For those who are having a holiday this weekend, be safe!
I have finished *Those Who Fight Monsters: Tales of Occult Detectives. *I read these collections of short stories to try and find new authors. I found one or two. Over all the stories were ok.
In a fit of nostalgia I bought The New Destroyer: Guardian Angel (Destroyer #146). When I was 20 (more than half my life ago) I read all of these that I could find. They got bad not too long after Richard Sapir died.
I can already see that I have outgrown the series, but Remo and Chiun were old friends and it was fun to visit with them a little. This new book had some of the flavor of the originals.
I’ve never enjoyed life on the cutting edge, so I am currently reading Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale. It was always on my list, but I never got around to it until now. In a similar (i.e. late to the party) vein, I have Kidnapped and **The Count of Monte Cristo **stacked up on my Kindle, thanks to a recent thread on adventure novels.
My beachside page-turner is Crashers by Dana Haynes which combines the details of a NTSB plane crash investigation with some terrorists and other sneaky bastards–it’s crying out for a movie treatment.
On my iPod, I’m listening to Teacher Man by Frank McCourt, read by the author in his lovely brogue.
I’m finally reading Pale Fire, by Nabokov and it’s six kinds of awesome. Laugh out loud at 2 a.m. and wake up Mr. Ko and the dog kind of awesome. Who knew?
In reviving my classic sci-fi journey, I’ve just finished The Dispossessed by Ursula K. LeGuin. It features a lot of politics/philosophy/religion themes while maintaining a solid grounding in science. It is very good, although I think LeGuin gets a little carried away with some of her ideas. It’s definitely a must-read for sci-fi fans.
Next up, I’ll probably finish off the Hunger Games trilogy with the final book, Mockingjay.
I’m about halfway through a re-read of Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin. I started it when the first season of Game of Thrones concluded, in the vain hope that I could re-read Clash, Storm, and Feast before Dragons comes out. It ain’t gonna happen.
Also reading Low Town by Daniel Polansky. Fantasy noir, I’m hearing Bruce Willis’ voice for the main character, it’s got quite the Sin City feel.
In preparation for our trip nine months from now, I’ve recently begun reading through the Lonely Planet: New York City guidebook. Interesting so far but not much plot.
Sex on the Moon by Ben Mezrich. The ebook has been leaked before publication.
I feel like shaking the protagonist by the lapels and pointing out the insane stupidity of what he’s about to do. He was on track for becoming an astronaut. Now he’s in jail. He could have had it all, but he was greedy.
I predicted this would be a relatively boring thread, with many repetitions of ‘Martin’, ‘Song of Ice and Fire’, etc. popping up.
I’m rereading the whole damned series. I’ve got even odds on whether I’ll ignore the release date and actually get through it all before giving in to temptation and getting the latest.
Also, I just received The Redeemer by Jo Nesbo in the mail today. I mentioned in the other thread that they didn’t release it in the U.S. and it’s right in the middle of the series, with lots of character developments (based on mentions of it in the book that follows it). That’ll be next, after I finish up with the psychopaths.
I’m reading Jane Eyre for the first time. I’m enjoying it, although gothic fiction isn’t something I would usually seek out. The Kindle has been good for me, with instant access to all those classics I’ve always meant to read.
I just finished the third of Tana French’s novels about the Dublin police force. Each is written from a different point of view, but some characters cross over from book to book. I thought they were all interesting and well-written. In order, they are In the Woods, The Likeness, and Faithful Place.
That’s on my wait list at the library, but it doesn’t look like I’ll be getting my turn for a month or two! For now I’ve got another one of his, The Men Who Stare at Goats, ready to go next.
Right now I’m on Big Green Purse: Use Your Spending Power to Create a Cleaner, Greener World by Diane MacEachern - a look at how to make better shopping choices, keeping the planet in mind. It’s a little preachy but has a lot of good advice on how to avoid getting “greenwashed” by products and manufacturers who are slapping meaningless “green” and “natural” labels on everything.
I love these threads, by the way. It’s where I get at least half of my ideas for my reading list!
Finished Magic Lost, Trouble Found (Raine Benares, Book 1), an acceptable first book in a (traditional, not urban) fantasy series. Not spectacular, but a light easy read.
I’m about halfway through Adam Goodheart’s 1861: The Civil War Awakening. I love this book. Goodheart focuses on the viewpoints of the people involved, quoting extensively from letters, newspapers, and diaries. I wish history had seemed this interesting when I was in school (but, of course, back then there was much less of it).
I just finished The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde, an odd but intriguing and occasionally very funny novel, set in an alternate universe, about an English literary detective taking on an over-the-top villain. The villain manages to actually enter the text of Jane Eyre and threatens to take the title character hostage.
I have more books underway at the moment than I usually do. I skip from one to the other depending on my mood, and how much time I have:
Kennedy by Theodore Sorensen - A very interesting profile of JFK by one of his top longtime aides. Lots of funny and offbeat behind-the-scenes remembrances.
Then Everything Changed by Jeff Greenfield - Generally plausible political what-if scenarios from recent American history.
Miss Elizabeth Bennet - A 1936 play by A.A. Milne (yes, that A.A. Milne) based upon Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. It’s pretty true to Austen’s novel, and also - interestingly, and skillfully - fills in some scenes, such as meetings between Bingley and Jane, and Darcy and Wickham, etc.
