Finish 52 Books 2023

Kern · **Posted:** Fri Apr 21, 2023 8:10

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1. The Confidence Men by Margalit Fox
2. Maus by Art Spiegelman
3. The Hunger by Alma Katsu
4. Ask a Historian by Greg Jenner
5. My Name's Not Friday by Jon Walter
6. All That Remains by Sue Black
7. Aftermath by Harald Jähner (tr. S Whiteside)
8. God: an Anatomy by Francesca Stavrakopoulou
9.A Million Years in a Day by Greg Jenner

10.How Westminster Works and Why It Doesn't by Ian Dunt

Around 20 years ago (probably closer to a quarter century now), I was watching a lecture by a prominent broadcaster who during the questions mentioned his personal view that "this country is terribly governed" regardless of party. It's stuck with me for many years and throughout my own studies, wider reading, and general life experience it's a view I've never completely shaken.

Sweary podcast king Ian Dunt takes us through the institutional and political failings of the Commons, the government, the civil service, and the media, drawing on contemporary interviews with many leading figures across the political spectrum (how I would have loved to have watch him interview Peter Bone!). I felt that whilst the case studies are new and provide ample modern examples to draw on, the underlying analysis and the lingering sense of futility isn't. But it's a highly enjoyable and concise read, with a comprehensive bibliography for further reading.

The stand-out chapter is the section on the 2021 retreat from Afghanistan. I got so angry reading about what happened, especially the dog lift, that I had to put the book down and get a stiff drink rather than throw it across the room. If you read anything this year, read this.

A depressing but necessary summary of the failings of our constitution, institutions, and leaders. Well worth reading.

11. Everybody Wins: Four Decades of the Greatest Board Games Ever Made by James Wallis

This big, glossy, photo-heavy hardback is far better than I was expecting. Not only does Wallis summarise every winner of the coveted Spiel Des Jahres red pawn, he discusses if the game's worth playing today (TL;DR some are, some should be destroyed with fire), and what else was around at the time. It also tracks the changing tastes and ideas in board gaming from its inception to now (= 2022). He's not afraid to be scathing where necessary

Some poor design choices (white text on a yellow call-out? Seriously?!) but worth dabbling with if you're into modern board games. I got mine from the library: I'm not sure it's something I'd buy given BoardGameGeek exists although it's definitely ideal for dipping in and out of during quiet moments.

GazChap · **Posted:** Fri Apr 21, 2023 8:39

Starting late, but summarising the books I've read so far in 2023 (most in the last couple of weeks)...

1. Alien, by Alan Dean Foster
2. Aliens, by Alan Dean Foster
3. Alien 3, by (you guessed it) Alan Dean Foster
4. Jack Reacher: One Shot -- I mistakenly thought this was the first Reacher book, probably because it's the one that the first Tom Cruise movie was based on.
5. Jack Reacher: Killing Floor -- this one *is* the first Reacher book, and is what the TV series was based on.

Currently working through the next Reacher book (Die Trying) but after that I'm going to switch over to The Last Day by Andrew Hunter Murray (of No Such Thing As A Fish fame)

JBR · **Joined:** 2nd Jun, 2008 **Posts:** 3309

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1. The Midnight Library - Matt Haig
2. Educating Peter - Tom Cox.
3. Carnival of Snackery - David Sedaris.
4. The Children of Dynmouth - William Trevor.
5. The Cactus Eaters: How I Lost My Mind and Almost Found Myself on the Pacific Crest Trail - Dan White.
6. No Less the Devil - Stuart MacBridge.
7. The Foot Soldiers - Gerald Seymour.
8. The Sellout - Paul Beatty.
9. Home Fire - Kamila Shamsie.
10. The Kaiju Preservation Society - John Scalzi.
11. Magnificent Women and Flying Machines - Sally Smith.
12. Lion - Conn Iggulden.
13. I Hate the Internet - Jarett Kobek.
14. Mr Pye - Mervyn Peake.
15. Sidesplitter - Phil Wang.
16. This is True - Miriam Margolyes.
17. La Belle Sauvage: The Book of Dust 1 - Philip Pullman.
18. Gotta Get Theroux This - Louis Theroux.
19. Exciting Times - Naoise Dolan.
20. Tenth of December - George Saunders.
21. The First and Last Men: A Story of the Near and Far Future - Olaf Stapledon.
22. Handsome Brute - Sean O'Connor.
23. Children of Time - Adrian Tchaikovsky.
24. How to Make the World Add Up - Tim Harford.

The Old Man - Thomas Perry. I liked the start of the TV series but thought it lost its way, so figured I'd just read the book for closure. They've made some good changes for the series, keeping the heart of this, but like the Bourne stuff, the book is not as good as the screen, just good material. Still, I enjoyed it and whizzed through it in a day; decent espionage and action bits, poorer in dialogue and human relations (but having seen the TV bit I could just picture Jeff Bridges being more convincing).

Rutherford and Fry's Guide to Absolutely Everything - Rutherford and Fry. Decent explanations of science, for a non-science audience, with the presenter/author's personalities still present.

Squirt · **Joined:** 31st Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 6627

Squirt wrote:

1.) Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway - Jonathan Parshall & Anthony Tully
2.) Father Brown - G.K.Chesterton
3.) The Kean Land - Jack Schaefer
4.) To the Devil - a Daughter! - Dennis Wheatley.
5.) Riddle of the Sands - Erskine Childers.

6.) Tombs of Atuan - Ursula K. Le Guin.
Second of the Earthsea books - I really like these and ploughed through this one in an afternoon. A priestess finds a Wizard going to find a thing in a spooky labyrinth!

Kern · **Posted:** Tue Apr 25, 2023 7:16

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1. The Confidence Men by Margalit Fox
2. Maus by Art Spiegelman
3. The Hunger by Alma Katsu
4. Ask a Historian by Greg Jenner
5. My Name's Not Friday by Jon Walter
6. All That Remains by Sue Black
7. Aftermath by Harald Jähner (tr. S Whiteside)
8. God: an Anatomy by Francesca Stavrakopoulou
9.A Million Years in a Day by Greg Jenner
10.How Westminster Works and Why It Doesn't by Ian Dunt
11. Everybody Wins: Four Decades of the Greatest Board Games Ever Made by James Wallis

12.The Theory of Everything Else by Dan Schreiber
A look at cranky beliefs throughout history, especially those held by Nobel prize winners and others who might be expected to know better. A bit of light fun and weirdness including a glowing raccoon.

MaliA · **Posted:** Tue Apr 25, 2023 9:30

MaliA wrote:

Corruptible - Brian Klaas Why we get the leaders we do, and how it is all our own fault, but there are ways to make it better. It's engaging, readable, and makes one think. There's a few ideas I I have seen elsewhere, but worth the time to go through it. Pair with How To Rig An Election for maximum eye row raising.

Spare - Captain Wales Christ, this is a ride and a half. It's very poorly written, and he comes over like Holden Caulfield without the whimsy. Really picks up in the final third with ALL THE GOSSIP. I ended up feeling some sympathy for him.

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He gets the girl

A Talent for War - Jack McDevit this bloke's uncle dies, and it is Very Mysterious, but his uncle was researching something, so this bloke picks up the trail. It's a good space adventure, and nods towards how we view our own history, it being written by the winners, and the legends that grow around powerful historical figures.

It's well worth the look.

Far From The Light of Heaven - Tade Thompson On a spaceship, travelling through interstellar space, the first officer wakes up from hypersleep to find the ship 's AI wiped, and thirty passengers out of the thousand on board who were also asleep out of their pods and very much dead. Really good locked room mystery.

The Employees - Olga Ravn (translated by Martin Aitkin) this is proper good. This is weirdly proper good. Life on board a spaceship through the employee's eyes. Highly recommended. Absolutely superb.

Cwen - Alice Abinia a book about life in an island where women begin to take over and what follows. It's a lot better than it sounds, and I probably would have been better reading it a lot more carefully.

Artemis - Andy Weir a caper on the moon. Similar in style to the Martian, but isn't as good. Dialogue felt clunky and awkward at times.

Beyond the Burn Line
by Paul J. McAuley

The earth is inhabited by evolved racoons now free from being enslaved by intelligent bears. They are trying to work out what went on.

It's OK, but I didn't massively enjoy it.

Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel

Absolutely loved this. Across three timelines, there's an anomaly witnessed. It's a great read, and lovely.

Recommend this!

Grim... · **Posted:** Tue Apr 25, 2023 9:32

We have people that have a list they strip the details from and people that use spoiler tags and people that do both...

And then we have Mali

JBR · **Joined:** 2nd Jun, 2008 **Posts:** 3309

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1. The Midnight Library - Matt Haig
2. Educating Peter - Tom Cox.
3. Carnival of Snackery - David Sedaris.
4. The Children of Dynmouth - William Trevor.
5. The Cactus Eaters: How I Lost My Mind and Almost Found Myself on the Pacific Crest Trail - Dan White.
6. No Less the Devil - Stuart MacBridge.
7. The Foot Soldiers - Gerald Seymour.
8. The Sellout - Paul Beatty.
9. Home Fire - Kamila Shamsie.
10. The Kaiju Preservation Society - John Scalzi.
11. Magnificent Women and Flying Machines - Sally Smith.
12. Lion - Conn Iggulden.
13. I Hate the Internet - Jarett Kobek.
14. Mr Pye - Mervyn Peake.
15. Sidesplitter - Phil Wang.
16. This is True - Miriam Margolyes.
17. La Belle Sauvage: The Book of Dust 1 - Philip Pullman.
18. Gotta Get Theroux This - Louis Theroux.
19. Exciting Times - Naoise Dolan.
20. Tenth of December - George Saunders.
21. The First and Last Men: A Story of the Near and Far Future - Olaf Stapledon.
22. Handsome Brute - Sean O'Connor.
23. Children of Time - Adrian Tchaikovsky.
24. How to Make the World Add Up - Tim Harford.
25. The Old Man - Thomas Perry.
26. Rutherford and Fry's Guide to Absolutely Everything - Rutherford and Fry.

How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu. Melting ice-caps reveal a deadly virus that spreads, causing death and destruction. The book follows different stories, a scientist at first, a comic with a new job jollying kids along to euthanasia, an exploratory ship. It's almost a series of short stories, except they're cleverly interlinked. It's science fiction, and obviously a pandemic book, but thoughtful, clever, and an exploration of a possible future. The setting is bleak, yet people keep falling in love - and that's never tedious for repetition, just nicely handled. It's under 300 pages but epic in scale. Proper good sci-fi, with satirical and predictive elements, rooted in humanity.

Kern · **Posted:** Sat Apr 29, 2023 17:05

ZOMG Spoiler! Click here to view!

1. The Confidence Men by Margalit Fox
2. Maus by Art Spiegelman
3. The Hunger by Alma Katsu
4. Ask a Historian by Greg Jenner
5. My Name's Not Friday by Jon Walter
6. All That Remains by Sue Black
7. Aftermath by Harald Jähner (tr. S Whiteside)
8. God: an Anatomy by Francesca Stavrakopoulou
9.A Million Years in a Day by Greg Jenner
10.How Westminster Works and Why It Doesn't by Ian Dunt
11. Everybody Wins: Four Decades of the Greatest Board Games Ever Made by James Wallis
12.The Theory of Everything Else by Dan Schreiber

13.A Bit of a Stretch by Chris Atkins

Middle class filmmaker goes to prison; hangs out with other white collar crims; they get all the good jobs.

A bit harsh, but that's how he describes his time at HMP Wandsworth. His descriptions of the petty bureaucracy, the drug abuse, and the mental health problems prisoners face are pretty stark, but he intersperses it with the everyday humour and humanity of prison life.

GazChap · **Posted:** Mon May 01, 2023 11:28

1. Alien, by Alan Dean Foster
2. Aliens, by Alan Dean Foster
3. Alien 3, by (you guessed it) Alan Dean Foster
4. Jack Reacher: One Shot -- I mistakenly thought this was the first Reacher book, probably because it's the one that the first Tom Cruise movie was based on.
5. Jack Reacher: Killing Floor -- this one *is* the first Reacher book, and is what the TV series was based on.
6. Jack Reacher: Die Trying -- wasn't quite as enjoyable as the other two, perhaps because I struggle to form pictures in my head, but still a good read.

Contrary to my last post, I'm now moving on to The Colour of Magic by Pratchett.

Mimi · **Joined:** 27th Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 26230

Jack Reacher: Tie Dyeing is what I read that as. But yeah, probably quite visual. Lots of swirly colours.

GazChap · **Posted:** Tue May 02, 2023 9:49

Mimi wrote:

Jack Reacher: Tie Dyeing is what I read that as. But yeah, probably quite visual. Lots of swirly colours.

Kern · **Posted:** Tue May 09, 2023 19:31

ZOMG Spoiler! Click here to view!

1. The Confidence Men by Margalit Fox
2. Maus by Art Spiegelman
3. The Hunger by Alma Katsu
4. Ask a Historian by Greg Jenner
5. My Name's Not Friday by Jon Walter
6. All That Remains by Sue Black
7. Aftermath by Harald Jähner (tr. S Whiteside)
8. God: an Anatomy by Francesca Stavrakopoulou
9.A Million Years in a Day by Greg Jenner
10.How Westminster Works and Why It Doesn't by Ian Dunt
11. Everybody Wins: Four Decades of the Greatest Board Games Ever Made by James Wallis
12.The Theory of Everything Else by Dan Schreiber
13.A Bit of a Stretch by Chris Atkins

14. Jingo by Terry Pratchett

The Watch get caught up in the complexities of geopolitics. They're always a joy but Pratchett's satire is a bit too obvious and clunky here.

JBR · **Joined:** 2nd Jun, 2008 **Posts:** 3309

ZOMG Spoiler! Click here to view!

1. The Midnight Library - Matt Haig
2. Educating Peter - Tom Cox.
3. Carnival of Snackery - David Sedaris.
4. The Children of Dynmouth - William Trevor.
5. The Cactus Eaters: How I Lost My Mind and Almost Found Myself on the Pacific Crest Trail - Dan White.
6. No Less the Devil - Stuart MacBridge.
7. The Foot Soldiers - Gerald Seymour.
8. The Sellout - Paul Beatty.
9. Home Fire - Kamila Shamsie.
10. The Kaiju Preservation Society - John Scalzi.
11. Magnificent Women and Flying Machines - Sally Smith.
12. Lion - Conn Iggulden.
13. I Hate the Internet - Jarett Kobek.
14. Mr Pye - Mervyn Peake.
15. Sidesplitter - Phil Wang.
16. This is True - Miriam Margolyes.
17. La Belle Sauvage: The Book of Dust 1 - Philip Pullman.
18. Gotta Get Theroux This - Louis Theroux.
19. Exciting Times - Naoise Dolan.
20. Tenth of December - George Saunders.
21. The First and Last Men: A Story of the Near and Far Future - Olaf Stapledon.
22. Handsome Brute - Sean O'Connor.
23. Children of Time - Adrian Tchaikovsky.
24. How to Make the World Add Up - Tim Harford.
25. The Old Man - Thomas Perry.
26. Rutherford and Fry's Guide to Absolutely Everything - Rutherford and Fry.
27. How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu.

Utopia Avenue - David Mitchell. The story of a fictional band in the 60s, the story of the band and its members. Daringly includes encounters with real celebs and musicians which mostly work, at least till some parties later on when there are a few too many, and some very bland bantz. We're not quite in "that's my name, don't wear it out!" territory, but it's close. But the story rocks along, even surviving a very strange chapter or two covering mental illness/magic which is I suppose a hefty nod to 60s psychadelia. The descriptions of gigs, successful and not, are excellent and moving, and the whole is brilliant. It's long, but rolls along happily.

Squirt · **Joined:** 31st Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 6627

Squirt wrote:

1.) Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway - Jonathan Parshall & Anthony Tully
2.) Father Brown - G.K.Chesterton
3.) The Kean Land - Jack Schaefer
4.) To the Devil - a Daughter! - Dennis Wheatley.
5.) Riddle of the Sands - Erskine Childers.
6.) Tombs of Atuan - Ursula K. Le Guin.

7.) South by Java Head - Alistair MacLean
Not bad, but honestly just felt like a string of stuff that happened all in a row, rather than an actual story. All highly improbable and slightly daft.

MaliA · **Posted:** Tue May 16, 2023 8:51