Mr. Burke's Reading List

ANALOG PLUS 50: Analog Science Fiction/Science Fact, April 1972 Update the photo This April issue of Analog has stories by Poul Andersen and Stanley Schmidt along with the beginning of a serial by Harry Harrison. 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. In this issue: The Editorial: "What Good Is It?". Serial: "A Transatlantic Tunnel, Hurrah!", by Harry Harrison. I know I'm falling behind with serials, but I definitely want to read this one. (Note that with the last serial Analog published, I took the book out of the library only to find that it wasn't the same version and it was late in a series of books.) Short Story: "Wings of Victory", ...

The Guest List , Lucy Foley (2020) (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 montly book club selection from my Pandemic book club (which is keeping that name even if we're all back to work). I read PDF and hardcover editions. There were wait lists at both libraries for the ebook. I've gotten used to using the dictionary with ebooks. Updated 5/18/22 This was a murder mystery where no one is murdered until very close to the end of the book. The first scene throws you into a stormy wedding reception (in two senses of the word) between a woman's magazine publisher and a male TV star of a survival show. Someone's screaming and people going to investigate. Then you're pulled back to the day before the wedding. This in itself isn't bad, but the narrative is fragmented across narrators and across time....

My Hero Academia Volumes 15 Through 21 , by Kōhei Horikoshi (2017-2019) (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.) I am now caught up with all the books that are currently available at the New York Public Library in ebook format. I could switch to one of the spin-offs next month or later. In these 9 volumes, I have caught up with and passed the TV series. Now I know why the last season of the show obsessed with the League of Villains for almost the entire run. Because the manga was obsessed with it and Re-Destro for several volumes, and beyond. The thing is, this was a show about a high school for future heroes. And while it's great to get more backstory, and see more of the active heroes, the high school itself gets lost. There are occasional training bouts between the classes. And we've gotten more of Midoriya...

Envy of Angels , Matt Wallace (2015) (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 book was a freebie from the Tor dot com reading club. For the record, my first mention online of "The Sin Cafe" came in a closed writing blog, which was open at that time, back in 2011. It had its origins in a trip to Punta Cana, in the Dominican Republic, several years before that. I mention this because "Sin du Jour" appears to be a series. However, I will continue to write Hell's Diner stories as the moods strike. I have at least two more in mind for whenever I work them out. I started it a couple months ago. It had my attention but I wasn't sure I wanted to go where it was going. But I went back to it. It was actually a quick read and a short book. (It's actually a novella.) Lena and Darren are out-of-work chefs ...

Me & the Monkey , Andy Darby (2021) (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 title popped up in a mailing list. I saw the monkey in reddish/brown water in a jungle (I didn't notice the helicopter in the thumbnail, I don't think), and it carried the banner: Chronicles of the Monkey God . My nephew loves monkeys and this had a cartoonish cover, so I gave it a try. Who knew? Maybe it could be something I could share with my nephew! Note: This could NOT be shared with my nephew. Cursing, sex, violence, death, and spooky crap besides. I found it amusing (the humor was also not age-appropriate) but it wasn't something for him. The story is told in blog form, which is daring for 2021 when blogs are mostly done, really. (And I say that as someone who has multiple blogs, I know.) It starts out slow and unassuming, setting stu...

Famous Legends From Portugal , Miguel Carvalho Abrantes (2021) (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 freebie, and I was interested in legends other than the usual ones I see. Divided into sections dating back to before Portugal was even Portugal, it's a collecton of stories about the stories. The tales aren't told, except as a summary of the legned (and sometimes popular variances). These are sometimes accompanied by travelogues, by which I mean, if it is the elgend is associated with a certain place, you are informed where that place is and what structures or artifacts remain from that time period. (Some have been completely torn down. There are legends of kings and explorers along with religious legends and some famous people and places. Nothing that stands out, though, as I've finsihed two other books that I ...

Greegs and Ladders , Zack Mitchell and Danny Mendlow (2013) An Incredible Journey Through Space and Time It was not. CJB (Not a review -- but if it were, it would be "this is bad. just bad." -- just some notes to help me remember the things I've read -- except that this is probably one I won't want to remember. But written this way because it's the Internet, and some people will stumble across this page.) So I downloaded this book many years ago. It's one of the oldest things in my kindle app, and I can't transfer it to my new iPad because the book was never archived anywhere. What I mean by that is that I didn't download this to my PC and then email it to my kindle account. I must've saved it directly into the app. So if I delete this book, it's gone. Having no way to move it, I finally decided to read it while I was in between other things (my book club book and last month's Analog , specifically). I managed to get ...