Books Received

Just to update the "Pete & His Books" area of the blog. A list of what's come into the house today, and what I'm currently reading.

Just Arrived

"Soldier of the Mist" by Gene Wolfe - I haven't read this one by him before, but I've long wanted to. The joy of a campus university library is that they have odd books like that, in the sprawling and catacomb like basement areas. What I also got from the university library was...

"Last Chance to See" by Douglas Adams and Mark Carwardine - which I've read before twice. I had a chance to buy it, didn't, and have not stopped regretting it. So now I want to read it again. It's my favorite Douglas Adams book. It was also Douglas Adams' favorite Douglas Adams book, so that has to count for something.

and books I've bought today were:

"Castleview" by Gene Wolfe - I've never read it, I've barely heard of it. I found a used paperback of it in my local used bookshop and couldn't resist.

"The Fabulous Riverboat" by Philip Jose Farmer - I read book one of the Riverworld series ("To your Scattered Bodies Go") and was enthralled and floored by the sheer creativity in it. What a magnificant novel! And it ends on a cliffhanger, which put me into a frothy rage (well, a wussy sort of froth) because book 2 is really hard to find. So when I found the second copy today, I snatched it up. Thank God for used bookshops.

"The Demolished Man" by Alfred Bester - this is one of the best examples of SF literature there is. What an amazing book. I haven't read it in years. Harlan Ellison describes it with beauty in a segment on the old show SF Vortex, which ran on the Sci-Fi Channel (which is now called the "SyFy Channel" just to make you shoot milk out your nose). If you haven't read this, you need to. In a society of telepaths, how can you get away with murder? And it asks some amazing questions. Such a good book.

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What I'm Reading

"Mattimeo" by Brian Jacques - Because it's spring now, and I find that Redwall books are perfect Spring reads. They leave you happier at the end, they're good stories, well-told and beautiful. Brian Jacques is charm itself. I can't read too many Redwall books all at once, but once in awhile, it just brightens my day.

"Three Fates" by Nora Roberts - Yeah. I'm reading Nora Roberts. Don't judge me. It's been in the house for some time now and I decided that, well, since I've been having jokes at her expense for years now, I may as well give it a whirl. I'm only about fifty pages into it. It is...not bad. We shall see what I think when I've finished.

...

I have just finished reading an anthology, but you'll have to wait to hear what I think about it, because the detailed review for it is going to SF Signal. Once it goes up (once I write it...) I'll post a link.

And that's the book update for today.