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Jun. 6th, 2011 03:54 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
cblj_backupI HAVE RUN OUT OF BOOKS.
Today I'm running five or six books back to the library, so I can pick some up, but while the Chicago library system is great our library in particular is kind of crap. It should be interesting to see what I turn up.
I just finished Disco For The Departed by Colin Cotterill, a murder mystery set in Laos in the 70s. It's an interesting story and kind of a neat look at Laotian history, but I have to admit knowing nothing about Laos was not a boon in this situation.
It's one of those books where you enjoy reading it in spite of the prose, for a while -- it's part of a series, so there's a lot of backstory to share. It hits its stride about a third of the way in, but up to that point there are a lot of really blatant expository asides that I'm not sure we ever ended up needing. It's like a good fanfic that badly needs a beta. But I enjoyed it! Dr. Siri, the hero, is entertainingly cranky and also inhabited by the spirit of a dead shaman, so that's fun.
Actually the bit I liked most was his assistant Geung's march homewards after being "reassigned" by the government from his (much beloved) job in Dr. Siri's morgue. I could have read a whole book about that. There were tigers and bounty hunters and mosquitos!
Anyway. No books, books all been read. Time to restock while I wait for the books I actually want to arrive from other, nicer libraries.
Today I'm running five or six books back to the library, so I can pick some up, but while the Chicago library system is great our library in particular is kind of crap. It should be interesting to see what I turn up.
I just finished Disco For The Departed by Colin Cotterill, a murder mystery set in Laos in the 70s. It's an interesting story and kind of a neat look at Laotian history, but I have to admit knowing nothing about Laos was not a boon in this situation.
It's one of those books where you enjoy reading it in spite of the prose, for a while -- it's part of a series, so there's a lot of backstory to share. It hits its stride about a third of the way in, but up to that point there are a lot of really blatant expository asides that I'm not sure we ever ended up needing. It's like a good fanfic that badly needs a beta. But I enjoyed it! Dr. Siri, the hero, is entertainingly cranky and also inhabited by the spirit of a dead shaman, so that's fun.
Actually the bit I liked most was his assistant Geung's march homewards after being "reassigned" by the government from his (much beloved) job in Dr. Siri's morgue. I could have read a whole book about that. There were tigers and bounty hunters and mosquitos!
Anyway. No books, books all been read. Time to restock while I wait for the books I actually want to arrive from other, nicer libraries.
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no subject
Date: 2011-06-07 08:48 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-06-07 12:48 pm (UTC)