2023 Reading Plan (May Update)

That guy again?!

Hello,

May was a very successful reading month as I completed six (6!) books for the month, three of which were on my original list. I’m now officially over halfway to my overall goal, just short of halfway through my original list, and reached 5 digits in my page. Let’s take a look at the stats:

Overall Total: 22/40 (55%)
Original List: 14/30 (46.7%)
Total Pages: 10210 (464.1)

Picking the best book of the month is particularly hard given I had three books with the same rating but if push came to shove then I would select my first Agatha Christie mystery. Though I didn’t want to go with the book that I had just finished in comparison to earlier books, however I can see why this is considered one of the best mystery novels of all-time. As for the “worst” book, I have to selected Vico even though a 2.5 rating shouldn’t be considered horrible and it was an interesting read, but I wish I hadn’t picked it up at my local bookstore.

I’m continuing to read the book connected to my Adult Sabbath School class and I began reading the next Durant book at home because its really long so I want to shorten up how much I’ll read at work at the beginning July. I watched the Swedish version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, which was pretty good. Obviously there was no Ghostbusters II review even though the beginning of the month was pretty sparse in content, maybe June will be different though Vegas probably wouldn’t put odds on it.

As for June besides the aforementioned ASS book and next Durant book I’ll be adding another devotional commentary by George R. Knight because it covers two of Paul’s epistles including one that will be covered in my next ASS quarterly lesson. I began the next Mistborn book a few days ago so that will be the first review within the first week. I’ll probably get through both Native Son and Obama Presidential memoir this month as well. Once again that one film review is still outstanding and I might actually get to it, but we’ll see.

That’s all for this month.

January
The Life of Greece (Story of Civilization, Vol 2) by Will Durant
I, Claudius by Robert Graves
Boats, Blisters, and Frostbite by Jonathan J. Moyer*
Janesville: An American Story by Amy Goldstein
February
An Essay Concerning Human Understanding by John Locke
The Alloy of Law (Mistborn #4) by Brandon Sanderson
March
Claudius the God by Robert Graves
Exploring Romans by George R. Knight*
Caesar and Christ (Story of Civilization, Vol 3) by Will Durant
Too Big to Fail: The Inside Story of How Wall Street and Washington Fought to Save the Financial System—and Themselves by Andrew Ross Sorkin
Shadows of Self (Mistborn #5) by Brandon Sanderson
April
Lore Olympus: Volume One by Rachel Smythe*
The High Country (Star Trek: Strange New Worlds #1) by John Jackson Miller^
Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson
The Mystery Knight: A Graphic Novel by George R.R. Martin*
Lincoln by Gore Vidal
New Science by Giambattista Vico
China: A New History by John King Fairbanks & Merle Goldman
Sasquatch: the apes among us by John Green*
1776 by David McCullough^
The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England by Brandon Sanderson
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie^
The Bands of Mourning (Mistborn #6) by Brandon Sanderson
Native Son by Richard Wright
A Promised Land by Barack Obama
The Last Wish (The Witcher #0.5) by Andrzej Sapkowski
Eaters of the Dead by Michael Crichton
1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed by Eric H. Cline
Sword of Destiny (The Witcher #0.6) by Andrzej Sapkowski
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
The Story of Egypt: The Civilization that Shaped the World by Joann Fletcher
Blood of Elves (The Witcher #1) by Andrzej Sapkowski

History Quartet

The Age of Faith (Story of Civilization, Vol 4) by Will Durant
The Renaissance (Story of Civilization, Vol 5) by Will Durant

Year of Sanderson

Secret Novel #3
Secret Novel #4

Philosophy Quartet

The Spirit of Laws by Montesquieu
An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding and An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals by David Hume

*= Home Read
^= Random Insertion

And Then There Were None

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

One of the greatest mystery writers of all time and she might have written the greatest mystery novel of all time. And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie finds 10 strangers on an island and one by one they expose their darkest secrets then one by one die.

Ten people, some the readers barely get to know, make their way to Indian Island just off the coast of Devon to find their host gone and a gramophone record accuse them of various murders. Throughout the first 193 pages, the reader is left to figure out who is murdering people and how they’re getting it done and soon are joined by two Scotland Yard officials who can’t figure things out though they give the reader clues before the truth is revealed in the last 10 pages. As this is my first Christie novel, I didn’t know what to expect and given that I accidentally spoiled myself—the last page gives the murder away and faces the back inside cover which is awkward when you’re reading a book on work breaks and sometimes said book opens where you don’t want it—I didn’t know how she would do it. Overall, this was a great introduction to Christie and I enjoyed the story, don’t know if it’s the greatest of all-time but I plan on comparing this book with others soon.

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie is considered one of, if not the, greatest mystery novels ever. This was a page-turning read and I can see why it’s given such accolades.

The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England

The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England by Brandon Sanderson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

There are many versions of medieval England as seen in various media, but what if those existed a short trip through a dimensional portal? The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England by Brandon Sanderson is a science fiction romp through a version of Anglo-Saxon England on the verge of a massive Viking invasion while dealing with an infestation of a Seattle-based mafia boss and his cronies.

In the only non-Cosmere related novel among the Kickstarter Secret Project, Sanderson combines an alternate version of early medieval England with trans-dimensional travel. The narrative follows a dimensional travel who didn’t take precautions for his travel and wakes up with amnesia after an explosive entrance then we follow him as he navigates his way through this different version of England while trying to figure out himself. As my first non-fantasy Sanderson book it was interesting to see if there were going to be any differences and frankly there weren’t as only the “rules” of the world were different, but the interesting characters and engaging narratives were the same high quality. The interludes of outtakes from the titular handbook were excellent worldbuilding devises while the bottom of the page doodles were nice little stories appeared independent of the main story but nice additions.

The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England by Brandon Sanderson is a fun, interesting, very well written science fiction novel that any Sanderson fantasy fan who is looking to check out his science fiction work.

1776

1776 by David McCullough
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It is the year that some point to repeatedly to show off their patriotism but seem to forget that the nation almost died in the cradle mere months after the signing of the Declaration Independence. 1776 by David McCullough is a companion to his fantastic biography of John Adams but focusing on the military history of the start of the American Revolution.

McCullough covers the history of the American Revolution from the time Washington takes command of what would become the Continental Army around Boston through to the Battle of Princeton. Throughout McCullough analyzes decisions or indecisions in most cases of not only Washington, but Nathanael Greene, Henry Knox, and all the senior British commanders they faced; the missed opportunities of one side or the foolish decisions are not shied away from either side and show the bits of history that some would rather whitewash or ignore. For all the talk about the Declaration of Independence, the year 1776 is when the nation almost died, and McCullough brings that out at the end of the book as the hope survived with the Continental Army that stayed together not only with the leadership of Washington, Greene, and Knox but also the galvanizing effects of the Trenton-Princeton campaign on the men in the ranks who held together. For a general audience this is a very well written book, for those looking for more in-depth it’s fine.

1776 is a book of the early struggles for the newly birthed United States and the Continental Army for a general audience, the research and the prose of David McCullough effectively brings that to the reader.

Sasquatch: the apes among us

Sasquatch: the apes among us by John Willison Green
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

One of the famous ‘Four Horsemen of Sasquatchery’, he originally was a journalist looking into the situation in Bluff Creek when the first prints of a big foot gained media attention and soon became immersed in researching the existence of a upright-walking primate in North America. Sasquatch: the apes among us represents twenty years of research by John Green about the titular subject.

Green begins the book by reviewing how he got involved in investigating the premise of an upright-walking ape, his personal experiences throughout the years, and the evidence he was able to examine with his own eyes. Green then goes over all the reports throughout North America he has been given or found in old newspaper reports, some going back to the early 19th Century. The ends with Green going over trends in sightings and reports then in comparing sasquatches with humans and apes clearly pins them as animals and that one needs to be shot to confirm the species. The amount of evidence Green presents is both the best part and the one little negative, the later mostly because some of the reports blend into one another as the book goes on yet the sheer amount of the reports to even have the effect can be seen that this “phenomenon” is not isolated to one part of the continent.

Sasquatch: the apes among us has been reprinted multiple times since it’s original publication in 1978, even now 45 years later the amount of evidence John Green provided only after two decades at the time of research shows that there might be something up.

China: A New History

China: A New History by John King Fairbank
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Only Ancient Egypt and India rival the length and development of the four millennia long development of Chinese civilization, one that for centuries was more advanced than other locations on the Eurasian landmass until suddenly it wasn’t and challenged. China: A New History is the last work by noted historian John King Fairbanks with addition from Merle Goldman covering the post-Mao years to the beginning of the 21st century.

Covering a 4000-year-old civilization in a total of 455 pages of text, of which only 405 were written by Fairbanks, is a daunting history however Fairbanks quickly develops the threads and themes he will follow throughout the history of a nation and a culture. Barely over half the book is dedicated to the ‘Imperial’ period from the first appearances of the elements that would become then shape Chinese culture to the fall of the Qing dynasty and the rest of the book covering the 20th Century that saw the Republican, Nationalist, and Communist eras. Goldman’s last chapter and epilogue attempts to follow Fairbanks threads and themes though in her own words and style which meshed well. This is not a history the delves into important people until the arrival of Mao, yet those Fairbanks points out and gives significant page space to are connected to the threads and themes. The number of sources and closer we get to our own time means the speed of history slows down, which given the number of pages is understandable but there were some sections of Chinese history I which Fairbanks would have given more time to.

China: A New History is the masterpiece of noted historian John King Fairbanks with a well written addition by Merle Goldman bringing the nation’s history up to the 21st Century. Given the amount of time needed to be covered and the number of pages its down in, it’s a fantastic history.

New Science

New Science by Giambattista Vico
My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

The Enlightenment was just starting to bud into existence, but an Italian scholar thought the “modern” thinking was ignoring the light of knowledge from classical antiquity and the Renaissance that he proposed had not been looked at properly. New Science by Giambattista Vico was meant to be the debut of a new scientific method that was better than the rationalism that was developing among the European intelligentsia, but what he helped developed was something completely different than his intent.

Using the mythology and histories from Greece, Rome, and other ancient civilizations Vico proposed a ‘history of philosophy narrated philosophically’ which would be a new variant of Renaissance humanism. However what Vico produced has been interpreted as ‘cycles of history’ by later philosophic thinkers or inspiring anthropologists and sociologists by using myths to figure out a culture’s historical memory and how language, knowledge, and society interact with one another. While Vico’s overall ideas were interesting and I could see how his ideas would later influence others in years and centuries to come, this wasn’t the best written book especially because the modern translator had to insert multiple corrections to Vico’s text because he had the wrong person referenced even though this was the third and last edition of his work. While I was intrigued while reading, if I had never seen this book, I would not have missed anything.

New Science is an interesting read, Giambattista Vico’s theories didn’t not have the exact impact he was hoping for, but they were influential.

2023 Reading Plan (April Update)

Just taking a stroll on an early spring morning.

Hello,

April was a very successful reading month as I completed five books, though only two of which were on my original list. Let’s look at the stats before going on to the rest of the post.

Overall Total: 16/40 (40%)
Original List: 11/30 (36.7%)
Total Pages: 7636 (477.25)

The best book this past month was the first of Brandon Sanderson’s Secret Project novels, Tress.  Though the graphic novel adaptation of The Mystery Knight is technically rated higher by a half star it’s format against Tress was the deciding factor when choosing this month’s best.  Both Lore Olympus and The High Country were the lowest rated this month, but above average first entries in their particular series that made me want to see what the future would bring.

At the beginning of the month or the end of March–I can’t remember–I began reading a supplementary book for my Adult Sabbath School quarterly lesson that I’ll finish near the end of June. I began reading a book from one of the ‘Four Horsemen of Sasquatchery’, John Green at home just before heading to bed.  I still obviously haven’t written that review of Ghostbusters II, though this time I have an excuse of five reviews this month.  I did watch two films this past month: The Ten Commandments starring Charlton Heston thanks the Blu-Ray edition over Easter weekend, what a difference seeing it in my 40s compared to in elementary school and I’m not talking about the special effects which for the 1950s is good, it’s mostly the story and the fact that Yul Brynner’s Ramesses wasn’t the biggest villain; the next week I watched Cocaine Bear, it might not be a 5-star film BUT it is WAY better than it deserves to be and something I’d watch again.

Looking forward to May, I began reading Giambattista Vico’s New Science from my philosophy quartet. Next will be a history China followed by the third book of Mistborn’s Second Era. Depending on how fast I read John Green’s book that could also be reviewed as well. And there’s always a chance I could write that Ghostbusters II review.

That’s all for this month.

January
The Life of Greece (Story of Civilization, Vol 2) by Will Durant
I, Claudius by Robert Graves
Boats, Blisters, and Frostbite by Jonathan J. Moyer*
Janesville: An American Story by Amy Goldstein
February
An Essay Concerning Human Understanding by John Locke
The Alloy of Law (Mistborn #4) by Brandon Sanderson
March
Claudius the God by Robert Graves
Exploring Romans by George R. Knight*
Caesar and Christ (Story of Civilization, Vol 3) by Will Durant
Too Big to Fail: The Inside Story of How Wall Street and Washington Fought to Save the Financial System—and Themselves by Andrew Ross Sorkin
Shadows of Self (Mistborn #5) by Brandon Sanderson
Lore Olympus: Volume One by Rachel Smythe*
The High Country (Star Trek: Strange New Worlds #1) by John Jackson Miller^
Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson
The Mystery Knight: A Graphic Novel by George R.R. Martin*
Lincoln by Gore Vidal
China: A New History by John King Fairbanks & Merle Goldman
The Bands of Mourning (Mistborn #6) by Brandon Sanderson
Native Son by Richard Wright
A Promised Land by Barack Obama
The Last Wish (The Witcher #0.5) by Andrzej Sapkowski
Eaters of the Dead by Michael Crichton
1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed by Eric H. Cline
Sword of Destiny (The Witcher #0.6) by Andrzej Sapkowski
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
The Story of Egypt: The Civilization that Shaped the World by Joann Fletcher
Blood of Elves (The Witcher #1) by Andrzej Sapkowski

History Quartet

The Age of Faith (Story of Civilization, Vol 4) by Will Durant
The Renaissance (Story of Civilization, Vol 5) by Will Durant

Year of Sanderson

The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England
Secret Novel #3
Secret Novel #4

Philosophy Quartet

New Science by Giambattista Vico
The Spirit of Laws by Montesquieu
An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding and An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals by David Hume

*= Home Read
^= Random Insertion

Lincoln

Lincoln by Gore Vidal
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The man who divided a nation, who endured a political divided Cabinet, and lived in a divided house yet somehow got them united in some form or another before his death. Lincoln by Gore Vidal looks at Abraham Lincoln’s time in Washington from his secret arrival in late February to his death a little over four years later not from the titular character’s point-of-view by those around him.

Abraham Lincoln is the central character of this historical fiction novel that only has three paragraphs from his perspective in the whole 655 pages of text as Vidal’s cast of characters either interact with or reaction from afar to the man in the White House. Though the many valleys and the peaks of the Union war effort are mentioned, Vidal focuses on the political atmosphere within Washington D.C. from faction ridden Republican Cabinet and Congress to the pro-secessionist inhabitants of the capital. While Vidal pieces together an excellent narrative and interesting characters, he obviously stretches the historical facts or downright makes stuff up including reversing some character’s real-life opinions, so reader beware. The focus on Lincoln the man as told from the perspective of those around him is an intriguing premise and Vidal’s prose make it a good read.

Lincoln is a well-written historical fiction novel by Gore Vidal that shows the 16th President in the middle of a political maelstrom inside a civil war.

The Mystery Knight: The Graphic Novel (ASOIAF- Dunk & Egg #3)

The Mystery Knight: A Graphic Novel by Ben Avery
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The graphic novel adaptation of the third of George R.R. Martin’s Dunk & Egg novellas not only stays true to the original story while also giving it a new dimension with fantastic renderings of all the characters, the locales, and the action. Drawn by artist Mike S. Miller based on the adaptation by Ben Avery, The Mystery Knight immediately builds upon the previous adventure of Ser Duncan (Dunk) the Tall and the future Aegon (Egg) V as they stumble upon conspiracy from an enemy from across the sea.

Avery adaptation and Miller’s art effectively brings the novella to life though to be honest some of the character designs while not off-putting or interesting, particularly a character that is attempting to kill Dunk due to jealousy. The appearance of the often-mentioned Lord Bloodraven is particularly amazing, not only the character’s artwork but the double page appearance with him front and center. There was a small change in the order of the story, but it worked well in the flow of the graphic novel and didn’t affect the overall work.

The graphic novel adaptation of The Mystery Knight is something every A Song of Ice and Fire fan should get their hands on.

A Song of Ice and Fire