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Because I never kept track of my reading, I am doing a book challenge this year. As this is the half-way point, I thought it would be interesting to do a little recap, and to invite people to talk about books.
I'm planning to post 10 books I read this year a day for the next couple of days, and include short reviews for the English ones and the ones that have an English translation.
So, here goes:
The Very Bloody History of Britain by John Farman
Hm. I had not planned on reading that book at all, but was tidying a bookshelf and...
I started browsing through the Bloody History thinking ooh, funny, wonder what it says about... and ended up reading the whole thing.
It is very interesting to read about historic events from a different nations point of view. And amusing when sumnarised like this!
Quote: "The famous two finger gesture which means 'Please go forth and multiply', can be directly traced to Agincourt." *grins*
The Exploits and Adventures of Brigadier Gerard by Arthur Conan Doyle. The fictional adventures of a french Hussar during the napoleonic wars and a good laugh. It is necessary to have a background knowledge of the era, the accounts are not in chronological order. Historical Satire.
Quote: "Then he began to talk. I have always said that the English are not really a phlegmatic or taciturn nation if you stir them out of their groove. No one could have talked in a more animated way than this colonel. Lady Jane put her hands over her ears.
'Come, come, Colonel Berkeley,' said Lord Dacre, sternly, 'you forget yourself. There is a lady in the room.'
The colonel gave a stiff bow.
'If Lady Dacre would kindly leave the room,' said he, 'I will be able to tell this infernal little Frenchman what I think of him and his monkey tricks.'" *hehehe*
Die Geschichte der Kinder Hurins by Tolkien ...need I say anything?
First Among Sequels by Jasper Fforde. It had been a long time since I read the other books, and it took me a while to get into Ffordes world again, but once I did I even managed to predict some plot twists. Go me.
How can you not Love Fforde's world if you love books?
I'll not say anything about the plot, because cliffhanger alert!
Quote: As we passed a moth-eaten horse I heared it say to another shabby old nag: 'So, what's this Pride and Prejudice all about, then?'
'It's about a horse that pulls a carriage for the Bennets,' replied his friend, taking a mouthfull from the feed bucket and munching thoughtfully. *cackles*
Making Money by Terry Pratchett. This one I did not read as soon as it came out, because I had not been that fond of Going Postal, and the cast is the same. In light of recent financial developments, I thought I'd give it a try... it does not really get into finances, as such, though, more into the illusion that is currency. And red noses.
Quote: (Vetinari on clowns)
'They are tragic,' said Vetinari,'and we laugh at their tragedy as we laugh at our own. The painted grin leers out at us from the darkess, mocking our insane belief in order, logic, status, the reality of reality. The mask knows that we are born on the banana skin that leads only to the open manhole cover of doom, and all we can hope for are the cheers of the crowd.'
An infamous Army by Georgette Heyer. Had been recommended to me by at least two different people as "having THE best account of Waterloo ever shown in a novel. And that includes Sharpe's Waterloo." And "is used in Sandhurst, or some such place."
So, I bravely soldiered on through the tediousmeat marriage market blah. Highlights are: chapter 9, a daytrip to Hougoumont and ch. 12, troop inspection with Wellington and Blücher. In ch. 17 we reach 16.6.1815, the day of Ligny and Quatre-Bras.
Then the reading flow is seriously disrupted by some woman bleating on about being secretly married to a Life Guards officer, but seriously, who cares? I have never been jolted out of the narrative flow as rudely as in this book: you are in the middle of the retreat to Mont-St-Jean, have troop movements and get into the setting of the upcoming battle... and suddenly there is a hysterical weeping woman all over the place! Couldn't she wait till after? Then I would not mind weeping, the losses were devastating...
In ch. 21 we finally reach 18.6.1815, the day of the battle. It is an exellent account of Waterloo, I got out my battlefield guide and the map and could follow the unfolding events beautifully. Very good.
I think Silly Billy got off far too lightly, he did order infantry to be slaughtered by cavalry on three different occasions... but oh well.
I still prefer Sharpe's Waterloo, though. ;) It's nowhere near as boring.
Bad Monkeys by Matt Ruff. A rollercoster ride thought reality as percieved by the narrator, including a 'Big Brother' vibe and discussion of the Nod problem. True, Wise and Love... perish. Or do they?
The idea of Library Binding is intriguing; just imagnie, of every book you ever read it is recorded how many times you read it, which paragraphs you lingered at, what pages you re-read...
The Return of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle. Another book I had not planned on reading... I was looking up the Girandoni Air Rifle and there was this litte remark in the article 'Oh, and in the story 'The Empty House' someone tries to shoot Sherlock Holmes with a Girandoni.' So, I thought 'ooh, story!' and went to gutenberg and downloaded The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
And of course ended up reading the whole book. Which, to my own surprise, I enjoyed. As I child I watched the tv movies with my father (great bonding experience: papa and I immersed in the story, mama softly snoring in front of the tv) but when I tried to read the books I was put off by Holmes' arrogance. Now, while he still is an insufferable know-it-all (TM), I can laugh about it. So, fun to read.
Quote: police officer Lestrade to Holmes: "I could not speak before the constables, but I don't mind saying, in the presence of Dr. Watson, that this is the brightest thing that you have done yet, though it is a mystery to me how you did it. You have saved an innocent man's life, and you have prevented a very grave scandal, which would have ruined my reputation in the Force."
*snickers*
Billy Budd by Herman Melville. Gah. No fun. Nauseating christian imagery. What I need now is some streamlined, fast-paced science fiction...
*plans trip to the Fantastic Library*
Quote: "Whoever has heard the freshet-wave of a torrent suddenly swelled by pouring showers in tropical mountains, showers not shared by the plain; whoever has heard the first muffled murmur of its sloping advance through precipitous woods, may form some conception of the sound now heard. The seeming remoteness of its source was because of its murmurous indistinctness since it came from close-by, even from the men massed on the ship's open deck. Being inarticulate, it was dubious in significance further than it seemed to indicate some capricious revulsion of thought or feeling such as mobs ashore are liable to, in the present instance possibly implying a sullen revocation on the men's part of their involuntary echoing of Billy's benediction."
*eyes cross*
Das Amulett von Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud. I didn't actually read this, but listened to the audio book (been driving a lot lately). It is spoken by a german actor (Martin Semmelrogge) who strikes exactly the right notes for the impudent demon and his swollen-headed master. I like the ambivalence of the book; it's not Good vs. Evil, but shades of grey.
The two other books of the series are not read by the same person, and I don't think I'm going to sit down and read them myself...
I'm planning to post 10 books I read this year a day for the next couple of days, and include short reviews for the English ones and the ones that have an English translation.
So, here goes:
The Very Bloody History of Britain by John Farman
Hm. I had not planned on reading that book at all, but was tidying a bookshelf and...
I started browsing through the Bloody History thinking ooh, funny, wonder what it says about... and ended up reading the whole thing.
It is very interesting to read about historic events from a different nations point of view. And amusing when sumnarised like this!
Quote: "The famous two finger gesture which means 'Please go forth and multiply', can be directly traced to Agincourt." *grins*
The Exploits and Adventures of Brigadier Gerard by Arthur Conan Doyle. The fictional adventures of a french Hussar during the napoleonic wars and a good laugh. It is necessary to have a background knowledge of the era, the accounts are not in chronological order. Historical Satire.
Quote: "Then he began to talk. I have always said that the English are not really a phlegmatic or taciturn nation if you stir them out of their groove. No one could have talked in a more animated way than this colonel. Lady Jane put her hands over her ears.
'Come, come, Colonel Berkeley,' said Lord Dacre, sternly, 'you forget yourself. There is a lady in the room.'
The colonel gave a stiff bow.
'If Lady Dacre would kindly leave the room,' said he, 'I will be able to tell this infernal little Frenchman what I think of him and his monkey tricks.'" *hehehe*
Die Geschichte der Kinder Hurins by Tolkien ...need I say anything?
First Among Sequels by Jasper Fforde. It had been a long time since I read the other books, and it took me a while to get into Ffordes world again, but once I did I even managed to predict some plot twists. Go me.
How can you not Love Fforde's world if you love books?
I'll not say anything about the plot, because cliffhanger alert!
Quote: As we passed a moth-eaten horse I heared it say to another shabby old nag: 'So, what's this Pride and Prejudice all about, then?'
'It's about a horse that pulls a carriage for the Bennets,' replied his friend, taking a mouthfull from the feed bucket and munching thoughtfully. *cackles*
Making Money by Terry Pratchett. This one I did not read as soon as it came out, because I had not been that fond of Going Postal, and the cast is the same. In light of recent financial developments, I thought I'd give it a try... it does not really get into finances, as such, though, more into the illusion that is currency. And red noses.
Quote: (Vetinari on clowns)
'They are tragic,' said Vetinari,'and we laugh at their tragedy as we laugh at our own. The painted grin leers out at us from the darkess, mocking our insane belief in order, logic, status, the reality of reality. The mask knows that we are born on the banana skin that leads only to the open manhole cover of doom, and all we can hope for are the cheers of the crowd.'
An infamous Army by Georgette Heyer. Had been recommended to me by at least two different people as "having THE best account of Waterloo ever shown in a novel. And that includes Sharpe's Waterloo." And "is used in Sandhurst, or some such place."
So, I bravely soldiered on through the tedious
Then the reading flow is seriously disrupted by some woman bleating on about being secretly married to a Life Guards officer, but seriously, who cares? I have never been jolted out of the narrative flow as rudely as in this book: you are in the middle of the retreat to Mont-St-Jean, have troop movements and get into the setting of the upcoming battle... and suddenly there is a hysterical weeping woman all over the place! Couldn't she wait till after? Then I would not mind weeping, the losses were devastating...
In ch. 21 we finally reach 18.6.1815, the day of the battle. It is an exellent account of Waterloo, I got out my battlefield guide and the map and could follow the unfolding events beautifully. Very good.
I think Silly Billy got off far too lightly, he did order infantry to be slaughtered by cavalry on three different occasions... but oh well.
I still prefer Sharpe's Waterloo, though. ;) It's nowhere near as boring.
Bad Monkeys by Matt Ruff. A rollercoster ride thought reality as percieved by the narrator, including a 'Big Brother' vibe and discussion of the Nod problem. True, Wise and Love... perish. Or do they?
The idea of Library Binding is intriguing; just imagnie, of every book you ever read it is recorded how many times you read it, which paragraphs you lingered at, what pages you re-read...
The Return of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle. Another book I had not planned on reading... I was looking up the Girandoni Air Rifle and there was this litte remark in the article 'Oh, and in the story 'The Empty House' someone tries to shoot Sherlock Holmes with a Girandoni.' So, I thought 'ooh, story!' and went to gutenberg and downloaded The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
And of course ended up reading the whole book. Which, to my own surprise, I enjoyed. As I child I watched the tv movies with my father (great bonding experience: papa and I immersed in the story, mama softly snoring in front of the tv) but when I tried to read the books I was put off by Holmes' arrogance. Now, while he still is an insufferable know-it-all (TM), I can laugh about it. So, fun to read.
Quote: police officer Lestrade to Holmes: "I could not speak before the constables, but I don't mind saying, in the presence of Dr. Watson, that this is the brightest thing that you have done yet, though it is a mystery to me how you did it. You have saved an innocent man's life, and you have prevented a very grave scandal, which would have ruined my reputation in the Force."
*snickers*
Billy Budd by Herman Melville. Gah. No fun. Nauseating christian imagery. What I need now is some streamlined, fast-paced science fiction...
*plans trip to the Fantastic Library*
Quote: "Whoever has heard the freshet-wave of a torrent suddenly swelled by pouring showers in tropical mountains, showers not shared by the plain; whoever has heard the first muffled murmur of its sloping advance through precipitous woods, may form some conception of the sound now heard. The seeming remoteness of its source was because of its murmurous indistinctness since it came from close-by, even from the men massed on the ship's open deck. Being inarticulate, it was dubious in significance further than it seemed to indicate some capricious revulsion of thought or feeling such as mobs ashore are liable to, in the present instance possibly implying a sullen revocation on the men's part of their involuntary echoing of Billy's benediction."
*eyes cross*
Das Amulett von Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud. I didn't actually read this, but listened to the audio book (been driving a lot lately). It is spoken by a german actor (Martin Semmelrogge) who strikes exactly the right notes for the impudent demon and his swollen-headed master. I like the ambivalence of the book; it's not Good vs. Evil, but shades of grey.
The two other books of the series are not read by the same person, and I don't think I'm going to sit down and read them myself...
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