May 2021 Reading Discussion.

[Dave]

I've just tried to find that bit and can't. What's the timestamp?

1.50 - 1.52 ~ she uncovers it inside his pocket rather than pulling it out.

The comments here from Donald Sutherland, Terry Gilliam and Julian Doyle are interesting: The story behind Kate Bush’s Cloudbusting video

None really wanted to be associated with a pop video, but did it because of the Peter Reich book.

 

[HareBrain]

1.50 - 1.52

Ah, I misunderstood your previous post -- I was checking when the men came to take him away.

Good article.

 

[Bick]

I’ve now started Camouflage by Joe Haldeman, which won the 2006 Nebula Award, and so far seems very good. Haldeman is pretty reliable and writes better than many.

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

I am about to start The Years of Rice and Salt (2002) by Kim Stanley Robinson, a massive alternate history, spanning many centuries, in which almost all Europeans were killed by the Black Plague, so that the peoples of Asia came to dominate the world. The above description of Haldeman*, with which I would agree, fits Robinson as well, in my opinion.



*Except for Forever Free, the sequel to The Forever War**, which was not very good at all.



**The similarly titled Forever Peace is not part of the same series.

 

[Ian Fortytwo]

I'm currently reading Childhood's End, by Arthur C. Clarke.

It's quite a good read so far, and as yet doesn't appear to be dated, even though it was published in the 50's.

 

[Montero]

Lois McMaster Bujold, latest Penric and Desdemona novella, The Assassins of Thesalon. Some very good unexpected twists. I do love this series in her world of the five gods.

 

[tobl]

I'm currently reading Childhood's End, by Arthur C. Clarke.

It's quite a good read so far, and as yet doesn't appear to be dated, even though it was published in the 50's.

the tv show is not bad either

 

[hitmouse]

About to start Desolation Road by Ian MacDonald.

 

[Hugh]

Has anyone else read A Book of Dreams by Peter Reich (Wilhelm Reich's son) on which the song was based? I remember it being very affecting.

I got interested in following this one up.

Here's an account of an interview with Peter Reich @2012 :

Lunch with Peter Reich by Christopher Turner

I met Peter Reich for lunch at his home in Massachusetts, two hours outside of Boston. He worked as assistant to the dean of the Harvar...

johnshaplin.blogspot.com

I also hadn't realised that Patti Smith's "Birdland" was inspired by "A Book of Dreams":

Lyrics here:

Patti Smith - Birdland Lyrics & Meanings | SongMeanings

Birdland Lyrics & Meanings: His father died and left him a little farm in New England. / All the long black funeral cars left the scene / And the boy was just standing there alone / Looking at the shiny red tractor / Him and his daddy used to sit inside / And circle the blue fields and grease...

songmeanings.com

and reference here:

Birdland by Patti Smith - Songfacts

Birdland by Patti Smith song meaning, lyric interpretation, video and chart position

www.songfacts.com

 

[Danny McG]

A crime thriller today....
Missing pieces by Tim Weaver

 

[Danny McG]

Gamechanger by L.X. Becket
A cyberpunk and aliens story on a post environment collapse Earth - I think I might have already read it as some bits seem very familiar, however I'm enjoying it so I'll carry on.
I have the sequel Dealbreaker ready and waiting

This duology (finished today) was very enjoyable.
I might do a review on them both, unless there's one online somewhere, in which case I'll just link

 

[williamjm]

I read S.A. Chakraborty's The Kingdom of Copper, the second book in her Daevabad Trilogy. It picks up the story a few years after the end of the previous book, which does mean that the book has a slightly different feel to it. For Nahri in particular the first book had been a coming-of-age story where they found themselves thrust into the middle of a new world they knew nothing about. Several years of having to navigate Daevabad's court intrigue has made her a more mature and wiser character, although there are still some times when her passions will lead her into dangerous situations. I thought the supporting cast was also developed in more detail this time, particularly Muntadhir and Zaynab. One of the things I liked about the first book was the balance between the different factions and what characters wanted and I thought this got more complex in the second book. One of the big problems the characters have is how to chart a course between all the different groups of people in the city when they all have centuries of justification for hating each other, and it is hard for Nahri and others to know which side they should support. The first part of the book is mostly build-up but there is a lot of action towards the end of the book and I thought this was done well. The story does end on a major cliffhanger which does set up some intriguing potential plotlines for the last book in the series.

I then read Martha Wells' latest Murderbot Diaries novella, Fugitive Telemetry. The series has always been enjoyable and this was no exception, it didn't really make any big changes to the overall arc of the series but I thought it was a good science fiction variation on the traditional locked-room murder mystery.

 

[Parson]

I finished Mackey Chandler's: Another Word for Magic. This is yet another in the very long series (6) of books of his Family Law series, which is a part of the April series of 12 books. This man has a way of telling a story that continually frustrates me in his simplistic world view, which I find has a very incomplete view of human nature in both bad and good directions, and yet I find myself reading each new episode. Note, this book has a cover which is just about as unrelated to the book as it can be.

I tried to read Douglas E. richards: A Pivot in Time, but it just wouldn't work for me. I'm not sure why. Maybe another time?

I am now reading In Her Tracks by Robert Dugoni book 6 of the Tracy Crosswhite detective series. I'm devouring it, so it must be the kind of thing I need to read today.

 

[dask]

Will keep an eye open for Crosswhite books.

 

[Danny McG]

I am now reading In Her Tracks by Robert Dugoni book 6 of the Tracy Crosswhite detective series. I'm devouring it, so it must be the kind of thing I need to read today

I've read one a few weeks ago by that author, I think it was called eight sisters....all about a spy who's due to retire but he makes one last mission into Russia.
Very good, I think I too might look at his other books

 

[Bick]

I've been busy with a whole heap of stuff, so I'm only halfway through Haldeman's Camouflage. But I have to say, thus far, it's bleedin' t'rific.

 

[Randy M.]

I've been busy with a whole heap of stuff, so I'm only halfway through Haldeman's Camouflage. But I have to say, thus far, it's bleedin' t'rific.

I enjoyed that one, too.

Just finished The Best Man to Die by Ruth Rendell, another of her Inspector Wexford novels. I enjoyed the first two more, but this was still smart and entertaining. Now about 40 pages into Those Who Wish Me Dead by Michael Koryta, in part because a movie based on it has just come out. I've read two of his earlier novels and enjoyed them, especially the supernatural thriller, The Ridge which read like an old-fashioned horror movie transferred to print. He's adept at sketching in his characters quickly and efficiently, and then feeding them through the wringer. And he writes well.

 

[Danny McG]

A crime thriller tonight
The Magpie by Marrisse Whittaker

 

[Dave Vicks]

Richard Matheson Best of.

 

[Danny McG]

A crime thriller tonight
The Magpie by Marrisse Whittaker

Not so good this one, every character (and I mean every character) had a secret past and had a name change at some point in their life, and they all had increasingly unlikely connections with each other