Mr. Burke's Reading List

ANALOG PLUS 50: Analog Science Fiction/Science Fact, October 1971 The tenth issue in my Analog Deep Dive. One Year is now in sight -- I didn't think I would keep it up this long! For anyone finding these reviews, my purpose is two-fold: enjoying some "classic" sci-fi, and looking for stories that I think could be adapted for TV broadcast since so much of what shows up on anthology shows is rough to awful. Additional Note: I do NOT work in television. I just watch it. The issue starts with a sad notice of the passing of legendary editor John W. Campbell, but notes that he had finished three more editorials. This was also the first issue of my readthrough that was poorly scanned -- the pages are visibly tilted toward the upper center of the magazine and the print quality isn't as good. But it's definitely readable. In this issue: John Wood Campbell 1910 - 1971 The Editorial: "Antipollution Device", by John. W. Campbell. John hate...

My Monster Secret, by Eiji Masuda (2013) I read the English version, naturally, 2016 (Not a review, just some notes to help me remember the things I've read. But written this way because it's the Internet, and some people will stumble across this page.) I wasn't going to list every manga book separately, but I don't think I'll be reading more in this series for the times being. The second book introduced a bigger cast of "monsters" as has gotten a little more silly, which is fine, actually. But it's just a bunch of disjointed stories, starting with one where Shiragami discovers sunscreen which allows her to walk around during daylight without getting a bad sunburn. (The sun doesn't kill her.) The book introduces Shiho Shirou, who is a wolfman tasked with bringing Youko Shiragami back to her father. He is a childhood friend, who transforms when he sees even a picture of the Moon. Excpet that his non-wolf form is also a non-man, aka...

Ninth House, by Leigh Bardugo (2019) (Not a review, just some notes to help me remember the things I've read. But written this way because it's the Internet, and some people will stumble across this page.) This was a book group selection. I don't remember what the other choices were, but I think they were all supernatural for October and Halloween. I'm surprised I finished it so quickly after getting off to a slow start. I didn't reference the maps of New Haven at all, mostly because I was reading an ebook, and it's too much of a pain to flip back and forth in an ebook. The story follows the life of Alex Stern, in a non-chronologocial way. It's not told in flashbacks, but instead certain chapters take place before other chapters, or before the main story of the book. This made it difficult to get into the book. If I went back and reread the first chapter, I'd probably be very surprised because I likely remember none of it. Part of the conf...

Circe, by Madeline Miller (2018) (Not a review, just some notes to help me remember the things I've read. But written this way because it's the Internet, and some people will stumble across this page.) My first actual book in a while. I logged into the Brooklyn Public Library system to reserve manga, and it suggested Circe , which I knew was a Book of the Year (or at least a finalist for such) on GoodReads a couple years ago. So I downloaded it. Didn't hate it. Actually, I enjoyed it. Before now, all I knew of Circe was what appeared in the mini-series The Odyssey . I've never read that book, nor do I have plans to. Unlike in that show, Circe doesn't keep Odysseus on her island for five years. However, she does turn his men into pigs, at least temporarily. Miller weaves a tale from the pieces we have of Circe throughout Greek literature (and from one summary of a work that no longer exists). It starts with her birth to Helios the Sun god (Titan) and...

My Hero Academia Volumes 4, 5, 6 & 7, by Kōhei Horikoshi (2015-2017) (Not a review, just some notes to help me remember the things I've read. But written this way because it's the Internet, and some people will stumble across this page.) Thanks to the library app, Libby, which my sister-in-law just loves and uses exclusively, there are more volumes available electronically, and libby lets me zoom in a little on the tiny print between the larger word balloons. This is a game changer. Seriously. These books are about an hour each to read. However, I need to finish the other book I'm reading so I can get to my book club book already. As for these four volumes, the students have completed the Sports Festival competition, encountered the League of Villains, picked their hero names, had their first interships, and are getting ready for summer vacation camping in the woods. It's all going according to the anime series, which was announced at the e...

While cleaning up my hard drive, I found files where I kept track of the books I read for a given year. Someone had given me the idea (back in the 90s, I believe) to open a text file, and add the name of the book I'd read. What follows below looks like an "end of the year" post made to a bulletin board somewhere. It's past my time on Usenet. Many of these may have appeared elsewhere in this blog, if not the entire post itself. I'll post these files one per month. It looks like 2007 was the last year that I have a file for. But that point, I was using a small notebook. Plus, I started this blog in December 2008. 2007: The Year in Review The History of the Pelopennean War, Thucydides -- Intro, Books 1 and 2. Gave up. I'll be back Knights of Dark Renown , Dave Gemmell -- loved it. Asimov's Sherlockian Limericks , Isaac Asimov (1978) -- more of a chapter book, really. One limerick per adventure of Sherlock Holmes. Quick read Th...

My Hero Academia Volumes 1, 2 & 3, by Kōhei Horikoshi (2014) (Not a review, just some notes to help me remember the things I've read. But written this way because it's the Internet, and some people will stumble across this page.) Set in a world where most people have "Quirks" or superpowers to a greater or lesser degree, the series focuses on the quirkless Izuku Midoriya, and his desire to be the greatest hero in the world, like the Number One Hero (they're ranked) All-Might. The first three volumes follow the series closely -- although obviously the books came first. I've seen four seasons of the show, so I'm hoping that it will flesh out more of the characters within these pages. That's not likely to happen for a while though. So far, Midoriya has shown his value and trained to be a successor to All Might, who passed his power onto the boy just in time for him to take the entrance exam at UA High School, the elite school fo...

Ultraman Vol 3 & 4, by Eiichi Shimizu and Tomohiro Shimoguch (2016) (Not a review, just some notes to help me remember the things I've read. But written this way because it's the Internet, and some people will stumble across this page.) This is likely the end of my Ultraman readings. Not that I didn't enjoy it. It's very quick reading as it relies mostly on action. However, neither the Brooklyn nor the New York Public Library have volume five on their shelves, nor do they have it as an ebook. So unless I can find a copy -- and, no, I'm not likely to pay full price plus shipping -- here is where I put a pin in it. The story continues with Shinjiro deciding if he will be Ultraman (get on with it already) and Moroboshi not really caring. Moreover, Moroboshi is ready to become Ultraman himself. The Science agency has developed its own Ultraman armor so he can be an Ultraman wannabe who doesn't have a problem with killing aliens. On the othe...

Aesop's Fables, translated by V.S. Vernon Jones (unknown) (Not a review, just some notes to help me remember the things I've read. But written this way because it's the Internet, and some people will stumble across this page.) I like fables and fairy tales, so when I saw a free ebook of Aesop's Fables, of course, I downloaded it. And like all collections of this sort, I had to read it over time because of repetitive overload. It gets to be too much at once. I did not expect how many stories would be included. Fully the first 4% of the text is the Table of Contents. (And there's a second listing at the back of the book.) Many of these stories I'd read before, and others I knew because they are "Aesops" after all. Only a fraction of them ending with added morals. Most stood on there own. And it was funny see tales that I remembered from readers in early school grades. I did take a book of Aesop's Fables out of the library long, l...