What Book Are You Reading XV - The Pile Keeps Growing!

[EnglishEdward]

Yesterday I finished reading a second hand book:

Only Human

by Sylvain Neuvel

copyright 2018

It is a sci-fi book about giant robots from another planet whose alien occupants
had previously visited the Earth and carelessly mixed their DNA with humans.

That resulted in discrimination and its repercussions on Earth and the alien planet.

It is the third in a set of books, and I had read the first but not the second volume.

The story is very well told as a set of official transcripts of various
conversations, that are both dramatic and humorous. .

It is an interesting technique and she has worked it very well.
.

 

[Birdjaguar]

I'm finishing up Treachery by SJ Parris. Its a murder mystery set Plymouth England in 1585 and featuring Sir Francis Drake and others. I don't read many mysteries, but this was excellent.

 

[Josu]

Ended Blood of Elves by Andrzej Sapkowski. The book I enjoyed less from the series until now.
Starting Baptism of Fire by Andrzej Sapkowski

 

[Takhisis]

La maravillosa historia del español, by Francisco Moreno Fernández from the Cervantes Institute.

A wonderful indeed telling of the story of the Castilian (occasionally known as Spanish) tongue.
It's also refreshing to hear from anybody at all in Spain to officially acknowledge the often-traumatic social and historic events that have shaped language and culture without boasting about or apologising for it.

 

[Arakhor]

I'm finishing up Treachery by SJ Parris. Its a murder mystery set Plymouth England in 1585 and featuring Sir Francis Drake and others. I don't read many mysteries, but this was excellent.

She did a series of mostly one-word titles - that's the fourth in a series of seven.

 

[Traitorfish]

The Invention of China by Bill Hayton. It discuss the emergence of Chinese national identity and nationalism in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The core thesis is essentially a critique of the official version of Chinese history that asserts a continuity of Chinese nationhood dating back to pre-history, each chapter breaking down the way in which some element of this continuity- language, territory, ethnicity- was imposed upon the past by a small stratum of intellectuals between (roughly) 1860 and 1920. In some ways it's part of the popular genre of "explaining China", illustrated by each chapter opening with a discussion of some recent event that ties the historical discussion to the present, and I think this can sometimes leave it unclear if the ultimate object of Hayton's critique is the official version of Chinese history or the officialdom that propagates it, which sometimes weakens its argument. Overall, though, very worthwhile if you're interested in the period.

 

[Takhisis]

Interesting book to look out for, Traitorfish me lad.

 

[EnglishEdward]

Last Monday I finished reading

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

by J K Rowling

copyright 2000

It is the fourth book in the series, and the first one I have read.

I have watched most of the HP films, and I thought that would
spoil the surprise, so I had been reluctant to read the books.

But it was a thoroughly good read, even though there were three
or four occasions when I could remember what was coming next.

 

[Birdjaguar]

The Kaiju Preservation Society. by John Schalz A book hoping to be a movie franchise like Jurassic Park. A short quick read. Entertaining, a bit lightweight for me, but fun. Godzilla fans will like it.

 

[Hygro]

Currently working on two books. The Mediterranean and the Mediterranean World in the Age of Phillip II Vol.2 by Fernand Braudel. An absolute doorstop of a book, but a massive history of the economic, social, and political drivers. So far I enjoyed Volume 1 more, which was all about the economic relations, with Braudel talking about prevailing winds, patterns of trade, shipbuilding, etc. Vol 2 is focusing more on political developments and the nature of the territorial state.
My trashy book I'm reading is The Eagle and the Sword by Harvey Schreiber, a trashy pulp retelling of Attila the Hun reimaged as a Conan-like barbarian king. The authors historical research is pretty minimal - referring to the Akatziri tribe as Alcatziri - evidently he misread in his notes a K and LC..... But it is passable pulp trash for the time being.

Link to previous thread:
https://forums.civfanatics.com/threads/which-book-are-you-reading-now-volume-xiv.652801/

Just wanted to come out to you guys as lawful evil

 

[Arakhor]

Typically lawful good or lawful evil for me.

 

[Birdjaguar]

True neutral

 

[Takhisis]

Last Monday I finished reading

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

by J K Rowling

copyright 2000

It is the fourth book in the series, and the first one I have read.

I have watched most of the HP films, and I thought that would
spoil the surprise, so I had been reluctant to read the books.

But it was a thoroughly good read, even though there were three
or four occasions when I could remember what was coming next.

I'll recommend that you just read them from the start.
I remember we got them from Oxfam for about 2 quid on average back in the day.

 

[Hygro]

Chaotic good should be one of the evils. Receipt paper sheds toxic plastics, that get on your fingers and realistically eventually in your mouth and then body.

 

[Ajidica]

Chaotic good should be one of the evils. Receipt paper sheds toxic plastics, that get on your fingers and realistically eventually in your mouth and then body.

I've already got so much plastic in my body from storing and reheating food in tupperware, by the time I die I'll have more plastic in my body than a lego figure!

 

[Synobun]

Chaotic good should be one of the evils. Receipt paper sheds toxic plastics, that get on your fingers and realistically eventually in your mouth and then body.

That's why I do it.

 

[Hygro]

I've already got so much plastic in my body from storing and reheating food in tupperware, by the time I die I'll have more plastic in my body than a lego figure!

To be honest receipts dwarf all that other stuff in loose plastics. It's not even close.

 

[Fippy]

Donald Duck Comics

 

[J-man]

I finally finished Dune about a week ago.

Great story but not an easy book, this was my 3rd attempt.
Herbert has created an intricate world but I had to first read the appendices before starting the story. Particularly the worm life cycle I had to get from the appendix.

 

[SS-18 ICBM]

Gold, Oil, and Avocados by Andy Robinson is a "Recent History of Latin America in Sixteen Commodities", as its subtitle indicates. Each good gets its own chapter, where historical background to give context and contemporary anecdotes covering the author's visits paint a picture of continuing resource exploitation in Latin America. Just like its inspiration Open Veins of South America by Eduardo Galeano, it is sympathetic to local leaders and critical of foreign, particularly Western, concerns.