I have #mecfs so I have a lot of time for reading, mostly #fantasy and #SciFi but I'm happy to dip into nearly anything.
Ratings: 1 star: I didn't like it 2 stars: it was okay 3 stars: I liked it 4 stars: I really liked it 5 stars: it was brilliant
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Growing up #gay in an all-boys Catholic school in 70s Australia, then straight into the horrific tragedy of the #AIDS epidemic. Lots of explicit sex. Jesuit priests surprisingly supportive. Lost my attention part way through - got a bit then-this-happened. Thankful we provided a supportive medical system for AIDS victims.
Reading time 9 days, 32 pages/day
Lauren Groff: The Vaster Wilds (Paperback, 2023, Random House Large Print)
A taut and electrifying novel from celebrated bestselling author Lauren Groff, about one spirited girl alone in the wilderness, trying …
Northanger Abbey is a coming-of-age novel and a satire of Gothic novels written by Jane Austen. Austen was also influenced …
In A Day of Fallen Night, Samantha Shannon sweeps readers back to the universe of …
A decent escapist holiday read, otherwise overly long. Well done gender reversals and critique of monarchy as a womb trap. Characters never quite gripped me, and climax is a bit of a deus ex machina let down.
Reading time 7 days, 121 pages/day
The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a story about what it’s like to travel …
(3 stars = I liked it)
Being an awkward teenager in the era of grunge and mix-tapes, when homosexuality & neurodiversity were still Untouchable.
Reading time 4 days, 58 pages/day
The last remnants of the human race left a dying Earth, desperate to find a …
Spiders undergo enhanced evolution, building an extraordinary new civilisation. Meanwhile the last of humanity searches for a new home, bringing its destructive tendencies with it. Impressive & audacious vision, but lacks engaging characters.
Reading time 6 days, 100 pages/day
Chemist Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact, Elizabeth Zott would be the …
A neurodiverse female scientist skewers the unprepared patriachy of the 1950s with her forthright progressive values. Hilarious, infuriating and deeply serious.
Reading time 2 days, 193 pages/day
Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission--and if he fails, humanity …
(3 stars = I liked it)
A series of (Earth-saving) problem-solutions starring an irksome overenthusiastic science teacher/xenobiologist. Some cool ideas but one-dimensional and the narrative style can be grating.
Reading time 4 days, 119 pages/day
Hetty "Handful" Grimke, an urban slave in early-19th-century Charleston, yearns for life beyond the suffocating …
(3 stars = I liked it)
A girl in the early 19th century American South gradually breaks away from the strictures of gender & society to become a pioneering abolitionist & feminist. Based in truth! Doesn't manage to capture the strength or source of her motivations.
Reading time 3 days, 141 pages/day
Foundation's Edge (1982) is a science fiction novel by American writer Isaac Asimov, the fourth …
(2 stars = it was okay)
Too much Plato-esque dialogue, as usual. Dubious plot reliance on 'the vibe'. Tiresome portrayals of women. Enjoyable inclusion of Lovelock's Gaia concept.
Reading time 4 days, 112 pages/day
The Road to Unfreedom: Russia, Europe, America is a 2018 book by Timothy Snyder. In …
Russia has been exporting its 'politics of eternity' to replace the West's 'politics of inevitability' via Trump and far-right 'sado-populism'. Putin's philosophical roots are confounding & disturbing. Written before the 2022 escalation in the Ukraine war - we've awoken to this project, but can we sustain the fight and embed a 'politics of responsibility'? Slow going.
Reading time 23 days, 12 pages/day
Annie Shearer lives in the country town of Upson Downs with her best friend, an …
Fun, silly & heart-warming. The (very pleasingly named) villains get their come-uppances, and everyone else lives happily ever after, having been thoroughly good people in the process.
Reading time 3 days, 114 pages/day
371 pages ; 24 cm
In rough-as-guts 1970s country Australia a girl suffers from abuse & neglect, her unrecognised dyslexia leaving her totally unequipped to understand what is being done to her. Casual victim blaming true to time but hard to swallow. One bright spot is her beautifully portrayed friendship with another outcast, a boy with cerebral palsy.
Reading time 4 days, 92 pages/day
The Earth teems with sights and textures, sounds and vibrations, smells and tastes, electric and …
Every page a mind-blowing revelation of the many incredible, and unimaginable, ways animals sense the world. Filled with awe, delight & respect for the natural world.
Reading time 16 days, 22 pages/day
