Nuttin’ to read….

It’s really rather strange to admit this, but I’ve gone tone deaf to fiction.

I’ve been finding it increasingly difficult to find any kind of fiction that holds my interest. It’s been growing on my for the last couple of years, as genre’s or authors or styles of fiction stop being interesting to me.

It finally nailed itself to my forehead as I was sitting here browsing the latest Locus Magazine, and realizing there was absolutely in it that interested me.

I’ve gone stale before, where I was burnt out on certain things, whether it’s Orcs or hard SF or Elfy-welfy stuff, but this is the first time I’ve basically lost my ability to enjoy ANY fiction. As far as I can tell, the only authors I still have any real taste for are Tolkien and LeCarre. I’ll be trying Steve brust’s new one soon, but with trepidation.

I have no clue why this happened. when I was publishing OtherRealms and reviewing lots of books on a regular basis, I wasn’t surprised when I burnt out on a certain author or style. But this? I really don’t understand it. Or how to fix it. Anyone with any thoughts?

Reading is no problem. What little time I have where I’m not reading tech books (I know Wrox Press just went under; it wasn’t MY fault), I’m reading history. The book I’ve just started is A Peace to End All Peace, the history and politics that led to the repartitioning of the Middle East post WW I, which created the chaos we’re currently blowing up and trying to get under control… It makes a good case that the decisions made almost 100 years ago got us into this mess, and good luck getting back out of it again.

it also seems to be a useful and enlightening book for someone considering whether the Iraq war and the attempt to democratize the Middle East is merely the first phase of a new colonialism, this time led by the United States, not Europe.

I do have a question for history buffs, though — when I started reading history seriously, I used the History Book Club selections as a way to find books of interest and relevance. I’m not a member now, and I’m looking for other resources that might lead me towards works within my areas of interest. Just watching the book reviews sections don’t give me visibility into some of the lower-profile areas I find interesting, but I haven’t found a better one.

(areas of interest? Oh, glad you asked: Roman Britain, American and Military history WW I through WW II, military history in general, naval warfare and most specifically, submarine warfare.. One of these days, I’ll post a partial list of my shelves…..)

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