Since my last post...
Eclipse Four edited by Jonathan Strahan. A collection of SciFi and fantasy short stories. There were some in here I really didn't like, but the collection was saved by a few good stories. The stand-outs for me were:
Thought Experiment by Eilieen Gunn,
The Panda Coin by Jo Walton and
Tourists by James Patrick Kelly. 3/5.
Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams, which we discussed over in the
New Leaf Book Club.
The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro. "Strange but very good" is a phrase that might apply to various Ishiguro books, and it certainly applies here. Interesting and unpredictable characters and setting. There are some obvious morals/messages going on in here, and layers of more subtle ones as well, but the telling is quite idiosyncratic. Regrettably my reading time was much interrupted, so I'm looking forward to coming back and revisiting before too long. For now I give it: 4/5.
The Land Before Avocado by Richard Glover. A fascinating look back at the 1960s and 1970s in Australia. In parts very funny, and in parts horrifying reminder. Overall it imparts the positive message that life in Australia has changed very much for the better over these last few decades and we should celebrate that fact (and use it as inspiration for what we might achieve in the future). 4/5.
I'd say the book also held an implicit reminder that if all these positive changes can happen in our lifetimes, we could just as quickly slip backwards if we don't take care (if we refuse to see just how far we've come). I guess this book is of more interest to Australians than others, depending on your outlook, but the conclusions are similar elsewhere, too, and on this note I now have to add two more books to my reading list (both referenced by this one):
Enlightenment Now by Steven Pinker, and
Factfulness by Hans Rosling, Ola Rosling, Anna Rosling Rönnlund.