*What book are you reading? (part 2)
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"The Little Book of Demons: The positive advantages of the personification of life's problems" by Ramsey Dukes
Psychology combined with economics, politics, history, and a hint of sociology, aka self help with less fluff and more teeth.
Psychology combined with economics, politics, history, and a hint of sociology, aka self help with less fluff and more teeth.
starfish
No dialogue. Just plot.
Graphic novel or have they done an actual novel.
starfish
No dialogue. Just plot.
TruXta
tired
Read SSOTBME and Thundersqueak ages ago. Quite liked them.
So did I, and they're due for a reread some time. When there's enough time to give them undivided attention they deserve.
smorodina
Where is my Mercian?
Finished the The Sense of an Ending (Julian Barnes).
Reading Haruki Murakami's The Wind-UP Bird Chronicle, absolutely loving it.
I realised yesterday that I've just read (a few weeks ago) Stephen Fry's Chronicles, and have been "reading" french chronicles in comics form the past few months..
I might just pronounce my favourite genre de rigeur - The chronicles..
Evelyn Waugh is next in queque..
Reading Haruki Murakami's The Wind-UP Bird Chronicle, absolutely loving it.
I realised yesterday that I've just read (a few weeks ago) Stephen Fry's Chronicles, and have been "reading" french chronicles in comics form the past few months..
I might just pronounce my favourite genre de rigeur - The chronicles..
Evelyn Waugh is next in queque..
Orang Utan
Psychick Worrier Ov Geyoor
You should listen to this while reading:
smorodina
Where is my Mercian?
You should listen to this while reading:
I don't want to..
Orang Utan
Psychick Worrier Ov Geyoor
I am reading Sally Garder's Maggot Moon and Dave Shelton's A Boy & A Bear In A Boat and Matt Dickinson's Mortal Chaos and Marcus Sedgwick's Midwinterblood.
All on Carnegie Medal shortlist/longlist this year
All on Carnegie Medal shortlist/longlist this year
cyprusclean
Member
Hi. I'm new here.
And I'm reading "The Conscience of the Rich", by C P Snow.
And I'm reading "The Conscience of the Rich", by C P Snow.
QueenOfGoths
Fuck you Dave!
"The Yiddish Policeman's Union" - Michael Chabon. I'm enjoying it but finding it a bit hard to read and not compelling at the moment, however, I think that is me rather than the book 
Orang Utan
Psychick Worrier Ov Geyoor
I didn't enjoy that book as much as others obviously have. Nowhere near as amazing as Kavalier & Clay and not quite as amusing as Wonder Boys
QueenOfGoths
Fuck you Dave!
It is the first of his books I have read. I think I will persist with it, when I read it I do really enjoy it but it doesn't have that "must pick it up and read it" feel to it yet.
Nine Bob Note
Self-Isolating before it was fashionable
Currently alternating between X-Treme Possibilities (a guide to the X-files, which I'm reading after watching each episode) Beevor's Second World War and a biog of Thomas Cromwell.
DotCommunist
So many particulars. So many questions.
'Spin' by Robert Charles Wilson. Took the Hugo in 2006 so should be quite good. Interesting premise of a shell thrown around the solar system by agents unknown which accelerates time to the point where the suns going nova in a matter of weeks.
"The Yiddish Policeman's Union" - Michael Chabon. I'm enjoying it but finding it a bit hard to read and not compelling at the moment, however, I think that is me rather than the book
I loved this but I really really love Chabon...have you tried Kavalier & Clay or Wonder Boys?
I've just started Natural Born Cyborgs: Minds, Technologies and the Future of Human Intelligence by Andy Clark
frogwoman
No amount of cajolery...
I've just finished reading the City and the City by China Mieville. I'll probably go back and read it again at some point.
I thought that throughout the book there was a very strong sense of place and it definitely reminded me of the former Soviet Union and some of the craziness of it all, the characters' accents sounded just right in my head. It reminded me of a place like Chisinau where I lived, where there are definitely "two cities" (perhaps more than two) and to speak russian or romanian to somebody can be like committing this terrible anti-social crime, and to an extent people live in very separate worlds despite living together. But yet they can't live completely separately.One of the things it also reminded me of was Transnistria where people live under separate laws, have a separate currency and "passport" despite living in Moldova.
There's also a theme about class in there too, the whole idea that the middle class often have absolutely no idea (and vice versa) about how the working class live, definitely true in many parts of the former soviet union where speaking the two languages mixed together is often only something that working class people do. I think he captured some of the whole insanity of lots of aspects of this type of society perfectly.
As for the Breach thing I thought they were quite cool, they were very realistic and it's like an exaggerated version of what actually happens. The unificationists were universally loathed and completely out of touch and actually the two cities were a lot more intertwined than anyone liked to admit, they all needed this ridiculous situation to continue. There is a line towards the end where one of the "avatars of Breach" says that they don't need to stop people breaking the rule but they do it themselves because they're scared of the consequences.
It's like loads of social rules which people follow and nobody knows why and they don't really matter at all, but actually in some ways they do. Both about capitalism like the "value of money" and so on and about other things.
I liked Borlu and the other characters, especially Dhatt who reminds me a lot of some of the people I met out there. I also liked the way that none of the characters were given strong political opinions that we were meant to agree or disagree with, you could even understand the point of view of the far-right characters who weren't really villains, they were doing what they did in their way. In a lot of contemporary detective fiction I feel like the author puts their views into the characters' mouths so you're meant to agree with it. The nationalist's line about "there's only one city and that's Beszel" that's so true, that's exactly what they would say and the type of thing I've heard people saying.
It's such a great book, it's so realistic, a lot more so than many people would want to think. I am sure I'll go back and read it again and think of something I haven't thought of before.
DotCommunist
I thought that throughout the book there was a very strong sense of place and it definitely reminded me of the former Soviet Union and some of the craziness of it all, the characters' accents sounded just right in my head. It reminded me of a place like Chisinau where I lived, where there are definitely "two cities" (perhaps more than two) and to speak russian or romanian to somebody can be like committing this terrible anti-social crime, and to an extent people live in very separate worlds despite living together. But yet they can't live completely separately.One of the things it also reminded me of was Transnistria where people live under separate laws, have a separate currency and "passport" despite living in Moldova.
There's also a theme about class in there too, the whole idea that the middle class often have absolutely no idea (and vice versa) about how the working class live, definitely true in many parts of the former soviet union where speaking the two languages mixed together is often only something that working class people do. I think he captured some of the whole insanity of lots of aspects of this type of society perfectly.
As for the Breach thing I thought they were quite cool, they were very realistic and it's like an exaggerated version of what actually happens. The unificationists were universally loathed and completely out of touch and actually the two cities were a lot more intertwined than anyone liked to admit, they all needed this ridiculous situation to continue. There is a line towards the end where one of the "avatars of Breach" says that they don't need to stop people breaking the rule but they do it themselves because they're scared of the consequences.
It's like loads of social rules which people follow and nobody knows why and they don't really matter at all, but actually in some ways they do. Both about capitalism like the "value of money" and so on and about other things.
I liked Borlu and the other characters, especially Dhatt who reminds me a lot of some of the people I met out there. I also liked the way that none of the characters were given strong political opinions that we were meant to agree or disagree with, you could even understand the point of view of the far-right characters who weren't really villains, they were doing what they did in their way. In a lot of contemporary detective fiction I feel like the author puts their views into the characters' mouths so you're meant to agree with it. The nationalist's line about "there's only one city and that's Beszel" that's so true, that's exactly what they would say and the type of thing I've heard people saying.
It's such a great book, it's so realistic, a lot more so than many people would want to think. I am sure I'll go back and read it again and think of something I haven't thought of before.
DotCommunist
Voley
🐀
Kavalier and Klay was ace, I agree. I really wanted to read the Golem comic he described, it sounded brilliant. Not read Wonder Boys. Is it as good?
Orang Utan
Psychick Worrier Ov Geyoor
It's not as good - a lot smaller in scale, but it is very funny and sweet.
DotCommunist
So many particulars. So many questions.
Vernor Vinge 'Rainbows End'
pretty good, bit tech gimmick driven but done with enough heart to drive it
pretty good, bit tech gimmick driven but done with enough heart to drive it
rubbershoes
not the only raver in the village
"The Yiddish Policeman's Union" - Michael Chabon. I'm enjoying it but finding it a bit hard to read and not compelling at the moment, however, I think that is me rather than the book
I liked it a lot. But I have no taste.
I haven't read any other Chabon yet so can't compare
QueenOfGoths
Fuck you Dave!
have a copy of Kavalier & Clay but haven't read any of his others. I will persist with it though as I think it's a 'me not the book' scenario iyswim. My reading mojo seems to have wandered off for a bit!
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