What I read in August

~ Veselin ~ 7 Comments

August was a fine month for reading. I managed to finish 8 books, mostly thrillers and fantasy.

Best books for the month

  • Frieda McFadden’s The Housemaid – Best book of the month by a wide margin. The novelty of reading something very different from my usual picks hit me hard, and I loved it. ★★★★★
  • The Sword of Kaigen – although I rated this overly dramatic epic fantasy with 4/5, it seems to age well and my memories about it are improving over time. ★★★★☆
  • Has Anyone Seen Charlotte Salter? Nicci French got a 4/5 and could’ve been a 5 without the slow first half of the book. It features a new and promising detective Maud O’Connor. ★★★★☆
  • Never Lie by Frieda McFadden – Another claustrophobic thriller, ★★★★★ in the moment, but it slips to fourth place because other reads feel more significant.
  • The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa got a 4/5 review and a blog post. I have a signed copy, the print is high-quality and sits well on the shelves. I also read the continuation, which gave a bit of entertainment and a bit of eye rolls. ★★★★☆

Worst books for the month

  • Nightshade by Michael Connelly – surprisingly weak from Connelly. A disappointing ★★☆☆☆.
  • I also read the book Traitors in Space – My first sci-fi about a parasite that spreads by touching people’s foreheads. Above average for a Choose Your Own Adventure book, so ★★★★☆. Sure, the hand-to-forehead infection method feels questionable, but I’ve also read two vampire stories this month where they survive on a few drops of blood a day without breathing. Who am I to judge?

Fiio FT1’s Box

~ Veselin ~ Leave a comment

I recently purchased a new set of wired audiophile Fiio FT1 headphones. I haven’t used them enough yet to form a solid opinion on their sound quality, but one thing I can already appreciate is the packaging. The box is surprisingly well-designed — it fits both my SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7x and my wife’s JBL Quantum Live 770 perfectly.

I got the Fiio to reduce the stuff I carry in my backpack everyday and to improve my audio experience during work hours. I did, in a sense, reduce the stuff I carry but in a slightly different way. Both the SteelSeries and the JBLs come without a box and look a bit flimzy. With this box, I will no longer worry about them.

I’ll post about the audio experience with the Fiio later. So far, they sound good, very similar to Arctis Nova but with an exaggerated bass. I’m not sure if I want to EQ that down or will get used to it. I’ll post a review in a few months.