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Robert Deadford
Mar 1, 2008
Ultra Carp
Is it too late to join? I did this a few years back and enjoyed it and would like the chance to try again.

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Robert Deadford
Mar 1, 2008
Ultra Carp
Name: Robert Deadford
Personal Challenge: 26
Booklord Challenge: Yes please!

For me the objective is to broaden the range of authors I read and therefore the genres too. I discovered some wonderful books when I did this in 2019. I'd would appreciate it if someone nominated a Wild Card for me.

January:

1. The Prime Ministers by Steve Richards
A history of British Prime Ministers from the late 60s up to the present day, I enjoyed this in places. I found the deep dives into the characters and policies of the PMs in office before I was born to be especially valuable, although devoid of a greater historical context on my part. Richards' examination of Blair (PM 1997-2007) revealed a lot I hadn't been aware of. Very good if you're into British politics, awful if you aren't.

2. Cities of the Plain by Cormac McCarthy
This was the last of the Border Trilogy, which I started in 2020. I enjoy reading McCarthy, even if I find his narrator's voice to be at times overpowering and, worse, his habit of delving into the backstory of peripheral characters to be misguided. Epic sweep and all that jazz. At his best, his writing is furiously powerful, as in No Country For Old Men. This book, an account of two cowboys in 1950s New Mexico, continues themes developed in the first two Border books, leading to the inevitable fates of the protagonists. My only quibbles with the trilogy are the aforementioned lurching into reminiscing and the at times simplistic portrayals of Mexican characters: Mexican women are all young, saintly and beautiful or old, kind and wise, Mexican men are either old and wise or young and evilly corrupt. Still, I enjoyed the trilogy.

3. Black Sun by Owen Matthews
A troubled KGB officer is sent to a secret Soviet city to investigate a death among the developers of nuclear weapons. This wasn't great, as it had the stink of the superior Gorky Park all over it. Matthews specialises in biographies and history of the Soviet Union and its people, so at least the characterizations were strong. The plotting and action, on the other hand, were not, the conspiracy being unraveled easily enough. Not great, not terrible.

Robert Deadford
Mar 1, 2008
Ultra Carp

Robert Deadford posted:

1. The Prime Ministers by Steve Richards
2. Cities of the Plain by Cormac McCarthy
3. Black Sun by Owen Matthews

Sorry I missed February, I'm still doing this! Over the last two months, I've finished the following...

4. The End Of All Things by John Scalzi
Space opera, the grand themes of war and sacrifice and heroism and intergalactic politics. One of the latter books in the Old Man's War series, which is a pretty good series altogether, and this collection of inter-connected stories was very enjoyable. Interesting characters in interesting situations, solving interesting problems, at least if space opera is your bag. Enjoyed it!

5. Vox by Christina Dalcher
Unlike this. The scenario is an intruiging one, where an ultra-conservative religious group has managed to seize control of the USA and forced women to wear wristbands that liimit how many words they can say in a day. Echoes of The Handmaid's Tale, to be sure, but unfortunately executed without Atwood's narrative skill. Any time your story hangs on a series of convenient coincidences, then you have a lot of work to do. I felt Dalcher couldn't quite pull it off. It's paced well, the characters and motivations are believable, but the story itself didn't work for me.

6. The Biggest Bluff by Maria Konnikova
Having recently started playing poker, I thought I'd reread Konnikova's adventures in beginning as a poker player. She's a writer for the New Yorker and a former researcher in psychology, and her journey is an interesting one. Excellent when you know little of poker, better when you understand some of the poker concepts she touches on.

7. Blinded By The Lights by Jakub Zulczyk
I hated the first third of this book. The protagonist is an arrogant amoral shitlord who spends his nights dealing drugs to the great and the good of Warsaw. But it grew on me as it charts his personal and professional descent. Zulczyk's depiction of modern Poland is on point (I live there) and there's a perverse satisfaction to be had as the story unfolds. By the end, I really respected how well the author built the story. Very good!

8. Fear by Bob Woodward
Woodward's expose of the Trump administration was fascinating and occasionally jaw-dropping. Trump himself comes off very badly and the men he put in place around him are presented as mostly struggling bravely against Trump's limitations. Good!

In Progress:
9. A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth
It's a very very big book

10. Rage by Bob Woodward

I'm still looking for a Wildcard

Progress Check: 8 of 26

Robert Deadford
Mar 1, 2008
Ultra Carp

Gertrude Perkins posted:


How about Ryu Murakami, Coin Locker Babies?

Wow yes, that looks intruiging. Thanks!

Robert Deadford
Mar 1, 2008
Ultra Carp
January - April:

1. The Prime Ministers by Steve Richards
2. Cities of the Plain by Cormac McCarthy
3. Black Sun by Owen Matthews
4. The End Of All Things by John Scalzi
5. Vox by Christina Dalcher
6. The Biggest Bluff by Maria Konnikova
7. Blinded By The Lights by Jakub Zulczyk
8. Fear by Bob Woodward

April - May

9. Rage by Bob Woodward
The companion piece to Fear, this volume features much more of Trump himself. The main image Trump projects is that of a man desperate for approval, for as much as he fears Woodward will write bad things about him, he still participated in hour upon hour of interviews. Woodward tries to get Trump to think more broadly about the pandemic but Trump is only willing to focus on claiming the achievements of others as his own. The odd relationship between Kim Jong Un and Trump is present too. I hope there will be a third volume looking back at the election and its aftermath.

10 We Go Around In The Night And Are Consumed By Fire by Jules Grant
Awesome title. This is a curious lesbian gangster tale set in Manchester, England. Curious because the gangster aspect of the story doesn't really ring true and the lesbian aspect is really not relevant to the proceedings. What made it worth reading was the unexpected depth of truth to a great many of the characterisations and the grinding sense of poverty the story is set in, principally because the author is a lawyer raised in a difficult family setting. I suspect her professional experiences in dealing with individuals involved in organised crime provided much of the detail. Not bad, not great.

11. Little Siberia by Antti Tuomainen
I read another of this Finnish authors novels, The Man Who Died, which was a clever and fun crime caper. Little Siberia is another clever crime caper but seeing how it retreads quite a few of the story beats from the earlier novel, it lacked the same spark. The story is about a former army priest who guards a recently fallen meteorite in a village's museum against theft. It's got all the features a good crime story should have - friends who aren't, femme fatales, the ol' ultraviolence - but it just didn't sparkle for me. Well-paced but disappointing.

In Progress :

A Suitable Boy (still)
Drive Your Plough Over The Bones Of The Dead by Olga Tokarchuk

Total - 11 of 26

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