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The Adventures of Lord Iffy Boatrace.
I'll tell you one thing - that Bruce Dickinson guy is a complete wacko.
 
Now reading I Invented The Modern Age: The Rise of Henry Ford by Richard Snow

Only a little way in but fascinating. We forget that Ford and other early automakers started from nothing. There were no auto parts shops; they had to personally machine every part they needed. There were even engine parts that didn't have names yet; Ford built his first carburetor two years before anyone used the word "carburetor" to describe such a part.

Also notable: Ford was personally a hell of an engineer. He is probably better remembered as a manager and businessman in the long run, but he was as good as anyone else back when gas-powered engines were being invented.
 
Just ordered Leviathan Wakes (2011). The first novel in a series called Expanse by James S. A. Corey, a pseudonym for two collaborating authors. It has received quite good reviews and praise from other writers so I hope that it will be good. Alastair Reynolds hasn't announced when his next novel is going to be published yet, and I need to read some good science fiction.
 
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I just read « Here Comes Everybody » by James « maestro » Fearnley. This book is a well-written biography of the Pogues. It tells you their story from their early years to Shane MacGowan’s departure in 1991. The following years are lacking.
I love the Pogues and this book was a very enjoyable moment albeit a bit short.
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Post scriptum : no signs of haunted vagina in this book...
 
Finished Leviathan Wakes (2011) by James S. A. Corey*, first part in a series called The Expanse. Hugo Award-nominees are always worth checking out, and this one proves no exception. A novel very much of its time – space opera concerning human expansion in the solar system is the thing right now – Alastair Reynolds and Kim Stanley Robinson published very similarly set novels recently with Blue Remembered Earth and 2312, respectively. It may not manage to feel especially original, but the plot is exciting and the writing solid.

The novel is driven by its two point of view characters, opposites Holden and Miller. Holden is the idealist with an optimistic view of humanity, Miller the cynic detective owing more than a little to crime noir counterparts. The interchanging chapters manage to be equally readable and contain no dips, even though Miller certainly comes out as the more interesting character in the end.

There's not much character depth, and I feel the story lacks a certain bit of emotional punch for it to be truly memorable. Of course, deciding on this is hard after just finishing the novel - who knows which stories stays with you for years after, still as clear as the day you read them? As it stands, despite the drawbacks it is a good read recommended for fans of space opera.

My next reading will hopefully be follow ups Caliban's War and Abaddon's Gate - this certainly has potential to evolve into something great.

*James S. A. Corey is the pseudonym for a collaboration between Daniel Abraham & Ty Franck.
 
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Night Prowler said:
Heh, I started reading that book and got about 50 Kindle pages in before getting sidetracked by other books. Didn't get back to it yet. Did you know that SyFy show is in the works? They already cast some characters: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3230854/
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Yeah, I saw something about a TV-series. I personally do not follow many serial-format TV-series, as it is takes too much investment. If this one makes it to Swedish television I will definitely check it out, but it is nothing I'm overly excited about. There's a few points where it could improve on the source material and make it great, surely.

I decided to give The Etched City by K.J. Bishop another try. Currently 1/3 way through. God, what a slow novel.
 
Ariana said:
The Adventures of Lord Iffy Boatrace.
I'll tell you one thing - that Bruce Dickinson guy is a complete wacko.
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Are you refering to the scene about a certain amount of inches? Well, at least people can't say from the book that nothing spectacular happens in the book. ;)
As a matter of fact, after many years, it's the only scene that I vividly remember. I seriously totally forgot what happened on the other pages. :/
 
It was full of bizarre scenes, to say the least. But it was all written with Bruce's unmistakable tongue-in-cheek attitude and was definitely fun.
 
Finished The Etched City by K.J. Bishop. A new-weird novel which I have intended to read for some time, and finally got through. It is a very well-written novel, and considering it is a debut novel, it is even more impressing. However, there isn't much plot and it is not an easy novel. It tells the story of gunslinger Gwynn and doctor Raule, beginning with a desert chase - before it skips forward to the city of Ashamoil where the rest of the novel plays out. Compared to both The Dark Tower (Stephen King) and China Miéville's work on the cover, but not very similar. I should say that the action scenes are very compelling, so it is not only a slow, bogged down literary novel.

Also read Hearts of Atlantis by Stephen King. A great novel, consisting of 5 different related parts of different length (it has been called a short story collection, but it is really not an accurate description). The connection to The Dark Tower makes it a joy to read just for being a fan of that, but it is so much more than just extra material. As a whole, the story is about Vietnam-era America, following different characters at different times in their lives.

Currently reading It by Stephen King.
 
This is I guess what one calls a guilty pleasure: for the past months I have been reading nothing else than comics.

Reliving some fun of my youth I guess. Plus an easy and entertaining way to satisfy a need to "escape" a few moments in an otherwise busy day. :)
 
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