Hey!! Let's get some action going! What are we reading?

[Apache]

Originally Posted by CRussel

Yup. Already on hold at my library!

I sure miss Author Alerts. It was much easier to keep track of my favorite authors.
Apache

[rainerm]

Currently reading quite a bit of non fiction.

1. Edward Herman and Noam Chomsky's Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media My friends think these guys are no longer relevant, but doesn't seem so at all. This is not just a bunch of case studies. The cases they consider only help them illustrate and make more legible their claims about what they call the political economy of the mass media. Their analyses are still deeply useful in terms of looking at what makes new media complicit in the very processes and injustices it claims to denounce.

2. Earl Babbie's The Practice of Social Research Offers a good, albeit quite introductory, account of the qualitative and quantitative approaches. But still very useful for me, since I don't generally read quantitative studies because they seem quite reductive. This one's helping me sort out my biases and misunderstandings.

[astrangerhere]

Last week, at the urging of my wife, I read This is How You Lose the Time War, a co-written epistolatory novel by Amar El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone. I have never been so happy to listen to her - the book is my first five star novel of the year.

She read the book on her phone during breaks at work. The day she finished, we headed straight to Flyleaf Books (hooray for our local independent!) and bought the last copy they had of the hardcover. I read the hardcover, which I think is more suited to the format than e-format could be. There was something about physically turning from letter to letter that gave it something extra.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Still also reading F&SF.

Finished F&SF. Another excellent issue, which is why I'll be renewing my subscription even through the cost is £5 per issue.

Now reading: Mark of the Cat by Andre Norton.

[gmw]

Strange the Dreamer and Muse of Nightmares by Laini Taylor.

The first thing to know is that Strange the Dreamer ends in a cling-hanger. I can see why they split the story this way as the two halves have a quite different feel, but I would have preferred more obvious indicators that this was one story published in two parts. (But you have to love the instant gratification of ebooks that let me buy the second half and keep reading.)

I was loving Strange the Dreamer. The prose is rich and evocative, the large cast of characters were wonderfully drawn and the broad setting felt deep and real. There were a few excessively soppy bits in the latter half, but easily forgivable. The story, while not overly surprising, had depth and flowed well ... right up to the unexpected "To Be Continued". So the anticipated 5/5 withered to a 4/5.

Muse of Nightmares is a different beast. The story continues to be compelling, there was never any doubt that I would finish it, but while the first book was always the right shape, this book felt lumpy: sometimes narrowly focused, sometimes broad but shallow strokes, but no smooth flow between them. Rather than rich the prose felt unctuous and at times quite repetitive - the YA-angst poured on pretty thickly. A 4/5 feels like a stretch, but I remind myself that I did feel compelled to finish it.

I suspect my reaction to the second book is partly coloured by the disappointment that it didn't match up to my expectations after the first.

[Dr. Drib]

Today is International Women's Day, and I'm [con]currently reading two books:

1) Faces on the Tip of My Tongue - Emmanuelle Pagano

This has been longlisted for the International Booker Prize. (Published by And Other Stories - a wonderful 'subscription' type publisher, although books and ebooks can be individually purchased.)

Additionally, Peirene Press - another 'subscription' styled publisher (again, books and ebooks can be individually purchased) has a selection of women writers whose books (not ebooks) are 50% off ONLY for today. This is a great publisher. Check them out.

2) The Apple in the Dark - Clarice Lispector

I got this from archive.com and borrowed it and then used K2pdfopt to make it extremely readable on my Kobo Aura One. An entire page fits perfectly within a vertical view; but the horizontal view also works extremely well. I've been heavily into nouveau roman fiction over the years, so Lispector sometimes falls into that designation. (When/if visiting that site, make certain you are following copyright guidelines if you decide to borrow something.)

[Uncle Robin]

Reading this made me think I should return to possibly the most famous "e-book" of them all
https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/03/09/hhgttg_42/

[Luffy]

My review of Twisted Twenty-Six:

Spoiler:

The records show that I read the first book in this series and gave it 2 stars. Well, I don't remember a single thing about that book. But this one, the latest one, got 5 stars.

I thought that as each occurrence's impact lessened, another event came crashing through. This meant that there was hardly a case of boredom. The pacing was perfectly dosed.

As a new fan of this series, it seems a bit rich for me to be recommending this book to hardened and loyal fans. But this recommendation is addressed to those who are still licking their wounds from book 25. This book was awesome.

[ReadingManiac]

Originally Posted by Luffy

Half-Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows are my two least favorite books in the series. But I did rate them 5 stars, of course

I actually wasn't too impressed from book 5 on. Read them all anyway of course.

[ReadingManiac]

Originally Posted by PurpleStar

I still keep meaning to read it. Got it on sale years ago!

I DNF'd it in the end. I hate doing that with a book I paid for, but it just wasn't holding my attention.

[ReadingManiac]

Originally Posted by ReadingManiac

Well I meant to start The Way of Kings

Okay, today I start without fail. No more distractions!

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Now reading: Mark of the Cat by Andre Norton.

Which was a good coming of age, with some interesting incidentals. I went straight on to the sequel Year of the Rat, which was OK, but got a little too mystcal towards the end for my taste.

Next up: A Decline in Prophets by Sulari Gentill. The second in the Rowland Sinclair Mysteries. I got the first as a freebie, and the second as a £0.99 offer direct from the publisher.

[Luffy]

My review of M is for Malice:

Spoiler:

This book fell at the last hurdle. It lacked the je ne sais quoi that characterises a mystery elaborately written in 3 acts.

I thought that the list of suspects was promising for the suspense, the puzzle, and the mystique of our main character Kinsey Millhone.

Suffice to say that the book did not disappoint on all fronts. Being unaware of all future spoilers, I dread the day when Kinsey will sleep with Henry. Maybe that just me. In all, I think 3 stars is a fair rating for what I experienced reading this book.

[JSWolf]

I have a number of books in the works. In no particular order...

• The Face of Deception (Eve Duncan 01) by Iris Johansen
• The Subtle Knife (His Dark Materials 02) by Philip Pullman
• The President is Missing by James Patterson and Bill Clinton
• Fortune of War (Star Trek: Titan) by David Mack
• Carpe Jugulum (Discworld 23) by Terry Pratchett
• Pastime (Spencer 18) by Robert. B Parker

Just a small list of books.

[gmw]

Since my last post...

The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett. We're chatting about this over in the New Leaf Book Club.

Spoiler:

I'm definitely not a fan: 2/5

Weapons of Math Destruction by Cathy O'Neil. The book highlights how some computer algorithms (neatly described as an "an opinion formalized in code") are opaque and applied so widely, and without sufficient regard for monitoring their effects, especially from unexpected feedback loops, that they can produce damaging results - the sorts of prejudicial and unfair results that some were explicitly intended to avoid but that they now magnify at a worrying scale. (Reminiscent of that old adage: humans make mistakes but it takes a computer to really stuff up.)

There is a lot in this book, it's been well researched (although very U.S. centric), but I think it could have been structured better to make the situation clearer. The writing, like the title, is a bit over-sensationalist, but the topic is real - and important - enough warrant some effort to gain attention. The book has its good aspects (shows how so many algorithms cause or exacerbate problems), and some less good aspects (never really acknowledges that good and bad are often the same thing from different perspectives and resolving them becomes a matter of prevailing social policy rather than programming tweaks). Still, it does make for an interesting read. 3/5.