Locky's bookshelf: all en-US Thu, 08 May 2025 04:38:29 -0700 60 Locky's bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg Thirst for Love 6725882 200 Yukio Mishima 0099530279 Locky 3 read-in-2020 All the elements that comprise a typical Mishima novel are here - a protagonist with a death wish, violence, the portrayal of aging as a terrible thing... yet none of it combines as successfully as some of his other writings.
Even the prose which is usually exemplary of the delicate eastern touch is missing - I don't know if it was lost in translation or just neglected by Mishima himself.]]> 3.50 1950 Thirst for Love
author: Yukio Mishima
name: Locky
average rating: 3.50
book published: 1950
rating: 3
read at: 2020/03/24
date added: 2025/05/08
shelves: read-in-2020
review:
One of Mishima's more mediocre works.
All the elements that comprise a typical Mishima novel are here - a protagonist with a death wish, violence, the portrayal of aging as a terrible thing... yet none of it combines as successfully as some of his other writings.
Even the prose which is usually exemplary of the delicate eastern touch is missing - I don't know if it was lost in translation or just neglected by Mishima himself.
]]> <![CDATA[I Have No Mouth & I Must Scream]]> 415459 I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream contains seven stories with copyrights ranging from 1958 through 1967. This edition contains the original introduction by Theodore Sturgeon and the original foreword by Harlan Ellison, along with a brief update comment by Ellison that was added in the 1983 edition. Among Ellison's more famous stories, two consistently noted as among his very best ever are the title story and the volume's concluding one, Pretty Maggie Moneyeyes.

Since Ellison himself strongly resists categorization of his work, we won't call them science fiction, or SF, or speculative fiction or horror or anything else except compelling reading experiences that are sui generis. They could only have been written by Harlan Ellison and they are incomparably original.

CONTENTS
"I Have No Mouth & I Must Scream"
"Big Sam Was My Friend"
"Eyes of Dust"
"World of the Myth"
"Lonelyache"
"Delusion for Dragonslayer"
"Pretty Maggie Moneyeyes"]]> 134 Harlan Ellison 0441363954 Locky 4 read-in-2025 3.93 1967 I Have No Mouth & I Must Scream
author: Harlan Ellison
name: Locky
average rating: 3.93
book published: 1967
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2025/03/25
shelves: read-in-2025
review:

]]> On the Heights of Despair 117566
On the Heights of Despair shows Cioran's first grappling with themes he would return to in his mature works: despair and decay, absurdity and alienation, futility and the irrationality of existence. It also presents Cioran as a connoisseur of apocalypse, a theoretician of despair, for whom writing and philosophy both share the "lyrical virtues" that alone lead to a metaphysical revelation.

"No modern writer twists the knife with Cioran's dexterity. . . . His writing . . . is informed with the bitterness of genuine compassion."—Bill Marx, Boston Phoenix

"The dark, existential despair of Romanian philosopher Cioran's short meditations is paradoxically bracing and life-affirming. . . . Puts him in the company of Nietzsche and Kierkegaard."�Publishers Weekly, starred review

"This is self-pity as epigram, the sort of dyspeptic pronouncement that gets most people kicked out of bed but that has kept Mr. Cioran going for the rest of his life."—Judith Shulevitz, New York Times Book Review]]> 128 Emil M. Cioran 0226106713 Locky 0 to-read 4.21 1934 On the Heights of Despair
author: Emil M. Cioran
name: Locky
average rating: 4.21
book published: 1934
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Gates of Fire 832968 442 Steven Pressfield 0553580531 Locky 5 4.31 1998 Gates of Fire
author: Steven Pressfield
name: Locky
average rating: 4.31
book published: 1998
rating: 5
read at: 2021/09/29
date added: 2025/03/09
shelves: read-in-2021, currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Wind and Truth (The Stormlight Archive, #5)]]> 203578847 The long-awaited explosive climax to the first arc of the #1 New York Times bestselling Stormlight Archive―the iconic epic fantasy masterpiece that has sold more than 10 million copies, from acclaimed bestselling author Brandon Sanderson.

Dalinar Kholin challenged the evil god Odium to a contest of champions with the future of Roshar on the line. The Knights Radiant have only ten days to prepare―and the sudden ascension of the crafty and ruthless Taravangian to take Odium’s place has thrown everything into disarray.

Desperate fighting continues simultaneously worldwide―Adolin in Azimir, Sigzil and Venli at the Shattered Plains, and Jasnah at Thaylen City. The former assassin, Szeth, must cleanse his homeland of Shinovar from the dark influence of the Unmade. He is accompanied by Kaladin, who faces a new battle helping Szeth fight his own demons . . . and who must do the same for the insane Herald of the Almighty, Ishar.

At the same time, Shallan, Renarin, and Rlain work to unravel the mystery behind the Unmade Ba-Ado-Mishram and her involvement in the enslavement of the singer race and in the ancient Knights Radiants killing their spren. And Dalinar and Navani seek an edge against Odium’s champion that can be found only in the Spiritual Realm, where memory and possibility combine in chaos. The fate of the entire Cosmere hangs in the balance.]]> 1344 Brandon Sanderson 1250319188 Locky 1 read-in-2025 A very far fall from where Sanderson and this series once stood.

There’s not a whole lot I can say that others haven’t said already. This book sucks for a multitude of reasons and I hope for Sanderson’s sake he can turn this trajectory around. ]]> 4.35 2024 Wind and Truth (The Stormlight Archive, #5)
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Locky
average rating: 4.35
book published: 2024
rating: 1
read at: 2025/03/05
date added: 2025/03/05
shelves: read-in-2025
review:
Can’t do it. DNFing this bloated slop of a book.
A very far fall from where Sanderson and this series once stood.

There’s not a whole lot I can say that others haven’t said already. This book sucks for a multitude of reasons and I hope for Sanderson’s sake he can turn this trajectory around.
]]> <![CDATA[Rhythm of War (The Stormlight Archive, #4)]]> 17250966 The eagerly awaited sequel to the #1 New York Times bestselling Oathbringer, from epic fantasy author Brandon Sanderson

After forming a coalition of human resistance against the enemy invasion, Dalinar Kholin and his Knights Radiant have spent a year fighting a protracted, brutal war. Neither side has gained an advantage, and the threat of a betrayal by Dalinar's crafty ally Taravangian looms over every strategic move.

Now, as new technological discoveries by Navani Kholin's scholars begin to change the face of the war, the enemy prepares a bold and dangerous operation. The arms race that follows will challenge the very core of the Radiant ideals, and potentially reveal the secrets of the ancient tower that was once the heart of their strength.

At the same time that Kaladin Stormblessed must come to grips with his changing role within the Knights Radiant, his Windrunners face their own problem: As more and more deadly enemy Fused awaken to wage war, no more honorspren are willing to bond with humans to increase the number of Radiants. Adolin and Shallan must lead the coalition’s envoy to the honorspren stronghold of Lasting Integrity and either convince the spren to join the cause against the evil god Odium, or personally face the storm of failure.]]> 1231 Brandon Sanderson Locky 2 read-in-2025
I understand that Sanderson’s main editor retired after Oathbringer and maybe that’s problem one with this book. It’s bloated, it’s boring and its one saving grace from being rated one star was the trademark Sanderlanche coming together in the third act - but even then, it was just a rehash of what we’ve seen already. Kaladin gets depressed, learns there’s more to life and boom, the cycle has repeated once again. We’ve seen this exact character arc happen like three times already.

The end result of this book feels something like a marvel movie meets Reddit via way of lifeless ChatGPT writing. Sanderson is cramming so many cosmere references into this story that it’s starting to look like a marketing ploy (oh, you IDIOT, of course you can’t appreciate the story because you haven’t read everything Sanderson has ever written before!). Whereas early in the series they seemed to be cool little Easter eggs that had no consequence if you caught them or not, now they have weight to them. You can tell that there’s scenes in there that are supposed to blow the reader’s mind with a marvelesque multiverse reference to cosmere characters from other stories but they’re just becoming too much.

Let’s talk about humour while I’m at it. Brandon, silly does not equal funny. Characters saying and doing silly things as an attempt at humour is why people are starting to refer to these books as Young Adult.

This was a painful read, even considering Sanderson’s habit of starting a series incredibly well and then floundering in subsequent books. I do not have high hopes for Wind and Truth as it looks like a lot of the problems I have with this book are going to be doubled down upon.

Let’s have heroes be heroic again. Let’s have fantasy be an escape from reality, and not a shallow reflection of modern times and its associated ills. ]]> 4.66 2020 Rhythm of War (The Stormlight Archive, #4)
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Locky
average rating: 4.66
book published: 2020
rating: 2
read at: 2025/02/13
date added: 2025/02/13
shelves: read-in-2025
review:
Fantasy should be just that - fantasy. It works best when you let an element of mystery remain in your story. You avoid making it too reminiscent of real life because we read to escape that. Nobody wants to read about Aragorn’s need to book a prostate exam as a middle aged man. Nobody wants to read about Harry Potter’s end of financial year tax filings and write-offs. And personally, I do not want to read about tedious and mind-numbingly boring science experiments that strip any magic that was remaining in Roshar. We have heroes now that need therapy for God’s sake.

I understand that Sanderson’s main editor retired after Oathbringer and maybe that’s problem one with this book. It’s bloated, it’s boring and its one saving grace from being rated one star was the trademark Sanderlanche coming together in the third act - but even then, it was just a rehash of what we’ve seen already. Kaladin gets depressed, learns there’s more to life and boom, the cycle has repeated once again. We’ve seen this exact character arc happen like three times already.

The end result of this book feels something like a marvel movie meets Reddit via way of lifeless ChatGPT writing. Sanderson is cramming so many cosmere references into this story that it’s starting to look like a marketing ploy (oh, you IDIOT, of course you can’t appreciate the story because you haven’t read everything Sanderson has ever written before!). Whereas early in the series they seemed to be cool little Easter eggs that had no consequence if you caught them or not, now they have weight to them. You can tell that there’s scenes in there that are supposed to blow the reader’s mind with a marvelesque multiverse reference to cosmere characters from other stories but they’re just becoming too much.

Let’s talk about humour while I’m at it. Brandon, silly does not equal funny. Characters saying and doing silly things as an attempt at humour is why people are starting to refer to these books as Young Adult.

This was a painful read, even considering Sanderson’s habit of starting a series incredibly well and then floundering in subsequent books. I do not have high hopes for Wind and Truth as it looks like a lot of the problems I have with this book are going to be doubled down upon.

Let’s have heroes be heroic again. Let’s have fantasy be an escape from reality, and not a shallow reflection of modern times and its associated ills.
]]> <![CDATA[Oathbringer (The Stormlight Archive, #3)]]> 34002132 Oathbringer, the third volume of the New York Times bestselling Stormlight Archive, humanity faces a new Desolation with the return of the Voidbringers, a foe with numbers as great as their thirst for vengeance.

Dalinar Kholin's Alethi armies won a fleeting victory at a terrible cost: The enemy Parshendi summoned the violent Everstorm, which now sweeps the world with destruction, and in its passing awakens the once peaceful and subservient parshmen to the horror of their millennia-long enslavement by humans. While on a desperate flight to warn his family of the threat, Kaladin Stormblessed must come to grips with the fact that the newly kindled anger of the parshmen may be wholly justified.

Nestled in the mountains high above the storms, in the tower city of Urithiru, Shallan Davar investigates the wonders of the ancient stronghold of the Knights Radiant and unearths dark secrets lurking in its depths. And Dalinar realizes that his holy mission to unite his homeland of Alethkar was too narrow in scope. Unless all the nations of Roshar can put aside Dalinar's blood-soaked past and stand together--and unless Dalinar himself can confront that past--even the restoration of the Knights Radiant will not prevent the end of civilization.]]> 1248 Brandon Sanderson Locky 3 read-in-2018, read-in-2025 This is still a great read anyway, regardless of length.

On a side note, this is the recently published book 3 of a planned 10 part series. At this rate, this series won't be completed for another 21 years!]]> 4.60 2017 Oathbringer (The Stormlight Archive, #3)
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Locky
average rating: 4.60
book published: 2017
rating: 3
read at: 2025/02/01
date added: 2025/02/01
shelves: read-in-2018, read-in-2025
review:
A worthy continuation of the Stormlight Archives. The pace of the last two books in this series has slowed down somewhat, with the majority of major events happening in the last sixth of the books. This book in particular felt like a very long lead up to a series of collective confrontations that each main character had to deal with during the ending battle, be it confrontations with sworn enemies or faults within themselves.
This is still a great read anyway, regardless of length.

On a side note, this is the recently published book 3 of a planned 10 part series. At this rate, this series won't be completed for another 21 years!
]]> <![CDATA[Words of Radiance (The Stormlight Archive, #2)]]> 17332218 From #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson, Words of Radiance, Book Two of the Stormlight Archive, continues the immersive fantasy epic that The Way of Kings began.

Expected by his enemies to die the miserable death of a military slave, Kaladin survived to be given command of the royal bodyguards, a controversial first for a low-status "darkeyes." Now he must protect the king and Dalinar from every common peril as well as the distinctly uncommon threat of the Assassin, all while secretly struggling to master remarkable new powers that are somehow linked to his honorspren, Syl.

The Assassin, Szeth, is active again, murdering rulers all over the world of Roshar, using his baffling powers to thwart every bodyguard and elude all pursuers. Among his prime targets is Highprince Dalinar, widely considered the power behind the Alethi throne. His leading role in the war would seem reason enough, but the Assassin's master has much deeper motives.

Brilliant but troubled Shallan strives along a parallel path. Despite being broken in ways she refuses to acknowledge, she bears a terrible burden: to somehow prevent the return of the legendary Voidbringers and the civilization-ending Desolation that will follow. The secrets she needs can be found at the Shattered Plains, but just arriving there proves more difficult than she could have imagined.

Meanwhile, at the heart of the Shattered Plains, the Parshendi are making an epochal decision. Hard pressed by years of Alethi attacks, their numbers ever shrinking, they are convinced by their war leader, Eshonai, to risk everything on a desperate gamble with the very supernatural forces they once fled. The possible consequences for Parshendi and humans alike, indeed, for Roshar itself, are as dangerous as they are incalculable.]]> 1088 Brandon Sanderson 0765326361 Locky 4 read-in-2018, read-in-2025 Part two of the Stormlight Archive is set in a slower pace compared to the first book. There is a lot more focus on developing relationships and I found a lot of the dialogue between anyone a particular character (Shallan) came into contact with was pretty grating, the quips very quickly growing tiresome.
Plot wise, it's about as much as you could want from a fantasy novel - plenty of action, exotic landscapes and treachery. Sanderson has a knack of breathing life into such a complex universe without overloading the reader. Bring on book three.]]> 4.76 2014 Words of Radiance (The Stormlight Archive, #2)
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Locky
average rating: 4.76
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/20
date added: 2025/01/20
shelves: read-in-2018, read-in-2025
review:
4.5/5 stars.
Part two of the Stormlight Archive is set in a slower pace compared to the first book. There is a lot more focus on developing relationships and I found a lot of the dialogue between anyone a particular character (Shallan) came into contact with was pretty grating, the quips very quickly growing tiresome.
Plot wise, it's about as much as you could want from a fantasy novel - plenty of action, exotic landscapes and treachery. Sanderson has a knack of breathing life into such a complex universe without overloading the reader. Bring on book three.
]]> <![CDATA[The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive, #1)]]> 9647295
In the end, not war but victory proved the greater test. Did our foes see that the harder they fought, the fiercer our resistance? Fire and hammer forge a sword; time and neglect rust it away. So we won the world, yet lost it.

Now there are four whom we watch: the surgeon, forced to forsake healing and fight in the most brutal war of our time; the assassin, who weeps as he kills; the liar, who wears her scholar's mantle over a thief's heart; and the prince, whose eyes open to the ancient past as his thirst for battle wanes.

One of them may redeem us. One of them will destroy us.

From Brandon Sanderson—the author completing Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time series—comes The Stormlight Archive, a richly imagined epic set in a world relentlessly blasted by awesome tempests, where emotions take on physical form, and terrible secrets hide deep within the rocky landscape.]]> 1258 Brandon Sanderson 0765365278 Locky 5 read-in-2025 The Way of Kings starts off as you'd expect from a fantasy novel - supernatural powers are in play in a strange land filled with odd creatures and people, yet Sanderson doesn't drown the non-fantasy fan in a sea of overwhelming, fantastical elements. The plot is steady, leaving you thirsting for more, while the character development is second to none.
I admire Sanderson's dedication to his amazingly immense universe and his refreshing writing style. The Way of Kings is light on romance, heavy on action and lacking any needless filling (which is impressive, considering it's 1,200+ pages long).

The only negative I draw from this book is that the series it belongs to is still in the works and won't be completed for years to come, which is difficult to bear considering how fantastic its beginning novel is. This is definitely not a black mark against the author or the book itself, however.
'The Way of Kings' is a work of art and a credit to the genre.

Reread in 2025: still holds up after 8 (wow, times flies) years from my first read. ]]> 4.67 2010 The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive, #1)
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Locky
average rating: 4.67
book published: 2010
rating: 5
read at: 2025/01/14
date added: 2025/01/14
shelves: read-in-2025
review:
It has been decades since I've read any epic fantasy books, so I was completely ignorant of Brandon Sanderson's existence up until I got my hands on 'The Way of Kings'.
The Way of Kings starts off as you'd expect from a fantasy novel - supernatural powers are in play in a strange land filled with odd creatures and people, yet Sanderson doesn't drown the non-fantasy fan in a sea of overwhelming, fantastical elements. The plot is steady, leaving you thirsting for more, while the character development is second to none.
I admire Sanderson's dedication to his amazingly immense universe and his refreshing writing style. The Way of Kings is light on romance, heavy on action and lacking any needless filling (which is impressive, considering it's 1,200+ pages long).

The only negative I draw from this book is that the series it belongs to is still in the works and won't be completed for years to come, which is difficult to bear considering how fantastic its beginning novel is. This is definitely not a black mark against the author or the book itself, however.
'The Way of Kings' is a work of art and a credit to the genre.

Reread in 2025: still holds up after 8 (wow, times flies) years from my first read.
]]> <![CDATA[The Pillars of the Earth (Kingsbridge, #1)]]> 7049168 This is an alternate cover for ISBN 0688046592

A departure for the bestselling thriller writer, the historical epic stunned readers and critics alike with its ambitious scope and gripping humanity. Today, it is a beloved favorite of countless readers, standing as a testament to Follett's unassailable command of the written word and to his universal appeal. A spellbinding epic set in twelfth-century England, The Pillars of the Earth tells the story of Philip, prior of Kingsbridge, a devout and resourceful monk driven to build the greatest Gothic cathedral the world has known ... of Tom, the mason who becomes his architect-a man divided in his soul ... of the beautiful, elusive Lady Aliena, haunted by a secret shame ... and of a struggle between good and evil that will turn church against state, and brother against brother.]]> 973 Ken Follett Locky 5 read-in-2025
My father had gifted me this book back several years ago and it was one of those books that I kept putting off - I mean, how interesting and enthralling can a book about the construction of a cathedral be?

The simple answer is ‘very.�
The story follows the lives of a handful of characters spanning 4 decades in which we see political manoeuvring, staged battles, blossoming romances and enough villainy to make GRRM blush. Follett writes in a way that always holds the reader’s attention despite the length of this novel - it reads fairly quickly and there’s no plot lines that feel like dead weight.]]> 4.35 1989 The Pillars of the Earth (Kingsbridge, #1)
author: Ken Follett
name: Locky
average rating: 4.35
book published: 1989
rating: 5
read at: 2025/01/03
date added: 2025/01/03
shelves: read-in-2025
review:
A 1,000+ page classic along the likes of The Count of Monte Cristo and Lonesome Dove.

My father had gifted me this book back several years ago and it was one of those books that I kept putting off - I mean, how interesting and enthralling can a book about the construction of a cathedral be?

The simple answer is ‘very.�
The story follows the lives of a handful of characters spanning 4 decades in which we see political manoeuvring, staged battles, blossoming romances and enough villainy to make GRRM blush. Follett writes in a way that always holds the reader’s attention despite the length of this novel - it reads fairly quickly and there’s no plot lines that feel like dead weight.
]]> <![CDATA[Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business]]> 74034 184 Neil Postman 014303653X Locky 3 read-in-2024 4.16 1985 Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business
author: Neil Postman
name: Locky
average rating: 4.16
book published: 1985
rating: 3
read at: 2024/12/21
date added: 2024/12/21
shelves: read-in-2024
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Fellowship of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings, #1)]]> 21965598 Successive generations have been spellbound by the exploits of Frodo, Gandalf and their comrades as they journey towards Mordor to do battle with the Dark Lord Sauron. There is something about the alluring world of elves, dwarves and old magic which has proved exceptionally popular, working on the imagination both as an enthralling adventure story and, at a deeper level, as 'a comprehensive counter-myth to the story of the twentieth century' � Independent. Tolkien’s treatment of the eternal struggle between good and evil, from stirring battles (‘as good as anything in Homer,� according to C. S Lewis) to the conflict within every individual, is subtle, lyrical and profound.
Illustrated by Eric Fraser, one of the foremost British illustrators of the 20th century, his images � a total of 7 full-page images and 57 head-pieces � are based on original designs by Queen Margrethe II of Denmark. Tolkien had seen her sketches and was so impressed that his executors gave special permission for Fraser to interpret them for these Folio editions. Covers blocked in gold and maps of Middle Earth as endpapers complete this superb edition of one the world’s favourite stories.]]> 459 J.R.R. Tolkien Locky 5 read-in-2020, read-in-2024 4.69 1954 The Fellowship of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings, #1)
author: J.R.R. Tolkien
name: Locky
average rating: 4.69
book published: 1954
rating: 5
read at: 2024/12/17
date added: 2024/12/17
shelves: read-in-2020, read-in-2024
review:

]]> <![CDATA[All the Pretty Horses (The Border Trilogy, #1)]]> 469571 302 Cormac McCarthy 0679744398 Locky 5 read-in-2024 4.04 1992 All the Pretty Horses (The Border Trilogy, #1)
author: Cormac McCarthy
name: Locky
average rating: 4.04
book published: 1992
rating: 5
read at: 2024/11/22
date added: 2024/11/22
shelves: read-in-2024
review:

]]> A Monster Calls 25480342 The bestselling novel about love, loss and hope from the twice Carnegie Medal-winning Patrick Ness.

Conor has the same dream every night, ever since his mother first fell ill, ever since she started the treatments that don't quite seem to be working. But tonight is different. Tonight, when he wakes, there's a visitor at his window. It's ancient, elemental, a force of nature. And it wants the most dangerous thing of all from Conor. It wants the truth.

Patrick Ness takes the final idea of the late, award-winning writer Siobhan Dowd and weaves an extraordinary and heartbreaking tale of mischief, healing and above all, the courage it takes to survive.]]> 237 Patrick Ness 1406361801 Locky 5 read-in-2024 4.28 2011 A Monster Calls
author: Patrick Ness
name: Locky
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2011
rating: 5
read at: 2024/11/11
date added: 2024/11/11
shelves: read-in-2024
review:

]]> The Violent Land 214840 276 Jorge Amado 0380754754 Locky 0 to-read 3.84 1943 The Violent Land
author: Jorge Amado
name: Locky
average rating: 3.84
book published: 1943
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/06
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Lonesome Dove (Lonesome Dove, #1)]]> 256008 Lonesome Dove, the third book in the Lonesome Dove tetralogy, is the grandest novel ever written about the last defiant wilderness of America.

Journey to the dusty little Texas town of Lonesome Dove and meet an unforgettable assortment of heroes and outlaws, whores and ladies, Indians and settlers. Richly authentic, beautifully written, always dramatic, Lonesome Dove is a book to make us laugh, weep, dream, and remember.]]> 960 Larry McMurtry 067168390X Locky 5 read-in-2024 4.54 1985 Lonesome Dove (Lonesome Dove, #1)
author: Larry McMurtry
name: Locky
average rating: 4.54
book published: 1985
rating: 5
read at: 2024/11/03
date added: 2024/11/03
shelves: read-in-2024
review:

]]> I, Claudius 820462 I, Claudius he watches from the sidelines to record the reigns of its emperors: from the wise Augustus and his villainous wife Livia to the sadistic Tiberius and the insane excesses of Caligula. Written in the form of Claudius' autobiography, this is the first part of Robert Graves's brilliant account of the madness and debauchery of ancient Rome, and stands as one of the most celebrated, gripping historical novels ever written.]]> 416 Robert Graves 0141188596 Locky 4 read-in-2024 4.21 1934 I, Claudius
author: Robert Graves
name: Locky
average rating: 4.21
book published: 1934
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/20
date added: 2024/10/20
shelves: read-in-2024
review:

]]> Do the Work 10645233
Our enemy is not lack of preparation; it's not the difficulty of the project, or the state of the marketplace or the emptiness of our bank account.

The enemy is resistance.

The enemy is our chattering brain, which, if we give it so much as a nanosecond, will start producing excuses, alibis, transparent self-justifications and a million reasons why he can't/shouldn't/won't do what we know we need to do.

Start before you're ready.]]> 109 Steven Pressfield 1455820997 Locky 4 read-in-2024 3.93 2011 Do the Work
author: Steven Pressfield
name: Locky
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/10/14
shelves: read-in-2024
review:

]]> <![CDATA[False Gods (The Horus Heresy, #2)]]> 381817 416 Graham McNeill 1844163709 Locky 1 read-in-2024
How this book even got published is beyond me. McNeill writes with the ability and subtlety of an 11 year old and I found myself struggling to concentrate on the piss poor plot when even the writing is painful to read. For example, McNeill is allergic to simply writing ‘he said� or using any subtlety when it comes to dialogue. In a 10 word paragraph we have three characters using ‘demanded�, ‘shouted� and ‘cried�, which is exactly the hyperbolic phrasing used in children’s fairytales.
McNeill has also obviously never bothered to learn the ‘show, don’t tell� adage. We’re constantly told how good or perfect someone or something is without ever being shown why.

The first book was a surprisingly good read, with good characterisation, tension, mystery, and philosophy. This book contains none of the aforementioned - the change of author could not be more obvious as McNeill assassinates the intriguing characters and writes what feels like C grade fan fiction from someone who doesn’t know how to write, let alone write a compelling story.]]> 4.11 2006 False Gods (The Horus Heresy, #2)
author: Graham McNeill
name: Locky
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2006
rating: 1
read at:
date added: 2024/10/08
shelves: read-in-2024
review:
DNFing at 50%. I almost never DNF but this is a rare exception due to just how awful this book is - my time is too valuable to be invested in such a waste.

How this book even got published is beyond me. McNeill writes with the ability and subtlety of an 11 year old and I found myself struggling to concentrate on the piss poor plot when even the writing is painful to read. For example, McNeill is allergic to simply writing ‘he said� or using any subtlety when it comes to dialogue. In a 10 word paragraph we have three characters using ‘demanded�, ‘shouted� and ‘cried�, which is exactly the hyperbolic phrasing used in children’s fairytales.
McNeill has also obviously never bothered to learn the ‘show, don’t tell� adage. We’re constantly told how good or perfect someone or something is without ever being shown why.

The first book was a surprisingly good read, with good characterisation, tension, mystery, and philosophy. This book contains none of the aforementioned - the change of author could not be more obvious as McNeill assassinates the intriguing characters and writes what feels like C grade fan fiction from someone who doesn’t know how to write, let alone write a compelling story.
]]> <![CDATA[Horus Rising (The Horus Heresy, #1)]]> 625603 416 Dan Abnett 184416294X Locky 4 read-in-2024 4.23 2006 Horus Rising (The Horus Heresy, #1)
author: Dan Abnett
name: Locky
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/04
date added: 2024/10/04
shelves: read-in-2024
review:
Reminds me a little of Starship Troopers - pleasantly philosophical but to a lesser degree, yet has a much more interesting plot.
]]> <![CDATA[Stolen Focus: Why You Can't Pay Attention� and How to Think Deeply Again]]> 57933306 Our ability to pay attention is collapsing. From the New York Times bestselling author of Chasing the Scream and Lost Connections comes a groundbreaking examination of why this is happening--and how to get our attention back.

In the United States, teenagers can focus on one task for only sixty-five seconds at a time, and office workers average only three minutes. Like so many of us, Johann Hari was finding that constantly switching from device to device and tab to tab was a diminishing and depressing way to live. He tried all sorts of self-help solutions--even abandoning his phone for three months--but nothing seemed to work. So Hari went on an epic journey across the world to interview the leading experts on human attention--and he discovered that everything we think we know about this crisis is wrong.

We think our inability to focus is a personal failure to exert enough willpower over our devices. The truth is even more disturbing: our focus has been stolen by powerful external forces that have left us uniquely vulnerable to corporations determined to raid our attention for profit. Hari found that there are twelve deep causes of this crisis, from the decline of mind-wandering to rising pollution, all of which have robbed some of our attention. In Stolen Focus, he introduces readers to Silicon Valley dissidents who learned to hack human attention, and veterinarians who diagnose dogs with ADHD. He explores a favela in Rio de Janeiro where everyone lost their attention in a particularly surreal way, and an office in New Zealand that discovered a remarkable technique to restore workers' productivity.

Crucially, Hari learned how we can reclaim our focus--as individuals, and as a society--if we are determined to fight for it. Stolen Focus will transform the debate about attention and finally show us how to get it back.]]> 357 Johann Hari 0593138511 Locky 2 read-in-2024
Hari has the capability to ask the important questions, and parts of the book are worth reading (for example, the chapters on sleep and modern diets). However, none of the information revealed should be new or ground-breaking to anyone with a sense of curiosity or anyone who has dipped their toes into anything fitness related. But much of the rest of the book is a strange insight into the mind of the aforementioned journalist. Too often did I find myself reading a tirade into the fears of a chronically online journalist and not an unbiased researcher - be it the far right, global warming, feminist and gay revolution, holocaust issues, Trump. These are not things that belong or are even remotely relevant to the topic at hand. The fact that one of Hari's solutions to fixing one's attention span is to not rely on any news from online sources but from mainstream newspapers alone just goes to show how out of touch Hari's answers are - and that's not even broaching his idea of giving governments total power of social media.

Overall, the book is not really worth reading - one would be better off reading the studies discussed within alone. Hari comes across as naïve and uncapable of self control when it comes to use of technology - as someone else here mentioned, like an addict trying to come to terms with his own addiction. Also concerning is his questionable background when it comes to the truth and journalism. ]]> 4.22 2022 Stolen Focus: Why You Can't Pay Attention— and How to Think Deeply Again
author: Johann Hari
name: Locky
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2022
rating: 2
read at: 2024/10/01
date added: 2024/10/01
shelves: read-in-2024
review:
This book has a compelling thesis and raises decent questions regarding modern society and the disconnection with what has been natural for millennia. Unfortunately, the answers are delivered through the lens of a neoliberal journalist that are sceptical at best and ham-fisted at worst.

Hari has the capability to ask the important questions, and parts of the book are worth reading (for example, the chapters on sleep and modern diets). However, none of the information revealed should be new or ground-breaking to anyone with a sense of curiosity or anyone who has dipped their toes into anything fitness related. But much of the rest of the book is a strange insight into the mind of the aforementioned journalist. Too often did I find myself reading a tirade into the fears of a chronically online journalist and not an unbiased researcher - be it the far right, global warming, feminist and gay revolution, holocaust issues, Trump. These are not things that belong or are even remotely relevant to the topic at hand. The fact that one of Hari's solutions to fixing one's attention span is to not rely on any news from online sources but from mainstream newspapers alone just goes to show how out of touch Hari's answers are - and that's not even broaching his idea of giving governments total power of social media.

Overall, the book is not really worth reading - one would be better off reading the studies discussed within alone. Hari comes across as naïve and uncapable of self control when it comes to use of technology - as someone else here mentioned, like an addict trying to come to terms with his own addiction. Also concerning is his questionable background when it comes to the truth and journalism.
]]> Before Adam 533850 Before Adam is a bit of a departure from London's other novels. Still an adventure novel, this one revolves around the dreams of a young boy, dreams that involve racial memories and the knowledge of his prior existence as a man-like creature named Big Tooth living in prehistoric times. "These are our ancestors, and their history is our history. Remember that as surely as we one day swung down out of the trees and walked upright, just as surely, on a far earlier day, did we crawl up out of the sea and achieve our first adventure on land."]]> 112 Jack London 1598189778 Locky 4 read-in-2024 3.89 1906 Before Adam
author: Jack London
name: Locky
average rating: 3.89
book published: 1906
rating: 4
read at: 2024/09/22
date added: 2024/09/22
shelves: read-in-2024
review:

]]> Napoleon the Great 30375037 From Andrew Roberts, author of the Sunday Times bestseller The Storm of War, this is the definitive modern biography of Napoleon

It has become all too common for Napoleon Bonaparte's biographers to approach him as a figure to be reviled, bent on world domination, practically a proto-Hitler. Here, after years of study extending even to visits paid to St Helena and 53 of Napoleon's 56 battlefields, Andrew Roberts has created a true portrait of the mind, the life, and the military and above all political genius of a fundamentally constructive ruler. This is the Napoleon, Roberts reminds us, whose peacetime activity produced countless indispensable civic innovations - and whose Napoleonic Code provided the blueprint for civil law systems still in use around the world today.

It is one of the greatest lives in world history, which here has found its ideal biographer. The sheer enjoyment which this book will give anyone who loves history is enormous.

]]> 884 Andrew Roberts Locky 0 currently-reading 4.49 2014 Napoleon the Great
author: Andrew Roberts
name: Locky
average rating: 4.49
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/12
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Assassin's Quest (Farseer Trilogy, #3)]]> 22016392
But Fitz will not wait. Driven by loss and bitter memories, he undertakes a quest: to kill Regal. The journey casts him into deep waters, as he discovers wild currents of magic within him--currents that will either drown him or make him something more than he was.]]> 838 Robin Hobb 0007562276 Locky 3 read-in-2024 4.19 1997 Assassin's Quest (Farseer Trilogy, #3)
author: Robin Hobb
name: Locky
average rating: 4.19
book published: 1997
rating: 3
read at: 2024/09/11
date added: 2024/09/11
shelves: read-in-2024
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Royal Assassin (Farseer Trilogy, #2)]]> 22016387
Renewing their vicious attacks on the coast, the Red-Ship Raiders leave burned-out villages and demented victims in their wake. The kingdom is also under assault from within, as treachery threatens the throne of the ailing king. In this time of great danger, the fate of the kingdom may rest in Fitz’s hands—and his role in its salvation may require the ultimate sacrifice.]]> 648 Robin Hobb 0007562268 Locky 5 read-in-2024 4.39 1996 Royal Assassin (Farseer Trilogy, #2)
author: Robin Hobb
name: Locky
average rating: 4.39
book published: 1996
rating: 5
read at: 2024/09/03
date added: 2024/09/03
shelves: read-in-2024
review:

]]> Childhood’s End 414999
But at what cost? With the advent of peace, man ceases to strive for creative greatness, and a malaise settles over the human race. To those who resist, it becomes evident that the Overlords have an agenda of their own. As civilization approaches the crossroads, will the Overlords spell the end for humankind . . . or the beginning?]]> 224 Arthur C. Clarke Locky 0 to-read 4.12 1953 Childhood’s End
author: Arthur C. Clarke
name: Locky
average rating: 4.12
book published: 1953
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/02
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Assassin's Apprentice (Farseer Trilogy, #1)]]> 21956219
Born on the wrong side of the sheets, Fitz, son of Chivalry Farseer, is a royal bastard, cast out into the world, friendless and lonely. Only his magical link with animals - the old art known as the Wit - gives him solace and companionship. But the Wit, if used too often, is a perilous magic, and one abhorred by the nobility.

So when Fitz is finally adopted into the royal household, he must give up his old ways and embrace a new life of weaponry, scribing, courtly manners; and how to kill a man secretly, as he trains to become a royal assassin.]]> 392 Robin Hobb 000756225X Locky 5 read-in-2021, read-in-2024 4.19 1995 Assassin's Apprentice (Farseer Trilogy, #1)
author: Robin Hobb
name: Locky
average rating: 4.19
book published: 1995
rating: 5
read at: 2024/08/26
date added: 2024/08/26
shelves: read-in-2021, read-in-2024
review:

]]> Warbreaker 7969594
Their world is one in which those who die in glory return as gods to live confined to a pantheon in Hallandren's capital city and where a power known as BioChromatic magic is based on an essence known as breath that can only be collected one unit at a time from individual people.

By using breath and drawing upon the color in everyday objects, all manner of miracles and mischief can be accomplished. It will take considerable quantities of each to resolve all the challenges facing Vivenna and Siri, princesses of Idris; Susebron the God King; Lightsong, reluctant god of bravery, and mysterious Vasher, the Warbreaker.]]> 652 Brandon Sanderson Locky 4 read-in-2024 4.31 2009 Warbreaker
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Locky
average rating: 4.31
book published: 2009
rating: 4
read at: 2024/08/19
date added: 2024/08/19
shelves: read-in-2024
review:

]]> The Game 1201811 103 Jack London 080327999X Locky 5 read-in-2024 3.71 1905 The Game
author: Jack London
name: Locky
average rating: 3.71
book published: 1905
rating: 5
read at: 2024/08/12
date added: 2024/08/12
shelves: read-in-2024
review:

]]> Iron John: A Book About Men 122600 288 Robert Bly 0306813769 Locky 2 read-in-2024 3.90 1990 Iron John: A Book About Men
author: Robert Bly
name: Locky
average rating: 3.90
book published: 1990
rating: 2
read at: 2024/08/12
date added: 2024/08/12
shelves: read-in-2024
review:

]]> <![CDATA[To Green Angel Tower, Part 1 (Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, #3; Part 1)]]> 795034 To Green Angel Tower is the momentous tour-de-force finale of a ground-breaking series. Replete with war, deception, adventure, sorcery, and romance, To Green Angel Tower brings to a stunning and surprising conclusion Tad Williams' monumental tale of a magical conflict which fractures the very fabric of time and space, turning both humans and Sithi against those of their own blood.

As the evil minions of the undead Sithi Storm King prepare for the kingdom-shattering culmination of their dark sorceries and King Elias is drawn ever deeper into their nightmarish, spell-spun world, the loyal allies of Prince Josua desperately struggle to rally their forces at The Stone of Farewell. And with time running out, the remaining members of the now-devastated League of the Scroll have also gathered there to unravel mysteries from the forgotten past. For if the League can reclaim these age-old secrets of magic long-buried beneath the dusts of time, they may be able to reveal to Josua and his army the only means of striking down the unslayable foe.

But whether or not the League is successful in its quest, the call of battle will lead the valiant followers of Josua Lackhand across storm tossed seas brimming with bloodthirsty kilpa...through forests swarming with those both mind- and soul-lost... through ancient caverns built by legendary Dwarrows...to the haunted halls of Asu'a itself—the Sithi's greatest stronghold!]]> 815 Tad Williams 0886775981 Locky 4 read-in-2023 4.21 1993 To Green Angel Tower, Part 1 (Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, #3; Part 1)
author: Tad Williams
name: Locky
average rating: 4.21
book published: 1993
rating: 4
read at: 2023/11/09
date added: 2024/08/07
shelves: read-in-2023
review:

]]> <![CDATA[H.P. Lovecraft: The Complete Fiction]]> 8320840 The Complete Fiction of H.P. Lovecraft collects the author's novel, four novellas, and fifty-three short stories. Written between the years 1917 and 1935, this collection features Lovecraft's trademark fantastical creatures and supernatural thrills, as well as many horrific and cautionary science-fiction themes, that have influenced some of today's writers and filmmakers, including Stephen King, Alan Moore, F. Paul Wilson, Guillermo del Toro, and Neil Gaiman. Included in this volume are The Case of Charles Dexter Ward, "The Call of Cthulhu," "The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath," "At the Mountains of Madness," "The Shadow Over Innsmouth," "The Color Out of Space," "The Dunwich Horror," and many more hair-raising tales.]]> 1098 H.P. Lovecraft 1435122968 Locky 0 currently-reading 4.37 H.P. Lovecraft: The Complete Fiction
author: H.P. Lovecraft
name: Locky
average rating: 4.37
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/07
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> The Call of Cthulhu 15730101 The Call of Cthulhu is a harrowing tale of the weakness of the human mind when confronted by powers and intelligences from beyond our world.]]> 43 H.P. Lovecraft Locky 5 3.97 1928 The Call of Cthulhu
author: H.P. Lovecraft
name: Locky
average rating: 3.97
book published: 1928
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2024/08/07
shelves:
review:

]]> Lysistrata and Other Plays 40196206 94 Aristophanes 1420947583 Locky 0 to-read 0.0 -423 Lysistrata and Other Plays
author: Aristophanes
name: Locky
average rating: 0.0
book published: -423
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?]]> 36402034 258 Philip K. Dick Locky 4 read-in-2024 4.16 1968 Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
author: Philip K. Dick
name: Locky
average rating: 4.16
book published: 1968
rating: 4
read at: 2024/08/02
date added: 2024/08/02
shelves: read-in-2024
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (The Tales of Dunk and Egg, #1-3)]]> 18635622 368 George R.R. Martin 0345533488 Locky 4 read-in-2024 4.24 2015 A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (The Tales of Dunk and Egg, #1-3)
author: George R.R. Martin
name: Locky
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2024/08/01
date added: 2024/08/01
shelves: read-in-2024
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Dance with Dragons (A Song of Ice and Fire, #5)]]> 10664113 Alternate cover edition of ASIN B004XISI4A

In the aftermath of a colossal battle, the future of the Seven Kingdoms hangs in the balance—beset by newly emerging threats from every direction. In the east, Daenerys Targaryen, the last scion of House Targaryen, rules with her three dragons as queen of a city built on dust and death. But Daenerys has thousands of enemies, and many have set out to find her. As they gather, one young man embarks upon his own quest for the queen, with an entirely different goal in mind.

Fleeing from Westeros with a price on his head, Tyrion Lannister, too, is making his way to Daenerys. But his newest allies in this quest are not the rag-tag band they seem, and at their heart lies one who could undo Daenerys’s claim to Westeros forever.

Meanwhile, to the north lies the mammoth Wall of ice and stone—a structure only as strong as those guarding it. There, Jon Snow, 998th Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch, will face his greatest challenge. For he has powerful foes not only within the Watch but also beyond, in the land of the creatures of ice.

From all corners, bitter conflicts reignite, intimate betrayals are perpetrated, and a grand cast of outlaws and priests, soldiers and skinchangers, nobles and slaves, will face seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Some will fail, others will grow in the strength of darkness. But in a time of rising restlessness, the tides of destiny and politics will lead inevitably to the greatest dance of all.]]> 1125 George R.R. Martin Locky 4 read-in-2024 4.33 2011 A Dance with Dragons (A Song of Ice and Fire, #5)
author: George R.R. Martin
name: Locky
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at: 2024/07/11
date added: 2024/07/11
shelves: read-in-2024
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Feast for Crows (A Song of Ice and Fire, #4)]]> 13497 Crows will fight over a dead man's flesh, and kill each other for his eyes.

Bloodthirsty, treacherous and cunning, the Lannisters are in power on the Iron Throne in the name of the boy-king Tommen. The war in the Seven Kingdoms has burned itself out, but in its bitter aftermath new conflicts spark to life.

The Martells of Dorne and the Starks of Winterfell seek vengeance for their dead. Euron Crow's Eye, as black a pirate as ever raised a sail, returns from the smoking ruins of Valyria to claim the Iron Isles. From the icy north, where Others threaten the Wall, apprentice Maester Samwell Tarly brings a mysterious babe in arms to the Citadel.

Against a backdrop of incest and fratricide, alchemy and murder, victory will go to the men and women possessed of the coldest steel and the coldest hearts.]]> 1060 George R.R. Martin 055358202X Locky 3 read-in-2024 4.16 2005 A Feast for Crows (A Song of Ice and Fire, #4)
author: George R.R. Martin
name: Locky
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2005
rating: 3
read at: 2024/06/27
date added: 2024/06/27
shelves: read-in-2024
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Storm of Swords (A Song of Ice and Fire, #3)]]> 55672946 A Storm of Swords, the third volume in the ground-breaking ‘A Song of Ice and Fire� series. Taking the world by storm, George R. R. Martin’s fantasy epic has won millions of fans worldwide, and these Folio editions � described by the author as ‘masterpieces of the bookmaker� art� � are packed full of details that devoted readers will find irresistible. Featuring exquisite illustrations by series artist Jonathan Burton, updated genealogies, a pair of bindings blocked in red and gold foils and specially designed chapter headings, this edition of A Storm of Swords exemplifies everything that makes a Folio edition so coveted.

STEEL AND SNOW, BLOOD AND GOLD

The War of the Five Kings has ushered in a new age of unrest and violence to the seven kingdoms. Jon Snow is deep in Wildling territory and has discovered that they intend to throw down the Wall once and for all � yet their motives may be more complex than he anticipated. Arya is loose in a war-stricken land filled with dangerous men, and must think on her feet to keep her throat from being cut. Robb Stark, newly crowned King in the North, needs to build new alliances, and quick, but in Westeros, blood runs truer than oaths. Can a hastily arranged marriage secure an alliance with the Freys? The twin spectres of revenge and betrayal stalk Ned Stark’s heirs, and no one will escape unscathed.]]> 1128 George R.R. Martin Locky 5 read-in-2024 4.85 2000 A Storm of Swords (A Song of Ice and Fire, #3)
author: George R.R. Martin
name: Locky
average rating: 4.85
book published: 2000
rating: 5
read at: 2024/06/10
date added: 2024/06/10
shelves: read-in-2024
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Strange Life of Nikola Tesla]]> 5902265 116 Nikola Tesla 9563100441 Locky 3 read-in-2018 One strange paragraph appears in this book, where Tesla makes the claim that the world will know peace when the races of man merge together and that there is in fact just one race, of many colours. It's safe to say that modern society has proven this theory of his to be quite the fallacy.]]> 3.77 1935 The Strange Life of Nikola Tesla
author: Nikola Tesla
name: Locky
average rating: 3.77
book published: 1935
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2024/05/26
shelves: read-in-2018
review:
Tesla could be considered a typical genius - he had a sharp mind, but not without certain quirks (an aversion to pearls, for example). This book is a collection of anecdotes from both his youth and adult life which exhibits his technical mind.
One strange paragraph appears in this book, where Tesla makes the claim that the world will know peace when the races of man merge together and that there is in fact just one race, of many colours. It's safe to say that modern society has proven this theory of his to be quite the fallacy.
]]> <![CDATA[A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire, #2)]]> 53246133
It is a tale in which brother plots against brother and the dead rise to walk in the night. Here a princess masquerades as an orphan boy; a knight of the mind prepares a poison for a treacherous sorceress; and wild men descend from the Mountains of the Moon to ravage the countryside. Against a backdrop of incest and fratricide, alchemy and murder, victory may go to the men and women possessed of the coldest steel...and the coldest hearts. For when kings clash, the whole land trembles.

Here is the second volume in George R.R. Martin magnificent cycle of novels that includes A Game of Thrones and A Storm of Swords. As a whole, this series comprises a genuine masterpiece of modern fantasy, bringing together the best the genre has to offer. Magic, mystery, intrigue, romance, and adventure fill these pages and transport us to a world unlike any we have ever experienced. Already hailed as a classic, George R.R. Martin stunning series is destined to stand as one of the great achievements of imaginative fiction.]]> 888 George R.R. Martin Locky 4 read-in-2024 4.67 1998 A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire, #2)
author: George R.R. Martin
name: Locky
average rating: 4.67
book published: 1998
rating: 4
read at: 2024/05/22
date added: 2024/05/22
shelves: read-in-2024
review:

]]> No More Mr. Nice Guy 97642 192 Robert A. Glover 0762415339 Locky 4 read-in-2024 3.97 2000 No More Mr. Nice Guy
author: Robert A. Glover
name: Locky
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2000
rating: 4
read at: 2024/05/13
date added: 2024/05/13
shelves: read-in-2024
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Deadhouse Gates (Malazan Book of the Fallen, #2)]]> 478927
In this thrilling chapter in the epic story of the Malazan Empire, war and betrayal, intrigue and roiling magic collide, shaping destinies and giving birth to legends...]]> 960 Steven Erikson 0553813110 Locky 5 read-in-2021 4.29 2000 Deadhouse Gates (Malazan Book of the Fallen, #2)
author: Steven Erikson
name: Locky
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2000
rating: 5
read at: 2021/02/10
date added: 2024/05/06
shelves: read-in-2021
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1) - Folio Society Edition]]> 52094673 George R. R. Martin
Illustrated by Jonathan Burton
Introduced by Joe Abercrombie
A Game of Thrones is presented in a collector’s edition - the first release in the Folio Society series of George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire]]> 824 George R.R. Martin Locky 4 read-in-2024 4.85 1996 A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1) - Folio Society Edition
author: George R.R. Martin
name: Locky
average rating: 4.85
book published: 1996
rating: 4
read at: 2024/05/04
date added: 2024/05/04
shelves: read-in-2024
review:

]]> Enchiridion 24615 64 Epictetus 0486433595 Locky 3 read-in-2024 4.20 125 Enchiridion
author: Epictetus
name: Locky
average rating: 4.20
book published: 125
rating: 3
read at: 2024/04/12
date added: 2024/04/12
shelves: read-in-2024
review:

]]> Jason and the Golden Fleece 5585994 175 Apollonius of Rhodes 0199538727 Locky 0 currently-reading 3.61 -250 Jason and the Golden Fleece
author: Apollonius of Rhodes
name: Locky
average rating: 3.61
book published: -250
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/04/06
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[King, Warrior, Magician, Lover: Rediscovering Masculinity Through the Lens of Archetypal Psychology - A Journey into the Male Psyche and Its Four Essential Aspects]]> 91781 Moore and Gillette identify four archetypes of masculine energies from myth and literature: the Lover, brimming with vitality and sensitivity; the Magician, guider of the processes of inner and outer transformation; the selfless and wise King identified with Adam or primordial man; and the Warrior, whose energies often go awry in destructive activity. Dream analysis, meditation, Jungian "active imagination" and ritual processes are among the tools set forth in a clear, concise map to territories of masculine selfhood.]]> 180 Robert L. Moore 0062506064 Locky 4 read-in-2024 4.12 1990 King, Warrior, Magician, Lover: Rediscovering Masculinity Through the Lens of Archetypal Psychology - A Journey into the Male Psyche and Its Four Essential Aspects
author: Robert L. Moore
name: Locky
average rating: 4.12
book published: 1990
rating: 4
read at: 2024/02/11
date added: 2024/04/01
shelves: read-in-2024
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Son of the Sun: The Adventures of Captain David Grief]]> 1201818
Captain Grief encounters the adventurers, scoundrels, pirates, and opportunists who followed the example of their colonial predecessors and exploited the islands and their resources early in the twentieth century. Inspired by London’s own voyage through the South Seas on board his self-made yacht, the Snark, these stories paint a colorful--and at times horrifying--picture of the remote South Pacific.

Thomas R. Tietze and Gary J. Riedl provide concise and illuminating introductions to each story as well as informative notes. The volume is enlivened by reproductions of London’s own photographs and maps, and by the illustrations that accompanied each story when first published.]]> 288 Jack London 0806133627 Locky 4 read-in-2024 3.58 1912 A Son of the Sun: The Adventures of Captain David Grief
author: Jack London
name: Locky
average rating: 3.58
book published: 1912
rating: 4
read at: 2024/03/24
date added: 2024/03/24
shelves: read-in-2024
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Courage to Be Disliked: How to Free Yourself, Change your Life and Achieve Real Happiness]]> 43306206
The Courage to Be Disliked shows you how to unlock the power within yourself to become your best and truest self, change your future and find lasting happiness. Using the theories of Alfred Adler, one of the three giants of 19th-century psychology alongside Freud and Jung, the authors explain how we are all free to determine our own future free of the shackles of past experiences, doubts and the expectations of others. It’s a philosophy that’s profoundly liberating, allowing us to develop the courage to change, and to ignore the limitations that we and those around us can place on ourselves.

The result is a book that is both highly accessible and profound in its importance. Millions have already read and benefited from its wisdom. Now that The Courage to Be Disliked has been published for the first time in English, so can you.]]> 288 Ichiro Kishimi Locky 2 read-in-2024 3.89 2013 The Courage to Be Disliked: How to Free Yourself, Change your Life and Achieve Real Happiness
author: Ichiro Kishimi
name: Locky
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2013
rating: 2
read at: 2024/01/31
date added: 2024/01/31
shelves: read-in-2024
review:
Thinly disguised academic book on Adlerian psychology that attempts to be deeper than what it actually is by mimicking Plato dialogues.
]]> <![CDATA[Fire in the Belly: On Being a Man]]> 566259
How does one become a“real man�? By joining a fraternity? Getting a letter in football? Conquering a lot of women? Making a lot of money?

With traditional notions of manhood under attack, today's men (and women) are looking for a new vision of masculinity. In this groundbreaking book, Sam Keen offers an inspiring guide for men seeking new personal ideals of strength, potency, and warrior-ship in their lives.

What does it really mean to be a man? Fire in the Belly answers that question by daringly confronting outdated models that impoverish, injure, and alienate men. It shows instead how men can find their own path to understanding the unique mysteries of being male and in the process rediscover a new vitality and virility that will energize every aspect of their lives. Here is a look at men at work, at play, at war, and in love, moving from brokenness to wholeness and building nurturing, satisfying relationships with one another, their mates, and their families.

At no time in history have there been so many men looking for new roles, new attitudes, and new ways of being. In this powerful and empowering book, author Sam Keen retells for modern times the ancient story of the search for what it means to be a man—a man with fire in his belly and passion in his heart.

“This book taught me things i didn't know, thawed out some feelings that had been frozen, and made me remember things I thought I wanted to forget. The growing men's movement has added a voice and a book that captures the problems of being male and the promises of manhood achieved. I didn't want it to end.”—John Lee, author of The Flying Boy]]> 288 Sam Keen 0553351370 Locky 4 read-in-2024 3.80 1991 Fire in the Belly: On Being a Man
author: Sam Keen
name: Locky
average rating: 3.80
book published: 1991
rating: 4
read at: 2024/01/13
date added: 2024/01/13
shelves: read-in-2024
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World]]> 40718726 352 Jack Weatherford Locky 3 read-in-2023 4.08 2004 Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World
author: Jack Weatherford
name: Locky
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2004
rating: 3
read at: 2023/11/29
date added: 2023/11/29
shelves: read-in-2023
review:

]]> Flowers for Algernon 18378 216 Daniel Keyes 1857989384 Locky 5 read-in-2022 4.38 1966 Flowers for Algernon
author: Daniel Keyes
name: Locky
average rating: 4.38
book published: 1966
rating: 5
read at: 2022/07/12
date added: 2023/11/24
shelves: read-in-2022
review:

]]> <![CDATA[I Am Legend: And Other Stories]]> 43263216 A special pocket-sized hardcover edition of the New York Times bestselling classic tale of the last man on Earth, I Am Legend by Richard Matheson--one of genre literature's most honored storytellers .

Robert Neville is the last living man on Earth...but he is not alone. Every other man, woman, and child on Earth has become a vampire, and they are all hungry for Neville's blood.

By day, he is the hunter, stalking the sleeping undead through the abandoned ruins of civilization. By night, he barricades himself in his home and prays for dawn.

How long can one man survive in a world of vampires?]]> 448 Richard Matheson 1250242754 Locky 3 read-in-2020
'I Am Legend' is one of those virus-wipes-out-humanity tales that are so popular nowadays. Being written in the '50s, it's considered one of the originals of the genre, which is also meant to excuse some of its shortcomings.

'I Am Legend' is the story of a survivor who is somehow immune to a virus that has turned the world's population into vampires. Robert Neville, the protagonist, spends most of his time being angry and drinking, interspersed with periods of productivity.
Eventually, he seeks to understand the virus and the story is original in its blending of scientific processes and traditional horror mythology (ie. Matheson's attempt to explain why vampires avoid garlic and the effectiveness of wooden stakes).
The story falls short when consistency of the vampires is examined - the females tempt Neville to leave his house with sex, showing a level of intelligence, and some of them can speak, but none of them can successfully pry a board from a window to enter Neville's house.
A number of idiotic moves by Neville and failures to be proactive also cheapen the plot

It's worth reading for its historical importance to the sci-fi/horror genre, but that doesn't necessarily make it a fantastic book. Luckily it's not a very long story, so give it a try if it sounds like your cup of tea.
As for the short stories included, most are forgettable but the final entry, 'Person to Person', is quite good.

Side note: the 2007 'I Am Legend' movie has practically no similarities to the book. It's the least faithful adaptation I've ever seen.]]> 4.11 1954 I Am Legend: And Other Stories
author: Richard Matheson
name: Locky
average rating: 4.11
book published: 1954
rating: 3
read at: 2020/05/17
date added: 2023/11/20
shelves: read-in-2020
review:
I'm basing this review from the titular story, and not the collection of short stories.

'I Am Legend' is one of those virus-wipes-out-humanity tales that are so popular nowadays. Being written in the '50s, it's considered one of the originals of the genre, which is also meant to excuse some of its shortcomings.

'I Am Legend' is the story of a survivor who is somehow immune to a virus that has turned the world's population into vampires. Robert Neville, the protagonist, spends most of his time being angry and drinking, interspersed with periods of productivity.
Eventually, he seeks to understand the virus and the story is original in its blending of scientific processes and traditional horror mythology (ie. Matheson's attempt to explain why vampires avoid garlic and the effectiveness of wooden stakes).
The story falls short when consistency of the vampires is examined - the females tempt Neville to leave his house with sex, showing a level of intelligence, and some of them can speak, but none of them can successfully pry a board from a window to enter Neville's house.
A number of idiotic moves by Neville and failures to be proactive also cheapen the plot

It's worth reading for its historical importance to the sci-fi/horror genre, but that doesn't necessarily make it a fantastic book. Luckily it's not a very long story, so give it a try if it sounds like your cup of tea.
As for the short stories included, most are forgettable but the final entry, 'Person to Person', is quite good.

Side note: the 2007 'I Am Legend' movie has practically no similarities to the book. It's the least faithful adaptation I've ever seen.
]]> <![CDATA[To Green Angel Tower, Part 2 (Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, #3; Part 2)]]> 28698
As the Storm King’s power grows and the boundaries of time begin to blur, the loyal allies of Prince Josua struggle to rally their forces at the Stone of Farewell. There, too, Simon and the surviving members of the League of the Scroll have gathered for a desperate attempt to unravel mysteries from the forgotten past.

For if the League can reclaim these age-old secrets of magic long-buried beneath the dusts of time, they may be able to reveal to Josua and his army the only means of striking down the unslayable foe....]]> 815 Tad Williams 0886776066 Locky 4 read-in-2023 4.23 1993 To Green Angel Tower, Part 2 (Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, #3; Part 2)
author: Tad Williams
name: Locky
average rating: 4.23
book published: 1993
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2023/11/09
shelves: read-in-2023
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Antigone, Oedipus the King and Electra]]> 3376779 Antigone, Oedipus the King, Electra contains three masterpieces by the Greek playwright Sophocles, widely regarded since antiquity as the greatest of all the tragic poets. The vivid translations, which combine elegance and modernity, are remarkable for their lucidity and accuracy, and are equally suitable for reading for pleasure, study, or theatrical performance. With this edition, readers are not only offered the most influential and famous of Sophocles' works in one volume, but they are presented with two plays dominated by a female heroic figure, and the experience of the two great dynasties featured in Greek tragedy--the houses of Oedipus and Agamemnon.]]> 178 Sophocles 0199537178 Locky 3 read-in-2023 3.99 -429 Antigone, Oedipus the King and Electra
author: Sophocles
name: Locky
average rating: 3.99
book published: -429
rating: 3
read at: 2023/09/28
date added: 2023/09/28
shelves: read-in-2023
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Life of Alexander the Great]]> 398122
The Life of Alexander the Great is one of the first surviving attempts to memorialize the achievements of this legendary king, remembered today as the greatest military genius of all time. This exclusive Modern Library edition, excerpted from Plutarch’s Lives , is a riveting tale of honor, power, scandal, and bravery written by the most eminent biographer of the ancient world.]]> 96 Plutarch 0812971337 Locky 5 read-in-2019
On a side note: I don't generally read introductions to books that aren't written by the author themself. I happened to read the introduction to this one, to my disappointment. Victor Davis Hanson uses both Marx and Freud to justify that Alexander is undeserving of admiration. What an absolute fool.]]> 3.99 100 The Life of Alexander the Great
author: Plutarch
name: Locky
average rating: 3.99
book published: 100
rating: 5
read at: 2019/04/21
date added: 2023/09/18
shelves: read-in-2019
review:
It is such a joy to read Plutarch. Having lived 300 odd years after Alexander the Great's time, we cannot know for certain what is fact or fiction, but this biography reads as something a little more legitimate than other books of the time as it does not delve too deeply into mythology.

On a side note: I don't generally read introductions to books that aren't written by the author themself. I happened to read the introduction to this one, to my disappointment. Victor Davis Hanson uses both Marx and Freud to justify that Alexander is undeserving of admiration. What an absolute fool.
]]> <![CDATA[The Name of the Wind (The Kingkiller Chronicle, #1)]]> 186074
The intimate narrative of his childhood in a troupe of traveling players, his years spent as a near-feral orphan in a crime-ridden city, his daringly brazen yet successful bid to enter a legendary school of magic, and his life as a fugitive after the murder of a king form a gripping coming-of-age story unrivaled in recent literature.

A high-action story written with a poet's hand, The Name of the Wind is a masterpiece that will transport readers into the body and mind of a wizard.]]> 662 Patrick Rothfuss 075640407X Locky 4 read-in-2023 4.52 2007 The Name of the Wind (The Kingkiller Chronicle, #1)
author: Patrick Rothfuss
name: Locky
average rating: 4.52
book published: 2007
rating: 4
read at: 2023/09/03
date added: 2023/09/03
shelves: read-in-2023
review:

]]> The King in Yellow 22506132 0 Robert W. Chambers 1291700692 Locky 3 read-in-2023
Stranger: Indeed?

Cassilda: Indeed it’s time. We all have laid aside disguise but you.

Stranger: I wear no mask.

Camilla: (Terrified, aside to Cassilda.) No mask? No mask!

-- The King in Yellow, Act I, Scene 2.

A hit and miss collection that doesn’t need to be a collection at all. The first couple of stories are great and it’s evident where Lovecraft drew some of his inspiration from.
The theme of a cursed and banned book that sends the reader into madness is woven throughout the first stories, but the latter stories seem completely unrelated and rather tame and mediocre in comparison. ]]> 3.41 1895 The King in Yellow
author: Robert W. Chambers
name: Locky
average rating: 3.41
book published: 1895
rating: 3
read at: 2023/08/22
date added: 2023/08/22
shelves: read-in-2023
review:
Camilla: You, sir, should unmask.

Stranger: Indeed?

Cassilda: Indeed it’s time. We all have laid aside disguise but you.

Stranger: I wear no mask.

Camilla: (Terrified, aside to Cassilda.) No mask? No mask!

-- The King in Yellow, Act I, Scene 2.

A hit and miss collection that doesn’t need to be a collection at all. The first couple of stories are great and it’s evident where Lovecraft drew some of his inspiration from.
The theme of a cursed and banned book that sends the reader into madness is woven throughout the first stories, but the latter stories seem completely unrelated and rather tame and mediocre in comparison.
]]> <![CDATA[A History of Central Banking and the Enslavement of Mankind]]> 46021412 202 Stephen Mitford Goodson 1912759217 Locky 0 read-in-2019 4.40 2014 A History of Central Banking and the Enslavement of Mankind
author: Stephen Mitford Goodson
name: Locky
average rating: 4.40
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at: 2019/06/18
date added: 2023/07/31
shelves: read-in-2019
review:

]]> Faust, Part Two 14707 introduction, full notes, and an index of classical mythology.]]> 304 Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 0192836366 Locky 0 currently-reading 3.72 1832 Faust, Part Two
author: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
name: Locky
average rating: 3.72
book published: 1832
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/05/26
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> Who We Are 19725629 344 William Luther Pierce 1291388575 Locky 0 read-in-2023 4.43 2013 Who We Are
author: William Luther Pierce
name: Locky
average rating: 4.43
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at: 2023/05/24
date added: 2023/05/24
shelves: read-in-2023
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Plays by George Bernard Shaw: Mrs. Warren's Profession, Arms and the Man, Candida, and Man and Superman]]> 2641609 Mrs. Warren’s Profession, Arms and the Man, Candida, and Man and Superman, the great playwright satirizes society, military heroism, marriage, and the pursuit of man by woman. From a social, literary, and theatrical standpoint, these four plays are among the foremost dramas of the age—as intellectually stimulating as they are thoroughly enjoyable.

“My way of joking is to tell the truth: It is the funniest joke in the world.”—G. B. Shaw

With an Introduction by Eric Bentley
and an Afterword by Norman Lloyd


]]> 528 George Bernard Shaw 0451529448 Locky 5 read-in-2023 4.03 1960 Plays by George Bernard Shaw: Mrs. Warren's Profession, Arms and the Man, Candida, and Man and Superman
author: George Bernard Shaw
name: Locky
average rating: 4.03
book published: 1960
rating: 5
read at: 2023/05/09
date added: 2023/05/10
shelves: read-in-2023
review:
Very witty, fun, and philosophical.
]]> The Road 6496926
A father and his son walk alone through burned America. Nothing moves in the ravaged landscape save the ash on the wind. It is cold enough to crack stones, and when the snow falls it is gray. The sky is dark. Their destination is the coast, although they don’t know what, if anything, awaits them there. They have nothing; just a pistol to defend themselves against the lawless bands that stalk the road, the clothes they are wearing, a cart of scavenged food—and each other.]]> 287 Cormac McCarthy 0307476308 Locky 5 read-in-2023
Are you carrying the fire?]]> 3.88 2006 The Road
author: Cormac McCarthy
name: Locky
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2006
rating: 5
read at: 2023/05/04
date added: 2023/05/04
shelves: read-in-2023
review:
If ever I wrote a book, this would be it. Heart-wrenchingly haunting.

Are you carrying the fire?
]]> <![CDATA[Stella Maris (The Passenger, #2)]]> 60576615
Told entirely through the transcripts of Alicia’s psychiatric sessions, Stella Maris is a searching, rigorous, intellectually challenging coda to The Passenger, a philosophical inquiry that questions our notions of God, truth, and existence.]]> 192 Cormac McCarthy 0330457446 Locky 3 read-in-2023 3.87 2022 Stella Maris (The Passenger, #2)
author: Cormac McCarthy
name: Locky
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at: 2023/05/04
date added: 2023/05/04
shelves: read-in-2023
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Passenger (The Passenger, #1)]]> 21045459
Traversing the American South, from the garrulous barrooms of New Orleans to an abandoned oil rig off the Florida coast, The Passenger is a breathtaking novel of morality and science, the legacy of sin, and the madness that is human consciousness.]]> 400 Cormac McCarthy 033045742X Locky 3 read-in-2023 The aforementioned boldness comes from McCarthy’s decision to raise several questions and plot lines in The Passenger that are never answered or resolved. Many unfamiliar with McCarthy’s style will feel cheated out of a resolution as the blurb really does create expectations that are far from what the book actually is.
Yet McCarthy has never cared for wrapping things up in a conventional storytelling manner (No Country for Old Men, for example). Ambiguity is somewhat of a McCarthy trademark. His books are a rumination on life, and life is often a mess with many questions left unanswered. So it is with The Passenger.
The reason I rate it as 3/5 is that I think that for every good element McCarthy has in this book, he has done much better in his previous works. The Road is more touching and does a better job of addressing morality in a hopeless situation. The characters in The Border Trilogy seem more alive and easier to connect with. Suttree offers a wider observation of the human experience. Blood Meridian is almost poetic in its prose.

As Stella Maris is part two of this collection, it may be that reading it will make The Passenger feel more complete with its added context, but on its own, The Passenger is somewhat mediocre for the high standards I hold for McCarthy. ]]> 3.68 2022 The Passenger (The Passenger, #1)
author: Cormac McCarthy
name: Locky
average rating: 3.68
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at: 2023/04/28
date added: 2023/04/29
shelves: read-in-2023
review:
The Passenger is a bold move on McCarthy’s part. The book’s blurb insinuates that this is a mystery book, when in reality, it a reflection on loss, mourning, morality and mental illness.
The aforementioned boldness comes from McCarthy’s decision to raise several questions and plot lines in The Passenger that are never answered or resolved. Many unfamiliar with McCarthy’s style will feel cheated out of a resolution as the blurb really does create expectations that are far from what the book actually is.
Yet McCarthy has never cared for wrapping things up in a conventional storytelling manner (No Country for Old Men, for example). Ambiguity is somewhat of a McCarthy trademark. His books are a rumination on life, and life is often a mess with many questions left unanswered. So it is with The Passenger.
The reason I rate it as 3/5 is that I think that for every good element McCarthy has in this book, he has done much better in his previous works. The Road is more touching and does a better job of addressing morality in a hopeless situation. The characters in The Border Trilogy seem more alive and easier to connect with. Suttree offers a wider observation of the human experience. Blood Meridian is almost poetic in its prose.

As Stella Maris is part two of this collection, it may be that reading it will make The Passenger feel more complete with its added context, but on its own, The Passenger is somewhat mediocre for the high standards I hold for McCarthy.
]]> <![CDATA[Tides of War: A Novel of Alcibiades and the Peloponnesian War]]> 1317
A prodigal follower of Socrates, he embodied both the best and the worst of the Golden Age of Greece. A commander on both land and sea, he led his armies to victory after victory.

But like the heroes in a great Greek tragedy, he was a victim of his own pride, arrogance, excess, and ambition. Accused of crimes against the state, he was banished from his beloved Athens, only to take up arms in the service of his former enemies.

For nearly three decades, Greece burned with war and Alcibiades helped bring victories to both sides � and ended up trusted by neither.

Narrated from death row by Alcibiades� bodyguard and assassin, a man whose own love and loathing for his former commander mirrors the mixed emotions felt by all Athens, Tides of War tells an epic saga of an extraordinary century, a war that changed history, and a complex leader who seduced a nation.]]> 448 Steven Pressfield 0553381393 Locky 4 read-in-2023 3.93 2000 Tides of War: A Novel of Alcibiades and the Peloponnesian War
author: Steven Pressfield
name: Locky
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2000
rating: 4
read at: 2023/02/06
date added: 2023/02/06
shelves: read-in-2023
review:

]]> Fiesta: The Sun Also Rises 266466 Librarian's note: There is an Alternate Cover Edition for this edition of this book here.

Paris in the twenties: Pernod, parties and expatriate Americans, loose-living on money from home. Jake is wildly in love with Brett Ashley, aristocratic and irresistibly beautiful, but with an abandoned, sensuous nature that she cannot change. When the couple drifts to Spain to the dazzle of the fiesta and the heady atmosphere of the bullfight, their affair is strained by new passions, new jealousies, and Jake must finally learn that he will never possess the woman he loves.]]> 216 Ernest Hemingway 0099908506 Locky 1 read-in-2023 3.60 1926 Fiesta: The Sun Also Rises
author: Ernest Hemingway
name: Locky
average rating: 3.60
book published: 1926
rating: 1
read at: 2023/01/20
date added: 2023/01/20
shelves: read-in-2023
review:
A bunch of obnoxious men and a whore travel around Western Europe, drinking at every available opportunity whilst bitching about each other. That’s it. That’s the story.
]]> Suttree 394469 471 Cormac McCarthy 0679736328 Locky 4 read-in-2023 We follow Suttree as he experiences small victories, tragedies, and nights of inebriated chaos. All of it feels real ('Suttree' is apparently semi-autobiographical), as do the characters, yet you'll be left to decide for yourself what the story means. It's more light-hearted than any of McCarthy's other works and it shows in the humorous dialogue throughout. There's also more emphasis on character moments rather than the book being plot heavy, but there's also no discernible character arc either. Instead, we're left with a book that encompasses the ups and downs of someone's life over the course of a few years, and it works. It feels alive.
McCarthy is one of the few authors that can pull off such a book, even if it's not his best work. ]]> 4.20 1979 Suttree
author: Cormac McCarthy
name: Locky
average rating: 4.20
book published: 1979
rating: 4
read at: 2023/01/15
date added: 2023/01/16
shelves: read-in-2023
review:
From my experience, I've discovered that no two McCarthy books are the same. Although told in McCarthy's trademark strange and beautiful prose, 'Suttree' focuses mostly on the day-to-day life of a single character, Cornelius Suttree. Suttree lives one step above poverty, spending his days fishing and selling his catches, and getting drunk with his misfit friends.
We follow Suttree as he experiences small victories, tragedies, and nights of inebriated chaos. All of it feels real ('Suttree' is apparently semi-autobiographical), as do the characters, yet you'll be left to decide for yourself what the story means. It's more light-hearted than any of McCarthy's other works and it shows in the humorous dialogue throughout. There's also more emphasis on character moments rather than the book being plot heavy, but there's also no discernible character arc either. Instead, we're left with a book that encompasses the ups and downs of someone's life over the course of a few years, and it works. It feels alive.
McCarthy is one of the few authors that can pull off such a book, even if it's not his best work.
]]> Alexander: The Virtues of War 1443761
"A cracking, fast-paced contemporary retelling of the legend that is Alexander" - MANDA SCOTT

"An all conqueringly glamorous an account as Alexander himself" -- SIMON SEBAG MONTEFIORE

"Deeply researched, dashingly written...this is a terrific performance" -- INDEPENDENT

"Nothing short of an excellent read" - Reader review

"This was simply beautiful, 100% recommended, there was a literal lump in my throat when I came to the end, absolutely glorious." -- Reader review

****

EVERYTHING IS THERE FOR THE TAKING

He ascended to the throne of Macedon at the age of nineteen .

He conquered the seemingly invincible Persian Empire before he was twenty-five.

He died at the age of thirty-two , undefeated by any enemy.

His reputation as a warrior and leader of men remains unsurpassed in the annals of history. We remember him as Alexander the Great...

Epic in scope and magisterial in tone, Steven Pressfield's breathtaking novel tells the story of this legendary colossus of the ancient world who was driven - and ultimately undone - by his insatiable lust for glory.]]> 490 Steven Pressfield 0553814354 Locky 5 read-in-2023 3.88 2004 Alexander: The Virtues of War
author: Steven Pressfield
name: Locky
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2004
rating: 5
read at: 2023/01/08
date added: 2023/01/08
shelves: read-in-2023
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas]]> 55298420 “Is it possible that the most modern, most startlingly avant-garde novel to appear this year was originally published in 1881?”―Parul Sehgal, New York Times

Now considered a progenitor of South American fiction, Machado de Assis’s highly experimental novel is finally rendered as a stunningly contemporary work. Narrating from beyond the grave, Brás Cubas—an enigmatic, amusing and frequently insufferable antihero—describes his childhood spent tormenting household slaves, his bachelor years of torrid affairs, and his final days obsessing over nonsensical poultices. “Rejuvenated� (Pradeep Niroula, Chicago Review of Books) by Margaret Jull Costa and Robin Patterson’s fresh new translation, Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas is a work of acerbic mockery and deep pathos that offers a bird’s-eye view of how Machado de Assis launched the canon of modernist fiction.“Sprinkled with epigrams, dreams, gags and asides, the story teases, dances and delights.”�Economist]]> 256 Machado de Assis 1324090502 Locky 4 read-in-2023 Quite the unique read. Its lightheartedness lowers your defences against the deeper philosophies that are interwoven throughout the novel. Although the chapters and scenes are very short, as is the dialogue throughout, De Assis certainly has a way with words, crafting some poetic lines in an almost minimalistic manner. ]]> 4.12 1881 Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas
author: Machado de Assis
name: Locky
average rating: 4.12
book published: 1881
rating: 4
read at: 2023/01/03
date added: 2023/01/04
shelves: read-in-2023
review:
4.5/5.
Quite the unique read. Its lightheartedness lowers your defences against the deeper philosophies that are interwoven throughout the novel. Although the chapters and scenes are very short, as is the dialogue throughout, De Assis certainly has a way with words, crafting some poetic lines in an almost minimalistic manner.
]]> <![CDATA[Modern Man in Search of a Soul]]> 646175 A provocative and enlightening look at spiritual unease and its contribution to the void in modern civilization

Considered by many to be one of the most important books in the field of psychology, Modern Man in Search of a Soul is a comprehensive introduction to the thought of Carl Gustav Jung. In this book, Jung examines some of the most contested and crucial areas in the field of analytical psychology, including dream analysis, the primitive unconscious, and the relationship between psychology and religion. Additionally, Jung looks at the differences between his theories and those of Sigmund Freud, providing a valuable basis for anyone interested in the fundamentals of psychoanalysis.
]]> 244 C.G. Jung 0156612062 Locky 4 read-in-2022 4.20 1931 Modern Man in Search of a Soul
author: C.G. Jung
name: Locky
average rating: 4.20
book published: 1931
rating: 4
read at: 2022/12/27
date added: 2022/12/27
shelves: read-in-2022
review:

]]> War and Peace 9141165 1350 Leo Tolstoy 0199232768 Locky 0 to-read 4.44 1869 War and Peace
author: Leo Tolstoy
name: Locky
average rating: 4.44
book published: 1869
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/12/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Stone of Farewell (Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, #2)]]> 317450
It is a time of darkness, dread, and ultimate testing for the realm of Osten Ard, for the wild magic and terrifying minions of the undead Sithi ruler, Ineluki the Storm King, are spreading their seemingly undefeatable evil across the kingdom.

With the very land blighted by the power of Ineluki’s wrath, the tattered remnants of a once-proud human army flee in search of a last sanctuary and rallying point—the Stone of Farewell, a place shrouded in mystery and ancient sorrow.

An even as Prince Josua seeks to rally his scattered forces, Simon and the surviving members of the League of the Scroll are desperately struggling to discover the truth behind an almost-forgotten legend, which will take them from the fallen citadels of humans to the secret heartland of the Sithi—where near-immortals must at last decide whether to ally with the race of men in a final war against those of their own blood.]]> 749 Tad Williams 0886774802 Locky 3 read-in-2022 4.07 1990 Stone of Farewell (Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, #2)
author: Tad Williams
name: Locky
average rating: 4.07
book published: 1990
rating: 3
read at: 2022/12/21
date added: 2022/12/21
shelves: read-in-2022
review:

]]> V. 5809 640 Thomas Pynchon 2020418770 Locky 0 to-read 3.97 1963 V.
author: Thomas Pynchon
name: Locky
average rating: 3.97
book published: 1963
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/12/20
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Dragonbone Chair (Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, #1)]]> 854702
Simon, a kitchen boy from the royal castle unknowingly apprenticed to a member of this League, will be sent on a quest that offers the only hope of salvation, a deadly riddle concerning long-lost swords of power. Compelled by fate and perilous magics, he must leave the only home he’s ever known and face enemies more terrifying than Osten Ard has ever seen, even as the land itself begins to die.]]> 672 Tad Williams 0099366916 Locky 4 read-in-2022 3.60 1988 The Dragonbone Chair (Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, #1)
author: Tad Williams
name: Locky
average rating: 3.60
book published: 1988
rating: 4
read at: 2022/11/28
date added: 2022/11/28
shelves: read-in-2022
review:

]]> The Promise 59704786
Reunited by four funerals over thirty years, the dwindling Swart family remains haunted by the unmet promise, just as their country is haunted by its own failures. The Promise is an epic South African drama that unfurls against the unrelenting march of history, sure to leave its readers transformed.]]> 269 Damon Galgut 1609457447 Locky 2 read-in-2022 3.90 2021 The Promise
author: Damon Galgut
name: Locky
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2021
rating: 2
read at: 2022/10/18
date added: 2022/10/18
shelves: read-in-2022
review:

]]> The Border Trilogy 41070917 Border Trilogy constitute a genuine American epic.



Beginning with All the Pretty Horses and continuing through The Crossing and Cities of the Plain, McCarthy chronicles the lives of two young men coming of age in the Southwest and Mexico, poised on the edge of a world about to change forever. Hauntingly beautiful, filled with sorrow and humor, The Border Trilogy is a masterful elegy for the American frontier.

(Book Jacket Status: Jacketed)
]]> 1056 Cormac McCarthy 1509852026 Locky 5 read-in-2021 4.43 1998 The Border Trilogy
author: Cormac McCarthy
name: Locky
average rating: 4.43
book published: 1998
rating: 5
read at: 2022/09/22
date added: 2022/09/22
shelves: read-in-2021
review:

]]> The Count of Monte Cristo 11560116
Thrown in prison for a crime he has not committed, Edmond Dantès is confined to the grim fortress of Château d'If. There he learns of a great hoard of treasure hidden on the Isle of Monte Cristo and he becomes determined not only to escape, but also to unearth the treasure and use it to plot the destruction of the three men responsible for his incarceration. Dumas' epic tale of suffering and retribution, inspired by a real-life case of wrongful imprisonment, was a huge popular success when it was first serialised in the 1840s.]]> 1065 Alexandre Dumas 1435132114 Locky 5 read-in-2019, read-in-2022 I don't know why I was so ignorant as to the perfection of this book. I've seen/heard pop culture references to it (enough to spoil some of the plot unfortunately) but had not heard it spoken of in reverent tones as it so deeply deserves.
This is one of the best books I've ever read, hands down.]]> 4.56 1846 The Count of Monte Cristo
author: Alexandre Dumas
name: Locky
average rating: 4.56
book published: 1846
rating: 5
read at: 2022/09/03
date added: 2022/09/03
shelves: read-in-2019, read-in-2022
review:
Wow...
I don't know why I was so ignorant as to the perfection of this book. I've seen/heard pop culture references to it (enough to spoil some of the plot unfortunately) but had not heard it spoken of in reverent tones as it so deeply deserves.
This is one of the best books I've ever read, hands down.
]]> Claudius the God 820463
In this second part of Robert Graves's fictionalized autobiography, Claudius, wry, rueful, always inquisitive, brings to life some of the most scandalous and violent times in history.]]> 448 Robert Graves 014118860X Locky 0 to-read 4.08 1934 Claudius the God
author: Robert Graves
name: Locky
average rating: 4.08
book published: 1934
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/07/31
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Lord Byron: The Major Works 5319356
Byron is regarded today as the ultimate Romantic, whose name has entered the language to describe a man of brooding passion. Although his private life shocked his contemporaries his poetry was immensely popular and influential, especially in Europe. This comprehensive edition includes the complete texts of his two poetic masterpieces Childe Harold's Pilgrimage and Don Juan, as well as the dramatic poems Manfred and Cain. There are many other shorter poems and part of the satire English Bards and Scotch Reviewers. In addition there is a selection from Byron's inimitable letters, extracts from his journals and conversations, as well as more formal writings.

About the Series: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the broadest spectrum of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, voluminous notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.
]]> 1120 Lord Byron 019953733X Locky 0 to-read 4.14 2000 Lord Byron: The Major Works
author: Lord Byron
name: Locky
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2000
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/07/30
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Essays: A Selection 30741 The Essays: A Selection collects some of Michel de Montaigne's most startling and original works, translated from the French and edited with an introduction and notes by M.A. Screech in Penguin Classics.

To overcome a crisis of melancholy after the death of his father, Montaigne withdrew to his country estates and began to write, and in the highly original essays that resulted he discussed themes such as fathers and children, conscience and cowardice, coaches and cannibals, and, above all, himself. On Some Lines of Virgil opens out into a frank discussion of sexuality and makes a revolutionary case for the equality of the sexes. In On Experience he superbly propounds his thoughts on the right way to live, while other essays touch on issues of an age struggling with religious and intellectual strife, with France torn apart by civil war. These diverse subjects are united by Montaigne's distinctive voice - that of a tolerant man, sceptical, humane, often humorous and utterly honest in his pursuit of the truth.

M.A. Screech's distinguished translation fully retains the light-hearted and inquiring nature of the essays. In his introduction, he examines Montaigne's life and times, and the remarkable self-portrait that emerges from his works.

Michel de Montaigne (1533-1586) studied law and spent a number of years working as a counsellor before devoting his life to reading, writing and reflection.

If you enjoyed The Essays: A Selection, you might like Francis Bacon's The Essays, also available in Penguin Classics.

Alternate cover edition here.]]> 480 M.A. Screech 0140446028 Locky 0 to-read 4.05 2011 The Essays: A Selection
author: M.A. Screech
name: Locky
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/07/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Amores 58154112 Metamorphoses of Ovid. For at about seven or eight years of age I would steal away from any other pleasure to read them, inasmuch as this language was my mother tongue, and it was the easiest book I knew and the best suited by its content to my tender age." -Michel de Montaigne




The Amores (16 BC) is a book of love elegies by Ovid. Divided into three books, The Amores was one of the Roman poet's first published works, an ambitious and often scorned attempt at achieving fame which tapped into the ancient tradition of romantic poetry while exhibiting its author's keen sense for outrage and social satire. Far from relatable, Ovid's poet-narrator is a caricature of the desperate lover, an example of what not to do in romance, or rather of how to guarantee public embarrassment for oneself and one's horrified friends and family.




At times serious, at others humorous, The Amores uses a mix of down-to-earth examples and relatable references to mythology in its dedicated portrayal of a man brought low with desire. Struck by Cupid himself, he longs for the lovely Corinna, a woman of higher class and of clearly higher grace. Despite his numerous efforts--begging at her door, threatening suicide, bribing her servants, and driving himself to the brink of insanity--the poet fails time and again to convince Corinna to be his constant companion. Consistently failing to use discretion, he illuminates the cruel and often one-sided nature of love, while also providing an unintentionally critical analysis of the role social class plays in policing desire. In passages ranging from the lofty to the bawdy, Ovid proves himself a poet on the doorstep of fame, a man both sure of his talent and desperate for success and affirmation.




With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Ovid's The Amores is a classic work of Roman literature reimagined for modern readers.]]> 100 Ovid 1513280236 Locky 0 to-read 4.00 -16 The Amores
author: Ovid
name: Locky
average rating: 4.00
book published: -16
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/07/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Memory of Light (The Wheel of Time, #14)]]> 7743175
When Robert Jordan died in 2007, all feared that these concluding scenes would never be written. But working from notes and partials left by Jordan, established fantasy writer Brandon Sanderson stepped in to complete the masterwork. With The Gathering Storm (Book 12) and Towers of Midnight (Book 13) behind him, Sanderson now re-creates the vision that Robert Jordan left behind.

Edited by Jordan's widow, who edited all of Jordan's books, A Memory of Light will delight, enthrall, and deeply satisfy all of Jordan's legions of readers.

The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass.
What was, what will be, and what is,
may yet fall under the Shadow.
Let the Dragon ride again on the winds of time.]]> 912 Robert Jordan 0765325950 Locky 3 read-in-2022
The Wheel of Time has a massive reputation as one of the best fantasy series of all time - something that I think is kind of undeserved. First, I'll start with what the series does well.

The Wheel of Time embraces a lot of classic fantasy tropes - farm boy gets the call to adventure, prophecies will be fulfilled, battles will take place, magical items will be discovered, inns will be visited and trouble will ensue. All are things I love in a fantasy story. Jordan wears his Tolkien influence on his sleeve in the first book and by book two has found his own voice as an author. Character arcs are strong, you grow to enjoy (most) main characters and Sanderson delivers a strong but unsurprising ending that (in my unpopular opinion) saved the series from the meandering mess it had become.

Now for some negatives, of which there are multiple.
First up, Jordan's prose gets very tiresome, very quickly. Never a dress goes by that he doesn't want to describe in painful detail and every tavern, barroom or stable will be described in such painstaking manner that you'd be mistaken for thinking they're important set pieces. They're not. Repeated characterisations (smoothing skirts, tugging brains, sniffing and folding arms under breasts) get extremely tiresome. Jordan married his editor, and it seems she let him get away with literary murder.
Speaking of editing, this series should have been maybe 7-8 books long. There's books that have a snail's paced plot, pointless subplots and scenes that should have just been cut altogether. Any series that has an infamous 'slog' of 4 or 5 books (of a 14 book series) should have its reputation of greatness reconsidered.
Next comes the male and female dynamic - each gender has a 12 year old's mindset of how the opposite sex thinks. There's no adult nuance regarding relationships, although Sanderson lessens Jordan's abrasiveness with this.
There were several times when plot conveniences happen (random 'bubbles of evil' or trolloc attacks) that were cheap and undeserved ways to solve conflict or add drama to plot lines. Not to mention that unlimited hordes of trollocs (especially towards the end of the series) are just plain boring enemies to envision.
The overall political landscape of the world is a bit of a mess, too, such as petty land disputes happening while a literal apocalyptic event is approaching,.

All in all, I think I'll term the series a 'McFantasy' series. It's bloated, it's shallow, and many fall into the trap of thinking 'bigger is better/more epic.'
At its best, it's a pleasant but mostly unoriginal fantasy work. At its worst, it's a borderline unreadable, young-adult mess - if I was one to quit reading a book series midway through, this would have qualified for it.]]> 4.56 2013 A Memory of Light (The Wheel of Time, #14)
author: Robert Jordan
name: Locky
average rating: 4.56
book published: 2013
rating: 3
read at: 2022/03/07
date added: 2022/07/10
shelves: read-in-2022
review:
I figured that a fantasy series that took me nearly two and a half years to read probably deserves a written review. Instead of just reviewing the final book, I've review the entire series as a whole.

The Wheel of Time has a massive reputation as one of the best fantasy series of all time - something that I think is kind of undeserved. First, I'll start with what the series does well.

The Wheel of Time embraces a lot of classic fantasy tropes - farm boy gets the call to adventure, prophecies will be fulfilled, battles will take place, magical items will be discovered, inns will be visited and trouble will ensue. All are things I love in a fantasy story. Jordan wears his Tolkien influence on his sleeve in the first book and by book two has found his own voice as an author. Character arcs are strong, you grow to enjoy (most) main characters and Sanderson delivers a strong but unsurprising ending that (in my unpopular opinion) saved the series from the meandering mess it had become.

Now for some negatives, of which there are multiple.
First up, Jordan's prose gets very tiresome, very quickly. Never a dress goes by that he doesn't want to describe in painful detail and every tavern, barroom or stable will be described in such painstaking manner that you'd be mistaken for thinking they're important set pieces. They're not. Repeated characterisations (smoothing skirts, tugging brains, sniffing and folding arms under breasts) get extremely tiresome. Jordan married his editor, and it seems she let him get away with literary murder.
Speaking of editing, this series should have been maybe 7-8 books long. There's books that have a snail's paced plot, pointless subplots and scenes that should have just been cut altogether. Any series that has an infamous 'slog' of 4 or 5 books (of a 14 book series) should have its reputation of greatness reconsidered.
Next comes the male and female dynamic - each gender has a 12 year old's mindset of how the opposite sex thinks. There's no adult nuance regarding relationships, although Sanderson lessens Jordan's abrasiveness with this.
There were several times when plot conveniences happen (random 'bubbles of evil' or trolloc attacks) that were cheap and undeserved ways to solve conflict or add drama to plot lines. Not to mention that unlimited hordes of trollocs (especially towards the end of the series) are just plain boring enemies to envision.
The overall political landscape of the world is a bit of a mess, too, such as petty land disputes happening while a literal apocalyptic event is approaching,.

All in all, I think I'll term the series a 'McFantasy' series. It's bloated, it's shallow, and many fall into the trap of thinking 'bigger is better/more epic.'
At its best, it's a pleasant but mostly unoriginal fantasy work. At its worst, it's a borderline unreadable, young-adult mess - if I was one to quit reading a book series midway through, this would have qualified for it.
]]> <![CDATA[On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft]]> 12984058
There is a reason why Stephen King is one of the bestselling writers in the world, ever. Described in the Guardian as 'the most remarkable storyteller in modern American literature', Stephen King writes books that draw you in and are impossible to put down.

~hodder.co.uk]]> 351 Stephen King Locky 4 read-in-2020 4.40 2000 On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
author: Stephen King
name: Locky
average rating: 4.40
book published: 2000
rating: 4
read at: 2020/04/26
date added: 2022/07/10
shelves: read-in-2020
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Contemporary Far-Right Thinkers and the Future of Liberal Democracy (Routledge Studies in Fascism and the Far Right)]]> 57423017 354 A. James McAdams 0367611627 Locky 1 read-in-2021 3.67 Contemporary Far-Right Thinkers and the Future of Liberal Democracy (Routledge Studies in Fascism and the Far Right)
author: A. James McAdams
name: Locky
average rating: 3.67
book published:
rating: 1
read at: 2021/10/31
date added: 2022/07/10
shelves: read-in-2021
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Wise Man's Fear (The Kingkiller Chronicle, #2)]]> 2495562
Now, Kvothe takes his first steps on the path of the hero and learns how difficult life can be when a man becomes a legend in his own time.]]> 994 Patrick Rothfuss 0575081422 Locky 4 read-in-2018 4.34 2011 The Wise Man's Fear (The Kingkiller Chronicle, #2)
author: Patrick Rothfuss
name: Locky
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at: 2018/09/30
date added: 2022/07/10
shelves: read-in-2018
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Holocaust Industry: Reflections on the Exploitation of Jewish Suffering]]> 48836 Controversial indictment of those who exploit the tragedy of the Holocaust for their own gain.

In an iconoclastic and controversial study, Norman G. Finkelstein moves from an interrogation of the place the Holocaust has come to occupy in American culture to a disturbing examination of recent Holocaust compensation agreements. It was not until the Arab-Israeli War of 1967, when Israel's evident strength brought it into line with US foreign policy, that memory of the Holocaust began to acquire the exceptional prominence it enjoys today. Leaders of America's Jewish community were delighted that Israel was now deemed a major strategic asset and, Finkelstein contends, exploited the Holocaust to enhance this newfound status. Their subsequent interpretations of the tragedy are often at variance with actual historical events and are employed to deflect any criticism of Israel and its supporters. Recalling Holocaust fraudsters such as Jerzy Kosinski and Binjamin Wilkomirski, as well as the demagogic constructions of writers like Daniel Goldhagen, Finkelstein contends that the main danger posed to the memory of Nazism's victims comes not from the distortions of Holocaust deniers but from prominent, self-proclaimed guardians of Holocaust memory. Drawing on a wealth of untapped sources, he exposes the double shakedown of European countries as well as legitimate Jewish claimants, and concludes that the Holocaust industry has become an outright extortion racket. Thoroughly researched and closely argued, The Holocaust Industry is all the more disturbing and powerful because the issues it deals with are so rarely discussed.

In a devastating new postscript to this best-selling book, Norman G. Finkelstein documents the Holocaust industry's scandalous cover-up of the blackmail of Swiss banks, and in a new appendix demolishes an influential apologia for the Holocaust industry.]]> 286 Norman G. Finkelstein 185984488X Locky 0 read-in-2019 4.15 2000 The Holocaust Industry: Reflections on the Exploitation of Jewish Suffering
author: Norman G. Finkelstein
name: Locky
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2000
rating: 0
read at: 2019/08/24
date added: 2022/07/10
shelves: read-in-2019
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Mussolini's Intellectuals: Fascist Social and Political Thought]]> 388944

Gregor follows Fascist thought from its beginnings in socialist ideology about the time of the First World War--when Mussolini himself was a leader of revolutionary socialism--through its evolution into a separate body of thought and to its destruction in the Second World War. Along the way, Gregor offers extended accounts of some of Italian Fascism's major thinkers, including Sergio Panunzio and Ugo Spirito, Alfredo Rocco (Mussolini's Minister of Justice), and Julius Evola, a bizarre and sinister figure who has inspired much contemporary "neofascism."


Gregor's account reveals the flaws and tensions that dogged Fascist thought from the beginning, but shows that if we want to come to grips with one of the most important political movements of the twentieth century, we nevertheless need to understand that Fascism had serious intellectual as well as visceral roots.]]> 296 A. James Gregor 0691127905 Locky 0 read-in-2020 4.12 2004 Mussolini's Intellectuals: Fascist Social and Political Thought
author: A. James Gregor
name: Locky
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2004
rating: 0
read at: 2020/02/23
date added: 2022/07/10
shelves: read-in-2020
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A History of Fascism, 1914-1945]]> 349782 592 Stanley G. Payne 0299148742 Locky 0 read-in-2019 4.00 1995 A History of Fascism, 1914-1945
author: Stanley G. Payne
name: Locky
average rating: 4.00
book published: 1995
rating: 0
read at: 2019/04/04
date added: 2022/07/10
shelves: read-in-2019
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Industrial Society and Its Future]]> 225468 149 Theodore John Kaczynski Locky 0 3.88 1995 Industrial Society and Its Future
author: Theodore John Kaczynski
name: Locky
average rating: 3.88
book published: 1995
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/07/10
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Silent Invasion: China's influence in Australia]]> 38416308
From politics to culture, real estate to agriculture, universities to unions, and even in primary schools, he uncovered compelling evidence of the CCP's infiltration of Australia. It is no exaggeration to say the CCP and Australian democracy are on a collision course, with the CCP determined to win, while Australia looks the other way.

Thoroughly researched and powerfully argued, SILENT INVASION is a sobering examination of the mounting threats to democratic freedoms Australians have for too long taken for granted. Yes, China is important to Australia's economic prosperity; but, Hamilton asks, how much is sovereignty as a nation worth?

'Anyone keen to understand how China draws other countries into its sphere of influence should start with Silent Invasion. This is an important book for the future of Australia. But tug on the threads of China's influence networks in Australia and its global network of influence operations starts to unravel.' –Professor John Fitzgerald, author of Big White Lie: Chinese Australians in White Australia]]> 376 Clive Hamilton 1743794800 Locky 0 read-in-2018 4.14 2018 Silent Invasion: China's influence in Australia
author: Clive Hamilton
name: Locky
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at: 2018/04/14
date added: 2022/07/10
shelves: read-in-2018
review:

]]> <![CDATA[At Our Wits' End: Why We're Becoming Less Intelligent and What It Means for the Future (Societas)]]> 40224881 180 Edward Dutton 184540985X Locky 0 read-in-2019 4.11 2018 At Our Wits' End: Why We're Becoming Less Intelligent and What It Means for the Future (Societas)
author: Edward Dutton
name: Locky
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at: 2019/07/11
date added: 2022/07/10
shelves: read-in-2019
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Greatest Comeback: How Richard Nixon Rose from Defeat to Create the New Majority]]> 20945500 Patrick J. Buchanan, bestselling author and senior advisor to Richard Nixon, tells the definitive story of Nixon's resurrection from the political graveyard and his rise to the presidency. After suffering stinging defeats in the 1960 presidential election against John F. Kennedy, and in the 1962 California gubernatorial election, Nixon's career was declared dead by Washington press and politicians alike. Yet on January 20, 1969, just six years after he had said his political life was over, Nixon would stand taking the oath of office as 37th President of the United States. How did Richard Nixon resurrect a ruined career and reunite a shattered and fractured Republican Party to capture the White House? In The Greatest Comeback, Patrick J. Buchanan--who, beginning in January 1966, served as one of two staff members to Nixon, and would become a senior advisor in the White House after 1968--gives a firsthand account of those crucial years in which Nixon reversed his political fortunes during a decade marked by civil rights protests, social revolution, The Vietnam War, the assassinations of JFK, RFK, and Martin Luther King, urban riots, campus anarchy, and the rise of the New Left. Using over 1,000 of his own personal memos to Nixon, with Nixon’s scribbled replies back, Buchanan gives readers an insider’s view as Nixon gathers the warring factions of the Republican party--from the conservative base of Barry Goldwater to the liberal wing of Nelson Rockefeller and George Romney, to the New Right legions of an ascendant Ronald Reagan--into the victorious coalition that won him the White House. How Richard Nixon united the party behind him may offer insights into how the Republican Party today can bring together its warring factions. The Greatest Comeback is an intimate portrayal of the 37th President and a fascinating fly on-the-wall account of one of the most remarkable American political stories of the 20th century.]]> 418 Patrick J. Buchanan 0553418645 Locky 0 read-in-2018 3.91 2014 The Greatest Comeback: How Richard Nixon Rose from Defeat to Create the New Majority
author: Patrick J. Buchanan
name: Locky
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at: 2018/09/20
date added: 2022/07/10
shelves: read-in-2018
review:

]]> Trump: The Art of the Deal 1032
“I like thinking big. I always have. To me it’s very simple: If you’re going to be thinking anyway, you might as well think big.”—Donald J. Trump

Here is Trump in action—how he runs his business and how he runs his life—as he meets the people he needs to meet, chats with family and friends, clashes with enemies, and changes the face of the New York City skyline. But even a maverick plays by rules, and Trump has formulated eleven guidelines for success. He isolates the common elements in his greatest deals; he shatters myths; he names names, spells out the zeros, and fully reveals the deal-maker’s art. And throughout, Trump talks—really talks—about how he does it. Trump: The Art of the Deal is an unguarded look at the mind of a brilliant entrepreneur and an unprecedented education in the practice of deal-making. It’s the most streetwise business book there is—and the ultimate read for anyone interested in achieving money and success, and knowing the man behind the spotlight.
]]> 384 Donald J. Trump 0345479173 Locky 0 3.65 1987 Trump: The Art of the Deal
author: Donald J. Trump
name: Locky
average rating: 3.65
book published: 1987
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/07/10
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Set the World on Fire, Vol. III]]> 41542563 238 Augustus Sol Invictus 1725630249 Locky 5 read-in-2018 5.00 Set the World on Fire, Vol. III
author: Augustus Sol Invictus
name: Locky
average rating: 5.00
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2018/09/11
date added: 2022/07/10
shelves: read-in-2018
review:

]]> Set the World on Fire, Vol. I 41167314 Augustus Sol Invictus Locky 5 read-in-2018 4.20 Set the World on Fire, Vol. I
author: Augustus Sol Invictus
name: Locky
average rating: 4.20
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2018/09/06
date added: 2022/07/10
shelves: read-in-2018
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Nixon's White House Wars: The Battles That Made and Broke a President and Divided America Forever]]> 36741985 In his inaugural address, Nixon held out a hand in friendship to Republicans and Democrats alike. But by the fall of 1969, massive demonstrations in Washington and around the country had been mounted to break his presidency.
In a brilliant appeal to what he called the “Great Silent Majority,� Nixon sent his enemies reeling. Vice President Agnew followed by attacking the blatant bias of the media in a fiery speech authored and advocated by Buchanan. And by 1970, Nixon’s approval rating soared to 68 percent, and he was labeled “The Most Admired Man in America�.
Them one by one, the crises came, from the invasion of Cambodia, to the protests that killed four students at Kent State, to race riots and court ordered school busing.
Buchanan chronicles Nixon’s historic trip to China, and describes the White House strategy that brought about Nixon’s 49-state landslide victory over George McGovern in 1972.
When the Watergate scandal broke, Buchanan urged the president to destroy the Nixon tapes before they were subpoenaed, and fire Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox, as Nixon ultimately did in the “Saturday Night Massacre.”� After testifying before the Watergate Committee himself, Buchanan describes the grim scene at Camp David in August 1974, when Nixon’s staff concluded he could not survive In a riveting memoir from behind the scenes of the most controversial presidency of the last century, Nixon’s White House Wars reveals both the failings and achievements of the 37th President, recorded by one of those closest to Nixon from before his political comeback, through to his final days in office.]]> 448 Patrick J. Buchanan 1101902868 Locky 0 read-in-2019 4.38 2017 Nixon's White House Wars: The Battles That Made and Broke a President and Divided America Forever
author: Patrick J. Buchanan
name: Locky
average rating: 4.38
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at: 2019/01/31
date added: 2022/07/10
shelves: read-in-2019
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Fable of the Ducks and the Hens]]> 20638385 10 George Lincoln Rockwell Locky 0 4.22 1952 Fable of the Ducks and the Hens
author: George Lincoln Rockwell
name: Locky
average rating: 4.22
book published: 1952
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/07/10
shelves:
review:

]]> Hitler's Revolution 18682659 293 Richard Tedor 098836820X Locky 0 read-in-2019 4.43 2013 Hitler's Revolution
author: Richard Tedor
name: Locky
average rating: 4.43
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at: 2019/08/05
date added: 2022/07/10
shelves: read-in-2019
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Suicide of a Superpower: Will America Survive to 2025?]]> 11167391 496 Patrick J. Buchanan 0312579977 Locky 0 4.02 2011 Suicide of a Superpower: Will America Survive to 2025?
author: Patrick J. Buchanan
name: Locky
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/07/10
shelves:
review:

]]>