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

[fantasyfan]

The New Leaf Book Club has been reading The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë, the least well-known of the Brontë sisters.

I found it more mixed in quality than Wuthering Heights or Jane Eyre but still very arresting at times. It does have some annoying problems. For me a major difficulty was the very unlikable character of Gilbert—the ostensible hero. He is the narrator of the first and third sections of the novel. From the beginning, his faults are manifold including jealousy, impulsivity and a general unbelievable stupidity. Moreover his actions are at one point absolutely criminal.

He does rise a bit above the gossip about Helen, the mysterious tenant—for a while. He also seems to have a genuine affection for little Arthur and apparently can appreciate the superior quality of Helen—but why she should be drawn to him is difficult to understand. What saves the first section is Helen. She is well-drawn as a strong, intelligent creative person.

Helen is the narrator of the second and longest section of the novel which is a flashback to her back-story. I thought this part of the book much finer than the first. It introduces Arthur Huntingdon whose character was evidently based on Anne’s brother, Brandon. We see young Helen as an intelligent but rather naive girl swept off her feet by Huntingdon. She erroneously thinks to “reform” her husband and at least one chapter is little more than a sermon.

But the novel deepens as reality bites. Her girlish love transforms into a bitter cynicism. She struggles to raise her young son, Arthur, in an atmosphere which endangers any opportunity for him to develop into a decent person. She experiences betrayal and unfaithfulness from her husband. Finally, Helen finds herself effectually a prisoner rather than mistress in the family home. Throughout this part of the novel Anne highlights the situation of married women who may be regarded as slaves rather than partners. Section two ends with some excitement as we return to the present and Gilbert’s point of view.

Section 3 is a disappointment. It is essentially a tidying up of the various relationships. It has some interesting twists but nothing of much thematic substance. Gilbert is a little less obnoxious but Helen less interesting.

Anne was the youngest of the Brontë sisters and died at the age of 29. This particular novel was very popular but Charlotte, much the most conservative of the three sisters, would not allow a second edition of it to be published after Anne’s death. Evidently Charlotte felt it was too coarse with an improper “choice of subject matter”. I feel that the central section of the novel is remarkable and that had Anne lived we might well have had even greater treasures.

I listened to an Audible dramatic reading to supplement my reading. The voice actors were Ben Lindsey-Clark, Amanda Friday, and Craig Franklin in the main parts. It is unabridged (over 16 hours) and the quality was excellent. I believe that this performance from 1948 may be in the public domain.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

And now I'm starting on The Man Who Played With Fire by Jan Stocklassa. This is a non-fiction book about Stieg Larsson's investigation into the 1986 assassination of Olof Palme, the Swedish Prime Minister.

A bit of a change of pace from my usual SF/Fantasy/Historical Fiction fare.

Interesting non-fiction, but a bit dull as well. The banality of evil. He suggests that the Swedish police failed to look at the evidence correctly, because of a series of pet theories held by successive leaders of the investigation. And he advances a pet theory of his own which, since my only source of info is this book, sounds plausible. Whether anything will come of it in the end is anyone's guess.

Then I read The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North

This was splendid while being read, but afterwards all the innumerable plot holes and unexamined possibilities started to occur. Claire North is a pseudonym, and I'm guessing that this is SF by a non SF writer. I will still look out for her next book, when on offer.

Next up: Arcanum Unbound by Brandon Sanderson

[Rumpelteazer]

I just finished Bill Thompson's The Experiments, the fifth book in The Bayou Hauntings series. I think this might be my favourite series this year. The stories aren't very scary, but I find the book hard to put down, they're quick and entertaining reads.

[astrangerhere]

I hit one of my internal goals for 2019 last night. I have completed all 12 of the deluxe volumes of Naoki Urasawa's Master Keaton manga. Here's a brief blurb from wiki on the author:

Naoki Urasawa (Japanese: 浦沢 直樹) is a Japanese manga artist and musician. He has been called one of the artists that changed the history of manga, and has received the Shogakukan Manga Award three times, the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize twice, and the Kodansha Manga Award once. Junot Díaz, Pulitzer Prize for Fiction winner, praised Urasawa's Monster and proclaimed "Urasawa is a national treasure in Japan."

[issybird]

Among other books, I'm currently reading Tom Brown's School Days by Thomas Hughes. I'm a huge fan of the Flashman books by George Macdonald Fraser and I thought it was time to get the full backstory on Flashy, and not just what he reveals in his own books.

Unfortunately, it's rather a slog; it's both preachy and elitist. Preachy without being elitist would have been tedious but forgivable; elitist without being preachy would have been despicable but fun. The combination is both tedious and despicable, alas; this is a total affirmation of the class system. The silver lining is that it makes me appreciate just how subversive Fraser is in the Flashman novels, so it's not a dead loss and I shall persevere.

[ekbell]

I remember reading Tom Brown's School Days back when I was a school girl myself.

My main memories are wide-eyed amazement at what the children were able to get away with and a few bits such as the fox and hound hunt (sounded like fun), and some of the scenes with Arthur, he seemed as if he was going to be 'too good for this world' but unlike Beth in Little Women he didn't die.

I liked the homage in Pyramids by Terry Pratchett with his Arthur's piety and the mess that increased piety caused in that book's setting.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by ekbell

I remember reading Tom Brown's School Days back when I was a school girl myself.

I think I would have liked this more if I'd read it at the right age. And if you read a book at the right age you'll always retain your youthful fondness for it, even as flaws become apparent when rereading it as an adult.

[ReadingManiac]

As this is basically a chat thread...

Just sharing that there's a new paperback 2020 daily diary/journal appointment book on Amazon with quotes from women authors put out by an organisation to support disadvantaged women.

Check it out;
US https://www.amazon.com/Quotes-Women-.../dp/1713224445
UK https://www.amazon.co.uk/Quotes-Wome.../dp/1713224445
CA https://www.amazon.ca/Quotes-Women-W.../dp/1713224445

[gmw]

Since my last update (I didn't realise it had been this long)...

Made Things by Adrian Tchaikovsky. This was a fun little novella. Great characters, a short but complete story that was quite different and very intriguing. I'm guessing this is probably the start of something bigger, and I look forward to seeing where he takes it. 4/5.


The Thief's Tale by S.J.A. Turney. The start was a bit choppy but it settled into entertaining tale. The setting was interesting, and the small cast of characters convincing and consistent in their roles ... but it was not enough to make me want to rush out and get the sequels. 3/5.


The Fowl Twins by Eoin Colfer. The story itself was fairly typical of previous Artemis Fowl books, but I found the narration annoying and condescending. These are kids books, so I'm out of the demographic, but the earlier ones were fun anyway, this one not so much. 3/5.


Cocaine Blues by Kerry Greenwood. I was surprised how much I enjoyed this. It has a light and breezy sort of air to it, but enough touches of a serious nature that you care about the characters. It is quite convincing in its 1920s Melbourne setting, although Phryne is a bit too good(?) to be real. Any shortcomings are more than made up for by its fast pace and fun interactions. 4/5.


Fool's Run by Patricia A. McKillip. I have a hard time trying to work out how to rate this. I loved the characters, and the use of music, but the setting was confusing in ways that seemed to have nothing to do with the story. The ending was both predictable and unfulfilling. 3/5.


The End of the Affair by Graham Greene. I'll reserve my comments - and I have lots of them - for the discussion that's about to start in the New Leaf Book Club, see here.


Alice by Christina Henry. A fast and easy read. I think that as a re-imagining of Alice in Wonderland it is reasonably well done, but it never really got me in. The story is described as dark, but I found that its casual, almost off-hand, treatment of violence and abuse didn't really make it feel that dark, just ugly. It is essentially a fantasy quest merged with a romance of sorts. The language and interactions are too simplistic to pay any true homage to Lewis Carroll's work, and too much was over-explained. If it wasn't for the casual violence I would have said this was directed at a younger audience. 3/5

[fantasyfan]

I have finished Disupted by Dan Lyons.

Dan Lyons sets out the parameters of his memoir in the prologue.

“This is a story about what it’s like to try to reinvent yourself and start a new career in your fifties, particularly in an industry that is by and large hostile to older workers. It’s a story about how work itself has changed, and how some companies that claim to be “making the world a better place” are in fact doing the opposite.”

So far as Dan’s experience of ageism and the confusion he feels at being plunged into a world in which he seems to have no specific task and must learn a language of acronyms and codes, I believe he certainly must elicit some sympathy. There is compassion in his portrayal of a world which cruelly fires (“graduates”) workers for no reason—though this is undercut somewhat by his own seemingly unawareness of another kind of cruelty in his own profession as a journalist. In general, however, this is the best part of the book and is laced with considerable humour.

In dealing with the companies and their manipulation of revenue to create false profits for a few directors Lyons tends to harangue the reader. Worse, he engages in crude locker room sexism and certainly hasn’t seemed to have gained much self-knowledge or developed any profound ethical awareness from his experience at HubSpot.

I liked the author of the first half of the book but found myself less and less tolerant of him as the story developed. It is worth reading as a portrayal of life in tech hubs but is uneven as a memoir which the author claims is meant to entertain.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Next up: Arcanum Unbound by Brandon Sanderson

Which was excellent. A collection of 'short' (for Sanderson) stories in his various series. But not something to read unless you've read pretty much all of hi other works. I'd read most of them, but I haven't quite finished this book, as I need to read "The Way of Kings" and "Words of Radiance" in his Stormlight Archive series to avoid spoliers.

And so, I started The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson. Which follows three story lines which finally converge just as the book finished. Excellent, but very, very long. All fascinating, but so long. Since Words of Radiance is just as long, I'm going to take a break with something different for a book or two,

So, first up, a very recent purchase: Moonlight over Mayfair by Anton Du Beke. I read his first book back in January, which was an enjoyable romance set in between-the-wars London. I hope that this one is equally enjoyable.

[ReadingManiac]

Originally Posted by ekbell

I remember reading Tom Brown's School Days back when I was a school girl myself.

My main memories are wide-eyed amazement at what the children were able to get away with and a few bits such as the fox and hound hunt (sounded like fun), and some of the scenes with Arthur, he seemed as if he was going to be 'too good for this world' but unlike Beth in Little Women he didn't die.

I never did read this. Probably too late now.

[Apsalar]

I've just finished:

Incarnate by Ramsey Campbell, which I loved.

Five people are brought from London to participate in a controlled experiment studying prophetic dreaming. But the results are so ominous that the program is cut short.

Now a monstrous presence is in the subjects' lives, a creature created by their group dream eleven years ago, drawing them inexorably into its awful vortex.

I'll Be Gone In The Dark by Michelle McNamara, which could generously be called a complete waste of time and energy.

A masterful true crime account of the Golden State Killer—the elusive serial rapist turned murderer who terrorized California for over a decade—from Michelle McNamara, the gifted journalist who died tragically while investigating the case.

I'm currently reading:

The Elementals by Michael McDowell, which I'm really enjoying so far.

Invisible, they're horrific. Visible, they're fatal.

It starts with a sprinkle of sand, a trail mysteriously laid down. But when the sand is everywhere, you'll know it's not just the wind. The Elementals are around. And soon they will get you, too.

Ask the Savage family, they should know. What's left of them - and their summer house.

They can take any shape they want. Any shape they take can kill.

Lambs To The Slaughter by Debi Marshall, which my mum is insisting that I'll love!

In this definitive, chilling and utterly compelling account of Derek Ernest Percy, a man dubbed by one prison officer as 'Australia's answer to Hannibal Lecter', award-winning true-crime author Debi Marshall applies her blowtorch investigative journalism skills to a forensic examination of the crimes, the man and his modus operandi.

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by gmw

Since my last update (I didn't realise it had been this long)...

Cocaine Blues by Kerry Greenwood. I was surprised how much I enjoyed this. It has a light and breezy sort of air to it, but enough touches of a serious nature that you care about the characters. It is quite convincing in its 1920s Melbourne setting, although Phryne is a bit too good(?) to be real. Any shortcomings are more than made up for by its fast pace and fun interactions. 4/5.

We were introduced to Phryne by the excellent ABC series starring Essie Davis. I immediately wanted to read the books, which are better than the series, IMNSHO. For one thing, there are more characters in the books, including several that I grew quite fond of that didn't make it into the TV series, and one less character that I didn't much care for from the TV series, Aunt Prudence. I definitely recommend continuing with the books.

I'm currently reading Hit List by Lawrence Block. Typical light reading from Mr. Block, and perfect for a breather while I think what I want to read next. I'm also listening to These Old Shades by Georgette Heyer. This is a favourite Heyer Regency, but I've not listened to it before, only read it. Quite good.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

So, first up, a very recent purchase: Moonlight over Mayfair by Anton Du Beke. I read his first book back in January, which was an enjoyable romance set in between-the-wars London. I hope that this one is equally enjoyable.

And indeed it was. It continues the story lines from the first book, and takes us up to the end of 1938. A quick enjoyable read.

Next up: Analog SF for Jan/Feb 2020. Now in it's 90th year of publication! (And I have 17 of those years in ebook format. Wow.)