Continuing the monthly summaries of what I’ve been reading and writing.
BOOKS
To keep my numbers consistent with what I have listed on Goodreads, I count completed magazine issues as “books.” I read or listened to 11 books in April: 5 in print, 5 in e-book format, and 1 in audio format. They were:
1. Lightspeed Magazine #119 (April 2020 issue), edited by John Joseph Adams. The usual fine assortment of sf and fantasy short stories. This month’s favorites for me were Yoon Ha Lee’s “Always The Harvest,” Andrew Dana Hudson’s “Voice of their Generation,” Celeste Rita Baker’s “Glass Bottle Dancer,” and Fred Van Lente’s “Neversleeps.”
2. The Long Goodbye (Philip Marlowe #6) by Raymond Chandler. Marlowe makes a friend, and the friend commits murder and goes on the run, leaving Marlowe to figure out what really happened while he’s arrested as an accomplice. Listened to the abridged audiobook narrated by the always excellent Elliot Gould.
3. The Burglar in Short Order by Lawrence Block. Finally, a collection of every short story, vignette and non-fiction piece featuring or about the writing/creation of Block’s burglar/bookshop owner Bernie Rhodenbarr. Not a bad piece in the bunch, including a new essay about how certain characters don’t age but do sometimes fade gracefully from the spotlight.
4. Miles Morales: Spider-Man Volume 1: Straight out of Brooklyn by Saladin Ahmed, Javier Garron, others. Like I said about Seanan McGuire’s “Spider-Gwen” runs last month: Saladin Ahmed has gotten me invested in a character I knew almost nothing about before he started writing the character. I knew vaguely who Miles Morales was because of all the press when he succeeded Peter Parker as the Ultimate Universe Spider-Man and again when he was merged onto the main Marvel Earth, but otherwise my only familiarity was from the Into the Spider-Verse movie. Now I’m totally on board with Miles, his family, and his friends.
5. Miles Morales: Spider-Man Volume 2: Bring on the Bad Guys by Saladin Ahmed, Javier Garron, others. A solid second collection, continuing Miles’ adventures and increasing the tension surrounding what new villain in town Ultimatum wants with Miles.
6. Common Source (John Simon Thrillers #3) by Bryan Thomas Schmidt. Schmidt’s third near-future-SF buddy cop thriller lowers the city-wide stakes slightly (no terrorists looking to destroy major landmarks) but increases the personal stakes, as android cop Lucas George must deal with several of his brethren gone rogue and his Maker going missing. Full Review coming closer to the book’s May release date. (I received an Advance Review Copy from the publisher.)
7. How to Flirt in Fairieland & Other Wild Rhymes by C.S.E. Cooney. I am really not a strong poetry reader, and I usually don’t feel equipped to judge poems on anything more than an “I liked it” scale. I can say that I enjoyed this collection of fantasy poems, all of which tell stories one wants to fall into.
8. Carson of Venus: The Edge of All Worlds by Matt Betts. Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. launches an official, canonical new set of books starting here: the first new official Carson of Venus novel in decades. New canonical Tarzan, Pellucidar and John Carter novels will follow over the coming year. A longer review is forthcoming next week, but suffice to say I loved it and want more! (I received an Advance Review Copy from the publisher.)
9. A Sinister Quartet, edited by Mike Allen. A wonderful collection of fantasy-horror novellas by C.S.E. Cooney, Jessica P. Wick, Amanda J. McGee, and Editor Mike Allen. I loved every part of this book, but can’t give a more detailed review at the moment pending possible review publication elsewhere. (I received an Advance Review Copy from the publisher.)
10. The Adventure of the Naked Guide (The Blood-Thirsty Agent #3) by Cynthia Ward. Ward’s third, penultimate, adventure of Lucy Harker takes her from war-time Germany into the hidden world beneath the Earth’s crust for a reunion with family and with old foes. Non-stop action from start to finish.
11. The Klaus Protocol by Frank Schildiner. A most excellent Russian spy thriller set in the Asian theater of war in the days before World War Two. Full Review HERE.
STORIES
I have a goal of reading 366 short stories (1 per day, essentially, although it doesn’t always work out that way) this year (366 because it’s a Leap Year). Here’s what I read this month and where you can find them if you’re interested in reading them too. If no source is noted, the story is from the same magazine or book as the story(ies) that precede(s) it:
1. “The Least of These” by Veronica Roth, from Lightspeed Magazine #119 (April 2020 issue), edited by John Joseph Adams.
2. “Always The Harvest” by Yoon Ha Lee
3. “Voice of Their Generation” by Andrew Dana Hudson
4. “A Subtle Web: A Tale From The Somadeva Chronicles” by Vandana Singh
5. “Bow Down Before The Snail King!” by Caleb Wilson
6. “Glass Bottle Dancer” by Celeste Rita Baker
7. “Neversleeps” by Fred Van Lente
8. “The Witch Sleeps” by Rati Mehrotra
9. “In The Land of Rainbows and Ash” by Seanan McGuire, on the author’s Patreon page.
10. “How To Submit” by Don Redwood, from Daily Science Fiction, edited by Jonathan Laden and Michele-Lee Barasso
11. “A Bad Night For Burglars” by Lawrence Block, from The Burglar In Short Order
12. “Mr. Rhodenbarr, Bookseller, Advises A Young Customer On Seeking A Vocation”
13. “The Burglar Who Strove To Go Straight”
14. “Like A Thief in the Night”
15. “The Burglar Who Dropped In On Elvis”
16. “The Burglar Who Smelled Smoke”
17. “The Burglar Who Collected Copernicus”
18. “The Burglar Takes A Cat”
19. “Monsters” by Jim Butcher, from Parallel Worlds, edited by L.J. Hachmeister and R.R. Verdi
20. “The Dark of the Sun” by Christopher Paul Carey, from Carson of Venus: The Edge of All Worlds, edited by Christopher Paul Carey
21. “The Sinister Quartet (Introduction)” by Mike Allen, from The Sinister Quartet, edited by Mike Allen
22. “The Twice-Drowned Saint (Being A Tale of Fabulous Gelethel, the Invisible Wonders Who Rule There, And The Apostates Who Try To Escape” by C.S.E. Cooney
23. “An Unkindness” by Jessica P. Wick
24. “Viridian” by Amanda J. McGee
25. “The Comforter” by Mike Allen
So that’s 25 short stories in April. Once again under “1 per day,” putting me further behind for the year so far. (April 30th was the 121th day of 2020.)
Summary of Reading Challenges:
“To Be Read” Challenge: This month: 0 read; YTD: 3 of 14 read.
366 Short Stories Challenge: This month: 25 read; YTD: 84 of 366 read.
Graphic Novels Challenge: This month: 2 read; YTD: 9 of 52 read.
Goodreads Challenge: This month: 11 read; YTD: 50 of 125 read.
Non-Fiction Challenge: This month: 0 read; YTD: 4 of 24 read.
Read the Book / Watch the Movie Challenge: This month: 0; YTD: 0 read/watched.
Complete the Series Challenge: This month: 1 books read; YTD: 6 of 16 read.
Series fully completed: 0 of 3 planned
Monthly Special Challenge: April was National Poetry Month, so my goal was to read some poetry. I am notoriously not a reader of poetry, but I did manage to read one poetry collection by C.S.E. Cooney.
May is Asian-American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, so my goal is to read a number of authors either from or descended from that part of the world and maybe squeeze in some non-fiction about that part of the world.