Since there is a new library opening near me soon, and it’s construction is way behind schedule all the brand new books bought for it are in my local library. I got a few of them out.
A graphic novel about blogging, the reporting of war, media bias, and the trauma of war in Iraq. All beautifully drawn and scripted.
Ripping yarn set in post Rebellion Scotland and in and around the Forth, written in the most wonderful language, a real pleasure to read.
I’ve been looking to read this for a long time and never got around to it. I’m glad I’ve made the effort as the first half is fast-paced and thought provoking. I hope the rest of it lives up to the hype.
I picked this up in the Oxfam bookshop near home. It is apparently out of print now but it is a great book that teaches chess openings in a fun and constructive way rather than by rote. It has definitely improved my openings and mid-games too.
This book is a wonderful collection of problems taken from early stages of chess games (they are grouped by the openings in which they arise). You try to pick which of three options is the best move under the circumstances. Unlike most problem books, this one tests and teaches not just tactics but strategic/positional considerations. Evans’s explanations and analyses of the right and wrong moves are superb. It’s ridiculous that the book is out of print, but at this writing Chess Digest apparently still has a few copies in stock.
The Guardian interviews Kim Stanley Robinson on the release of his new book. It is a very revelvant science fiction novel set in an America beset by the problems of global warming. It’s an interesting interview after the recent hurricane and rapid rise of energy prices. Perhaps this is the cold grey morning after mankinds largest party, to quote a Shell executive.
I’ve just finished reading this sixth installment of the Harry Potter series. It engaged me much better than the last few books, it wasn’t as long and the style was punchier, much like the first and second books. The heroes are 16 now and are distracted from the fight against the Dark Arts by the usual teenage diversions with the opposite sex, and with procuring butterbeer. A wizard comes of age at 17 so they are almost at a rite of passage. The ending is intriuging and sets up several possiblities for the final book of the series where Harry and Voldemort must have their final reckoning. Had this book been as slow as the Order of Phoenix I don’t think I would have bothered with the last one feeling that JK Rowling had run out of steam. This book shows her to back to form and I’m looking forward to reading the conclusion.
The second book of Kim Stanley Robinson’s Mars trilogy. The series follows the fortunes of the first Mars colonists as they come to terms with the earth-led commericalisation of Mars, and the evolutionary influence of the planet itself.
The first podcast only novel. Written and performed by Scott Sigler.
This is my first Hemingway novel. It is a cracking read, yadyay I’ve come to it with much expectation and I’ve not been disappointed.
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