So What Are you Reading?: Generations

[bdub76]

Finished Hound of Baskerville. It was a pretty good Sherlock story. I don't think I would rate it higher than The Sign of Four. That's still my favorite Sherlock novel/novella.

Almost done with Secret History. And, I think, I figured out why it's so much like Less Than Zero. Donna Tartt is or was friends with Bret Easton Ellis according to his wiki page. I don't know if that is true, but the Less Than Zero vibes make far more sense now. I'll add Less Than Zero to my TBR for next year.

I started All Systems Red (Murderbot Diaries) book. According the Count Pages plugin for Calibre, it's only ~32k words, so it's a fast read like the Enola Holmes books. Might knock this one out before restarting Nightmare Alley. I'll need some uplifting stories for January as my current plan is: Lion Women of Tehran, Midnight's Children, and Return of Sherlock Holmes. I'm almost done with my Sherlock binge.

Trying to come up with the first two months of 2026 TBR. There are stuff later next year that I want to read. For Victober next year, I do plan to read Black Beauty, and I do want to read at least one Thomas Hardy novel. I have to read the Notebook as I'm going to the musical this year. I do have to read the first Housemaid novel as the wife wants to watch the film, so I'll have to read it afterwards. I'm planning on getting the Long Walk on 4K with the alternative ending, so I want to read that one. There is also the Sparks collaboration novel Remain that I want to read. Not sure if I'm going to read it before or after the film release. Some other books on my radar for next year: Somewhere Beyond the Sea, The Poisonwood Bible, Richard Castle Nikki Heat series, Flannery O'Connor Complete Short Stories, Babel, Skeleton Crew, Gone Tomorrow, My Friends, and The Titan's Curse.Lonesome Dove has been on my list for the last two years, but I haven't committed to it yet. The longest book I read in 2024 was 11/22/1963, which is a very good Stephen King novel.

I didn't do any big reads for series this year. I did read two Longmire novels. The first one and his prequel novella Tooth and Claw. I read one CJ Box Joe Pickett novel. I also read another Percy Jackson novel. I didn't get back into Dresden Files. I have only read the first three, and that was back in 2024. The same with the Hardy Boys. Since they're going into public domain, I was reading them to keep up with the public domain releases, but I've only read the first two. And they're short. I also didn't any Star Trek novels this year, and I have plenty to read. I also do want to reread the beginning of the Drizzt stuff, so I can read the new stuff. I only read the first three series while in school.

 

[JD]

All of the Murderbot Books except The Network Effect are novellas.

 

[Christopher]

All of the Murderbot stories except The Network Effect are novellas.

There are also three short stories in the series. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Murderbot_Diaries#Story_chronology

 

[JD]

Oh, OK I didn't know that.

 

[Greg Cox]

Strange New Worlds: Asylum by Una McCormack.

Una writing about Una!

 

[bdub76]

There are also three short stories in the series. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Murderbot_Diaries#Story_chronology

And Network Effect is 112k words, so it's legit a novel. System Collapse is 63k, so it's barely a novel. The rest are around 30k words. So it looks like a really fast read overall. Not yet sure if I want to do that yet. If it's well written, I will. The Enola Holmes are really well done, so if it's remotely close to those books, I'll end up reading through it before the end of 2026.

 

[bdub76]

Strange New Worlds: Asylum by Una McCormack.

Una writing about Una!

Let me know how this goes.

I struggled to get into it, and I didn't finish. This is the first McCormack book I didn't quickly read through. I didn't like Una (the character) at all.

 

[Greg Cox]

Let me know how this goes.

I struggled to get into it, and I didn't finish. This is the first McCormack book I didn't quickly read through. I didn't like Una (the character) at all.

I'm enjoying it so far. I breezed through the first 75 pages last night and only stopped because I needed to get some sleep. (I do most of my recreational reading before bedtime.)

 

[USS Firefly]

And Network Effect is 112k words, so it's legit a novel. System Collapse is 63k, so it's barely a novel. The rest are around 30k words. So it looks like a really fast read overall. Not yet sure if I want to do that yet. If it's well written, I will. The Enola Holmes are really well done, so if it's remotely close to those books, I'll end up reading through it before the end of 2026.

In my opinion they are very well written. I can't wait until the new one is getting published

 

[Smiley]

Star Trek: Spartacus

This was an unexpectedly good book. Most of it is a moral debate, and all parties are treated fairly in terms of having understandable viewpoints. I would compare it to the Prime Directive dilemma in "Symbiosis" in how Picard and his crew are left with no clear-cut answer to their problems.

 

[bdub76]

I'm enjoying it so far. I breezed through the first 75 pages last night and only stopped because I needed to get some sleep. (I do most of my recreational reading before bedtime.)

It dragged for me. I'll give it another try next year.

Same. I typically read between 8:30p-9:30p every night, and I try to read a short story over lunch.

 

[bdub76]

In my opinion they are very well written. I can't wait until the new one is getting published

I'm a couple of chapters into the first book. It's pretty good so far. I'm reading it for the humor.

Looks like she also wrote two Stargate Atlantis books as well. I might grab those out of curiosity.

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

I finished Inspired Enterprise. Most of the last chapter concerned the beginnings of ST in strip syndication. And it's riddled with factual errors, most notably (and jarringly) the notion that most of the stations that carried ST at the beginning of strip syndication were UHF stations.

In that era, c. 1969-1980, we had 12 VHF television channels (2-13, with 1 having been reallocated to mobile radio services in 1948; there was a small gap between 4 and 5, and a large one, containing the entire FM radio broadcast band, between 6 and 7) and 70 UHF channels (14-83, with 70-83 reallocated to mobile radio in the 1980s). There were only three major commercial networks, and FCC regulations prohibited any one entity from owning more than 5 VHF broadcast television stations. Even with the FCC policy of not allocating adjacent channels in the same market area (to avoid adjacent channel interference), that meant that there could be as many as 7 VHF channels available (either licensed or available for license) in a market area, and never fewer than 5. I seriously doubt that any market area would, in that era, have two stations exclusively affiliated with the same network, and there were some areas where a single station would carry programming from more than one network.

Thus, you had network-owned stations, independently owned network affiliate stations, and fully independent stations. The Los Angeles market area had three network-owned stations (2, 4, and 7) and four fully independent stations (5, 9, 11, and 13) on the VHF band. On the UHF band, we had three PBS affiliates (KCET-28, KOCE-50, and starting in 1973, KLCS-58), a Spanish-language station, and one extremely low budget commercial English-language station, KBSC-52, which could not have afforded the strip syndication rights to ST.

So no, Mr. Swanson, the independent commercial TV stations of that era that would have had the means and the inclination to run ST in strip syndication were predominantly VHS.

 

[Christopher]

So no, Mr. Swanson, the independent commercial TV stations of that era that would have had the means and the inclination to run ST in strip syndication were predominantly VH[F].

In Cincinnati, Star Trek reruns were mostly on Channel 19. We only had three VHF stations, Channels 5, 9, and 12, plus Channels 2 and 7 from Dayton 50 miles away, all of which were affiliated with the three main networks. Otherwise we only had UHF stations. Channels 14 and 48 (and 54 from nearby Covington, Kentucky) were PBS-affiliated, but 19, 64, and later the low-powered 25 were independent (until they signed on with the newer networks like FOX, UPN, etc.). I'd say that 19 and 64 were the go-to stations for syndicated reruns. So I'm not sure your argument based on Los Angeles is necessarily applicable nationwide.

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

I will admit that I did not account for areas that are in the overlap between major markets. Although at the same time, I doubt that all of the network affiliates covering Cincinnati (incidentally, I have some old friends now living there, although I've never been there myself) were all network-owned, given the ownership restrictions.

At any rate, the third Harry Potter book is on-deck, and I'm going to go to a local B&N today, to buy Identity Theft and Brigands & Breadknives.

 

[Christopher]

Although at the same time, I doubt that all of the network affiliates covering Cincinnati (incidentally, I have some old friends now living there, although I've never been there myself) were all network-owned, given the ownership restrictions.

I'm pretty sure the stations were all owned by local broadcast or journalism companies, but I'm not sure what ownership has to do with anything. I'm just saying that my own experience is that independent stations showing Trek and other reruns were predominantly UHF, so I'm skeptical of your assumption that they'd be mostly VHF.

 

[JD]

Let me know how this goes.

I struggled to get into it, and I didn't finish. This is the first McCormack book I didn't quickly read through. I didn't like Una (the character) at all.

Do you like her in the show?

 

[bdub76]

Do you like her in the show?

I thought she was okay.

 

[Greg Cox]

I'll cop to being invested in Una since I've written two novels with her -- and helped to name her.

 

[Reanok]

Star Trek strange New Worlds Ring of Fire by David Mack. I've read the first 5 chapters .This story has been reallly intriguing so far. I'm so glad I finally got this book at long last. Yay!