Lazy Sunday Service

I started writing a new book on Monday. It was meant to be in three books time, but has jumped the queue. A little unexpected, but I felt like I needed to get some of it down. I'm already 9,000 words in, so it's going reasonably well, and I sense I'll just keep going until it's done. Funny how plans can get up-ended. I guess I'll need to look for a contract soon; though that can wait until I've got a firmer idea of the shape of things. I started with middle chapters, as you do.

My posts this week
Review of The Hollow Man by John Dickson Carr
Stupid charade

Lazy Sunday Service

I picked up a copy of Patterson's Roads this morning in the local market. Edition Seventeen, printed in 1824, it provides detailed descriptions of the principle roads across England, Wales and parts of Scotland. The descriptions of places are very detailed and it looks like it'll be a fascinating read. It's in poor condition and on the verge of falling apart, so I'll have to handle with care.

My posts this week
Review of Claire DeWitt and the Bohemian Highway by Sara Gran
Golden goose

Lazy Sunday Service

During the week I revealed on social media the cover for the new book now in press. 'Slow Computing: Why We Need Balanced Digital Lives' with Alistair Fraser. It'll be out next June with Bristol University Press and Univ of Chicago Press. It's a 'scholarly trade' book that makes the case for a digital ethics of care, and time and data sovereignty, and details individual and collective political and practical interventions for achieving. Next stage copyedit queries.


My posts this week
Review of Landmarks by Robert MacFarlane
Failing forward

Lazy Sunday Service

I’ve been mulling over my academic writing voice for some time. It’s okay. It works, but it’s not as I’d like it to be. During the week I took the decision to do something about it by looking for a creative fiction writer or essayist to help me re-craft my prose and narrative style. I’m hoping they are going to guide me to write non-fiction differently, but also to incorporate fiction more into my academic work. I'm going to use the process to develop the draft for a new book that I'm presently planning. All being well, it'll be an interesting journey that'll pay dividends for future writing projects.


My posts this week

Review of The First Wave by James R Benn
Review of The Winter of Her Discontent by Kathryn Miller Haines
Other world

Lazy Sunday Service

I was updating my CV during the week and it turns out that the 'How to Run a City Like Amazon, and Other Fables' was my 30th academic book published (excluding the encyclopedia, which I'm not really sure how to count), which seems a bit of a milestone. The balance between written and edited books used to be even, but with the last six all being edited it's slipped a bit to 12:18. The plan is four of the next five will be written, so that should help even the keel a bit. Just have to write three of them! (one in press).


My posts this week

Review of The Honorable Schoolboy by John Le Carre
New book: How to Run a City Like Amazon, and Other Fables
The professional personal

Lazy Sunday Service

It's been a slow couple of weeks of reading. I've been busy with trying to finish a project off, and the book I've been working my way through has been a long one (680 pages), The Honorable Schoolboy by John Le Carre. I should get round to writing a review during the week.

My posts this week
Review of Incensed by Ed Lin
Cleaving in two

Lazy Sunday Service

I arrived back yesterday from a 10 day trip to Hong Kong and Taiwan, where I gave a number of talks. Both interesting places to visit and I enjoyed meeting and chatting to folks and trying the different foods. The density and pace of urban life is always an eye-opener compared to Ireland.

My posts last two weeks
October reviews
Review of The Borrowed by Chan Ho-Kei
Review of Only Thieves and Killers by Paul Howarth
Home but lost
Mixers should always complement

Lazy Sunday Service

Picked up two new books in the local bookshop yesterday. James Benn's The First Wave and Kathryn Miller Haines' The Winter of Her Discontent. It'll probably be a few weeks before I read either as I have a several books on the TBR.

My posts this week
Review of Hiroshima Boy by Naomi Hirahara
Review of Tokyo Year Zero by David Peace
Everything that you do is you

Lazy Sunday Service

Making some progress on books. Just completing edits on one after reviews and nudging another towards a first draft, though there's still two or three months of work to be done. After a run of edited books, the plan is to switch back to authored ones for a while. I've a stack I'd like to write - the issue will be time!

My posts this week
Review of The Secrets We Kept by Lara Prescott
Review of The Crow Trap by Ann Cleeves
September reviews
Capsized

Lazy Sunday Service

I picked up one new book during the week - Hiroshima Boy by Naomi Hirahara. It's the final book in a seven part series, so I'm a little nervous about jumping in at the end, but hopefully it'll work as a standalone.

My posts this week
Review of The Devil in the Marshalsea by Antonio Hodgson
Review of The Elegant Lie by Sam Eastland
Silly girl

Lazy Sunday Service

In anticipation of a trip to Hong Kong and Taipei later in the year I ordered a couple of books set in HK which have just arrived. The Honorable Schoolboy by John Le Carre and The Borrowed by Chan Ho-Kei. I'm still trying to decide on a Taiwan book.

My posts this week
Review of The Abrupt Physics of Dying by Paul Hardisty
Life as a movie

Lazy Sunday Service

I spent a couple of days in Rotterdam during the week at an event. An interesting city and a productive workshop. I was given a nice mug by the organizers made by Laurens Kolks. It reveals the data generated by smart city tech when filled with hot water. It the simple things that keep me amused. On the reading front, I didn't have a Dutch novel on the pile, so I took a book set in Yemen instead: The Abrupt Physics of Dying by Paul Hardisty.

My posts this week
Review of Don’t Look Back by Karin Fossum
Review of Tightrope by Simon Mawer
Life in second gear

Lazy Sunday Service

Finally decided to invest in a bike and cycle to work now that there is a cycle path nearly the whole way from house to office. The weather will probably dictate how often it gets used. I have little fondness for cycling in the pissing rain after a childhood of doing that on a daily paper round and to school.


My posts this week

Review of The Three Evangelists by Fred Vargas
Review of Gravesend by William Boyle
Duty

Lazy Sunday Service

This week has been one of chasing shadows. Ordered a mobile broadband service. It was meant to be activated Tuesday. A few phone calls and a couple of visits to shops and it's still not live. Apparently I cannot cancel it because it's not been activated and it seems impossible to activate. Dealing with the company has been somewhat Kafkaesque. Hopefully it'll get resolved next week. In other news, I'm working my way through Simon Mawes' tale, Tightrope. Enjoying it so far.

My posts this week

Review of The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey
Review of The Smoke by Tony Broadbent
August reads
No love among traitors

Lazy Sunday Service

A lovely order of books arrived into the local bookshop last week. I'm already read and reviewed the James Sallis' Black Hornet, finished Saeida Rouass' Assembly of the Dead, and I'm well into The Smoke by Tony Broadbent. Others on the pile include Friends and Traitors by John Lawton, Brothers in Blood by Amer Anwar, A God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson, Gravesend by William Boyle, The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey, The Three Evangelists by Fred Vargas, Tokyo Year Zero by David Peace and Black Cross by Greg Iles. And I've another order on the way. I figure the TBR pile will keep me going to almost the end of the year, but no doubt I'll find a way to add more books to it in the meantime.

My posts this week
Review of Black Hornet by James Sallis
Review of Hitler in Los Angeles by Steven J Ross
Still a jewel

Lazy Sunday Service

In the day job we've been experimenting with 3D printed models of Dublin at 1:2000 scale and map projecting OpenStreetMap onto them. Just at the initial stage, but the material used makes a big difference to the quality of projection. Waiting on 1:1000 test tiles. Plan is project all kinds of data onto them, including real-time transport and environment data. Okay for first passes but a long way to go yet. In terms of reading, I've been making very slow progress in the last two weeks. Too much else going on.




My posts this week
Review of The Horseman’s Song by Ben Pastor
I want more before I die

Lazy Sunday Service

I discovered last week that there's a Wikipedia entry about me. Not sure what I think about that to be honest. Baffled probably best summarises it. The creator - someone I don't know - says they concentrate on adding "relatively minor people, who have gone 'under the radar' on Wikipedia." They must be down to very minor if they've got to me. I'd quite like to edit it, but the politics of editing your own entry seems a bit fraught!

My posts this week
Review of Murder at the Savoy by Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo
It won’t bring him back

Lazy Sunday Service

I've a few books on the TBR, but in the interests of making sure I have a nice selection to choose from I put in another order with local bookshop. Hopefully, new reads from John Lawton, Amer Anwar, Kate Atkinson, William Boyle, Sujata Massey, Fred Vargas, David Peace, James Sallis and others will turn up shortly to mix into the pile.

My posts this week
Review of An Empty Death by Laura Wilson
July reviews
Review of The Disappearing Spoon by Sam Kean
Disease without a cure

Lazy Sunday Service

The latest addition to the garden - a bee hotel. A lot of sawing, drilling and puzzling how best to put all the logs in. There's sawdust everywhere in the shed! A bit late for this season but we'll bring in over winter and put out again next spring. Hopefully it'll survive any strong winds between now and winter hibernation.

My posts this week

Review of The Missing Ones by Patricia Gibney
Review of The Last Goodnight by Howard Blum
You, Me, Always

Lazy Sunday Service

A nice morning talking about books. I've been persuaded to try one of Robert Macfarlane's books about place, landscape and nature. Having a quick browse, I'll probably start with Landmarks and see how I get on.


My posts this week

Review of The Blood Spilt by Asa Larsson
Review of Metropolis by Philip Kerr
Dry land