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What are you reading in June?
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dustydigger
Posted 2012-06-21 6:29 AM (#3427)
Subject: What are you reading in June?



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Location: UK		Thought we needed a thread for informing our fellow members what we are reading or plan to read.Feel free to comment ,ask questions etc.
Must say I have had a bad reading month in general.I have been decorating the house and preparing for visitors from USA.I have only read 8 books this month so far,normally it would be double that! .The visitors have now gone,and I am just going to read read read for while!
I've only 3 SF books so far this month,but they were all very enjoyable.Finally got round to Bester's The Stars my Destination..A rollercoaster ride,stunning and engrossing,all the more so since the protagonist is pretty unpleasant,thief,rapist ,murderer,who yet gains our reluctant admiration for his sheer pigheaded focus on hie revenge.The world building is superb,and hasnt dated much because Bester's world is still ahead of us! lol.
I also reread Rimrunners by C J Cherryh for a challenge I have.It is one of my favourite Cherryh books from the Merchanter/Alliance universe.I think Cherryh is a seriously underated writer,and almost no-one seems to be familiar with her.No books in the bookshops,or in my library system,I buy them from Amazon.
For the GMRC I read Harry Harrison's Planet of the Damned ,a light but enjoyable adventure tale really,as the hero tries to prevent a war between two neighbouring planets.I reviewed it.Yay,my first on WWend!
I am now about 50 pages into Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash Not sure what I think of this.Its very much into full explanations of the technology,especially VR,which wasnt too common at that time.I also find the writing a bit clunky and the flashes of humour a bit heavy handed.It may have blown everyone away at the time of publication,but I am not sure if it will manage the long haul. Well,I may be premature,I'll see how I feel as I work through it.Maybe its one for the boys?Next up .next month I imagine ,I have Fritz Leiber's The Wanderer, Joe Haldeman's Forever War,Richard Matheson's I am Legend,and Clive barker's Abarat.Looking forward to them all!

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Emil
Posted 2012-06-21 7:01 AM (#3428 - in reply to #3427)
Subject: Re: What are you reading in June?



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Location: Grootfontein, Namibia		@Dusty I read "Snow Crash" a couple of years back and enjoyed it tremendously. The enjoyment probably stemmed from being very involved in the IT industry at the time and I could relate very well with the concepts. I remember I did less so when reading "The Diamond Age" shortly thereafter, but it's up for a re-read soon, soI may still change my mind on it's merits.

Good for you for continuing with Bester after "The Demolished Man!"

I'm reading "Mechanique" by Genevieve Valentine in my ongoing quest to read award nominees, particularly the Nebula, Campbell and Hugo. It is classified as Steampunk, but there is very little steam. The mechanics involved, though, is reminiscent of other steampunk I've read, but all in all this is a totally something else. Valentine writes in first, second and third person, and is fortunately noway near as confusing as it might sound. It's set in a post-apocalyptic landscape, but it's never revealed where. Very cool, but I realize this won't be for everyone. It's a lot more "literary" than it appears.

For the GMRC I'm continuing with the short fiction collection "Far Out" of Damon Knight. Dave mentioned his regret in not making reading a Knight compulsory, considering the award is named after him. So I decided to do it anyway. The collection's first story is the well-known "To Serve Man," which won the retro-Hugo for best short story 1951. Nice twist! I actually forgot the many stories from him I've read as a youngster, so reading this collection really a trip down memory lane.

In an attempt to understand the hype around Charles Stross, I'm reading "The Atrocity Archives." I've read "Accelerando," but wasn't impressed. I think Cyberpunk no longer carries the same sense of wonder it did so many years ago.

In the ongoing quest to read "older pulp," specifically on my Galaxy Tablet 10.1, I'm also reading E. E. "Doc" Smith's "First Lensman."
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dustydigger
Posted 2012-06-21 8:01 AM (#3432 - in reply to #3428)
Subject: Re: What are you reading in June?



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Location: UK		Sorry to say I have never heard of Valentine! Is it just me,but there seems to be a lot of dystopian stuff around,particularly in young adult.I tend to avoid dystopia these days,want something upbeat and cheerful lol.
I read Stross's The Family Trade,which I took to be Urban Fantasy,and read the two following books,but didnt like the world building,and gave up on them.I have never fancied cyberpunk,will read Gibson's Neuromancer sometime,but cant say I feel very enthusiastic Again,one for the boys?
I love the older pulp stuff! Good old Doc Smith.I have the Skylark books in mind,but fitting them in....groan...
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DrNefario
Posted 2012-06-21 9:25 AM (#3433 - in reply to #3427)
Subject: Re: What are you reading in June?



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Location: UK		I currently still trying to make my way through the 2012 Hugo nominees. I was hoping to get all the novels out of the way this month, so I could move on to the shorter stuff and the related works next month, before the voting deadline. I've read Leviathan Wakes and Among Others, and am half-way through Embassytown. That's pretty much it for this month, so far. I had already read A Dance with Dragons. I should get Embassytown finished before long, but I doubt I'll manage the whole of Deadline before the end of June.

Edited by DrNefario 2012-06-21 9:26 AM
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dustydigger
Posted 2012-06-21 10:53 AM (#3434 - in reply to #3433)
Subject: Re: What are you reading in June?



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Location: UK		I am approaching from the other end of the list,,the earliest winners,so I am not up to date with the latest. books.Did any of them trike you as really good,standing above the others?
Wow,I have had a look at your shelf,and its fantastic! So many great books that I wish I had read.And C J Cherryh and Lois McMasters Bujold are among my favourite writers too.
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Administrator
Posted 2012-06-21 12:23 PM (#3435 - in reply to #3434)
Subject: Re: What are you reading in June?



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dustydigger - I am approaching from the other end of the list...

That is my method as well.  I gravitate towards the older books and never am up to speed on the latest and greatest books.  I should really make an effort to mix 'em up a bit.

Right now I'm reading HMS Surprise by Patrick O'Brien.  It's book 3 of his Aubrey/Maturin Series which I've read twice before.  I caught the film adaptation with Russel Crow and Paul Bettany on the tube last week and just had to pick it up again.  I'm thoroughly hooked right now and it's a real problem with me being so far behind on my GMRC reading already.  With 20 books in the series I'm going to have to alternate my historical fiction binge with SF/F every other book.

For the GMRC I'm 3/4 way through 3 books that I'll certainly wrap up this month:

  • I Have no Mouth & I Must Scream by Harlan Ellison - I find it works best for me to read Ellison in small bits spread out over time.  Too much of his work at one time disturbs my soul.

  • Make Room!  Make Room! by Harry Harrison - My Kindle says I'm 68% through and I'm really liking it quite a bit.  This is second book in my "Source Material for Three Apocalyptic Films of Charleton Heston" reading challenge:  I am Legend by Richard Matheson which was the basis for The Omega Man, Make Room! Make Room! spawned Soylent Green and The Planet of the Apes by Pierre Boule which is basis for one of the greatest SF films of all time The Planet of the Apes naturally.  (Which I just realized is not in the database!  I shall have to remedy that.)

    I read the book then watch the movie. I find it interesting to see what gets used and what doesn't and what gets added in the translation to film.

  • Far Out by Damon Knight - As Emil mentioned above, I just didn't feel right about passing on the author the award was named for! I'm 2 stories shy of the end of this one and I have to say it's quite good.

 

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Emil
Posted 2012-06-21 1:19 PM (#3437 - in reply to #3435)
Subject: Re: What are you reading in June?



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Administrator - 2012-06-22 7:23 AM I find it works best for me to read Ellison in small bits spread out over time.

Indeed! Thanks for suggesting his short fiction so many months ago. I'm on to Again, Dangerous Visions soon, and look forward reading his belligerent introductions.

It was a top idea to include Knight into our GMRC reading.
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Rhondak101
Posted 2012-06-21 1:33 PM (#3438 - in reply to #3427)
Subject: Re: What are you reading in June?



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Location: SC, USA		So far I've read:
Embassytown by Mieville,
A Shadow of Albion by Edghill and Norton (for GMRC),
The Demolished Man by Bester (for GMRC),
Anathem by Stephenson (for Working for the Mandroid Reading Challege; I might have started it in May),
Ship Breaker (also for the Mandroid Challenge)
The Final Solution by Chabon (a novella based on Sherlock Holmess retirement)
A Star Called Henry by Roddy Doyle (not SF at allreading for my real job).

I thought that Christopher Priest's rant/review of Embassytown was spot on. I read it again after reading the book, and Priest did sum up many of the issues that I had and the frustrations that I was feeling. http://www.christopher-priest.co.uk/journal/1077/hull-0-scunthorpe-...


I chose A Shadow of Albion because I loved the Thomas Canty cover of the book; however, I was wary that the co-author was a writer of Regency romances. The irony is that the co-author is a pseudonym for Eluki bes Shahar, who writes SF, the Hellflower series. The publishers of the Regency romances wanted a name that sounded like a dead Englishwoman, so she chose the name Rosemary Edghill. Nevertheless, there is still a bit too much romance in this for me, mostly in the lengthy descriptions of clothing. The plot is slow at first, and then very fast. However, if you liked The Scarlet Pimpernel youll probably like this book. The portrayal of the shadow game of early spying is fun and interesting. I will probably read the sequel.

Anathem blew me away. Almost everything that Ive read by Stephenson has done so.

(Ive already reviewed The Demolished Man and Ship Breaker on WWE)

On my traveling TBR pile is a large stack of books I need to re-read to plan two syllabi for the fall and for pleasure, Jasper Fforde, William Gibson & Bruce Sterling, Lev Grossman, Poul Anderson and more Stephenson.
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Emil
Posted 2012-06-21 1:43 PM (#3439 - in reply to #3438)
Subject: Re: What are you reading in June?



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Location: Grootfontein, Namibia		@RhondaK101 Ooh, Lev Grossman! I'm eagerly awaiting delivery of The Magicians and The Magician Kings. Lauren Beukes suggested him for a read!

Strange, I just can't get going with Stephenson. I do have Anathem and the equally Herculean Reamde. Your review made me change my mind about ever reading him again. So, I guess I may just give them a chance this year still.
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Emil
Posted 2012-06-21 1:46 PM (#3440 - in reply to #3433)
Subject: Re: What are you reading in June?



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Location: Grootfontein, Namibia		@DrNefario That's quite an impressive goal. I read Among Others in hospital last week when removing my wisdom teeth. It blew me away, probably because I could relate totally to the SF from the area the narrative is set in. One of my best reads this year for sure.
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dustydigger
Posted 2012-06-21 2:08 PM (#3441 - in reply to #3435)
Subject: Re: What are you reading in June?



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Location: UK		Dave,O'Brians books are on my list,but having such a long series to is daunting.At least I must read the first one.as it is deemed a sea adventure classic.Did you ever read C S Forester's Hornblower books?.Loved them,and love what I term ''Hornblower in Space'''tales,like David Feintuchs excellent Seafort series, the first few Honor Harringtons(they got to long involved and political for my taste,the adventure side got short shrift),David Drake's O'Leary books and the Miles Vorkosiga saga.
Yep Harlan is a pretty agressive author,definitely best in short doses.But I have to admit his diatribes are amusing!
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Administrator
Posted 2012-06-21 3:56 PM (#3442 - in reply to #3441)
Subject: Re: What are you reading in June?



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dustydigger - Dave, O'Brians books are on my list,but having such a long series to is daunting.At least I must read the first one.as it is deemed a sea adventure classic. Did you ever read C S Forester's Hornblower books?

I wouldn't let the sereis length stop you from reading it.  The first book is a bit slow in parts but the characters are wonderful and the action is really great.  Give it a go!

I read Forester, after O'Brian, and quite liked Hornblower as well.  I got on a historical novel kick that took me from Aubrey/Maturin (20 books) to Hornblower (11) to Sharpe's Rifles by Bernard Cornwell (21).  I would recommend all 3 series if you like stories set in the Napoleonic era.

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DrNefario
Posted 2012-06-21 5:09 PM (#3443 - in reply to #3427)
Subject: Re: What are you reading in June?



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Location: UK		Yeah, the second O'Brian book is where the series really gets going, in my opinion, even though it's more Jane Austen than anything else. I guess that's where it turned into a series, rather than just being a book. I enjoy the Sharpe books, too, and sooner or later I must pick up the most recent one. I've never read Forester, even though I've read dozens of things inspired by him. If only he was out of copyright.

So far, Among Others is my favourite of this year's Hugo nominees, even though it kind of feels like cheating. Just because the main character is a huge fan of SF. I really disliked Feed last year because it seemed to be too "inside"; playing to the gallery (so I'm not really looking forward to Deadline). And now I seem to like Among Others for the same reason.
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dustydigger
Posted 2012-06-21 7:28 PM (#3445 - in reply to #3443)
Subject: Re: What are you reading in June?



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Location: UK		@ Dr. Nefario and Dave.You are both Cornmell fans I see.I haven't read the Sharpe books.What did you think of the TV series with Sean Bean ? What about the Hornblower series with Ioann Gruffydd? i thought he did a very good job as the young Hornblower
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Emil
Posted 2012-06-22 1:29 AM (#3448 - in reply to #3445)
Subject: Re: What are you reading in June?



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Location: Grootfontein, Namibia		The closest I ever got to Hornblower was reading Honor Harrington
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dustydigger
Posted 2012-06-22 2:23 AM (#3451 - in reply to #3448)
Subject: Re: What are you reading in June?



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Location: UK		Little difference from Hornblower! Same young officer starting out on a career,honourable,brave,excellent officer who attracts both friends and foes.I was interested to learn that Lord Nelson,the famous real life admiral in the Napoleonic war,was the inspiration for both Hornblower (same initials ) and Honor (she loses an eye and an arm in battle). I really enjoyed the first few books in the series ,but then the books became packed with labyrinthine politics and scheming skulduggery,and werent jus tclean good FUN any more,so I gave them up.A much lighter series is Elizabeth Moon's Heris Serrano books,quick moving and exciting. I especially liked Once a Hero.
Also in the military space is David Feintuch's excellent Seafort series.Very good,another descendant of Hornblower...Er,you may have gathered that I quite like Hornblower in Space books lol.
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Administrator
Posted 2012-06-22 8:16 AM (#3454 - in reply to #3445)
Subject: Re: What are you reading in June?



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dustydigger - What did you think of the TV series with Sean Bean ? What about the Hornblower series with Ioann Gruffydd? i thought he did a very good job as the young Hornblower

I liked the Sharpe TV series quite a bit.  It didn't fit my vision of the books at first but I warmed up to it after a few episodes.  I think that's the first thing I had seen Sean Bean in and he fit the part well enough.  It's probably the only thing he's done where he didn't die.

My recollection of the Hornblower show is not very clear but I did watch the whole series so I must have liked it.

Neither show is on Hulu unfortunately   I'd like to watch them again.

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Emil
Posted 2012-06-22 9:28 AM (#3455 - in reply to #3454)
Subject: Re: What are you reading in June?



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Location: Grootfontein, Namibia		@Dusty yes, I share the sentiment re Honor Harrington. The later books became very cumbersome and I have given up the ghost on the entire series. I enjoyed what I read in the Seafort saga. We had a local series in Afrikaans that was also based on Hornblower called Lafras Kuiper. I got really stuck into those.

Incidentally, I have finished <strong>Mechanique</strong> and don't quite know what to make of it yet. I understand the Nebula nomination, but I seriously doubt that this will be a book many people would like. It suffers somewhat from a lack of plot (!) and sparse characterizations, but the writing style is something to behold. @Dusty, I'm pretty sure you won't like it

I saw a few films with Loann Gryffudd - most enjoyable!
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Rhondak101
Posted 2012-06-22 9:58 AM (#3457 - in reply to #3427)
Subject: Re: What are you reading in June?



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Location: SC, USA		Dusty, Just out of curiosity: what are the 12 genres?
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dustydigger
Posted 2012-06-22 11:34 AM (#3460 - in reply to #3427)
Subject: Re: What are you reading in June?



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Location: UK		@ Rhonda - General fiction,junior classics pre 1950,modern children's books,YA and Manga,Vintage/Golden Age crime pre 1950,12 male crime authors,12 female crime authors,historical fiction,romantic suspense,science fiction,fantasy,and-urban fantasy,yep,vampires both vicious and sparkly.I try to vary my reading,as you can see.Only one strand of general fiction among a plethora of genres.Fluff all the way thats me ;0)
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Rhondak101
Posted 2012-06-22 2:08 PM (#3464 - in reply to #3427)
Subject: Re: What are you reading in June?



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Location: SC, USA		Dusty, Now that you've started adding reviews, you might want to look at the Working for the Mandroid Challenge. You could probably do some double duty with some of your reading.

http://www.workingforthemandroid.com/main/2011/11/8/2012-science-fi...
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Scott Laz
Posted 2012-06-22 7:21 PM (#3466 - in reply to #3427)
Subject: Re: What are you reading in June?



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Location: Gunnison, Colorado		Did you all know that Gene Roddenberry described Star Trek as "Hornblower in Space" when he was trying to sell it?

This month I've mostly been catching up on the comics that have been piling up the last few months. Currently of interest to SFF fans might be: "Saucer Country" and "Demon Knights"--both new series by Paul Cornell. Chris Roberson's "Memorial" and "Elric: The Balance Lost" and Brian K. Vaughn & Fiona Staples' "Saga". And the latest arcs of "American Vampire" and "Northlanders". And the most recent volumes of The Complete Peanuts (1981-1984)... and the latest volume of the Prince Valiant reprint series (1945-46), just showed up today, so that just moved to the top of the still to-read pile! (I also read way too many superhero comics, but I won't go into that.)

Otherwise, I read all the Hugo-nominated novellas (all good!) and a couple of the novelettes. I still need to read Embassytown to finish up the novels, along with the rest of the novelettes and short stories. I'm going to vote this year for the first time! (On a side note, I've been watching the dramatic presentation nominees, so I checked out the first season of Game of Thrones--wow!--and Source Code--pretty good.)

Back to reading, I did finish up L. Sprague de Camp & Fletcher Pratt's Enchanter series of novellas and just finished rereading Jack Vance's Dying Earth, both of which should be the subject of blog posts sometime soon... And I'm occasionally dipping into The Weird anthology and The Collected Stories of Carol Emshwiller, along with old issues of Galaxy and F&SF from the early '50s.

Nice idea for a thread, Dusty. It's interesting to see what you all are currently into, and good to note more activity on the forums!
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Scott Laz
Posted 2012-06-22 7:24 PM (#3467 - in reply to #3466)
Subject: Re: What are you reading in June?



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Location: Gunnison, Colorado		Oh, and I nearly forgot. I started browsing around in the new 101 Best Novels 1985-2010 by Broderick & DiFilippo, and ended up being unable to resist reading it from cover to cover. Very interesting and well written, so I wrote a review of a book of book reviews, which seems pretty weird...
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dustydigger
Posted 2012-06-22 8:49 PM (#3470 - in reply to #3427)
Subject: Re: What are you reading in June?



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Location: UK		@ Scott - I am gasping for air at the amount of stuff you have got through this month.Do you ever sleep? Before I continue,I must thank you for your excellent review of 101 best novels 1985 - 2010.I couldnt remember where I had picked up the ''Hornblower in Space'' tag,so thank you for reminding me.Very apt phrase,isnt it?
I am now reading Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash .I was initially a bit let down by this book,it seemed clunkily(if there's such a word1) written,with some flashes of rather sophomoric humour-definitely one for the boys.I was particularly irritated by the use of present tense,which should be used for a sense of immediacy,and action.It took till about page 90 for the penny to drop for dear old dozy Dusty.Some ***spoilers *** coming up here.
I had just read the section about the Rat Thing,which kept on insisting it was a ''doggie'',and realized the whole book so far is a collection of ''shaggy dog ''tales.A shaggy dog tale is one where there is a long drawn out ,even tedious,tale which then ends up as either an anti- climax (see Hiro's epic race to get the pizza there on time,only to end in a swimming pool and a young girl has to do the heroics ), an amusing punchline (witness Hiro's fight in the Black Pyramid,where there is a long drawn out,overly detailed description of sword fighting styles and mores,which suddenly culminates in Hiro ignoring all the rules and chopping up his opponent and dropping a safe on the remains. It turns out Hiro is Number One on the fighting list,AND he wrote the program! ),or it ends in a pun.(Finally I got it when we ended up with a literal hot dog!)
it seems to be a subtle yet elaborate joke,and the book is not so much about technology as about language.This has become clear as the book,round about page 110,,starts to discuss the Tower of Babel,and language.So I am assuming the book is going to be more about the theme of language and communication in some way.I never read reviews of major books if ican avoid it,so I have had to build up impressions for myself,but it is a relief that there is a a bit more substance than I thought.Surely the story MUST take off soon,its a quarter of the way through,and all that Stephenson has done is introduce the world,and the characters.Looking forward ,with much more enthusiasm now, to reading the rest of the book.

Edited by dustydigger 2012-06-22 8:53 PM
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dustydigger
Posted 2012-06-22 9:15 PM (#3471 - in reply to #3427)
Subject: Re: What are you reading in June?



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Location: UK		@ Rhonda - about joining yet another challenge,this Mandroid thing? Get thee behind me ,Satan! Honestly,it is SSOOO tempting,but it is impossible at the moment.Two problems- first I have a huge TBR from my challenges on shelfari,I have well over 100 books to finish this year.I just dont have time for more reviewing and tracking,I am up to 4 hours a day on the laptop,since I am a very slow two fingered typist,crippled with arthritis.I would have to neglect some commitments to join you.Second,I have deteriorating eyesight.The eye hospital is puzzled why all of a sudden my fairly healthy,though myopic, sight has collapsed.They asked me if I had had a major health trauma,or had bumped my head.All of a sudden my left lens became occluded.Apparently no nutrients whatsoever are getting in my left eye,and cataracts have developed at an alarming rate,what usually takes years happening in mere months.I dont need to read SF about planets with three moons,if I look out of my window at the moon I see three in the sky. lol ! My normal 24 books read a month is down to only 8 so far this month,and likely to get less until I have an opration.so I cant take on extra commitments.Once they operate and my sight improves,God willing,and I break the back of my reading commitments,I may be able to join.Hopefully you will be repeating the challenge next year?
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