Karl's Reading List

Published by Candlewick Press: Somerville, Massachusetts, 2012. The main character in this book, Daniel, is obsessed with death. Ever since his older brother, Eli, was killed in the Iraq War, Daniel has been keeping a 'book of the dead', writing down the cause of death of various historical figures. Although Daniel doesn't recognise it, this is his way of coping with the grief surrounding his brother's loss. His parents are coping far worse. Although the 'book of the dead' is an important feature of After Eli, the plot doesn't focus on it too much, mostly including facts from the book as epigraphs to open each chapter (and tie into the theme of the chapter slightly). Instead, After Eli is far more reminiscent of something like Bridge to Terabithia : a slightly melancholic story about a young boy falling in love with a girl who draws him out of his shell, even though foreshadowing makes us predict they will not end up together. In After Eli, the girl is quest...

Published by Ferguson Publishing: Nelson, New Zealand, 2024. Once a month, the Nelson Ministers Fraternal meets on a Tuesday morning. I try to attend as often as I can. Last time, another minister had brought this book along with them, and was offering it around for someone to read. I jumped at the chance, especially when I realised it kinda fitted the brief for 'Black History' in my Reading Challenge this year.  I mean, it's about the history of an African man! Neither writer is a professional author - Ross Ferguson is actually a local dentist and retired minister - and that lack of professionalism does show at times - there are random quotation marks at times; some sentences are incomplete; the authorial voice changes from Ross to Custodio and back without warning or reason - and yet the story is an interesting one, if (sadly) similar to others you may have read. Custodio was born in Angola, grew up during a civil war in the country, had both parents die when he was young...

Published by Fontana Books: London & Glasgow, 1969 (1962). First published 1941. Over the school holidays we spent a weekend at my aunt's bach in Pohara with my parents. It was a lovely location and a great time over all (though Ezekiel slept pretty poorly on the first night, and so Elise and I also slept poorly as a result).  Of course, a trip away is also a chance to browse a bookshelf, and this one jumped out to me mostly because it was relatively short, and I know Agatha Christie books are pretty quick to read. I still had to bring it home to finish it, but since it's my aunt's bach I know I'll be able to get it back to her. N or M? surprised me in a few ways. Firstly, it is not (primarily) about a murder. Death does occur within the story, but the plot is actually about uncovering a German spy living in England (it is written and set during the Second World War). Secondly, N or M? surprised me by being a Tommy and Tuppence book! I've only read one Tommy and...

Published by Gollancz/The Orion Publishing Group Ltd: London, 2024. Book 5 of 'The Stormlight Archive.' Preceded by 'Rhythm of War.' As of writing this post, Wind and Truth is the most recent book in Brandon Sanderson's epic Stormlight Archive series, although he has planned to write ten books all up. This book also finishes the first "arc" of the series; apparently there will be a time jump afterwards. Wind and Truth also takes place within the 'cosmere', Sanderson's larger universe in which many of his series take place. Without spoiling anything, by the end of Wind and Truth he has also begun to link some of these series together in far more open ways than he has previously done - it will be interesting to see how this changes the future of the cosmere going forward. Focussing in on the plot: at the end of Rhythm of War a contest had been planned between a champion of the evil god Odium and the champion of Dalinar Kholin, to bring about the ...

Published by Golden Press: Auckland, Christchurch, Sydney, 1975. First published 1845. This abridged edition (by Joan Stevens) first published 1955. This book is part of the New Zealand Classics series, which I have several of. It also has the distinction of forming the basis for a recent historical novel, Jerningham, which creates a fictionalised version of the author's life.  As the title suggests, Adventure in New Zealand tells the story of Edward Jerningham Wakefield's adventures in New Zealand. Jerningham was the son of Edward Gibbon Wakefield, and nephew to both William Wakefield and Arthur Wakefield, the former of whom was one of the founders of Wellington, and the latter of whom was notably killed during the Wairau Affray.  All of the Wakefields were involved in the New Zealand Company, an organisation that today is viewed with much suspicion. Jerningham, of course, paints a much rosier picture of the NZ Company's dealings, putting any fault over land-sale controver...

Published by Scholastic Children's Books: London, 2007. The title is a pun! I didn't pick up on it right away, but it totally is! Here Lies Arthur is a retelling of the Arthur legends of ancient Britain, from the perspective of Gwyna, a young girl who becomes the assistant of Myrddin (Merlin). But rather than tell the stories in a 'straight-forward' way, Here Lies Arthur creates whole new versions: deconstructed, demythologised, and with Arthur nowhere near as heroic or noble. In fact, the Arthur of legend is shown to be a creation of Myrddin, who tells tales of Arthur's exploits to build him up and make him seem more heroic, hoping to unite all of England behind him to drive out the Saxon invaders. The 'real life' Arthur of the book doesn't deserve this praise; he is violent, stubborn, set in his ways and only out for his own rewards.  Other characters too are reimagined. Gwenhwyfar (Guinevere) is a 'pale heron' of a woman, whom Arthur never rea...

Published by Noisy Crow Ltd: Crosby Row, London, 2021. Having finished Scavenger: Zoid too quickly to use in the Reading Challenge, I needed another book featuring AI or robots, and got this one from the school library, knowing nothing about it except what I saw on the cover. In a lot of ways, Adam-2 is similar to Scavenger: Zoid. It is set in the distant future, in a world where robots have turned on humanity and now pockets of humans try to resist against them. Like in Scavenger: Zoid, a more sophisticated robot is introduced who starts trying to help the humans. That robot develops a friendship with a main human, while other main humans remain suspicious. The difference here is that the robot - the titular Adam-2 - is the main character, whereas the robot in Scavenger: Zoid was a supporting character. Having the story be told primarily from Adam's viewpoint is an interesting touch, particularly as Adam learns about both sides in the conflict and begins to have doubts about the ...

Published by Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd: Edinburgh, date unknown. First published 1823. Sir Walter Scott was an author who lived and wrote in the 18th and 19th century, and was one of the most popular authors of his day. He also was an author of predominantly "historical fiction," meaning that many of his books (this one included) were set in a far earlier time period than he was writing.  This makes reading his works doubly fascinating for me, because we aren't just getting a glimpse into the time period of the novel; we are getting a glimpse into the time period of the novel as interpreted by the time period that Scott lived in. Both are different from our modern culture, and they are individually different from each other as well. So, in Quentin Durward we get a tale of chivalry and honour set in 1468, with the norms of that time explained and justified by the norms of Scott's time - a setting and culture  doubly  removed from ours. What about the story, though? We...

Published by Puffin Books/Penguin Random House: Great Britain, 2013 (2009). Book 5 in the 'Percy Jackson' series. Preceded by ' Percy Jackson and the Battle of the Labyrinth. ' This final book in the Percy Jackson series does all the things final books should: it turns into an epic battle, it has some (mostly minor or villainous) characters die, and it wraps up the major story-arcs while allowing some characters to have room for development in the future. Knowing that there is a number of other stories featuring Percy Jackson following this series, it makes sense that another 'Great Prophecy' is also featured near the end of the book. In being all of these things, the story of The Last Olympian is in some ways the most predictable of the series: we know that Percy will face off against Kronos. We know that Grover and Annabeth (and in these later books, Rachel) will also have a part to play. We know that some people will die. We know (well, assume, but come on, i...

Published by Puffin Books/Penguin Group: London, England, 2013 (2008). Book 4 in the 'Percy Jackson' series. Preceded by ' Percy Jackson and the Titan's Curse. ' Followed by 'Percy Jackson and the Last Olympian.' I finally found a cheap copy of this book to add to my school library shelf, and - home sick for a few days - picked it up and raced through it. As book 4 in a series of 5, it is obvious that things are building towards the epic conclusion. Kronos (like the Voldemort of this series) is taking form and will soon be free to wreak havoc on the world, Percy's nemesis Luke continues to be a hindrance, and - at the end of the book - Percy turns 15. Considering that there is a prophecy that most characters believe refers to Percy, saying that when he turn 16 terrible things will occur, this is also significant. In this particular entry, Percy and his friends must journey into the Labyrinth of Greek mythology, searching for the inventor Daedalus who the...

Published in Two-Volume Paperback edition by Gollancz/Orion Publishing Group, Ltd: London, 2019. First published 2017. Book 3 in 'The Stormlight Archives' series. Preceded by (spinoff) ' Edgedancer ' and (main series) ' Words of Radiance. ' Followed by (spinoff) ' Dawnshard ' and (main series) 'Rhythm of War.' The third 'proper' entry in Sanderson's planned ten-part epic, Oathbringer picks up after the Knights Radiant have been reformed, effectively introducing superheroes into the world of Roshar.  I made the comment at the end of Words of Radiance that the series could have ended with that entry, and it is true that the series now feels quite different. It does, however, still have the same characters with the same quirks, and I continue to enjoy it. With such a sweeping epic planned, some minor characters become more prominent in this entry, and it seems like further storylines will spin off as the series continues. Of course, thi...

Published by Fontana Paperbacks/William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd: Glasgow, 1986. First published by the United States Naval Institute Press, 1984. I've seen the movie version of The Hunt for Red October years ago, and if you haven't, I reckon its a pretty good watch. Seeing Sean Connery play a Russian with his natural Scottish accent is worth the time, even before the story kicks in. However, if you are planning on reading the book and haven't seen the film, I would recommend not watching the film before reading the book. This is because, as much as the cover promises a thrilling action-packed edge-of-your-seat adventure, I didn't find that to be the case in reading Red October. Perhaps its because it is an 'action' book written in the 1980s, and the expectations of audiences have increased. Perhaps it's because I already knew the twists and turns. Perhaps it's because, for a long period of reading this book, I was reading it during silent reading time...

Published by Collins: London and Glasgow, 1963. I had the wrong idea about what this book was to begin with. Not drastically wrong, but just wrong enough that there were points I began questioning whether I was reading what I thought I was reading. What I thought I was reading was the book that inspired the movie Bridge on the River Kwai. I've never seen that movie, but I know it was popular when it came out, and it is one I'd like to see eventually. It turns out, though, that Bridge is a fictional story based around the building of an actual bridge on an actual River Kwai by British prisoners-of-war, and that Miracle is the non-fiction account of one of those prisoners. The bridge itself is only mentioned briefly. At points it is quite intense, as many prisoner-of-war stories (and, sadly, especially prisoner-of-war stories set in Japanese prisoner-of-war camps) can be. And this intensity is added to by the way the author describes the spiritual journey of the prisoners in ques...

Published by Hodder & Stoughton Ltd.: London, 1956 (1947). Some books are quick reads. Some are not. Some only take me a day or two. Some take a lot longer... I can estimate almost to the day how long this book took me to read, because I started it a day or two after I put up my post about finishing my previous 'devotional' book, The One Year Worship the King Devotional , posting on September 25th last year. So, about 214 days (including February 29th). This might imply that I didn't enjoy The Way, but that is definitely not the case. E Stanley Jones is a very interesting writer, but is just not a quick read. He was widely travelled, and spent a large amount of time in India, where he set up Christian 'ashrams.' This is important to note, because at times Jones sees things in a very non-Western way, pulling out gems of truth from scripture I had never considered before, or life-lessons that are very a pplicable while being quite 'foreign.' Two examples f...

Published by Allen & Unwin: Crows Nest, NSW, Australia, 2008. Book snobs, block your ears. *whispers* I think the movie was better. Okay, book snobs, you can unblock your ears now. *waves to get the attention of book snobs* To be honest, a huge reason why I read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society at this moment in time was that I thought it would be funny to have two books with ridiculously long titles appear back-to-back in my list. For anyone who thought that there were super-deep reasons why I picked the books that I did, I hope this helps you see the error of your ways. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (which I am refusing to shorten for the rest of this review) still tells the same story as that in the movie adaptation (also called  The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society ), but does so in a less gripping (though still interesting) manner. This is for a few reasons: firstly,  The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society ...

Published by Penguin: UK, 2023. Audiobook by Penguin Audio, 2023.  Uploaded to Audible 28-09-2023.  On the surface, Unruly is a history of England, like other histories that I have read in the past - this one outlining events from the early kings through to Elizabeth I. However, author David Mitchell is more well-known as a comedian than as an author, and Unruly leans heavily into that.  So, unlike a regular history of the kings and queens of England, this one includes commentary on Brexit, comparisons of historical figures to Mitchell's daughter, ranting tangents on why history is occasionally so bizarre (eg. if the Bayeux Tapestry is not technically a tapestry and yet is the most famous 'tapestry' in the world, why has the definition of tapestry not broadened to include it?!) and a bit of colourful language here and there. I am not a fan of the last of these, but I do generally enjoy David Mitchell's comedic style - which also doesn't include swearing as much as s...

Published by Bridget Williams Books Ltd: Wellington, NZ, 2017. This book is the life story of Tuai, a now-obscure Māori chief who lived in the era of early European missionary work in New Zealand. As a young man Tuai, along with another young Māori named Tītere, travelled to England, living with missionaries in both London and the district of Madeley and learning much about European culture and beliefs (he often wore European clothing), before returning home and acting as a go-between for his tribe in their dealings with Pakeha. Tuai's ability to speak English made him quite an important and well-known figure in his day, with his death even announced in some English newspapers. Not a lot is known directly about Tuai; what he did is now mostly determined through reading European letters that happen to mention him in passages. The fact that the authors have managed to reconstruct his life from these is quite impressive, although in order to 'pad out' his life to full book len...

Published as an audiobook by Head of Zeus, 2016. Uploaded to Audible 07-12-2017. Narrated by Scott Brick. First published by Penguin Press: USA, 2004. If you know the musical Hamilton you may also know that creator Lin-Manuel Miranda based it on a biography of Alexander Hamilton he read while on holiday. This is that biography. It is extremely thorough - a few chapters in and Chernow was still filling in details from the opening song. It is also an interesting portrait of a fascinating man, narrated well by Scott Brick in this audiobook version. As a Hamilton fan myself, the element of the book I enjoyed the most was picking out the differences between the stage version and this one, seeing when Miranda had tweaked history a little to fit the themes of the musical or to stream-line things a bit. Aaron Burr, for example, who ends up shooting Hamilton in a duel, is a much more prominent figure in the musical than in the book. We get some mentions of him throughout, but the main interact...

Published by Auckland University Press: Auckland, NZ, 2021 (2020). I am fascinated by the historical figure Te Rauparaha, one of the greatest of the Maori warrior chiefs who were living around the time of the first European settlers. Te Rauparaha achieved a lot in his life, particularly in the area of warfare, and as such he is a very controversial figure (depending on which iwi you talk to). Born as the youngest child in his family (when younger children were not expected to do as much) Te Rauparaha led his tribe, Ngati Toa, to settle Kapiti Island, and from there launched a series of campaigns which ended up conquering much of the lower North Island and the majority of the South Island! He is most famous now for writing the haka 'Ka Mate' (sung by the All Blacks), but his life has so much more to it than just that! This manuscript, translated carefully from te Reo (and with extensive editorial notes) by Ross Calman, was written by Te Rauparaha's son Tamihana Te Rauparaha....

Published by Penguin Books: North Shore, Auckland, NZ, 2006. I am currently involved in a national Teacher's Reading Challenge, in which books by New Zealand authors gain double points... so you'll be seeing a few more Kiwi authors over the next few months. This book, which was nominated for a Booker prize but didn't win, was lent to me by a co-worker who had just finished it. Her comment to me was that it felt a bit like a Pacific To Kill a Mockingbird, in the way the protagonist (a young girl) was witnessing dramatic and 'adult' events but interpreting them through the eyes of an innocent child. This is an apt description.  For the Teacher's Reading Challenge, I wrote a few notes on my thoughts while reading: "sweet - happy - nice - interesting - OMGWHATSHAPPENINGMAKEITSTOP!! - epilogue."  This is also an apt description. Mister Pip is told through the eyes of Matilda, a young girl from Bougainville in Papua New Guinea. When a civil war breaks out an...