What Am I Reading 10.0
By Betsey Wilcox
I am starting this with two Heinlein related books that I stumbled across. Then some books to fill in gaps of my reading knowledge.
Robert A. Heinlein – The Notebooks of Lazarus Long reprint 2004 Baen
Yes, if you missed the 1973, beautifully illuminated “Notebooks” then this is your chance to at least own a copy with all of the aphorisms from “Time Enough for Love”. You can also own a pirated copy, in hardcover from the Heinlein Society’s Ensign’s prize books. It too is in black and white, but it is the only hardcover we are aware of. It is available at https://www.heinleinsociety.org/the-ensigns-prize/
Joseph Marty – The Ultimate Compendium of Robert A. Heinlein’s Best Sayings
This book has 450 “sayings” attributed to Robert A Heinlein. There is nothing annotated in the book to say where they were gathered from. There are no character or book attributions, just 450 “quotes”. This book is useless to anyone who desires to know more about the sayings. The author went to a lot of trouble to gather all these quotes but does not tell us a source (book, character, speech, etc.) Do not waste your money thinking that you are buying a well-thought-out piece of scholarship. Anyone can say “Heinlein said”, but without attribution it is the opinion of the author that Heinlein said it. Frankly there were several “Heinlein said’s” that were so far from the Heinlein I know that I couldn’t believe they were being attributed to Heinlein. Save your money.
Scott Hawkins – The Library at Mount Char Novel
This book looked interesting, and the title had me from the beginning, but it turned out to be more dark fantasy than I prefer. It was a good read with interesting characters and a mysterious library, but the library turned dark, and I lost interest in caring about the characters. This is probably not a book that I will re-read anytime soon.
Tad Williams- Tailchaser’s Song Novel
Another fantasy! This is an oldie but a goodie that I just read for the first time. Dog lovers turn away, this about cats! I loved the cat-iverse that Tad Williams built for this book. Tailchaser’s adventures, companions, hardships, and friendships were entertaining and kept me asking what next. If this is not a book you have read, then I highly recommend you give it a try,
Bill Mumy- Danger, Will Robinson The Full Mumy- A Memoir
This book is a wonderful trip down memory lane if you were born in the 1950s and grew up in the 1960s or 1970s. This is not an angst filled memoir of why I was so dumb, or my parents were monsters. Neither is true and Bill Mumy speaks plainly about his life choices with almost no regrets. It is not told in a linear fashion, and he jumps from memories of a 4-year-old to the man he is today. I enjoyed sharing memories of TV shows, movies, and people that he worked with including his musical career. I can honestly recommend this book unequivocally.
Until next time,
Betsey