Member: MikeBriggs

Hi, I just joined this site. I noticed that you're into Memoir Books. Have you read Home After Dark? Here's a link: http://www.fivestarpublications.com/afte...

posted by DarylRobidoux at 6:02 am (EST) on Mar 24, 2009

Welcome, neighbor to the US Presidents Challenge!
I live in Olney, MD but have a sister (traumatroller/also in the challenge in Woodbridge)
I'm glad you joined us. If you have any questions, suggestions, or insights, just drop them on the General thread for all to see.

Happy reading!
Cheli

posted by cyderry at 1:21 pm (EST) on Jan 23, 2009

Hi Mike,

Thanks for your kind response. It was enjoyable to read.

I really appreciated what you had to say about the Banned/Banished series. I guess I will make a point of reading them sooner or later. I have a lot of unread books and try to pick the ones that sound most interesting. I like the continuity concept you mentioned. I'd like it a lot more in a series when I have them all already! As I do with those books. Interesting about the Rollins pseudonym, too. That part about the elves coming from across the sea does seem like an obvious tie-in to Tolkien, doesn't it? I wouldn't read anything thinking it might be like Tolkien, though. He was pretty unique in the depth of his Middle Earth, all the background history and songs, etc. I haven't read Lord of the Rings for about 20 years now, either, but I just happened to look at a few pages a couple of weeks ago and realized again how there is a different flavor to the writing than most all of the fantasy that I've read since, even other fantasy I like a lot. Some people don't like Tolkien's style even though they recognize the classic nature of his books, but I sure appreciate it. I have to say, though, I listed Tolkien as a favorite because his books had a big impact on what I read for the rest of my life till now, not because I have memorized his stuff inside and out.

I actually have Flint's 1632, but none of the other books that followed in that series. He has quite a few books listed to his credit at the start of Time Spike and I hesitate to get into a big long series because I'm not that fast a reader. But I really enjoyed Time Spike a lot. I think I read the whole thing in three evenings because it was fun enough to make me want to get through it quickly, and it just not a heavy book. That was amazingly fast, for me. I'll probably read 1632 as well and see if I want to go on past there. I used to love alternate history and time travel stories, but got away from them over the years. Time Spike was getting back to a kind of book I used to love to read.

I've been reading The Jaguar Hunter by Lucius Shepard. In contrast to Time Spike, The Jaguar Hunger IS a heavy book. But I've never read a book like it. The stories (it's a collection of short stories) are fantasy, but not the elf/fairy sort of fantasy. The fantasy tends to be more of a sort of folk fantasy. The unique thing about the book is that all the stories take place in other countries, mostly Central America, but some other places as well. It's taken me a long time to read because they are serious stories and make you think, and it's hard for me to read one story like that after another. I'll read one story from it and not read another for maybe a couple of weeks or more. The story I finished a couple of nights ago blew me away. I've never read such a powerful story about the effect war has on those who wage it in my life, with the possible exception of All Quiet on the Western Front, which I read about 40 years ago, and you probably know the force of that book. This story from the Jaguar Hunter, called "R & R", was of a totally different quality from the Remarque book, about a guy in some hypothetical military action in Guatemala, but wow. It was interesting, the fantasy kind of weaves through the story, and it's hard to tell whether it's actually fantasy or not. The world of real war is sometimes so fantastic that I'm sure sometimes people feel like the world is different for them than for others. You get a sense of that in the story, and it has quite an amazing effect on the tale. You can probably tell it's not a "fun" book, and till then I wasn't sure if I was glad to be reading it or not. But after that story, yep, I can say unequivocally, it's a pretty darned good book. The average quality of the writing is unusually high for a short story collection. The title story is also absolutely outstanding, and about half the remainder of what I've read so far are at least 8 out of 10 for me, maybe more. I very highly recommend it, if that kind of thing sounds interesting to you.

I saw many of your favorite authors are SF writers, and I actually have read little of those particular guys except I read most of one of Jack McDevitt's books, but just didn't enjoy it very much for some reason. But I just took another look at the list - actually, George Martin was guest of honor at a convention here this spring, and I had him sign several of his books. I don't know if I'll ever read the Fire and Ice books even though they are supposed to be really good, because they are supposed to be a sort of "realistic" fantasy that I don't think I would enjoy that much. But I really want to read his short story collection(s) just published, because they have some Hugo-award-winning stories in them that I have heard are pretty wonderful, and I've also heard his Fevre Dream was absolutely outstanding, one of the best vampire books of all time according to this guy who was talking about it. And Armageddon Rag sounds very interesting as well.

Man, you have a lot of books! :-) I just noticed that 1632 is one of your 10 listed favorites, and from somebody with that many books, that must mean it's pretty darn good. I'll have to be sure to read it. I never even heard of any of the other authors, except maybe John W. Huston. So darn many books, so few years...

Well, anyway, thanks again for your message. It was really nice talking with you!

Jim

posted by bibliojim at 2:12 am (EST) on Jun 21, 2008

Hi Mike,

I saw on you list of books read for the "challenge" that you've read several of the Wit'ch books by James Clemens. I have them as well, but have never looked at them. I take it you enjoyed them because you continued reading them after the first one. How would you describe them? I'm just wondering what they're like.

I just finished Time Spike, which was how I happened to your page - it shows up in a conversation through you. I thought it was a bit simplistic and perhaps too entertainment-driven, but then again, I found it very entertaining as a result! It was fun. Have you read any other books by Eric Flint? He's written quite a few alternate history books. Do most of them have the same flavor, or are some more "serious"?

It's kind of funny, I just wrote a review of Time Spike for LibraryThing and said staunch political conservatives would probably think the book full of poppycock, because I think there are many leftist ideas in there. I see in one of these messages to you that you are a member of the Political Conservatives group. Just out of curiosity, did the philosophically-oriented parts of the book bother you, or not?

Thanks,
Jim

posted by bibliojim at 2:20 am (EST) on Jun 12, 2008

I just wanted to point out that if you want to read more of Ty Drago's work, you should check out his e-zine at http://www.allegoryezine.com/. He also has several short works available as ebooks from Amazon.

posted by MuseofIre at 3:24 pm (EST) on Nov 9, 2007

Hi there! I just stopped by to check out your library. Very intriguing. I enjoy your tags a lot! Its great to find a fellow book thrift shopper. Its so much fun...but such a dangerous habit! My library has grown quite large and bulky. I am planning on pulling some more books out of storage soon...it will be interesting to see what I have in there. :o) Take Care and Happy Reading!

posted by wizardsheart at 3:26 am (EST) on Sep 22, 2007

Mike -

Ty Drago here. Really. I wanted to drop you a line to say thank you. Your reviews of Phobos and The Franklin Affair were thoughtful and, of course, tremendously flattering. As a struggling author, it means a lot to get such positive and supportive feedback from a reader who isn't your mother.

And, out of respect, I thought I'd satisfy your confusion about this whole "first book" business. It comes up a lot. The Franklin Affair did, indeed, appear in 2001 and was my first published novel. It was also VERY small press (only 500 copies) and didn't get into the bookstores. Years later, when Tor contracted with me to publish Phobos, they told me that they didn't "count" small press publications and, lo and behold, I was a first time author again. A bit like getting your virginity back.

It's a wierd business.

Anyhow, that's that. There was never a sequel to Franklin because, sadly, the publishing house that put it out went belly up about two years later. And there was never a sequel to Phobos because - well, the "official" story is poor sales, but I've been told since that was a crock, that it was politics inside the firm. Oh well.

Right now, I've got six other novels being hawked by my spendid agent. You haven't heard the last of me yet!

Thanks again, truly.

- Ty

posted by peridot at 4:51 pm (EST) on Aug 13, 2007

Waving hello from one Briggs to another!

posted by lyndabriggs at 5:49 pm (EST) on Jul 11, 2007

Here's my wave back!
Affinity is one of those features that has seemed to come and go at random lately. You can see it (on a good day) in the forum posts. It will appear as a percentage next to a username. There's a formula for it, which I believe was posted somewhere in a thread. It takes the books you share and weighs them. Have a nice weekend.

posted by VictoriaPL at 10:12 am (EST) on Jun 28, 2007

Just wanted to say 'Hello'. I noticed on a forum today that we have a 99% affinity. Have a nice day!

posted by VictoriaPL at 1:33 pm (EST) on Jun 27, 2007

cute cat pic

posted by MrsKroeger at 2:23 pm (EST) on Apr 15, 2007

allowing myself to read something else, and allow some of the irritation created by the book to decrease, helped me to read it and enjoy it more; the multiple books probably is helping my reading of the Diplomacy book

Ahhh, this may be what I do, without knowing why. I have called it "mood", but perhaps it is just as you have stated. I love to read Winston Churchill, but I can only take him about one or two chapters at a time before going numb, much as I like him. Also, Terry Pratchett, I love his books, but find him much more amusing if broken up with other reading. Too much at a time and I just want to read to finish, not enjoy. Thanks.

By the way, the kitty in my profile, despite appearances, is more like Bucky from Get Fuzzy and would rather be dead than caught enjoying a lap. Sometimes if we slide under him in the middle of his nap, we can get away with it for awhile. My lap kitty is about 18lbs. of calico female possessiveness.

posted by MrsLee at 4:23 pm (EST) on Mar 20, 2007

Hi Mike, I enjoyed your posts in the Christianity group. Brief and to the point. :) Also think your cat is very charming and intelligent. My cat only enjoys books when they are on my lap. Then she only enjoys them because they make me sit long enough for her to snuggle. Take a look at the Reading Resolutions group, though I see you have lots of groups, your idea of trying to read more than one book at a time caught my eye. I always read several, but I'm a mood reader. I sort of wondered if the amount of books you read at a time was kind of like being left or right handed, I never thought about it being learned.

posted by MrsLee at 2:29 pm (EST) on Mar 20, 2007

Hi Mike! Welcome to the poly sci group and thanks for your response to my comment! Finally, some thinking . . . i was about to drop that group.

posted by NativeRoses at 9:16 pm (EST) on Mar 7, 2007

Mike Briggs of Vienna? If so, I did a skid-bid at OLGC with you many many years ago.

posted by benwaugh at 3:26 pm (EST) on Jan 29, 2007

Welcome to the Political Conservatives group. Thanks for joining!

posted by ggchickapee at 12:22 pm (EST) on Jan 17, 2007

Cat! Cats, books it's all fun. The Earth Children's Series were okay, filled my small niche for early, early pre-history fiction.

posted by Bonne at 3:25 am (EST) on Jan 3, 2007

Anybody who names a cat Maui has to be ok in my book (and on Flickr).

posted by Linkmeister at 4:34 pm (EST) on Dec 28, 2006