Book a Week 2021 - BW33: Hugo Gernsback

[Robin M]

Happy Sunday! Since the majority of you live in areas several hours ahead of me and I’m late to bed, late to rise on Sunday, I will post Saturday night before I go to bed.  

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This week, we are celebrating the anniversary of the birthday of Hugo Gernsback who was born August 16, 1884.  Yes, you may be experiencing deja vu since I love to revisit Hugo every four years or so.  

Hugo Gernsbacher was born in Luxembourg and immigrated to the United States in 1904.  He was fascinated by electricity and invented a dry battery which he patented upon arriving in the United States.   He established a radio and electrical supply house called Electro Importing Company and developed a small portable radio transmitter called the Telimco Wireless Telegraph.    He went on to patent 80 inventions.

Gernsback  published a magazine for electrical experimenters called Modern Electronics which was later taken over by Popular Science.   To fill up some empty space in the magazine, he decided to write a futuristic story which ran in 12 installments. The story named Ralph 124C 41+ was later published in 1926. It was set in the 27th century and is still available today.  

He started a number of magazines including the first magazine dedicated exclusively to science fiction called  Amazing Stories in 1926.  Hugo coined the term scientifiction which later went on to be known as Science Fiction.

He unfortunately went bankrupt and lost control of Amazing Stories. He quickly bounced back and went on to publish three more magazines:  Air Wonder Stories, Science Wonder Stories and Science Wonder Quarterly.  Air Wonder and Science Wonder were merged into one magazine Wonder stories in 1930 and sold it in 1936 to Beacon Publications where it continued to be published for 20 more years.  Digital copies of Amazing Stories, Air Wonder, Science Wonder, and Wonder magazines are available to view through the Pulp Magazines Project. 

Gernsback is lauded as one of the fathers of science fiction. In 1960 he was given a special Hugo Award as The Father of Magazine Science Fiction. The award were unofficially called the Hugo's until the name was officially changed beginning in 1993. 

Hugo Gernsback died in New York on August 19, 1967 at the age 83.  

 

If you are in the mood for more science fiction and fantasy fun, don't forget you can dive into Mind Voyages and explore the Hugo and Nebula winners and nominees, take side trips through the different decades reading the nominees, check out Philip K. Dick and Robert Heinlein or the all inclusive I'm going to Pluto because Pluto is still a planet as far as I'm concerned Voyage in which you can mix it up, choose the number of books you want to read from each voyage, include some new books you pick up along the way and enjoy the ride. 

Links to all the voyages are available on the Mind Voyages blog or in the top menu bar on 52 Books website.

Happy Trails!

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Count of Monte Cristo 

 Chapter 82. The Burglary

Chapter 83. The Hand of God

Chapter 84. Beauchamp

 

Link to week 32

Visit  52 Books in 52 Weeks where you can find all the information on the annual, mini and perpetual challenges, as well as share your book reviews with other readers around the globe.

 

 

 

[Robin M]

I’m on the third book in the In the Garden Trilogy reread by Nora Roberts – Red Lilly.

Also reading A Bad Day for Sunshine by Darynda Jones.

“Del Sol, New Mexico is known for three things: its fry-an-egg-on-the-cement summers, strong cups of coffee—and, now, a nationwide manhunt? Del Sol native Sunshine Vicram has returned to town as the elected sheriff—thanks to her adorably meddlesome parents who nominated her—and she expects her biggest crime wave to involve an elderly flasher named Doug. But a teenage girl is missing, a kidnapper is on the loose, and all of this is reminding Sunshine why she left Del Sol in the first place. Add to that the trouble at her daughter’s new school, plus and a kidnapped prized rooster named Puff Daddy, and, well, the forecast looks anything but sunny.

But even clouds have their silver linings. This one's got Levi, Sunshine's sexy, almost-old-flame, and a fiery-hot US Marshal. With temperatures rising everywhere she turns, Del Sol's normally cool-minded sheriff is finding herself knee-deep in drama and danger. Can Sunshine face the call of duty—and find the kidnapper who's terrorizing her beloved hometown—without falling head over high heels in love...or worse?”

Recently added Rebecca Roanhorse’s Black Sun to my stacks for Hugo read.

And Saturday night James and I watched Minority Report (2002) which was loosely based off Philip K Dick's 1956 novella The Minority Report.  I watched it way back when but didn't remember much so enjoyed the film all over again. 

[Negin]

Robin, thank you for the best thread ever, as always! 

I read Forever Erma - 2 Stars

[mumto2]

@Robin MThank you for this thread!  I completely missed the fact that Rebecca Roanhorse had a new series so I have put a hold on the audiobook as Black Sun looks interesting.  I love Sci Fi thanks to BaW but haven’t been reading much lately.

I plan to come back later and do a longer post about this weeks reading but need to go out and do my walk before it gets much hotter!

[Negin]

Thought to share this quote that I came across today. I love that book. 

“I’d had the idea, once, that if I could get the chance before I died I would read all the good books there were. Now I began to see that I wasn’t apt to make it. This disappointed me, for I really wanted to read them all.” – Wendell Berry, “Jayber Crow

Edited August 15, 2021 by Negin

[mumto2]

This week I enjoyed listening to Agatha Christie’s Towards Zero. I didn’t remember it at all so was surprised by the murderer.  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9899381-towards-zero I am almost done listening to Donna Andrews latest cozy Murder most Fowl and plan to post the cute cover. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9899381-towards-zero

I have been reading mainly cozy mysteries and romances this week. I particularly enjoyed Love for Beginners by Jill Shavis as the animals were really cute https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55276647-love-for-beginners. I am still trying to decide what my opinion was of David Handler’s The Man Who Died Laughing which inserted fictional characters into the golden age of Hollywood in a way I would normally dislike, but I didn’t. I read this one for my bookchain challenge and have actually checked his next one out because I really like the failed author turned ghostwriter to the famous main character......the next one is British 60’s bands. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1162873.The_Man_Who_Died_Laughing

Edited August 15, 2021 by mumto2

[Kareni]

I just finished reading Last Bus to Wisdom by Ivan Doig for my local book group. This is the rare book group book which I really enjoyed. It's set in the early fifties (mostly in the US west), but there were things that resonated with me: the westerns of German author Karl May were huge in this book and May was an author my Dutch father spoke of fondly; S & H green stamps figured in the book and my bedside lamps were purchased with those back in the day; and a character in the book was surprised to meet a family member with a glass eye which happened to me, too. ETA: One more thought ~ the main character had an autograph book which was significant in the novel; autograph books were huge in Australia when I was growing up. I recommend this book. 

"Donal Cameron is being raised by his grandmother, the cook at the legendary Double W ranch in Ivan Doig’s beloved Two Medicine Country of the Montana Rockies, a landscape that gives full rein to an eleven-year-old’s imagination. But when Gram has to have surgery for “female trouble” in the summer of 1951, all she can think to do is to ship Donal off to her sister in faraway Manitowoc, Wisconsin. There Donal is in for a rude surprise: Aunt Kate–bossy, opinionated, argumentative, and tyrannical—is nothing like her sister. She henpecks her good-natured husband, Herman the German, and Donal can’t seem to get on her good side either. After one contretemps too many, Kate  packs him back to the authorities in Montana on the next Greyhound. But as it turns out, Donal isn’t traveling solo: Herman the German has decided to fly the coop with him. In the immortal American tradition, the pair light out for the territory together, meeting a classic Doigian ensemble of characters and having rollicking misadventures along the way.

Charming, wise, and slyly funny, Last Bus to Wisdom is a last sweet gift from a writer whose books have bestowed untold pleasure on countless readers."

Regards,

Kareni

[Kareni]

Some bookish posts ~

Jo Walton’s Reading List: July 2021

https://www.tor.com/2021/08/09/jo-waltons-reading-list-july-2021/#comment-919596

Maybe You Can Have Too Many Books in Your TBR Pile

https://www.tor.com/2021/08/05/maybe-you-can-have-too-many-books-in-your-tbr-pile/

Six SFF Works to Embrace When You’re Not Feeling Your Best

https://www.tor.com/2021/08/03/six-sff-works-to-embrace-when-youre-not-feeling-your-best/

Regards,

Kareni

[Robin M]

 

29 minutes ago, Kareni said:

Maybe You Can Have Too Many Books in Your TBR Pile

https://www.tor.com/2021/08/05/maybe-you-can-have-too-many-books-in-your-tbr-pile/

Great article but the ending question for some reason gives me a sense of anxiety. 

"But the part of my brain that loves completing tasks and shelving books I’ve just read sometimes stares at the unread-books wall and wonders: What would it be like to catch up? To read them all? To clear the slate?"

I think I like the fact that there's always another story waiting in the wings that will suit my mood or entice me to read something different.  There's always a reason why I add a book to my stacks, some for pure joy, others for enlightenment, education.  But just like when I'm reading and get an epiphany, but forget to highlight or write that information down, later when I peruse the stack and see that book, the reason escapes me and makes me wonder what the heck was I thinking. 😃

 

[Junie]

So I couldn't read the article about the TBR pile, but it's an interesting question.

Right now I have enough TBR books (about 75) to last about two years, maybe three depending on what re-reads I throw into the mix.

That seems like a good amount for me.  I have a lot of variety so that I can choose the type of book I'm in the mood for, they take up one shelf on my bookcase (double-stacked), and I have extras in case I get sick or injured or go on vacation or whatever and have a ton of time to devote to reading.

Edited: My TBR stack is actually closer to 100 books.  So enough for three or four years, probably.

Edited August 16, 2021 by Junie

[Kareni]

3 hours ago, Junie said:

So I couldn't read the article about the TBR pile, but it's an interesting question....

 Are you able to access Tor.com ? If yes, you can search on the author's name, Molly Templeton, to find the article.

Regards,

Kareni

[Laurel-in-CA]

Thanks for the good wishes for dh -- he had his post-op PSA test this week, very low but not yet zero so next retest in 3 mo. will tell the tale.

Kareni asked about how my son got into ziplines. His first job was for the summer @ a christian camp that also had a commercial zipline course. When he turned 18 he applied to transfer there and has been a zipline course guide ever since. It was a great college job and he's been able to do some marketing and videography for them too, as well as training new guides in safety and course maintenance. A couple summers ago they built platform yurts up in the redwood canopy and he got to be part of the build team. The company that provided and directed assembly for the yurts also builds zipline courses around the world and they offered him a chance to help with the build in Alaska, all expenses and worktime paid! He'll video it too and provide them with some marketing content (his covid project was starting his own media company on the side).

This week I finished The Book Club by Mary Alice Monroe (which is a first book for a new book club), all about transitions in middle age for a group of friends who have...a book club. I have this in paperback...and discovered I find it a lot harder to pick up and read now that I am used to my kindle. Or maybe it's that I can't crochet while reading with a physical book like I can with the kindle?

I also read The Lady and the Highwayman by Sarah Eden, set in late Victorian times and populated by a cast of penny dreadful writers who have banded together to help London's needy in various ways. Interspersed with the story are episodes from two different writers' stories. I found that device at first distracting and then irritating. Doubt I will read more.

And I enjoyed T.A. White's Firebird series (SF, space opera) and will look for more by her. About a broken hero who isn't and the secret investigation she's pursuing.

My daughter was assigned Summary and Analysis of Caste by Isabel Wilkerson for her first history class at the CC. I think I'll see if the library has it and read along with her.

Cheers to all and thank you for keeping my mind awake!

[Negin]

Kindle books on sale today. 

The Dutch House

Eat the Buddha: Life and Death in a Tibetan Town - she wrote my favorite book on North Korea

   

 

[Kareni]

@Laurel-in-CA, sending good thoughts for your husband's retest in several months.

Thanks for sharing your son's story. It's neat how one thing can lead to another. I hope that he's enjoying his summer in Alaska.

And happy reading to you!

Regards,

Kareni

[tuesdayschild]

‘Liking’ and posting is giving me ‘there is a problem’ message.   

If this goes thru, I’m reading posts and liking them 😊

[Kareni]

7 hours ago, tuesdayschild said:

‘Liking’ and posting is giving me ‘there is a problem’ message.   

If this goes thru, I’m reading posts and liking them 😊

I had the same issue yesterday. (So far, so good today!)

Regards,

Kareni

[Negin]

Kindle book on sale today. 

[Kareni]

Over the past few days, I reread one of my favorite series ~

Linesman (3 Book Series) by SK Dunstall

Regards,

Kareni

[mumto2]

I have had a couple of finishes this week that I will post about now.  The first is an audiobook by Agatha Christie that was a stand alone set in ancient Egypt.  Death Comes As the End was about a wealthy Egyptian family that is sent into turmoil when the father moves his concubine into their home.  I had never read it before and in terms of who the murderer was it was clever.......that said not a favorite.  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8310461-death-comes-as-the-end
 

I just finished a clever Japanese classic crime book that has recently been translated.  I put a purchase request in awhile ago so was happy when The Decagon House Murders appeared in my Overdrive.  A group of students from a Uni’s mystery book club travel to a deserted island where a series of murders took place earlier in the year.   All the students have club names like Agatha, Ellery etc. It is a Japanese version of Christie’s And Then There Were None.  The translation was good but it kept switching between club and real names which was very confusing.   Overall good, I would be pleased to read more by this author.    https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52958127-the-decagon-house-murders

[Robin M]

Yeah, a smoke free day today. The past couple days have been horrible and I feel really bad for the people who are directly in the path of the fires.  

I finished a couple books this week:

A Borrowing of Bones (#1 Mercy and Elvis Mysteries) by Paula Munier was very good and had a combination of factors that meshed with a lot of the mini challenges I've been doing and current events. And it all takes place over the long fourth of july weekend. The character an ex soldier who served in Afghanistan, working with a service dog which belonged to her late fiancée also a soldier. Mentions of the muses, art history and artists,  an abandoned baby, lots of kittens who need to be rescued, a mystery of buried bones, along with an arrogant investigator who doesn't appreciate Mercy's or Elvis's help. It was a very busy weekend. 😃

Also read a kindle unlimited story - Cloudy with a chance of Witchcraft by Mandy Roth about a witch who didn't know she was a witch and managed to ignore the fact that one of her best friends who talked to trees and animals and foretell the future, thinking she was just 'special', falls out of love with her cheating husband and moves back to her home town to live in a home she inherited from her grandma. And the house is hexed, but also haunted by her grandparents so.... I could go on. It's an amusing story and although the 40 year old characters may act more like their 20, I enjoyed it and now reading the 2nd book in the Grimm Cove Series - Hexing with a chance of Tornados

 

[Robin M]

Link to week 34