Sunday Morning Book Thread - 6-22-2025 ["Perfessor" Squirrel]

(HT: Pete Zah)

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...(It ain't easy being a Moron.)

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?

NOTE: Please keep comments book related. Yes, important news happened overnight. It can wait until the political thread for discussion. Or continue the discussion in the Tech Thread. If something huge happens, then CBD may come along and throw in a new thread.

PIC NOTE

This was sent to me by Pete Zah. It's a great example of human ingenuity. When space is at a premium for bookshelves, there's always a way to stack them together, yet make them accessible upon demand. Although I don't think this would work at my house. It's not really designed for this type of bookshelf. Still, it's a cool idea.

DRAMATIS PERSONAE

Latin for "story people" (more or less), the Dramatis Personae in a work is a list of the characters provided at the beginning or end of a story. Plays have had this forever, as it's something of a necessity when casting actors to play the various parts. Within the script of a play, the Dramatis Personae is usually arranged from principle leads down to the extras. It also gives a bit of context for each role, indicating relationships, occupations, and so on.

Nowadays, you may see a Dramatis Personae page (or pages) within a novel. It's a great way to keep track of characters, especially if there are a lot of them. The Malazan books by Steven Erickson and Ian C. Esslemont tend to have Loads and Loads of Characters, so you almost NEED a Dramatis Personae section in order to keep track of who is who. This is especially useful for tracking characters who belong to competing factions or nations, such as the Malazan Empire v. the Crimson Guard.

Different authors handle the Dramatis Personae in different ways. Robert Jordan, for instance, includes a "Glossary" section in most of the Wheel of Time books which will also include descriptions of important characters, though not all of the characters in the story will be listed. For that, you need The Wheel of Time Companion, though I don't know if it lists ALL the characters in the books (approximately 2,700 total characters). Tad Williams will put sections for "People," "Places," "Things," and "Words and Phrases" at the end of his books, dividing the "People" section into various nationalities/ethnicities/races as appropriate.

Note that the Dramatis Personae page does not have to be limited to lengthy doorstopper novels. Any length of novel can include a Dramatis Personae page if the author is so inclined. P.C. Hodgell's God Stalk is less than 300 pages and is a quick read, but has around 40 characters, so she put in a Dramatis Personae section so that the reader can identify who belongs to which faction and their relationships to each other, which is very important to the story. In Troy Denning's Star Wars: Crucible, there are only 14 principal characters, but he also included a Dramatis Personae page listing the characters, their gender, and their species where appropriate (e.g., "Marvid Qreph: industrialist (Columi male)").

(HT: Teresa in Ft. Worth)

THEY DON'T READ VERY WELL

Pixy Misa posted a link to They Don't Read Very Well: A Study of the Reading Comprehension Skills of English Majors at Two Midwestern Universities on Monday's Tech Thread. Since I am an English major and I attended a midwestern university (where I still work, by the way), I read through the article. It's depressing. The authors of this article examined the reading comprehension skills of 85 English majors from two Kansas universities back in spring semester of 2015, so while the article was published recently (2024), the research itself took place around a decade ago.

All the students had to do was read the first seven paragraphs of Bleak House by Charles Dickens. Then they attempted to explain the meaning of these paragraphs in their own words to the facilitator, who recorded their response.

Out of the 85 students, fully 58% were determined to be unable to read Bleak House on their own. That is, they struggled so much with interpreting just the first seven paragraphs that they would never be able to finish the novel, nor would they be able to describe what happened in the story. They also lacked the skills necessary to develop their comprehension on their own, as they simply didn't know what they didn't know.

Only four of the subjects (around 5%) were classified as "Proficient Readers," meaning they were able to comprehend Bleak House and have a reasonably intelligent conversation about the novel. These readers were able to use positive reading strategies to increase their comprehension when they were stuck or lost within the story, looking up unfamiliar words and parsing figurative language (similes and metaphors) correctly in most cases.

Again, these were all ENGLISH MAJORS, meaning they *should* have advanced reading comprehension skills, but clearly the vast majority of the students in this study were unprepared for the rigor needed to read classic literature. I find it sad that these students struggled so much with their basic reading comprehension that they would not be able to complete their curriculum.

BASED BOOK SALE!

Hans G. Schantz is hosting another BASED BOOK SALE for Morons and sundry other readers.

It's time to take a break from your daily routine and especially from corporate culture and get some great based books from both established and emerging talent for only $0.99 - many titles free - but only for one week! With over 300 titles - over a hundred of which are new arrivals - there's something for everyone. Check it out now through Tuesday June 24 at:

The Summer 2025 Based Book Sale

I appreciate all you and the Moron Horde do to support indie authors.

Thanks!

Hans

MORON RECOMMENDATIONS

Now THIS is a comeback!

Subject: Arthur Penn. (That's the name on his Amex card.) Occupation: Former king of England. Current (early 21st century) whereabouts: New York City.

That's the premise for Knight Life by the late, great Peter David.

I'm barely into the book, but Arthur has already picked up two followers, junkies who are so far gone they've forgotten their names. Owing to their love of rock 'n' roll, they call themselves Buddy and Elvis. Morgan LeFay is around, as is a woman named Gwen. The jacket blurb mentions Merlin -- and a mayoral election.

Posted by: Weak Geek at June 15, 2025 09:05 AM (p/isN)

Comment: Since stories about King Arthur are in the public domain, it's not surprising that authors have had a lot of fun with the source material. Some authors, like T. H. White and Parke Godwin, present a more "serious" version of the Arthurian legends, while other authors like Tim Powers and Peter David above, add a more light-hearted tone to the stories. Knight Life does sound like a book I would enjoy so I may have to check it out someday. And really, could King Arthur Reborn do a worse job of managing New York City than the current crop of politicians?

Now I am reading Culture: The Story of Us, from Cave Art to K-Pop. It begins in the famous cave in France in which archeologists discovered wall paintings around 15,000 years old.

I just finished the first chapter, all about Egypt's Queen Nefertiti, and it is fascinating. She and her king husband did a religious right turn, developing a monotheistic worldview, and had the whole deep state against them, so much that they moved the court to a new place down the Nile, and built an entirely new capital city. Her era was around 1300 B.C., with Egypt at its all time peak of wealth.

Posted by: Mr Gaga at June 15, 2025 11:22 AM (zeLd4)

Comment: Culture seems to be hardwired into the human experience. Even the most primitive societies will develop cultural experiences that enhance their own lives, whether through art, music, dance, storytelling, or some combination of all of these. Nowadays, we seem to live in a society with a fractured culture, particularly here in the United States where we have fundamental differences between the Left and Right politically, to the point that it can be difficult to sympathize with our fellow men. What will archaeologists and anthropologists think of our society a hundred years from now? A thousand years from now?

MORE MORON RECOMMENDATIONS CAN BE FOUND HERE: AoSHQ - Book Thread Recommendations

WHAT I'VE ACQUIRED THIS PAST WEEK:

It's June, so that must mean it's time for the semi-annual public library book sale! As usual, I walked out with a bundle of books for a reasonable price--12 books for just $32. As a bonus, they throw in a free cat toy with every armful of books! (A paper bag.)

• The Arabian Nights
• Tales from the "White Hart" by Arthur C. Clarke -- A collection of speculative fiction stories with the narrative framing element of all of them being tall tales told around a few pints down at the local pub.
• Timeline by Michael Crichton
• Star Trek: The Original Series - Crisis on Centaurus by Brad Ferguson -- I have this in paperback, but I thought it would be neat to own a hardcover edition. I didn't even know hardcover editions of these books even existed.
• The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein -- Seems like a classic I should read.
• Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein -- Another classic that I can now read. I have a copy of this same edition of the book, but this one is in much better condition and is "readable," i.e., it won't fall apart on me.
• The Pogo Peek-A-Book by Walt Kelly
• From the Corner of His Eye by Dean Koontz
• Boy's Life by Robert McCammon -- Not sure if I can read this or not. It's a paperback copy that was butchered and repackaged in hardcover format. Unfortunately, whoever did it screwed up the margins so sometimes the right or left side of the text is slightly cut off.
• The Mote in God's Eye by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle -- Another classic of science fiction that I feel I should read.
• Outies by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle -- The second sequel to The Mote in God's Eye.
• The Once and Future King by T. H. White -- The classic Arthurian story, which is really a retelling of Le Morte d'Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory.

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.

I didn't get as much reading done this week as I would have liked. I finished Silverberg's Majipoor series and then I couldn't seem to muster up motivation to find something else. It's been an odd week for me. I finally settled on the following:

Night's Dawn Trilogy Book 1 - The Reality Dysfunction by Peter F. Hamilton

Whew! I finished The Reality Dysfunction this week and stared on the next book (see below). The first book in this epic space opera does take a while to get going, as the main plot really doesn't kick off until about 500 pages into the book. Before that is mostly worldbuilding as Hamilton introduces characters and describes the societies in which they live. There are two main competing philosophies, though they don't actively hate each other, just see the world in a different way. The "Edenists" have adapted to using biotechnology ("biotek") to improve themselves physically and mentally. They've created living space ships and orbiting habitats with which they share their consciousness as they have bioengineered telepathic abilities as well. Conversations between Edenists would be weird to observe as everyone would appear to be standing around, even though they are all conversing with each other mentally.

On the flip side we have the "Adamists," who have chosen to use conventional (for them) technological approaches to self-improvement. They incorporate a form of nanotechnology into their bodies, which enhances their own physical and mental abilities. Although they don't have the telepathy of the Edenists, they can share data with each other by "datavising" information back and forth. Basically implanted wireless technology in their brains.

Now both the Edenists and Adamists have to work together to defeat a threat from beyond the stars and beyond reality as they know it. Humans are becoming "possessed" by a strange energy virus that defies all natural laws as we understand them. A Satanic cult (yes, really) has brought something back from Unbeing.

Night's Dawn Trilogy Book 2 - The Neutronium Alchemist by Peter F. Hamilton

I'm still in the early stages of this book, but it's moving faster plotwise because now we are in the thick of the main conflict of this story. Humanity is losing as they do not fully understand the enemy they are up against. In an amusing subplot--and I swear I am not making this up--Al Capone has returned from beyond the grave and is now conspiring with other possessed humans to conquer the Confederacy.

Meanwhile the brilliant creator of the "Alchemist," a doomsday device that can destroy a star, has escaped her gilded cage and is now free to roam the galaxy herself. Is her device the key to winning the war?

PREVIOUS SUNDAY MORNING BOOK THREAD - 6-15-2025 (NOTE: Do NOT comment on old threads!)

Tips, suggestions, recommendations, etc., can all be directed to perfessor -dot- squirrel -at- gmail -dot- com.

Disclaimer: No Morons were physically harmed in the making of this Sunday Morning Book Thread. With a rowley, powley, gammon and spinach!

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