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2013, Books 20-45
I've gone too long without noting my reading progress, so I'll keep comments on most of these books short. I've been on a bit of a kick reading a lot of historical fiction.
20. The Prague Cemetery by Umberto Eco. I always get giddy and happy when there's a new Eco book, especially when it's such a good book. It has everything I love and expect ( Read more... ) -
Award season
I've seen people refer to the Hugos as the Oscars of SFF literature. But I don't see it that way. They're really more the People's Choice Awards of SFF literature, because they are voted on by a wide array of people connected to the SFF community, many (if not most) of whom are fans. This tells me what was popular with a particular set of people ( Read more... ) -
The Grand Adventure [TM]
For some reason of late, I've been thinking of times gone. I realize, intellectually, that this is a futile exercise, and yet, there it is. I got some news this week that I am sure is in large part responsible. Later this year, I am likely going to come face to face with the outcome of a decision from my past. On the one hand, this will be a good ( Read more... ) -
2013, Books 1-19
For the first 4 months of the year, I have managed to read 19 books. It's a slower pace than I normally set, but given all the chaos at the beginning of the year surrounding moving into a new (to me) house, I'm pretty happy I'm on target at least to read around 50 books. It's been a mixed bag so far, some books I loved, some I absolutely hated ( Read more... ) -
2012 Books 38-58
I meant to post my final tally on 2012 books closer to the New Year, but moving does funny things to time. My final tally on 2012 was 58 books. Far fewer than 2011, but well, I bought a house and spent much of the last 2 months of the year doing stuff related to buying and moving into a house. I still did well, since my goal had been 50 books ( Read more... ) -
Is this thing on...?
It has been many months since I committed blog. In fact, it would appear it was my birthday the last time, and that was 4 months ago. So much has changed in that time, not all of it good. I lost my grandmother in June. As a result, I came into a sum of money from a trust my grandfather had set up for my dad. Since my dad died 5 years ago, my ( Read more... ) -
Books 17-37
Much of my recent reading has been okay, although there are a few standouts (and I include amazon links should anyone want more information about these books). These are in order in which I finished them. My ratings are to be found on Goodreads. I continued a very good reading pace until May and June. I had been averaging 7 books a month, but I ( Read more... ) -
Madeleine LeClaire Emerson Babcock, 1917-2012
My grandmother Madeleine died yesterday. Yesterday as I was leaving work, I got a call from my grandmother's nephew to give me the news. I then spent the next few hours getting in touch with various siblings to pass along the news. Madeleine was 94, in a nursing home (placed in it after she fell and broke her hip last year), and not in good health ( Read more... ) -
Ray Bradbury, from a reader's perspective
People far more eloquent than I (people like Neil Gaiman, for example) have said some wonderful things in remembrance of Ray Bradbury, so I won't pretend to have anything worthy to add to the outpouring. I'll just add my few thoughts as someone who loves Bradbury's books ( Read more... ) -
Let your mind go, and your body will follow
This past weekend, I watched one of my all-time favorite movies, L.A. Story. It seemed the fitting end to spring break this year. I haven't watched it in a while, and it came up in conversation Saturday night (I recommended it to someone who lives in L.A. and had never seen it), so I had a hankering for it. I've watched L.A. Story dozens and dozens ( Read more... )