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

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by CRussel

Still reading Devices and Desires on audio, but meanwhile I read E. R. Braithwaite's To Sir With Love. The movie was very closely based on the book, and it was a pleasure to revisit it. But also a bit of a downer, seeing so many of the issues that Braithwaite dealt with still a major problem.

And I read Braithwaite's second memoir, Paid Servant, about his time being seconded from teaching to work as a social worker dealing with "difficult" cases (almost all mixed race cases). Not as compelling as To Sir With Love, but in many ways more revealing. Overall, I didn't enjoy it nearly as much, but it was worth the read.

Now reading Troublemaker, by Joseph Hansen. This is the third Dave Brandstetter mystery, and I am quite enjoying rediscovering these books after so many years. They have stood up well.

[ReadingManiac]

Originally Posted by PurpleStar

Last night I finished In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware. Good mystery/thriller. Next up is Star Trek: The Next Generation Hearts and Minds by Dayton Ward.

Intriguing title, how good was it?

[astrangerhere]

Originally Posted by astrangerhere

I am currently reading Virigina Woolf's To The Lighthouse and Isaac Asimov's I, Robot.

Finished both of these - one last night and one this morning. Enjoyed both immensely in different ways.

I had never read I,Robot before and was surprised to see that the action centered a woman who had been one of the founders of the robotic society. Asimov didn't quite go so far as to let her be a robotics scientist (she was a psychologist), but I was surprised to see it from a book written in 1950.

Moving on to Ahmed Saadwi's Frankenstein in Baghdad on the Kobo and a quick relisten of The Old Man and the Sea for the New Leaf Book Club.

[PurpleStar]

Originally Posted by ReadingManiac

Intriguing title, how good was it?

Pretty good! It kept me entertained throughout and it did get a bit dark at times.

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by CRussel

Now reading Troublemaker, by Joseph Hansen. This is the third Dave Brandstetter mystery, and I am quite enjoying rediscovering these books after so many years. They have stood up well.

Well, even for Mr. Hansen, this was a bit convoluted! Seriously, the weakest of the three, with too many characters and too many red herrings. OTOH, I still enjoyed it, and I still want to read the next, so I guess that makes it a solid 3 stars.

Next up, a bunch of Liaden shorter works. I haven't got time to focus on anything new, and falling back into a wonderful old friend just feels right.

[Dngrsone]

Finished Mustaine; very interesting. Dave tries very hard throughout the book to be even-handed about spreading the blame and assigning credit where it's due.

Much as he regrets being let go from Metallica, I think that he would not have lasted in the band very long even under he best of circumstances: as he said himself so early on in the book, he felt like his role was as band leader, and that would put him in direct conflict with Lars Ulrich.

So, while he may have had some influence on the initial direction of that band, the forming of Megadeth was inevitable.

And while I do not wish that much misery upon any person, I am glad that things turned out the way they did: I enjoy both bands.

Conveniently enough, my digital hold for Into the Fire, the latest Elizabeth Moon book, came through just in time. Loading it onto my reader along with that Hemingway that I must read by the fifteenth.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

And also Mr Penumbra's 24-hour Bookshop.

I rarely have so many books on the go!

I've finished Mr Penumbra's 24-hour Bookshop. Not what I was expecting at all! A most enjoyable modern 'fantasy', or perhaps merely an alternate universe. But not with anything supernatural. Recommended.

(Although perhaps my knowledge of what was approximately real history and what was made up helped)

[Luffy]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

I've finished Mr Penumbra's 24-hour Bookshop. Not what I was expecting at all! A most enjoyable modern 'fantasy', or perhaps merely an alternate universe. But not with anything supernatural. Recommended.

(Although perhaps my knowledge of what was approximately real history and what was made up helped)

How did you find the time to read that book (and all the other books you've read) so fast?

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by Luffy

How did you find the time to read that book (and all the other books you've read) so fast?

Well, I used to rad on the train and bus in my daily commute. But since switching to car share, I can't do that, so my reading rate has dropped considerably. Now I just get half an hour at lunchtime and perhaps a few minutes waiting in the morning. Perhaps the best is half an hour or so most days before going to sleep.

Sometimes, I read longer. I finished off the latest book by reading in bed for about three hours before going to sleep.

But only 12 books finished this year so far (& 1 abandoned). I might not make 100 this year.

[Dngrsone]

I've gotten only three chapters into this new Vatta's Peace book and already I'm disappointed: the characters, particularly Grace Vatta, are acting like freaking idiots. As in out of character...

Spoiler:

like, if you are the head of national security for the planet and someone tries to assassinate you in your own office, and you have been made aware of a vast conspiracy threatening your and yours, does it make any sense whatsoever to allow your personal security to be separated from you, sending your car away and entering your empty house alone?

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by Dngrsone

I've gotten only three chapters into this new Vatta's Peace book and already I'm disappointed: the characters, particularly Grace Vatta, are acting like freaking idiots. As in out of character...

Spoiler:

like, if you are the head of national security for the planet and someone tries to assassinate you in your own office, and you have been made aware of a vast conspiracy threatening your and yours, does it make any sense whatsoever to allow your personal security to be separated from you, sending your car away and entering your empty house alone?

Overall, I'd say this is the weakest of Moon's recent books. Overall, I still enjoy them, but I'd give this no more than a weak 4 stars. And that only because I have history with her and with Vatta. In this book especially, Grace is a far less effective character than we'd come to expect.

[WT Sharpe]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

Just ordered a used copy of a book I couldn't find in ebook form: Alien Earth and Other Stories by Roger Elwood. I haven't read "Alien Earth" in probably 50 years, but this weird tale of a man who takes a drug that alters the way he perceives time has stuck with me ever since (although for years I couldn't remember the name of the author or the title). I recall him painting a vivid picture of how the world would look were our metabolism slowed down to that of plants. I'm looking forward to seeing this one in my mailbox.

Originally Posted by drjd

Seems an interesting plot. Although I don't buy print books anymore, I'll be waiting for your comments once you have read it.

The book came yesterday and I read Edmond Hamilton's title story in the collection and it was even more remarkable than I remember. The trees were communicating, and their expressed opinion about the protagonist was not reassuring. Highly, highly recommended short story.

I haven't yet read the other stories, but with names like Robert Bloch, Erle Stanley Gardner, Arthur C. Clarke, Ray Bradbury, Isaac Asimov, and others included, I have a good feeling about this collection.

Erle Stanley Gardner wrote sci-fi? Who knew? I didn't.

[seanyyz]

I’ve started the Remains of the Day which I should have read years ago.

[BenG]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

Erle Stanley Gardner wrote sci-fi? Who knew? I didn't.

So did Travis McGee author John D. MacDonald.

Lot of the old writers wrote for all the different genre magazines using pseudonyms. I know Robert Silverberg wrote erotic fiction in the early days but he won't reveal the pseudonym he used.

[BenG]

Originally Posted by BenG

I am three chapters into Pride and Prometheus by John Kessel, a sequel to Pride and Prejudice. Mary Bennett, verging on spinsterhood, meets the enigmatic Victor Frankenstein. The chapters alternate between Mary, Victor, and the Creature. Very good so far, as I would expect from Kessel.

I finished this. Kessel did an excellent job staying close to the tone and themes of the originals. There's no comparison to those mash-up novels that were popular for a while like Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.

I also finished An Autumn War, the third book in Daniel Abrahams' Long Price quartet. Each book seems to take place around 10-15 years after the previous one. I can't wait to finish the series with The Price of Spring.
Abraham is one-half of James S.A. Corey, the author of The Expanse series.