A new week, with a new weekly thread!
What have you been reading or listening to lately?
For details on the c/Books Bingo, check the Midpoint check-in post.
Finished “a death in Cornwall” by Daniel Silva, and now a little over half way through “an inside job”, the next and latest book in this series. While I think the previous was a decent enough book, it left me with the feeling that the author was tip-toeing around the whole Israel situation where the series was heavily Israel centered in the earlier books (and deliberately pointing at a different country in the process). The not adressing of the current state of affairs in Israel goes on in the latest book unfortunately. Also, the plot twists are too predictable,
Finishing up “Fast Forward” by Robert Sawyer. It’s not very good. Lots of filler. One of the main characters finds out her young child has died and she just continues to mutter about like nothing has happened. One of the villains gives a long rambling speech about his motivations before shooting someone, like he’s a Bond villain. No one does this in real life.
I hear the TV show based on the book’s premise is much better. One of those rare instances where the tv show or movie is better than the book.
I’m now reading Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie. I was in the mood for something lighter and I had never read it. No murder yet, no idea how the story will unfold. It breathes that old atmosphere of a classic detective, which is really nice.
The Peter Ustinov film of this book is quite fun (as are the other Christie/Ustinov films from this era).
I have finally just finished 1984 by George Orwell, and with that, my last bingo square as well. \o/ Overall, I liked it, but found it too drawn out; the book section at the 60% mark especially killed the pacing for me. The appendix about Newspeak at the end was fascinating, though.
It’s amazing that even after books like 1984, Handmaid’s Tale, and Fahrenheit 451 are well known, that we still keep barreling head first into acting them out.
I’m rereading the Slovene translation of Vonnegut’s Player Piano (since that’s the English version isn’t available in my local library).
As I just visited a Volkswagen factory (high school trip), I could compare the real factory situation in the book and in reality. It’s shockingly similar and we already are almost in the same situation.
Finally getting into Velocity Weapon by Megan O’Keefe I bought the book a few years ago because I thought the cover looked really cool. I decided to finally read it after picking up the 3rd book last week.
I’m a dummy for not reading it sooner, I’m about 40% through and really loving it.
Blue Moon in the Jack Reacher series. They’re indulgent, half James bond, half Sherlock Holmes. I used to feel embarrassed reading fiction as an adult, but now I’m like hey, a book a week (or sometimes a day) of something pleasurable is way better than a book every six months of something taxing. I’ve got a toddler and I’m pregnant and I’m so glad to have this series so I never have to think about what my next read is. I’m on like book 20/30 though, so a little worried for when it ends.
It’s been so much fun to follow reacher through the technical advances of the 90s and early 2000s! Cameras everywhere, cell phones, internet, debit cards all changing his way of life book to book, really neat.
Suggestions welcome for an equally easy/engaging long series after this!
The Count of Monte Cristo Alexandre Dumas
ive been reading a collection of locked room mysteries called miraculous mysteries: locked room mysteries and impossible crimes. i recently finished after the people lights have gone off by stephen graham jones and realized short stories fit more into the pace of life for me at the moment, and murder mysteries get me in just the right way. plus i dont have to agonize over my guess for quite as long
Idk why I’ve never considered murder mystery short stories, that sounds great! Gonna put that on my TBR.
i am a big fan of these genres during the Halloween season \o/
this past Halloween, I listened to a Vincent Price short story collection titled The Price of Fear that is absolutely delightful :)
A time to kill, john grisham.
Good read but wow, the deep south is insane.
Sadomasochism and the BDSM Community in the United States by Stephen K. Stein.
I’m on an Ira Levin kick right now. I just finished The Stepford Wives, now I’m reading The Boys From Brazil with a work friend. It’s really good.
I’m trying to read “A Perfect Day” but so far I cannot get into it. The original movie of Stepford Wives with Paula Prentiss and Katherine Ross is great, and encapsulates the 1970s tug of war over women’s roles and Valium tranquilizers perfectly. I recommend it if you haven’t seen it already.
The movie is definitely on my list, yeah. I’ll check it out. And I heard that This Perfect Day got more mixed reviews than most of his stuff.
Exhalation stories - Ted Chiang. I’m into short stories while I physically and mentally prepare for Captive War #2.
Anyways, the first story about a gateway that can take you forward/back 20 years, but you can’t change anything. Going forward merely tells you where you’ll end up, going backwards merely increases your understanding of how you got where you are. Great story, fully locked in, the rest haven’t caught my imagination quite like the first though.
Made the choice of trying out infinite jest, boy is it tough yet so interesting. Like the parts a lot with some incredible descriptions yet some words are just so incredibly niche I have to stop and look it up.
Just finished “How to Commit a Postcolonial Murder” and “Binti”
The former is very good lit fic. It does deal with some tough topics including rape and murder, but it’s very good. Highly recommend.
Binti is very short, but well done. The book won a Hugo award.
Currently reading “Blindsight.” It’s also quite good, though I’m only through the first section.
Man, Blindsight is a trip. It wasn’t an easy read for me, but I really enjoyed it.
Who’s the author of Blindsight? I see several books with the same title when searching.
Peter Watts
Thanks!
