Mark Dickson > Recent Status Updates

I really hope this book maintains this quality in the second half because I’m having so much fun. This book is doing something different and oh boy is it working.

I’m trying this book for a second time after finding it in a charity shop to make up my mind.

I’m only on page 40 and oof I am struggling

Part 1 is such a total stonking mess
All o’er the place it was in theme and plot
Not what I wanted from the first prequel
I did not see Richard in it at all

This book is not what I thought it was going to be, and is diving far more into contemporary fiction and documents. I understand that it’s a lens into Robin Hood, but I did want it to be a lot more focused.

Really struggling to get into it.

This book is not what I thought it was going to be, and is diving far more into contemporary fiction and documents. I understand that it’s a lens into Robin Hood, but I did want it to be a lot more focused.

Really struggling to get into it.

My version of this has been split into two volumes, and the density of this book makes it feel like I’ve read far more than 270 pages.

I think it’s in a good way.

It got gay

The racism sure is ingrained into the narrative of this book from the beginning, huh?

Act 3, Scene 4 is *chef’s kiss*

I am so tempted to make this book a DNF.

The 40 page historical introduction of this book is dense, extensive, overwhelming and so endlessly fascinating.

And I haven’t even reached the actual short course yet.

Lenin fucking loves the sound of his own voice enough to say everything three times.

Having just finished Altona, it was a phenomenal introduction to Satre’s writing and makes me really want to see this production (even though I can’t imagine how long it must be).

Also if we could all collectively agree that there are better ways to show an unhealthy family dynamic other than incest, that would be great.

I skipped the section where there were random chapters from random books

I can’t decide if the wandering nature of the character and the plot is a positive or a negative aspect of this book.

I am struggling so hard with this book. There are times when it gathers momentum and the succession is exciting, but there are also times when there are lists of both English and French nobility and the inner workings of their lives.

I feel like I’m putting on an editing hat where I’m putting a comment on so many sections saying “Not necessary”

Very introductory, but it’s a good one to read if you’re coming in with absolutely zero knowledge of beekeeping.

There were times when there could have been more accompanying diagrams demonstrating what was being discussed in the text. However, it was very readable and there was a contagious enthusiasm for beekeeping throughout.

I’m finding this really, really hard to read, despite so many people saying how amazing it is.

There’s part of me that can appreciate the craft of it and the contextual worldbuilding, but it’s also overly dense, fragmented and dull.

The person who wrote the introduction and said that each character is immediately recognisable at a glance was absolutely bullshitting.

I was worried that this book wasn't going to resonate with me due to its similarity to a certain blue-aliened blockbuster movie.

This book is a masterclass in the power of perspective. Each protagonist's chapters are immediately recognisable as their own and conjure up unique images in your mind as you read it.

Emotional and impactful.

Also wholly fuck Davidson.

“Victorian England was weird LOL” is a weird concept for a book

Orwell is the master of the topical segue

This book is everything to be. Its ability to mix the bleak and darker thoughts that we all struggle with on a daily basis (e.g. How to matter and how to make the best use of our short lives) with a positive spin is unparalleled. It leaves you feeling positive and fulfilled by the end, despite the bleakness, and manages to tell a fundamentally human story in a fantastical world.