The Book Thread 2023

[Evolving]

Hm, interesting.

[UncertainSloth]

1. the reading list - sara nisha adams - 8/10
2. fairy tale - stephen king - 8/10
3. fellstones - ramsey campbell - 6/10 - a too brief cosmic northern wicker man-esque piece of stuff...needed more room to let the narrative and characters develop and breathe

[UncertainSloth]

1. The Moose Paradox by Antti Tuomainen
2. Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr
3. French Braid by Anne Tyler
4. The Shell Collector by Anthony Doerr
5. Mislaid by Nell Zink
6. for thy great pain have mercy on my little pain by Victoria Mackenzie
7. Infinite Ground by Martin MacInnes
8. Near to the Wild Heart by Clarice Lispector
9. The Noise of Time by Julian Barnes

Fictionalised biography of Shostakovich examining the relationship between art and power, or rather Art and Power.

read that a while back, very good book

[Blip]

1. The Moose Paradox by Antti Tuomainen
2. Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr
3. French Braid by Anne Tyler
4. The Shell Collector by Anthony Doerr
5. Mislaid by Nell Zink
6. for thy great pain have mercy on my little pain by Victoria Mackenzie
7. Infinite Ground by Martin MacInnes
8. Near to the Wild Heart by Clarice Lispector
9. The Noise of Time by Julian Barnes
10. Machines Like Me by Ian McEwan

1980s London, but in an alternative version in which Margaret Thatcher falls from power after Britain loses the Falklands war and Alan Turing, who remains alive, has changed the course of history. The machines of the title are synthetic humans; the novel explores the effects of chance, the nature of consciousness, and above all the profound contradictions of human nature. It's great and truly thought-provoking.

[NamelessFaceless]

1. The Bridge of San Luis Rey - Thornton Wilder
2. Basil - Wilkie Collins
3. The Eyes Have It and Other Stories - Philip K. Dick (audiobook)
4. The Colonel’s Dream - Charles W. Chestnutt (audiobook)
5. Black No More - George S. Schuyler (audiobook)
6. The Trees - Percival Everett
7. Lady Chatterley’s Lover - D.H. Lawrence- audiobook (previously read)

[Blip]

1. The Moose Paradox by Antti Tuomainen
2. Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr
3. French Braid by Anne Tyler
4. The Shell Collector by Anthony Doerr
5. Mislaid by Nell Zink
6. for thy great pain have mercy on my little pain by Victoria Mackenzie
7. Infinite Ground by Martin MacInnes
8. Near to the Wild Heart by Clarice Lispector
9. The Noise of Time by Julian Barnes
10. Machines Like Me by Ian McEwan
11. Solar by Ian McEwan

Written from the viewpoint of a self-indulgent, selfish and self-destructive man who also happens to be a physicist and Nobel laureate involved in energy research, this is about human greed and over-consumption, the protagonist as a metaphor for the species. There's a good review from The Guardian here, although I may have enjoyed this more than the reviewer.

[Blip]

1. The Moose Paradox by Antti Tuomainen
2. Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr
3. French Braid by Anne Tyler
4. The Shell Collector by Anthony Doerr
5. Mislaid by Nell Zink
6. for thy great pain have mercy on my little pain by Victoria Mackenzie
7. Infinite Ground by Martin MacInnes
8. Near to the Wild Heart by Clarice Lispector
9. The Noise of Time by Julian Barnes
10. Machines Like Me by Ian McEwan
11. Solar by Ian McEwan
12. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

I happened upon a list of the - purportedly - most frequently banned books in the USA and was chuffed to find I'd read most of them. Not this, however, until now. Seventy years on, it still has the power to shock, I think.

[Evolving]

Seriously? Fahrenheit 451 is banned in the USA? Or part of it, presumably?

[Blip]

Seriously? Fahrenheit 451 is banned in the USA? Or part of it, presumably?

Has been in some part(s) at some time(s), allegedly. But then, Catcher in the Rye was also on the list, so make of that what you will.

[UncertainSloth]

451 is an awesome book - i love ray bradbury

[Blip]

1. The Moose Paradox by Antti Tuomainen
2. Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr
3. French Braid by Anne Tyler
4. The Shell Collector by Anthony Doerr
5. Mislaid by Nell Zink
6. for thy great pain have mercy on my little pain by Victoria Mackenzie
7. Infinite Ground by Martin MacInnes
8. Near to the Wild Heart by Clarice Lispector
9. The Noise of Time by Julian Barnes
10. Machines Like Me by Ian McEwan
11. Solar by Ian McEwan
12. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
13. The Innocent by Ian McEwan

Interesting setting of Cold War Berlin, but not the author's best.

[Blip]

1. The Moose Paradox by Antti Tuomainen
2. Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr
3. French Braid by Anne Tyler
4. The Shell Collector by Anthony Doerr
5. Mislaid by Nell Zink
6. for thy great pain have mercy on my little pain by Victoria Mackenzie
7. Infinite Ground by Martin MacInnes
8. Near to the Wild Heart by Clarice Lispector
9. The Noise of Time by Julian Barnes
10. Machines Like Me by Ian McEwan
11. Solar by Ian McEwan
12. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
13. The Innocent by Ian McEwan
14. This Other Eden by Paul Harding

In the early years of the twentieth century, the members of a tiny ethnically mixed community on a small island off the coast of Maine, afflicted by numerous incestuous liaisons and the prejudice of others, are evicted from their homes. This novel apparently draws on historical events: it is heart-rending and it is excellent.

[UncertainSloth]

1. the reading list - sara nisha adams - 8/10
2. fairy tale - stephen king - 8/10
3. fellstones - ramsey campbell - 6/10
4. vanishing of margaret small - neil alexander - 8/10 - it's weird, i'm reading (and enjoying) the sort of book i never used to bother with...a sweet, uplifting study of the treatment of mental health and the 'vanishing' of unwanted children
5. family at no.12 - anita waller - 7/10 - hell of a strong first half/two thrds but peters and fizzles out by the end

[UncertainSloth]

1. the reading list - sara nisha adams - 8/10
2. fairy tale - stephen king - 8/10
3. fellstones - ramsey campbell - 6/10
4. vanishing of margaret small - neil alexander - 8/10
5. family at no.12 - anita waller - 7/10
6. hob - david barnett - 9/10 - brilliant slice of non-linear, twisty-turny folk horror

[UncertainSloth]

1. the reading list - sara nisha adams - 8/10
2. fairy tale - stephen king - 8/10
3. fellstones - ramsey campbell - 6/10
4. vanishing of margaret small - neil alexander - 8/10
5. family at no.12 - anita waller - 7/10
6. hob - david barnett - 9/10
7. witch - iain rob wright - adequate/10 - bit of a filler before the kindle unlimited ran out...fairly inconsequential and unexciting

[NamelessFaceless]

1. The Bridge of San Luis Rey - Thornton Wilder
2. Basil - Wilkie Collins
3. The Eyes Have It and Other Stories - Philip K. Dick (audiobook)
4. The Colonel’s Dream - Charles W. Chestnutt (audiobook)
5. Black No More - George S. Schuyler (audiobook)
6. The Trees - Percival Everett
7. Lady Chatterley’s Lover - D.H. Lawrence- (audiobook) (previously read)
8. My People the Sioux - Luther Standing Bear (audiobook)
9. Poirot Investigates - Agatha Christie (audiobook)
10. The Life of Josiah Henson - Josiah Henson (audiobook)
11. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes - Anita Loos (audiobook)

[Blip]

1. The Moose Paradox by Antti Tuomainen
2. Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr
3. French Braid by Anne Tyler
4. The Shell Collector by Anthony Doerr
5. Mislaid by Nell Zink
6. for thy great pain have mercy on my little pain by Victoria Mackenzie
7. Infinite Ground by Martin MacInnes
8. Near to the Wild Heart by Clarice Lispector
9. The Noise of Time by Julian Barnes
10. Machines Like Me by Ian McEwan
11. Solar by Ian McEwan
12. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
13. The Innocent by Ian McEwan
14. This Other Eden by Paul Harding
15. Victory City by Salman Rushdie

Fictionalised account of the rise and fall of south India's Vijayanagara empire. As The Guardian reviewer writes: 'Viewed from one angle, it was a seedbed for the globalised modern world, in that it became a haven for art and new ideas and an economic power-house that traded with China and Venice. Viewed from another, it was a thicket of intrigue, rocked by rival factions, foreign wars and palace coups.'

Rushdie's trademark magical realism sweeps this epic of human nature along. Apparently completed before he was so viciously attacked last year, the closing line is '[w]ords are the only victors'. I loved it.

[UncertainSloth]

1. the reading list - sara nisha adams - 8/10
2. fairy tale - stephen king - 8/10
3. fellstones - ramsey campbell - 6/10
4. vanishing of margaret small - neil alexander - 8/10
5. family at no.12 - anita waller - 7/10
6. hob - david barnett - 9/10
7. witch - iain rob wright - adequate/10
8. the old ways - robert mcfarlane - 8/10 - another great book exploring the old footpaths and byways of britain and beyond...love his approach to writing, a lovely blend of poetic, narrative and non-fiction, perfect for dipping in and out of

[Blip]

1. The Moose Paradox by Antti Tuomainen
2. Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr
3. French Braid by Anne Tyler
4. The Shell Collector by Anthony Doerr
5. Mislaid by Nell Zink
6. for thy great pain have mercy on my little pain by Victoria Mackenzie
7. Infinite Ground by Martin MacInnes
8. Near to the Wild Heart by Clarice Lispector
9. The Noise of Time by Julian Barnes
10. Machines Like Me by Ian McEwan
11. Solar by Ian McEwan
12. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
13. The Innocent by Ian McEwan
14. This Other Eden by Paul Harding
15. Victory City by Salman Rushdie
16. The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler

'What if the first alien intelligences we encountered were already living with us on planet Earth?'* Part science fiction, part thriller, part reflection on consciousness and on human nature, Nayler imagines a near future in which the geopolitical map has changed - Tibet is now a superpower, for example - and AI is ubiquitous. Attracted by local rumours of amphibious intelligent monsters, a vast tech corporation has bought and sealed off an island near Vietnam...

*From The Guardian review, which is an excellent summary. A spoiler for you: the review is subtitled 'How to Speak Octopus'.

[NamelessFaceless]

1. The Bridge of San Luis Rey - Thornton Wilder
2. Basil - Wilkie Collins
3. The Eyes Have It and Other Stories - Philip K. Dick (audiobook)
4. The Colonel’s Dream - Charles W. Chestnutt (audiobook)
5. Black No More - George S. Schuyler (audiobook)
6. The Trees - Percival Everett
7. Lady Chatterley’s Lover - D.H. Lawrence- (audiobook) (previously read)
8. My People the Sioux - Luther Standing Bear (audiobook)
9. Poirot Investigates - Agatha Christie (audiobook)
10. The Life of Josiah Henson - Josiah Henson (audiobook)
11. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes - Anita Loos (audiobook)
12. To the Lighthouse - Virginia Woolf (audiobook)