Many years ago I bought the book adaptations of 'Yes Minister' and 'Yes Prime Minister', which I then forgot to take with me in the divorce around '08. I recently spent far too much money getting new copies from Booktopia.com.au. My god they're still hilarious.
These shows are on my watchlist, but I have never gotten around to watching them. Maybe I should just get the book adaptations...
I highly recommend both. The show is great. The books are done as mostly diary entries by Jim Hacker, interspersed with notes from Sir Humphrey, TV transcriptions and interviews Bernad Woolley had with the 'editors' in the far flung future of 2019. They're really quite well done by the writers of the actual show. It really adds to it when you can read it in the voices of the characters, though.
Cool, will try to get my hands on the show.
Yarr!
I finished Master and Margarita a couple of weeks back - it was great! Surreal and funny, plus a brilliant satire of Russian society at the time. Knowing how certain elements of the plot reflect the author's own experiences make it particularly poignant.
Yesterday I finished reading Old Man's War. Really enjoyed it! An interesting premise, fascinating technology & alien races coupled with some genuinely moving moments. The exploration of the implications of war and life extension were surprisingly well thought out for what I expected to be a comedic/light-hearted novel. I look forward to reading more in the series.
I have just started To Kill a Mockingbird - somehow I've got this far in life without reading it. Will see how it goes!
Finished the first book in Old Man's War series or the whole series?
It'll probably be the next book I start, unless I feel like something else at the time...
Just the first book in the series - it definitely gets my vote if you're thinking about reading it!
Cool, will start it soon.
I'm reading Lady Eve's Last Con by Rebecca Fraimow and listening to Roll for Love by M.K. England during commutes. They are both pretty fluffy, but fun so far
I'm starting House of Leaves today.
I don't think I'm ready for this wild ride but only one way to find out.
Remember to share your review when done!
I'm starting V. by Thomas Pynchon. I'm going in pretty much blind, don't know the author or the book at all. I just saw his name in the news and realized I'd seen this book at the library, so here we are.
I also recently read Solaris by Stanisław Lem. I first read it in my early teens and I liked it then, but I feel these decades have allowed me to appreciate it more deeply. What a wonderful book! I love the idea that alien intelligence is truly alien - not just humans from another planet - to the point of making communication practically impossible. Any recommendations for books like Solaris and Roadside Picnic, which explore this theme, are welcome.
I’m on The Shadow Rising (WoT #4).
The Dragon Reborn was my favorite entry so far I think. I loved Perrin and Mat’s chapters the most. Mat’s choice at the end really made me appreciate the character.
I’m very excited to see where the story goes from here!
I’m already looking forward to rereading the Eye of the World haha.
Edit: removed broken spoiler tag and content.
Neuromancer by William Gibson. Slowly realising how many cyberpunk books cribbed his homework.
It's crazy to me how much this book is the root of the cyberpunk tree. So much of the terminology is identical across the genre. Great book!
Working on the new T. Kingfisher, Hemlock & Silver.
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Read since last time:
A wanderer visits an anarchist commune that's protected by a preternatural being.
I think I'd put this in the "fine" category; not sure if I'm interested in the sequels.
A prickly detective and a sentient ship discover and investigate an unusual corpse.
Intentional Holmes and Watson vibes. Cute enough, but the mystery felt a bit secondary.
Anathem by Neal Stephenson. Starting slow but it’s kind of intriguing.
I finished Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson this week. Great read! Stephenson is a very long-winded and meandering author but I love it every time.
I just got a copy of House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski because I was inspired by mushroommonk (I don't know how to tag users) here in the comments. Super excited to finally crack this one open.
I am also about to start in on Ursula Le Guin but I dont know if I should start with The Left Hand of Darkness or The Word for World is Forest.
Reading "this inevitable ruin" by Matt Dinniman. I don't have much time to read at the moment, so about 1/3rd through after two weeks.
Just finished Kropotkins "The Conquest of Bread". Might be time for some fiction again.
I finished The First Three Minutes: A Modern View of the Origin of the Universe by Steven Weinberg and enjoyed it. It's actually remarkable that we as a species can tell such a specific story about the beginning of the universe using science.
I'm currently reading A Century of Fiction in the New Yorker: 1925-2025 by Deborah Treisman, which is an 1100-page long short story collection. So far, I enjoyed "The Weeds" by Mary McCarthy, and "Symbols and Signs" by Vladimir Nabokov.
Dungeon Crawler Carl. It’s fun so far, but I’m starting to suspect it’s going to be a bit repetitive.
I just finished The Long Walk and I really liked it. I read it a decade or more ago, but I appreciated it more this time.
I like books about death sports so it’s right up my alley. They finally released Battle Royale as a digital book so I would like to read it as well, but its length (800 pages!) is intimidating.
I also finished The Neverending Story, which I enjoyed but not as much as the much shorter first movie.
I started reading a few things.
The End of the World as We Know It is a short story collection that explores the world of Stephen King’s super-flu-ridden The Stand. I’m really liking it so far! The stories do a good job of further illustrating the world as it breaks down.
I also started a biography about one of my favorite people in vintage professional wrestling, Gorilla Monsoon. It just came out today and I’ve been looking forward to it. I’ve always been fascinated by him and no one else has written a book yet!
Recently started We Were Eight Years in Power by Ta-Nehisi Coates. It feels quite apt in the current moment.
Started the first book of the Culture series, Consider Phlebas, only through the first three chapters, however I'm enjoying it so far -- especially compared to the writing of Red Rising (which was my last sci-fi read, at DNF atm).
Read Rosemary's Baby for the next podcast episode. Honestly, if you've ever watched the (original) movie you almost don't need to read the book, its the most faithful adaptation I've ever seen. Almost word-for-word in a lot of places.
Having finished that, I'm now reading Lake of Darkness by Adam Roberts which, for those unfamiliar, is sci-fi with a speculative edge. I'm about 25% in and it has me hooked.
Martha Wells - Star Wars “Razors Edge”.
It’s a story with the the main cast; Leia, Luke, Han and Chewie.
I’m enjoying it, starts right off with action and hasn’t really let off the gas pedal yet.
Finished Project Hail Mary, Andy Weir, a little over a week ago, and finally dove into Wind and Truth, Brandon Sanderson. I'd been putting this off since I have a problem with finishing a series, or chunk of one in this case.
While I still love The Stormlight Archive, I think I've come to realize that Sanderson doesn't write believable enough dialogue for me. It comes across as flat and somewhat childish. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Only just finished River of Blue Fire, Tad Williams, and will likely finish book three and four of the quartet for my active audiobook.
Prophet of Discontent by Douglas and Loggins.
It's about MLK and his place in the tradition of American black radical thought. It's pretty academic and dives straight into the race/class Marxist discourse. Which is catnip for weirdos like me.
I am listening to Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters with my daughter. We're loving this. Will definitely get the next one. We listen on the ride to/from school, and then at bedtime.
Listening to Spec Ops by R.C Bray on my own and it's alright but every single chapter is starting to feel identical/formulaic already and I'm only book 2. "Unexpected problem. Super intelligent AI solves 99% of the problem. The main character is somehow smarter than God-level AI and solves the last 1%. Robot screeches Filthy Monkeys." Rinse. Repeat.
May go back to Sandman Slim and Perdition Score is up next.
Im rereading The Victorian Internet by Tom Standage. It’s about the history of the electric telegraph. It’s very interesting.
I reread the first three books in the Lady Astronaut series by Mary Robinette Kowal and have started on book 4 (The Martian Contingency), which just came out. The original books held up very well on reread but I find myself feeling more annoyed by the main protagonist than I did my previous read-through. Regardless, I am super excited to see where book 4 takes the story.
How Far the Light Reaches: A Life in Ten Sea Creatures by Sabrina Imbler is pretty good at the 45% mark.
Recently started the second book in the Bobiverse series. Really enjoyed the first one, but I did have to try a couple times to get into it. Once I did though, I couldn't put it down. The audiobook is narrated by Ray Porter who also does Project Hail Mary. Great narrarator.
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