Category: Reading Diary

2017 Reading Dairy Part 3!

SEPTEMBER TO DECEMBER

September began just as I was about a third of the way through the eighth and most recent Outlander novel entitled Written in My Own Heart’s Blood.

On September 2, I completed part 2 and decided to delay reading the rest. I would like to keep going, but I also want to draw out the story for as long as possible as there is still no release date for the next book in the series. The author, Diana Gabaldon, has posted excerpts from it, so it’s well an truly on the way, but she warned readers not to expect publication this year. Hence, I’ll take temporary leave from the epic tale of Clair Fraser to diminish the waiting time should book 8 end on a cliffhanger. Continue reading “2017 Reading Dairy Part 3!”

2017 Reading Diary Part 2!

MAY TO AUGUST

I have been reading Kim Stanley Robinson’s latest, New York 2140, since March 25. Come May, I’m still reading it. The huge drop off in my daily reading isn’t due to the book, which I am enjoying. If I were to put it down to one cause, that would be inescapable “work”. On May 7, I just passed the half-way point, so I’m hoping that will result in a return to more normal reading speeds – it did. I finally finished it during the final minutes of Tuesday May 16, some seven and a half weeks after starting it.

Continue reading “2017 Reading Diary Part 2!”

2017 Reading Diary Part 1!

JANUARY TO APRIL

Th year 2017 came into existence while I was reading for the second time Wolves of the Calla, the fifth book of Stephen King’s The Dark Tower saga. I decided to revisit The Gunslinger, the first in the series, to refamiliarize myself with the story ahead of the upcoming quasi-sequel film. That odd phrase “quasi-sequel” makes sense of you’ve read all the books. The first book led me to the second, and now here I am on January 1 nearing the end of book five with 25% of it remaining. I finished it at around 12:30 am on the morning of January 3.

Continue reading “2017 Reading Diary Part 1!”

2016 Reading Diary Part 4!

OCTOBER TO DECEMBER

September became October with Wizard and Glass, the fourth book of Stephen King’s The Dark Tower saga, on my Kindle. It’s my second time reading it. I don’t often read novels twice, but last reading diary, I decided to revisit The Gunslinger, the first in the series, to refamiliarize myself with the story ahead of the upcoming film adaption. The first book led me to the second, and now here I am enjoying book four:

October 5 Update: I’m at the 77% mark according to my Kindle, and I’m absolutely hooked.  Continue reading “2016 Reading Diary Part 4!”

2016 Reading Diary Part 3!

JULY TO SEPTEMBER

July’s reading adventures began with End of Watch, the final book of Steven King’s Bill Hodges trilogy. After just completing the first two very long Outlander books, it was a nice change of style, pace, and length, and I do always enjoy King’s writing. I finished it the afternoon of July 4. I’ve no idea at the moment what’s next, but I have a list of summer books handy and a nice 2-hour bus ride tomorrow that’ll afford me plenty of time to decide and then start the lucky book.

2016 07 04 End Of Watch

 Next, I returned to the Scottish Highlands of the distant and not-so distant past with, Voyager, the third book in the Outlander series. I predict our heroes and heroines are in for a spot of travelling. Continue reading “2016 Reading Diary Part 3!”

2016 Reading Diary Part 2!

MARCH TO JUNE

My reading goals for the coming months are quite simple: I simply hope to find time every day to make progress on whatever book I’m reading. I expect the next few months will be quite busy both with work and my various hobbies, but I don’t want to lose the reading momentum I gained over the last two months due to plane rides, a hospital stay, and not working a single day. Here goes:

The BFG by Roald Dahl was my first book of the month. I actually started it back in 2014 in anticipation of John Williams‘ sure-to-be-great score after I first heard Steven Spielberg was directing it for the big screen, but I never finished it, and that’s unusual for me. Continue reading “2016 Reading Diary Part 2!”

2016 Reading Diary Part 1!

JANUARY TO FEBRUARY

There are only so many books you can read about North Korea without going insane. After reading precicsely that number over the last 6 months, I was in sore need of a change. I was thinking about what form that change would take when I started watching The Sci-Fi Channel’s latest sci-fi saga The Expanse at the start of the year. After a couple of episodes, I was intrigued enough to turn to Google to learn more about the show’s creators and origins. And just like that, my next few books were decided for me. It really has been fun to read a good action-packed, page-turning sci-fi saga again after the harrowing details depicted in all those non-fiction books about North Korea which hold my interest for different reasons.

First in The Expanse series is Leviathan Awakes. It only took me a couple of days to get ahead of the TV show and just a few more days to finish the book. No spoilers, but I will say the book did a better job of introducing the mystery at the heart of the story.

Continue reading “2016 Reading Diary Part 1!”

2015 Reading Diary Part 2!

North Korea

I’m embarking on something of a North Korea readathon. This year in particular sees the release of several books by defectors, two of whom are associated with Teach North Korean Refugees (TNKR), the NGO I volunteer with. I’m particularly looking forward to reading those two which are A Thousand Miles to Freedom: My Escape from North Korea by Kim Eun-sun and In Order to Live: A North Korean Girl’s Journey to Freedom by Park Yeon-mi. Continue reading “2015 Reading Diary Part 2!”