January 2020 Reading Thread

Status
Not open for further replies.
Hugh said:
Yes, it gives a good account of backstage life for that particular family and feels very real. My only difficulty was the young adult style in diary form, and that’s probably a reflection of my age ( late 60s) and gender. Overtones of Adrian Mole, though very different.
One thing that made me smile was that the mother would not let the children eat the takeaway food, even though they cooked it there, because she said it was not nutritious enough, giving them traditional food such as chicken feet instead.
Click to expand...

Thanks, might have to take a look. Adrian Mole overtones (if very different) only adds to the appeal for me.
 
I finished Erin Morgenstern's The Starless Sea. I enjoyed it, but I didn't feel it entirely lived up to its potential. For a novel that's all about stories and storytelling I thought that it was a bit ironic that it could have benefited from a stronger central narrative. I think the world itself (an ancient underground library that once hosted an entire civilisation) was fascinating, but the world and some of the side stories seemed more compelling than Zachary's quest. He was a likeable character but a bit passive as a protagonist, and he even he doesn't really seem sure about what is motivating him at times or what the stakes are so it can be a bit hard to care too much about whether he succeeds or not. Some of the supporting characters were interesting but again a bit lacking in depth. The book is at its best when exploring the mysteries of the Harbour and in the frequent interludes telling myths from the history of the Starless Sea.

I'm now reading Ann Leckie's The Raven Tower. It's been reasonably good so far, although I'm finding the bits about the history of the God that is narrating the story more interesting than the 'present day' parts of the book. I'm not sure I want stories being told in second-person past tense to catch on.
 
Finished Persipolis Rising, which was pretty good.

I thought I’d finish off the short stories set in the Expanse universe, so I’m reading Gods of Risk now.
 
Ian Fortytwo said:
I'm currently reading Ian McKellen. A biography, by Garry O'Connor.
Click to expand...

This biography is utter garbage.

I'm reading surrounded by idiots, The four types of human behaviour (or, How to understand those who cannot be understood.) by Thomas Erikson. Actually it is a brilliant read into the understanding each others body language. Are you a red, yellow, green or blue. From the hundred pages I've read I'm a mixture of all four.
 
I'm reading a crime thriller now.
The Butterfly Garden by Dot Hutchinson.
It's apparently the first in a series, we shall see if it's worth buying the rest. (To be fair this was only 99p)
 
Conversations With Myself - Nelson Mandela.

A fascinating intimate look at Nelson Mandela in the form of letters he wrote whilst incarcerated at Robben Island, and personal notebooks he kept later on as President. You really get a sense of the man behind the icon reading his personal notebooks and letters. Enjoying it so far.
 
dannymcg said:
The Butterfly Garden by Dot Hutchinson.
Click to expand...

Read it some time ago and I found it a complex and satisfying novel. Not my usual fare, but still ....

I just finished the last of The Long Winter Trilogy by A.G. Riddle .... The books were Winter World, The Solar War, and The Lost Colony .... What can I say about this? This might be called a "Space Opera" but I wouldn't because for me space travel played too small a part, and the characters were too few to qualify for me. For two and half books it was seriously good. I liked the characters. It had significant science. And most importantly for me I could follow the story line. However the last half of "The Lost Colony" where the series is winding up the author uses a literary technique that didn't work for me. I felt that The Lost Colony should have been a very different novel, or the same novel but cut down to a novella size. To save spoilers I won't explain because that would definitely spoil the book and other people would likely have a very different view than I do.

Presently reading Asbaran Solutions by Chris Kennedy book 2 in "The Revelations Cycle." Light read, but entertaining so far. It appears that "The revelations Cycle" is going to be a cut above the normal "Mech Warrior" fantasy. At least the book Cartwright's Cavaliers by Mark Wandrey was and this seems to be going in the same direction .... Maybe too closely?
 
I just finished The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis in an endeavor to read through these popular children's stories for the first time and also to further explore the writings of this author. It was my desire to tackle these stories so that I could come up with some ideas on how best to explore a Christian allegorical fantasy universe that I was constructing. I think this book helped me to see that you can strive for accessibility with readers. I have been working on my stories for years--in fact they are all set in an interconnected universe of multiple worlds--and this is perhaps something I can take to heart.

In terms of the tale itself, I could discern certain parallels with the Biblical account, though Lewis did employ authorial license which I noticed. The story didn't parallel the Biblical narrative like Pilgrim's Progress is what I'm getting at. But I took notes throughout and will do so for the remainder of the tales in the Narnia series (I have an omnibus of the stories.

Next I'll read The Horse and His Boy, book two.
 
Fedos said:
I just finished The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis in an endeavor to read through these popular children's stories for the first time and also to further explore the writings of this author. It was my desire to tackle these stories so that I could come up with some ideas on how best to explore a Christian allegorical fantasy universe that I was constructing. I think this book helped me to see that you can strive for accessibility with readers. I have been working on my stories for years--in fact they are all set in an interconnected universe of multiple worlds--and this is perhaps something I can take to heart.

In terms of the tale itself, I could discern certain parallels with the Biblical account, though Lewis did employ authorial license which I noticed. The story didn't parallel the Biblical narrative like Pilgrim's Progress is what I'm getting at. But I took notes throughout and will do so for the remainder of the tales in the Narnia series (I have an omnibus of the stories.

Next I'll read The Horse and His Boy, book two.
Click to expand...
I will be interested to hear your conclusions when you have read though the Narnia books. There are far more expert commentators here than me, but my observation is that the allegory in general takes a light touch and is mainly about attitudes and behaviour (with a sometimes quaint early C20th English perspective). TLTWATW perhaps follows Biblical narrative most obvously of all the stories.
 
Just finished the word for world is forest by Ursula Le Guin. it was fun but a little old fashioned although it might be kind of new topic and visionary in 70's. In some way it remind me of James Cameron's avatar and in other way it was like planet of the apes.
 
I finished Silverberg’s The Stochastic Man, which I thoroughly enjoyed - I thought it was excellent.

Now starting F. Paul Wilson’s Healer.
 
Tonight I'm starting Radiomen by Eleanor Lerman

It's a somewhat weird alien encounter story so far
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Thread starter Similar threads Forum Replies Date
Ursa major POLL -- 300 Word Writing Challenge -- No 36 (January 2020) -- VICTORIA SILVERWOLF WINS! Writing Challenges 0
Ursa major POLL -- January 2020 75-word Writing Challenge -- ELVET WINS! Writing Challenges 0
Ursa major DISCUSSION -- JANUARY 2020 300-word Writing Challenge (#36) Writing Challenges 195
Ursa major 300-word Writing Challenge #36 (January 2020) --VICTORY TO VICTORIA SILVERWOLF! Writing Challenges 34
D Discussion - January 2020 - 75 word writing challenge Writing Challenges 224

Similar threads


Back
Top