What are you reading?

[T. Foster]

The Past Through Tomorrow by Heinlein.

One of my favorite books - the first half, at least. IMO Heinlein was at his best in his short stories and most of my favorites are included here:

Lifeline
The Man Who Sold the Moon
Requiem
The Green Hills of Earth
Ordeal in Space
The Menace from Earth
Searchlight
Misfit

[rredmond]

Also just re-read The Hobbit, again, which was very enjoyable. I'm thinking about doing my own arrangement of the dwarves' "Misty Mountains Cold" song.

That would be cool to hear!

Agreed, do it PJ! Did I see the YouTube posted here of the college a cappella dudes doing that in a sewer or something. Must go check...

[Flambeaux]

The Eighth Detective by Alex Pavesi
Ember's End by S. D. Smith

[ThirstyStirge]

The rules of Mahjong. My god, what diabolical maniac invented this gordian knot of a game?!?
I can read Chinese, but that still doesn't help.

[benjoshua]

I read the book Ten Lessons for a Post-Pandemic World by Fareed Zakaria, and it was worthwhile. I enjoy his television show each Sunday, and his takes on world issues. My favorite of his books is, The Future of Freedom: Illiberal Democracy at Home and Abroad. Fareed is not the most eloquent writer, but he is easy to understand. He doesn't talk down to readers. Most importantly, he has great insights and he sees the world from a higher perspective than most. If you want to think more intelligently about this pandemic and where the world goes from here, this book is a great place to start.

[JasonZavoda]

The Eighth Detective by Alex Pavesi
Ember's End by S. D. Smith

The Third Policeman is better.

[benjoshua]

I read The Address Book: What Street Addresses Reveal About Identity, Race, Wealth and Power by Deidre Mask. I never knew learning about addresses could be so interesting! It's amazing how important an address is for getting a job, a bank account, or an ID. I now realize addresses are not so much created to help people find their way as it is a way for the government to find us,... and tax us. I also learned one of the new ways innovators are addressing the world is with the "what3words" system. Every 3 meter by 3 meter plot of land on the planet has a 3 word address. If you don't know exactly where you are, and need emergency assistance, this locator is invaluable. The app is free. Fascinating!

[The Spaniard]

After reading and loving the Cornwell's Saxon stories, I picked up the first book in the Warlord trilogy, which has a early middle ages take on King Arthur. I usually love historical fiction, but I was disappointed after the first few chapters. I put it down for a while. Reading Return of the Shadow now for a Tolkien fix.

[DungeonMonkey]

A collection of short stories and poetry by Clark Ashton Smith. I've not read him before and I'm enjoying it so far (though I have not made it to the poetry, which is not really my kind of thing as a rule).

[JCBoney]

The Eighth Detective by Alex Pavesi
Ember's End by S. D. Smith

The Third Policeman is better.

Sales for that book went through the roof when it was discovered to have been an inspiration for the TV show LOST.

[benjoshua]

I read The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Other Stories by Robert Louis Stevenson, and I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. It was fascinating reading about how much Dr. Jekyll enjoyed the transformation into Hyde at first, how free he became only to discover that his transformation became unpredictable and then permanent. It was also fascinating as those around him witnessing one strange event and another, trying to figure out what the hell was going on. And once the truth was revealed, how horrified they were. There were five other short stories in this book, the best of which were The Suicide Club and The Body Snatcher. They were also tales of horror. All of these tales make one thing clear, the worst monsters were once humans like us.

[Flambeaux]

Finished The Eighth Detective. Would not recommend.

Starting on Michael Walsh's Last Stands.

[rogatny]

Just finished Pratt's Blue Star.

I was underwhelmed. Intellectually interesting, but a chore to read. A lot of world building - a sad, dystopian world of religious repression and classist bigotry. Some half-hearted political intrigue in which all sides involved seem equally awful. They all talk about sorcery and witchcraft way more than anyone actually does any. A completely unromantic romance in which the main characters feel stuck with each other because for one partner all the other options seem worse and for the other partner... because he feels bad about raping her?

And did I mention the rape? Because the book spends a long time talking about various characters raping various other characters, with both of our main characters under the near constant threat of being sexually assaulted, sold into prostitution, or otherwise violated.

I don't need every book I read to be a rip-roaring barn-burner of an adventure, but Blue Star, is oppressively dreary.

[T. Foster]

Wow. It's been a long time since I've read it (~15 years) but I don't remember it being like that at all

[JasonZavoda]

Just finished Pratt's Blue Star.

I was underwhelmed. Intellectually interesting, but a chore to read. A lot of world building - a sad, dystopian world of religious repression and classist bigotry. Some half-hearted political intrigue in which all sides involved seem equally awful. They all talk about sorcery and witchcraft way more than anyone actually does any. A completely unromantic romance in which the main characters feel stuck with each other because for one partner all the other options seem worse and for the other partner... because he feels bad about raping her?

And did I mention the rape? Because the book spends a long time talking about various characters raping various other characters, with both of our main characters under the near constant threat of being sexually assaulted, sold into prostitution, or otherwise violated.

I don't need every book I read to be a rip-roaring barn-burner of an adventure, but Blue Star, is oppressively dreary.

Hadnt heard of this one. Im not a fan of solo Pratt (or solo De Camp) but loved the Harold Shea books. They seemed to complement each other. I remember Pratt's Well of the Unicorn as slow and mostly uninteresting.