What books did you read in 2022?

[Ste Pickford]

#3 Roadside Picnic by The Strugatsky brothers.

 

Finished this a few nights ago, first read on my new Kindle (last one stopped powering up last Feb).  I'd seen the Tarkovsky film a few years back, and was initially surprised by how different the book was.  The zone felt much smaller, and creepier in the book, and as it progressed it felt like a much angrier and more human story than I was expecting.

 

One of the backlog of books I've been buying from the regular kindle book bargain threads over the last year.  Now starting Gormenghast.

 

Not posting the sketch I did because it was terrible.

[RubberJohnny]

Now It Can Be Told - "A book about the Manhattan Project, written by the guy in charge? I bet that'll be interesting" I thought. It is not. It is mostly a dry account of which facilities needed building and how much copper piping they needed and do you know how hard to get that is while there's a war on? They should prescribe it as a cure for insomnia.

 

The Islanders - A short story collection about some strange fantasy islands and people thereon. It's an easy, piecemeal read, but like how Piranesi was just a big SCP Expedition Log, this is just an RPG sourcebook without all the rules, I've seen this sort of worldbuilding by glimpse and omission before!

 

Lords of Finance - This biography of the central bankers in the Great Depression blew up around the time of the last financial crisis, and given it covers the period of Weimer hyperinflation you'd think it'd maybe have some relevance to y'know, current year? It's an interesting, well written and well-researched book, but overall the impression you get is that the international economy was a basket case for decades before the crash, even in peacetime it seemed common for prices and wages to shoot up 30% one year and then down 20% the next, and those were the financially healthy countries. The gold standard worked throughout most of recorded history where you could go through a whole century without much changing, but the industrial revolution changed all that and ushered in exponential growth. By the 1910s decades of this growth were bursting out of the straitjacket of the monetary system in weird ways until enough of the failures happened at once that no one could really keep the status quo going. Despite the book trying to lay the blame at the bankers feet, they seem to have made normal errors for people confronted by something completely unprecedented.

[Jamie John]

4/24: The Walking Dead - Compendium 4, Robert Kirkman

 

 

I can't believe it's finally over 🥲

 

This was predictably excellent, just like the other three compendiums, and the series as a whole is the best comic that I've ever read. I thought the end of 

Spoiler

Negan's

arc was particularly well done, and even if the stuff with the 

Spoiler

Commonwealth

felt a bit too rushed, the final issue made up for it.

 

One of the best pieces of zombie and post-apocalyptic fiction ever.

[Vimster]

02 - Join The Future: Bleep Techno and the Birth of British Bass Music by Matt Anniss

Absolutely superb book charting the rise and fall of "bleep and bass" dance music that came out of Yorkshire in the late 80s. Bonus points for deliberately avoiding the well-worn backstory for acid house and covering clubbing and music production outside London (well, mostly). Great insights into the production of such classics as The Theme by Unique 3 and LFO by LFO. If you have any interest in the early years of Warp Records, early breakbeat, late 80s/early 90s dance music and clubbing generally this is a must read. 

 

Spoiler

01 - Fever Of The Bone by Val McDermid

02 - Join The Future: Bleep Techno and the Birth of British Bass Music by Matt Anniss

 

[Vimster]

03 - And Away by Bob Mortimer

Very entertaining read, Bob comes over as a decent bloke who managed to conquer his shyness and take what was an unexpected career turn. Audio book is read by Bob, it's a little awkward, there are times where it feels like he wants to break away from the text and just talk, and he does dl all the voices you'd expect.

 

Spoiler

01 - Fever Of The Bone by Val McDermid

02 - Join The Future: Bleep Techno and the Birth of British Bass Music by Matt Anniss

03 - And Away by Bob Mortimer

 

[wev]

Cant Stop, Won't Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation - Jeff Chang

 

My hip-hop knowledge isn't amazing, but I knew enough of the names that show up here to be able to piece together everything. It's as much about the politics of America from the 60s to the late 90s, particular decisions affecting the black communities, as it is about the musical creation (because one fed the other).

 

4/5

 

Spoiler

The Fight - Norman Mailer

The Witcher: Time of Contempt - Andrzej Sapkowski

Can't Stop, Won't Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation - Jeff Chang

 

[Miner Willy]

Update for February:

 

10. The Mirror & the Light by Hilary Mantel. I loved this series. Cromwell is such a great character, and brilliantly written. Really powerful ending, perfectly handled.

 

9. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. I loved the character of Atticus, especially seen through the eyes of Scout - it really captures the sense of kids feeling that their parents are full of knowledge and wisdown etc.

 

8. Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss. Can't remember when or why I bought this, but I thought it was pretty good.

 

7. The Cartel by Don Winslow. I don't know about this series. I've enjoyed both books so far (The Power of the Dog was first), but there's little insight that I haven't encountered in the non-fiction that I've read on the drugs cartels, and I struggle with the macho style writing - it feels really forced at times, like it's written by a teenager trying to sound cool. Also, Art Keller the 60-year old DEA agent who fucks everyone up and gets the hot doctor to replace his previous hot wife (pretty much every woman in this series is beautiful). I dunno, maybe it's just me as the series seems to be highly acclaimed, but it just feels a bit trashy, which is at odds with such a horrible/serious topic.

 

Previously:

 

Spoiler

10. The Mirror & the Light

9. To Kill a Mockingbird

8. Ghost Wall

7. The Cartel

6. Bring Up the Bodies

5. The New Climate War

4. Death's End

3. The Children of Men

2. Neuromancer

1. The Sleeping Beauties

 

[Stopharage]

3. Empireland: How Imperialism Has Shaped Modern Britain by Sathnam Sanghera

An insight into how empire has impacted and continues to impact on Britain. There's some truly shocking examples of the barbarism that we turned to during our colonial expansion (firing Indians out of cannons, attaching them to the front of cannons and firing through them etc.) And he talks candidly about his upbringing in Wolverhampton and the racism that was rife during the 60s and 70s. There were also some great insights - 'British Museum Director Neil MacGregor once put it: "What is very remarkable about German history as a whole is that the Germans use their history to think about the future, where the British tend to use their history to comfort themselves."

 

4. The Etymologicon by Mark Forsyth

A book about where our language came from done in an extremely light-hearted and intriguing way. Who knew that avocado came from the Mexican for green testicles?

 

5. The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward

A dark, unsettling and brooding novel where the narrator changes across chapters. One of whom is a cat. It's a horror novel of sorts where the central conceit is about a missing girl, her family, a suspect and the destructive power of relationships. It's not perfect by any means but the shifting narrative works quite well and the denouement was effective. It seems that every novel has to have a twist in it that can be endlessly spoken about in its marketing. The last 1/4 of the book involves some tonal upheaval but these twists are deserved rather than shoe-horned. 

 

6. My Last Supper by Jay Rayner

I've never really paid much attention to Rayner beyond reading the occasional restaurant review and glimpsing him on BBC cookery competitions. He has a bit of the pomposity that someone like Giles bloody Coren has but is eminently more likeable. In this book, he sets out to create his final meal. He seeks out key ingredients and interlaces this with anecdotal and historical tales of his younger years. Up to this point I had no idea his mother was Claire Rayner although I'm not quite sure how I missed this, seems obvious when you know. Anyway, it's interesting read and whilst I'm not enamoured with his final choices, he writes about food with passion. 

 

Now, I'm reading (well, listening) to the audiobook of Shaun Ryder, "How to be a Rock Star". Most of the audiobook sounds like he's about to start on me. It's great stuff. 

Spoiler

1. How to Kill Your Family by Bella Mackie.

2. The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi

3. Empireland: How Imperialism Has Shaped Modern Britain by Sathnam Sanghera

4. The Etymologicon by Mark Forsyth

5. The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward

6. My Last Supper by Jay Rayner

 

[wev]

Saga - Compendium One - Brian K. Vaughan, Fiona Staples.

 

Absolutely loved this, every character has their moment and it feels like no one is safe but not in an exploitative way that A Song of Ice and Fire sometimes feels like.

 

2022s completed reading:

Spoiler

The Fight - Norman Mailer

The Witcher: Time of Contempt - Andrzej Sapkowski

Can't Stop, Won't Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation - Jeff Chang

Saga: Compendium One - Brian K. Vaughan, Fiona Staples

 

[Vimster]

04 - Die Trying by Lee Child - it's the second Jack Reacher novel, you know the rest. Quick, easy and largely enjoyable read.

 

Spoiler

01 - Fever Of The Bone by Val McDermid

02 - Join The Future: Bleep Techno and the Birth of British Bass Music by Matt Anniss

03 - And Away by Bob Mortimer

04 - Die Trying by Lee Child

 

[Vimster]

05 - A Fabulous Creation: How The LP Saved Our Lives by David Hepworth - David Hepworth's definition of the golden age of the album is 1967 (Sargent Pepper) to 1982 (Thriller). In between he mixes nuggets of info, personal recollections and criticism to form a wide-ranging look back at albums, the physical part, the musical part, and the impact on our lives. After 1982 he spends a fair old while bashing the CD and downloads, but then I guess these were after his time.

 

06 - Energy Flash: A Journey Through Rave Music and Dance Culture by Simon Reynolds - I started this book back in the mists of time and would read a chapter every now and then, I'm finally done with it. An 800+ page behemoth of a book that tries, and sadly fails, to cover all the weird and wonderful genres of dance music, from gabber to psy trance, from darkside jungle to 2-step garage. It starts off strong with a solid history of Detroit and Chicago house, goes into UK acid house and rave, but with each chapter loses its focus, some are informative, others just seem to be verbose descriptions of the music. It's a shame this couldn't match the peerless Rip It Up And Start Again, his book about post-punk.

 

Spoiler

01 - Fever Of The Bone by Val McDermid

02 - Join The Future: Bleep Techno and the Birth of British Bass Music by Matt Anniss

03 - And Away by Bob Mortimer

04 - Die Trying by Lee Child

05 - A Fabulous Creation: How The LP Saved Our Lives by David Hepworth

06 - Energy Flash: A Journey Through Rave Music and Dance Culture by Simon Reynolds

 

[smac]

On 11/02/2022 at 12:58, Ste Pickford said:#3 Roadside Picnic by The Strugatsky brothers.

 

Finished this a few nights ago, first read on my new Kindle (last one stopped powering up last Feb).  I'd seen the Tarkovsky film a few years back, and was initially surprised by how different the book was.  The zone felt much smaller, and creepier in the book, and as it progressed it felt like a much angrier and more human story than I was expecting.

 

Yeah, the film shows so many different scenes, the Zone seems massive. The book makes it sound compact and twisted - the Stalkers having to double-back and retrace their steps to avoid disaster.

[Alexlotl]

Recent geopolitical events have me not wanting to look at the internet so much, meaning I've picked up my Kindle again. I've struggled to find time to read since having kids, but maybe I've just been reading crap online instead?

 

01 - Piranesi by Susannah Clarke - I thoroughly enjoyed this. I loved Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, but this really feels like a novel by a totally different author, and not in a bad way. It doesn't quite strike the right balance between explaining things and not explaining things - it probably has slightly too much of the former, in certain key passages, which draws attention to the lack of the latter in other places - but it gripped me throughout and had such a haunting, lingering sense of place that it took me a few days to shake off.

 

Next up - The Peripheral by William Gibson, which I picked up on release but couldn't quite face reading due to... other geopolitical events.

[Peter St John]

1982: From One Extreme To Another — Eddie McKenzie

 

A rather aggravating read - full of typos, odd historical inaccuracies, and despite the author wearing their left credentials on their sleeves with (rightly) attacking the Tories, multiple completely superfluous attacks on Corbyn and Seamus Milne. Yet I kept at it because the deconstruction of the British sounds of 1982 was great. Slightly marred by online events where Kevin Rowland edges closer to full-on anti-vaxx with every passing week.

 

The Anniversary of Never — Joel Lane

 

Not as good as the collections that Influx Press have, but I couldn't turn down more creepy urban horror in Brum…

 

Machine Mandate Series — Benjanun Sriduangkaew

 

Imagine Gibson and Banks tossed in a blender and told from a non-Western, non-cis het perspective. Genderfluid sex abounds in a grimdark future where AIs have become sentient and slinked off to form their own political union inside a Dyson Sphere. There's a polyamorous Admiral with a vast mercenary fleet that literally takes apart one of her lovers like a doll, a scheming AI that tries to manipulate everybody, hilarious pot-shots at the US, eigenvector trousers, and more besides. There's five books in the series, plus a prequel novel that, while it doesn't seem to connect that much with the main series so far, is a great exploration on authoritarian utopias and the place of refugees. I've breezed through them all in under two weeks and they're a lot of fun.

 

Icebergs, Zombies, and the Ultra-Thin: Architecture and Capitalism in the 21st Century — Matthew Soules

 

I think my problem here is that I'm too used to architecture books by people like Owen Hatherley and Douglas Murphy, who are both informative, polemic, and archly funny. This, sadly, didn't really tell me much I didn't already know, and reads like a dull thesis. (but this will never not be funny: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/03/realestate/luxury-high-rise-432-park.html)

[lolly]

6. The Stone Sky. Broken Earth trilogy  #3 N.K Jemisin

 

Concluding part of a trilogy, didn't enjoy it as much as the preceding books , series of diminishing returns for me. Good that it wasn't a white , 30 something male as the protagonist.

 

7. The Unfettered Mind- Writings of a Zen master to a Master Swordsman- Takuan Soho

Although it does not mindfully keep guard

in the small mountain fields

the scarecrow

does not stand in vain.

 

Dunno, I thought that was poignant and beautiful and there's quite a bit of that, certainly in the 1st essay - only 100 or so pages long

 

8. The Count of Monte Cristo,  Alexandre Dumb-ass

 

Shawshank Redemption  joke aside , Dumas needed a fucking editor. Edit - I read on goodreads that he was paid by the word so ,if true, brevity might not have been his primary concern.I've been reading this on and off for 15 years and finally finished it yesterday  after starting it,getting to page 650 or so, putting it down, restarting it  a few years later , getting to page 750 , leaving it for a few years and finishing it off over the last 3 weeks. It's 2 parts fantastic - beginning and end, and 1 part interesting but a bit of a slog  which is why I stopped each time.  Dumas never says anything in 10 words that can be said in 20. Despite me being a moany fucker , it's a fantastic read and a classic for a reason.

 

 

Previously.

 

Spoiler

1.A Fortunate Life- AB Facey

2. Levithan Wakes-  James SA Corey

3. Calibans War- James SA Corey

4. Abaddons gate - James SA Corey

5. A small Corner of Hell, Dispatches From Chechnya" by Anna Politkovskaya 

 

[Jamie John]

5/24: The Girl Who Played With Fire, Stieg Larsson

 

 

This was ok. I bought it for 99p after reading the first one. It's not as tight as the original and has an overlong prologue which feels like it could have been omitted, but once it gets going it's hard to put down. Ultimately a bit forgettable. I'm not sure I care enough about the characters to bother with the third in the trilogy, particularly as that one is even longer than this one.

[Miner Willy]

Update from March:

 

16. The Brave Athlete by Simon Marshall & Lesley Paterson

A sort of self help book for athletes. I’m no athlete, but I do play tennis competitively and am interested in sports psychology. I didn’t find this particularly insightful as I've already read up on some of the psychology they reference, and just found the authors' writing style really annoying. They're nowhere near as amusing as they seem to think they are, and on Audible they read it themselves (which I rarely think works, unless your name is Jon Ronson) which added to my issues here.

 

15. Ball Lightning by Cixin Liu

I didn’t love this. It has the same flaws as the Three Body Problem books (namely, characters and dialogue), but without that series’ mindblowingly brilliant concepts. I was surprised to learn this was written after TBP – it felt like a much less impressive piece of work.

 

14. Sandworm: A New Era of Cyberwarfare by Andy Greenberg

Fascinating and scary discussion of a topic I knew little about. Also interesting to read this at the moment, as much of the story relates to Russian aggression towards Ukraine.

 

13. The Chysalids by John Wyndham

Really enjoyable story with an unexpected but cohesive explanation/payoff. Makes me feel I should revisit Day of the Triffids.

 

12. The Border by Don Winslow

Still don't think I like these books as much as others do, but I did think this was the best of the trilogy. It did a good job of outlining the connection between the drugs cartels and US business & politics and I didn’t find the writing quite as annoyingly try hard macho as the others.

 

11. Inverted World by Christopher Priest

Loved the world and set-up on this, but the reveal felt rushed and a bit disappointing. It slightly diminished the overall experience for me.

 

Spoiler

16. The Brave Athlete

15. Ball Lightning

14. Sandworm: A New Era of Cyberwarfare

13. The Chysalids

12. The Border

11. Inverted World

10. The Mirror & the Light

9. To Kill a Mockingbird

8. Ghost Wall

7. The Cartel

6. Bring Up the Bodies

5. The New Climate War

4. Death's End

3. The Children of Men

2. Neuromancer

1. The Sleeping Beauties

 

[wev]

The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring - JRR Tolkien

 

Had always assumed that this was a difficult read, but it really wasn't, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

 

Berzerk vol 4 - Kentaro Miura

 

Still enjoying these, taking my time with them, artwork is obviously very much 80s and it can be a little difficult to follow the action sometimes, but it's still good.

 

The Only Good Indians - Stephen Graham Jones

 

Again, really enjoyed this, it's supposed to be a horror story about a group of young Blackfeet who slaughter some elk that weren't supposed to hunt, but aside from feeling really gory, it didn't feel scary, even so, I read it in four days as it really got it's hooks in.

 

so far in 2022:

 

Spoiler

The Fight - Norman Mailer

The Witcher: Time of Contempt - Andrzej Sapkowski

Can't Stop, Won't Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation - Jeff Chang

Saga: Compendium One - Brian K. Vaughan, Fiona Staples

The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring - JRR Tolkien

Berzerk vol. 4 - Kentaro Miura

The Only Good Indians - Stephen Graham Jones

 

 

[Boothjan]

Spoiler

1. Emperor: The Death of Kings by Conn Iggulden - 8/10

2. Back From The Brink by Paul McGrath - 9.5/10

 

3. Nemesis Games by James S A Corey

 

Book 5 of The Expanse and I genuinely think the series has improved with every instalment so far.  Structurally, this feels different to the previous books too, as it doesn't build up to an almighty finale, with the *BIG* event this time occurring in the first 1/3.

 

But I loved it - the character development is way better. we find out a lot more about the supporting cast, all of which is welcome and interesting.

 

It also sets up the next chapters very well.  Got a few books from my backlog to get through before I can start it - I hope they're as good as this one.

 

9/10

[RubberJohnny]

Ringworld - I've tried to read a lot of these classic scifi writers like Clarke and I kind of bounce off them, yeah they invented a lot of the tropes,  but the prose is so basic, the characters are made of cardboard, the whole thing comes off as written for kids if they weren't all so horny and filled with 1970s sexual politics.

 

Roadside Picnic - Whereas this is more like it, there's an actual voice here to the characters, a style to the prose, and yet it's still so packed with ideas that feel fresh that it feels like it could have come out this year. And it immediately sets itself apart from everything else with the focus on tragic characters who are basically chancers going in and stripping the copper from old buildings rather than the usual genius scientists and hotshot adventurers.

[ZOK]

I don’t think it’s an issue of the classic SF writers - I read plenty, and I love them. But Ringworld has always seemed completely undigestible to me for some reason, and by comparison Roadside Picnic is all flavour.

[wev]

Playing the Bass With Three Left Hands - Will Carruthers

 

I really, really enjoyed this. Not a huge fan of Spacemen 3 or Spiritualised, though I do like some of their music and whilst this is about Wills time in both, and is about the break up of the former and formation of the latter, it's also about much, much more than that. In parts it's sad and depressing but has genuine laugh out loud moments, there's one bit involving a Scottish guitar tech that had me laughing so hard I had to put the book down before continuing.

 

2022:

 

Spoiler

The Fight - Norman Mailer

The Witcher: Time of Contempt - Andrzej Sapkowski

Can't Stop, Won't Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation - Jeff Chang

Saga: Compendium One - Brian K. Vaughan, Fiona Staples

The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring - JRR Tolkien

Berzerk vol. 4 - Kentaro Miura

The Only Good Indians - Stephen Graham Jones

Playing The Bass With Three Left Hands - Will Carruthers

 

[Vimster]

07 - Who Owns England by Guy Shrubsole

Interesting but frankly depressing book going into great detail about land, who owns it, how hard they're trying to stop you finding out about it. Touches on property on that land too. Came out during the Theresa May government by the looks of it but nothing much has changed. 

 

Spoiler

01 - Fever Of The Bone by Val McDermid

02 - Join The Future: Bleep Techno and the Birth of British Bass Music by Matt Anniss

03 - And Away by Bob Mortimer

04 - Die Trying by Lee Child

05 - A Fabulous Creation: How The LP Saved Our Lives by David Hepworth

06 - Energy Flash: A Journey Through Rave Music and Dance Culture by Simon Reynolds

07 - Who Owns England by Guy Shrubsole

 

[little che]

Sea of Tranquility by Emily St John Mandel.

As you'd expect from the author of Station eleven and The Glass hotel , this is a beautifully written and compelling novel about a time anomaly and how it impacts upon people's lives over a five hundred year period. It also connects to her last book the glass hotel , taking a tiny moment in that book and making it the central premise of this. I love her writing and o flew through this in two days.

Also, as per the  what are you reading now thread ..finished The Book of Sand by Theo Clare (Mo Hayder ) which is thoroughly enjoyable fantasy style novel that reminded me in some way of The Talisman by Stephen King and Peter Straub. 

I can say if you're after two new excellent reads that both of the above are well worthy of your time.

[wev]

Master and Apprentice: Star Wars - Claudia Grey

 

Not read a Star Wars novel since I read the Yuuzhan Vong books about 15 years ago, well, apart from a few comics. Really enjoyed this one, I always liked Qui Gon Jinn in Episode 1 so to get to know more about him was greatly appreciated.

 

To Be Taught, If Fortunate - Becky Chambers

 

I've read and loved the first 3 of Becky Chambers' Wayfarer series, this one was unrelated to those and it had all the usual tropes of her work but it kind of fell flat. It was perfectly readable, but she normally has a way of getting you really emotionally attached to her characters, and she is very much a character writer, her books are less about the events within and more about relationships, and there was some of that here but no one had any real faults and it dehumanised them.

 

Spoiler

The Fight - Norman Mailer

The Witcher: Time of Contempt - Andrzej Sapkowski

Can't Stop, Won't Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation - Jeff Chang

Saga: Compendium One - Brian K. Vaughan, Fiona Staples

The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring - JRR Tolkien

Berzerk vol. 4 - Kentaro Miura

The Only Good Indians - Stephen Graham Jones

Playing The Bass With Three Left Hands - Will Carruthers

Master and Apprentice: Star Wars - Claudia Grey

To Be Taught, If Fortunate - Becky Chambers

 

[Boothjan]

Spoiler

1. Emperor: The Death of Kings by Conn Iggulden - 8/10

2. Back From The Brink by Paul McGrath - 9.5/10

3. Nemesis Games by James S A Corey - 9/10

 

4. Love as Always, Mum by Mae West

 

Ever read something and wondered why the fuck you did so?  This book by Fred and Rose West's daughter, Mae is one of those.  This is really harrowing - a detailed account of life growing up with 2 evil, depraved people as parents.  It's honest, it's brave and it's well written but in all honestly I didn't enjoy reading it and I can't explain why I started it in the first place.

 

Not going to score it - had to move on to something more upbeat as quickly as I could!

 

5. I, Partridge by Alan Partridge

 

This is absolutely tremendous.  I really need to get hold on the audiobook read by Coogan himself because I think it would add even more to it.

 

Some quite genius moments in here - in particular the passage about the birth of his son.

 

Alan has even included a playlist with footnotes instructing when to start each track.  And yes, Spotify being Spotify, someone has actually gone to the trouble of creating this playlist in order.

 

Loved it.

 

9/10

[Vimster]

1 hour ago, Boothjan said:

  Reveal hidden contents

1. Emperor: The Death of Kings by Conn Iggulden - 8/10

2. Back From The Brink by Paul McGrath - 9.5/10

3. Nemesis Games by James S A Corey - 9/10

 

 

5. I, Partridge by Alan Partridge

 

This is absolutely tremendous.  I really need to get hold on the audiobook read by Coogan himself because I think it would add even more to it.

 

Some quite genius moments in here - in particular the passage about the birth of his son.

 

Alan has even included a playlist with footnotes instructing when to start each track.  And yes, Spotify being Spotify, someone has actually gone to the trouble of creating this playlist in order.

 

Loved it.

 

9/10

It's a hugely entertaining book. The follow-up, Nomad, is equally good, if not funnier. 

[Miner Willy]

21. Northern Lights by Philip Pullman. Decided it was time to read the Dust books, but realised I couldn't remember very much at all about the original trilogy. Very much enjoying it all over again.

 

20. Notes from the Burning Age by Claire North. This was OK, but I didn't think it was as nearly interesting as Harry August.

 

19. Spike: The Virus vs. the People by Jeremy Farrar. Predictably depressing and frustrating, but I did 'enjoy' the excoriating account of the Government's response to Covid.

 

18. The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander. Bleak but impressive account the history and current state of mass incarceration in America.

 

17. Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe. Amazing book about the Sackler family who were responsible for - and profited hugely from - the opioid crisis. Astonishing how devoid of humanity they were.

 

Previously:

 

Spoiler

21. Northern Lights

20. Notes from the Burning Age

19. Spike

18. The New Jim Crow

17. Empire of Pain

16. The Brave Athlete

15. Ball Lightning

14. Sandworm: A New Era of Cyberwarfare

13. The Chysalids

12. The Border

11. Inverted World

10. The Mirror & the Light

9. To Kill a Mockingbird

8. Ghost Wall

7. The Cartel

6. Bring Up the Bodies

5. The New Climate War

4. Death's End

3. The Children of Men

2. Neuromancer

1. The Sleeping Beauties

 

[ZOK]

On 03/05/2022 at 11:50, Vimster said:

It's a hugely entertaining book. The follow-up, Nomad, is equally good, if not funnier. 

It’s nowhere near as good, and definitely not funnier!

[the_debaser]

Read Fahrenheit 451, been meaning to for ages as it’s widely considered a stone cold classic.
 

Wish I hadn’t bothered as it is absolute shit.