Comments | ase: The Stories With Fairly Long Titles (May Reading)

ase

The Stories With Fairly Long Titles (May Reading)

Jun 06, 2009 20:02

Since I have already finished one book this month, it must be time to put up last month's book log!

Stars in My Pocket Like Grains of Sand (Samuel Delany): This is "how Marq Dyeth falls in love with Rat Korga" in the same way that Memory is "how Miles became an Imperial Auditor". Which is to say, it's where the novel goes, but it's not what the ( Read more... )

a: denko william d, a: duane diane, a: ariely dan, a: stanley thomas j, a: ness patrick, 2009 reading, a: delany samuel

Comments 9

limnrix June 7 2009, 13:56:28 UTC

I loved loved loved Stars in My Pocket. I'm glad you did, too. I need to track down more Delaney.

ase June 7 2009, 17:16:14 UTC

It's dense and rooted and expansive and awesome. Like I keep saying, my big complaint is that Marq is an emo romantic, and I am not. Marq would listen to "Love Story" in a totally unironical fashion while moping over his Rat.

Old novels limnrix June 8 2009, 12:01:54 UTC

Read it pretty much when it came out and have never returned to it, but bits and pieces still stay with me. Predictably, the passage that sticks the best is the virtual reading device!

GRS from WSFA

Re: Old novels ase June 8 2009, 23:56:06 UTC

Everyone wants the vReader. Seriously.

My reading since your last post... anonymous June 8 2009, 11:59:02 UTC

1. Anderson, Taylor - Into the Storm (SF novel). Roc (Penguin), 2008. (B)

2. McKinney, Gordon B. - Zeb Vance: North Carolina’s Civil War Governor and Gilded Age Political Leader. University of North Carolina Press, 2004. (A)

3. Naylor, Sean - Not a Good Day to Die: The Untold Story of Operation Anaconda. Berkley Caliber, 2005. (A)

4. Skulski, Przemyslaw - Fiat CR.42 Falco. Mushroom Model Publications, 2006. ((C+) aviation hardware)

5. Vaughn, Carrie - Kitty in the Midnight Hour (Fantasy novel). Warner Books, 2005. (B+)

GRS from WSFA

charlie_ego June 8 2009, 14:07:49 UTC

Ha! I did tell you that I read My Enemy, my Ally when I was about ten myself, right? I still think Ael is kind of a hilarious Mary Sue type, though perhaps not quite as blatantly awesome as Evan Wilson.

The Millionaire Next Door strikes me as one of those books that says a lot of rather obvious things ("don't spend more than you make!") that, in fact, rather need to be said.

Not sure about, well, anything to do with health care, but mortgages definitely fall into the "if you can't afford it, don't get it" category where, I think, a lot of people really screwed themselves over in the hysteria of the last five years. (Even my parents, who are the epitome of wise long-term financial planning, were encouraging us to get a mortgage we couldn't, in fact, actually afford.)

I actually liked Babel-17 (which again I read as a teenager; on a recent reread it definitely seemed rather quaint) so I will definitely have to check out Stars. I have Hellspark sitting on my table right now, and should be reading it pretty soon...

ase June 9 2009, 00:44:24 UTC

I did tell you that I read My Enemy, my Ally when I was about ten myself, right?

If 12 is the golden age of SF, 10 must be the perfect time to discover books written about moving pictures. :-) It's not that Ael is a poorly-written character, it's just that the novel is written in Duane's characteristic style to a fault.

The Millionaire Next Door strikes me as one of those books that says a lot of rather obvious things ("don't spend more than you make!") that, in fact, rather need to be said.

It's important to review the basics occasionally. Reading a book will not make you rich, and the book's dogma may not align with your personal situation, but it's useful to question your finances and goals every now and then.

Hellspark is charming. I like Mirabile more, but that's more a function of interest (wacky biology) than of writing.

dduane June 10 2009, 16:04:33 UTC

FYI: My Enemy, My Ally was written just after Deep Wizardry... so the YW echoes are perhaps unavoidable, that early on in my (prose) association with both universes. ;)

ase June 11 2009, 01:33:28 UTC

I wasn't tracking publication dates - thanks for noting that.

(Speaking of echoes, the current Trek craving was brought on by the new movie; while talking book, herewiss13 commented to me in email, "She [Ael] would so kick Nero's backupside up to between his ears.")

BTW, Deep Wizardry is my standout favorite of the YW series. Except when High Wizardry gives it a run for its money. Thank you for writing books which have kept me entertained.