Books you've read this year

[Farseer]

I accidentally read "The Man Who Was Starlight" as "The Man Who Was Straight". And I started thinking "Now what's so special about that?" before going "Oh! Maybe he's secretly gay!" Was it a good book? (And how far am I off?)

No...I wouldn't label it a good book but I found it interesting in places.

As for your guess, well, you couldn't be more wrong ! It's actually a biography about Henry "Harry" Readford (called 'Redford' by we Queenslanders ), an Australian cattle duffer who became known as Captain Starlight. As with most Australian bushrangers (eg Ned Kelly), he became a bit of a hero and legend, particularly locally.

He stole about one thousand head of cattle from a station near Longreach (here in Queensland, and not too far from where I live...ah, okay, probably quite far by most standards but not by mine!) and then drove them interstate, all the way down to South Australia to sell (knowing they would be recognised if he sold them in Queensland). This was rather an amazing feat really, particularly as much of the land he crossed was desert and channel country, and mostly unexplored at the time.

In the mob was a white bull and, once he was discovered and found, it was the sale of this bull that proved his involvement in the theft...but the jury members in Roma, where the trial was held, were so impressed by his escapades that they returned a not guilty verdict !

Obviously, if you don't have a local connection or any interest in cattle or bushrangers, then this would be a thorough yawn of a book (though it is more in line with something that I'd want to read than 'The Man Who Was Straight !)!!!

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ps Yes, I daresay that even though my list may appear to be longer, the books you have read were likely to be far more involved and longer than mine, not to mention the papers you spoke about elsewhere eg philosophy!

I tend to read in chunks rather than daily, or even regularly.