[Andorion]

Aptorian, on 30 August 2019 - 08:46 AM, said:

I've been reading a history book about the Faroe Islands, Called "Færøerne: En moderne nation fødes". (A modern nation is born). The Faroe islands (located north of Scotland, vest of Norway) is the smallest Danish protectorate and like Greenland and Iceland, we've had a historically, politically difficult relationship with them.

The book is set in the 1840-1860s where Denmark got it's constitution and we slowly developed a functioning democracy. Up until this point the Faroe islands had been the most backwater of backwater places in the Danish Kingdom. A bunch of medieval peasants and fishermen struggling against their environment on a bunch of rocky islands.

It centers around the work of trying to develop a self-sufficient government in a place that is mostly illiterate and resistant to change. It's just pages after pages of Danish government officials trying to create some semblance of political structure while the Faroe clergy and nationalists resist them at every turn.

It's tedious and utterly fascinating because you're reading about the transformation of a undeveloped country, week by week, month by month, through letters, newspaper articles and legal disbutes.

I would find this interesting because I read about similar stuff in raw form in the archives

[Aptorian]

It's great because it's had just the right amount of narrative layered over it, making it feel like you're reading about a protagonist trying to make by in a uncivilized country.

The book even has an honest to God bad guy straight out of a Stephen King novel. A coniving, greedy lawyer turned politician who lies to the Faroe people about the Danish politicians and officials. He boasts and twists and deceives and the people know no better. Only we have the original documents from our parliament that shows he again and again lied to further his own case.

He's like wormtail from Lord of the Rings!

[Andorion]

Aptorian, on 30 August 2019 - 02:01 PM, said:

It's great because it's had just the right amount of narrative layered over it, making it feel like you're reading about a protagonist trying to make by in a uncivilized country.

The book even has an honest to God bad guy straight out of a Stephen King novel. A coniving, greedy lawyer turned politician who lies to the Faroe people about the Danish politicians and officials. He boasts and twists and deceives and the people know no better. Only we have the original documents from our parliament that shows he again and again lied to further his own case.

He's like wormtail from Lord of the Rings!

Its fascinating when you find these people in the archives.

In my current project there's this guy who apparently dedicated his life to being an obstructive little shit in the municipal administration. There's whole pages of meeting minutes of him speaking nonsense. Once he started singing
In my previous research work there was this super dedicated administrator who anticipated a famine, surveyed food stocks, estimated future food import problems and proposed solutions. The British government totally ignored him. Later he wrote this really damning letter pointing out all the problems. Honestly his life in those 2 famine years could have been a novel or a movie

[Mentalist]

Finished "Blindsight". Mind = blown.

Now I need to hunt down and order anything else I can find by Watts.

Meanwhile, need to move further on my list of owned books to read. I will check out Reynolds' " Galactic North", though I suspect I might need to do a re-read of the Revelation Space trilo.

[Andorion]

Mentalist, on 31 August 2019 - 04:22 AM, said:

Finished "Blindsight". Mind = blown.

Now I need to hunt down and order anything else I can find by Watts.

Meanwhile, need to move further on my list of owned books to read. I will check out Reynolds' " Galactic North", though I suspect I might need to do a re-read of the Revelation Space trilo.

Galactic North is really great. Its in the Rev. Space universe but the stories don't always directly connect with the other books.

[amphibian]

Mentalist, on 31 August 2019 - 04:22 AM, said:

Finished "Blindsight". Mind = blown.

Now I need to hunt down and order anything else I can find by Watts.

Meanwhile, need to move further on my list of owned books to read. I will check out Reynolds' " Galactic North", though I suspect I might need to do a re-read of the Revelation Space trilo.

I don't think you need to do the re-read first. Try out Diamond Dogs too and make sure you read the Great Wall of Mars.

[Dolmen 2.0]

Just read/listened to Red Rising.

It was fantastic. This is a well written and nicely plotted series. There's a decent consistency to it.

[Tiste Simeon]

OK. I had a gap between the books I was reading and felt a sudden urge to read something light, cheesy and quite easy. So I'm reading the Belgariad again. Love it.

[QuickTidal]

amphibian, on 31 August 2019 - 12:48 PM, said:

and make sure you read the Great Wall of Mars.

This 100%. This story is stunning.

[Aptorian]

Just finished "Every Heart a Doorway", the first book in Seanan McGuire's Wayward Children series. It's excellent, I can certainly see why these books are winning awards.

It's a short story about a sanctuary for kids who went to other worlds, fairy lands, nightmare realms, etc. and for one reason or another returned to our world but couldn't fit in. It's basically the post-return story for Alice in Wonderland and similar portal fantasy stories.

This is a clever, imaginative and well written experience.

[Mentalist]

amphibian, on 31 August 2019 - 12:48 PM, said:

Mentalist, on 31 August 2019 - 04:22 AM, said:

Finished "Blindsight". Mind = blown.

Now I need to hunt down and order anything else I can find by Watts.

Meanwhile, need to move further on my list of owned books to read. I will check out Reynolds' " Galactic North", though I suspect I might need to do a re-read of the Revelation Space trilo.

I don't think you need to do the re-read first. Try out Diamond Dogs too and make sure you read the Great Wall of Mars.

Both of those were in the "Beyond the Aqua Rift" collection. Re-read "Great Wall of Mars" , because this book starts with that.

I think I'll need to ebook "Turquoise Days", because it's not included in any collection.

[Aptorian]

Just noped out of the American sniper, Chris Kyle's auto-biography called... American sniper.

I remember there being a lot of drama around the book and Clint Eastwood's movie adaption, so I thought I'd check it out. Didn't make it more than ten pages into the thing.

This has to be the most gun ho, rah, rah, I'm a cool soldier and a patriotic American-bullshit I've ever read. This book is just a guy masturbating to his own image. Also it's written like a ten your olds fan-fiction, though that may just be the Danish translation

This post has been edited by Aptorian: 02 September 2019 - 04:33 PM

[Tiste Simeon]

Tiste Simeon, on 01 September 2019 - 03:21 PM, said:

OK. I had a gap between the books I was reading and felt a sudden urge to read something light, cheesy and quite easy. So I'm reading the Belgariad again. Love it.

Now onto the second book. Silk is a beast.

[Macros]

Tiste Simeon, on 02 September 2019 - 06:30 PM, said:

Tiste Simeon, on 01 September 2019 - 03:21 PM, said:

OK. I had a gap between the books I was reading and felt a sudden urge to read something light, cheesy and quite easy. So I'm reading the Belgariad again. Love it.

Now onto the second book. Silk is a douchebag

He is indeed

[Tiste Simeon]

Why not both? ʅ(ツ)ʃ

[Abyss]

Mentalist, on 31 August 2019 - 04:22 AM, said:

Finished "Blindsight". Mind = blown.

Now I need to hunt down and order anything else I can find by Watts.
....

Much is free on his website rifters.com . Worth a look.

[Abyss]

Tiste Simeon, on 02 September 2019 - 06:30 PM, said:

Tiste Simeon, on 01 September 2019 - 03:21 PM, said:

OK. I had a gap between the books I was reading and felt a sudden urge to read something light, cheesy and quite easy. So I'm reading the Belgariad again. Love it.

Now onto the second book. Silk is a beast.

Macros, on 02 September 2019 - 07:30 PM, said:

Tiste Simeon, on 02 September 2019 - 06:30 PM, said:

Tiste Simeon, on 01 September 2019 - 03:21 PM, said:

OK. I had a gap between the books I was reading and felt a sudden urge to read something light, cheesy and quite easy. So I'm reading the Belgariad again. Love it.

Now onto the second book. Silk is a douchebag

He is indeed

Tiste Simeon, on 02 September 2019 - 07:41 PM, said:

Why not both? ʅ(ツ)ʃ

He does his humble best.

[Macros]

Reading 84k by Claire north, playing catch up with the group

[Aptorian]

You've reminded me that I want to read Eddings malarion sequel series.

[QuickTidal]

Aptorian, on 03 September 2019 - 07:48 AM, said:

You've reminded me that I want to read Eddings malarion sequel series.

That's the one with fantasy Malaria that you get from Dragons, right?