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What Else Are You Reading?
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What else are you reading - May 2020
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Rob, Roberator
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May 01, 2020 05:52AM
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Hello Everyone,I'm currently re-reading The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. Right now I just want to read something that makes me laugh. The British have a brilliant sense of humor. I don't know why, somehow it's like the characters in the book were based on people I know. I will write a review when I'm finished. Click the link below for information on the book.
Happy May!
Donna White
https://www.amazon.com/Hitchhikers-Gu...
Mark Lawrence just dropped a new one, The Girl and the Stars , Cinco de Mayo is also the day Age of Empyre drops by Michael J. Sullivan. Skin Game will put me even and waiting for Peace Talks.
Just read The Man Who Fell to Earth by Walter TevisHighly recommended
I will be watching the film on which it's based again in the near future
Finished with The Robots of Dawn. I think I gotta give Foundation another chance.Starting a newly released book with a fantastic title: Sharks in the Time of Saviors. I love sharks.
TRP wrote: "Just read The Man Who Fell to Earth by Walter TevisHighly recommended
I will be watching the film on which it's based again in the near future"
I saw that movie at the age of 12 and was very impressed. Parts of it are dated, as for instance the NASA stock footage, but it's still a great movie. Bowie was just plain incredible in the role.
Reread the Murderbot series by Martha Wells in preparation for the new book coming out tomorrow. Currently reading The Library Book by Susan Orlean.
Listening to Empress of Forever by Max Gladstone and it is cringey cultural appropriation + male gaze lesbianism.I had to stop and listen to The Prisoner of Limnos by Lois McMaster Bujold instead, which was really good.
Read The Letter for the King, because for some reason I assume that when a book is getting made into a TV show (this one on Netflix) that it must be good. This one was pretty lame. It's billed as YA, but probably just because the protagonist is 16. I'd say this would hold little excitement for anyone over the age of 8.Just started Finder, a sci-fi heist caper which is pretty good so far.
Silvana wrote: "Finished with The Robots of Dawn. I think I gotta give Foundation another chance."I fully endorse this. 👍
I just finished Dead Astronauts. I finally found a Jeff VanderMeer book that was too weird for me.Moving on to The Light Brigade, the Hugo nominee I am least excited to read. On the plus side I'll be able to finally listen to the spoiler section of the S&L wrap-up podcast.
I finished listening to The Once and Future King on Audible this morning. The narrator was excellent. I really loved the first part of the book, found the middle part kind of a drag, and then enjoyed the last forth (I guess I pretty much enjoyed all the parts with Arthur and Merlin and not so much the parts with Lancelot and Guinevere and the other knights).Delved right into Magician: Apprentice as soon as I finished.
I've been really bad these last couple of weeks, and have just been watching movies while working from home instead of listening to my usual audiobooks. It took me way longer to finish Good Omens than it should have, but I finished it today after sequestering myself in my home office, haha. Loved it, and maybe loved it even more than my initial print read forever ago. The narrator was top notch.Moving on to listening to Dragonfly in Amber this afternoon. Still haven't received my copy of this month's pick from the bookstore, so I'll probably just end up reading some fluffy, quick romances until it gets here. My brain doesn't seem capable of handling much else right now.
I'm reading 1Q84. I bought this book in hardcover a long time ago as a spontaneous walk through the bookstore. I'd heard of Murakami and this book before and was intrigued. But since I work at a library I'm in a nonstop habit of putting lots of things on hold, and when I have a library book (either physical or ebook) I feel like I need to prioritize that because I have to give it back. So I haven't read this book I own. So I just made a point to start putting off my digital holds as they come up, and I'm sitting down to read this. Also, in quarantine, it's easier to sit down to read a big heavy book, I don't have to carry it around with me.
So far it's interesting and engaging but slow moving. I hope it can keep me interested for it's many many pages.
Recently read (well, listened to, actually) Steven Erikson's Willful Child series; Analee Newitz' Autonomous; Liu Cixin's The Three Body Problem; Joe Abercrombie's A Little Hatred; and Ann Leckie's The Raven Tower. Currently chipping away at A Memory of Light, the last of Jordan/Sanderson's WoT series, with occasional dips back into Saladin Ahmed's Throne of the Crescent Moon, Matt Ruff's Lovecraft Country, Paul Beatty's The Sellout, and Miles Cameron's The Fell Sword.
A few other books I've started but haven't looked at for so long I wouldn't really call myself still reading them, exactly (still working on Erikson's The Crippled God, for example, but I probably haven't picked it up in a year).
Just started Leckie's Ancillary Sword and the fantasy anthology Unfettered #1 by Shawn Speakman (edit.).
Managed to finish my Audible and Kindle books both on the same day.Kinda mostly enjoyed listening to Claire North's The Pursuit of William Abbey. It was a slow starter and the period setting (late 19th / early 20th century) didn't really endear it to me. I'd describe the story as a sometimes exciting series of events. Could have done with a more definite goal to drive the overall plot.
Much more definitely enjoyed False Value (the most recent Rivers of London book) and am now facing up to the fact that I've caught up with the author and likely have an 18 month wait for the next book in the series. It's too long!
Not sure what I'm going to fill my audiobook time with next, but going to make a start on the Murderbot novel Network Effect very soon.
Finished Finder and really liked it. The main character is a finder, a sort of galactic repo-man, and the book starts out looking like an action-oriented heist book. But there are some extra features that help it rise above the genre. The world-building strong. There's some pretty distinct settings: a galactic backwater, then bustling Mars, and the action doesn't slow down just to do the world-building - the pace is fast throughout. Then, the main female character is aged 19 or so, and I was worried would turn into a love-interest for the (older) main character. Turns out, she becomes a main character in her own right. And finally, there are some properly mysterious (and powerful) aliens who play a role in the plot. I was worried they would provide some sort of deus ex machina ending, but it turns out the characters mostly make their own decisions and find their own solutions.
I’m reading The Gone World by Tom Sweterlitsch and I’m really enjoying the mix of space opera sci-fi with down to earth mystery but there are a couple of incongruities that made me chuckle. On one page the author makes note of the melting snow and mud and how summer is starting to peek through, then on the next page the characters are picking foxglove and asters. Several pages later the main character has to walk around a strawberry “bush”. As a gardener both of these things made me laugh out loud.
I just finished The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. Read or re-read this classic, if you want a dose of laughter. Check out my review below and join in the fun!https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
^Just got it in off library hold! It's next after I finish this month's read. Isn't Gail Carriger great? The wit and charm just flows off her books as if effortlessly.
Finished Network Effect. I liked it, but I think the novella format is better. Too much padding for my liking.Starting The Last Astronaut.
I read To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers this past week - one of my recent purchases through Bookshop.org to help support local bookstores during all the shut-downs. It's not quite the same vein as her previous books, but there is a crew that is traveling to exoplanets that might prove habitable with some somaforming. There are four different planets that make up quarters of the novella.
To be honest, what I loved the most was how at the end, she talks about the science she used, and who her top science source is. :)
John (Taloni) wrote: "^Just got it in off library hold! It's next after I finish this month's read. Isn't Gail Carriger great? The wit and charm just flows off her books as if effortlessly."Indeed :)
I finished The Light Brigade. I thought it was pretty good but didn't totally hold together for me.Next I'm reading Pale Rider: The Spanish Flu of 1918 and How it Changed the World for book club. Not sure I'm looking forward to it given current circumstances.
Geoff wrote: "Next I'm reading Pale Rider: The Spanish Flu of 1918 and How It Changed the World"
I found it to be excellent and informative, if not entirely complete. (None of the Anti-Mask League, for example.) But then I’m someone who likes to do a deep dive into a subject that’s affecting me. “Knowledge is power” and all that.
Putting The Burning White on hold briefly to listen to Magician: Apprentice. I’ll probably listen to Master, too, before going back to Lightbringer series. This covid-19 stuff is really hampering my audiobook time.In other reading, I’m doing a buddy read of A People's History of the United States. It’s dense material but fascinating.
Also my cat broke my computer so posts will be complicated for a little while.
terpkristin wrote: "Also my cat broke my computer so posts will be complicated for a little while."I think we need to know more about this.
https://twitter.com/terpkristin/statu...Basically, my cat was doing what cats do and rubbed up against the screen, knocking it off the table I keep it on. And normally I would have stopped him but had my hands full. Honestly, this was probably an accident waiting to happen.
Last week, I finished A Song for a New Day. When I bought this book back in December, my initial thought reading the blurb on the back was, "Oh this is one of those post-apocalyptic kinda things. Not really my thing but it is about music which is so my thing so I'll give it a whirl." Then I put it on the shelf. Cue a world-wide pandemic and I remembered that I had this book. It is very timely. It reflects what we are currently going thru with social distancing and delves into the after-effects. Plus it is about music.I've had a little bit of a book hangover after reading it. My brain keeps going, "What if this really happens? I don't know if I can handle it!" And I'm an introvert. Staying home is my jam. :p
I'm trying to read Artificial Condition now but its been slow going. Stupid brain!
Finished Good Omens which I really didn't get along with. Started Altered Carbon
Misti wrote: "Last week, I finished A Song for a New Day. When I bought this book back in December, my initial thought reading the blurb on the back was, "Oh this is one of those post-apocalyptic..."Cable news: "Up next we interview [insert science fiction author] on their book about [insert infectious disease] and how it parallels the coronavirus."
— Trike (@Trike) March 30, 2020
terpkristin wrote: "https://twitter.com/terpkristin/statu...Basically, my cat was doing what cats do and rubbed up against the screen, knocking it off the table I keep it on. And normally I wo..."
My videocamera was broken when the cat knocked it off my desk a couple months ago. The good news is it gave me an excuse to upgrade to 4K. Bad news is I have $500 less to allocate to toilet paper hoarding. Now I store valuable electronic devices on the floor and hope that my daughter won't step on them.
The worst part is, it wasn't even MY cat. It's my neighbor's cat, but she seems to think she owns this place for some reason, probably because I feed her and let her sleep wherever she wants.
I’m skipping this month’s BOM, but staying S&L with March madness pick The Bear and the Nightingale. It’s a fun read so far, although I haven’t met the bear or the nightingale yet. (view spoiler) And I’m enjoying all the Russian fairy-tale characters.
I've been out of sync with the pick of the month for the past couple months.... A bit delayed, still reading them. On audio I'm currently listening to Shorefall and in text I'm reading Stormsong.
Recently finished The Light Brigade (audio), The Queen's Bargain (text), The City in the Middle of the Night (text), and The Starless Sea (audio).
I have two more Hugo best novel nominees to read. Will see if I get to them in the next month.... Too many prior holds to rearrange!
Maclurker wrote: "It’s a fun read so far, although I haven’t met the bear or the nightingale yet..."Or have you?
Recent reads I really riked:The Last Emperox was great, also painful.
Star Trek: Year Five - Odyssey's End really nails both the character voices and the show’s vibe.
Bujold’s “Penric & Desdemona” novellas are terrific.
Recursion is similar to but better than Thrice Upon a Time. Recommended.
Feed by M.T. Anderson is really great. One of the few reviews I’ve felt compelled to expend energy on lately: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Wonder Woman: Year One Deluxe Edition is simply great.
Trike wrote: "Recent reads I really riked:The Last Emperox was great, also painful.
Star Trek: Year Five - Odyssey's End really nails both the character voices and the show’s v..."
Thanks for the recommendations Scooby
Trike wrote: "Recent reads I really liked:Bujold’s “Penric & Desdemona” novellas are terrific.
Agreed; glad I'm not the only one reading them!
Wrapped up Louise Cooper's Time Master trilogy with The Master (I enjoyed them quite a bit) and went for something even further back -- Lorelei of the Red Mist: Planetary Romances, a collection of Leigh Brackett's stories.
Finished with The Last Astronaut. Kinda like watching a scifi horror B movie. Meh.On a whim I just stared listening to Her Body and Other Parties and thanks to terpkristin's suggestion, starting Failure is Not an Option: Mission Control From Mercury to Apollo 13 and Beyond.
Iain wrote: "Thanks for the recommendations Scooby"Rour relcome!
🐕
Geoff wrote: "Trike wrote: "Recent reads I really liked:Bujold’s “Penric & Desdemona” novellas are terrific.
Agreed; glad I'm not the only one reading them!"
Speaking of which, the latest, The Physicians of Vilnoc, came out this past Saturday.
My cup runneth over! Got Gail Carriger's latest, Defy or Defend off library hold and am reading it now. Oh, that intro. Right on its tails comes Network Effect which I will get to in a few days.Before that, it was Scalzi's most recent book, the finale of the Interdependency trilogy, The Last Emperox. Scalzi is routinely hilarious, which keeps me coming back to him time after time. This book has a plot, kinda. Most of the book's events are crammed into the final 20% and by itself is fairly unfulfilling. Along the way Scalzi's wry take on events kept my interest flowing.
The book has an interstellar empire, Houses of nobility with trade monopolies, an Emperor - well, "ox" to account for both genders - and those Houses taking over each others' planets. Interstellar travel is a bit iffy and takes expert navigation.
Of course that immediately suggests comparisons to Dune. But Dune this is not. If Dune was a Shakespeare drama played with utmost seriousness on the busiest Saturday night, this is the same actors parodying their lines the next day while half drunk.
The stereotypes abound, odd for an author so conspicuously attached to progressive causes. The Emperox is nerdy asian female with white boyfriend. There's a character who is loud, swears a lot and has sex with a large number of people. She's later revealed to have ancestry from West Africa. Really? Could this be any more of a stereotype? If there is a more subtle point being made I'm afraid I missed it. Welp, at least all ethnicities mentioned have a chance to be both evil and good, that part at least is equal opportunity.
Scalzi also has contempt for them evil second amendment loving conservatives, and mocks them as being "uneducated and feral" with no place in a modern society. The timing of this sentiment is particularly poor. The upcoming failure of the interstellar routes and concomitant loss of trade in the book tracks a little too close to recent pandemic related issues. It's those right-leaning farmers and truckers keeping us fed, and oil and gas workers keeping us in electricity. We need the "uneducated and feral" plenty.
The ending is full of shock value and repeated reveals. It's okay as one-upsmanship in fiction. Reminded me of Android's Dream with reveal after reveal after zzzzzzzz.
Anyway, it was amusing enough. I believe I've read all of Scalzi's fiction and will be back for more. He ranges from outright hilarious to funny even if the underlying plot is more than a little thin.
While waiting on books I filled in with the Poul Anderson book The Boat of a Million Years. This novel follows ten "immortals," people of somewhat more than regular human sturdiness who live forever unless killed. Most of it is classic Anderson historical fantasy. It's decent enough if pedestrian throughout most of the book.Then we get past the present day and into space, where the Immortals head off for, well, I'll leave that if anyone is going to read. Thing is, I felt I'd read this before. Two of his other late in life books, Harvest of Stars and Starfarers, cover similar ground. There's a rebellion on ship due to a course change that's virtually identical in two of the books. A concept of a nano-connected alien ecosystem, kept alive by distributed computing power, appears in all three.
It seems that Anderson had an idea he just couldn't shake as he got older, and worked it into many books. It's a long way from his earlier works. Not bad, but odd. An insight into the mind of an SF author nearing the end of life.
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The Sword and Laser
Books mentioned in this topic
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