I finished Helter Skelter, by Vincent Bugliosi. First “true crime” book and really enjoyed the format. I still find it crazy that it all happened.

I started and finished Bird Box, by Josh Malerman. Got through this in a day and thoroughly enjoyed it. My only disappointment is not “seeing” the creatures, though I suppose that makes sense.

I started Perdido Street Station, by China Mieville yesterday. I’m about 130 pages in and I’m still not sold on it. I’m really hoping it will pay off. It’s so description heavy and I’m not finding it overly engaging at this point, and I’m still not sure where the plot is even going. And that’s ignoring the fact that the dude clearly writes with a thesaurus open next to him.

Finished since last week:

Wool Omnibus Edition, by Hugh Howley - I'm still a little torn. This was good, but felt like it took a while (like the first couple of novellas worth) to get going. Not sure I'd read more in this world if there was a sequel. I know there's some prequels but I'm not entirely interested.

Saga Volume 6, by Brian K. Vaughn - This continues to be excellent. As I'm getting close to catching up to what has been released I'm starting to get a bit concerned about having to wait years and years to finish it. I think they've got 9 volumes complete now and that has taken about 6 years or so. And having seen something that Vaughn intends for this to end up at around 20 volumes worth...it's going to be a while. And I'm impatient because this is just so good. Great characters, development that feels worthwhile, yet at the same time you know there's so much more to go.

Started:

Perdido Stree Station, by China Mieville - Good so far (about 8 chapters in), with some very interesting world building.

Perdido Street Station, by China Miéville

Perhaps the simplest way of describing this book is as a series of predictable - yet tried and proven - mishaps and resolutions, woven together with some of the most exquisite, lavishly loquacious verbiage poetry I've ever read.

When made so utterly despicable, it was all too easy to ignore that the two primary threats in the book, which the protagonist spent a good part of a gruelling 867 pages trying to thwart, were essentially final form John Carpenter's The Thing (if the Thing became a sociopathic drug kingpin), and a pack of xenomorphs with psychedelic ink blot butterfly wings. From what little delving I've done into the plot summaries of the other two Bas-Lag novels, it seems that Miéville gets more creative with original ideas later on, but he did a damn excellent job of adding some spin on already horrific figments of pop culture imagination. The mating dance chapter was inspired for it's decadent, over-embellished, arabesque use of language at once both erotic and grotesque. I was so bloody jealous when I learned that it was only his second published work.

I glance across all the aborted drafts and scattered notes of my own creation, and I despair at the comparative dearth in ambition or discipline.

Bemusingly on another note; The protagonist is quite unique, given that it is rare to come across an overweight neckbeard who is lacking in both civil and athletic talent as a prominent POV, so props for giving some strange love to an under-represented and downtrodden demographic there, Mr. M.

Around the World in 80 Days, by Michael Palin

I do so love an old travelogue. Up there with Jupiter's Travels, I find reading about the world as it was, to be a real, trip. I especially valued how it was light and quick to read, one day at a time. I needed it after the intensity of Perdido Street Station. I still get a chuckle out of how the timeless words of Palin pondering on how rapidly developing Shenzhen might turn out some day, where everyone on bicycles may own a car. Whew lad, he didn't see the half of it.

I'm still in the middle of Perdido Street Station, by China Mieville. It's my second time reading it but I'm still really enjoying it.

Finished The Bassoon King, by Rainn Wilson. It had some good tidbits about The Office and some insights into his personal philosophy, which is a bit more thought out than what I've read in most celebrity memoirs. Usually that last chapter is a wasteland of thoughts they couldn't shoehorn in somewhere else, some copy-pasted talking points about why religion is stupid or meat is disgusting. Wilson's summary seemed more like a natural outgrowth of his experiences: now that you know where I've been, here's what I've learned.

Also finished One for the Money, by Janet Evanovich. It's fun for what it is, a light mystery with bits of adventure and romance, kind of like reading a movie. I also have Two and Three handy, but I'll get to those later.

In progress: Les Miserables by Victor Hugo. I'm thiugh Part IV (Rue Plumet), Book III. They're mostly flashing back to explain what Mr. LeBlanc and Mmle. LeNoire were doing in the years leading up to their intersection with Marius. Miss LeNoire is growing up and becoming more independent, which of course LeBlanc wants for his daughter, but it also makes him worry that she doesn't need him anymore.

Just started Perdido Street Station, by China Miéville. As I said about Vendermeer's Annihilation, it's weird, but my kind of weird.

I'm either going to start the 2nd book in the Way of Kings: The Stormlight Archive, by Brandon Sanderson, or start Perdido Street Station, by China Meilville

Still pushing through Perdido Street Station, by China Mieville.

Haven’t had much time to read this week so only about halfway through. The plot finally started to feel like it was moving somewhere around page 230 and I’m finding that I’m enjoying it much more now that things are happening and I’m not being interrupted with pages upon pages of overly-detailed world building every few pages.

Didn't get a chance to post last week, although I didn't finish anything either as I'd been traveling and had a bunch of work stuff taking up my reading time.

Since the last post two weeks back I've finished:

Lirael, by Garth Nix - I enjoyed the first one, so I moved right on to the second.

Abhorsen, by Garth Nix - I've enjoyed all three books in this series that I have read. Only minor complaint with book two and three was that they really felt like one book together that had been broken up just to keep page counts similar among the books. I plan on reading the next couple at some point once I free up a spot in the reading queue.

Currently reading:

Altered Starscape, by Ian Douglas - Just started this today so not much to say about it yet. It popped up on Overdrive as something that was moving well at some point, so I think I added a hold and it got delivered a couple days ago.

Kabuki: Circle Of Blood, by David Mack - Still dragging my feet on this too, which I often do with graphic novels in paper form. I just end up spacing out little bits for a while.

On deck: Been about a month since I had anything in paper aside from a graphic novel that I'm not actively reading. So I think soon will either be The Dark Forest, by Cixin Liu or Perdido Street Station, by China Miéville both of which are waiting patiently atop a pile of other books (these are both borrowed from a friend, so I should get them back at some point).

The City and The City, by China Miéville

Perdido Street Station, by China Miéville

Finished the City and the City. I was listening to the audiobook from the eLibrary, also reading it on a Kindle (for only $1.99!), and also watched the BBC2 four-part miniseries.

Just started the other book, ($1.99 for Kindle!).

Just when I think all the original ideas have been done, I discover The City and the City.

As for the other book? Not sure what it is exactly, yet.

I finally finished Perdido Street Station, by China Mieville. It took me three goddamn weeks to slog through this. I enjoyed parts of it but overall found it to be disappointing.

I started and finished Dark Places, by Gillian Flynn this weekend and thoroughly enjoyed that. Did not manage to guess whodunit so that was nice.

I’m starting either The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, by Stuart Turton or Meddling Kids, by Edgar Cantero tonight.

Perdido Street Station, by China Miéville