Maybe not the one I'm thinking of. I think there was one posthumous one that wasn't that great. Can't remember.
I love Vonnegut. I've read every novel and short story collection. His novels are great from 1959 through 1973 and far less so after that. Still, those six novels plus Timequake (1997) were good enough to make him one of my favorite writers ever. I find his short fiction extremely hit or miss, but you may like them.
The Cambridge Introduction to Narrative (Cambridge Introductions to Literature). It's actually pretty fascinating, and not dry or academic like you'd think. I first ran across one of those on Narrative Theory, but ducked out on seeing the sample. Way too technical and highfalutin'. But this one's right on my level, and really makes you think about what is and isn't story, and how that's different from narrative.
That does sound interesting. Always worth looking at the underpinnings of the writing craft rather than just the surface, and I may have a gander at the above on what you've said. As for myself, I've had a few things go wrong (shall we say) so I'm currently reverting to popcorn reading. The old Legends Star Wars novels - Cloak of Deception followed by Darth Plageius. I simply haven't the capacity for reading anything more advanced, or for more than 10 minutes at a time. After that, I have Patrick O'Brian's Master and Commander series ready to go, with Dan Jones' Essex Dogs books also high on my list as my recovery goes forward.
Darth Plagueis is a great book. I wouldn't even call it popcorn reading. I've read well-respected literature that wasn't as well written. James Lucino is a good writer, and I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in the real story of Palpatine before Disney declared decades worth of material "non-canon" and destroyed the galaxy. For me, like many, many people who were fans before 2012, Lucas Canon is the only canon.
I've always enjoyed the EU. And Luceno has always been one of the stronger writers in it. I've also really enjoyed Matt Stover's works. The guy over-writes everything for fun, abuses adverbs like they're out of fashion, engages in melodrama like a teenage relationship, and I'm here for it. I quite enjoyed (many years ago now) the first of his Acts of Cain books, but never went any further than Heroes Die. Don't ask me why. I've never taken against new canon. That being said, I've not yet read any new books that live up to the old. I tried the first High Republic book, and it was OK to the point where if I see the second at a reasonable price I'll pick it up for a diversion. There's no Darth Bane in there yet, which is surprising because the new books have some very able writers behind them indeed. I did pick up the novelisation of the last film to see if it improved any. Not really is the answer. Just a bad film. I have a tendency to juggle the timelines for old and new in my head. A bit of doublethink, but it means I enjoy what I'm reading or watching (or playing, for that matter) without too much thought. I've also decided unilaterally that anything before the end of RotJ remains canon and can be interwoven with the new stuff. It's a narrative challenge in itself which I quite enjoy.
I'm just getting into The Woman who Walked Into Doors by Roddy Doyle. Doyle is just one of those writers that is a true delight to read. Everything I've read from him is no less than wonderful. I think I've mentioned reading him before on this thread. He's just one of today's great writers that I really enjoy. He's from and lives in Ireland. I first discovered him in McSweeney's Quarterly so he's a bit quirky, if you can imagine. But nothing over the top or gimmicky. He won a Booker for a different novel. This one is worth the read. It's quite interesting to see a male writer pull off a female first person POV. I don't think many writers can pull this off, but Doyle does it without a glitch. I'm actually quite amazed by this. He does it seamlessly just like his prose. I also really like his sense of humor. Has anyone else here read any Roddy Doyle?
I'm currently reading Deer Season by Erin Flanagan. She was my professor at Wright State University and I'm just now getting to reading her books. They're fun mystery/thrillers that are pretty grounded. I find a lot of thriller books can get a bit over the top but her stuff is quite realistic and I like that.
I just got Marjane Satrapi's newest book, Woman, Life, Freedom (March 2024). Its a lot different than Persepolis (not because of the subject matter). For starters, she is not the sole writer of the book, and (i didnt know this) she stopped illustrating in 2004! She has a few illustrations here and there in the book, but the bulk of the graphic novel is illustrated by 13 different graphic/comic artists from around the world. and she is one of 5 authors who worked on it collaboratively. I'm still on the first chapter, but her acknowledgements are in the beginning, explaining the history of this project, and the people involved. Rather than having Marjane Satrapi as an editor, she is the *Creator of the book. *this could be a fun little discussion... "Writer vs Editor vs Creator of a work of art and the differences between them (can you be all 3?)"
I recently finished To End in Fire by David Weber and Eric Flint. 3/5⭐️ So many meetings. Too many meetings. Sometimes redundant meetings. Between them and some of the info dumps on post-war reforms, I feel like the book could’ve been half as long without sacrificing anything of real value. It’s that other half that saves the book in my opinion. The authors tie a nice bow on the current arc surrounding the Mesan Alignment, the climactic fleet battle offers some tantalizing hints of the future, and Honor experiences some very satisfying character development. So while I think it’s my least favorite Honorverse novel, I still enjoy the book and feel like it was time and money well spent. I’m now reading Leviathan Wakes. Excellent sci-fi, but I don’t have the funds to grab the whole series right now, so I’ll be heading back to the Honorverse afterward with the Manticore Ascendant spin-off series by Weber and Timothy Zahn.
Just started on a small collection of short stories by Akiyuki Nosaka. The book is under a title of one of the shorts called “The Cake Tree in The Ruins.” I like it so far.
Time for Dan Jones and Essex Dogs. Described as the Hundred Years' War as directed by Oliver Stone. I'm looking forward to some historical fiction as written by an actual, proper historian.
Just read the Mona Lisa mystery by m.a bennnet, feeds into these conspiracy ideas portrayed by Dan Brown’s da Vinci code, even inferences an inference to the knight’s Templar.
Thank $deity$. The first time I read this, I thought you wrote "Dan Brown" ... and immediately thought "Dan Brown? Actual, proper historian?" *blink, blink* But obviously I misread that. Whoops! I'm currently (re-)reading Ask A Historian by Greg Jenner. Good fun.
I just finished Deer Season and I highly recommend it. It was a very fun read and the mystery kept me guessing the whole time! Next I'm reading American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins. I'm mostly reading this book because it was met with a lot of controversy regarding whether or not the author has the right to tell this specific story given her heritage. I'm skeptical of that sort of gatekeeping when it comes to story telling, but I want to give it an honest read and then form my opinion regarding the controversy. I'm currently only three chapters in and I am not fond of the constant head-hopping. I feel like I get whiplash each chapter as the author suddenly switches perspectives multiple times per chapter, and sometimes in the same paragraph. It's not really my thing, but I intend to keep reading for the time being.
Good God man. There's a list of people I'd never describe as an actual, proper historian, another of people I'd never describe as historians of any kind, and then Dan Brown on his own! On with Essex Dogs. I just read the author's note. It was inspired in part over a dinner conversation with George R.R. Martin. I can definitely see the influence; it's unflinching and relentless. I can also see that I need more interesting dinner guests and locations. Dinner with GRRM in Normandy!
My Brother Michael by Mary Stewart, written in the early sixties when heroines deferred to the big strong males, but the story is good and if I remember correctly, the heroine cowgirls up by the end of the books. The Gift of Fear by Gavin de Becker, which I highly recommend. The sheriff's office gave copies to the victim response unit first responders years ago. It is a tool kit for anyone navigating life in the modern world. Printer's Devil by Sam Williams, a history of Washington, Arkansas, written as a series of newspaper articles by the publisher of a 19th century newspaper.
My total books read for the month of April is 12. I ended with Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica. Not a book for everyone, but it left me thinking about a lot of things. On to May!
