NE has always been worried about the amount of shelf space that my unread books take up. And she has a point, but only up to a point. She thinks that I’ll read all of these books and that in the process they’ll be on that shelf for years. I tend to get new books on my Birthday and Christmas, but used books at all other times. Library booksales are awesome! This week I needed a new book to read and I attempted a few. Here’s a list of the books that I read 30-40 pages of and decided it wasn’t for me:
1. V by Thomas Pynchon – The writing in this was good, but it was listless and lacked direction. I think I’ll give this author a miss.
2. The Sad Tale of The Brothers Grossbart by Jesse Bullington – Didn’t like the “protagonists” in this one. Not only were they evil and brutal, but they were stupid as well.
3. River Of The Gods by Ian MacDonald – Writing here seemed decent again, but something about MacDonald’s writing is too cold and doesn’t engage me. I’ve tried before and he doesn’t grab me. So, another author to steer clear of.
4. Peshawar Lancers by S. M. Stirling – Not what I wanted right now. I’m not ditching it like the others, but it’s a miss for now.
The sad litany of rejected books. But it has cleared shelf space!
In the meantime I finished:
13. History of Modern Britain by Andrew Marr – Excellent primer on what’s happened in the last 55 years. As a Johnny Foreigner I needed to bone up.
Currently reading:
Time traveller’s Guide To Medieval England – Still good, but I’ve been in a fiction mood lately so this has been sidelined for a while.
Last Call by Tim Powers – One of my favourite books of all time. I was a little frightened going back to it after so many years, but it is awesome. So much flavour.
I’m looking for another book to read on audio book. Don’t know right now.