2020 50 Book Challenge

[Journeyman]

20. Downfall, by Inio Asano

So it's a manga about a struggling manga author? Sounds interesting.

My local council library has a good selection of manga so they might get it in stock but, of course, the libraries have closed for the next few months!

 

[FlyingMonkey]

Sometimes I don't know why I do this to myself...

26. The Talented Miss Highsmith: The Secret Life and Serious Art of Patricia Highsmith, by Joan Schenkar

Over the last twenty-five years or so, biographies have become more and more bloated and at the same time moved away from the traditional chronological life-story format. This biography is both bloated and non-traditional, and it suffers greatly for both. Patricia Highsmith was an intriguing woman: a pioneering lesbian (but certainly not feminist) writer who suffered from mommy issues, and wrote and drank and smoked and fucked like a champion, each activity with equal and dedicated seriousness. She was restless and difficult, to the point of obnoxiousness, alienated many people, and moved house almost as often as she changed lovers. She also kept a diary and notebooks throughout her life that should give any biographer more than they need, yet this books seems to have rather less of Pat's own words that one would expect given that wealth of material. That embrassment of riches also makes it hard to understand the repetitivensss of this book. In taking a thematic approach, incidents and people are covered several times from (only slightly) different perspectives, yet often many of the same sentences are used to describe them - I mean, word-for-word. It gets to be very hard going/ The book is hugely overwritten too, as if Schenkar is more interested in her own writerliness than her subject, another common fault of contemporary biographers, and I would estimate that about half the book is essentially padding. My recommendation? Read Highsmith's novel and stories and don't bother with this biography.

 

[California Dreamer]

So it's a manga about a struggling manga author? Sounds interesting.

My local council library has a good selection of manga so they might get it in stock but, of course, the libraries have closed for the next few months!

It's only just been published, on 10th March. Can get the Kindle version for $10 if you're keen.

 

[Fueco]

20. Reborn On The Run, by Catra Corbett

Yet another autobiography from an ultrarunner. This one follows Catra as she goes from meth addict to many time 100-mile runner.

 

[Geoffrey Firmin]

Just ordered a copy of 1,2,3,4 The Beatles in Time. Nearly third in the price difference on bookdepository and Amazon.au. Normally its the other way around.

Ordered via Amazon.au with Prime delivery by next Tuesday.

 

[California Dreamer]

Just ordered a copy of 1,2,3,4 The Beatles in Time. Nearly third in the price difference on bookdepository and Amazon.au. Normally its the other way around.

Ordered via Amazon.au with Prime delivery by next Tuesday.

One of Amazon's warehouses has been infected and one of the slaves fired for wanting it disinfected, so might not be super-quick.

 

[LonerMatt]

Spoiler: List

1. The Tangled Land
2. The Test
3. Grace of Kings
4. Wall of Storms
5. Where there was Still Love
6. The Secret Commonwealth
7. Children of Ruins
8. Hunger
9. Legacy of Ash
10. When we were Vikings
11. The Yellow Notebook
12. A Couple of Things Before the End
13. Agency
14. Sword of Fire
15. How to Fix the Future

Some months it just feels like you're not really reading anything too crash hot. March was like that for me, hence only 3 books read. To top off the wholly dull 'Agency' here are 2 other lacklustre reads I do not recommend.

14. Sword of Fire

What could have been a much stronger book - a 'fantasy' focused on an emerging scholar class trying to wrest legal control away from lords who rule only in their favour - was marred by overt sexist escapism (particularly odd given the author and both protagonists were female), unnecessary wish fulfillment and everything coming a bit too easy.

A shame.

15. How to Fix the Future

Every year I read one anti-tech book and this year this was it. Unlike the author's previous - The Internet is Not the Answer - this one looked at good and productive uses of technology, honing in particularly on Singapore and Estonia as examples of societies building technology as a tool for civic engagement and social improvement. Uninspiring. One cannot help but think these are the exceptions that prove the rule, especially given Singapore's somewhat tenuous relationship with democracy, unrest and disobedience (jailing a minor for writing FB posts criticising the government seems a steep price to pay for civil society).

 

[Geoffrey Firmin]

One of Amazon's warehouses has been infected and one of the slaves fired for wanting it disinfected, so might not be super-quick.

Yeah I read that but this is a local amazon slave centre where its being dispatched from doesn’t have to come from US.They only have two in Oz? One in Victoria and NSW. I could be wrong.

 

[samtalkstyle]

12 - The 4 Hour Work Week - Tim Ferriss

I found this lying on my shelf and figured I might as well read it. While somewhat basic and not at all lacking in brags, there were some useful reminders in it.

 

[Geoffrey Firmin]

**** Amazon.

When I placed the order for the Beatles book, there was no indication that it had to come from OS...mumble, mumble.

So I get an email this AM saying its been shipped from the UK...FUBAR

 

[samtalkstyle]

13. The Art of Worldly Wisdom - Baltasar Gracian

I started this book a good while ago, reading one proverb every couple of days and dwelling on it. Finally finished.

 

[Geoffrey Firmin]

13. The Art of Worldly Wisdom - Baltasar Gracian

I started this book a good while ago, reading one proverb every couple of days and dwelling on it. Finally finished.

I have the Meditations by Marcus Aurelius which I dip into on a regular basis.

 

[samtalkstyle]

I have the Meditations by Marcus Aurelius which I dip into on a regular basis.

I read that one a couple of years ago, after receiving many recommendations. While there is some absolute gold in it, and a few maxims that are worth seeing every day, I have found that Gracian's collection had much more value for me.
Though, given the cheap prices of both, there's no reason to pick one over the other.

 

[Fueco]

21. The Nasty Bits, by Anthony Bourdain

A collection of pieces written for various food and travel publications. I’ve been a fan of Bourdain for many years, and his writing style speaks to me such that I can hear his voice in my head while reading it.

 

[California Dreamer]

**** Amazon.

When I placed the order for the Beatles book, there was no indication that it had to come from OS...mumble, mumble.

So I get an email this AM saying its been shipped from the UK...FUBAR

I once ordered a CD that was fairly available in the shops here. They sourced a copy from Japan, shipped it to the USA and then forwarded it to me. Took forever.