It is past pumpkin time for Cinderellas*

 As I  haven't got anything else prepared at the moment (and haven't done anything of note) I thought I'd just update my reading list.

24. Get Off the Unicorn, by Anne McCaffrey
 A wonderful collection of short stories including some set in the worlds of the Dragonriders of Pern, the Ship Who Sang and the Talents (see 26, below).
 I haven't read this book cover-to-cover for a long time as I usually just reread my favourites: "The Smallest Dragonboy", "A Proper Santa Claus", "Finders Keeper", "The Great Canine Chorus", "Apple" and "Honeymoon". However, reading the whole thing uncovered a wider range of themes and ideas than I remembered, some surprising hard sci-fi, and also some very dated idiosyncrasies. Most of these stories were written in the '60s and '70s and sometimes the social and political notions of the time really shine through. I don't find this a particularly bad thing, it's just interesting to look back on how things were then, and how Ms McCaffrey's progressive stance for equality becomes a central concept for many of these stories.

*  Post title from page 295 (Honeymoon)

25. Deep Space Nine short stories, by Altariel (Una McCormack)
 I didn't know whether to include these or not as they're not from an actual book, but I have read loads of them - more than likely a book's worth - so here they are. They're mostly character pieces involving Garak, Dr Bashir and various others from Deep Space Nine. 

26. To Ride Pegasus, by Anne McCaffrey
 Other than her arguably more well known Dragonriders of Pern series, Ms McCaffrey penned a series of novels and short stories about Talents: a sub-set of humans with psionic abilities (or talents) ranging from clair voyance to teleportation (via telepathy & telekinesis, amongst others). These talents ranged from the microscopic, such as Ruth Horvath's microtelekinetic ability to adjust genes (which is how she created her blue-eyed, blonde-haired daughter from dark-haired, dark-eyed parents), to the macroscopic telempathic ability of Amalda and Bruce Vaden that enabled them to control crowds of people by manipulating their emotions.
 This book covers the organisation of the fledgling talents and their rise from derided crackpots and circus acts, to a recognised minority with rights and scientifically proven abilities. As with most other minority groups, their journey is not without difficulty or loss, but with help, they succeed.

27. Point of Divergence (Star Trek: Seekers 2), by Dayton Ward & Kevin Dilmore
 This novel is the direct follow-up from Second Nature (book 21 from my last book post).

28. The Well of Lost Plots, by Jasper Fforde
 Thursday Next has made a tactical retreat into the Well of Lost Plots (a world of unfinished and unpublished books) to regroup after the events of Lost in a Good Book (book 20 from my last book post). She is pressed into service with Jurisfiction - the book world's equivalent of her job as a Literary Detective in her real world - and teamed up with Miss Havisham from Great Expectations. Adventures ensue...

Next: The White Dragon, by Anne McCaffrey