Scans of Golden and Silver age comics. Many historic firsts.
Superman origin from the newspapers. First Batman, Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, etc.
First appearance of Doctor Doom, who has hated Reed Richards since an incident when they were college roommates. (Hey, lots of people experiment in college!)
Currently reading I, Lucifer by Glen Duncan, because I got a free ebook a while ago and Iām waiting for anything better to come in at the library. Itās about the Devil taking over the body of a screenwriter. Sāokay, I guess.
Books in my bathroom:
Value Investing: From Graham to Buffet and Beyond
The Vice Guide to Sex, Drugs and Rock 'n Roll
Both are totally uncharacteristic of me, actually.
Ripped through the whole book in about a week, having bought it not long ago. Loved it, although I thought he let the Aurora (the stayers) folks drop off the literary face of theā¦universe. No communication, nothing, just gone. Other than that, itās as you said. Definite recommendation.
Reading The Library at Mount Char now.
Iāve been re-reading Mackayās Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds (1841) - any other fans of that book here? I credit his chapter on āThe South Sea Bubbleā for my understanding what was going on during the late '90s Internet stock bubble. A few weeks ago I had been trying to explain to my son that Internet memes werenāt an entirely new thing, and that even the 1800s had had their own waves of catch-phrases sweeping through the public imagination. Mackay devotes a whole chapter to London fads in catch-phrases - āQuoz!ā, āWhat a shocking bad hat!ā, āWho are you?ā - and apparently the phrase āflare upā, still in use, comes from one of those mid-1800s catch-phrases. I couldnāt find my copy when I was looking for it then, but found it this weekend while taking down books from a bunch of our shelves so we could get the living room ceiling painted, and promptly glommed onto it.
Iāve been meaning to read that sometime because I really like I, Lucifer, The Real Tuesday Weld album. Iāve been curious how much of the content or the theme (Luciferās fall as a bad relationship break-up) came from the book.
Oh, also read Sandman: Overture last week, and reread Sandman: Endless Nights. Both very pretty, but didnāt wow me emotionally like the original series did. Iām not sure if the difference is in the story or in me. I guess rereading the original would give me an ideaā¦
I started reading 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus last night. Iām only about 70-80 pages into it, but wowed already. I knew a little about this already from reading about the latest research here and there on the web, but I keep running into a new jaw-dropper every page or two, particularly the chapters about South America.
Learning about the extents of some of the South American countries and empires, pre-contact, or about the estimated populations of the bigger cities - particularly by comparison with European cities of the time - is amazing. For example, the author cites academic estimates that in the 1400s Tenochtitlan (capitol of the Aztec nation) and several South American cities had larger populations than any European city. The geographic extent of the Incan empire, in the late 1400s, was enough to make it one of the largest world empires at the time - ābigger than Ming dynasty China, bigger than Ivan the Greatās expanding Russia, ā¦ bigger than the cresting Ottoman Empireā¦ the Inka domain extended over a staggering 32 degrees of latitude - as if a single empire held sway from St. Petersburg to Cairo.ā Cahokia (near present day St. Louis) has been estimated to have had a similar population to contemporary Paris.
Note: The whole area of population estimates is apparently still controversial in academia, but I find the higher numbers very plausible, given the specific population numbers we know for some areas soon post-contact, and given what we know about death rates from European epidemic diseases hitting a āvirgin fieldā population. For example, during the decades after first European contact the Hawaiians had a net loss of around 90% of their population - smallpox alone has nearly a 50% death rate when it first reaches a population with no previous exposure or immunity, measles is very nearly as deadly, and there were many more new diseases beyond those.
Might as well also mention that I keep a copy of Lonely Planetās Oman, UAE & Arabian Peninsula downstairs, for when Iām either in the facility or having breakfast. I was in the region twice in 2012, and evidently I want to go back.
I recently finished J.D. Salinger - For EsmƩ with Love and Squalor. I think I read the recommendation here although in a past thread. Thank you to whoever recommended it.
Now Iām reading SPQR by Mary Beard. Good, solid history stuff.
Also her blog is excellent.
Room by Emma Donoghue.
Hadnāt heard of it until the film came out, but thought Iād grab it. Going to have to read it quick since it showed up at the library while I was barely started with a Malazan novel (Dust of Dreams - 9/10 down now, I might have to try Esslemontās series after Iāve finished Eriksonās).
Canāt say Room has immediately grabbed me, but weāll see how it goes.
Will also have to get through Jeff VanderMeerās Authority before that loan expires too.
I have been frantically binging on short SF and fantasy stories, and now moved up to novellas and novelettes, trying to get my Hugo nomination ballot updated with nominations in some more categories filled in before they close on March 31.
Iāve read a fair number of stories that left me cold but also some pretty great stories. Hereās one that grabbed me as just wild from the first paragraph - the only thing I can think to compare it to is some of Carl Sandbergās Rutabaga Stories.
Cat Valente, āThe Long Goodnight of Violet Wildā (part 1, links on to part 2)
āI donāt know what stories are anymore so I donāt know how to tell you about the adventures of Woe-Be-Gone Nowgirl Violet Wild. In the Red Country, a story is a lot of words, one after the other, with conflict and resolution and a beginning, middle, and, most of the time, an end. But in the Blue Country, a story is a kind of dinosaur. You see how it gets confusing. I donāt know whether to begin by saying: Once upon a time a girl named Violet Wild rode a purple mammoth bareback through all the seven countries of world just to find a red dress that fit or by shooting you right in that sweet spot between your reptilian skull-plates. Itās a big decision. One false move and Iām breakfast.ā
Iām also recommending Usman Malikās āThe Pauper Prince and the Eucalyptus Jinnā, āa fantasy novella about a disenchanted young Pakistani professor who grew up and lives in the United States, but is haunted by the magical, mystical tales his grandfather told him of a princess and a Jinn who lived in Lahore when the grandfather was a boy.ā
Just finished Imhotep (first in a series of 4) by Jerry Dubs, a science fiction thriller set in ancient Egypt, and The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins, the āfirst and greatest English detective novelā (first published in 1868). Both were engaging reads on vacation.
Oh hey this threadā¦ I did get through Night Vale after having to wait through the hold queue again. Fun but I think it works better as spoken word.
While poking at the ebook stacks there was a bunch of Christopher Moore not checked out and I got through Practical Demon Keeping quickly enough. Not as much fun as Lamb or the vampire books but still enough fun for bedtime reading.
The Moonstone is a really fun book! I read it years ago due to my ex-, who had an encyclopedic knowledge of Victorian English literature.
I remember reading that one and The Woman in White years ago. Good books.
The recent thread about William F Buckley has got me re-reading his series of sailing books, which interweave sailing and Republican politics. Iām currently working on Atlantic High, which was published in 1982. The sailing part of it is great, but the look back into 80ās-era ultra-conservative Republican politics is really interesting. The Reagan era, middle of the cold war, Yugoslavia hadnāt blown up yet, no organized EU yet, and pundits who could still think critically, and who had other interests besides politics. I agree with very few of his political views, but he was a fascinating guy, and the man could string some words together.
