And, though I don’t think there’s an audiobook, the clumsily but accurately named “RAF Harrier Ground Attack Falklands” by Jerry Pook to round out the experiences 
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It is a bit like asking 10 eyewitnesses what happened and you will get 10 different versions of the event.
I know that my own experiences left me with with very different views of the military, particularly the ‘leadership’, compared to some of my peers who went through the same thing.
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“Guns of August” (mentioned above) is on about a 10 year rotation with me. As a work of well researched history it has few peers. That’s why it has been in print for 60 years.
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About half way through now and still enjoying it, particularly the descriptions of all the personalities involved.
Having a hard time following which army/corps/group/brigade/division is going where though; feel like I need to be reading it in front of a giant wall map! Trying not to get too hung up on it and just relying on gleaning the basic picture of things as I go.
For anyone who needs or prefers it in a listenable format, I was able to add that to my Audible library.
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All I knew about Tolkien and Lewis was that they were friends and that both had fought in the 1st World War. My daughter and I were talking about them just last week so when I later read a review of Mythmakers in the NYT’s Book Review, it seemed too timely to ignore. Sometimes 600+ pages of prose is just a bit too much when the desire to learn is marginal. Good manga can convey a lot in much less time. Mythmakers has been a pleasant short journey into the friendship of two of the 20th century’s greatest English writers. An initial concern I had as soon as I read the blurbs on the jacket, one that wasn’t at all mentioned in the review, was the Christian perspective of both the writer and the publisher. The message they wish to convey is clear. As a non-religious person this initially grated. But honestly it is appropriate to the story because Tolkien’s influence was a major motivation in Lewis’ return to faith. And faith was foundational to Lewis’ career. It never comes close to preachy and is not a distraction, really. The story is nicely illustrated–whimsical but never childish. There are several optional side-tracks (“portals”) that the reader can take for a deeper dive into subjects like mythology. The story is told by two characters, a wizard and a lion and obviously a nod to the two writers’ greatest works. They walk us through the muddy trenches in the Somme, the grounds of Oxford and odd faery landscapes that the author uses to help bring us to an understanding of how these two men cultivated such unique imaginations.
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Chipwich about halfway through Tchaikovsky’s Children of Ruin, “That certainly took a sinister turn! Time to start making use of the airlock.”
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If you like the theme: non-human sentience, once you are finished with the Children of trilogy you might like ‘Semiosis’ by Sue Burke?
Sentient plants.
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I am almost through the “Pilot Pirx” stories by the great Stanisław Lem, written between 1959 and 1971.
English Title is “Tales of Pirx the Pilot”
https://www.amazon.com/Tales-Pilot-Penguin-Modern-Classics/dp/0241400228
A bit of a weird German translation (mostly done in the GDR in the 60s) but I cannot read Polish so that has to do. I also had Poles tell me that Polish is notoriously hard to translate from, and German isn’t always easy to translate into either, so I guess it is good enough.
(If anyone speaks Polish I’d be interested to hear more about that btw.)
Lem is a poet. Remarkable storytelling, clearly visible even in this translation. Highly recommend it.
Edit: Talking about Lem: “Eden” is another great book. I have rarely seen/read an alien world that felt so utterly alien as the one in that book.
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Thank you. Added to my reading list.
I should read Solaris as well. It is one of my favourite movies, but I have never read the book.
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That one regularly comes up in “best classic SciFi books” lists so it is on my list as well.
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Over the past couple of months I have been working my way through ‘The Expanse’ series of Books and Novellas.
I have started Persepolis Rising and damn, the stories keep getting better. This is the first novel that takes place after the series got canned and I really wish they had kept it going.
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Yeah, I’m loving it too. I am still on book 2. TBH I am not a fan of the Anna arc. I think the series trimmed that a bit to their credit.
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That is really something the Expanse TV show did quite well.
They merged several of the side characters instead of having a very important one be very late to the story and having a few that are super important early on, only to be never seen again in later books.
They still achieve basically the same outcome, just the way is a bit different (and honestly: sometimes better). I like the books, too, but a near 1:1 adaptation would probably have fallen on its face I think.
Of course you never know how fans react to such changes to the story and the characters, the spectrum is between “NOOO Everything is ruined forever! They clearly don’t understand and/or hate the books!!!” and “best thing in the whole wooooorld!!!”
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I couldn’t agree more. Especially the way the the crew of the Roci are portrayed in the books and their interactions with one another. On TV I think it would have come across as a bit too ‘teen fanfiction BFF’ and removed a lot of the tension and drama necessary for visual media.
The depiction of Amos is probably the closest to the book. He was my favourite character in the series and definitely in the books… Especially after reading the novella The Churn, which is his backstory.
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Amos is both a nice guy and an absolutely terrifying psychopath. A very memorable character. My favourite as well.
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IMO, Amos is the main character. 
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So after getting through - and I use that phrase with care - the first two volumes of Adrian Tchaikovsky’s Children of Time three part series, I needed a break from the doctorate in biology degree. I understand that the series won a Hugo award, and I agree that it’s brilliant in so many ways. I just needed a break, as in pure escapism sci-fi. So, I returned to a series that has kept me entertained off and on for the better part of a decade, BV Larson’s Undying Mercenaries. Even though I had read (listened) through Book 10 of 22, Storm World, when I return to a series, I usually start by re-reading the last novel as a refresher. So it’s the swashbuckling adventures of (imperial rank) McGill on Storm World. The good news is that I last read it 5 years ago, so the jokes bring a chuckle.
This series is definitely not for the for those wanting to absorb every carefully written word. No, these novels are what you can listen to while doing another task, like weekend chores such as blowing leaves or replacing smoke alarm batteries. You’ll have fun and the menial task will be over before you know it. Like my brother says, “McGill likes to fight. That’s why Galena loves him so much. The problem is that he probably has had relations with more alien females than James T Kirk.”
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Despite a lot of aviation related books I acquired recently I am going through something that I started some months ago.
I did was - in fact - buy an almost complete anthology of John Scalzi books.
I have read almost all of them and, I don’t know how to say it better but… he just write what I want to read.
I LOVE every single one of his books - except maybe a not-actually-a-proper-book called “Your hate mail will be graded”.
All the others? Brilliant, smart, funny, and engaging.
As series go I only read the " Old Man’s War" and it definitely is a superb science fiction saga with a not-so-thin layer of thinking about it.
A smoother (better?) version of “Starship Troopers”. Sadly without Powered Suits.
As single books I read:
-
Agent to the Stars : 9/10
Smart, funny and touching. -
Redshirts : 11/10
I can’t say a word or I’ll ruin it.
After reading slightly more serious Scalzi books, the beginning of this one felt… Strangely empty. Oh boy was I wrong. I’m glad I stuck to it. -
The Kaiju Preservation Society : 9/10
The equivalent of Pop Music when you absolutely Wan tgo listen to some good Pop Music (also by author’s admission). It helped a lot I was in the depth of Kenya savanah when I read it. 100% immersive. Just a touch predictable in some parts that said, it would make an amazing movie… But only with Spielberg directing as he did with Ready Player One. -
Fuzzy Nation :10/10
Yeah, it’s a remake/reimagining of an already great book. But standing on the shoulder of giants doesn’t mean there’s isn’t still room for reaching to the sky…
It gave me powerfully strong vibes of 80s/90s science fiction movies with an added “Midnight Run” vibe of supreme writing skill.
Currently going through “The Android’s Dream” and, despite what I personally consider a small faux pas, it’s looking to be just as enjoyable as the others.
NOTE : I am not reading them in any specific order. I just pick names and get down to read.
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I really like Scalzi’s style as well. Did you know that he also wrote two of my favourite Love + Death + Robots episodes from the first Season. The one with the three robots on a ‘sightseeing’ tour and the alternate history one where Hitler dies before WWII.
Oh, and you must read Starter Villain. Probably his funniest book yet.
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