the 3rd, A Column of Fire. I thought World Without End was Ok as a sequel, but Column of Fire felt all over the place and hardly had anything to do with Kingsbridge, partly because ship travel made it a minor town in the grand scheme of things. Felt more like a spinoff as a result rather than Kingsbridge #3, and I felt that if he were to revisit the the series, it would likely have to be as a prequel. Sure enough, a few years later he comes out with this one.
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Re: Books Read 2021

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The Other End of Time by Frederik Pohl

This is the first book in The Eschaton Sequence trilogy. I have read Pohl's Heechee Saga a couple times and thought I would give this a go. It is different, kind of old style sci-fi where the action and the philosophy around it get mixed up with some sci-fi of the time. It is the future, and aliens have sent a message to earth, a warning really about other aliens, worse than they are. In the aftermath of the warning a business opportunity sends 5 people to a abandoned space lab and then all kinds of stuff ensues.

Know Pohl there is no telling where this may go.
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Re: Books Read 2021

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I just did the audiobook of Dune for the first time, very well-done production, I was especially impressed by the guy who voiced Baron Harkonnen. He certainly acted the part more than simply read it.

I read that book about every 10 years. Discounting my first decade of existence which predated the book, I've read it 5 times. The only book I've read more was Huck Finn.
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just got _Children of Dune_ from the library, and only read _Dune Messiah_ for the first time earlier this year. i'll either stop after the first or second trilogy - no intention of getting into the Brian Herbert books.
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Re: Books Read 2021

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I found the Dune prequels to be a tighter telling of the themes picked up later. Narrower in vision and scope, but easier to read and follow.
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Re: Books Read 2021

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Anime Impact: The Movies and Shows that Changed the World of Japanese Animation by Chris Stuckmann (hardcover): the popular film critic edited this collection of brief essays on over 100 anime titles, from Astro Boy (1963) to Violet Evergarden (2018).  The essayists range from The Martian author Andy Weir to YouTuber comicbookgirl19.  The book earns its title by showing how anime has impacted both Western culture and the lives of the essayists.  For someone like me who enjoys anime but has not watched a lot of it, this book is a helpful resource for building a watch list and developing greater appreciation of anime.  But I wish it had an index so I could quickly look up titles, directors, and essayists.  And it's devoid of still frames and illustrations, which is unfortunate given the visual splendor of the medium.  Rating: 6 out of 8 robots.
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Re: Books Read 2021

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Nghi Vo - The Chosen and the Beautiful : i think i'll just post the publisher's blurb here
Immigrant. Socialite. Magician.

Jordan Baker grows up in the most rarefied circles of 1920s American society—she has money, education, a killer golf handicap, and invitations to some of the most exclusive parties of the Jazz Age. She’s also queer, Asian, adopted, and treated as an exotic attraction by her peers, while the most important doors remain closed to her.

But the world is full of wonders: infernal pacts and dazzling illusions, lost ghosts and elemental mysteries. In all paper is fire, and Jordan can burn the cut paper heart out of a man. She just has to learn how.

Nghi Vo’s debut novel The Chosen and the Beautiful reinvents this classic of the American canon as a coming-of-age story full of magic, mystery, and glittering excess, and introduces a major new literary voice.
i was interested because this is, as far as i know, the first published 'remix' of The Great Gatsby since it went public domain last year. (it's also published under Tor, but the Tor name and logo is missing from the bookjacket - to try to gain some mainstream marketshare, i guess?) after reading that blurb, i was like 'this really could go either way, and nowhere in between...'

- surprise! it isn't not the ungood one. most of the book is essentially a crib of the original, and the author's additions are either unnecessary or another book entirely that she actually wanted to write. (and needless to say, the author is no Fitzgerald.) the 'magical elements' were randomly inserted, randomly referred to and either had no real bearing on the plot, or they could do literally anything to fill in any inconvenient plot holes. the whole purpose of this 'reimagining' seemed somewhat unfocused, other than to 'reimagine' the main character as a stand-in for the modern day version of the author. (for someone living in the 1920s, her viewpoints are oddly 2020s.)

this was perilously close to 'Gatsby fanfic' and for sure there is a certain squeee-emitting portion of the book-reading public this was clearly intended for. i was not that. for my part, i will no longer read any author whose apparent primary literary influence growing up was the Harry Potter series...
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Re: Books Read 2021

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hitbyambulance wrote: Sat Jul 10, 2021 4:53 pm Nghi Vo - The Chosen and the Beautiful
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this. I still might check it out. I didn't enjoy The Great Gatsby and found it a dull read. Maybe all it needed was gay Asian fantasy.
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