Here in my home area of Sacramento California, we've been getting some sizzling, hot weather! Saturday was a high of about 109! I mostly stayed in my air-conditioned pad all weekend working on writing and doing some reading. Speaking of which, I finally got my Summer reading list together. I had been in a desperate run both to the brick-and-mortar Book stores and Amazon looking for books that would appeal to me for summer, mainly in the science fiction genre, but also a few in adventure. If you need more ideas for reading in the AC’d house, out by the pool or on the beach, maybe you’ll find this list helpful. If you’re in the southern hemisphere where it’s winter, you may still find it useful. If you don’t, then look even further below because I talk about the annual Smashwords summer/winter book sale where you'll find thousands of books at super discounted prices! And that includes my books! I also have some on the latest progress of my upcoming collection of short fiction. So, keep on readin'!

Steven's Summer (Mostly) Sci-Fi Reading List

This is a list of books that I want to read before the summer is out. However, slow reader that I am with ADHD, it doesn't mean I'll read all of them by that time. It's also not a definitive list since I may get side-tracked to something else that interest me as far as reading goes. Yet, some of these books I'm already reading and don't plan to stop to replace them. (Yes, they're that good. So far.) 

Two of the books on this list are outside the sci fi/fantasy genre and another comes from a series of books that swings between science fiction and fantasy but has an overall formula of adventure--that series is Doc Savage. For reasons of time, I've provided synopses only for the science fiction books since this blog is mostly about science fiction and fantasy. Instead of synopses, the others are listed with their genres. And here's the list:

1. "Ship of Strangers", by Bob Shaw, publication date 1978: A survey starship called the Sarafand, jumps through "beta-space" and ends up in an unknown region of the universe where the laws of physics do not apply. Because of this, everything there, including the Sarafand, is rapidly shrinking out of existence. 

2. "Damnation Alley", Roger Zelazny, 1969: Set in a post-apocalyptic future, the government of the nation of California gives a dangerous convict a chance at regaining his freedom: transport medication to Boston through a wasteland infested with radiation and deadly mutant monsters. 

3. "Borne", Jeff VanderMeer, 2017: A young woman, Rachel, and her bioengineering boyfriend, Wick, discover and adopt a small blob-lkie creature that grows both physically and intellectually each day. As it does, it becomes more threatening to the post-apocalyptic city the two people reside in. 

4. "A Scanner Darkly", Philip K. Dick, 1977: In a future dystopian America, a cop pursues a dealer of mind-altering drugs who’s also an addict. The problem: the cop is the drug dealer/addict he's chasing. 

5. "Doc Savage: Quest of the Spider", Kenneth Robeson, 1933 (in "Doc Savage Magazine") and 1972 (Bantam edition): "Inside the grim, swamp-surrounded 'Castle of the Moccasin', THE MAN OF BRONZE [Doc Savage] and his faithful, fearless band are trapped--perhaps forever--in an insidious web of evil by a masterdevil known as the Gray Spider!" (From the back cover of the Bantam paperback edition.)

6. "The Golden Scorpion", Sax Rohmer, 1920, Mystery

7. "Buccaneer's Blade", Donald Barr Chidsey, 1959, Pirate Adventure

My goal is to read five full books of fiction this summer. Individual short stories from various sources don’t count. 

Smashwords Summer/Winter Book Sale

If the above list doesn't do it for your summer or winter reading, then go to the Smashwords' July Summer/Winter Sale going on right now!  

This sale includes my own books which I've given some super discounts on: 50% to 100% off! Yes, some of my books’ prices have been reduced to as much as free! And if you're tired of my books (for those of you who may have already read them), thousands of other authors and publishers of sci fi, fantasy, horror and many other fiction and non-fiction genres are also offering super markdowns. 

The Smashwords Summer/Winter Sale runs for the entire month of July, but not all books may remain discounted the entire month so check it out now at the above links!

Book-In-Progress

I'm still on that same story since May for my upcoming short fiction collection, "Bad Apps". For you late comers, “Bad Apps” will consist of short stories about strange and deadly mobile apps. For anyone who's wondering why I've been on one short story for two and a half months, see second sentence in the introduction to the summer reading list above. 

Recently I've been typing in revisions that I've scribbled on the hardcopy, which are character-related among other things. I've also added a few scenes. The name of this short story so far is "Children of That Damned Game App", which is really that too damned long title that I have to change. For more details on my book and the latest progress, subscribe to my free author's newsletter, "Night Creatures' Call".  

Be here next Monday for our Book-To-Movie! What are you reading this summer? Are you planning to check out Smashwords' Summer/Winter Book Sale?

Until next time . . .