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Post by Solana on Aug 26, 2023 16:01:01 GMT -5
I'm currently re-reading 'Temple of a Thousand Faces' by John Shors, a novel that takes place in the Khmer empire and Angkor Wat. It's beautifully written, as was his novel about the building of the Taj Mahal, 'Beneath the Marble Sky'.
One of my friends from work who retired a few years ago is from Cambodia and has said that we are welcome to visit his family. I keep thinking about taking him up on that offer, as SE Asia has only captured my heart more since my trip to Bali.
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Post by Ambrienne on Sept 5, 2023 14:44:20 GMT -5
I recently finished reading Of Woks and Volcanoes by Linda Li. It's an interesting take on the legend of how fireworks were invented. There's humor (including someone feeding a volcano dumplings) and a variety of unusual characters to make things fun. It's also currently free on Amazon for anyone interested in picking it up.
I also recently finished the Kailua Marines collection by Jess Mastorakos. They're decently well written clean romances with each book focusing on a different couple. You can't expect nail biting plots out of them, but they're easy reading.
Of course, there were also more books not worth mentioning, but the TBR pile is down by over 50, so I consider that a win either way.
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Post by Solana on Sept 5, 2023 15:42:55 GMT -5
(Aryn jots down the first one.)
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Post by Solana on Sept 28, 2023 15:55:13 GMT -5
I found this absolutely lovely book about the deep sea called 'The Brilliant Abyss'. The writer is very engaging and shows that science isn't always about being super-serious all the time. The deep sea fascinates me and is the star of some of my favorite episodes of nature documentaries.
So far it's gone into sperm whales, jelly animals and the crazy food web involved there, the discovery of bone-eating aquatic worms that had evidence on dinosaur bones, and all kinds of good stuff.
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Post by Solana on Nov 16, 2023 17:13:22 GMT -5
I was almost done with 'The Forest House', a kind of prequel to 'The Mists of Avalon', but it's a bittersweet book at the best of times and not a good one to read when my depression is trying to rear up.
Instead, I started my newest book, 'Lady Tan's Circle of Women' by Lisa See. It's really interesting to see what the practice of medicine was like in a completely different country hundreds of years ago, especially for a lady physician. I'm also curious as to how well she'll do considering that physicians aren't supposed to touch blood. (As a vet tech, I'd had to handle all kinds of noxious fluids- though with gloves.)
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Post by Solana on Jan 16, 2024 10:56:13 GMT -5
I've had lots of time to read with being down with Covid. A few days ago, I finished a new one called 'The House in Bali' by Colin MacPhee. It's fascinating to hear his descriptions of Balinese life in the 1930's, especially how Denpasar used to be a tiny village with one street compared to the huge city it is now. How Kuta had been a small fishing village and is now party central. (I had no interest in going there before, and will not next time either.) Colin had been entranced by a record of Balinese gamelan music, and I felt the same tug. I own quite a few CDs by 'See New Project', a group that does gamelan music in Western styles. Some of it is mixed with Chinese or Japanese instruments, or nature sounds. 'Bali Deep Sea' is my favorite album, that I'm sure is a huge surprise. Along with the music is the dance. I was lucky enough to see a dance performance in Ubud, and the styles remind me of classical Indian dance. In this next trip, I hope to take a dance lesson myself.
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Post by Solana on Jan 22, 2024 12:41:18 GMT -5
It seems like every winter I re-read Will Steger's 'Crossing Antarctica' so I can compare it to Minnesota winters not being THAT cold. It also helps that Steger is a great writer, making even the little details about camping on the ice and working with five other guys from five different countries. He obviously loves Antarctica and has a great respect about nature's power and not trying to 'tame' or 'master' it, and writes in a beautiful style about its beauty and dangers equally.
The journey was the Trans-Antarctica Expedition, crossing the continent by skis and dogsleds for the first time in 1989-1990. It was very sobering reading the new preface twenty years later about the Larsen ice shelf completely melting, something that had taken his team a month to cross.
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Post by DarkKnight on Jan 22, 2024 13:16:33 GMT -5
I've finally gotten around to reading a new English translation (and reportedly a really good one) of Jin Yong's "Legend of the Condor Heroes." I've been wanting to get my hands on some good wuxia fiction for a long time, and thanks to some new translations, I'm getting my chance. I've also read his "The Book and the Sword," which I really liked, so looking forward to making my way through "Condor Heroes." (I also prefer his style to Gu Long's, although I've only read his "The Eleventh Son.")
I also recently read "A Clash of Steel: A Treasure Island Remix" set in 19th century China, based on the exploits of a real-life pirate queen. I enjoyed it so much I actually managed to read through it in a single day.
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Post by Solana on Mar 4, 2024 16:17:57 GMT -5
Whoo-hoo, this season's 'Enchanted Living' magazine's theme is book lovers. I can't wait to read that one!
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