Alexander Miles > Recent Status Updates

This is dense, I’m reading at about 1/3rd of my normal speed.

Got gifted this book by a thoughtful friend. I honestly haven’t spent enough time with poetry since undergrad, so it will be a welcome exploration.

The plot thickens!

Okay, Lord Peter is growing on me. I appreciate the thought process being a bit less fantastical than some fictional detectives.

My first foray into Dorothy Sayers, and it’s off to a good start. I will say that lord whimsey’s personality isn’t the instant hook Poirot or Holmes tends to be, but the mystery itself is already compelling.

I’ll finish this book, there’s only 40 pages or so more, but I can say right now that I have issues with how this book handles real people. Had I known what’s its deal was, I probably would’ve skipped it.

Starting to have some severely mixed feelings about this book, tbh.

The style here reminds me a lot of W.G. Sebald, maybe not as dreamlike, but the meandering path the narration takes as it advances with small asides and very specific details. It’s quite compelling.

A fine Wodehouse so far, maybe not his peak but still a lot of fun.

The weaving chapter has me wising I’d stopped to pick up some good wool clothing when I was in the UK. Also ancient looms!

Sticks, stones, and apples!

I started a re-watch of Tales From the Green Valley alongside my read of this one - continues to be an interesting read. I’d never thought so much about hay before.

Off to a good start. Hadn’t expected to be reminded of Tales From the Green Valley, but the author was part of that!

Finally reading this classic after hearing it referenced too many times. Simultaneously more grounded than I expected given the pitch, and a good bit weirder now that I’m entering the third act.

Some interesting bits of history, and a good bit more depth on specific construction concerns (and the horrors of moldy basement saunas!)

Promises to be more in-depth than Liikkanen’s previous book (which I thoroughly enjoyed), though there is a good amount of overlap so far.

So far, pretty thrilling. There is definitely something of the reporter voice here, but so far it’s working.

Columbus directly into nuclear testing is a bit of a double whammy of depressing, but still well told.

This really is like watching a bunch of map men videos, both in the humor and information contents, but it’s slow enough I know I’m catching all the jokes.

Fun so far, but my brain absolutely insists on reading everything in their voices.

I can see why the third book is usually set apart from the other two. It’s very different, and holy hell are there some incongruous bits.

Already off to a very different start than the other two books.

I wasn’t prepared for how hard the tail end of this is going. Only 40ish pages left and I’ve no idea how things will end - nor how a third book can follow this.

So much happening all at once!