December Reading Thread

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Finished reading The Horse, the Wheel, and Language by David W Anthony. It started out well, but quickly became bogged down in archaeology reports. The book title claims it to be an account of "how Bronze Age riders shaped the modern world" but really it's a collection of reports on Russian Steppe archaeology, and he never really explores how Indo-European actually spread into Europe. Useful for archaeologists, but not for casual readers.
 
vanye said:
but the next two didn't really lift my skirt, so I stopped reading. Have started the TV-series on DVD, but still not really convinced.
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I thought "Lift my skirt " was an allusion to the photograph of Marilyn Monroe whose skirt blew upwards from vented air on a sidewalk. It created excitement.

Alternatively, another possible allusion would be to hovercraft, which were once very exciting.

Anyway, something that excites.
 
I'm currently reading my second book group book Half of a Yellow Sun, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Quite a remarkable story set in Nigeria in the 60s. I'm actually quite enjoying the experience.
 
Brett Anderson "Coal Black Mornings", autobiography of the early pre-notoriety years of the Suede singer.
I've never knowingly listened to Suede other than a brief glimpse on TV - my only reason for reading this was that I spent several childhood years in the same small Sussex town in which Anderson grew up, and I was interested to see if there were any common points of reference. Very few it turned out, the more so as I am getting on for twenty years older, but it's a surprisingly good read, capturing something of the marginal existence of unemployed unbothered early 20s life. One unexpected common reference point that I'd completely forgotten was signing on in the Lisson Grove dole office in Marylebone (probably now known as a Jobcentre Plus).
 
Ashley R said:
I thought "Lift my skirt " was an allusion to the photograph of Marilyn Monroe whose skirt blew upwards from vented air on a sidewalk. It created excitement.

Alternatively, another possible allusion would be to hovercraft, which were once very exciting.

Anyway, something that excites.
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I'm fairly sure I saw this expression years ago in one of the Gor books by John Norman
 
Yes, Hitmouse, that’s the Cabell I meant. I read Jurgen too (about the same time I read those Vance books I enjoyed so much). That’s a long time ago! The impression that remains is that “that’s not what fantasy is for” — irony, pervasive mockery, being clever, etc.
 
Yes folks it's happened again!!!
Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice and laugh all the way to the bank, at least that is what this feels like, having read all the blurbs for this book (including how scary it was to Stephen King) that say it's the greatest thing in horror since sliced bread I got a copy of "A Head Full Of Ghosts" by Peter Tremblay.
It so horrific it was sending me to sleep, I had to give up half way through, I didn't have the energy to continue, I find a prospect of a wet weekend in Aberystwyth much more scarier!
The characters are boring or just plain irritating, the plot is such a slow burner I think it's gone out, after a lot of reading very little happens, life is just too short for this tripe, some books gel with you when you read them, this one was the exact opposite, I don't think I'll try anything else by this author!!!
 
As the last days of December wind down, I finished Deadhouse Gates, and started into Memories of Ice. I am taking the slow road, and following the rereading discussions chapter by chapter at the Tor website. I am getting so much more out of these books this time around. And even on my 4th read of Deadhouse, the tears still came.
 
Richard Brautigan "A Confederate General from Big Sur" (1964)
Unusual book, just 135 short pages in this edition. Essentially it's the account of two unattractive individuals, one of whom is the narrator, surviving on the California margins, mainly Big Sur, but there's a deftness of touch and surreal humour that at times makes the book sing. Every so often there's a wonderfully good sentence, then a while later another, then another.
I avoided reading this for many years, thinking it was "literature" and therefore by definition hard work, but recently someone mentioned it on these threads (I can't find any trace of you now, but thanks) and that motivated me to take the plunge.
 
I've just finished book 5 in the Star Kingdom series entitled Planet Killer by Lindsay Buroker. If you've been following this thread you will remember that I started reading this book with some trepidation because Lindsay Buroker is known for her romance writing and I thought that the book was likely to wander too deeply into the "romance" side to make it easily palatable for me. I was wrong. This continues a serious thread but with very light hearted moments and with the romance angle still present, but by no means overpowering. As an upbeat SF Fantasy I give it a solid 4 stars.

When I reviewed this I found that my 4 star rating (which is about as good as I ever give) was seriously in the minority, of the over 300 ratings 96% were 5 star, 2% were 4 star, with 1 % each for 3 and 2 stars. No percentage of 1 star ratings. Her upbeat style with a dash of romance must be more appealing to the general public than I realized.

Started something very different. Nine Elms by Robert Bryndza. This is a murder mystery/thriller by an author I've enjoyed before. It's book one in a new series starring a former police detective "Kate Marshall." The setting is present day London and environs. Ten percent read and it's very promising.
 
dannymcg said:
Ugh!
No way will I buy kissy-kissy stuff
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dannymcg said:
No way will I buy kissy-kissy stuff
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Actually kissing is very rare and even rarer "action" further than that. There is some longing for the other during separation which I find quite appropriate. There is even some longing to hold hands which I find endearing.
 
Salvation Day by Kali Wallace
www.goodreads.com

Salvation Day

A lethal virus is awoken on an abandoned spaceship in this incredibly fast-paced, claustrophobic thriller. They thought the ship would b...
www.goodreads.com
 
So I finished Mike Loades' War Bows and overall I was satisfied with it. But I couldn't help but notice that the editor should have done a proofread, because there a few glaring mistakes. No space after a period was minor. I actually came across two sentences that got repeated not once, but twice. And the second time they got repeated was in a completely different chapter where they had no business being.

But it was a very interesting read.
 
I recently finished Mr. Robot and was in the mood for a hacker-like book. I already tried Neuromancer but couldn't get into it. I recently stumbled across Reamde by Neal Stephenson. The premise seems interesting, but I'm very hesitant about the 1,000+ page investment. I read Seveneves a couple months ago but dropped it halfway due to the glacier pace and, what I thought, was unneeded infodumps. I haven't read anything else by Stephenson. Has anyone read Reamde and could vouch for its positives?
 
Wyrmlord said:
I recently finished Mr. Robot and was in the mood for a hacker-like book. I already tried Neuromancer but couldn't get into it. I recently stumbled across Reamde by Neal Stephenson. The premise seems interesting, but I'm very hesitant about the 1,000+ page investment. I read Seveneves a couple months ago but dropped it halfway due to the glacier pace and, what I thought, was unneeded infodumps. I haven't read anything else by Stephenson. Has anyone read Reamde and could vouch for its positives?
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I found Reamde a bit lugubrious, though not quite as much as Seveneves. Stephenson can be a very good writer though. Suggest you cut to the chase and try Snowcrash or Diamond Age.
 
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