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

[columbus]

Just finished My man Jeeves, Three men in a boat and Topper, in that order.

[Michizzle]

The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe

Only on the 3rd chapter but it's already pretty interesting.

[pilotbob]

I am reading _Three Men in a Boat_ right now. I have to admit... it is a bit dry. I expected a roaring funny book. But, so far I am a bit disappointed. Don't get me wrong, I've had a few chuckles. Perhaps you have to be British to understand how funny it is to pack your toothbrush, then need it (and other ramblings thus far).

In the US (well at least my wife and I) always have a half-dozen new unopened tooth brushes and pack those when going away.

Actually, the last really good book I've read recently has been Berserker by Steven Jordan. I plan to read more of his.

However, after I polish off TMIAB I think I am going to read Mistborne. I have had this freebee from Tor for quite a while... and while I hear it is really good I have yet to read it.

BOb

[wayspooled]

Just finished Thirteen by Richard Morgan. It's pretty good. It's fairly violent, near future, somewhat about cleaning up our "not too long from now" genetic engineering mistakes (we haven't made them yet but how can we not?).

[wayspooled]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

I am reading _Three Men in a Boat_ right now. I have to admit... it is a bit dry. I expected a roaring funny book. But, so far I am a bit disappointed. Don't get me wrong, I've had a few chuckles. Perhaps you have to be British to understand how funny it is to pack your toothbrush, then need it (and other ramblings thus far).

BOb

heh.. Are you another soul victimized by Connie Willis' excellent "To Say Nothing Of The Dog" setting your expectations too high?

I'm sure it was a real side-splitter last century

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by wayspooled

heh.. Are you another soul victimized by Connie Willis' excellent "To Say Nothing Of The Dog" setting your expectations too high?

Alas.. I haven't read that one... I would say "yet".

BOb

[Dr. Drib]

I just finished a Robert Bloch collection of short stories I purchased from Fictionwise, entitled "Black Bargain And Other Raw Deals."

It's a rather undistinguished collection of short stories, with some dating from the early '60s, while others date from the late '30s.

A rather quick read, and with no standout pieces. Merely pedestrian horror/psychological tales.

Rating: One Dismembered Thumb


Zombie Rating Scale:

Two Dismembered Hands = (Superb, in every way imaginable.)
One Dismembered Hand = (Excellent)
Two Dismembered Thumbs = (Very good)
One Dismembered Thumb = (OK. Enjoyable.)
Loose Fingernail = (Poor; not recommended)


Don

[Trekkiemelissa]

I just finished His lady mistress the other day and now I am reading star trek: stargazer book 1

[ShortNCuddlyAm]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

I am reading _Three Men in a Boat_ right now. I have to admit... it is a bit dry. I expected a roaring funny book. But, so far I am a bit disappointed. Don't get me wrong, I've had a few chuckles. Perhaps you have to be British to understand how funny it is to pack your toothbrush, then need it (and other ramblings thus far).

In the US (well at least my wife and I) always have a half-dozen new unopened tooth brushes and pack those when going away.

You buy spare toothbrushes to take on holiday?? Everyone I know in the UK takes whatever toothbrush they happen to be using - and yes, I have packed ours only to realise moments later that I still need it out. (And if you're me, then occasionally forgotten to pack it again. And if you do that, there is always, and I mean always, a conspiracy at play which says that wherever you go to get replacement toothbrushes for your holiday, they will only have really cheap and nasty ones, and you might actually get cleaner teeth by using your finger.)

I think it's a very funny book. It may not be rip-roaringly, laugh-out-loud funny, but it certainly keeps me giggling away until my eyes start watering.

(PS, for those who are interested, the shop in the market square in Kingston upon Thames mentioned near the beginning with the oak staircase is currently a Borders bookshop, and you can see the staircase in all its glory. The quaint streets going down to the river have mostly vanished, though...)

[phenomshel]

I picked up a load of stuff at the library yesterday - not ebooks, unfortunately. But these were new or newish releases that are still priced high, or not even available. Faced with them looking at me from the shelves begging to be read, I couldn't resist. Most of them I will purchase later when the prices come down or they become available in ebook formats.

Wormwood - Susan Wittig Albert
Cut, Crop, and Die - Joanna Campbell Slan
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie - Alan Bradley
Patterns in the Sand - Sally Goldenbaum

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by ShortNCuddlyAm

You buy spare toothbrushes to take on holiday??

Not specifically... no. Since you are supposed to change your tooth brush every three months and we have 5 people in the household we buy them in "bulk" (rather than 1 at a time). So when we go away, which is not too often, maybe once a year, then we just pack some of the new ones.

BOb

[ShortNCuddlyAm]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

Not specifically... no. Since you are supposed to change your tooth brush every three months and we have 5 people in the household we buy them in "bulk" (rather than 1 at a time). So when we go away, which is not too often, maybe once a year, then we just pack some of the new ones.

BOb

Ahh ok - that makes more sense!

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by ShortNCuddlyAm

Ahh ok - that makes more sense!

Ok, and what praytell is a "lock"? Is that like a device that separates two different levels of water on the river. Or, is like early English for "lake"? I wasn't sure. If the former I didn't know there were locks on the Thames.

BOb

EDIT: Ok, just read Wikipedia about the Locks on the Thames. I had no idea about that. I guess you do learn things when you read books.

[zelda_pinwheel]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

Ok, and what praytell is a "lock"? Is that like a device that separates two different levels of water on the river. Or, is like early English for "lake"? I wasn't sure. If the former I didn't know there were locks on the Thames.

BOb

EDIT: Ok, just read Wikipedia about the Locks on the Thames. I had no idea about that. I guess you do learn things when you read books.

we've got locks on the canals here ; i like to be on the bank (or a bridge) and watch the boats go through them, but i there are so many, and so close together, i think if i were on the boat i would soon get really bored. don't you have locks in the us ? or do you just not live near a canal / river ?

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

we've got locks on the canals here ; i like to be on the bank (or a bridge) and watch the boats go through them, but i there are so many, and so close together, i think if i were on the boat i would soon get really bored. don't you have locks in the us ? or do you just not live near a canal / river ?

I have always lived along the coast. Not by any major rivers. I don't know if the rivers here have locks on them. Perhaps they do. Maybe someone that lives near some of them... like the Ohio or the Mississippi or the Colorado or whatever can tell me.

The only locks I knew about were the ones in the Panama Canal.

Wait, I think once I saw part of the Erie canal (I grew up in New England so New York wasn't far) and saw the locks and also the tow paths that the donkeys used to be on to tow the boats through. That was quite a long time ago though. (Now I don't remember if I actually saw them, or just saw one of them boring filmstip presentations in school).

BOb

EDIT: I live near the Hillsborough River now but I don't think there are any locks on it.