A couple of weeks ago, after heading to 2nd and Charles (a.k.a the place that feeds my addiction for used DVD’s and books), I found myself at the house looking at my recent haul. Combined with a growing collection of books that I’d bought over the past few months, and unread books from years past, I had a total of 24 books that needed to be read.
So with the summer months coming up I’ve taken it upon myself to do a little bit of reading, and to put a hiatus on buying more books. I’m really not trying to turn my apartment into an episode of Hoarder’s, so 2nd and Charles, Barnes and Noble, The Book Nook, and the Kindle E Book store will all have to be a distant memory for the next few months.
I’ll try not to weep too much as I think longingly of those endless rows of dog eared books, with genre’s ranging from horror, to sci-fi….
::Shakes out the daydream of used book Nirvana::
Wow, I think I started drooling a little bit.
Anyways, the books that I’ve gathered are all genre heavy, including sci-fi, fantasy, and horror. I wanted a bit of an escape this summer, and I think I’ve gotten a great selection of books that will allow for just that.
I’ve decided to share a few of the selections of which I’m most excited to read in the below list. Check out some of the titles below, and head here for the larger list of books that I’ve decided to spend the summer reading.
1.Star Trek: New Frontier Books 1-4, Peter David
Peter David is a prolific comic book writer and novelist. I’ve been a big fan of his writing ever since I read his work on the Star Trek: TNG novel Imzadi, and he’s enjoyed a long career as Star Trek novelist. His New Frontier series focuses on the crew of the USS Excalibur, and their continuing adventures in the Star Trek universe. In sort of a celebration of the 50th anniversary of Star Trek, I thought it might be fun to jump on board a new story set within the STNG and DS9 era universe, explore some strange new worlds, and seek out new civilizations with a new starship crew.
2.The Mistborn Trilogy, Brandon Sanderson
Ocean’s 11 meets Magic: The Gathering, with a smidgen of steampunk. Ever since I heard about this genre blending series I’ve wanted to check out Sanderson’s work, and the summer time brings a perfect opportunity to jump on board the series. So far, so good.
3.Dark Universe, Edited by Milton Davis and Gene Peterson
Space opera’s are awesome. I love them so much I’m writing one myself. 🙂 Dark Universe is a great addition to this ever growing genre with the multi story spanning tale of the Cassad Empire. This short story anthology has been burning a hole in my Kindle account, so I plan on jumping into this universe this summer.
4.Characters, Emotion & Viewpoint, Nancy Kress
I’m always hoping to grow in my craft of writing, so this was a no brainer when I saw it at 2nd and Charles. This book helps with such writing methods of choosing the best points of views in stories, creating three-dimensional characters, and a host other activities that can go a long way in helping with my future writing projects. Definitely a great addition to the Jeffrey bookshelf.
5.Words For Pictures, Brian Michael Bendis
Another book on writing that I’m going to add to the mix, which is a re-read. Bendis is a master of comic book storytelling, and this has become an essential reference when it comes to growing as a comic book writer.
