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Montage of books read in 2025
Jan. 1st, 2026 10:56 pmFrom StoryGraph.
My end of year full reading recap will be posted on my main blog - and a link to it posted here - by Hogmanay. In the meantime, here is my complete list of books finished this year, including 4 newly finished since my last post.
Of the newly finished ones, Alice's Oxford was a little bit too speculative for my taste, and plagued with an overly small font. But I did find a lot to enjoy, and am very glad I read it. Though I wanted clearer maps, to understand the geography. I've only been to Oxford a couple of times.
Wintering promised so much but was ultimately extremely disappointing. It stretched the concept of "wintering" to breaking point, and was repeatedly too self indulgent and written from a position of great privilege which the author seemed quite unaware of. Some good bits in there, and at times her writing was truly beautiful. But in the end, nope, not good. And a very poor ending.
The Doctor Who book about River Song's introductory episodes is one in the "Black Archive" series of episode analysis books from Obverse Books. I liked a lot about this, but was frustrated by how much the author ended up writing about things outside the two episodes, including River Song's wider arc, Steven Moffat's writing more generally, and paraphrasing rather too many science books. In the end I gave it 3/5 stars, but it's not one of the best "Black Archive" books for me.
The King of Elfland's Daughter was my book club read for December. I'm very glad I read it. It's a classic fantasy, which has influenced many other authors, including Tolkien. But it had flaws. It's more descriptive-driven than either plot-driven or character-driven. And with a positively glacial pace of story I found it hard to stay engaged and keep reading through to the end. Yet overall glad that I read it. And I loved one character especially. But I don't think I will ever reread it.
- ( earlier books )
- Alice's Oxford: People and Places that Inspired Wonderland by Peter Hunt
- Wintering: How I learned to flourish when life became frozen by Katherine May
- Silence in the Library / The Forest of the Dead by Dale Smith
- The King of Elfland's Daughter by Lord Dunsany
Of the newly finished ones, Alice's Oxford was a little bit too speculative for my taste, and plagued with an overly small font. But I did find a lot to enjoy, and am very glad I read it. Though I wanted clearer maps, to understand the geography. I've only been to Oxford a couple of times.
Wintering promised so much but was ultimately extremely disappointing. It stretched the concept of "wintering" to breaking point, and was repeatedly too self indulgent and written from a position of great privilege which the author seemed quite unaware of. Some good bits in there, and at times her writing was truly beautiful. But in the end, nope, not good. And a very poor ending.
The Doctor Who book about River Song's introductory episodes is one in the "Black Archive" series of episode analysis books from Obverse Books. I liked a lot about this, but was frustrated by how much the author ended up writing about things outside the two episodes, including River Song's wider arc, Steven Moffat's writing more generally, and paraphrasing rather too many science books. In the end I gave it 3/5 stars, but it's not one of the best "Black Archive" books for me.
The King of Elfland's Daughter was my book club read for December. I'm very glad I read it. It's a classic fantasy, which has influenced many other authors, including Tolkien. But it had flaws. It's more descriptive-driven than either plot-driven or character-driven. And with a positively glacial pace of story I found it hard to stay engaged and keep reading through to the end. Yet overall glad that I read it. And I loved one character especially. But I don't think I will ever reread it.
Teaser for end of year reading recap
Dec. 28th, 2025 01:49 pmStarted writing my end of year annual reading recap. 58 books finished this year, over 16,000 pages worth. Mostly read on my Kindle with an utterly gargantuan font. Delighted to still be managing to read, albeit with ever increasing difficulty, as my neurological disease progresses further.
In case I haven't posted this here before ... and checking back I think I have posted this before, but hey, again doesn't hurt!
This is the sort of font I read on my Kindle. On the left is what it started up with by default when I set up a new Kindle a while back. On the right is how I adjusted it for my preference. I don't need a humungous font for visual impairment so much as brain impairment (cognitive).
This is the sort of font I read on my Kindle. On the left is what it started up with by default when I set up a new Kindle a while back. On the right is how I adjusted it for my preference. I don't need a humungous font for visual impairment so much as brain impairment (cognitive).
My current main reading, on my Kindle, so I can read with the utterly gargantuan font that helps me keep reading with my progressive neurological illness. The 6 books shown are the ones I'm currently mainly cycling through. A mix of fiction and non fiction reads.
Squeezing in another of these before my end of year final post.
Got through another 8 books since the last update.
Of the newly finished books, Katabasis was a lot of fun, with a dark journey into the Underworld, but not as good as RF Kuang's superb Babel or even Yellowface for me. Carmilla was a book club read, and frankly disappointing, and a struggle to read. Though Hammer made a good stab at filming a better version in the early 1970s. Mr Villain's Day Off was a chance find in Angus libraries catalogue, so borrowed that way. Fun manga, but I wasn't inspired to read other volumes. Born With Teeth, the Marlowe/Shakespeare play performed recently on stage by Ncuti Gatwa and Edward Bluemel, was a brilliant read, though it would be better to see it performed in person. Yes, I did my usual Roger Zelazny pre-Halloween reread of A Night in the Lonesome October. Still love it. T. Kingfisher's A Wizard's Guide to Contemporary Baking was fun, but a bit unevenly paced, and younger than I'd usually read. It also took too long to get to dangerous fighting gingerbread men. Doctor Who Tales of Terror is a fun spooky anthology collection, with short stories by multiple authors for each of Doctors 1-12. A bit uneven, but overall fun. Wheel of Time book 10 was the slog that I expected, though still fun in many parts. But I needed a very specific approach to reading to get through it successfully. But things should be better again in the remaining books. Book 10 is generally regarded by readers of the whole series as the worst by a long way.
Got through another 8 books since the last update.
- ( earlier books )
- Katabasis by RF Kuang
- Carmilla by J. Sheridan Le Fanu
- Mr Villain's Day Off volume 1 (manga) by Yuu Morikawa
- Born With Teeth (play script) by Liz Duffy Adams
- A Night in the Lonesome October by Roger Zelazny
- A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher
- Doctor Who Tales of Terror (short story anthology)
- Crossroads of Twilight (Wheel of Time book 10) by Robert Jordan
Of the newly finished books, Katabasis was a lot of fun, with a dark journey into the Underworld, but not as good as RF Kuang's superb Babel or even Yellowface for me. Carmilla was a book club read, and frankly disappointing, and a struggle to read. Though Hammer made a good stab at filming a better version in the early 1970s. Mr Villain's Day Off was a chance find in Angus libraries catalogue, so borrowed that way. Fun manga, but I wasn't inspired to read other volumes. Born With Teeth, the Marlowe/Shakespeare play performed recently on stage by Ncuti Gatwa and Edward Bluemel, was a brilliant read, though it would be better to see it performed in person. Yes, I did my usual Roger Zelazny pre-Halloween reread of A Night in the Lonesome October. Still love it. T. Kingfisher's A Wizard's Guide to Contemporary Baking was fun, but a bit unevenly paced, and younger than I'd usually read. It also took too long to get to dangerous fighting gingerbread men. Doctor Who Tales of Terror is a fun spooky anthology collection, with short stories by multiple authors for each of Doctors 1-12. A bit uneven, but overall fun. Wheel of Time book 10 was the slog that I expected, though still fun in many parts. But I needed a very specific approach to reading to get through it successfully. But things should be better again in the remaining books. Book 10 is generally regarded by readers of the whole series as the worst by a long way.
Wheel of Time ongoing progress
Nov. 29th, 2025 10:44 pmAlmost finished Wheel of Time book 10, definitely a low point in the series for me. But relieved to have got through, albeit with much skimming! Look forward to getting through the rest, though it may take a couple of years to get through the remaining books, interspersed with other reads.
There are just 4 main books left, and I'm expecting to read 2 each in 2026 and 2027. I have them waiting on my Kindle (bought in reduced price sales). And looking forward to finishing them all. But very much need to spread them out. I have been reading this series very slowly since October 2021.
There are just 4 main books left, and I'm expecting to read 2 each in 2026 and 2027. I have them waiting on my Kindle (bought in reduced price sales). And looking forward to finishing them all. But very much need to spread them out. I have been reading this series very slowly since October 2021.
Onto another story that I cannot remember at all, despite reading through the full Sherlock canon at least three or four times before now.
( spoilers )
( spoilers )
Current reading: Wheel of Time book 10
Nov. 3rd, 2025 10:28 pmResuming my read of Wheel of Time book 10. Still enjoying the book series, though I've developed a very specific way of reading it, and still expect far too many characters/infodump from Robert Jordan early on! Currently pleased to see two characters again, and trying to remember prior plot for them!
This book is very much in the doldrums stage of the series, so if I can get through here I'm confident I'll get to the end. Making good progress anyway.
This book is very much in the doldrums stage of the series, so if I can get through here I'm confident I'll get to the end. Making good progress anyway.
Took an earlier screenshot of this than planned as I was just checking my new USB-C to USB-C cable works with my Kindle + OpenMTP for data transfer. So much more convenient to have direct USB-C to USB-C than the provided USB-C to USB-A cable then needing a USB-A to USB-C dongle to plug it into my USB-C Mac laptop port ...
"High heid yin"
Oct. 25th, 2025 03:09 pmAdvance reading something, and passed the words "high heid yin". One of my all time favourite Scots expressions, especially when used in the plural, that I still say regularly, including just a week ago when talking to Martin about something in our kitchen. I've also deployed it when asking an audience question 20+ years ago at a history research seminar at Dundee University, though I then felt the need to translate it for the visiting Welsh prof! For non-Scots friends it means someone in authority, a leader.
Checking back here I have mentioned this expression in a friends-locked post before, but it's well worth repeating!
Checking back here I have mentioned this expression in a friends-locked post before, but it's well worth repeating!
Just finished my 50th book of 2025, Liz Duffy Adams's Born With Teeth, the two-hander play featuring Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare. I wish I'd seen the current RSC production with Ncuti Gatwa and Edward Bluemel. But reading the play script was great fun.
It does help enormously knowing both actors from past TV productions. So I can visualise them really well performing the roles. And as a two-hander it's also more approachable as a play script to read than a play with a much larger cast. Very readable anyway, and I enjoyed it immensely.
It does help enormously knowing both actors from past TV productions. So I can visualise them really well performing the roles. And as a two-hander it's also more approachable as a play script to read than a play with a much larger cast. Very readable anyway, and I enjoyed it immensely.
Sherlock Holmes reread: Black Peter
Oct. 22nd, 2025 05:44 pmContinuing my reread, and another one I couldn't remember, which is particularly surprising given a strong Dundee element within it!
( spoilers )
( spoilers )
Book review: Katabasis by RF Kuang
Oct. 12th, 2025 04:07 pmJust finished this, which I was reading on my Kindle, but had also nabbed a signed copy from my local bookshop. I've previously read the author's books Babel (adored) and Yellowface (enjoyed), and was very much looking forward to this dark academia journey into the Underworld.
Katabasis follows two PhD students at Cambridge University who join forces to journey to Hell to bring back their supervisor. As such it draws on many past writings about journeys to the Underworld, and is chock full of nods to these, while still being accessible to the general reader.
The portrayal of the British PhD process, even for a fictional subject like Analytic Magick, felt somewhat off for me, which jarred. Kuang herself is pursuing a PhD at Yale University in America, and it felt often as though she was muddling the longer and different American PhD process with the shorter British one, as well as having a lack of detailed understanding of the British approach. She did study taught postgraduate degrees at Oxford and Cambridge, but that's not the same as undertaking a PhD there. I did, however, buy into the idea of a graduate degree as a potential hellscape! Even if my own two PhD experiences (Computer Science, St Andrews, full-time, had to drop out after my neurological disease struck; and History, Dundee, part-time, completed) were hardly anything like that. PhDs are also extremely dependent on how you luck out with your supervisor(s), and it's fair to say, without being too spoilery, that Alice and Peter didn't have the best luck in this area.
I think what impressed me the most about the book is how well it works given how tiny the core cast is. The focus is primarily on PhD students Alice and Peter, as they travel through Hell, and for it to sustain my interest with that remit is pretty impressive writing. There are some other especially interesting characters encountered along the way, but it's very much Alice and Peter's story. It did sag for me about half way to two thirds through, but picked up nearer the end. Much of the story is told through back stories which are gradually revealed, and it's very twisty and turny, as new information the reader learns upends previous perceptions.
As well as the journey through Hell itself, and the idea of academia and PhD study as a hellscape, there is literal horror in this book. Extremely gruesome in places. I found one section particularly disturbing, but there was a narrative reason for it. Ultimately I was satisfied with where the book ended up.
I haven't read all of Kuang's books, but I really like how varied those I have read have been. Admittedly there are a lot of personal autobiographical elements in them. For example in this one Alice felt reminiscent of Kuang, and Peter (not least a back story that's uncovered for him) of Kuang's own husband Bennett. But each story is very different in tone, genre and setting, and I really appreciate that flexibility in approach.
I'm very glad that I read this book, and look forward to her next novel.
Katabasis follows two PhD students at Cambridge University who join forces to journey to Hell to bring back their supervisor. As such it draws on many past writings about journeys to the Underworld, and is chock full of nods to these, while still being accessible to the general reader.
The portrayal of the British PhD process, even for a fictional subject like Analytic Magick, felt somewhat off for me, which jarred. Kuang herself is pursuing a PhD at Yale University in America, and it felt often as though she was muddling the longer and different American PhD process with the shorter British one, as well as having a lack of detailed understanding of the British approach. She did study taught postgraduate degrees at Oxford and Cambridge, but that's not the same as undertaking a PhD there. I did, however, buy into the idea of a graduate degree as a potential hellscape! Even if my own two PhD experiences (Computer Science, St Andrews, full-time, had to drop out after my neurological disease struck; and History, Dundee, part-time, completed) were hardly anything like that. PhDs are also extremely dependent on how you luck out with your supervisor(s), and it's fair to say, without being too spoilery, that Alice and Peter didn't have the best luck in this area.
I think what impressed me the most about the book is how well it works given how tiny the core cast is. The focus is primarily on PhD students Alice and Peter, as they travel through Hell, and for it to sustain my interest with that remit is pretty impressive writing. There are some other especially interesting characters encountered along the way, but it's very much Alice and Peter's story. It did sag for me about half way to two thirds through, but picked up nearer the end. Much of the story is told through back stories which are gradually revealed, and it's very twisty and turny, as new information the reader learns upends previous perceptions.
As well as the journey through Hell itself, and the idea of academia and PhD study as a hellscape, there is literal horror in this book. Extremely gruesome in places. I found one section particularly disturbing, but there was a narrative reason for it. Ultimately I was satisfied with where the book ended up.
I haven't read all of Kuang's books, but I really like how varied those I have read have been. Admittedly there are a lot of personal autobiographical elements in them. For example in this one Alice felt reminiscent of Kuang, and Peter (not least a back story that's uncovered for him) of Kuang's own husband Bennett. But each story is very different in tone, genre and setting, and I really appreciate that flexibility in approach.
I'm very glad that I read this book, and look forward to her next novel.
Academic textbooks and indexes
Oct. 9th, 2025 09:18 pmLooking at an academic textbook I bought so I could access it quickly. "Yup, this will be useful!" And grateful for its fairly extensive index, which is much more detailed and useful than the index for a related 1970s textbook Martin borrowed for me from the uni library (I have staff borrowing rights too, but he was on the spot!). Which pretty much just indexes names. As an academic I'm expected to read textbooks as needed. Unfortunately it's a huge problem with my progressive neurological disease and has been for 25+ years now, inc during my history taught MPhil and PhD. So I'm extremely grateful for anything that can help narrow it down. Including a good index!
Sherlock Holmes reread: The Priory School
Oct. 8th, 2025 08:21 pmOnto another one, and this is one I couldn't remember at all, though I've read through the entire canon five or so times.
( spoilers )
( spoilers )
