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

[Dngrsone]

Finished The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. Nice twist at the end... these books are certainly great for those for whom the usual whodunnits are too pedestrian and easy to solve. I suppose I am just not in the right space at this time: I finished, obvs, but it was more because I was eager to move on to the next book and I was also determined to give it a fighting chance.

So now, I am eagerly devouring Please Don't Tell My Parents You Believe Her by Richard Roberts. I am sure I willm read it in short shrift and will likely be depressed because such a wonderful series is ended (though I'm certain there will be more stories in the same universe, et al). I will likely go straight to the New Leaf read for this month.

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

I gave it three stars in the end. There was some brilliant stuff in there, but also some awful stuff. I see I said in my comments on it that I didn't think I'd be getting the next books.

Hmm... I might change my mind if they come on special offer, if only to see whether I feel the acclaim is deserved.

Well, it's easier to decide to read the second book knowing that it's available at my library.

Honestly, though, by the end I was quite enjoying it. But that beginning was a slog, and I completely did not have a clue what was going on. Much less why.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

So next up: F&SF for July/August 2018.

Which was a good mix of SF and Fantasy. I like it a lot more with its new editor. It's gone (for me) from 2, 3 or 4 star to 3, 4 or 5 star.

And then I read Grantville Gazette #79. The usual fun set in the 1632 universe.

And now I'm starting on Project Elfhome by Wen Spencer. A recent purchase.

[PurpleStar]

I finished Star Trek Stargazer: Gauntlet by Michael Jan Friedman. It's all about Picard and his adventures as captain of the Stargazer(Before TNG). I really like the Stargazer crew! Not serious science fiction by any means, but an enjoyable light read. Will continue this series soon.

Next up is The Silent Corner by Dean Koontz, downloaded right from Overdrive. (Thanks to the new firmware!) Been ages since I read a Koontz book it's about time I read one.

[Dngrsone]

As predicted, I finished Please Don't Tell My Parents You Believe Her pretty quickly. Here's hoping that Never Let Me Go does not become a bit of a slog.

[Bookpossum]

I don’t think it’s a slog at all - at least, I certainly didn’t find it to be.

[gmw]

Too Like the Lightning by Ada Palmer.

I can't believe it. This is a first time it's happened to me: two books in a row that I'm giving up on only a third of the way through. And, to be honest, this one has given me a whole lot more reason to give up than the first (I won't be trying anything else from this author).

It's clever, and far too apparent that the author spent years "world building" for this book. It should not be so obvious. The author's job is to make it seamless and easy for the reader - instead we have constant interruptions from the narrator "dear reader, did you notice what I just did? I called a woman 'him' and a man 'her'!" Readers are not so stupid that we need every non-subtlety pointed out with page long explanations!

Gender neutral language is not the problem, it's the choice of "they" as a replacement for "he" or "her" that results in singular/plural sense conflicts. "They don't want" - replacing "He doesn't want" - has you looking around for the other people involved. Picking one gender, or using "it", would would have made for smoother reading. ... And even "they" might have been forgivable if it had been consistent, but no, the author can't let you get that comfortable. The dialogue is in gender neutral language while the narrative is gender specific ... except when the narrator decides to call a woman "he" and a man "she", and to explain his reasoning to you over multiple pages. There's probably a message buried in all this, and in the many political essays in the story, but like world building, messages should not be so blatant.

The character of our narrator is another criticism I would make. Mycroft: slave to the rich and famous? Very good at everything, but not quite best only so he can go on for pages and pages about the beauty and richness and power and every other character? Bold and daring except when he's bashful and humble. Give me a break!

I struggled to get to a third of the way through, expecting the author would relax and start letting the reader relax into the story ... but apparently not. With no sign of improvement I resorted to Wikipedia's plot summary and discovered that this first book doesn't provide a conclusion, that the most interesting character becomes a non-event at the end of the second book, and that I have - overall - another three (long) books to go. I just can't make myself do it.

[astrangerhere]

Originally Posted by gmw

Too Like the Lightning by Ada Palmer.

I can't believe it. This is a first time it's happened to me: two books in a row that I'm giving up on only a third of the way through. And, to be honest, this one has given me a whole lot more reason to give up than the first (I won't be trying anything else from this author).

<SNIP>

My wife and I read this (and the second in the series) last month. She LOVED it and I enjoyed it. It is very smart, and she has many, many motivations for the world and the language. She has talked about it and answers questions about it on goodreads.

Mycroft is a unique animal for reasons you would not have known given where you stopped. You should be suspicious. You should be bothered. You just don't know why he is all these things.

Having said that, no point in reading a book you aren't enjoying. Wish you the best in your next read.

I just finished Sayaka Murata's Convenience Store Woman and started Margalit Fox's nonfiction work Conan Doyle for the Defense: The True Story of a Sensational British Murder, a Quest for Justice, and the World's Most Famous Detective Writer.

[gmw]

Re: Too Like the Lightning by Ada Palmer.

Originally Posted by astrangerhere

My wife and I read this (and the second in the series) last month. She LOVED it and I enjoyed it. It is very smart, and she has many, many motivations for the world and the language. She has talked about it and answers questions about it on goodreads.

Mycroft is a unique animal for reasons you would not have known given where you stopped. You should be suspicious. You should be bothered. You just don't know why he is all these things.

Having said that, no point in reading a book you aren't enjoying. Wish you the best in your next read. [...]

Many of the motivations were quite apparent, albeit not very convincing to me. To me, the world felt like what it was: an artificial construct with imposed values and motivations rather than (what should feel like) natural ones.

Yes, I knew there would be something coming to (try and) explain Mycroft. But the real problem was as you pointed out: "You should be bothered." I wasn't bothered. She could have popped them (sic) off at any time, with any explanation, or even without, and I would hardly have blinked. I might even have felt some relief. Feeling like that after 150 pages means it's time to go.

I have very high hopes for my next read - but I'm not going to name it in case I jinx it.

[Solitaire1]

Originally Posted by astrangerhere

FWIW, I enjoyed Meddling Kids more. This Body's is amusing, but Meddling Kids really captured that Scooby Gang feel with a diverse and modern dynamic. If you like this, definitely check that out.

Thanks for the recommendation. I've tried reading This Body's... but haven't been able to get into it. I will give it another try soon.

As far as something else I'm reading, it's Multiversity, a trade paperback written by Grand Morrison. It lays out the entire structure of reality in the DC Universe. It includes many interesting stories, including an excellent one featuring Captain Marvel and The Marvel Family.

[PurpleStar]

Originally Posted by PurpleStar

I finished Star Trek Stargazer: Gauntlet by Michael Jan Friedman. It's all about Picard and his adventures as captain of the Stargazer(Before TNG). I really like the Stargazer crew! Not serious science fiction by any means, but an enjoyable light read. Will continue this series soon.

Next up is The Silent Corner by Dean Koontz, downloaded right from Overdrive. (Thanks to the new firmware!) Been ages since I read a Koontz book it's about time I read one.

Can’t seem to get into the Dean Koontz book so I’m gonna go ahead and read the next Stargazer book. Such a quirky crew that I like. I think the Dean Koontz was too depressing.

[rickumali]

I'm presently reading "The Other Woman", a spy thriller by Daniel Silva, featuring his popular character Gabriel Allon. Silva is a well-known and and prolific writer, and I've jumped around his catalog. What makes this book different is that it's a hardcover, bought by my wife because she thought she wanted to dip her toe back into spy fiction. I supported her decision to buy the book, which she left unread for a few weeks before I picked it up. This is a good book!

[BenG]

Originally Posted by gmw

Re: Too Like the Lightning by Ada Palmer.

Yes, I knew there would be something coming to (try and) explain Mycroft. But the real problem was as you pointed out: "You should be bothered." I wasn't bothered. She could have popped them (sic) off at any time, with any explanation, or even without, and I would hardly have blinked. I might even have felt some relief. Feeling like that after 150 pages means it's time to go.

I have very high hopes for my next read - but I'm not going to name it in case I jinx it.

Mycroft is the ultimate unreliable narrator, less in what he says than what he leaves out. The world building is brilliant, but there were too many unlikeable characters for me to truly enjoy it, but I'm withholding final judgment until I read the upcoming fourth book.

[BenG]

A week off work and a road trip gave me the opportunity to finish a few books that were in progress and to read a few shorter works.

I enjoyed both audiobooks I finished. Member of the Wedding by Carson McCullers was very good and the narration by Susan Sarandon was outstanding. Into Africa: The Epic Adventures of Stanley and Livingstone by Martin Dugard was also good and well narrated.
I also listened to Nemesis by Isaac Asimov. I was second tier Asimov but it kept my interest.Also

I read the third novella in the Murderbot series, Rogue Protocol by Martha Wells. As I said before I love Murderbot.
I also read Three Hearts and Three Lions by Poul Anderson, a pretty good novel from 1961 best known for inspiring the Law/Chaos orientations in D&D.

And The Stones of Muncaster Cathedral: Two Stories of the Supernatural by Robert Westall. These were two short stories or perhaps novellas in a more modern M.R. James style. Excellent horror.

I listened to The Weapon Shop by A.E. van Vogt. It's an excellent short story in The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, especially compared to the mediocre expansion into a novel.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

And now I'm starting on Project Elfhome by Wen Spencer. A recent purchase.

And rather splendid it was too. Not a straight novel, but lots of short to medium length works set in the Project Elfhome universe. And a few are non-canon. In essence, fan-fic by the author. I enjoyed it a lot.

Next up: Bookburners by Max Gladstone et al. Most enjoyable so far.