January Reading Thread

[Dave Vicks]

IT WORKED FOR ME. Colin Powell &
Tom Koltz.2012.

 

[Elentarri]

~Irresistible by Joshua Paul Dale [nonfiction, sociology, history, science]

This is a fascinating examination of what makes things "cute", why and how this "cuteness" influences human behaviour, as well as a historical examination of the development of the cultural phenomena as shown in literature and art. The author starts off with Ancient Japanese cuteness in the form of Ancient Japanese literature The Pillow Book, and goes all the way to Japanese kawaii culture, teddy bears, Pokemon and Hello Kitty, with some comparison to American culture, also the changing views of children, and the domestication of dogs (and humans), and the influence of cuteness on a changing society in general, and its use in marketing. I found the chapters on the interaction between biology and culture particularly interesting. The focus on Japanese culture was also a nice change. A complimentary book to this one is Survival of the Friendliest by Brian Hare and Vanessa Woods.​

 

[Dave Vicks]

INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE. 1976
Anne Rice.
Audio.

 

[dask]

Started this, ironic considering the endless train of atmospheric rivers we’ve been slammed with the past couple of months. Still, it’s a Christmas gift from my wife and so far it’s very good.

 

[Extollager]

I expect soon to finish Winter, the fourth and final book in Tiina Nunnally's translation of Sigrid Undset's Master of Hestviken quartet. The books are very fine but generally somber, appropriately for the themes.

 

[Danny McG]

. I didn't like Tale of Two Cities, but I had to dissect it at school which kills any enthusiasm anyone has for books

I still know men I went to school with who've never read a book for pleasure since those days, their entire reading consists of the newspaper sports pages and an occasional magazine about football

 

[Elentarri]

I still know men I went to school with who've never read a book for pleasure since those days, their entire reading consists of the newspaper sports pages and an occasional magazine about football

That's very sad, but I also know people like that.

 

[Elentarri]

~Seventy Great Inventions of the Ancient World edited by Brian M. Fagan

I think this is what is considered a coffee table book? The book is larger than usual, has loads of colour photos and illustrations, and 70 short chapters of (usually) 2-4 pages in length on a wide variety of topics such as basketry, glass making, weaving, smelting, stone architecture, agricultural tools, watermills, pumps, wheeled vehicles, camel saddles, bridges, sailing vessels, navigation, methods and tools for war and hunting, plumbing, water supply, skis, games, musical instruments, writing instruments, calendars, cartography, surgical instruments, cosmetics, etc. Each topic could become a whole book in itself, but this book provides a lovely broad and concise overview of the 70 great inventions of the ancient world, as selected by the editor. It provides something to think about and a starting off point for more research.​

 

[williamjm]

I finished Adrian Tchaikovsky's Days of Shattered Faith, the third in his Tyrant Philosophers fantasy series (I'm unclear whether more novels are planned, there's definitely potential for them). I thought the first two books in the series were excellent and I also liked this one a lot. Initially it looked like it might only have loose connections to the earlier books, but as the book goes on there are several returning characters showing up and often playing significant roles. The long-term repercussions of the events in the second book on Pallaseen society also start to become evident. I thought the new setting of Alkhalend that is explored in this book was one of the highlights, after two books set in areas under the control of the Pallaseen regime it's an interesting change of perspective to see it from the outside. This also leads to an interesting dynamic in the succession contest between the two princes of Alkhalend where one of them is more sympathetic and likeable than the other, but at the same time is clearly underestimating the dangers of accepting aid from the Pallaseen. The plot does take some interesting twists, and while some of the events have a sense of inevitability to them there are also some sudden reversals in fortune. I think one aspect where I think this was slightly weaker than the previous books was that the lead characters were not as compelling, I think Loret in particular remains enigmatic for most of the book even when we are seeing things from her perspective. However, there are some good supporting characters, some returning and some new.

I then read T Kingfisher's novella Minor Mage, which I enjoyed. Although the premise seems whimsical (a young and inexperienced magician sets out with his armadillo familiar to try to bring back rains for his village), it does have a few darker moments in it.

I've now started Jeff Vandermeer's City of Saints and Madmen, which I was expecting to be a bit weird based on its reputation and it is living up to that. Out of the two sections I've read so far I preferred the historical text of the founding of the city, the extensive footnotes were fun.

 

[BAYLOR]

I finished Adrian Tchaikovsky's Days of Shattered Faith, the third in his Tyrant Philosophers fantasy series (I'm unclear whether more novels are planned, there's definitely potential for them). I thought the first two books in the series were excellent and I also liked this one a lot. Initially it looked like it might only have loose connections to the earlier books, but as the book goes on there are several returning characters showing up and often playing significant roles. The long-term repercussions of the events in the second book on Pallaseen society also start to become evident. I thought the new setting of Alkhalend that is explored in this book was one of the highlights, after two books set in areas under the control of the Pallaseen regime it's an interesting change of perspective to see it from the outside. This also leads to an interesting dynamic in the succession contest between the two princes of Alkhalend where one of them is more sympathetic and likeable than the other, but at the same time is clearly underestimating the dangers of accepting aid from the Pallaseen. The plot does take some interesting twists, and while some of the events have a sense of inevitability to them there are also some sudden reversals in fortune. I think one aspect where I think this was slightly weaker than the previous books was that the lead characters were not as compelling, I think Loret in particular remains enigmatic for most of the book even when we are seeing things from her perspective. However, there are some good supporting characters, some returning and some new.

I then read T Kingfisher's novella Minor Mage, which I enjoyed. Although the premise seems whimsical (a young and inexperienced magician sets out with his armadillo familiar to try to bring back rains for his village), it does have a few darker moments in it.

I've now started Jeff Vandermeer's City of Saints and Madmen, which I was expecting to be a bit weird based on its reputation and it is living up to that. Out of the two sections I've read so far I preferred the historical text of the founding of the city, the extensive footnotes were fun.

Those all sound quite interesting

Two suggestions
The Kagan the Damed Trilogy by John Maberry it'd Game of Thrones meets The King in Yellow , Cthulhu , Hastur and the outer gods
1. Kagan the Damned
2. Son of the Poison Rose
3. A Dragon in Winter

By Felix Palma
1. Map of Time
2. Map of the Sky
3. Mp of Chaos

 

[Dave Vicks]

STALKING THE NIGHTMARE AND
OTHER WORKS. 1982.By Harlan Ellison .
Non-fiction and Fiction.
Audible.com

 

[Chris von shannow]

Beyond the stones by Martin J Lake
I have read it before it’s very good but still no part 2

The fact that the follow up is no where in sight makes rereading this quite pointless

Have now started on 1888 a Jack the Ripper novel so far it’s very good

 

[Hugh]

Ainslie Roberts (paintings) & Charles P. Mountford (text) "The Dreamtime", "The Dawn of Time", "The First Sunrise"
Three books on Australian Aboriginal Myths.
Each 'myth' is only three or four paragraphs long and is accompanied by a painting intended to convey something of the myth.

I've found it very interesting to read one of these 'myths' a day over the last six months or so. The perspective is so different from european traditions, while also feeling very much alive. They continually surprise. Even though the text is written by a white Australian academic, it feels that it probably contains something of the varied tribal narratives of indigenous Australia. While the 'Dreamtime' is subject to all manner of interpretation, reading these myths, it feels like the Dreamtime in which they're taking place is very much synchronous with everyday reality. I suspect this is how the Greek myths were experienced back in the day before the various local traditions became homogenised into those we know today.

A warning though: for the most part these myths tend to be more than a little misogynistic and patriarchal. Conflict in them is never resolved by some form of mutual agreement, only by fighting/murder or flight/dissociation (i.e. shapeshifting or taking new life among the stars).

 

[Extollager]

Finished the final book in Sigrid Undset's quartet of books about Olav Audunssøn, set in medieval Norway. This is as somber a sequence of novels as I've read, dealing much with guilt (the voice of conscience) and shame (the fear of what the people who matter would think if they knew). It also deals much with physical suffering. She deserved her Nobel Prize in Literature.

Undset is a wise, unsparing, and skillful novelist, very much not "sophisticated," in the sense indicated in this mid-1970s passage from the American writer Wright Morris that I ran across a few minutes ago:

“Stand on a street in New York, in the upper fifties, sixties. Watch the people who have been shaped by sophistication, by life that is a reflection, of a reflection, of a reflection. The more sophisticated we are, the less substantial our experience. Joseph saw this when he went to Egypt: young Americans see this when they go to New York. It appealed to Joseph, and it appeals to us. Refinement of sensation, stylization of gesture, resulting in blank, highly civilized faces, and blank, lowly civilized feelings, and blank, uncivilized relationships."

If one wants to flee from a "sophisticated imagination" in Morris's sense, the Undset books could be of great help.

 

[THX1138]

Not so much as reading this month as picked up:

Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz. Been watching the BBC series based on this book, so I thought I would read the original story also.

All Things Bright and Beautiful by James Herriot. The next book in the All Creatures Great and Small series. Grew up watching the BBC 1970's All Creatures Great and Small shows and I am enjoying the current BBC/Masterpiece Theater remakes. So, I picked up this book.

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

I am well into The Truth and Other Stories by Stanislaw Lem, collecting works from 1956 to 1993. Mostly new in English, although two or three may have shown up here and there. This volume (English version 2016, but copyright 2006 by the author's son; in Polish, I presume) is translated by Antonia Lloyd-Jones and has a foreword by Kim Stanley Robinson.

 

[Elentarri]

~Witherward by Hannah Mathewson
This novel begins with former orphanage escapee, then pick-pocket street urchin, and current stage-magician's assistant Ilsa, who is using her secret ability to change shape as part of her job. Her life gets upended when she is pursued by a group of dead-eyed assassins, and lands up being dragged through a portal into an alternate London known as the Witherward. A solid and engaging young adult novel, with fascinating world building. I may have to pick up the sequel.

 

[HareBrain]

Finished Declare by Tim Powers. Overall, a brilliant spy novel with a unique premise and a highly imaginative take on the supernatural/divine. Possibly a bit longer than it felt it should have been: partly this is due to Powers sticking to historical fact where possible (admirable, but makes the plot quite complicated) and partly down to a wealth of period detail that often felt unnecessary (exact models of cars, helicopters etc).

 

[Hugh]

“Beyond Lies the Wub, The Collected Short Stories of Philip K. Dick Volume I” (PKD1)
PKD's first 25 stories, with one exception (@1947, previously unpublished) all of these were written over a nine month period 1951-2 and subsequently published in pulps. Surprisingly good overall considering these are his first efforts - he gives a lot of credit to a writing class with Anthony Boucher for helping him understand how to make a story work. These of course are the days when you could still write about encountering 'natives' on Mars and other places in the solar system.
24 stories in 9 months is an impressive work rate: I wonder if he was already using amphetamines to keep his writing flowing.
The two stories that stand out for me:

“Beyond Lies the Wub” : the spaceship Optus has almost finished loading its cargo of Martian wildlife, when Peterson appears leading a large pig-like animal by a string. He’s bought it for 50 cents from a native who said it’s a wub. This was PKD's first published story. Remarkable first appearance.
“The King of the Elves”: Shadrach Jones is the owner and sole employee of an isolated petrol station. One dark and rainy evening he gives shelter to a group of elves. I don't think PKD wrote much fantasy, but this one works for me.​

 

[alexvss]

The Things they carried. Stories of the Vietnam War told from the perspective of a veteran who, being against the war, was forced to fight it.

Great book. The Vietnam War is a big source of scary stories, and I mean like involving ghosts and the like. It’s not a Horror book, but it has a lot of stories that skirt around Horror topics.


Moby Dick.

Weird, weird book. I thought I was going for something more like Free Willy (1993)