re-reading A Confederacy of Dunces.
It is about the funniest American book ever.
Ancillary justice, by Ann Leckie.
She has a talent for writing from the perspective of the not-quite-human.
Iāve had several people tell me it was the funniest ever, but I donāt get it. Am I the outlier or is it one of those either you get it or you donāt books?
Oh, but meepās post made me think of what I did think was the most funny. The one I laughed at the hardest (as I was reading it in an airplane) was The Education of HYMAN KAPLA*N, but that was when I was a kid. Iāll have to think more about it.
I think itās like Dostoevsky. If you donāt understand why itās funny, I really canāt explain why you should be laughing.
I love that the only truly sane character in the whole novel is Mr.Levy (owner of Levy Pants), who realizes everybody else is just nuts. I love Ignatiusās mother. I love Officer Mancuso. I love Miss Trixie. I love them all.
Look, if they were real people I had to deal with in real life, theyād all be a pain in the ass. But they are fictional, so I can laugh. Thatās the point.
This is on my near-term TBR. I just need to be in the mood to start it.
I also own this but havenāt started it yet. I should bump it up my list.
I put Dunces on my goodreads list to give it another chance. And in the process read some reviews and Q&As there. It starts with āWhy is this book so highly praised?ā Lol.
yes, itās excellent if you like that sort of thing. Of course, it won the Nebula, the Hugo, and something else, so thatās not surprising.
I read this once on the recommendation of a pre-AO online actuarial friend. I might have to reread, since I did find it great at the time I read it (20+ years ago), but I have trouble remembering a lot of it.
I started the most recent Chief Inspector Gamache book. Three things are striking from the start. 1) The setting is post-pandemic but clearly written during the pandemic, referring to sickness and deaths, vaccine, and then everything apparently just becoming fine now, just as the book starts. 2) After 16 books talking about Three Pines being in the middle of nowhere and nobody ever finding it and there being a very small population, it turns out thereās a university within two miles. wtf? 3) I havenāt gotten quite into the plot yet, but it sounds suspiciously like the start is inspired (not in a nice way) by MAGA rallies.
Interesting. Thatās on my list but Iām holding off until I get bored with Christmas books.
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I read both of those last year (I think). I was very excited to hear he had another book out āPowers and Thronesā - a 600 page book covering the Middle Ages in Europe and the adjoining countries.
I rushed out to buy it and am about 2/3 of the way through (just finished reading about Marco Polo). Itās really good for connecting the dots for all the different personalities/cultures/wars Iāve read about over the years.
Iāve checked out The Dark Forest by Cixin Liu. Iād read The Three-Body Problem but that was pretty long ago and I canāt say I really remember it much. Has anyone read both and do I need to do some sort of Three-Body Problem refresher before reading The Dark Forest?
I have not read the Dark Forest, but I liked the Three-Body Problem, and Iām curious to hear how you like this one.
IIRC, some of the characters and lineage is the same, but it is a distinct story. If you read the Wikipedia for three body, that should be plenty.
Iāve just finished the whole set. Dark Forest is a continuation of the story, but I donāt know that itās essential that you remember details of TBP to enjoy it.
I am interested in how that is when youāre finished, because I was planning on reading that one.
Finished these over a week ago. Read The Color of Magic (Discworld #1) in a day over the break. Started Eye of the World (book 1 of Wheel of Time) and am halfway through it. I read it over 15 years ago and hated the ending so much that I never continued the series. Itās better than I remember, but weāll see if I still hate the ending.
Iāve made a decision to read a bunch of fantasy series I have been intending to get to this winter, maybe alternating book 1 of several series, then 2, etc., instead of reading one series at a time like I have the last few years.
e.g. Death Gate, Discworld re/read, Wheel of Time, the Memory, Sorrow, Thorn series, Robin Hobbās full Realm of the Elderlings (Iāve read 6 of the 16 before), re/read the core DragonLance books, re/read the Dresden Files, re/read the Joe Abercrombie books, reread Lord of the Rings for the first time in a couple decades.
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