Haven’t got that far yet.
Bonus info: The original version of the book was entitled Hitchcock and Homosexuality: etc. etc. (too long to type out the whole thing). And he claims every Hitchcock movie has to do with homosexuality.
Funny thing is he starts with The Paradine Case and his claims for that movie just may make sense. I haven’t seen the movie in ages, so it’s hard to be sure.
Slowly making my way through The Inhabited Island. By the Strugatsky’s.
I read it years ago under the name Prisoners Of Power.
This version is not edited/cut for western readers and a new translation from Andrew Broomfield who did great work with the Nightwatch books.
So far I am really enjoying it. More of a big standard sci-fi adventure story but there are things going on in the prehipory of the story that I imagine will turn out quite interesting later.
Recently read:
This, and its sequels, The Paladin Caper and The Prophecy Con, are an enjoyable blend of fantasy and action/adventure-- a mix of Dungeons and Dragons and Ocean’s Eleven, with a healthy dash of Leverage tossed in. Loch, a former noble, soldier, and now thief, must put together a team of eccentrics, rogues, and ne’er-do-wells to steal a document that, in the right hands, could save her country from an extra -dimensional invasion. The books are fast-paced and funny. The plot twists are frequent, almost ridiculously so, but if you can relax and go with it, it’s a wonderful ride.
I just picked up the first four Murderbot novellas by Martha Weeks (finally!) so they’re next up on my reading list.
That was a fun series 
Currently re-reading the Stormlight Archive. I’m up to Oathbreaker (the third and newest novel). One of my favorite fantasy series, and despite a lot of surprise twists that hit really hard on first reading, it holds up on a second reading.
The novella Edgedancer is almost a must-read for its hilarious main character Lift, except I think it really needs the context of the first two novels.
I have discovered that jstor seems to be completely open.
So I’m downloading the stuff that would normally have necessitated a trip to the library…
Just finished up Marlon James’ Black Leopard, Red Wolf… first in a trilogy… it’s dense and complicated, and rather dark in tone… It’s nice to read fantasy that’s so afro-centric.
Now reading Astounding by Alec Nevala-Lee, and so far, Isaac Asimov is the only one of the people he’s focusing on who doesn’t come off as a complete creep… although he had a wandering hand problem… But so far, it’s excellent at telling the story of early sci-fi writing and fandom.
Yesterday I finished The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea by Maggie Tokuda-Hall, whom I had known primarily as a podcast host and guest.
Great characters, a diverse cast, a unique world full of pirates, witches, mermaids, magic and the Sea…
Bah. Thanks to their pandemic-related shenanigans, some of the books in the Internet Archive can only be checked out for an hour. You can always immediately re-check them out, unless of course, someone else wants the book, too.
I really don’t think this is the best of plans. I note that one can’t readily read a novel within an hour, but screenshotting all the pages could be doable.
Maggie Nelson, The Art of Cruelty: a Reckoning
Another from Nelson:
“In short, attempts to nail down “who we really are” most often serve as rhetorical pawns in unwinnable arguments fueled by competing agendas (i.e., humans are “really” self-interested first and foremost, therefore a self-serving capitalism is the system most suitable for us; humans are “hard-wired” for aggression and conflict, therefore some form of warfare will always be with us; or, conversely, “the kind life—the life lived in instinctive sympathy with the vulnerabilities and attractions of others—is the life we are more inclined to live,” as argued by Adam Phillips and Barbara Taylor in On Kindness). In light of this situation, Sayadaw U Pandita’s advice to “stop thinking about it”—or, perhaps, to stop talking about it—can start to seem like the best advice indeed. At the very least, following such advice makes space for different conversations, different questions.”
Excerpt From
The Art of Cruelty: A Reckoning
Maggie Nelson
Actually a remarkably good guide to horror literature. Even those who don’t like Lovecraft’s prose could find this worthwhile, if they’re interested in the subject.
i’m reading Asimov’s Foundation series, in prep for the eventual TV one. somehow, i never read it! it’s interesting… i can see why it’s a science fiction classic. and apparently he later merged it with his “robot” stuff, and i’ve already seen some of that, like the laws of robotics. as for the series, i’m looking forward to Jared Harris playing Hari Seldon.
I love them, and have reread them numerous times. IMO his later books are better written (Robots of Dawn is my favorite), but the early ones have a raw energy than I can just lose myself in. Especially when I’m feeling down (though PG Wodehouse is helping with that nowadays).
You’re never too old to learn new stuff! Today I discovered August Derleth and his Solar Pons stories.
I’ve been a fan of Arthur Conan Doyle’s Holmes stories/novelettes since I could read. They were one of the first grown-up books I read, probably as a tween/teen. But Conan Doyle had a love/hate relationship with Holmes; he hated being typecast as an author but enjoyed the money he made from them. As any Holmes fan knows, he tried to kill off Holmes partway through the series, but the fans wouldn’t have it, and he was brought back to life.
The problem with the stories of the Holmes canon, is, of course, that there are only 60 of them, and the Doyle estate has ardently defended the canon even past the end of their legitimate copyright. There are many, many books and stories that try to extend the canon, mostly poorly.
Some of those are excellent, however. I highly recommend Laurie R. King’s Mary Russell series (a dozen or so current novels) that pick up the stories and extended the canon after Holmes’ retirement to Sussex, whereupon he encounters and befriends the much younger Mary Russell, who becomes his partner (in all senses) and muse. They are quite fun stories, and a slap in the face to the traditional misogynist Holmes perspective.
But I digress.
In the early 1920’s, August Derleth was much enamoured of the Holmes stories, and wrote to Conan Doyle asking if there would be more, and asked to continue them himself if not. In spite of two "no"s and the threat of legal action, Derleth would write 70 more stories that make up a comprehensive pastiche of the Holmes canon. He changed the names and locations slightly, and the stories acknowledge Holmes and the canon, but these are new stories that fit quite well into the language and feel of the Holmes canon.
If you have Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited, several collections of Derleth’s works are available there. I highly recommend them.
i am reading them out of order as far as when they were released goes, but IN order as far as a chronology – I read “Foundation,” then read “Prelude to Foundation,” which i understand he put out later, and now i’m on to “Foundation and Empire.”
I love just how old-timey the futurism is (atomics!) and some of the terminology is just shy of more commonly used terms now (“Blast-gun” vs. “Blaster,” etc.). the genders are extremely dated, but at least the women do seem to be more than just frail creatures in need of defending by the big, strong men. Hari in particular is kind nerdy, which is a nice change. i was hoping for some queer representation, but i think it’s too much to ask even from an Asimov – it was the 1950s, after all. [EDIT: i forgot to mention how weird it seems now that so many characters SMOKE. cigarettes and cigars all over the place. something even Asimov didn’t foresee, i guess.]
after reading the first book, i can totally see why he went back later and decided to give Hari Seldon a more fleshed-out history – a prequel – because i was kind of surprised how little he is actually in the first book, even though his shadow looms over the entire series. “Prelude” is also where i can see him actively merging his “Robot” series into it, covering the rules of robotics from “I, Robot” but adding a “Zeroth” rule that goes before Rule No. 1. Not sure if i feel it works or if it feels tacked on just yet, but i have a long way to go before i really decide.
So Abram rose, and clave the wood, and went,
And took the fire with him, and a knife.
And as they sojourned both of them together,
Isaac the first-born spake and said, My Father,
Behold the preparations, fire and iron,
But where the lamb for this burnt-offering?
Then Abram bound the youth with belts and straps,
And builded parapets and trenches there,
And stretchèd forth the knife to slay his son.
When lo! an Angel called him out of heaven,
Saying, Lay not thy hand upon the lad,
Neither do anything to him. Behold,
A ram caught in a thicket by its horns;
Offer the Ram of Pride instead of him.
But the old man would not so, but slew his son. . . .
Is this from the H. L. Mencken edition of the Bible?
The Parable of the Old Man and the Young
Wilfred Owen
It’s one of the texts featured in Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem.
Schools have re-opened locally.
Oh, that guy.
Ghostrider-style noire schlock: Richard Kadrey’s Sandman Slim.
“Those pricks down the hall, flying high above it all on this hillside, they’re the kind of people whose faces end up on money or a new library so that kids will have a new place to hang out while realizing that no one ever taught them how to read. Their wealth doesn’t insulate them from the world. It creates it. Their bank statements read like Genesis. Let there be light and let a thousand investment banks bloom. They shit cancer, and when they belch in a bowl valley like L.A., the air turns so thick and poisonous that you can cut it up like bread and serve it for lunch at McDonald’s. A Suicide Sandwich Happy Meal.”
.
