Books acquired: “Becoming Los Angeles,” D.J. Waldie

Books read: “The Master Mind of Mars (John Carter #6),” Edgar Rice Burroughs; “Marooned on Mars,” Lester del Rey; “The Man Who Sold the Moon,” Robert A. Heinlein; “The Brothers of Baker Street,” Michael Robertson; “San Bernardino, Singing,” Nikia Chaney, editor

Regards, readers! If you’ll slowly scan the five featured titles above, you’ll see something similarly sibilant in them all: alliteration.

The sixth book in ERB’s John Carter series was on tap, and with three M’s in its title, it seemed to pair well with two other science fiction books that also had a multitude of M’s. From there I chose another two books with awesomely alliterative titles to round out the month, and also meet my 2021 baseline of five books per month.

“Master Mind of Mars” (1927): John Carter barely appears in this one, making way for a second Earthman, Ulysses Paxton, who also finds himself mysteriously transported to the Red Planet. Simple and straightforward, without frills or side plots, and with a charming romance, this sixth Mars book is the third to end with a wedding. They don’t write ’em like this anymore.

“Marooned on Mars” (1952): A teenager in our Moon colony is chosen for the first mission to Mars but gets scratched at the last minute. So he takes a risk, sneaks aboard and is discovered almost immediately. Disaster? Nope. Rarely has a stowaway been greeted as warmly as he is, but then, he’d been subtly encouraged to slip aboard the rocket due to The Unfairness of It All, so it all makes sense. With the theme being a test of a young man’s resourcefulness once they run into the title snag, this novel — which today would be YA and then was called a juvenile — is a cheerful, nostalgic read.

“Man Who Sold the Moon” (1950): The first two stories are enjoyable enough. My interest flagged early in the title novella, about a can-do tycoon with the usual RAH line of clever patter, and I almost gave up. But soon I got caught up in it. The short sequel that closes the book, “Requiem,” is uncommonly gentle and moving, like the precursor of one of Bradbury’s regretful dreamers, except with the Moon rather than Mars as his object of fascination.

“Brothers of Baker Street” (2011): A series of Black Cab crimes is taking place around London and the lawyer brothers who practice at 221B Baker St. (in the pre-cell phone 1990s) get enmeshed in solving them. It’s been three years since I read the first book in the series and, despite a few references to it here, I could barely remember a thing. Will I remember any of this one three years hence? Probably not, but its light humor goes down easily enough. Simon Vance’s reading on the audio version catches the tone.

“San Bernardino, Singing” (2020): Personal perspectives on San Bernardino and environs by people young, old and in between about the grand, troubled, poverty-stricken Southern California city, expressed through poems, prose and photos. Lots of local places — the Brandin’ Iron and the original McDonald’s, not to mention the burritos at Rosa Maria’s — get nods, as does crime, poverty and the 2015 terror attack. Certainly of interest if you have a connection to the city.

July was a rare month in which I liked but also didn’t love every single book; none is particularly recommended, but none is to be avoided either. I suppose the del Rey and Heinlein have a slight edge on the rest in my memory.

“Singing” was sent in June at my request by the publisher, the nonprofit Inlandia Institute; “Brothers” came from Powell’s in Portland in 2019; “Marooned” came from the closing sale of Bookfellows in Glendale in 2016 (“You always find the best stuff,” the kind co-owner told me when I put it on the counter); “Master Mind” was purchased at the Black Ace Paperback Show in Mission Hills in 2011, where I got most of the Mars series in one swoop; and “Sold the Moon” came from Brand Books in Glendale in 2008.

As is almost always the case, it felt good to knock off some long-unread books. But, less usually, a couple of relatively recent ones too. August is likely to have a similar mix.

How was your July, readers? Pardon the slight delay in getting this Reading Log written and posted. Blame a month that ended abruptly in the middle of a weekend, and then a busy week. Candidly, I wrapped up the above reading around the 19th, resuming my reading of a fat anthology rather than squeeze in a sixth and seventh book, and had kind of moved on from these books without actually writing the Log.

But this month, like the last, has 31 days, giving you plenty of time to comment — as well as to read more.

Next month: Los Angeles, Casablanca, the Moon and Mars.