Weekly Reading Report 12/30/24

[@bernardjohnson8093]

I am glad you’re counting ‘Astounding‘ issues as books. That will balance out the ‘Varney’.

[@chefeddie6164]

Each comic book collection actually has 10 or more books in each volume, so that should help you speed along on the 500-book challenge.

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

@@chefeddie6164 I like the way you think!

[@stevengentry9396]

I admire your perseverance in working through Varney. I really tried to hang in there, but after the first volume, starting the second had me questioning why I was sticking with this, and I gave it up. I hope getting all the way through is worth the effort for you.

[@MagusMarquillin]

Strange, I could have sworn you had a different edition of Varney Feast of Blood yesterday! Glad we still got some Mythos Monday despite the scheduel change. I really want to up my Lovecraft reading this year to try some of his stories longer then 5 pages - Dream Quest sounds delightfully bonkers. Impressive, doing these before coffee! I doubt anyone would mind if you drank it as you filmed.

[@michaelsamerdyke108]

Good luck with the "Astounding" project. As I understand it, maybe the first year or so of "Astounding" (when it was published by the Clayton company) was dire. Things improved when Street and Smith bought the magazine and F. Orlin Tremaine (?) became editor, even though he is a mere footnote before John W. Campbell in the eyes of many.

[@CourteousKitsch]

Once again, our reading is aligned. We must have the same TBR. I am also reading through all my digital copies of Astounding! Great stuff! The Beetle Horde is a fun one. BTW, instead of just calling your report the "Reading Report," which doesn't have the same pleasant cadence as "Weekend Reading Report," call it the "Weekly Reading Report." Same syllables. Same message. All is well.

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

@@CourteousKitsch Done! Thank you.

[@w.adammandelbaum1805]

You probably know, but just in case, plenty of ASTOUNDING and other pulp mags at project Gutenberg and internet archive misc. pulps.

[@tonette6592]

Well, we learn something new every day! Thanks for the scientific information. I will stop looking for the cats and just wait for them to get back from the Moon.

[@ArchivistAdrift]

I just "discovered" this channel and I think I kinda love it.

[@bookfantastic]

I recently started reading Dreams of Terror and Death (a Lovecraft collection) spurred by your Cthulhu Christmas suggestion. Lo and behold, today I am half way through Dream-Quest, which I have put off reading for some 45 years. Really enjoying reading about the interesting monsters HPL invented. Some of the creatures and places are named in his other stories, but they are put into context here. Ghouls, ghasts, gugs, zoogs, night gaunts, the Plateau of Leng, the Migo, and whatever else is to come. So glad I am finally reading it!

[@mediumjohnsilver]

Imagine cats on the Moon, with all that moon dust. It’s one endless litter box! 😺

[@jack_yo]

Goodbye weekend reading report. Hello weekly reading report.

[@samael2112]

I was drinking coffee when you showed the panel with the human bomb, and I almost spitted it out when you said WHAM!🤣

[@BobBbro]

Happy New Year, Michael! I hope you get to every book you want to in 2025! Glad to see you've added Doc Savage to the monthly rotation! All the Best!

[@glockensig]

I can't remember everything!!! No man has ever used this excuse🤫😂😂

[@vortimer2351]

Reaching the end of my Flashman reread today, and the amoral narrator, writing his memoirs in the early years of the twentieth century looking back on his very long life often mentions pop culture of the time (the stories themselves are very metatextual) mentions Varny the Vampire...

[@steveoh9285]

At the time (50’s), Atlas was doing romance comics too. Yup, EC’s are the BEST! Love Lovecraft! Lots of good stuff in your library, Michael.

[@ScienceFictionRetroactivis-j1w]

Cool. from 1960 to 1968 I had a bunch of Our Army at War [Sgt Rock], Magnus Robot Fighter, Superman, Green Lantern, the first appearance of The Silver Surfer, The Flash, Iron Man, etc. A big box of stuff.

[@freelivefree7221]

A lot of Silver Age DC comics have plots that are fantastic in multiple meanings of the term. Particularly those by Fox and John Broome. The characterization on the other hand is basic. That was Stan Lee's great innovation: superheroes with personalities. That said he was sometimes weak on plot. Speaking of old comics I picked up an old issue of Our Fighting Forces featuring the Losers and was surprised to find it was written and drawn by Jack Kirby! It was a pretty decent.

[@JereWilkerson]

I just purchased and got in the Hippocamus Press editions of Lovecraft. They are really nice.

[@vilstef6988]

A friend of mine has an interesting take on Ditko Spider-Man. Remember, Ditko did endless horror books and sf horror! Think of Ditko Spider-Man as a horror book and suddenly it works better!

[@warrengilson1835]

Happy New Year to the residents and staff of stately Vaughan Manor! This past week at the Beach Shack of Retirement, I read: For my ‘Read every Classic in Chronological Order’ Challenge: #393 Roxana by Daniel Defoe (1724) For my Speculative Fiction Quest: On a Pale Horse, and Bearing an Hourglass, by Piers Anthony And for my Mighty Comics Catchup: Batman #401-407 (includes Year One ) and Detective Comics #568-571

[@ellesse3862]

Recently I've been wondering what happened to Astounding, I blame the cult of dianetics for its abscence, glad Astounding is returning. I assumed the fact you didn't Cimmerian September was a test to see if we were paying attention.. as if you'd miss that, crazy talk.

[@slothrob]

Astounding magazine became Analog Science Fiction and Fact, which still exists. These days it is only printed every other month and you probably need to subscribe to get a copy, but my old library used to carry it.

[@alistairrobb3169]

One of my favourite Brian Lumley books is "Hero of Dreams" set in The Dreamlands. If you haven't read it, you should.

[@DDB168]

Happy New Year

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

@@DDB168 you too, my friend!

[@Yesica1993]

Did Future Roger go... back to the future? (See what I did there?)

[@w.adammandelbaum1805]

Must have got past me.

[@w.adammandelbaum1805]

The best comics were the borscht belt comics...take my Batman...please. The Thing asked me to take him where he's never gone before...so I took him to a dermatologist. Asked the doc how Things looked for Thing and he said "Grimm."

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

@@w.adammandelbaum1805 😫

[@Meanwhiler]

I think you should hand the reins over to Roger to do an episode - I'm interested in what he has to say.

[@philiplawson6754]

Hi, Mike! A pre-emptive happy new year, from the U.K. What's your take on the whole U.A.P. situation? They're over here too! H.G Welles becomes reality?

[@paradigmshift7907]

I hated the Dream Cycle stories. Then I went and read a bunch of Lord Dunsany and got a good understanding of what Lovecraft was doing. I liked most of them since. DQUK is great!

[@secretfirebooks7894]

"Randolf Carter's friends help him out a lot." Except for Warren, of course. Warren is dead.

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

@@secretfirebooks7894 yes. Yes he is. ☠️

[@vilstef6988]

Snapper, like does a lot of beatnik talk. Yes, he is truly annoying!

[@joehazard5855]

Wait till you read book of the new sun. I just reread it and it's even better than Conan.

[@redwawst3258]

📯🛎️🚰🪠🗡️⚔️🚬

[@ThisJustInBookTube]

First!