Finished Anthropocene Rag by Alex Irvine, a science fiction Weird Western, which I enjoyed a lot. However, it’s that rare book that would’ve been improved by making it longer.
Maybe there will be a sequel–there doesn’t seem to be one now.
Now I’m reading Audience-Ology: How Moviegoers Shape the Films We Love, by Kevin Goetz with Darlene Hayman.
Finished Detranstion, Baby by Torrey Peters today. Dysfunctional people doing dysfunctional thing… ocassionally in dresses.
Finishing up The Annotated Flatland by Edwin A. Abbott (notes by Ian Stewart)… There’s a LOT more social satire than I remember – more than the first half of the book is devoted to it, before he gets to the analogies with other dimensions.
Next up – my wife got me Christopher Moore’s Razzmatazz, the sequel to his next-to-last book, Noir. Looks like fun. I hadn’t even heard this was coming out.
On audio, I just finished re-listening to my collection of Nero Wolfe novels. I started listening to The Best of Fibber McGee and Molly, but decided I can only take so much 1930s radio comedy at one sitting, so I’ve switched to Full Force and Effect, a Jack Ryan, Jr. novel by Mark Greaney and (sorta) Tom Clancy, who died before it was released. It says something that I’d rather listen to people being shot at that bad 1930s jokes, but I’m not sure what.
Damn. Wrong Christopher Moore.
The other day I read Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak, a novel about a nanny and her young charge, who may be possessed. There were a few times along the way that I had to struggle with plausibility, but for the most part I had a good time with this one.
I’m currently reading Shadow Show, a collection of short stories in honor of Ray Bradbury. No duds yet, plus it includes a story by Joe Hill which I have read before but am always pleased to read again, By The Silver Water of Lake Champlain. 
Finished Audience-Ology: How Moviegoers Shape the Films We Love, by Kevin Goetz with Darlene Hayman, which was a fun read.
Now I’m reading Big Stone Gap by Adriana Trigiani.
Finished Big Stone Gap by Adriana Trigiani. Meh.
Now I’m reading Spare Parts: The Story of Medicine Through the History of Transplant Surgery, by Paul Craddock.
Picked up Hanif Kureishi’s Gabriel’s Gift last week. One of his more recent works; In typical Kureishi-style, there is plenty in the book that makes us wonder and mull, especially when it comes to the intricacies of domesticity.
I’ve also been doing some introductory Ecology-related readings, just out of personal curiosity. Actually, the reading began when I re-watched that famous Carlin set where he goes, “the planet is fine; the people are fucked.” Funny, but true. Nonetheless, been reading up about climax communities of late.
Finished the first and liked it a lot. More than halfway through with the second, and U.S. Navy dive bombers have just pounced on the Japanese carriers. Awesome.
Begun recently:
Star Trek: The New Voyages 2 ed. by Sondra Marshak and Myrna Culbreath, a pretty good collection of ST:TOS short stories. The best so far: “Snake Pit!” by Connie Faddis, in which Nurse Christine Chapel gets the chance to show her true heroism.
Travels with George by Nathaniel Philbrick, in which the author retraces the routes of Washington’s trips around the early republic, contrasting what the first President found with what, and how, we are as a country today. Pretty interesting so far.
I’m also rereading the sf novel Childhood’s End by Arthur C. Clarke, one of my favorites of his, with my son. Originally published in 1953 and with a revised first chapter Clarke wrote in 1989, it still holds up pretty well. All-powerful aliens show up and end war everywhere… but of course there’s a catch.
Finished Spare Parts: The Story of Medicine Through the History of Transplant Surgery, by Paul Craddock, which was interesting.
Now I’m reading The Lost Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: Based on the Original Radio Plays by Denis Green and Anthony Boucher, by Ken Greenwald.
Finished listening to The Late Show by Michael Connelly. Another excellent cop thriller featuring Detective Renee Ballard.
Next audiobook: The Burning by Jesse Kellerman and Jonathan Kellerman.
When Robinson was aigning my copy of Memory of Whiteness some years ago he added ‘my strange child’ to the dedication!
When it came out I was taken with Anthropocene Rag by Irvine so much that when I finished it, I immediately read the first 40 pages again! Enjoyed it at least as much even knowing where it was going, and I understood the weirdness better.
Currently, I’ve just finished the latest by Alastair Reynolds, Eversion.It starts like The Terror, aboard a sailing ship heading for the Arctic, but nothing is as it seems. Enjoyable enough, with a neatly done happy ending for one of the characters. Tthis is the 5th of his books I’ve read over his career and it doesn’t really make me want to go back check out any I’ve missed. I’ll take a look at whever he does next though.
Now I’ve just started Dark Earth by Rebecca Stott, set in post-Roman Britain as the invading Saxons continue to arrive.Two young women, exiled with their father, attract the interest of the local Saxon lord when the father dies suddenly. Good so far, but I’ve only read 30 pages!.
Especially the first sentence, which may be the best one I’ve read this year so far: “Once upon a time, twice upon a time, all the way up to six, and I am seven.”
Just finished The Lost Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: Based on the Original Radio Plays by Denis Green and Anthony Boucher, by Ken Greenwald. The best story was “The Adventure of the Iron Box” which was actually pretty good, but overall I can’t recommend this book–Holmes just isn’t himself here.
Now I’m reading Binge Times: Inside Hollywood’s Furious Billion-Dollar Battle to Take Down Netflix, by Dade Hayes and Dawn Chmielewski.