Just a quick review this time (I've got important TV to watch) - The Fuller Memorandum is the third of Charles Stross's Laundry novels, and I've mentioned previously that I think the series is awesome. This is as good as, or better than the previous two. It gets a bit darker and more serious. The disturbing Lovecraftianness is getting deeper and more Lovecraftian, and we're starting to see the outline of a long story arc, which will take a few more novels to resolve (is he planning five or seven? His website seems to indicate he's not suggesting there is a longer story arc).
In any case, it's an awesome book - clever, scary, funny, and thought-provoking. Read it now, before shapeless horrors from the abysses of time lurch hideously into your bedroom while you sleep and eat your face.
PS. Thanks, Al (not this Al), for the loan of the book.
Friday, January 21, 2011
The Fuller Memorandum
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
1120 books
Well, that was more like it. Another year tracking my literary diet, and this time it was 28 books. More than a book per fortnight. Which totals up to an expected lifetime read of 1120 more books. Even including the fact that 5 of those books were read for my PhD, and I kind of rushed reading two of them (to finish them in December instead of the first week of January) this is closer to what I'd been hoping for. Still less than half Danny's rate of reading, but comparing my (mere mortal) literary intake to his would always be unreasonably ambitious.
A very pleasing outcome.
This coming year I don't expect to get through quite as many books; I'm getting into the serious literature review part of my PhD, over the next six months or so, and will be reading research papers. With any luck, several per week, and when possible (like, not now, when I'm too sleepy) one per night. And also re-reading a bunch of them, to mash more of their knowledge juices into my all-too-flimsy brain.