Just finished Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson. Really enjoyed it – I started The System of the World a few years ago and didn’t get on with it at all, but I was pleasantly surprised by how readable this was. Funny too. Debating whether to try Quicksilver now, may make more sense starting at no. 1 in the trilogy.

Also been re-reading The Shining after my eldest started his Stephen King phase recently. Forgot how much back story didn’t make it into the film, in many ways I think the film is better.

About halfway through Al Robertson’s Waking Hell, the followup to Crashing Heaven which I really liked. It’s pretty terrible. In fact it’s kind of Peter F Hamilton After He Got Uneditable terrible. It’s pretty hard to believe it’s the same author, even recurring characters are written so differently. I’ll finish it but I’m kind of glad the next part in the series seems like it might just never come out.

SO because of that I’m also reading Regeneration by Pat Barker, a novel based on Siegfriend Sassoon and Wilfred Owen’s time at Craiglockhart war hospital. Always a bit squicky, this sort of fictionalised history, and I can’t really equate the Sassoon in the novel with the absolute ball of rage that he clearly was at the time, but that aside it’s really good, and is telling a horrible history in an accessible way.

I live near where Pat Barker grew up.My mate lives on the same street(Union Street,M,bro.

@johnners thanks I haven’t heard of that but will check it out.
I have a 90s academic book about it MOP somewhere.

Just finished Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson. Really enjoyed it – ……………… Debating whether to try Quicksilver now, may make more sense starting at no. 1 in the trilogy.

I really enjoyed Cryptonomicon so bought Quicksilver soon after. I’d never accuse Stephenson of being a bad writer but he desperately needs a good editor, especially in Quicksilver. The book is full of really lovely but extremely long scene-setting descriptions, where Stephenson almost revels in how clever he is in bringing London back to life. I stopped reading it after enduring a long section – I’m thinking 17 pages long, but it was a while ago – describing a carriage journey through London.

Where nothing happened.

I got through it with very little patience left, only to have the main character describe the long journey, in length, to another character. I think I was several hundred pages in and nothing of note had happened except somebody had exploded, which was barely mentioned in among the florid scenery descriptions. I haven’t read anything by NS since.

https://flic.kr/p/2gvHwuK

The Thomas Hardy approach to creative writing. I remember doing lit at school and a entire double lesson passing while a field and a tree were meticulously described 😉

Coincidentally @northwind, I was looking at my copy The Reality Dysfunction when I read your post. Started in on hols 15 years ago, never finished it. It’s now been further relegated in the reading order.

@IdleJohn I think I did the same thing with Quicksilver as well.

I took a step back into time when I found my old Nook eReader thing and realised I had “Executive Orders” by Tom Clancy started on it. It’s an interesting read when looking at it with today’s eyes and you can see a lot of thing in there that today’s neo-liberal conservatives would approve of.

It is by no means a good book, but the use of a pandemic and the reaction of what is effectively an authoritarian president to it is interesting to read about following Covid.

The Thomas Hardy approach to creative writing.

Thing is, I love Thomas Hardy’s writing. I think I’ve read everything he wrote. One short story described the breakdown of a marriage while the couple stayed in a seaside B&B which was one of the most perfect bits of writing I’ve ever read, while simultaneously being complete free of any events at all. 😀

I was looking at my copy The Reality Dysfunction when I read your post.

I’ve just been reading this trilogy. I’m into The Naked God. I pretty much don’t care about any of the characters at this point. And I’m confused as to what’s happening and where. There’s so many sub plots. The only reason I’m going to finish is so I don’t wonder if it finished strong!

@pondo

Have downloaded this on the back of your updates, ta.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I am doing! Currently, Hitler and Ribentropp are trying to nurture relationships with Russia, Italy and Japan, promising them all the spoils of what they assume is to be a soon-to-be-broken British Empire, whilst at the same time secretly plotting to invade Russia.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I am doing! Currently, Hitler and Ribentropp are trying to nurture relationships with Russia, Italy and Japan, promising them all the spoils of what they assume is to be a soon-to-be-broken British Empire, whilst at the same time secretly plotting to invade Russia.

Careful with the spoilers. 😀

Careful with the spoilers.

🤣🤣🤣

Just starting Homegrown, Timothy McVeigh and the rise of right-wing extremism.

Was intrigued and downloaded this an an audiobook. It’s a bit slow in parts but very useful and if you’re at all interetsed in far right groups in the US, this should be on your reading list. It does fill in the gaps in your knowledge about groups like the 3%’ers and Proud Boys

Spaceships Over Glasgow – Stuart Braithwaite.
I generally prefer their instrumental stuff so we’ll see how this goes.