Wants to read Grant
book
Finished reading Cibola Burn
Rated The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet 10/10
Mitchell injects bits of poetry into his prose, and it never feels awkward or ostentatious. When time slows for Jacob and he absorbs the minutiae of the moment, one may find a rhyme scheme or more involved imagery. Between the masterful way in which he threads these literary bits of style and the different points of view, the amount of research involved in writing de Zoet is all the more impressive.<br><br>Everyone in the port town wants something, and some are willing to lie, while others hold steadfast to their integrity to achieve it. At the moment Jacob decides to make his intentions to Miss Aibigawa known, she is sent away to a mysterious and isolated mountain shrine. The unfolding details concerning the shrine are what make up the meat of the story, and are what propel the pages forward. Yes, there are still concerns regarding the Dutch occupation, and the conflict between East and West, but Mitchell has not written a simple historical novel. At the heart of everything is communication — what we understand about one another, the struggle against the unknown, and what we choose to withhold. Even the more reprehensible characters are fighting their own battles, and while one may not feel the same empathy towards them, their toil is understandable. And despite the seriousness throughout, Mitchell also provides subtle humor — overbearing mothers, card game insults and sarcasm transcend time, really. I invite you all to use the word “cockchafer” at your earliest convenience.<br><br>Though I have yet to read David Mitchell’s other novels, I still feel like my favorite has yet to come. That’s not to disparage anything about de Zoet, but for making me love a story I might have otherwise ignored, I can only guess that his more modern settings will leave me lacking in the adequate vocabulary to describe their greatness. This is high and hypothetical praise, I know, but my head and my heart are in agreement. <br><br>(Full review can be found on <a href="http://glorifiedloveletters.blogspot.com/2011/03/thousand-autumns-of-jacob-de-zoet-by.html">Glorified Love Letters</a>.)
Rated Doctor Who: The Drowned World 10/10
Sara Kingdom - the non-companion companion that has appeared in more episodes than some "actual" companions. I accidentally listened to this before its predecessor, Home Truths, but this is still great on its own. (Though now listening to Home Truths explains some things.) Jean Marsh's impression of the First Doctor's voice is a funny (but that's half the point), but it ends on an excellent cliffhanger. Onward.
Rated The Vaster Wilds 10/10
<div>Lauren Groff is excellent every time.</div>
The digital rights of my round-Australia rail book Heading South have recently reverted to me, so now I can make some decent royalties from ebook sales!
That's of no interest to you, however - you just want to know if it's a good read. To that I say yes! Here's the blurb:
"Freelance travel writer and Lonely Planet guidebook contributor Tim Richards decides to shake up his life by taking an epic rail journey across Australia. Jumping aboard iconic trains like the Indian Pacific, Overland and Spirit of Queensland, he covers over 7,000 kilometres, from the tropics to the desert and from big cities to ghost towns. Tim’s journey is one of classic travel highs and lows: floods, cancellations, extraordinary landscapes and forays into personal and public histories – as well as the steady joy of random strangers encountered along the way."
You can find out more and buy the ebook at the following links:
Kindle AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0H25VSGR3
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/au/en/ebook/heading-south-9
Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/au/book/heading-south/id6770431038
Google Books: https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=5CDaEQAAQBAJ
Enjoy!
#Australia #train #trains #rail #book #books #travel @bookstodon @bookstodon@fedigroups.social
Finished reading Nemesis Games
Rated Jago & Litefoot: The Bloodless Soldier 6/10
This was just ok for me, but I'm sure I'll end up listening to more.
Reading Daisy Darker
Finished reading Tiamat's Wrath
Finished reading Saevus Corax Captures the Castle
Finished reading World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War
Rated A Confederacy of Dumptys: Portraits of American Scoundrels in Verse 8/10
What a fun book about our national embarassments! I've seen Lithgow promoting the two previous books in this series, but they were highly particular to the last presidency's time period. I went ahead and got this one because it covers a wider range of governmental criminals. Lithgow's word choices were great with an expansive vocabulary. And who doesn't love reading history to a Seussian cadence?? Most of these characters I already knew, but still an enjoyable new way to read about them in short verse. The last long poem about January 6 really ended the slim volume strongly, though!
Edited 84d ago
In about three weeks, I'll launch my new novella, about an old woman with social anxiety who finds herself organising the defence of a decentralised nation when colonisers invade to steal the tech that makes her village a #solarpunk utopia. It is available for pre-order in all major stores (I think), but you can also get it from my small press, and there is a sample chapter available.
https://www.ododopress.com/novellas/the-blossoming-of-the-big-tree/
Wants to read Tudor England: A History
Wants to read Montaillou: The Promised Land of Error
Edited 83d ago
Rated UNIT: Extinction 8/10
Interesting way of bringing back the Nestene, and Jemma Redgrave is excellent. Took me a bit at first to get into it, but I liked this story a lot better than some other Doctor Who-related audio dramas.
Finished reading Leviathan Falls
Rated Hello Beautiful (Oprah's Book Club): A Novel 8/10
Edited 120d ago
Wants to read The Alignment Problem: Machine Learning and Human Values
Wants to read An Instance of the Fingerpost