It's September - what are you reading?

[Vertigo]

@DG Jones I think the Valley of Fear was the last full novel. But I do get rather confused by the Holmes canon.

 

[j d worthington]

Is it? Well there you go, I was under the impression it's a novel. Which one was the last SH novel then?

The Valley of Fear (1914-15)

 

[Extollager]

That's the Sherlock Holmes story much of whose action occurs in the Pennsylvania coal country where my wife comes from.

 

[Randy M.]

Is it? Well there you go, I was under the impression it's a novel. Which one was the last SH novel then?

The Valley of Fear. After that, only short stories, I believe, and those were compiled in The Return of Sherlock Holmes, His Last Bow and The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes.

Randy M.

 

[Vince W]

Started The Martian by Andy Weir ahead of the film release.

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

About to start The Feminine Future: Early Science Fiction by Women Writers (2015) edited by Mike Ashley, which collects stories from 1873 to 1930.

 

[tobl]

Started The Martian by Andy Weir ahead of the film release.

which version? it seems there is a new version by the author.

 

[Bugg]

I'm currently halfway through the final completed novel in Patrick O'Brian's 'Aubrey/Maturin' series, Blue at the Mizzen. I'll feel quite sad when I've finished it, I think, although I'll still have The Final Unfinished Journey of Jack Aubrey to read. And then I'll probably start at the beginning again

 

[hardsciencefanagain]

Ettensohn:Lessons from a Gene regulatory network

 

[Vince W]

which version? it seems there is a new version by the author.

Whichever version Amazon is offering for the Kindle. I hadn't realised there was a revised edition.

I'm about a quarter through it and so far it reads like an Accountant's Guide to Mars Survival. What's keeping me going is there's a certain element of humour in the writing that is enjoyable.

 

[Vertigo]

I'm currently halfway through the final completed novel in Patrick O'Brian's 'Aubrey/Maturin' series, Blue at the Mizzen. I'll feel quite sad when I've finished it, I think, although I'll still have The Final Unfinished Journey of Jack Aubrey to read. And then I'll probably start at the beginning again

I'll be getting started on those before too much longer I've just go a three more Hornblowers to go then it's Aubrey's turn

 

[Bugg]

I'll be getting started on those before too much longer I've just go a three more Hornblowers to go then it's Aubrey's turn

Ooh, enjoy! I found the first half of the first book a bit of a struggle, being new to most of the nautical terms, but after that it was plain - ahem - sailing

I'm going to read Hornblower soon-ish, although I currently have all of Cornwell's Sharpe books sitting on my Kindle taunting me, so they'll probably be my next Napoleonic fix

 

[Vertigo]

Ooh, enjoy! I found the first half of the first book a bit of a struggle, being new to most of the nautical terms, but after that it was plain - ahem - sailing

I'm going to read Hornblower soon-ish, although I currently have all of Cornwell's Sharpe books sitting on my Kindle taunting me, so they'll probably be my next Napoleonic fix

Your enjoyment of Hornblower will be much enhanced if you realise that he is portrayed as a someone suffering from biolar disorder (manic depression). It's never stated (but then it couldn't really be - set in those times) but once I realised it (many books in - I feel a bit stupid for not realising earlier) I was much more sympathetic and my enjoyment of the books increased enormously.

I rapidly figured I needed google available for all those nautical terms during my early reading so I fully understand your problems with the first book. Actually I also tended to keep google maps open much of the time whilst reading; despite a lot of names/countries that have changed since Napoleonic times it still helped enormously in figuring out where they were! I guess I should have bought the companion book which I believe provides all that background stuff.

 

[Bugg]

Your enjoyment of Hornblower will be much enhanced if you realise that he is portrayed as a someone suffering from biolar disorder (manic depression). It's never stated (but then it couldn't really be - set in those times) but once I realised it (many books in - I feel a bit stupid for not realising earlier) I was much more sympathetic and my enjoyment of the books increased enormously.

I rapidly figured I needed google available for all those nautical terms during my early reading so I fully understand your problems with the first book. Actually I also tended to keep google maps open much of the time whilst reading; despite a lot of names/countries that have changed since Napoleonic times it still helped enormously in figuring out where they were! I guess I should have bought the companion book which I believe provides all that background stuff.

Thanks for the tip. I completely agree about the need for maps etc. Regarding companion books, I can highly recommend this one.

I started out reading O'Brian in the paperbacks and was enjoying them, but I switched to Kindle after about seven books and never looked back. Being able to use the built-in dictionary and instant access to Wikipedia made it all the more enjoyable, I found.

I still bought all the paperbacks, though. Without a doubt my favourite series of books that I've read to date, so I had to have physical copies as well. I'm mad that way

 

[Vertigo]

Thanks for the link @Bugg. I may well pick up a copy before I get started. In retrospect I probably should have done that for the Hornblower books but a bit late now. As I say I've still another three to read and I mix them up with my normal SF frer so it'll still be a few months before I get started. I've been using a Sony ereader now for years and I do love them myself.

 

[holland]

I just finished Story of Your Life by Ted Chiang. One of the best SF short stories I have ever read.

 

[ratsy]

I finished Fool's Quest by Hobb. First off, this book was too long, with too many stretches with nothing happening. It actually frustrated me with its lack of urgency. It was 750 pages that could have been a much stronger book at 450 pages. That being said, I love being in her world, and the ending made it all worth it. We got to see some familiar characters again, and I love where the story will go from here. It was missing a lot of what was good about book one too.

I am going to now finish The Elementals which I am around 50% through.

 

[Anushka Mokosh]

I finished The Fleet of Worlds series by Lerner and Niven. After it, I read two shorts, The Man Who Would be King by Kipling and In the Year 2889 by Verne. I fully intended to go and read Earthsea, but sadly, I couldn't get a copy since the library here doesn't carry it and I don't have spare money at the moment to procure it myself. Therefore, I'm rereading Lord of The Rings.

 

[Geoff17b]

I'm at the break point in Seveneves. I'm also early on in A Deepness in the Sky.

It's great to see others delving into the Hornblower books. I devoured them all and have reread them more than once. I only wish I had originally read them in a somewhat logical order. Honestly I never thought of Horatio as bipolar. Time for some self-examination....

I live in LA and am reading a very fine nonfiction book about violence in the LA black community: Ghettoside: a true story of murder in America. Harrowing at times but addresses a very important element of the racial conflict that has surfaced recently in the US.

 

[Vertigo]

It's great to see others delving into the Hornblower books. I devoured them all and have reread them more than once. I only wish I had originally read them in a somewhat logical order. Honestly I never thought of Horatio as bipolar. Time for some self-examination....

I didn't either to start with and just got increasingly mad with Hornblower's constant self-doubt and self-criticism. Then one day I saw a review that casually referred to his manic depression. And I just thought of course. Look at how he plunges into depression after pretty much every major achievement. His mood swings are absolutely massive.