Alexander Miles > Recent Status Updates

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!

The plot thickens, like many a fancy sauce!

I wasn’t initially sold on the Professors, but they’re comedy gold one and all.

The cast of characters swells, and they’re all spectacularly strange people.

I took a short break after the first book, too much life and work going on, but now that I’m back this has really hit the ground running. Enjoying seeing fresh sides of the characters already.

At this point I’m priced into reading the next two books. The drama builds! I really enjoyed The Reveries.

Really enjoying as the intrigue builds. I also enjoy how distinctive each character and their ways of understanding their world are. They’re all flawed and often miserable people, but fleshed out and interesting. Genuinely interested to see what happens to each of them.

Finally getting to dig into this one more over the long weekend. I’m really enjoying Peake’s writing and the obvious care that went into each passage, some amazing lines in here.

Finally finding some time to read again. I’m slowly being convinced that no one else writes quite like Peake does. It’s unusual, but very effective.

I’ve been meaning to read this series for ages and finally took the plunge today. Peake has a way with words - everyone and everything is exquisitely unpleasant.

Similar in style to the other Sebald I’ve read, but far more melancholy and contemplative. I like it, curious to see how the final stretch ties everything together (or perhaps doesn’t.)

I’ve been enjoying this one so far - a lot of Scottish and English folk horror so far. Plenty of bogs, fens, glens, swamps, hills, scarps, heaths, etc.

After a hundred pages of exposition, the real drama has begun, and incredibly abruptly!