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vampadvocate let cholten99 borrow her copy of Collapse by Jared Diamond. At long last, I finished it this morning - I'll give it back to her tomorrow and cholten99 can buy his own!
It was excellent. Jared Diamond managed to make even the intricate details of soil erosion interesting, and there is enough range of types and periods of societies that it never gets repetitive. It's a little depressing, but well worth the effort.
However, finishing it left me in a tricky position. I looked at my book pile and it had six non-fiction books in it, and that was it. It's only been about two years since I started reading non-fiction and, while I've enjoyed the ones I've read as much as, and in some cases more than, the fiction, they do require a different level of focus. So, I like to alternate.
Now, I know it's my birthday in less than a week, and books are likely to feature quite heavily in the present list, but that's nearly a week away, and what am I supposed to do in the meantime? I've read eight books in the last seven weeks, so it's not as if adding a few more to the pile just before my birthday is going to cause a problem.
So, I did something today that I haven't done in a very long time. I wandered into Waterstones and spent money I don't really have on books I'm not sure if I'll like, based almost entirely on random adverts and the fact that they were in the 3 for 2 offer.
My new purchases are:
Wicked by Gregory Maguire - because it looks fun and is cheaper (and will last longer) than going to see the musical.
We Need To Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver - because I was intrigued by the posters andlareinemisere recommends it.
Arthur & George by Julian Barnes - because I liked the design of the cover (yes, really!) and the blurb on the back was interesting.
None of them are the kind of book I normally go for, but branching out in my reading has been extremely successful recently - and, besides, at current rate of progress, I'll have finished them all well before Christmas and next influx of stuff from my Amazon wish list!
vampadvocate let cholten99 borrow her copy of Collapse by Jared Diamond. At long last, I finished it this morning - I'll give it back to her tomorrow and cholten99 can buy his own!It was excellent. Jared Diamond managed to make even the intricate details of soil erosion interesting, and there is enough range of types and periods of societies that it never gets repetitive. It's a little depressing, but well worth the effort.
However, finishing it left me in a tricky position. I looked at my book pile and it had six non-fiction books in it, and that was it. It's only been about two years since I started reading non-fiction and, while I've enjoyed the ones I've read as much as, and in some cases more than, the fiction, they do require a different level of focus. So, I like to alternate.
Now, I know it's my birthday in less than a week, and books are likely to feature quite heavily in the present list, but that's nearly a week away, and what am I supposed to do in the meantime? I've read eight books in the last seven weeks, so it's not as if adding a few more to the pile just before my birthday is going to cause a problem.
So, I did something today that I haven't done in a very long time. I wandered into Waterstones and spent money I don't really have on books I'm not sure if I'll like, based almost entirely on random adverts and the fact that they were in the 3 for 2 offer.
My new purchases are:
Wicked by Gregory Maguire - because it looks fun and is cheaper (and will last longer) than going to see the musical.
We Need To Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver - because I was intrigued by the posters and
lareinemisere recommends it.Arthur & George by Julian Barnes - because I liked the design of the cover (yes, really!) and the blurb on the back was interesting.
None of them are the kind of book I normally go for, but branching out in my reading has been extremely successful recently - and, besides, at current rate of progress, I'll have finished them all well before Christmas and next influx of stuff from my Amazon wish list!
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Date: 2006-10-30 07:16 pm (UTC)Could I borrow at some point, please? (Probably not before Christmas, since my book pile -aside from course books - is at three right now.)
And I second the wishlist request...unless you'd prefer me and A to get you a prezzie more like Toos's ;)