I was watching a few booktubers over the weekend and The Stormlight Archives was mentioned favourably several times, so I’ve added The Final Empire to my wish list (along with Strange The Dreamer, The Black Prism and The Name of the Wind).

Before all that, though, I’m still plodding through Perdido Street Station. It’s a big book, that, isn’t it’s? and takes a loooong time to get going. Also reading Wilfred Thesiger’s travel book Arabian Sands as part of my research, and it’s completely fascinating.

Following a recommendation from a very well-read friend, I’ve just finished Bird Box by Josh Malerman, which is really positively reviewed on Amazon. A horror, but didn’t do much for me. Basically, something leads people to do awful stuff if they catch a glimpse of it, so sight becomes humanities worst enemy. Mealy mouthed description but don’t want to give too much away. A rather meandering 2/5 for me.

tigerswiftly wrote:

The Name of the Wind flows beautifully indeed. Proper 'classic fantasy' stuff but written very, very well. Haven't read the sequel and it looks like the third book won't be out for another 3432423 billion years so... yeah. I'm in no rush!

Might go in on some shorts in The Weird from the Vandermeers. Or finish habibi. Or go for some sci-fi. Going to wait before hitting up Spinning Silver. HMM.

Tell me about it, Loved Name of the Wind but not so much the sequel.

My fav Fantasy author at the mo is Mark Lawrence, loved every book he's written.

It's pretty meandering but the prose has clearly been polished and polished and polished. I liked it but it was a bit of a slog to get through. Not convinced I'll get around to book 2.

Do you and your wife often read the same book as one another?

Then chat about it. As little or as much as you care to.

Two I've completed this holiday.

Munich A Robert Harris yarn - set in the pre WWII time of Chamberlain's appeasement of Hitler. A story of two men - pre WWII friends from Germany and England -  dragged into espionage during the conference at which the PM returned with his famous "peace in our time" piece of paper. Page-turn-ariffic.  Well written and quite feasible.

Children of Time By Adrian Tchaikovsky. A magnificent sci-fi epic this and a winner of the Arthur C Clarke award. The book is split into 2 parallel narratives that have the same beginning and inevitably clash toward the end. It's not about what being human is - it's more than that - in summary it's about what being is about. At first one of the streams is harder to read but you soon adjust to it. The faux science hangs together extremely well and the scope and scale of the book is impressive.

Both recommended.

I got it in the sale too - 99p.  Well worth full price in my view.

Look to Windward was in the end solidly made with a satisfying ending. Just a the odd episode of stodge like a tad too much water in your porridge. Abigail Nussbaum's long form extremely well written review can substitute anything I could output.

Finished The History of Medicine which was my first go at the Very Short Introduction series. For a 200 page booklet type thing I felt like I'd gotten my trivia's worth regarding how influential French medicine was during and after the revolution to establishing the modern hospital as we know it. Medical percussion technique was literally developed from a lad practicing medicine in his spare time while looking after his family pub barrels. Some doctors chugged Cholera samples and literally ate shit to drop the mic in medical arguments between peers.

Wolf Hall has exquisite dialogue. Oh my days. This could become my favourite historical novel. Almost blubbed in torrents when

I liked it in part but Moog really pissed me off the whole way through.

tigerswiftly wrote:

I liked it in part but Moog really pissed me off the whole way through.

I really liked the sense of chaos he came with in the sense that you never knew what he would do next. I also thought he added one of the funniest moments when he first appeared and also one of the most poignant moments. However, I could see how he could be annoying. Needed to be toned down slightly.

I've mannaged 2 chapters of Thomas sowell knowledge and decisions.

Reading an economist discuss decision making off all types like a balance sheet isn't my bag, apparently.

Started on One of Us. Book about brevik and some of the survivors of his handy work. Already harrowing but fascinating.

The Reacher books are trash.   I enjoy them.

I recall reading the first. I recall it being enjoyable enough.

Didn't race for the next one, but it wasn't bad.

Hazy memory, but I'd say less cheesy than Peter f Hamilton, dark, but not as good as Alastair Reynolds.

Wipes brow.

The Remains of the Day now done. Great book. Bit of a slow start but builds nicely. Read it directly after A Pale View of Hills, Ishiguro’s first book. Think I prefer the latter. Maybe. 

Anyway. Seeing as I liked them, and thought Never Let Me Go was also great, I’m gonna read all his other books. Which one next? Was thinking of just going in order they were written for easy to choosing, so An Artist of the Floating World is next.