1john257hopper
Starting my thread for my reads of 2024.
I read 104 books in 2023, one more than in 2022, which was one more than in 2021. In fact there is a remarkable consistency my total of books read in recent years:
2018 104
2019 110
2020 111
2021 102
2022 103
2023 104
I read 104 books in 2023, one more than in 2022, which was one more than in 2021. In fact there is a remarkable consistency my total of books read in recent years:
2018 104
2019 110
2020 111
2021 102
2022 103
2023 104
2john257hopper
1. Robots of Dawn - Isaac Asimov
This is the third of Asimov's robot novels featuring Elijah Baley and humaniform robot Daneel Olivaw. It is set two years after the events of The Naked Sun, though written some 30 years later, and containing themes (such as differing sexual mores on different planets) that would not have been explored in the earlier novels written in the 1950s. This is even more so a novel of ideas and sharp dialogue between a relatively small cast of characters exploring and critiquing these ideas. On the first Spacer world, the only other humaniform robot, Jander Pannell, is deactivated in unusual circumstances, and Baley is called in from Earth to investigate the circumstances. Numerous possible explanations and a variety of suspects are considered for this crime which Baley coins "roboticide". The final explanation, though, involves an unexpected pivotal character and provides a backdrop link to Asimov's Foundation series, which is set many millennia after the action of this novel. Possibly a bit overlong, but a very satisfying read for an Asimov fan.
This is the third of Asimov's robot novels featuring Elijah Baley and humaniform robot Daneel Olivaw. It is set two years after the events of The Naked Sun, though written some 30 years later, and containing themes (such as differing sexual mores on different planets) that would not have been explored in the earlier novels written in the 1950s. This is even more so a novel of ideas and sharp dialogue between a relatively small cast of characters exploring and critiquing these ideas. On the first Spacer world, the only other humaniform robot, Jander Pannell, is deactivated in unusual circumstances, and Baley is called in from Earth to investigate the circumstances. Numerous possible explanations and a variety of suspects are considered for this crime which Baley coins "roboticide". The final explanation, though, involves an unexpected pivotal character and provides a backdrop link to Asimov's Foundation series, which is set many millennia after the action of this novel. Possibly a bit overlong, but a very satisfying read for an Asimov fan.
3john257hopper
2. The Stationmaster's Farewell - Edward Marston
This is the ninth book in the Railway Detective series set in the 1850s. A very popular local stationmaster in Exeter, Joel Heygate, disappears and his charred body is found at the base of a Guy Fawkes Day fire when it burns out. A number of people have obvious motives, including a local criminal who had sworn vengeance against him, the victim's own estranged brother, and his own successor as stationmaster who had been a rival for the position when Joel was appointed. The eventual culprit and their motive turns out to be completely unexpected, and could not be worked out by any reader in advance as new factors are introduced near the end of the plot. There is also an amusing sub-plot where Inspector Colbeck's future widowed father in law Caleb Andrews is pursued by two rival widowed sisters. At the end of the story Colbeck and Madeleine are married at last. I enjoyed the story as usual, though I felt the resolution of the plot was a bit of a cheat.
This is the ninth book in the Railway Detective series set in the 1850s. A very popular local stationmaster in Exeter, Joel Heygate, disappears and his charred body is found at the base of a Guy Fawkes Day fire when it burns out. A number of people have obvious motives, including a local criminal who had sworn vengeance against him, the victim's own estranged brother, and his own successor as stationmaster who had been a rival for the position when Joel was appointed. The eventual culprit and their motive turns out to be completely unexpected, and could not be worked out by any reader in advance as new factors are introduced near the end of the plot. There is also an amusing sub-plot where Inspector Colbeck's future widowed father in law Caleb Andrews is pursued by two rival widowed sisters. At the end of the story Colbeck and Madeleine are married at last. I enjoyed the story as usual, though I felt the resolution of the plot was a bit of a cheat.
4john257hopper
3. Happy New Year - Jason Ayres
This is the tenth book in the wonderful Time Bubble series, again centred around the life experiences of a minor character who has popped up a couple of times before, in this case Amy Reynolds, who nursed the dying Thomas Scott in hospital in January 2025 in the previous novel, and appeared as a little girl in an earlier novel whom Josh bumped into in 1992. The 39 year old Amy is transported back to the previous December 31st (2023) and after one or two further slipbacks realises she is reliving every 31 December and 1 January (her birthday). Inevitably she tries to change her future, in particular during her 30s by taking revenge on her ex boyfriend Rob who she had caught shagging the next door neighbour, and when they first met trying to get off instead with his much better friend Gary. As her life regresses she tries to tackle more serious problems like stopping her mum drinking herself to death, and rescuing her elder sister Rachel who died in the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami. As she regresses into childhood, she enjoys the experience of being a child with foreknowledge, while being worried about what will happen before she is born. However in the chance encounter with Josh in 1992, she is able to pass him just enough information for him to eventually put her back on the correct time stream. As much fun as ever, and interesting to see what happens to minor characters and how they were affected by the ripples of the actions Josh and co originally set in train.
This is the tenth book in the wonderful Time Bubble series, again centred around the life experiences of a minor character who has popped up a couple of times before, in this case Amy Reynolds, who nursed the dying Thomas Scott in hospital in January 2025 in the previous novel, and appeared as a little girl in an earlier novel whom Josh bumped into in 1992. The 39 year old Amy is transported back to the previous December 31st (2023) and after one or two further slipbacks realises she is reliving every 31 December and 1 January (her birthday). Inevitably she tries to change her future, in particular during her 30s by taking revenge on her ex boyfriend Rob who she had caught shagging the next door neighbour, and when they first met trying to get off instead with his much better friend Gary. As her life regresses she tries to tackle more serious problems like stopping her mum drinking herself to death, and rescuing her elder sister Rachel who died in the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami. As she regresses into childhood, she enjoys the experience of being a child with foreknowledge, while being worried about what will happen before she is born. However in the chance encounter with Josh in 1992, she is able to pass him just enough information for him to eventually put her back on the correct time stream. As much fun as ever, and interesting to see what happens to minor characters and how they were affected by the ripples of the actions Josh and co originally set in train.
5john257hopper
4. Cousin Phillis - Elizabeth Gaskell
This novella has apparently been described by many critics as the author's crowning achievement in short fiction. I personally preferred Mr Harrison's Confession, though I can see why this more serious work is generally rated more highly. It is well written and presents a good portrayal of life on the Holman farm. But I found it curiously unemotionally engaging. It ended quite suddenly and I thought it felt almost more like a novel fragment than a novella. I discovered subsequently that further parts were planned but never written.
This novella has apparently been described by many critics as the author's crowning achievement in short fiction. I personally preferred Mr Harrison's Confession, though I can see why this more serious work is generally rated more highly. It is well written and presents a good portrayal of life on the Holman farm. But I found it curiously unemotionally engaging. It ended quite suddenly and I thought it felt almost more like a novel fragment than a novella. I discovered subsequently that further parts were planned but never written.
6john257hopper
5. The Mighty Dead: Why Homer Matters - Adam Nicolson
This book is an exploration of the themes in Homer's Iliad and Odyssey and how they may relate to later human history and the world today. His central thesis is that Homer's epics probably originate about a millennium earlier than the 8th century BC period to which most historians assign it, and the Trojan War earlier than the 13th century BC period. This is based on comparing events and background details in the epics with archaeological evidence of the arrival of the ancestors of the Greek people in their current homeland, leading to the clash of two very different peoples, the nomadic proto-Greeks and the city-based Trojans ("The idea I have pursued is that the Homeric poems are legends shaped around the arrival of a people – the people who through this very process would grow to be the Greeks – in what became their Mediterranean homeland"). He pursues some interesting evidence about words existing or not in the Proto Indo European (PIE) language, to draw conclusions about the probable place of origin of these proto-Greeks, for example in small, inland communities, given that there are no PIE words for city or sea.
This is fascinating stuff, but I was not really convinced that this shows the epics were penned as early as he says, given that it is generally accepted anyway that Homer was recording, in the then very new medium of writing, epics passed down in oral form from generation to generation for centuries beforehand. Other scholars have pointed out that, given the similarity of style, the two epics were probably written down by the same person consecutively, as the Odyssey is aware of the existence of the Iliad, but not vice versa - "The Odyssey, with extraordinary care, is shaped around the pre-existence of the Iliad. It fills in details that are absent from the earlier poem – the Trojan Horse, the death of Achilles – but never mentions anything that is described there".
Despite this very interesting exploration of historical, archaeological, cultural and linguistic issues, I had a problem with aspects of his writing style and choice of material. The language is often rather elaborate and I found some of the description overblown and too "stream of consciousness" for my liking. I didn't see the point of including some of his personal material, in particular the inclusion of an incident from his youth when he was raped by a stranger of his own age, which seemed entirely gratuitous to me. So I was left with rather mixed feelings about this book.
This book is an exploration of the themes in Homer's Iliad and Odyssey and how they may relate to later human history and the world today. His central thesis is that Homer's epics probably originate about a millennium earlier than the 8th century BC period to which most historians assign it, and the Trojan War earlier than the 13th century BC period. This is based on comparing events and background details in the epics with archaeological evidence of the arrival of the ancestors of the Greek people in their current homeland, leading to the clash of two very different peoples, the nomadic proto-Greeks and the city-based Trojans ("The idea I have pursued is that the Homeric poems are legends shaped around the arrival of a people – the people who through this very process would grow to be the Greeks – in what became their Mediterranean homeland"). He pursues some interesting evidence about words existing or not in the Proto Indo European (PIE) language, to draw conclusions about the probable place of origin of these proto-Greeks, for example in small, inland communities, given that there are no PIE words for city or sea.
This is fascinating stuff, but I was not really convinced that this shows the epics were penned as early as he says, given that it is generally accepted anyway that Homer was recording, in the then very new medium of writing, epics passed down in oral form from generation to generation for centuries beforehand. Other scholars have pointed out that, given the similarity of style, the two epics were probably written down by the same person consecutively, as the Odyssey is aware of the existence of the Iliad, but not vice versa - "The Odyssey, with extraordinary care, is shaped around the pre-existence of the Iliad. It fills in details that are absent from the earlier poem – the Trojan Horse, the death of Achilles – but never mentions anything that is described there".
Despite this very interesting exploration of historical, archaeological, cultural and linguistic issues, I had a problem with aspects of his writing style and choice of material. The language is often rather elaborate and I found some of the description overblown and too "stream of consciousness" for my liking. I didn't see the point of including some of his personal material, in particular the inclusion of an incident from his youth when he was raped by a stranger of his own age, which seemed entirely gratuitous to me. So I was left with rather mixed feelings about this book.
7Tess_W
>6 john257hopper: I know very little about ancient Greece/Turkey, etc. So let me see if I get this correct, the author believes the epic poems were written in 700 BCE about events that theoretically took place in 1300-1800 BCE? My college textbook gives the dates for Homer's life at 8-9th century, so that would work! I just finished Helen of Troy by Margaret George and did a small bit of research. Historians have been unable to say positively that there was even a Trojan War, although there was a great fire in "Troy" in the 12-13th century. It is my understanding that there were at least 6 cities named Troy in the ancient world, so the one they have excavated may not be the "Troy" in question. I'm very glad you posted this review. I like the info, but I don't wanna read it!;)
