What Are You Reading?

[dalesys]

A theme song for this thread:
Patty Larkin - The Book I'm Not Reading
... is riveting
... keeps me up at night
... is better than TV ... giving me insight
... is history
... is by some paperback writer
... is a mystery ... who done it don't matter

[Mental_Mouse]

It was a short story titled "The Cold Equations" by Tom Godwin. No matter how often I read it, I still end up in tears.

The irony being, that, as later takedowns have pointed out, that (in)famous story actively demands a bunch of dubious conditions to force the crisis, and flatly refuses to acknowledge any solution besides "somebody's gotta die". From memory:

1) In the time when that story was written, spaceflight was experimental (as it largely still is) That meant every flight was calculated down to the kilogram or worse, for fuel and payload. But in the story's time when spaceflight is routine (if not, IIRC, commercial), the trips are supposedly still just that closely figured, with no slack or flexibility at all. Even a military jet is not handled that tightly. No ongoing manned service *could* be handled that way, because a system that brittle is doomed to fail.

2) OK, give them that, so you have a spaceflight system where an undiscovered stowaway, or unauthorized cargo, means "everyone on board dies". And with everyone on base knowing this, there are still unlocked doors and unchecked spaces, where a stowaway can sneak onto a ship and hide there. (Or where, say, a drug dealer could stash something.) No guards (or not enough) checking for uncleared personnel or intruders, either. Heck, no guards at the door to the hangars, or even controlled routes to the ship. No alarmed doors, even. No search of the ship before launch. If the work is that sensitive, with lives (and expensive equipment) on the line, then you damn well put in security to match.

3) So, now there's *nothing* on the ship to discard. No water supply to pull a "Marooned on Vesta" course change. No fuel leeway, no slack or regenerative capability for oxygen (and somehow they know exactly how much the designated staff will breathe on the trip, which is not as constant as people think). No books, furniture, or equipment that can be tossed out without disaster. No *cargo*, whose disposal could be justified by saving a human life. No option whatsoever for creative solution, because The Author Says So. Aside from referring to point 1, this is dubious on its face.

[Ironclad Alibi]

That above description of "The Cold Equations" reminded me of the Dust video The Stowaway.

[Nunavut Pants]

I just totally devoured "All Systems Red" by Martha Wells, the first book in the "Murderbot Diaries". It's only 150 pages, and not very densely written, so it is a quick read. Expensive for basically a novella, but I got it from my local library. I'm waiting for the second book to get checked in, and I may pre-emptively check out the others in the series just in case....

I loved that book!

[AnaKhouri]

I read that x couple months ago too and enjoyed it. The character of Murderbot is interesting.

Currently reading a history of black metal music and The Revenant, upon which the film was based.

[Ghel]

Apparently, it takes me a REALLY long time to finish a book. Maybe if I spent more than just my lunch time reading....

Anyway, I finished reading A Wise Man's Fear. I don't know that I can say much about it, except that there were many place where I wanted to yell at Kvothe: "Don't be stupid!"

[Ironclad Alibi]

I just finished reading The Dig by Alan Dean Foster. A 1996 novel that was based on the computer game of the same name.

[Kit-Ginevra]

Something called Romanitas. It's the Roman Empire...now!So as the strapline suggests it's the Roman world-gods and goddesses,slavery,crucifixions,chariot races but in the 21st century.Very interesting read-mass crucifixions on giant plasma TVs anyone?

[TheSHAD0W]

*sigh*

Couple of years ago, I read through Richard Kadrey's "Sandman Slim" books. Recently I noticed there are (at least) three more in addition to the seven I have. Now I'm going to have to reread them all.

[AnaKhouri]

I'm reading Boy's Life by Robert McCammon. Can't put it down. In the book a preacher is losing his mind over the Satanic influence of...The Beach Boys. He'd take one look at Cardi B. and drop dead

[Kittish]

I'm reading (and editing!) Binding Words book 3. Boyfriend is an author (and a pretty good one) and I'm his chief editor. It's a bit rough at the moment, but then, it's my job to smooth it out.

[Kit-Ginevra]

I'm his chief editor. It's a bit rough at the moment, but then, it's my job to smooth it out.

And there's not many editors willing to do that for their authors...



Oh you mean the book 😇

[Pixelated]

And there's not many editors willing to do that for their authors...



Oh you mean the book 😇

I just finished reading Far From True by Linwood Barclay, one of his Promise Falls series.

Holy crap ... I need a scorecard. It's a series in which not only the characters but also the storylines carry over from one book to another. I had a helluva time keeping track of who was doing what with whom and what their individual backgrounds were and where they are in this particular storyline and so on ...

In this book there is a murderous character who's got an obsession with the number 23. And when the book ends ... we still haven't found out who he or she is. (I don't know whether Mr./Ms 23 was carried over from an earlier book.)

[Ironclad Alibi]

I started reading Three Moments of an Explosion by China Miéville. It is a book of short stories.

[smfrazier]

I'm rereading the Hobbit for about the 6th time. I read it and Lord of the Rings every few years.