Books you're currently reading???

[wolf]

Finished The Lion, The Lamb and the Hunted - Andrew E. Kaufman
Billed as a "psychological thriller," which it is, but the key plot device was so incredibly predictable, that all I did was wait for the big reveal, which when it did come, was pretty ho-hum and got overshadowed by an action scene that would make even Bruce Willis cringe from the confluence of coincidences.

Also finished Dr. Who and the Carnival of Monsters.

Started Gates of Fire - Stephen Pressfield. Lt. Col. Dave Grossman recommends it highly ... it's about the Battle of Thermopylae.

[Blueflare]

Currently reading Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy.
There are some passages of truly epic writing in here and it has inspired me to improve the stuff that I am currently writing.
I'm only about a third of the way into the story so far.

[Sundae]

I have a pile of books to review for you.
So this is just a teaser.
Don't hold your breath - they're teen fiction or gay non-fiction, so perhaps of limited interest.

Battle Royale is one of them though. Having read The Hunger Games trilogy.
Crikey me, the author liked similar names!
You know when people say "I'm terrible with names but I never forget a face!"
Well it turns out if the names are foreign*, I'm terrible with names as well as faces (I already knew about faces, foreign or not).

* NOT a xenophobic or racist statement, but I know no-one called Yukie, Yuko or Yoka so when they all turn up in the same scene I forgive myself for being a little confused as to character and motivation. Not to mention Yukiko, Yumiko and Yoshimi. And yes, I did just look those up

[monster]

I know three people called Yukiko.

[BigV]

See? They all just blur together.

[Sundae]

Oh I'm not using it as a criticism of the book per se.
Just something that confused me.
I had the same issue with some Greek names in Classical Studies but it was so long ago I'd forgotten about it.

I had friends called Michael, Mikey, Mike and Mike C. Never had any issue working out who was who. Bikey Mikey, Pikey Mikey, Mr Mike, Mike Flex etc [okay, the last one was a joke]
Same with Clare/ Claire x 5 at work.
And multiple Steves, even when they should be Stephs!

When I know people or have something to hang their name on I am fine.
Multiple Mikes in a book would probably trouble me as much as many ladies with names beginning with Y, but it's easier for my brain to hook on surnames like Smith, Jones, Weir, Donachie etc.

[BigV]

What about Dave Dee Dozy Beaky Mick & Tich?

[ZenGum]

Sundae, I've met a Yoku, Yoko, Yuka and Yuki.

In the same English class.

That only had four students.

But no, they didn't all look the same. Just very similar.

[infinite monkey]

Ashley, Ashlee, Ashleigh, and Ashlea.

[SteveDallas]

Books recently read:

Cover Letters for Dummies by Joyce Kennedy
Magnificent Desolation by Buzz Aldrin
Right Ho, Jeeves by P. G. Wodehouse
The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins
Old Man's War by John Scalzi
Sisterhood of Dune by Brian Herbert (gave about about 1/3 in)

Currently starting Goethe's Faust, which I've wanted to read for years, but never made it. I'm hoping a more modern translation will help.

[wolf]

I am totally lovin' on Scalzi. I have Fuzzy Nation but I haven't cracked it open yet.

And now, on to engaging in shameless promotion for a publisher that occasionally gives me advance review copies ...

I received this request from the publisher to let folks know that a book I recently reviewed will be free for Kindle.

Thank you again for accepting a copy of Steve O’Brien’s Redemption Day for review. April 19 is approaching – and this is a day of significance in the book. Steve will be offering the Kindle version FREE on Amazon from April 15th – 19th . It would be great if you could help spread the word to your book community.

Here is a little write up from Steve about April 19 and its significance in Redemption Day.

April 19 has become a date marking horrific violence in this country's history.

The date is not well known like September 11 or December 7, the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

Unlike dates that commemorate great military victories or the end of World Wars, April 19 is about a different kind of violence.

Violence between citizens of this nation and the government itself.

Like most traditions it began as a coincidence, but later transitioned into a date of significance for members of sovereign citizen groups like the Posse Comitatus.

It began in 1985. Jim Ellison was the leader of a sovereign group called CSA (The Covenant, the Sword and the Arm of the Lord. On April 19, 1985, three hundred federal officers surrounded his compound in northern Arkansas. Ellison surrendered and was later convicted of conspiracy and weapons charges. Aside from traditional firearms, the federal officers rounded up hand grenades, plastic explosives, blasting caps, land mines and even a US Army anti-tank rocket. One of Ellison’s men, Richard Wayne Snell was charged with murder and his execution took place ten years later as fate would have it, on April 19.

April 19, 1993 the FBI stormed the Branch Davidian complex outside Waco Texas, killing seventy six members, including seventeen children. David Koresh, the leader of the Branch Davidian group was sought for illegal weapons charges, something sovereign groups adamantly believed was not a crime, but a right. This came on the heels of the Ruby Ridge shootings which had enraged members like Tim McVeigh. Terry Nichols and McVeigh saw Waco as yet another illegal intrusion by a corrupt government.

Following Waco, April 19 became a date of significance for sovereign groups. They would use the date as a symbol and cause to retaliate against the government.

On April 19, 1994 militia leader Linda Thompson issued a call for sovereign citizen groups to assemble in Washington DC, armed and in uniform. The purpose of the assembly was the forced repeal of the Brady Bill and the arrest of Congressmen and Senators for treason. She identified herself as the acting adjutant general of the Unorganized Militia of the United States. Although later rescinded, her call to arms became known as the Thompson Ultimatum.

At nine pm April 19, 1995, CSA member, Richard Wayne Snell, was put to death by lethal injection in Arkansas. Twelve hours earlier, Tim McVeigh and Terry Nichols had ignited a truck bomb outside the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City killing 168 people.

For McVeigh and Nichols the date was not a coincidence.

[SteveDallas]

Originally Posted by wolf

I am totally lovin' on Scalzi.

I'm looking forward to Redshirts.

I made an unplanned digression into Triplanetary when it popped up on the public library's ebook list. I'd heard of E. E. Smith and the Lensman series, but never read any of it.

[jimhelm]

Reading Ringworld again

[BigV]

Originally Posted by jimhelm

Reading Ringworld again

That sounds like a great idea.

[jimhelm]

yeah, I'm just filling in time until my new credit rolls around for this month. It's been 4 years or so since I read it. plus, I like Luis Wu.