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

[neilmarr]

Thanks, Kev. Reviews of Blue Man have ranged from your own idea that the author can be long-winded at times (I didn't have too much of an issue with that because there was so much that needed to be said, but -- believe it or not -- I did re-arrange paragraphing as far as I was allowed and did make serious cuts [in the end, the author has the call]), to quite incredible raves that put the book up there as a groundbreaker and an American classic in the making.

As an editor, I found it a worthy project to work with, and coming across such a talented new author is always a bonus. So I don't regret my decision to run with it for a moment ... but, of course, it's up to the reader to decide whether I was right or wrong.

It won't mean much to anyone here who doesn't edit for a living, but it will to those who do: This is a book I've read twice since its release for sheer pleasure in my off-duty hours, and it gets better every time.

Many thanks, Kev. Feedback like yours is invaluable because it always registers and influences what happens next.

Very best. Neil

[dreams]

Originally Posted by Author Eyes

Hey, Dreams. Thanks for recommending me!
Shelley Stout
author of Radium Halos

You're welcome, I love the story and history. Do you have any other books?

Originally Posted by dreams

Just started Radium Halos by Shelly Stout and Tracking Magic by Maria E. Schneider (both MR author members). I'm also listening to The Oort Perimeter by Steven Lake (also a MR author member) that I picked up last year when he offered it. (he is offering a free ePub format on MR).

Just finished Tracking Magic by Maria E. Schneider and loved all the short "case files" by Max Killian Investigations. I think I first read a story with Max Killian in The Town Drunk magazine and couldn't wait to read more about his "cases".

I was pretty well hooked with the interesting first paragraph:" When he walked into my detective agency, I was suspicious. No one hired me these days, not since the elves moved into the building across the street with their big sign, “We Can Find... Anything!” Semi-nude fairies peered out between the letters."

The stories were fun to read and perfect for lunchtime breaks.

We Don’t Plummet Out of the Sky Anymore by M. David Blake (Vintage Season on MR) a SciFi short story.

I almost passed this short story up. I was reloading my Sony Reader and decided to go ahead and place it in my “Next” Collection (books tagged for reading first).

It was a surprisingly good short story. I loved following along as Stan tried to make his decision about purchasing a new flying car, as I was reminded about the process I went through a few years ago (no, NOT a flying car!).

The characters of Stan and Mr. Withers were written well enough that I was able to get to know and like them (even care about them). I didn't want the story to end and would have liked to continue reading about their lives and the world they lived in.

Now, on to Brechalon by Wesley Allison (HistoryWes on MR) the prequel to The Voyage of the Minotaur and the rest of the Senta and the Steel Dragon series.

[ficbot]

Just finished Coraline, downloaded from my public library. It was all right, but not his best imo. Still plodding through the Oprah biography. Next up on my fiction to-read list are House Rule by Jodi Picoult and A Carrion Death by Michael Stanley.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

The Dragon Man by Brian Stableford. A book that's actually still for sale at fictionwise, although luckily I got it during their 50% Multiformat sale.

And very good it was indeed. A splendid SF book, looking at a slice of life in the 24th century. Highly recommended.

Now for something I haven't read for many years. Restoree by Anne McCaffrey. And this one I bought nearly 18 months ago!

It will be interesting to see how it stands up, as I think I last read this 30 years ago. And it was published in 1967, her first published novel.

So far it's pretty good.

Originally Posted by dreams

I was pretty well hooked with the interesting first paragraph:" When he walked into my detective agency, I was suspicious. No one hired me these days, not since the elves moved into the building across the street with their big sign, “We Can Find... Anything!” Semi-nude fairies peered out between the letters."

That is one hell off an opener. Would be even without the “semi-nude fairies.” Has me interested most definitely.

Right know I am reading (actually reading once more after many years) Black Rain by Ibuse Masuji. Also Mary Poppins. I had never read this though I recall the movie from my childhood. The book is better, or so it seems to me. Speaking of which shouldn't this be out of copyright sometime soon? The book I mean, not the movie.

[Ea]

Finished the first five books of Naomi Novik's Temeraire series - and can hardly wait until no. 6 is published this summer

It's the Napoleonic Wars - with dragons. And what dragons! It's funny, delighful action-adventure, and if you liked Anne McCaffrey's Pern series, you'll definitely like these.

[phenomshel]

Originally Posted by pshrynk

Finishing up The Princess Bride. Every bit as fun as the movie, plus the inside of the author's head is great. At least the inside of the author's head that he made up to look like the inside of his head. Or something...

I should probably be ashamed to admit this, but when I read that I had to actually go look it up to make SURE that wasn't a real country...

[pilotbob]

Just completed _The Count of Monte Cristo_. This book took me a bit over a month to read and I enjoyed it very much. It starts out very quickly then jumps quite a bit and you are wondering who all these new characters are... but at is goes on you realize there is a method to the counts madness. You are amazed at all the planning and learning he went through.

Library thing reminds me that I started reading this on March 26th. Wow.. it is a long book, I had no idea.

Next up... the MRBC's May section by Jules Verne, The Mysterious Island. This one won the vote overwhelmingly. I've missed out on several MRBC reads because I have been reading such long books. I also hope to read The Machine Stops and The Egg and I... perhaps even Stiff... however, I have been reading a lot of free books.

BTW: Feedbooks rocks. The Kindle guide is excellent and being able to d/l all those free books keeps me with plenty to read. I want to read most of the ebooks on the Feedbooks top downloads list.

Aduie!

BOb

[WT Sharpe]

Just finished And Another Thing... by Eoin Colfer. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't Adams, and I missed Marvin not making an appearance in the story. I realize that Marvin plowed into a star in an earlier Hitchhiker, but I figured if he could bring back Arthur and co. from being atomized by the Vogons, resurrecting Marvin should have been a piece of cake.

[poohbear_nc]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

Just finished And Another Thing... by Eoin Colfer. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't Adams, and I missed Marvin not making an appearance in he story. I realize that Marvin plowed into a star in an earlier Hitchhiker, but I figured if he could bring back Arthur and co. from being atomized by the Vogons, resurrecting Marvin should have been a piece of cake.

I read it earlier this year - and largely agree - he's no Adams. There were brief moments of zany brilliantness - but too few. My favorite scenes were Cthulhu's job interviews.

[Bluesman7]

Finished The Raw Shark Texts and have just begun Out Stealing Horses.

[kennyc]

Well after a poetry scouting excursion to the local Barnes&Noble I'm reading

Tony Hoagland's - Unincorporated Persons in the Late Honda Dynasty

[recluse]

I'm rereading "Slob" by Rex Miller. This book still blows me away. Gutwrenching horror, a touch of humor, some brutal insights into how people become victims and what lurks in the mind of a monster.. No one has ever created a serial killer like "Chaingang".

[Ea]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

Next up... the MRBC's May section by Jules Verne, The Mysterious Island. This one won the vote overwhelmingly. I've missed out on several MRBC reads because I have been reading such long books. I also hope to read The Machine Stops and The Egg and I... perhaps even Stiff... however, I have been reading a lot of free books.

The Machine Stops is a novella or long short story - it will take you no more than 1-2 hours - and of course I'm prejudiced, as I like E. M. Forster, but it was a story that awoke me to the concerns about the possible negative concerns about the impact of the Internet and like technologies. I've never really considered any possible negative impact before I read that story. I consider it quite a feat of a great writer to be able to change one's mind. Not that I'm not still positive, but I now also see a negative. And that can only be a good thing. And that's all down to a great author and a great story. Do spend that 1-2 hours on reading The Machine Stops.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by Ea

The Machine Stops is a novella or long short story - it will take you no more than 1-2 hours - and of course I'm prejudiced, as I like E. M. Forster, but it was a story that awoke me to the concerns about the possible negative concerns about the impact of the Internet and like technologies. I've never really considered any possible negative impact before I read that story. I consider it quite a feat of a great writer to be able to change one's mind. Not that I'm not still positive, but I now also see a negative. And that can only be a good thing. And that's all down to a great author and a great story. Do spend that 1-2 hours on reading The Machine Stops.

Definitely agree!