en-US Wed, 22 Jan 2025 14:08:25 -0800 60 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg 51373588
In Bunker, acclaimed urban explorer and cultural geographer Bradley Garrett explores the global and rapidly growing movement of 'prepping' for social and environmental collapse, or 'Doomsday'. From the 'dread merchants' hustling safe spaces in the American mid-West to eco-fortresses in Thailand, from geoscrapers to armoured mobile bunkers, Bunker is a brilliant, original and never less than deeply disturbing story from the frontlines of the way we live now: an illuminating reflection on our age of disquiet and dread that brings it into new, sharp focus.

The bunker, Garrett shows, is all around us: in malls, airports, gated communities, the vehicles we drive. Most of all, he shows, it's in our minds.]]> 1 Bradley L. Garrett 1797110640 Kaph 4
Merged review:

Verdict: Wide ranging and continuously interesting. Doesn't attempt to define a unified theory of 'Bunker' which is for the best. Instead Garrett gives us illustrations of an heroically global range of communities who each 'bunker' in their own quirky/scary/impressive way.]]> 3.83 2020
author: Bradley L. Garrett
name: Kaph
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2024/04/15
date added: 2025/01/22
shelves: actual-factual, read-with-my-ears
review:
Verdict: Wide ranging and continuously interesting. Doesn't attempt to define a unified theory of 'Bunker' which is for the best. Instead Garrett gives us illustrations of an heroically global range of communities who each 'bunker' in their own quirky/scary/impressive way.

Merged review:

Verdict: Wide ranging and continuously interesting. Doesn't attempt to define a unified theory of 'Bunker' which is for the best. Instead Garrett gives us illustrations of an heroically global range of communities who each 'bunker' in their own quirky/scary/impressive way.
]]> 349347
Flying home for the funeral, as a violent storm rocks the plane, a strange man in the seat next to him introduces himself. The man calls himself Mr. Wednesday, and he knows more about Shadow than is possible.

He warns Shadow that a far bigger storm is coming. And from that moment on, nothing will ever be the same…]]> 592 Neil Gaiman Kaph 1 4.03 2001
author: Neil Gaiman
name: Kaph
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2001
rating: 1
read at: 2007/01/01
date added: 2024/11/16
shelves: 1000-books, g1000-scifi-and-fantasy
review:

]]> 474072 370 Neil Gaiman 0380789019 Kaph 1 4.06 1996
author: Neil Gaiman
name: Kaph
average rating: 4.06
book published: 1996
rating: 1
read at:
date added: 2024/11/16
shelves: london-town, a-whole-new-world
review:

]]> 16790 Neil Gaiman, magic is no mere illusion... and anything is possible. In this, Gaiman's first book of short stories, his imagination and supreme artistry transform a mundane world into a place of terrible wonders -- a place where an old woman can purchase the Holy Grail at a thrift store, where assassins advertise their services in the Yellow Pages under "Pest Control," and where a frightened young boy must barter for his life with a mean-spirited troll living beneath a bridge by the railroad tracks. Explore a new reality -- obscured by smoke and darkness, yet brilliantly tangible -- in this extraordinary collection of short works by a master prestidigitator. It will dazzle your senses, touch your heart, and haunt your dreams.]]> 365 Neil Gaiman 0380789027 Kaph 1 4.03 1998
author: Neil Gaiman
name: Kaph
average rating: 4.03
book published: 1998
rating: 1
read at:
date added: 2024/11/16
shelves:
review:

]]> 37756505 This is an alternate cover edition of ISBN 9781408891957

The great Norse myths, which have inspired so much of modern fiction, are dazzlingly retold by Neil Gaiman. Tales of dwarfs and frost giants, of treasure and magic, and of Asgard, home to the gods: Odin the all-father, highest and oldest of the Aesir; his mighty son Thor, whose hammer Mjollnir makes the mountain giants tremble; Loki, wily and handsome, reliably unreliable in his lusts; and Freya, who spurns those who seek to control her.

From the dawn of the world to the twilight of the gods, this is a vivid retelling of the Norse myths from the award-winning, bestselling Neil Gaiman.]]> 283 Neil Gaiman Kaph 1 here-be-dragons
So apparently Gaiman did his primary source research and reconstructed the stories in his book from scratch, as it were. I have no reason to doubt the word of Mr. Gaiman, indeed, he seems like the sort who would actually enjoy research. That said, I need to point out that he could have taken my much loved copy of d'Aulaires Norse Gods and Giants (now rechristened Book of Norse Myths) and saved himself some time. Not only are the stores recounted in d'Aulaires, I’m pretty sure they’re in the same order. I’ll let you know. Reading this has made me nostalgic for those in-your-face coloured pencil drawings so I’ll be rescuing my Norse Gods and Giants from the wilds of my parent’s attic this Christmas.

But back to the book at hand, I may have heard all the stories before but that didn’t mean I didn’t enjoy Gaiman telling them to me. I like the stripped back prose he uses. I’ve seen some comments that consider it childish, but I think timeless would be a better description. It’s deceptively difficult to write that way. That said, it works a treat for bedtime stories.

It is a supremely ego-less book, faithful to the authenticity of the myths as opposed to the author’s take on them. (For that, I direct you to American Gods) That doesn’t mean it’s dry, though. My favourite aspect was the imagined dialogue of the Gods, sparse and serviceable and hilarious, another deceptively tricky rhetorical accomplishment. Loki is a star here, captured in all his cleverness, malice and also self-sabotage. I may be missing the d'Aulaires pictures and remembering the stories, but I have a feeling that once I actually dig my old book out of the attic, I’ll be missing Gaiman’s prose.

An unfair gripe, unfair because it is always unfair to criticise a book for not being what you wanted it to be rather than on what it is, but I rather wish the specifics of Loki’s drunken Gods roast had made the cut. Especially given the afore mentioned excellence of Gaiman’s dialogue and Loki characterisation. Still, he says in the notes (which I read because I finished the book on the tube and still had 6 more stops to go) it didn’t fit in with the tone of the rest of the book and I suppose he’d know best.* I’m going to have to dig out the source material and brush up on my Norse.

To conclude; The thing with books on mythology, from my experience in snuffling them out all through my adolescence, is that they tend to be written by scholars not writers and can therefore skew to the dry and/or confusing** I appreciate that Gaiman wrote this book and think it’s something that, while not coffeeshop prize winning work of literature, will nonetheless last well through the years and I’m going to hang onto it which is rare for me.

*Alternative theory, Loki’s speech isn’t in d'Aulaires either. Just saying. We all have deadlines, Gaiman. You can come clean.

**looking at you book on Egyptian gods that insisted on fracturing any hint of a consistent narrative by explaining how legends different between geographical areas and through time.]]> 4.12 2017
author: Neil Gaiman
name: Kaph
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2017
rating: 1
read at: 2018/11/05
date added: 2024/11/16
shelves: here-be-dragons
review:
Verdict; Deft and elegant telling of myths. Any resemblance to other books, with or without giant pencil illustrations is entirely coincidental. (Amendment: nm he’s a rapist 1 star)

So apparently Gaiman did his primary source research and reconstructed the stories in his book from scratch, as it were. I have no reason to doubt the word of Mr. Gaiman, indeed, he seems like the sort who would actually enjoy research. That said, I need to point out that he could have taken my much loved copy of d'Aulaires Norse Gods and Giants (now rechristened Book of Norse Myths) and saved himself some time. Not only are the stores recounted in d'Aulaires, I’m pretty sure they’re in the same order. I’ll let you know. Reading this has made me nostalgic for those in-your-face coloured pencil drawings so I’ll be rescuing my Norse Gods and Giants from the wilds of my parent’s attic this Christmas.

But back to the book at hand, I may have heard all the stories before but that didn’t mean I didn’t enjoy Gaiman telling them to me. I like the stripped back prose he uses. I’ve seen some comments that consider it childish, but I think timeless would be a better description. It’s deceptively difficult to write that way. That said, it works a treat for bedtime stories.

It is a supremely ego-less book, faithful to the authenticity of the myths as opposed to the author’s take on them. (For that, I direct you to American Gods) That doesn’t mean it’s dry, though. My favourite aspect was the imagined dialogue of the Gods, sparse and serviceable and hilarious, another deceptively tricky rhetorical accomplishment. Loki is a star here, captured in all his cleverness, malice and also self-sabotage. I may be missing the d'Aulaires pictures and remembering the stories, but I have a feeling that once I actually dig my old book out of the attic, I’ll be missing Gaiman’s prose.

An unfair gripe, unfair because it is always unfair to criticise a book for not being what you wanted it to be rather than on what it is, but I rather wish the specifics of Loki’s drunken Gods roast had made the cut. Especially given the afore mentioned excellence of Gaiman’s dialogue and Loki characterisation. Still, he says in the notes (which I read because I finished the book on the tube and still had 6 more stops to go) it didn’t fit in with the tone of the rest of the book and I suppose he’d know best.* I’m going to have to dig out the source material and brush up on my Norse.

To conclude; The thing with books on mythology, from my experience in snuffling them out all through my adolescence, is that they tend to be written by scholars not writers and can therefore skew to the dry and/or confusing** I appreciate that Gaiman wrote this book and think it’s something that, while not coffeeshop prize winning work of literature, will nonetheless last well through the years and I’m going to hang onto it which is rare for me.

*Alternative theory, Loki’s speech isn’t in d'Aulaires either. Just saying. We all have deadlines, Gaiman. You can come clean.

**looking at you book on Egyptian gods that insisted on fracturing any hint of a consistent narrative by explaining how legends different between geographical areas and through time.
]]> 2213661
There are dangers and adventures for Bod in the graveyard: the strange and terrible menace of the Sleer; a gravestone entrance to a desert that leads to the city of ghouls; friendship with a witch, and so much more.

But it is in the land of the living that real danger lurks, for it is there that the man Jack lives and he has already killed Bod's family.

A deliciously dark masterwork by bestselling author Neil Gaiman, with illustrations by award-winning Dave McKean.]]> 312 Neil Gaiman 0060530928 Kaph 1 creepy-kiddies 4.15 2008
author: Neil Gaiman
name: Kaph
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2008
rating: 1
read at:
date added: 2024/11/16
shelves: creepy-kiddies
review:

]]> 2744 God is dead. Meet the kids.

Fat Charlie Nancy's normal life ended the moment his father dropped dead on a Florida karaoke stage. Charlie didn't know his dad was a god. And he never knew he had a brother.

Now brother Spider's on his doorstep -- about to make Fat Charlie's life more interesting... and a lot more dangerous.]]> 387 Neil Gaiman 0060515198 Kaph 1 4.03 2005
author: Neil Gaiman
name: Kaph
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2005
rating: 1
read at:
date added: 2024/11/16
shelves:
review:

]]> 43208407 ‘For a very long time, the days went by, each just like the day before, then I began to think, and everything changed��

Deep underground, thirty-nine women live imprisoned in a cage. Watched over by guards, the women have no memory of how they got there, no notion of time, and only vague recollection of their lives before.

As the burn of electric light merges day into night and numberless years pass, a young girl - the fortieth prisoner - sits alone and outcast in the corner. Soon she will show herself to be the key to the others' escape and survival in the strange world that awaits them above ground.]]> 188 Jacqueline Harpman 152911179X Kaph 5 4.24 1995
author: Jacqueline Harpman
name: Kaph
average rating: 4.24
book published: 1995
rating: 5
read at: 2024/11/14
date added: 2024/11/14
shelves:
review:
Unclassifiable jewel of a book.
]]> 45310355
As the townspeople grapple with their problems, mild and dire, Olive is brought to a deeper understanding of herself and her life—sometimes painfully, but always with ruthless honesty. Olive Kitteridge offers profound insights into the human condition—its conflicts, its tragedies and joys, and the endurance it requires.]]> 13 Elizabeth Strout 0593150864 Kaph 3 3.65 2008
author: Elizabeth Strout
name: Kaph
average rating: 3.65
book published: 2008
rating: 3
read at: 2024/10/14
date added: 2024/10/14
shelves: book-club-made-me, penned-by-a-lady, read-with-my-ears
review:
Book of short stories in disguise. Definitely literarily competent. Beautifully observed small melancholy lives. If you like that sort of thing you’ll like this. I don’t so I didn’t. Also points off for subterfuge.
]]> 157591241 256 Lafcadio Hearn 0241675294 Kaph 0 currently-reading 3.38 2019
author: Lafcadio Hearn
name: Kaph
average rating: 3.38
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/14
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> 50892070
Master the craft of crochet with the help of this comprehensive book. Illustrated step-by-step instructions demonstrate��the stitches and techniques, while 15��easy projects allow you to practice��your skills and build your confidence. By the end of the book, you will be able to crochet beautiful items to gift or keep—from a colorful plant pot cover to a chic blanket and a cute cuddly toy.
���ձ�> 160 Zoe Bateman 1645172740 Kaph 0 4.10 2021
author: Zoe Bateman
name: Kaph
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/14
shelves: to-read, actual-factual, to-read-off-list
review:

]]> 61714633 From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Killers of the Flower Moon, a page-turning story of shipwreck, survival, and savagery, culminating in a court martial that reveals a shocking truth. The powerful narrative reveals the deeper meaning of the events on the Wager, showing that it was not only the captain and crew who ended up on trial, but the very idea of empire.

On January 28, 1742, a ramshackle vessel of patched-together wood and cloth washed up on the coast of Brazil. Inside were thirty emaciated men, barely alive, and they had an extraordinary tale to tell. They were survivors of His Majesty's Ship the Wager, a British vessel that had left England in 1740 on a secret mission during an imperial war with Spain. While the Wager had been chasing a Spanish treasure-filled galleon known as "the prize of all the oceans," it had wrecked on a desolate island off the coast of Patagonia. The men, after being marooned for months and facing starvation, built the flimsy craft and sailed for more than a hundred days, traversing nearly 3,000 miles of storm-wracked seas. They were greeted as heroes.

But then . . . six months later, another, even more decrepit craft landed on the coast of Chile. This boat contained just three castaways, and they told a very different story. The thirty sailors who landed in Brazil were not heroes - they were mutineers. The first group responded with countercharges of their own, of a tyrannical and murderous senior officer and his henchmen. It became clear that while stranded on the island the crew had fallen into anarchy, with warring factions fighting for dominion over the barren wilderness. As accusations of treachery and murder flew, the Admiralty convened a court martial to determine who was telling the truth. The stakes were life-and-death--for whomever the court found guilty could hang.

The Wager is a grand tale of human behavior at the extremes told by one of our greatest nonfiction writers. Grann's recreation of the hidden world on a British warship rivals the work of Patrick O'Brian, his portrayal of the castaways' desperate straits stands up to the classics of survival writing such as The Endurance, and his account of the court martial has the savvy of a Scott Turow thriller. As always with Grann's work, the incredible twists of the narrative hold the reader spellbound.]]> 331 David Grann 0385534264 Kaph 0 to-read, to-read-off-list 4.14 2023
author: David Grann
name: Kaph
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/05
shelves: to-read, to-read-off-list
review:

]]> 60194162 "Anyone will tell you the born of this world are marked from the get-out, win or lose."

Set in the mountains of southern Appalachia, this is the story of a boy born to a teenaged single mother in a single-wide trailer, with no assets beyond his dead father's good looks and copper-colored hair, a caustic wit, and a fierce talent for survival. In a plot that never pauses for breath, relayed in his own unsparing voice, he braves the modern perils of foster care, child labor, derelict schools, athletic success, addiction, disastrous loves, and crushing losses. Through all of it, he reckons with his own invisibility in a popular culture where even the superheroes have abandoned rural people in favor of cities.

Many generations ago, Charles Dickens wrote David Copperfield from his experience as a survivor of institutional poverty and its damages to children in his society. Those problems have yet to be solved in ours. Dickens is not a prerequisite for readers of this novel, but he provided its inspiration. In transposing a Victorian epic novel to the contemporary American South, Barbara Kingsolver enlists Dickens' anger and compassion, and above all, his faith in the transformative powers of a good story. Demon Copperhead speaks for a new generation of lost boys, and all those born into beautiful, cursed places they can't imagine leaving behind.]]> 560 Barbara Kingsolver 0063251922 Kaph 0 4.46 2022
author: Barbara Kingsolver
name: Kaph
average rating: 4.46
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/05
shelves: to-read, penned-by-a-lady, to-read-off-list
review:

]]> 33632660 Some inhabitants of a peaceful kingdom cannot tolerate the act of cruelty that underlies its happiness.

The story 'Omelas" was first published in [ Dimensions 3' (1973)|5363188], a hard-cover science fiction anthology edited by [ Silverberg|4338], in October 1973, and the following year it won the prestigious Hugo Award for best short story.

The work was subsequently printed in Le Guin's short story collection [ Wind's Twelve Quarters' (1975)|77289].

[ K Le Guin|] (1929��2018) was an American writer who published twenty-two novels, eleven volumes of short stories, four collections of essays, twelve books for children, six volumes of poetry, and four of translation, and has received many Hugo, Nebula, National Book Award, PEN-Malamud, and more. She was known for her treatment of gender ([ Left Hand of Darkness' (1969)|18423], [ Matter of Seggri' (1994)|34811132]), political systems ([ Telling' (2000)|59921], [ Dispossessed' (1974)|13651]) and difference/otherness in any other form.]]> 21 Ursula K. Le Guin 0062470973 Kaph 4 4.33 1973
author: Ursula K. Le Guin
name: Kaph
average rating: 4.33
book published: 1973
rating: 4
read at: 2022/06/28
date added: 2024/09/27
shelves: penned-by-a-lady, grotty-book-made-me-cry
review:
Well that sucked. I feel miserable and complicit. Undeniably excellent piece of writing, though.
]]> 52379453
"Kill Bill meets Murakami" D. B. John, author of Star of the North

"A work of literary genius" Karen Dionne, internationally bestselling author of Home

"I loved it!" M. W. Craven, author of The Puppet Show

"Youll be laughing out loud every five minutes" You-jeong Jeong, author of The Good Son

"A mash-up of Tarantino and Camus set in contemporary Seoul" Louisa Luna, author of Two Girls Down

"An incredible cast of characters" Le monde

"Smart but lightning fast" Brian Evenson, author of Last Days

Plotters are just pawns like us. A request comes in and they draw up the plans. Theres someone above them who tells them what to do. And above that person is another plotter telling them what to do. You think that if you go up there with a knife and stab the person at the very top, thatll fix everything. But no-ones there. Its just an empty chair.Reseng was raised by cantankerous Old Raccoon in the Library of Dogs. To anyone asking, its just an ordinary library. To anyone in the know, its a hub for Seouls organised crime, and a place where contract killings are plotted and planned. So its no surprise that Reseng has grown up to become one of the best hitmen in Seoul. He takes orders from the plotters, carries out his grim duties, and comforts himself afterwards with copious quantities of beer and his two cats, Desk and Lampshade.But after he takes pity on a target and lets her die how she chooses, he finds his every move is being watched. Is he finally about to fall victim to his own game And why does that new female librarian at the library act so strangely Is he looking for his enemies in all the wrong places Could he be at the centre of a plot bigger than anything hes ever known]]> 304 Kim Un-Su 0008315787 Kaph 2 book-club-made-me
Culturally discombobulating, Plotters is the tale of Reseng, a killer for hire who has been raised as an orphan in a library controlled by the murderous yet sympathetic Racoon. If you are already trying to figure out which part of this set up is - drawn from life/literary metaphor/a Korean thing (you wouldn’t understand) - then I am with you.

The prose can be quite lyrical even as I am vaguely aware of flocks of cultural allusions flying over my head. The plot meanders to no where. The violence is gratuitous and, even if our main characters do
manage to muddle through with Looney Tunes levels of indestructibility, that’s not really my thing.

If you can read it in the original Korean then I won’t dissuade you. Otherwise **]]> 3.56 2010
author: Kim Un-Su
name: Kaph
average rating: 3.56
book published: 2010
rating: 2
read at: 2024/09/23
date added: 2024/09/23
shelves: book-club-made-me
review:
Verdict: Meh. Might have lost a star in translation.

Culturally discombobulating, Plotters is the tale of Reseng, a killer for hire who has been raised as an orphan in a library controlled by the murderous yet sympathetic Racoon. If you are already trying to figure out which part of this set up is - drawn from life/literary metaphor/a Korean thing (you wouldn’t understand) - then I am with you.

The prose can be quite lyrical even as I am vaguely aware of flocks of cultural allusions flying over my head. The plot meanders to no where. The violence is gratuitous and, even if our main characters do
manage to muddle through with Looney Tunes levels of indestructibility, that’s not really my thing.

If you can read it in the original Korean then I won’t dissuade you. Otherwise **
]]> 41074 352 John Brunner 1932100016 Kaph 0 to-read 3.92 1972
author: John Brunner
name: Kaph
average rating: 3.92
book published: 1972
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/21
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 19104886
The novel is a mythical story of the legends around a Chinese Buddhist monk's quest to India to obtain Buddhist religious text. The monk and has four animal protectors- disciples �� namely the Monkey King, Pigsy the Pig, a River Demon and a Dragon prince who acts as the monk's horse. These four characters have agreed to help the monk as an atonement for past sins.

Part of the novel's enduring popularity comes from the fact that it works on multiple levels: it is an adventure story, a dispenser of spiritual insight, and an extended allegory in which the group of pilgrims journeying toward India stands for the individual journeying toward enlightenment.]]> 324 Wu Cheng'en 0802198848 Kaph 0 to-read 4.05 1592
author: Wu Cheng'en
name: Kaph
average rating: 4.05
book published: 1592
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/20
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 25059041
Renata Ghali believed in Lee Suh-Mi’s vision of a world far beyond Earth, calling to humanity. A planet promising to reveal the truth about our place in the cosmos, untainted by overpopulation, pollution, and war. Ren believed in that vision enough to give up everything to follow Suh-Mi into the unknown.

More than twenty-two years have passed since Ren and the rest of the faithful braved the starry abyss and established a colony at the base of an enigmatic alien structure where Suh-Mi has since resided, alone. All that time, Ren has worked hard as the colony's 3-D printer engineer, creating the tools necessary for human survival in an alien environment, and harboring a devastating secret.

Ren continues to perpetuate the lie forming the foundation of the colony for the good of her fellow colonists, despite the personal cost. Then a stranger appears, far too young to have been part of the first planetfall, a man who bears a remarkable resemblance to Suh-Mi.

The truth Ren has concealed since planetfall can no longer be hidden. And its revelation might tear the colony apart…]]> 336 Emma Newman 0698404327 Kaph 2 3.86 2015
author: Emma Newman
name: Kaph
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2015
rating: 2
read at: 2019/06/12
date added: 2024/09/20
shelves: book-club-made-me, penned-by-a-lady, final-frontier
review:
Almost a 2 but, on reflection, enjoyable enough to not be a waste of time. Hoarders In Space was fun. The ending was a disappointment.
]]> 75665931 From one of contemporary literature’s most exciting new voices, a haunting story centered on the Hungarian polymath John von Neumann, tracing the impact of his singular legacy on the dreams and nightmares of the twentieth century and the nascent age of AI

Benjamín Labatut’s When We Cease to Understand the World electrified a global readership. A Booker Prize and National Book Award finalist, and one of the New York Times�� Ten Best Books of the Year, it explored the life and thought of a clutch of mathematicians and physicists who took science to strange and sometimes dangerous new realms. In The MANIAC, Labatut has created a tour de force on an even grander scale.

A prodigy whose gifts terrified the people around him, John von Neumann transformed every field he touched, inventing game theory and the first programable computer, and pioneering AI, digital life, and cellular automata. Through a chorus of family members, friends, colleagues, and rivals, Labatut shows us the evolution of a mind unmatched and of a body of work that has unmoored the world in its wake.

The MANIAC places von Neumann at the center of a literary triptych that begins with Paul Ehrenfest, an Austrian physicist and friend of Einstein, who fell into despair when he saw science and technology become tyrannical forces; it ends a hundred years later, in the showdown between the South Korean Go Master Lee Sedol and the AI program AlphaGo, an encounter embodying the central question of von Neumann's most ambitious unfinished project: the creation of a self-reproducing machine, an intelligence able to evolve beyond human understanding or control.

A work of beauty and fabulous momentum, The MANIAC confronts us with the deepest questions we face as a species.]]> 368 Benjamín Labatut 0593654471 Kaph 4 4.33 2023
author: Benjamín Labatut
name: Kaph
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2024/09/14
date added: 2024/09/14
shelves: actual-factual, red-scare-y-stories, weird-science
review:

]]> 57425958 The Arthur C. Clarke award-winning author of Children of Time brings us an extraordinary space opera about humanity on the brink of extinction, and how one man's discovery will save or destroy us all.

The war is over. Its heroes forgotten. Until one chance discovery . . .

Idris has neither aged nor slept since they remade him in the war. And one of humanity's heroes now scrapes by on a freelance salvage vessel, to avoid the attention of greater powers.

After earth was destroyed, mankind created a fighting elite to save their species, enhanced humans such as Idris. In the silence of space they could communicate, mind-to-mind, with the enemy. Then their alien aggressors, the Architects, simply disappeared—and Idris and his kind became obsolete.

Now, fifty years later, Idris and his crew have discovered something strange abandoned in space. It's clearly the work of the Architects—but are they returning? And if so, why? Hunted by gangsters, cults and governments, Idris and his crew race across the galaxy hunting for answers. For they now possess something of incalculable value, that many would kill to obtain.]]> 533 Adrian Tchaikovsky 1529051894 Kaph 4 4.06 2021
author: Adrian Tchaikovsky
name: Kaph
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2024/08/10
date added: 2024/09/03
shelves: final-frontier, love-that-dare-not-speak-it-s-name
review:

]]> 34864051
From 1915 to 1970, this exodus of almost six million people changed the face of America. Wilkerson compares this epic migration to the migrations of other peoples in history. She interviewed more than a thousand people, and gained access to new data and official records, to write this definitive and vividly dramatic account of how these American journeys unfolded, altering our cities, our country, and ourselves.

With stunning historical detail, Wilkerson tells this story through the lives of three unique individuals: Ida Mae Gladney, who in 1937 left sharecropping and prejudice in Mississippi for Chicago, where she achieved quiet blue-collar success and, in old age, voted for Barack Obama when he ran for an Illinois Senate seat; sharp and quick-tempered George Starling, who in 1945 fled Florida for Harlem, where he endangered his job fighting for civil rights, saw his family fall, and finally found peace in God; and Robert Foster, who left Louisiana in 1953 to pursue a medical career, the personal physician to Ray Charles as part of a glitteringly successful medical career, which allowed him to purchase a grand home where he often threw exuberant parties.

Wilkerson brilliantly captures their first treacherous and exhausting cross-country trips by car and train and their new lives in colonies that grew into ghettos, as well as how they changed these cities with southern food, faith, and culture and improved them with discipline, drive, and hard work. Both a riveting microcosm and a major assessment, The Warmth of Other Suns is a bold, remarkable, and riveting work, a superb account of an “unrecognized immigration�� within our own land. Through the breadth of its narrative, the beauty of the writing, the depth of its research, and the fullness of the people and lives portrayed herein, this book is destined to become a classic.]]> Isabel Wilkerson 0307738914 Kaph 4 4.50 2010
author: Isabel Wilkerson
name: Kaph
average rating: 4.50
book published: 2010
rating: 4
read at: 2024/08/24
date added: 2024/09/03
shelves: actual-factual, book-club-made-me, penned-by-a-lady, read-with-my-ears
review:

]]> 62315578 The Arthur C. Clarke award-winning author of Children of Time brings us the third and final��novel in an extraordinary space opera trilogy about humanity on the brink of extinction, and how one man's discovery will save or destroy us all.


Lords of Uncreation��is the final high-octane installment in Adrian Tchaikovsky's Final Architecture space opera trilogy.


The Final Architecture
Shards of Earth
Eyes of the Void
Lords of Uncreation��]]> 608 Adrian Tchaikovsky 1668628104 Kaph 5 4.22 2023
author: Adrian Tchaikovsky
name: Kaph
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at: 2024/08/30
date added: 2024/09/03
shelves: final-frontier, cream-of-the-crop
review:
Loved this series. I thought I was too snooty to enjoy a proper "rag-tag group of space adventurers" story. Turns out I just needed a good one. With Space Lawyers. And Space Bureaucrats. And God Clams. And a eugenically problematic but definitely badass race of warrior women. Basically, spiritually, it's a gritty reboot of Futurama. Drop the Becky Chambers and read this.
]]> 7697487 318 Dorothy M. Richardson 1440051437 Kaph 0 to-read 3.31 1915
author: Dorothy M. Richardson
name: Kaph
average rating: 3.31
book published: 1915
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 12143354
If inconceivably strange, these brilliant tales remain, in Dr. Sacks’s splendid and sympathetic telling, deeply human. They are studies of life struggling against incredible adversity, and they enable us to enter the world of the neurologically impaired, to imagine with our hearts what it must be to live and feel as they do.]]> 246 Oliver Sacks Kaph 4 3.80 1985
author: Oliver Sacks
name: Kaph
average rating: 3.80
book published: 1985
rating: 4
read at: 2024/06/12
date added: 2024/08/12
shelves: actual-factual, book-club-made-me, consciously-uncoupled
review:

]]> 372812 The Pursuit of Love (1945)
Love in a Cold Climate (1949)
The Blessing (1951)

Nancy Mitford's Love in a Cold Climate and Other Novels casts a finely gauged net to capture perfectly the foibles and fancies of the English upper class, and includes an introduction by Philip Hensher in Penguin Modern Classics. Nancy Mitford's brilliantly witty, irreverent stories of the upper classes in pre-war London and Paris conjure up a world of glamour, gossip and decadence. In The Pursuit of Love, Love in a Cold Climate and The Blessing, her extraordinary heroines deal with armies of hilariously eccentric relatives, the excitement of love and passion, and the thrills of the social Season. But beneath the glittering surfaces and perfectly timed comic dialogue, Nancy Mitford's novels are also touching hymns to a lost era and to the brevity of life and love from one of the most individual, beguiling and creative users of the language.]]> 493 Nancy Mitford 0141181494 Kaph 0 to-read 4.10
author: Nancy Mitford
name: Kaph
average rating: 4.10
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 54479 252 Jules Verne 014044906X Kaph 3
Lets just get this out of the way; there is no balloon. I don't know if this is one of those common fallacies that proper book people are aware of, but I was caught completely out. There must be a balloon, I kept telling myself as the chapters marched on, why else would it be on the crisps? Nevertheless, the crisps (and pop culture in general) are all complicit in a dirty lie and I fell for it hook line and sandbag. Even after finishing the entire balloonless book I still couldn't accept it, theorizing perhaps that I had got my hands on some sort of bootleg knockoff of the original. Eventually Google revealed the truth of the matter (I am completely at a loss as to how humanity functioned prior to the internet search engine) and now I feel rather embarrassed. Please tell me, book people of the net, should I have known about this? Do enlighten me in the comments.

Meanwhile, let's get to the review. (Incidentally, I hasten to assure you that this book doesn't lose any stars over its distinct lack of balloons. It's not like I'm some hard core hot air enthusiast.) I'll say this about Around the World in 80 Days; it does what it says on the label. Phileas Fogg is an Englishman whose stiff upper lip is only matched in vigour by his debilitating OCD. For motives that are still not entirely clear to me he suddenly declares his intention to go around the world in 80 days. For even vaguer reasons he wagers £20,000 against his failure; he'll lose his fortune if he can't make it and gain nothing if he wins. Finally, and rather dishonestly, he drags his newly hired French servant along with him, despite the poor man declaring in the interview he really just wants to settle down into comfortable routine.

Then, with dwindling fortune and growing entourage, they go around the world in 80 days.

I dunno, I suppose the conceit really loses something when you've never known a world without commercial airlines or space travel, for that matter. I floundered in trying to find the point to this book. We've already covered the vague motivation so lets move on to the detached journey. Fogg, by his own imposition, is not a traveller, he is a tangent describing the circumference of the globe. Also he is unflappable. I defy you to flap this man. Finally he has, as we say in the business, 'stupid money.' So that's kinda how we go, transiting from point to point with an emotionless man who can buy his way out of whatever delay is thrown at him.

Other characters are neatly supplied to fill out the drama. There's Fix, a sort of watered-down Javert intent of bringing Fogg to presumed justice to play antagonist. Aouda the Indian Princess joins the improbable gang as an improbable love interest. Most of the work goes to Passaporte, the valet, who has to be comic relief, voice all normal anxieties (money, delays, freeloading detectives, etc) save the day whenever cash won't do the trick and then constantly deride himself for costing Fogg time and money cause that's what servants do. Quite frankly I think he should have got the girl. After all he's the one who actually saved her life. Unfortunately for Passaporte, servants are only allowed to marry Indian Princesses when genies are involved.

The entourage might add some human emotion, but they all also suffer from the curse of vague motivation. Despite flimsy circumstantial evidence Fix believes Fogg's guilt beyond all shadows of all doubts. Despite being retained under false pretences and dragged on a lunatic mission Passaporte adores Fogg with the devotion of a thousand puppies. Poor Aouda never had a chance. As the only woman in the story she had to be offered up as prize to the main character to appease the phallocratic gods of literature.

As I write this review I keep talking myself in and out of liking this book. Let's even the balance with some good points. I liked the snapshots of the British empire at it's height; the descriptions of India, Singapore and Hong Kong under British rule with little British houses and gardens and no need for passports. (Incidentally, I have no time for any critics who might deride Verne's descriptions of native peoples. Chinese people smoked opium. Japanese women with blackened teeth are not attractive. Sioux Indians are f*cking scary. End of. Moving on...) While I was never particularly worried that Phileas wouldn't make his journey in the allotted time (it just isn't that sort of book) the various solutions to delays, though always centred around the basic premise of 'I will give you wads of sterling' get increasingly creative and I quite enjoyed the finale of grand theft ocean steamer. The book in general improved as it went along.

Its not that it got any more exciting or realistic, but I think I rather made my peace with it and enjoyed it for what it was. Maybe it's the effect of a French author, but there's a certain poetic element about Fogg and his journey; his esoteric nature combined with the strange feat of going all the way around our little floating ball of rock and coming right back to where you started. It's a lyrical conceit, both theoretically detached and very physically possible. It gives the whole adventure a fable-ish feel and the conclusion, though perfectly scientifically valid, still has the feel of magic.

Finally, I cannot truly dislike any book which features two things; London and ships. They were certainly present in Around the World in 80 Days and I was finally won over to Fogg on that final leg with the steamer from New York. Not that it made any sense based on what we know of his life and character but nevertheless, I cannot dislike a man who knows his way around boat. If you know what I mean. The balance is therefore tipped into three star territory. Jury is still out on Verne, moving on to Journey to the Centre of the Earth...

If you liked this;
Then I have no idea how you will feel about the 2004 movie with which it shares a title and little else. I found it splendid just because you so rarely get to see Jackie Chan team up with Alan Partridge and share a jacuzzi with the governor of California. To be fair, Jackie alone was enough for me to give it a go. As it turns out, the casting was inspired. He makes quite a convincing Passaporte. Still, won't blame you if you decide to give this a miss. It requires an acquired affinity.

Title: Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne
When: June 2012
Why: Wanted to confirm my suspicion that Jackie Chan didn’t feature in the original
Rating: 3


]]> 3.95 1872
author: Jules Verne
name: Kaph
average rating: 3.95
book published: 1872
rating: 3
read at: 2012/06/29
date added: 2024/08/07
shelves: 1000-books, on-a-boat, london-town, g1000-war-and-travel
review:
Verdict: A sweet and iconic circumnavigation tale, though I can't help but think it's lost something through time and translation.

Lets just get this out of the way; there is no balloon. I don't know if this is one of those common fallacies that proper book people are aware of, but I was caught completely out. There must be a balloon, I kept telling myself as the chapters marched on, why else would it be on the crisps? Nevertheless, the crisps (and pop culture in general) are all complicit in a dirty lie and I fell for it hook line and sandbag. Even after finishing the entire balloonless book I still couldn't accept it, theorizing perhaps that I had got my hands on some sort of bootleg knockoff of the original. Eventually Google revealed the truth of the matter (I am completely at a loss as to how humanity functioned prior to the internet search engine) and now I feel rather embarrassed. Please tell me, book people of the net, should I have known about this? Do enlighten me in the comments.

Meanwhile, let's get to the review. (Incidentally, I hasten to assure you that this book doesn't lose any stars over its distinct lack of balloons. It's not like I'm some hard core hot air enthusiast.) I'll say this about Around the World in 80 Days; it does what it says on the label. Phileas Fogg is an Englishman whose stiff upper lip is only matched in vigour by his debilitating OCD. For motives that are still not entirely clear to me he suddenly declares his intention to go around the world in 80 days. For even vaguer reasons he wagers £20,000 against his failure; he'll lose his fortune if he can't make it and gain nothing if he wins. Finally, and rather dishonestly, he drags his newly hired French servant along with him, despite the poor man declaring in the interview he really just wants to settle down into comfortable routine.

Then, with dwindling fortune and growing entourage, they go around the world in 80 days.

I dunno, I suppose the conceit really loses something when you've never known a world without commercial airlines or space travel, for that matter. I floundered in trying to find the point to this book. We've already covered the vague motivation so lets move on to the detached journey. Fogg, by his own imposition, is not a traveller, he is a tangent describing the circumference of the globe. Also he is unflappable. I defy you to flap this man. Finally he has, as we say in the business, 'stupid money.' So that's kinda how we go, transiting from point to point with an emotionless man who can buy his way out of whatever delay is thrown at him.

Other characters are neatly supplied to fill out the drama. There's Fix, a sort of watered-down Javert intent of bringing Fogg to presumed justice to play antagonist. Aouda the Indian Princess joins the improbable gang as an improbable love interest. Most of the work goes to Passaporte, the valet, who has to be comic relief, voice all normal anxieties (money, delays, freeloading detectives, etc) save the day whenever cash won't do the trick and then constantly deride himself for costing Fogg time and money cause that's what servants do. Quite frankly I think he should have got the girl. After all he's the one who actually saved her life. Unfortunately for Passaporte, servants are only allowed to marry Indian Princesses when genies are involved.

The entourage might add some human emotion, but they all also suffer from the curse of vague motivation. Despite flimsy circumstantial evidence Fix believes Fogg's guilt beyond all shadows of all doubts. Despite being retained under false pretences and dragged on a lunatic mission Passaporte adores Fogg with the devotion of a thousand puppies. Poor Aouda never had a chance. As the only woman in the story she had to be offered up as prize to the main character to appease the phallocratic gods of literature.

As I write this review I keep talking myself in and out of liking this book. Let's even the balance with some good points. I liked the snapshots of the British empire at it's height; the descriptions of India, Singapore and Hong Kong under British rule with little British houses and gardens and no need for passports. (Incidentally, I have no time for any critics who might deride Verne's descriptions of native peoples. Chinese people smoked opium. Japanese women with blackened teeth are not attractive. Sioux Indians are f*cking scary. End of. Moving on...) While I was never particularly worried that Phileas wouldn't make his journey in the allotted time (it just isn't that sort of book) the various solutions to delays, though always centred around the basic premise of 'I will give you wads of sterling' get increasingly creative and I quite enjoyed the finale of grand theft ocean steamer. The book in general improved as it went along.

Its not that it got any more exciting or realistic, but I think I rather made my peace with it and enjoyed it for what it was. Maybe it's the effect of a French author, but there's a certain poetic element about Fogg and his journey; his esoteric nature combined with the strange feat of going all the way around our little floating ball of rock and coming right back to where you started. It's a lyrical conceit, both theoretically detached and very physically possible. It gives the whole adventure a fable-ish feel and the conclusion, though perfectly scientifically valid, still has the feel of magic.

Finally, I cannot truly dislike any book which features two things; London and ships. They were certainly present in Around the World in 80 Days and I was finally won over to Fogg on that final leg with the steamer from New York. Not that it made any sense based on what we know of his life and character but nevertheless, I cannot dislike a man who knows his way around boat. If you know what I mean. The balance is therefore tipped into three star territory. Jury is still out on Verne, moving on to Journey to the Centre of the Earth...

If you liked this;
Then I have no idea how you will feel about the 2004 movie with which it shares a title and little else. I found it splendid just because you so rarely get to see Jackie Chan team up with Alan Partridge and share a jacuzzi with the governor of California. To be fair, Jackie alone was enough for me to give it a go. As it turns out, the casting was inspired. He makes quite a convincing Passaporte. Still, won't blame you if you decide to give this a miss. It requires an acquired affinity.

Title: Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne
When: June 2012
Why: Wanted to confirm my suspicion that Jackie Chan didn’t feature in the original
Rating: 3



]]> 45032 488 Jane Austen Kaph 0 to-read, my-ebooks 3.86 1814
author: Jane Austen
name: Kaph
average rating: 3.86
book published: 1814
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/07
shelves: to-read, my-ebooks
review:

]]> 194803883 The riveting story of five families shattered by pernicious, pervasive conspiracy theories, and how we might set ourselves free from a crisis that could haunt American life for generations.

“SHED MY DNA��: three excruciating words uttered by a QAnon-obsessed mother, once a highly respected lawyer, to her only son, once the closest person in her life. QAnon beliefs and adjacent conspiracy theories have had devastating political consequences as they’ve exploded in popularity. What’s often overlooked is the lasting havoc they wreak on our society at its most basic and intimate level—the family.

In The Quiet Damage, celebrated reporter Jesselyn Cook paints a harrowing portrait of the vulnerabilities that have left so many of us susceptible to outrageous falsehoods promising order, purpose, and control. Braided throughout are the stories of five American families: an elderly couple whose fifty-year romance takes a heartbreaking turn; millennial sisters of color who grew up in dire poverty—one to become a BLM activist, the other, a hardcore conspiracy theorist pulling her little boy down the rabbit hole with her; a Bay Area hippie-type and her business-executive fiancé, who must decide whether to stay with her as she turns into a stranger before his eyes; evangelical parents whose simple life in a sleepy suburb spirals into delusion-fueled chaos; and a rural mother-son duo who, after carrying each other through unspeakable tragedy, stop speaking at all as ludicrous untruths shatter a bond long thought unbreakable.

Charting the arc of each believer’s path from their first intersection with conspiracy theories to the depths of their cultish conviction, to—in some cases—their rejection of disinformation and the mending of fractured relationships, Cook offers a rare, intimate look into the psychology of how and why ordinary people come to believe the unbelievable. Profound, brilliantly researched, and beautifully written, The Quiet Damage lays bare how we have been taken hostage by grifters peddling lies built on false hope—and how we might release our loved ones, and ourselves, from their grasp.]]> 250 Jesselyn Cook 059344325X Kaph 0 to-read 4.47 2024
author: Jesselyn Cook
name: Kaph
average rating: 4.47
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/02
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 181133 317 page edition

First, there were ten—a curious assortment of strangers summoned as weekend guests to a little private island off the coast of Devon. Their host, an eccentric millionaire unknown to all of them, is nowhere to be found. All that the guests have in common is a wicked past they're unwilling to reveal—and a secret that will seal their fate. For each has been marked for murder. A famous nursery rhyme is framed and hung in every room of the mansion:

"Ten little boys went out to dine; One choked his little self and then there were nine. Nine little boys sat up very late; One overslept himself and then there were eight. Eight little boys traveling in Devon; One said he'd stay there then there were seven. Seven little boys chopping up sticks; One chopped himself in half and then there were six. Six little boys playing with a hive; A bumblebee stung one and then there were five. Five little boys going in for law; One got in Chancery and then there were four. Four little boys going out to sea; A red herring swallowed one and then there were three. Three little boys walking in the zoo; A big bear hugged one and then there were two. Two little boys sitting in the sun; One got frizzled up and then there was one. One little boy left all alone; He went out and hanged himself and then there were none."

When they realize that murders are occurring as described in the rhyme, terror mounts. One by one they fall prey. Before the weekend is out, there will be none. Who has choreographed this dastardly scheme? And who will be left to tell the tale? Only the dead are above suspicion.]]> 250 Agatha Christie Kaph 4 4.30 1939
author: Agatha Christie
name: Kaph
average rating: 4.30
book published: 1939
rating: 4
read at: 2022/12/19
date added: 2024/07/01
shelves: penned-by-a-lady, game-is-afoot
review:

]]> 1376772 256 Anthony Powell 0006540414 Kaph 0 to-read 4.23 1962
author: Anthony Powell
name: Kaph
average rating: 4.23
book published: 1962
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/06/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 57942699 The highly anticipated portrait of three generations of the Sackler family, by the prize-winning, bestselling author of Say Nothing.

The Sackler name adorns the walls of many storied institutions: Harvard, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Oxford, the Louvre. They are one of the richest families in the world, known for their lavish donations to the arts and sciences. The source of the family fortune was vague, however, until it emerged that the Sacklers were responsible for making and marketing OxyContin, a blockbuster painkiller that was a catalyst for the opioid crisis.

Empire of Pain is a masterpiece of narrative reporting and writing, exhaustively documented and ferociously compelling.]]> Patrick Radden Keefe 1529063094 Kaph 4 4.47 2021
author: Patrick Radden Keefe
name: Kaph
average rating: 4.47
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2024/05/19
date added: 2024/05/19
shelves: actual-factual, read-with-my-ears
review:

]]> 60850767
Earth failed. In a desperate bid to escape, the spaceship Enkidu and its captain, Heorest Holt, carried its precious human cargo to a potential new paradise. Generations later, this fragile colony has managed to survive, eking out a hardy existence. Yet life is tough, and much technological knowledge has been lost.

Then strangers appear. They possess unparalleled knowledge and thrilling technology �� and they've arrived from another world to help humanity’s colonies. But not all is as it seems, and the price of the strangers' help may be the colony itself.

Children of Memory by Arthur C. Clarke Award-winning author Adrian Tchaikovsky is a far-reaching space opera spanning generations, species and galaxies.]]> 486 Adrian Tchaikovsky 1529087201 Kaph 4 3.97 2022
author: Adrian Tchaikovsky
name: Kaph
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2024/04/05
date added: 2024/04/15
shelves: final-frontier, grotty-book-made-me-cry
review:
Verdict: A subtle end to an excellent trilogy. A dreamier, more poetic offering than the first two in the series but still with the deft exploration of other minds we came here for (crows this time). Packs a more emotional punch than I was prepared for and that's not a bad thing.
]]> 44452743
Exposing these global profiteers, Naomi Klein discovered information and connections that shocked even her about how comprehensively the shock doctors' beliefs now dominate our world - and how this domination has been achieved. Raking in billions out of the tsunami, plundering Russia, exploiting Iraq - this is the chilling tale of how a few are making a killing while more are getting killed.]]> 23 Naomi Klein Kaph 5 4.46 2007
author: Naomi Klein
name: Kaph
average rating: 4.46
book published: 2007
rating: 5
read at: 2024/04/15
date added: 2024/04/15
shelves: actual-factual, penned-by-a-lady, read-with-my-ears
review:
Verdict: This book explains the world. Read it immediately.
]]> 13532212
For generations, Pat the Bunny has been creating special first-time moments between parents and their children. One of the best-selling children’s books of all time, this classic touch-and-feel book offers babies a playful and engaging experience, all the while creating cherished memories that will last a lifetime.]]> 20 Dorothy Kunhardt 0307120007 Kaph 0 books-for-beano 4.08 1940
author: Dorothy Kunhardt
name: Kaph
average rating: 4.08
book published: 1940
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/04/11
shelves: books-for-beano
review:

]]> 129899745 0 Muriel Spark Kaph 3 3.00 1976
author: Muriel Spark
name: Kaph
average rating: 3.00
book published: 1976
rating: 3
read at: 2024/03/20
date added: 2024/03/25
shelves: love-that-dare-not-speak-it-s-name, penned-by-a-lady
review:
Verdict: Oddly timely read in the YOOL 2024. Spark can do no wrong - a delight to read as ever.
]]> 28116739
In Other Minds, Peter Godfrey-Smith, a distinguished philosopher of science and a skilled scuba diver, tells a bold new story of how subjective experience crept into being—how nature became aware of itself. As Godfrey-Smith stresses, it is a story that largely occurs in the ocean, where animals first appeared. Tracking the mind’s fitful development, Godfrey-Smith shows how unruly clumps of seaborne cells began living together and became capable of sensing, acting, and signaling. As these primitive organisms became more entangled with others, they grew more complicated. The first nervous systems evolved, probably in ancient relatives of jellyfish; later on, the cephalopods, which began as inconspicuous mollusks, abandoned their shells and rose above the ocean floor, searching for prey and acquiring the greater intelligence needed to do so. Taking an independent route, mammals and birds later began their own evolutionary journeys.

But what kind of intelligence do cephalopods possess? Drawing on the latest scientific research and his own scuba-diving adventures, Godfrey-Smith probes the many mysteries that surround the lineage. How did the octopus, a solitary creature with little social life, become so smart? What is it like to have eight tentacles that are so packed with neurons that they virtually “think for themselves��? What happens when some octopuses abandon their hermit-like ways and congregate, as they do in a unique location off the coast of Australia?

By tracing the question of inner life back to its roots and comparing human beings with our most remarkable animal relatives, Godfrey-Smith casts crucial new light on the octopus mind—and on our own.]]> 257 Peter Godfrey-Smith 0374227764 Kaph 5 3.86 2016
author: Peter Godfrey-Smith
name: Kaph
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2016
rating: 5
read at: 2022/05/19
date added: 2024/03/25
shelves: actual-factual, cream-of-the-crop
review:

]]> 694495
Elspeth McGillicuddy is not given to hallucinations. Until she witnesses a murder at Paddington Station. But did she? No victim, no suspect, no other witnesses. In fact no one believes it really happened at all. Except her friend Miss Jane Marple, and she's returning to the scene of the crime to discover just exactly what Mrs. McGillicuddy saw.

Sensible Elspeth McGillicuddy is not given to hallucinations. Or is she? After she boards the Paddington Station train and becomes a witness to an apparent murder, no one believes her but her friend-the indomitable sleuth Miss Jane Marple.]]> 217 Agatha Christie 0451200519 Kaph 3 3.91 1957
author: Agatha Christie
name: Kaph
average rating: 3.91
book published: 1957
rating: 3
read at: 2023/03/21
date added: 2024/03/25
shelves: penned-by-a-lady, game-is-afoot
review:
Solid Christie fare. Love the Super Competent And Well Remunerated PA character - role that should definitely be a thing IRL. I continued to be baffled until the final denouement. Does that speak well of the book or poorly of my intelligence? Until I know the answer to this question I can never truly appreciate a mystery novel.
]]> 60191943 336 191630995X Kaph 3 penned-by-a-lady 2.70
author: Ffiona Von Westhoven Perigrinor
name: Kaph
average rating: 2.70
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2023/03/21
date added: 2024/03/25
shelves: penned-by-a-lady
review:

]]> 54627857
Celebrated feminist advocate Caroline Criado Perez investigates this shocking shortfall of information and research in��The Other Half, diving into women’s lives at home, the workplace, the public square, the doctor’s office, and more. Built on hundreds of studies in the US, the UK, and around the world, and written with energy, wit, and sparkling intelligence, this is a groundbreaking, unforgettable expos. that will change the way you look at the world.]]> 10 Caroline Criado Pérez 1473569001 Kaph 4 4.32 2019
author: Caroline Criado Pérez
name: Kaph
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2023/09/30
date added: 2024/03/25
shelves: read-with-my-ears, penned-by-a-lady, actual-factual
review:

]]> 7036065
As the United States celebrates the nation's "triumph over race" with the election of Barack Obama, the majority of young black men in major American cities are locked behind bars or have been labeled felons for life. Although Jim Crow laws have been wiped off the books, an astounding percentage of the African American community remains trapped in a subordinate status--much like their grandparents before them.

In this incisive critique, former litigator-turned-legal-scholar Michelle Alexander provocatively argues that we have not ended racial caste in America: we have simply redesigned it. Alexander shows that, by targeting black men and decimating communities of color, the U.S. criminal justice system functions as a contemporary system of racial control, even as it formally adheres to the principle of color blindness. The New Jim Crow challenges the civil rights community--and all of us--to place mass incarceration at the forefront of a new movement for racial justice in America.]]> 17 Michelle Alexander Kaph 5 4.50 2010
author: Michelle Alexander
name: Kaph
average rating: 4.50
book published: 2010
rating: 5
read at: 2024/01/09
date added: 2024/03/25
shelves: actual-factual, read-with-my-ears, penned-by-a-lady, cream-of-the-crop
review:

]]> 36362051
Over the course of five centuries--from the Salem witch trials to Scientology to the Satanic Panic of the 1980s, from P. T. Barnum to Hollywood and the anything-goes, wild-and-crazy sixties, from conspiracy theories to our fetish for guns and obsession with extraterrestrials--our love of the fantastic has made America exceptional in a way that we've never fully acknowledged. From the start, our ultra-individualism was attached to epic dreams and epic fantasies--every citizen was free to believe absolutely anything, or to pretend to be absolutely anybody. With the gleeful erudition and tell-it-like-it-is ferocity of a Christopher Hitchens, Andersen explores whether the great American experiment in liberty has gone off the rails.]]> 20 Kurt Andersen Kaph 4 3.92 2017
author: Kurt Andersen
name: Kaph
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at: 2024/01/29
date added: 2024/03/25
shelves: actual-factual, read-with-my-ears
review:

]]> 62873949 The authoritative exposé of private equity: what it is, how it kills businesses and jobs, how the government helps, and how we stop it

Private equity surrounds us. Firms like Blackstone, Carlyle, and KKR are among the largest employers in America and hold assets that rival those of small countries. Yet few understand what these firms are or how they work.

In Plunder, Brendan Ballou explains how private equity has reshaped American business by raising prices, reducing quality, cutting jobs, and shifting resources from productive to unproductive parts of the economy. Ballou vividly illustrates how many private equity firms buy up retailers, medical practices, prison services, nursing-home chains, and mobile-home parks, among other businesses, using little of their own money to do it and avoiding debt and liability for their actions. Forced to take on huge debts and pay extractive fees, companies purchased by private equity firms are often left bankrupt, or shells of their former selves, with consequences to communities that long depended on them.

Perhaps most startling is Ballou’s insight into how this is happening with the active support of various arms of the government. But, as Ballou reveals in an agenda for reigning in the industry, private equity can be stopped from wreaking further havoc.
���ձ�> Brendan Ballou 1668626519 Kaph 4


*Capitalism]]> 4.19 2023
author: Brendan Ballou
name: Kaph
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2024/03/25
date added: 2024/03/25
shelves: actual-factual, read-with-my-ears
review:
Verdict: Excellent examination of a deeply dire situation. Tries valiantly to present solutions and offer hope but you still might want to burn it* all to the ground after reading.



*Capitalism
]]> 37793957 A pioneering researcher and one of the world’s foremost experts on traumatic stress offers a bold new paradigm for healing
��
Trauma is a fact of life. Veterans and their families deal with the painful aftermath of combat; one in five Americans has been molested; one in four grew up with alcoholics; one in three couples have engaged in physical violence. Such experiences inevitably leave traces on minds, emotions, and even on biology. Sadly, trauma sufferers frequently pass on their stress to their partners and children.
��
Renowned trauma expert Bessel van der Kolk has spent over three decades working with survivors. In The Body Keeps the Score, he transforms our understanding of traumatic stress, revealing how it literally rearranges the brain’s wiring—specifically areas dedicated to pleasure, engagement, control, and trust. He shows how these areas can be reactivated through innovative treatments including neurofeedback, mindfulness techniques, play, yoga, and other therapies. Based on Dr. van der Kolk’s own research and that of other leading specialists, The Body Keeps the Score offers proven alternatives to drugs and talk therapy—and a way to reclaim lives.]]> 16 Bessel van der Kolk Kaph 5 4.18 2014
author: Bessel van der Kolk
name: Kaph
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2014
rating: 5
read at: 2024/02/25
date added: 2024/03/25
shelves: read-with-my-ears, actual-factual
review:

]]> 17125 The only English translation authorized by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

First published in the Soviet journal Novy Mir in 1962, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich stands as a classic of contemporary literature. The story of labor-camp inmate Ivan Denisovich Shukhov, it graphically describes his struggle to maintain his dignity in the face of communist oppression. An unforgettable portrait of the entire world of Stalin's forced work camps, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich is one of the most extraordinary literary documents to have emerged from the Soviet Union and confirms Solzhenitsyn's stature as "a literary genius whose talent matches that of Dosotevsky, Turgenev, Tolstoy"--Harrison Salisbury

This unexpurgated 1991 translation by H. T. Willetts is the only authorized edition available, and fully captures the power and beauty of the original Russian.]]> 182 Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn Kaph 0 to-read 3.98 1962
author: Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
name: Kaph
average rating: 3.98
book published: 1962
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/03/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 62919856
Called “one of the most disruptive brands in beauty�� by Forbes , Glossier revolutionized the beauty industry with its sophisticated branding and unique approach to influencer marketing, almost-instantly making the company a juggernaut with rabid fans lining up for a chance to buy its coveted products. It also taught a generation of business leaders how to talk to Millennial and Gen Z customers and build a cult following online.

At the center of the story lies Emily Weiss, the elusive former Teen Vogue “superintern�� on the reality show The Hills turned Into the Gloss beauty blogger who had the vision, guts, and searing ambition needed to launch Glossier. She cannily turned every experience, every meeting into an opportunity to fuel her own personal success. Together with her expensive, signature style and singular vision for the future of consumerism, she could not be stopped. Just how did a girl from suburban Connecticut with no real job experience work her way into the bathrooms and boudoirs of the most influential names in the world and build that access into a 1.9-billion-dollar business? Is she solely responsible for its success? And why, eight years later, at the height of Glossier mania, did she step down?

In Glossy , journalist and author Marisa Meltzer combines in-depth interviews with former Glossier employees, investors, and Weiss herself to bring you inside the walls of this fascinating and secretive company. From fundraising to product launches and unconventional hiring practices, Meltzer exposes the inner workings of Glossier’s culture, culminating in the story of Weiss herself. The Devil Wears Prada for the Bad Blood generation, Glossy is a gripping portrait of not just one of the most important business leaders of her generation, but also a chronicle of an era.]]> 304 Marisa Meltzer 1982190604 Kaph 3 3.29 2023
author: Marisa Meltzer
name: Kaph
average rating: 3.29
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2024/01/31
date added: 2024/02/06
shelves: actual-factual, penned-by-a-lady, read-with-my-ears
review:

]]> 77212 207 Zora Neale Hurston 0060916508 Kaph 4 3.99 1937
author: Zora Neale Hurston
name: Kaph
average rating: 3.99
book published: 1937
rating: 4
read at: 2022/06/17
date added: 2024/02/06
shelves: penned-by-a-lady, g1000-love, 1000-books, grotty-book-made-me-cry
review:

]]> 66086834 Alternate cover edition of ISBN 9780525558965.

From acclaimed and bestselling novelist Zadie Smith, a kaleidoscopic work of historical fiction set against the legal trial that divided Victorian England, about who gets to tell their story—and who gets to be believed.

It is 1873. Mrs. Eliza Touchet is the Scottish housekeeper—and cousin by marriage—of a once-famous novelist, now in decline, William Ainsworth, with whom she has lived for thirty years.

Mrs. Touchet is a woman of many interests: literature, justice, abolitionism, class, her cousin, his wives, this life and the next. But she is also sceptical. She suspects her cousin of having no talent; his successful friend, Mr. Charles Dickens, of being a bully and a moralist; and England of being a land of facades, in which nothing is quite what it seems.

Andrew Bogle, meanwhile, grew up enslaved on the Hope Plantation, Jamaica. He knows every lump of sugar comes at a human cost. That the rich deceive the poor. And that people are more easily manipulated than they realize. When Bogle finds himself in London, star witness in a celebrated case of imposture, he knows his future depends on telling the right story.

The “Tichborne Trial”—wherein a lower-class butcher from Australia claimed he was in fact the rightful heir of a sizable estate and title—captivates Mrs. Touchet and all of England. Is Sir Roger Tichborne really who he says he is? Or is he a fraud? Mrs. Touchet is a woman of the world. Mr. Bogle is no fool. But in a world of hypocrisy and self-deception, deciding what is real proves a complicated task. . . .

Based on real historical events, The Fraud is a dazzling novel about truth and fiction, Jamaica and Britain, fraudulence and authenticity and the mystery of “other people.”]]> 464 Zadie Smith Kaph 4 3.25 2023
author: Zadie Smith
name: Kaph
average rating: 3.25
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2024/02/05
date added: 2024/02/06
shelves: london-town, love-that-dare-not-speak-it-s-name, penned-by-a-lady
review:

]]> 123852721
From persuading a doctor that she’d prefer a C-section to learning to “bullshit gracefully�� at McKinsey to struggling, in her personal life, to believe her troubled brother-in-law, Nayeri explores an aspect of our society that is rarely held up to the light.

For fans of David Grann, Malcolm Gladwell, and Atul Gawande, Who Gets Believed? is a book as deeply personal as it is profound in its reflections on morals, language, human psychology, and the unspoken social codes that determine how we relate to one another.

*Listening Length: 10 hours and 51 minutes]]> 11 Dina Nayeri Kaph 4 3.42 2023
author: Dina Nayeri
name: Kaph
average rating: 3.42
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2023/10/10
date added: 2024/02/06
shelves: read-with-my-ears, penned-by-a-lady, actual-factual
review:

]]> 63032609
Eric Williams advanced these powerful ideas in Capitalism and Slavery, published in 1944. Years ahead of its time, his profound critique became the foundation for studies of imperialism and economic development.

Binding an economic view of history with strong moral argument, Williams's study of the role of slavery in financing the Industrial Revolution refuted traditional ideas of economic and moral progress and firmly established the centrality of the African slave trade in European economic development. He also showed that mature industrial capitalism in turn helped destroy the slave system. Establishing the exploitation of commercial capitalism and its link to racial attitudes, Williams employed a historicist vision that set the tone for future studies.

In a new introduction, Colin Palmer assesses the lasting impact of Williams's groundbreaking work and analyzes the heated scholarly debates it generated when it first appeared.]]> Eric Williams Kaph 4 3.33 1944
author: Eric Williams
name: Kaph
average rating: 3.33
book published: 1944
rating: 4
read at: 2023/09/25
date added: 2024/02/06
shelves: read-with-my-ears, actual-factual
review:

]]> 1226472 Moreover, when reestablishing the connection between the written text and the textile, Kruger concedes that a significant relationship exists between women, who wove textiles, and textual production. By recuperating a textile history and including it in our awareness of literary history, we will recover a large community of female authorship and perspective.
Through an analysis of specific weaving stories, the difference between a text and a textile becomes blurred. Such stories portray women weavers transforming their domestic activity of making textiles into one of making texts by inscribing their cloth with both personal and political messages.
Kruger draws from various disciplines to show how textiles constitute another form of literature. Her engaging and provocative inquire raises important issues for any reader interested in literature, communication, and the power of the word.]]> 188 Kathryn Sullivan Kruger 1575910527 Kaph 0 3.83 2001
author: Kathryn Sullivan Kruger
name: Kaph
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2001
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/11/29
shelves: to-read, actual-factual, to-read-off-list
review:

]]> 4965
Through Anna's eyes we follow the story of the fateful year of 1666, as she and her fellow villagers confront the spread of disease and superstition.

As death reaches into every household and villagers turn from prayers to murderous witch-hunting, Anna must find the strength to confront the disintegration of her community and the lure of illicit love.

As she struggles to survive and grow, a year of catastrophe becomes instead annus mirabilis, a "year of wonders."

Inspired by the true story of Eyam, a village in the rugged hill country of England, Year of Wonders is a richly detailed evocation of a singular moment in history. ]]> 304 Geraldine Brooks 0142001430 Kaph 2 4.00 2001
author: Geraldine Brooks
name: Kaph
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2001
rating: 2
read at: 2014/05/15
date added: 2023/11/11
shelves: book-club-made-me, london-town, grotty-book-made-me-cry, penned-by-a-lady, points-off-for-dead-baby
review:

]]> 49583709
With her soft brown hair, lithe figure and big, wondering eyes, Constance Chatterley is possessed of a certain vitality. Yet she is deeply unhappy; married to an invalid, she is almost as inwardly paralyzed as her husband Clifford is paralyzed below the waist. It is not until she finds refuge in the arms of Mellors the game-keeper, a solitary man of a class apart, that she feels regenerated. Together they move from an outer world of chaos towards an inner world of fulfillment.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700��titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the��series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date��translations by award-winning translators.]]> 400 D.H. Lawrence 014303961X Kaph 0 to-read 3.48 1928
author: D.H. Lawrence
name: Kaph
average rating: 3.48
book published: 1928
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/10/18
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 43835469 A Finalist for the 2019 Kirkus Prize in Nonfiction

"Nayeri combines her own experience with those of refugees she meets as an adult, telling their stories with tenderness and reverence.�� ��The New York Times Book Review

"Nayeri weaves her empowering personal story with those of the ‘feared swarms�� . . . Her family’s escape from Isfahan to Oklahoma, which involved waiting in Dubai and Italy, is wildly fascinating . . . Using energetic prose, Nayeri is an excellent conduit for these heart-rending stories, eschewing judgment and employing care in threading the stories in with her own . . . This is a memoir laced with stimulus and plenty of heart at a time when the latter has grown elusive.�� ��Star-Tribune (Minneapolis)

What is it like to be a refugee? It is a question many of us do not give much thought to, and yet there are more than 25 million refugees in the world. To be a refugee is to grapple with your place in society, attempting to reconcile the life you have known with a new, unfamiliar home. All this while bearing the burden of gratitude in your host nation: the expectation that you should be forever thankful for the space you have been allowed.

Aged eight, Dina Nayeri fled Iran along with her mother and brother, and lived in the crumbling shell of an Italian hotel-turned–refugee camp. Eventually she was granted asylum in America. She settled in Oklahoma, then made her way to Princeton. In this book, Nayeri weaves together her own vivid story with the stories of other refugees and asylum seekers in recent years, bringing us inside their daily lives and taking us through the different stages of their journeys, from escape to asylum to resettlement. In these pages, a couple falls in love over the phone, and women gather to prepare the noodles that remind them of home. A closeted queer man tries to make his case truthfully as he seeks asylum, and a translator attempts to help new arrivals present their stories to officials.

Nothing here is flattened; nothing is simplistic. Nayeri offers a new understanding of refugee life, confronting dangers from the metaphor of the swarm to the notion of “good�� immigrants. She calls attention to the harmful way in which Western governments privilege certain dangers over others. With surprising and provocative questions, The Ungrateful Refugee recalibrates the conversation around the refugee experience. Here are the real human stories of what it is like to be forced to flee your home, and to journey across borders in the hope of starting afresh.]]> 368 Dina Nayeri 1948226421 Kaph 0 to-read, to-read-off-list 4.05 2019
author: Dina Nayeri
name: Kaph
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/10/17
shelves: to-read, to-read-off-list
review:

]]> 18869975
Alternately comic and poignant, The Parasites is based on the artistic milieu its author knew best, and draws the reader effortlessly into that magical world.]]> 352 Daphne du Maurier 0316253502 Kaph 0 to-read-on-list, to-read 3.73 1949
author: Daphne du Maurier
name: Kaph
average rating: 3.73
book published: 1949
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/10/17
shelves: to-read-on-list, to-read
review:

]]> 61028413 A gripping, heart-shattering love story between two soldiers in the First World War

It's 1914, and talk of war feels far away to Henry Gaunt, Sidney Ellwood and the rest of their classmates, safely ensconced in their idyllic boarding school in the English countryside. At seventeen, they're too young to enlist, and anyway, Gaunt is fighting his own private battle - an all-consuming infatuation with his best friend, the dreamy, poetic Ellwood - not having a clue that Ellwood is in love with him, always has been. When Gaunt's German mother asks him to enlist as an officer in the British army to protect the family from anti-German attacks, Gaunt signs up immediately, relieved to escape his overwhelming feelings for Ellwood.

The front is horrific, of course, and though Gaunt tries to dissuade Ellwood from joining him on the battlefield, Ellwood soon rushes to join him, spurred on by his love of Greek heroes and romantic poetry. Before long, their classmates have followed suit. Once in the trenches, Ellwood and Gaunt find fleeting moments of solace in one another, but their friends are all dying, right in front of them, and at any moment they could be next.

An epic tale of both the devastating tragedies of war and the forbidden romance that blooms in its grip, In Memoriam is a breathtaking debut.]]> 385 Alice Winn 0241567823 Kaph 3 4.56 2023
author: Alice Winn
name: Kaph
average rating: 4.56
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2023/10/17
date added: 2023/10/17
shelves: book-club-made-me, penned-by-a-lady, love-that-dare-not-speak-it-s-name, london-town
review:

]]> 59364260 From Pulitzer Prize winner Annie Proulx—whose novels are infused with her knowledge and deep concern for the earth—comes a riveting, revelatory history of our wetlands, their ecological role, and what their systematic destruction means for the planet.

A lifelong environmentalist, Annie Proulx brings her wide-ranging research and scholarship to the subject of wetlands and the vitally important yet little understood role they play in preserving the environment—by storing the carbon emissions that greatly contribute to climate change. Fens, bogs, swamps, and marine estuaries are the earth’s most desirable and dependable resources, and in four stunning parts, Proulx documents the long-misunderstood role of these wetlands in saving the planet.

Taking us on a fascinating journey through history, Proulx shows us the fens of 16th-century England to Canada’s Hudson Bay lowlands, Russia’s Great Vasyugan Mire, America’s Okeefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, and the 19th-century explorers who began the destruction of the Amazon rainforest. Along the way, she writes of the diseases spawned in the wetlands—the Ague, malaria, Marsh Fever—and the surprisingly significant role of peat in industrialization.

A sobering look at the degradation of wetlands over centuries and the serious ecological consequences, this is a stunningly important work and a rousing call to action by a writer whose passionate devotion to understanding and preserving the environment is on full and glorious display.]]> Annie Proulx 1797139894 Kaph 4 3.56 2022
author: Annie Proulx
name: Kaph
average rating: 3.56
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2023/10/17
date added: 2023/10/17
shelves: actual-factual, penned-by-a-lady, read-with-my-ears
review:

]]> 243427 Diary of St. Maria Faustina Kowalska: Divine Mercy in My Soul, chronicles the message that Jesus, the Divine Mercy, gave to the world through this humble nun. It reminds us to trust in His forgiveness - and as Christ is merciful, so, too, are we instructed to be merciful to others. This message exemplifies God's love toward mankind and, to this day, remains a source of hope and renewal. Keep the Diary next to your Bible for constant insight and inspiration for your spiritual growth!]]> 730 Maria Faustyna Kowalska 1596141107 Kaph 0 to-read, to-read-off-list 4.56 1981
author: Maria Faustyna Kowalska
name: Kaph
average rating: 4.56
book published: 1981
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/09/18
shelves: to-read, to-read-off-list
review:

]]> 121583688
In a famous Parisian chess café, a down-and-out (“HIM��) accosts a former acquaintance (“ME��) who has more or less made good. They trade stories and satirise the society in which they move, one of extreme inequality, corruption, and envy, where mediocrity is allowed to flourish. They gossip about the circle of hangers-on in which the down-and-out abides and discuss the nature of genius, good and evil, chess, music, and art. And towards half past five, when the warning bell of the Opera sounds, they part, going their separate ways.

The book fascinated Goethe, Hegel, Engels, and Freud in turn, achieving a literary-philosophical status that no other work by Diderot shares. This edition offers a brand new translation of Diderot’s famous dialogue.]]> 132 Denis Diderot 1912475308 Kaph 0 to-read, to-read-off-list 3.25
author: Denis Diderot
name: Kaph
average rating: 3.25
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/09/18
shelves: to-read, to-read-off-list
review:

]]> 8154 King, Queen, Knave. Comic, sensual and cerebral, it dramatizes an Oedipal love triangle, a tragi-comedy of husband, wife and lover, through Dreyer the rich businessman, his ripe-lipped ad mercenary wife Martha, and their bespectacled nephew Franz. 'If a resolute Freudian manages to slip in' - Nabokov darts a glance to the reader - 'he or she should be warned that a number of cruel traps have been set up here and there'.]]> 275 Vladimir Nabokov Kaph 0 to-read, to-read-off-list 3.84 1928
author: Vladimir Nabokov
name: Kaph
average rating: 3.84
book published: 1928
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/09/18
shelves: to-read, to-read-off-list
review:

]]> 5113 ‘Everything everybody does is so—I don’t know—not wrong, or even mean, or even stupid necessarily. But just so tiny and meaningless and—sad-making. And the worst part is, if you go bohemian or something crazy like that, you’re conforming just as much only in a different way.��

First published in The New Yorker as two sequential stories, ‘Franny�� and ‘Zooey�� offer a dual portrait of the two youngest members of J. D. Salinger’s fictional Glass family.

Franny Glass is a pretty, effervescent college student on a date with her intellectually confident boyfriend, Lane. They appear to be the perfect couple, but as they struggle to communicate with each other about the things they really care about, slowly their true feelings come to the surface. The second story in this book, ‘Zooey��, plunges us into the world of her ethereal, sophisticated family. When Franny’s emotional and spiritual doubts reach new heights, her older brother Zooey, a misanthropic former child genius, offers her consolation and brotherly advice.

Written in Salinger’s typically irreverent style, these two stories offer a touching snapshot of the distraught mindset of early adulthood and are full of the insightful emotional observations and witty turns of phrase that have helped make Salinger’s reputation what it is today.]]> 201 J.D. Salinger 0316769029 Kaph 0 to-read, to-read-off-list 3.97 1957
author: J.D. Salinger
name: Kaph
average rating: 3.97
book published: 1957
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/09/18
shelves: to-read, to-read-off-list
review:

]]> 115467 272 Joseph Conrad 1406912506 Kaph 0 to-read, to-read-off-list 3.68 1913
author: Joseph Conrad
name: Kaph
average rating: 3.68
book published: 1913
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/09/18
shelves: to-read, to-read-off-list
review:

]]> 2179336 64 Joseph Conrad 1599869004 Kaph 0 to-read, to-read-off-list 3.60 1910
author: Joseph Conrad
name: Kaph
average rating: 3.60
book published: 1910
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/09/18
shelves: to-read, to-read-off-list
review:

]]> 59801798
The "rich and gripping" true story of the first time machines came for human jobs—and how the Luddite uprising explains the power, threat, and toll of big tech and AI today��(Naomi Klein) The most urgent story in modern tech begins not in Silicon Valley but two hundred years ago in rural England, when workers known as the Luddites rose up rather than starve at the hands of factory owners who were using automated machines to erase their livelihoods.

The Luddites organized guerrilla raids to smash those machines—on punishment of death—and won the support of Lord Byron, enraged the Prince Regent, and inspired the birth of science fiction. This all-but-forgotten class struggle brought nineteenth-century England to its knees.

Today, technology imperils millions of jobs, robots are crowding factory floors, and artificial intelligence will soon pervade every aspect of our economy. How will this change the way we live? And what can we do about it?

The answers lie in Blood in the Machine . Brian Merchant intertwines a lucid examination of our current age with the story of the Luddites, showing how automation changed our world—and is shaping our future.]]> 416 Brian Merchant 0316487740 Kaph 0 to-read, actual-factual 4.16 2023
author: Brian Merchant
name: Kaph
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/09/13
shelves: to-read, actual-factual
review:

]]> 57945316 From award-winning author R. F. Kuang comes Babel, a historical fantasy epic that grapples with student revolutions, colonial resistance, and the use of language and translation as the dominating tool of the British Empire

Traduttore, traditore: An act of translation is always an act of betrayal.

1828. Robin Swift, orphaned by cholera in Canton, is brought to London by the mysterious Professor Lovell. There, he trains for years in Latin, Ancient Greek, and Chinese, all in preparation for the day he’ll enroll in Oxford University’s prestigious Royal Institute of Translation—also known as Babel. The tower and its students are the world's center for translation and, more importantly, magic. Silver-working—the art of manifesting the meaning lost in translation using enchanted silver bars—has made the British unparalleled in power, as the arcane craft serves the Empire's quest for colonization.

For Robin, Oxford is a utopia dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge. But knowledge obeys power, and as a Chinese boy raised in Britain, Robin realizes serving Babel means betraying his motherland. As his studies progress, Robin finds himself caught between Babel and the shadowy Hermes Society, an organization dedicated to stopping imperial expansion. When Britain pursues an unjust war with China over silver and opium, Robin must decide . . .

Can powerful institutions be changed from within, or does revolution always require violence?]]> 544 R.F. Kuang 0063021420 Kaph 3 4.17 2022
author: R.F. Kuang
name: Kaph
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at: 2023/07/10
date added: 2023/09/12
shelves: book-club-made-me, less-novel-more-lecture, london-town, penned-by-a-lady, weird-science, read-with-my-ears
review:

]]> 58730650 Emergency is a novel about the dissolving boundaries between all life on earth. Stuck at home alone under lockdown, a woman recounts her 1990s childhood in rural Yorkshire. She watches a kestrel hunting, helps a farmer with a renegade bull, and plays out with her best friend, Clare. Around her in the village her neighbours are arguing, keeping secrets, caring for one another, trying to hold down jobs. In the woods and quarry there are foxcubs fighting, plants competing for space, ageing machines, and a three-legged deer who likes cake. These local phenomena interconnect and spread out from China to Nicaragua as pesticides circulate, money flows around the planet, and bodies feel the force of distant power.
A story of remote violence and a work of praise for a persistently lively world, brilliantly written, surprising, evocative and unsettling, Daisy Hildyard's Emergency reinvents the pastoral novel for the climate change era.]]> 224 Daisy Hildyard 1913097811 Kaph 0 3.67
author: Daisy Hildyard
name: Kaph
average rating: 3.67
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/09/12
shelves: currently-reading, penned-by-a-lady
review:

]]> 33606119
Exploring issues from eradicated black history to the political purpose of white dominance, whitewashed feminism to the inextricable link between class and race, Reni Eddo-Lodge offers a timely and essential new framework for how to see, acknowledge and counter racism. It is a searing, illuminating, absolutely necessary exploration of what it is to be a person of colour in Britain today.]]> 249 Reni Eddo-Lodge 140887055X Kaph 3 4.37 2017
author: Reni Eddo-Lodge
name: Kaph
average rating: 4.37
book published: 2017
rating: 3
read at: 2023/09/11
date added: 2023/09/12
shelves: actual-factual, penned-by-a-lady, read-with-my-ears
review:
Verdict: Foundational text. Reading this in the YoOL 2023 I feel like I've absorbed much of the content by osmosis through other works referencing it, but it was still worth while to finally read the source text - especially as an American in Britain. Definitely one of the better examples of the the 'Blog to Book' genre but cannot fully escape the faults of the type (can be repetitive at parts and a bit choppy). If you haven't read it - do. I've 'returned' the audiobook (what strange new world!) so if you're in the Redbridge Library catchment area have at it!
]]> 62897700 This is an alternate cover edition for 9781529115543

This is not a romance, but it is about love

Two kids meet in a hospital gaming room in 1987. One is visiting her sister, the other is recovering from a car crash. The days and months are long there. Their love of video games becomes a shared world -- of joy, escape and fierce competition. But all too soon that time is over.

When the pair spot each other eight years later in a crowded train station, they are catapulted back to that moment. The spark is immediate, and together they get to work on what they love - making games to delight, challenge and immerse players, finding an intimacy in digital worlds that eludes them in their real lives. Their collaborations make them superstars.

This is the story of the perfect worlds Sadie and Sam build, the imperfect world they live in, and of everything that comes after success: Money. Fame. Duplicity. Tragedy.

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow takes us on a dazzling imaginative quest as it examines the nature of identity, creativity, disability, failure, the redemptive possibilities in play and, above all, our need to connect: to be loved and to love.]]> 482 Gabrielle Zevin Kaph 5 4.10 2022
author: Gabrielle Zevin
name: Kaph
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2023/09/05
date added: 2023/09/05
shelves: penned-by-a-lady, cream-of-the-crop
review:
Verdict: Effortlessly all-consuming. Swallowed it whole in 3 days. Knew it was something special when I looked at book, looked at phone, took book to the loo. Blurb me, Zevin.
]]> 58950674 The Arthur C. Clarke award-winning author of Children of Time brings us the second novel in an extraordinary space opera trilogy about humanity on the brink of extinction, and how one man's discovery will save or destroy us all.

After eighty years of fragile peace, the Architects are back, wreaking havoc as they consume entire planets. In the past, Originator artefacts �� vestiges of a long-vanished civilization �� could save a world from annihilation. This time, the Architects have discovered a way to circumvent these protective relics. Suddenly, no planet is safe.

Facing impending extinction, the Human Colonies are in turmoil. While some believe a unified front is the only way to stop the Architects, others insist humanity should fight alone. And there are those who would seek to benefit from the fractured politics of war �� even as the Architects loom ever closer.

Idris, who has spent decades running from the horrors of his past, finds himself thrust back onto the battlefront. As an Intermediary, he could be one of the few to turn the tide of war. With a handful of allies, he searches for a weapon that could push back the Architects and save the galaxy. But to do so, he must return to the nightmarish unspace, where his mind was broken and remade.

What Idris discovers there will change everything.]]> 596 Adrian Tchaikovsky 1668604906 Kaph 4 4.12 2022
author: Adrian Tchaikovsky
name: Kaph
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2023/08/30
date added: 2023/08/30
shelves: final-frontier, love-that-dare-not-speak-it-s-name
review:

]]> 68495
It is a time of wars and revolutions, conflict and intrigue. New Crobuzon is being ripped apart from without and within. War with the shadowy city-state of Tesh and rioting on the streets at home are pushing the teeming city to the brink. A mysterious masked figure spurs strange rebellion, while treachery and violence incubate in unexpected places.

In desperation, a small group of renegades escapes from the city and crosses strange and alien continents in the search for a lost hope.

In the blood and violence of New Crobuzon’s most dangerous hour, there are whispers. It is the time of the iron council. . . .

The bold originality that broke Miéville out as a new force of the genre is here once more in Iron Council : the voluminous, lyrical novel that is destined to seal his reputation as perhaps the edgiest mythmaker of the day.]]> 564 China Miéville 0345458427 Kaph 4 3.73 2004
author: China Miéville
name: Kaph
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2004
rating: 4
read at: 2023/08/30
date added: 2023/08/30
shelves: a-whole-new-world, less-novel-more-lecture, love-that-dare-not-speak-it-s-name
review:

]]> 60701439
One day, Greta recognizes Big Swiss’s voice in town and they quickly become enmeshed. While Big Swiss is unaware Greta has eavesdropped on her most intimate exchanges, Greta has never been more herself with anyone. Her attraction to Big Swiss overrides her guilt, and she’ll do anything to sustain the relationship…]]> 336 Jen Beagin 1982153083 Kaph 3 3.69 2023
author: Jen Beagin
name: Kaph
average rating: 3.69
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2023/08/20
date added: 2023/08/30
shelves: book-club-made-me, love-that-dare-not-speak-it-s-name, penned-by-a-lady
review:

]]> 254308 586 Ivan Goncharov 1933480092 Kaph 0 to-read 4.09 1859
author: Ivan Goncharov
name: Kaph
average rating: 4.09
book published: 1859
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/08/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 1961551 432 Henry Handel Richardson 1406838713 Kaph 0 to-read 3.68 1908
author: Henry Handel Richardson
name: Kaph
average rating: 3.68
book published: 1908
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/07/31
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 3167208 The Adventures of Ferdinand Count Fathom is Smollett's third novel. The book leads the reader through the life and adventures of the villainous dandy, Ferdinand, Count Fathom.]]> 512 Tobias Smollett 0140433074 Kaph 0 to-read 3.26 1753
author: Tobias Smollett
name: Kaph
average rating: 3.26
book published: 1753
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/07/30
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 352047
A series of strange, troubling precognitive dreams (including a vision of the then future catastrophic eruption of Mt. Pelee on the island of Martininque in 1902) led Dunne to re-evaluate the meaning and significance of dreams. Could dreams be a blend of memories of past and future events? What was most upsetting about his dreams was that they contradicted the accepted model of time as a series of events flowing only one way: into the future. What if time wasn't like that at all?

All of this prompted Dunne to think about time in an entirely new way. To do this, Dunne made, as he put it,"an extremely cautious" investigation in a "rather novel direction." He wanted to outline a provable way of accounting for multiple dimensions and precognition, that is, seeing events before they happen. The result was a challenging scientific theory of the "Infinite Regress," in which time, consciousness, and the universe are seen as serial, existing in four dimensions.

Astonishingly, Dunne's proposed model of time accounts for many of life's mysteries: the nature and purpose of dreams, how prophecy works, the immortality of the soul, and the existence of the all-seeing "general observer," the "Witness" behind consciousness (what is now commonly called the Higher Self).

Here in print again is the book English playwright and novelist J.B. Priestley called "one of the most fascinating, most curious, and perhaps the most important books of this age."]]> 176 J.W. Dunne 1571742344 Kaph 0 to-read-off-list, to-read 3.65 1927
author: J.W. Dunne
name: Kaph
average rating: 3.65
book published: 1927
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/07/23
shelves: to-read-off-list, to-read
review:

]]> 43522046
We hear it all the time: “Sorry, it was just an accident.�� And we’ve been deeply conditioned to just accept that explanation and move on. But as Jessie Singer argues convincingly: There are no such things as accidents. The vast majority of mishaps are not random but predictable and preventable. Singer uncovers just how the term “accident�� itself protects those in power and leaves the most vulnerable in harm’s way, preventing investigations, pushing off debts, blaming the victims, diluting anger, and even sparking empathy for the perpetrators.

As the rate of accidental death skyrockets in America, the poor and people of color end up bearing the brunt of the violence and blame, while the powerful use the excuse of the “accident�� to avoid consequences for their actions. Born of the death of her best friend, and the killer who insisted it was an accident, this book is a moving investigation of the sort of tragedies that are all too common, and all too commonly ignored.

In this revelatory book, Singer tracks accidental death in America from turn of the century factories and coal mines to today’s urban highways, rural hospitals, and Superfund sites. Drawing connections between traffic accidents, accidental opioid overdoses, and accidental oil spills, Singer proves that what we call accidents are hardly random. Rather, who lives and dies by an accident in America is defined by money and power. She also presents a variety of actions we can take as individuals and as a society to stem the tide of “accidents”—saving lives and holding the guilty to account.]]> Jessie Singer Kaph 0 to-read, actual-factual 4.32 2022
author: Jessie Singer
name: Kaph
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/07/16
shelves: to-read, actual-factual
review:

]]> 104342
Now, a deadly plague is spreading across the stars. No world save Grass has been left untouched. Marjorie Westriding Yrarier has been sent from Earth to discover the secret of the planet’s immunity. Amid the alien social structure and strange life-forms of Grass, Lady Westriding unravels the planet’s mysteries to find a truth so shattering it could mean the end of life itself.]]> 544 Sheri S. Tepper Kaph 0 to-read, to-read-off-list 4.03 1989
author: Sheri S. Tepper
name: Kaph
average rating: 4.03
book published: 1989
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/07/12
shelves: to-read, to-read-off-list
review:

]]> 8487890 400 Niki Segnit 0747599777 Kaph 0 to-read, cooking 4.28 2010
author: Niki Segnit
name: Kaph
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2010
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/06/08
shelves: to-read, cooking
review:

]]> 76089409 224 Hannah Armstrong 1800856091 Kaph 0 to-read, to-read-off-list 0.0
author: Hannah Armstrong
name: Kaph
average rating: 0.0
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/05/14
shelves: to-read, to-read-off-list
review:

]]> 9328
The House of the Spirits is an enthralling saga that spans decades and lives, twining the personal and the political into an epic novel of love, magic, and fate.]]> 448 Isabel Allende 0553383809 Kaph 0 to-read, to-read-off-list 4.26 1982
author: Isabel Allende
name: Kaph
average rating: 4.26
book published: 1982
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/05/12
shelves: to-read, to-read-off-list
review:

]]> 6477876
In accessible language, James Scott, recognized worldwide as an eminent authority in Southeast Asian, peasant, and agrarian studies, tells the story of the peoples of Zomia and their unlikely odyssey in search of self-determination. He redefines our views on Asian politics, history, demographics, and even our fundamental ideas about what constitutes civilization, and challenges us with a radically different approach to history that presents events from the perspective of stateless peoples and redefines state-making as a form of “internal colonialism.�� This new perspective requires a radical reevaluation of the civilizational narratives of the lowland states. Scott’s work on Zomia represents a new way to think of area studies that will be applicable to other runaway, fugitive, and marooned communities, be they Gypsies, Cossacks, tribes fleeing slave raiders, Marsh Arabs, or San-Bushmen.]]> 464 James C. Scott 0300152280 Kaph 0 to-read, to-read-off-list 4.14 2009
author: James C. Scott
name: Kaph
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2009
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/03/18
shelves: to-read, to-read-off-list
review:

]]> 424598 275 Nicholas Tomalin 0071414290 Kaph 0 4.11 1970
author: Nicholas Tomalin
name: Kaph
average rating: 4.11
book published: 1970
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/01/27
shelves: to-read, to-read-off-list, on-a-boat, actual-factual
review:

]]> 536190

From the creators of INCREDIBLE CROSS-SECTIONS

WHY
...did castles have wooden walkways around the top of their walls?
...did one castle attacker set fire to 40 dead pigs?
...was the longbow such a fearsome weapon?

WHO
...was a "gong farmer"?
...catapulted animals over the castle walls?
...ate elaborate dishes of porpoise and peacock?

WHAT
...was strewn on castle floors?
...was a quantain?
...was a squire's job?

Follow the story of life in the castle in both peace and war - and find the enemy spy!]]> 32 Stephen Biesty 1564584674 Kaph 0 to-read 4.31 1994
author: Stephen Biesty
name: Kaph
average rating: 4.31
book published: 1994
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/01/21
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 55835474
At home full-time with her two-year-old son, an artist finds she is struggling. She is lonely and exhausted. She had imagined - what was it she had imagined? Her husband, always travelling for his work, calls her from faraway hotel rooms. One more toddler bedtime, and she fears she might lose her mind.

Instead, quite suddenly, she starts gaining things, surprising things that happen one night when her child will not sleep. Sharper canines. Strange new patches of hair. New appetites, new instincts. And from deep within herself, a new voice...

With its clear eyes on contemporary womanhood and sharp take on structures of power, Nightbitch is an outrageously original, joyfully subversive read that will make you want to howl in laughter and recognition. Addictive enough to be devoured in one sitting, this is an unforgettable novel from a blazing new talent.]]> 256 Rachel Yoder 0385546815 Kaph 3 3.47 2021
author: Rachel Yoder
name: Kaph
average rating: 3.47
book published: 2021
rating: 3
read at: 2023/01/20
date added: 2023/01/20
shelves: book-club-made-me, penned-by-a-lady, less-novel-more-lecture, weird-science
review:

]]> 965531 240 Toby Litt 0749386274 Kaph 0 to-read, to-read-off-list 3.33 1996
author: Toby Litt
name: Kaph
average rating: 3.33
book published: 1996
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/01/20
shelves: to-read, to-read-off-list
review:

]]> 1262526
Archaeologist and ethnologist Anne Varichon takes the reader on a fascinating journey that examines not only the variety and use of natural colorants—and how to reproduce them today—but also their symbolism and mythology. From Confucian China to medieval Europe, from the Papuans to the Inuit, she travels across the centuries and around the world in this absorbing, and often surprising, cultural history of the sources and meanings of color.]]> 288 Anne Varichon 0810992922 Kaph 4 4.00 2007
author: Anne Varichon
name: Kaph
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2007
rating: 4
read at: 2022/12/12
date added: 2022/12/12
shelves: school-made-me, actual-factual
review:

]]> 1585476 0112900534 Kaph 0 4.50
author: 8 colour plates + 158 black & white plates (with 183 illustrations). 57 other Illustrations
name: Kaph
average rating: 4.50
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/12/09
shelves: to-read, to-read-off-list, school-made-me
review:

]]> 1042865 320 Rozsika Parker 0415902061 Kaph 0 4.13 1984
author: Rozsika Parker
name: Kaph
average rating: 4.13
book published: 1984
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/12/09
shelves: to-read, to-read-off-list, school-made-me
review:

]]> 505 320 Eric J. Hobsbawm 0521437733 Kaph 0 3.98 1983
author: Eric J. Hobsbawm
name: Kaph
average rating: 3.98
book published: 1983
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/12/09
shelves: to-read, to-read-off-list, school-made-me
review:

]]> 1224123 721 John Brewer 0374234582 Kaph 0 4.17 1997
author: John Brewer
name: Kaph
average rating: 4.17
book published: 1997
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/12/09
shelves: to-read, to-read-off-list, school-made-me
review:

]]> 427282 The Periodic Table by Primo Levi is an impassioned response to the Holocaust: Consisting of 21 short stories, each possessing the name of a chemical element, the collection tells of the author's experiences as a Jewish-Italian chemist before, during, and after Auschwitz in luminous, clear, and unfailingly beautiful prose. It has been named the best science book ever by the Royal Institution of Great Britain, and is considered to be Levi's crowning achievement.]]> 233 Primo Levi 0805210415 Kaph 0 4.17 1975
author: Primo Levi
name: Kaph
average rating: 4.17
book published: 1975
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/12/09
shelves: to-read, to-read-off-list, school-made-me
review:

]]> 29386 388 Giles Milton 0340696761 Kaph 0 3.83 1999
author: Giles Milton
name: Kaph
average rating: 3.83
book published: 1999
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/12/09
shelves: to-read, to-read-off-list, school-made-me
review:

]]> 53487148 This is the women’s war, just as much as it is the men’s. They have waited long enough for their turn . . .

This was never the story of one woman, or two. It was the story of them all . . .

In the middle of the night, a woman wakes to find her beloved city engulfed in flames. Ten seemingly endless years of conflict between the Greeks and the Trojans are over. Troy has fallen.

From the Trojan women whose fates now lie in the hands of the Greeks, to the Amazon princess who fought Achilles on their behalf, to Penelope awaiting the return of Odysseus, to the three goddesses whose feud started it all, these are the stories of the women whose lives, loves, and rivalries were forever altered by this long and tragic war.

A woman’s epic, powerfully imbued with new life, A Thousand Ships puts the women, girls and goddesses at the center of the Western world’s great tale ever told.]]> 368 Natalie Haynes 0063065398 Kaph 0 to-read, to-read-off-list 4.05 2019
author: Natalie Haynes
name: Kaph
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/12/04
shelves: to-read, to-read-off-list
review:

]]> 35081089 272 M. John Harrison 191097434X Kaph 2 Leonora Carrington did it better. I'm halfway through and the returns have completely diminished so I'm cutting my losses and moving on.]]> 3.74 2017
author: M. John Harrison
name: Kaph
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2017
rating: 2
read at: 2022/11/02
date added: 2022/11/02
shelves: consciously-uncoupled, london-town, weird-science
review:
Verdict: Weird, abrupt little stories that are as clever as they are pleased with their cleverness. If you like this kind of thing then Leonora Carrington did it better. I'm halfway through and the returns have completely diminished so I'm cutting my losses and moving on.
]]> 11249847 192 Naomi Mitchison 1849210357 Kaph 2
It starts strong, LeGuin-esq. Our lady protagonist and her hot side piece on a mission of communication. The aliens are built radially. Communication requires abnegation of the bilateral thinking inherent in Terrans with the risk destabilising your own sense of self if you stay in that alien mind too long. The writing is literary verging on poetic. That never changes but my creeping unease at Naomi's worldview does.

At first it's just the 'Prime Directive' trope; i.e. we are only mentioning our absolute policy of non-interference directly before we violate it. So far, so Star Trek. Still, for a spacewoman specialising the Communication, which here is basically tuning your system of understanding the world into that of an alien being's, our spacewoman is pretty easily shocked and more than a little judgey. Humans apparently don't eat meat anymore and her reaction to a carnivore species just seemed a bit OTT. And/or justified my unjust view of vegetarians as sanctimonious pearl clutchers. I don't need that - everyone eat less meat!

Then it's the sexiness. The Spacewoman is very liberated which is fun. Everyone is and because of hypersleep you have to be careful about not getting off with your own offspring. I probably could have just inferred that but Mitchison spells out the various protocols in some detail and, as its her book, she can do as she likes. The sex scenes are fine, usually cut aways which is the ideal because explicit literary sex is always awful. Always. The thing is, with everyone pair off and hooking up, it becomes impossible not to notice that everyone, without exception, is hetero.

This binary gets weirdly insistent in a vignette where our Spacewoman is impregnated (sort of, its complicated) by a Martian whose race is both male and female. Where LeGuin tread similar ground her telling was nuanced and questioning of our centering of gender and assigning cultural markers to biological gonads. Mitchison digs in deep on the binary. The Martins might NORMALLY be intersex but the one that impregnated her had been switched to Male Mode at the time. Also he is a he and remains so after mothering a child (while in Female Mode, obviously).

Do let me be clear, I do not demand that the full spectrum of sexuality be explored in every novel I read, but it jarred more and more to be in this world that we kept being assured was sexually safe and free, where desire wasn't shamed and single parenthood was celebrated but queerness simply did not exist. It's hard to trust an author with such a glaring lack of imagination, especially in Sci Fi. (but also in fantasy tales of wizard school - what is up with Scottish women?? Is it the water? The Calvinism??)

Once you lose faith in the world view of the author building the world its difficult to sustain investment in it but I carried on to the end of the book so I could more confidently dunk on it at book club. One of the final stories was a sort of allegory planet of grubs and butterflies. The grubs were happy and made patterns with their poo and splashed around in sex pools. The butterflies were mean and would psychically shame the grubs until they wanted to die at which point they would form a chrysalis and become a butterfly.

The space team felt bad for the grubs but, in communicating with the butterflies, were told that the psychic shame was for the grubs' own good because a grub that makes poo patterns and splashes in sex pools can never become a butterfly that lives forever. Take from that what you will. I'm moving on. I'm done with this book and I'm moving on. Mitchison, if you are still around, please don't tweet.]]> 3.81 1962
author: Naomi Mitchison
name: Kaph
average rating: 3.81
book published: 1962
rating: 2
read at: 2022/10/13
date added: 2022/11/02
shelves: book-club-made-me, penned-by-a-lady, final-frontier
review:
Verdict: Confidently written female centered SciFi but do I detect a whiff of TERF?

It starts strong, LeGuin-esq. Our lady protagonist and her hot side piece on a mission of communication. The aliens are built radially. Communication requires abnegation of the bilateral thinking inherent in Terrans with the risk destabilising your own sense of self if you stay in that alien mind too long. The writing is literary verging on poetic. That never changes but my creeping unease at Naomi's worldview does.

At first it's just the 'Prime Directive' trope; i.e. we are only mentioning our absolute policy of non-interference directly before we violate it. So far, so Star Trek. Still, for a spacewoman specialising the Communication, which here is basically tuning your system of understanding the world into that of an alien being's, our spacewoman is pretty easily shocked and more than a little judgey. Humans apparently don't eat meat anymore and her reaction to a carnivore species just seemed a bit OTT. And/or justified my unjust view of vegetarians as sanctimonious pearl clutchers. I don't need that - everyone eat less meat!

Then it's the sexiness. The Spacewoman is very liberated which is fun. Everyone is and because of hypersleep you have to be careful about not getting off with your own offspring. I probably could have just inferred that but Mitchison spells out the various protocols in some detail and, as its her book, she can do as she likes. The sex scenes are fine, usually cut aways which is the ideal because explicit literary sex is always awful. Always. The thing is, with everyone pair off and hooking up, it becomes impossible not to notice that everyone, without exception, is hetero.

This binary gets weirdly insistent in a vignette where our Spacewoman is impregnated (sort of, its complicated) by a Martian whose race is both male and female. Where LeGuin tread similar ground her telling was nuanced and questioning of our centering of gender and assigning cultural markers to biological gonads. Mitchison digs in deep on the binary. The Martins might NORMALLY be intersex but the one that impregnated her had been switched to Male Mode at the time. Also he is a he and remains so after mothering a child (while in Female Mode, obviously).

Do let me be clear, I do not demand that the full spectrum of sexuality be explored in every novel I read, but it jarred more and more to be in this world that we kept being assured was sexually safe and free, where desire wasn't shamed and single parenthood was celebrated but queerness simply did not exist. It's hard to trust an author with such a glaring lack of imagination, especially in Sci Fi. (but also in fantasy tales of wizard school - what is up with Scottish women?? Is it the water? The Calvinism??)

Once you lose faith in the world view of the author building the world its difficult to sustain investment in it but I carried on to the end of the book so I could more confidently dunk on it at book club. One of the final stories was a sort of allegory planet of grubs and butterflies. The grubs were happy and made patterns with their poo and splashed around in sex pools. The butterflies were mean and would psychically shame the grubs until they wanted to die at which point they would form a chrysalis and become a butterfly.

The space team felt bad for the grubs but, in communicating with the butterflies, were told that the psychic shame was for the grubs' own good because a grub that makes poo patterns and splashes in sex pools can never become a butterfly that lives forever. Take from that what you will. I'm moving on. I'm done with this book and I'm moving on. Mitchison, if you are still around, please don't tweet.
]]> 13409986 'I fired four more times at a lifeless body and the bullets sank in without leaving a mark. And it was like giving four sharp knocks at the door of unhappiness.�� Meursault is a young French–Algerian who leads an outwardly blameless life �� going to work as a clerk, eating at a small local restaurant, swimming with his girlfriend Marie. One day, he shoots a man dead on the beach. The man was an Arab and an enemy of Meursault’s friend Raymond: yet there was no reason for Meursault to seek him out. Questioned by his lawyer, the magistrate and the prison chaplain, Meursault can only say that he killed the man ‘because of the sun��. He refuses to display any remorse. What’s more, he does not appear to grieve the recent loss of his mother. It is for this refusal to be a hypocrite, as much as for the crime itself, that he is condemned to be executed.

‘The story of a beach murder, one of the century’s classic novels. Blood and sand��
J.G. BALLARD

The Outsider was a shocking assault on traditional mores when first published in 1942. It remains one of the most influential novels of the 20th century; a work of great literary power, in which the physical realities of Meursault’s experiences �� the heat, dust and light of Algiers, the coolness of the sea, the longing for a cigarette in prison �� contrast with the apparent emptiness of his interior being. Albert Camus was a key philosopher of the 20th century, winning the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1957, with judges citing the ‘clear-sighted earnestness [with which he] illuminates the problems of the human conscience in our times��. Man Booker Prize-shortlisted author Damon Galgut has contributed a new introduction in which he explores the unsettling, subversive power of The Outsider and how it grew out of its author’s life and experiences. Matthew Richardson won the commission to illustrate this edition in the inaugural Book Illustration Competition, a prize awarded jointly by The Folio Society and House of Illustration. His series of superb collage images underline Meursault’s alienation from his environment.

‘One of those books that marks a reader’s life indefinitely��
WILLIAM BOYD]]> 120 Albert Camus Kaph 0 to-read 4.23 1942
author: Albert Camus
name: Kaph
average rating: 4.23
book published: 1942
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/10/17
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 57684629 Could the courts really order the death of your innocent baby? Was there an illegal immigrant who couldn't be deported because he had a pet cat? Are unelected judges truly enemies of the people?

Most of us think the law is only relevant to criminals, if we even think of it at all. But the law touches every area of our lives: from intimate family matters to the biggest issues in our society.

Our unfamiliarity is dangerous because it makes us vulnerable to media spin, political lies and the kind of misinformation that frequently comes from loud-mouthed amateurs and those with vested interests. This 'fake law' allows the powerful and the ignorant to corrupt justice without our knowledge �� worse, we risk letting them make us complicit.

Thankfully, the Secret Barrister is back to reveal the stupidity, malice and incompetence behind many of the biggest legal stories of recent years. In Fake Law, the Secret Barrister debunks the lies and builds a defence against the abuse of our law, our rights and our democracy that is as entertaining as it is vital.]]> 416 The Secret Barrister 1529009987 Kaph 3 consciously-uncoupled 4.19 2020
author: The Secret Barrister
name: Kaph
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2020
rating: 3
read at: 2022/10/02
date added: 2022/10/02
shelves: consciously-uncoupled
review:
Verdict: 3 so as not to bring down the rating but was hoping for more anecdotes and instead encountered a stitched together tome of authentic opinions with few solid examples. I understand the Secret Barrister started as a blog and that is probably the best way to encounter them.
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The answer lay in a document written half a century before, a document that had provoked avarice, hatred, murder and lunacy, that had determined the fates of five families, and had set the pattern of John's own life. A pattern that was woven around, and would be unravelled within, the mysterious symbol of five—the Quincunx.

This edition contains a new Afterword by the author in which he examines the techniques, ironies and lessons to be learnt from writing a Victorian novel in the twentieth century (or from a twentieth century perspective).]]> 1221 Charles Palliser 0140177620 Kaph 4 game-is-afoot, london-town Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell!]]> 4.29 1989
author: Charles Palliser
name: Kaph
average rating: 4.29
book published: 1989
rating: 4
read at: 2022/09/28
date added: 2022/10/02
shelves: game-is-afoot, london-town
review:
Verdict: The most enjoyable book I didn't completely follow. Palliser might have gotten a tad too caught up in the detail of the world and plotting to forget what the point of the story was by the end but also, as far as I'm concerned, a world with more thousand page intricately crafted faux historical novels is the one I want. Oh look its Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell!
]]> 22076
Curt’s avid curiosity took the lead, and they investigated as best they could, as much as they dared. Over the years, the troop absorbed the mystery as part of the background to their work, the Buick 8 sitting out there like a still-life painting that breathes �� inhaling a little bit of this world, exhaling a little bit of whatever world it came from.

In the fall of 2001, a few months after Curt Wilcox is killed in a gruesome auto accident, his eighteen-year-old boy, Ned, starts coming by the barracks, mowing the lawn, washing windows, shoveling snow. Sandy Dearborn, Sergeant Commanding, knows it’s the boy’s way of holding onto his father, and Ned is allowed to become part of the Troop D family. One day he looks in the window of Shed B and discovers the family secret. Like his father, Ned wants answers, and the secret begins to stir, not only in the minds and hearts of the veteran troopers who surround him, but in Shed B as well. . . .

From a Buick 8 is a novel about our fascination with deadly things, about our insistence on answers when there are none, about terror and courage in the face of the unknowable.]]> 356 Stephen King 0743211375 Kaph 0 to-read 3.49 2002
author: Stephen King
name: Kaph
average rating: 3.49
book published: 2002
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/08/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 51542370
As the town spends the week preparing for a mysterious Forgiveness Festival, Pew is shuttled from one household to the next. The earnest and seemingly well-meaning townspeople see conflicting identities in Pew, and many confess their fears and secrets to them in one-sided conversations. Pew listens and observes while experiencing brief flashes of past lives or clues about their origins. As days pass, the void around Pew’s presence begins to unnerve the community, whose generosity erodes into menace and suspicion. Yet by the time Pew’s story reaches a shattering and unsettling climax at the Forgiveness Festival, the secret of their true nature—as a devil or an angel or something else entirely—is dwarfed by even larger truths.

Pew, Catherine Lacey’s third novel, is a foreboding, provocative, and amorphous fable about the world today: its contradictions, its flimsy morality, and the limits of judging others based on their appearance. With precision and restraint, one of our most beloved and boundary-pushing writers holds up a mirror to her characters�� true selves, revealing something about forgiveness, perception, and the faulty tools society uses to categorize human complexity.]]> 224 Catherine Lacey 0374230927 Kaph 0 to-read, to-read-off-list 3.71 2020
author: Catherine Lacey
name: Kaph
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/08/17
shelves: to-read, to-read-off-list
review:

]]> 56802275 A unique tale that interweaves crime fiction with intimate tales of morality and search for individual freedom.

After Rita is found dead in the bell tower of the church she used to attend, the official investigation into the incident is quickly closed. Her sickly mother is the only person still determined to find the culprit. Chronicling a difficult journey across the suburbs of the city, an old debt and a revealing conversation, Elena Knows unravels the secrets of its characters and the hidden facets of authoritarianism and hypocrisy in our society.]]> 143 Claudia Piñeiro Kaph 0 to-read, to-read-off-list 4.09 2007
author: Claudia Piñeiro
name: Kaph
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2007
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/08/15
shelves: to-read, to-read-off-list
review:

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