June Reading Thread

[hitmouse]

Inspired by Foxbat, I’ve also now started a re-read of The Many-Coloured Land, by Julian May. It’s 37 years since I first read it I think.

I liked that when I last read it as a teenager about that long ago. Interested to know if it holds up.

 

[Vince W]

I’ve never read any of Julian May’s books. I don’t know why. I just always chose other things.

 

[THX1138]

I finished @Rafellin Databane last week, and I did enjoy it very much!
The copy I purchased was in dyslexic font, due to my dyslexia, and it wasn't until I got halfway through that I got used to it.
It was a new style of dyslexic font that, for me, helped to draw my eyes from L to R.

Off to Bleak House by C. Dickens as well as finishing up on other books that I need to finish.

 

[dask]

Finished Paul Theroux’s excellent collection of essays Sunrise With Sea Monsters whose title is evidently taken from an unfinished painting by J.M.W Turner. Next up is:

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

I just read Cuckoo Song, another YA book by Frances Hardinge, since I liked The Lie Tree so well.

The setting of this one is England shortly after World War I.

Young “Tris” (short for Theresa) wakes up sick and confused in her bed, after an “accidental fall” into the river. The doctor called in by her hovering parents assures her that a fragmentary memory is natural under the circumstances, and all that she needs to fully recover is rest and quiet.

But to Tris, there is much more wrong than simply lost memories. She doesn’t feel like those pieces of her life that she does recall are really hers, she has a voracious appetite (not just for food but also for dolls and trinkets, objects which she swallows whole) ... and oh yes, her younger sister hates her. That’s nothing new, but now eleven-year old Penn accuses her of “pretending.” Pretending to be what? Pretending to be Tris.

It’s a challenge to discover the truth without upsetting her over-protective parents, who are clearly harboring secrets of their own, but gradually Tris comes to understand that she is not Theresa Crescent at all. She’s a changeling, magically created out of sticks and paper and leaves and vines to resemble and replace the real Tris, who has been kidnapped by the mysterious “Besiders.”

As the false Tris endeavors to rescue her namesake, the situation becomes increasingly desperate. For a terrible fate awaits the real Tris at the hands of the Besiders, and the spell that animates her would-be rescuer only lasts for seven days—and most of that week is already gone.

For all the supernatural events and characters, this is a realistic portrait of a dysfunctional family, dealing (very badly) with the traumatic loss of a son who never returned from the war. The writing is skilled and often poetic, as Hardinge uses vivid details of the mundane world, circa 1923, to contrast and blend with traditional folklore.

 

[Vertigo]

Half-way through William Gibson's The Peripheral; took a hundred fifty plus pages to get with the cast of characters and 'connect' tp Gibson's style. He's a master at dropping in just enough details without needing to info-dump. Chapters are five pages or less. Now enjoying the ride. Have Gibson's Agency lined up as my next novel length read.

I'm currently about 3/4 through Agency. Chapter length is exactly the same as in Peripheral and yes it takes a bit of getting used to. I think I'm actually enjoying this one a little more, though I did thoroughly enjoy peripheral...once I figured out how his world worked!

 

[Dave Vicks]

Currently Paul Bartel biography, Armstrong 2017.
Doctor Strange comic book 2016.
Print.

 

[Dave Vicks]

Comic books hard cover re-print.CORPSE
ON THE IMJIN AND OTHER STORIES.
2012 Harvey Kurtzman.

 

[Elentarri]

Baptism of Fire (The Witcher #3) by Andrzej Sapkowski
More Geralt in this one. The knight in shining armour somewhat decrepit Witcher and his rag tag companions are on a quest to save the princess.

 

[Parson]

Baptism of Fire (The Witcher #3) by Andrzej Sapkowski
More Geralt in this one. The knight in shining armour somewhat decrepit Witcher and his rag tag companions are on a quest to save the princess.

Why does this bring Super Mario Brothers to mind?

-----------

I've just finished Under the Surface by L.T. Ryan the second Bear & Mandy Logan Novel. This novel is almost exactly like the first except the names and locations have changed. This is not a good thing in my book. I do like the dynamic of an ex Navy Seal who has been on a lot of black ops missions adopting a street wise 14 year old, but the amount of trouble they find in out of the way places, that look like it could be a home for them is a bit hard to swallow. The second thing that drags this book down in my estimation is the high body count, and Bear deciding that "It's time to end this." and what he means is that either Bear or the perp are going to die. I'm not likely to read another in this series.

Avoid --- Not Recommended --- Flawed --- Okay --- Good --- Recommended --- Shouldn’t be Missed

 

[Dave Vicks]

Up next Isabel Allende, IN THE MIDST OF WINTER, 2017.

 

[Bick]

I liked that when I last read it as a teenager about that long ago. Interested to know if it holds up.

I'm about 200 pages in hitmouse, and its certainly holding up well thus far. Well structured, good pace, plenty of character building, it's better than I might have guessed after all these years. I tended to love most stuff I read when I was a teenager, but this actually is good. It's funny that the cover says "...will eventually rival The Lord of the Rings and The Foundation trilogy". Most new book series did back then of course, but I'm amused by the collection of Tolkein and Asimov in the same breath, as they are so different. LoTR is way, way better than Foundation as literature, and the Saga of the Exiles is nothing like either.

 

[HareBrain]

I'm amused by the collection of Tolkein and Asimov in the same breath, as they are so different.

I was surprised to find when reading Tolkien's letters that he enjoyed reading Asimov. I would never have guessed that.

 

[Rodders]

I finished Judge Fear’s Big Fay Out, which was actually quite funny.

Now on to The Fall of Deadworld omnibus by Matthew Smith.

 

[Ubergeek]

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE C86 KIDS ? by NIGE TASSELL

Fascinating read .

 

[Danny McG]

Re-read of the Deathstalker series starting today

I remember reading this series originally and eagerly waiting for the next one to be published, I thought it was way cool.
Looking at it now and it seems so trite and poorly plotted that I DNF

 

[Dave Vicks]

PD James TALKING ABOUT DETECTIVE FICTION. 2009.

 

[Danny McG]

The making of another major motion picture masterpiece by Tom Hanks.

So far it's a quite entertaining fictional account of Hollywood absurdity

 

[Dave Vicks]

Currently WHEN THE AIR HITS YOUR BRAIN. Frank Vertosick jr. M.D.

 

[AE35Unit]

Next up, a re read of Cop Hater by Ed McBain, (1956) before reading others in the series that I got recently.
I think he's my favourite author.