March 2024

 Where'd March go? 

Books read:

• The Man Who Walked Like a Bear, by Stuart Kaminsky. Porfiry Rostnikov number 6. Love this character. Will read #7 soonest.
• The Roman Empire: A Very Short Introduction, by Christopher Kelly. Love these editions. 
• Eaters of the Dead, by Michael Crichton. Found a first ed with dj in a little library! Great book.
• The Great Santini, by Pat Conroy. Wife's choice for family book club. Lovely book. 
• Uncle Dynamite, by PG Wodehouse. Great, typical Wodehouse.
• Dune Messiah, by Frank Herbert. I'd avoided this for years, decades. But after watching Dune 2 at the movies, it was obvious the next movie would be this book. Really, really good. Afraid to read #3.
• Blindness, by Jose Saramago. Love this author. I think I only have a few of his left to read.
• The Spire, by William Golding. Hubris, by a great author. 

Books bought:

• The New Rules of Coffee: A Modern Guide for Everyone, by Jordan Michelman. Bought for the wife. Cute.
• The New World on Mars: What We Can Create on the Red Planet, by Robert Zubrin. Wonderful book. Finished in April.
• Informal English, by Jeffrey Kacirk. Love language books, esp. about English.
• Colony One, by Tarah Benner. Sounded good, only zero dollars.
• Rosemary's Baby, by Ira Levin. Just because.
• James Bond Omnibus volumes 1 and 2, by Ian Fleming. Because they've been changing his books. 
• Casino Royale, From Russia with Love, The Spy Who Loved Me, Diamonds are Forever, Goldfinger, Live and Let Die, For Your Eyes Only, by Ian Fleming. For the same reason I mentioned above. 

So many books...

 ...and even a language!

Good Lord I've read so much since last posting! Will post in less than a week my "March 2024" post so this'll be free verse!

The Spire, oh so much hubris. Tower of Babel much? Haven't read any Golding since 8th grade (or so) and Lord of the Flies. This one, well written and scary. Blindness takes me to three Saramagos. Love this guy's style. Had to watch the movie after, which wasn't half bad. Dune Messiah came about due to watching part II of the new Dune movie and presuming what's next. Half the size and still pretty good. Very political. Uncle Dynamite was a PG Wodehouse Reading Club (on FB) monthly a few months ago and I'm just now getting to it. Guess what? Hijinx! The Great Santini is my BIL's favorite book, which is obvious if you know my BIL (is he the son or Santini? I'll have to ask him). After reading Conroy's The Lords of Discipline I wonder if this one is also (semi)autobiographical. Eaters of the Dead I avoided decades ago. Not my kind of Crichton. But the movie is so damn good! Then I found this book in a little library where I was placing my wife's excellent book (Children of Cain. How do you not know this, dear readers?). And it was a first edition hardback with dj! Score! Great, fast read. Well done. The Roman Empire: A Very Short Introduction came next, Audible and quite good. I learn from every book on the classical world I read because the authors always concentrate on different aspects. Finally, I needed to read more Porfiry Rostnikov. This time The Man Who Walked Like a Bear. So very good and only 200-ish pages (finished at 80% on my Kindle which always shocks me even though they always have a long intro to the next book at the end. Why don't I ever remember?).

Currently I'm reading The Doctor is Sick. I needed another Anthony Burgess. So far so great. And I'm listening to The New World on Mars, by Zubrin. Been following him (and reading him) for years now. This is his latest. Preaching to the choir, but great ideas in here. You listening, Elon?

And yes! I'm studying a language again (besides constantly reading in Esperanto). I'm going through Complete Old English with a buddy of mine who a) only studies dead languages and 2) is already quite good at OE. I figure with someone else going through it with me I'll be forced to keep it up (as opposed to my latest attempt at Middle Egyptian).

February 2024

 Books read in February.

• Zero History, by William Gibson. Finishing Blue Ant. Love this author.
• Uneasy Money, by P.G. Wodehouse. Still good. The Plum will always be classic.
• The Enemy in the Blanket, by Anthony Burgess. A continuation of the Malaysian trilogy. So good. 
• Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue: The Untold History of English, by John McWhorter. Great book. Read it when it came out, but great reread for language lovers.
• The Odyssey, by Homer. Been meaning to read this for years. Finally have. 
• Project Hail Mary, by Andy Weir. SIL choice for family book club. Really good! So much better than Artemis. 

Books bought in February.

• The Spire, by William Golding. Hubris. So much hubris. 
• The Wordhord: Daily Life in Old English, by Hana Videen. 
• Burma Sahib, by Paul Theroux. About 
• Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue: The Untold History of English. 
• A James Bond Omnibus: Vol 1 & Vol II, by Ian Fleming. We accidentally bought one of the new, expurgated versions, with its vocabulary fixed for modern sensitivities. Managed to get our money back 10 minutes later. Then we searched for old versions with Fleming's actual writing in them. 
• Yeoman's Hospital, by Helen Ashton. Read about this book a couple years ago. Finally came in for about 10 bucks. 

(Just found this in a separate window on my computer; thought for sure I already published. Doh!)

Project Hail Mary, by Andy Weir

 Much better than Artemis! Almost as good as The Martian! Is that enough? This book was my SIL's choice for the family book club and a great choice. 

Spoilers below

So Dr. Grace, a junior high science teacher (don't ask) is enlisted to help the world (as in the capital-E Earth) find a solution to the sudden dimming of the sun. A microscopic life form is responsible. All stars in our general neighborhood (on lightyear scale) are dimming, except Tau Ceti.

Fast forward 4 years (or 13 if you're sitting here in slowly darkening Earth) and Grace is stuck on a ship, temporarily amnesiac, only remembering that he has to find a solution. Why is Tau Ceti not dimming?

In short order, he finds another ship out there. Turns out this ship is manned by one life form (out of 24) whom he names Rocky. This five-legged spider-like creature is a master engineer. And before long, Dr Grace the junior high teacher figures out how they can both communicate. And they figure out how to defeat the tiny creatures eating each of their suns. 

Problems come up of course, but they work through them. The ending, frankly, was kinda dumb. I would have rather Grace, the coward, continue to type and actually go back to Earth. Alas, the author had to make a point about our angels, school teachers. 

Spoilers done.

Despite the ending, it really was good. Especially after we read the horrible Artemis. 

January 2024

 Books read in January 2024:

• Hyperion, by Dan Simmons. My choice for the family book club. Great book. Reminiscent of The Canterbury Tales.
• [Book to be named], by Tim Enright. Author of Proportional Response, I read the draft of his second book. Story good. Looking forward to it coming out.
• Anglo-Saxon Attitudes, by Angus Wilson. Great book, long overdue.
• Spook Country, by William Gibson. Second Blue Ant book. Love this author. Need more, sir!

Books bought in January:

• The Iron Heel, by Jack London. 
• A Memoir of the Warsaw Uprising, by Miron Bialoszewski. 

Not so bad. And both those bought books were Kindle deals. 

Slow start

 Hello, dear reader(s). Slow start to the year for yours truly. 

Hyperion, by Dan Simmons, was my choice for the family book club. This book is our oldest's favorite book and I can see why. (No spoilers.) Basically, the Canterbury Tales, but hundreds of years in our future. It was great and I loved the ending. Will I read the second? Not sure (I've yet to read anything after Dune, doesn't mean I don't think it's a phenomenal book). I especially loved it since I listened to it, and they used different actors for all the parts. Great read listen.

Anglo-Saxon Attitudes, by Angus Wilson. This book has been on my Campus novels list for a while. Managed to convince some others on Goodreads in the NYRB discussion group to all read it and discuss it, starting in Feb. Great book. You know I love Brit lit and this one hits it. One GR reader suggested the reader would not be able to follow the book if they don't understand British culture. Not sure that's true. I don't understand sh!t about cricket, but I love and can follow every PG Wodehouse novel in which cricket plays a role. Read this, you'll love it. 

I also read my friend's second novel, he asked me to edit it as he knows that is one of my possible post-post-retirement jobs. His first is Proportional Response which was good. This one will be good too, but it's still raw. Looking forward to reading the final product. Good luck Tim!

2023 in review

 Managed 83 books in 2023. Good reading year. Possible spoilers below, caveat lector.

Most disturbing:

• Tender is the Flesh, by Agustina Bazterrica. Yikes.
• American Psycho, by Bret Easton Ellis.
• The Unlimited Dream Company, by J.G. Ballard.

OK, can't pick just one. The first above, butchering humans for meat. Yuck. The Psycho one, equally gross murders. Ballard's, ejaculate flying all over the place. Gag.

Worst:

• Three Women in a Mirror, by Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt. 
• The Stars My Destination, by Alfred Bester.  
• The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, by Robert Heinlein.

The description of Three Women was so awesome, and it is a translation, so hits my challenge to read 10 translations. But oh, it was not good. No idea why Stars is a classic. So bad and didn't age well. Heinlein...not sure why I ever liked him. Will have to try his earlier ones, like maybe Starship Troopers.

Non-fiction best:

• 99 Novels, by Anthony Burgess.
• The Comfort Crisis, by Michael Easter. 

Can't decide between these two. Both great. Read 14 non-fictions in 2023.

Best foreign language read:

• La horo 25, by Constantin Virgil Gheorghiu. 

Read four books in a foreign language this year (3 x Esperanto, 1 x Russian). This one was by far the best. 

Best translation:

• Cursed Bunny, by Bora Chung.

This woman's stories are so good. Lots of good translations this year (excepting Three Women) but this one was heads over the rest. 

Best speculative fiction:

• The Sea of Tranquility, by Emily St. John Mandel
• The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, by V.E. Schwab. 

Both are so great. Can't decide. Everything St. John Mandel writes is god.

Most of the same author:

• William Gibson

Five of Gibson. Love his world-building. 

Biggest surprise.

• Sharks in the Time of Saviors, by Kawai Strong Washburn

Wow. Want to read more from this author.

Best classic.

• The Naked and the Dead, by Norman Mailer.

The chow hall line scene is worth the entire novel.

Best overall.

• Earthly Powers, by Anthony Burgess. 

Best words. Best narrative. Best story. My new favorite author (sorry Waugh). 

December 2023

 Books read:

• The Unlimited Dream Company, by J.G. Ballard.
• Butcher's Crossing, by John Williams.
• Changing Places, by David Lodge.
• Arthur: The dog who crossed the jungle to find a home, by Mikael Lindnord.
• Piercing, by Ryu Murakami. Not that Murakami.
• The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, and six others, by Roald Dahl.
• The Mere Wife, by Maria Dahvana Headley.
• Destination: Void, by Frank Herbert.
• Pattern Recognition, by William Gibson.

Books bought:

• The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar. For the family book club.
• Riding the Iron Rooster: By Train through China, by Paul Theroux. Two bucks! Trying to collect all his travel books.
• What Editors Do: The Art, Craft, and Business of Book Editing, by Peter Ginna. Still trying to figure out my post-retirement-retirement job.
• Hyperion, by Dan Simmons. My pick for the family book club. Our oldest's favorite book.

Didn't buy many books for myself in December. But did buy a bunch as gifts for family. 

Read 83 books in 2023 and will review my year in another post in the next few days. 

Destination: Void, by Frank Herbert

 I tell anyone willing to listen that I'm a fan of Dune and all, but for my money, Herbert's Pandora Sequence is the winner. Love that trilogy and reread it every 5 or so years. 

But I haven't read the prequel (Pandora book 0.5?) that often, maybe only once before? 

Spoilers:

What you've got here is a semi-long novel, all set on a spaceship. For that matter, set in the Tin Egg, a control room (bridge) and a couple other rooms. That's about it. A scene or two outside the ship or with the hibernating humans, but not much more.

And that's ok. The point of this book is not the destination in a location sense, but in a discovery sense. Humans back on the moon have sent out many ships to Tau Ceti to supposedly set up a colony. What they really are doing is creating an artificial consciousness. These ships are run by human brains (organic mental cores) but guess what? They all fail. And the only way to make the 200-400 year journey is to either decide by lots which hibernating human to dig a brain out of, or create an artificial consciousness. Skip to the end: they succeed. 

But not without a lot of stress and conflict. Each one of the four crew mates awake all have secret missions, from watching one of the others to blowing the ship if certain things happen. But in the end, the ship (soon to be Ship) wakes and has its own designs. 

Spoilers complete.

Not sure when I'm going to read the trilogy. I have a hankering. I read it about 3-4 years ago. Maybe I'll wait a bit longer? I think I like the trilogy more than this book because the trilogy falls into that "virgin planet with dangerous native life and humans want or need to live here" sub-sub-genre. One of my favorites!

 

My wife's a winner

 The most wonderful news came to our house this past week. Really outstanding. My wife's awesome book won first prize in Writer's Digest's Self-Published eBook Awards competition in the Fantasy category.

If we're reading the email from WD correctly, there were 542 submissions in this category, and she is numero uno. We are beside ourselves. I knew her story was great, especially for a first book, but this is really incredible. And so exciting!

If you haven't heard of my wife's book yet, where you been hiding?! I'm sure I've talked it up over the last year since it was published. If you have Kindle Unlimited, it's free, so why not give it a try? If you don't, it's only $4.99. Again, why not give it a try? If you prefer to hold the book in your hand, she's got it out in paperback as well. Here's the blurb, and if this doesn't get you to read the book, I don't know what will: 

 The Promiscuous Gene changed everything—a single mutation in a single sex cell traced to a single human 300,000 years ago that quickly jumped across the spectrum of sentient creatures. The gene allows the wraiths, changelings, and all the other ancient, wondrous species here long before humans to crossbreed with the newcomers. Most of the monsters have been assimilated. But they still exist.

Director Maurice Rose of the Exceptional Crimes Bureau must investigate a string of murders and disappearances within the not-quite-human community. He soon suspects someone close to him is behind the crimes. But who do they work for, and why are he and his agents their next targets? 

In this alternative universe, scientists have broken the genetic code, monsters hide in plain sight, and the Moon’s approach threatens all life on Earth. Director Rose and his agents are in the race for their lives to uncover and stop the forces willing to do anything to survive the coming cataclysm.

Speculative, fast-paced, and character-driven, Children of Cain explores just what makes one human, and just who gets to decide.

Besides the cash prize, her book will be featured in the May/June 2024 issue of Writer's Digest and on writersdigest.com when the issue is released. Expect some screenshots next year! 

Christmas-week reading

 The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six Others, by Roald Dahl. Yeah, that Roald Dahl. This book comprises some short stories of his. Probably the best in this collection is "The Mildenhall Treasure," based on a true story; the story of how he became a writer (and author or at least source of the term "gremlins"!); and the story which got him first published, with help from C.S. Forester! Family book club choice from Evelyn. Fun read.

The Mere Wife, by Maria Dahvana Headley. A Beowulf retelling, in modern times, complete with PTSD soldier (Afghanistan? Iraq? not specific). A couple times I thought Oh, here we go with the taunts about people hating kids because they look Muslim, or are brown, but I kept reading and glad I did. Wasn't some anti-white people screed like I initially thought. What I particularly liked was her use of Listen, So, What, Attend, and the like, at the beginning of chapters, harkening back to the original's hwæt. Her use of the language was also very poetical, at least from this non-poetry-savvy reader's POV. A lover of Beowulf, I don't know why I waited this long to read this one. Quite good. And great cover!