Current reading – November 2009

I’m in the middle of:

5 L. Sprague De Camp historical novels

Finished
John M. Ford – Casting Fortune
Larry Niven & Edward M. Lerner – Juggler of Worlds

French & Burgess – Into That Silent Sea: Trailblazers of the Space Era, 1961-1965, prequel to In the Shadow of the Moon, history

Jane Espenson, editor – Finding Serenity (the sf show, not the emotional state) – a good collection [I've only read 2 so far - if the rest are this good, I'll edit that to "fascinating and illuminating" (since some of the authors participated in the tv show) essays about the characters and their universe.

Piers Bizony - The Man Who Ran the Moon: James E. Webb, NASA, and the Secret History of Project Apollo, history. There were two hardcovers in 2006, one from Thunder's Mouth Press in May for U$25,  and another from Icon Books in Oct for U$33.49.  Each version has two Amazon listings, one saying in print, one saying out of print.  I've used the trade pb link instead.

The Complete Bill Mauldin cartoons

The Complete Farside cartoons

The Complete New Yorker cartoons - usually available for under fifteen dollars U$15; however, it's a huge massy volume, even though it only prints 3,000 cartoons and includes the other 95% on a cd.

The Complete Carl Barks Scrooge McDuck 10-volume, 30 book set from Another Rainbow.  Market value U$2000+  Individual volumes go for U$150 to U$550 on eBay.  The exception is the original release, Volume III, which reprinted the first 18 or so issues of Scrooge McDuck comic, where a  by-now fully realized character had the room to stretch out and take off on new madcap treasure hunts with Unca Donald and Huey, Dewey, & Louie, or defend his money cube against ever-more-diabolical theft attempts by the Beagle Boys.  Volume III had the largest print run and was offered until recently on eBay in mint from Another Rainbow directly for US60.

I've read:
Alastair Reynolds - Absolution Gap, the 3nd of his Revelation Space trilogy.

Joe Haldeman - The Accidental Time Machine

Alastair Reynolds - Redemption Ark, the 2nd of his Revelation Space trilogy.  And Chasm City [read this after the first book, Revelation Space], which explains the origins of both Yellowstone and Sky’s Edge colonies.

Ian Banks – Look to Windward, a Culture novel, one of the best of them, and a good place to introduce someone to the Culture futory [future history].

Leigh Montville – The Big Bam, the best Babe Ruth biography ever, showing how crucial the linkage was amongst the new Daily News tabloid, Babe Ruth, and Ruth’s agent to creating the public elevation of Ruth to America’s top celebrity.

Joe Haldeman -  Old Twentieth (Ace), sf

Larry Niven –  The Draco Tavern (Tor), sf.

Francis French & Colin Burgess –  In the Shadow of the Moon: A Challenging Journey to Tranquility, 1965-1969), history.  Outstanding! 

Larry Niven and Edward M. Lerner – Fleet of Worlds, sf.  Juggler of Worlds is finished and will be published in August September.

John Barnes – The Armies of Memory (Thousand Cultures 4), sf

Vernor Vinge – Rainbows End (Tor), sf; 2007 Hugo Award

Joe Haldeman – Camouflage, sf

John Varley – Red Lightning, sequel to Red Thunder sf

Sokolove – Hustle, Investigative reporter lays out all the gambling evidence about baseball player Pete Rose, who agreed, 15 years later that it was all true.

Jimmy Breslin – I Don’t Want to Go to Jail!  A hilarious and relentlessly non-glamorous look at the mafia culture.

I’m about to start:

Charles Stross – Halting State
Robert L. Forward & Joel Davis – Mirror Matter
In the to-be-read stack:

Stephen Baxter’s latest XeeLee trilogy, Destiny’s Children, sf

Niven & Pournelle’s sequel to The Burning City, Burning Tower, sf

Kim Stanley Robinson’s 40/50/60 climate change trilogy (Bantam), sf.

Favorites to be reviewed and recommended:

Michael Collins – Carrying the Fire: An Astronaut’s Journeys, Apollo 11 Command Module Pilot Collin’s book is still the best of the astronaut bios, and a solid engineering look at building a moonship.  [The Amazon link is to the current U$20 trade paperback - there are many used copies of the original hardback and pb editions available cheaper.]

Andrew Chaikin – A Man on the Moon