December 2017: Reading thread

I have not read a whole lot of Woolrich. Everything I've read has a sense of emotional frenzy. I read I Married a Dead Man, which has an ending which is gripping, although it makes no sense at all.

Next:

About to start The Gardener's Year (Zahradníkův rok) (1929) by Karel Čapek, translated from the Czech by M. and R. Weatherall (1931), with cartoons by the author's brother, Josef Čapek. It's a slim little book of humorous essays on gardening by the guy who made up the word "robot."

Victoria Silverwolf said:

[...]ending which is gripping, although it makes no sense at all.

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That largely describes the work by Woolrich I've read. And yet he remains really readable, his best stories tense and suspenseful. Again, there's a nightmarish quality to his stories, rather like there is to Philip K. Dick's, though their approaches are different.

Randy M.

I've moved on from John Gardner's spy story now.
This morning I'm into military sci fi with Redliners by David Drake

Dragon's Egg by Robert L. Forward (4/5) This is about as hard as SF gets. What would happen if humans tried to communicate with creatures on a distant star who experienced life 1 million times faster than we do?

Would have given it five stars if it had had any relatable human characters.

Spade said:

Dragon's Egg by Robert L. Forward (4/5) This is about as hard as SF gets. What would happen if humans tried to communicate with creatures on a distant star who experienced life 1 million times faster than we do?

Would have given it five stars if it had had any relatable human characters.

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I see there's also a (less well regarded) sequel Starquake. Though rather frustratingly only Dragon's Egg appears to be available in ebook format.

Vertigo said:

I see there's also a (less well regarded) sequel Starquake. Though rather frustratingly only Dragon's Egg appears to be available in ebook format.

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I have it in eBook

*Coughs guiltily, looks shifty and quickly moves on*

I've failed yet again to pick up the intimidatingly large Darkmans and I'm currently enjoying Empire Star - Samuel R Delany

I'm puzzled that, having owned and enjoyed Babel-17 for a very long time, this is only the second of his books that I've read and that it's taken this long for me to get round to reading one.

I've got Dhalgren and Nova in paperback, and Triton on my kindle since I joined Chrons, so there are more to come after this one

Read Two Serpents Rising by Max Gladstone. He's a really exceptional talent in so many ways - ideas, characterisation, prose - but I didn't enjoy this one quite as much as Three Parts Dead, mainly because he hit me over the head with his message more. A shame.

I would also that he likes doing mysteries, which I think is great, but the one thing he's not exceptional at so far is plotting and that's a bit of a bummer. I still love his work but mad affection has settled into something more sober.

About to start Age of Wonders: Exploring the World of Science Fiction (1985) by David G. Hartwell. Apparently he revised and expanded this book in 1996, but this should still be interesting.

Ready Player One - Ernest Cline. I saw the movie trailer so I want to read the book before it comes out.

Really enjoyed Empire Star, and because he was name-checked in it, my next book is going to be by Theodore Sturgeon - More Than Human.

Finished listening to the Lullaby Girl by Loreth Ann White. This is really the conclusion of the previous book The Drowned Girls. Both books do stand alone, and you need not read the first to like the second. But many loose ends are tied in The Lullaby Girl so book three in the series will have to have a much different feel. I am still slogging through At the Sound of Triumph by David Weber. I am now a little over half way through only 400+ to go. (Sigh!) But this is the best book in the Safehold series in a while. This one actually feels as though it is going somewhere. A major relief for me.

Parson said:

Finished listening to the Lullaby Girl by Loreth Ann White. This is really the conclusion of the previous book The Drowned Girls. Both books do stand alone, and you need not read the first to like the second. But many loose ends are tied in The Lullaby Girl so book three in the series will have to have a much different feel. I am still slogging through At the Sound of Triumph by David Weber. I am now a little over half way through only 400+ to go. (Sigh!) But this is the best book in the Safehold series in a while. This one actually feels as though it is going somewhere. A major relief for me.

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you know, you should really try audiobook listening

Finished the 5th Wave. Really strong and pacey opening, then slowed into a gradually deepening mire of teen romance and passive protagonists. An okay if flawed book.

Finished Dead Cold by Louise Penny.

I enjoyed Still Life, her first novel although toward the end it became a bit more comic than I expected. This one is a step better, retaining Penny's sense of humor and wit, as well as that of her characters, while offering a more sober and disquieting mystery. CC de Poitiers looks to become a minor league Martha Stewart with the publication of her first book and a prospective deal with an American company. But then she dies of electrocution while watching a curling match at her second home in Three Pines, Quebec. Why would anyone murder her and why in such a convoluted manner? Why had she just bought a house in Three Pines? Why is her husband so passive and her daughter so quiet? Why does the paperwork trail on her only go back a few years?

For Inspector Armand Gamache of the Surete du Quebec these questions lead to more questions and to another intimate perusal of the social and cultural life in Three Pines, this time around Christmas. We again get to visit the devoted artists Clara and Peter Morrow, the crusty poet Ruth Zardo, the B & B owners Gabri and Olivier, the bookstore owner Myrna and the Three Graces, Emilee, Kaye and Mother Bea, among others.

There is an abundance of empathy and compassion for the bruised and broken in these novels. Among sf/f fans I think anyone who enjoys Edgar Pangborn or the more compassionate side of Theodore Sturgeon might enjoy these novels.


Randy M.

kythe said:

I found the story of Dracula captivating, but the pacing is rather stop-and-start. I think the descriptions of communication and places are so lengthy because it is so old. It wasn't "made for movie", or for an audience who can easily Google background information or places if they wanted to.

I don't know if that is the real reason for the pacing, that is just my idea. I found both Frankenstein and Dracula to have far more description than what is necessary to tell the story.

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Yea, too much waffle

tobl said:

you know, you should really try audiobook listening

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I do listen to far more books now than I read. But Weber's book was pricey enough as it was (especially since I no longer wait with baited breath for them to come out) and the audio book was another $13 beyond that price. Almost all my books are now read or listened to through Kindle Unlimited. Some Audio is free and about the most I'm willing to pay is $4.

The Big Peat said:

Read Two Serpents Rising by Max Gladstone. He's a really exceptional talent in so many ways - ideas, characterisation, prose - but I didn't enjoy this one quite as much as Three Parts Dead, mainly because he hit me over the head with his message more. A shame.

I would also that he likes doing mysteries, which I think is great, but the one thing he's not exceptional at so far is plotting and that's a bit of a bummer. I still love his work but mad affection has settled into something more sober.

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I liked it, but I'd agree Three Parts Dead was better.

I read Artemis today (the new Andy Weir). Found it a bit disappointing sadly. His main character wasn't very likeable and made a lot of stupid decisions which is always a problem when it's first person POV and there's no escape. :/ Shame.

Dracula is a grade A one classic, however it was always a travelogue with a big bad...
The narrative was miles ahead of its time and used a series of vignettes and crossing of narrative characters and storylines way before Cloud Atlas and others!
Also the scene where Harker looks down from the window and sees the Count scaling the wall like a bloated lizard surpasses any subsequent film treatment for me hands down.