Hello friends!! I have been having a nice reading time here on the couch in my room…sipping tea and reading some Owen. Finished the current chapter and realised I have only one chapter to go – 10 pages more and Owens Vol. III shall be conquered! Milestone, y’all.
Anyways upon finishing that chapter, I also realised that I am quite far behind in logging my reading….I have a pile of books that I’ve read recently that I have not chronicled here. Tragedy. I shan’t take too long to describe my thoughts, but I do want the record to show that I have read the following…
18. The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis. Still making my way through Narnia. And Silver Chair is simply marvelous. It never used to be my favourite(and it still might not be), but each time I read it, I like it more. The adventures of Jill & Eustace & Puddleglum…and their battle against the serpent. So many classic moments.
19. Young Miles by Lois McMaster Bujold. Another Bujold omnibus, so I technically could count this as 3(The Warrior’s Apprentice, The Mountains of Mourning & The Vor Game). But no – I shall count it as one. Anyways, after reading about the magnificent Cordelia, I moved on to the next book in the chronology and finally met the infamous Miles Vorkosigan. This book was a delight…although I must confess, need to take a break from Miles for a bit. Just like the characters in this book, can only take so much Miles at one time!!
20. A World Lost by Wendell Berry. I really cannot describe this one. I forget if I’ve talked about Wendell Berry here, but his books are truly some of my favourites. Harkening back to a simpler time. Describing the beauties of the Kentucky countryside…yet also acknowledging the true hurts and loss that reside in each and every person. Few writers touch my emotions as deeply as Berry does. This book was rather short, but no less beautiful for that.
21. Timescape by Gregory Benford. I don’t really know how to describe this one. It was recommended as one of the classic sci-fi novels, it was a delight when reading…as much as I don’t know if I can unhesitatingly recommend this one. It was a fantastic – yet dark and depressing – novel involving characters from both the ’60s and the ’90s…and this book was written in 1980!! Obviously it was fascinating to read about the author’s predictions for the “far future” 1998!! And it was just as interesting reading about his description of academia in the 1963…which was a time the author has lived in(and I have not!), so I feel as if I learned a lot about that time period. Still, the characters themselves sort of depressed me. Despite the fun time-twisting science bits, the characters cynical and immoral nature…was not the most fun to read about. Alas. So will probably not read this one again.
22. Death’s End by Cixin Liu. Another epic sci-fi novel which I shall probably not read again!! This is the third book in a trilogy by Liu…and as much as I admire Liu’s prose and his grand and sweeping tale of life, the universe and…everything(truly, this book fits that phrase better than most), the book’s worldview(er…universe-view?) was quite depressing. Truly – without God, all is dull and all are lost. And this book reflected that truly. I shall write no more about it now, as it’s making me sad thinking about it.
23. Persian Fire by Tom Holland. Finally a book I can recommend!! This book was simply amazing. Robbie recommended it to me…and yup, I need to read more of his recommendations. It’s a historical narrative about the Greco-Persian Wars of the fifth century BC…and if that doesn’t whet your interest, then you’re hopeless. Seriously though – I do love history, so I guess this is right up my alley, but even so…it was incredibly interesting. The author started by giving the history of the Persian Empire(I had no idea of most of it – reading about their conquests was riveting), then gave the history of the Athens & Sparta city-states…then slowly moved the pieces in place for the beginning of the Greco-Persian Wars. We obviously don’t know all the details(as the author stated upfront – there is much disagreement on the finer points, especially as the primary sources are all on the Greek side…and even those are limited!)…but what we do know make a wondrous account. As much as the history of the battles and political wranglings is incredibly interesting, one of my main takeaways is that all the people involved in this were…actual people. People who laughed, cried, had great passions and emotions…and most definitely were not as noble and/or savage as some of the popular conceptions. And even the great heroes in these wars…they may have had great moments, great battles, great years…but did that mean their lives were set from then on? Not necessarily. Some of the heroes on the Greek side…ended up eventually getting cast out of their cities and years later going and living with the Persian court. From praise and adulation to ostracism…pride indeed proceeds a fall. Anyway – this book was great. Very much recommended. I can’t wait to read Holland’s next book that is currently sitting on my coffee table…Rubicon. Guess what it’s about.
24. Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life by Bryan Lee O’Malley. Alright. I’m not sure if this book technically counts…since it is…sort of a comic book?? But whatever, I shall count it! And I am partly shamed, as I really don’t read comic books!! But when I was in Denver with Robbie and exploring book stores…I saw this and couldn’t help but pick it up. Mostly because I love Edgar Wright’s movie Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. Neither the book nor the movie are always entirely appropriate…so I can’t whole-heartedly recommend this. The characters and dialogue are quite well written though…I do love some classic high school drama!! Also, I now realise why the movie is so good. Pretty much all of its best lines are ripped wholesale from this book!! There are apparently 6 volumes of Scott Pilgrim’s adventures…not quite sure if I’ll pick up all the rest yet. But I did enjoy this one. (What that says of me, I shall let you decide on your own!!)
Right – so that was far too much of me talking about books. I am very relieved that I’ve finally logged all these books though. I can now go back to my current reads – Owen & my Hungarian novel…which you will have to find out about at a later date….because I have written too many words now and I want to go back to my tea…and pondering life and how much my God has blessed me abundantly in all things. He really, really has blessed me oh so much more than I deserve, y’all.
Peace and love.
