It’s Back

And it might have something to do with the fact that I managed to locate the third book of George R.R. Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire series on audio book.  After I finished the second book I could for the life of me find the subsequent parts.  As I was so wrapped up in this excellent tale, I think I had trouble getting into anything else, hence my lack of enthusiasm for other stories.  However, I’m back into it.  Grand.

Impasse

I must have reached saturation point and need a break.  Not so much with the reading, although it’s taken about a month to get through SF’58, but certainly with the audio books.  I just can’t seem to break into anything for the last couple of weeks.  Perhaps I’ll give them a rest for a while…

Another Acquisition

Picked up a copy of Leigh Brackett’s The Starmen today.  It looks like I got a great book for the price.  We’ll see when it arrives.

Didn’t work out…

Well, my little plan didn’t come to fruition.  There was a pristine, unfolded dust jacket on eBay I hoped to pick up for my suntanned version of The Castle of Iron.  No such luck.  I was leading the bidding at 30-something dollars when at the last moment the sale price jumped up to $325.  Wow.  I hope they enjoy it.  So, I’m stuck with a severely sunned but otherwise NF copy.  Oh well.  I also picked up a nice copy of Judith Merril’s SF: The Year’s Greatest Science Fiction and Fantasy from Mike at Mars Books and Wood.  This is the very first of an annual series of which GP published the first four installments.   I picked it up sight unseen, but Mike is cool, I trust his judgment when he says it’s in Near Fine condition….  I’m looking forward to it.

Consternation…

It’s Chuseok – Lunar (or Chinese) New Year here in Korea, a major public holiday.  We are at my JangMoNim’s (mother-in-law’s) house in Gumi, about 3 hours south-east of Seoul.  I grabbed The Mixed Men to finish reading and review over the next couple of days as well as SF’58.  However, I forgot that I hadn’t put that particular book’s dust jacket into a Brodart sleeve.  So here I have it, a long way from home and unprotected.  It’s in NF condition too.  Extra care is the order of the day.  I wish I remembered before we left.

Another

Picked up The Castle of Iron by L. Sprague de Camp and Fletcher Pratt last night.  It looks to be in Near Fine condition too… except….  Except for the problem that plagues this book seemingly more than any other – the badly sunned spine.  However, I think I have a solution up my sleeve… will let you know in a few days.

Another at last…

About time I picked up another. I’m pretty stoked about this one too. Typewriter in the Sky & Fear by L. Ron Hubbard.  It appears to be in G condition with dust jacket, some cracking was mentioned but we’ll see when it arrives.  Regardless, I think $52 is a pretty good price for this title.  I hope.

Book Meme: My Life as Literature

Bill the Sci Fi Guy has an entertaining exercise on his blog.  Copy the following questions, and answer them using only the titles of books you have read in 2009! Have fun. If you join in, or have already done so, please leave a link so we can all see your answers.

1 Describe Yourself: This Fortress World

2 How do you feel: The Philosophical Corps

3 Describe where you currently live: The Forgotten Planet

4 If you could go anywhere, where would you go: Journey to Infinity

5 Your favorite form of transportation: Rocket Ship Galileo (a)

6 Your best friend is: Space Lawyer

7 You and your friends are: Cosmic Engineers

8 What’s the weather like: The Shrouded Planet

9 Favorite time of day: The Dawning Light

10 You wish your life was a: Pattern for Conquest

11 What is life to you: All About the Future

12 Your fear: The Reality Dysfunction (a)

13 What is the best advice you have to give: Return to Mars (a)

14 Thought for the Day: Robots Have No Tails

15 How you would like to die: The Sword of the Lictor (a)

I’ve used the Gnome Press books I’ve read this year as a priority and supplemented with audio books (a) I’ve listened to where I can’t make GP titles fit satisfactorily. Number 10 was a bit strange, but regardless, cheers Bill, cool exercise!!

Been a while…

..since I bought a book.  Must pick up another one soon…

Catching up to do…

I just finished Shambleau and about half way through the Review.  But I’ve decided I’m not going to  begin on a new book until I’ve caught up and squared away all the outstanding books.  So, what I’ve got to do is this:

Shambleau and Others: Review
Cosmic Engineers: Read and Review
Renaissance: Review
The Robot and the Man: Review
The Mixed Men: Close Up & Review

Aside from the first two, I’ll have to re-read the others to refresh my feelings about them.  Especially Renaissance, I didn’t really know what to make of that particular story.