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It's the occasional reading thread!

Lily Fairbairn
Half-elven


Jan 2, 4:16pm

Post #1 of 15 (1593 views)
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It's the occasional reading thread! Can't Post

Happy new year! May we eventually get a kinder and gentler 2025!

I'm still enjoying the comfort of listening yet again to LotR in Andy Serkis's superb recording. For the most part, his voices channel those of the actors who played the parts in the movies. However, his rather raspy/whispery Aragorn sounds to me more like Richard Armitage than it does Viggo Mortensen. All this proves of course, is that I'm so familiar with the story I can ponder such details while I listen.

I'm now at the Council of Elrond, where we're introduced to Gimli, Legolas, and Boromir, none of whom have spoken yet---although Gloin's heavy Scottish accent is spot-on. (For a Scottish accent, not Gloin's actual voice, which will remain forever in the ear of the beholder.)

I listened to the audiobook of The Perfect Passion Company, yet another short novel by the prolific Alexander McCall Smith. While the story takes place in Edinburgh, it's unrelated to his other Edinburgh stories. A young woman takes over a matchmaking agency from her cousin, and realizes much later than the reader does that her cousin is also matching HER up. Slight but entertaining and blessedly positive.

I'm now listening to A Rome of One's Own: The Forgotten Women of the Roman Empire, by Emma Southon. Having read the author's A Fatal Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, I expected her voice to be contemporary and personal (note the punny titles). This actually works very well for me, blending in with her unabashed feminist reading of history. I'm learning a lot and am highly entertained at the same time, an ideal situation. But I must say, those old Romans could be a violent, vicious, lot!

I read the ebook of The Christmas Eve Murders, by Noelle Albright. This is a moderately traditional mystery set at a snowed-in English inn. Unfortunately, I found much to quibble with in the story and its presentation.

I did not finish another ebook, Sherlock Holmes: Adventures for the Twelve Days of Christmas, by Roger Riccard. I'm a pushover for a Sherlock Holmes pastiche, and the premise of this one is clever---twelve short mysteries based on the song, The Twelve Days of Christmas. But while some of these stories are relatively straightforward, others are simply tedious. I gave up at Nine Lords whatever.

I'm now beginning an e-bundle of eight mystery stories with Murder at the Nineteenth, by J. M. Gregson. This is the first in the Lambert and Hook series, police procedurals set in England in the 1980s. So far it's a typical tale, but well-done---even though the author is compelled to analyze each bit of dialog and dart around among points of view like a hummingbird on a quest for nectar. Not that a reader without my editorial background would necessarily even notice those faults, let alone tut-tut at them.

Yes, I've fallen back into my all-too-frequent literary dyspepsia. I'm telling myself that the year can only go uphill from here and that there are no doubt some very fine books waiting for me.

So what have you been reading?

Where now the horse and the rider? Where is the horn that was blowing?
Where is the helm and the hauberk, and the bright hair flowing?
Where is the hand on the harpstring, and the red fire glowing?
Where is the spring and the harvest and the tall corn growing?
They have passed like rain on the mountain, like a wind in the meadow;
The days have gone down in the West behind the hills into shadow....


Meneldor
Valinor


Jan 2, 4:54pm

Post #2 of 15 (1549 views)
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Iron Flame [In reply to] Can't Post

(The Empyrean, book 2) by Rebecca Yarros
Sequel to Fourth Wing, it's more of the same, both good and bad. World-building is still pretty interesting and is the reason I'm still reading. The enemies-to-lovers tropes that had me rolling my eyes in the first book is continuing with interminable passages about relationships and couples communicating, punctuated by sex scenes that are way, way too graphic, especially for a book that would otherwise be a very good YA read. And F-bombs are dropped so much that they've lost all meaning; people should learn to save those for special occasions or they have no impact.




They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters, these see the works of the Lord, and His wonders in the deep. -Psalm 107


Annael
Immortal


Jan 2, 5:22pm

Post #3 of 15 (1542 views)
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various [In reply to] Can't Post

The Square of Sevens by Laura Shepherd-Robinson: superbly plotted with surprising twists, fully realized characters, and clearly, a lot of research into fortune-telling in 18th-century Britain. Highly recommended.

The Second Sight of Zachary Cloudesley by Sean Lusk: another solidly researched novel that takes us into the world of automata, from 18th-century London to Istanbul--but is really a story about love in various forms. Once again the central character relies on fortune-telling to get themselves where they want to go.

I also tried, on the recommendation of someone I respect, Christmas Bitch by Jack Lelko, which was touted as being a very funny magical realism book (and sounded like a take-off on Emma), but I gave up by page 25. The book needs a serious edit (it's self-published), the author tries way too hard to be a clever writer with metaphors that are belabored and often nonsensical (I quit when I hit the THIRD instance of someone's "eyes rolling around in the back of their head"), yet has no idea how to "show, don't tell," and the heroine is one of those snarky sassy women so in vogue right now. It has lots of 5-star reviews on Amazon, but I noticed that many of those reviewers couldn't spell, so . . .

I'm re-reading Malafrena, Ursula LeGuin's foray into "straight" literature (if you discount the fact that it takes place in a made-up land, Orsinia, set somewhere in Eastern Europe). LeGuin also wrote several short stories set in Orsinia, mostly focused on how the country finally threw off the yoke of the Austrian Empire, with a lot of musing on what "liberty" really means, but sometimes it feels like she is just having fun traveling around her imaginary country.

I am a dreamer of words, of written words.
-- Gaston Bachelard

* * * * * * * * * *

NARF and member of Deplorable Cultus since 1967


(This post was edited by Annael on Jan 2, 5:32pm)


Ataahua
Forum Admin / Moderator


Jan 3, 1:42am

Post #4 of 15 (1527 views)
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Unruly, by David Mitchell. [In reply to] Can't Post

He's a UK comedian and history buff, and he's providing an overview of all the kings/queens from the early middle ages through to Queen Elizabeth I. He has his own deadpan way of speaking and it's coming across in his writing too, especially when he goes off on tangents like how William the Conqueror's taking-over of the English crown in 1066 sparked thousands of PIN numbers a millennium later. Then a few sentences later he pops in a random "NOT MINE!", just for funsies.

I'm unable to say how he introduced King Cnut. Angelic

Anyway, it's delightful to pop in and out of the book and it's perfect summer holiday reading. Highly recommended. Smile

Celebrimbor: "Pretty rings..."
Dwarves: "Pretty rings..."
Men: "Pretty rings..."
Sauron: "Mine's better."

"Ah, how ironic, the addictive qualities of Sauron’s master weapon led to its own destruction. Which just goes to show, kids - if you want two small and noble souls to succeed on a mission of dire importance... send an evil-minded beggar with them too." - Gandalf's Diaries, final par, by Ufthak.


Fantasy novel - The Arcanist's Tattoo

My LOTR fan-fiction


Annael
Immortal


Jan 3, 3:51pm

Post #5 of 15 (1476 views)
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oh, I'm getting that! // [In reply to] Can't Post

 

I am a dreamer of words, of written words.
-- Gaston Bachelard

* * * * * * * * * *

NARF and member of Deplorable Cultus since 1967


Kimi
Forum Admin / Moderator


Jan 3, 7:33pm

Post #6 of 15 (1467 views)
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That sounds fun! [In reply to] Can't Post

We've been watching a couple of David Mitchell series recently: "Ludwig" (more or less a cozy police procedural) and "Back" (veering towards dark comedy), so I recognise what you say about his delivery.

I see that our library has it as an audiobook, read by Mitchell himself! Downloading now, thanks.


The Passing of Mistress Rose
My historical novels

Do we find happiness so often that we should turn it off the box when it happens to sit there?

- A Room With a View


Ataahua
Forum Admin / Moderator


Jan 4, 7:23pm

Post #7 of 15 (1452 views)
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Fair warning: [In reply to] Can't Post

A friend listened to the audiobook on his early-morning walks and caught himself frequently laughing out loud around strangers. Cool

Celebrimbor: "Pretty rings..."
Dwarves: "Pretty rings..."
Men: "Pretty rings..."
Sauron: "Mine's better."

"Ah, how ironic, the addictive qualities of Sauron’s master weapon led to its own destruction. Which just goes to show, kids - if you want two small and noble souls to succeed on a mission of dire importance... send an evil-minded beggar with them too." - Gandalf's Diaries, final par, by Ufthak.


Fantasy novel - The Arcanist's Tattoo

My LOTR fan-fiction


Kimi
Forum Admin / Moderator


Jan 4, 10:20pm

Post #8 of 15 (1436 views)
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Thanks for the warning! [In reply to] Can't Post

An advantage of living rurally is that I'm more likely to startle farm or wild animals than fellow humans when I'm out listening to audiobooks :)


The Passing of Mistress Rose
My historical novels

Do we find happiness so often that we should turn it off the box when it happens to sit there?

- A Room With a View


Greenwood Hobbit
Valinor


Jan 5, 5:17pm

Post #9 of 15 (1402 views)
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I've been reading a bit of non-fiction - [In reply to] Can't Post

'A brief history of almost everything' by Bill Bryson. Some of it is challenging to my unscientific mind, but it's been very interesting; a lot of history, obviously, but seasoned with his wry asides and throwaway comments that lighten it and make you smile. I'll need to read it again to absorb more of the detail of it, but I've lent it to a friend so will have to wait to do that. I've been re-reading 'The Virgin in the Ice' by Ellis Peters, a good book to plunge you into the depths of winter if you're not already there.


Meneldor
Valinor


Jan 5, 10:49pm

Post #10 of 15 (1382 views)
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Bells & Bullets: The Brad Mendoza Chronicles [In reply to] Can't Post

 by Skyler Ramirez
The biggest idiot in the Star Kingdom is back with another story from his academy days, this one set at Christmas time. He really could be an idiot in his youth, even though there are glimpses of his leadership potential. It seems like there were fewer laughs than usual for these books, which could be because this is very short, more of a novella.




They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters, these see the works of the Lord, and His wonders in the deep. -Psalm 107


dernwyn
Forum Admin / Moderator


Jan 5, 10:51pm

Post #11 of 15 (1384 views)
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Brother Cadfael! [In reply to] Can't Post

I need to read that one. My eldest gifted me two of her books for Christmas, A Rare Benedictine (how Cadfael came to the Abbey) and A Morbid Taste for Bones (halfway through). Very enjoyable.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I desired dragons with a profound desire"


Lily Fairbairn
Half-elven


Jan 6, 7:39pm

Post #12 of 15 (1348 views)
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The Virgin in the Ice [In reply to] Can't Post

...is one of my favorites of the Cadfaels. Beautifully written, beautifully plotted, and ending on a glorious high note.

Where now the horse and the rider? Where is the horn that was blowing?
Where is the helm and the hauberk, and the bright hair flowing?
Where is the hand on the harpstring, and the red fire glowing?
Where is the spring and the harvest and the tall corn growing?
They have passed like rain on the mountain, like a wind in the meadow;
The days have gone down in the West behind the hills into shadow....


Greenwood Hobbit
Valinor


Jan 8, 4:38pm

Post #13 of 15 (1276 views)
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They're all standalone tales [In reply to] Can't Post

but there is a certain satisfaction in reading them in chronological order, if you can, first time round. I usually revisit 'Virgin in the Ice' and a later book, 'Brother Haluin's Penitence', at this time of year - likewise Pratchett's 'Hogfather'.


Greenwood Hobbit
Valinor


Jan 8, 4:41pm

Post #14 of 15 (1275 views)
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Oh yes! [In reply to] Can't Post

I like the way Olivier de Bretagne pops up again - and as for the last book in the series, 'Brother Cadfael's Penance' - well! ~swoons~


Meneldor
Valinor


Jan 16, 2:48am

Post #15 of 15 (853 views)
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Heavenbreaker [In reply to] Can't Post

by Sara Wolf
Mixed feelings on this one. She's a very good writer when it comes to interesting stories, people, and world building. But I don't like or empathize with any of the characters. One of the central points is that riders pilot giant robots jousting with lances in space, and they're supposedly the ultimate military power; that's so unrealistic that I have to actively work at suspending my disbelief. There's an enemies-to-lovers subplot playing out at the same time but fortunately not much time is spent on that so it's easy to skim past. This one ends on a cliffhanger. I may or may not continue to the sequel.




They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters, these see the works of the Lord, and His wonders in the deep. -Psalm 107

 
 

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