Only 3 novels read, but they were all really interesting and will stick with me!
August was another slower reading month. Partly because I was taking my time with PKD, but also because I just had a lot on my mind and wasn’t being as consistent with reading in bed or reading for as long in bed. So, while I read less, I think I read more deeply and some very interesting books that are going to stick with me! And honestly, that felt really great for my brain after I felt Dungeon Crawler Carl had been a little bit of a backwards slide last month (I don’t think I should have listened to 5 of them in a row; it wasn’t good for me!).
2 ebooks and an audiobook
This was aprox. 466 pages and 21.45 hours (of finished books).
Ubik by Philip K. Dick⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I had a great time re-reading this and making the effort to understand it and do a close reading. It’s definitely a book that rewards that, and I think I’d now rank this one as my favourite PKD.
Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said by Philip K. Dick ⭐⭐⭐
This one tends to get ranked highly by PKD fans, and while I think it is thematically interesting, I didn’t enjoy reading it as much (and it took me a long time for about 230 pages), and I don’t think it’s entirely coherent.
Titus Groan (Gormenghast #1) by Mervyn Peake ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I am so glad I finally read this! I listened to it on audio, which was a great way to get into the story and the vibe of Gormenghast, and how unique and weird and amazing it is. Now I am excited to re-read it in print next year so I can really take in the writing, the characters and the themes more deeply.
Marvel Unlimited
I fell out of the loop a bit with reading comics last month. I read The Mighty Avengers into the Secret Invasion event, which was interesting because I’d only read the lead-up from the post-Civil War POB of The New Avengers crew, and I liked getting the other side of it. I didn’t bother to re-read the main Secret Invasion title because I’ve read it before – and then, after that event, the team was changed, and I couldn’t be bothered, so I dropped it.
I then read Secret Wars from 2015 (Jonathan Hickman), because it seems like that’s what the Avengers Doomsday movie is going to be based on, but just the main title because I’m not fucking reading 100 issues of build-up and across about 20 different titles… and that meant it was confusing and missing about half the story. So not great!
Then I read Dr Strange and Doctor Doom: Triumph and Torment (Roger Stern, 1989?), which my Husband has been telling me to read for years. I did quite enjoy that; those two are fun together – Dr Doom is a great character! I should really seek him out more.
And now I’m dipping back in by re-reading Kelly Sue DeConnick’s Captain Marvel series from 2012, which is one of the earliest comics I read, and I have it in trade paperback, but MU is easier to read on my phone during lunch breaks or with tea in bed in the morning. I am loving re-reading this; it’s just as fun as it was the first time – Carol is an awesome character when writers are given the chance to focus on her!
Currently Reading
I just finished re-reading The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch by Philip K Dick last night. Tonight I’m planning to start a re-read of Wise Children by Angela Carter, a book I’ve not read since A Levels, so I’m very excited to revisit it!
I was partway through listening to Gormenghast by Mervyn Peake, which is the second book in the series, but then it was my turn with a library loan (in BorrowBox) of The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow. So I’ve started that because I’ve only got 20 days with it, and I’m on holiday next week in Majorca (I listen to audiobooks sun lounging; I’ll fall asleep!). Gormenghast is somewhat episodic in its chapters, so I think it’ll be ok to hop back to it after an interlude (I’m planning to re-read that anyway!).
My current plan is to read The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton while away on holiday because it’s 850 pages and I think 5 days of nothing but reading is the only way I’ll get through it!
Adding to TBR
I didn’t buy any books in August!
