New Arrivals
Nothing again, and that’s my intent. Every week I go without buying a book is good, as I have enough. I may change this Monday post to current reading.
Current Reading
I’ve been watching the football playoffs (Go Seahawks!) and we’ve had other non-reading things requiring our attention so the reading has been in fits and starts.
I finished Back in the Garden with Dulcy, also finished Erin Hoffman’s Sword of Fire and Sea and I’m almost finished with the second in the trilogy, Lance of Earth and Sky. The first was pretty good, the second suffers from some sophomore novel problems but I’m still reading. I have the third novel in the series, Shield of Sea and Space on the shelf.
What new did you get, what have you been reading?
The Broken Bullhorn 
Reading LIFE AMONG THE SAVAGES by Shirley Jackson.
This past week I read POGO: THE COLLECTED COMIC STRIPS, VOLUME 2 (1950-51). Great stuff. Also, Neil Gaiman’s MIDNIGHT DAYS, a collection of early comic book stories with bits about The Swamp Thing, John Constantine, the Golden Age Sandman, and others. As part of my Pronzini-athon, I read THE ALIAS MAN, as well as the Pronzini/Malzberg edited SHARED TOMORROWS. I also re-read many of the stories in the Frederik Pohl anthology THE GREAT SCIENCE FICTION SERIES; I’ll probably finish that book this week. I’ve also been dipping into the Lovecraft/Derleth correspondence. Right now I’m enjoying Max Allan Collins’ WHAT DOESN’T KILL HER. On deck are a couple of Pronzini’s (NOTHING BUT THE NIGHT and IN AN EVIL TIME), Ed Gorman’s THE POKER CLUB, and an Isaac Asimov history, THE GREEKS. Waiting for me at my local library are several Asimov anthologies.
Patti, that’s a great book!
I switching from reading Big Fat Books to reading skinny books since I’m going back to work tomorrow. Our predicted wake-up temperature on Tuesday will be 5 degrees (wind chill around -10) I wonder if that will affect First Day of Classes attendance… Congratulations on the Seahawks making it to the Super Bowl. Since there’s no NFL football (I’m not counting the Pro Bowl nonsense) for two weeks, you have more reading time!
Patti, that’s the Jackson I read for next month’s ffb. I just wasn’t in the mood for the haunting or lottery type stuff.
Jerry, more Pronzini, you’ll have read him all before long. I have that volume 2 of Pogo but haven’t cracked it yet as I’ve not quite finished the first volume. Sounds like you’re heading for an Asimov splurge.
George, brrrr. It’s lingering in the high 30s here and that’s too cold for me, especially as I have to go out and do some foundation patching and sealing (pipe replaced, now I have to close up the hole). Being in a muddy hole in 38 degrees isn’t my idea of big fun, but what has to be done…
Good luck with starting back tomorrow! I agree about the Pro Bowl nonsense. Also, I’ll be getting my new glasses, which should help a LOT.
Rick, I see better close-up WITHOUT my glasses. But everything in the distance is a blur without them.
I like those titles
With the time I saved not watching the Seahawks I finished The Creed of Violence by Boston Teran and Benefit Performance by Richard Sale.
Good job, Evan, especially that Sale. I bet there’ll be a oat on it soon. Hey, we’re Seahawks fans, so the 3.5 hours was well spent in our opinion.
George, just the opposite here, with the eye thing.
A little late here since we left town on Monday before I had a chance to read the blogs and haven’t been online since. LIFE AMONG THE SAVAGES is my favorite Shirley Jackson book too. After The Lottery and others I never expected that she could be so funny.
I did get the 5 books from the exchange I was waiting for before we left, as mentioned last week. They were the 3 books in ELizabeth Jane Howard’s Cazalet trilogy – THE LIGHT YEARS (which I brought to Florida), MARKING TIME and CONFUSION; Shepard Rifkin’s second Damian McQuaid book (a rather ratty ex-lib hardback), THE SNOW RATTLERS; and a pristine trade pb of George MacDonald Fraser’s FLASHMAN & THE MOUNTAIN OF LIGHT. Nothing this week.
Books read: only one, Cynthia Harrod-Eagles’s GAME OVER, a Bill Slider mystery, I still have three to read. Mostly I was reading Robert Silverberg’s collected stories – all I’ve had time to read on the road this week – so this week’s total may be zero.