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I have a burning need to know stuff and I love asking awkward questions.

Saturday, July 22, 2023


Sing a Song of Sixes....  

I ‘borrowed’ this idea from several places: 

Six authors I am looking forward to reading more of 

Edward Marston 

Andy Weir 

Robert Goddard 

Agatha Christie 

Natalie Haynes 

Madeline Miller 

Six series of books read or started 

Foundation series by Isaac Asimov 

Dune series by Frank Herbert 

Maze Runner series by James Dashner 

Ghost series by George Mann 

Destroyermen series by Taylor Anderson 

Sharpe series by Bernard Cornwell 

Six books I really want to buy in the next six months 

If Nietzsche Were a Narwhal: What Animal Intelligence Reveals about Human Stupidity by Justin Gregg 

The Jill Tars: Seven Remarkable Accounts of Female Sailors Who Served and Fought Disguised as Men by Rachel Beatty 

Superspy Science: Science, Death and Tech in the World of James Bond by Kathryn Harkup  

When Giants Ruled the Sky: The Brief Reign and Tragic Demise of the American Rigid Airship by John J. Geoghegan 

Magnificent Women and Flying Machines: The First 200 Years of British Women in the Sky by Sally Smith 

Snow Widows: The Untold History of Scott’s Fatal Antarctic Expedition Through the Eyes of the Women They Left Behind by Katherine MacInnes 

Six books recently added to my Wish List 

American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin 

Island Dreams: Mapping an Obsession by Gavin Francis 

Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown 

Tourists: How the British Went Abroad to Find Themselves by Lucy Lethbridge 

The Quiet Before: On the unexpected origins of radical ideas by Gal Beckerman 

Into The Woods: How Stories Work and Why We Tell Them by John Yorke 

Six classics I have yet to read 

Hard Times by Charles Dickens 

The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton 

East of Eden by John Steinbeck 

Keep the Aspidistra Flying by George Orwell 

The Ragged Trousered Philanthropist by Robert Tressell 

Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf 

Six books on my Wish List that have sport as their major theme 

Little Wonder: The Extraordinary Story of Lottie Dod, the World's First Female Sports Superstar by Sasha Abramsky 

Five O'Clock Lightning: Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and the Greatest Baseball Team in History, the 1927 New York Yankees by Harvey Frommer 

Raise a Fist, Take a Knee: Race and the Illusion of Progress in Modern Sports by John Feinstein and Doug Williams 

The Betrayal: The 1919 World Series and the Birth of Modern Baseball by Charles Fountain 

The Games: A Global History of the Olympics by David Goldblatt 

Berlin 1936: Sixteen Days in August by Oliver Hilmes and Jefferson Chase 

12 comments:

Marian H said...

Ooh! I'm starting East of Eden next month. At least, that's the plan. Along with A Study in Scarlet and Light in August. I've seriously overcommitted myself but I might be getting a head start this coming week on some of them. :P I hear nothing but good things about East of Eden, so I'm counting on it to be the "read of the year." :)

VV said...

The Jill Tars sounds interesting. I’ve got too many books awaiting reading for me to get anymore before these are read. (She says this while contemplating buying another book she heard discussed on NPR today.) We saw the Oppenheimer movie today. Good except slow in the middle. We saw Barbie too. I’m surprised Mattel allowed it to be made, enjoyable enough.

CyberKitten said...

@ Marian: I won't be reading 'Eden' for a little while yet. I need to fatten up my review pile first with a few more quickies. I'm 'planning' (if everything goes well that is) to start 'Scarlet' probably on Tuesday 1st or shortly after - depending when my previous read ends. I imagine it'll take 2-3 days to finish at my present sluggish reading speed.

@ V V: 'Jill Tars' sounds VERY interesting doesn't it? It's always interesting reading about (largely) forgotten women from other eras/cultures breaking through the barriers of their age (plus the larger reaction to them doing so).

A friend & me saw 'Oppenheimer' on Friday. Apart from a few bits I liked it more than I thought I would, The 3 hours flew by far faster than expected. I knew *some* of the story but not so much all the shit he had to put up with afterwards. I'm eager to find out more now. No intention of seeing 'Barbie' [lol]

Stephen said...

All kinds of interesting titles here! Surprised to see the sport titles, though! I think "When Giants Ruled the Sky" is on my goodreads TBR. Very interested in Jill Tars and the flying women, as well as the books on minimalism and stories.

Helen said...

The only books you've mentioned here that I've read are East of Eden and Keep the Aspidistra Flying, both of which I enjoyed. You've got lots of interesting books on your wish list!

Sarah @ All The Book Blog Names Are Taken said...

Oooooh...this could be dangerous!

CyberKitten said...

@ Stephen: I thought you might find some things of interest there! I added the Sport list to surprise people - although I did struggle a bit to get to 6. I developed an 'interest' in Baseball after reading several books which mentioned it. I was intrigued by the statistical side of things (as well as the Race aspects). 'Jar Tars' sounds VERY interested. I think women did lots more in past ages than people today give them credit for. Hardly anything is all that 'new'.

@ Helen: I'm definitely looking to read much more Orwell in the next few years. I think he had a lot of interesting things to say about the world. I think my next one of his will be 'Wigan Pier' - especially as I spent my formative years living a mere 7 miles from there!! My Wish List is WAY out of control. [lol] I tried to keep it in check, but then Amazon took the counter off... So I have ZERO idea now just how many books are on there... [grin]

@ Sarah: Yeah, sorry about that... [grin]

Stephen said...

I've just seen this on a few other blogs and am going to post my own version (which has a couple of your questions) on Wednesday.

CyberKitten said...

Cool.

I cribbed from the original list here:

https://josbookjourney.wordpress.com/2022/06/17/six-in-six-2022-edition/

Marianne said...

I see, you finally did it. Great list. Of course, I have read none of your books except for three of the classic ones.

CyberKitten said...

I'm (almost) always late to these things! [grin] It actually took more effort than I expected - but the plus is that I discovered that one of the books listed had been reduced by 80% in price so I snapped it up! Most of the books listed are presently unbought.... Maybe one day.. [lol]

Marianne said...

Doesn't matter when ... better late than never.