Brian.

Time for another overdue update. What You Are Looking for Is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama (4/5) Maybe it's just me, but there seems to have been a trend in the last few years for Japanese books about single women trying to find their way in the world and the solution coming from somewhere slightly mystical. This is another of those books, this time with the solutions being being by an enigmatic librarian. Nonetheless, this was entertaining and engaging, and I enjoyed my time with the book. Cave in the Snow by Vicki Mackenzie (4/5) A non-fiction book all about Tenzin Palmo, a British Woman who left everything behind to move to a monestry in India to become a Buddhist nun. At some point she decided to go into retreat and spent 12 years living in a remote cave on her own. What makes this book stand out are the accounts of her struggles along the way due to the fact that she is a woman. She was refused access to a lot of higher level teachings despite being more than qualified to have them. She didn't accept this and constantly pushed for nuns to be granted the same teaching as monks. In the Cannon's Mouth by P.J. Campbell (5/5) A memoir of a soldier's experience running an artillery battery during World War 1. It covers the what was experienced by many young men who left ordinary lives to fight in a horrific war of attrition. I borrowed this from someone at work who recommended it and saying that it should be well known as it is so well written. I can wholeheartedly agree with this statement, it is a great book. Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand (2/5) On the whole I try to judge books by how well they are written and leave any philosophical views to one side. That is very hard with Ayn Rand as that is her whole shtick. I knew very little about this book before reading it and was pleasantly surprised with the introduction of a railroad company and how it was run. At it's heart there is a good story here but the constant monologues kill all momentum. The last monologue which runs for something like 300 pages nearly killed me and I only stuck it out as I had invested so much time in the book up to that point. The Trading Game by Gary Stevenson (4/5) I've seen this guy on YouTube a fair bit. A city trader from a poor background shines a light on how horrible it all is and how we all lose in the end when the economy is wrecked. My only reservation is that it is easy to cast aspersions on something when you are financially set for life. I believe his heart is in the right place but he doesn't seem to regret his part in the whole circus. The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett (3/5) My first Terry Pratchett book and one I found quite entertaining. I'm not the biggest fan of fantasy novels but Terry is such a big part of the genre I had to see what his work was like. I read that his novels get better as he hones his craft in later work but I still enjoyed his characters. Kairos by Jenny Erpenbeck (1/5) A book set in Berlin in the mid 80's, my favourite time and place to read about. A young student and an older man meet on a bus and that leads to attraction and a relationship of sorts. I hated this and abandoned it after about 100 pages. I hated the characters and it just felt really plodding. Slow books where nothing major happens can be amazing (Amor Towles I'm looking at you) but the writing needs to stand out and Erpenbeck's didn't. Shame, I had high hopes. The Mixer by Michael Cox (3/5) A history of football tactics in the Premier League since its inception. A good, well thought out book that covers some really interesting ground. Hitler: A Biography by Ian Kershaw (4/5) After reading the mammoth Churchill by Andrew Roberts 2 years ago I thought it was time to read the equally huge biography of Hilter by Ian Kershaw. While this didn't quite reach the heights of Churchill it was a great read and well worth the effort. Kershaw is great at indicating when things are known facts, accounts of others, dubious, or all together incorrect. For someone so infamous there isn't as much source material as I thought there would be. As a result, what is known about him, especially towards the end of the war, is based on accounts of those with a vested interested. Lancaster & York: The Wars of the Roses by Alison Weir (2/5) I struggled with this one as there were just far too many hsitoric figures who were new to me. Perhaps I should have got something a bit more casual to start off with. I love history but this period of time is a weakness of mine and this didn't really help to flesh it out for me. The Regiment by Rusty Firmin (3/5) A leisurely read about Firmin's time in the SAS. It's not going to win any prizes but it kept me entertained and sometimes that is all you need in a book. The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame (3/5) I had never read this before but I knew all the characters, I guess I must have seen an cartoon on TV as a child. The story and characters have endured all these years and it's easy to see why. Trespasses by Louise Kennedy (3/5) Another book about a romance between a younger woman and older man, this time set Ireland at the height of the troubles. Some of this book was no doubt lost on me because although I know the history, I didn't experience it directly. It feels like it comes from someone who has authentic memories of what life was like at the time. The characters are all well written and stand on their own. I didn't see the climax coming and when it did I was taken by surprise. The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett (4/5) My second Pratchett book set in Discworld and featuring Rincewind and Twoflower. This book is much better than the first in my opinion. It feels tighter, the plot is much better constructed, and it helps that we get some more distinct characters. In particular, I really liked Cohen the Barbarian and Bethan, such a good duo.

Hi Wimble, welcome to the forum. In general we would consider a post to be promotional if we feel the intention of the post is to promote a work. The aim of the policy is to prevent people signing up to advertise something. If you are unsure, feel free to PM me the post and I am happy to give you advice. We don't like banning members but like all forums we do suffer from spammers.

I felt Abroad in Japan was fine but nothing more than that for me. I'm glad I read it as I find Broad quite engaging and the early part of the book is pretty interesting. I know Chris Broad more through his podcast rather than his YouTube channel so his rise to Japan YouTube royalty didn't really interest me. I've been meaning to start with Terry Pratchett for ages so I pulled up the famous flowchart to see where I should start and luckily they had The Colour of Magic on the shelf.

Another really overdue update from me. The Stand by Stephen King (4/5) The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*** by Mark Manson (3/5) Mosquito by Rowland White (4/5) The Spy in Moscow Station by (4/5) SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome by Mary Beard (2/5) Abroard in Japan by Chris Broad (3/5) How to Watch Football by Tifo - The Atheltic (2/5) True Crime Story by Joseph Knox (3/5) Blackwater by Jeremy Scahill (3/5) D-Day Through German Eyes by Jonathan Trigg (3/5) Riotous Assembly by Tom Sharpe (3/5) Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey (2/5) I managed to spend an hour this morning browsing the shelves of my local Waterstones picking out whatever look my fancy. I may have got slightly carried away but this lot should keep me going for a little while.

I've been terrible at keeping this updated this year. I still log into the forum pretty much everyday so I thought it would be a good idea to post what I've read so far this year. Expected Goal by Rory Smith (3/5) A Life on Our Planet by David Attenborough (4/5) Drive Your Plow over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk (3/5) Courage Is Calling by Ryan Holiday (2/5) The True Believer by Eric Hoffer (3/5) Raven Black by Ann Cleeves (3/5) Dunkirk by Hugh Sebag-Montefiore (4/5) The Talented Mr Ripley by Patricia Highsmith (4/5) Thanks a lot Mr Kibblewhite by Roger Daltrey (3/5) Cold War: East Anglia by Jim Wilson (3/5) Post Office by Charles Bukowski (3/5) I Don't Take Requests by Tony Marnach (2/5) Ultra-Processed People by Chris van Tulleken (3/5) From Russia With Love by Llewella Chapman (4/5) Crash Detectives by Christine Negroni (4/5) The Battle for Spain by Antony Beevor (2/5) Break Point by Ollie Ollerton 2/5) Ardennes by Antony Beevor (3/5) Past Lying by Val McDermid (3/5) No Spin by Shane Warne (3/5) Hue 1968 by Mark Bowden (4/5) Zodiac Station by Tom Harper (3/5) How To Be An F1 Driver by Jenson Button (2/5) No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai (3/5) The Art of Happiness by Dalai Lama (or not) (2/5) Butcher's Crossing by John Williams (4/5) The Russian Affair by David Walsh (2/5) The Courage to Be Disliked by Ichiro Kishmi (1/5) I'm also finished with The Stand by Stephen King

I've just had a look at the Folio new year sale and I can't say I'm impressed with what books they have discounted.

Good to see you back, I hope you have a very productive 2024.

It's about time I finished off with my thoughts about the remaining books I have left from 2023. Upgrade by Blake Crouch (4/5) I've really enjoyed anything I've read from Crouch and this was no different. His Sci-Fi always manages to get my brain working without it being too technical. I enjoyed this a lot but for me it didn't quite reach the heights of Recursion or Dark Matter. The were a few twists along the way but it lacked some of the deeper stuff that some of his other books have. So Good They Can't Ignore You by Cal Newport (3/5) Cal Newport is a computer science professor at Gerogetown University in America. Despite his expertise in computer science his books tend to lean hard towards productivity and concentration away from computers and phones. I think his best book is Digital Minimalism and this follows similar idea but looks at how to cultivate a career path by taking unusual routes. I thought the core of his arguements are good but as with a lot of authors in the productivity space his examples are outliers. These outliers achieve what most people can't or don't and that makes them poor examples for the everyday person. Soldier Five by Mike Coburn (4/5) Mike Coburn was one of the members of Bravo Two Zero, an SAS patrol who were compromised on a mission in Iraq. Of the eight men who were involved, 3 died, 4 were captured and 1, Chris Ryan, managed to escape. There have been a few books written about the partol including 2 from people who were there but this is the only one the MOD tried to ban. I thought this was a really good book and adds some more flesh to a well told story. It is very clear that Coburn feels let down by his treatment from the MOD and their lawyers and I can't say I blame him. I'll have to carry this on in another post as I've got to go to work.

Merry Christmas everyone. 🎅

Anything that is translated will lose something, I think that is unavoidable. Whether it is worth reading the works in Greek is hard to say because I imagine ancient Greek differs to modern Greek language, I could be wrong though. I have read some of the Stoic works so I can offer some advice there. I think the best book to start off with is Meditations by Marcus Aurelius and then probably The Enchiridion by Epictetus. I recommend these are they are an easy place to start, especially Meditations.

Hi Yassine, welcome to the forum. What kind of books do you like to read?

What country are you based in?

We are creeping towards the end of the year. The below is a copy and paste of Athena's guide from a few years ago but we thought a new thread would be a good idea as we have some new members. That means a bunch of us will be creating new reading blogs for 2024. Book Blogs / Reading Lists marked with '2023' in the title will be moved to Past Book Blogs on or around a week into 2024. Any that are marked as 'continuous' (or 'ongoing') will be left in the main Book Blogs forum (this one). We are only humans, so if we move your blog / list by mistake or we don't move it when we should have, please let us know by posting in this thread after the other blogs/lists have been moved. We won't start moving the 2023 blogs until mid January so there is plenty of time. When you start a new blog/list for 2024, can you please ensure you put '2024' in the topic title. Thank you! You may want to make some 'blank' posts at the beginning of your topic. We are unable to insert blank posts into a topic at a later time, so please make sure you save enough for yourself. To prevent people replying before you've finished setting up your reading blog/list, please put "please do not reply to this topic yet" or something like it, in bold in the first post and subsequent ones of your topic. When you are ready for people to reply, please make a new post telling people your topic is now ready for posting in. If you have any questions, please ask ! I promise we don't bite.

Fantastic news. I wish you a swift recovery.

I’m generally not a fan of someone else carrying on a series of novels and I can’t see this being up to the usual le Carre standards. It can work if most of the writing has been done and a novel just needs finishing and editing but writing a completely new work, not for me.