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DW Zomberg
Byrne Robotics Member


Joined: 12 June 2012
Posts: 444
Posted: 03 November 2013 at 8:13am | IP Logged | 1 post reply

Just finished The Abstinence Teacher by Tom Perotta, starting Joe Hill's NOS4A2 later today.
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Peter Martin
Byrne Robotics Member


Joined: 17 March 2008
Location: Canada
Posts: 15728
Posted: 03 November 2013 at 12:30pm | IP Logged | 2 post reply

Mortality by Christopher Hitchens.
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John Byrne

Grumpy Old Guy

Joined: 11 May 2005
Posts: 132133
Posted: 09 November 2013 at 11:27am | IP Logged | 3 post reply

BLAST OFF

Trade paperback about kids toys, mostly from around my childhood. Many memories.

The introduction is by Harlan Ellison. Picking up the book I wondered if he could have written an angry intro to a book about toys.

He could, and did!

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Thom Price
Byrne Robotics Member

L’Homme Diabolique

Joined: 29 April 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 7593
Posted: 09 November 2013 at 11:32am | IP Logged | 4 post reply

I tend to alternate between old favorites and new (to me) novels, but I decided to take another shot at reading a couple books I never finished.

For some reason, I rarely finish a novel by Dan Simmons.  I have no idea why.  I like his writing style; I like the subjects he focuses on; I even enjoy his books while reading them.  But I usually drift away before reaching the end.  I finished ILIUM but only made it about 20% through the sequel OLYMPOS.  I stopped reading both DROOD and TERROR at about the 80% point. 

So I'm taking another crack at TERROR, about the lost Arctic expedition.
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Matthew Chartrand
Byrne Robotics Member


Joined: 17 June 2007
Location: United States
Posts: 1355
Posted: 09 November 2013 at 12:27pm | IP Logged | 5 post reply

 

  The good, the bad and the God Awful. A book of movie essays by Kurt Loder.

  Gateway by Frederik Pohl. Book one of the Heechee saga.  I have read just about every sci-fi author but, for some reason never got around to Pohl til now.

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Andrew Hess
Byrne Robotics Member


Joined: 16 April 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 9842
Posted: 09 November 2013 at 10:33pm | IP Logged | 6 post reply

Thom -

I've made it thru many Simmons books, but only about 100 pages into both "Drood" and "Terror."

Last book of his I read was "Flashback" which turned out to be a very simple screed against Liberals; not as nuanced as his other writings. Left a bad taste, and haven't picked up any of his other books since, tho I have a few lying around.
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Robert Bradley
Byrne Robotics Member


Joined: 20 September 2006
Location: United States
Posts: 4810
Posted: 09 November 2013 at 10:51pm | IP Logged | 7 post reply

THE 34-TON BAT: THE STORY OF BASEBALL AS TOLD THROUGH BOBBLEHEADS, CRACKER JACKS, JOCKSTRAPS, EYE BLACK, AND 375 OTHER STRANGE AND UNFORGETTABLE OBJECTS
by Steve Rushin

Easily one of the most interesting and entertaining sports books that I've read in years.

also reading....

SUMMER OF '49
by David Halberstam

A sports classic about the 1949 American League pennant race, the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees and Ted Williams and Joe DiMaggio.  A very interesting read, but I enjoyed his basketball book THE BREAKS OF THE GAME  more because of my love of basketball and my having grown up during the era it covers (the late 70's).


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Brian Burnham
Byrne Robotics Member


Joined: 16 April 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 571
Posted: 10 November 2013 at 5:17am | IP Logged | 8 post reply

POLICE: A NEW HARRY HOLE NOVEL by Jo Nesbo
English Translation
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Andrew Hess
Byrne Robotics Member


Joined: 16 April 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 9842
Posted: 13 November 2013 at 6:58pm | IP Logged | 9 post reply

"Solo" by William Boyd

The latest official James Bond book: 007, now in his 40s in 1969, is sent to African nations embroiled in a civil war to stop the rebels and return things to status quo.

Having read all of the Fleming novels recently, I found the writing overall felt similar to the originals and there were certain character touches that rang true (luxuriating in drinking and eating, fast cars, etc); but there were a number of things that seemed out of place: Q Branch appears (never mentioned in the books (right?) and does absolutely nothing to advance the story), Bond's housekeeper gets retired and her niece brought in, Bond beds a couple of women (typical for the films but I think only happened in one of the books). Also, tho set in 1969 there is little done to establish this other than the fact that Bond doesn't have things we take for granted now; maybe their absence was a subtle nod to that fact.
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John Leach
Byrne Robotics Member


Joined: 16 April 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 1860
Posted: 13 November 2013 at 7:20pm | IP Logged | 10 post reply

3/4 of the way through DOCTOR SLEEP by Stephen King. It's a grabber.
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Thom Price
Byrne Robotics Member

L’Homme Diabolique

Joined: 29 April 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 7593
Posted: 18 November 2013 at 12:28pm | IP Logged | 11 post reply

[quoting myself] I stopped reading both DROOD and TERROR at about the 80% point.  So I'm taking another crack at TERROR, about the lost Arctic expedition.

***

And now I remember why.  I'm at approximately the same point in TERROR, and my interest is barely holding.  It's a shame because there's an interesting story here, but it's buried and crushed under bloat and needless detail.  Brevity is really an increasingly lost art!
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Thom Price
Byrne Robotics Member

L’Homme Diabolique

Joined: 29 April 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 7593
Posted: 23 November 2013 at 10:49am | IP Logged | 12 post reply

After dabbling in Lovecraft ("The Call of Cthulhu") and pseudo-Lovecraft ("The Salem Horror"), I read Robert Matheson's HELL HOUSE.  A very effective and enjoyable haunted house story, although I found it a bit anti-climactic.  I've never seen the film version, so I might watch that next.

Since I'm in a haunted house kind of mood (ever since watching THE CONJURING), I think Shirley Jackson's THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE will be next.
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