Richardderus thread 24 of 2014

I have always imagined that heaven would be some kind of library.
--Jorge Luis Borges

I have a category called Orphans, which will still catch all the other reading I do.

My ORPHANED books ticker:




I want to treat the Short Story collection challenge as a ticker-to-itself thread, thinking 48 reviews as my goal. I'll keep the thread over in the Short Stories forum.

My SHORT STORY collections ticker:




I'm keeping a mystery-genre thread over in Crime, Thriller, and Mystery forum. Way way way too many of my reviews have been, in all forums, mysteries and thrillers, and while I love them, I don't want to get too rut-ified and read only those books while keeping up my self-made review writing census.

My MYSTERY & THRILLER books ticker:




THIS THREAD is the 75 challenge for 2014, which will be non-fiction and non-genre-fiction books published in 2013 and 2014, plus recommendations from other 75ers.

My last thread of 2012.
My last reviews of 2013 in this thread.

My 2014 NEW books ticker:




Books 1 & 2...thread 5.
Books 3 & 4...thread 10.
Books 5-7...thread 12.
Books 8 & 9...thread 13.
Books 10 & 11...thread 14.
Books 12-16...thread 15.
Book 17...thread 17.
Books 18 & 19...thread 19.
Book 20...thread 20.
Books 21-26...thread 22.
Books 27-30...thread 23.
Books 31-34...thread 24.

Books are reviewed in post:

35. Rene...#114.

36. Notes from the Internet Apocalypse...#185.

37. The Madonna and the Starship...#282.

THE PUBLIC SHAMING OF A REVIEW-WRITING SLACKER
updated 21 June 2014 with MORE embarrassing omissions...the bottom of the post

Books I've read that I need to write reviews for because DAMN!

Life After Life--trending towards 5 stars 9 months on
The Golem and the Jinni--settling in at 4-plus stars
The Love Box--short stories with bite, somewhere over 3 stars
The Hill Bachelors--well and truly over 4 stars, William Trevor is a story-writing demigod
An Elegy for Easterly--vacillating between almost-4 and a hair over 4 stars
The Martian--six stars out of five, the most fun I had with my clothes on in 2013 reviewed!
Outerborough Blues--a terrific Brooklyn noir, juuuuuuust misses 4 stars Reviewed!
Hedy's Folly--pretty woman with brains invents stuff the men can't understand, is condescended to and dismissed; blood-boiling almost-4 star read
Consider Phlebas--first Iain M. Banks read, not a huge success; 3 stars but they're grudging
The Player of Games--3-and-a-half because it's better than the first one, and because I suspect reading it too soon after being mad at the first one made me unfairly testy
Empire State--my first Adam Christopher read, I liked it almost 4 stars'-worth
North American Lake Monsters--over-3 star story collection infused with very very weird situations and characters
The Dinosaur Feather--I *loved* this thriller set in Denmark and am horribly ashamed that I haven't written its 4-star review Reviewed!
The Keeper of Lost Causes--simply delicious, 4 stars, go read it NOW if you haven't
Monday or Tuesday--it's Virginnie la Woolf! I'd never read it, and was very excited to; an easy 4 stars reviewed! Not quite four after all
Regeneration--late to the party; easy 5 stars; just...jaw-dropping Reviewed!
The Optimist's Daughter--at best 3.5 stars, my lady wasn't a novelist! Reviewed!
Delta Wedding--a hair more than 3.5 stars because I just *adore* hatin' on Dabney Reviewed!
Slaughterhouse-Five--six stars of five, don't anybody admit to me that they didn't like this book or it will damage our friendship...reviewed!
The Book of Matt--painful
The Daughters of Mars--trending towards almost-4 stars, the longer I'm away from it the less amazing it seems
The Goldfinch--started at 5, now down to 4-plus; another book where distance isn't making the read better
The Luminaries--oh my heck! At least 5 stars, such a joy to read!
Tomorrow-Land--the 1964 World's Fair! W00t! I'd say 3.5-plus?
1Q84--yes, I read the damned thing, 2.5 stars
Cloud Atlas--see above
Among Others--solid 3.5-plus, I like Walton a lot
The Cusanus Game--wowee read translated from the German, easy 3.5 stars
The Frangipani Hotel--a solid 3.5-star debut story collection, watch out for this lassie, there's better still to come from her pen
The Dark Vineyard--second Bruno-in-Provence mystery and I reveled in its 3.9-star glory reviewed! (and promoted to a full 4 stars
Don't Start Me Talkin'--a strange road novel, indie lit at its best and most interesting, another solid 4 stars
The Merry Misogynist--can you EVEN BELIEVE that I haven't reviewed a Dr. Siri in 2014?! The shame, the shame Reviewed!
Cold Storage, Alaska--not bad, not excellent, and worth your eyeblinks at 3 stars
Black Irish--debut thriller set in Buffalo, very very noir, pulse-pounding action that merits 3.75 stars Reviewed!

Oh gawd there are more, more, ever more, and I really need to get busy writing the reviews.

19 June additions
How can it be that I've never reviewed ANY of the Iron Druid Chronicles? Not ONE, except two of the novellas?!
Hounded Reviewed!
Hexed
Hammered
Tricked
Trapped
Hunted
Shattered (no proper touchstone yet!)
none below 3.5 stars...and I'm not gonna forget the novellas:
Grimoire of the Lamb Reviewed!
Clan Rathskeller Reviewed!
Kaibab Unbound Reviewed!--prequels to Hounded
A Test of Mettle--after Hammered
Two Ravens and One Crow
The Chapel Perilous--after Tricked

*whew*

21 June embarrassing omissions
Let Him Go--4.875 stars, Larry Watson delivers excellence but not *quite* the transcendence of which he is more than capable Reviewed!
Orchard--another Larry close-close, but only 4.5 stars...a little predictable
How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia--3.9-star wry-smirk of a read, thanks Katie!
The Faithful Scribe--3.5-star good tale, but somehow misses catching fire
The Odd Clauses--a 4-star look at the wacky world of our American Constitution, and how very strange some of it really is
Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue
Authorisms--two 3.5-plus star explorations of language, English, and its quirky, unpredictable, and downright capricious development Reviewed!
The Frackers--5-star subject, 3.5-star execution, and made me beyond boilingly furious
Hill William--4-plus stars for McClanahan's spare and simple and gut-punching prose Reviewed!
Throne of the Crescent Moon--I like the author well enough to read his Arab-culture based fantasy novel, so I should review it, right? Say three, three and a quarter stars
An Unnecessary Woman--loved this tale of hidden depths and social invisibility, at least 4 stars reviewed!

August is a-cumin in

Since July has been a big huge boost in getting unwritten reviews written, yay!, I'm going to try something similar to the Doubleday UK meme for August.

I've bought a lot of SFnal works, read many, and reviewed almost none (pace The Martian). So here's a list to be getting on with, from which I'm planning to draw a book a day for August:

The Madonna and the Starship--I like James Morrow's stuff a lot! Maybe 3.75 stars. Reviewed!
Mars, Inc. The Billionaire's Club--Ben Bova! Yowza! What a long career. This isn't perfect, though I'd've had complete fantods over it in 1984; maybe 3.25 stars?
Notes from the Internet Apocalypse--~meh~ 3 stars Reviewed!
The Cusanus Game--vivid, intense, but slow-paced and too long. 3.8 maybe?
Above All Men--postapocalyptic goodness that blows ol' Bore-max McCrappy outta the water, 5 stars
Age of Shiva--latest in a series of novels interpreting sacred texts as SF; dunno yet
Valley of Day-Glo--whoa Nelly. 4 stars Reviewed!
Dry--excuse me, I need a few gallons of water; 4 stars
The Symmetry Teacher--still digesting; maybe 3.8, 3.9 stars
Hurricane Fever--weeeeeeeeelllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll...3.75 stars?
Understories--YYYYUUUUUMMMMMMMMMMMM 4 stars
At the Mouth of the River of Bees--such an excellent title! Not bad, 3.75 maybe
Salvage--an excellent YA novel, 3.75 stars
The Burning Dark--Adam Christopher's hard-SF debut, liked it 3.8-ish stars
Living Next Door to the God of Love--quirky; almost 3 stars, maybe a wee tidge over
**more to come**

The Word Exchange--fascinating! 4 at least
The Future We Wish We Had--fun little collection, 3, 3.25 maybe
Gemsigns--cool new series; 3.75 or so
Ancillary Justice--can't wait to read it!
Indistinguishable from Magic--Cat Valente! W00t!
Hard to be a God--Strugatsky borthers' madness
The Dark Beyond the Stars--interesting to read this one by a gay SF pioneer
Irregular Verbs--gorgeous!
Planesrunner--I like his work, can't wait to start it
Railsea--China's mah boy!
Dancing With Bears--I have no idea how this came to be here

How timely your thread topper is RD! There is a group read of The Stand from August - October. The first thread is here. http://www.librarything.com/topic/178358

*smooch*

Happy new thread, RD. Love the thread topper.... Now, that is my kind of bookstore! Musty, cluttered and full of all sorts of reading gems to be discovered. ;-)

Happy new thread Richard. Very cool thread topper.

>5 luvamystery65: You're first, Roberta!



*smooch*

>6 lkernagh: Thanks, Lori...isn't that exactly the kind of place you want to spend an hour or so browsing? *happy sigh*

>7 Thebookdiva: Thank you, Abby! *smooch*

Like

Happy New Thread Richard!!

Lovely new thread, Richard. I want to visit that bookstore!

I'm here, too! Happy new thread.

>10 mckait: I'm not surprised you do.

>11 SuziQoregon: Thank you, Juli!

>12 ronincats: If I ever find it, I'll give you a call I promise. *smooch*

>13 katiekrug: Hey it's KickAssKatie! W00t! The party can start now.

Happy New thread, Richardmydear!

Did you get your numbers wrong again? Two threads number 24 ;-)))

So glad to see you've given up slacking off......LOL - you slack? Nice new thread, now I just have to be sure to unstar the correct #24. Hmmmmmmmmm

Happy new thread Richard and a great thread topper my friend.

>15 connie53: I did indeed, Connie, it's most annoying. I was in a hurry, and that ALWAYS means mistakes.

>16 tututhefirst: Heh, sorry about that, Tina. I didn't do it on purpose, I promise.

>17 johnsimpson: Hello John, happy Sunday!

>4 richardderus: Yo buddy! New James Morrow?!?! How did I miss that. Boom headshot.

Morrow is nearly our favorite author, The Last Witchfinder stuff, not so much, but all the Godhead Trilogy and before.

Ancillary Justice - still plugging away, its taken about 1/3 thru the book to hook me.

Happy New Thread, Rdear and waves from London.

>19 mahsdad: You missed it?! I blew through it in a weekend. You want it after I write the review?

>20 Ameise1: Hi Barbara! Waving from London means, I hope it does anyway, that you're enjoying your vacation there. Sending hugs!

*smooch*--I know, it's been a long time coming...

I want to go to the bookstore shown above. Where is it please?

>22 tloeffler: ...no...not really...is it TLO?!?



If I knew where it was, we'd mount an expedition and raid that bad boy!

The first episode of Outlander is available free online!

Premiere date is 9 August. Cheers!

While we're at it, can we mount an expedition to find the guy in your picture too? He's cute!

Heck, he's easy. He's one of the actors on Doctor Who's Tenth Doctor Christmas special. Can't think of his name to save me.

If he's easy, then I want him.

All yours, lovey.

>21 richardderus:. YES PLEASE! If you're offering, I'm accepting.

Happy New Thread, Richard!!

xoxo

Hey there. Just claiming my seat.

You got me with your Tales of the City review via the Mudgely email. Is it more than one book, please and thanks?

>29 mahsdad: K

>30 scaifea: Thanks, Amber! *smooch*

>31 AuntieClio: Yoo-hoo!

>32 laytonwoman3rd: Hiya Linda3rd, did you bring popcorn?

>33 tiffin: Oh goody good good! There are nine of them:
Tales of the City
More Tales of the City
Further Tales of the City
Babycakes
Significant Others
Sure of you
Michael Tolliver Lives
Mary Ann in Autumn
The Days of Anna Madrigal

They really need to be read in order.

>21 richardderus: Yep we do. If you like you can have a look at my thtead.

>35 Ameise1: Shall do, my dear.

The August Book-A-Day prompt for today is a favorite comic book...well, graphic novel...and I ain't got one. So I picked the next best thing! Posted on my blog since it was up here last year.

Gahan Wilson. His stuff never gets old. I laugh as hard as I did 40 years ago, and sometimes harder. 5 happy, if dark, stars!

Happy New thread, RD! I like the topper and the quote. Try to have a pleasant Monday.

I thought you might do Howl for your gn, although Gahan is a hoot.

Hope your week is off to a good start, Richard. Congrats on the new thread, which, if it had a number, would be somewhere around umpty-million, I'm pretty sure. I want to go into that bookstore up top.

Hi! I received More Tales from the City yesterday, and I'm only on page 118 of 371 in Tales of the City. I'd better get focused. I'm off to a parking lot later today, but the damned light is fading earlier and earlier every evening. I must sign up for more daylight shifts!

>37 msf59: Thanks, Mark, it's Monday for everyone but me since I like the empty house. Here's hoping you'll have a lovely weather-week!

>38 jnwelch: I thought about Howl, Joe, but it's all tied up with the poem and the movie, and I can't disentangle the book from all those other ideas. Wilson's stuff is purely visual-art appreciation, married to the humor of his ideas and words. Seemed fairer to the spirit of the meme, somehow.

>39 maggie1944: Pesky seasonal changes, eh Karen44? Don't they know we have reading to do?!

I hope the Maupin series keeps you chuckling and gasping along. *smooch*

laughing out loud is so good for the soul

>40 richardderus: Yes, I know, poultry blech. However, I read Howl and Other Poems last night, and am still fascinated. Can we still be friends? ;-)

>41 maggie1944: It is, it is.

>42 AuntieClio: Your horrendous lapse in judgement errmmm ghastly taste uuuhhh personal choices are of no moment to me in believing you to be my friend. xo

>43 richardderus: oh whew :-) *smooches*

Hello, Richard.

Love the Tales of the City books, and have finished 3. The whole thing is available at our local libry, for a wonder.

Happy Monday evening and a good Tuesday to you.

>44 AuntieClio: :-P

>45 Matke: :-)

I did bring popcorn, Richard. And I saved a bag for you:

>43 richardderus: re: >42 AuntieClio: For which I'm very grateful since I hate coffee and love chocolate. I like cats and think Dickens is pretty good.

But you love me anyway. :D

*crickets*

Right? Right?

Hello?

awwww Morphy, I'll join you in the coffee hatin' chocolate lovin' part. :-)

>3 richardderus: Richard, your reviews are well worth waiting for.

>47 laytonwoman3rd: oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
that looks GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD
*drools*

>48 Morphidae:, >49 AuntieClio:

>50 Whisper1: Awww! Thank you, Linda! *smooch*

>51 richardderus: *whiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiines*

xo zzzzzzz

>53 Morphidae: *sobs* I love libraries! And books!

ETA: And St. Mary's!

>55 mckait: Poor angelflower! Sleep tight.

>56 Morphidae:

A GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENT NOT AIMED AT ANY PARTICULAR APOSTATES PERSONS

There are those who *shudder* fancy cats. There are those who *retch* like chocolate. These are grievous character flaws, but people are always flawed, aren't they (he said magnanimously).

But the Unforgivable Constellation of Evil is to appreciate *violent convulsion* Chuckles the Dick *severe seizure* while DISLIKING COFFEE AND LIKING CATS AND CHOCOLATE.

The horror, the horror!

rd... do you need a nap?

Just had one! Fresh as a daisy. Why?

What suggestions can everyone come up with to
"Comfort the Curmudgeon"?

Besides coffee. And books. And dogs. But combinations would probably be effective...

That's the ticket, Roni! xo

>58 richardderus: - Hum.... I drink decaf, love chocolate and cats - okay I love all furry creatures but cats seem to be able to match my mischievous personality best - so where does that leave me?

ETA - I probably should mention that I love Great Expectations but not so much some of Dicken's other works, like Bleak House.

.... am I in the dog house? ;-)

diverts RD with book porn



*smooches*

Oooooooo! Pretty shelves! And that couch looks very nappable.

...sorry, did you say something else?

nice!

>66 Morphidae: Good evening, Lenora, it's lovely to see you here. Such a charming array of books you've brought! It's odd, though, the way the photo's framed I can't see the lovely labradoodle I just *know* is there.

oh FINE! I still hate coffee.

You've not been by to see my jewelry production today...:-(

Brilliant poddle! If I didn't have a schnauzer I would like a standard poodle, please.

Hello Richard, and happy new-ish thread to you! I hope you are having a lovely week.

Hi Richard, hope this finds you well my friend.

>47 laytonwoman3rd: Indiana popcorn - woot!
(I grew up a couple of farms over from Orville Redenbacher's birthplace, so, yeah, we Hoosiers get excited about popcorn...)

Popcorn is a food group all its own. Yum.

I am finally getting to my coffee after a walk and some short chores. Hope good things happen in your day....

Yay - new thread! I can (sort of) catch up! Hi Richard!

#1 Me too. Is that Shakespeare & Co in Paris perhaps?

#3 Ooooh yes, Regeneration - such a brilliant book. Hmmm. Maybe time for a re-read. In the interim, do you have a link to your review (feel free to tell me not to be lazy)?
...and OK, I'll give Slaughterhouse-Five a go then. I was put off Vonnegut a bit by Cat's Cradle, which I just couldn't get into (please don't hate me) - although possibly I shouldn't have been trying to read it in my lunch-breaks at work.

#5 ....Ooooh again, I've never read The Stand. I may go and gate-crash. That'll fit quite well into my Edinburgh holiday book list...

#34 I read the first 4? 5? 6? Tales of the City books when I was at school (discovered via TV I'm afraid - there was a rather good Channel 4 dramatisation with Laura Linney before she was well known) - although I really enjoyed the first two or three, they started to pale on me a leetle bit (I seem to remember some sort of plotline involving a covered up murder/manslaughter that I found a bit out of place? - are they worth returning to then?

#58 Oh Richard, there is no hope for me clearly! In my defense, I have TRIED to like coffee, I really have, but I just can't. If it helps, I do LOVE the smell and my parents have trained me well from an early age in the art of making good filter coffee to their tastes (incl grinding of beans and actual filters), which I think is quite an achievement given that I can't test it properly...?

*takes leaf from lkernagh's book and posts distracting photo taken of Booth's Books in Hay on Wye...:*



Hope life is good!

>68 AuntieClio: ...weirdo...

>69 ronincats: *baaaaaawwwwwww* poochie! So sweet.

I'll be around directly.

>70 maggie1944: They're such smart dogs, poodles. Folks forget they were bred as hunters. Can't be too dumb when you're hunting or guess whose genes don't make it to the next generation.

If you forgive me for that OTHER stuff, I'll forgive you for not calling me by my proper LT name. :D

Oh, and here's incentive for forgiveness...

>71 AMQS: Hi Anne! Thanks for dropping in, and for the lovely wishes.

>72 johnsimpson: Hello John, doing well enough for summer. It's not my favorite season. At all.

>73 scaifea: Hi Amber! Orville Redenbacher was a real person? I figured they hired an old-coot actor to play him in all those TV commercials in the...1970s? 1980s? I forget.

>74 mckait: I'm a fan. I save the unpopped ones, and when I have enough, soak 'em overnight in water and then pop 'em again. About 75% pop. My favorites are the partially popped ones, with some of the outside shell still on. Yum!

The fifth of August is for heroes, according to the meme. THE MARTIAN!

My 5-star review of Andy Weir's classic thriller set in Outer Space gets my vote, for Mark Watney!

How much I appreciate a wisecracking, smartass, and plain smart hero who gets it done. Crown Publishing Group bravo for taking this book to the next level!

>77 Morphidae: Lookie ittle poochiepuppums! *schmoozle* all over those ears!

All better now, Morphy.

>80 richardderus: You crack me up! LOL!

>63 lkernagh:, I love the colors of blue and yellow. I admit, I am not in any way artistic. I love art, looking at art, appreciating art, but I can never envision something. I always copy.

>81 Morphidae: Morhpy, Richard always cracks us up. And, that is one of the things I most admire about him, ie that through his severe pain, he smiles and creatively finds ways to use his incredible writing style to make his personality shine through.

>81 Morphidae: :-)

>82 Whisper1: *blush* *smooch* *blush*

I'm so glad that I love, love, love coffee. Otherwise...oh dear.

So, how are you?

Who, me? I'm welllll ummm I'm uhhhhhh


...distracted

>85 richardderus: - Well, hello there, Mr. Gentleman Caller ;-)

He sent it to me, but in actual fact his abs are better than that guy's. Boy's a beauty inside and out.

>76 richardderus: Yes, we've already established I'm a weirdo. What else ya got?

>88 AuntieClio: Who, me? *bambi eyes*

*waves!* (#75) Was it the dislike of coffee, or the trouble with Vonnegut? ;o)

Fliss! Dear fliss! So good to see you. I'm simply unable to associate with people who dislike coffee, unless assured they do not compound the character defect with pro-Dickens sentiment.

I fall in that to-be-pitied category of people who like coffee, but cannot imbibe caffeine for health reasons.

Coffee - check, cat hatred - check, chocolate love - check, Dickens love - check.

See - all good things. I got them right, yes ;)

>92 michigantrumpet: ...
...

...
...

...oh you poor angelflower how heinous!

>93 BekkaJo: 50% scored correctly. Eliminate Dickensism for a passing score.

>91 richardderus: *blinks eyes, looking as innocent as a lamb*

Is loving Thomas Hardy as bad as loving Dickens? Inquiring minds want to know.

>94 richardderus: How about I give up chocolate rather than Dickens? (I may be cheating here since I am nearly 3 years into a voluntary chocolate ban).

>66 Morphidae: Nice pile. I've read Uncommon Grounds and will seek a couple of the others.

My batch of Colombia Narino Buesaco was good but I've never seen Colombian beans as nirvana compared to some of the competition. I'm currently on a roast of Kenya Kirinyaga Kii while my Rwanda Tumba Cocatu rests in the vacuum canister, ripening. Folger's is like ground dirt and Charbucks is roasted to charcoal oblivion. Fortunately, that's sufficient to keep most of 'em down on the farm. What you don't know won't hurt me -- or something like that...

Wading through 1Q84 for a library reading group later this month. Rack on.

>95 Morphidae: *mmmf* best not to remind me.

>96 DorsVenabili: Hahaha oh dear bwaaahaaaaahaaa haaaaaaaaa Oh goodness Kerri, you just will not beLIEVE what it looked like you typed there! I know this is completely impossible and against all the known laws of psychological normalcy and balance, but it LOOKED like you typed "loving Thomas Hardy" in that sentence!!

*faints from laughter*

But we all know it's impossible to love Thomas Hardy. Oh how amusing! Now what was it you *really* said?

>97 BekkaJo: No. Dickensism must be forsworn.

Chocolate is merely unpleasant (except when paired with peanut butter, when it becomes paradisial). Dickens is inimical to the proper functioning of the planet.

In fact, I'm polishing up a paper charting the rise in global temperature and the acceleration of the Sixth Extinction Event to the sales of Chuckles the Dick's interminable gusts of hot, fetid prose, coupled with the excessive depletion of tree cover in service of printing the evil tomes.

>98 mldavis2: Rwanda...Tumba...Cocatu...*faints from coffee concupiscence*

I've reviewed Tom Williams's fantastic bluesmen-on-the-road novel DON'T START ME TALKIN' at The Small Press Book Review. Curbside Splendor Press made it an EXCELLENT design and it's amazingly good reading.

Pay The Small Press Book Review a visit! I hope you'll be tempted to buy a copy...they're on sale right now, only $12 and cheap at twice the price.

Coffee talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaQNy0Ef4YY

>99 richardderus: Ha! Ok. I'll try to remember that...

#91 Hem. Um. *whispers very quietly, whilst wincing slightly* Actually, I quite liked Bleak House, despite the cardboard caricatures *runs away to hide*

....*briefly creeps back* If it helps, I do also intensely dislike Thomas Hardy...

Morning RD! Hope the week is going well and your books are hitting the mark. A little cooler today, after a couple of muggy ones.

>102 DorsVenabili: One wouldn't want you to suffer the agonies of ill health.

>103 flissp: *spoken tolerantly* Well, all of us have...aberrant...thoughts. It's as well to have them out for examination.

>104 msf59: Hiya Mark! Less muggy must feel as good as a vacation for someone out in it at all times. We're looking at some unsettled weather due to Bertha out at sea. Rain! Rain, I say!

*smooch*

After last night's delicious face to face discussion of Their Eyes Were Watching God I've decided that heaven is a good book group.

IN a good library.

>106 magicians_nephew: I won't argue even a little bit. A good book helps.

I've read one Thomas Hardy, Tess of the D'Urbervilles. I rated it 5/10 stars. In other words, "Meh."

Do I get points for that?

Tess is the only one of his I've read. I might rate it a little higher than Morphy, but it didn't make me rush out to find more Hardy.

No no no no - there is an audiobook of Alan Rickman reading The Return of the Native that will change your view of Hardy FOREVER. I promise. It is utterly utterly brilliant. It's the only book Rickman has done and I wish he would do a hundred more. I finished it then started it all over again.

And here is a pretty one:

Cheapness pisses me off. Begrudging users make me mad as hell. Read all about it.

>108 Morphidae: mmmmmmmm

weeeeeelllllllllllll

+1

>109 jnwelch: Relentlessly grim and unpleasant, that book. Blech.

>110 sibylline: Life's too short for Hardy, ma cousine.

Lovely Hay-on-Wye picture! Thanks.

>111 richardderus: Wow ... that's a really good rant. whew

My favorites are the authors who think they should respond to the haters. Laurell K. Hamilton anyone? I had stopped reading her long before she lost her mind and decided to explain her books to people who had the same opinion I did (only I didn't bother to say anything, I just stopped buying and reading). Ms. Thang you still need an editor, you books are bloated, your prose is purple and what was once a charming series about supernatural creatures learning to live with each other turned into soft core porn, of which I am not interested in reading. When I mention this to people, their first response about the bjs shouldn't be, "Oh, maybe I will learn something."

>112 AuntieClio: I don't mind the soft core porn so much as the lack of story to go along with it. And her being a Marie Sue. How many more powers can she possibly get?

Review: 35 of seventy-five

Title: RENE

Author: ERIC SHONKWILER

Rating: 4.75* of five

The Book Report: In a timeless American space and a placeless American landscape, Rene and Lilah eke out a hardscrabble life. Young Rene works in town and drives her rattletrap Chevy Townsman wagon down a patch of bad road to the tumbledown house she shares with her pale, ill mother Lilah. It is Lilah's unstoppable nasal bleeding that sets the women on a hard course, one that takes every tiny piece of easy left to them and grinds it to powder.

All endings are beginnings, though, and on their quest to stop the endless bleeding that's defined their existence, the pilgrims meet a crazy white woman-witch who promises nothing and delivers healing; a black family with even worse problems than their own; and four helping hands when no one was looking for any more gifts. Returning to Horn (short for Hornblower) and Sawyer, their family of dogs, the healing set in motion by their arduous journey gives the end and the beginning of this tight, spare tale its terrific wallop.

Eric Shonkwiler is a writer preoccupied with ruination. He can be followed on Twitter @eshonkwiler. He has had writing appear in The Los Angeles Review of Books, The Millions, Fiddleblack, PANK Magazine, and Midwestern Gothic. He was born and raised in Ohio, received his MFA from The University of California--Riverside, and has lived and worked in every contiguous U.S. time zone.


photo of Eric Shonkwiler by Sabrina Renkar

My Review: Look at that photo up top. This is the face of the young man who's just kicked me square in the cojones and rapped my noggin with a two-by-four just to be sure I got the message. And I guarantee you he's young enough to be my kid. (And the less charitable members of the audience are now cueing up their sarcasm font to comment about grandkid-aged, don't I mean; beat ya to it nyah.) So how, I want to know, does this revoltingly young person already know this:

One of the biggest sicknesses this world has is expectation. We all expect other people to be a certain way or to do a certain thing. Most people, they spend their whole lives under the wants of other people.

I expect the answer to that question is uncomfortable. The story Shonkwiler's telling here is uncomfortable, and yet comforting...I understand Rene's problem, I deeply understand Lilah's hurts, and I can't tell you why anyone would do any of the things I know they've all done. But I know they're doing whatever they can, however they can do it. And that's what makes this short read, an hour and a half at most, so deeply satisfying.

The golden youth's first novel, Above All Men, is in my to-be-reviewed queue. I've urged the book on many of y'all already. Okay, you want to know why? Read this novella. This kind of lean, no-BS storytelling is how he rolls. All of y'all who've made my online life a misery because I don't like Bore-max McClotty...oh dear, I mean Cormac McCarthy, I've got such fat fingers today...heed this: Shonkwiler uses the same style of simple, unadorned prose, the same "difficult" *sigh* technique of not using quotation marks to indicate dialogue, and the same rural setting, and does what the older man never could do. Shonkwiler makes (miserably) living, (barely) breathing, emotionally vital (if suffering) people that I can invest in. And he does it in under 20,000 words.

I say that's talent, high-order talent, and some very serious writing chops. Now let's see what else he can do, what's next for him. The only way that's going to happen is if we support him by reading and discussing and recommending AND BUYING his work.

You have your instructions.


This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

>104 msf59:, Mark I think I am suffering from O.R.D and know there is no cure but I can cope.

>113 Morphidae: Well, yes and the lack of a story. I was so sorry to see her work go that way because the enjoyment factor was high ...

Oh, Richard, you have GOT to see this. I hope it's your type of humor and that you haven't seen it before. You will love it. Promise! I cracked up.

True Facts About the Octopus
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=st8-EY71K84&feature=youtu.be

>114 richardderus: Is he even legal? *sigh*

>114 richardderus: But where did you get it? It's not even on LibraryThing.

Okay, so I've just laughed my butt off at this conversation whilst catching up. Literally laughed out loud on multiple occasions!!!

>119 Morphidae: I'm with Morph. I went to add it to my WL and I can't find it or your review. Do tell, RD. *I want to read it after such high praise, so tell me how to get it!*

>115 johnsimpson: COPE?! Hellfire, John, I'd expect you to *revel* in it like the rest of us!

...wait...English...understatement...aha! Got it. Carry on.

>116 AuntieClio: C'est la guerre, petite.

>117 Morphidae: *BWAAAAAAHAAAAAAAAAHAAAAAAAAAAA* I love Ze Frank! Hilarious, thanks Morphy!

>118 AuntieClio: Dunno for sure, but to all appearances it's borderline at best.

>119 Morphidae:, >120 TinaV95: It's an online-only read. The title is a link to the text.

So, after my rant this morning, I read and reviewed this book. I tweeted a link to Shonkwiler, and he AND his publicist *fell*over*themselves* to thank me, retweet the link, and favorite the tweet! The review on my blog got FIVE recommends through G+!

I'd say someone(s) paid me some attention. Heh. And you think this is a rave? Wait'll y'all see the novel's review!

Help me Obi-Wan,you're my only hope. How can I finish Ancillary Justice (200 pages in) when I just loaded Just One Damned Thing After Another on my iPad?

;-)

>123 mahsdad: Sorry Grasshopper...I'm about to abandon ship on the Leckie, I am NOT liking it enough to power through the tedious bits.

Oh, and *smirk*

First, what are you doing posting at 2am in the morning? GOTO Bed!

I'm with you on the abandonment issue. I am so disappointed with it, I so wanted to like it more. Oh well. Not like there ain't plenty of other things to read.

>125 mahsdad: Heh, no worries dad, I ate a bowl of ice cream this evening and promptly fell into a sugar coma for 3 hours. Now I'm AWAKE!!

I feel let down by the execution of the characters...like she dashed them off and made little attempt to make me buy into them. That means the action isn't action to me but a set of crappy things happening to people I don't know.

Jodi Taylor, OTOH, made me want to go have drinks with Max and Leon.

xo... mmmm ice cream!

>127 mckait: I love dulce de leche ice cream. I had a bowl, and remembered when I woke up why I don't eat ice cream very often. Apparently that much sugar and that much fat together overload my circuitry.

I have a similar relationship with ice cream, and also, Jelly Belly candy. Sigh.

I liked the coffee talk. I liked the last book review up there (>114 richardderus:), still wondering where one gets this book. I'm enjoying a day off, and just sitting here reading all my LT stuff. Then, I'll read the second of the Maupin books, and laugh, out loud. If I get the energy I'll do some porch painting, or yard work, or housework. Only if I want to.....

>111 richardderus: Powerful writing Richard. Thanks!

>129 maggie1944: RENE is an online-only read. The title is a link to the site where you can read it.

Have a great day off!

>130 Whisper1: Thanks, Linda. It's a sore subject to me: I find a lot of writers and publishers are interested in an audience, not a social experience. I pay for your product, I'm an audience member. Until then, I expect you'll participate!

Richard, a few years ago I posted a review on library thing regarding a book written by a man who appeared to write about his accomlishments in recovering stolen art. My tacful review noted that I wanted to know more about art and less about his pinkies in the art social life hob nobing with the rich and "not so famous." (I'm paraphrasing here).

He found my review on LT and sent a scathing message telling me that if I did not remove the review immediately he was going to sue me for slander. Oh my, what a poor, sad soul. I replied that reviews are of course subjective. My feelings and thoughts were valid.

>126 richardderus: +1

>132 Whisper1: How...that's...OMG. I cannot believe how stupid some people think it's okay to behave.

>133 mahsdad: :-)

Your reaction to Ancillary Justice is intriguing, bodhisattva. It's been highly touted this year, as I'm sure you've seen, but I had a much more low-key reaction to it. I did finish it, but the gender creativity didn't launch it into greatness for me.

A major ~meh~ misfire for me. I'll get around to writing a review since it was an ER book. I'm not spraining my wrists, though.

>114 richardderus: Ok, so anybody who gets a a favorable comparison to McCarthy (no matter how fumbly-fingered the reference!) is ok in my book. I've opened it in a new tab on my work laptop and will be pretending to work while sneaking a read... :)

>137 drneutron: Whatever it takes to get eyeballs on Shonkwiler's work! I hope you'll enjoy it.

>111 richardderus: That's one heck of a rant, Richard! The next time someone ticks you off, just send them a link to that. 'Nuf said.

>139 michigantrumpet: It's been building for a while. I'm just over the ingratitude of people I'm not paid to help.

>121 richardderus:, I am such and understated person Richard, books rule.

Just be boppin' along

>141 johnsimpson: Heh, y'all English folk 'n' yer hyeew-more.

>142 AuntieClio: Now that's one I've never seen before!

>142 AuntieClio: nice (-:

I'm glad to see some contrarian opinions on Ancillary Justice-- I'd also heard enthusiastic things about it, but it took about 100 pages for me to feel involved in the story. I'm feeling more drawn in as it goes, and I'll finish this weekend.

For me, a big problem is that some 250 pages in, I'm still not sure what the story *is*. It's a rich and politically complicated world, obviously, and that there is no way to communicate those nuances quickly. But this sure makes me even more appreciative of Cherryh's Chanur novels, which pack diversity and political complexity into stories that are also immediately engaging.

>144 maggie1944: :-)

>145 swynn: I'm not inclined to spot Leckie any points. It can, as you've just demonstrated by citation, be done. So do it!

~meh~ doesn't cut it in today's world.

Hello Richard, hope you having an excellent Friday and that you have a wonderful weekend.

*waving* before I get hopelessly behind again. Hope you have a great weekend with lots of good reading!

>147 GeezLouise: Thank you ever so kindly, Rae, and the same to you and the whole family.

>148 bell7: Hi Mary! Bye Mary! *smooch*

Ya know, books like A Conspiracy of Paper remind me that human beings make up markets...and human beings suck. Read my review.

must . resist . book . bullet .

>151 AuntieClio: Heh. Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated.

>152 richardderus: Yes I know, but I'm hanging on to the edges of the airlock with my fingers just now. Don't confuse me with the fact that never works and the victim always gets sucked into the vacuum of yet another book on Mount TBR.

>153 AuntieClio: Yes dear.

Proverb Factory ‏@proverb832 4m
Man has responsibility, not power. ~ Native American Proverb, Tuscarora

>149 richardderus: Well, I haven't quite left yet :) *smooch* back

>155 bell7: Soon, though. I sure hope it's fun!

Who needs an idea for a novel? Seen on Twitter:
The Associated Press ‏@AP 4m
12-year-old boy accused of fatally stabbing 9-year-old wanted to go jail and didn't know victim, document says http://apne.ws/1nAZyR8

How bad is this kid's life that JAIL sounds better? How effed up is his empathy circuitry that depriving someone of life seems like an okay thing to do, still less someone he doesn't know?! WHO ARE HIS PARENTS?! A book needs to be written! (Just not by me, though I promise I'll review it.)

>156 richardderus: If jail sounds better than being at home, then needing a way to get there and stay there means something permanent, like murder. He was probably so bent on going to jail that killing a 9-year-old he didn't know was completely incidental. I can only imagine the rage this poor child has inside.

ETA: I just read the story, what little there is of it right now. This is a child who has been beaten down so far that he honestly believes he is so bad he belongs in jail. Some people should not procreate. WTF?

>150 richardderus:. That sounds pretty interesting. On the list it goes

>157 AuntieClio: Horrifying, isn't it. I'm appalled at the indecency of these "parents."

>158 mahsdad: Hope it works for you the way it did for me!

Good morning, RD! Have a lovely Saturday.

*smooches* from your own Horrible

>160 karenmarie: Hiya Horrible! Have a lovely weekend you ownself.

Morning Richard, we are about to enjoy big breakfast.

>162 GeezLouise: Oo! Hope it was delicious, but then again I'm sure it was. Mamie dearest knows her food!

I've reviewed the second Benjamin Weaver historical thriller, A SPECTACLE OF CORRUPTION, in my thread...post #253.

ohhhh, great review and now on the tbr pile. Thanks, as always!

>58 richardderus: UCE describes me perfectly.

>164 Whisper1: Thanks, Linda!

>165 The_Hibernator: ...hm...it would appear that someone truly reprehensible and pusillanmous has hijacked Rachel's account...isn't that sad.

xo Happy weekend rdear..

>167 mckait: Thanks ever so!

xoxo

Rdear, I'm back from my holiday. I wish you a fabulous Sunday.

>156 richardderus: Hmmm I am looking for Nano ideas.... but I have a feeling that writing something like his backstory would mess my head up. Humans are horrible :(

Happy Sunday, RD! Hope you get plenty of R & R in.

>169 AuntieClio: *smooch*

>170 Ameise1: How perfectly restful, Barbara! A lovely, dappled scene.

>171 BekkaJo: Aren't they?! Horrifying. Still...it's a really delicious novel idea....

>172 msf59: Hiya Mark! Thanks for the wishes and the coffee. I was up too late and REALLY need caffeine.

I'm having coffee right now, so I'm starting to resemble a person who makes some sense. I'm waiting to see whether Mark can resist going on to read A Trail Through Time after finishing A Second Chance. I wouldn't have been able to - she hadn't published the 4th here when I finished the 3rd.

>174 jnwelch: I can't begin to fathom the kind of character and fortitude it takes to deny oneself the Chronicles of St Mary's the instant they're available! Approximately 15/1,000,000,000ths of a second after #5 hits, I'll have it open on the Kindle.

But I'm not renowned for impulse control.

>173 richardderus: Yeahh... a song came on before that brought the idea back to me. I may have started writing. Only a couple of paragraphs but it does seem to want down on paper. I think my prison psychologist friend would say things about me at this point...

>176 BekkaJo: Of this I have no doubt. But also say things TO you! Interviewing a prison psychologist about people like this kid's family sounds like a great idea.

Caught up but now I need a nap. You are getting all kinds of authors responding to your twittering these days. I blamed laytonwoman3rd for the St. Just series but apparently it was you (?). Have blazed my way through two, the third awaits. Great fun!

>178 tiffin: I read the first St Just mystery and liked it well enough. I don't know if it was me who put the series on your radar, however. In any event, I'm pleased you're like them! xo

Well that's a mystery (elbow to ribs) then. They are pure escapism.

Wait what? First there was a St. Mary's now there's a St. Just?

I've read and reviewed the deeply beautiful and immensely satisfying short Great War novel, A Month in the Country. See why I love it in my thread...post #103.

>180 tiffin: hyuk hyuk hyuk

>181 Morphidae: Ha! Yes, there is a St Just...but St Mary's is *streets* ahead in fun factor!

I realized I haven't left tracks during any of my visits this weekend, so
*smooch*

Review: 36 of seventy-five

Title: NOTES FROM THE INTERNET APOCALYPSE

Author: WAYNE GLADSTONE

Rating: 3* of five

The Publisher Says:When the Internet suddenly stops working, society reels from the loss of flowing data, instant messages, and streaming entertainment. Addicts wander the streets, talking to themselves in 140 characters or forcing cats to perform tricks for their amusement, while the truly desperate pin their requests for casual encounters on public bulletin boards. The economy tumbles further and the government passes the draconian NET Recovery Act.

For Gladstone, the Net's disappearance comes particularly hard following the loss of his wife, leaving his flask of Jamesons and grandfather’s fedora as the only comforts in his Brooklyn apartment. But there are rumors that someone in New York is still online. Someone set apart from this new world where Facebook flirters "poke" each other in real life and members of Anonymous trade memes at secret parties. Where a former librarian can sell information as a human search engine, and the perverted fulfill their secret fetishes at the blossoming Rule 34 club. With the help of his friends, a blogger and a webcam girl both now out of work, Gladstone sets off to find the Internet. But is he the right man to save humanity from this Apocalypse?

For fans of David Wong, Chad Kultgen, and Chuck Palahniuk, Wayne Gladstone’s Notes from the Internet Apocalypse examines the question “What is life without the Web?”

My Review: When I was a teen, something Amazing happened to me and my generation. My drama-fag friends and I, at various peoples' houses, spent every Saturday night watching The Funniest Show Ever Made: Saturday Night Live!! Brand new, unprecedented, unlike anything else ever!!!!!!!! (Remember we were adolescents. Caps and exclams and complete lack of perspective were then, as they are now, de rigueur.)

One Saturday night, I couldn't go to whoever's house to watch that week's episode for some reason. I made my mother, at the time 55, watch it with me by promising it would be Hilarious, Momentous, Life-Changing!!!! She, faithless to the dour brand of nutsoid Protestant Puritanism she'd taken to supporting, agreed and watched the whole thing.

I howled! I clapped! I bopped along with the musical guest and Supergenius G.E. Smith! And, as the credits ran, I turned to Mama and demanded, "wasn't that the funniest thing ever?!" She smiled at me and delivered the most withering possible response: "It was indeed! Imogene Coca and Sid Caesar were hilarious in the first sketch, and Jack Benny and Rochester were perfect in that second one."

That is precisely how I feel now: This book was right funny indeed, back when Peter de Vries did the social satire in 1965, and Thorne Smith did the smutty bits in 1935. And damn me if I didn't see Trudeau's Zonker Harris from 1975 somewhere in there.

There is nothing new under the sun, chick-a-biddies, and when enough sunrises have awakened one, there's a distinct lack of surprise in shock humor and topical tropism. Those over 40 are strongly discouraged from reading this book; those over 30 reminded to expect smiles not guffaws.


This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

I think I'll trust your judgement on this one. I'll let it pass me by

Thanx for taking one for the team

Not so fast, Grasshopper. It's in the box with The Madonna and the Starship.

Your son might like it, after all.

Well Sansei, since you honored me with this gift I will do you the favor of at least trying it out. That, and offering it to the boy

BTW, pretty much spent today finishing Just One Damned Thing.... Boy that was a fun book, loved it!

Richard, A Month in the Country has been on my WL for years. I've just requested it from the library. Thank you for the nudge.

I hope you have a wonderful week!

Good morning Richard, I hope you had a good weekend my friend and I hope you have a fabulous Monday.

Just passing through....great review of A Month in the Country. I feel so avant, having read this one long before you did.

>182 richardderus: - Love that review of A Month in the Country, Sir!

>177 richardderus: How to get odd looks in the library... request a book on juvenile serial killers from reserve stock...

>188 mahsdad: It is a fun, fun series. Nothing serious, nothing heavy, but not utter fluff either. Glad you liked it!

>189 AMQS: Thank you, Anne! Same right back at'cha. I hope you'll enjoy A Month in the Country as much as I did.

>190 johnsimpson: Hi John, it passed and no one died so I'm callin' it good. Monday is already too darned hot. But it is August, after all.

>191 laytonwoman3rd: Heh, it is a delicious book and wherever we fall in the train, we're waaaay later than the first folks who discovered it in 1980! Jealous of 'em, I am.

>192 DorsVenabili: AHA!! The very Satanic Book Warbleress whose yodels and cries led me down the Path of Perdition! Thanks for that, Kerri dear.

>193 BekkaJo: Heh. oh my, I fear I have transAtlantically destroyed a reputation. It is a compelling subject, isn't it?

>195 richardderus: LOL - not as bad as when I purchased 120 Days of Sodom on Amazon. Amazon has never been the same to me since...

Darned good thing you didn't buy Juliette at the same time, innit?

>197 richardderus: I may have bought Justine...

Well goo GRAVY no wonder they look askance upon you! It's a wonder the child welfare people aren't paying extra-close attention to you.

...then again....

OK, I sincerely hate that picture. I "makes" me feel so sad for the polar bears who are losing their ice environment.

OK... so I will read RENE on the web, then! And sometime soon, too.

(((Richard)))

Okay, RD. I have now embarked on Just One Damned Thing After Another and anticipate having to buy the second one on my Kindle tonight.

Drat you and thank you.

*smooches* from your own Horrible

>185 richardderus:. I was just looking around Mt Wishlist and discovered that Notes from the Internet Apocalypse was there. I added it based upon one of those SFsignals lists we "discussed". I thought it sounded familiar.

Looking forward to it now

>200 AuntieClio:, >201 maggie1944: Bear looks like it's doing ballet to me.

>202 TinaV95: OOO hope it's soon! Hope you love it, too.

>203 karenmarie: *smirk*

*smooch* for the new addict

>204 mahsdad: Oh good! It's less like an imposition this way.

>202 TinaV95: I added Rene to my books. I think you should be able to do the same.

>205 richardderus: Bear was meant to give a smile and give you cooling thoughts (Polar bear hanging on dearly to a piece of ice).

Morning, mister!

Seriously, Richard, your BBs in the last few days is going to sink my credit card listed on my Amazon account. Argggggg.

A Month in the Country was lovely. I sat in the parking lot, and then went inside the grocery store to cool off, and then back to my soft seat in the car. And read about a summer in the country. It is truly beautify how it captures those feelings of soft breezes, and warm smells, and the sights of grains blowing in the winds. It also captures the simplicity of a life with the seasons of the weather, and the connection with the earth, and the world's creatures. I loved it!

>207 AuntieClio: Bear made me snicker, which might even be better. *smooch*

>208 scaifea: *smirk* Much as I'd love to say it was all my discovery, Ellen, Suzanne, Kerri, et alii are the ones who warbled me into it. And I could NOT be happier that they did. So so lovely.

>210 richardderus: humor makes it all the better *smooch*

Delurking to say Hi! : )

The Time Police! Vesuvius! Gosh golly gee whiz hot damn oh boy yahoo!

>212 AuntieClio: *smooch*

>213 Berly: *smooch*

>214 tiffin: HA! *smooch*

SO my Gentleman Caller is stressed out and feeling fragile. He's been needy and I've been concentrating my mental energies on being a good mate. Poor guy hates uncertainty and life isn't making things calm for him.

I've got a large Prime Pantry order coming tomorrow. I think I've got my system worked out: Wait a day between ordering heavy stuff and fragile stuff. Hell, someone else is packing it AND wagging it to my doorstep! I can wait a day for delivery!

I like the cheapness. As I'm trying to exist on less in a month than most of y'all spend in a week, it's very important to me. And as it's just not possible for me to go to a store, this is a game-changer. Whee!!

Oh, wow! Amazon does neighborhood groceries! What a godsend for those who aren't mobile! I'm so glad it's there for you, Richard dear.

I hope your experience with Amazon's Prime Pantry is better than mine was. I was told groceries delivery was estimated to be May 1, and by May 6 or 7 I still had seen nothing. I ended up not picking up the food, and received a credit. I will never use them again. That is for sure.

Our little Instacart business tries to deliver groceries within an hour or two of the ordering of them, depending on traffic and a few other "out of our control" issues. So far I usually have been able to have them at the customer's within that goal. Whew. I think it is a great service for people who have any number of issues which make grocery shopping just too much.

I will cross my fingers for your orders!

>217 ronincats: It's working out well for me. I'm delighted with it.

>218 maggie1944: Instacart, like Peapod, is costly. If I had more than a $200 monthly grocery budget, I'd think more seriously about it.

And sadly, Instacart is not "every where" at all. It is more likely be found in high density urban places with healthy economies. Good for my needs, but clearly not for all who could benefit from such a service.

I do sincerely hope the Amazon system works for you.

It's working fine so far...the one stupid thing was packing chips in with cans! I got a refund so I don't care.

Book porn!

Mmmmmmm, I like! I don't see seating, though I'm sure the photographer is sitting, right?

>223 AMQS: It's the ell off a larger room, so not perzackly. But you got the idea!

Loving the book porn Mr D.

So, a closet collection of porn...

So what is behind that tantalizing partially opened book-door???? Prolly just the pipes or something. Sigh.

And I am going to stand firm about Rickman's rendering of The Return of the Native. I can see why he hasn't done another because I think he researched it and pondered it and actually lived the book when he did it. It is one of those astonishing performances a person just has to experience to believe. I had no use for Hardy before, but now I 'get' it. There is a greek chorus of villagers who comment on everything and truly, I had to pull the car over to the side of the road I was howling with laughter so badly.

I got nuthin

xoxo

I used to buy lots of dry goods when I had Amazon Prime, and it was great way to save money. Friends often made fun of me for having 8 boxes of Ezekial cereal on top of the fridge, but I carried on.

Best wishes with Gentleman Caller and have a lovely Wednesday!

Lovely book porn as always Richard.

>225 johnsimpson: Me too, John! Happy Wednesday Hump Day.

>226 laytonwoman3rd: HA! +1

>227 sibylline: Probably pipes indeed, it's a city apartment. Have you consulted a mental health professional re: Hardy? I'm sure treatment programs exist to reorient those afflicted with your...malady.

:-*

>228 mckait: Nuthin's plenty for me. *smooch* Happy Hump Day!

>229 DorsVenabili: Saving money wherever I can = more books! That's a worthwhile trade-off. And the Prime Instant Video part of the bargain is good for me too.

>230 GeezLouise: Thanks, Rae, I'm glad you like it too.

Drive by wavies! Off once again to the land of no wifi (aka France) v early Friday morning, so just going to wander LT liberally bestrewing it with affection :)

>232 BekkaJo: Have fun in Brittany! No wifi in France?! How horrible!! *smooch*

An Eternal Verity.

Glad the Amazon food delivery is working well for you, Richard. That's got to help a lot.

Good luck with your GC. And I hope the roomies ease up on you.

>222 richardderus: Even though it is closet like and narrow, it looks like a great storage space. Though, I'd get rid of the tv and store more books.

Good morning. I finished A Month in the Country yesterday, and I thank you for writing a review which moved me to go get it. I loved it.

>235 jnwelch: It's a godsend indeed, that Pantry. For someone with normal mobility, I think it'd be a lot less appealing.

The roomies are clear that I am to leave. I don't want to be a place where I dislike the man I once thought was a friend, and have lost all shreds of respect for the woman.

>236 Whisper1: For a city apartment, it's HUGE!

>237 maggie1944: I'm so glad! So very many of us here have loved the book. I can see why Suz says it's one of her Desert Island Books.

It's Wednesday and I am upright and at work ... that's all there is right now. *smooches*

>238 richardderus: Will it affect them in anyway? Will they have to leave? I hope so. :D

I may check out the Pantry for things that I just can't find here in my small town tiny grocery. I already order several hard-to-find-here grocery items via Prime...

>239 AuntieClio: I call it a win, then. Conscious, upright, in the proper place. The rest can come later. Functions such as thinking, talking, smiling....

>240 Morphidae: Not negatively. The house is free and clear; the desire is for me to leave so the husband can live here full-time while the wife stays in their large city apartment. He has an art studio nearby and wants to be within easy reach of it.

>241 scaifea: Well, it's mostly basic stuff. I don't know if salsa and refritos and suchlike are on your small-town grocery's no-go list. If so, you're in clover! I get my burrito-sized tortillas, the refritos, and the jalapeno-cheddar dip to make my basic burritos. Add salsa and rice, it's lunch; add chili, it's dinner; add eggs, it's breakfast!

>242 richardderus: Tortillas are a staple in this house, too!

>222 richardderus: Absolutely terrible book porn. Did anyone really LOOK at that room? No carpet on the floor to eliminate ladder slippage, no place to sit -- I mean, what's the the TV hogging good book space if there's no place to sit and watch it?

oh, if it is a book porn site which everyone hates, and does not want, I'll take it. Nice cubby with all the books on their shelves so I can see them easily, and take them down. If I have to I'll read in bed. No worries.

Sweet Thursday, RD! Hope the week is going well and those current reads are popping off the page. Our August weather continues to please. Smiles...

>243 scaifea: :-)

>244 mldavis2: Others will no doubt find those virtues, Mike. Except the TV, of course.

>245 maggie1944: And there she is!

>246 msf59: It's been a much easier summer than 2013's was, thank goodness. Have a lovely!

Here is something fun that turned up when I was looking for bookcases on wheels (seriously!) for our house:



Apparently you can roll this around.

>248 sibylline: ...you can roll it around...?

I want to have a living space big enough to roll it around in!

Book porn!

I do love those 'walls that are really hidden doors'... *sighs*

Good morning Rdear, I love all these book porns. Wishing you a lovely day. xx

I dream of living in a home filled with peace and love.

I dream this for you, too.

>251 lkernagh: Aren't they lovely? *happy sigh*

>252 Ameise1: Happy Friday, Barbara!

>253 mckait: Thank you, sweetness, that's so kind. *smooch*

Returning your visit. I've been a bad LT buddy but things should calm down after today because I'll be on vacation. You might have heard me mention it....

For your morning delectation (TWO levels! PErkins will get a work out running up to fetch your next read...):

>255 katiekrug: OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

So gorgeous, thank you! Comfy sofas, beautiful light...perfection!

Vacation? Huh! You'd think I'd've heard at least a mention of it. Where are you going? :-)

I don't know who is more excited about meeting Mark, me or the hubs. Me because, well, Mark. The hubs because, well, beer.

Have a grand day! I'm off to check things off my work "To Do" list - just check them off, mind you. Not actually *do* them ;-)

Beer boys do so love to trade "fish stories" about their hobby. It's like baseball or football, there are about a jillion details that go to make up a successful brewski. The nice part for spouses is that the product is tasty and there's a lot of interesting stuff to learn.

xoxo .... tired, so happy it's Friday and grateful I get to say that and know I will be back on Monday to be grumpy about it. :-)

Katies's book porn is one of the best ever! Love it.

>259 AuntieClio: Ah, the life of the woikin' goil....

>260 sibylline: Isn't that lovely?

>261 richardderus: and dis woikin' goil is happy to have all those things to complain about again ... this is the price of a regular paycheck :-)

Amen Sister Woman!

>255 katiekrug:, I want this, NOW.

Finished Further Tales of the City this morning while on my Instacart shift, and did a delivery, too. Yay! Good reading, and making money too. This has got to be close to a perfect job!

>264 johnsimpson: Heh, you're not alone.

>265 maggie1944: YAY!! *smooch*

I've reviewed The Irish Village Murder, fourth in the modern-day cozy series, in my thread...post #245.

Three ungrudging, but unexcited, stars.

>255 katiekrug: Oh my, two levels! And it looks like there's seating up there on the second level. That's where I want to be.

>258 richardderus: You wouldn't believe the brewski I caught the other night, Richard. Stone Ruination, a "massive hop monster" IPA with extra malt and hops thrown in. I had to hang on tight and haul it in, as the waiter was busy, but it was worth the battle.

The most exciting thing about the book porn in #222: The concept of having shelves on both sides of the wall! Double the storage space! I could sure use that--I'm out of shelves, and if I buy new ones, there is no empty wall space to put them in. Remember the old movies where there was a library and when they pulled the right book out, it led to a secret passage with books on the other side? THAT's what I want!

xoxo to you and Stella dearest

I have marked >114 richardderus: as a favorite and will read this novella. Sounds like my cuppa.

I've missed something. You are moving?

>269 tloeffler: That does sound lovely, doesn't it TLo? Secret passages have enduring appeal to humans, wonder why.

>270 luvamystery65: I hope you'll like Rene as much as I did, Roberta.

I've been told that, since the husband wants to live here full-time, my presence is less desired than my absence is.

Oh, Rdear, I must have completely missed your Thingaversery. Belated Happy Thingaversery. Smooches from over the pond.

>272 Ameise1: Thanks, Barbara! I celebrated a little early this year.

>271 richardderus: :-(

Indeed.

>268 jnwelch: Yes, if you ever get a chance to visit Stone in La Jolla, do so. Liquid bread with a bite, but you'll lose your mind trying to pick one out of a list of perhaps 30 on tap. Just one of many delectable hop monsters.

Good morning, RichardDear! I wish you all good things for today.

*smooches* from Horrible

And, drat you, I'm now on book 3 of The Chronicles of St. Mary's and totally loving it.

You're a terrible influence. Thank you.

>276 mldavis2: :-)

>277 karenmarie: Aren't those some kinda fun, Horrible? I love that their appeal cuts across so many taste profiles. The pleasures are there even for the normally time-travel resistant!

I've actually always liked time travel stuff even though I was traumatized by the movie version of the Time Machine. All those Morlocks going backward and forward, bones to faces back to bones - yech - gave me nightmares for months. But I dearly love time travel books, and these are cherce.

OIC! All I remembered was the nightmares. These are cherce indeed, I love the research aspects of the tales. Even though it gets short shrift...I kinda wish we had more of the *results* in the later books, but heck they're fun just like they are.

>1 richardderus: I have always imagined that heaven would be some kind of library.
--Jorge Luis Borges

...or bookstore.

Review: 37 of seventy-five

Title: THE MADONNA AND THE STARSHIP

Author: JAMES MORROW

Rating: 4.4* of five

The Publisher Says: In the golden era of sci-fi TV, why were alien crustaceans so darned literal? Beloved 1950's star Uncle Wonder must create the ultimately irreverent television show — or crayfish from outer space will inflict their death-ray on an unsuspecting viewership.

It is New York City, 1953. The new medium of live television has been kind to young pulp-fiction writer Kurt Jastrow. Not only does he enjoy scripting a popular children’s space opera, Brock Barton and His Rocket Rangers, he also plays an eccentric tinkerer on Uncle Wonder’s Attic.

But Kurt’s world is thrown into disarray when two extraterrestrial crayfish-like creatures arrive at the studio. Certain that the audience for a religious program program represents "a hive of irrationalist vermin,” the crustaceans scheme to vaporize its two million viewers. Kurt and his co-writer have a mere forty hours to write and produce an explicitly rational and utterly absurd script that will somehow deter the aliens from their diabolical scheme.

My Review: What a lark! (And I don't mean either the cigarette or the Studebaker.) If you're old enough to have watched Lost in Space or Star Trek at night, you'll resonate with this tale's daffy Firesign-Theater-esque Smothers-Brothers-y energy; if Captain Video crossed your eyestalks as a sprog, a sharp pang of nostalgia will pierce your vitals to add tears to the grins.

Anyone born in, say, 1965 or later, well now...come try the waters of your elders' Glorious Pools. It is a shocking amount of fun to see every shibboleth twisted in the mouths of desperate, deranged people attempting to avert catastrophe...to no avail, and yet no catastrophe ensues. And the reason it doesn't will, if you have an irony bone at all, leave you wryly pursing your mouthparts. Religion takes its licks...there is nothing on this Earth so satisfying as the mental picture of Jesus arguing that playing god is a bad idea on a show called Not By Bread Alone...but so does rationalism by way of a surrealist romp of acid-trip proportions. Eight-foot-tall blue lobster-women wearing the statue of Prometheus from Rockefeller Center as a necklace tend to fall on the surreal end of my personal story-telling spectrum, don't know about you.

What prevents this from achieving full five-star glory for me is the frenetic pace and unwieldy cast. Too many faces, too little screen time. There was a lot to do, and I enjoyed seeing it done; but a bit more book or a few fewer folks would've served the tale being told better. The Qualimosans were so incredible that they would simply lose yet more credibility with more face-time; it's the secondary characters, Saul Silver the editor of Andromeda magazine, Walter Spalding the producer, a few others...who needed a bit more room to make their deeply funny and still very believable quirks more than Thespian masks.

This is a minor grumble, however, hidden in a major guffaw. The fun that I had reading this delectable morsel of mash-up gumbo made this trim volume a sterling value.


This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Well, youngster, you've warbled another book on my wish list. Satisfied now?

>281 Storeetllr: In Spanish, a bookstore is a "libreria" so...

>283 ronincats: Deeply! *preens*

>282 richardderus: **bang**thud** sorry 'bout the bloodstain Perkins

>285 AuntieClio: *la-deee-daaahhh* 'nother book-bulleting! Go me!

All these years later, I finally found and tarted up my 15-year-old review of Earth Abides and posted it in my thread...post #121.

Another tee shirt with a bullet hole in it. Dang it all, Richard!

Did you see that Ancillary Justice got the Hugo this weekend. Its a sweep. Oh well, we don't have to like them all, right?

It's been over 30 years since I've read Earth Abides, although it is still on my shelves. Nice review.

And I liked Ancillary Justice better than the two of you did. The portrayal of the many units in one brain pulled me in big time--I thought it original and thoughtful.

>288 tiffin: *smug smile* Now Tui, you know you love me. *smooch*

>289 mahsdad: I've been avoiding thinking about that. I understand that I'm not going to like every prize winner, but this book isn't to the prize's prior standards.

>290 ronincats: Pace, Roni, your collective consciousness call-out...which trope I've seen a good number of times before...the Leckie is notable mostly for its female kickass heroine. It isn't a bad book by any means! I just...don't see its greatness.

>287 richardderus: Great review. I read this a couple years ago. It was a freebie at the Y. A classic that more people should read.

>290 ronincats: It was the ideas of the distributed intelligence that I liked the most with Justice. I just couldn't connect with the larger world. Like RD said, its not a bad book, just not my cup of tea. Glad you liked it.

>292 mahsdad: Thanks, Jeff, I appreciate that. Getting it free makes it all the more savory.

The Madonna and the Starship sounds a nice bit of fun. I bet you've read Redshirts (I haven't yet) - how does it compare?

I just saw a very positive review of the sequel to Ancillary Justice, Ancillary Sword, so be prepared for more huzzahs. I wasn't knocked over by the former either, but the story sure has its fans.

>282 richardderus: - Superb review - sounds delightful!

I hope things are going well and the housing issue gets settled quickly.

>294 jnwelch: Weeeeelllllll...Redshirts was written by a man a solid 30 years younger than The Madonna and the Starship was. That shows. Morrow's book is 192pp. Scalzi's is north of 300. Need I say more?

*sigh* Well, she's making her splash, is La Leckie. The last time I disagreed with The Buzz so completely was over Neil Gaiman, so she seems assured of a long and full career.

>295 DorsVenabili: Thank you, Kerri, for the compliment and the well-wishes. I'm always hopeful for good news!

Did you know there was a new Jay Lake collection coming out? Its called Last Plane to Heaven. One of my FB friends posted a book list from IO9, which I (of course) warbled about on my thread.

*grumble*

Getting all caught up around these here parts after a full week of squiring my Mom and Stepdad about. Fun, but left little time or energy for LT, I'm afraid.

What? You're moving? When? Where? How? Why?

I used to hate moving, but the last one went a dream. Hope it works out the same for you.

Hi Richard! I see there are many BBs flying around your thread per usual. A Month in the Country has hit my radar from several different sources lately so clearly I need to read it ASAP. *smooches* to you!

>222 richardderus: OH....how awesome...books and tchotskes..

Since you're spreading book porn, I'll drop a shot from our recent Bury Your Dead tour in Quèbec last week. The Lit & His library where Gamache spent his days "researching." Except for the ENTIRE SHELF of James Patterson, it was exactly as I had envisioned it. I can just picture Gamache spending his day here and will attest that the chairs are in fact very comfie. Will try to post more on my thread and blog in the coming week.

>299 michigantrumpet: I'm no longer wanted where I'm living, Marianne, and the date for my departure is set at 30 September. Where and how are under investigation.

>300 Cobscook: Oh heck yeah, Heidi!! Read! NOW READ NOW!! Such an excellent book. Suz and Kerri steered us all right. It's *gorgeous* and, for maybe the third or fourth time in my reading life, I say "I would not change, add, or subtract one single word from this book."

>301 tututhefirst: It's a lovely room, isn't it?

>302 tututhefirst: OOOOO

AAAAAAHHHHH

I *adore* that liberry! I'll visit your thread directly for more.