Hey!! Let's get some action going! What are we reading?

[WT Sharpe]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Bother! The ePub is also split into the same sections as the Kindle version - grouping all the stories by length, and putting all the other articles in one place.

How very disappointing. I liked reading the magazine front to back, not choosing which length of story I want to read next, and wondering whether I've read them all!

Been my experience with my subscriptions that you can still do that. I usually just go to the cover and keep going forward from there. At the end of each section is an option to go to the next section, but it is convenient at times when looking for a particular article to return to the Sections & Articles screen to find it.

EDIT: I've never noticed the articles being lined up by length.

[alansplace]

Harry Potter and the The Prisoner of Azkaban.

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Which was good again, but the introduction of the

Spoiler:

time turner

was a bad move, IMO...

Spoiler:

Why do you think that?

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by alansplace

Spoiler:

Why do you think that?

Spoilered discussion of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban plot point

Spoiler:

The problem with a time travel device like the time turner is that it introduces time travel into the HP world without ever fully exploring it.

Can they change events in the past? In which case, why not go back more than three hours, and remind Lupin to take his potion? Or any other the other many things that could be done, up to and including going back in time and killing Voldemort while he was still Tom Riddle!

Or if the past is fixed, including any travel to the past from the present, doesn't that mean that there is no free will?

And then we don't hear about the time turner ever again.

[alansplace]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Which was good again, but the introduction of the

Spoiler:

time turner

was a bad move, IMO.

It is interesting reading it knowing the rest of the books. Enjoyable in a different way, knowing what's going to be coming up and spotting the hints I missed the first time around...

Originally Posted by alansplace

Spoiler:

Why do you think that?

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Spoilered discussion of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban plot point

Spoiler:

The problem with a time travel device like the time turner is that it introduces time travel into the HP world without ever fully exploring it.

Can they change events in the past? In which case, why not go back more than three hours, and remind Lupin to take his potion? Or any other the other many things that could be done, up to and including going back in time and killing Voldemort while he was still Tom Riddle!

Or if the past is fixed, including any travel to the past from the present, doesn't that mean that there is no free will?

And then we don't hear about the time turner ever again.

Spoiler:

Ah, all good points. I just hadn't thought that deeply about it.

[tecweston]

Just Finished:

- Not Taco Bell Material by Adam Carolla - I've heard a lot of these stories before on the podcast but they're still really funny, and some of them were brand new to me. I read the story where he farted into a coffee can and asked Jimmy Kimmel if he wanted to smell some freshly roasted Sumatran beans, and I couldn't stop laughing for ten minutes.

Currently Reading:


- The Moor by Laurie R. King (79%)
- The Passage by Justin Cronin (second time) (10%)

[caleb72]

Originally Posted by caleb72

I'm reading Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon at the moment. Bloody marvellous so far.

Originally Posted by Kindoll

I hope you enjoy it, I thought it was excellent and I've bought most of his other books too.

Finished this book and loved it. It wasn't a page-turner, but its magical story slowly seeped its way into me. Gave it 5 stars without hesitation and I'll be looking to read his other books.

Now I'm about a third of the way into an odd little indie effort, The Whitechapel Gambit by Marcin Wrona. It's a steampunk offering that's been quite interesting so far. Whether it's odd and goes nowhere or odd and really goes places I'm yet to determine.

[spindlegirl]

I just finished my DANL book When you give a Duke a Diamond, what a great read! It was a lovely thrilling historical romance, and I'll be looking for more books by this author.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Analog SF/F, October 2012 by Dell Magazine Authors. Hmm... fictionwise seem to have changed their conversion method. The Kindle version is now in the awful Kindle magazine format, with a greyscale cover. I think I'll convert from the ePub.

An average issue (which means I enjoyed it, but nothing in particular stood out).

Straight onto Analog SF/F, November 2012.

[CRussel]

Currently reading Dana Stabenow's A Deeper Sleep, #15 in the Kate Shugak series. As always, I'm enjoying it immensely. This book starts out with Kate and Jim still dithering, and even though I have "read" it (as an Audible book) before, I can't remember if they finally get over it in this one. And a bunch of other things going on with some of the subsidiary story lines, so all in all an above average book in an excellent series.

[alansplace]

Originally Posted by CRussel

Currently reading Dana Stabenow's A Deeper Sleep, #15 in the Kate Shugak series. As always, I'm enjoying it immensely. This book starts out with Kate and Jim still dithering, and even though I have "read" it (as an Audible book) before, I can't remember if they finally get over it in this one. And a bunch of other things going on with some of the subsidiary story lines, so all in all an above average book in an excellent series.

That's the next one on my Kate Shugak TBR list, but lately I've been getting sidetracked and reading in other genres.

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by alansplace

That's the next one on my Kate Shugak TBR list, but lately I've been getting sidetracked and reading in other genres.

I had gotten sidetracked, and found myself start and stopping several books. Decided to come back because I wanted one I knew I'd enjoy. I am not disappointed.

[HomeInMyShoes]

Just finished Accordion Crimes by E. Annie Proulx.

Now I'm off to finish up some Robert Lynn Asprin Myth series so I can officially mark the series as complete.

[DiapDealer]

I'm about a third of the way though Peter Heller's debut (fiction anyway) - The Dog Stars. It's a post-apocalyptic tale (though not really sci-fi) told through the eyes of Hig: a Cessna pilot (and an avid outdoorsman—fly-fishing mainly, but some hunting, too) who, with his dog Jasper as co-pilot, buzzes around a small portion of what would have been Colorado nine years previously (anything further back than nine years is referred to simply as "before") just trying to figure out how to *be* under the new rules/situation. It's been quite heart-rending so far. Beautifully written. Not utterly bleak, as some post-apoc tends to be, but more introspective with several moments (so far) that can be considered truly uplifting.

Some comparisons are bound to be made to Cormac McCarthy (especially The Road) if only because of Heller's sparse prose (which can be long on sentence fragments and shy on punctuation). But unlike McCarthy—who just writes like that all the time—Heller's prose in this book seems to be a side-effect of attempting to portray the running monologue going on in Hig's brain. A brain that may or may not have been just a tad overheated from a fever sustained while surviving the virus that brought civilization to its knees; "before".

I realize a McCarthy comparison can just as easily be considered a reproach as it could a "ringing endorsement," but I had to be honest. There is some similarity, here. I'm a fan of McCarthy myself, but I wanted to make sure that readers—who might not be McCarthy fans—don't simply write this book off because of the stylistic similarities. It's not McCarthy and it's not The Road.

I think the book would be especially appealing to outdoorsy—majesty of nature—types. As I said ... heart-rending and uplifting, so far. Some really cool "Yeah, I can dig that" passages. There's some language and character behavior that I'm sure some might consider "foul," but it's not rampant.

[ScotiaBurrell]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

I'm about a third of the way though Peter Heller's debut (fiction anyway) - The Dog Stars.

I think the book would be especially appealing to outdoorsy—majesty of nature—types. As I said ... heart-rending and uplifting, so far. Some really cool "Yeah, I can dig that" passages. There's some language and character behavior that I'm sure some might consider "foul," but it's not rampant.

great amazon reviews.

I added it to my wish list. Thank you.

[ScotiaBurrell]

Originally Posted by CRussel

Currently reading Dana Stabenow's [I]A Deeper Sleep[/I

just started her third 'Star' novel. I love the character and tend to ignore a bit the science fiction. I will miss her when finished.

Next I am going to examine technology thrillers: Daemon and Freedom by Daniel Suarez and Zero Day and Trojan Horse by Mark Russinovich.