May 1, 2020 – Cathy's Reading Bonanza

Uncanny Magazine Issue 27: March/April 2019
by Lynne M. Thomas (Editor), Beth Cato (Goodreads Author)

Review for Childhood Memory from the Old Victorian House on Warner BY BETH CATO, ★★★★☆, May 2020

SF poetry is still something new for me. A learning process. Right now that means: do I grasp what is going on and does it generate an internal picture or movie in my head. This one did. I saw the room, the wallpaper, the butterfly trying to escape and I felt the horror of the narrator, wanting another room…. am I too simple?

I was five years old
when I began to awaken
before dawn
to watch the first beam of sunlight
coax the green wallpaper awake

Complete poem can be read for free here: https://uncannymagazine.com/article/c…

I had few plans. Which was good, as I dropped out of two BRs in March and read not a single thing for my TBR challenge… My reading experience was very colourful in April—a bit of everything, from ★☆☆☆☆ to ★★★★★…

BR novels read:
– Star Trek: Picard: The Last Best Hope, Featured BR #stayhome edition, audio, ★★☆☆☆, I was very bored!
– Behemoth, Hard SF novel, ★★☆☆☆, last of the Rifters series.

BR novels started and ongoing:
– 2020 Rhysling Anthology – read the short poems, long poems ongoing into May.

TBR Challenge / Solo reads:
– The Chronicles Of Pern: First Fall, fantasy, ★★★¼☆, early days on the planet of Pern.
– Zero Day, creature feature, ★★★¾☆, it‘s the spiderpocalypse…
– Justice Calling, UF novel, ★★★★☆, shifters and magic.
– Deep Storm, thriller, ★★★★☆, danger at the bottom of the Atlantic.
– The Massacre of Mankind, netgalley, ★½ ☆☆☆, boring sequel to War of the Worlds, DNF at 21%
– The New Avengers, Volume 2: Sentry, comic, ★★★★★, great fun!

Other solo reads:
– The Walking Dead Vol. 7: The Calm Before, comic, ★★★★☆, some quieter moments in the calm before that storm. Some shockers. Good.
– The Walking Dead, Vol. 8: Made to Suffer, comic, ★★★★★, the final battle at the prison.
– To The Center Of The Earth, horror, ★★★★★, adventure yarn, horror in a cave / creature feature
– The Beast of Devil’s Rock, horror, ★★☆☆☆, horror in the woods, creature feature
– Truth or Beard, contemporary romance, ★★☆☆☆, frenemies to lovers.
– Monster 1983: Die komplette 1. Staffel, supernatural mystery, ★★★☆☆, murders in a small town.
– New Avengers Vol. 1: Breakout, comic, ★★★★☆, quick re-read (more of a skim) in preparation for vol. 2.
– Sub Zero, horror, ★☆☆☆☆, antarctic octopi infected by aliens. Blue gunk. Horrible writing. DNF at 21%. O.o

How was your April?

Plans for May 2020:

BR novels/poetry:
– 2020 Rhysling Anthology, SF poetry, started in April & ongoing
– A Hidden Fire, romance readers & TBR challenge, started
– Network Effect, Murderbot! Ordered, pub date May 5th

BR comics:
– The Walking Dead, Vol. 9: Here We Remain
– The Walking Dead, Vol. 10: What We Become