What are You Reading Now?
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Alright, I admit it, I like the writing of Earl Hamner, Jr. Does that name ring a bell? He created The Waltons, the television program which ran from 1972 to 1981 and which was based upon his book titled Spencer's Mountain, published in 1961. For the record, I like the program and the book.
Today, whilst perusing a favorite used-book store I came upon and purchased a copy of his short novel The Homecoming, published in 1970. It is another story of the Spencer family (which became the Walton family in the program), and it is simply delightful. I read it, cover-to-cover in one sitting this evening, and it made me feel good!
I know that The Waltons can be polarizing, a love-it-or-leave-it subject; however, if you love it (or at least like it), then allow me to recommend this book; it will warm your heart.
Today, whilst perusing a favorite used-book store I came upon and purchased a copy of his short novel The Homecoming, published in 1970. It is another story of the Spencer family (which became the Walton family in the program), and it is simply delightful. I read it, cover-to-cover in one sitting this evening, and it made me feel good!
I know that The Waltons can be polarizing, a love-it-or-leave-it subject; however, if you love it (or at least like it), then allow me to recommend this book; it will warm your heart.
You shouldn't have come here ....up next is you like it darker,by Stephen king
Reviewing the Icelandic sagas again. Ynglingos, and Egil Skallagrimsson. Of Snorri Sturluson.![IMG_7495[13834].jpg](https://pipesmagazine.com/forums/data/attachments/319/319610-5f32f3be120db15fd650bbd4b8f99cbf.jpg "IMG_7495[13834].jpg")
Charles Bukowski: Locked in the Arms of a Crazy Life, by Howard Sounes.
I am currently reading You Can't Win, by Jack Black. It is an incredible memoir and look at the life of a hobo and outlaw from the early 1900's
I'm reading "The Brighton Murders" by Andrea Hicks. Decent mystery but it takes 300 pages just say what could have been in 200-250 pages. Well written but too much time spent describing extraneous stuff.
3/5
3/5
A quick little light Sci- fi read. This is the copy that I have and it makes me think that those who design the covers of a book, do not necessarily read the books themselves. There is no such plummed bug person in this book.
Good post-apocalyptic story of inclusion, exclusion, and what makes a thing 'correct'. A pretty timeless theme if you ask me.
I recently the mild mysterious of elves from the Christmas store titles "Miss Frost Solves a Cold Case". The charming story of Jayne Frost who investigates why employees are disappearing from Santa's store located somewhere in the U.S. She is the daughter on one Jack Front and who has the Big Guy himself as her uncle. An enjoyable read.
4/5
4/5
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I just finished reading "The Philosophical Breakfast Club" by Laura Snyder. It's primarily about John Herschel, William Whewell, Charles Babbage, and Richard Jones, who met in college, stayed lifelong friends, (pretty much,) and changed the way science was done. INTERESTING book...
Attachments
White Noise. After seeing the modern film, decided to reach back to 1985 and read the source.
Abandon Ship! by Richard F. Newcomb. This is the story of the sinking of the USS Indianapolis, CA-35, by a Japanese submarine during World War II.
I just finished reading L. Ron Hubbard's Battlefield Earth for the 2nd or 3rd time since I first stumbled across a hardcopy in a remainder bin in Torrance, California, in the mid 1980's (it was published in 1982).
FWIW, I'm not an L. Ron Hubbard fan generally, but he was a noted "Golden Age" science fiction author with a penchant for exactly what BE is: fast-paced space opera. Battlefield Earth (not to be mistaken with the execrable movie of the same name which bears no resemblance to anything worthwhile) is really space opera / earth supremacy story written at a time decades after that subgenre had reached its peak.
I'm afraid it wears thinner with each reading, for both cultural and style reasons; it's written in a deliberately formulaic style in a breathless rush. While its rapid pacing is a definite plus, it doesn't lend itself to character building beyond that of the pasteboard figures my sister and I used to snip from the back of cereal boxes.
In summary, it's not the greatest of space opera. But it's not the worst -- and it's a great example of the subgenre. In this day and age, it's a bit like opening a time capsule.
BTW, I recommend "Astounding: John W. Campbell, Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, L. Ron Hubbard, and the Golden Age of Science Fiction," by Alec Nevala-Lee, 2018. It does a great job of capturing that extraordinary time in the development of American "pop fiction," while also describing Hubbard's somewhat checkered past.
FWIW, I'm not an L. Ron Hubbard fan generally, but he was a noted "Golden Age" science fiction author with a penchant for exactly what BE is: fast-paced space opera. Battlefield Earth (not to be mistaken with the execrable movie of the same name which bears no resemblance to anything worthwhile) is really space opera / earth supremacy story written at a time decades after that subgenre had reached its peak.
I'm afraid it wears thinner with each reading, for both cultural and style reasons; it's written in a deliberately formulaic style in a breathless rush. While its rapid pacing is a definite plus, it doesn't lend itself to character building beyond that of the pasteboard figures my sister and I used to snip from the back of cereal boxes.
In summary, it's not the greatest of space opera. But it's not the worst -- and it's a great example of the subgenre. In this day and age, it's a bit like opening a time capsule.
BTW, I recommend "Astounding: John W. Campbell, Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, L. Ron Hubbard, and the Golden Age of Science Fiction," by Alec Nevala-Lee, 2018. It does a great job of capturing that extraordinary time in the development of American "pop fiction," while also describing Hubbard's somewhat checkered past.