November Reading Thread

HareBrain said:
Wow, you're getting through them. I've read five of his books and all were very enjoyable.
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I wanted to see how he approached the tricky thing of writing about music.
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"I bought this and another Hepworth book (1971) to see how this esteemed music author approached his subject – at the moment I’m reinventing myself along the same lines. It turns out that Hepworth achieves his success through wit, knowledge, and insider stories. It’s a charming and engaging combination that makes this dual memoir/love-letter to the LP a good read. Hepworth is honest and direct, sometimes wince-inducingly so, but he’s never cruel, and always reminds the reader that he’s a music fan. This means the reader always feels they’re in safe hands. Plus, a lot of the details of his argument feel true, especially the change in 1982 from music pretty much for its own sake to music for other reasons, a trend facilitated by the simultaneous appearance of the Sony Walkman and MTV.
An enjoyable read!"
 
I finished Lucifer & Son by David Craig, the third book in his Sooty Feathers urban fantasy series. I thought this was as enjoyable as the first two books. The villains being split into two different rival factions did add some extra complexity to the story as the heroes (who also have their own divisions) sometimes find themselves in awkward temporary alliances with some of their enemies to stop the other faction becoming too powerful. It all builds to a conclusion which conclusively ends some of the plotlines, while also setting things up for the next book.

I'm now reading Ben Aaronvitch's latest novella, The Masquerades of Spring. Some of the series' previous attempts to bring in a different narrator than Peter have struggled to entirely establish their own voice but I think the protagonist here is distinctive enough to manage that. It's been entertaining so far, although it's not yet really established what the stakes are for this story.
 
Foxbat said:
Overreach: The Inside Story Of Putin's War Against Ukraine by Owen Matthews
The author has spent 25 years as a correspondent in Moscow and chronicles the first year of the war from his point of view inside Russia. He uses multiple sources (including accounts from former Kremlin insiders) to show us the changing mindset in Russia in the years leading up to the war and tells how old friends suddenly became hostile or reluctant to communicate with him. It's an eye opener even for people who think they keep themselves informed when it comes to this conflict.

It's a clinical and often scary analysis of what is going on in and around the Kremlin and a book I just can't put down.
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Added to the list. I've always suspected the perspective in the West was very limited on this subject. Even doing some research, there always seemed to be so much more to it.
 
The Fall of Númenor: and Other Tales from the Second Age of Middle-earth by J.R.R. Tolkien, Brian Sibley (Editor), Christopher Tolkien (Contributor), Alan Lee (Illustrator).

There isn't anything new in this book, it being a cohesive compilation of anything related to Númenor and the Second Age of Middle-Earth culled from The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales, various volumes of the History of Middle-Earth, the Nature of Middle-Earth, and the Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien. However, I liked having all the information surrounding Númenor (geography, flora, fauna, customs, history, the tale of Aldarion and Erendis, and Akallabêth), and what was going on in Middle-Earth at the same time (the rise of Sauron and the forging of the Rings of Power), all in one volume. The book follows the Chronology of the Westlands or Tale of Years (from LotR) and slots in the relevant information as it comes in the time line. This book is also illustrated in colour by Alan Lee, with many monochrome sketches throughout. I found a great deal of enjoyment revisiting Middle-Earth, even if only the events of the tragic events of the Second Age.​
 
Currently reading non-fiction: Why the Bible Began, by Jacob Wright, a biblical scholar. The thesis of the book is that much of the Old Testament was an attempt by Judean scribes to create a kind of national instruction manual for surviving as a people without a state (in the wake of the Babylonians destroying Jerusalem in 586 BC). It's interesting so far, but I am by no means a biblical scholar so it's hard for me to evaluate the validity of his arguments. But there is a definite focus on the power of the written word which I find fascinating.
 
I finished Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Lord by Celeste Connally. It was a decent read, though I didn't like the ending/lead in for the next book (which I'm not sure I'll pick up). I much preferred reading The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies by Alison Goodman which covered a similar time period and topic.

Now I'm reading The Book Club Hotel by Sarah Morgan.
 
ablackenedrose said:
Read Road of Bones by Christopher Golden.
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There's a very good history book, also called Road of Bones, by Fergal Keane, about the pivotal but nearly-forgotten WW2 battle of Kohima.
 
I recently read to historical fiction work set an hour around Chicago at the turn of the last century.

The first was Redwood and Wildfire, by Andrea Hairston. This is a sort of magical realist story that starts out in late 19th century Georgia and ends in early 20th century Chicago. It’s a “great migration” story exploring the lives of black folks and others, who moved from rural areas to the cities at that time. One main character is a “hoodoo” woman, she and her family members have some rather magical powers.

I enjoyed this book enough that I would recommend it however, I think I did not actually finish it. I got within a few pages of the end I believe, but then I had gotten distracted by other things going on, and just never actually got around to reading the end. The thing is that the book is not so much a novel, with one overarching plot arc as stories from the lives of the two main characters which intertwine at different places and times; it’s even internally split up into several “books.” Some of those books interested me more than others and I enjoyed the time I spent reading it overall. The author does try to tie it all together, with a sort of romance arc between the two main characters but I honestly didn’t care if they really got together in the end or not, which is probably why I ended up not finishing the last few pages.

The second was In the Garden of Spite, by Camilla Bruce. This is a more straightforward novel based on the life of infamous “Black widow” Belle Gunness, a Norwegian immigrant to Chicago who may have killed dozens of people both in the city, and then later on her farm in northern Indiana. I highly recommend this book. The story alternates between two points of view, the murderess herself and her sister, who loves her, but suspects that she is doing evil things. I think the author does a very good job of walking the fine line of making this character who does such heinous things understandable but not sympathetic.
 
The Invaders: How Humans and Their Dogs Drove Neanderthals to Extinction by Pat Shipman

This book is something of a detective/mystery novel where the author tries to find out why the Neanderthals went extinct. Her hypothesis makes use of ecological theory to suggest that modern humans have the same effect on the environment as any other invasive species competing with native animals for the same/similar resources - thus Neanderthals and other megafauna could have survived the cold climate at the time but could not survive the climate and the additional competition with modern humans and their pet wolves/dogs. The changing climate, changing food sources, other animals in the area, generic invasive species and their effects, hunting techniques, the arrival of modern humans, competition for the same/similar resources, as well as the domestication of wolves/dogs is discussed. The title of the book doesn't really fit with Shipman's hypothesis though, as according to the text, Neanderthals were already on their way out before homo sapiens (aka modern humans) migrated into Eurasia and the semi-domesticated wolf-dogs only arrived (according to available fossil evidence) after the Neanderthals were gone. The dogs only make an appearance about 3/4 through the book, if anyone is looking specifically for that information.

I'm not entirely convinced by her argument. The timing is a bit erratic, with Neanderthal populations declining before modern humans arrived and a large time gap between Neanderthals and domesticated wolves. She also doesn't take into account that dogs were domesticated from an extinct species of wolf that might not have behaved in the same way as the Grey wolves used in her study (she generally ignored all the other canid species and their interactions with humans). The author admits that there isn't enough evidence currently to say whether her hypothesis is correct or not, and that new advances in dating and additional fossil sites are required to either prove/disprove her hypothesis. Shipman's hypothesis of why modern humans domesticated wolves/dogs and Neanderthals didn't, is fairly interesting and new information seems to provide some confirming evidence. There is also some issue with her stating that Neanderthals ate only meat and didn't change their diet (especially in comparison with brown bear diet changes), when other studies state that some Neanderthals ate meat, others a mix, and some others ate mostly vegetables and thus changed their diet. There is also no mention of Denisovians (probably due to lack of evidence at time of publication). The DNA data on Neanderthal-Modern Human hybridization/interbreeding is also out of date. This makes me wonder what else is out of date and how that effects the hypothesis.

Pat Shipman helpfully makes a point of differentiating between speculation and inferences from hard, empirical evidence. There is a lot of space dedicated to dating of specific finds and analysis of particular fossil evidence. She does however, tend to repeat herself too often and harp on the same theme far too much (I got that humans are an invasive species after the first paragraph, I didn't need a whole chapter on the subject and several reminders throughout the book).​

An interesting, but flawed, book that could use an update 10 years after the original publication.
 
Rereading Ship of Strangers by Bob Shaw.
The Gray Man species was a brilliant concept and I'd have liked to see a few more stories about confrontations with them.
 
An anthology of short stories, Illuminations by Alan Moore, I'm not sure these are my kind of thing so it could well end up DNF
 
Heart of Europe: A History of the Holy Roman Empire by Peter H. Wilson [History tome]

This is NOT an introductory text the subject. I would also not consider this a "popular history" book, since it lacks an overarching narrative or personable anecdotes. The book spans the period between the 9th century and twentieth century. Wilson's main thesis is that, for most of its existence, the Holy Roman Empire was a very complex, multi-layered and dynamic institution, and that this ambiguity and complexity were actually its strengths rather than its weaknesses. Wilson's book is informative and dense with information. It is also organised thematically and not chronologically, though there is an extensive chronology (not just a timeline) at the back of the book to help keep everything straight. Wilson covers topics such as governance, territory, legislation, society, and generally how the Holy Roman Empire functioned and how that effected the people living there. This tome is probably more useful as a reference book rather than a cover-to-cover read.​

PS: I recommend reading the chronology at the end of the book first.
 
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