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

[astrangerhere]

Originally Posted by issybird

That was a terrific curated list to kick off the new public domain year. I was charmed that it included the first four Nancy Drew books.

I finished Cakes and Ale last night and got through about 20% of Waugh's Vile Bodies from the same list.

[Renate]

"Vile Bodies" spackles it on a bit thick sometimes but is pretty amusing.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Which was great. On to City of Miracles

Which was a very satisfying conclusion to the trilogy.

Next up: Raising Hare by Chloe Dalton. My in-person book club book for this month.

[gweeks]

Originally Posted by Renate

"Cakes and Ale" should be PD now but it hasn't hit

Fadedpage has a copy.

https://www.fadedpage.com/showbook.php?pid=20170731

Greg

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by gweeks

Fadedpage has a copy.

https://www.fadedpage.com/showbook.php?pid=20170731

Greg

Yes, for those of us who live in Canada, it has been PD since 2015. Of course, other's rules may vary.

[Wiggo]

Originally Posted by issybird

Thank you! Terrific input. Especially since, and I'll comment on two of your suggestions, The Radetzky March made my ten best list for the year when I read it three years ago; wonderful book. Emperor's Tomb not quite as good, but that was a high bar. As for PLF, I've read everything of his; A Time of Gifts is probably my favorite travel narrative of all time.

So our tastes seem quite congruent and I'll see what I can track down of your other recommendations. Thanks again!

Welcome!

[BelleZora]

Originally Posted by issybird

The Radetzky March made my ten best list for the year when I read it three years ago; wonderful book. Emperor's Tomb not quite as good, but that was a high bar.

Which translations did you read?

[Tarana]

Reading Greenthieves by Alan Dean Foster. For me, it has rather complicated language so I found I had to reread the first couple of chapters. Kindof getting into the groove of it now. My reading was also interrupted to get some stuff set up before Amazon cut off access to my Kindle Touch.

For listening, I have finished the final of the series Orbs IV: Exodus by Nicholas Sansbury Smith and Anthony Melchiorri. I didn't care for the change of narrator, but otherwise, its scifi action adventure with a lot of science problems. Listening to In The Shadow of Power by Viveca Sten (have in both ebook and audiobook) which is book 7 of Sammhamn Murder Mysteries. Set about 5 years from the last book, I'm again very much enjoying this series.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by BelleZora

Which translations did you read?

Joachim Neugroschel for Radetzky March; John Hoare for Emperor's Tomb.

[gweeks]

Originally Posted by gweeks

Fadedpage has a copy.

https://www.fadedpage.com/showbook.php?pid=20170731

Greg

It's PD in the US also. I asked Al to clear it and get a copy to PG-US.

Greg

[Adam Scribentis]

Roumanian Fairy Tales and Legends (tr. E. B. Mawr 1881; Abela Publishing 2009).

The first tale is The Twelve Dancing Princesses, which (with a few variants) I've seen elsewhere as a Belgian fairy tale. Which country had the tale earlier, and where they differ, which is the earlier form of the story? I look forward to trying to find out.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

I started Cruel and Unusual: book four of Cornwell's Scarpetta series. It seems to have gotten off to a better start than book one, but I think I figured out what's bothering me.

Both books have several infodumpy sections where Kay Scarpetta's niece helps her with computer issues. In this one, she walks her aunt through (over the phone) typing various unix commands at a shell prompt. It goes on long enough to make my ears glaze over (yeah, I said it). For one, the sequence is completely irrelevant to the plot. Scarpetta could have simply had her niece tell her what she wanted to know. Two: typing commands at a unix shell prompt is NOT something I need a lengthy refresher course in. The first book had similar sequences related to dumb terminals and SQL commands.

So yeah... it's definitely a ME thing. I know just a bit too much about what Cornwell has chosen to use as filler. There are countless thing she could teach me about forensics and serial killer profiling, but she chose computer stuff instead. Even in the 90s when these books were written, this stuff was like breathing to me.

I finished this up yesterday. I fear I'm just going to have to accept that these books are simply not for me. To be fair, the narrator of the audiobook may be playing into this a bit, too.

[DiapDealer]

Just started Angel Down by Daniel Kraus. Audiobook version narrated by Kirby Heyborne

[noordinaryspider]

A few politics/current events books from the library (to replace doomscrolling the news), Euell Gibbons, and lots and lots of Anne Tyler.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Next up: Raising Hare by Chloe Dalton. My in-person book club book for this month.

Which was interesting. Looking after a leveret in lockdown while keeping it wild, and seeing it successfully grow up and raise the next generation.

And then I read A Hole in the Sky by Peter F. Hamilton. A fun first book in a YA trilogy that is definitely one long story rather than three linked stories. I will look out for the next two books when they appear.

And now I'm (re)reading The Compleat Traveller in Black by John Brunner. Excellent linked fantasy short stories.