I had some holiday reading done, mainly two Spanish books. I had taken with me Making Movies and Witches Abroad, but I hardly progressed much with them. Well, Making Movies I did really try, but the theme was not catching me at all. And the characters even less. I guess it is one of those books I will have to let go, and move on.
I was also taking the opportunity to re-read my compilation of Prince Valiant comics that is back in Spain, at my parents house. It still remains my favourite comic, the art is amazing, and I love the story, how the characters grow. I even can look over how untimely and historically inaccurate it is, because between this and sword & magic movies from the 80s (Excalibur, Dragonslayer or Conan the Barbarian come to mind) I got to love anything medieval and fantasy in general.
I was considering sending them to NZ, but the cost of sending my collection (the box would have been like an A4 rims box or slightly bigger, but as heavy as that or slightly more) was just short of a fortune (or a new CMON KS price, give or take) so I gave it a miss as it is in Spanish, and it would take a lot of shelf space.
Just read Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” for the first time, and it’s so lovely. Interestingly, Scrooge in the book starts to repent and seek joy very quickly compared to most movie/TV versions, and is more sympathetic for it.
Also, I knew that the Muppets version is AMAZINGLY accurate, but not that even Gonzo’s delivery of “and Tiny Tim - who did NOT die…” is somehow precisely like that on the page.
I am currently working my way through Tim Pratt’s “The Wrong Stars,” book one of the Axiom series. Turns out I rather like Pratt’s style… I read all the Twilight Imperium fiction, and despite the last one being pretty weak, the others were very strong and even the bad one was okay.
My only complaint is that there is a moment when a woman is awoken from a 500-year sleep (cryogenic slower-than-light transport ship), and she worries that people of the future don’t hug any more because of some widespread plague or disease. The book was published in 2017.
… and I can’t tell Tim that I think that’s hilarious because I’m not on Twitter any more, and that makes me sad.
I have $300 worth of books coming today (7 course books, 5 recreational), and I’m hoping to crush through most, if not all, of those by the new year.
Any speculative fiction mystery recommendations then? (And no not Dresden Files, I got into that as far as I was going to get and its fine and I’ll maybe pick it up again at some point but not now)
I’ve read and enjoyed Kate Daniels a lot (so much I read the whole series twice). Which reminds me I need to check Illona Andrews latest (I haven’t followed anything this year)
I have read a few of the Penric’s series and it was nice but didn’t totally grab me as Kate Daniels did.
I have enjoyed some of Martha Wells other writings…
Thanks I think I might check out some of these. Here’s to hoping I’ll find my way back to more reading in 2023!
I read and loved The Element of Fire, which was her first book, and then rather lost touch with Martha Wells until Murderbot - which is wonderful, but I wouldn’t class it as mystery. I’m planning to catch up with the intervening books soon.
The only other Ilona Andrews I’ve read outside the Extended Kateiverse is the Innkeeper series which, again, great fun but mostly not mystery in the way I’m thinking of.
I second this. And considering other famous fantasy series out there, I think the drop is not too steep.
I did enjoy the 4 initial books from Cormoran Strike (Robert Galbraith’s, which is JK Rowling pen name) but I admit I got stuck on the 5th…
Duly noted, had not heard of this, but the synopsis looks really promising. More adventure than investigation books, but continuing the “angelic” theme, I recommend Tad Williams’ Bobby Dollar trilogy: The Dirty Streets of Heaven , Happy Hour in Hell , and Sleeping Late on Judgment Day. They are really easy to read (Tad WIlliams can be very dense at times), and I found them really entertaining.
My unread books pile is getting out of hand, so I’m going to set myself a challenge to read a book a month this year. I’ve made a good start by reading The cat who saved books by Sosuke Natsukawa. Firmly in the “alright” pile. It reads like slightly pompous YA fiction. I think if I want literary-themed fantasy in the future I’ll stick to the Thursday Next series
the first Rivers book is brilliant, the second okay, the third garbage. the rest range from okay to pretty good, or at least, that’s what i thought when i read them. I think the non-Peter novellas are better.
I’ve been deep in the Wodehouse kick still this December. I’ve read Very Good Jeeves, Heavy Weather, Thank You Jeeves, Right Ho, Jeeves, Lord Emsworth and Others. It’s still great prose language that goes down smooth and enjoyably.
I finished up the Dragonlance Chronicles as well and book 3 is still a big mess that I forget half of the moment I put it down. It’s comforting to me that I have almost no memories of its contents from my first read around age 15 and my second read around age 20 and that I had the same experience again this time.
Christmas brought some non-fiction into my life so I’m starting to break up the monolith of Wodehouse reading.
Comic-wise I’ve picked up the next Carl Barks Library volume of duck comics and have been browsing through the collected Krazy Kat strips. Nothing to shake the foundations of the world but pleasant diversions and unique draftsmanship.
Hey now. Dragons of Spring Dawning is the book where… uh… when Tanis and… uh… Kitiara has that talk with… ummm.
Huh. That’s super weird. I know Raistlin and Caramon do something. And Tasselhoff Burrfoot is there. But I literally can’t tell you what happens. The other books, I can tell you what happens (or at least major story points). But Book 3… huh. I never realized that!
As for my own reading, I crushed through The Fated Sky by Mary Robinette-Kowal, and it was lovely. Depressing (we could’ve been on Mars in the 70s!), but really well written. Plus the protagonist is achingly human. Really nice work.
Then I smashed through The Wrong Stars by Tim Pratt. Tim isn’t a great writer, but he’s a very, very solid craftsman. I’ve read 4 of his books now (the three “Twilight Imperium” novels, 2 of which were good and 1 of which was fine but weaker), and I think this one is a little stronger than average. I look forward to reading the rest of the trilogy.
I’m currently reading Legands and Lattes by Travis Baldree (fantastic), The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman (fantastic), and The Steerswoman by Rosemary Kirstein (fantastic). Two of those Andy and I are reading together, and The Golden Compass is my work-lunch book. After those I have a stack of school reading and a stack of recreational reading, including Bitch Planet (a graphic novel) which Andy tells me is fantastic.
I’d be grateful for any top Wodehouse picks both for “must read” and “don’t worry about missing”. There’s so much I haven’t read (and I’m sure I’ll never read them all, given how prolific a writer he was for such a long time). I’ve found his very early school-house novels to be merely ok, and would probably avoid those on the basis that later things will simply be better. I don’t think I’ve ever been disappointed by a Jeeves & Wooster. Outside of those, I’m selecting at random, so I’ll gladly take recommendations.
Purely personal taste, but I’m not a fan of the Jeeves and Wooster stories - Wooster is just too much of an ass for me to enjoy. On the other hand I think you can’t go wrong with Blandings.
I think I might check out some of these. Here’s to hoping I’ll find my way back to more reading in 2023!