Another fine choice. Hmmmm… or perhaps Mr. Irons could be part of Lords and Ladies? Or Carpe Jugulum?
I’ve finished Babelby Barry Maitland, which was alright. It was a good subway book, but I didn’t think it was anywhere near as good as his earlier books *The Marx Sisters *or The Chalon Heads.
I’m currently reading The Xibalba Murders, which is the first mystery in a series of eleven written by my late friend Lyn Hamilton. I can’t really tell you why I haven’t read this one before - I went out of order with her books, and I don’t rightly know which ones I’ve read and which ones I haven’t.
I still have Special Topics in Calamity Physics on the go, but it’s a bit heavy to cart around…
This is also as good a time as any to recommend the Anthology Thread of the most recent SDMB Short Fiction Contest. There are seven stories produced from scratch in a 60 hour period, and the results are remarkable. The authors would really appreciate your taking the time to read, vote and comment on the stories.
The Boxcar Children, a childhood favorite. It was the impetus for me and some friends to make our own hideaway, and we also scrounged at the town dump. 
It was puzzling that these four orphaned children were on their own. The book didn’t explain what happened to their parents – just that they were dead. A woman in a bakery asks if they have any relatives. They say they have a grandfather they’ve never met and that they don’t want to find him. The kids think this grandpa will be cruel. There’s no mention of what happened between their parents’ deaths and the kids being on their own, on the road, and one of them almost a baby.
Well, as it turns out, the version in print was rewritten in the 1940’s. The original from 1924 explains that the grandpa is the kids’ mother’s father, that he didn’t approve of her marriage to the kids’ dad, that the dad was a drunk. When dad died – drunk – the kids just took off on their own.
The version I read was a fun walk down memory lane, but the original version – which I’ve never read – would have been awesome.
It’s a collector’s item. If you find it, snap it up. I found one on sale for $1100.
Finished A Storm of Swords, Part 1: Steel and Snow, by George RR Martin, volume 1 of the third book in his series A Song of Ice and Fire. Very good.
Next up: A Storm of Swords: Part 2: Blood and Gold, which is, of course, volume 2 of the third book. In the set I have, the two parts are in separate volumes, as this is the longest book of the series so far.
Yes, absolutely!
The wry old teacher who has a heart attack was also a good character. He became an interestingly Van Helsing-esque advisor to the good guys by the time he died, too.
Just after New Year’s, BTW, I’ll start a “Top Ten books you read last year” thread, as I did last year.
Well, finished up Shriek: An Afterword earlier this week. Not bad, though it didn’t make the impression on me that (the part of) The City of Saints and Madmen (that I managed to finish) did, but it was an enjoyable read (and hey, I finished it). More of a traditional novel, even with Duncan Shriek’s running commentary on his sister’s manuscript interspersed. I continue to enjoy the atmosphere of the city of Ambergris, though I certainly wouldn’t want to visit.
On to my first re-read of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy in years and years, for a book club I’ve managed to sneak into.
Cool, I look forward to it.
Because of a recent trip, I had to set aside my preference for dead-tree books and use a Kindle. The up side was that I was able to get at some of Stephen King’s stuff that I hadn’t had access to previously, not to mention taking along a lot more material than I could have carried on a plane. I read:
Joe R. Lansdale’s short story Bullets and Fire
Joe Hill’s short story Twittering From the Circus of the Dead
Several King shorts: Guns, UR, In the Tall Grass (with Joe Hill), Mile 81
A Patrick Ness short story (prequel to the Chaos Walking series), The New World
An anthology of short stories, Bad Seeds: Evil Progeny
Jane Eyre, an old favorite
And The Hollow City by Dan Wells
I enjoyed every last bit of it, but have to say the standout was The Hollow City. I’ve read Wells previously, but now I think I’ll search out the rest of his stuff.
I’m currently reading The Accidental Time Machine, which was recommended here last month by yanceylebeef and it’s pretty damn good too. I’m going to look at some more Joe Haldeman as well.
I think I’d mentioned The Accidental Time Machine, too.
Haldeman’s one of my favorite sf authors. The Forever War is excellent (but avoid the sequels). I would also particularly recommend Mindbridge, Tool of the Trade, All My Sins Remembered, The Hemingway Hoax and Worlds (also avoid its sequels). His most recent books, incl. Old Twentieth and Camouflage, are pretty good but not great, I’d say. His short story collections *Dealing in Futures, Infinite Dreams *and A Separate War and Other Stories are a little uneven, but far, far more good than bad.
Anyone read Gene Wolfe’s latest, The Land Across? A recent review on NPR reminded me of it, and I’m pondering it for a next read when I’m done w/ the Guide.
You did, but yancey’s post finally pushed me. 
Thanks for the recommendations! I was wondering where to start.
Glad to help! Are you in the mood for kickass military sf, espionage (Cold War or future), exploration, con artistry or a coming-of-age story?
Hmm…the con artistry or coming-of-age sounds most like me. I haven’t read a great deal of sci-fi, and tend to worry that it’ll be too heavy on the science, light on the fiction.
Oldest Sister gave me a copy of I Could Pee on This and Other Poems by Cats by Francesco Marciuliano for Christmas. She had no idea I love Medium Large and started reading Sally Forth again when I found out Marciuliano was the writer for the strip. The book is hilarious, but only if you’ve owned a cat before.
The Hemingway Hoax is about a con artist and a Hemingway scholar who team up to craft fake “long-lost” Hemingway stories and make millions. Things don’t turn out quite the way they expect. Worlds is about a teenage girl from one of Earth’s not-so-distant-future orbital colonies and her experiences down here. Both very different books; both very good.
I forced myself to finish We Are Water (not his best work) and am on to **The Almost Moon **by Alice Sebold. A relief to get back into some better writing.
Just started reading “How Music Works” by David Byrne. Got it for Christmas.
Currently reading Salvage by Eric Brown.
It’s linked short stories about a small-time salvage operator and his spaceship crew of an engineer and a new beautiful pilot who turns out to be a very advanced AI. Good fun, with lots of strange aliens, planets, predicaments, etc., but not his best.
Also dipping into a Haus Publishing Tenth Anniversary Sampler - 2003 - 2013. It’s a little promo book they sent me with (usually) first chapters from a couple of dozen of their books. All sorts of stuff, from European history to performing Shakespeare in Kabul and travelogues, modern novels and more! Interesting stuff, and I might actually pick up sa couple of the more interesting sounding books…
Finished The Annotated Huckleberry Finn, at long last. I think I’ve been reading it, on and off, for six years.
By contrast, I’m halfway through the Autobiography of Mark Twain, Vol. II, footnotes and all.
I’m not sure what’s up next, but I’m expecting a gift later today that will probably be a book. If not, Arisia is coming up in a couple of weeks.
Remembered another book I read recently, The Humans, by Matt Haig. It’s about an alien who comes to Earth disguised as a human, in order to kill any people who are aware of a recent mathematical breakthrough which will lead to technological advances our species is not ready for. Unfortunately, the alien is unprepared for how loveable we are. :rolleyes: This got glowing reviews, so I guess it was just me expecting a different kind of book.