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

[Dr. Drib]

He used to be my favorite living writer. Now he's my favorite dead writer. While on vacation last month, I found Tomorrow in the Battle Think of Me , by Javier Marias.

As usual, his writing is dense, rich, and beautiful.

For friendly companionable genre 'trash' reading, I picked up Coming Together: Two Horror Novellas [Contains 'Hole' and 'Prick'], by Matt Shaw and Duncan Ralston. Jolly good fun.

[issybird]

I've finished Orbital which was terrific. Glad it won the Booker instead of James. Reading Flâneuse: Women Walk the City in Paris, New York, Tokyo, Venice, and London by Lauren Elkin, a mashup of women writers and walking; it would be hard to think of anything more to my taste.

[Renate]

Originally Posted by issybird

Reading Flâneuse: Women Walk the City in Paris, New York, Tokyo, Venice, and London by Lauren Elkin, a mashup of women writers and walking; it would be hard to think of anything more to my taste.

Oh! That looks interesting. I like discovering a city by walking through it a bit aimlessly. One of my libraries has a copy. I like the French word flâner or the German word flanieren.

[astrangerhere]

Originally Posted by issybird

I've finished Orbital which was terrific. Glad it won the Booker instead of James. Reading Flâneuse: Women Walk the City in Paris, New York, Tokyo, Venice, and London by Lauren Elkin, a mashup of women writers and walking; it would be hard to think of anything more to my taste.

I haven't read James. Is it worth it?

[issybird]

Originally Posted by astrangerhere

I haven't read James. Is it worth it?

It's absolutely worth reading; much is brilliant but I also didn't think it was entirely successful. No spoiler here: I think Everett was forced by the Huckleberry Finn to depart from it at an obvious point, but that's when the satire ceased. Maybe it was personal preference on my part, but I'd have liked his exposé of the last section of HF.

Depending on how well you remember Huckleberry Finn (in my case, not well), it's worth rereading first. OTOH, I think it's possible someone might like James more without reference to the source.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Next up: Flying Finish by Dick Francis. His sixth novel, first published in 1966

Which was splendid, so I went straight onto the next one Blood Sport. Which was also the expected quick and enjoyable read.

Next up: The last of the Rabbi Small novels: That Day the Rabbi Left Town

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Which was splendid, so I went straight onto the next one Blood Sport. Which was also the expected quick and enjoyable read.

Next up: The last of the Rabbi Small novels: That Day the Rabbi Left Town

Which was great fun. The clues were there!

Next I read the final Rabbi Small books, Conversations with Rabbi Small, which is more an exploration of what Judaism is. Interesting.

Now reading: I am Crying all Inside by Clifford D. Simak

This is the first in a series of books that will contain all the extant short fiction that he wrote. This first book includes the story he wrote for Last Dangerous Visions.

[JSWolf]

I've started listening to the audiobook of Mickey7 (Mickey7 #1) by Edward Ashton. The narrators are excellent. It's narrated by John Pirhalla and Katherine Chin. Very good narrators and the book is quite good so far

Dying isn’t any fun…but at least it’s a living.

Mickey7 is an Expendable: a disposable employee on a human expedition sent to colonize the ice world Niflheim. Whenever there’s a mission that’s too dangerous—even suicidal— the crew turns to Mickey. After one iteration dies, a new body is regenerated with most of his memories intact. Mickey signed on to escape from both bad debts and boredom on Midgard.

After six deaths, Mickey7 understands the terms of his deal…and why it was the only colonial position unfilled when he took it.

When he goes missing and is presumed dead at the hands of deadly indigenous creatures, Mickey8 reports for duty, and their troubles really begin.

I have finished What Could Possibly Go Wrong? (The Chronicles of St Mary's #6) by Jodi Taylor . Very good.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I've started listening to the audiobook of Mickey7 (Mickey7 #1)

Surely a native Bostonian should boycott a book with that title?

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Now reading: I am Crying all Inside by Clifford D. Simak

This is the first in a series of books that will contain all the extant short fiction that he wrote. This first book includes the story he wrote for Last Dangerous Visions.

I was really impressed by the quality of these stories. So much so, I intended to go straight on to the next volume, but accidentally started volume 3:

The Ghost of a Model T

It doesn't seem to matter that I'm reading this out of order. the stories don't seem to be arranged in any order that I can identify. But so far they're all good.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by issybird

Surely a native Bostonian should boycott a book with that title?

It's a good story so far.

[astrangerhere]

Originally Posted by astrangerhere

I finished Orbital and Prairie Fires yesterday.

Now I've got:

Paperback:
Selected Letters by Virginia Woolf (2008 edition collected by J. Trautman Banks)

Kobo:
Laura by Vera Caspary

Audio:
The King's Speech by Michael Logue and Peter Conradi

I finished up Woolf last night and have now finished all of these. Now I've got:

Audio:
Garment of Shadows by Laurie R. King (some nice brain candy to continue this series while I am driving)

Kobo:
Private Rites by Julia Armfield (part of my challenge to read books picked by my wife)

Paperback:
The Claremont Run: Subverting Gender in the X-Men by J. Andrew Deman

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Next up: A recent freebie, Lestrade and the Sawdust Ring by M. J. Trow.

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Quickly abandoned. Historical Fictional Mystery with Lestrade as the main character? Sounds great. But I never got to Lestrade. The 'humorous' byplay between Disraeli and Gladstone was enough to make me abandon this with extreme prejudice. If it had been physical, it would not have been tossed lightly aside, but thrown with great force.

I actually went back to read this again, as a set of contemporary cozy mysteries by the same author are on special offer and looked interesting. I wondered if I had been over-hasty in my judgement.

I was not.

[astrangerhere]

Originally Posted by astrangerhere

I finished up Woolf last night and have now finished all of these. Now I've got:

Audio:
Garment of Shadows by Laurie R. King (some nice brain candy to continue this series while I am driving)

Kobo:
Private Rites by Julia Armfield (part of my challenge to read books picked by my wife)

Paperback:
The Claremont Run: Subverting Gender in the X-Men by J. Andrew Deman

Correction - I'm going to save The Claremont Run until next month because my wife wants to read it with me.

I have substituted The Bright Ages: A New History of Medieval Europe by Matthew Gabriele and and David M. Perry. This was recommended to me by the history professor and Terra Ignota author Ada Palmer who has her own new history book about the Renaissance out in March. She said her book is a spiritual sequel to this one. I made a good start on it yesterday sitting in a car dealership/service waiting room for two hours.

[Renate]

Originally Posted by astrangerhere

I made a good start on it yesterday sitting in a car dealership/service waiting room for two hours.

Are you allowed to do that?

Don't they usually require a car or something?