What Are You Reading?

[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!

[Ironclad Alibi]

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

[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.

[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

[dalesys]

1637: The Polish Maelstrom - Eric Flint

[greek_jester]

If you like Jane Austen-style period writing and magic, there's "Sorcery and Cecelia: Or the Enchanted Chocolate Pot" by Patricia C Wrede and Caroline Stevermer. The first book started more or less as a game between the two of them (the letter game) and eventually got turned into a book.

"Since they were children, cousins Kate and Cecelia have been inseparable. But in 1817, as they approach adulthood, their families force them to spend a summer apart. As Cecelia fights boredom in her small country town, Kate visits London to mingle with the brightest lights of English society.

"At the initiation of a powerful magician into the Royal College of Wizards, Kate finds herself alone with a mysterious witch who offers her a sip from a chocolate pot. When Kate refuses the drink, the chocolate burns through her dress and the witch disappears. It seems that strange forces are convening to destroy a beloved wizard, and only Kate and Cecelia can stop the plot. But for two girls who have to contend with the pressures of choosing dresses and beaux for their debuts, deadly magic is only one of their concerns."

I liked the original book the best; the sequels were still good (and did tie up some plot lines) but I didn't feel as emotionally connected to them as I did to the first. I still re-read them every so often, though.

[Pixelated]

Some really annoying shit on Facebook.

Oh wait, that's not what you meant ...

I'm rereading In the Company of Cheerful Ladies by Alexander McCall Smith. It's a mystery series set in Botswana and the main character is Mma Precious Ramotswe, who owns and runs the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, which is also the name of the book series (19 books as of 2018). I think I've got half a dozen of the books so far.

[telecom_goddess]

I'm re reading The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath.

[Nunavut Pants]

Just finished re-reading Moon's Deed of Paksennarion, and now on to Moon Flights, a collection of her short stories.

[AnaKhouri]

Mishima's Sword, where the author tries to discover what happened to the katana Yukii Mishima used to commit seppuku in 1970. And Color Mage by my friend Anne Marie Lutz, which I am enjoying an awful lot.

[Ironclad Alibi]

I finished The City & The City and am now read a collection of short stories, The Improbable Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.

I also found out that the BBC made a miniseries based on The City & The City. Unfortunately it's not available on DVD yet.

[Pixelated]

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.

[Ghel]

What's the saddest book you ever read?

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green, easily. Damn, now I want to put down the book I'm currently reading to read it again.

[greek_jester]

What's the saddest book you ever read?

Charlotte's Web, hands down. I sobbed.

[AnaKhouri]

Son: We finished reading Stone Fox in school.

Me: So who cried?

Son: Well, me for one.

Me: Me for two, baby.

What's the saddest book you ever read?