February 2019: Reading thread

[Parson]

Halfway through Pushing Ice by Alastair Reynolds. I put it down when it hit a slow spot, but it was only for a couple of chapters and now we're full speed again. I should have it finished soon.

I have pretty strong feelings about this book. I'll be interested to see how you feel about it after finishing it.

 

[HareBrain]

Had a go at The Furthest Station, a novella by Ben Aaronovitch in his Peter Grant series, but failed. Fifty pages in, there is no tension and there seems to be no stakes, just a mildly interesting mystery. I found a similar problem with the cosy tone when I tried the first book.

Otherwise, various Hellblazer comics. I wish there were decent novels of these.

 

[Danny McG]

Had a go at The Furthest Station, a novella by Ben Aaronovitch in his Peter Grant series

I didn't know about this one, whereabouts in the series does it fall?
I have the first four as books and the rest as ebooks

 

[Vince W]

Otherwise, various Hellblazer comics. I wish there were decent novels of these.

I've been rereading Hellblazer as well. It really does deserve some decent novels and a top flight film.

 

[Ian Fortytwo]

I'm just about to embark on reading of The Redemption of Althalus, by David and Leigh Eddings. It has been quite a while since I read it last. I am looking forward to it.

 

[Danny McG]

I'll be very interested to hear what you think. I'd not heard of this until seeing mention on these boards, but it looks like it has potential. I expect its part of a series though? (groan)

@Bick Review here The wrong stars by Tim Pratt

 

[williamjm]

I didn't know about this one, whereabouts in the series does it fall?
I have the first four as books and the rest as ebooks

It is set between The Hanging Tree and Lies Sleeping, although it's doesn't interact much with the main story arc of the series so it probably doesn't matter too much when it is read.

 

[Danny McG]

I'm reading a crime thriller today.
Home by Harlan Coben.

This is a Myron Bolitar book, I think the last in the series.

(Tattered paperback from a charity shop)

 

[tobl]

this month i'm into dietmar wehr other books besides The Synchronicity War. quite good so far.

 

[Hugh]

Lucy Wood: “Diving Belles”. I really liked this collection of twelve short stories, and am surprised that the author does not seem to have been mentioned here before. They’re set among the flotsam and jetsam of the Cornish coast, where other realities seep into the everyday, and the everyday is never quite what it seems. I guess they come under the heading of magical realism, but this doesn’t quite capture the haunting gentleness of the stories. I looked forward to reading a new story each evening, then waiting till the next evening to read another.
I bought the book because I saw the author being interviewed at a short story festival last year, and (being an old lag) was surprised by her youth and calmness, and was impressed when she spoke of the stories emerging from the landscape when out walking. This is her first book and attracted a fair few reviews at the time of publication in 2012.

 

[saulfan]

When I visited Bletchley Park in the Autumn, I purchased a number of books, hoping to glean something from them but not expecting great things.

I have just finished 'Morse Code Wrens of Station X' by Anne Glyn-Jones, an account of her wartime service as a Wren telegraphist.

What a gem this engaging and extremely well-written book is. I enjoyed reading it as much as anything for a long time.

Full of humanity, sharp observation and a wry, self-deprecating wit, it offers an insight into so much more than just her service as a Wren.

Although only a slim volume (160 pages), I would rank this amongst the very best of the WW II memoirs I have read.

Best Wishes,
David

 

[Randy M.]

Just started The Twilight Pariah by Jeffrey Ford. I enjoyed The Shadow Year quite a bit last year, so I was ready for another from him.

Randy M.

Took a few days off as vacation, and so finished this sooner than I expected. A quick read and good fun, with some parallels to Ford's The Shadow Year. Three young protagonists rather like older versions of those in TSY, one a head-strong female with two rather less feisty males in tow, do an amateur archeological dig and find something that stirs up a previously quiet force. This combines a haunted house with a fairly novel approach to ghosts. Not a great novel, but engaging and entertaining.

Finishing that so early, I'm now almost 3/4 through Brown Girl in the Ring by Nalo Hopkinson and wondering why I didn't get to it sooner. Feels a little like a precursor to portions of American Gods, but lighter even though the stakes for the characters feel quite real. Well-written, set in Toronto with a Caribbean flavor that makes it especially appealing, it has an s.f. premise but proceeds more as fantasy based on Caribbean myth/legend. It will have to drop off substantially for me not to recommend it to anyone like myself late to the Hopkinson party.


Randy M.

 

[Paul_C]

Lucy Wood: “Diving Belles”. I really liked this collection of twelve short stories, and am surprised that the author does not seem to have been mentioned here before. They’re set among the flotsam and jetsam of the Cornish coast, where other realities seep into the everyday, and the everyday is never quite what it seems. I guess they come under the heading of magical realism, but this doesn’t quite capture the haunting gentleness of the stories. I looked forward to reading a new story each evening, then waiting till the next evening to read another.
I bought the book because I saw the author being interviewed at a short story festival last year, and (being an old lag) was surprised by her youth and calmness, and was impressed when she spoke of the stories emerging from the landscape when out walking. This is her first book and attracted a fair few reviews at the time of publication in 2012.

I've heard some of the stories on the radio, but not read the book. Perhaps I should.

 

[Hugh]

I've heard some of the stories on the radio, but not read the book. Perhaps I should.

You may have heard the best ones, but of the twelve there were only two or three that I thought a little weaker.

 

[Parson]

Well I waited to write about about True Places by Sonja Yoreg. I wrote a review for Amazon on my tablet and waited to get confirmation in my email. It never came. I looked to see if I could find it online. But I was nowhere to be found among the recent reviews. Sigh! Did it disappear into the ether? Did someone take it down because they didn't like it? I don't know. So.... I said something like this:

Sonja Yoreg's book commands attention. Her writing is well informed and researched. But I found the characters very frustrating. The majority of the characters were prototypical self absorbed upper class. Each of them is consumed by their own selfish interests. The main character is not an exception, but she feels the pointlessness of all that consumes her time. I was really frustrated by the answer to her problem which is "become more selfish!"

----

As a Parson this book and the ending was very hard to stomach! The prototypical Jewish mother response "Get over yourself!" Is not a bad mantra for living. Part of the great thing about being a person of faith is that you are taught at the deepest level that "It's not all about me." Why should so many people have such a hard time getting this? Why do we need another book that tells us what we don't need to hear: Be more selfish?!

I gave the book 4 stars because of the superior quality of its writing and interesting background information. And because I did not think it was fair to rate it down because I found the message offensive if not dangerous.

 

[Danny McG]

this month i'm into dietmar wehr other books besides The Synchronicity War. quite good so far.

Have you read 'The Retro War'?
I thought it was the start of a new series, it turned out to be Synchronicity part 5, a sequel!

 

[tobl]

Have you read 'The Retro War'?
I thought it was the start of a new series, it turned out to be Synchronicity part 5, a sequel!

yes i know. it's a continuation. the books i read are not bad

 

[dask]

Finished Agatha Christie's The Mysterious Affair At Styles, her first novel and introduction to the world's second greatest detective. Superb. Had to put Leo Margulies's 3 X Infinity on hold till I finished it. Next up:

Hope it's as good as it looks.

 

[AnnWanges]

I started reading Stephen King "The Stand: The Complete and Uncut Edition" The book is really multi-faceted, full of philosophy, metaphors, and religion, yet it is still an undeniably one of the Stephen King books, rich in his unique style.

 

[Danny McG]

I started reading Stephen King "The Stand: The Complete and Uncut Edition" The book is really multi-faceted, full of philosophy, metaphors, and religion, yet it is still an undeniably one of the Stephen King books, rich in his unique style.

One of his finest