Marilyne, ultimately, I was disappointed in Hydrogen Sonata and read most of it. It was just too convoluted for me. I did go to the end and read the last chapter or two. I believe the first and last chapters were the only ones featuring the character who was trying to master a very difficult composition written specifically for a very strange and difficult instrument. Everything in between, which involves a whole civilization making the transition from flesh and blood to what they call The Sublimed. Here is a Fandom page with an explanation. https://theculture.fandom.com/wiki/The_Sublimed While each book in the series is essentially a standalone there does seem to be a vague progression. I think I should have read Surface Detail before reading this last one because it seems to be slightly connected and a murder mystery to boot.

I am listening to a time-travel book called A Long Time Until Now by Michael Z. Williamson. This is the fourth time I tried to start the book, but until now was unable to get past the first two chapters. To me, it seems more like an anthropology/ancient culture lecture plus survival how-to series than a SciFi story. The story involves soldiers in Afghanistan who unwittingly drive through some kind of time warp and end up in the paleolithic age. Other groups, including a neolithic tribe and Roman soldiers also got trapped in the time warp. They all must learn to interact with each other, learn enough skills to communicate, build a camp/fort, learn local plants and animals that are dangerous while learning how to gather/cultivate plants, hunt animals or herd and pen animals, well you get the idea. All the while the soldiers are trying not to use much of their advanced tech in front of the less advanced groups. Aside from that the story also deals with issues of sex, treatment of illness and injuries without advanced meds and methods, and of course, different religious beliefs and customs. I am about three-quarters of the way through now, and another group has shown up. This group is from the future. So now, the soldiers are no longer the most advanced of the various groups and have to adjust to that circumstance.

There is a "follow-up" book called That Was Now, This is Then, but I am not sure I want to get it. It seems to be essentially a rescue story. A time-machine, invented in the future, went a bit wonky and left people stranded in different time periods. They are in need of rescue. It may or may not include the group in the first book. I am a little fuzzy on that.

I am in the reading doldrums.  Can't find anything I want to try.  Whatever I download and start I seem to never finish.  Attention wanders and I lose the thread.  Maybe take a vacation and try again later.

Thinking of Marilyne and hope the "hurriquake" in Calif. didn't give them any problems.  It seems most of the damage was around L.A. and the southern part of the state so maybe they escaped it.

MarsGal, I think it sounds good!  Maybe just a slow starter?   Time travel is the only style of SciFi that I really enjoy, so I may check it out at the library,  and see what I think. 

Nothing of interest to read or to do around here, so going to the library and browsing will be an event! There's a brand new book out about JFK, that sounds interesting.  Can't remember the title?  You'd think that everything there is to say about him has already been said, but I guess there's always something new.

Phyllis, thank you for thinking about me.  We live too far North, to have been in the storm track.  The desert areas around Palm Springs, Death Valley and on into Nevada were hit the hardest.  The earthquake was along the coast near San Barbara, but I guess didn't cause any damage?   It kind of got lost in all the hurricane media coverage.

The pictures on the news of those mudslides were terrible.  The water/flooding was bad enough, but water will recede & dry up, but what does one do with all that (6 ft. deep) mud?  My heart goes out to ALL who are suffering from the onslaught of mother nature.  Here we are just having more (and more) of these 100+ degree days.  Lawns are a thing of the past, mine resembles a corn field that has been reaped already.  Had to text my lawn fellow and tell him not to bother, there's nothing to mow, except "dirt".  I got my soaker hose straightened out enough to get to the front of the house to try to help the foundation a bit.   Another thing is, the birds (any kind) and the squirrels are "no-shows".  I tried to rig up the soaker hose and a large plastic pan to make a sort of fountain, but no birds came, no squirrels either.  The other day (probably a couple of weeks now) one brave squirrel sauntered up to the very back of the house, where there is an overflow pipe from the A/C and a bit of water always stands.  It was full of leaves and mud, but he came up to get a drink from it.  The last birds I saw in the backyard, were some grackles, looking terrible, feathers all amok, skinny.  They just walked about the yard, then flew off.

People are giving up their pets, and the animal shelters are overflowing.

More tropical storms and other severe weather on the way. Hate to think of the damage to already ruined properties.

Prayers for those in Maui who lost everything.

Be sure there's some water out there every day. Something will come when you're not looking. They need the water.

Tome -  I hope you've had some good rain since you last wrote, and that your weather has returned to the old  normal?  So far, our Summer weather has been tolerable, compared to last year, but we still have a few months of heat ahead.  The dreaded Wildfire season will arrive here soon, so always hoping it will be milder than in years past?

I read about a new book yesterday, and immediately ordered it from my library.  The River We Remember, by William Kent Krueger.
I've read all or most of his books, and this sounds like another good one. 

Hello to MarsGal, Callie, Phyllis, Rick, Tome, and anyone else who looks at this folder.  Hope we soon hear from all of you. 

I just took a look.   I do wish I was a reader. I can read a Tech Manual and stay awake, but little else.

No, Marilyne, not a drop.  Weather person said we had a "cold front" on Sunday.  Hahahaha. The high temp was in the 80's.  Today it is back in the nineties, with morning temps (they say) in the seventies.  Didn't feel like that to me.  Yes, Kreuger's books are all special. Hoping you don't get any extra wildfires there.

I guess I will have to find you something interesting for you Rammel. What kind of technical manuals do you like to read? Hard science fiction is more science oriented than others of the subgenres, some more so than others. Andy Weir wrote The Martian and Hail Mary(more math oriented in this one) which I would call hard science light.

While they are science oriented, they have a lot more of the human aspects to them than say, Neal Stephenson's SevenEves, which I have read, is very heavy on the science and technology of building and maintaining a space colony/refuge at the LaGrange point. It is also very, very thick. It is not a book you can sail through. I had to read it a little bit at a time. Another of his massive tomes is Cryptonomicon which I have yet to read. A Barnes and Noble book describes it like this. "Entire sections of this doorstopper novel read like the coolest, most entertaining math or computer science textbook you'll ever encounter."

More listed as hard science fiction that I have read include:
The Three-body Problem (I have to reread this series. It was hard to follow at times)
Dennis E. Taylor's Bobiverse series starting with We Are Legion (We Are Bob). Think Von Neuman's probes. It is a riot.
Many of Alastair Reynolds books includingRevelation Space, House of Suns and Blue Earth Remembered
Blindsight and its sequel Echopraxia by Peter Watts
Arthur C. Clark's 2001 a Space Odyssey and his Rendezvous with Rama[/i among others
Some of Isaac Azimov's Robot series stories.
Iain M. Banks culture series, all of them.

Although it is listed as a techno-thriller, I would add Daniel H. Wilson's books including Amped and Robopocalypse/. These are robotics and neural implant oriented.

Most, if not all, of these writers hold advanced degrees in the sciences.

Right now, I am reading one of Jonathan Straham's short story anthologies called Engineering Infinity

On the occasions that I have bought a new car, I have bought (if available) it's corresponding Manuals. For my Ford Wagon I even found an error in their Electrical Manual. My problem with reading is I read every word and analyze everything. So reading a book that most of you would knock off in a day or two takes me a couple of weeks. Of course slowly failing eyes don't help. I'm more inclined to read short items or stories (As the ones I mentioned a while back).

Then, I guess, Neal Stephenson's book would be out for you Rammel. Like I said his books are huge. And yes, I had to read SevenEves slowly and in bits to follow what exactly they were doing to calculate trajectories and put together their space habitats.

I suppose you read a lot of the Azimov and Clark short stories already. Lots of the Science Fiction stories of the 50's were science oriented. Off the top of my head, I think Alfred Bester, E. E. "Doc" Smith, Murry Leister, Poul Anderson, H. Beam Piper, Alan Edward Nourse, Fredrick Pohl, and Edmond Hamilton wrote some hard SciFi back then. Then there are David Brin, Greg Bear, Gregory Benfield (who also edits anthologies), and William Gibson and writing. They are all still alive as far as I know.

I tried looking up non science fiction short stories, but the search just kept giving me SciFi stories. Well, no one can say I didn't try. The anthologies of short stories often give a clue as to the theme of the stories inside, like the one I mentioned above.

Short stories are great because they cut out a lot of the fillers and fluff and get to the point rather quickly. I understand that they are actually more difficult to write.

MarsGal - I'm sorry but I may have given a wrong impression. . What I reads is what I said, but it is rare that I even do that. I'm just not inclined to pick up a book. Even in a doctors office I'm inclined to just sit there rather than pick up one of the old magazines.

My sister Sue was never a reader when we were young. While she does read now, her main focus on watching movies, TV shows and tennis. The only time she listened to audiobooks was when she and Jim were traveling in the car. Now that Jim is gone, she doesn't care to listen. My other sister reads, but not nearly as much as me. Her husband, on the other hand, is a SciFi nut like me. We occasionally pass on book titles that we enjoyed.

My online library notified me yesterday that the audiobook version of When the Heavens Went on Sale by Ashlee Vance just became available. This book has to do with the privatization and commercialization of space ventures such as we see now with Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, et.al. I haven't started listening to it yet.

Rick - I remember back about six months ago, you listed two short stories here.   At the time,  I clicked on the link, and read them both.   The stores were good, easy to read, with lots of wit and humor.  Today when you have nothing to do, read one of them, and I think you will enjoy the time spent.   My favorite was, "THE COMMUTATION CHOPHOUSE".    

The Deacon's Masterpiece
"The Wonderful "One-Hoss-Shay"
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/45280/45280-h/45280-h.htm

THE COMMUTATION CHOPHOUSE 
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/51957/51957-h/51957-h.htm#link2H_4_0006

Marilyne, - I think those two were my favorites. In their own way they both carry an interesting message.
I've read them more than once, and will likely read them again. If for no other reason it is a good starting point for finding other good stuff.
A piece of poetry I've read more than once (Have a printed copy of it somewhere around here) is Invictus. Have to read it once in a while to set my mind straight.

Rick - Here is a beautiful reading of "Invictus".

Marilyne --- I read them both.  Still good after all these years.

Has anyone heard of "flash fiction"? They are very short stories. I just ran across this website. Click on the story title to read. https://reedsy.com/discovery/blog/best-flash-fiction

I bookmarked that, and at this point intend to check it out. Who knows - maybe you can teach an old dog new tricks.

MarsGal - Thanks for posting the Flash Fiction web site.   I've read a number of them so far, and plan to read every one on the list.  Joyce Carol Oates, is one of my favorite authors, so I read her stories first.  "Where Are You?", 523 words is typical JCO.  The other one by her, "Widow's First Year", has only 4 words - but those four words say it all. 

Looks like I will be busy watching documentaries for a while about various authors. I ran across Write Like on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@writelike The only one I watched so far is the one about Daphne Du Maurer. Very interesting bio. I have never actually read or watched movies of any of her books.

If you liked Firefly or Guardians of the Galaxy, you might like reading Micheal Moriarty's The Decline and Fall of the Galactic Empire series. It has a similar sense of humor and is quite funny. Moriarty also wrote a series about a space accountant which I have yet to read although I have known of it for a few years.

I am also enjoying listening to When the Heavens Went on Sale. It is not about Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos or Richard Branson, but about Astra, Firefly, Planet Labs, and Rocket Lab and their founders. The author, Ashlee Vance, previously wrote a book about Elon Musk which I have not read.

Good morning MarsGal - "When The Heaven's Went on Sale", sounds like a good one.  I'd like to read Ashlee Vance's book about Elon Musk.    I have to admit that I'm impressed that three of the wealthiest men on earth - Musk, Branson and Bezos - have used some of their $Billions$ toward space exploration.  Of the three, Branson has been the least public about his life and his money.   I'd
like to know more about him?

Did anyone else read any of the "Flash Fiction" stories?   I was hoping someone would comment on if they like the idea, or if they have a favorite?     Besides the JC Oates stories that I mentioned, I've
read a couple of others that I've enjoyed.   

Daphne du Maurer was one of my all-time  favorite authors and her book, Rebecca, is my top book of choice and is consistently included in the top 100 best  books ever written.  The movies, on the other hand, never seemed to make her books worth the film.

I will have to read some more flash fiction to make a decision.  I read one and it is clever but, I have always read books because I loved the way they unfolded and kept my interest and traveled on their journey.  Short stories and flash fiction is over and done quickly and I found that unsatisfying. 

Good morning:  Looks like it's going to be a  beautiful Fall day here.  I have lots of books to read and movies to watch, so that should keep me busy.

My dil brought me Ann Patchett's new book,  Tom Lake.   She's one of my favorite authors, so I'm happy to have her latest novel.  Hope I like it as much as I did The Dutch House?

Has anyone seen any good movies lately?  Either new ones to recommend, or oldies from long ago?    A couple of nights ago, I watched one that I remembered from l948, One Touch of Venus.  A comedy/fantasy/love story starring Ava Gardner, Robert Walker and Dick Haymes.  It was enjoyable and fun to watch - especially because it brought back happy memories of seeing it when I was in the 8th grade.

Other than that, I haven't seen any other movies lately.  I have a  whole bunch saved on my DVR that I hope to eventually watch.  Most are oldies like "The Grapes of Wrath" and "GWTW", and also lots of musicals. 

Hoping to see messages from some of you today . . .  hearing about books, movies or TV shows is always welcome?          

I'm on the Waiting List for "Tom Lake".  Unfortunately, my Tablet stopped working and DIL has taken it home to see if it can be fixed (it's an Android - not an IPAD).  I suspect its time for a new one.  I can read on the computer but it's not as comfortable as the recliner - and I can't take it out on the patio or to the comfy chair in the bedroom (site of my "just read one more chapter" nights  )

I did watch the movie "A Man Named Otto" on Netflix last night.  I'd read  "A Man Named Ove" (on which movie is based) but it's been so long ago that I couldn't remember if the characters were the same as the movie.  Tom Hanks was pretty good as Otto.

I love the old musicals and will have to see what I can find to watch while I'm "tablet deprived".

Marilyne, I started The Spanish Daughter. It is okay so far, but I have not a clue as to why she thought she had to disguise herself.

I started, but didn't finish several Sci-Fi books that didn't suit, and one I did finish but won't continue with the series. The new one is Andrew Moriarty's Trans Galactic Insurance which is the first of his "Adventures of a Jump Space Accountant" series. I am hoping for some humor without being silly or downright stupid. I have only just started it; so far, so good.

I haven't been listening to anything for the last few weeks. I ran out of time on When the Heavens Went on Sale so it went back to the library unfinished. It is now back in the cue so that I can finish it.

I haven't watched a movie in a few weeks. What I have been watching, aside from the ship live cams, are various history (mostly ancient) and book programs on YouTube. Most of the book review hosts tend to review the same books, though. Yesterday I did watch a very interesting webcast with Alastair Reynolds and Adrian Tchaikovsky discussing their books and writing.

Callie, thanks for reminding me of "A Man Named Otto".  I had forgotten that it's available on Netflix.  I also read  "A Man Called Ove", a few years ago, and liked it.  My younger daughter liked it so much, that she bought the DVD . . .  the original movie produced in Sweden, with English subtitles.  I watched it also, and thought it was very good.  Better than I was expecting it to be. So now I'd like to see the American version with Tom Hanks.

Do you still have TCM?  If so, check out the musicals available there.  They cycle through the big Broadway productions, plus lots of the lesser known Hollywood musicals made in the 40's and 50's. ("State Fair", "Words and Music", "The Harvey Girls", etc.).  Also lots of Nelson Eddy/Jeannette MacDonald, and one I watched a couple of weeks ago that I always look forward to, "Sun Valley Serenade", with Sonja Henie. 

MarsGal,  I just couldn't focus on "The Spanish Daughter".  I don't know why, but my mind kept wandering and finally I gave up on it.  My daughter liked it "Okay".  I still have it here, and may take another look before I give it away.    I also gave up on watching the ship cams.  Since they all went to YouTube, I don't like them as much as I did in their original form.  I especially liked the Duluth canal/bridge cam, and the way the people would gather ahead of time to wave and cheer for the really big ones . . . especially Paul Tregurtha!             

I have to agree about YouTube. It is not as nice to click through as it used to be. I particularly don't like the junkie look of the clips what with multicolored fat fonts with drop shadows polluting the "covers" on so many of the clips. Very distracting, sometimes hard to actually read the header because the type clashes with the background. 

Actually, I like the San Diego live web feeds better now that someone at the NCIS (so I heard) department made a "request" to the park service to shut down the web cam up near the Cabrillo monument (Is that Point Loma?) due to security concerns. They moved and added more cams so I get to see more of the marina area, but a lot less of the North Island base. There are lots and lots of birds flying about, seagulls and osprey mostly, I think.