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  • 2 months later...
Guest LilBambi

I just got Humble Bundle audiobook bundle (still available btw) recently and have so far read/listened to two of the books and they are not bad at all! I really enjoyed them.

So far, I have read Stolen by Lucy Christopher, and The Missing Book 1: Found by Margaret Peterson Haddox.

Have to wait to get the rest ... limited bandwidth per month sucks!

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  • 1 month later...

I started off the year reading at a pretty good clip, but I've been feeling like I'm living on the wrong side of the Wall lately. Instead of wanting to make me curl up with a good book, the dreary weather has put me in a bit of a reading funk. In addition, I've been geeking out over the two new additions to my family: my granddaughter and my new phone. (Don't look at me like that - I did put my granddaughter first!)

 

You can see what I've read so far this year here.

 

What I'm really enjoying this year is a two volume set from The Library of America entitled "American Science Fiction - Nine Classic Novels of the 1950s." Included in this boxed set are:

  • Frederik Pohl and C. M. Kornbluth, The Space Merchants
  • Theodore Sturgeon, More Than Human
  • Leigh Brackett, The Long Tomorrow
  • Richard Matheson, The Shrinking Man
  • Robert A. Heinlein, Double Star
  • Alfred Bester, The Stars My Destination
  • James Blish, A Case of Conscience
  • Algis Budrys, Who?
  • Fritz Leiber, The Big Time

So far I've finished the first two, interspersed with other books. I want to get through the whole set this year. I'd also like to get their Shirley Jackson volume and their Philip K. Dick collection.

 

I also want to finally read "To Kill a Mockingbird" this year. I've never read it, and I'm trying to get back in the habit of reading more than my usual diet of science fiction, fantasy, and horror.

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I read monster Hunter International a few years ago when Correia was up for a best new writer award. I got it as part of the Hugo Voter's packet that year.

 

You might like Charles Stross's Laundry series. It's about Bob Howard, a regular IT guy who gets pulled into the world of computational demonology, the Lovecratian consequences, and the secret British agency that protects the world. It starts off with The Atrocity Archives. It definitely earns the Fuddster Seal of Approval.

 

[EDIT] Here's a link to the series on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Stross#The_Laundry_Files

I met Charlie Stross at the World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon) in Chicago in 2012.

Edited by Fuddster
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Guest LilBambi

I just got finished reading The Sword of Truth Series by Terry Goodkind -- for the second time in as many years. Excellent and imaginative series!

 

The_Sword_of_Truth_cover_designs.png

 

The picture doesn't show the Novella Debt of Bones.

 

I have read from the Novella called Debt of Bones through Confessor and I read them in chronological order ... all except for The First Confessor: The Legend of Magda Searus and the last four after Confessor which I still need to get.

 

From the Wikipedia article:

 

In Chronological Order:[1]

Severed Souls and The Law of Nines have only been announced by the way. Still waiting on those.

 

Omen Machine was done in 2011 and The Third Kingdom in 2013.

Edited by LilBambi
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Guest LilBambi

I also read the Foundation Series and the Robot Series of Isaac Asimov this year for the upteenth time. ;)

 

Great books!

 

And a bunch of other books as well. I love reading!

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I love most of Asimov's stuff. I reread I, Robot a little over a year ago, and picked up one of his autobiographies, I, Asimov, last year at the local book festival.

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I've heard of them, but haven't managed to read any of them yet. Unfortunately, even if I caught up with my to-read list today, I'd still never catch up!

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I noticed we have some sci-fi & fantasy readers in this thread. Since I mentioned the Hugo Voter's Packet a little further up in the thread, let me explain for anyone who might not know about it.

 

Every year, the World Science Fiction Convention is held in a different city around the world. Last year it was held in San Antonio, this year in London, next year in Spokane. Members of the convention are eligible to nominate and vote for the Hugo Awards, given to the science fiction and fantasy works deemed worthy from the previous calendar year.

 

Since 2010, every sitting Worldcon has managed to put together a package of all the "in print" nominated works in e-book format, including novels, magazines, related books, graphic novels and much, much, more. The only cost is a membership to the convention. In addition to the attending membership (which is a couple hundred dollars), you can buy a supporting membership, which as of today is $40 USD for this year's convention. For your $40 you'll get close to a metric tonne's worth of reading and be able to vote on the best of 2013's science fiction and fantasy.

 

Click the "London" link above to find out more.

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Guest LilBambi

I may have to write about it on MyPassionIsBooks blog when I have a few minutes to spare to do so! Or maybe you would like to be a guest writer and write about it since you know more about it than I do. :yes: PM me if interested. It would be great to have someone else writing. No monetary gain for any of us, but it's fun!

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More sci-fi bookish goodness - Neil Clarke, owner/editor of Clarkesworld Magazine, used to own a bookstore. When it closed, he got stuck with a lot of unsold inventory that he used to lug around a bit at a time to try to sell at conventions. Since his heart attack in 2012, he's been reluctant to lug those boxes around...

 

 

I’ve decided to tackle the problem in stages, starting with the paperbacks. There are thousands of new/unread mass market paperbacks on these shelves and I’m starting with them.

I’m going to start boxing up lots of thirty new books (no-dups) by genre and selling them off for $30 shipped free via media mail (meaning US only). I’ll start by offering them direct and when that slows, move onto ebay.

All proceeds from the sale of these books will be placed into my special Clarkesworld Magazine issue #100 fund. It’s a big milestone and I feel the need to do something special with that issue.

So, anyone interested in buying some books?

 

30 Books for 30 Bucks, you can pick either science fiction, fantasy, or horror.

 

House-full-o-books

 

Now if I could only figure out how to get them in the door and past my wife...

 

P.S. I have no problem spending other people's money. :w00tx100:

Edited by Fuddster
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V.T. Eric Layton

You wouldn't believe the books that I gave away a few years back (close to 3000 hardcover editions - 1/3 of my personal library). I couldn't get anyone interested in buying them. Even thrift stores were turning me down for donations. One local church thrift near my house agreed to take them if I brought them in over time. It took me 6 months of weekly deliveries to get them all over there. There is such a printed book glut on the Internet that many are sold for .01 + S/H. I have a huge box of 1st Eds. that used to go for $25 minimum back ten years ago. Nowadays they're not worth the paper it cost to print them. Sad.

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V.T. Eric Layton

Yeah, I shipped you the really old Sax Rohmer books and some others, too. I shipped Josh a box of Sci-Fi books.

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Guest LilBambi

Wow, for the first time ever! And I go there a lot, goodreads.com had an overcapacity sign up:

 

BYBZ8d3.jpg

 

That little over capacity marker wasn't up for long but it was a surprise...

Edited by LilBambi
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V.T. Eric Layton

No linky... just a pic. What, pray tell, is LonCon3? Or 1 and 2, for that matter. ;)

 

Wait... I could DuckDuckGo it...

 

Ah... COOL! Wish I could be there. --> http://www.loncon3.org/

 

Hey! It's not till August. I could hit that lottery before then, huh? There's still time. Got a couch I could camp on, Erik?

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I was at the Worldcon in Chicago (Chicon 7) in 2012. It was such a blast! Pictures are worth thousands of words.

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/zathrasnj/sets/72157632516263718/

 

I had to cancel plans to attend the Worldcon in San Antonio last year. These things ain't cheap, you know. And Loncon, well. That was right out. Couldn't even convince the wife to take a trip to London. :( What really disappointed me is that they named it after me. My name is Lonnie. Lon for short. Lon-con. Get it? lol

 

Rumor has it that the Washington DC area is putting in a bid to host the Worldcon in 2017. That's only a 3 hour car ride for me. That just might be doable...

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I was at the Worldcon in Chicago (Chicon 7) in 2012. It was such a blast! Pictures are worth thousands of words.

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/zathrasnj/sets/72157632516263718/

 

 

 

I'm guessing they were dressed in black recreating the scene from Disaster Areas ship in the HHGTTG as it looks pretty black to me.

 

2014-03-17-103356594x591scrot.png

 

They try to get the spaceship under control, but the ship appears to take "all-black" to an extreme, and even the control panel is black indicator lights on a black background, surrounded by a black touch pad that lights up black to let you know you've initiated an action.

 

:whistling:

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