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January 2012 - New Year, new reads


mashiara

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I finished The Golden Spruce by John Vaillant. I liked it despite the depressing topics of logging (especially western BC), native and European clashes,environmental destruction, and the story of one man making a radical statement about the above topics. This was an informative and well written book. Recommended for anyone who wants to get up and close to the Canadian logging industry. It was an eye-opener for me and I won't look at a forest the same way again.

Up next is the continuation of Maria Snyder's Study series, Magic Study.

Thanks for this. After recently moving to the PacNW, this one is on my radar now. Sounds interesting.

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I think it is coherent though, the mismatch between Matthew-the-character and his world. Theres something interesting in there about alienation and urbanity and losing yourself in the city as connection and as loneliness and so on. Not really sure what, as such, but it's fun to talk about :-).

I hadn't thought of it that way, I'd say the way Swift always starts the books disorientated and confused probably feeds into that as well. I think you're right it's definitely something of a commentary on the vagaries of urban life. I like it. :)

re kindle - thats...odd. Its not like its already out, surely they can fix it? or is it something that they can't do in the ebook format at all or something?

It's something to do with the kindle not being able to do columns which is apparently important at some point. :dunno:

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At eleven books read with the month nearing conclusion, and three in progress, any two of which I could possibly finish today if I really wanted to. Of primary board interest, this month's reading includes the third volume Jemisin's Inheritance Trilogy and the first of Abraham's Long Price Quartet. The best thing I've read this month has been Houellebecq's The Map and the Territory, one of three in-progress works. The level of craftsmanship both demands and rewards a greater degree of care than I normally give to fiction, so I've been taking care with it.

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I finished When Gravity Fails by George Alec Effinger, the first book in the Audran Sequence. Found the omnibus in an used bookstore a while back and decided to give it a try. It's set in a 22nd Century Middle Eastern city after most of the world's nation-states have collapsed. The big SF component is the ability to change personalities as easily as changing clothes via direct brain implants. World-building and characterization are pretty good. The downside is that the plot feels a bit thin so sometimes it feels like a SF mystery noir and sometimes it doesn't. I couldn't shake the feeling that it was a setup novel. I enjoyed it enough I'll read the other two books in the omnibus pretty soon.

Currently read Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith on loan from a friend.

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I finished Excession (last night so it still belongs in this thread). Good I thought.....but very slow. And I am left thinking why? on a few things

Why did the excession do whatever it did to the peace makes plenty if all it really was was a corridor for a wedding party?

Although i realise that it is largely irrelavant to the story, except as a classic MacGuffin

On to use of weapons now, as i have heard it is one of the better novels. Only skipped it for excession cos I wanted to read more about ships and Minds.

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Then read this review, because it is my favorite review yet. edit: You may need to be a goodreads member to read it.

That is a fantastic review, he's done a good job of duplicating the book's structure. I do wonder how long it took to write, it may have been comparable to the time taken to actually read the book in the first place.

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