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

[nana77]

Originally Posted by alansplace

Thanks for mentioning this one. I read it when I was still in High school, the year it was first published. I just bought the ebook from the Kindle store so I can read again!

By reading its wiki page, it seems to have a sequel, also: "Saint Leibowitz and the Wild Horse Woman"

Toward the end of his life, Miller wrote another installment of the Abbey of Saint Leibowitz saga, Saint Leibowitz and the Wild Horse Woman. A full-length novel (455 pages) significantly longer than its predecessor, it is set in AD 3254, eighty years after the events of "Fiat Lux" but several centuries before "Fiat Voluntas Tua". Suffering from writer's block and fearful the new work would go unfinished, Miller arranged with author Terry Bisson to complete it. Bisson said all he did was go in and tie up the loose ends Miller had left.

Which was published one year after his departure (1997).

[issybird]

Originally Posted by Renate

I just finished "An American Tragedy", Theodore Dreiser, 1925
It was worth reading, but at ~900 pages it might have improved with some chopping down.

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

I read this when I was in my 30s. It's a great American novel, in my opinion. The author, unfortunately, is now often overlooked.

I read Dreiser's novels decades ago and loved them, but I think he hasn't aged well. He does go on, as Renate said. I did reread Sister Carrie in the unexpurgated version about ten years ago and thought it terrific, so I might be unjust.

Originally Posted by Renate

I've just gotten around to reading "Tender Is the Night", Fitzgerald.
I've never been big on Fitzgerald.
I just don't get his whole "psychological" approach to everyone.
I don't get how he is into people worshiping other people.
Screw Jay Gatsby. Screw the Divers.

Maybe it's my fault for being emotionally stunted.

One of the book clubs here read Tender is the Night and I was blown away. I get that Gatsby is technically better, but Tender gets my nod. I think Gatsby suffers from overexposure, however. And bad movie versions.

I'm currently reading The Traitors' Circle by Jonathan Freedland, about the Solf Circle resistance in Nazi Germany and I think I just talked myself into DNFing it. I've held off so far, because the subject matter interests me and then there's the sunk cost fallacy and I'm about a third into it, but the reality is that it's not good. It's poorly organized and disjointed and displays that tendency I loathe in current nonfiction of novelization, or making stuff up, I suppose to broaden its appeal. It's replete with flashing eyes, guilty looks, sweaty faces, made-up conversations, people's thoughts and emotions and so on, things that couldn't possibly be known. My reaction is like Joe Friday's. Ugh.

[Renate]

Well, I finished "Tender Is".
If you'll excuse a spoiler, I can say that there are no billboards with giant blue eyes.

Edit: Ha! I posted this then went on to Project Gutenberg to find my next book.
And what greeted me there?

[issybird]

Originally Posted by Renate

Well, I finished "Tender Is".
If you'll excuse a spoiler, I can say that there are no billboards with giant blue eyes.

Edit: Ha! I posted this then went on to Project Gutenberg to find my next book.
And what greeted me there?

Obviously, they're watching!

[Solitaire1]

Originally Posted by issybird

Obviously, they're watching!

The song "Somebody's Watching Me" by Rockwell comes to mind. Could this mean that while you are watching the books the books are watching you?

[nana77]

Originally Posted by Solitaire1

The song "Somebody's Watching Me" by Rockwell comes to mind. Could this mean that while you are watching the books the books are watching you?

Iirc, if you have a TBR pile, it surely it would watching you. At least, that's the feeling I have when looking at those ones that I haven't read.

Btw, finally I've finished "A Canticle for Leibowitz", by Walter M. Miller, Jr.; and it was great.
And finally got into "Blade Runner" (DADoES) on its original version, I won't blame translations, because for what good they might be, them can anyway be just that: there are things that can't be done, e.g. the original work would always have its sound (of the words), and thought it's inevitable that some words have, maybe slightly, different meanings when translated.

[Solitaire1]

nana77 wrote the following as part of a post:

Originally Posted by nana77

Iirc, if you have a TBR pile, it surely it would watching you. At least, that's the feeling I have when looking at those ones that I haven't read.

Wouldn't that be depressing for the books in your TBR Pile since they know that their future is to remain there for weeks, months, or even years. Worse, they get irritated by their neighboring books, like War and Piece sitting on top of The Cat in the Hat.

[Tarana]

Still reading Greenthieves by Alan Dean Foster. STILL reading this one. Vision issues this week so listening instead.

For listening, I have finished A Murder of Quality by John Le Carre. I was expecting a thriller and it turned out to be a murder mystery instead. I just started The Spy Who Came In From the Cold by same author. Good so far. Like it better than the previous one.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Next up: The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood.

Which was good. I'm not tempted by the TV series though.

Then I read The Coming of Bill by P. G. Wodehouse. Some amusing bits, some (in hindsight) dodgy eugenics comments. 3/5 only.

Then The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aitkin was fun. I certainly knew of the book, but I don't think I've ever actually read it before. A children's adventure in an alternate England.

Now reading: The Computers that made Britain by Tim Danton. A fascinating look at the computers, computer companies, and the people who ran them. Sadly I only have it in PDF.

[drofgnal]

I'm still on Downbelow Station, my nod to Cherryh. I can't say I'm really enjoying it. I find here writing style not to my taste. I've had a lot of distractions this summer and I'm reading very slow. I don't know what's up next....

[DrNefario]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Now reading: The Computers that made Britain by Tim Danton. A fascinating look at the computers, computer companies, and the people who ran them. Sadly I only have it in PDF.

That sounds right up my street. And I've found the PDF download. Thanks for mentioning it.

[DrNefario]

Originally Posted by drofgnal

I'm still on Downbelow Station, my nod to Cherryh. I can't say I'm really enjoying it. I find here writing style not to my taste. I've had a lot of distractions this summer and I'm reading very slow. I don't know what's up next....

I reread Downbelow Station last year, and I think it's one of my least favourites in that setting, even though it's the one that won the Hugo. I guess I'm lucky it was out of print, here, when I started reading Cherryh, and I read everything else first, or I might not have continued.

It's too long, too multi-stranded and too slow, but it does cover a very important turning point for the setting.

I'd suggest something shorter and snappier like Merchanter's Luck as a better place to jump on, but I guess it's too late now. (I actually started with the other Hugo winner, Cyteen, which arguably has the same problems as Downbelow. I don't know how that holds up, but it worked for me at the time.)

[nana77]

Originally Posted by DrNefario

I reread Downbelow Station last year, and I think it's one of my least favourites in that setting, even though it's the one that won the Hugo. I guess I'm lucky it was out of print, here, when I started reading Cherryh, and I read everything else first, or I might not have continued.

It's too long, too multi-stranded and too slow, but it does cover a very important turning point for the setting.

I'd suggest something shorter and snappier like Merchanter's Luck as a better place to jump on, but I guess it's too late now. (I actually started with the other Hugo winner, Cyteen, which arguably has the same problems as Downbelow. I don't know how that holds up, but it worked for me at the time.)

The editor, from the translated book I'd read, was to mention it too; thanks for the advice of her others works, because I'd read only this one at the moment.
Into its intro, it was mentioned as too vaste, like a mood for the epic sagas that were coming up, by there, as Star Wars; but a little lacking the personal details onto the characters.
I was to guess if Captain Signy Mallory appears on other stories.
Another comparison was to Michael Crichton "The Andromeda Strain ", which still I have yet to read: on those intro it was said the novel was trying to get the audience within a stalking-horse mood onto those times, rather than actually write something clear good.
Althought the reviews seem nice on this one.