Merry-Go-Round Blog Tour: Beach Reads

Summer is actually the time when I rarely read, mostly because whatever extra time I was spending during the school year on teaching my kids gets switched to writing instead of reading. However, this summer, I’m going to try to break that habit and read as much as I write. So here goes.

(Please Note: With the exception of the link to Triplanetary, which goes to Project Gutenberg, all the other links to books in this post go to Amazon. As an Amazon Associate, I get a little something if you buy the item after using that link. Just letting you know.)

First, I’m looking forward to finishing up the Harry Potter series. I’ve already finished Goblet of Fire
and wow, was that more than I expected. Though I do enjoy the movies, I’ve found I really love the books. Each one gets progressively better, and in Goblet of Fire, Rowling extends Harry’s world beyond the school in ways that reach deeper than the Triwizard Tournament. At the same time, icons that Harry had looked toward for eternal assistance have begun to falter and are showing signs of their own weakness. So yeah. I’m really looking forward to Order of the Phoenix
and the changes to come.

I’m also reading Triplanetary at Project Gutenberg by E.E. Smith. I hope to finish that as well as First Lensman. I’ve heard his name mentioned a lot, and after my experience with Lord Dunsany’s fantasy, I’m curious now about the writing styles of those who pioneered genres.

And while I’m still on a space opera kick, I hope to finish M.C.A. Hogarth’s Earthrise. (BTW, it’s free on Amazon.) I’ve read the first bit and want to know what happens to Reese and her crew. Plus, it’s supposed to have space elves and slavers. I’m curious to see how that works in her world. That said, I’m nervous about doing this before I finish the Echelon series since my own series has space elves and slavers–though if the cover is any indication, the roles of the hero and heroine are switched in my series. I may wait until Echelon has reached its final end, but it’s currently a six book series! I may have a long wait. *grrr*

I’m also going to try to finish Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
by Philip K. Dick and maybe read 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami. I’m not much into dystopian fiction, so we’ll have to see how that plays out, but I thought the premise was intriguing, and I have a weakness for Japanese manga, so why not try a translated novel?

In non-fiction, I just finished The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business
by Charles Duhigg. Wow. A must-read for…everyone. The writing is clear and concise, the anecdotes have a point, and many of the stories are inspiring in realistic ways. Not so much the ones about corporate analysis of our habits, especially how Target figures out if you’re pregnant as early as the second trimester. I thought it was fascinating, but some others may be creeped out. It certainly made me aware of how little privacy we have these days.

My point with listing that book? Because I love it and hope to find more non-fiction of that calibre this summer.

What are you hoping to read?

This post is part of the Merry-Go-Round Blog Tour. Please check out the blog for more posts by other writers.