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Fourth Quarter 2021 Reading


ljkeane

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Listened to Rex Stout's first post-war Nero Wolfe story, The Silent Speaker, this past weekend.  While it is a fine Nere Wolfe mystery, it is also a very interesting look into the conflicts between crony capitalism and government bureaucrats during and after WW2.

Frankly, the conflict between industrialists and government-employed economists is very interesting, and provides a curious mirror to our own times, and it makes the story more relevant than it has been for about fifty years.

As to the mystery, this isn't necessarily one of the best Nero Wolfe mysteries, and it strikes me as Rex Stout just getting back into the swing of how to write a full-length mystery novel.  Some of the typical elements are missing, and others are there but sort of pro forma, not really working as smoothly as they did in the pre-war books or were to do in the next thirty years or so

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Doing a little Agatha Christie reading, as Young Jax (can't call him "little" anymore as he's nearly 12...) was doing a mystery project for school...

But God's help me, I think I'm going to actually try to read Wheel of Time as I found a first edition of book eight for five bucks at an antique store over the weekend and its piqued my curiosity. (I've only read the first couple of them in the past...)

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16 hours ago, Jaxom 1974 said:

Doing a little Agatha Christie reading, as Young Jax (can't call him "little" anymore as he's nearly 12...) was doing a mystery project for school...

But God's help me, I think I'm going to actually try to read Wheel of Time as I found a first edition of book eight for five bucks at an antique store over the weekend and its piqued my curiosity. (I've only read the first couple of them in the past...)

I have re-watched recently the variety of television and movies versions of her Murder on the Orient Express -- after finally READING Christie's print version.  Woo, I keep thinking what a nice paper -- or project -- this could be, a comparison and contrast of the different approaches, depending on when the screen versions were made -- and then again with Christie's 1934 novel.

For what it's worth, the David Suchet version, one of his very last Poirot programs, is extraordinarily moving and extremely well-made, as we see the unsolvable dilemma that makes him break his own code at the end, breaking his heart, is the condition of the times in which terrible things are beginning to happen and will get so much worse, that, 'how do we get justice' becomes impossible through the state channels.  The death camps are so close to the horizon already, and he, who suffered the first Great War, knows it.  So does Christie as we see in other of her works set in those years.

 

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I have not been reading a lot these past months. Very short rundown since the end of the second quarter. 

Pride and Prejudice - I’ll not surprise anybody when I say this was pure, unsullied joy. Absolutely wonderful. Started Emma as well, that’s still a read in progress because I needed a break from Jane Austen English. 

Consequences of Capitalism - I can’t remember if it was the title or Noam Chomsky’s name that got me. This one’s for anybody interested in the politics and their driving forces in the United States. They will likely find the book incredibly rich and insightful. To me it fell short of expectation and missed out on a lot of opportunities the title could offer. I don’t care about the US (sorry, no offense), and the book doesn’t really care about anything else. So the magic didn’t exactly happen for me, but that doesn’t take away from its value for anybody with the right interests and expectations. 

Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are? - is a great, though slightly research dense, piece for anybody who enjoys ethology and evolution, or just likes animals. Brilliant insights, beautiful conclusions, loved it. 

Dinosaurs! (an audiobook of a study collection by Scientific American) - is an incredible adult experience of reliving your childhood obsession with dinosaurs. Exciting trivia that’s perfectly suited for a layman in both quantity and quality. I loved every second of this. Listening to this was preceded by A Grown-up Guide To Dinosaurs (audible original podcast) which is also an extraordinary, entertaining yet educational way to rekindle your interest in dinosaurs.

Pandora’s Lab - is the most interesting concept of a book I’ve come across in a while. The author discusses a selection of inventions/discoveries throughout history that had the most undesirable/unintended consequences and collateral damage. It’s a highly unique perspective with a vast amount of new information. Really enjoyed it even if it has a creepy edge from time to time. 

The Coming of Neo-Feudalism - is a very specific view on the conundrums of the modern world. You’ll either agree and love it or have a different world view and not love it. However, it’s worth to know that the spectrum of the book is incredibly wide (and in turn not as deep as one might wish) and it has a surprisingly global focus. I loved it, but again, be warned that it’s a very specific world view and may not be everybody’s cup of tea. 

Guns, Germs and Steel - is a prime attempt at explaining why the world developed the way it did. But the explanation heavily stems from and is focused on the author’s field of science (obviously), which is geology and biology (not so obviously). If your interest in history is not as general as to embrace biology, evolution development and geology, the case study and research density may be too much at times. Very little focus on politics, sociology, economics (which are the usual approaches in books about world history). It’s a different perspective that’ll widen your horizon if you have the patience for 16 hours of (softened) natural sciences. I liked it though I could have used a bit of expectation management.


You know what, it’s not even that short, actually. I suppose because I didn’t really read anything with a particularly political edge, so I listed every single listen. 

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58 minutes ago, RhaenysBee said:

Guns, Germs and Steel - is a prime attempt at explaining why the world developed the way it did. But the explanation heavily stems from and is focused on the author’s field of science (obviously), which is geology and biology (not so obviously). If your interest in history is not as general as to embrace biology, evolution development and geology, the case study and research density may be too much at times. Very little focus on politics, sociology, economics (which are the usual approaches in books about world history). It’s a different perspective that’ll widen your horizon if you have the patience for 16 hours of (softened) natural sciences. I liked it though I could have used a bit of expectation management.

That is an interesting take. I think Jared Diamond's argument was, that at the high level he is viewing civilisation, that politics, sociology and economics are largely irrelevant.

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4 minutes ago, A wilding said:

That is an interesting take. I think Jared Diamond's argument was, that at the high level he is viewing civilisation, that politics, sociology and economics are largely irrelevant.

Yes absolutely. That’s basically his answer to the question, that shaping the world boiled down to nature and we shouldn’t look for the answers in man-made ideas (such as sociology or economics) because they go way back and way deeper. It’s a beautiful perspective. 

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19 hours ago, RhaenysBee said:

Guns, Germs and Steel - is a prime attempt at explaining why the world developed the way it did. But the explanation heavily stems from and is focused on the author’s field of science (obviously), which is geology and biology (not so obviously). If your interest in history is not as general as to embrace biology, evolution development and geology, the case study and research density may be too much at times. Very little focus on politics, sociology, economics (which are the usual approaches in books about world history). It’s a different perspective that’ll widen your horizon if you have the patience for 16 hours of (softened) natural sciences. I liked it though I could have used a bit of expectation management.

I liked Diamond's work so much PRECISELY because he avoided all the Culture War crap we deal with today, and his work was based on the sciences of language development, biology, botany, etc. etc.  I had put off reading GG&S for years after it was published because I was afraid that it would be another tilt at the clash of cultures, so it was refreshing to read such an evidence-based account of history.

Also, on a personal note, have lived in and grown up in a couple of the areas described in the book, the influences, environments, language cues and so on that he refers to in those countries struck me as right on target.  Therefore the strong correlation between my own observations and his increase my own confidence in his conclusions.

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1 hour ago, Wilbur said:

I liked Diamond's work so much PRECISELY because he avoided all the Culture War crap we deal with today, and his work was based on the sciences of language development, biology, botany, etc. etc.  I had put off reading GG&S for years after it was published because I was afraid that it would be another tilt at the clash of cultures, so it was refreshing to read such an evidence-based account of history.

Also, on a personal note, have lived in and grown up in a couple of the areas described in the book, the influences, environments, language cues and so on that he refers to in those countries struck me as right on target.  Therefore the strong correlation between my own observations and his increase my own confidence in his conclusions.

I don’t actually have any complaints either. The research was a bit too detailed for my liking at times, but I happen to enjoy biology and evolution as well, so the approach didn’t bother me at all. It did surprise me that it was only biology and geology and evolution and linguistics (with none of the usual social sciences involved in studying history), but I’m certainly okay with it. It’s just something that’s useful to be aware of for anybody who considers reading the book but may not be down to hard science. 

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A few updates:

Mansfield Park: This is slower and more contemplative than the other Austen masterpieces. I liked the fact that Fanny (the protagonist) is so different to Austen's usual heroines. Her brooding, reflective nature appealed to me and you spend a lot of time in her head. But this did drag a little. P&P, S&S and Persuasion are all superior works IMO, but MP is better than Northanger. Emma is the last one on my Austen reading list. 

Call Me By Your Name: I enjoyed the film, so thought I would check out the novel. At first I was put off by the overly dramatic style. But the later parts are more wistful and mellow, which I found to be quite moving. Now I can't quite work out whether I like the film or the novel more! I definitely don't think this needed a sequel though.

Life of Pi: I didn't enjoy this much. The first quarter or so felt like a combined theology and zoology lecture. The rest was a decent enough survival story but I didn't really get into it. 

My Brilliant Friend: Another one that put me off a little at the start but I persevered and am glad I did. The prose is the real winner here. Ferrante is able to capture moods and feelings and interactions in an easy, flowing fashion that pulls you along. Much of the plot and characters are otherwise fairly conventional for a coming-of-age story. This one gets extra points for me for being set in post-war Naples, not worlds away from the upbringings of my grandparents in Calabria and Sicily. Will end up reading the entire arc I think. 

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3 hours ago, RhaenysBee said:

t did surprise me that it was only biology and geology and evolution and linguistics (with none of the usual social sciences involved in studying history),

There are so many forms of researching, studying and organizing the telling of history, there's a way in for everyone! Yay! shouts the historian. 

You are more than likely to know all this already, so with apologies, I'll still run all this down again, because :wub: all the histories that make the historical subjects I study more penetrable!

Historiography has many, many, rooms. There is historical scholarship that deals only with  with stats and other numbers -- often including chronological and economic numbers too. There is the history that deals only with archaeological work and scholarship -- which these days any scholarly work and work-up of cultural and material subjects must take into account, which is an relatively recent addition to the necessary scholarship. There is documentary history, which will naturally include statistics and numbers, even if not necessarily economic history.  Most of those don't don't deal with culture or socio sciences or politics or religious history either, though all these will include scholarship from statistical and documentary studies.  Not to mention diplomatic history, the study of political history through diplomacy -- which again depends very much on documentary history  Not to mention military history.  The one thing all history has running through it, and which runs history, is numbers, i.e. chronology, i.e. dates.  The very thing that made so many hate their history classes, and thus history, because they felt all they got were a bunch of names and dates, w/o having the instructor provide any reason for them to care about those names and dates, alas. :read:

Every profession and discipline also has its own historical studies, including the history of the profession's development.  An historian to master her / his / their area needs to study all these.  Usually languages too.

Yes!  I love history, all kinds of history, way beyond my own specialization.!  It has saved my life during the pandemic, that and Partner and Pod Bro and the workouts and Zoom, of course! :wub: 

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Listened to the first couple of Ruth Galloway books by Ellie Griffiths about a forensic archaeologist getting caught up in murder investigations. I enjoyed the atmosphere of the first one, being a natural customer for ghostly murder books set in East Anglian marshes, and the gentle humour was nice too. While not without good points, the second novel made me decide to give up. First, because the author's id seemed to be taking the reins too much: Ruth's female friend was side-lined, and she was followed round for most of the book by a posse of somewhat-available male characters, and she ended up doing lots of damsel-in-distressing again. I don't want that from the female lead in a murder mystery series. I want a female lead who's ideally an expert in historical weaponry, and when threatened by the dweeb of the month just looks at them, then looks deliberately at her cabinet of pistol crossbows. One of the most charismatic characters was killed off unceremoniously at the end of the first book, which I suspect the author regretted later, because she mentioned him often in the sequel, and apparently revisits the whole episode in book ten.

Additionally, book two appeared to be treating as fact the idea that human sacrifice was normal in the Roman Empire. AFAIK, from a Roman perspective, it wasn't. Human sacrifice was for barbarians. (If you were at the wrong end of a triumph, or fighting for your life in the arena, you might have had objections to this view.) I know that the books are meant as light entertainment, but it still irritated me. 

I listened in German, which make me rate things higher than I otherwise would, if anything - my brain doesn't pick up on clichés in the same way.  

I think the biggest mystery of the books is why an author who's actually called Domenica de Rosa uses the pseudonym Ellie Griffiths. I suppose her publishers may have thought the latter was more folksy, ergo more suitable for covers of the kind of books she writes. 

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Been a month or more since I checked in.  

I read the Chaos Walking trilogy by Patrick Ness.  I saw the movie first and I liked the premise, but it ended kind of abruptly, then I heard it only really covered the first book.     So I read the whole thing, which had a much more intriguing world and story. 

Then I finished the final book in the Bone Ships trilogy by R.J. Barker, The Bone Ship's Wake.  Continued to love the shipboard sailing and combat.  The ending was not what i was expecting, still not sure about it.

Read Naomi Novik's The Last Graduate.    The ending worked for me even if it had been a duology, but have heard it is now a trilogy which will be fun to see.

Then read Susanna Clarke's Piranesi which was beautiful.

Finally read Blackout and am now reading All Clear by Connie Willis, a dive into time travel and World War II England.

Next up will be the Moss Roberts' translation of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

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I've been reading some of this year's Hugo nominees for Best Novella.

Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey had a fun premise about militant librarians in a setting that is some time in the future but is very reminiscent of the Wild West. I liked some bits of it although it felt like it was trying to rush a lot of character development into a short timeframe and a small number of pages. In particular the protagonist seems to get over the death of their lover (which happens just before the start of the story) very quickly.

The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo I thought was excellent. It's a very cleverly constructed story, using a series of conversations between two characters in an abandoned house to tell the recent history of a fictional Chinese-inspired Empire and the story of the Empress who once lived there in exile. It manages to give the impression of a lot of depth in the world-building without spending much time on details which can be a difficult trick to pull off. I hadn't read anything by the author before but I think I'll definitely seek out more by her.

Finna by Nino Cipri was a bit underwhelming. Again, it's a fun premise with a couple of employees in a store that's blatantly Ikea with a different name having to track down a customer who has vanished into a system of wormholes joining similar stores in different dimensions. It had some amusing moments, particularly the nicknames given to different parts of the store, however I found the relationship drama between the two main characters to be annoying and it's not consistently funny enough to work as a comedy and at the same time too silly to work as a serious story.

I'm now taking a break from novellas and have started reading Naomi Novik's The Last Graduate.

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I just finished Blood of the Chosen by Django Wexler which was an entertaining read even if it did feel like it was largely setting the scene for the next book.

Spoiler

Although I will say it all revolving around Maya's compete refusal to discuss any of the concerns she had with anyone felt a bit strained.

Next up I'm going to read Andy Weir's Project Hail Mary.

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Recap of the books I read this quarter:

  • Pariah, by Anthony Ryan.  His best written book yet.  Robin Hood meets Joan of Arc in Grimdarkworld.  Highly recommend. 
  • Blood of the Chosen by Django Wexler.  Somewhat paint-by-numbers, not as good as the first book. 
  • The Last Graduate by Naomi Novik.  Not as good as the first book (which was, tbf, very good) and the ending was annoyable.  Still the one book that kept me up all night to finish. 
  • City of Songs, by Anthony Ryan.  I am enjoying this series of novellas, although I do think it could do with a recap with every new installation.

Books I am eagerly awaiting:

  • Leviathan Wakes
  • The Hod King
  • Risen by Benedict Jacka
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I picked up Dune by Frank Herbert at some point this summer, and when I learned they had made a movie of it, it moved a bit up my reading list.

It was alright. I don't think I'll bother with the sequels (as I've heard they become progressively worse), but I don't mind having read the first one, at least. It's an interesting tale, albeit a little more Fi than Sci, so to speak.

What kept bugging me throughout the book is minor sciency stuff. Like how Arrakis is said to be bone dry to the point that every litre of water is guarded like a precious treasure ... yet polar ice caps are mentioned only in a throwaway sentence and never referenced again. Why aren't they mining the ice caps if water is such a big deal? Even a comparatively tiny ice cap - a few dozen kilometres across and only 10 meters thick - contains several cubic kilometers of ice, more than enough to satiate the thirst of millions for perpetuity given the Arrakeen recycling methods. There are more ways to get water to a desert planet as well (Hydrogen and Oxygen are among the most abundant elements in existence, so any solar system will contain vast amounts of it in the form of ice comets or planetary rings), which seems somewhat easy to do if they have the means of trivial interstellar travel. Just put rocket engines on an iceberg orbiting a Saturn-like planet, and let it rain, literally. And of course, it's mentioned that nobody has done an orbital survey of the southern half of the planet, which is ludicrous in a setting where space travel is ubiquitous.

But again, it was enjoyable enough. A bit too much talking, perhaps, but that's just a matter of taste. I'd rate the book a 2 on a three-point scale.

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It would destroy the spice, to make Arakis wet, which is spoken of quite a bit.  Thus Paul's conclusion in which the objective to make the planet more liveable for the population, they would ensure great swaths of desert would have to remain as habitat for sandworms, which are spice's source.  Thus the Freemen's concern over the centuries to keep the sandworm-spice cycle secret to themselves, keeping the information from their enemies.

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