Summer readin’, happening so fast….today’s TTT is top ten books on our summer TBR list! If that title got a song stuck in your head, I’m sorry/not sorry. But first, the tease!
“Once, men turned their thinking over to machines in the hope that this
would set them free. But that only permitted other men with machines to
enslave them.”“The mind commands the body and it obeys. The mind orders itself and meets resistance.”
(Dune, Frank Herbert)
“You are in a small lobby,” I said to Gabe in a robotic voice. “Corridors lead to the north, east, and west. To the south of you is a lift. In the distance is a tall, gleaming white tower. No, wait, that last part’s from Colossal Cave Adventure.”
“Drop USB device,” Gabe said, and I laughed.
“A, that’s three words. And B, I’ve already done that. As you’d know if you’d managed to hack the CCTV system. So—which corridor?” (Zero Days, Ruth Ware)
(1) Dune by Frank Herbert. This has been on my list for a while, and after reading a version of the story in graphic novels, I’m ready to tackle the original itself. Should finish this week.
(2) Anxious Generation, Johnathan Haidt. A preorder that arrived in April, addressing mental illness in Gen Z.
(3) Zero Days, Ruth Ware. A cybersecurity thriller I’m currently reading alongside Dune. A woman is framed for the violent death of her husband. Finding Ware a little too petty detail-y (I don’t care what brand of phone your characters use) but will read anything that involves computers.
(4) Scarcity Brain, Michael Easter. On the psychology of desire, compulsion, addiction, etc. (I…hope.It’s a library book and honestly I’ll put anything brain-related on hold.)
(5) Star Trek: The Higher Frontier, Christopher L. Bennett. The plot sounds generic, but as a rule I’ll read anything written by Bennett, David Mack, or Greg Cox. Speaking of —
(6) Star Trek: Lost to Eternity, Greg Cox. The TOS maestro is at it again, but this won’t be released until the end of July.
(7) Dune: The Duke of Caladan, Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson. I’m only halfway through Dune but Duke Leto is someone I want to know more about.
(8) Jumpnauts, Hao Jingfang. Chinese SF! Read a tease and enjoyed it.
(9) Breaking Bread with the Dead: A Reader’s Guide to a More Tranquil Mind, Alan Jacobs. I’ve been nibbling at this for ages — really should just sit down with it. But I just finished Mythos, which I’ve been listening to on and off since…2021….
(10) Star Trek: Firewall. I dislike ST Picard, but I love me some David Mack and Seven of Nine. This is a bridge novel that explains how Seven changed from her ST Voyager self to just being plain ol’ Jeri Ryan in ST PIC. Not that being Jeri Ryan is a bad thing, but when I watch her in PIC I don’t see the Seven I liked so much in VOY.
For those who that title did not trigger an earworm, here:
Reading Freely 
Haha I LOVE that title choice, very catchy! 🎶
Excited for your Dune thoughts soon! & also Star Trek novels seem perfect for the summertime. WAIT what? I didn’t know Seven was in Picard and that she’s not the same character. I’d be curious to see if that character growth is believable or if it just feels like it’s a completely different character🤔
Yeah, they introduced her in season 2, I think, but she comes off as completely human instead of someone struggling with her inner Borg. The character is enjoyable, but she seems like a new character. Jeri Ryan pulls it off, of course, but there’s a disconnect for me. Honestly, Jeri Ryan and Anson Mount are my only reasons for trying to get through DSC and PIC. Thank Roddenberry for Strange New Worlds and Lower Decks. XD
AH okay I see, that’s disappointing because that’s a less compelling character and I have trouble believing that Seven wouldn’t have some remainders of her Borg-ness even years later. I really need to get to Strange New Worlds!!
Everyone needs to get into Strange New Worlds. GREAT acting all around — and whereas every other took a few seasons to get its legs, SNW hit the ground running.
That is a GLOWING Recommendation. Now that it’s been a while since I finished VOY, I’m missing ST so hopefully soon, haha!
Yes! It’s episodice and upbeat and has wonderful characters. There’s no one on that bridge I don’t like — compared to DSC where most of the bridge crew are effectively nameless. And most of them get spotlight episodes. Hoping to see more of Erica “I FLY THE SHIP!!!” Ortegas and La’an next season.
That just sounds like such a fun time!! I hope you get more of those characters too then 😀
I hope you’re enjoying Dune. Thanks for stopping by earlier.
Lydia
Star Trek is such an interesting topic. I don’t have a favourite era in it or anything. I just enjoy it in general. 🙂
Here is our <a href=”https://www.longandshortreviews.com/miscellaneous-musings/top-ten-tuesday-books-on-my-summer-2024-to-read-list/“>Top Ten Tuesday.</a>
Astilbe
Thanks for the video to infect those of us who may not happen to know the song!
I’m going to have to read The Anxious Generation! I’ve been thinking recently about how Gen Z is inordinately anxious. The book is now on my Goodreads TBR!
I was inspired by someone posting a book about Maria van Trapp, heheh!
This is an awesome list, I think I’ve seen a few talking about Jumpnauts so hopefully that’s a good one! Thanks for dropping by the list!
I found Jumpnauts via these lists!
1) I respect Dune a lot more than I like it. Will be interested to read your thoughts.
5) I listened to the audiobook of this just last week. I’m not always a fan of Bennett’s habit of tying together dozens of episodes in a single book, but it largely worked here. And a nice moral dilemma towards the end that I liked the handling of.
6) Got this planned for later in the year. As a general non-TOS fan, I haven’t read a whole lot of Cox, but what I have read has been either good or great.
7) I love seeing other people do chopped up Dune reading orders. I’m in the tiny minority who prefer the Brian/Kevin books to Frank’s, so hoping you get as much out of them as I did.
8) I was a huge fan of Vagabonds, so I look for Jumpnauts everywhere I go. Still looking, but very high hopes.
10) This works just as well as a Voyager sequel as opposed to a Picard prequel, but does a good job of bridging the two.
All things considered, I’d say that’s a cracking summer of fiction you’re set up for.
So far I’m enjoying Dune, but between the graphic novels and the movie (only part 1 to avoid spoilers), I’m not getting the “pure” Dune experience. We’ll see what happens once I reach part III. As far as reading things out of order, my assumption is that the Duke trilogy will be a bit like “Asimov’s Caliban” or Prelude/Forward in the Foundation books: same universe, but a distinct story that doesn’t depend on the others despite working with it. Prelude and Forward, despite being written by Asimov himself, actually contract the very opening of the original Foundation, so after a while one just gets used to fuzzy continuity.
Thanks for the Trek input. Glad to know it’s a solid Voyager connection. Do you remember if they used any of the Relaunch storyline? I haven’t seen it any in other PIC books, but one can always hope..
I found Jumpnauts on another TT a few weeks back, and am excited to try the oauthor out.
Scarcity Brain sounds interesting — I’m keeping an eye out for that one!
Just finished it yesterday, so will try to post a review soon!
My 17-year old is devouring the Dune books right now. And they just watched one of the movies. (I’m not into it, so I’m not abreast of what is what.) I wonder if he’d be interested in the graphic (after finishing the series).
The art style is different. The vehicles look a bit bird-like in the graphic novels, whereas they were more like dragonflies in the movie. Provided they don’t loathe graphic novels, I think they’d get a kick out of the art alone.
Great choice of title, lol!
I don’t think I ever read Dune yet!!
Annnny chance to reference music or musicals, I take. 😀
So, have you read Haruki Murakami? There are so many references to music in his novels, especially jazz.
But he also knows really well classical music, as is clear in his nonfiction book: https://wordsandpeace.com/2023/12/19/countdown-to-2024-day-19-christmas-carols/
Not yet, but because I was reading Japanese earlier in the year he’s on my shortlist. Thanks for that review link!
ZERO DAYS is among my least favorite Ware book. Like you said, there are too many details. I prefer her more timeless, Gothic-y novels. I hope you enjoy all these others!
Happy TTT!
Susan
http://www.blogginboutbooks.com
Hah! I’ll have to read more and see.
Breaking Bread with the Dead is a book I enjoyed. Here’s my review, if you are interested: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3756599420
My aunt and I used to read Star Trek novels when we were young, but (who knows why?) I haven’t read any in many years. Now that I’ve finished all the series, maybe I should look into them?
I swear I can’t get that Grease song in my head today but now there it is, ohh no. Your list is pretty sci-fi oriented — is that your genre of choice? The Ruth Ware novel reminds me that I hear her novel The Woman in Cabin 10 is being made into a movie with Keira Knightley …. so I’m curious to read it first. I have not read Ware yet. Cheers.
Historical fiction and science fiction are my two fiction mainstays. 🙂 I read a LOT of historical fiction in the spring, and now it looks like SF is pulling ahead. They’re generally tied by the end of the year.
I need to get into more Star Trek novels. Frankly, I liked the Seven in Picard better than the one on Voyager, but I think seeing that evolution of her character would be interesting.
David Mack is the man to handle it! He’s done several of Star Trek’s most high-stakes novels and series, like ST Destiny.
After watching the new Dune movie this year, I had an absolutely absurd blip of wondering, “what if I read the book?”, despite being a person who a) doesn’t read long books and b) has never read an adult sci fi novel. Don’t think this is the one to start with!! But I’m very impressed by anyone who has the brainpower and stamina for those particular tomes.
Some SF is easier than others. Dune was initially challenging but with the help of the graphic novels I managed to finish it today! The story in the movies is VERY streamlined compared to the books. That’s better than Apple’s “Foundation”, though, which is dramatically different than the source.