Just started this one. I have already read more than I wanted to.

If you like good writing check out "An Artificial Night" by Seanan McGuire. Its her third October Daye novel. And I need to double chec her web site but I think its her third book period.

It's a darker Urban Fantasy series about a female PI who is half fey. She sees both sides of the Fey world -there doesn't seem much of an in-between-which is why its dark. And the Fey world is completely hidden to humans. Most humans that is, every so often a fey will go after a human for love, lust-which is why there are so many half feys- or murder.

Duke Ellington's America, Harvey G. Cohen. Seems less a life of Ellington than an account of his business and music---interesting stuff, but, maybe, less than the biography it could have been.

In biographical contrast to that, there's---

Fab: An Intimate Life of Paul McCartney, Howard Sounes. This is a warts-and-all (and more warts) biography, covering personal affairs and pecadillos, and some business arrangements tossed in. It took me a while to get used to the 10-point Grotesque typeface this book was set in---wasn't a more readable type available that day?---and the subject matter is, you'd know if you've read my earlier posts, of great interest to me. I stuck with it.

Probably a more interesting biography than either of these is---

Al Jaffee's Mad Life: A Biography, Mary-Lou Weisman---illustrated by Al Jaffee himself. The bulk of the book deals with Jaffee's life before becoming a famous Mad Magazine cartoonist---bouncing around between the USA and Eastern Europe and the often-quite-crazy people Jaffee would interact with. Extremely, surprisingly, interesting.

Another bio, kind of, is---

Ulysses S. Grant: A Victor, Not a Butcher: The Military Genius of the Man Who Won the Civil War, Edward H. Bonekemper III. An older book, not seen before now in this tradepaper reprint. Not a thorough biography but a thorough analysis of Grant's Civil War campaigns and his ultimate victory over the Confederacy. Grant wasn't the butcher of popular Civil War mythology. (Also, I'd like to see a reconsideration of Grant's presidency, which, I've begun to think, wasn't the disaster historians portray it as.)

And one work of non-fiction that's not a biography---

Twilight at the World of Tomorrow: Genius, Madness, Murder, and the 1939 World's Fair on the Brink of War, James Mauro. The central story in this covers a side of the 1939-1940 New York World's Fair I had never heard of before, despite reading several other accounts---a bomb planted at one pavilion, which had tragic consequences. Even the other stuff had information wholly new to me. I'd recommend this over any other account.

Anything else? Well, I read a pile of stuff besides, but these seemed the most important. Any fiction? I looked for a couple of titles (without finding them---I don't think they're out yet), and I reread some old Dorothy L. Sayers Lord Peter Wimsey books (and watched DVD dramatizations of several more), but...no, not really.

(edited to correct italicism---always a problem with these super-long posts)

I just finished a new book, The Magnificent 12: The Call. it's by Michael Grant, the writer of the YA series that starts with GONE. It's really really good, for a middle-grade book (grades 3-8, in general.) It reads a little younger, main character is 12, would definitely appeal to boys, has a lot of humor, plenty of action. The scary stuff is played in such a way that it's not too scary. My 9 year old son read it in maybe 2 days and loved it. I was surprised at how good the humor was (reminded me of ARTEMIS FOWL, but funnier and way better.) Good stuff.

Also recently read THE WARRIOR HEIR - which was good. I found it a little obvious, and there were cases of author withholding that bugged me (the main character spends much of the story clueless about things that are happening to and around him, that sort of thing annoys me.) It wasn't my favorite YA book ever, but the pace was good and the author has dreamed up a decent magic system. Little scattered storytelling, though - there are some points of view the story is told from that are earlier in time and it was hard to see how they connected, IMHO. Mag 12 was way better, but mid-grade versus YA. Both should have strong appeal to boys, though.

We're also reading THE ALCHEMIST on audiobook, which is thus far very good, but another case where there's all kinds of things happening to and around the main characters and they are clueless. Come to think of it, this is a somewhat standard thing in YA and mid-grade, but it bugs me a bit. Interesting magic system, and so far so good on the story.

By the way, I bought this at our airport's used bookstore. I think every airport should have a used bookstore. Unfortunately, the prices are evidenced by the fact that it's located in an airport. The paperbacks are all $4.50(!) no matter what the original cover price was.

I said the same universe but each series has different characters in different cities. But I'm not sure if its the same time period. Would be close.

This series is kinda weird but not in the usual way. The MC is a woman with two, some times more, identities. It gets a little confusing even though its First person, to see who the real one is. Actually she has the same problem at times. Maybe neither is the real her. One uses her real name but the other one seems to be the real her. She is an Intelligence Officer for an outfit that seems to be something that is both CIA and FBI, but she is also a PR-adviser for a very important person. Sometimes she almost hints that she is really working for someone else. Herself maybe. I don't know if that is done on purpose by the writer or something I see that isn't meant to be there.

The writer keeps everything straight, he is good at writing, the adventure is interesting and I find the book hard to put down at times.

Before that I read SHIVER by Maggie Stiefvater (YA).

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Meredith - did you like Shiver? It was recommended to me, but when I picked it up at the kids' school book fair this week (they run it through an indy book store in the area) and it seemed pretty heavy on the romance. Any thoughts on that?

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I would call it YA paranormal romance. Probably three quarters of the book is about Grace and Sam and their relationship. It's a cute love story, but definitely a love story. Then again, a lot of YA has a healthy dose of romance.

It's still pretty good. An interesting take on werewolves. Well-drawn, believable characters. I like that Sam constantly writes poetry/lyrics in his head and Grace doesn't get poetry at all.

I think I may get the sequel from the library, though, when I'm ready for it. I'm not sure it's permanent shelf material.

This is a very satisfying book. I can see why it won awards. It shows a true mastery of plot.

Spin, by Robert Charles Wilson. While I liked some of the SF elements in this book, and I can perhaps see why it won a Hugo award, I wholeheartedly disliked it due to its oppressive air of negativity. The main character is gripped by ennui, and tells us the story in first person (so it infects the whole narrative), the events of the present are hidden from us by a book load of back story for what felt like a cheap reveal at the end, and the overarching SFnal element seems to be the "lesson" that mankind is too inept to solve its problems so must have them solved by someone else. I could be a whole lot more scathing but instead will just say I wanted to like it much more than I did. Not Impressed

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Meredith - did you like Shiver? It was recommended to me, but when I picked it up at the kids' school book fair this week (they run it through an indy book store in the area) and it seemed pretty heavy on the romance. Any thoughts on that?

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Howl's Moving Castle, by Diana Wynne Jones. Light, enjoyable middle grade fare. I don't read a lot of YA & middle grade, but I really enjoyed this for what it is. Similar enough to the movie that I'd visualise the scenes along those lines, but different enough that I wasn't wholly sure where it was going. Recommended

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We just finished THE ALCHEMYST - by I think Michael Scott, YA due to age of characters (15) but concepts and level of content were very appropriate for my crew (7&9 and very advanced readers.) We did the audiobook, which is read by a voice talent who is very good with different accents, impressive, actually. The story was interesting, concept of Nicholas Flammel (ala Harry Potter world) but set in present day with its own magic system, history, and lore. Recommend.

I also finished reading THE LOST HERO, another mid-grade by Rick Riordan, set in same world as Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. It was excellent. Better, in my opinion, than RED PYRAMID, which was narrated by two siblings, alternating first person POV that weren't very well differentiated. In LOST HERO, he switches between three POVs, usually 2 chapters each. The pace is fast, the action high, the characters believable. Each ends up with talents you didn't anticipate, things that they previously had considered a liability turning out to be an asset, that sort of thing. The characters were very well differentiated, and he played with both Greek and Roman mythology, introducing some new bad guys like the wind gods and King Midas. Really good, highly recommend for any fans of the Percy Jackson series. I think it would be completely readable even if you hadn't read that other series, though, so I recommend for anyone because it's paced well, good amount of humor, etc. (One of the things that bugged me most about the Lightning Thief movie was the fact that they seemed to have scripted out a lot of the humor, it was a huge bummer to me.)

I gave up on WILD SEED. I just couldn't really muster a lot of interest in either character.

I know everyone's different, but this book really grabbed me - changed the way I looked at my own writing. I hope you'll give it another chance because I truly believe there is something worthwhile there.

Oh, and Warrior's Apprentice is great! So is Vor Game. But I have a feeling that whole series is going to get a thumbs up from me.

I've started Stephen King's, Gunslinger, based on some HAtrack recommendations. It the first King I've read. I can't say that I find it terribly gripping. I do audio books and if there's even a little traffic, the narrative, which has so much description, gets stifled. Mind you, I read Crime and Punishment and Wind-Up Girl this way, both heavy books, as well as a score of others, and not had this issue. But it's only another six hours. I can wait to see if it picks up.

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Meredith, you didn't like Wild Seed? I read it about six months ago and loved it. Maybe consider giving it a little more time. I can see how it might seem difficult to get into the characters, they come off a little stark at the beginning. Also, since much of it is told from Doro's pov and he's not terribly likable, it's tough. But it's the uniqueness of the way they are both drawn to and repelled by each other that makes for a very interesting dynamic. I think by the end you'll care about them.

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The premise kept me going for the first 100 pages. After that, I found I just really wasn't that interested in what happened to these characters. The conflict wasn't big enough to keep me turning the pages.

I think reading so much YA recently, since it seems that may be what I write, has had a deleterious effect on my patience with slow starts. Said patience was nearly non-existent anyway.

Maybe I'll try it again, later.

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Oh, and Warrior's Apprentice is great! So is Vor Game. But I have a feeling that whole series is going to get a thumbs up from me.

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Yeah, THE WARRIOR'S APPRENTICE has me laughing half the time as poor Miles just keeps dancing faster trying to keep all the balls in the air and the balls just keep multiplying. I have the omnibus edition, YOUNG MILES, so it goes on to "Mountains of Mourning" and then THE VOR GAME.

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Yeah, THE WARRIOR'S APPRENTICE has me laughing half the time as poor Miles just keeps dancing faster trying to keep all the balls in the air and the balls just keep multiplying. I have the omnibus edition, YOUNG MILES, so it goes on to "Mountains of Mourning" and then THE VOR GAME.

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I read two of the Miles books years ago so noticed "The Warrior's Apprentice" even though I wad surprised by that title. Maybe I will keep it in mind for the future.

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According to the author's chronology of the stories, THE WARRIOR'S APPRENTICE is the first of the Miles books, coming after the two books about Miles' parents: SHARDS OF HONOR and BARRAYAR.

THE WARRIOR'S APPRENTICE is Miles at 17. Along with his father and the Council of Counts, I shudder to think what Miles will be capable of when he's a little older. Guess I'll find out in THE VOR GAME.

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According to the author's chronology of the stories, THE WARRIOR'S APPRENTICE is the first of the Miles books, coming after the two books about Miles' parents: SHARDS OF HONOR and BARRAYAR.

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Could be I'm confusing him with someone else who has been around for years. He's been a diplomate and a James Bond type of spy. The books are written in a humorous manner. I thought the "Warrior's Apprentice" was about his start, his first adventure.

Anyway, I would have to place that book on my list though. I already have eight-ten books to read. Nine and Ten are two Flinx books I need to read some day, including the last one in the series. I hope Flinx doesn't become some cosmic power cloud or some such.

Two are calling me so I may read them out of order. One is the latest Glen Cook Garrett series. A combo fantasy and Gumshoe series. I must say though that the artist blew it badly on the cover of first book. The Dwarves were packing machine guns. Thur ain't any in the book--too far back in tech.

And the second book is the last in a trilogy, I love the first two but I'm afraid something is going to happen to the hero in this last one. He's fighting his self from another dimension.

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Could be I'm confusing him with someone else who has been around for years. He's been a diplomate and a James Bond type of spy. The books are written in a humorous manner. I thought the "Warrior's Apprentice" was about his start, his first adventure.

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Moving on to R Ludlum~ 'The Bourne Supremacy' (re-read after 20 years),

Gave up halfway through K Follett~ 'The Man From St. Petersburg' (not impressed)

Recently finished J Butcher's 'Dresden Files ~ Changes' (read the whole series... highly recommend this to everyone.)

Has anyone read any Octavia Bulter beyond 'Wild Seed'? I enjoyed that one, but I can relate to Meredith's comments about the 1st hundred pages.

Thinking about re-reading some of my old and recently unboxed RA Salvatore books such as 'Demon Wars' through 'Mortalis'.

But two books do stand out:

Frank: The Voice, James Kaplan. This is a biography of Frank Sinatra, the first really serious one, maybe. (A lot of what went before were tell-alls, reminiscensces by friends and family, or things that dealt with one aspect or another of the Sinatra life and mythology.)

Though I have a couple of beefs, like that it's the first of a two-volume set (and I know of lots of sets where the second volume never surfaced)...and also that there's a good deal of "should have been," or "must have" in the comments (if something is supported by evidence, it wouldn't be referred to in that way---and if it isn't, it shouldn't be there)...I'll still recommend it to all.

Sinatra is not one of my favorite celebrities---he struck me, when I was a kid, as an arrogant jackass---but he was an artist of great talent and he led an interesting life. This book lays it out---or, at least, it lays out part of it.

Hellhound on His Trail: The Stalking of Martin Luther King Jr. and The International Hunt for His Assassin, Hampton Sides. This one turned up while cleaning---I'd had it awhile and read it just before Thanksgiving---and was sorry I hadn't read it sooner.

This tells an extremely interesting story---some of which I'd heard before, others of which were new to me---and tells it in an interesting way. It does have the rather odd habit of referring to the assassin by the name he happened to be using at any particular time along the way---but his identity, or guilt, is not in doubt here.

I'll recommend this as a good model for a non-fiction book.

*****

Another thing that I didn't read, but watched, was the 1927 movie Metropolis---I'll bring it up here because it's of some importance to the history of movie making, as well as having a profound influence on science fiction writing as well as science fiction film-making.

This version is a recently-restored print---some long-missing footage turned up in Buenos Aires recently, though, maddeningly, some scenes are still missing. There's a new score, adapted from the original score at the 1927 premiere. If you've only seen earlier versions (say, the "disco" version put out by Giorgio Moroder in the 1980s), you really haven't seen it---it's beautifully photographed, all the more so in this version (though some restored scenes are heavily scratched-up) and makes more sense plotwise than the truncated versions.

The movie was the pioneer of SF filmmaking---the futuristic citiscapes, the mad scientists, the robots, the underclass-and-overclass struggle---and a lot of it also spilled out into the written form of SF (a lot of big-time stories use almost the same plot and a lot of the themes).

I taped it (actually, DVD-R'd it) off Turner Classic Movies when they premiered it for broadcast in America...I've been looking for the DVD or Blu-Ray of it, which ought to be even better...probably if I don't find it locally, I'll buy it somewhere offline.

I think I mentioned it before. It's the third and last book in this series- I haven't seen much less read a trilogy in years-and I was and still am afraid of what is going to happen to the MC when he has to fight his evil "twin". It is the last book after all.

His "twin" has him in his power now. Of course the" twin" doesn't know what the original Gerard has learned but he also has some people he can hold hostage. Oops, didn't think of that in the beginning.

And I think Metropolis is on DVD. I saw in listed in my paper last week. And a month or three ago I heard about those scenes being found. I don't think I've ever seen the whole thing, even what they had and I've thought about watching it.

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And I think Metropolis is on DVD.

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For a book I'm not sure I want to read I'm going through "Wizard Squared" way too fast.

Even if it is the movie in question, again, there are competing versions. There's the short version that's circulated in English for years (something of a botch cut-up---one character's name is misspelled in the titles). There are variants of that one all over the place. Then there's the 1980-something Giorgio Moroder "disco" version. There's the 2000 or so restored version, where missing scenes (some present in the 2010 restoration) are indicated with titles and blank spaces.

I have the word short in quotations because his interpretation of the word short is not always the same as what most people think of short. He stated that his wife and someone else had a chuckle over it.

Anyway, his first story actually is short. It reminds me of older stories written probably before he wrote his first real story-novel. But I also thinks it breaks some of what is today considered rules of writing. I kinda winced at some of what he wrote. Not that that made it bad just not how stories are generally written today.

The second story in the anthology is long. I love Weber's writing. Not only is it good but you cam learn stuff. Like did you know there were "timberclads" during the civil war? Now I will have to look it up because I'm not sure if that term references the normal ships or as it sounds they were a special design.

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So, um. I guess that means you didn't like MATCHED?

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Reading my comment again I realize it comes across rather peevish. That was not my intention. While I didn't particularly like MATCHED, the book itself did not turn me off of YA. MATCHED simply comes at the end of a mini-YA marathon for me: THE CHRONICLES OF PRYDAIN (all 5 books), THE GOOSE GIRL, GRACELING, ALANNA (The First Adventure),and THE BLUE SWORD.

Of all those, McKinley's THE BLUE SWORD was my favorite. Lloyd's books came in a close second - I found Taran to be a wonderful character and enjoyed watching him grow throughout the series. I had read Pierce's ALANNA years ago when I was in middle school and decided to re-read it as an adult. I still enjoyed it after all those years. I personally found GRACELING and MATCHED somewhat slow moving and didn't find the protagonists particularly interesting. I did enjoy Shannon Hale's THE GOOSE GIRL, it was a well-written and charming fairytale retelling.

I almost exclusively read YA/MG, but I do go on benders on certain authors sometimes, and then find I need a break.

Right now my kids and I are busy trying to read/listen to everything Diana Wynn Jones has ever written, it's taking a while! But it's an enjoyable ride (I'm on book four in Chrestomanci Chronicles, EXCELLENT. The Lives of Christopher Chant is this one. We are listening to the follow-up to Howl's Moving Castle, called The House of Many Ways, also excellent. The voice talent is superb.)

I mentioned that I was reading "Worlds Of Weber", and that I was learning something.

One story might have been more historical fiction than SF except for the fact that in it Captain John Paul Jones fought for the English against America. I should have suspected something when he was introduced as Captain Sir John Paul Jones. But in the story he picks up some Intelligence data by accident which allows him to attack a French fleet sent to help America. During that battle he tells the French Commander "I have not yet begun to fight".

2.Finished Cloud Atlas and have to say I found it painful.

The writer can turn a pretty phrase, absolutely. But the book is hard to read, harder to stay connected to. It stops abruptly after each character, jolting into six different characters. Each one is harder to get into than the last, climaxing with one that is so long and so in its own thick, dialect that it is almost unendurable. The story/book then returns to each character in reverse order, jolting the reader back to finish their tales. However it fails to answer many questions and again goes into dull detailed accounts that hover. Each, as well as the whole of the character arcs together, offers no resolution that ties up these stories satisfactorily.

This book was recommended by several intellectual writers, but I found it depressing in message, nihilistic, preachily postmodern, and existentialist.

For all the praises it seems to have garnished, its message is that there is no point, no lasting joy: a very defeatalist work.

I personally prefer to be inspired, which is one of the things I love the most about great sci fi and fiction.

I set this book in the recycling bin gently, wondering at such a skilled writer with such a case of depression, not wanting to kick him. (He has a right, of course and I would not deny him that, to write what and as he wishes.) But also, not wanting to be infected by his malaise.

LOVED. BOTH.

Stardust starts out with a lot of telling, to be specific fairytale story telling. But it works beautifully, I think, to set up the enchanting tale that follows. I loved it. I am curious what others, who have read this book, thought, especially about the opening telling.
Although it is rather old world, I grew up loving the voice of a fairytale narrator, and still do.

Ender's Game goes to a war-setting that I am usually not big on, but the main character is so compelling and the writing so polished, I was in. The author had me at hello, as they say. And I was completely satisfied with this read.

Just about to finish Lois McMaster Bujold's CETAGANDA. More great fun with Miles Vorkosigan getting himself into and then out of situations that require his particular blend of genius and improvisation.

It starts off promising enough. I've yet to hit the violent parts.

It reminds me of BATTLE ROYALE by Koshun Takami. I am rather excited to see how they compare and what Collins is going to do differently (since some things are fairly similar).

Right now I'm reading two books. I started the second because I was reading the first one too fast.

Glen Cook's "Gilded Latten Bones" the latest in his Garrett series.

Two things about it. One is that its starts with very short chapters, one to two pages long. I don't recall him doing that with the previous Garrett books. In this case it made it a little hard to get into it with all the breaks. But after awhile the chapters got a few pages longer and it appeared to be the same old writing that drew me to his Garrett books.

I said appeared because of the second thing. With those short chapters it didn't feel like Cook's writing. That could be because of the short chapters or because it isn't his writing. This is just a suspicion but a few months ago a long time pro writer who has ghost written a number of novels, said he had just finished a fantasy for a pro writer. No names and no hints besides that it was fantasy. And I think this pro has used short chapters before. He is suppose to be very good at sounding or writing like other writers.

Shoulder shrug, I will more than likely never know but I will keep reading it and will enjoy it. Even if I was to ask the pro he wouldn't tell me that I guessed right and probably would refuse to even say I was wrong if I am.

Second book. Is "Brooklyn Knight" by C.J. Henderson. Besides the fact the there's another C.J. out there this guy-gal seems to be new. Mike Resnick likes him as does William Shatner. But I'm not too sure. The writing feels more like its for YA or even younger. He seems to break some writing rules that makes me wonder how he got published. Of course part of that might be that he has disproved one of the writing rules I always say. Start with short sentences. This guys' first sentence is four lines long. Of course that is a sort of pre prologue but the main books starts with a rather long one too. Its part dialoque though. And the writer takes a while to get into the story, there's a lot of socializing and a tour of New York city first. Of course long time pros have done openings like that too, so that might be okay. I will finish it because its not that bad. If I'm right about the bad writing, the mistakes aren't that glaring. I may not have noticed if I hadn't been working on some of the same type of things.

One note: I'm starting to grow amazed at how much information I've absorbed, and how much I read in a book is already known to me. Does it add to the depth of a work? Yes, conditionally, but it's getting harder to find surprise in non-fiction...

Dupes: How American's Adversaries Have Manipulated Progressives for a Century, Paul Kegnor. Actually, there's little that's new to me here---mostly a matter of fine details and cited sources---but it's nice to have it all laid out in order.

Efrem Zimbalist: A Life, Roy Malan. No, not the guy from 77 Sunset Strip, that was his son---this one was a famous violinist (and the father of that one). It's a couple of years old but I spotted a copy the other week. In this case (unlike the above), I'm a little surprised by what I actually knew about the classical music world, and what was familiar to me---but also surpised at how little I knew about Zimbalist himself, particularly how long he lived and when he died. (This volume was written by an adoring student, though, and a more thorough bio may come someday. I'll make do with this.)

The Invisible Harry Gold: The Man Who Gave the Soviets the Atom Bomb. The spy business is equal parts danger and dullness---real-life spies, like Harry Gold, are seldom as interesting as the likes of James Bond. This tells the story of a man who, well, like the subtitle says, gave the Soviets the A-Bomb (or at least the info needed to build one). Interesting account---evidently, when Gold decided to come clean, he told everything---but Gold's motivation still puzzles me. (Also, what I know already comes into play, not just about the A-Bomb or the Manhattan Project, or leftist spying---but a man mentioned on one page plays a prominent role in several chapters of Asimov's autobiography.)

The War for Late Night: When Leno Went Early and Television Went Crazy, Bill Carter. Some of you may remember a book (and cable movie) called The Late Shift, by this same writer. This is the inevitable sequel, the (largely) inside story of what happened and where it all went horribly wrong. One of those sequels that's even better than the first one. (It'd be hard not to know some of this stuff---it played out in headlines while it was going on.)

*****

I spent some time watching the movie Despicable Me. It's no Pixar product, and I can poke holes in the plot and continuity easy enough---but I like the characters and the situation, and that's more than enough for me. (For some reason, probably encroaching middle age, the idea of a single parent adopting kids resonates with me---so much I've tried shoving some similar things into my recent writing.) Besides, there's a lot of well-drawn background stuff and in jokes that delights me when I catch a glimpse of them. I've watched it through several times already.

*****

You may recall I was looking for a Blu-Ray edition of the latest edition of Metropolis. You may be happy to know I found one, and watched that through several times as well. Like I said, take a look---so much visual SF derives from the images therein.

*****