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Bibliofile - January 2015


Surprised to see me? Yeah, I know I said I was through with blogging but owing to mounting pressure from my many loyal followers to share my ongoing reading habits - thanks Bryan - I've sheepishly caved in.

I'll be brief because I don't want to block up the blogosphere. (I'd hate to bump a post about kittens.)

I got through 6 books this month. A slow start to 2015, I know, but it's all part of my new and relaxed approach to life. Or something like that.

Among the highlights were Canadian musician Bruce Cockburn's memoir. Apart from being a great musician, Cockburn is an activist and quite spiritual. The latter two qualities take up quite a bit of the book but it's nevertheless interesting to see what makes the guy tick.

So Anyway... by Monty Python's John Cleese was a bit of a disappointment. He hardly talks about his days in Python at all. I think it's just a cash grab because I think he's still paying alimony to three wives. Or maybe I'm just Pythoned out having recently watched a six-part documentary on the comedy troupe.

The best read of the month was Punishment by Linden MacIntyre. It was a page-turning thriller which one review I read compared it to the likes of Dennis Lehane's Mystic River. And I love Lehane.

Here are the books I read in January...

Station Eleven - Emily St. John Mandel
Rumours of Glory - Bruce Cockburn
The Complete Works of H.P. Lovecraft - H.P. Lovecraft
So Anyway... - John Cleese
Punishment - Linden MacIntyre
Gray Mountain - John Grisham

Comments

I have (had) John Cleese's book on the hold list at the Free Library of Philadelphia, but decided based on what you said, I'll skip. What did you think of Station Eleven? It's on my list too and was wondering what you thought.
nonamedufus said…
The Cleese book had some humorous moments but I was disappointed it only took the reader so far. If you wanted to know what he did before Python, it's great. But there's barely anything there about Python at all.

Station Eleven was a very enjoyable read. It's a back and forth - past/present/future kind of thing that connects the dots as it goes along. Beware, the future is another dystopian universe and I've read a lot of those lately. Overall, though, I very much liked it.
I'm way back on the hold list for that last one so it ought to be spring before I get it anyway. I'm just taking a break on dystopia, at least for the winter. It's bleak enough, looking out my window.
nonamedufus said…
Ha, I'm with you there, Bryan.
Indigo Roth said…
Dufus, old son! Lovely to see you.
nonamedufus said…
It's a bit of a hit and a miss these days Indigo. Mostly miss. Giving the cranium a chance to recharge.

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