Recent reads - August 2013

Holy haleakala (as the Bad Astronomer is wont to say)..it's September. How'd that happen? I've been quiet for a few days, I know, and it's just crept up on me.

It's not that I haven't been reading. Quite the opposite, in fact, I've steamrolled through quite a few novels in quick succession but none of them have particularly inspired me to write anything; don't get me wrong, most of them have been above average...I think it's just that I've been in a particularly non-contemplative mood.

So what have I been reading? This is where I find Goodreads so very useful - it means I don't have to rely on my (admittedly erratic) memory for keeping track of my books. Here's my list for August.

-oOo-

'Complicity' by Iain Banks

I read this many years ago, whilst at university, and enjoyed it immensely. So quite why I lost patience with it this time around, and tossed it halfway through, I'm uncertain.

'11/22/63' by Stephen King

I've already written about this in another blog post so all I'll say here is that I enjoyed this more than I expected to.

'The State of the Art' by Iain M. Banks

A collection of short science fiction stories, some of which (4, if I recall correctly) are set in his 'Culture' universe. Most are fairly mediocre by Banks' own high standards but one or two sparkle. Worth checking out if you are a fan.

'Excession' by Iain M. Banks

I had real difficulty with this one. One the whole, I enjoyed it, but I have a hard time explaining why.

'The Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out a Window and Disappeared' by Jonas Jonasson

This was just wonderful. Possibly my book of the year so far. Joyous, funny, warm, charming, moving. All these things and much more. If I had to compare it to a movie, it would be 'Amelie' Read it, I can't urge you strongly enough.

and, finally,

'Prince of Thorns' by Mark Lawrence, Book 1 of The Broken Empire trilogy

In the mould of Joe Abercrombie's 'The Blade Itself', we meet Honorous Jorg Ancrath, heir to the throne of Ancrath, son of a murdered mother and completely amoral cold-blooded killer. This is his story. I particularly loved the way the author gradually shades in the lightest touches of science fiction with what is otherwise a straight-arrow fantasy story. I imagine (never having tried) that it's incredibly difficult to do.

 

-oOo-

 

So that was my August, anyway. How was yours?