Hey everybody!! I'm sorry I'm so late with this, March was not a good month for me, hopefully April will be better. I also hope everyone enjoyed Childhood's End. It's not my favorite Clarke novel, but different strokes for different folks. A reminder, April's selection is The Weapon Shops of Isher by A.E. Van Vogt. Hope everyone enjoys. #ClassicLSFBC
@Bookwomble @Ruthiella @TheSpineView @BookmarkTavern @wanderinglynn @Readergrrl

36/100 I loved this book, I've loved every book I've read by this author, but Hawk & Fisher were the first and have always remained my favorites. Once again the Forest Kingdom is threatened by the Demon Prince and his minions, so Hawk & Fisher (once Prince Rupert & Princess Julia) return to save the day and met out some bloody, gory justice. I'm sorry this is the fifth and final book in the Forest Kingdom series, but it went out with a bang! 5 🌟

35/100 Thankfully this was fairly short, I think I would have bailed if it was longer. I liked the idea of an AI hologram agent, but it seemed used mostly for comedic effect. 3 ⭐⭐⭐ #Read2025

34/100 This wasn't the conclusion that I wanted, but I guess it is the ending that best suits the story. In the end, there's no justice, for anyone, people die, the studio covers more scandals, and everyone shrugs and goes about their business as if it's all supposed to be this way. 3.75/5 #Read2025 #SeriesLove2025

33/100 The mystery deepens as our writer "hero" foolishly falls in love with the actress hired to replace the other actress. Plenty of secrets come out, dirty tricks, sexual assaults, perversions, scandals the studio is willing to kill to keep quiet. Charlie, the writer, is too drunk most of the time to realize the real danger he is involved in. 4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ #Read2025 #SeriesLove2025

32/100 A very dark and gritty story of late 1940s Hollywood. A young starlet is found dead, and the studio rushes to cover up the scandal. A screenwriter, with writer's block, becomes involved because he knows the studio's story isn't true. It's very dark, there aren't any really likeable characters, even the MMC is a coward you folds under studio pressure to keep quiet. 4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ #Read2025 #SeriesLove2025

31/100 This is more like it, much better than the last volume. The story was a straight forward adventure, plenty of action and gory violence, plenty of the snarky humor that I enjoy so much. Not to spoil the ending, but I love Orc David and Violet's love story. Also, is it weird that I found the half owl woman kind of sexy? 3.75/5 #Read2025 #SeriesLove2025

The Dutchy of Lancre's greatest pride, problem, and most profitable tourist attraction is the Hawk and Fisher Memorial Academy.

#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl

30/100 This is my least favorite volume so far. I've finally got used to the change in artwork, Gieni's art grows on you, but the story was so confusing. Flashbacks, flashforward, alternate realities, alternate futures, alternate pasts, all jumbled together so by the end I wasn't sure who was who, who died and who replaced them. 2 ⭐⭐💫 #Read2025 #SeriesLove2025

29/100 I think I enjoyed his other book, Taste, more, but this is still a very fine book for those that love food and fine dining. Obviously Tucci's palate is much more refined than my own meat and potatoes appetite, but his loving descriptions of foods makes me want to venture out to try new dishes. I'm curious how Tucci keeps his slim shape, while he does eat very healthy, lots of fresh veggies, he also consumes a lot of pasta, potatoes ⬇️

28/100 The only reason I didn't DNF this after 50 pages is my respect for the author's writing. If you've read any Brunner, you know he writes serious, thought provoking science-fiction, so I don't know what possessed him to write this comic farce. Sadly it's not funny, there are quite a few painful stereotypes, the gay guards at the Vatican called the Swish Guards 🙄. The only amusing part was how many famous sci-fi writers names ⬇️

27/100 I bailed on Schreiber's other Star Wars book, Red Harvest, but I really enjoyed this one. All I know about Darth Maul is what I got from Episode 1, but he's a very interesting character, brutal, viscous, and very good at fighting. For some reason, I like the Star Wars books dealing with the bad guys, more than the heroes. Schreiber's writing is dark, violent, gory and intense, definitely showing the dark ⬇️

26/2025 Cannibalism. It brings up horrible images, Hannibal Lector and his fava beans, but humans and animals have a long history of cannibalism, for survival, for medicinal reasons, for rituals, for conquest, and sadly for pleasure in some. Fortunately, the author sticks to the scientific reasons, and isn't lured into the sensational aspect with serial killers like Jeffery Dahmer and Ed Gein.
4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ #Read2025

25/100 While I still enjoy the characters and the world building, this is my least favorite volume for one reason: The Artwork. I really liked Roc Upchurch's more realistic art in Volumes 1 & 2, the art by Owen Gieni was much more cartoony, especially the facial expressions. It's still a pick, but on the low end, hopefully things will improve in the next volume. 3.25/5 #Read2025 #SeriesLove2025

24/100 I don't believe that I have ever listened to a less interesting book involving dinosaurs and paleontology, two subjects that I'm very interested in. IMO the book spends too much time discussing religious leaders, and how they tried to align fossils with the teachings of the bible. Even when discussing Darwin and evolution, it was more about the affect on the religious community than on the validity of the theories. 3 ⭐⭐⭐ #Read2025

With the majority of votes, Childhood's End will be #ClassicLSFBC selection for March. The other three books were tied for 2nd, so I threw the names in a hat to pick April's selection. April's selection is The Weapon Shops of Ishtar by A.E. van Vogt. Childhood's End should be available at most libraries, and I've seen it on Ebay for as little as 5 dollars. Good luck and happy reading. #ClassicLSFBC
@Bookwomble @Ruthiella @TheSpineView

You would think, since I'm not working, that my numbers for February would be higher, but the stress of not having a job has reeked havoc on my level of concentration. I've got some good interviews lined up this week, so I think March will be a much better month for me.

I decided to go with just writing in the name of the book, as I found trying to line up the picture of the book very frustrating. There was no 5 🌟 book for February, but The Cyberiad came close at 4.5. If it had been a bit shorter and a little less repetitive, it would have hit 5 for sure. Looking forward to the new Scalzi book for March.

Sadly, my first DNF for 2025 is also #ClassicLSFBC selection for February. I tried to get into it, but it just wasn't for me. I've read and enjoyed several of Andre Norton's novels & short stories, but this one I'll have to bail on.

23/100 First of all, ignore Litsy's description of this book, it's totally wrong. I've given them the correct one but they have never changed it. Anyway, what this book is about is the Hotel Andromeda, a space station located in the hub between many alien and human civilizations. A collection of short stories, mostly humorous, about the employees and the visitors to the station. 3 ⭐⭐⭐💫 #Read2025

Here are the choices for March's #ClassicLSFBC selection:
A Princess of Mars - Edgar Rice Burroughs
Childhood's End - Arthur C. Clarke
The Weapon Shops of Isher - A.E. van Vogt
The Eyes of Heisenberg - Frank Herbert
It's a very unusual and wide ranging selection. Voting is open from today until Sunday, to give people more time to chose. I'll announce the choice on Monday 03/03. As always, the book with the second most votes will be April's choice

22/100 The change of art was jarring at first, but the style grew on me. It's really the story that keeps me coming back, the Rat Queens are quiet a bunch of fantastic characters. Here we delved into Hannah past, why she was expelled from the mage school and more of her dark past. I didn't like the ending, but I'm sure it will be fixed in future volumes. 4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ #Read2025 #SeriesLove2025

HA!! I knew he was still alive!! After the Crisis Event, Ollie changed his name and moved from Star City to Los Angeles, where he joined a prestigious law firm to continue his fight for justice! It's almost time for Suits: LA (aka The Further Adventures of Oliver Queen) to begin.
#GreenArrow

Is it just me, or is anyone else distressed at the news that Amazon is taking creative control of the James Bond movie series? Barbara Broccoli & Michael G. Wilson, who have guided the series, will be kept as "consultants" but the real power is Amazon's. The idea of Jeff Bezos and Amazon picking the next actor to play Bond turns my stomach. I don't care if he's black or white, male or female, but he/she should definitely be British!!

21/100 Book 4 in the Dan Shamble, Zombie P.I. series. I don't think this was my favorite of the series, but it was still a lot of fun. As usual, Chambeaux has several seemingly unrelated cases, that come together in the end. An opera singing Ogre has his voice stolen, a gang of garden gnomes are on a robbery spree, a wannabe junior mad scientist has been kicked out of his secret lair by his landlord, two weather wizards are fighting ⬇️⬇️

Hey there!! Just checking in, I hope everyone found a copy of The Zero Stone and has enjoyed it. I'll be honest, I'm probably going to DNF it, I've been reading it all month, and it's just not working for me. I hope everyone else is having a better experience. Anyway, it's time to plan for March. We are open for nominations until the end of the month. As usual, most votes will be our March read, and the runner-up will be our choice for April.

20/100 I always enjoy another adventure in the world of the xenomorphs, but this one seemed kind of pointless. Picking up after the Aliens 3 movie, Bishop's creator salvaged his body from the prison planet to gain access to the valuable information in his head about the xenomorphs. The Chinese, the Colonial Marines and the Weyland-Yutani corporation are also chasing the same data. Of course a bunch of aliens get loose and theres plenty ⬇️

19/100 Green Arrow has always been one of my favorite superheroes, much more interesting than Marvel's Hawkeye. Green Arrow's origin story was pretty much the same, but updated and streamline. Queen was still the reckless, alcoholic playboy, he still ended up on the desert island with the drug runners, it's just more gritty and violent than earlier versions of his origin. 3.75/5
#Read2025

18/100 I'm not sure what possesses me to read this, it's not my usual kind of material. Graphically violent and bloody, it's the story of the men of the Rath family. From father to son, they passed down their legacy of violence and death, until there were none left. I've seen Ron Garney's art on Captain American & Thor, but this was much grittier, verging on Frank Miller's style on Sin City. 3 ⭐⭐⭐💫
#Read2025

It was a cold and snowy afternoon in the Unnatural Quarter.

#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl

#notbookrelated Yesterday was the Superbowl, so it's time to think about the 2025-2026 season. The Jets have released Aaron Rodgers. Where do you think he'll end up next? Vikings (following the path of Farve)? Cowboys? Steelers? Raiders? Titans? Browns? It will be one of the big off-season stories, just how he likes it. @KadaGul @Lesliereadsalot @AmyG @MemoirsForMe

17/100 Until now, I've only read one book by Lem, Tales of Pirx The Pilot, and it was kind of mundane. He made being a spaceship pilot as exciting as driving a bus. Anyway, that did not prepare for this book, which is very funny. Trurl and Klapaucius are constructors, who get into many misadventures because their machines often have very unexpected consequences. The format is like short stories, but they build on each other, into absurd ⬇️⬇️

16/100 I've never played the video game or seen the TV series, so maybe I'm missing the context to enjoy this more than I did. It seemed pretty standard post-apocalyptic stuff, two girls escape a military camp/school and see what the world is like outside. 3 ⭐⭐⭐
#Read2025

15/100 I guess I've watched too many westerns, because I found this kind of dry. The Dalton Gang was one of the last big outlaw gangs before the beginning of the 20th century, and their exploits are well know and often overly fictionalized. I don't know why, but I found the lawmen more interesting than the outlaws. 3 ⭐⭐⭐
#Read2025

14/100 Once a year, Batman & Superman agree to meet on the anniversary of the death of a close friend. The story follows each as the two characters change, through various DC storylines like the Death of Robin (Jason Todd), the Death of Superman at Doomsday's hands, and the breaking of Batman by Bane. Well told and heart-felt, with great art by Dave Taylor & Robert Campanella. 4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

13/100 Judge Dredd is always a fascinating character. A total fascist in his pursuit of justice, which isn't always the same as the Law. These are three stories of Dredd's first year as a street Judge, but he's already cold, stoic, and stone-faced, dogged and unstoppable in his hunt for the guilty. I liked the first two stories, but the third one, by Al Ewing, was more about Dredd's corrupt brother Rico, so I found it less interesting. ⬇️

This is my first time doing a Reading Bracket. It's harder than I thought to get the pic of the book just right. Anyway, Henry V was by far my favorite of January. I always learn new things when I read a Dan Jones book.

12/100 Its been a long time since I read this, back in high school, but I'd forgotten how sad this book is, how melancholy the whole world was, even in the lighter moments. Sometimes Bradbury leans too much into the poetic for my tastes, but his vision of a Mars that will never be, definitely stays with the reader when its finished. 3 ⭐⭐⭐💫 #ClassicLSFBC #Jumpstart2025 #Read2025

One day Trurl the constructor put together a machine that could create anything starting with N.

#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl

11/100 A different take on traditional murder stories, more the how and why than the who, since it's often the murderer themselves who are narrating the story. Several of the tales are even funny, in a very dark and morbid sense. This is the first book I've read by P.D. James but I'd definitely like to read more. 4⭐⭐⭐⭐
#Jumpstart2025 #Read2025

10/100 Its hard to find a better, more informed writer, when it comes to English History, than Dan Jones. This makes a good companion book to his recent Henry V. Picking up with the disastrous reign of Henry VI, it follow through with various Henrys and Edwards, as different families fought for the crown, ending with the Tudors of Henry VIII. Very informative and entertaining. 4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐💫
#Jumpstart2025 #Read2025

I found the yo-yo the day before Christmas Eve, in the way one does come across these long forgotten relics of the past, while I was tidying up some of the unexamined papers which clutter my elderly life.

#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl

09/100 I think I liked this one even more than the first volume. The character development is excellent, I loved the flash backs filling in some of Violet and Hannah's history (especially her relationship with Sawyer), I wish here was one for Betty too, I'm sure it would be hysterical. 4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐💫 #Jumpstart2025 #Read2025 #SeriesLove2025

Hello everyone!! I hope you're doing well in the first month of 2025, not too snowed in like we are in West Virginia. Of course, bad weather is just another good reason to stay inside and enjoy a good book. I hope everyone was able to find a copy of The Martian Chronicles, and has enjoyed reading it. Just to remind everyone, February's selection for #ClassicLSFBC is The Zero Stone by Andre Norton. Good luck and good reading.

08/100 Imagine Star Trek filtered through Douglas Adams, with a splash of Gilbert & Sullivan, an a huge dollop of the misunderstanding tropes from Three's Company. That's what this book was, the worst kind of slapstick silliness, it even has a pie fight between the Federation and the Klingons!! Amazing that this tripe comes from an author as good as John M. Ford. 2 ⭐⭐
#Jumpstart2025 #Read2025 #SeriesLove2025

The Officers' Mess of the starship USS Enterprise was a small, rather cozy room, with comfortable chairs, moderately bright lighting, and a food-service wall with four delivery slots, no waiting.

#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl

07/100 I'm happy to say Book Three of the Prof. Croft series was just as enjoyable as the previous two. With each book, he reminds me less of John Constantine and more of his own character. The Mayor of NYC has decided to purge the city (thus the title) of all supernatural creatures, and Croft is enlisted to help. It's all a trap, of course, and he soon finds himself in the middle of a four way battle between werewolves, vampires, the fae, ⬇️

David Lynch has passed away at the age of 78. I know his movies weren't to everyone's taste, but I loved Blue Velvet, Mulholland Drive and even his version of Dune. I remember being totally obsessed with Twin Peaks, until it all fell apart.

06/100 One reading goal for 2025 was to try more non- superhero graphic novels. A friend recommended this, and I'm glad she did because it was great. I love the Rat Queens, I love the world they live in, I love the violence and the gory bloodshed. The art by Roc Upchurch was truly amazing. 4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐💫 I look forward to reading more of the series.

05/100 Dan Jones never fails to entertain and educate. If you want to understand English History this is the author to read. Like Mary Beard with Roman History, Jones work is full of details, from major events like the Battle of Agincourt to seemingly minor things that had a big impact of Henry before he became King. Henry V was a complex man, full of contradictions, he was pious and religious, but he was also cruel, easily angered, and vengeful.