method to my madness

[snugglekitty]

So, for those of you who don't already know this about me, I used to be an enormous Heinlein fan. After reading a few of his books and getting a bit obsessed, I found out that he was dead and therefore no more books would be forthcoming. Oh nos! So, I decided to limit myself from that point forward to one "new" Heinlein per year. This ensured that I would not run out for several decades. Well, that carried me far past the point where I was super into Heinlein, but I still keep to the tradition today, just for the hell of it. I generally read a new-to-me Heinlein every summer. Last year I read Revolt in 2100, which was a really good one.



This year's Heinlein was The Family Stone. This book contains something I had wondered about for a while - an initial introduction of Hazel Stone, and her grandsons Casper and Pollux Stone, who later on marry the twin female Lazarus clones Lapis Lazuli and Lorelei Lee Long.

Um. Yeah. Maybe I've been reading this guy too long.

But anyway. The story is a Heinlein juvenile - the mostly happy and loving Stone family decides to tour the galaxy together. Distractions are provided by urgent medical attention needed throughout the galaxy - clearly a case for Dr. Mom! - along with many get-rich schemes from the teenage Stone twins. It was a fun book, light and good for the summer. It made me want to re-read The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, which also includes Hazel Stone as a character. That is my gold standard for Heinlein as an adult - if it makes me want to re-read more Heinlein, it's good. Anyway, I enjoyed it.* Three stars.

What books do you or did you love enough to space out?

*Admittedly, I was sick at the time - that may have been a factor, especially considering I also watched and enjoyed a lot of bad TV, which is not normal for me.

Comments

[catya.livejournal.com]

oo, i haven't read that one! *reserves it from the library* *oh no! they don't have it!*

[zzbottom.livejournal.com]

As you know, or at least may recall, I am a Heinlein collector. I recently discovered, while doing an ebay search for his stuff, a magazine called Firsts. I dug up the website I linked and discovered the back issues directly from them are cheaper than the ebay issue I found. Each issue is dedicated to focusing on a single author. They really delve into each book and the career of the author (at least in the case of the Heinlein issue) in a way that doesn't seem to be just a biography, but digging into the social impact of the different works, the critical success of each book, and the longer-range public opinion of the author's work.

Th magazine is put out as a reference for collectors of first editions, but there's a good amount of meat to what is written, too, at least in the case of the one issue I read. It might be interesting for you to see if there are favorite authors of yours featured and see if the library has any back issues of the magazine. If you can't find ny copies and are interested, I could loan you my Heinlein issue so you could get a taste.

Rolling Stones

[tsuj.livejournal.com]

I'm glad it was a good read! WHen I was a kid, I really wanted a flat cat.

In which book do the boys marry twin female Lazarus clones?