Random’s Comments (group member since Apr 30, 2009)

Random’s comments from the Beyond Reality group.

Kathi wrote: "I really enjoyed Semiosis but have not yet read the next 2. Hmmm, could be a thought for our next SF series… but not sure if Usurpation is the final book or if the author may write more.."

I'm pretty sure we had a conversation about having it be a SF series read before and yet none of us nominated it :D

Shel wrote: "I think I'm going to go for Semiosis. Just requested it from the library and I'm apparently 5th in line for it, so hopefully it'll come in reasonably soon."

I'm curious on what you think of it and Interference
actually I've been dying to discuss that 2nd book with someone who has read the first two.

and OMG the third book is out and I didn't realize. Now to figure out where to shove it in among this massive series I'm on.

On topic, I just finished The Good House by Tananarive Due.

I'm honestly a little torn. I liked the characters and I liked the story, but I struggled a bit with the pacing.

It took half the book before things really got moving, but wanting to know what happened/what was going to happen kept me going forward.

It was also neat that this takes place in Washington state, and while its not directly in my area (Seattle), I am still familiar with where it takes place and what the area is like.

It was also obvious that the author is either also familiar with the area or did some really good research. On the little things, like how it rains here, or that thunder and lightning are rare even though we can have a lot of rainy days. Things like getting the highways right, or that SW Washington is more centered around Portland Oregon than it is around the rest of the state like Olympia which isn't much further, just in the opposite direction.

But, back to the subject, I did enjoy it though I did struggle a bit. The Reformatory is on my list, though I need to get back to the Expeditionary Forces series first. My husband might lynch me if I don't. As is he yells at me at least once a day to read faster. :)

Oh, and I do have to add, Robin Miles narrates the audiobook and I have to admire her skill, handling some strong accents with seeming ease, and handling a cast of characters in a way where each felt unique. I like to say the sign of a really good narrator is one you don't even notice while you are listening. And she nails that really well.

Oh, and I started Jeremiah Bourne in Time by Nigel Planar yesterday by accident. I was messing around with my ereader settings, opened a random book to see its affects, and next thing I knew I was a few chapters in and enjoying myself. :)

I'll likely be starting SpecOps tomorrow. Maybe this evening if the rain lets up enough to take a walk.

I happened to run across a review that I feel is a good example of an actual non book report review.

Its detailed, interesting to read, and gives very little actual information about what happens in the book.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Mine starts with an old newspaper article, so not a great first line intro to a book. :)

From The Good House

"A mudslide on Walnut Lane last Saturday, brought about by heavy rains, has left eight families without homes as a “river of mud” swept whole houses from their foundations and smashed them to bits at midnight."

The first non news paper article line is better.

"THE KNOCKING at her door early Thursday afternoon might have sounded angry to an ear unschooled in the difference between panic and a bad mood, but Marie Toussaint knew better."

Justine wrote: "🤣🤣🤣 yeah I’ve done that!

I’ve read the first two in her African Immortals Series, My Soul to Keep and The Living Blood. Most recently I read [book:The Reformatory|6291984..."

And there's another on the mountain of a to read pile

Justine wrote: "Random, have you read Tananarive Due before? I think she’s a terrific writer. I haven’t read The Good House yet but it’s definitely on my list of things to read soon."

Ok, so here's me reading your post.
"I think she’s a terrible writer."
Me: Aww, I was looking forward to that
"I haven’t read The Good House yet but it’s definitely on my list of things to read soon."
Me: Huh??? That doesn't make sense.

*Squints at screen*
*grabs glasses and looks at screen*

OH! terrific, not terrible!

The joys of getting older. :D

Anyway, I have not read anything of hers before. But the blurb looked interesting so I had to give it a try.

Haven't gotten very far yet, but so far so good. :)

So snow came into town this week and you would think that working from home would mean more reading time. In fact its the exact opposite as I spent way too much time staring at my computer screen than I did anything else.

But I finished Columbus Day
I'm struggling to understand why no publisher would pick this up. It was a fun read and I really liked the characters.

Its kind of military SF, but its not really about the military.
I guess you could toss it into space opera, only it doesn't feel like it to me.
There's some real laugh out loud humor, but its not a humor book either.
It is, at least so far, quite an adventure.

I'm glad my coworker kept bugging me to read it.
I'm glad I mentioned it to my husband during an audible sale and he bought it strictly because he's a fan of the narrator. So he could then bug me to read it.

In short, I'm really glad I read it.

I will be continuing on in the series, but first I wanted to try to read The Good House for Black History Month.

Oh, I should toss out

I've mentioned the Imaginary Worlds podcast a number of times in the past. Well he's done a few episodes in the past that might be of interest.

African Sci-Fi Looks to a Future Climate
28 Days of Black Cosplay
The Legacy of Octavia Butler
Inverting Lovecraft


And in the spirit of diversity, he's also done episodes on
Fantasy and Hinduism
Indigenous Futurisms
Postcolonial Worlds
Asian Futures without Asians
Growing up Avatar American

Justine wrote: "People now do not at all seem to understand what the usual and pervasive attitude actually was? While we were in it is bad enough but being told now that we should have just not put up with it then and so somehow it’s our own fault we were treated that way is just frankly gobsmacking."

Victim shaming and blaming is very common. A society's attitude has such a huge affect. That can't be left out of consideration. Hell even my mother on her death bed in the 21st century, could not accept that a woman could have a job that was as valuable or as hard as a man. Didn't matter what the job was. Only men could work hard. It was a message drilled into her head from the time she was a young girl, and she could never leave it behind for what it actually was.

But, back to the subject of the book
My mother once told me about 3 girls in her class (and she went to a very small rural school in the late 50s) got pregnant. Yeah, it was more common than people want to admit. So much we think we know of the time period is really just Leave It to Beaver type fiction.

One ended up with a HEA type situation. They truly loved one another, he was a good guy, they both had supportive parents (unusual for the time period), and they ended up spending the rest of their lives together as far as my mother was aware.

One was sent off to one of those places and my mother never heard of her again. Like she had never existed from that moment forward. As far as she was aware, they never spoke her name again.

And the third one committed suicide.

Yeah, its not just ghosts, hauntings, serial killers, or the like. Reality can also be horror.

OMG I am so dense.

Add another Veronica G. Henry. It dind't even hit my mind that she was black for some reason.

Anyway, I really enjoyed her short story The Candles Are Burning and her series Mambo Reina (starting with The Quarter Storm) is already loaded in audio on my phone.

I've also heard good things about her Scorched Earth series.

Random wrote: "I've also been drawn to The Good House: A Novel by Tananarive Due.."

Thought I would toss out to Audible members. I took a peak of this book on Amazon, just to see what was available and cost for ebook and audiobook formats. There was a message on the book saying the audiobook version was available for free. Which I grabbed because, well, free books. :)

Shel wrote: "It features Maud, an 88-year-old serial killer. Yes, you read that right. She doesn't go out seeking to kill, but if you annoy this cranky old lady then watch out. It's darkly hilarious.."

Oh I have got to hunt that one down!

Justine wrote: "Ok just finished and it’s good. Sad and scary and no easy outs, but ultimately I liked the way it played out. I think Hendrix is an author who tries very hard to understand women and in this case, girls, and that understanding comes through in his work."

I have to agree. I read some criticism of The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires about the female characters. But I grew up in the 80s. It was very much like that. I witnessed it. Hell its still around, though not as pervasive as it used to be. To this day, there isn't much that will put me into a rage faster than being talked over instead of being talked to. Or others deciding how I should feel or what I should think.

Absolutely N.K Jemisin. I really enjoy her characters, which is why I have to mention Alabaster from the Broken Earth books as one of my favorite black characters. I don't know why I've been so drawn to him. Well him and Tonkee.

A couple of other black authors I have really enjoyed are Tade Thompson, Karen Lord, and Samuel Delany

Nnedi Okorafor has been on my radar, but I have not yet tried anything of hers other than the Just Out of Jupiter's Reach short story.

I keep meaning to get into Victor LaValle and have a couple of his books now, but me and planning a head on my reading do not usually go together successfully. :)

I've also been drawn to The Good House: A Novel by Tananarive Due. It sounds like it could be just my thing. Maybe it, The Ballad of Black Tom, or The Changeling will be on my list for the month.

Tough choices. I wanted to vote for about half of them. :)

Justine wrote: "I’m currently reading Witchcraft for Wayward Girls, and it’s pretty good. I find Hendrix has a good knack for setting and of the three other books of his I’ve read, I’ve loved two ..."

I have that book on my wish list. I've enjoyed all of the books of his I have read so far. I am interested to see how Witchcraft for Wayward Girls turns out without the black humor.

Dawn wrote: "I actually like those people who write book report type reviews because sometimes I'm trying to remember what happened in a previous book without reading the whole book. Or I'm looking for specific criteria in a book for a challenge. Or I'm trying to figure out if the style of book is for me. Or I'm trying to figure out what happened because apparently I missed something or I'm just dense."

My problem with them is they make it pointless to actually read the book when they give point by point blows of a lot of the stuff that happens.

It fits side by side with my utter avoidance of spoilers. I want to discover by actually reading the book, not being told by others.

Shel wrote: "Random wrote: "Finished Roadkill

That was a lot of fun."

Looks fun! Just added to my endless list :)"

I just heard that the author is going to turn it into a series. I believe 2 more books planned. However, Roadkill works just fine as a stand alone.

Started Columbus Day, which is the first book of a huge series (17 so far and counting).

I literally laughed the entire way home. If this keeps up, I'm going to enjoy it. :D

Finished Roadkill

That was a lot of fun.