October 2018 Reading Thread

Enough time has passed since I beta-read it for the story to feel fresh again (especially with my memory) so, like @crystal haven I'm reading Night Blade by Juliana Spink Mills (our @Juliana , of course). I think it's been pepped up a bit since I last saw it, and it's every bit as good as Heart Blade so far.
 
Am reading and very much enjoying Rome: An Empire's Story by Greg Woolf. It's written to be academic rather than popular, but it's still very accessible and engaging - partly because it remains general in topic rather than too specific in detail, and Woolf has a voice that's anything but dry.
 
Finished the War Of 1812 (very enlightening). Now reading The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie (I've been meaning to get to this for years).
 
Vertigo said:
I'll be interested in your views on The First 15 lives of Harry August. I have it on my wish list but I've been prevaricating about whether it's a really any good or whether it's just hyped up.
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Will report back when I've finished!

Finished the Martian Chronicles and re-reading the war of the worlds. Had forgotten how good it is.
 
One of my favourites. I’ll be interested to read your opinion, Victoria.
 
I'm having a try at something a bit deep today.
Two hours so far simply trying to get my head around the introduction to "Thus Spake Zarathustra"
I've a feeling it'll be a long long journey through this...I'll be dipping in it for months, heavy going.

My brain hurts
 
Not read that, I think, but did read, many years ago, something by Nietzsche. I found it pretty incomprehensible.

About two-fifths into Stalin: the Court of the Red Tsar. Rather chilling. Why some people think marching beneath banners of Stalin is acceptable or normal is utterly beyond me.

I knew the most basic aspects of the Soviet tyranny, but the detail reads very similarly to 1984 or Animal Farm.
 
Animal farm is a direct allegory of Stalin, Trotsky & co

I would highly recommend the recent film The Death of Stalin. (It is on Amazon Prime)
 
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I finished Peter F. Hamilton's Salvation. I thought that it had a clever structure that gradually built up an overall plot out of individual stories that initially only seem to be loosely connected. Hamilton has been good in the past at slowly revealing mysteries, but I think it was particularly well done here. While many aspects of the book have similarities to one or other of his previous books, they have been mixed together in a different enough way that it does feel different. On the slightly negative side, while the characterisation is adequate I think that perhaps none of his characters here are truly memorable.

I'm now reading Chris Wooding's The Ember Blade. I really liked Wooding's Tales of the Ketty Jay and The Fade, so far this is entertaining although it feels like the plot hasn't really begun yet.
 
Hitmouse, I'd heard that about Animal Farm, but hadn't read the history.

I've also heard Death of Stalin is good. Incidentally, the comically overblown medals on Zhukov's uniform actually slightly underplays how many he had.
 
dannymcg said:
It's very good, I would read it as a 'standalone' and avoid the dire sequel Anvil of Stars
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Hmm...have both of those on my TBR shelf.

Recently read some "Peter Grant" books (Moon Over Soho, Whispers Underground, Broken Homes, Foxglove Summer and The Hanging Tree (read Rivers of London some time ago)). They were fun reads with some nice turns of phrase.

Currently reading KGB - The Secret Work of Soviet Secret Agents by John Barron. Since it was written in 1974 it is somewhat out of date with its description of life in the USSR but it's a fascinating read. Bits of it read like a spoof (as this exchange between a KGB agent and an American operative illustrates).

In an emergency you will find a Canadian passport here [inside a large rock, that unscrews to reveal a hollow compartment, next to a tree in a field outside Paris] with your photograph, personal credentials, money, instructions and a 1921 American silver dollar. Make your way to Brussels. With a copy of the London Times in your left hand come daily at 11am to the 100 block of Chaussée de Foret. Our associate will approach you with a 1921 American silver dollar and ask you if you dropped it. You will display your silver dollar and abide by his orders.
 
finished the new honor book by david weber. like i said elsewhere it's a good book that kind of close a few story arcs . it's the best in 20 years? not in my opinion
 
Reading another 'Merde' books by Stephen Clarke: Merde Happens. However merde-y, can't resist. :giggle:
 
My sister-in-law has just dropped The Traveller by John Twelve Hawks on my desk. I've no idea what it is, other than some kind of SF thriller, but she seems to have really enjoyed it. I might have to give it a try. :)
 
Mouse said:
Finally finished Butterfly Isles by Patrick Barkham. Now reading The Goddess Project by some Bryan dude.
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"like" for both of those! His nature columns in The Guardian are always good.

Brian G Turner said:
My sister-in-law has just dropped The Traveller by John Twelve Hawks on my desk. I've no idea what it is, other than some kind of SF thriller, but she seems to have really enjoyed it. I might have to give it a try. :)
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My brother liked that one. I've always remembered him as an example of how someone can actually gain an advantage as an author from not having a public face.
 
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