What are you reading? Options

[Decrepit]

At 1535 this afternoon, Saturday 16 Oct 2021, I concluded an initial read of The Long War, book 2, Marathon by Christian Cameron. As the title more than implies, this entry culminates in the famous battle of Marathon during the Ionian Revolt. I like it every bit as much as book one. Like Cornwell, Cameron is masterful at depicting the art and chaos of ancient battle.

After complaining about the Paperwhite's tendency to exit a book at the end of its final chapter, without giving me a chance to read, or at least skim over, afterwords, appendix, credits and so on, it let me read to Marathon's final printed page without hindrance. The irony is that Marathon simply copies Killer of Men's afterword and credits verbatim. Not one word is difference.

Much as I like Marathon, I plan to take a break from the series and tackle an unrelated title from my initial read TBR pile.

This post has been edited by Decrepit: Oct 16 2021, 11:57 PM

[Decrepit]

At 2127 yesterday evening, I concluded an initial read of T. Kingfisher's Saints of Steel, book one: Paladin's Grace. It's lightweight fluff, pure and simple, a romance novel (in the modern sense) with fantasy trappings. In its favor, the author describes it as exactly that in her afterward, and those fantasy trappings added enough interest to keep me going while reading a genre I have no real sympathy with. It was an okay read. I'm glad to have read it, but can either neither recommend nor condemn it. Would/will I read further in the series? Maybe, if individual volumes drop to $0.99-1.99.

After a few false starts, I decided to read the non-fiction Vlad the Impaler, A Life from Beginning to End, a free Kindle title. It's a shorty. Beginning right after lunch, I should have been able to finish it by day's end. But I nodded off so frequently I doubt I made it past 10 screen advances before throwing in the towel minutes ago. I've no idea why I'm so sleepy. Back before I was put on CPAP, being groggy during the day was a too common occurrence. Nowadays, it's a rarity. Well, I still get groggy. But nowhere near as groggy as I used to. I shouldn't be nodding off every few minutes. Hopefully this will clear before next reading session.

This post has been edited by Decrepit: Oct 20 2021, 10:07 PM

[Decrepit]

At 1347 this afternoon, 23 Oct 2021, I concluded an initial read of Ellie Midwood's The Violinist of Auschwitz. Based on the true story of violinist Alma Rose, chronicling her stay in the death camp, it looks to be one of a number of like-themed books by Ms Midwood. There is at least one further book on Rose, which was made into a movie. According to Midwood, its author's credibility is highly suspect, and contested by other survivors of the Auschwitz female orchestra, which Rose directed. Be that as it may, I found it quite gripping, if at times understandably unsettling. At its Kindle price of $1.99 (as of late Oct 2021), it's a very strong recommendation. (Admittedly, Rose being a musician, I'm possibly more susceptible to being drawn into her story than might otherwise be the case. But still . . .)

This post has been edited by Decrepit: Oct 23 2021, 08:35 PM

[Decrepit]

At 0204 this morning, 28 Oct 2021, I concluded an initial read of Raymond Feist's The Firemane Saga: Queen of Storms. I enjoyed as much as I did the series' opener, King of Ashes. This might be the first time I'm ahead of Feist's publication schedule, as book three, whatever its title, is not yet available. It's my first conventional paper print read in a while. Thankfully, it's a mass-market paperback edition, so I had no difficultly holding it while lying on the sofa.

Finishing it when I did, I've not yet settled on what to read next.

[Decrepit]

I found myself in Urgent Care this morning, for reasons best divulged elsewhere, if at all. I decided to carry my Kindle with me, for its first public outing, to combat potential lengthy wait times. In preparation, I charged it to full during breakfast. So far, so good.

I was right about waits. Kindle wise, it didn't go well. Once seated in the clinic's waiting lobby, I retrieved it from my new jacket's ample inner pocket and pressed WAKE . . . to be greeted by a totally jumbled screen. None of the pitifully few tricks I tried to unscramble it worked. In the end, I did without. A shame, as I had a super long wait for X-ray results.

My first thought was that I'd somehow damaged the Kindle during transport, despite it being housed in a protective case. My second thought was that maybe something at the clinic was interfering with the Kindle. This second idea gained added credibility upon realizing that I had forgotten to reengage 'Airplane Mode' (disabling Wi-Fi) after downloading Beethoven: Anguish & Triumph immediately after this morning's recharge.

Whether my second thought was indeed correct or not, the Kindle woke to a perfectly normal screen once home. All is now right with the world, except for the great many things that are not.

[Acadian]

Decrepit, I hope both you and Kindle remain healthy, requiring no more urgent care visits.

My recreational reading of published books (as opposed to the several fanfic stories I happily follow here) is limited to when I'm away from home for errands, where waiting may occur. Or traveling. My go-to for that is actual books due to their rock solid reliability. Before losing Acadian Sr to age, my semiannual pilgrimages to visit him routinely included spending the night at the airport to simplify making an early flight home. Got a lot of book reading done and it worked very well. Highlights of that time included the entire Earth's Children collection of massive novels by Jean M. Auel and the imposing (in length) 'The Deed of Paksenarrion' by Elisabeth Moon.

[Decrepit]

At 1857 this evening, 1 November 2021, I concluded an initial read of Christian Cameron's Poseidon's Spear, book three of his The Long War series. This book is something of a departure from the first two books in that it contains no 'major' military battle, though there are any number of minor engagements. It comes across as something of a "Continued Adventures of XXXXXX". Which seems to have been the author's intent. In the afterword, he states that he needed to fill the 10-year period between Marathon and Thermopylae/Artemisium, and that his inspiration here was Homer's Odyssey rather than the Iliad. I continue to recommend this series to those who enjoy Bernard Cornwell's Saxon Tales series, or historical / military fiction in general.

This post has been edited by Decrepit: Nov 2 2021, 01:20 AM

[Decrepit]

I'm about 60% into an initial read of Bram Stoker's Dracula. Can't recall whether I downloaded it from Project Gutenberg or Amazon. It was free in any case. Took a while to get into, but I'm enjoying it. One thing for certain. Van Helsing is a great windbag. Boy does he go on and on. And on. And on. Yet at the same time he's often secretive when he ought not to be.

Something I hadn't and couldn't have thought about until reading the book: One of the thing's that make's Bela Lugosi's portrayal of the Count enjoyable is his thick accent. Yet early on in the book we learn that Dracula has worked to perfect his British speaking skills to the point that Jonathon (the agent sent to Transylvania to finalize the Count's British residence acquisition) states that he sounds very like a normal Englishman. (That Lugosi's accent is incorrect doesn't make me enjoy it less (or more).)

This post has been edited by Decrepit: Nov 5 2021, 11:02 PM

[SubRosa]

I read Dracula a few years ago. I enjoyed it over all, though the epistolary nature made it hard for me to warm up to it at first. I did find that it started to drag near the end. It might have just been reading fatigue on my part, but I think Stoker sort of padded it out to make the book longer for some reason. Van Helsing's wind-bagginess is one example. Why use 10 words when you can use 100? I came away thinking the book could have been a 100 pages shorter without losing anything.

[Decrepit]

Looking around Amazon earlier today, I chanced on The Lost Years, book 1, Quest for Avalon by Richard Monaco. I thought I'd read all Monaco's Parsifal books. This one isn't in my Monaco stack. Indications are that it was written after the standard Parsifal series. (Info on Monaco is hard to come by, it seems.) Being a fan of the series despite considering it occasionally uneven, I ordered it as a Kindle e-book.

Early this afternoon a found what seems a very well done dramatized reading of Orwell's 1984 on YouTube! I'm not very far in, but like it a lot:

(link) 1984 complete dramatized Audiobook (link)

[Decrepit]

At 1343 this afternoon, 07 Nov 2021, I concluded an initial read of Bram Stoker's Dracula. Other than those times that the book's protagonists seem too clueless and/or wrongheaded to be believed, I quite enjoyed it. I've seen a decent number of Dracula / vampire movies, though none make this century. I at first worried that this might spoil the book for me. Thankfully this was not the case.

[Decrepit]

At 0908 this morning I concluded an initial read of Richard Monaco's Parsival: The Lost Years, part 1 - The Quest for Avalon. Having read what I assumed to be all of Monaco's Parsival books in the past, I was pleasantly surprised to find this one on Amazon. It is indeed a late addition, published 2012. Those who enjoy the early books, I do, will find much to please here. Admitted, it can be a bit hard to follow at times, but that's par for the course. There are some text errors in the Kindle edition, but not enough to lessen the fun. For Monaco admirers, this is an easy recommendation. For those unfamiliar with the series, be aware that it is . . . likely different from what you're used to, and might not satisfy all tastes. In any case, the book to start with is Parsival, or a Knight's Tale, which as of mid-Nov 2021 is dirt cheap on Kindle.

[Decrepit]

In about as far a departure from my previous read as one could imagine (while staying within the confines of fantasy), at 1500 this afternoon I concluded an initial read of L. Frank Baum's The Marvelous Land of Oz, book two in his Oz series. Mine is a Kindle edition which includes the many illustrations drawn by John R. Neill in collaboration with Baum. This is my first literary exposure to Oz. I find this particular volume charming in all aspects. A fun, quick read. I will most definitely consider continuing the series.

[Decrepit]

At 2008 yesterday evening, 17 Nov 2021, I concluded an initial read of L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, book 1 in his Oz series. As with The Marvelous Land of Oz (book 2), mine is a Kindle e-book edition, including the many illustrations created for the book's initial release. For this first volume, those illustrations are supplied by W.W. Denslow, rather than John R. Neill, who created illustrations for the remainder of the series. At the moment I favor book 2, but book 1 ain't bad at all. It doesn't help that book 1 must compete with the 1939 movie, an acknowledged cinematic masterpiece. Thankfully, movie and book differ enough, in ways big and small, to make each a rewarding experience.

I'll likely continue the series, but am now reading another Christian Cameron novel.

ADDENDUM:
Almost forgot to mention that I now own (for free) the complete works of Shakespeare on my Paperwhite. I've no great burning desire to begin reading them any time soon, but ya never know. Before you don't ask, so far as I recall I've read a grand total of one Shakespeare play in my life, back in my school days. I sometimes think I read an additional play at some point, but suspect that might be wishful thinking. Or confusing reading with having consumed a play by other means. (I've certainly experienced my share of Shakespeare via music, cinema, TV, home video, YouTube and in one case attending a live production (MacBeth).)

This post has been edited by Decrepit: Nov 18 2021, 02:37 PM

[Decrepit]

Just finished returning my e-book of Wonderful Wizard of Oz, after finding that it's still within Amazon's refund window. Why? I've discovered that the company that publishes that edition lets us buy all 14 Baum Oz books as a bundle for a super low price, a little less than what it costs to buy three books separately. I'll wait until after Amazon deletes my current copy of WWoO off my Paperwhite before buying the bundle, to avoid possible confusion.

[Decrepit]

At 1506 this afternoon, 23 Nov 2021, I concluded an initial read of The Ill-Made Knight, book one of Christian Cameron's Chivalry series. Mr Cameron continues to impress, this time with a historical/military novel set during the Hundred Years War. Like the Classical Greece period series of his I'm reading, this one is well researched and contains numerous well-depicted group and individual combats. As before, I see a strong similarity between Cameron and Bernard Cornwell. I'm glad to have them both.

I don't currently own any further volumes in this series, so plan to resume L. Frank Baum's Oz series where I left off . . . book 3: Ozma of Oz (with its original illustrations).

[Decrepit]

At 1318 this afternoon, Thanksgiving Day, 25 Nov 2018, I finished an initial read of L. Frank Baum's Ozma of Oz. Mine is a Kindle e-book that includes the original John R. Neill illustrations. The book's introduction states that Ozma set the tone for the remainder of the series. For me, that's a bit disappointing. While I like Ozma, I prefer both books one and especially two.

I also bought three more Kindle e-books, all inexpensive. One is a continuation of a Christian Cameron historical/military fiction series I'm invested in. The others form a two-book modern telling of Faust. (Modern meaning recently written, as opposed to the story being transplanted to modern day.)

[Decrepit]

At 2044 yesterday evening, 27 Nov 2021, I concluded an initial read of L. Frank Baum's Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz, book 4 in his Oz series. As with previous Oz reads, mine includes the original art work of John R. Neill. In this particular book, much of the art is in color, which is seen only in black and white (grayscale) on my Paperwhite. It is also, for me, less interesting than the prior three books, more purely a children's adventure story. As of now, I rake the four as follows, most to least interesting:

...Book 2: The Marvelous Land of Oz
...Book 1: The Wizard of Oz
...Book 3: Ozma of Oz
...Book 4: Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz

It's interesting that, during the era in which these books were written, Baum never felt a need to question the reality of the various "fairy lands" his protagonists visit. They are all part of our earth, reachable by mundane, or semi mundane, means. The movies I've seen (Wizard of Oz, Return to Oz), being created in more advanced times, needed to tack on 'is it real or imagination?' subtexts. (I watched The Wiz long ago, but recall almost nothing of it other than that I wasn't impressed.)

This post has been edited by Decrepit: Nov 28 2021, 12:59 PM

[Decrepit]

At 0934 this morning, 1 Dec 2021, I concluded in initial read of L. Frank Baum's 1909 The Road to Oz, book five in his Oz series. As with most other Oz books I've read, this one includes John R. Neill's original drawings. This entry seems targeted specifically to younger children more so than previous entries. The story consists solely of a group of guests traveling to Ozma's birthday party (the bulk of the novel), the party itself (relatively short) and returning home (very brief). I enjoyed it, but admit having to force myself to not skim-read on occasion. I still consider books 1 & 2 the pick of the litter.

[Decrepit]

At 1319 this afternoon, 03 Dec 2021, I concluded an initial read of L. Frank Baum's The Emerald City of Oz, book six of his Oz series. As with previous entries from two on, my e-book includes John R. Neill's original artwork. I find it a marked improvement over book five, my least favorite thus far. Intended as the series final book, it is written as such, its ending providing convincing closure, had Baum stuck to his guns. He of course didn't.