What Are You Reading?

[Ceir]

Just finished Star Trek: Strange New Worlds IV - no relation to the current TV series, a short story contest anthology that got several volumes over the early 00s. I know it goes up to at least #6.

[Ironclad Alibi]

I am now reading The Indian Tomb by Thea von Harbou, the same woman that wrote the movie (and book) Metropolis. It was written in 1918 and translated to English in 2016. Three movies (1921, 1938, 1959) were made based on the book, all in German.

[dalesys]

... Michael Crichton's ...

I've read 5-6 Crichton's... not really my oeuvre, but rollicking good yarns...

Wow-somever, every one has had major mal-statements of facts, as if neither he nor anyone in his entourage bothers checking anything.

Two, I think from Congo: (A) A C-130 Hercules is the largest aircraft in the world. (B) A tree with a 25 foot circumference is the largest in the world. Exsqueeze me, but I don't care to have my disbelief suspenders yanked that hard for nonsense trivia having no necessity for the story.

[Ceir]

Just finished Platinum Pohl, an anthology of Frederik Pohl's short stories. Some classic stuff, even if it is prone to the whole "Dystopian-ish Future written 50 years ago is head-tiltingly on the nose" thing going on. Then again, allegories for racism/sexism/classism/etc. don't exactly spoil with age.

And just picked up Michael Crichton's Pirate Latitudes, for a bit of historical fiction.

[Nunavut Pants]

Greek pervect!

I don't remember Aahz ever saying anything about sheep??

Wait ... I know that game: Settlers of Crete.

You got it!!

[Ironclad Alibi]

I'm thinking about doing a version of the Ajax and Achilles pot, but with a board of hexes, a pawn, a couple of house tokens, and a couple of dice. And a "speech balloon" from Achilles that says "I will trade wood for sheep" (but in Greek). "Θα ανταλλάξω ξύλα με πρόβατα"

Wait ... I know that game: Settlers of Crete.

[dalesys]

... And a "speech balloon" from Achilles that says "I will trade wood for sheep" (but in Greek). "Θα ανταλλάξω ξύλα με πρόβατα"

Greek pervect!

[Nunavut Pants]

Working my way through "Master of Attic Black Figure Painting: The Art and Legacy of Exekias". He was a potter and painter of pottery in ancient Greece. My late mother and I both enjoyed his work--she was an ancient art historian. Apparently when I was about five, I stopped her in the middle of a run through the Vatican with "Look, mommy--Exekias!" And it was the famous pot with Ajax and Achilles playing chess.

The book is kind of dense, as it's something of an academic text; it has analyses of most or all of the works we have that are attributed to him.

He may be the only ancient Greek potter whose name we actually know (most are labeled with the location where most of their work is found) because some of his pots are signed, or rather, labeled with "I was made by Exekias".

I'm thinking about doing a version of the Ajax and Achilles pot, but with a board of hexes, a pawn, a couple of house tokens, and a couple of dice. And a "speech balloon" from Achilles that says "I will trade wood for sheep" (but in Greek). "Θα ανταλλάξω ξύλα με πρόβατα"

[Ironclad Alibi]

I finished reading Churchill's Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare by Giles Milton.

I am now reading After 1177 B.C.: The Survival of Civilizations by Eric H. Cline. It is the sequel to 1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed.

[Nunavut Pants]

I finished off the first sequel to "We are Legion (We are Bob)". Just as fun a read as the first book! The third one is supposed to be showing up tomorrow, though I won't hold my breath with the way the mail around here works.

[Ironclad Alibi]

I have started reading Churchill's Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare by Giles Milton. The recent movie is based on one of the operations in the book.

[Ironclad Alibi]

I just finished The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley. It has been on the best seller list for the past few weeks. It is an excellent book.

[Ceir]

I'll look around for that. I've just stumbled over a great second-hand bookstore in the city that might carry it. (Is that one book of short stories, or are there several under that title?)

A few months ago I pretty much cleaned them out of all their Star Trek (TOS) books. Once I think I can afford it (!!) I'll go back and see if they've put out any more.

Three under the line so far - Star Wars: From A Certain Point Of View, Empire Strikes Back: FACPOV, and so on.

Terrible they can be, but man I love old Star Trek novels. They went wild with what little canon was around.

[Pixilated]

Might also suggest the From A Certain Point Of View short story collections! They're shorts all revolving around rando background characters; there are volumes for each of the OT movies out now, but the ROTJ one is still in hardback. I'm waiting for the softcover on that one, along with (still) Jim Butcher's The Olympian Affair.

*snip*

I'll look around for that. I've just stumbled over a great second-hand bookstore in the city that might carry it. (Is that one book of short stories, or are there several under that title?)

A few months ago I pretty much cleaned them out of all their Star Trek (TOS) books. Once I think I can afford it (!!) I'll go back and see if they've put out any more.

[Seanette]

I just finished a second read of 56 Days Later, by Catherine Ryan Howard. The story starts on the day a corpse is discovered in an apartment in Dublin, then jumps back the titular 56 days to when a man and woman meet by chance and start dating. Several weeks after this meeting, Ireland goes into Covid-19 lockdown so they decide to stay together in the larger of their apartments (his). Each of them is keeping a rather large secret from the other, but those secrets wind up linked. Fair warning: it's decidedly anachronic order, even jumping back at a couple of points to before the couple meet.

Next in queue: The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August, by Claire North. As the title suggests, it's a time loop novel, which I enjoy.