[QuickTidal]

QuickTidal, on 24 October 2023 - 12:22 PM, said:

Decided to go topical with my non-fiction palate cleanser read and learn more on a very current topic.

Reading THE HUNDRED YEARS' WAR ON PALESTINE (A history of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917-2017). by Rashid Khalidi.

I'm only through the introduction and the first chapter but so far it's fascinating, well written and well-researched.

Finished. Wonderfully informative book. At times hard to read, but necessary to truly understand what's happened to these people and their land. Well worth your time.


About 25% into THEY CALLED ME LIONESS: A PALESTINIAN GIRL'S FIGHT FOR FREEDOM by Ahed Tamimi & Dena Takruri. It's a frank, and revelatory memoir of Ahed's life in her small village in the West Bank. Their struggle against the Settlers, the Israeli military police, Raids, jailings, killings, and many others things.

[QuickTidal]

QuickTidal, on 30 October 2023 - 03:18 PM, said:

QuickTidal, on 24 October 2023 - 12:22 PM, said:

Decided to go topical with my non-fiction palate cleanser read and learn more on a very current topic.

Reading THE HUNDRED YEARS' WAR ON PALESTINE (A history of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917-2017). by Rashid Khalidi.

I'm only through the introduction and the first chapter but so far it's fascinating, well written and well-researched.

Finished. Wonderfully informative book. At times hard to read, but necessary to truly understand what's happened to these people and their land. Well worth your time.


About 25% into THEY CALLED ME LIONESS: A PALESTINIAN GIRL'S FIGHT FOR FREEDOM by Ahed Tamimi & Dena Takruri. It's a frank, and revelatory memoir of Ahed's life in her small village in the West Bank. Their struggle against the Settlers, the Israeli military police, Raids, jailings, killings, and many others things.

Finished. Wonderfully informative book and a more personal and autobiographical report from someone who has lived this life since she was small. It's very interesting that she notes that she thinks her story blew up because (and she's not complaining, she thinks this was a good thing) she's a blonde-haired blue-eyed Palestinian Arab and that's why the Western Media grabbed onto her story about slapping an IDF soldier and going to an Israeli prison for it for eight months...more broadly she liked that it was showcasing that their people are a broad spectrum of genetic looks and not just what everyone thinks of when they think Arab. She's articulate and very strong as a person. When she was younger and went viral for shaking her fist in the face of an IDF soldier she got a lot of press and went on a bit of a tour in Turkey (she met Erdogan and sassed him for not helping while saying he was going to) and while there they asked her why she stood up as she had, and she said "Should I wait for Saladin to come back and rescue the Palestinian people? Or should we make our own Saladin and do it ourselves?"....such poetic words from such a young child (I think she was 12 at the time?).

Anyways, she's super well -spoken and has lived a long life of daily struggles and faces it with strength and bravery and an unwavering belief that her people will be free in her lifetime.


If you want to hear from her directly, here's a video interview with her from only a few years back.

[amphibian]

I enjoyed the Art of Prophecy and the Art of Destiny. I think they're pretty good in the take a promised hero and completely trash that expected journey, add in several compelling characters, and turn them loose in a big world.

That being said - there's a couple areas where I think I wasn't a huge fan. The Grass Sea arc kind of skips over directly showing us some of the gruesome details of the Khan's magic and why this matters so much to the nation - one person can't crush a nation (this was made clear with the discussion of another person's prime and how she could only take out a garrison rather than a full army).

I'd recommend The Crimson Empire series and Master Assassins series in tandem with this - because they all do a great job of setting up complex motivations, great settings, and slices of life on top of the drama and action. I like this series!

[QuickTidal]

Planning to finish the Daevabad trilogy now that I have them in physical form, but I wanted to re-read CITY OF BRASS to refresh myself before moving on and holy crap, this book is even better on a re-read, knowing what's going on right at the beginning when

Spoiler

Nahri is ambushed in El-Arafi and Dara shows up, curses Khayzur, and attacks the Ifrit

....like when I first read it I was mystified, but now I'm like "Ohhhhhh, yes this is awesome!"


Anyways, only a few chapters in, but Chakraborty really keeps you engaged on a re-read.

This post has been edited by QuickTidal: 31 October 2023 - 06:02 PM

[Abyss]

amphibian, on 31 October 2023 - 03:31 PM, said:

I enjoyed the Art of Prophecy and the Art of Destiny. I think they're pretty good in the take a promised hero and completely trash that expected journey, add in several compelling characters, and turn them loose in a big world.

That being said - there's a couple areas where I think I wasn't a huge fan. The Grass Sea arc kind of skips over directly showing us some of the gruesome details of the Khan's magic and why this matters so much to the nation - one person can't crush a nation (this was made clear with the discussion of another person's prime and how she could only take out a garrison rather than a full army).

I'd recommend The Crimson Empire series and Master Assassins series in tandem with this - because they all do a great job of setting up complex motivations, great settings, and slices of life on top of the drama and action. I like this series!

Just Finished ART OF DESTINY. I very enjoyed it, with the one qualifier that unlike ART OF PROPHECY, this very much felt like a middle-book setting up the next. Each of the MCs had a plot, a reasonably major confrontation, and resolution, but no closure. Fine by me, i'm in i like what the author is selling, i would have preferred a little less to-be-continued'ism, but this was better than most. I also would have preferred

Spoiler

that the three (four but Jien and Tisha count as one) plotlines actually cross over directly. We got the barest moment between Tisha and Kiki and that was it, Sali never even appeared in their stories. It's not that Sali fighting the Stormchaser, Tisha the Silent Men, and Kiki her own cadre weren't great... they WERE. But Tisha v Sali/Kiki and Sali v Kiki in bk 1 is a hard act to follow.

. Solid bk 2 in the series, i'll preorder bk 3 whenever it shows up.

Back to Sanderson's THE SUNLIT MAN.

[Abyss]

QuickTidal, on 31 October 2023 - 05:34 PM, said:

Planning to finish the Daevabad trilogy now that I have them in physical form, but I wanted to re-read CITY OF BRASS to refresh myself before moving on and holy crap, this book is even better on a re-read, knowing what's going on right at the beginning when

Spoiler

Nahri is ambushed in El-Arafi and Dara shows up, curses Khayzur, and attacks the Ifrit

....like when I first read it I was mystified, but now I'm like "Ohhhhhh, yes this is awesome!"


Anyways, only a few chapters in, but Chakraborty really keeps you engaged on a re-read.

I've been debating whether this series is worth a re-read, the author has a deft hand at setup/payoff and i think a second read of the books back to back (i read them as they were released) would be enjoyable and flow through to the very subtle eastereggs in AMINA. I think i may wait for the next Amina book and then go for it.

[Tiste Simeon]

Abyss, on 31 October 2023 - 06:38 PM, said:

QuickTidal, on 31 October 2023 - 05:34 PM, said:

Planning to finish the Daevabad trilogy now that I have them in physical form, but I wanted to re-read CITY OF BRASS to refresh myself before moving on and holy crap, this book is even better on a re-read, knowing what's going on right at the beginning when

Spoiler

Nahri is ambushed in El-Arafi and Dara shows up, curses Khayzur, and attacks the Ifrit

....like when I first read it I was mystified, but now I'm like "Ohhhhhh, yes this is awesome!"


Anyways, only a few chapters in, but Chakraborty really keeps you engaged on a re-read.

I've been debating whether this series is worth a re-read, the author has a deft hand at setup/payoff and i think a second read of the books back to back (i read them as they were released) would be enjoyable and flow through to the very subtle eastereggs in AMINA. I think i may wait for the next Amina book and then go for it.

I read book 1 when I had a temporary KU subscription and loved it but only book 1 was out at the time. Been meaning to check out the others but then I'd also need to read the first again.

Going to see about getting the trilogy now!

[polishgenius]

Continuing my Victoria Goddard journey with The Redoubtable Pali Avramapul, second in the Red Company reformed series that is one branch of the sequels to Hands of the Emperor.


I am increasingly in frank awe of what Goddard is achieving here, because I've read three books and they're all delightful but they're all different. This one is partly a sequel to The Return of Fitzroy Angursell, but it's also in part a prequel that reframes certain scenes in both of the previous books from a different character's perspective before moving on and seeing how that character deals with the changes happening. Which makes it a whole third style- a much more character-driven book than Return, which was basically an old-school series-of-adventures derring-do novel, but with more introspection than the conversation-driven epic of Hands.

And she continues to create the feeling of fond nostalgia for books I've read since childhood, even though I only started reading them last year. Which is a neat trick.

This one also made me more directly interested in the previous books, since Hands of the Emperor while designed for new readers entering into the world was like the 12th actual book in the series or something. I'd intended to read them anyway of course, but this one was the first that actively went 'come on you know you want to'.

[Imperial Historian]

Victoria Goddard is one of those authors who each book I pick up by her I think this one doesn't seem to be my thing but I'll give it a go, and everytime I'm blown away.

[Abyss]

amphibian, on 31 October 2023 - 03:31 PM, said:

I enjoyed the Art of Prophecy and the Art of Destiny. I think they're pretty good in the take a promised hero and completely trash that expected journey, add in several compelling characters, and turn them loose in a big world.

That being said - there's a couple areas where I think I wasn't a huge fan. The Grass Sea arc kind of skips over directly showing us some of the gruesome details of the Khan's magic and why this matters so much to the nation - one person can't crush a nation (this was made clear with the discussion of another person's prime and how she could only take out a garrison rather than a full army).

I'd recommend The Crimson Empire series and Master Assassins series in tandem with this - because they all do a great job of setting up complex motivations, great settings, and slices of life on top of the drama and action. I like this series!

We do get more of the Kuya culture, how they're not just poor victims of the Enlightened States, and about the Khan and what he really is. I enjoyed those revelations, it added some depth to Sali's story and the worldbuilding.

Abyss, on 31 October 2023 - 06:36 PM, said:

....Back to Sanderson's THE SUNLIT MAN.

Just Finished.
Great read (listen). In terms of plot it's not the most brilliant thing Bandon has ever written... stranger w special skills rides into mysterious town, saves residents from evil dude, raises the people up and they raise him up in turn. But the worldbuildling is great, i genuinely enjoyed the setting and esp how it added to the overall pace of the story. The world is clever, interesting, maybe not inherently original but handled in an original way. And there is so much Cosmere. And it's not hidden, this story is very solidly set in and about events in and around the Cosmere. I doubt anyone must read this to know what's going on in the next TSA or Mistborn book, but anyone who wants and loves to know more is going to want to read this when it's generally available outside of the kickstarter.


Next up, a brief return to West's Sun Sword bk 3 THE SHINING COURT before i devour Butcher's THE OLYMPIAN AFFAIR.

[worry]

Finished Leviathan Wakes. Pretty good! Modern but still very pulpy, in a good way.

I did get the Expanse short story collection as Abyss advised, but my version doesn't have the when-to-read designations. I did look it up so I have a guide though.

[Tiste Simeon]

So I started THE MALEVOLENT SEVEN and it seems like a lot of fun (though the concept of the Sublime is dark!) I do occasionally love a story of violent evil sods trying to be a little bit good!

[TheRetiredBridgeburner]

Patrick Stewart's autobiography, Making It So

Biographies really aren't my go to unless I'm really interested in the person, but this one is a joy. Stewart writes pretty much just as engagingly as he speaks, is very funny and doesn't ever seem to take himself too seriously or be afraid to poke fun at himself.

The nods to his youth in Yorkshire and the hilarity of translating a broad Yorkshire dialect are particularly enjoyable for me as a Yorkshire girl.

Would definitely recommend

This post has been edited by TheRetiredBridgeburner: 14 November 2023 - 12:28 PM

[JPK]

TheRetiredBridgeburner, on 14 November 2023 - 12:27 PM, said:

Patrick Stewart's autobiography, Making It So

Biographies really aren't my go to unless I'm really interested in the person, but this one is a joy. Stewart writes pretty much just as engagingly as he speaks, is very funny and doesn't ever seem to take himself too seriously or be afraid to poke fun at himself.

The nods to his youth in Yorkshire and the hilarity of translating a broad Yorkshire dialect are particularly enjoyable for me as a Yorkshire girl.

Would definitely recommend

I really loved this book. I'll add that he did an excellent job on the narration for the audiobook as well, but I think that would be expected since it is Sir Patrick Stewart after all.

[worry]

I just finished the Britney Spears autobiography (on Spotify), so it looks like we're in almost the exact same boat, RB! The audiobook is read by Michelle Williams, but Britney's Yorkshire dialect also comes through crystal clear.

[Tiste Simeon]

worry, on 14 November 2023 - 08:03 PM, said:

I just finished the Britney Spears autobiography (on Spotify), so it looks like we're in almost the exact same boat, RB! The audiobook is read by Michelle Williams, but Britney's Yorkshire dialect also comes through crystal clear.

I think I'm going to have to leave you a voice message of me singing Britney songs in a Yorkshire accent so I just want to apologise ahead of time...

[Abyss]

Tiste Simeon, on 15 November 2023 - 10:25 AM, said:

worry, on 14 November 2023 - 08:03 PM, said:

I just finished the Britney Spears autobiography (on Spotify), so it looks like we're in almost the exact same boat, RB! The audiobook is read by Michelle Williams, but Britney's Yorkshire dialect also comes through crystal clear.

I think I'm going to have to leave you a voice message of me singing Britney songs in a Yorkshire accent so I just want to apologise ahead of time...

toxic

[Abyss]

Abyss, on 07 November 2023 - 06:54 PM, said:

...

Next up, a brief return to West's Sun Sword bk 3 THE SHINING COURT before i devour Butcher's THE OLYMPIAN AFFAIR.

Just finished SHINING COURT, (mildly annoyed) comments in the ded-thread.
Have started Martha Wells' later Murderbot SYSTEM COLLAPSE, it's a short read and I felt like something light and fast. 1 hr in, i love Murderbot and it's cast so so much.

[Macros]

Tiste Simeon, on 14 November 2023 - 09:11 AM, said:

So I started THE MALEVOLENT SEVEN and it seems like a lot of fun (though the concept of the Sublime is dark!) I do occasionally love a story of violent evil sods trying to be a little bit good!

So want to read this. It was just so expensive in hardback

[Abyss]

Macros, on 15 November 2023 - 05:30 PM, said:

Tiste Simeon, on 14 November 2023 - 09:11 AM, said:

So I started THE MALEVOLENT SEVEN and it seems like a lot of fun (though the concept of the Sublime is dark!) I do occasionally love a story of violent evil sods trying to be a little bit good!

So want to read this. It was just so expensive in hardback

Do an audible trial and use a free credit on it.