Wednesday Media Consumption Roundup

[mousetrappling]

Books

Fiction: Finally finished "Executive Orders", Tom Clancy. Think this was the last of his that I bought on purpose, so's to speak - the next two I own I picked up in train station bookshops when I'd run out of book before my commute home. It felt very much like it needed an editor, and the politics have aged poorly (and I never did agree with them). The Ebola plot was probably the most interesting bit, and it was well flagged up from the start how it was going to resolve so it didn't feel like a deus ex machina.

Started "Rainbow Six", Tom Clancy. All I remember about this one from whenever I read it before is that it's a game tie in (not sure which way round) with a counter-terrorism theme and it's centred on Clark/Chavez rather than Ryan. So far things I've found that are likely to set my teeth on edge across the book are - the counter-terrorist team are based in Britain, and the big baddies are Greens. We'll see how this goes.

Non-fiction: Still reading "1177BC: The Year Civilization Collapsed", Eric H. Cline. I'm now part way through Chapter 3, which is dealing with the 13th Century BCE. It's an easy read, but I'm a little concerned that it's over simplified or that he's too willing to accept stuff at face value from ancient texts. Like there's a letter from a widowed Egyptian Queen that's used by the Hittite King as a causus belli and I've seen it persuasively argued that this letter was invented by the Hittites as propaganda - maybe so, maybe not, but Cline doesn't even consider that possibility (and it wouldn't undermine the point he's making to do so, so it feels like an oversight rather than choosing his evidence).

Hidden Meanings: 7.14.1-7.42.3 - still reading about longevity motifs, which unsurprisingly include depictions of the Eight Immortals (and rather more surprisingly include monkeys holding peaches).

Listening

Podcasts: ep 107-108 of History of English - up to date with this now, the most recent couple of episodes were about the changing prefixes and suffixes that were starting to be used in the 13th Century CE.

ep B49-51 of Ancient World - caught up to do with this, too. Kinda lost the thread a bit, but these two episodes were mostly about Xenobia's conflict with Rome.

ep 88-92 of History of Egypt - finishing off Thutmose IV's reign, and just beginning to discuss Amenhotep III and the women around him.

Music: While running I listened to Various "Dreamboats & Petticoats CD2", Emily Portman "The Glamoury", Laura Marling "Alas I Cannot Swim", The Pipettes "We Are the Pipettes", The Raveonettes "In and Out of Control", Wham! "The Final", Various "Greatest Ever Mod" (CDs 1&2).

Watching

ep 7 of The Vietnam War - which inluded Nixon dicking about with the peace negotiations in order to prolong the war so he had a better chance of getting elected.

ep 3 of Art, Power & Passion - the influence on the Royal Collection of George IV and Victoria & Albert. Surprise fact I didn't know was that the proceeds from the Great Exhibition were used to buy a chunk of South Kensington & that's why there's all those museums there - part of Albert's desire to educate the masses.

ep 3 of Hits, Hype & Hustle - slimy PR dude told us about why band reunions are the current big thing to do. Good series overall, but it's beginning to feel like the Beeb is beginning to scrape at the barrel to find themes for these.

First Humans: The Cave Discovery - part of Channel 4's Secret History series, this one about the discovery of fossil bones of a new species of hominid in a cave in Africa. It was a bit lightweight as they didn't really have much to tell at the point that they were filming (some analysis done but sounded like there was more to come), but it was well explained & interesting.

Ryan Gander: An Idea of Japan - conceptual artist Ryan Gander looking at Japanese culture. I don't think I'd like Gander's art based on what little of it we saw in the programme, but he explained his viewpoint on Japanese culture well - the marriage of respect for tradition with constantly seeking the new.

Comments

[magid]

I'm impressed that you stick with books you're not in love with (Clancy); I'd've given up on them long before if they didn't appeal....

[mousetrappling]

The Clancy books are part of my project of re-reading all the fiction I own (partly with an eye to disposing of stuff I don't like any more) - so they're not books that never appealed, but are books I used to like. Well, at least the earlier ones were. But 20 years on the world has changed (e.g. the sexism in them feels worse than it did when I first read them) and I've grown significantly less tolerant of even reading about the sort of right wing gun-nut politics that Clancy espouses (I no longer read it as if it's sci-fi). Even so, for them all so far I've hit a point where I get swept up enough in the story that I want to know how it comes out even as I roll my eyes at them. I'm beginning to wonder if that'll happen with Rainbow Six tho - 250 pages in and I'm still all in critic mode and nothing in reader mode.

They're definitely off to the charity shop once I finish with them!

[magid]

When I was being aggressive about getting rid of books, there were only a few that I was uncertain enough of to want to reread. The rest of them I was certain I could do without sans taking the time to reread.

[mousetrappling]

I rarely remember enough detail unless I've read the book recently - I'll remember the characters & the broad brush strokes of the plot, and I'll remember enjoying it (or not), but the stuff I'm disliking with these on this read through is more the details & not the stuff I remember.