Sunday Morning Book Thread - 05-19-2024 ["Perfessor" Squirrel]

Welcome to the prestigious, internationally acclaimed, stately, and illustrious Sunday Morning Book Thread! The place where all readers are welcome, regardless of whatever guilty pleasure we feel like reading. Here is where we can discuss, argue, bicker, quibble, consider, debate, confabulate, converse, and jaw about our latest fancy in reading material. As always, pants are required, unless you are wearing these pants...(not sure if he's even wearing pants--it's from the recent Met Gala.)

So relax, find yourself a warm kitty (or warm puppy--I won't judge) to curl up in your lap, and dive into a new book. What are YOU reading this fine morning?

PIC NOTE

This is another AI-generated photo from Adobe's collection of images. Although it's not perfect, I do like the composition of the image, as it shows a neat library that has an amazing view of the surrounding countryside. Now, if only there were some comfy chairs and cozy kitties in this image...

RAY BRADBURY'S RULES FOR WRITERS

A few weeks ago I posted Ernest Hemingway's advice to new writers. Here are some tips and tricks from another author (who may be cancelled soon...for *reasons*)

• Don't think. - Most, if not all, of your thinking on the story should be done *prior* to sitting down at the typewriter (or computer in modern terms). Let yourself *feel* the story flow out of you as you type, rather than waste time analyzing and reflecting on every word as it is laid down on paper. There will be time for editing and revision later.
• Libraries are people. - Bradbury views books as an extension of the people who wrote them. He interacts with their stories as if he was interacting with the authors themselves. In that sense, he sees stories as establishing a very deep emotional connection with the reader and this is the experience you want to create with the stories that YOU write. A part of you will be contained in every copy of every book that is published. So when someone buys your book, or checks it out of the library, they will be connecting with YOU, even though you may not feel it.
• Write it right now. - In some sense, this goes with the first point above, as Bradbury sees the activity of writing as an emotional experience for him. He writes from his heart, not from his head. And when an idea pops into his head, he doesn't store it away for later, but immediately attempts to capture that idea *in the moment* to see what hidden truths may emerge.
• If you want a thing, go get it. - You have to be proactive about what you want. Writing is hard. Getting published is even harder. But if it means the world to you, then you will do what is necessary (within moral and ethical limits, I hope) to achieve your goals. If someone says you CAN'T do it, then they better have a darned good reason why YOU can't be the one to do it when others around you succeed.
• Writing must be like candy. - You must take joy in writing. You should not look at as a chore or a burden. As Bradbury says (paraphrased), the pen/typewriter/computer must be calling out to you at all hours of the day and you must be eager and ready to answer that call.
• Become alive. - Bradbury had a powerful encounter when he was 12 years old that clearly influenced the stories he's written. You should watch the video to hear him tell this story. My own words will not do it justice.
• Own your work. - YOU are the owner of your labor when it comes to writing. You should know every word, every punctuation mark in your stories as the farmer knows every stalk of wheat in the fields he tills. Hold on to that thought when you start trying to sell your works...
• Fantasy is valuable. - "The ability to fantasize is the ability to survive and the ability to fantasize is the ability to grow." Capture the dreams of one's youth as a way to grow into one's passion as a writer.
• Do what you love. - If you don't love writing, then you may want to reconsider your prospective career as an author. For me, it's a necessary and sometimes pleasurable aspect of my life, but I don't love it to the point where I can spend hours and hours and hours writing down stories. I do love to read, though, and that I CAN spend hours and hours and hours doing. That's why I offered my services a couple of years ago to do the Sunday Morning Book Thread, because reading is my one true passion in life, without which I could not live. My passion for reading is why I continue to do the Sunday Morning Book Thread, though like all good things, I'm sure there will be a time when I start to find it more of a burden than a blessing...but not today.

SCHOOL'S OUT FOR SUMMER!

NOTE: Through a strange moment of serendipity, Alice Cooper's "School's Out" was playing on my iTunes as I posted today's Sunday Morning Book Thread.

Welp. School is officially over at the campus where I work. All of the commencement ceremonies are over, all the grades are turned in, and the students and faculty have both disappeared for the summer. That means it's time to celebrate by reading light, fluffy, trashy material for the next couple of months. Oh, who am I kidding? That's pretty much all I read these days. Nevertheless, I've read most of what I want to read on my "bucket" list and can now switch over to mindless entertainment.

What I'm reading today- Starwars 100 objects.

Don't judge. lol

Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at May 12, 2024 09:56 AM (VwHCD)

I would never presume to judge anyone for their reading habits. Here's what I have on tap for this summer:

• Star Wars novels -- got quite a few in my TBR pile that I need to finish. I do want to read the entire nineteen-novel New Jedi Order story arc from start to finish someday. It's the one where the extra-galactic Yuuzhan Vong invade the Star Wars galaxy with their bizarre organic technology and just wreck the New Republic (300+ *trillion* Republic civilians killed during the war). They are mostly immune to Force abilities so the Jedi are at a major disadvantage when trying to fight them. Pretty crazy storyline.
• Star Trek: The Original Series novels -- Many of these are actually pretty good science fiction stories wearing a Star Trek skinsuit as Captain Kirk, First Officer Spock, Dr. McCoy, and the rest of the Enterprise crew tackle unusual and creative problems that could never be shown on television. Even today's modern special effects would be hard-pressed to show some of these stories--or would just look terrible. It helps that established science fiction authors have written some of these (e.g., Greg Bear). Not great literature, but often entertaining in their own way.
• Forgotten Realms novels -- These are set in one of the most iconic campaign worlds for Dungeons and Dragons and use that ruleset for most of the action. So you have adventuring parties of one sort or another going out on a quest. As a way to kill time, they are entertaining, light, and fluffy. You know that good will triumph in the end. Seriously. That was written into the authors' contracts.
• Dragonlance novels -- This is the other major Dungeons and Dragons literary franchise. Compared to Forgotten Realms, the power level is much, much lower. The overall history of the setting is slightly more cohesive than FR but there are still major discrepancies from series to series. It focuses on the "Balance" between Good and Evil, implying that both are equivalent and necessary.

As you can see, NONE OF THAT would be considered "highbrow" literature in any sense of the word. But for me, it's just good, clean fun. Seriously. Barely any sex or cursing or vulgarity whatsoever. Lots of violence, though...

MORON RECOMMENDATIONS

I got a book this week which I think I first heard about on this thread some months ago: Well, Doc, You're In! -- a collection of biographical essays about Freeman Dyson, edited by Daniel Kaiser and published by MIT. It's basically a biography of Dyson, but the different stages of his life are covered by different writers, many of whom knew him at the time. Fascinating guy, so the book's quite interesting.

I was amused that the editor felt it necessary to devote roughly a quarter of his introduction to an attempt to handwave away or excuse Dyson's well-known skepticism about climate alarmism. As if this was a biography of Newton published in the 19th century and the editor had to make excuses for his religious heresy.

When Dyson supported nuclear disarmament he was a brave visionary. When he doubted St. Al Gore he was . . . problematic.

But other than that it's a good book.

Posted by: Trimegistus at May 12, 2024 09:10 AM (78a2H)

Comment: Freeman Dyson came up with a lot of interesting ideas, but perhaps his most famous is the "Dyson Sphere." Although Dyson didn't invent the concept, he did explore the ramifications of what such an object might do for a civilization. A Dyson sphere, in its simplest form, is a sphere that completely encloses a star, thus capturing 100% of the energy output of that star. It's been used in numerous science fiction stories, most famously in Larry Niven's Ringworld series, which uses a ring-variant of the Dyson sphere. Star Trek: The Next Generation used the complete Dyson sphere variant in one episode--where the crew of Enterprise-D also encounters the original Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott locked in stasis in a transporter buffer. Illegal Aliens by Nick Pollota and Phil Foglio has a story of a galactic civilization that finds a series of nested Dyson spheres, one within the other. The alien archeologists exploring the spheres give up trying to find the architects of the sphere, who are thought to be buried deep inside. Their reasoning is that they galaxy is full of enough amateur loonies. No one desired to meet professionals.

Currently reading All of Our Sins by Yuval Kordov, the creator of the world of Dark Legacies, a post-post-apocalyptic sci-fi/dark fantasy world. It's the second book in the series, following The Hand of God.

Both excellent books. Nuclear war has killed almost everyone on Earth, and God has punished humanity for its suicide by casting our planet into darkness, and opened a HellMouth in the SE of the US that spews forth demons to plague the survivors, and caused much of the rest of the country to be a place where you'll go insane merely from traveling across it.

Several groups of survivors vie for technological supremacy as they battle demons and the world. There are sentient mechs, mutant children, witches, and lots of political backstabbing and intrigue. I'm really enjoying these books very much.

Posted by: Sharkman at May 12, 2024 09:29 AM (/RHNq)

Comment: Sounds intriguing. I may have to check this out. Would God punish the remnants of humanity if we outright rejected the gift of life and tried to destroy ourselves? It's not so farfetched as one might think, as we have people right now on planet Earth that believe the Earth should be wiped clean of humanity, believing us to be a "disease" or "contamination." They seem hellbent on complete and total eradication of the human race. Yet, they never seem to be the ones to "lead the way" by offing themselves first. Instead, they want to be the last generation alive to die out naturally and turn out the lights.

I've started reading-

The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham

This seems to be the Ur-novel for a lot of SF inspired disaster stories. Esp. zombie movies/shows seem to have straight out stolen...uh...."been inspired by" the opening of TDotT.

You're probably familiar with the story but if you aren't a guy who's had eye surgery wakes up to find practically everyone in the world but him is blind thanks to an unusual celestial event. Perhaps involving comet debris.

Blind hijinks ensue. Then not zombies but killer and mobile plants show up. Carnivorous horticultural hijinks ensue.

Very well written so far. If a bit wordy. Opens with the story already ongoing which is a method i prefer in my fiction.

No complaints. We'll see how it goes.

Posted by: naturalfake at May 12, 2024 09:21 AM (eDfFs)

Comment: I've heard of this book (ok, movie), but have never read it myself. It has been adapted for the large and small screen more than once. According to the synopsis of the story I read, it's never made clear what caused the blindness or the carnivorous plants. At one point, the Triffids are being farmed because they produce useful resources, but then the blindness event happens and the plants get loose. Also, surviving a planetwide apocalypse is HARD. Most people will die in a matter of months as all preserved food resources run out. Setting up a farm from scratch take A LOT of work and know-how, even for the simplest tasks.

More Moron-recommended reading material can be found HERE! (1000+ Moron-recommended books!)

WHAT I'VE BEEN READING THIS PAST WEEK:

After reviewing some of OregonMuse's old Book Threads, I thought I'd try something a bit different. Instead of just listing WHAT I'm reading, I'll include commentary as well. Unless otherwise specified, you can interpret this as an implied recommendation, though as always your mileage may vary.

The Crimson Shadow Book 1 - The Sword of Bedwyr by R. A. Salvatore

This is one of Salvatore's earlier works, coming out in 1995, approximately the same time he was working on his Legend of Drizzt stories. It's about a young warrior who teams up with a colorful halfling rogue to become an outlaw duo, stealing what they like and leaving a mysterious calling card behind them--the Crimson Shadow. Luthien quickly gets bored with all the thievery and decides to find a purpose in life. So now he is attempting to rally the people to rise up against the oppressive regime of King Greensparrow. This story features Salvatore's trademark action sequences that are entertaining to read, but really strain one's credibility to believe that they are plausible. Kind of like a modern day action movie. The characters are a bit flat. Luthien is a warrior but has little personality. Oliver had personality, but it's almost too over-the-top. He reminds me of the dwarven highwayman Casanunda from Terry Pratchett's Discworld series, but isn't quite as outrageously funny.

What the Night Knows by Dean Koontz

I've been reading a lot of fantasy and science fiction lately, so I decided to a take a break and try some horror/suspense. I picked up this Dean Koontz book at a book sale recently and thought I'd give it a go. Turns out it's pretty good. I can see why Dean Koontz has sold a billion books (or however many). At its core, it's a ghost story--a tale about a vengeful evil spirit seeking to destroy all that is good in the world. He stalks the man who killed his first mortal incarnation, who is now all grown up with a family of his own. It's a genuinely creepy story, though, as we get to see how the killer's spirit perceives the world--people are just playthings to him, to be used and disposed of as he sees fit. The protagonist, by contrast, is a genuinely good police detective who loves his family and will do anything to protect them. John knows something supernatural is haunting his family and he even knows the true identity of the killer, but he struggles to accept the idea of ghosts and spirits intruding on his materialistic worldview of evil. The only other one of Koontz' novels I've read so far was Odd Thomas which was OK, but I think What the Night Knows is a better story overall. I will probably be reading more Dean Koontz in the future. Fortunately, the library in which I work (but do not work for) has numerous Dean Koontz novels available for checkout.

Micro by Michael Crichton and Richard Preston

This is the last book Michael Crichton was working on before he passed away in 2008. He didn't finish it, so Richard Preston (author of a great nonfiction book, The Hot Zone) was brought into complete the story. I think most of it is Crichton's work, though. The first 100 pages or so reads like it might have come from Jurassic Park in the setup of the main story. A group of graduate students in diverse fields are brought together by a mysterious wealthy benefactor who needs their services to solve certain problems on a top-secret project that will revolutionize science. Then the mid-plot twist occurs, which is pretty obvious when it happens, but also catches you a bit off-guard as it's happening. I won't spoil the details. What I find particularly entertaining is Crichton's attitude towards the environmental do-gooder movement. In his unfinished introduction, he says that today's modern environmental activists have no real clue how complex systems work or how nature functions out in the wild. They are force-fed a very specific viewpoint while in school. He also doesn't have any respect for useless degrees in college. The one graduate student who is "writing a thesis on scientific linguistic codes and paradigm transformation" is scorned by the other characters as a useless waste of oxygen and he does little to help out the team as they get bogged down in the main conflict. Overall, pretty good story, if predictable at times. Like Koontz, I will probably read more Michael Crichton in the future (have at least two others lined up in my TBR pile.)

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