Recently finished Gladiator, 24 Hours In Ancient Rome, and A Year In The Life Of Ancient Greece. All very light pieces by the same author, very fun reading.
Just cracking open Warrior of God: Jan Zizka and the Hussite Revolution right now.
this post was submitted on 24 Jun 2025
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The Partner by John Grisham
I downloaded a bunch of classics from Project Gutenberg. I'm reading Frankenstein finally.
Nice! It's a classic for a reason. Very different from many of it's adaptations though
That's one of the reasons I wanted to read it. I never got to it when I was in school and figured that there is no time like the present. I've just started but so far it is a really interesting window into the views of the world in the early 1800s. The magnetic North pole was considered a scientific mystery, and the Northern Passage from Europe to the Americas was considered a foregone conclusion that would be solved in a few years by plucky explorers!
I finished One Hundred Years of Solitude recently and really loved it. The blend of real life events and magical elements was beautifully done. It felt like an elderly relative was recalling their memories whilst embellishing them with little touches of magic. SO MANY family members, but each of them was unique. In terms of the Bingo, I've added it to 'Set in War' (though it would have also fit in several other categories).
I've just started The Wager by David Grann. It seems really fascinating so far and has already given me quite an insight into maritime life. I didn't realise until now that it recounts a true event!
I read Gabriel's Love in the time of Cholera, and while I don't remember much about it now, I loved his writing. It was one of the major reason I started learning Spanish (but never got around to properly study and reach a level where I could read a book), cause I wanted to experience his writing as he has written them.
Should just read it now. Even if I learn Spanish, to be able to reach a level where I can read a book of this caliber and fully enjoy the writing, it would take a long time.
I'll have to give it a go! He has a lovely way of writing, really capturing those little details of people and places.
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Goodbye to all that by Robert Graves
A personal British view of WW1 from the trenches. It is interesting because of its personal account of things which I only know about via histories. Have read Graves' I Claudius previously, which is also a great read. The writing is different but the voice is familiar.
This year I have been catching up with some SF: broadly alternating Banks' Culture series with others. A few weeks back, after finishing Use of Weapons, I read McCarthy's The Road - which kinda counts as SF - and that spoiled other books for me for a while. His excellent, sparse use of language topped off a brilliantly understated and impactful tale.
Life got in the way for a bit following that, and rather than going into the next Culture novel, I happened to have Niven and Pournelle's The Mote in God's Eye to hand and so started that, but not only was the writing extremely mundane compared to McCarthey, but the setting of "Nelson's navy in space" left me comparing it to O'Brien's Aubrey and Maturin tales - and it didn't do well on that front either.
So I will not continue with that one and will be starting Excession - which I believe many find to be the best of the Culture books - shortly.
Any favourites in SF, from this year's reads?
The first three of Dennis E Taylor's Bobiverse tales, definitely: easy reads and the most compelling that I have read for a long while. The next ones may be too - I just decided to take a break before continuing.
Also Dan Simmon's Hyperion for it's breadth of styles if nothing else.
The early Murderbot diaries by Martha Wells. After the first five there were some elements that started to get a little repetitive, so I took a break there. I expect to enjoy them again when I restart though.
And then The Road, of course, which is by far the most literary, and probably The Player of Games so far from the Culture tales.
The least favourite would be This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone, which I found naïve and unconvincing.
Working my way through Hyperion again! Never finished it, lost interest pretty fast, but now I want to see how it all ends.
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I fell down the journaling rabbit hole and got into Digital Minimalism, by Cal Newport.
Made it to the 4th book of the Temeraire series before needing a break (the 3rd book felt a little slow/less engaging than the first 2, and it probably isn't, I just need to read something else for a bit), and my new library holds arrived, so I read Murder at Haven's Rock by Kelley Armstrong last night. It's a spin-off or sequel series to Rockton, and revisiting the characters was a treat.
I have been reading The Way of Kings for what seems like the past ten thousand years. Why are these books so long?????
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Red Rabbit by Alex Grecian.
A motley crew of misfits follow a witch hunter through the old West to collect on a bounty. Supernatural shenanigans ensues.
The art of batting. Just started it. Big fan of the writer (Jarrod Kimber) and the sport (cricket).
- Rebecca Kuang: Babel, or the Necessity of Violence
- John Crowley: The Solitudes
- Wu Cheng'en: Journey to the West (Arthur Waley’s abridged translation)
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