The Sword and Laser discussion

Reading, you? Are else what?

I'm working on Kalpa Imperial: The Greatest Empire That Never Was by Angélica Gorodischer, translated by Ursula K. Le Guin. So far it seems more like a collection of short stories about a fictional multi-thousand-year-old empire, but several of them don't have a lot of plot.

Trying to finish A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge
Reading Graphic Novel Black Panther: A Nation Under Our Feet, Book 1 by Ta-Nehisi Coates
Also listening to IQ by Joe Ide
Bedtime reading is Uprooted by Naomi Novik

I'm participating in Book Riot's 2018 Read Harder Challenge. Not sure if I can complete the whole list, but Imma try!

https://bookriot.com/2017/12/15/book-...

Also, going through the books S&L has read since inception and recording the ones I've read and what I own and what I still need to be an S&L completist!

Returned to The Black Lung Captain, now about 2/3 of the way through.

Started Marvel Noir: Daredevil/Cage/Iron Man.

Unfortunately my eyes are mostly offline so I can’t sustain reading for more than a few minutes at a time. I had to create a spreadsheet for my various numerous eyedrops. Yesterday the ophthalmologist said we might have to consider an injection directly into my right eyeball and cutting open my left eyelid if the drops don’t work.

So holy shit I hope these drops work.

Last month I finished:

All Systems Red by Martha Wells - 3 stars
Queenpin by Megan Abbott - 4 stars
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle - 3 stars
Money Shot by Christa Faust - 3 stars
The Forever War by Joe Haldeman - 3 stars
Fragile Things: Short Fictions and Wonders by Neil Gaiman - 4 stars

This month I hope to finish:
Thieves Like Us by Edward Anderson
A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin
The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
The Asphalt Jungle by W.R. Burnett
Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey
Nexus by Ramez Naam
A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin

And I'm also picking away at (but probably won't finish this month):
The Year's Best Science Fiction & Fantasy 2016 edited by Rich Horton
Too Big to Fail: The Inside Story of How Wall Street and Washington Fought to Save the Financial System from Crisis — and Themselves by Andrew Ross Sorkin
Moby-Dick or, The Whale by Herman Melville
The Collected Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe by Edgar Allan Poe

Randy wrote: "Last month I finished:

[insanely long list redacted]"

0.o

...egads.

I just finished A Long Day in Lychford - probably the weakest of the three novellas to date, sadly.

Next up is Moon Over Soho - the 2nd in the Rivers of London series.

Oh, and away from Sword or Laser, I finished The Book of the Year - a book based on a hit podcast! Whatever next?

Trike wrote: "So holy shit I hope these drops work.."

Me too. I hope it all works out for you.

I finished reading and listening to vol. 3 Legend of Galactic Heroes Endurance. Comic-book wise I read Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt, Vol. 6 and up to issue 102 of Attack on Titan #102. I binge watched all 6 seasons of Star Wars Clone Wars.

Next up I am reading vol 4. of Legend of Galactic Heroes Stratagem (The audio book is not available yet). I am listening to the audio book of Jade City.

Looking for the next show and comic to binge on. Probably I'll catch up on all the recent Marvel Star Wars comics.

I had never heard of Bookriot’s Read Harder challenge, so thanks for sharing!

I’m currently reading Gemina, the sequel to Illuminae, and it’s SO much fun.

I visited Barnes and Noble yesterday with a couple of coupons and 4 books I had in mind, all of which I was able to find on B&N’s website. But they had 0 of them in the store. That includes An Unkindness of Ghosts, which I could have them order, but will probably get the ebook (not to mention just ordering the paperback online would save a rather ridiculous amount of store overhead). I hear good things about The Only Harmless Great Thing, but apparently it’s POD, so I’ll have to order that one online as well. The other 2 books I was looking for are more textbooky, and the lady actually suggested I get it through Amazon because they only have a handful of copies here and there in a few warehouses across the country, despite both being versions that had been updated relatively recently.

Rob wrote: "Trike wrote: "So holy shit I hope these drops work.."

Me too. I hope it all works out for you."

Thanks Rob. Taking off of work and hunkering down for the nor’easter coming in tonight.

Trike wrote: "So holy shit I hope these drops work. "

Yikes! Best wishes from here as well.

I read the Marvel Noir titles and I had mixed feelings, but I'd need to go back to reacquaint myself with them to say anything in detail.

Trike wrote: "Returned to The Black Lung Captain, now about 2/3 of the way through.

Started Marvel Noir: Daredevil/Cage/Iron Man.

Unfortunately my eyes are mostly offline so I ca..."

Good luck, Trike! I really hope the eye drops work.

I'm reading Children of Time which is quite unlike anything I've read before. I'm looking forward to seeing where it goes.

I also started Aloha from Hell this morning on Audible. After listening to the first episode of the latest Adventure Zone arc, I was really craving some urban fantasy. So here we go, back to Sandman Slim :D

Joseph wrote: "Trike wrote: "So holy shit I hope these drops work. "

Yikes! Best wishes from here as well.

I read the Marvel Noir titles and I had mixed feelings, but I'd need to go back to reacquaint myself wi..."

Jenny wrote: "Good luck, Trike! I really hope the eye drops work. "

Thanks guys.

My arthritis has gotten into my eyes, which I didn’t even know was a thing until it happened. Basically the iris gets stuck open lopsided, which means my retina can’t properly focus. Through my right eye everything appears as if I’m looking through fogged glass. The inflammation is throughout my eyes, so I look like a red-eyed demon. (Or my Chihuahua. Which is basically the same thing.) I’m no stranger to pain but this *hurts*. Blinking is excruciating, and it turns out I blink a lot.

The insurance company denied one of the drops, but hey it’s only my vision, so what do they care? I told the pharmacy I’d just pay for it myself, bracing for some ridiculous price, but it’s $16. I’m like, “Gimme. It’s my VISION.” Turns out they have to get it from the distributor on Monday.

For fun I did the math: $16 for 5 ml is $60,576 per gallon.

We’re currently in the throes of a nor’easter (aka “chase the trash cans around the yard day”), but I got a text that the drops were ready. So I went out to get them. Plot twist: it was an erroneous message. They meant to send out the “we had to order it” text instead. So here I am, blind in one eye, squinting through the other, driving in traffic during a vicious storm, for no reason. I’m frankly surprised I didn’t accidentally kill anyone.

I need a drink.

Trike wrote: "For fun I did the math: $16 for 5 ml is $60,576 per gallon."

You missed a step Trike ;-)

It's $12,113.31 a gallon

A Gallon = 3785.41 mls
3785.41 / 5 = 757.082 (the step you missed)
757.082 x $16= $12113.31

Hope the drops work out for ya, Trike!

By some miracle I have tomorrow off so I’m going to try to finish A Wrinkle in Time and move into the book of the month. And getting back to Oathbringer

Tassie Dave wrote: "Trike wrote: "For fun I did the math: $16 for 5 ml is $60,576 per gallon."

You missed a step Trike ;-)

It's $12,113.31 a gallon

A Gallon = 3785.41 mls
3785.41 / 5 = 757.082 (the step you missed)..."

I can’t see the divide symbol on that side of the calculator. 🧐 #OneEyeBlind

Finished An Unkindness of Ghosts. I found it well written for the most part but it didn't really engage me until the last 15% or so. I don't want to say too much about it this early in the month except that I don't think I was really the target audience for this book. It was ok and I'll give it 3 or 4 stars.
Starting Expletive Deleted: A Good Look at Bad Language.

I read The Armored Saint, which I think is the best thing Myke Cole has written to date. - ★★★★☆ - (My Review)

I also listened to Stay Awhile and Listen : How Two Blizzards Unleashed Diablo and Forged a Video-Game Empire, which I really enjoyed. - ★★★★☆ - (My Review)

I used the nominations thread for March Madness to get ideas (still a bit in a rut) and picked up few of the Vlad Taltos books (Jhereg, Yendi, Dzur, Iorich) which are fun, light reading and short. Bit formulaic so I'll take a break from them.

Finished The Tower of Swallows and am moving on to Lady of the Lake, the final Witcher novel.

Ok fine... bought Justina Robson's Glorious Angels. Also John Crowley's Ka: Dar Oakley in the Ruin of Ymr.

Just finished The Daylight War and have now started on The Skull Throne.

Also started reading Parable of the Talents. Not too far in but it is sad how timely this book is.

Michael wrote: "Also started reading Parable of the Talents. Not too far in but it is sad how timely this book is."

I read this last year, and when I got to the fascist presidential candidate's campaign slogan I just had to hang my head...

Last night I finished Tigana. (I know; late to the party, as always.) What a great read! There was an interesting world with intriguing characters. The plot kept me going in the first three-quarters of the novel, and had me guessing in the last quarter as to how it would end up. I also enjoyed that it was set in a land inspired by Italy of the Middle Ages. Don't always get that in fantasy. Now to figure out what to read next on the list of books I got over the holidays...

Wow Trike, that effing blows. Did you get it today? Are you feeling any better? The Noreaster tore up my neck of the woods--we were not prepared. No one knew it was coming. Hope you were better off :(

Re books, I am not digging The Invisible Library. I'll finish it, likely, because it's quite fast, but while I see how the premise could be fun, the writing style is not for me.

Allison wrote: "Re books, I am not digging The Invisible Library. I'll finish it, likely, because it's quite fast, but while I see how the premise could be fun, the writing style is not for me. "

Tried to warn ya!

Allison, yeah--the only thing that might get me to read the next book is the final chapter of the first book.

Brendan wrote: "Allison wrote: "Re books, I am not digging The Invisible Library. I'll finish it, likely, because it's quite fast, but while I see how the premise could be fun, the writing style is not for me. "

..."

You'd think, after the Who Fears Death debacle, I'd have learned! I didn't. Next time, Brendan, I'll just listen. Actually, if you'd just go over my TBR and tell me which to skip, that'd be great. ;-)

David wrote: "Allison, yeah--the only thing that might get me to read the next book is the final chapter of the first book."

I'm pretty tetchy about Chapter 7, so the final chapter will likely have to offer me an additional paid day off and a trip to visit Hogwarts to get me to continue this series. I will let you know if I eat my words and further decide to scoff at Brendan's warnings a third time.

I've finally started The Way of Shadows - my husband has been wanting me to read the Night Angel trilogy by Brent Weeks for a while now, I just always have such an overwhelming TBR list that I would never get to it. But I've made myself just bite the bullet and start reading, disregarding the pile of library books with upcoming due dates next to my bed.

Anyone who has read this trilogy want to share their thoughts?

I thought Way of Shadows was OK, but the series went strongly downhill for me after that.

I like his newer Lightbringer series better, but it suffers from some of the same issues I had with Night Angel at times, just far less often. Plus it has a really interesting magic system.

I’m currently on the Leviathan trilogy by Scott Westerfeld. It’s fast-paced YA steampunk fun, set in a version of 1914 where Europe is divided into ‘Clankers’ (who have giant steam-powered mecha) and ‘Darwinists’ (who have giant genetically-engineered monsters, like the Leviathan of the title, which is a living airship). It’s not straining the brain but that’s ok - An Unkindness of Ghosts is enough of a ‘thinky’ book for now!

Ruth wrote: "I’m currently on the Leviathan trilogy by Scott Westerfeld. It’s fast-paced YA steampunk fun, set in a version of 1914 where Europe is divided into ‘Clankers’ (who hav..."

I read at least one Leviathan book; someday I should go back and read the entire trilogy.

Somewhat along the same lines, I enjoyed Kenneth Oppel's Airborn and Skybreaker although again I haven't read the third in the series.

I’m reading labels on eyedrops.

SFF:

Brandon Sanderson's The Final Empire. Loved the world building and magic system, though it didn't grab me nearly as much as the Stormlight books.

Tamora Pierce's Protector of the Small Series (First Test, Page, Squire, and Lady Knight). These books are just the best! Kel is an incredible hero. I only wish I'd first encountered them years ago.

Naomi Alderman's The Power. One of the most thoughtful, rigorous, terrifying, funny, suspenseful, and amazing social satires I've ever read. I loved it.

Josiah Bancroft's Senlin Ascends. Such a wild and intricate world, but all its different forms of entrapment filled me with anxiety from beginning to end -- something I think says more about me than the book.

Non SFF:

Patrisse Khan-Cullors's When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir. I listened to the audiobook, which the author narrates. It was for me an incredibly inspiring and hopeful take on chosen families and how activism can be successful even when faced with very long odds.

Ryan Van Meter's If You Knew Then What I Know Now. A gay coming-of-age memoir told in a series of beautiful and nicely paced essays about effeminacy, bullying, friendship, and family.

Reading Children of Blood and Bone, which is surprisingly reminiscent of Avatar: the Last Airbender and listening to Outrun the Moon.

Finished The Bone Season ★★★☆☆ and am now reading The Goblin Emperor which is brilliant so far (I have the The Atrocity Archives on deck). Stocking up on sword.

Just finished Wylding Hall by Elizabeth Hand. Very unsettling in the very best way.

Adelaide wrote: "Just finished Wylding Hall by Elizabeth Hand. Very unsettling in the very best way."

It's seldom that I find a book that was aimed at me, specifically, with such laser-like precision.

Wrens kinda worry me because of that book.

Finished Anathem last night. It was one of the best books I've ever read. It's one of the best crafted worlds and stories that I've ever read. I can't sing its praises high enough. My review.

Now I have book hangover and don't know what to do with myself.

Dara, you might like Neal's extended acknowledgements essay on his site: https://www.nealstephenson.com/acknow... (don't know if it's in the book or not), and there's an Anathem wikia--I liked this page: http://anathem.wikia.com/wiki/Earth%E...

Awesome! Thank you, David! Checking both out now.

Dara, I think it is awesome you loved Anathem. While the setting is completely differant ( roughly year 2000 current world, and WWII), I still think Cryptonomicon is a very complimentary book to Anathem. And while not necessary to read before the Buroque trilogy, it does allow you to have some more fun with some of the Easter eggs and family name/ archetype characters. And those 4 books should keep you going for a good long time.

But hey, you really can’t go wrong with any of his books.

As I’ve said before I do really like the trope of smart competent characters, and Neal tends to do those very well. He has written female versions of this in Reamde and The Diamond Age: Or, A Young Lady's Illustrated Primer, the later also being a bit of coming of age story tied to this.

I have Cryptomonicon and The Diamond Age so I'll likely get to those this year before diving into The Baroque Cycle. I'm still surprised that Stephenson has become one of my favorite authors because I didn't consciously seek him out, it just kind of happened. But boy am I glad it did!

Dara wrote: "I have Cryptomonicon and The Diamond Age so I'll likely get to those this year before diving into The Baroque Cycle. I'm still surprised that Stephenson has become one of my favorite authors becaus..."

Cryptonomicon was really good. I have thought about trying to play around with the playing card cypher system in the book.

Shad wrote: "Dara wrote: "I have Cryptomonicon and The Diamond Age so I'll likely get to those this year before diving into The Baroque Cycle. I'm still surprised that Stephenson has become one of my favorite a..."

I personally think we have passed peak Stephenson.. Seven Eves was dull. That said Cryptomonicon and The Diamond Age are great. The Baroque cycle is a scream (complete history mash up, not really SF but a grand alternative history).

I disagree about peak Stephenson. Then again, I didn't like diamond age.

I'd rank Seveneves third of those I've read behind Snow Crash and Cryptonomicon.