Which book are you reading now? Volume XIV

[AmazonQueen]

Made it through to my birthday when I got given 1 whole book (don't my own family know me?).
King Rat by China Mieville. Should keep me going until Xmas when I hope my family will do better.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

I have now downloaded the rest of the Harry Potter novels. Still working my way through The Order of the Phoenix.

 

[Takhisis]

Ploughing through James Clavell's novels in my umpteenth reread. Tai-Pan, then now Shōgun.

 

[Zkribbler]

I have now downloaded the rest of the Harry Potter novels. Still working my way through The Order of the Phoenix.

IMHO, each book as does each movie slips in quality.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

Ploughing through James Clavell's novels in my umpteenth reread. Tai-Pan, then now Shōgun.

I've read Shogun once. I've seen the miniseries twice in English, once in French.

 

[Kyriakos]

Given I started drinking green tea regularly a couple of weeks ago, why not read Green Tea by Le Fanu.

Can't say I find it to be particularly interesting by now (read 1/4rth). But if you are taking the horse-drawn omnibus, demon monkeys can be an issue.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

Given I started drinking green tea regularly a couple of weeks ago, why not read Green Tea by Le Fanu.

Can't say I find it to be particularly interesting by now (read 1/4rth). But if you are taking the horse-drawn omnibus, demon monkeys can be an issue.

Heh. Fry's Cocoa was a staple of our kitchen cupboards for decades. I used it a lot when making chocolate haystack cookies.

 

[Kyriakos]

Heh. Fry's Cocoa was a staple of our kitchen cupboards for decades. I used it a lot when making chocolate haystack cookies.

Sounds cozy ^_^

 

[Valka D'Ur]

Sounds cozy ^_^

Cozy until either my dad, grandfather, or boyfriend noticed the cookies. Then it was a case of

CHOMP! ... inhale... "Can you make another batch?"

I'd usually make two batches anyway, since these were my usual contribution to potlucks (unless I got really ambitious and made chocolates).

 

[KaneBurns]

The old man and the sea

 

[jarred!]

I recently finished Galbraith's Troubled Blood, which was pretty good. I enjoyed how Robin and Cormoran's relationship progressed, and the mystery was elaborate and the clues subtle.

Now, I have ~100pp left of The Hypnotist, by Lars Kepler (originally published in Swedish). It's an entertaining thriller, but I can't help from constantly drawing parallels to Larsson's Millennium Trilogy (aside, I didn't read Lagercrantz's continuation of the series).

I have acquired a copy of New Spring by Robert Jordan, which I plan to read next. I don't read much in the way of fantasy, with notable exceptions being The Lord of the Rings, and Le Guin's Earthsea Cycle.

 

[yung.carl.jung]

reading two Pynchon short stories. currently "under the seal". bretty good, but I honestly prefer his later stuff nowadays. ever since finishing Bleeding Edge (which I think might be the best novel of the 2010s!) nothing has really come quite close, which is a shame.

Given I started drinking green tea regularly a couple of weeks ago, why not read Green Tea by Le Fanu.

Can't say I find it to be particularly interesting by now (read 1/4rth). But if you are taking the horse-drawn omnibus, demon monkeys can be an issue.

good for you, friend. if you have the chance try some genmaicha (green tea with roasted rice poppers), sencha or maofeng

I also recommend Travelogue of Weather Beaten Bones, it goes great with tea

 

[IglooDame]

Reading "Shattered Sword", about the Battle of Midway. It takes the Japanese perspective throughout, and has what I would call "Post-Fuchida" research, they explain that a lot of the Japanese perspective on Midway (prior to say 20yrs ago) has originally come from Fuchida and in Japan at least he's now seen as having a very biased and self-serving perspective. I'm a couple chapters in (the above comes from the prologue and reviews), and it's certainly engaging and very readable so far.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

Reading "Shattered Sword", about the Battle of Midway. It takes the Japanese perspective throughout, and has what I would call "Post-Fuchida" research, they explain that a lot of the Japanese perspective on Midway (prior to say 20yrs ago) has originally come from Fuchida and in Japan at least he's now seen as having a very biased and self-serving perspective. I'm a couple chapters in (the above comes from the prologue and reviews), and it's certainly engaging and very readable so far.

The recent movie Midway is fantastic, btw

 

[IglooDame]

The recent movie Midway is fantastic, btw

I've seen it, it merited being my annual see-it-when-it-comes-out movie for 2020. I have recall only one very very minor quibble with it, which for a navy flick is very good indeed.

 

[Synobun]

Prey of Gods by Nicky Drayden. I don't know why, but I despised this book. One star.

The Rule of Luck by Catherine Cerveny. The writing of this was very good, and indeed the premise was quite interesting. However, the book is actually just unrealistic smut fantasy of the author. The main character (whose last name bears a remarkable resemblance to the author's) spends every waking moment with uncontrollable lust over a Russian gangster prince. Everything is secondary to what amounts to disgusting behaviour and softcore porn. A very disappointing read, given that the author is capable of producing quality and actively chose to instead sext themselves and then publish it for money under the guise of something else.

 

[SS-18 ICBM]

A History of South Sudan by Øystein Rolandsen and M. Daly examines what contributed to the emergence of the nascent state starting from the late 19th century when the region was under Turco-Egyptian rule. The main theme is the weak impact of governance throughout the years, due to the remoteness of the region from the administration in Khartoum. This, along with other factors like Christian missionaries, have distanced its Nilotic peoples from Arabic influence. Disagreements have led to several civil wars and negotiations which eventually culminated in independence in 2011. The fragility of national identity led to more fighting. While not covered in the book (ends in 2014), a tenuous peace has once again returned in the past few years.

The book discusses some issues of South Sudan historiography, like a lack of written and archival sources, especially for pre-colonial history. There is also a tendency for previous work to ignore the agency of the South Sudanese, putting too much emphasis on external influences like Egypt and Ethiopia. The only failing of the book is that it's too short, and I feel that a history of South Sudan must begin with a history of Sudan due to how intertwined the two are.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

I have finished Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. I'll be starting the next novel today.

Damn, the movie left out a lot.

 

[Takhisis]

Damn, the movie left out a lot.

I stopped watching after the third one IIRC. Whenever one of them has caught me unawares on TV while channel-surfing I've always been struck badly enough by the characterisation to stick around for more than half a minute.

 

[Birdjaguar]

The old man and the sea

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