@MightyDemon82 Right, seems like those were not the droids I'm looking for, then.
Might still give it a look down the line, but won't prioritise it.
Picked up a physical paperback of Scottish Folk Tales on the ferry from Tarbert to Uig today, so I jumped the gun a little bit Doesn't preclude a stop at Waterstones on Princes Street next week, though
@MightyDemon82 Thanks mate, seems like the rain has been following us around the first week, but that's not anything we're not used to from home and some cranky weather can't take away from the joy of being back here
Birthday party on Skye today, recuperation tomorrow and then we head for the NC500 on Monday.
Don't know if you're a fan of The Expanse? I've just started the brand new book by the authors and it is very promising so far. Will post my thoughts on it when I get home
@MightyDemon82 Thanks, the celebration was magical Whenever someone decides it"s worth it to spend their summer holiday to travel to a different country to celebrate your birthday, it is wonderful. When eight people do it, it is downright humbling. I am a lucky man
Back on topic, did you see the Prime show or are you completely "blank" on the Expanse?
About halfway through The Plague by Camus now, it's proving quite claustrophobic but still an edifying read, anyway, that said about it being claustrophobic, I have just entered into the third section of the book now and things are opening up a bit. Still say I would highly recommend it. Thus far there have been references to philosophical concepts and football sprinkled in with all the nihlistic plot developments!
"(Music is) a purposeless play. This play, however, is an affirmation of life" (paraphrased) - John Cage
@MightyDemon82 Hope you'll enjoy them when you get to them
Just came out of Waterstones and picked up the hardback of Heads Will Roll by Josh Winning, based solely on the title and the cover (yup, I apparently do judge books by their cover )
It's an homage to 80's slashers and the cover screamed 80's VHS cover, so I had to get it. Hope it's readable
Trying to read "Midnight in Chernobyl" by Adam Higgenbotham (the same author as my last read book about the Challenger disaster) but I'm making slow progress. It's seriously upsetting.
Just got home from traipsing all over Scotland, and while there, I managed to finish up two books.
Humankind: A Hopeful History (Goodreads page) by Rutger Bregman was the first. It's a non-fiction that posits the theory that humans are inherently kind and that we are hardwired to help one another and work together for the betterment of all. Absurd, right?
Looking at the world today, I was reticent to read this, fearing it would be a naive, lovey-dovey, kumbayah distorted view of reality, but this was anything but, and it actually made me rethink my view of humanity. The twist here is that there is plenty of evidence that humans are primarily selfless, but that the society we've built skews toward selfishness (that is probably one of the most simplified and reductive descriptions of a book ever, but it should give you a rough idea of what to expect). Very, very interesting and I gave it five stars in my Goodreads review.
Another five star novel was The Mercy of Gods (Goodreads page), the first novel in the brand new series from James S.A. Corey, who wrote The Expanse series. Initially I was hampered a bit by my preconceptions of what this was going to be, but it didn't take long before it had drawn me in and thoroughly hooked me. A fantastic start of the new series.
Moving on from the mercy of gods to The Gods of Guilt (Goodreads page). I'm a few chapters in to this Mickey Haller (The Lincoln Lawyer) novel from Michael Connelly and it's quite strong so far. I may have mentioned this a few times, but Connelly's "Harry Bosch universe" has become comfort food for me at this point
Moved on to The Castle of Crossed Destinies by Italo Calvino. It's a fascinating pretext for an unusual novel. The travellers which comprise the story's narrators tell their tales through the use of tarot cards, as speech has been rendered null and ineffective within the Castle where the action takes place. I really liked the first story in the book, just started the second now.
Edit: I also think comparisons may be drawn with Chaucer. The Miller's Tale, The Knight's Tale, etc.
@FuriousMachine Those all sound like fantastic reads, I will have to get the Expanse read as well. Hope you enjoyed your time here in Scotland.
I should be done with The Wager tonight. great book. I might have to read Killers of the Flower moon now and watch the movie. would be cool to see an adaptation of The Wager or any sea faring movie really, Might look into the books that Master and Commander with Russell Crowe was adapted from!
@MightyDemon82 Scotland was lovely as always and returning home has never been easy. After two weeks on the road, we were predictably tired and ready to go home, but ending with only two days in Edinburgh was a mistake. After only an hour I was ready to stay another two weeks
Have added "The Wager" to my list and "Killers of the Flower Moon" as well. The movie was good, but I don't think it's the Scorcese masterpiece everybody is hailing it as. For that it was too long and plodding for my tastes and I wouldn't rank it among his best. Still worth seeing, though, and the story is interesting, so the read will hopefully be interesting as well.
And thanks for reminding me about "Master and Commander"; need to see that one again soon. I imagine the source material has great potential and if I remember correctly, there are quite a few books in the series (I seem to remember that M&C was intended to launch a huge franchise)
EDIT: Yup, Goodreads shows 20 books in the series... just what my to-read list needs
I just finished Private Moscow by James Patterson and Adam Hamdy, a breezy read was given a pile of Patterson books by someone at work and I enjoyed that first one.
Next up Star Wars NJO: Vector Prime, not really a fan of the brand under Disney, so going to finally read all 20+ books in this series.
@MightyDemon82 Been thinking about getting into the SW novels, but decided to wait until I caught up with Michael Connelly and his Bosch Universe so as to restrict the amount of "infinitely long series" I'm reading to one at a time. Just finished book 26 of 39, so I may catch up some time in 2026
Just finished The Gods of Guilt (Goodreads page), a Mickey Haller (Lincoln Lawyer) novel by Michael Connelly and I think this is his best novel yet. Easily five stars for me, as I reflected in my Goodreads review. I think this could make a great adaptation, so I need to check if the existing (or upcoming) season of the Netflix series is based on this.
Speaking of series, Apple TV+ recently announced they're adapting William Gibson's Neuromancer (Goodreads page), so I decided to push "The Sprawl" trilogy higher on my reading list and it is now next up.
I read "Neuromancer" many years ago, back in my teens, but it was not the novel I expected (turns out Neal Stephenson's "Snow Crash" was the novel I expected from "Neuromancer"), so I came away disappointed. Having absolutely no memory of the novel, I now go in with a blank slate, expectation wise. Hopefully I'll enjoy it this time around
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