Hey!! Let's get some action going! What are we reading? - Page 2029

Fbone · 01-01-2022, 03:54 PM

Finished a freebie, Unsouled by Will Wight. I wanted to try an Asian-themed fantasy and as this one was free .... Unimpressive, sadly. I felt the overall story was interesting, again the execution was more than the author could handle. Despite the early info-dumps there wasn't the necessary character development (especially introspection) for educating us about a different culture and belief system. We have the typical flawed characters, the powerful elite class, honor system and long-range goals. Hopefully, the author's word skill and pacing improves with each book in the series. Rated C- [2 stars].

LDB · 01-01-2022, 03:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Robin

4/5 for "Kim Ji Young, born 1982", as tough a read as I expected it would be. 4.5/5 for I Am a Girl from Africa by Elizabeth Nyamayaro, with an unexpected connection of subject matter to Kim Ji Young. 4/5 for Catfish and Mandala: A Two-Wheeled Voyage Through the Landscape and Memory of Vietnam by Andrew Pham and 4/5 for Men in the Sun and Other Palestinian Stories by Ghassan Kanafani with Hilary Kilpatrick (Translator) , another brutal read. A good start to the year with a lot of my planned "worthy" reads all done and dusted. Next up, for a complete change, The Cat Who Played Brahms and then The Cat Who Played Post Office.

My best half has read most, if not all, of The Cat Who books and enjoys them a lot.

Uncle Robin · 01-01-2022, 04:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LDB

My best half has read most, if not all, of The Cat Who books and enjoys them a lot.

I'm still on the fence after the first 4, hence another two to try - the eponymous protagonist's human sidekick is currently a touch too Neanderthal in his mores for my delicate liberal tastes.

Uncle Robin · 01-02-2022, 12:02 AM

Delighted to give The Cat Who Played Brahms 4.25/5, the first of the series I've enjoyed without reservations or qualifications. On to The Cat Who Played Post Office now.

Uncle Robin · 01-02-2022, 03:50 AM

4/5 for The Cat Who Played Post Office, another fun romp that has me thinking I'll keep going with the series for now. Up next, off to New Zealand as part of the "Reads the World" Challenge at The StoryGraph, with Ringmaster by Vanda Symon. My introduction to NZ crime fiction was Ngaio Marsh in my teens, it will be interesting to compare now with then.

Uncle Robin · 01-02-2022, 05:38 AM

3.75/5 for The Ringmaster, an enjoyable, competently constructed police procedural. Currently 20% into a book that is shaping up already to be at least 4.25/5, quite possibly higher - Steve Martin's Born Standing Up.

HLS · 01-02-2022, 12:36 PM

I am reading Termination Shock by Neal Stephenson. Good so far but he goes into too much detail. 708 pages can be covered in under 400.

Dngrsone · 01-02-2022, 12:59 PM

I am halfway through Dust by Elizabeth Bear and about the same in Grave Secrets of Dinosaurs: Soft Tissues and Hard Science by Dr. Phil Manning and about 40% into In Conquest Born (Audio) by C S Friedman.

Dinosaurs was getting a little tedious, so I took a sci-fi break from real sci... and I only listen to audiobooks for my work commute.

Uncle Robin · 01-03-2022, 05:15 AM

4.25/5 for Brazil: A Biography by Lilia Moritz Schwarcz & Heloisa M. Starling, book (and country) 7/10 in my picks for The StoryGraph's Read the World Challenge . A massive read for a massive country, well-written and pretty clear-eyed, it seemed to me. I definitely learned a lot.

Now onto something completely different with A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson. Hopefully some light relief after the challenging Brazil behemoth

Uncle Robin · 01-03-2022, 10:46 PM

4.25/5 for Haiti: The Aftershocks of History by Laurent Dubois. The sad story of that nation's history was largely unknown to me, and to learn of a US occupation which I hadn't known of as cynical, brutal and sadistic as Duvalier's reign (which I did know of), was an eye-opener. A grim and depressing read, but a very worthwhile one.

Fbone · 01-05-2022, 12:58 AM

Finished Shadow of a Dead God by Patrick Samphire.

A similar theme to many other self-published books I've read recently. The main character was fairly well developed but the author spent many paragraphs/pages on introspection, conflict and self-doubt. The writing skill was passable but not anything special. It had that amateur feel to it. The story was entertaining ending on a cliffhanger. Rated D+ [2 stars].

pdurrant · 01-05-2022, 02:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Next up: Poor Tom is Cold by Maureen Jennings. The third in her Murdoch Mysteries.

Which was OK. The personal bits with Murdoch are not compelling to me, and the mystery plot wasn't terribly complex. 3/5.

Next up: The Stainless Steel Rat by Harry Harrison. A classic. I've read at least twice before, but not for many years. There are sequels, but this first book is the best, IMO.

Uncle Robin · 01-05-2022, 08:02 AM

4.75/5 for The Garden of Heaven by Madhulika Liddle. "Historical fiction" is a dime a dozen of course, but sadly far too many books in the genre are very much more "fiction" than "historical". Ms Liddle's works have always been marked by a painstaking attention to detail. That sort of rigor means that rather than "not letting the facts get in the way of a good story", Ms Liddle uses the facts as a framework on which to build a good story. And this was a good story.

The setup of the novel made me think of Scheherazade and the Arabian Nights, and it was very interesting to see how the apparently disparate threads of the narrator's tale came together. I very enjoyed seeing history "fleshed out" by being told through the lives of ordinary people, and picking up historical details I hadn't known. But the moment I knew Ms Liddle had brought me into the story was when I raged against one of the characters. I am now impatient for the continuation of this saga.

astrangerhere · 01-05-2022, 10:31 AM

I started my year off thusly:

Poem of the week - "Burning the Old Year" by Naomi Shihab Nye
Audiobook - returning to the old favorite of Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson
At-home e-reader - Perhaps the Stars by Ada Palmer
Travel e-reader - my ever constant re-reading of War and Peace (round 6, overall, I think)

issybird · 01-05-2022, 10:50 AM

Current reads:

The Shadow Emperor: A Biography of Napoleon III. Rather disappointing, as it’s poorly written and could have used a fact checker. But things have picked up now that he’s emperor.

Goldwyn. Great read. I love old Hollywood and this has scads of fun anecdotes while not losing sight of the major trends.

The Food of a Younger Land. Curated edition of an abandoned WPA Writers’ Project about American food. Both fun and disheartening as the food entertains and the racism disgusts; spotty but engrossing as social history.

Is He Popenjoy? (audio) Unusually for Trollope, the male characters are nuanced and frequently appalling, while the female are largely flat. Kind of a mixed bag, but I still can’t tell where he’s going with it, so that’s a plus.

01-05-2022, 10:31 AM	#30434
astrangerhere Professor of Law Posts: 3,755 Karma: 68428716 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Chapel Hill, NC Device: Kobo Elipsa, Kobo Libra H20, Kobo Aura One, KoboMini	I started my year off thusly: Poem of the week - "Burning the Old Year" by Naomi Shihab Nye Audiobook - returning to the old favorite of *Winesburg, Ohio* by Sherwood Anderson At-home e-reader - *Perhaps the Stars* by Ada Palmer Travel e-reader - my ever constant re-reading of *War and Peace* (round 6, overall, I think)

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01-01-2022, 03:54 PM	#30421
Fbone Is that a sandwich? Posts: 8,313 Karma: 103930826 Join Date: Jun 2010 Device: Nook Glowlight Plus	Finished a freebie, Unsouled by Will Wight. I wanted to try an Asian-themed fantasy and as this one was free .... Unimpressive, sadly. I felt the overall story was interesting, again the execution was more than the author could handle. Despite the early info-dumps there wasn't the necessary character development (especially introspection) for educating us about a different culture and belief system. We have the typical flawed characters, the powerful elite class, honor system and long-range goals. Hopefully, the author's word skill and pacing improves with each book in the series. Rated C- [2 stars].

01-02-2022, 12:02 AM	#30424
Uncle Robin Diligent dilettante Posts: 3,662 Karma: 52758936 Join Date: Sep 2019 Location: in my mind Device: Kobo Sage; Kobo Libra Colour	Delighted to give The Cat Who Played Brahms 4.25/5, the first of the series I've enjoyed without reservations or qualifications. On to The Cat Who Played Post Office now.

01-02-2022, 03:50 AM	#30425
Uncle Robin Diligent dilettante Posts: 3,662 Karma: 52758936 Join Date: Sep 2019 Location: in my mind Device: Kobo Sage; Kobo Libra Colour	4/5 for The Cat Who Played Post Office, another fun romp that has me thinking I'll keep going with the series for now. Up next, off to New Zealand as part of the "Reads the World" Challenge at The StoryGraph, with Ringmaster by Vanda Symon. My introduction to NZ crime fiction was Ngaio Marsh in my teens, it will be interesting to compare now with then.

01-02-2022, 05:38 AM	#30426
Uncle Robin Diligent dilettante Posts: 3,662 Karma: 52758936 Join Date: Sep 2019 Location: in my mind Device: Kobo Sage; Kobo Libra Colour	3.75/5 for The Ringmaster, an enjoyable, competently constructed police procedural. Currently 20% into a book that is shaping up already to be at least 4.25/5, quite possibly higher - Steve Martin's Born Standing Up.

01-02-2022, 12:36 PM	#30427
HLS Wizard Posts: 2,134 Karma: 16342480 Join Date: May 2017 Device: Sage, Scribe, Boox Note 2 Plus, iPad Pros and Samsungs S6,S7,S8	I am reading Termination Shock by Neal Stephenson. Good so far but he goes into too much detail. 708 pages can be covered in under 400.

01-02-2022, 12:59 PM	#30428
Dngrsone Almost legible Posts: 1,457 Karma: 4611110 Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: In a high desert, CA Device: Galaxy Note 9, Galaxy Tab A (2017), Likebook P78	I am halfway through Dust by Elizabeth Bear and about the same in Grave Secrets of Dinosaurs: Soft Tissues and Hard Science by Dr. Phil Manning and about 40% into In Conquest Born (Audio) by C S Friedman. Dinosaurs was getting a little tedious, so I took a sci-fi break from real sci... and I only listen to audiobooks for my work commute.

01-03-2022, 05:15 AM	#30429
Uncle Robin Diligent dilettante Posts: 3,662 Karma: 52758936 Join Date: Sep 2019 Location: in my mind Device: Kobo Sage; Kobo Libra Colour	4.25/5 for Brazil: A Biography by Lilia Moritz Schwarcz & Heloisa M. Starling, book (and country) 7/10 in my picks for The StoryGraph's Read the World Challenge . A massive read for a massive country, well-written and pretty clear-eyed, it seemed to me. I definitely learned a lot. Now onto something completely different with A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson. Hopefully some light relief after the challenging Brazil behemoth

01-03-2022, 10:46 PM	#30430
Uncle Robin Diligent dilettante Posts: 3,662 Karma: 52758936 Join Date: Sep 2019 Location: in my mind Device: Kobo Sage; Kobo Libra Colour	4.25/5 for Haiti: The Aftershocks of History by Laurent Dubois. The sad story of that nation's history was largely unknown to me, and to learn of a US occupation which I hadn't known of as cynical, brutal and sadistic as Duvalier's reign (which I did know of), was an eye-opener. A grim and depressing read, but a very worthwhile one.

01-05-2022, 12:58 AM	#30431
Fbone Is that a sandwich? Posts: 8,313 Karma: 103930826 Join Date: Jun 2010 Device: Nook Glowlight Plus	Finished Shadow of a Dead God by Patrick Samphire. A similar theme to many other self-published books I've read recently. The main character was fairly well developed but the author spent many paragraphs/pages on introspection, conflict and self-doubt. The writing skill was passable but not anything special. It had that amateur feel to it. The story was entertaining ending on a cliffhanger. Rated D+ [2 stars].

01-05-2022, 08:02 AM	#30433
Uncle Robin Diligent dilettante Posts: 3,662 Karma: 52758936 Join Date: Sep 2019 Location: in my mind Device: Kobo Sage; Kobo Libra Colour	4.75/5 for The Garden of Heaven by Madhulika Liddle. "Historical fiction" is a dime a dozen of course, but sadly far too many books in the genre are very much more "fiction" than "historical". Ms Liddle's works have always been marked by a painstaking attention to detail. That sort of rigor means that rather than "not letting the facts get in the way of a good story", Ms Liddle uses the facts as a framework on which to build a good story. And this was a good story. The setup of the novel made me think of Scheherazade and the Arabian Nights, and it was very interesting to see how the apparently disparate threads of the narrator's tale came together. I very enjoyed seeing history "fleshed out" by being told through the lives of ordinary people, and picking up historical details I hadn't known. But the moment I knew Ms Liddle had brought me into the story was when I raged against one of the characters. I am now impatient for the continuation of this saga.

01-05-2022, 10:50 AM	#30435
issybird o saeclum infacetum Posts: 21,514 Karma: 236076651 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: New England Device: Mini, H2O, Glo HD, Aura One, PW4, PW5	Current reads: *The Shadow Emperor: A Biography of Napoleon III. Rather disappointing, as it’s poorly written and could have used a fact checker. But things have picked up now that he’s emperor. Goldwyn. Great read. I love old Hollywood and this has scads of fun anecdotes while not losing sight of the major trends. The Food of a Younger Land. Curated edition of an abandoned WPA Writers’ Project about American food. Both fun and disheartening as the food entertains and the racism disgusts; spotty but engrossing as social history. Is He Popenjoy?* (audio) Unusually for Trollope, the male characters are nuanced and frequently appalling, while the female are largely flat. Kind of a mixed bag, but I still can’t tell where he’s going with it, so that’s a plus.