So, I like to read. I admit it, and it should be no shocker to anyone, at least not on this planet. So far this year, I’ve played with a couple of different personal challenges. I tried reading exclusively from physical copies, which taught me a few things. First, that despite the convenience of digital formats (I mean, you really can’t beat being able to read anywhere, any time), I read paper copies faster. The other thing I learned was that as a practice, it isn’t sustainable long-term. Our lives are too cramped already – as much as it pains me to say it, there isn’t room to build a library in our apartment.
After that personal challenge, my next one was to change what I read. I’ve begun spreading my wings, attempting to read something non-genre (roughly) every other book. That’s not a hard rule, just a goal, but it’s been pretty educational so far and I can see continuing it for a long while.
None of that changes the fact that it’s almost summer here in the Northern Hemisphere, and my reading brain wants to have some fun. And what’s more fun in the summer than reading some pulpy science fiction (a genre, oddly enough, I associate more with summer vacations, whereas fantasy tends to be the fuel of autumn for me).
During an outing for some necessary errands yesterday, I had a chance to pop into Half Priced Books and pick up some fodder for that summer binge. “The Minerva Experiment” is actually the first three Giants books by Hogan collected in one late 70’s Book Club edition, which at some point in my youth I remember reading. The other, Gini Koch’s “Touched By An Alien,” has been on my pulpy fun books to read list for a long, long time, so when I saw it in the store, I couldn’t say no. It’s a small start, but it’s a start.