So What Are you Reading?: Generations

[Denise]

Reading Galileo's Dream by Kim Stanley Robinson and London Falling by Patrick Keefe Radden.

Just finished Japanese Gothic by Kylie Lee Baker. I finished it, but I can't say I much liked it.

Also finished Vigil by George Sanders. Lincoln in the Bardo was much better.

 

[bdub76]

Read two more short listed titled from the Nebula Awards for 2026:

Both were okay. Neither blew me away.

In My Country

This one gives some 1984 vibes. It's a dystopia, where the folks in neighborhoods are watched by folks in blue houses. Those that push ambiguity are punished. It was an interesting read, but it drags a bit.

The Tawlish Island Songbook of the Dead

This is a story about the ghosts of those that passed away on an island, where their offspring left for the mainland. It was okay.

Tomorrow, I'm planning to read: Laser Eyes Ain't Everything and Missing Helen. Both got rave reviews.

I'm hoping for something up to at least to the caliber of a Stephen King short story.

 

[Stevil2001]

Thinking about trying out Automatic Noodle.

I thought it was awful but I seem to be in a distinct minority.

 

[bdub76]

I thought it was awful but I seem to be in a distinct minority.

I have Jane Austen July coming up next month. I can probably skip it then since my TBR keeps growing.

I'm making my way through the Hugo and Nebula short stories. Trying to knock out two a day at lunch. But it really depends on their length. They have been okay. Nothing stellar. I should get through all of them by this weekend. I get the feeling that I really like the 60s and 70s science fiction more, and I still have Again, Dangerous Visions to read. I really enjoyed Dangerous Visions.

I still have to finish up the Odyssey and Good People by the end of the month.

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

I'm restarting a book that purports to be The World's Best Dirty Limericks," by "David M." (David P. Miller), with illustrations by Sergio Aragones. I'd previously gotten about a third of the way through, then set it aside. The few I thumbed through this morning don't hold a candle to Asimov's limericks.

*******
Now a little over halfway through. Contrary to the dust-jacket blurb (yes, its hardcover!), they're not all funny. Some are just sick; at least one has an outright ethnic slur (shocking, given that the copyright date is in the 1980s); and one (a little ditty involving a prostitute with a glass eye) includes a serving of "eye-scream."

 

[Stevil2001]

I have Jane Austen July coming up next month. I can probably skip it then since my TBR keeps growing.

I'm making my way through the Hugo and Nebula short stories. Trying to knock out two a day at lunch. But it really depends on their length. They have been okay. Nothing stellar. I should get through all of them by this weekend. I get the feeling that I really like the 60s and 70s science fiction more, and I still have Again, Dangerous Visions to read. I really enjoyed Dangerous Visions.

I still have to finish up the Odyssey and Good People by the end of the month.

Of the short fiction Hugo finalists I've read so far, my favorites have been Cinder House, "The Millay Illusion," and especially "Wire Mother."

 

[JD]

I saw this on IG earlier today and it immediately make me think of @hbquikcomjamesl

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[hbquikcomjamesl]

I just put in an order at Alibris, for the next Harry Potter book I haven't yet read (Goblet of Fire). Again, a used British TPB.

 

[bdub76]

Read two more nominees. Going across to HUGO now too.

Laser Eyes Ain't Everything

This one is about a girl in a wheelchair that gets laser beam eyes. It's well written and was an enjoyable read. I can see why it won. The author really captured the character's voice really well.

Missing Helen

This is about cloning and meeting your clone with some romance sprinkled throughout. It was okay. I didn't much care for the narration switching between 1st and 2nd POVs. It's really jarring going into 2nd. I would prefer this to be rewritten as a Find Your Own Adventure book.

I'm going to read two more tomorrow if I get around to creating the ePub.

 

[bdub76]

Of the short fiction Hugo finalists I've read so far, my favorites have been Cinder House, "The Millay Illusion," and especially "Wire Mother."

I'll add Cinder House to my holds at the library.

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

The author really captured the character's voice really well.

Which, under the circumstances, should surprise nobody. (I just read it myself. Amusing piece. The attitudes of and about supers reminds me of Mystery Men and of the Incredibles franchise.) The author may not have laser eyes, but she has other things in common with her protagonist.

 

[bdub76]

Which, under the circumstances, should surprise nobody. (I just read it myself. Amusing piece. The attitudes of and about supers reminds me of Mystery Men and of the Incredibles franchise.) The author may not have laser eyes, but she has other things in common with her protagonist.

It was a good read.

I made an ePub to read 10 Visions of the Future and Wire Mother for tomorrow. Both of these are short.

 

[Denise]

I thought it was awful but I seem to be in a distinct minority.

I started it but couldn't finish it.

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

Finished the book of dirty limericks. More ethnic and homophobic slurs. Fewer and fewer that are actually funny.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

Oh, actually I didn't mean that as a recommendation, I was actually looking for his thoughts on it, if he'd heard it. I've been curious about it since I stumbled across it on Spotify, but haven't gotten around to listening to it yet.

I was unaware of the Moriarty audio drama until your post. I may check it out at some point.

 

[Greg Cox]

Let's Pretend This Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir by Jenny Lawson. (Aka "The Bloggess.")

Laugh-out-loud funny.

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

Hmm. And it's in stock at a local B&N.

 

[bdub76]

Let's Pretend This Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir by Jenny Lawson. (Aka "The Bloggess.")

Laugh-out-loud funny.

Read this for book club a couple of years ago. It's a good read. I second it.

 

[Reanok]

Caught Deadhanded by Carol J Perry

 

[bdub76]

Read two more of the HUGO nominated short stories. Both were okay.

10 Visions of the Future

This a worse case scenario story. Best I can explain it. It was an interesting read, but nothing stellar here.

Wire Mother

This felt like a cross between the film Her and the TV series Dollhouse. The main character's mother is an AI, and there are real women that she can inhabit to provide pleasure for her dad. It's an interesting concept as we talk about folks having AI relationships. However, then we get an attempted rape, and the story felt much bigger than what could be told in a short story. It was okay overall, but it was way too short.

I still think that Laser Eyes Ain't Everything is still the best of what I have read between the Nebula and Hugo nominees so far. I have one more story to go.

After reading Wire Mother, I needed something more light, so I read another Jeeves story. I'm almost done with Very Good, Jeeves. The story was The Love That Purifies, which was a delightful story to read. I recommend. However, the collection of stories in the The Inimitable Jeeves are still my favorites so far.