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There's not going to be a thread this month...

April Fools! Of course there is!

Ok, lame jokes aside, what are you reading this April?

Folktales of England by Katharine M. Briggs and Ruth L. Tongue

I'm re-reading Kesrith by CJ Cherryh. I always liked this trilogy.

Completed:
text:


Audible:

==========================================
Authors:
Margaret Atwood, Harlan Coben, James S.A. Corey, S.B. Divya, Cassandra Khaw, Emily St. John Mandel, Premee Mohamed, Naomi Novik, Shelley Parker-Chan, Rebecca Roanhorse, Zin E. Rocklyn, John Scalzi, Adrian Tchaikovsky, Glendy Vanderah, Kai Ashante Wilson
Narrators:
Julia Emelin, Lauren Ezzo

I am about halfway through The Massacre of Mankind. Baxter is much more of a hard SF writer than Wells, which makes it a very different experience, but I am enjoying it so far.

Finished The Technologists, it was a fun historical thriller mystery kind of thing, enjoyed it more than I expected to. The author took real teachers/students from when MIT was just starting, but then invented a whole wild story around them. I wonder what those real people would have thought of the adventures he put them through!

Also finished Wandl the Invader. I've definitely satisfied any craving I might have had for good old pulp SF. Of the five stories the plots were all kind of silly, the girls always needing protecting (even when they didn't), and the science more than a little shaky. But it wouldn't have been an proper SF year without at least a few stories from the 30's and 40's. In this particular tale Wandl is a planet smaller than our moon that can be driven about like a spaceship, and it comes to our solar system to use a gravitational beam to pull Earth/Mars/Venus along with it off to somewhere else...though not sure why, the only reason those planets would be nice to conquer is because of where they are located in the solar system, drag them away and they'll just become frozen wastelands. Making sense wasn't a strong point of these stories, hehe.

The Dune saga continues with House Atreides - written by Frank's son Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson (I have a few of his other books). I also just acquired the most recent installment - The Lady of Caladan. I have no idea how these two guys are finding more stuff to write about!!! But at least I have the full set again.

Talking of acquisitions (now I sound like a Ferengi, been watching too much Star Trek lately) I also got my paws on Children of the Fleet by Card. I may actually need to start doubling up on the Ender books like I do the Dune ones or I won't finish by the end of the year.

On my eReader, with the free Cummings stories finally finished, I was originally going to work through more free pulp SF, but need a break for sure. So, I'm thinking a Star Trek book. Simon & Shuster has been selling a selection of ebooks for 99 cents and I've been grabbing what I could. Now I have to decide, do I want to start with Discovery. Or maybe Picard since I'm watching it right now. Or some DS9 since I has started reading some dead tree book version last year. Or Voyager since I've been watching that recently too. No, for sure it's between Discovery & Picard since they only have a handful of books each, probably leaning towards Discovery...which would mean Desperate Hours by David Mack

They don't have the new 99 cent books up for April yet, but I'm impressed that they have had the newest Discovery/Picard books available so cheap -

Questland by Carrie Vaughn

So, my moratorium on new books continues but I used to have a subscription to The Magazine Of Fantasy and Science Fiction. Every couple of months one would drop on to my Kindle and I would forget to read it until eventually I cancelled the subscription because there was a digital/virtual stack of them as tall as me. (That's not very tall admittedly but you know?). So now I am addressing that 'cyber pile ' beginning with the edition for September/October 2017.�

Robin wrote: "So, my moratorium on new books continues but I used to have a subscription to The Magazine Of Fantasy and Science Fiction. Every couple of months one would drop on to my Kindle and I would forget t..."

A few years ago (maybe 2017?) there was a used bookstore going out of business (rent too high and owners too old to start over in a new location) and they had just received a massive dump of Analog magazines. They were selling them off at first at 50cents an issue, and then towards the end, you would get a box, filled it whatever you wanted, and paid 5$ I picked up a LOT of the magazines that way (and books), though only a few of the years were complete, the magazines were all scatted in a pile with other stuff. I must have 50 issues maybe? I should count one of these days.

And so far I've read....1 of them. And only because it had a Miles story in it (was a good one...well all the Vorkosigan stuff is good...).

Actually thought I'd tackle a few this year, but so many other things catching my attention, even if I limit myself to SF stuff!

The Last Last-Day-of-Summer by Lamar Giles

Chance Encounters: Temporary Street Art by David Zinn

Finished House Atreides, it was pretty good actually, obviously a different feel from Frank Herbert writing but felt pretty consistent with his works.

Now to continue my pattern of Herbert/Asimov/Card books, I decided to go with Asimov next and read - The Naked Sun by Isaac Asimov

I finished The Massacre of Mankind, which I quite enjoyed, although I feel it was longer than it needed to be. It also fills the Invasion slot in my Bingo for this year.

Odd Magics: Tales for the Lost by Sarah A. Hoyt

I have started the anthology Space: 1975: Space Opera Stories with a 1970s Twist, which I backed on Kickstarter a couple of years ago, but haven't got around to reading until now.

Tony wrote: "I finished The Massacre of Mankind, which I quite enjoyed, although I feel it was longer than it needed to be. It also fills the Invasion slot in my Bingo for this year."

I have that on my to read list since I just read Wells' original a couple months back. Glad to know it was pretty good and worth grabbing from the library. I just stumbled across it on GR by mistake.

Finished The Naked Sun, enjoyed it more than I did Caves of Steel, I think in the latter I struggled a bit with the worldbuilding while in former, much as it was a weird world, it was easier to visualize.

And this weekend I made my first trip to the library, where I picked up Star Trek: Picard - Countdown by Kirsten Beyer. This was a quick read, and explains the two Romulans that work at Picard's vineyard at the start of the Picard TV series.

I also picked up The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins. Figured that would allow me to call a series I thought I had finished, officially finished now :) YA books also tend to be faster reads, so even a long one can usually be squeezed into one's original reading plan

Beat the Devils by Josh Weiss

In this alternative history novel, commie-buster, anti-Semitic Joseph McCarthy is U.S. President and there's a nefarious plot afoot that involves a Jewish LAPD detective.

Interesting noir novel. 3 stars

My review: /review/show...

Light Unto Another World: Volume 1 by Yakov Merkin

I have been reading Grass by Sheri S. Tepper. This is actually a re-read for me. I first read it about 25 years ago and it always remained in my head as some kind of image. So, I was surprised to find how little of the actual book I remembered! Once I got into it, I enjoyed it again but by the end - I was a little tired of Marjorie. I hadn't had that reaction the first time of reading .... Perhaps I have to try another Tepper and see how I get on.

I am a little wary of rereading now, having had a similar experience myself recently rereading The Great Captains by Henry Treece, a book that had a big impact on me back in 1970 something when I first read it. I was going to do more rereads but decided not to. �

Lynn wrote: "I have been reading Grass by Sheri S. Tepper. This is actually a re-read for me. I first read it about 25 years ago and it always remained in my head as some kind of im..."

Oh, I hate that! I'm a re-reader myself, but I've been burned a few times myself. One of my GR friends suggested that I leave my happy book memories in the past and stop re-reading ;). This was because I had read something that was a five-star read to me many moons ago, but when I recently read it again I generously gave it three stars only because I was feeling magnanimous.

Robin wrote: "I am a little wary of rereading now, having had a similar experience myself recently rereading The Great Captains by Henry Treece, a book that had a big impact on me back in 1970 something when I f..."

You're the Smart Guy, Robin. I told myself that I wouldn't, but then I do it anyway.

I'm a definite re-reader. Sure, a few times I have found I'm not enjoying the book the way my memory tells me I did, but most of my rereads are positive experiences. There are a number of books that I reread regularly.

I reread books fairly often, too. Some certainly haven't aged well, but I'm really glad I've reread quite a few. Most of those are classics that I read as a teen. While I liked & got a lot out of them then, now they blew me away. Fahrenheit 451 was one. It's amazing how prescient Bradbury was. To Kill a Mockingbird was another. Reading it when I was Jem's age was great, but a reread when I was Atticus' age was even better.

Some I reread just for fun like This Immortal. If I'm in a reading slump, it pulls me back in. I just love all the allusions & the different ways it can be interpreted. Zelazny, Karl Edward Wagner, & Robert E. Howard all fall into this category. Edgar Rice Burroughs used to be in this list, but most of his stuff hasn't aged that well.

My memory isn't what it was, so I'll occasionally reread parts of series, especially if they're long running ones or there is a long time between books. Another case is when the books aren't written/published in chronological order like L.E. Modesitt Jr.'s Recluce series. I read it in published order as it came out & then read the books in chronological order which helped me make more sense of the complicated history.

I have finished Space: 1975: Space Opera Stories with a 1970s Twist and I quite enjoyed it. There are a variety of different styles - not all dragged me back into the 70s, but most of them did.

I finished reading Sharp Ends (First Law World #7) by Joe Abercrombie. It’s a collection of thirteen short stories set between the novels of the First Law World. My favorite story was “Tough Times All Over.� The story has fifteen POVS from each of the people who hold onto a parcel. I also read The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi. It’s about portals and monsters, what’s not to like. They published it on March 22, 2022, and I finished reading it in nine days. I am reading The Path of Daggers (Wheel of Time Book #8) by Robert Jordan. I plan to read Cetaganda (Book #9 of the Vorkosigan Saga) by Lois McMaster Bujold next.

I'm rereading The Martian for the 6th time! I really love this book! Obviously, I have no problem rereading books. There are many I've reread over and over. If I let enough time go by, it's like reading a new book or like visiting an old friend to catch up.

I have started Rendezvous with Rama. I have Rama: The Omnibus, but I don't know if I will read the sequels - they were all written at least 15 years after the original, and with a co-author. I'm not sure they will match up to the excellence of the original.

Tony wrote: "I'm a definite re-reader. Sure, a few times I have found I'm not enjoying the book the way my memory tells me I did, but most of my rereads are positive experiences. There are a number of books tha..."

Michelle wrote: "Lynn wrote: "I have been reading Grass by Sheri S. Tepper. This is actually a re-read for me. I first read it about 25 years ago and it always remained in my head as so..."

I have found some re-reads rewarding and others a disappointment. Is it the passage of time bwtween reads that matters? Anyway. Bit disappointed in Sheri S Tepper reads recently so am now reading Rider at the Gate by C J Cherryh. Another helping of telepathic beasts. And I think it is a re-read from a long time ago. Will I ever learn?

I've re-read a slew of CJ Cherryh's books, and for whatever reason the re-reads are never disappointing!

Rider at the Gate is great and worth a re-read ! At least I hope it would stay that way

Michelle wrote: "I've re-read a slew of CJ Cherryh's books, and for whatever reason the re-reads are never disappointing!"

Rachel wrote: "Rider at the Gate is great and worth a re-read ! At least I hope it would stay that way"

Indeed it's going well - once I get used to the telepathic chaos of the start!! So I definitely think that Cherryh is standing up better for me on the re-read front. She is such a great world builder (and suspense builder).

Finished the prequel to the Hunger Games - The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. Was intrigued to see the origin of the Hanging Tree song and that Snow knew it.

Back to my regularly scheduled authors with Children of the Mind by Orson Scott Card

New to the group. Reading/rereading the Rift-War Saga by Raymond Feist. I read many of the books as they were published in the early 90s and am doing a chronological read through to see how it all turned out.

Currently reading Murder in LaMut.

New to the group..

Finished the final empire (book 1 of mistborn trilogy) earlier this month..

Now about halfway thru book 2 well of ascension� so far pretty good, got wayyyy too much on my want to read list

Closeacademy wrote: "New to the group. Reading/rereading the Rift-War Saga by Raymond Feist...."

I hope you're reading the Empire trilogy after Magician: Master & before Silverthorn. I like both Feist & Wurts styles, but together they were great. The perspective from the other side of the rift was great.

Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism by Benedict Anderson

The Kaiju Preservation Society
The Last Graduate

and a few others that are not SFF.

Started Dispel Illusion.

Closeacademy wrote: "New to the group. Reading/rereading the Rift-War Saga by Raymond Feist. I read many of the books as they were published in the early 90s and am doing a chronological read through to see how it all ..."

Have you read Honored Enemy? That came out just prior to Murder in LaMut if I recall correctly.

I have finished Rendezvous with Rama. To this day, 50 years after publication, it remains a classic of the hard sci-fi genre. I am certain I have read it before, but I remembered almost nothing.

I don't think I will go on with the rest - at least not straight away - as Clarke was the editor on them, not the author. It fills the Bingo slot for Award Winning.

I started The Citadel of Weeping Pearls, which will fill the Silkpunk slot in my Bingo.

However, I'm really struggling to get into it, so I may have to put it aside and start something else.

I have finished Heir of Novron. While I was reading the book I fell ill with a very bad cold; I stopped reading for several days. When my energy returned, I could not get back 'into' the story, I had somehow lost interest in the plot and in the characters. I finished the book nonetheless, skipping some descriptions and dialogs.

Once more I move from fantasy to sci-fi, and I am starting The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers.

Oh no, Pierre! I'm glad you're feeling better. That's a shame because Heir of Novron packs quite the wallop.

There is an Afterword for Heir of Novron. You can request it from the author.

I finally finished Mark of the Thief -- very fun.

An afterword, you say? Do I just email to ask about it? I'm habitually one of his kickstarter supporters, but I don't think I've seen this.

Email a request, and he'll send an ebook file. I have it somewhere, so I could probably email it as well.

Thanks, Audrey! I'll email him right now!

I emailed him yesterday, and he sent back the attached afterword. Thank you so much, Audrey!

Cool! I thought it would be longer with all the Farilane stuff.