Two Envelopes And A Phone > Recent Status Updates

I already love four Michael Bishop novels, with Brittle Innings being my big favourite. This one is earlier, and shorter, than anything else I have read by him, and I don't know anything about it.

It has turned into one of the most challenging reads of my life. I had no choice but to deal with it in stages, but the end is almost in sight. I don't really like it, but I'm in awe of its effect. Not the sort of book I thought a list of Radium Age SF Reads would throw my way. James Joyce meets Harlan Ellison meets George Orwell meets Paul West (some authors I love, some I definitely don't!)

Good book. Shall finish it later today, I’m sure.

Fascinating Crime novel - there’s a strange angle to it that, if I didn’t know any better, suggests, well, a supernatural element. That will be a twist I did not anticipate; I think instead that rational explanations for the bizarre bits are more likely. Hmm. I like McLean - he’s cool - and we have great supporting characters. Things do get gory, now and then.

Off to a good start. Fredric Brown's easy style is always a pleasure, so it's just a question of where his weird imagination might take me. This one seems like it won't get madcap, but it's a possibility.

January might be about short books so as to really take an early bite out of my 2025 reading challenge (comic books were last year’s early cheat). Then again, whenever I make monthly plans, or decide on themes to fill out a month, I end up trashing whatever plan, and just switch on the Random Choice Based on Whim function. This book looks like silly fun, so, some of that, please.

The stories range from Quite Clever, to Excellent - so I am quite happy. It’s amazing how short the tales are, too - so yah, okay, characterization is not a priority, but inventive plotting at a quick pace is the reason for coming.

Third time is indeed the charm, when it comes to this author; glad I went back to him one more time, and if things go really well, we’ll be together again. The premise here is totally my jam. This would have been a good one to settle in with on New Year’s Eve - but I’m almost guaranteed to finish it tomorrow morning, and will have to think about what to start as night falls…

Probably the last book I finish this year…though Edmund Crispin or Perry Rhodan may have something to say about that. We’ll see, Meanwhile, I had plans to read a lot of Wainwright in 2024, but it never really happened, after one average read by him. This one sounds pretty good, and I didn’t order a copy - just happened upon it at a Used Book store and am giving it a go.

Dinosaurs and bugs on Jupiter. A nice change from Venus.

Off to Jupiter! Um…to land on Jupiter. Yeah. And, we had a bit of a tease of that, at the start - then backed up a bit. Anyway, this is about what I expected; any proto-SF book from the late 19th century, that involves showing the future (in this case, the year 2000), and space travel, is usually of the “super Hoot and half!!” variety.

These stories continue to be winners. Very happy.

Well, I don’t know if I’m going to go back to Insatiability again before the year turns.,.I think maybe some less challenging reading, or whatever looks that way. Just some fun. Finding out Astor had actually written a proto-SF novel - and discovering another storyteller besides Jacques Futrelle had gone down with the Titanic - means I want to read this, no matter the current average rating around here

Well, I don’t know if I’m going to go back to Insatiability again before the year turns.,.I think maybe some less challenging reading, or whatever looks that way. Just some fun. Finding out Astor had actually written a proto-SF novel - and discovering another storyteller besides Jacques Futrelle had gone down with the Titanic - means I want to read this, no matter the current average rating around here

Emerging as my second favourite series, of this type of Fantasy, after LOTR (which is of course perfect) - and no, I don’t think he’s going to screw it up in the final stretch.