July Reads

I’ve now read all of Andy Weir’s books and while Artemis is probably the weakest of the three, a “weak” Andy Weir book is still better than many people’s best. A proper action thriller where the others (The Martian and Project Hail Mary) are more about exploration and survival, with a hilarious and compelling protagonist (to be played by Jenna Ortega in the film, apparently, which I’m not sure about (she’s great, but Jazz is supposed to be Saudi Arabian and it matters to the plot)). I’d definitely recommend all of Andy Weir’s books as they are the perfect blend of science and fiction.

I actually read this months ago and for some reason forgot to put it on that month’s post, for which much apologies to Phil. The Diary of Lies is his fifth novel and the third (or fourth depending on how you count it - she plays a smaller part in one book) with journalist Shona Sandison. I’ve mentioned before that I was the editor for his second novel, All The Galaxies, so I am biased, but I am a big fan of Phil’s books and they keep getting better and better. It’s crime, so not much I can say without spoiling things, but it is part of a series so while it mostly stands alone, if you’re new to Phil’s work, I wouldn’t start here, go back to at least The Goldenacre.

I read this with a lot of interest, partly because I’m a big fan of Soundgarden but because this memoir is done in a similar way to the one I’m working on and I’ve spoken directly with Adem about the nitty-gritty of doing this kind of work. I won’t go into all the nerdy writing stuff here, but I enjoyed the book very much. It starts slowly, as lots of music memoirs do. There are some interesting insights into the early days of Soundgarden, but it felt like (and this is very much reading between the lines) Thayil was more comfortable and relaxed with the process by the later chapters, so they flowed better. There were some excellent sections on what fame does to pre-existing friendships and to relationship within a band. I don’t think I’ve ever read someone be quite as forthcoming and in such a sympathetic way about how becoming rich and famous can ruin relationships. The book also provided some much welcome depth and substance to the rumours and gossip doing the rounds since Chris Cornell’s passing. Their final album with material Chris recorded before his death is supposed to be out next year, so that will be a huge event for folks like me. I’d say this book is definitely one for the fans rather than a casual reader, but if you don’t know Soundgarden, you really should get on that.

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