What are you reading in 2023?

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Get a few more degrees and you’ll stop caring.

I do roll my eyes at the pronouncements of academics about my professional field, which come off as hopelessly naive and out of touch.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Haven't read her Temeraire series - but the "flintlock fantasy" setting of dragons in Napoleonic times seems like it could be a great RPG setting...

I read the first one of this series. It's extremely popular, but I think you probably need to be into military fiction (my dad's jam, for one). For me, a lot of the people in uniforms being official at each other and the discussions of Napoleonic war got to be a bit much. But given how many books are in the series, I'm clearly a minority opinion.

 

[Eyes of Nine]

I read the first one of this series. It's extremely popular, but I think you probably need to be into military fiction (my dad's jam, for one). For me, a lot of the people in uniforms being official at each other and the discussions of Napoleonic war got to be a bit much. But given how many books are in the series, I'm clearly a minority opinion.

I have very much enjoyed both the Hornblower and the Aubrey/Maturin series, so this may be my jam...

 

[overgeeked]

I have very much enjoyed both the Hornblower and the Aubrey/Maturin series, so this may be my jam...

I tried reading the Hornblower series. I started with Mr Midshipman. After the pages of describing the card game whist being played and the flat and dull duel I put the book down. Does it pick up from there? Is it a slow-burn series?

 

[Starfox]

Having finished this, I've moved on to The Book of Five Rings, by Miyamoto Musashi. My copy's been on my shelf for twenty-odd years, so it seems like time to sit down and actually read it. Interestingly, the copy I have also includes Yagyu Munenori's A Hereditary Book on the Art of War, so I'm getting a twofer there.

I really enjoyed Art of War, even if the language is archaic. I tried reading the Book of Five Rings but didn't get far - too mystical for my 20-year-ago self.

 

[Starfox]

The sexism is mostly confined to what’s typical of the genre, screaming damsels in distress being rescued by the mighty-thewed protagonist. Though there were 1-2 more fully realized female characters.

I read a collection of Robert Jordan Conan stories. They were well written, but sexist in a creepy way. There was a faux action girl character in them, seemingly a heroic character but in each and every story she was reduced to a victim of various kinds of sexual assault. I find this kind of sexism more objectionable than just a scream queen to be rescued.

The Conan Chronicles (Robert Jordan) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Faux Action Girl - TV Tropes

In the modern era, appraisals of gender roles have advanced considerably. Feminist movements, changing ideas of the ideal or attractive woman, and the overwhelming popularity of female characters who kick ass and take names has led to the …

tvtropes.org

 

[Starfox]

I tried reading the Hornblower series. I started with Mr Midshipman. After the pages of describing the card game whist being played and the flat and dull duel I put the book down. Does it pick up from there? Is it a slow-burn series?

I guess Hornblower is an acquired taste. I got some of the books in the middle of the series as present as a kid (translated to my native Swedish). Starting in the middle was probably a good thing - much later the Midshipman bored me too. Maybe they even profited from the translation, as Forester's language in English is quite dry. The stories are engrossing, but it could profit from some modern page count padding, adding personality and atmosphere. And yes, the books do get better, the ones he wrote last are the best. Actually, the parts of these books I enjoy the most are the opening chapters, before Hornblower gets on board his ship, with its exposés of 19C England. Then again, I have read and enjoyed Jane Austen, so tales of Old (upper class) England is something I like.

During the war, Forrester wrote a propaganda piece called The Ship. It is set on a Royal Navy cruiser in the Mediterranean and describes a short naval skirmish for the point of view of different characters abord the ship. I found this in the shelves of my parent's summer house and with not much else to read, I read it and quite liked it. This is from before he wrote Hornblower, but he was already an established author.

I am on book 6 of the Aubrey/Maturing series by O'Brian and it is pretty much what I requested above and more. Jack Aubrey is a modernized Hornblower. Stephen Maturin, the other main character, is much more than just the ship's doctor, tough, and their relationship is much more than that of commander and commandee - which I won't spoil. But their banter, the intellectual interests of the time, and relationships are quite interesting. There is a bit in one of the first books that is like Jane Austen, but from the male perspective - I quite enjoyed that. There is plenty of page padding, but very well done. I listen to these on Audible, and I also love the narrator. This series is looong, I am no more than a third into it, but it is standing up well so far.

 

[Alzrius]

Having finished this, I've moved on to The Book of Five Rings, by Miyamoto Musashi. My copy's been on my shelf for twenty-odd years, so it seems like time to sit down and actually read it. Interestingly, the copy I have also includes Yagyu Munenori's A Hereditary Book on the Art of War, so I'm getting a twofer there.

Having finished these, I'm now pulling another book of my shelf which has been waiting for me to read it: the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. Of course, this is a reproduction of Edward FitzGerald's first edition translation, so it's wildly inaccurate to what was actually written in the twelfth century, but I suppose after a hundred and fifty years this version has some notability in and of itself.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I just finished Pratchett's The Last Continent, as part of my Discworld re-read. This is him at the height of his powers now, although he doesn't have much to say as in some of his later books. But the whole is an extremely affectionate tour through Australia in both fact and fiction. If he hadn't been on an Australian book tour immediately before starting this novel, I would be shocked.

It could definitely have used more focus on the aboriginal peoples and the wafer-thin plot is just there so Pratchett can wander around XXXX, but it's a very good ride. It really reinforces that we need some Aussie gaming company to create an Aussie-inspired setting. (Yes, I've seen the fun YouTube video that riffs on the idea.)

 

[Alzrius]

Having finished these, I'm now pulling another book of my shelf which has been waiting for me to read it: the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. Of course, this is a reproduction of Edward FitzGerald's first edition translation, so it's wildly inaccurate to what was actually written in the twelfth century, but I suppose after a hundred and fifty years this version has some notability in and of itself.

While I usually prefer to power through one book at a time, a recent trip to the library (which has a section with a permanent sale of books that people have donated or which they've elected to cull from their stacks) resulted in my picking up a copy of Paul Krugman's Arguing with Zombies: Economics, Politics, and the Fight for a Better Future.

The book is a collection of essays that Krugman wrote for the New York Times, specifically from 2004 through 2016, in which he confronts the vicious mendacity that certain pundits and politicians put forward with regard to things such as Social Security, Obamacare, etc. Given that I was reading Krugman's column fairly religiously for much of that period (and still would be, if the Times hadn't elected to put it behind their paywall ), many of these are pieces which I've read before, but have forgotten. Given that each article is only three to four pages long, I'm finding it a very pleasant way to quickly refresh my memory.