Ok I started Book Three today.

BIRTY No10

Persuasion by Jane Austen

If only modern romance authors could write as well as Austen. Not the strongest of her novels but still good. This defined the 'has she missed her chance?' subgenre. The main characters manage to fall in love by osmosis rather than by discussion.

BIRTY No9

Generals Die In Bed by CY Harrison

If you thought that the gritty, realist war novel was a recent phenomenon then you are sorely mistaken. This is a first-hand account of life in the WW1 trenches from 1930 that pulls no punches at all. Sparse, crackling prose. A brilliant read.

BIRTY No8

The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K Le Guin

I can see why this is an important book and a good one, but it wasn't my cup of tea. Lacking in jeopardy and somewhat meandering. I found the benign nature of the interplanetary culture quite cosy and reassuring.

BIRTY No7

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

I was surprised by how hallucinogenic, how soaring and inspired the prose was in this novel. Bradbury is an incredible writer. And of course, modern climate of book banning et cetera.

BIRTY No6

Murderbot: All Systems Red by Martha Wells

I love that there's a novella out there that is this popular. Murderbot didn't really hit the sweet spot for me but I am glad it exists.

Great book.

BIRTY No5

Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky

The most impressive aspect of this novel is the highly developed conception of the spider/ant evolution. Enjoyable. Will move onto the next book in the series.

BIRTY No4

The Dark Forest by Cixin Liu

A novel designed to give you a break from your everyday existential dread and plunge you into a bottomless void of cosmic despair. But it's really good.

Two days!? You deserve at least three.

BIRTY No3

The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien

Took in the audiobook by Andy Serkis on a road trip. Fantastic reading, nailed the voices. Of course this remains one of my all-time favourite novels and is a delight to experience again and again.

Yep I'm due for some Culture.

BIRTY No2

Fiesta by Ernest Hemingway

A quick read. A window on expat life in 20s Paris, and a long recount of a fly fishing trip in Spain. The bullfighting in Pamplona is the highlight with drinking and sexual tension aplenty. Reading it also gave me a chance to overuse the phrase 'roman à clef'.

At midnight tonight, this pile gets one book bigger, and it’ll be the chonkiest book in the entire saga!

www.amazon.com/dp/B0CW183RFH

BIRTY No1
Light by M John Harrison

Incredible, haunting, cryptic. A classic from one of the planet's greatest living writers of prose. It's science fiction, but in the same way that LSD is a chemical. Mind melting stuff, endlessly inventive, frightening and beautiful.

So in the interest of making a record (and let's be honest, content) I'm going to list all the Books I Read This Year (or BIRTYs as I'm going to call 'em) with a few well-chosen words. Spoiler free of course. I wanted to read 20 books in 2024 but I think I'm going to fall short.

Bluesky can get started now.

What Japan Teaches Its Kids | Op-Docs YouTube video by The New York Times

I can't tell if this is scripted or not. It's too perfect.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRW0...

A styrofoam iceberg floating in the bay.

If anyone feels like giving The War Eternal a try, now is the perfect time as book 1, Along the Razor's Edge is currently on SALE!

Here to talk about books and writing. And to push my alt-right agenda. JUST KIDDING. Here for books. And writing.