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The City & The City
The City & The City | China Miéville
BONUS: This edition contains a The City & The City discussion guide and excerpts from China Miéville's Kraken and Embassytown.NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE LOS ANGELES TIMES, THE SEATTLE TIMES, AND PUBLISHERS WEEKLY.   When a murdered woman is found in the city of Beszel, somewhere at the edge of Europe, it looks to be a routine case for Inspector Tyador Borlú of the Extreme Crime Squad. To investigate, Borlú must travel from the decaying Beszel to its equal, rival, and intimate neighbor, the vibrant city of Ul Qoma. But this is a border crossing like no other, a journey as psychic as it is physical, a seeing of the unseen. With Ul Qoman detective Qussim Dhatt, Borlú is enmeshed in a sordid underworld of nationalists intent on destroying their neighboring city, and unificationists who dream of dissolving the two into one. As the detectives uncover the dead woman’s secrets, they begin to suspect a truth that could cost them more than their lives. What stands against them are murderous powers in Beszel and in Ul Qoma: and, most terrifying of all, that which lies between these two cities.
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mspixieears
The City & The City | China Miéville
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Unintentional coincidence! Took me a while to fall into the rhythm of the book, but the second third in and am hooked.

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Pogue
The City & The City | China Miéville
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Mehso-so

Meh. The mystery was good but some of the writing style pulled me out of the book.

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Jari-chan
The City & The City | China Miéville
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Pickpick

China Mieville is one of my favourite authors, but I never really dared reading him in English. Too complex are his worlds and ideas. But since I've read all translated ones that are still available, I just had to try it.

This one seemed fit and it was. I think it's a good book to start with Mieville, because it sure is a true Mieville, but not as abstruse as other books. A mixture between Blade Runner and The Short End of the Sonnenallee.

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Twainy
The City & The City | China Miéville
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Pickpick

🎧 Missed one. I‘m SO sorry about the huge review dump. Work has been crazy busy.

This one … the setting still haunts me & I read it nearly 3 weeks ago. The murder mystery was conventional and pretty mid BUT the setting. Read this book for the unusual setting!!

In thirds …. Starts strong and slowly descends. Still. The setting. It makes up for what the story lacks. Might make ya think.

â­ï¸â­ï¸â­ï¸1/2

vivastory I read this years ago & still think about the setting. Mieville is brilliant 1y
26 likes1 comment
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The_Penniless_Author
The City & The City | China Miéville
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Pickpick

Until a few months ago I wasn't even aware of Mieville, which seems impossible. This was recommended as a good place to start, and I really enjoyed it, a Chandler-esque detective story set in a pair of cities that occupy the same geographical space, but which are "split" psychically in the minds of their residents, a pretty neat metaphor for the way selective seeing and beliefs have shaped politics and societies over generations.

eeclayton I tried and bailed on Perdido Street Station. Mieville is one of my best friend's favourite author, but he -- or at least that particular book -- was too weird for me. 2y
The_Penniless_Author @eeclayton I've heard that about some of his other stuff. I like "weird", but I've heard some of his other books (especially those Bas-Lag ones) can be pointlessly gross, like shock-value stuff. I've also heard his prose can be off-puttingly florid at times, but this book wasn't like that at all. It was basically a well-written police procedural with a light metaphysical twist. 2y
KathyWheeler This was my first book by this author — it‘s still my favorite. 2y
Vansa I found that this metaphor really didn't work. It was interesting, but just was too clever by half. I absolutely loved Perdido Street Station 2y
40 likes4 comments
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CyaneFillion
The City & The City | China Miéville
Pickpick

Very good book, picked up pace dramatically near the end. I enjoyed all of the characters and their interactions, and thought it was a very fun and unique setting. I was a little sad for the ending for spoiler reasons, and I thought perhaps it was a little bit rushed/could have dwelled more on points in the end, but I still really liked it and would 100% recommend it to others.

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Dogearedcopy
The City & The City | China Miéville
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This was on a list of SFF titles of Action & Adventure; but it seems to be more of a police procedural set in a rather dismal future city/state in the Balkans— def not the “Indiana Jones in Space or Fairyland†vibe I was hoping for! Unfortunately, I‘m just not in the right mindset for it right now. The fact that I lost it for five days and I wasn‘t terribly bothered tells me that it‘s time to re-stack it for another time.

Dogearedcopy Image: I found it btw my bed and the wall! 4y
26 likes1 comment
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BramBresseleers
The City & The City | China Miéville

"She drove my computer, pulling the information she had into various spreadsheets. She translated my muttered, vague ideas into charts. "This is called data mining." She said the last words in English.
â€Which of us is the canary?†I said. She did not answer."

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claudiuo
City & the City | China Miéville
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Pickpick

I like China Miéville a lot and the main idea of the locale in this book, the two cities coexisting together (no more details so I don't spoil it) didn't disappoint. The crime plot is OK but for me it didn't matter much, I just enjoyed a lot the way common actions are made to work in this mind bending backdrop. A definite pick for me.

claudiuo This is not my any_spin book (neither book nor double) but I still owe thanks to @TheAromaofBooks: I started it a long long time ago and set it aside and remembered it now when I was putting together my #bookspin list. Thank you! (edited) 5y
TheAromaofBooks Yay!! I love that the process of making the list has inspired people to “unofficially“ read some of their older books! So fun!! 5y
15 likes2 comments
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CorgiBooks
The City & The City | China Miéville
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Pickpick

I love the world building and intricacies of the two cities, and how they‘re intertwined. The twists about 2/3s of the way through had me intrigued and I was with the characters on all their turns and revelations. My only critique would be there were a few bits that felt repetitive, with the constant reestablishment of Ul Qoma/Bèzel and Breach politics, but it also saved me from potential confusion of actions so it gets a pass for that just about.

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Geeklet
The City & The City | China Miéville
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Latest #libraryhaul

Not like I have time to read them or anything but I‘m sure I can squeak them into my Wheel of Time read before the late fees get too outrageous.

vivastory I loved City & the City. I haven't read that Hurley yet, but I really liked her God's War trilogy. 5y
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tournevis
The City & The City | China Miéville
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TNG 6.22 #Suspicions Another one I love. Dr. Crusher violates Starfleet
regulations and medical ethics when she investigates the death of a Ferengi
scientist. It has a Klingon scientist and a Vulcan version of Hatchepsut (look up). A smart murder mystery with a clever foil. Introducing metaphasic shielding, which will be used in season 7.

Any good murder mystery would do, so I chose tagged because also SF.
#startreksummermay @day29 @Megabooks

Megabooks Sounds like an interesting book! Does your page say something about a piece of cake? I haven‘t taken French in 20+ years! 5y
tournevis @Megabooks Yes. Long story. Tournevis is Amombofis's henchman in Astérix et Cléopâtre. In the animated movie, they sing “Le pouding à l'arsenic“ (also my old blog's title), about baking a poison cake, which Amombofis says is going to be “a piece of cake“, pun *wink*. (edited) 5y
49 likes2 comments
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Squidapus
The City & The City | China Miéville
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Pickpick

Great book. Squidapus would probably have enjoyed it even more if he didn't pick it up due to loving Kraken's over the top prose since this is quite different than Mieville's usual style. Still, it played to the trappings of the noir genre and still executed a fascinating look at two cities existing coterminously. The mystery resolves in a great way considering The Breach constantly makes you wonder how fantastical the world of the book is.

TobeyTheScavengerMonk If you want your Miéville prose a little more Kraken-y check out the Bas-Lag trilogy starting with 6y
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Squidapus
The City & The City | China Miéville
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With how much Squidapus loved Mieville's Kraken he's really excited to read another Mieville book we picked up.

TobeyTheScavengerMonk Buckle up, friend. 6y
speljamr I loved this one. I watched the British TV series after I read this as well. 6y
AiBBot So brilliant 6y
21 likes3 comments
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jcalyn5
The City & The City | China Miéville
Pickpick

Just finished this book and I loved it. Murder mystery meets urban fantasy meets political intrigue. It definitely doesn‘t do a lot of exposition upfront, so be patient as you figure out the universe. In fact, I still have questions. There were things I wanted explained further, but I‘m also thinking of re-reading it (or reading it instead of listening next time). I just want to talk to someone about it!

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jcalyn5
The City & The City | China Miéville
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Starting this for some #urbanfantasy. Still getting acquainted with the universe. This might be one of those times when a visual book is better for keeping up with names of places and people. We‘ll see.

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speljamr
City & the City | China Miéville
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Pickpick

Loved this. It's a standard police procedural, but is a very strange setting where two cities occupy the same space at the same time. I can now go finish watching the TV show, on Britbox, based on this book.

#WeirdFiction

Well-ReadNeck I Looooooooved this book! 🥰 6y
Booksblanketsandahotbeverage Love this author - I need to check this out. 6y
KarynGood Very intriguing! 6y
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RanaElizabeth Just started the show after seeing you post this. I've read other Mieville but not this one. The tv show is very confusing at first so I'm curious if things are better explained in the book. 6y
speljamr @RanaElizabeth I just finished watching the show. There's a bunch of stuff that's changed. The book does explain things a bit more, but some stuff is still left mysterious on purpose. 6y
RanaElizabeth @speljamr I'll have to give the book a try, I really do like his writing. 6y
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speljamr
City & the City | China Miéville
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Tonight's dinner and a book: bourbon pork loin, purple rice, peas, and fresh bread from Wegmans.

#BookNDinner

CouronneDhiver Yummy!!! 6y
wildwoodreads I‘m so mesmerized by the purple rice! 6y
Melissa_J I‘ve never heard of purple rice! 6y
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jpmcwisemorgan I want to know more about purple rice. 6y
SexyCajun Purple rice. Hmmmmmm 6y
ElizaMarie I‘m super curious and confused by purple rice 6y
Bklover That purple rice looks yummy! 6y
suzisteffen I listened to The City and The City, and honestly I need to READ it because I generally love Miéville, and loved the concept, but didn‘t like the book. ? 6y
Cathythoughts Purple rice 🤔ðŸ‘🻠6y
120 likes1 stack add10 comments
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speljamr
City & the City | China Miéville
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Started this one over the weekend. I chose this as my next read since season one of the TV show is now available on the Britbox streaming service.

ErickaS_Flyleafunfurled It‘s weird, but I enjoyed it. I‘d like to read more of his stuff. 6y
speljamr @ErickaS_Flyleafunfurled Weird is exactly what you should expect with his stuff. He is in the weird fiction category. I highly recommend Perdido Station and Embassytown. I love his stuff because it makes you really have to think to picture it. 6y
speljamr This one. I didn't type the full title above. 6y
ErickaS_Flyleafunfurled Cool - I have Perdido in my TBR and have heard it‘s his best. 6y
DGRachel I saw this was on BritBox! I haven‘t read the book but I‘m thinking of being really bad and watching the show first. 🤫 6y
97 likes2 stack adds5 comments
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Lucy_Anywhere
City & the City | China Miéville
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A speculative fiction novel that takes a police procedural and sets it in an extraordinary world where two cities exist side by side but are separated by a deep culture of unseeing. The mystery is so-so but the world building is beautifully handled.

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Emilymdxn
City & the City | China Miéville
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Mehso-so

This was okay - I liked it more than other China Mieville books I‘ve tried, it was less icky, but still I felt like I NEARLY enjoyed it and it was NEARLY compelling and fascinating. Not quite tho. Other people like China Mieville so much and I keep feeling like I‘m nearly getting it but not quite

manifestsanity I second that sentiment. FOMO. 6y
Emilymdxn @manifestsanity yeah right?? I wish I knew what everyone else saw in him 6y
Moray_Reads I love China but definitely some more than others. Love this one, Perdido not sure much. Could I suggest The Last Days of New Paris if you have another attempt? Or Kraken if you really want to jump into the deep end of weird, it's similar(ish) to Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere if that helps! 6y
Emilymdxn @Moray_Reads I do want to try again, I keep thinking I want to find more in it than I am and I don‘t think he‘s a bad writer. I‘ll give those ones a go! 6y
28 likes4 comments
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Emilymdxn
City & the City | China Miéville
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Giving China Mieville another try! I didn‘t love Perdido Street Station or Embassytown that much - I find him a bit disgusting but some of the ideas were good and this was on sale. It‘s been sitting on my audible for weeks and I‘m very broke so listening through the things I‘ve been putting off means doing books I‘m not as excited for. Three cheers for me saving money tho

RJHowe I quite like Meiville and hope you enjoy this. It is less “gross†than his other work but will still stretch your brain. 6y
Emilymdxn @RJHowe that‘s good to hear! The grossness was part of what I didn‘t like - I don‘t think it‘s only me being squeamish about it, I tend to find it kinda lazy as a writing decision and it seemed unnecessary to the plot a plot particularly in Perdido Street Station like he was trying to shock me as much as he could rather than tell me a story honestly 6y
24 likes2 comments
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Libby1
The City & The City | China Miéville
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Pickpick

This was SO close to being a 5â­ï¸ book for me. I‘m a poli sci & history geek, so found the creation of a structure of overlapping city states impressive. (Read the book‘s blurb for a summary.)

I found the author‘s writing style unnecessarily complex, which made the engine of the story repeatedly choke & stall for me. Maybe this was intentional in a book about a divided place?
The cities have been compared with Belfast, which drew me in.

â­ï¸â­ï¸â­ï¸â­ï¸

KathyWheeler I just loved this book! 7y
charl08 Belfast? I thought Berlin, but NI makes sense. 7y
2BR02B Have you seen the series? It just came out earlier this month. 7y
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Libby1 @KathyWheeler - the society(ies) he created was/were fascinating. What about it did you love? 7y
Libby1 @charl08 - I heard Belfast and Berlin as well. I ran out of space in my review to mention it. I‘ve never been to Berlin, but no-go areas have been very real in Belfast and other parts of Northern Ireland. 7y
Libby1 @2BR02B - I wanted to finish the book before I watched the series. I hope to start the episodes this weekend! Have you seen them or read the book? 7y
KathyWheeler @Libby1 I loved how the societies were literally right on top of each other but they were so completely different and it was work to get from one city to another. I also loved its general weirdness. 7y
KathyWheeler @2BR02B There‘s a series? Where do I watch it? 7y
Libby1 @KathyWheeler and @2BR02B - there‘s a series now on the BBC in the UK. Now that I‘ve finished the book I‘ll start watching what I‘ve recorded! 7y
86 likes3 stack adds9 comments
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Libby1
City & the City | China Miéville
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The concept of this book is amazing but overly, needlessly complex.

I can forgive the author for its unnecessary complexity and lack of clarity.

I can‘t, however, forgive such poor sentence structure.

#UseProperEnglishPlease
#NoEndingSentencesWithAPreposition
#GrammarGeeksUnite

TobeyTheScavengerMonk I‘m not just saying this because I‘m a Miéville megafan, but I tend to cut an author slack when the grammatical error comes in quotes. People talk incorrectly all the time. I‘m 100% with you that it is inexcusable in omniscient narration though. 7y
rabbitprincess The "rule" against ending a sentence with a preposition is a myth. You can safely "break" it in all but the most formal writing. https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/ending-a-sentence-with-a-pre... (edited) 7y
rwmg â˜ï¸This ðŸ‘ðŸ‘🙌 7y
Libby1 @TobeyTheScavengerMonk , @rabbitprincess , @rwmg - I was being a bit silly and flippant there. ? I really liked the book but found some of the phrasing to be jittery and off-putting. I would certainly read more Miéville, but found it difficult to get used to the style. 7y
53 likes1 stack add4 comments
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Moray_Reads
City & the City | China Miéville
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Hated the BBC TV adaptation. Everything that I loved in the book was missing or misjudged and additional characters and elements added nothing of value. All of the complexity and nuance and grey areas were removed and it was barely comprehensible. China Miéville was named as a consultant and I just wonder why he let them do this because this was not the book that I've read.

Heideschrampf Oh no. Sad to hear this ? "consultant" certainly doesn't sound like he had much to decide... 7y
GypsyKat It‘s so disappointing when this kind of thing happens. 😠7y
Moray_Reads @Heideschrampf it doesn't seem like it because if this is the book he intended to write it's nowhere near as good as the book I always thought I was reading! 7y
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Moray_Reads @GypsyKat so disappointing. Now I wish I'd saved rereading it until after the show rather than doing it beforehand 😬 7y
CSeydel Ugh, so sorry 😠7y
vivastory Looks like I'll be sitting this one out 7y
Moray_Reads @vivastory it's not worth your time. The cinematography is nice but everything else was terrible. As so often, the book was better. So, so much better 7y
vivastory Your recent Miéville posts made me bump him up my tbr. I have Un Lun Dun & Kraken lined up for the next week. 7y
Swe_Eva Oh no! I really wanted it to be great. 😣 7y
Moray_Reads @vivastory both great! Showcases for his inventiveness and wit 7y
Moray_Reads @Swe_Eva me too 😢 7y
tournevis I know for a fact that the only thing a "consultant" does is answer questions from the producers, directors and actors the answers to which they then disregard. No power. 7y
Moray_Reads @tournevis in a strange way that makes me feel better because the BBC got it SO wrong that if China was involved it made me wonder whether I'D been getting it wrong every time I read it 7y
46 likes1 stack add13 comments
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Asktheletters
City & the City | China Miéville
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Pickpick

I‘d never read Miéville before (how??) and I LOVED this. It took me a moment to get used to the premise of two cities that happen to exist in the same “grosstopical†location, but it‘s fantastically done.

Nan2 I agree! I loved this story and was surprised to see such a low recommendation percentage! 6y
Asktheletters Me too! I‘ve since read Embassytown and adored that one as well. 6y
11 likes2 comments
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Moray_Reads
City & the City | China Miéville
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Just watched the first episode. The cast are excellent, the visuals are clever but there's a couple of changes already that I'm not too keen on. Also nothing is pronounced the way I say it in my head and it's driving me crazy!

dylanisreading I can't believe I forgot about this adaptation! Where is it again? 7y
Moray_Reads @Bianca it's BBC2 and iPlayer! 7y
Dianeham Any way to see it in the US? 7y
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Moray_Reads @Dianeham not that I'm aware of, unfortunately. At least not at the moment. I would have thought that it would be available through Netflix and/or Amazon before too long though 7y
Dianeham @Moray_Reads looking forward to it. 7y
Moray_Reads @Dianeham an update having watched the series - I thought it was a very poor adaptation, so reductive of the story's themes that it was hardly recognisable. Not at all impressed! 7y
Dianeham @Moray_Reads thanks. I'm not sure I'd remember the book well enough to notice. 7y
41 likes7 comments
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Leniverse
The City & The City | China Miéville
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Taking a break from reading to watch The City and the City. I haven't read the book and it's Mieville, so it's rather weird and hard to follow!

rabbitprincess David Morrissey ðŸ˜ðŸ˜ðŸ˜ 7y
Beachesnbooks I enjoyed the book, very curious how they can adapt it 7y
Moray_Reads I love the book but they've made a couple of changes in the show so far that I'm not too keen on 😒 7y
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Leniverse @Moray_Reads @Beachesnbooks My local library has the book on order, so once it's available I'll read it. I'll usually read the book first but I generally end up resenting the adaptation, so maybe it's just as well to watch first and read second. 😂 7y
Moray_Reads @Leniverse I'm holding my irritation in check because you never know, it might all come together brilliantly and the best adaptations aren't always strictly faithful. Loved David Morrissey and Mandeep Dhillon is so great. I'm thinking that rereading it last week was not the best way to keep me from being extra critical 7y
Leniverse @Moray_Reads Yes, I reread American Gods just as that show started. Not the best idea. 😂 I still loved the show, but I noticed every change and became really confused about the chronology. 7y
Moray_Reads @Leniverse yep that was me too ?. Every episode I was asking "WHEN will we get to the House on the Rock?!". Enjoyed the show though and actually liked most of the changes 7y
Leniverse @Moray_Reads Yes, exactly! 🤣 The only thing I really didn't like was that Shadow seemed so clueless, and appeared to genuinely fail in the game against Czernobog. Shadow is supposed to just go with it all, because the world has gone crazy and his wife is dead so he doesn't even care anymore. Love that they gave dead wife and leprechaun such big parts though. 7y
Moray_Reads @Leniverse and Salim! I cheered when he turned up again in the taxi. And Mr Nancy on the slave so have me chills. Could have done without "Laura's" terrible Irish accent in the flashback episode though ? 7y
Leniverse @Moray_Reads Oh yes, Salim! â™¥ï¸ And the casting is really great. Looking forward to season two. 7y
48 likes10 comments
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SandDune
The City & The City | China Miéville
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I've just discovered that the BBC adaptation of China Mieville's The City and the City is on this week. This is one of my favourite books of all time so I hope they have done a good job.

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Moray_Reads
The City & The City | China Miéville
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On one hand I could not be more excited about this, on the other it's a shame that the relationship between the cities is made so explicit in the trailer when it's more of a puzzle in the book. If you haven't read it I seriously advise you to avoid ALL exposure to the TV show until you have. It's fantastic and one of my all-time most successful recommendations. I think a re-read is in order! #recommendsday trailer link under the spoiler tag!

saresmoore I think I‘m already ready for a reread of this. I feel like there‘s so much more I could glean from it the second time around. 7y
aeeklund Ooooooooo, thanks for the advice!! 7y
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Moray_Reads @saresmoore I love it, I'm really looking forward to the TV series. Looks like I'll have to renew the TV licence after all. Curse you, BBC 7y
saresmoore I‘m envious that you can watch BBC! What do we have? A moron in charge, a small, but noisy pack of stubborn, trigger happy idiots following said moron, and Book of the Month club?! Access to the BBC programming would be a small consolation, at least. 😆 7y
Moray_Reads @saresmoore your country gives gun licences too easily, we need licences to watch TV. It's a crazy world. And don't worry, the morons are in charge here too 7y
saresmoore They really are. The world is a terrifying place. Which, incidentally, might be why we like reading Miéville. 7y
Moray_Reads @saresmoore true. And as a committed left-wind activist I think he would agree with the moron conclusion on both sides of the Pond 7y
49 likes3 stack adds8 comments
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Mitch
The City & The City | China Miéville
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rabbitprincess ðŸ˜ðŸ˜ðŸ˜ðŸ˜ LOOOOOVE David Morrissey! 7y
Mitch It looks gooood! 7y
tessavi I just read the book. I'm curious to see how this adaption will turn out! 7y
64 likes1 stack add3 comments
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tessavi
The City & The City | China Miéville
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Pickpick

I enjoy a good murder-mystery every now and then and this one had a great setting. Definitely wanna read more by China Mieville

Booksblanketsandahotbeverage I've only read this one, but I enjoyed it - 7y
TobeyTheScavengerMonk Love this book! I‘ve read a ton of his stuff and the Bas-Lag trilogy is pretty strange and wonderful starting with 7y
tessavi @BookHoarder32 @TobeyTheScavengerMonk Thanks! Both are added to my to be read list âœŒï¸ 7y
61 likes2 stack adds3 comments
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tessavi
The City & The City | China Miéville
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Listening to this one at the gym. Interesting concept!

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GatheringBooks
The City & The City | China Miéville
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#FierceFeb Day 23: Ok, ok, I know I am cheating with #NightInTheCity here but hey it‘s Mieville, should absolve me, right, right?? :)

TobeyTheScavengerMonk Oh absolutely correct! Love this book! 7y
batsy 😊 ðŸ‘🽠Honestly, I'm so sick of myself, but this is *yet another book I've been meaning to read* 😳 7y
Cinfhen I‘ve never read Melville either @batsy but would love to try one day 7y
Gezemice On my list for 2018! He is awesome. 7y
47 likes2 stack adds4 comments
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tessavi
City & the City | China Miéville
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Audible 2 for 1 sale on mysteries & thrillers, and my boyfriend sent me the China Mieville one 😊
#bookhaul #audiblesale

TobeyTheScavengerMonk Summer of Night and The City and the City are all time favorites of mine. 7y
tessavi @TobeyTheScavengerMonk I haven't read anything by China Mieville yet, but look forward to this one! 7y
48 likes2 comments
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bookworm.krizia
The City & The City | China Miéville
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Mehso-so

A superb book. Weird in a good way. It has memorable characters and memorable setting/s. Once I started reading it I just can't stop reading. I would have loved to see it in the big screen. It's hard to visualize the crosshatchings and how to be in neither city. I do hope they make it into a movie.

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Moray_Reads
The City & The City | China Miéville
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There's something strange going on between the #two cities of Besźel and Ul Qoma... I love this mind-bending genre-busting police procedural cum sci-fi cum political thriller. Miéville at his audacious, original, pugnacious best #NovemberByTheNumbers

MayJasper Clever 😊 7y
saresmoore What a snappy synopsis! I was surprised by how much I liked this book. 7y
Moray_Reads @saresmoore I think it's brilliant. Not many writers would be able to pull off a premise like that 7y
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vivastory I loved this book. Can be read on so many different levels. 7y
saresmoore @Moray_Reads @vivastory It will end up being a reread for me, I think. And now I‘m in the mood for some Miéville! 7y
vivastory @saresmoore I think I'll be reading Kraken next week 7y
47 likes1 stack add6 comments
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Marmie7
The City & The City | China Miéville
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Here's my four choices for you.
1) An ancient evil lurks in this smalltown- horror
2) Gerald is a Witcher, a sorcerer, and a merciless assassin- fantasy
3)adult returns home to revisit demons of his past-psychological horror
4) Inspector of extreme crime squad finds deadly conspiracies beneath a seemingly routine murder- urban fantasy/ crime procedural
@aroc @MrsGreen #LMPBC @Wife

MrsGreen The Last Wish? I‘ll be using my boundaries with your choice! ðŸ‘🻠7y
Wife Choices 1 & 3 sound good...maybe because I‘m in a Halloween 🎃 mood? 7y
aroc Oh boy! So many different books! I like 1 or 2. 7y
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TricksyTails Ooh I wish I were part of your group! What awesome choices! 7y
Marmie7 Ok ladies- now choose between #1 or #2. @aroc @MrsGreen @Wife 7y
aroc Hmmmm... #1 7y
Marmie7 @TricksyTails Aww, I wish you were too😠7y
Wife Number 1 please. 7y
MrsGreen #2 :) You pick! 7y
Marmie7 The Binding it is! @aroc @Wife @MrsGreen 7y
Marmie7 @MrsGreen if you ever want to do a buddy read for last wish let me know! 7y
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AlaMich
The City & The City | China Miéville
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1. 😊(boring but useful), ðŸ‘(I loved the Fonz), and 😉 (good for letting people know you're teasing)
2. China Mieville, Colin Cotterill, Robin Hobb, Megan Abbott
3. No real plans for Saturday, other than trying to get in some reading; working Sunday 😠
4. Raised as an only child but I have a half-brother 9 years younger
5. On it!!
#friyayintro @jess.how

CouronneDhiver ðŸ™ðŸ½ðŸ’œðŸ¤“ 7y
Cinfhen â¤ï¸ðŸ™ŒðŸ»ðŸ˜‚ 7y
37 likes2 comments
review
Minervasbutler
The City & The City | China Miéville
Pickpick


This is a kind of crime/fantasy hybrid, set in two imaginary cities which share much of the same physical space but whose respective citizens have trained themselves to ignore (unsee) the people and landmarks of the other. Much of the book is devoted to playing around with this idea. As a story it races along quite nicely though I got a bit lost towards the end trying to keep the various sides straight. But very inventive.

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heikemarie
The City & The City | China Miéville
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If I think of something amazing that takes me beyond my #wildestdreams I instantly think of this book. If you haven't read it, you should. I want to tell you that you must but I don't control your life. The premise is singular (two cities exist in the same space and must un-see the others' existence) with compelling writing and plot and lots to think about. @Cinfhen #AugustGrrrl

heikemarie Hey @Cinfhen maybe I live under a rock but what does #wildestdreams refer to? Google says it's a TSwift song? 7y
Yossarian This is one of my all-time favorites. I want to compare things to this book every day and get frustrated that not everyone has read it. 7y
heikemarie @Yossarian Agreed - It is brilliant and almost disturbingly relevant. 7y
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monkeygirlsmama Stacked 7y
Cinfhen Sounds brilliantâ£ï¸it is a TS song....#DontJudgeMe This entire month's prompts are song titles sung by fierce & fabulous females 🚺 7y
TobeyTheScavengerMonk Love this book and everything else by Miéville! 7y
heikemarie @Cinfhen no judgement!! My music taste runs a little random is all so I'm not up on the t swizzle references (if that's what the kids call her these days) 7y
heikemarie @TobeyTheScavengerMonk Yes love him! This may be my fave. 7y
Cinfhen Who's on your playlist?? 7y
heikemarie @Cinfhen well, lots of heavy metal and then some more mainstream hard rock. I do listen to lots of 90s and early 00s pop, pop rock, alternative too so I'm not totally hopeless!! I listen to a good amount of socially conscious hip hop as well. But I think around 2007 is when my understanding of new pop music stopped 😅it's not you it's me!! 7y
Cinfhen No, I get it! I have eclectic taste in music too. I like a bit of everything & honestly I was looking for song titles that would also work as book prompts... 7y
heikemarie @Cinfhen well for girls in metal and rock .... there's lacuna cool so "our truth" - evanescence was super mainstream - "being me to life" - old school Joan Jett - "bad reputation" - hole - "celebrity skin" (that might be too weird...) - siouxie - "the passenger" - garbage "stupid girl" or "only happy when it rains" 7y
Cinfhen Those are all great! This month's playlist is already set but I'll keep those titles for future use! 7y
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sherryvdh
The City & The City | China Miéville
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It finally came in! I've been waiting weeks for this hold to come in. I started this on audio, which was good, but I thought I'd engage better with the print. My current read isn't catching my attention, so I think I'm going to dig in to this one tonight! #hopefullyworththewait

Avanders Oh I really enjoyed that book! It's so interesting. A little confusing for a while. I remember taking pauses to just think about what I knew, to help me create the universe in my brain... 7y
29 likes1 comment
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Well-ReadNeck
The City & The City | China Miéville
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#junebookbugs #urbanfantasy

I adore this book and recommend it often. It's one of those books that I wish I could Eternal Sunshine myself and go back and read again for the first time.

cmckinnon I agree, this is a wonderful book. It was the first one of his books that I read and now anything he writes gets at least a look from me. 7y
alisahar I'm reading this one right now- I'll have try one of his novels. 7y
KathyWheeler I absolutely loved this book. Like @cmckinnon, it was the first book of his I ever read and now I give everything of his a try. Looking for Jake has some pretty amazing short stories. 7y
Tex2Flo Putting it on TBR immediately. 7y
elkeOriginal I love that phrase 'Eternal Sunshine myself' ðŸ‘ðŸ‘👠7y
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review
Tertubotn
The City & The City | China Miéville
Pickpick

My favorite of his so far. A mystery, though it is less about the crime than life in the divided cities. Worldbuilding is one of his strengths, and this one is not as wildly imaginative (okay, weird) as other books I've read by him. Great one to start with.

zsuzsanna_reads This one was brilliant! 7y
Tertubotn I'm still hoping against hope that he'll write more on the divided cities, this was such a cool book. 7y
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ErickaS_Flyleafunfurled
The City & The City | China Miéville
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Pickpick

Loved the concept of the book, but the ending left me a bit confused. Still a pick, though! (maybe someone smarter can explain things to me?)

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prowlix
The City & The City | China Miéville
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Pickpick

This book is kind of a crime noir and urban fantasy mashup. It's unlike anything I've ever read and I can't figure out how to explain it in 451 characters. The audiobook is great and I listened to it in only 3 sittings! It's so great and highly recommend for fans of Neil Gaiman (for the weird factor not necessarily the humor part) and crime mysteries â­ï¸â­ï¸â­ï¸â­ï¸

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RealLifeReading
City & the City | China Miéville
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#aprilbookshowers day 3: #muscles
Hellooo China Miéville and his muscles! ??

TobeyTheScavengerMonk All of his author photos always look like he is about to punch you in the face. 8y
Moray_Reads @TobeyTheScavengerMonk He is, but with his intellect not his fists! When I saw him speak he was wearing a SUIT and READING GLASSES. It was surreal 8y
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RealLifeReading @TobeyTheScavengerMonk hahahaha that's right 8y
RealLifeReading @Moray_Reads I bet you could still see his muscles under his suit 💪 8y
TobeyTheScavengerMonk @Moray_Reads I've heard him speak before on the internet and I mentally can't connect his picture with his erudite voice. 8y
Moray_Reads @RealLifeReading See for yourself! https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xTb_CCukdnU (I can't believe it was 5 years ago!) @TobeyTheScavengerMonk Did you know he's an Associate Professor at Warwick University? Just imagine! 8y
Spiderfelt Just goes to show the picture we present to the world has nothing to do with who we are on the inside. This was my first Miéville book. I was smitten. 8y
125 likes4 stack adds8 comments
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prowlix
City & the City | China Miville
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Made a nice dent on this during my boring drive to my parents! Thanks @Lindy for the recommendation! I'm really enjoying it so far.

Lindy ðŸ‘ðŸ‘👠8y
32 likes1 comment