I'm suppose to be rubbing the corpses? Well I think I know what I've been doing wrong.

ESP doesn't work through clothes.

Ah, gotcha. The former doesn't work through clothes. The latter definitely does.

I just started reading one of E.E. Smith's Lensman books. Pretty enjoyable. If you guys want to do some 1930's scifi we should do one of these. I started on Galactic Patrol, which was apparently the first one written as a lensman story.

I'll be the first to say the Dresden Files has its share of problems, but I enjoy the genre. The series has a few moments that left me squirming and the Molly character in total was one of them. I like the Kevin Hearne novels because it focuses on having a fun read rather than selling the drama. It's purely a adolescent power fantasy with eloquently worded potty humor and creative middle English swearing and I'm alright with that.
RobotBastard: I get where your coming from with the whole Moe Hereim analogy with the Dresden Files but I think that is a little harsh. I doubt Jim Butcher will be remembered as a literary giant. Especially since one of his first series was an adaptation of Pokemon into a fantasy he wrote on a dare. I wouldn't dream of arguing with you on the Molly character and possibly a few others in the female cast, but the stories overall are a fun little jaunt when Harry isn't being a pussy.

Triplanetary was my least favorite of the books. It doesn't really feel like a Lensman book, which makes sense, since it wasn't a Lensman book originally.

I'd start with First Lensman. First, Galactic Patrol, and Gray Lensman were all super fun cheesy bad science pulp sci-fi.

Second Stage Lensmen got a little too serious for me and I hated Children of the Lens because they replaced all the characters with Kim's stupid kids and I don't like them very much, but it was nice seeing how the whole super long game the good guys were playing turned out.

My favorite example of how ridiculous Lensman is is when the protagonist sneaks into an alien base by mind controlling a dog or something and eventually ends up killing everyone except for the final boss character, who he defeats, sure, but he gets super tortured and loses his arms and his legs and his whole body is horribly mangled.

Then his buddy saves him and takes him back and his nurse girlfriend uses super duper science to GROW HIM NEW ARMS AND LEGS AND SHIT. But he still has to recuperate forever and learn to use his new body parts and crap. Ridiculous. Fun. I love it.

Warning: Lensman is VERY dated. Not only is the science super poor, it's completely racist and sexist and the basic underlying theme is "eugenics is awesome, white skinned-red haired blue-eyed people literally the master race". This may bother you.

Oh Worsel is pretty awesome.

Dave, did I mention the Dragon is a SUPER PSYCHIC SCIENTIST! AND HIS ENTIRE RACE ARE SUPER PSYCHIC DRAGONS!

Any other Pulp scifi books or authors I should check out? I'm planing on reading ERB 'A Princess of Mars' after I finish Galactic Patrol.

I've read 'Who Goes There?', so maybe I'll check out some more of Campbell after ERB. Too bad we don't have someone who does a podcast on old Scifi novels. Maybe someone should get on that one...

What were the David Brin books about the cyborg dolphins?

Is there no book club this month? :(

Sorry Joel! There will be. I got back to the US just in time for my dad to be hospitalized. Also, our water is out (maybe forever?), so I haven't been home a lot. I'll get a post up by today.

The Joel said:

I think I will always buy books. I'm a victim of images of victorian libraries. I want a whole room in my house to have floor to ceiling built in shelves filled with books.

I know what you mean I think there is something oddly satisfying about a bookshelf chock full of hardcovers

It's the smell of books I love. Get me a kindle that releases the smell of old musty paper and you've sold me.

Ps. Glad to hear your Dad is out, Jon, hope its nothing serious? Parents are good for worrying about us, until suddenly it's the other way around.

My dad's the same age. Despite the fact he's smoked since he was 15, the only health concern he has is an impressive beer gut. In fact, physically he has more strength and stamina than most 30-somethings (myself included).

I'm gonna throw this out there, just for shits n' giggles: the Boogiepop novels. Any of 'em.

On a more serious note, The Man Who Was Thursday by G.K. Chesterton, one of my all-time favorite novels.

The Gundam novels.

But actually, I wouldn't mind hearing about some classic adventure/sci-fi stuff like Jules Verne or H.G. Wells now that I've discovered the wonders of the $6-$8 Barnes & Noble Classic Collection.

I like my novels with some ambiguity.

kaazuwulf said:

I like my novels with some ambiguity.

I was specifically trying to make fun of Lost.

Dreg said:

Spankminister said:

Mysterious Island by Jules Verne was my favorite when I was a kid. And don't worry, all the mysteries of the island are solved by the end of the book, unlike more recent fiction.

What happens to the berry that is bounced by the Rock's pecs?

It gets poop on it (like every other person, object or concept in that fucking movie).

Since this seems to be the thread to recommend books for others to read, I’ll recommend D.B. Weiss’ Lucky Wander Boy. The story starts in 1999 and follows Adam Pennyman a listless late twenty-something as he starts to try making an encyclopedia of every early video game ever. He gets stuck on one surreal game he remembers playing as a child, Lucky Wander Boy, but that game has become an urban legend with no arcade cabinets of the game existing anymore. Through a stroke of luck he ends up working as a copywriter at a small Hollywood production company that owns the game’s film rights, and hopes to somehow find a copy of the game through that. The book also has a few of his entries of his book interspersed throughout which are fun, but it can get kind of weird at times. The main theme seems to be about how obsession and nostalgia can take over a person quickly, and leave just as quickly as evident when his passion for writing this encyclopedia of games changes to just a fixation on Lucky Wander Boy.

You wouldn't tell by looking at it.

I'm about 1/4 of the way through Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett and it is kinda great so far. This may be a good choice for the book club

Executive decision: Book Club is on Summer Break for the month of July. I'm so far behind with everything I need to do that I'm postponing the next book til August. Sorry folks! I just want to make sure a podcast gets done for each book we choose.