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

[Loosheesh]

Originally Posted by issybird

I abandoned a book by Emma Southon about Agrippina; I found her style, vulgar and graphic, off-putting and at odds with the subject matter -- aside from being so conjecturable as to be unlikely, at least for me. Nor was I interested in modern day comparisons to the likes of Prince William and Kate Middleton, just as one example. It made my worst of the year list.

This is not reassuring. I own A Rome of One's Own in audiobook but haven't listened yet. I was interested to see the author had a podcast (via @astrangerhere's post) but, finding it on Spotify, saw it marked as Explicit, and lost interest right away. Now I'm seeing your comment and I'm hoping A Rome ... is not in that style.

[DiapDealer]

I recently finished listening to Robert Dugoni's The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell (narrated by the author). It was enjoyable for the most part, but not really that memorable for me. I found the ending to be a bit mawklin (yes, that's a portmanteau comprised of mawkish and maudlin--I couldn't decide). It also finished a bit more non-secular than I would have preferred. **shrug**

I've now started Ken Liu's All That We See or Seem. A little cyberpunk for a change. Another audiobook (narrated by Kat Cleave).

[issybird]

Originally Posted by Loosheesh

This is not reassuring. I own A Rome of One's Own in audiobook but haven't listened yet. I was interested to see the author had a podcast (via @astrangerhere's post) but, finding it on Spotify, saw it marked as Explicit, and lost interest right away. Now I'm seeing your comment and I'm hoping A Rome ... is not in that style.

I hope for your sake A Room of One's Own is better (it couldn't be worse, frankly), but I suspect raunchy relevance is the author's stock in trade. It doesn't work for me. I don't know which was worse; the vulgarity or the endless pop-culture references.

If you go forward with it, I'd be interested to hear your reaction.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Next up: No Man's Land Volume 1 by Sarah A. Hoyt.

Which was excellent. It is only the first third of a complete story, but I knew that going in.

Next up was When the Moon hits your Eye by John Scalzi. A bit of light fun, really, which was expected. But only 3/5 for me, as I'd prefer a bit more plot rather than scattered incidents.

Next up: Reflections by Diana Wynne Jones. Writings about writing and life.

[astrangerhere]

Originally Posted by issybird

<SNIP>
I abandoned a book by Emma Southon about Agrippina; I found her style, vulgar and graphic, off-putting and at odds with the subject matter -- aside from being so conjecturable as to be unlikely, at least for me. Nor was I interested in modern day comparisons to the likes of Prince William and Kate Middleton, just as one example. It made my worst of the year list.

I knew what I was getting, so I wasn't over fussed about the pop-history style. It certainly won't make my top ten (I'm not sure it would even make the top 10 of the 20 I've read so far this year), but I did enjoy it for what it was. As to the questions - yes, its sweary, though I'd not call it vulgar per se. I did not find it overflowing with cultural references though. There were two that I can recall, and I actually found one to be a good analogy for women in literature being used to advance men's stories.

I did very much enjoy the Sappho. I took Greek for 3 years in college, so having the translations side-by-side with the originals was nice. I thought the notes also added a lot as to the why of some of her translation choices.

[drofgnal]

Originally Posted by drofgnal

I finally finished the 1400 page door stop. I had a love hate relationship with this book. Many times I started to put it down but didn't. Steven King is a wonderful writer, but somehow the flow of this book bugged me. His writing kept me going, the flow of the book made me want to delete it. So I kept going, albeit slowly. I didn't really care for the ending either once I got there. Oh well, glad I finished. I'm sure I'd have enjoyed the original edition without the 400 pages added back in better.

It took me a while to decide what to read after finishing so I started Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano. I had picked it up as an Amazon deal of the day for 1.99 some time ago.

I finished Hello Beautiful. It was a good book, I graded it 4 of 5 on completion. I'm stumped as to what to move on to. I felt like returning to something familiar, so I started War and Peace returning to Anna Pavlovna's drawing room. Not sure I'm up for another read. Time will tell.

[Uncle Robin]

An interloan request has arrived, so I'm looking forward to picking it up tomorrow and finding out more about the city my grandfather was born in. I love the book's title too: City of Sin of Splendour

[Renate]

Originally Posted by Uncle Robin

An interloan request has arrived, so I'm looking forward to picking it up tomorrow and finding out more about the city my grandfather was born in.

That's an evocative cover.
You had me a bit confused with the title you quoted.
I traveled through Lahore years ago.

[Uncle Robin]

Originally Posted by Renate

That's an evocative cover.
You had me a bit confused with the title you quoted.
I traveled through Lahore years ago.

A bit of typo there, sorry! I wish we could visit, but the AQI in every Asian megapolis is literally lethal for my wife, so reading about places like Lahore my only option. When I saw "City of Sin and Splendour" I loved the title so much I was tempted to buy the book sight unseen. Interloan saved me from myself

[Solitaire1]

Teen Titans - Trade Paperback #3

This reprints two excellent stories: "Lights Out" and "The Insiders."

"Lights Out": Dr. Light (and old enemy of the Teen Titans and someone who had become so pathetic that he couldn't beat ordinary school children) returns for revenge on the Teen Titans for what the Justice League did to him (they did a mind wipe that turned him into an idiot). Now he's no longer a joke.

"The Insiders": Both Superboy (a member of the Teen Titans) and Indigo (a member of the Outsiders) are turned against their teams when they have been activated by Lex Luthor and Brainiac.

Both are excellent stories.

[rrr]

Reading "Theft of Fire" by David Ericksen. Just started so cannot judge yet. Good start though. It's the only book he's written, so even if it's good we can't get any more by him.

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

Just started The Fifth Child, by Doris Lessing.

This is billed as a "gothic horror story".

Sounds interesting...and so far - three pages in - it is!

I took a peek at Territory of Light, by Yuko Ysushima and couldn't stop reading. Purchased from Kobo. Now slightly over half-way through.

I recommend her book: It's about a Japanese woman with a small child attempting to survive away from her selfish (ex/)husband.

-------

When I finish it, I'll start over on the Doris Lessing novel, mentioned above.

[Uncle Robin]

4.25/5 at The Storygraph for City of Sin and Splendour:Writings on Lahore. A fascinating challenging collection of memoirs, histories, poems and short fiction. Of the later, my two favourites were at the end, Air Conditioning by Mohsin Hamid and The Old Mansion by Ikramullah Chaudry. It as also fun to learn that many landmarks and at least one thoroughfare in Lahore were, once upon a time, named after a distant relative who served as Viceroy of India.

[astrangerhere]

Got three really large books going at a go right now:

• Audio - Lady Joker Vols 1-2 by Kaoru Takamura (clocking in at 1200 total pages - printed as one book in two volumes in Japan)
• Kobo - The Books of Earthsea, complete illustrated edition, by Ursula K. Le Guin (1008 pages)
• Paper - The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, revised and expanded edition, edited by Humphrey Carpenter and Christopher Tolkien (720 pages). My wife is reading LOTR for the first time, so this is my companion read.

[Renate]

Originally Posted by astrangerhere

My wife is reading LOTR for the first time, so this is my companion read.

I never read LOTR and couldn't see myself being a big fan.
But I listened to the 30 episode radio drama from WDR (in German).
I can't say that I'm a big fan of the story but I loved the production.
The voice of Aragorn was amazing, so laid-back.