Miner Willy

I don't think it's 'off' - I assume it will carry roughly the same weight with the players regardless of the points it carries. It's a fucking mess though. Following the Australian Open debacle, the sport doesn't appear to be handling its major off-court issues very well.

Yeah, I saw some of the semi and FAA was great. I've always liked his game and he's definitely one of the most complete of the younger guys. I just didn't agree with the suggestion he's miles ahead of Tsitsipas at this point, especially on clay. He very well may have more upside long term, but I'm not even sure there's a strong argument that he's on a par right now, despite some really impressive performances. I mean, I definitely don't want to appear to be a Tsitsipas fanboy or anything, but the reality is he's about a thousand points ahead of FAA in the race so far this year. I think it's a fascinating French coming. I'm not so convinced that Djokovic is quite back to his best yet, and while I hope Nadal is going to be ok, it's not looking great. I think there are a bunch of guys - Rublev probably needs to be added to those above - who are in with a shout if Nadal and Djokovic aren't at their best.

I really like Auger Aliassime and think he probably has a bigger future overall, but I don't agree with that assessment of their respective games right now. On clay especially, Tsitsipas is well established as a pretty consistent force. Not up there with Nadal and Djokovic certainly, but probably a more likely winner at RG than anyone else - other than Alcaraz given his recent form.

Yeah, I love Alcaraz. Definitely the most exciting young player in ages. He already looks close to a complete player, and it feels inevitable that he'll win multiple slams, which I don't think has been the case for any other young players coming through in recent memory. The French will be very interesting and I expect him to make a big run, but obviously Nadal and Djokovic are just coming back, and Madrid has always played different to the other clay tournaments. I'd love to see Alcaraz win it, but realistically if he's close to fully fit then I would still have Rafa as by far the favourite at RG. But yeah, all in on team Alcaraz. If he had a one handed backhand then he'd basically be my new tennis idol.

21. Northern Lights by Philip Pullman. Decided it was time to read the Dust books, but realised I couldn't remember very much at all about the original trilogy. Very much enjoying it all over again. 20. Notes from the Burning Age by Claire North. This was OK, but I didn't think it was as nearly interesting as Harry August. 19. Spike: The Virus vs. the People by Jeremy Farrar. Predictably depressing and frustrating, but I did 'enjoy' the excoriating account of the Government's response to Covid. 18. The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander. Bleak but impressive account the history and current state of mass incarceration in America. 17. Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe. Amazing book about the Sackler family who were responsible for - and profited hugely from - the opioid crisis. Astonishing how devoid of humanity they were. Previously:

Update from March: 16. The Brave Athlete by Simon Marshall & Lesley Paterson A sort of self help book for athletes. I’m no athlete, but I do play tennis competitively and am interested in sports psychology. I didn’t find this particularly insightful as I've already read up on some of the psychology they reference, and just found the authors' writing style really annoying. They're nowhere near as amusing as they seem to think they are, and on Audible they read it themselves (which I rarely think works, unless your name is Jon Ronson) which added to my issues here. 15. Ball Lightning by Cixin Liu I didn’t love this. It has the same flaws as the Three Body Problem books (namely, characters and dialogue), but without that series’ mindblowingly brilliant concepts. I was surprised to learn this was written after TBP – it felt like a much less impressive piece of work. 14. Sandworm: A New Era of Cyberwarfare by Andy Greenberg Fascinating and scary discussion of a topic I knew little about. Also interesting to read this at the moment, as much of the story relates to Russian aggression towards Ukraine. 13. The Chysalids by John Wyndham Really enjoyable story with an unexpected but cohesive explanation/payoff. Makes me feel I should revisit Day of the Triffids. 12. The Border by Don Winslow Still don't think I like these books as much as others do, but I did think this was the best of the trilogy. It did a good job of outlining the connection between the drugs cartels and US business & politics and I didn’t find the writing quite as annoyingly try hard macho as the others. 11. Inverted World by Christopher Priest Loved the world and set-up on this, but the reveal felt rushed and a bit disappointing. It slightly diminished the overall experience for me.

Thanks. I bought Lonely Castle and Notes from a Burning Age too, and was considering the Troubles one for the same reason. Bought The Future We Choose as well now..

Which six, @Stopharage? Big recommendation on Senlin Ascends from me - I loved it. The other books in the series also good, but the first was the best.

Posting this here because of the Station Eleven love in this thread: I just saw that Emily St John Mandel has a new book out in April. It's called Sea of Tranquility.

Yeah, shocking, but seems well thought out when you read the comments. She'll be sorely missed, but best of luck to her.

Update for February: 10. The Mirror & the Light by Hilary Mantel. I loved this series. Cromwell is such a great character, and brilliantly written. Really powerful ending, perfectly handled. 9. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. I loved the character of Atticus, especially seen through the eyes of Scout - it really captures the sense of kids feeling that their parents are full of knowledge and wisdown etc. 8. Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss. Can't remember when or why I bought this, but I thought it was pretty good. 7. The Cartel by Don Winslow. I don't know about this series. I've enjoyed both books so far (The Power of the Dog was first), but there's little insight that I haven't encountered in the non-fiction that I've read on the drugs cartels, and I struggle with the macho style writing - it feels really forced at times, like it's written by a teenager trying to sound cool. Also, Art Keller the 60-year old DEA agent who fucks everyone up and gets the hot doctor to replace his previous hot wife (pretty much every woman in this series is beautiful). I dunno, maybe it's just me as the series seems to be highly acclaimed, but it just feels a bit trashy, which is at odds with such a horrible/serious topic. Previously:

Some good stuff if you can be bothered to sift through the usual piles of dross in today's £3 sale. Would highly recommend The Windrush Betrayal.

That sounds interesting. I didn't like the movies very much, but nothing wrong with the music. I actually listened to all three books recently and thought the Rob Inglis narration was a really good fit. It's quite old school, but felt right to me, as I basically spent my teens reading Tolkien on repeat.

What about the other qntm book, Ra - has anyone here read that?

OK, thanks. I will!