June 2021 Reading Discussion

[Vertigo]

Oh I find Bear much more accessible. Though I've not read his newer stuff from Darwin's Radio (also his book Slant was awful)

Hah! That's the one I was reading, just finished. I have rather mixed feeling about it; first half was pretty dire but it picked up some in the second half. But it has that thing going on throughout that is so common in cyberpunk books and that I really hate; much of the vocabulary is completely undecipherable even after you've finished the book.

 

[Hugh]

Ray Bradbury “The Day it Rained Forever” (1959)
A collection of 23 stories. Despite the quality of some of the writing, I found it frustrating at times, because so many of the stories are just ten pages or less. For me the ideal length of a short story is 18 to 28 pages, and there are only five stories here that are fifteen pages or longer. Still, it contains one of my favourites, the wonderful “Here There Be Tygers” , and also “Dark They Were and Golden Eyed” (yes, I remember the bookshop), and “The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit” among others.
This little vignette in “The Time of Going Away” did make me chortle:
“What about the Hairy Mammoth episode” she asked. “When they found that frozen elephant in the Russian tundra thirty years back? You and Sam Hertz, that old fool, with your fine idea of running off to Siberia to corner the world market in canned edible hairy mammoth?”

 

[Wayne Mack]

Just finished re-reading Bear Island by Alistair MacLean. Before starting this, I read his WikiPedia and it noted that he suffered from alcoholism. Partly because of this, I think, I was aware of the extreme amount of drinking that his characters did in this story. I still enjoy his work and having re-read four of his novels within the span of a month, I started to recognize some patterns he used. Next up will probably be another re-read -- I am on a personal moratorium on new books until I can cull my existing set, which were at one time stacked three deep on shelves.

 

[hitmouse]

That's interesting; I've been having very similar qualms about getting Mortal Engines. Maybe I should give it a try, though I'm not a great lover of YA - I generally find them a little too simplistic for my tastes, both morally and around plot and characterisation.

Agree this applies to a lot of YA fiction, but I would hesitate to generalise. YA also includes (YMMV):
Philip Pullman
Alan Garner
JK Rowling
TH White
The Hobbit
Lewis Carroll


there s a lot of popular adult stuff that is far more shallow in terms of plot and characterisation.

 

[Danny McG]

Still trading Jack Four by Neal Asher (maybe two thirds of it now read), some of it seems very familiar and SF tropish.
However it's really setting a fast paced and mega violent story so I'm happy to be carried along

 

[dask]

The Sudden Star by Pamela Sargent. The novel begins, “Death was in the nighttime sky. Mura’s Star…a sudden star…appeared in the sky, pouring out energy in a white glare, bathing earth in deadly light, changing life in a thousand subtle ways.”

Well, maybe not so subtle. Mura’s Star is an astronomical anomaly wielding a mysterious power causing an insanity that ends in death and civilization to falter and plunge into decay. Or does it? There are those, usually the more educated, who believe The Sudden Star has no influence at all on the flattening of society and its civilized values. The Author lets the reader decide. Personally, the sf fan in me wishes she had affirmed it one way or the other but I’ll survive. Pamela Sargent is an arresting storyteller. Her world is a shattered landscape in all directions, ugly, violent and corrupt but not completely beyond hope. There are those struggling against insurmountable odds to improve more than just their immediate lot but mostly the prospect for an improved quality of life is bleak and usually ends in death. A downer but not unreadable. Recommended for post-apocalypse enthusiasts.

 

[biodroid]

Walk the Wire - David Baldacci. I can't get into any fantasy, it's all just too cringeworthy for me right now.

 

[Vertigo]

Agree this applies to a lot of YA fiction, but I would hesitate to generalise. YA also includes (YMMV):
Philip Pullman
Alan Garner
JK Rowling
TH White
The Hobbit
Lewis Carroll


there s a lot of popular adult stuff that is far more shallow in terms of plot and characterisation.

That's the problem trying to pick out the ones that I'll like. White, Tokien and Carroll obviously. However Rowling and Pullman didn't work for me but that might just be my move away from fantasy in general no just YA. I've just read the first Vatta's Peach book which frankly is really YA in my view though not promoted as such. It was fun as some lighter distraction!

Another I'd add to your list is Paolo Bacigalupi, his Ship Breaker books are listed as YA but plenty of adult themes, characters and complexity.

 

[Thiswriterinme]

I'm always late on this!

On the Trail of The Sioux by D. Lange
Kundalini Awakening John Selby

 

[Rodders]

I've been really struggling to read anything at all over the last few months, so i'm having to force myself to get back into it. I have shelved Anne Leckie's Ancilliary Justice and am going back to Neal Asher's Transformation Trilogy with Dark Intelligence.

 

[Foxbat]

I have a terrible confession to make. A while back, I picked up three Dune prequels for my kindle (99 pence each). They were Sisterhood Of Dune, Mentats Of Dune and Navigators of Dune. Started reading them and I'm now working my way through volume 2 (Mentats) and (gulp) I'm actually quite enjoying the trilogy so far.

Holding my breath and preparing to be burned at the stake....

 

[Rodders]

I haven't read those three, but i enjoyed the Dune sequels that i did read. Not literature, but good, light read ideal for a commute.

And yes, you will be burned.

 

[Parson]

Sigh! What can I say about Governor by David Weber and Richard Fox.

First, and most important (at least to me) is the fact that the Fury does not appear in this book. One of the main characters, Eira, a young woman survivor seems to have a bit of bezerker in her and an uncanny way when in mortal danger, so maybe a hint of the Fury which will appear in future installments (?). More likely, when the book claims "A companion Novel to In Fury Born, the meaning is more like "in the same universe." To be honest it's been many years since I read In Fury Born, and I can't remember the military/political ethos of the story in any detail, so I can't say for sure.

Second, this is a book whose main character Murphy, should remind readers a lot of Honor Harrington. He's an omni-competent leader who is often underestimated by his foes. A lot of that is by his own doing. He is playing a long game. But for me he just doesn't ring as true. (Now, it is possible that 30+ years and 100's of S.F. books later I might be a little more jaded, nah!)

Third, it did avoid the worst of the Weber info dumps. It does have a lot of speed and distance calculations which I enjoy but not all do.

Fourth, the space battles have to be considered at least a little above average. The Fleet tactics were well thought out and surprised me here and there even after reading a lot of space fleet novels.

But, if I had only picked this book up without any expectations, I might have felt that it was good, mayhap a bit above average. (Of course I wouldn't have picked up a $20 plus novel in hard cover by an unknown author soo ..... Anyway if I can separate myself from my expectations when opening the book, I'd probably give it 4 of 5 stars. With those expectations in place 3 stars.

Finally, I do not believe I will ever purchase another hard cover, or paperback. --- It will take some unusual circumstances. --- I hated holding the book when I sat in my easy chair. I hated not being able to set it upright on the counter while I stood or sat. I hated not being able to stick it in my pocket and carry it along when I go places.

 

[Hugh]

Finally, I do not believe I will ever purchase another hard cover, or paperback. --- It will take some unusual circumstances. --- I hated holding the book when I sat in my easy chair. I hated not being able to set it upright on the counter while I stood or sat. I hated not being able to stick it in my pocket and carry it along when I go places.

You've probably said this before, but what do you use to read?

 

[Parson]

@Hugh I have two main readers. I have a Kindle Fire tablet which I use sitting by a table or counter, and sometimes in my easy chair. If I'm going out and about I have a Kindle White Paper which fits easily in my pocket. I sometimes read off my phone but I do not like the little screen. If I read outside, I always use the White Paper. I find it easier to read than either a book or a tablet.

There are a couple of downsides with the tablet. One (my main problem) there are too many other things to read on it. I subscribe to the Atlantic and the Washington Post via the tablet, and my email is accessible from the tablet and I can get lost in my New York Times from there as well. (About a year ago, the New York Times stopped supporting the Kindle Fire through the app store, and now you click through via an email from them.) And since it is multi-functional I might get distracted by games or other apps as well. Two, it is not as heavy as a hard cover book, and it certainly more manageable in terms of losing your place etc. but it is noticeable that you have something in your hands (I have the 10 in. screen, quite large), much more so than the White Paper. If I could only have one reader it would be the tablet. But the weight and the outside ease of reading makes the White Paper a very handy device.

 

[luriantimetraveler]

I finished Geraldine Brooks's People of the Book this past weekend. It's an ambitious, continent- and time-spanning book that suffers from a lack of depth or nuance — it felt a bit like all the research had been done on Wikipedia (harsh, perhaps). Especially in comparison to Rachel Kaddish (The Weight of Ink, another time- and continent-spanning story about the history of Jewish thought and written artifacts) Brooks's storytelling is a bit lazy and the characters flat. The author has, I think, also some problematic racial biases (a mixed race scientist who is heavily sexualized, a Black cab driver whose cab smells of “ganja”, that the only characters whose accents are written out are Black). Would not recommend.

 

[Dave Vicks]

Finished Mr.PARADISE By Elmore Leonard.
Started FEAR NOTHING by Dean Koontz.

 

[Danny McG]

Started FEAR NOTHING by Dean Koontz

A good book, followed by a good sequel, a pity he never finished the trilogy

 

[Hugh]

@Hugh I have two main readers. I have a Kindle Fire tablet which I use sitting by a table or counter, and sometimes in my easy chair. If I'm going out and about I have a Kindle White Paper which fits easily in my pocket. I sometimes read off my phone but I do not like the little screen. If I read outside, I always use the White Paper. I find it easier to read than either a book or a tablet.

There are a couple of downsides with the tablet. One (my main problem) there are too many other things to read on it. I subscribe to the Atlantic and the Washington Post via the tablet, and my email is accessible from the tablet and I can get lost in my New York Times from there as well. (About a year ago, the New York Times stopped supporting the Kindle Fire through the app store, and now you click through via an email from them.) And since it is multi-functional I might get distracted by games or other apps as well. Two, it is not as heavy as a hard cover book, and it certainly more manageable in terms of losing your place etc. but it is noticeable that you have something in your hands (I have the 10 in. screen, quite large), much more so than the White Paper. If I could only have one reader it would be the tablet. But the weight and the outside ease of reading makes the White Paper a very handy device.

Many thanks @Parson that's very helpful. And thank you for explaining in some detail. I'll be putting these options into action should my reading needs change. I've had a Kindle Paperwhite for years but have read less than ten books on it and only really use it for quick checking of emails. I can see how the Kindle Fire tablet would work better around the house and the Paperwhite for back up when out and about.
My reasons for not using the Kindle have not been about prejudice but simply that much of my reading is cheap paperbacks that compare very well for price with those available on Kindle (plus I like the nostalgic feel). I read very very little current fiction. And the more expensive books that I buy are usually relatively specialist that I can resell fairly easily on Amazon (or used to until March last year), something that I don't think is possible with Kindle purchases.
I'll definitely bear the Kindle Fire in mind as a future possibility. We're fairly low key here with our technology: we share a laptop and an ipad, though my wife also owns a smartphone.

 

[Vertigo]

I can resell fairly easily on Amazon (or used to until March last year), something that I don't think is possible with Kindle purchases.

You are quite correct; eBooks cannot be resold. They are only a licence to read, issued to the individual (well the individual's registered readers actually). Without doing some legally grey stuff to remove the DRM they wouldn't be readable on the buyers reader anyway.