What I'm Reading Reading Reading

Kindle Picks

Mars for kids! Check out my stories in the new 4Frontiers Anthology, and get your copy now: The Callahan Kids: Tales of Life on Mars

One of my favorite authors, Diann Thornley Read, has recently reprinted her Sergey Chronicles trilogy on Kindle. I read and reviewed the first book, Ganwold's Child, and encourage you to check out the entire series!

One of best reads on Kindle right now is the Analog anthology, Into the New Millennium: Trailblazing Tales From Analog Science Fiction and Fact, 2000 - 2010 that (sounds of clearing throat) has MY story in it--as well as 16 other great stories.

In a review posted on Amazon, Martin Shoemaker says, "Fly Me to the Moon" by Marianne J. Dyson is a story I'm not sure I can fairly review. It's like Ms. Dyson sat down and wrote the story just for me, so it's hard for me to be objective. I'm a huge fan of the Apollo program, and this story is a touching tribute to the twelve men who walked on the Moon. When I was done reading it, I went back and read it again. Wow (blushing)!

E-Reading

Today, every person with access to a phone or computer is composing messages that can potentially be read by hundreds, even millions, of people online. Blogs, self-published stories, and books abound. To avoid sounding like an illiterate, or simply to decrease the chances of your words being misunderstood, I highly recommend Grammar Girl’s new book, 101 Troublesome Words You’ll Master in No Time. Read my review.

Nightingale by David Farland, which I read on my Nook, won the Hollywood Book Award recently. This YA fantasy has a captivating character and an engrossing, fast-paced story. I highly recommend it! Check out Nightingale. My whole family is enjoying his Runelords series.

Another Great Nook read is by one of my favorite authors, Catherine Asaro. Check out City of Cries. Her book, The Last Hawk is one of my all-time favorite books.

Photo: Locus magazine.

Old-fashioned Reading

I have a collection of science fiction magazines and books dating from the 1920s to the 1970s that I inherited from my Uncle Jack, plus my own collection that takes it from there to the present. My favorites include everything by Robert Heinlien and Edgar Rice Burroughs. Some of these are available via Nook and Kindle now. Others are available via Amazon. Some are included on my WAVE list below.

My favorite contemporary authors include Catherine Asaro, Lois Bujold, and Elizabeth Moon. For short stories, I like Carl Frederick, Jerry Oltion, and especially Geoffrey Landis.

Recommended Reading List for Sky Explorers

(NF=nonfiction)

I recommend that my gifted 6th-8th grade WAVE students read the works below if they are especially interested in some of the topics covered in my 9-week astronomy mini-course. Links go to book reviews on this site except for the magazines. Note that books recommended for younger readers are also reviewed on my Kids' Nonfiction and Kids' Fiction book review pages.

All astronomy topics

StarDate magazine NF from UT/McDonald Observatory (has star charts and articles)
Analog Science Fiction magazine (all science-based stories)

Astronomy General

A Black Hole Is Not a Hole by Charolyn DeCristofano & illustrated by Michael Carroll
Engineering for Every Kid, NF by Janice Van Cleave
Greetings from Planet Earth by Barbara Kerley
Killer Rocks from Outer Space, NF by Steven Koppes
The Mysterious Universe, NF Ellen Jackson
Space and Astronomy, NF by Marianne Dyson
The Universe in a Nutshell, NF by Stephen Hawking (cosmology)

Living on the Moon

Apollo Outcasts by Allen Steele.
Darok 9 by H.J. Ralles
Home on the Moon, NF by Marianne Dyson
A Man on the Moon by Andrew Chaikin (Apollo)
Mission Control, This is Apollo, NF by Andrew Chaikin
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert Heinlein
The Once and Future Moon, NF by Paul Spudis
Shanghaied to the Moon by Michael Daley

Living in Space

2312 by Kim Stanley Robinson
Comet’s Curse - Galahad Series by Dom Testa
Have Suit Will Travel by Robert Heinlein
Leviathans of Jupiter by Ben Bova
Spacer and Rat by Margaret Bechard
Space Station Science, NF by Marianne Dyson

Living on Mars

How to Live on Mars by Robert Zubrin
Journey Between Worlds by Sylvia Engdahl
John Carter of Mars – series by Edgar Rice Burroughs
The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury
Red Planet by Robert Heinlein
Red Thunder by John Varley

Astrobiology/Alien Life

Alien Volcanoes by Michael Carroll (art and science)
Astrobiology, NF by Fred Bortz, PhD
Faraway Worlds, NF by Paul Halpern, PhD, illustrated by Lynette Cook
Foreigner by C.J. Cherryh (a favorite series for alien culture)
Planet Earth: Guide to the Planet by Steve Murrie
Planetology, NF by Tom Jones, former astronaut
Seed Seeker by Pamela Sargent
War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells

Astronauts/Astronomers Biographies

Almost Heaven by Bettyann Kevles (women astronauts & cosmonauts)
Apollo EECOM, NF by Sy Liebergot (Apollo flight controller)
Failure is Not an Option, NF by Eugene Kranz (Apollo flight director)
First Man, NF by James Hansen (Neil Armstrong)
Flight, NF by Christopher Kraft (Apollo flight director)
Korolev, NF by James Harford (Russian chief designer)
The Last Man on the Moon, NF by Gene Cernan (Apollo astronaut)
Managing Martians, NF by Donna Shirley (NASA Pathfinder)
Planet Hunter, NF by Vicki Wittenstein
To Fly, NF by Wendie Old (Wright Brothers)
The Rocket Team, NF by Fred Ordway (worked with VonBraun)