Shogun, by James Clavell

I'm enjoying the trip to feudal Japan, even if the book (first of three, for all I know) it's a bit long.

Last week I started Shogun, by James Clavell and am continuing it, but I will probably be reading it alongside other books because it's both longer than I thought it was and it didn't hook me like I thought it would. I've read ~50 pages and am still not sure if I'm going to finish it unless it has something reel me in within the next 150 pages or so. Most of the time books that I like will hook me within the first 25 pages...

So the first book I'm going to be reading at the same time as it is actually a reread of A Fire Upon the Deep, by Vernor Vinge. I read this several years ago and have forgotten a lot of details of it so am rereading it.

Took almost a month but I finished Shōgun by James Clavell. Really vivid characters, cool story, feel like I learned a lot about the time period and what a samurai actually is. B+

Started A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman. So far it feels familiar- grumpy old man with dead wife. Like Gran Torino or Up- but those turned out to be two very different movies, so we’ll see where this one goes.

Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media, by Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky

(Interesting, but not quite what I expected.)

Shogun, by James Clavell

Who Fears Death, by Nnedi Okorafor

I'm still reading Shogun, by James Clavell and rereading Fire Upon the Deep, by Vernor Vinge. Shogun is starting to get better, but I still can't stand the protagonist. Fire is not as gripping as I remembered it being, but it's still an enjoyable book and it may just reflect a slight change in my taste in writing /books in general.

I also started reading The Nature Fix, by Florence Williams. I am thoroughly enjoying this exploration into how /why spending time in nature seems to help us to destress, find calm, and make us healthier. So far it's mostly describing the early stages of the research being done into this, which is not fully fledged yet nor is there a consensus on the mechanisms by which nature helps us in terms of health yet. Theories and lines of research range from the intake of certain aromatic particles replenishing immune system cells to the simple fact that walking around in nature takes less high level attention than a typical office environment and thus allows parts of the brain to recover to "we evolved in nature, so we feel most at ease in nature." I have a feeling that there will be multiple reasons and mechanisms by which spending time in nature, or at least away from high stress work and urban environments, helps our bodies and minds, but since the research is still relatively new and isn't flashy or easily commoditizable we may not even know why or how for a number of years still.

Still reading Shogun, by James Clavell (though considering abandoning it if it doesn't get better), The Nature Fix, by Florence Williams, A Fire Upon the Deep, by Vernor Vinge, and A Canticle for Leibowitz, by Walter Miller. The other three books make Shogun bearable to switch between. I'm much more likely to finish and enjoy all of them than it.

Just finished up The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski. Played the games and figured I should try the books. Loved the short story format although it seems only 2 of the books are set up that way. Will probably read the rest at some point.

Now I'm going to read Shogun by James Clavell. About 25 pages in so far and it's already got me interested! Going to take me ahwile so hopefully it keep up.

Shogun, by James Clavell

It is easily one of the best books I have read recently, the best is probably Brandon Sanderson's Stormlight Archive, which I finished a month or so ago. I loved how complex and well planned out the story felt; every thread was resolved by the end and each turn that the nutritive took felt justified. My only disappointment is that I felt the story could be continued, even though the ending was great, and as far as I know, there is no follow up. Highly recommended overall.

Finished The Brothers Karamazov, by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. It was frightening how much I identified with one of the characters. The psychological and religious elements were very confronting.

Started Shogun, by James Clavell. The research that has been done to seamlessly create feudal japan makes for a brilliant read.

Started Shogun by James Clavell. I had attempted it a long time ago while in university but found it too dense. Now that I have more reading experience under my belt I'm giving it another shot and already really liking it so far.

Also finished The Blade Itself - The First Law #1 by Joe Abercrombie and really liked it a lot. It was refreshingly low-stakes and more character-focused than having some great evil to destroy.

Still making my way through Shogun by James Clavell. It's long as hell but incredibly compelling and absorbing. I'm about 75-80% of the way through and hoping to be done by mid-week. It's definitely one of the best historical fiction novels I've read thus far.

My next read will probably be The Stand by Stephen King. I've read about 20-25 King novels but for some reason I never got around to what's one of his most popular works.

Finished Shogun, by James Clavell last night. Yep, all 1,100 pages. Really powerful and amazing read and one of the best Game of Thrones style fiction books. Definitely recommend this one.

Shōgun, by James Clavell

This week I finished up Galaxy in Flames, by Ben Counter I blew through Horus Rising and False Gods in the previous week having been away from any kind of 40k lore for years. I'm not sure these books are good, but I sure am enjoying them. I am to finish up Brexit & Ireland, by Tony Connolly and I have Shogun, by James Clavell waiting for me after that.

Finished The Dispossessed, by Ursula le Guin yesterday. It was good and I liked it, but I think I like stories seeming a little more alien than this one turned out to be.

Started Shogun, by James Clavell after that. This is supposed to be in a lot of people's favorite books lists and I love Japan, so hopefully this book lives up to the hype and I don't feel like there's racist or ignorant biases involved.

Shogun, by James Clavell

It's been on my to-read pile for a long time, but I've been planning a trip to Japan recently so I thought it'd be a good time to dive in. I haven't gotten too far into it, but I'm enjoying it so far.

Reading Shogun, by James Clavell

At 150 pages in, I'm semi-enjoying this book and the characters so far, but also hoping it really picks up enough to warrant its length, since I don't feel very attached to any of the characters yet. It's a also a bit inconvenient that this book isn't available on Kindle since I do most of my reading on my phone, and I wonder if I'd be enjoying it more if I was reading it that way

Finished: Shogun by James Clavell

What an incredible book. Maybe it wasn't the most historically accurate and some of the culture was glamorized but it was an absolutely incredible ride. I'll read more from him in the future for sure. Now I'll miss Anjin-san and Mariko.

Finished: A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge

Wow. Some of the best sci-fi I have ever read. I had to fight a bit in the beginning. There were lots of occasions where I almost quit during the first 100 pages but it was all worth it. Absolutely incredible and unique concepts and quite a ride of a story.

Started: Congo by Michael Crichton

Wanted something short to finish the year and I quite like Michael Crichton. This wasn't really on the top of my to read list but it fit my mood. 30 pages in and so far so good. He is very cinematic in his writing style and I love how science-y he can get.

Shogun, by James Clavell

I've never really been into historical fiction but this blew me away. Already picked up Tai-Pan fron the same author.

Switching between Shogun, by James Clavell, The Nature Fix, by Florence Williams, and Fire Upon the Deep, by Vernor Vinge on my Kindle, using the other two to help get through Shogun. Shogun is better now than it was when I started it but it's still a bit of a struggle to get through.

Also started A Canticle for Leibowitz, by Walter Miller in a physical copy because the US Kindle store doesn't have the license or something. It's pretty good so far, though I'm only 2 chapters in.

I'm about one third of the way in Shogun by James Clavell and it's utterly absorbing. It's shaping up to be the best historical fiction I've read since Pillars of the Earth and Name of the Rose.

Finished reading Shogun, by James Clavell -What a fantastic book. So sad to have finished it. Perhaps in the top 5 books I have ever read. 10 out of 10.

Starting Golden House, by Salman Rushdie -Not sure why I bought this book as I did about a year ago and it has been on my bookshelf waiting. So not sure what to expect.

Shogun, by James Clavell

I'm thinking about starting Shogun myself, great to see someone read it.

Finished: James Acaster’s Classic Scrapes, by James Acaster

Hilarious book, especially the audiobook with his narration. I really recommend this to anyone who is looking for a comedic book; one of the rare books to make me tear up with laughter.

Started: Metro 2033, by Dmitry Glukhovsky I’m 95% through and I’ve really enjoyed this book; it’s definitely nice to read through as well as playing the game as I find they complement each other really well and although they follow a similar line of progression, the differences are enough that it doesn’t feel a copy and paste.

As I’m so near to the end too I guess I’ll be starting Metro 2034, by Dmitry Glukhovsky as well! Looking forward to going through the entire book and video game series as I find the world very very original and interesting.

I have Warbreaker, by Brandon Sanderson and Shogun, by James Clavell on my wishlist, would welcome any opinions on how good they are. They seem intriguing but are they good/worth reading?

Just finished:

- Capitalist Realism: Is There No Alternative? by Mark Fisher Great book that highlighted many of the byproducts of capitalism - Mark's chapter on inherent contradictions between the economic system and political systems, along with his analysis of how it affects our mental health are fascinating.

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- Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman Pretty entertaining read. All of the stories really held my attention, my favorite ones were about the Builder and Thor's travels in the land of the giants. Didn't realize that the common theme in Norse mythology was the gods are pretty much all dicks. Do wish the Ragnarok chapter could have been more fleshed out, seemed a bit truncated for it being the twilight of the Old World. Mostly read this to see if I liked Gaiman's writing in preparation for American Gods, absolutely love the idea of that book.

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Currently Reading:

- The Storytelling Animal by Jonathan Gottschall

- To Sell is Human by Daniel Pink

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Stopped Reading:

- Shogun by James Clavell couldn't get past page 300, and the part that I did read it didn't really hold my interest. The plot itself was intriguing, the characters as well (Toranaga especially) but the writing style completely threw me off and made it a chore to read.

Finished Cribsheet, by Emily Oster and Recursion, by Blake Crouch. I highly recommend Cribsheet to any new parents (and her other book, Expecting Better, to anyone expecting). I enjoyed Recursion- I feel like opinions on Crouch are pretty divided on this sub, but I thought this and Dark Matter were fun reads.

Started Shogun, by James Clavell after seeing it hyped forever around here. It hasn’t really grabbed me yet but I’m enjoying it.

Shōgun, by James Clavell

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I feel like I've been reading this book for months and I'm about 12% done, but it is interesting. Had to skip a few torture scenes.