Mark’s Comments (group member since Apr 13, 2012)

Mark’s comments from the The Sword and Laser group.

John (Nevets) wrote: "That is great that that is an option for some, but I was actually referring to "Prime Reading" It's sort of a KU light, but as far as I can tell it is free with prime and has a few cool books in it."

Thanks for the heads up. I had a print copy but I think I gave it away years ago.

Update: There are some good SF&F titles in Prime Reading.

Thanks Elizabeth.

I signed in to the Audible UK marketplace but no Stephen Fry Potter there.

Anyone know which Audible marketplace Fry's version can be found?

Does Audible let you change your location from US to UK?

Ok, here we go. The word from Audible.com is

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Book 1
By: J.K. Rowling
Narrated by: Stephen Fry

Title Not For Sale In This Country/Region
We're sorry, Audible is not authorized to sell this title in your country/region. Please consider another book.

I read the American edition (Sorcerer's Stone) many years ago.

Is Stephen Fry's audio version the UK text or the American text?

Found this debate on Fry vs Dale.

https://bookriot.com/2013/12/09/steph...

I briefly interrupted my read of The Fated Sky to read Artificial Condition by Martha Wells, the second book in her Murderbot series.

The main character of the series, a rogue SecUnit, has a host of anxieties just like Elma, but without a partner like Nathaniel, it's having issues coping with and caring for the humans it encounters. Apparently there is no Miltown for self-aware killing machines. ;-)

Got distracted in the middle of The Fated Sky when the library texted me that my hold on Artificial Condition was available, so now I'm reading this installment of the Murderbot tales. I put in a request that my local library purchase the other Murderbot titles. They aren't available from Overdrive for some reason.

Trike wrote: "Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom."

This was a favorite of mine as a kid.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbJXz...

Cartoon by Giulia Forsythe

Second best pajamas?

I looked at MRK's website and didn't see any of the other Lady Astronaut stories in audio.

I had to lookup Miltown when it was first mentioned in the book and found an article (and radio show) titled "Miltown: a game-changing drug you've probably never heard of"

https://www.cbc.ca/radio/ondrugs/milt...

Question for MRK: Did your research for TCS include pharmaceutical history and did you learn anything that surprised you?

Ancestral home of the Irish Cow

Cartoon by Dan Reynolds

The emotional moments of TCS hit pretty hard when reading. I can image that they are amplified when listening to a good audio performance. Nevertheless, when I got to the end of the book, I felt hopeful. Let us now how you feel when you finish.

Erik wrote: "Oh hey, MRK just posted "The Phobos Experience" free on her blog today! It's no longer behind the paywall of F&SF magazine!

http://maryrobinettekowal.com/journal......"

Cool. Added the link in the OP too.

Welp... I got a kick out of The Calculating Stars. I found these ordinary people doing extraordinary things, fascinating. I guess I also enjoyed this book because I grew up with the US space program. One of my favorite books is The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe which looks at the people who participated in the space program. Ms. Kowal's tale feels like the real thing. So, I'm all in for more of the Lady Astronaut verse. I just bought a copy of The Fated Sky and found this interesting interview with the author.

https://www.theverge.com/2018/9/18/17...

Shad wrote: "Articulated Restraint is now posted on tor.com by itself:
https://www.tor.com/2019/02/06/articu..."

thanks, added the link up in the OP too

UPDATE: It helps if you read this post in your best movie trailer voice.

Moar Lists!!

From the House of Random Penguins

The Best Sci-Fi Books of All Time
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/th...

and

The Best Fantasy Novels of All Time
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/th...

Should I be suspicious that these lists are on a publisher website even though they are the best of All Time?

Lots of S+L picks. Maybe there is a future S+L pick too.

^I'm in the same boat. I've purchased too many Kindle books on sale. Since Amazon doesn't offer "books read" info I've done the Goodreads workaround, tagging all my Kindle books with their own shelf. It's a pain to setup, but once done, it's pretty easy to maintain.

Ian wrote: "I nominate The Last Wish (The Witcher #1) by Andrzej Sapkowwski
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4..."

The Last Wish was the S+L pick for August 2016. See https://swordandlaser.wikia.com/wiki/...