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October in Review
Books Acquired: None. Books Read: Consider Phlebas by Iain M. Banks I was a naughty book blogger this month with only one book read. It happens sometimes. I do most of my reading currently in bed, something I’m hoping to change, and I’ve been falling asleep quick this month. Despite this, I’m still a couple posts behind, so maybe it was for the best. I’ll finally be catching up with myself in November. Not book related, but we did spend a week in California earlier in the month, visiting Disneyland and doing a bit of shopping. With the Canadian dollar as it currently is, this is not a great time…
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The Poison Belt
The Poison Belt by Arthur Conan Doyle Published: 1913 Narrated by: Glen McCready Series: Professor Challenger #2 Length: 03:35 (93 pages) This is the second novel in Doyle’s Professor Challenger series, the first of which being The Lost World, which I really enjoyed. I loved the Professor character, so I figured I’d carry on with the lesser-known sequels. I heard that the quality of this series took a steep drop after the first, and while I do think the plot was a lot weaker than The Lost World, the characters were just as great. The story begins with Professor Challenger having summoned everyone from the previous adventure to his home.…
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To Kill a Mockingbird
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee Published: 1960 Narrated by: Sissy Spacek Series: To Kill a Mockingbird #1 Length: 12:17 (324 pages) It will be news to basically no one that To Kill a Mockingbird is an amazing novel. I’m just learning that now, though, as this wasn’t offered as part of my high school curriculum, and that’s a shame. It would be a great book to read in your early teens. Not only would it have led to some interesting discussion around race issues, but Atticus Finch would be such a great role model to have in one’s life growing up, even if just in fiction. Until I…
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High Fidelity
High Fidelity by Nick Hornby Published: 1996 Length: 334 pages Rob Fleming (which is what my name would be if I were heir to the Bond fortune) has just broken up with his girlfriend. He isn’t where he wants to be in life, a washed-up DJ who owns a failing record store, and he doesn’t know how to change that. This break-up is just enough to send him spiraling into anxious neurosis. He looks back on his life’s romances and lists off his top five worst breakups. They haunt him still to this day, and in a desperate attempt to understand why he can’t hold down a relationship, he decides…
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Things Fall Apart
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe Published: 1958 Narrated by: Peter Francis James Series: The African Trilogy #3 Length: 06:30 (209 pages) I had a few false starts with this one. At first, I found the names very confusingly similar. I think I would have had an easier time with that if this was not an audiobook, but I suppose being unfamiliar with Nigerian names meant I really had to focus at the beginning. I think I bought this last year, and I got about an hour in a few times and felt like I was missing things. This time I went on a walk for the first hour and…
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A Slip of the Keyboard
A Slip of the Keyboard: Collected Non-Fiction by Terry Pratchett Published: 2014 Length: 315 pages This is a collection of essays that Terry Pratchett wrote throughout his career. Topics include his writing process, technology, book tour diaries, advice to graduates, how women are portrayed in fantasy, favourite words, and much more – it spans over a quarter of a decade, so it covers a lot. The last third of the book mainly deals with Alzheimer’s and assisted suicide. I bought this a few days after Terry Pratchett passed away due to Alzheimer’s. I was, without a doubt, going to read this at some point, but I figured that was as…
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September in Review
Books Acquired: Asian Pickles: Sweet, Sour, Salty, Cured, and Fermented Preserves from Korea, Japan, China, India, and Beyond by Karen Solomon Notes from Underground by Fyodor Dostoyevsky The Double by Fyodor Dostoyevsky The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde & Other Stories by Robert Louis Stevenson Books Read: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee Poison Belt by Arthur Conan Doyle Atonement by Ian McEwan Saga, Volume 5 by Brian K. Vaughan The first book in the acquired list this month was a random gift from my girlfriend! A book on pickling that looks fantastic. I love kimchi and pickled radish and hot sauce and anything with a…
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Hyperbole and a Half
Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened by Allie Brosh Format: Original Graphic Novel Originally Published: 2013 Publisher: Touchstone Length: 384 pages I loved this web comic, and I’m so glad she decided to turn them into a book. I will be buying any future collections that she publishes. If you’ve been around the Internet a while (and I know you have), you’ve most likely come across either her comics or the memes generated from them. This contains seven new stories, as well as some old favourites, and while the quality does jump up and down throughout, the highs in this comic…
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The Handmaid’s Tale
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood Published: 1985 Narrated by: Claire Danes Length: 11:00 (311 pages) As a Canadian bookworm, I really should have gotten to Margaret Atwood years ago. I’ve been a naughty reader, but I’ve now made the first step towards redemption. I’d been eyeing this audiobook for quite a while now, and it’s been long enough since watching any Homeland that I thought I could listen to Claire Danes narrate this without my mind drifting to Carrie Mathison’s awful life choices or Mandy Patinkin’s beard. I’m happy I picked up this version, because her narration was terrific. I know why there is no glass, in front of…
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Sex Criminals, Vol. 2: Two Worlds, One Cop
Sex Criminals, Vol. 2: Two Worlds, One Cop by Matt Fraction Illustrated by: Chip Zdarsky Series: Sex Criminals #2 Published: 2015 Publisher: Image Comics Length: 128 pages Collects: issues #6-10 I wasn’t sure if I was going to carry on with this series after finishing the first volume. It was funny, but I never really felt invested in the story. The final scene did have me curious enough to read on, though. The series is about a new couple, Jon and Suzie, who discover they both have the same super power – the ability to freeze time when they orgasm. They decided to use this to rob a bank in…