August reading

[geekchick]

I sort of stalled again last month, I think the total's so low because it took me a lot longer than I expected to get through the Winchester book.

• Western Swing, Tim Sandlin. A friend mentioned this guy to me, and when I saw several of his books at the Green Valley Book Fair I decided to pick one up and check him out. This was hysterical (if you like your humor on the dark side, that is). I think I'll be reading more of his books once I get through some of the pile I have waiting for me already.
  
• Gorky Park, Martin Cruz Smith. Finished this one in a couple of evenings in hotel rooms, and have Polar Star sitting on the shelf to be read soon. Arkady Renko is a great character; given the elapsed time between some of the installments in the series (Amazon says eight years between the first and second, another eight between three and four), I'm glad I waited as long as I did to get started on this series so that I can avoid the frustration of having finished one book and then having a long wait for the next several.
  
• The Map That Changed the World: William Smith and the Birth of Modern Geology, Simon Winchester. For me, it alternated between "this is really fascinating stuff" and "you could be a little more melodramatic, but I'm not sure how; can I skip ahead?" I didn't dislike it, but I didn't love it either; I guess that's why it took me two weeks to finish it.
  

Is that really it? I feel sure there must've been one more at least, before Western Swing, but I can't remember what it was right now.

Comments

[mactavish.livejournal.com]

That was exactly my reaction to The Map that Changed the World. I liked it, but I found myself skipping parts, skimming to the better stuff.

[geekchick]

I'm glad it wasn't just me. I don't regret the $4 or so I spent on it, but probably the only bit that will be read again is the glossary at the back of the book. =)

[quasigeostrophy.livejournal.com]

I'd been thinking about The Map That Changed the World, but now I think I'll skip it. My to-dead pile is big enough already.

[geekchick]

My to-dead pile is big enough already.

Now, now; it's not THAT bad. ;)

Seriously, it's not bad, just didn't engage me. I have another friend who really enjoyed it, so I guess it's a definite case of YMMV.

Tangent: I picked up "A Game of Thrones" this weekend, because Borders was selling it for $3.99. *blink* I'd been meaning to read it anyway at some point, but at half-price I thought that now might be that time. ;)

[quasigeostrophy.livejournal.com]

to-dead pile

Typos-R-Us. ;-)

Thrones is excellent. IMHO, Martin sets up a world as rich as Tolkien's Middle-Earth without a lot of what bogs me down when I try to read LOtR. A Clash of Kings just keeps expanding that world, and #3, A Storm of Swords will just piss you off with what he throws in and leaves hanging, but perhaps not as much because #4 is due out in a couple of months now and you won't be waiting as long as some of us have been. :-)

[geekchick]

Heh, yeah. The benefit to picking up a series late in the game. I strongly suspect the $3.99 price tag on this one is designed to hook folks before the new one comes out.

[geekchick]

And unrelated: that thing you asked about? Yeah, I'm game, I'll ping you later. (I could email you this, but I'm lazy and LJ is *right here*. ;) )

[quasigeostrophy.livejournal.com]

*grin* LJ as a point-to-point communication medium.

[lexs-star.livejournal.com]

Hi! I like your icon its cool and looks old fashioned like something out of Jane Austin...