SO FREAKING GOOD! I think I told my story here in December of having a Zoom call with Carlos Hernandez and my fifth graders, which was like the coolest thing ever. It’s my favorite kidlit of the past decade, at least, and rewards multiple readings.
Recently finished:
Voices of the Fall, edited by John Ringo and Gary Poole
Now reading:
The Valley of Shadows, by John Ringo and Mike Massa
Next up:
River of Night, by John Ringo and Mike Massa
All part of Ringo’s “Black Tide Rising” zombie apocalypse series.
Started today on a non-fiction book, Raw Dog: the naked truth about hot dogs, by Jamie Loftus. I will not be finishing it because it’s already overdue at the library, but it’s pretty amusing. Whoever else here read it recently, I picked it up because of you.
Sal and Gabi Break the Universe had been on my TBR list for a while, but when I read your story about the Zoom call, I moved it up. Thanks!
Back on track: Finished Frankenstein’s Brain: Puzzles and Conundrums in Mary Shelley’s Monstrous Masterpiece, by John Sutherland, which was very interesting and occasionally quite humorous. Recommended for anyone who read Frankenstein.
Now I’m reading System Collapse, by Martha Wells.
I finished listening to Persuader by Lee Child. A decent Reacher novel, which I read primarily because it’s going to be the basis for Season 3 of the Reacher series on Amazon.
Next up: The Latecomer by Jean Hanff Korelitz, based on the review by @Ulf_the_Unwashed. Like Ulf, I thoroughly enjoyed The Plot by this author, so I’m looking forward to this one.
Finished System Collapse, by Martha Wells, which I enjoyed.
Next up: Desert Wisdom: Sayings from the Desert Fathers, translated by Yushi Nomura.
Just finished The Ferryman, by Justin Cronin, whose apocalyptic vampire series The Passage was pretty great. I had high hopes for this one, and boy was I ever disappointed.
It starts off as a knockoff of The Time Machine: a utopian world supported by an almost invisible underclass, where you know shit’s gonna go real bad. But there are also hints of surreality, of “this is not what it seems,” of interesting mystical ideas.
The book had so many cool places it could go. And it squandered all of them. The class issues were handled with zero subtlety or insight. The big reveal was something any SF reader has seen a million times. The villains didn’t actually twirl their moustaches, but only because the author forgot. The solution to the problem was nonsensical. And I found myself wondering whether the author knew any women.
Not recommended.
Recently finished:
River of Night, by John Ringo and Mike Massa
I don’t normally read zombie apocalypse stories, but I really enjoyed this series.
Now reading:
The Wages of Sin , by Harry Turtledove
Next up:
The Ides of April, first book in the Flavia Albia series by Lindsey Davis
Finished reading Stephanie Schorow’s Cat Dreaming, which is definitely worth it (my favorite line: “What were you thinking? You could have been hurt! You could have been killed! You could have been sued!”)
Now on to finishing Dan Simmons’ Ilium, which I had to take a two-book break for.
I’ve also picked up a stack of books at Boskone, and the first one I want to read is The Road to Dune by Frank Herbert, Brian Herbert, and Kevin J. Anderson. It’s got a lot of background material to Herbert’s original book, along with a version of the original story Brian and Kevin wrote from Herbert’s outline and notes. The book was published almost twenty years ago, but I missed it somehow.
Also, I now have a working audio system for listening to audiobooks on my commute. Now i need to get the books. Until then, I’m re-listening to Earth by the Daily Show and read by Jon Stewart.
I started this morning on The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years. It looked so good but by the time I was a couple of chapters in, I felt that the style of the writing was more important to the author than telling the story, and it began to annoy me. It’s already overdue at the library anyhow.
Finished Desert Wisdom: Sayings from the Desert Fathers, translated by Yushi Nomura, which I enjoyed. The translator also illustrated the book and did a great job.
Now I’m reading But Gentlemen Marry Brunettes, by Anita Loos. (It’s the sequel to Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.)
Finally getting around to Station Eleven, by Emily St. John Mandel.
Finished Earth on audio and The Epic of Gilgamesh. I picked up Stephen King’s Fairy Tale last night at the library.
I am currently almost completed with book 2 of the “Theodore Rex” trilogy of books about TR Roosevelt by Edmund Morris and I can say they are astoundingly engaging.
Might be the best Presidential biographies I’ve read, it’s certainly up there with Chernow.
Just finishing it right now…
Reading buddy! 
I finished Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. I won’t spoil it but I had some issues with the pacing and the characters. Overall, I liked the story and it had a better ending than The Stand but King is definitely the better storyteller and I say this as a person who is not a fan of King.
Finished But Gentlemen Marry Brunettes, by Anita Loos, which I enjoyed.
Now I’m reading Venice Is a Fish, by Tiziano Scarpa.
The Palace
From the Tudors to the Windsors, 500 Years of British History at Hampton Court
Gareth Russell
A history of Hampton Court Palace, home of the British monarchy starting with Henry VIII (he of the six wives) to the Georges, focusing the personal lives of the monarchs and the various courtiers who also lived there. And when I say personal lives, I mean sex lives, which were quite eventful. James I for example had at least one mistress and several male partners. It was good to be the king.
Personal note, I visited the Palace (it’s now a tourist site) a few years ago and it is stunningly beautiful.
Enjoyable book.
Finished Venice Is a Fish, by Tiziano Scarpa, translated by Shaun Whiteside. This book, which is more or less a love letter to Venice, is wonderful–the best nonfiction I’ve read this year, and possibly the best book. Note: it’s not for everyone–there are some descriptions some people might find objectionable.
Now I’m reading The Shockwave Rider by John Brunner.