After reading Chris Hedges' Empire of Illusion, I'm still feeling a bit numb and reluctant to more scathing social criticism, but it's definitely under consideration a little later on. Right now I'm reading David Owen's The Conundrum: How Scientific Innovation, Increased Efficiency, and Good Intentions Can Make Our Energy and Climate Problems Worse. I've read Owen before (his The Green Metropolis: Why Living Smaller, Living Closer, and Driving Less are the Keys to Sustainability is a favorite), and here he makes the same argument in part. Sustainability is a context, not a product: we can't buy our way out of the building climate crisis. He's pointed out so far that our achievements in using energy efficiently only result in our using vastly more energy than we would if it were more expensive. Also, I received Waste and Want: A Social History of Trash in the mail today, which made me quite happy. I've been looking forward to reading Strasser. She has books on the social history of housekeeping and consumption, as well. Next week I'm going to finish off Germany: Unraveling an Enigma, which I read most of yesterday. I like to celebrate various countries and cultures by doing themed reading around them, and in week and a half I'll be doing a German set for Reunification Day. Unraveling is the first, but I'm also expecting Five Germanies I Have Known in the post, and will complement that with something from the library.
I recently re-read Dying Inside, Star Trek: the 34th Rule, and the eight A Galaxy Unknown novels. I also read for the first time Star Trek: Voyager: the Eternal Tide, Fire Season by David Weber, and Citizen X (a spin off of the A Galaxy Unknown series).
Hey now! Over the past two days, I've completed The Eternal Tide and Spock Must Die! Both entertaining reads, a little disappointed that The Eternal Tide went. Spock Must Die! was a really fun read. I am now reading Brinkmanship by Una McCormack. Picked up a copy this evening!
Finished Somewhere Inside: One Sister's Captivity in North Korea and the Other's Fight to Bring Her Home. My rating: 4/5
Finished up Declassified and What Judgments Come and about a third of the way through Storming Heaven. Enjoying this trip back to ST fiction after taking some time off. Also started Kraken by China Mieville. I keep telling people I think he's awesome then remind myself I've only read 2 of his books, The City & the City and Perdido Street Station. Thought it was time I read some more. Only around 50 pages into it but it's been more "fun" then the others. I don't know yet if the fun translates to something as powerful yet. After that I bumped up Scalzi's Fuzzy Nation to the top of my list. I gave my copy of The Androids Dream to a friend who loved it so I'll pass on Fuzzy Nation as a way of clearing off my shelf. I like Scalzi fine but his characters sometimes all have that same sounding sarcastic sense of humor. I sometimes wonder if what I think of his internet personality and readings outpace my enjoyment of his actual books. And I wasn't lying in bed waiting for a reboot of Fuzzy People so I'll see how it goes. I only bought it because he was in town for a reading. We're about the remodel and are doing some cleaning up. I took a serious look at my unread shelf self, who am I kidding, it's shelves, and put some books in donation or pass on bags that I know I'm never going to get to or if I ever did years from now I could always get it again. It's liberating.
Still waiting for Brinkmanship, and while I'm waiting, I've been reading the various volumes of Juan Diaz Canales & Juanjo Guarnido's Blacksad. Truly amazing stuff! The artwork is exceptional. I highly recommend it to everyone
I started the second book in Kim Harrison's The Hollows series, The Good, The Bad, and The Undead last night. I'm only 20 into it and I'm already loving it just as much as I did the first book in the series.
I'm currently rereading The High Crusade by Poul Anderson and Ex Machina. (I've also pre-ordered the next Culture novel, The Hydrogen Sonata by Iain M Banks which wasn't that hard to do considering that there has been a advert for it every time I go on here. Which is nice.)
Finished Darth Plageuis. Currently reading the back half of TOS the Janus Gate book 3 Past Prologue. Next is Deep Space 9 Mission Gamma book 4 Lesser Evil Have Typhon Pact Plagues of Night and Raise of Dawn on deck afterwards....
Time for some autumn spookiness with MR James's ghost stories, and James Herbert's Secret Of Crickley Hall before the TV version airs. Both of these are also work...
I'm currently reading Lee Bermejo's Batman: Noel hardcover, and I'm patiently awaiting my copy of Brinkmanship to arrive.
I finished up the third story in Dark and Stormy Knights, and decided to set it aside in favor of the last ST: Mere Anarchy novella, It's Hour Come Round.
I started "Brinkmanship" last night. Didn't have much time, so I'm on page 30something, but it's already great
i'm reading Startrek Prime Directive written by Judith &Garth Reeves-Stevens.It's been a long time since I've read this book.