If you like the narration of Flashman, with the ingenuity of Mark Watney from “The Martian”, you‘ll enjoy this really fun book.

Reminds me a lot of Gaiman in a good way. Fun text and voice. I liked that the lesson in perfection want being flawless so@much as being adaptable.

Been looking forward to this one.

Doctors aren‘t always great writers. But Austin is. He describes well what it is like to deal with burnout and the day to day job of working in the ER.

Read this on Thursday afternoons while my son is having swim lessons at the local hot springs. The water is warm, the shade is cool, and the sound of children splashing and laughing fills the air. Long been a fan of Chabon, and this recent little essay collection is a quick treat.

Totally blown away by the generosity and awesomeness of my first ever Litsy bookswap. Thanks @slightlyfoxed ! #conandoyleswap

Hey @slightlyfoxed , your #conandoyleswap should be on its way in the next few days.

A good book, but the problem is that I was listening to it going to and from work, and work has been burning me out lately, so it negatively colored my opinion of the novel. But since I can‘t pay my bills by stopping tornados or living with wolves, just have to keep on keeping on.

Well that was just f***ing charming. A fun and quick little tale for those of us who were geeks in the 80s before being a geek was cool. Does it compare to Ready Player One? No, very different. Should you read it if you liked RPO? Absolutely.

My second time through with this one. Wanted to reread it before I see the movie. One of my favorites but it certainly is geared towards my geeky interests and my age group. Still, seeing as geek culture has become so mainstream in the last few years, I think a lot more than just us nerds who grew up playing Atari 2600 in the 80s would appreciate it. I‘m going to head to Reno early next month to meet some friends and see it on the big IMAX screen.

#bookhaul

Twice a year my local library has a members book sale. I don‘t always find things I want, but this time had a good haul.

1: Not much purple in my house.
2: vanilla. Or peanut butter.
3: a medallion I bought on my first date with my now wife. And a wedding ring. Only pieces of jewelry I own.
4: black tactical pants, a scrub top, and a long white lab coat.
5: I am told that yes, apparently I have.
@MinDea #HumpDayPost

Turns out I had read this first book in the series before. It was a few years ago and I remember very little of it. This time around I enjoyed it more. Knowing that it is the beginning of a large 16 book epic helps me see it in perspective. It‘s not perfect, a lot of “telling” more than “showing”, but so much happens that showing all may have doubled the length of the book. This is a good start to a famous series I look forward to exploring more.

Book haul. I live in a small mountain town with a good but small bookstore. So when I go on vacation I like to spree at larger bookstores. I had the first half of the Robin Hobb series on my shelf already, so I decided to complete the set. #bookhaul

On vacation in San Diego. My kiddo needed a nap in our Airbnb. So I get to continue my vacation read. Have heard great things about this for years. Finally time to begin.

Ever meet someone and get a wrong first impression? I started this series not very impressed with the characters. Then I developed a grudging respect for the world building. Then I became friends with the series and eventually learned to love it. Now I‘m on the final phase of the relationship: I‘m going to miss them. The heists were brilliantly portrayed and the character development was strong. I love a tale of a smart anti hero and a con job.

1: playing with kiddo. Probably working on my house remodel as well.
2: 6‘1”
3: 5 years
4: “Crooked Kingdom” by Leigh Bardugo and “No Time to Spare” by Ursula K Le Guin
#friyayintro
@jesshowbooks

1: Cobalt blue
2: Autumn
3: Probably Fantasy
4: Besides reading, playing Dungeons and Dragons
5: Peanut butter based candies
6: Chai
7: Headlamps for reading in the dark
8: @GrilledCheeseSamurai
@Tiffy_Reads
#gettingtoknowyou

Took me a while to get into this one. I was very excited to start but the characters didn‘t gel for me for the first half of the book. But by the end I was into it. I had planned on waiting a while before starting the sequel, but after the cliffhanger ending...well...I had to jump back in. I like the concept, but I think my favorite fantasy heist series is still “The Gentlemen Bastards” by Scott Lynch.

A slow fantasy novel written by a master of nuance and innuendo. I‘ve been reading fantasy books for decades, and I‘ve never read one that had so many layers of meaning behind it. An exploration on the collective psychological trauma that warfare can cause in a nation, and how sometimes the only thing keeping us all together is an almost willful amnesia of the events of our past. A fantasy with dragons and knights, but not the fantasy you expect.

Not my favorite of the series so far. There was a storyline in a kind of spirit underworld that really seemed to drag on. But I loved the exploration of Dalinar‘s past and his arch of redemption. Also, the climactic battle at the end has to be one of the best climaxes in all of epic fantasy literature.

The author has a great grasp of craft. More than I ever will. And I‘m very impressed with how much research she put into the backgrounds and interests of her main characters. Everything from the AIDS plague hitting 1980‘s San Francisco to the history of magicians to primate science researchers on longevity and the life of the MEPS doctors doing physicals all day. I look forward to her future work.

This is my second time reading this one. 12 years after the first time, I still think it‘s one of the best cyberpunk books out there. The writing nails the noir feel of the main character with metaphors worthy of Raymond Chandler set to a Bladerunner soundtrack. The new show comes out today. Looking forward to binging this next week.

Seems appropriate these days.

Read this one years ago and loved it. Trying to reread it now before the show comes out.

Banjo and I are up late reading.

#catsoflitsy

Sloan‘s writing is really fun and filled with sly pop culture references. Most of which I‘m sure I missed. I enjoyed this one more than ‘Penumbra‘ but I felt it was a bit rushed at the end.

I do have a sudden desire to go learn how to bake bread.

1: ER Doctor
2: Other than reading? I like to play Dungeons and Dragons
3: I‘ve got a good cat named Banjo
4: A deep cobalt blue
5: Candies with peanut butter
6: Harney and Sons cinnamon tea
7: Spider plants
8: Autumn
9: Star Wars

#Litsylovelist @hermyknee

Question for the Litsy hive. I‘m looking to digitally catalog my library. There are a couple programs on the market to choose from. I was leaning towards Delicious Library but I know a lot of people like the Library Thing program too. Anyone have any advice? Any pros and cons?

The writing is likely brilliant. A novel of modern English anxieties around identity and Brexit. The word Impressionism and perhaps Existentialism come to mind. Wasn‘t the kind of writing I can really enjoy however.

The author has incredible skill. Her writing is craftwork. It was easy to sometimes get lost in it. But in the end, I still felt lost.

Really fun read. Like “The Martian” will likely be a better book than a movie. The action and scenery are there, but what carries it is the scientific detail that comes across better in a book than a film.

The narrator has a great voice. If you want to read a scientifically researched heist story on a moon base, this is likely as good as it gets.

Journalists have long been my biggest heroes. I once wanted to become one, but I wound up married to one instead.

In a time when our nation has elected a man sized toddler to lead it, it‘s good to read the reflections of a great journalist on how we may find the courage to guide the country back towards reason and rational thinking.

Make America Great Again? We can best start by getting a new president.

I‘ve been a fan of the anthologies of Gardner Dozois, since I started reading his work when I was probably around 9. This is a great collection of sword and sorcery stories that harken in spirit back to the great tales I recall from when I was a kid.

My favorites in this collection would be “The Best Man Wins” by KJ Parker, “The Mocking Tower” by Daniel Abraham and “The Smoke of Gold is Glory”. I‘m a fan of mentors, rogues and trick endings.

I had the honor of briefly meeting Father Greg Boyle at a conference once a few years ago. He was one of the best public speakers I‘ve ever seen. Truly inspirational. His gifts as a speaker don‘t necessarily translate into gifts as a writer.

It should be noted that there are likely few people on earth who are as genuine in their faith and true in their humility as he is. And those are lessons that even an atheist like me could stand to learn.

#Litsyquestions

1: Kings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eames

2:The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro

3: Dreamland, The true tale of America‘s Opioid Epidemic by Sam Quinones

4: Kazuo Ishiguro

It always makes me a little sad to hear of the death of a beloved author. I never read a lot of her work, but I used to sell it a lot when I worked at a bookstore in college.

Going into a stretch of night shifts at work. So I‘m drinking caffeine and reading another Gardner Dozois collection. I first read collections of his when I was around 10 years old. Still would love to meet him someday.

Early morning shelfie. I like to get up before the rest of my family and read for an hour with a cup of tea in front of the fire before the errands and chaos begins.