09-20-2013, 11:09 AM | #17716 | |
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09-20-2013, 11:49 AM | #17717 |
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09-20-2013, 01:39 PM | #17718 |
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09-20-2013, 02:57 PM | #17719 |
The Grand Mouse 高貴的老鼠
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09-20-2013, 08:51 PM | #17720 | |
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Decided to take a break from thrillers for a couple book, so I'm currently reading When the Eagle Hunts, the third book in Simon Scarrow's Roman-themed historical adventure series. I liked the previous books, and this one continues the trend. I also picked up a copy of Er ist wieder da, a German satirical "autobiography" of Hitler, who finds himself waking up in Berlin of 2011, and tries to win over the country a second time. So far it is a delicious novel. The author imitates Hitler's writing style (Mein Kampf) and way of talking superbly, and it's clever, comic, tongue-in-cheek and thought-provoking. Like political cabaret in book form. |
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09-21-2013, 01:59 AM | #17721 |
Bah, humbug!
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It seems to me to have moments of sheer brilliance surrounded by lots of what seems like at times to be aimless rambling. That may be a matter of style and culture; for this Western reader it appears to be an acquired taste. Some of it is laugh out loud funny, some of it is thought-provoking, and some of it is very courageous in the way it openly asks questions that some people appear to feel are off-limits. It's certainly not the easiest book in the world to read.
Last edited by WT Sharpe; 09-21-2013 at 02:03 AM. |
09-21-2013, 04:54 AM | #17722 |
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I've just finished the second of two non-fiction books, Julian Symons' Bloody Murder - From the Detective Story to the Crime Novel: A History. Since this was the 1972 edition, it's more half a history, but I actually wanted to know more about the Golden Age, which is roughly the twenties and thirties, so I was happy enough with that. There was a second edition in the eighties, I believe, but since I was relying on second-hand book stores, I didn't get to choose.
I found it entertaining and informative, if opinionated, but I do seem to have made quite slow going of it. I also doubt it is going to be good for my TBR over all. The other piece of non-fiction was It's Behind You: The Making of a Computer Game by Bob Pape, which is available free as a PDF from his website. It contains colour images and two-column text, so is probably more for tablets than ereaders. Anyway, it's a shortish book about the making of the ZX Spectrum version of the arcade game R-Type, and I found it a fascinating insight into the industry culture of that period. I don't know what a disinterested layman would get out of it, but I enjoyed it. Definitely time for some fiction now, though. |
09-21-2013, 06:42 AM | #17723 | |
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Apache |
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09-21-2013, 07:58 AM | #17724 |
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Thanks, mentally I was pronouncing it like half penny with the 'lf' missing but that seemed awkward.
I haven't started the book yet, but as I said, I really enjoyed Farthing. Walton said it was inspired by Josehine Tey's Brat Farrar and certain discrepancies in the timeline like people mentioning vacationing on the Continent 5 years earlier when we were still fighting WWII. Walton decided that rather than being a mistake, it was an alternate history where the war ended early and set her book in that universe. The book itself starts out with a typical English country house mystery at an estate called Farthing. The murder victim is the man who led the effort to oust Churchill and accept Rudolph Hess' offer of peace. At the beginning the mystery is at the forefront and the alternate history is mainly in the background but becomes more important as the plot develops. It's part of a trilogy. The murder plot is wrapped up in the first book but larger issues remain unresolved. |
09-21-2013, 04:12 PM | #17725 |
The Grand Mouse 高貴的老鼠
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And it was indeed a good read. And now I'm reading Redshirts by John Scalzi.
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09-21-2013, 04:46 PM | #17726 |
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I just started Distant Thunders by Taylor Anderson. It is the fourth book in the Destroyermen Series. I read number one a while back. I picked up number two last week and am now on four. I have enjoyed the series so far.
Apache |
09-21-2013, 06:49 PM | #17727 | |
(he/him/his)
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Now, back to Treecat Wars. |
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09-21-2013, 07:33 PM | #17728 | |
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Not sure what to read next. BOb |
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09-21-2013, 11:36 PM | #17729 | |
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This was an interesting book, especially as I didn't know much about the facts behind this case. My issue with it was that the author was so contemptuous of the perpetrators of this alleged hoax that her writing drips with her disapproval. I very rarely trust informative writing that exposes such a bias as I think analysis becomes clouded with the introduction of emotion. Having said that, the whole Sybil case seems to be a case of scientific theories masquerading as facts and capturing a public's imagination to serious detrimental effect; a pretty sobering lesson, which I don't think we ever learn. I'm in the last stages of The Satanic Verses at the moment and I'm really enjoying it. I'll complete this novel before I continue on with anything else. |
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09-22-2013, 10:54 AM | #17730 | |
The Grand Mouse 高貴的老鼠
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Next up: The Bull God by Roberta Gellis. From a Baen bundle I bought back in November 2003. My oldest unread bought ebook. |
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