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Our reads in November 2025
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dustydigger
Posted 2025-10-31 1:55 PM (#33184)
Subject: Our reads in November 2025



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Location: UK		The dreaded dark long winter nights are approaching,but staying indoors cosy and warm is a great excuse for reading some great books.
What's on the agenda this month?
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dustydigger
Posted 2025-10-31 2:08 PM (#33185 - in reply to #33184)
Subject: Re: Our reads in November 2025



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Posts: 1072
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Location: UK		Dusty's TBR for November

Emily Tesh - Some Desperate Glory
Robert A Heinlein - Glory Road
Eric Frank Russell - Three to Conquer
Daniel Galouye - Dark Universe
Edgar Allan Poe - The Cask of Amontilado
John Hindmarch - Violent Graduation
G K Chesterton - The Blue Cross
Ann Yost - A Stitch in Crime
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daxxh
Posted 2025-10-31 5:49 PM (#33186 - in reply to #33185)
Subject: Re: Our reads in November 2025



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Posts: 593
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Location: Great Lakes, USA		November Reads

Invasion of the Body Snatchers - Jack Finney
Zima Blue and Other Stories - Alastair Reynolds
Briar Rose - Jane Yolen
Star Trek TNG X-Men Planet X - Michael Jan Friedman
Quag Keep - Andre Norton


A couple of nonfiction books courtesy of the library hold fairy.
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dustydigger
Posted 2025-11-30 9:30 AM (#33245 - in reply to #33186)
Subject: Re: Our reads in November 2025



Elite Veteran

Posts: 1072
1000
Location: UK		Had a quite njoyable reading month,though not a big number of books. Taking care of my husband is consuming more and more time,and also I relax with quite a bit light fluff reads which dont need much effort,and areNOT to be found on WWEnd lists! lol.
----------------
Edgar Allan Poe - The Cask of Amontillado.
Signor Montressor has a very deep hatred of aristocrat Signor Fortunato,and it seems the latter is an easy-going jocular kind of person. He has made a comment unspecified in the story (possibly not even very bad) and Montressor has decided Fortunato must be punished. Revenge is needed for honour's sake. And carnival time with its celebrations and its masked costume parties is so nice and convenient for an avenger to avoid notice or consequences. And though I have read this short story several times,Poe's incredible writing style still makes for a gripping horrible tale. Brilliant and scary even though I know ahead what is to come.Probably that makes it even worse!

Also reread Ben Aaronovitch's Tales from the Folly. Light and amiable enough but very slight,Some sections are only a handful of pages long.Lots of empty pages,only 222pps in all. So I thought it was a bit too expensive for so little content. Even the kindle version was ?5.99.($8.99) EEK

Completed a fun kindle unlimited piece of fluff ,John Hindmarch Violent Graduation,which was very relaxing and enjoyable. But now I am really loving my next reread,Roger Zelazny Lord of Light. Complicated and often confusing but so rich and exciting.Brilliant prose,gorgeous settings,fabulous mythology, and Zelazny mingles SF and fantasy inextricably and effectively..Worthy Hugo winner,and Nebula nominee (beaten there by another stylist,Chip Delany) What a reading summer 1968 was for me. Dune Lord of Light and Lord of the Ringsall on my bedside table at once.Amazing.
Loved Zelazny's Lord of Light. as usual. Have been amused by all disapproving reviews saying that the book is confusing,the characters are confusing because they have often have several names and get called by them at different times,and the time line is confusing because the first chapter actually takes place about 80% of the way through the story. And the storyline is confusing etc etc etc.
Oh dear,doubt if they will ever become true Zelazny fans. Roger just delights in tossing us into the midst of a story,everything is fluid and often mysterious. For me I love all the mythology bases in many of his stories,and the effortless way he can seamlessly merge SF,fantasy,,and even philosophy and psychology. Roger believed in giving his readers a good brain workout as well as stunning them with glorious writing,original and fascinating milieus,and unpredictable,flawed but brilliant characters. Good stuff.

Eric Frank Russell's Three to Conquer was Hugo nominated in 1956 for reasons that escape me. Fortunately other nominations included Leigh Brackett The Long Tomorrow,Asimovs The End of Eternity and Heinlein's Double Star so it sank into oblivion. But it was a fun fast paced read. Three astronauts were infested with a parasite on Venus and seem indistinguishable from normal humans . Only one man who is telepathic is able to read the minds of the venusian parasites who have taken over the unfortunate humans.Lots of rushing around and car chases,tough guy wisecracks and a fun read on a horrible windy snow blizzard day,but Hugo nominee? Weird.

Wow! James White's Second Ending (1961) was such an interesting read about the last man on earth because unlike most of books written in the 50s and early 60s it had some smidgen of hope for the future,albeit millions years ahead and rather farfetched and wish fulfillment.As ever with White we fully engage and empathize with the hero.
Yet another Hugo nominee I read this month.

Finished Matt Dinniman's Dungeon Crawler Carl and was not very keen.three stars only.Much preferred the ridiculously named How to Succeed at Monster Farming After Getting Rejected by the Hero Guild: a monster ranching LitRPG book 2 {not yet on LT) which was fine the first half but went off in a plot direction I didnt like at all.
Oh well,at least I have checked out this little sub genre of SF lit,though I am unlikely to explore it further. Certainly not continuing with the Dungeon Crawler Carl series.
Thats that for November,an interesting and varied month. I will continue on with Hugo nominees I havent yet read from the 50s and 60s.


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dustydigger
Posted 2025-11-30 9:30 AM (#33246 - in reply to #33186)
Subject: Re: Our reads in November 2025



Elite Veteran

Posts: 1072
1000
Location: UK		Had a quite njoyable reading month,though not a big number of books. Taking care of my husband is consuming more and more time,and also I relax with quite a bit light fluff reads which dont need much effort,and areNOT to be found on WWEnd lists! lol.
----------------
Edgar Allan Poe - The Cask of Amontillado.
Signor Montressor has a very deep hatred of aristocrat Signor Fortunato,and it seems the latter is an easy-going jocular kind of person. He has made a comment unspecified in the story (possibly not even very bad) and Montressor has decided Fortunato must be punished. Revenge is needed for honour's sake. And carnival time with its celebrations and its masked costume parties is so nice and convenient for an avenger to avoid notice or consequences. And though I have read this short story several times,Poe's incredible writing style still makes for a gripping horrible tale. Brilliant and scary even though I know ahead what is to come.Probably that makes it even worse!

Also reread Ben Aaronovitch's Tales from the Folly. Light and amiable enough but very slight,Some sections are only a handful of pages long.Lots of empty pages,only 222pps in all. So I thought it was a bit too expensive for so little content. Even the kindle version was ?5.99.($8.99) EEK

Completed a fun kindle unlimited piece of fluff ,John Hindmarch Violent Graduation,which was very relaxing and enjoyable. But now I am really loving my next reread,Roger Zelazny Lord of Light. Complicated and often confusing but so rich and exciting.Brilliant prose,gorgeous settings,fabulous mythology, and Zelazny mingles SF and fantasy inextricably and effectively..Worthy Hugo winner,and Nebula nominee (beaten there by another stylist,Chip Delany) What a reading summer 1968 was for me. Dune Lord of Light and Lord of the Ringsall on my bedside table at once.Amazing.
Loved Zelazny's Lord of Light. as usual. Have been amused by all disapproving reviews saying that the book is confusing,the characters are confusing because they have often have several names and get called by them at different times,and the time line is confusing because the first chapter actually takes place about 80% of the way through the story. And the storyline is confusing etc etc etc.
Oh dear,doubt if they will ever become true Zelazny fans. Roger just delights in tossing us into the midst of a story,everything is fluid and often mysterious. For me I love all the mythology bases in many of his stories,and the effortless way he can seamlessly merge SF,fantasy,,and even philosophy and psychology. Roger believed in giving his readers a good brain workout as well as stunning them with glorious writing,original and fascinating milieus,and unpredictable,flawed but brilliant characters. Good stuff.

Eric Frank Russell's Three to Conquer was Hugo nominated in 1956 for reasons that escape me. Fortunately other nominations included Leigh Brackett The Long Tomorrow,Asimovs The End of Eternity and Heinlein's Double Star so it sank into oblivion. But it was a fun fast paced read. Three astronauts were infested with a parasite on Venus and seem indistinguishable from normal humans . Only one man who is telepathic is able to read the minds of the venusian parasites who have taken over the unfortunate humans.Lots of rushing around and car chases,tough guy wisecracks and a fun read on a horrible windy snow blizzard day,but Hugo nominee? Weird.

Wow! James White's Second Ending (1961) was such an interesting read about the last man on earth because unlike most of books written in the 50s and early 60s it had some smidgen of hope for the future,albeit millions years ahead and rather farfetched and wish fulfillment.As ever with White we fully engage and empathize with the hero.
Yet another Hugo nominee I read this month.

Finished Matt Dinniman's Dungeon Crawler Carl and was not very keen.three stars only.Much preferred the ridiculously named How to Succeed at Monster Farming After Getting Rejected by the Hero Guild: a monster ranching LitRPG book 2 {not yet on LT) which was fine the first half but went off in a plot direction I didnt like at all.
Oh well,at least I have checked out this little sub genre of SF lit,though I am unlikely to explore it further. Certainly not continuing with the Dungeon Crawler Carl series.
Thats that for November,an interesting and varied month. I will continue on with Hugo nominees I havent yet read from the 50s and 60s.


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