April Reading Thread

[Danny McG]

I recall The Deaf Man vaguely, but....
*Sigh*
Another reread to add to my TBR. The pile is growing and growing and starting to sway.

"Let's hear it for the Deaf Man" was the first actual book title to mention him, however he'd been prominent in some of the books long before that

 

[tobl]

heinlein was correct. is book the number of the beast, in which he explains multiverse, and that there are universes where anything fiction is real someplace else. what i mean is that we are living in someone's invented universe. you don't believe me? that's fine. but think a moment: everybody knowes that things could explode or be at least a lot worst and yet they are not. look at the movies: why is it that in real life, we don't have more terrorist atacks? why son't we have big criminal organizations fighting in the streets? how is it possible for a porn star to be elected for congress or a wrestler for governor? and don't get me started on actors. why dont we have mad scientists? the examples are infinite... dont get me wrong, i like the calm and relative peace of our universe but in no way can it be normal, considering the normal actions of human beings.

 

[tobl]

what if everything that happens is the fruit of some writer in some universe?

 

[Bick]

The Ian Rankin was excellent.

Back to SFF - I’m now starting The City & The City by China Mieville.

 

[Ian Fortytwo]

I'm reading Rogues, by George R. R. Martin. A beautiful eclectic collection of stories.

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

About to start Project Elfhome (2016) by Wen Spencer, a collection of stories set in what seems to be the city of Pittsburgh somehow transported into a fantasy world. I know nothing about the author or this background, but I got the book free for writing reviews for Tangent Online, so what the heck.

 

[Hugh]

Ram Dass “Still Here”
A year or two ago I became very interested in reading personal accounts of the ageing process, specifically people's experience of the difficulties, both physical and psychological, and of the accompanying changes in perspective. I'd reached an age in which limitations had definitely begun to set in and was interested in reading some personal road maps rather than glib self-help manuals. I'd also begun to find the process of the stripping away of my previous layers of identity, of changing perception of time, of reduced capacity and energy levels, surprisingly rewarding (fortunately I do not experience physical pain, and long may that last….). It seems to me that there is something inherent in the ageing process that is an opening rather than a shutting down, and this needs acknowledgement.

The most helpful book by far that was suggested was Ram Dass "Still Here". I had some resistance to reading it - I'm not sure why as in the past I've enjoyed other books by him - but I've been reading it over the past two weeks, and it’s the only book that I've come across that addresses the issues that interest me. Naturally it's not perfect, but it's good enough.
As you probably know, Ram Dass first came to attention as Richard Alpert when he was kicked out of Harvard alongside Timothy Leary for their somewhat ham-fisted encouragement of and research into LSD. He changed his name after meeting his guru/teacher in India. In 1997, age 65, he was a good way into writing this book about getting older when he decided to try to tune into what it felt like to be really old: bizzarely, while doing this he suffered a major stroke and was pretty much wheelchair bound needing ongoing care for the rest of his life (he lived on until last December). The book as a whole is of course deepened considerably by that turn of events.

While reading it, I also re-read the first five volumes of Calvin and Hobbes after a gap of a good few years.

 

[AE35Unit]

I discovered today that McBain wrote the screenplay for The Birds!

 

[Paul_C]

I'm currently enjoying another Jeff Noon detective story, this time one of his Nyquist series The Body Library.

 

[Hugh]

I've been reading through a pile of old magazines from the 60s/70s. Something I really hadn't expected is just how much better the level of journalism/ thoughtfulness/general intelligence is than in any similar magazines I read today. I find today's press embarrassingly dumbed down when I look through these. This was a complete surprise and rather frightening.

 

[BAYLOR]

what if everything that happens is the fruit of some writer in some universe?

Have you ever read Typewriter in the Sky by L . Ron Hubbard ?

 

[Parson]

I finished The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold. It was a joy to read because of the hero. Cazaril is the kind of hero that should be written about more often. His character is wise, humble, brave, and giving. Although he is thrown into the deep end by life he manages to come out the other side, no scathed, but better for it.

Not sure what I'm reading next. It will not be The Paladin of Souls by Lois McMaster Bujold. This is the sequel to the The Curse... but in reading the blurb Cazaril is not a main character. It seems a quest story about one of the minor players and I'm not nearly interested enough in the world she's creating to continue the series.

 

[Garfunkel]

I finished Stephen King's Duma Key this morning. A really great book, with wonderful characters, a vivid setting and many poignant moments. Favourites are tricky, malleable things, but it'd definitely be a contender for my new favourite King novel.

I'm not sure what I'm going to read next. I'd like to read King's latest collection, If It Bleeds, if I can get my hands on it, but I'm also torn between Different Seasons, The Green Mile and a re-read of 'Salems Lot. I also have a copy of Skeleton Crew on the way, as I'm eager to read The Mist. Or perhaps a non-King book first - Hannah Kent's The Good People, Becky Chamber's To Be Taught If Fortunate and Muriel Spark's Memento Mori are options. Choices, choices...

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

Well, I liked The Paladin of Souls, but I agree that it is probably not your kind of story, Parson. Glad you enjoyed The Curse of Chalion so much. I was convinced that Cazaril was a hero you could admire.

 

[tobl]

Have you ever read Typewriter in the Sky by L . Ron Hubbard ?

i do have to send a critic to the author about his work. i'm not sure if his writing drama or comedy. and about the storyline and participants...

 

[BAYLOR]

i do have to send a critic to the author about his work. i'm not sure if his writing drama or comedy. and about the storyline and participants...

It's a fun read .

 

[biodroid]

So I shrugged off The Visitor by Lee Child because of all the annoying shrugging the characters do, plus the writing is not that good and almost 20% into the book and they have not started the investigation yet. It's tedious.

 

[Hugh]

Jack Williamson "The Humanoids"
A bit dated, but the uncertain ending works well.

 

[Brian G Turner]

So I shrugged off The Visitor by Lee Child

My least favourite Lee Child book.

 

[tobl]

It's a fun read .

i'm sorry baylor, i wasn't talking about the typewriter book but about the book we are in. maybe if i was in another universe i would find it funy but since i'm in story, not so much