Nick Barlow
Thought I'd start a thread for the books I read during this year, to keep track and share what I've been spending my time with. Happy for recommendations along the way, but do already have a decent-sized to be read pile (and ebook library). #books #reading #bookstodon
Jan 16, 2023 at 9:18pmWeb
Show threadNick BarlowJan 16, 2023
1) Station Eleven, by Emily St. John Mandel.
An interesting take on the post-apocalyptic tale with a focus on the power of culture and stories in a broken world. Very ambitious and the interlinking of the characters is well done, though I found the climax a bit rushed and perfunctory after the long buildup to it. #books #bookstodon
Show threadNick BarlowJan 17, 2023
2) The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, by NK Jemisin
A fascinating fantasy set amidst the human elite in a world where gods are real and tangibly present. Sometimes a little overwhelming in the strangeness and I was scrabbling to keep track of it all. Want to see more of this world, especially how the people below live their lives in the shadow of the conflicts that rage above them, and I will be reading the rest of the trilogy.
#books #bookstodon
Show threadNick BarlowJan 20, 2023
3) Walking, by Thomas Bernhard
Can you guess why I got this one? Turned out to not really be my cup of tea, but still some interesting ideas in there. A translated Austrian novella about two friends walking and talking about the events and thoughts leading to another friend going insane. Well, one of them does most of the talking while the other records his stream of consciousness. #books #bookstodon
Show threadNick BarlowJan 25, 2023
4) The Old Ways, by Robert Macfarlane
The idea of how some pathways have survived centuries and help us to tell stories of our ancestors and ourselves fascinates me, so I really liked a lot of this. A reminder of some of the different ways of seeing a landscape and finding stories in it, yet Macfarlane is interested in the people around these routes now and their stories too. #books #bookstodon #walking
Show threadNick BarlowJan 28, 2023
5) The Red Scholar's Wake, by Aliette de Bodard ( @aliettedb)
Enjoyed this. Has the structure of a romance novel, but set in a future of sentient ships and space pirate politics where the stakes are much higher than the fate of a relationship. Lots of strangeness to get used to, but introduced well through the characters. Not read anything in this Xuya Universe before, but now I want to read more from it. #books #bookstodon
Show threadNick BarlowFeb 3, 2023
6) The House of Wisdom, by Jonathan Lyons
Interesting but relatively short book on how the scientific progress and intellectual discoveries made by the Arab world were introduced to Europe in the medieval period. Learned a lot about the process of knowledge transfer, but would have liked to read more on the wider effects of it. #books #bookstodon
Show threadNick BarlowFeb 7, 2023
7) The Debatable Land, by Graham Robb
A book about the history of one part of the Anglo-Scottish border, but quite unfocused. It's like four or more different books are all vying for space, which gave me a feeling of constant digression and a lack of focus. A shame as the parts on the border families and the traditions of reiving were something I'd have enjoyed reading a lot more on. #books #bookstodon
Show threadNick BarlowFeb 17, 2023
8) Inverting The Pyramid: The History Of Football Tactics, by Jonathan Wilson
Not just a book about tactics, but a look at how the game's development was pushed by wider social and cultural factors. Perhaps a bit too much on England while the real (and more interesting) story was happening elsewhere and some poor editing (who is this Ronaldo Koeman?) but an interesting and informative read. #books #bookstodon
Show threadNick BarlowFeb 18, 2023
9) A Certain Idea Of France: The Life of Charles De Gaulle, by Julian Jackson
Superb biography, detailed but never overly so and seeking to answer the question of how De Gaulle became such a central figure in modern French history. Jackson is good at showing the possibilities of the times, exploring why the importance of the Free French, the Fifth Republic, and much else wasn't inevitable. Strongly recommended #books #bookstodon
Show threadNick BarlowFeb 18, 2023
(And I didn't read all c800 pages of that in a day! Been working through it since the start of the year, a big history like this is often best taken on in little pieces rather than trying to take in everything at once)
Show threadNick BarlowFeb 22, 2023
10) Africa Is Not A Country, by Dipo Faloyin
A book I learned a lot from. Faloyin is a talented writer, mixing together righteous anger in sections on subjects like the Scramble for Africa and the looting of cultural treasures with a joyous wit in sections on Western media depictions of Africa and the jollof rice wars. A bit scattergun at points, but always interesting and illuminating. #books #bookstodon
Show threadNick BarlowFeb 24, 2023
11) Silver In The Wood, by Emily Tesh
A short tale, but one that drew me in well. It's a story about an old wood, its guardian and a newcomer who stumbles in, but there are plenty of layers to the story beneath that. Like an old tree, there's a lot going on beneath the surface, revealed as the story unfolds and grows. Will definitely be looking out for more from Tesh. #books #bookstodon
Show threadNick BarlowMar 3, 2023
12) Lying For Money, by Dan Davies
I wasn't expecting to laugh out loud several times during a book on financial fraud, but Davies manages it. It would be easy for a book like this to turn into a financial analyst patronising us little folk while trying to explain complex things, but he's an excellent (and amusing) storyteller who explains both the how and why of fraud. Also refreshingly honest about how frauds get missed by overconfident analysts. #books #bookstodon
Show threadNick BarlowMar 3, 2023
Disclaimer: I've known Dan (who I don't think is on Mastodon) through blogging and social media for "god, that long? I'm getting so old" years - but I got this book from the library.
Show threadNick BarlowMar 15, 2023
13) Endymion, by Dan Simmons
I enjoyed the Hyperion books last year, but this was a bit of a slog. Interesting world building from the previous books, but the story is mainly characters wandering the universe looking for someone to explain the plot to them until its time for the ending and a whole new plot device character drops in to make that happen. Add in some really icky undertones to one relationship and things aren't good here. #books #bookstodon
Show threadNick BarlowMar 16, 2023
14) Conspiracy, by Tom Phillips and Jonn Elledge
A book that doesn't seem sure of what it wants to be. Some good in-depth sections (especially on health and pandemic conspiracies) but the rest is a very surface-level look at things with way too much jokiness., like diving into Wikipedia while someone tests out their standup material in the background. #books #bookstodon
Show threadNick BarlowMar 16, 2023
(Disclaimer: I've know Jonn through social media for a while - and no, that doesn't mean you should snitch-tag him here - but I paid for this book)
Show threadNick BarlowMar 27, 2023
15) Delicacy, by Katy Wix
"A memoir about cake and death" A touching and heartfelt memoir about dealing with grief and loss, loosely structured around memories of cakes and sweetness. Very relatable for me as I've lost family members to dementia and brain tumours, as Wix has, and very much about the realities of her life, not the sort of thing you'd usually expect from an actor's memoir. #books #bookstodon
Show threadNick BarlowMar 29, 2023
16) Gideon The Ninth, by Tamsyn Muir
Read this for a book group, but also because I've seen people raving about it and wanted to try it myself. It didn't quite connect with me, but I can see why others love it. Hard to get into at the start as rhe universe is so weird and it reveals itself slowly. Does lead to an interesting and exciting conclusion and will probably follow up with the sequel eventually.
#books #bookstodon
Show threadNick BarlowApr 3, 2023
17) SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome, by Mary Beard
Beard clearly knows a lot about Roman history, and is a good writer, but this book didn't really work for me. There's too much going on, and too many different facets of history being covered for this to feel like a coherent history, even when she she sets the finishing point before the Crisis of the Third Century. Falls between being comprehensive history and a snapshot view of key points. #books #bookstodon
Show threadNick BarlowApr 6, 2023
18) The Rise of Endymion, by Dan Simmons
Here's a book that finally starts to pay off all the setup from the previous three, scaling into a crisis that's out of anybody's control...then decides to spend the second half of the book focusing on Raul's manpain that his perfect lover (who he's known since she was 11, so: eww) might have been with someone other than him. Really liked the first of the series, hence why I finished it, but it's been downhill since. #books #bookstodon
Show threadNick BarlowApr 10, 2023
19) Pathfinders: The Golden Age Of Arabic Science, by Jim Al-Khalili
(I believe it's titled The House Of Wisdom in the US)
Second book I've read on this topic this year, and more interesting than the first. This is focused on the Arabic scientists and their stories rather than seeing them just in terms of what they gave to the West. Good on how Baghdad became a centre of science and the processes around that, but could have been longer. #books #bookstodon
Show threadNick BarlowMay 21, 2023
20) A Memory Called Empire, by Arkady Martine
Took me a while to get through this but that's more because it took me a while to get focused enough on reading again after my trip. Somewhat overwhelming in the strangeness of the universe and the languages at the start, this does draw together all the thread of worldbuilding into a compelling conclusion while raising some interesting ideas about empire and humanity. Will be reading the sequel soon. #books #bookstodon
Show threadThe Quiz GuyApr 6, 2023
@nickbwalking is that one of the sequels to Hyperion? Only one of those books I've read, but I thought it was really good. I really enjoyed The Terror by him as well.
Show threadNick BarlowApr 6, 2023
@TheQuizGuy Yes, it's the fourth one in the series and the conclusion. I really liked Hyperion too, but the rest aren't as good, especially as they're not as structurally interesting as that is.
Show threaddr elmyraJul 3, 2023

@nickbwalking fwiw, each book in the series is much more comprehensible when you have the previous ones fresh in your mind so my recommendation would be to wait until Alecto is out and then read all four. (I really really love the series.)

(And yes I'm going through you "what I've read this year" thread like a creep. 😛 might pick up some of your recs.)

Show threadNick BarlowJul 3, 2023
@elmyra it might be creepy if I hadn't already threaded them for that! I think any future Locked Tomb reads will be when I've got time to properly get into it not read bits at a time
Show threadColorblind CowboyFeb 18, 2023
@nickbwalking Have you read Eduardo Galliano’s “Soccer in Sun and Shadow”? He talks a lot about the politics of it, focusing on Latin American countries. It made me hate FIFA early on.
Show threadNick BarlowFeb 18, 2023
@colorblindcowboy I haven't, though I've heard of it. Read Kuper's Football Against The Enemy years ago.
Show threadMarcus Marcius MarcellusApr 3, 2023
@colorblindcowboy @nickbwalking When Saturday Comes (the half-decent magazine, not the wholly wretched film) publish some good books on football/football culture in various places, e.g., Germany, Spain and Turkey.
Show threadRonsboy67Feb 3, 2023
@nickbwalking It sounds interesting, thanks. It will be interesting to compare it with one on the same theme that I enjoyed
Pathfinders The Golden Age of Arabic Science, by Jim Al-Khalil
#AmReading @bookstodon
Show threadNick BarlowFeb 3, 2023
@ronsboy67 @bookstodon I have that one from the library as well - it looks like it was published with the House of Wisdom title in the US (which made working out which one someone had recommended to me difficult!)
Show threadYahia LababidiFeb 3, 2023
@ronsboy67 I hope, for all our sakes, that the Arabic-speaking world recovers some of its former glory 🙏🏼✨
Show threadAliette de BodardJan 28, 2023
@nickbwalking thank you, glad you enjoyed it!
Show threadThe Quiz GuyMay 23, 2023
@nickbwalking @aliettedb intriguing, I'll add that to my mental wish list
Show threadNick BarlowMay 23, 2023
@TheQuizGuy It's really good, I think it'll be right up your theme - the setting is very Vietnamese-influenced.
Show threadThe Quiz GuyMay 23, 2023
@nickbwalking recently read about RF Kuang and will also have to check out her work some time.
Show threadMarcus Marcius MarcellusJan 20, 2023

@nickbwalking I love Bernhard but completely understand how he might not be one's cup of tea.

Before I first read him, I'd heard him described as "an Austrian Beckett". Not really. Beckett's far more upbeat.

Show threadNick BarlowJan 20, 2023
@marcas fair comparison. He does capture the rhythms of speech, and it's like the gap between reading Beckett and seeing it performed.
Show threadMarcus Marcius MarcellusApr 3, 2023
@nickbwalking Perhaps not the best introduction to Bernhard...
Show threadDavid Brent 📚Jan 16, 2023
@nickbwalking I loved that book and plan to re-read it at some point this year. If you also thought it was good, I think you'd also enjoy "The Glass Hotel," also by #EmilyStJohnMandel
Show threadbsoistJan 16, 2023
@nickbwalking where is your list?
Show threadMagpie LaughsJan 17, 2023
@nickbwalking I love this idea! I might be tempted to copy you. Thanks for sharing.