What else are you reading?

[Jo]

I'm reading The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker. It's a combination of fantasy and historical fiction. Overall it's quite good but it does have a tendency to meander in parts.

[Ed]

Jo wrote: "I'm reading The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker. It's a combination of fantasy and historical fiction...."

The description makes me think of Heraclix & Pomp which I read last year, and only half-way liked.

I'm reading The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories, a collection of short stories that won many awards.

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls]

I finished a couple non-SF books while I was traveling with my daughter's basketball team:


Black Wings Has My Angel by Elliott Chaze - an often-overlooked noir crime book with beautiful Hemmingway-esque prose
5 stars


Night Passage by Robert B. Parker - a perfectly acceptable mystery book, first in a series which was eventually translated into some made-for-TV movies I understand
3 stars

[Jim]

I finally struggled through Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome, a 'classic' that I've wanted to read for decades, but have never managed to bear for any length of time. References to it appear in all kinds of places. I first tried it years ago because it was Mr. Russell's (Cliff's father) favorite book in Have Space Suit—Will Travel. Anyway, I finally struggled through it. It was not worth the time or aggravation & it wasn't funny at all. I gave it a 1 star review here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Buck]

Jim wrote: "I finally struggled through Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome, a 'classic' that I've wanted to read for decades, but have never managed to bear for any length of tim..."

I read it in preparation for reading Connie Willis's To Say Nothing of the Dog in which the protagonists travel back in time and have a brief encounter with the three men in the boat. I think I enjoyed Willis's effort a little better. I gave them both 3 stars.

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls]

I enjoyed Three Men in a Boat a lot when I read it last month. Like Buck I read it in preparation for reading To Say Nothing of the Dog. I laughed out loud a few times which is unusual for me unless I'm reading something by Dave Barry or P.J. O'Rourke.

Sorry to hear you didn't like it Jim.

[Jim]

Humor is tough & apparently I keep my funny bone elsewhere. I will laugh out loud a lot reading Dave Barry. Used to really look forward to his column in the Sunday paper in the 80s.

[Ed]

Yep. Humor is tricky. Something can be funny to me or not depending on so many factors, including my temporary mood. I didn't get much fun out of "To Say Nothing of the Dog" and have no interest in "Three Men in a Boat". I'm reading Space Opera at the moment, and am not finding it as funny as I'd hoped. But it is good enough that I'll keep reading.

[Jim]

Rascal by Sterling North is an absolute treasure. I read it back when I was a kid & wasn't too impressed since it was so like my own childhood, but now it's a real blast from the past. Kind of sad how those days are gone. Kids don't have anything like the freedom we did. I gave it a 5 star review here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Another blast from the past was The Dracula Tape by Fred Saberhagen. It is Dracula told from Vlad's point of view & the first in a series of 10 books that take place in modern times. It even has quotes from the original which are logically explained. Great fun. I gave it a 4 star review here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls]

I just finished We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson, her final novel. It really moves slowly and it's not a long book (my copy was 146 pages) but it's a really well told story that doesn't quite go the direction you think it will. This is my second of Jackson's books after reading The Haunting of Hill House a couple years ago and I enjoyed both books a lot (4 stars).

[Jim]

The World of Poo by Terry Pratchett was kind of interesting & amusing. I gave it 3 stars in my review here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Buck]

The Discworld series is on a must-read list in another group. I've read the first two of them, five percent of the series, and found them mildly amusing, a bit silly, not overly engaging. I don't ever expect to read all of them, or even a quarter of them. I wasn't even aware of The World of Poo.

[Ed]

Buck wrote: "The Discworld series is on a must-read list in another group. I've read the first two of them..."

The first two are far from the best and are not the best place to start. I'm glad that I first stumbled upon The Wee Free Men. Loved it and got hooked on Pratchett. Still don't much like Discworld #1 and #2.

Google "Discworld reading order" and you should find other suggested starting places. Of course, you still might not like any of them.

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls]

I finished


March Violets by Philip Kerr

a terrific detective novel which is set in 1936 Berlin during the rise of the Nazi Party as the Olympic Games are about to begin. The mystery part is good but when you add the vivid historical setting it really puts the story over the top, I gave it 5 stars.

[Buck]

I just read A Good Marriage by Stephen King. It's not SF nor even fantasy. I guess it could be classified as horror, King's mainstay. It was short and pretty good.

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls]

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
Rating: 5 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Jim]

NPCs by Drew Hayes was fun & well narrated. It follows a team of adventurers made up of NPCs, NonPlayer Characters in role-playing games like D&D, through an adventure. Kind of a beach read for geeks. I gave it a 4 star review here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls]

I just finished:


The Blue Room by Georges Simenon
Rating: 4 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

And I started reading:


The Sign of Four by Arthur Conan Doyle

[Rosemarie]

I really enjoyed The Sign of Four.

[Jim]

For Whom the Bell Tolls barely got a 4 star review from me. Hemingway's spiraling internal monologues got pretty old. Overall quite a moving story, though. It's here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I listened to a couple of quick YA books afterward. Tales of Uncle Remus: The Adventures of Breir Rabbit was very well read by the author Julius Lester. Not quite what I recalled, but a lot of fun. My 4 star review is here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Upside-Down Magic is a YA book aimed at 5th graders about being yourself. Well done & a lot of fun. My 4 star review is here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Ed]

I just finished "Inside the Atheist Mind". Yuck. I wanted to read something outside my comfort zones. Important to do that from time to time. I felt it was so bad I don't want to rate it or link to it here because that would increase it's profile. Basically the author divides the world into two groups: atheists and Christians. A tiny bit of lip service is done to Jewish and Muslim religions. But even the mere existence of any other religions is simply ignored. (There is brief mention of Roman pagan religions, but those are brushed under the rug because supposedly those were just myths that the people didn't really believe.) His thoughts about what is in the atheist mind come mainly from his own mind, not from talking to any real atheist.

[Ed]

In non-fiction, Clockwork Futures: The Science of Steampunk and the Reinvention of the Modern World was somewhat interesting. It is not about the steampunk fiction genre, but rather about the scientists and societal changes that inspire it. Not bad, but not essential.

[Jim]

Looks like something the preacher down the road from me would write. I think you're correct in not promoting it.

I read your review of "Clockwork Futures" with interest. I think you'd get more out of Redefining Reality. Seems to cover much of the same, although not focused strictly on books.

[Ed]

Jim wrote: "I think you'd get more out of Redefining Reality..."

Perhaps. But I'm not big on listening to audio books, especially for complex topics. If I had access, I might try a few chapters.

[Buck]

Jim wrote: "For Whom the Bell Tolls barely got a 4 star review from me. Hemingway's spiraling internal monologues got pretty old. Overall quite a moving story, though. ..."

This is my favorite Hemingway. 5 stars

[Jim]

I haven't read much Hemingway. I loved "Old Man & the Sea", don't remember "The Sun Also Rises" although I read it in high school. I've read some of his short stories, but can't bring any to mind at the moment, either. I'll try a few if I can get them in audio. Surprisingly, my library doesn't have much of his stuff.

[Buck]

I just finished My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult (pronounced Peeko). Pretty good, almost five stars.

[Buck]

Jim wrote: "I haven't read much Hemingway. I loved "Old Man & the Sea", don't remember "The Sun Also Rises" although I read it in high school. I've read some of his short stories, but can't bring any to mind a..."

For me, Hemingway's big three are The Old Man and the Sea, For Whom the Bell Tolls, and A Farewell to Arms. I didn't much care for The Suns Also Rises. Some of his other novels are better. I've read only a few of his short stories and have no notion to read more.

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls]

I finished four more:


The Sign of Four by Arthur Conan Doyle
Rating: 3 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...


IQ by Joe Ide
Rating: 4 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...


The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
Rating: 4 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...


The Winter of Frankie Machine by Don Winslow
Rating: 4 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Jim]

I read a couple of mysteries:
Holy Ghost, the 11th Virgil Flowers book by John Sandford. Enjoyable as always. I gave it a 4 star review here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Murder on the Flying Scotsman, Daisy Dalrymple #4, was fun, too. Set in the time of Downton Abbey, Daisy seems to always be there when someone is killed. They're short, cozy mysteries. I gave it a 3 star review here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I don't read much YA or UF/PNR stuff any more, but I put The Scarlet Thread on my Kindle for some reason. It has a really neat world, but I don't think I'll continue on with the series. Still, I gave it a 3 star review here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Escape Across The Cosmos is just total escapism, action SF. I gave it a 3 star review here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

It's been an enjoyable month of reading so far.

[Leo]

I needed a break, so I decided to finally start my first fantasy book. Really. I found Tigana, because it was highly praised in another group, people reading it over and over. Also I read it was recommended as one of a few really great stand alones.
So now I'm working hard for 4 weeks already and just passed 50%. Sigh. It's a brick and has a lot of names and emotions and stuff. I will finish it though. It is not even hard to read, only not much in the book is very interesting. I was afraid for some Disney magic but actually when there is magic those are the more interesting parts until now.