What I'm reading - 27th April

I've been meaning to read another George Orwell book since I finished Animal Farm in November 2011, so it's been a while. Nineteen Eighty-Four was the most obvious choice in furthering my adventure into the Orwell experience. It's also been sitting on my bookshelf for close to seven years. I picked it up last Saturday and have read 50 pages in the meantime. It's a book I want to read, but at the same time, I don't really feel like reading it right now. And so instead of reading anything at all, I watched seasons 2, 3 and 4 of Game of Thrones. It wasn't the most productive thing I could have done with my time, but I don't feel bad about it.

Watching so much GoT put me into a massive fantasy-needing state. I still haven't finished reading the Wheel of Time, I started it a few years ago and had hoped to finish it last year. I didn't, and so I still have three books left. Three books out of fourteen. I've spoken to a few people about this series and many have told me not to bother finishing it. But there are only three left for me to read; I'm not going to stop this close to the end. I'm going to do it. The last three books (or last book split into three if you want to get technical) come to a total of about 2,800 pages. It's not really all that many.

The Gathering Storm is admittedly moving a bit faster than many of its predecessors. I'm not all that far through, and have forgotten many of the events up to this point, but I don't think there's going to be too much pain in reading it. Things are happening and as long as I don't have to see too much of Perrin, it will be fine.

It's not very often that I read more than one book at once, it's not something I like to do, but right now such an action feels necessary. I will finish both of these books and then move on to Towers of Midnight and A Memory of Light finishing the Wheel of Time at last. I will probably read some smaller books both alongside and in between which should break it up nicely.

I hope you're enjoying the book/s you're currently reading.

[Review] Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh

If you haven't had the opportunity to read Allie Brosh's two parts on depression, links are here and here. You should read them, because I know that some of you out there won't realise that someone else has felt what you're feeling or what you have felt. Sometimes all people need to know is that they're not alone in feeling something. It certainly hit home with me.

The rest of Hyperbole and a Half was hilarious and, for me, completely relatable. It made me feel better about a whole slew of problems I seem to have. And it's nice to know I'm not alone in that. Hyperbole and a Half also reminded me that memoirs can be a hell of a lot of fun to read (I'll definitely be picking up more in the future). It reminded me that people are interesting, that feeling alone in the world for many different reasons is a universal feeling. There's so much beneath the surface of Allie Brosh's iconic drawings that reminded me that sometimes things need a deeper look rather than just a cursory glance.

Why should you read this book? It's hilarious. It's real. There's pictures. It's just fantastic.

[Review] The God Engines by John Scalzi

I really liked The God Engines, but I'm not sure I'd recommend it to anyone. It's a lot more fantasy than science fiction, which (other than Scalzi's non fictional works) is what he's best known for. I know I mentioned it in my last post but, I really love John Scalzi's science fiction.

It starts with a really kickass line too: It was time to whip the god. I think it has become one of my favourite opening lines ever. It sets the scene, it draws you in, you must find out why a god need be whipped. And there are illustrations.

Ean Tephe is captain of the Righteous. A spaceship powered by a god they keep locked up and torture at will. Tephe travels to an unknown planet at the behest of his god. Shit gets crazy from there.

The gods have their power and strength through faith. The gods give 'talents' to their followers that they can use to channel their god's power into a singular activity. These talents are limited and can only be used in conjunction with faith. Yes, it's a dark fantasy/science fictional work that explores religion. And it's crazy.

Considering it's such a short novel, there are so many things I want to say about it that I can't quite put into words. I will say nothing more but for the fact that I enjoyed it and it truly made me think about some bigger things.

3.5/5 stars.

I also promise better thought out reviews in the future.

What I'm reading - 8th April

 

I've read a lot of Scalzi recently. I finished reading The God Engines yesterday and thought I should finish up in the Old Man's War universe. There's only one left for me to read (with the exception of The End of All Things which is due to be released later this year) and I've been terrible at actually finishing an entire series. But don't you worry, I'm on it now. 

The Human Division is a serialised novel where each chapter was originally released as a stand alone ebook, but it also works together as a novel. And so far it's really good. I'm enjoying the format and the stories themselves are compelling. It's interesting how not all the books in this series, or the novellas in between, are in the same format or are always following the same characters. It makes it pretty dynamic, really.

I look forward to finishing this series and will probably fall comfortably back into fantasy when I do; I've read so much science fiction so far this year. You should tell me all about the things you're reading, I would love to know.

To begin with a poem

When I read these two stanzas from The Mask of Anarchy, I fell in love with Percy Bysshe Shelley. It was one of those moments where what you're reading feels completely relevant to you at the time, it crawled inside me and told me I could do anything. It gave me hope when I needed it the most.

Bysshe Shelley wrote The Mask of Anarchy following the massacre at Manchester in 1819. In some ways it felt wrong to feel hope in the aftermath of such an event, but Bysshe Shelley wrote the poem to give people hope. It's the most powerful poem I've ever read. I encourage you to read it in its entirety here. It's long, but worth it.

Is there a poet or poem that resonated with you? If there is, please share it with me, I would really love to know.