The Book Thread 2022

[Macdoc]

Very topical ...maybe an addendum in order.

[NamelessFaceless]

Audiobooks in Italics

1. Hope of Heaven - John O'Hara
2. Pal Joey - John O'Hara
3. Invitation to a Beheading - Vladimir Nabokov
4. Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination That Changed America Forever - Bill O'Reilly
5. Haroun and the Sea of Stories - Salman Rushdie
6. Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoevsky This is actually a re-read. I actually read it over 10 years ago, but I was able to listen to the audible version for free.

[Macdoc]

very engaging on audiobook.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shantaram_(novel)

[scott1328]

1. Caliban's War, James S A Corey Book 2 in the Expanse Series.
2. Time’s Eye, Arthur C. Clarke and Stephen Baxter
3. Sun Storm, Arthur C. Clarke and Stephen Baxter. Sequel to Time's Eye.
4. The Firtstborn, Arthur C. Clarke and Stephen Baxter
5. Abaddon’s Gate, James S A Corey, Book 3 in the Expanse Series.
6. Cibola Burn, James S A Corey, Book 4 in the Expanse Series.
7. Nemesis Games, James S A Corey, Book 5 in the Expanse Series.
8. Babylon’s Ashes, James S A Corey, Book 6 in the Expanse Series.
9. Persepolis Rising, James S A Corey, Book 7 in the Expanse Series.
10. Tiamat’s Wrath, James S A Corey, Book 8 in the Expanse Series.
11. Leviathan Falls, James S A Corey, Book 9 in the Expanse Series.

12. Fragment, Warren Fahy - An island is discovered in the South Pacific. This island, approximately six square miles in diameter, is the last remaining remnant of a 500 million year-old super continent. the interior of the island is encircled by by an 800 meter high palisade that contains and protects the island’s native flora and fauna from the outside world. The novel describes the first fateful impact of the initial discovery. It does not go as expected.

[Macdoc]

Expanse ....What a run Scott...partner is on a redo of them on Audible. Fragment looks good.

[Blip]

1. A Town Called Solace by Mary Lawson
2. The Expectation Effect by David Robson
3. Crow Lake by Mary Lawson
4. Road Ends by Mary Lawson
5. A Brief History of Earth by Andrew H Knoll
6. Roseanna by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö translated by Lois Roth
7. The Man Who Went Up in Smoke by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö translated by Joan Tate
8. The Other Side of the Bridge by Mary Lawson
9. The Man on the Balcony by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö translated by Alan Blair
10. Rachel's Holiday by Marian Keyes
11. The Laughing Policeman by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö translated by Alan Blair
12. Monsieur Ka by Vesna Goldsworthy
13. The Fire Engine That Disappeared by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö translated by Joan Tate
14. Gorski by Vesna Goldsworthy
15. Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz

This was recommended to me by a friend. She hasn't known me very long.

[Evolving]

Was that - shade, Blip?

[UncertainSloth]

1. the long take - robin robertson - 8/10
2. the gatekeeper - russ kane - 5/10
3. dr potter's medicine show - eric scott fischl - 8/10
4. just one damn thing after another - jodi taylor - 8/10 -
5. trinity - louisa hall - 8/10
6. the night ocean - paul la farge - 9/10 - inspired by lovecraft but runs a lot deeper than that engrossing read

[Blip]

1. A Town Called Solace by Mary Lawson
2. The Expectation Effect by David Robson
3. Crow Lake by Mary Lawson
4. Road Ends by Mary Lawson
5. A Brief History of Earth by Andrew H Knoll
6. Roseanna by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö translated by Lois Roth
7. The Man Who Went Up in Smoke by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö translated by Joan Tate
8. The Other Side of the Bridge by Mary Lawson
9. The Man on the Balcony by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö translated by Alan Blair
10. Rachel's Holiday by Marian Keyes
11. The Laughing Policeman by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö translated by Alan Blair
12. Monsieur Ka by Vesna Goldsworthy
13. The Fire Engine That Disappeared by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö translated by Joan Tate
14. Gorski by Vesna Goldsworthy
15. Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz
16. Murder at the Savoy by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö translated by Joan Tate

[UncertainSloth]

Was that - shade, Blip?

certainly very, very faint praise she's damning with there....

[UncertainSloth]

1. A Town Called Solace by Mary Lawson
2. The Expectation Effect by David Robson
3. Crow Lake by Mary Lawson
4. Road Ends by Mary Lawson
5. A Brief History of Earth by Andrew H Knoll
6. Roseanna by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö translated by Lois Roth
7. The Man Who Went Up in Smoke by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö translated by Joan Tate
8. The Other Side of the Bridge by Mary Lawson
9. The Man on the Balcony by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö translated by Alan Blair
10. Rachel's Holiday by Marian Keyes
11. The Laughing Policeman by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö translated by Alan Blair
12. Monsieur Ka by Vesna Goldsworthy
13. The Fire Engine That Disappeared by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö translated by Joan Tate
14. Gorski by Vesna Goldsworthy
15. Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz
16. Murder at the Savoy by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö translated by Joan Tate

blimey, blip, you're on fire this year...

[Blip]

Was that - shade, Blip?

certainly very, very faint praise she's damning with there....

blimey, blip, you're on fire this year...

The Scandi Noir is so readable: mysteries combined with mid-century Swedish social history, very well written.

[scott1328]

1. Caliban's War, James S A Corey Book 2 in the Expanse Series.
2. Time’s Eye, Arthur C. Clarke and Stephen Baxter
3. Sun Storm, Arthur C. Clarke and Stephen Baxter. Sequel to Time's Eye.
4. The Firtstborn, Arthur C. Clarke and Stephen Baxter
5. Abaddon’s Gate, James S A Corey, Book 3 in the Expanse Series.
6. Cibola Burn, James S A Corey, Book 4 in the Expanse Series.
7. Nemesis Games, James S A Corey, Book 5 in the Expanse Series.
8. Babylon’s Ashes, James S A Corey, Book 6 in the Expanse Series.
9. Persepolis Rising, James S A Corey, Book 7 in the Expanse Series.
10. Tiamat’s Wrath, James S A Corey, Book 8 in the Expanse Series.
11. Leviathan Falls, James S A Corey, Book 9 in the Expanse Series.
12. Fragment, Warren Fahy

13. Memory’s Legion,James S A Corey, Collection short stories and novellas set in the Expanse universe. Includes:

- Butcher of Anderson station—How Fred Johnson joined the OPA
- Gods Of Risk—set sometime after Caliban’s War it’s about Bobbies Draper’s nephew’s run-in with the demi-monde of Mars.
- The Churn—Gives Amos’s backstory
- The Vital Abyss—Set before and during the events of Babylon’s Ashes, describes Cortazar’s imprisonment by the belters and eventual recruitment into Duarte’s Laconia project.
- Strange Dogs—Set between Babylon’s Ashes and Persepolis Rising, on Laconia right after Duarte’s group arrives. Theses events were portrayed during the season 6 cold openings.
- Auberon—Set after Persepolis Rising on the planet Auberon right after Laconia takes over. Features the return of a character from the Churn.
- The Sins or Our Fathers—Set after the events of Leviathan Falls and features Phillip Nagata.

[Macdoc]

Scandi Noir ...love it on streaming and in books for similar reasons. Enjoying the Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö books - quick satisfying reads.

[don't get me started]

1. Cognitive Discourse Analysis: An introduction - Thora Tenbrink
2. Cynical Theories: How Activist Scholarship Made Everything About Race, Gender And Identity- And Why This Harms Everybody – Helen Pluckrose and James Lindsay
3. A History of the World in 12 Maps – Jerry Brotton
4. Origins of the Specious: Myths and Misconceptions of the English Language – Patricia T. O’Connor & Stewart Kellerman
5. Peer Interaction and Second Language Learning - Jenefer Philip, Rebecca Adams & Noriko Iwashita
6. Eugene Onegin - Alexander Pushkin
7. Found in Translation: How Language Shapes Our Lives and Transforms the World - Nataly Kelly & Jost Zetzche
8. English Words: A Linguistic Introduction - Heidi Harley

9. Questions: Formal, Functional and Interactional Perspectives Jan P. de Ruiter (Ed.)

256 pp.

A collection of papers on the phenomenon of questions. Despite the apparently simple folk-theory that questions are speech acts that prompt information transfer, the authors here delve into some of the complexity of questions.
One of the first observations is that in English and many other languages, things which are structurally questions do not actually do questioning (Why don't you ever listen?) and things which are not structurally questions are functioning as questions. (The meeting starts at eleven (?))

Even the most straightforward, canonical question (E.g. "What time is the meeting?") displays a very sophisticated interactional architecture. The poser of the question represents themself as in an unknowing (K-) epistemic state. They indicate that they believe that the recipient of the question is in a knowing state (K+). Not only this, but the questioner indicates that they beleive that they have the right to ask the question and that the addressee is not only able but also willing to provide the requested information. And they will not will provide the answer but provide it in a way that aligns with the tacit interactional agenda of the questioner. "What did you do last weekend?" can be answered in very different ways. The situational difference of police officer to suspect during a formal interview and two friends chatting over coffee will mean that the answer to that question will will be very different.

Several chapters touched on the different ways different languages respond to polar questions, with Japanese and English taking opposite approaches to answering a question like "Don't you like sushi?" For the seafood averse Anglophone the answer will be "No" meaning "No, I don't like sushi." For a similarly averse Japanese (They do exist!!) the answer will be "Hai" (Yes.) meaning, "Yes, you are right, I don't like sushi." Even though my kids are fluently bilingual, they often use the Japanese response pattern when answering these kinds of questions in English.

Other languages avoid straightforward 'yes/no' responses and reply to these kinds of questions with repetition. "Do you like sushi?" - "Like". (English has this option, but it is used sparingly - Q: "Can I call you tomorrow?"- A: "You can".

A pretty technical book in places and I'm not sure that I fully understood the sections on intonation. But a worthwhile read and of relevance to some of the courses I teach.

[Macdoc]

1 Roseanna by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö translated by Lois Roth
2 The Man Who Went Up in Smoke by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö translated by Joan Tate
3 The Man on the Balcony by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö translated by Alan Blair - just starting.

Gave up on Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson - audio book and will go back when I'm riding more,
Looking forward to this on audio
The Fortunes of Africa by Martin Meredith

[UncertainSloth]

1 Roseanna by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö translated by Lois Roth
2 The Man Who Went Up in Smoke by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö translated by Joan Tate
3 The Man on the Balcony by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö translated by Alan Blair - just starting.

Gave up on Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson - audio book and will go back when I'm riding more,
Looking forward to this on audio
The Fortunes of Africa by Martin Meredith

quicksilver was a great book but a bloody tough read, fallible got on with him better than i did - he's not the most accessible of authors - i wanted to read the others in the baroque cycle, so audiobooks may be the way forward...not really used them much before

[Macdoc]

He's usually a challenge and listening when there are other distraction not good. I always learn a lot and he is inventive

[don't get me started]

1. Cognitive Discourse Analysis: An introduction - Thora Tenbrink
2. Cynical Theories: How Activist Scholarship Made Everything About Race, Gender And Identity- And Why This Harms Everybody – Helen Pluckrose and James Lindsay
3. A History of the World in 12 Maps – Jerry Brotton
4. Origins of the Specious: Myths and Misconceptions of the English Language – Patricia T. O’Connor & Stewart Kellerman
5. Peer Interaction and Second Language Learning - Jenefer Philip, Rebecca Adams & Noriko Iwashita
6. Eugene Onegin - Alexander Pushkin
7. Found in Translation: How Language Shapes Our Lives and Transforms the World - Nataly Kelly & Jost Zetzche
8. English Words: A Linguistic Introduction - Heidi Harley
9. Questions: Formal, Functional and Interactional Perspectives Jan P. de Ruiter (Ed.)

10. Persepolis Rising - James S.A. Corey

Well that was a belter of a read (pun intended!). Picked up where the TV series left off. Transitioning from the audio-visual medium to words-on-the-page was an interesting way to come at it. I think book first and Film/TV second is the usual order for me. (No. 6 in the list above for example.)

Really enjoyed the narrative and also the writers' style. Looking forward to the next installment. Ordered today.
Back to the linguistics until it is delivered...

[Blip]

1. A Town Called Solace by Mary Lawson
2. The Expectation Effect by David Robson
3. Crow Lake by Mary Lawson
4. Road Ends by Mary Lawson
5. A Brief History of Earth by Andrew H Knoll
6. Roseanna by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö translated by Lois Roth
7. The Man Who Went Up in Smoke by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö translated by Joan Tate
8. The Other Side of the Bridge by Mary Lawson
9. The Man on the Balcony by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö translated by Alan Blair
10. Rachel's Holiday by Marian Keyes
11. The Laughing Policeman by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö translated by Alan Blair
12. Monsieur Ka by Vesna Goldsworthy
13. The Fire Engine That Disappeared by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö translated by Joan Tate
14. Gorski by Vesna Goldsworthy
15. Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz
16. Murder at the Savoy by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö translated by Joan Tate
17. The Abominable Man by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö translated by Joan Tate