Isn't anyone reading anything at the moment? I don't like making three posts in a row but they are separated by several days. I finished A Cruel Bird Came to the Nest and Looked In. I thought it was a very sweet story though it had quite a dark side to it. Since then I have listened to - Cinderella Girl by Carin Gerhardsen, narrated by Candida Gubbins - quite a good Swedish murder mystery. 64) The Last Stair into Darkness by Cliff Barlow, narrated by Chandra Skyye. A collection of short horror stories that weren't really frightening to me. I didn't like the narration much. Of a Boy by Sonya Hartnett, narrated by Humphrey Bower (a narrator i really like). Published under the title What the Birds See in the UK and US. A very sad and moving story about a quiet and fearful little boy, Adrian, growing up in Australia in 1977. His mother cannot care for him, his father doesn't want him and so he is living with his grandmother who thinks she is too old and worn to even look after a well-behaved boy as he is. He is living only 20 minutes from the place that three children (the Metford children) have disappeared. Adrian's family and others around him are very concerned about what has happened to the missing kids. This is a vey sad story and I cried many times while reading it. It is also beautifully written. This was my 75th book for the year. Now I am listening to The Untold History of the Potato by John Reader, narrated by Martin Hyder. quite interesting so far. 4 chapters in and the potato still hasn't left the pre-Columbian Americas. My shoulder is less painful than it has been for months. I hope that this means I have finished the really painful freezing stage and I am entering the less painful frozen stage. Maybe in a week or two I will be back to reading printed books.
^^ That's good. I was wondering how you were doing. I was reading the Gigantic Worlds anthology (the ebook-- I'm still waiting for the print copy and the bonus book), and I was enjoying it but not being blown away by it. I am now beta reading another novel by one of my friends. It takes place in a far future universe where Earth is quarantined and uninhabited because of a devastating nanotech disaster in the distant past-- or at least it's supposed to be uninhabited.
I've been listening to Clark Ashton Smith. I have all the recent 6 volumes published by Nightshades as well as the same books as audiobooks by audible, read by various professional narrators.
Just finished Killer, Jonathan Kellerman's latest Alex Delaware mystery. Less gruesome than some of them (thank goodness), but still imaginative and suspenseful, and AD is always an appealing character. Also reading Etty Hillesum: A Life Transformed, by Patrick Woodhouse.
Thanks for the heads up on that. The paper editions appear to be out of print, but they're available as ebooks. Also, thanks for the cover scan. I collect those.
You're welcome, the audio books by audible are really good. I wouldn't know how to pronounce half the words CAS uses without having heard them.
Just finished Our Mathematical Universe by Max Tegmark. Currently reading 17 Equations that Changed the World by Ian Stewart.
Just finished The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, my 12 year old basically insisted that my wife and I read it. Overall it was pretty good, and will move on to Catching Fire after I read: The Zen of Zim, by Don Zimmer - autobiography of the baseball coaching legend, who just passed a few months ago.
Finished The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch a few days ago while on vacation. Excellent story! I'd highly recommend it for someone looking for something a bit different in the fantasy genre. The man certainly knows how to create interesting characters, prose and great dialogue. I only learned after I finished it that it was his first published novel, which impresses me even more.
The Long War by Baxter and Pratchett. Should finish it tomorrow. Then for August I'll probably return to Finnegans Wake and alternate it with another book.
Silver Shadows: A Bloodlines Novel by Richelle Mead. I got it yesterday and am about 1/3 of the way finished.
I finished the previously mentioned The Untold History of Potato. Very good book, I never realised spuds could be so interesting. After that I listened to The Epic of Gilgamesh, adapted by Sebastian Lockwood who also did the narration. The adaption was quite good but the narration left much to be desired. I am now listening to Hundred in the Hand by Joseph M Marshall who also narrates it. It is a novel that tells the story of the Fetterman Massacre from the Indian point of view.