tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-68289252008506008222024-03-13T03:04:00.930-04:00Mike is thinking about booksMikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04683900080441380910noreply@blogger.comBlogger40125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6828925200850600822.post-10985079764870626532010-09-20T09:32:00.004-04:002010-09-20T12:29:33.493-04:00Reading, Publishing, and Writing?Back again after another long blogging hiatus, with my first post since April. Once we decided to go forward with publishing <em><a href="http://meteorhousepress.com/books/">The Worlds of Philip José Farmer 1: Protean Dimensions</a></em>, the time I could spend reading dropped considerably. The time I could spend blogging about reading, disappeared entirely.<br /><br />Since April I have managed to read a few books: <em>Divine Invasions: The Life of Philip K. Dick</em>, three or four books about editing and copy-editing, <em>Nowhere Near Milkwood, The Percolated Stars, At the Molehills of Madness, The New Universal Book of Infamy</em>, and <em>The Postmodern Mariner</em> (all by Rhys Hughes) and I'm probably forgetting a few others. I'm currently reading <em><a href="http://departmentofdeadletters.blogspot.com/2008/05/triumphant-return-of-engelbrecht.html">Engelbrecht Again</a></em> (by Hughes) and the collection <em><a href="http://paizo.com/planetStories/v5748btpy8b8p">Before they were Giants</a></em>.<br /><br />So that covers reading and publishing, but what about writing? Back on May 30th, John Scalzi announced a <a href="http://whatever.scalzi.com/2010/05/30/fanfic-contest/">fan-fiction contest</a> which I decided to enter. Nope, I didn't win. But you can read my entry below. Much more importantly you can read the stories <a href="http://unicornpegasuskitten.com/">that did win</a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size:100%;">, and stories by some big name talent, all trying to do the same thing; describe just what the hell is going on in that painting. And all the proceeds from purchasing this e-chapbook go to the Lupus Alliance of America. See, I told it was more important.<br /></span><br /><br /><br /><br />The following is a work of fan fiction. Characters and other trademarks in this story are Copyright of their respective owners.<br /></span><br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">The Assignment</span></strong><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">by Michael Croteau</span></div><div align="left"><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">“...politicians, military leaders, captains of industry, professional entertainers...in other words, egomaniacs. Your assignment is to choose a figure who changed the course of history through the force of their personality, and prove your contention.” </span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-size:85%;"></span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-size:85%;"></span></div><span style="font-size:85%;">Major Robert H. Heinrich stood tall and erect at the front of the auditorium scanning the sea of sophomore cadets in front of him. “Now, to make this more interesting—” this announcement was greeted with not-quite-silent groans, “choose someone unfamiliar to me, prove they had a significant impact on their society, and you’ll receive ten bonus points. The subject I deem the most obscure, while still meeting the criteria of this assignment, will receive twenty bonus points.” There were no groans now, as the class was beginning to find this interesting.<br /><br />“Conversely,” he interrupted their thoughts, “if you choose someone as obvious as a ruler of a world power, or any Klingon ranked General or higher, I’ll deduct ten points. Oh, and I’ll warn you now, if I have to read one more report about Napoleon Bonaparte, Adolf Hitler, or Sara Palin, I will deduct fifty points.<br /><br />“Class dismissed.”<br /><br />As the other students filed out, Wesley Crusher remained in his seat already accessing his terminal. He decided to skip lunch as there was someone tickling the back of his mind. After an hour of sifting through his research from a prior assignment—a study of wars of the Palin era ironically—he finally found the man he was looking for. While history well remembers Athena Scalzi, the second female president of the United States of America, it has mostly forgotten her father’s meteoric political career.<br /><br />“How’s it going Crusher, obtained your target already?” his squad mate, Joshua, asked.<br /><br />Wesley held up a hand, gesturing to wait, while he finished reading. He shook his head, frowning. “Yes, I have a subject, and a good shot at that twenty point bonus, but studying him is confusing. This guy, John Scalzi, used to write a lot, a ridiculous amount in fact. However, after more than 350 years, the original meaning is lost because the frame of reference is so dated. Things I first assume are serious, were sarcastic humor, and articles which are so funny I can hardly read them, after some research, are revealed as true stories.”<br /><br />“Like what?” Joshua asked.<br /><br />Wesley consulted his terminal. “Ok, here is an article—one of many—he wrote about domestic felines. He claims that everyone he knows who owns a cat is a happy, fairly well adjusted person. At that time, there were tens of thousands of unwanted animals killed every year. So, after outlining all the societal benefits, his solution was to pass a law forcing people to adopt cats.”<br /><br />“Wait, I thought you said he was a writer, how was he trying to pass a law?”<br /><br />“Well, this is where it get’s interesting. He started out as a writer and was fairly successful. Then in 2010 he ran for president of his writers’ organization.”<br /><br />“Really? There was an organization just for writers? What did they do, decide how spell new words?”<br /><br />“Actually, I have no idea what this organization did. During his year as president, he stopped writing fiction. But, his daily output of rants, published electronically, increased significantly. Typically 3,000 to 5,000 words a day.” Will said.<br /><br />“In the midst of this, he managed a hostile takeover of his publisher, a company called Subterranean Press. They stopped publishing fiction and just printed a couple volumes a month of his non-fiction. These were very expensive limited edition books, but they went out of business in a year. Then he got into politics. He quickly climbed from mayor, to his state House of Representatives, to the US Senate. Once in Washington, he made a name for himself as the most vocal opponent of President Palin. He parlayed that into a Presidential bid in 2016.”<br /><br />“Ok, so far so good,” Joshua said, “so how come I’ve never heard of him?”<br /><br />“He liked to campaign where video would show an enthusiastic crowd, so he only appeared at science fiction, comic book, computer and electronic shows. He would go on stage with musicians and sing humorous songs about his political ideas. When he finally participated in a debate with the other candidates in his party, he unveiled a painting of the other four sitting around a table playing strip poker. Instead of chips, there were various sexual toys on the table. Apparently, the fact that none of the four ever sued him, shows that he did his research. But he lost the debate. He couldn’t stay on topic, or keep from singing.<br /><br />“He lost the first primary. He came in sixth out of five candidates. Apparently a dead rock star received more votes than he did. Then he quit. He resigned his seat, went back home, and never left his house again. Years later he was diagnosed with Cozerotic Megalomania. Similar to syphilitic dementia, it causes delusions of grandeur. There were very few cases because so few people drank the beverage that caused it, in the extreme quantities, he did.”<br /><br />“Ok, so how do you make a case that he had influence?” Joshua asked.<br /><br />“His daughter of course.” Wesley said, “He dedicated the rest of his life to her political career. There was even a rumor they had devices implanted in their skulls so they could communicate by thought.”<br /><br />“Your dad’s thoughts in your head? That’s more than a little creepy.” Joshua said.<br /><br />“True. But she was an unbeatable debater. My problem is that Heinrich is going to poke holes in my paper if I can’t get a better understanding of his writing.”<br /><br />“So why don’t you interview him?” Joshua asked.<br /><br />“What, how?”<br /><br />“The holodeck can compile all the archived data and calculate the most probable responses to your queries. It’s not perfect of course, but pretty close.”<br /><br /><br />“Sorry Cadet, the holodeck is booked through the end of the month.” The grinning clerk, who didn’t look the least bit sorry, told him. “Let me guess, you have a history report due for Heinrich.”<br /><br />“Yes Sir. How did you know?”<br /><br />“He always assigns his ‘obscure historical figure’ reports when he knows the deck is booked.”<br /><br />“What about after hours? I can come back late at night if have to.” Wesley asked, desperation seeping into his voice.<br /><br />The clerk shook his head, then replied, “There are no after hours. The deck runs twenty-four seven. The only way you could get in there would be to volunteer for one of the experimental sessions.” Seeing the encouraged look on Wesley’s face he quickly added, “But believe me kid, it wouldn’t do you any good. It certainly wouldn’t help you with your report.”<br /><br />“I don’t have a choice, where do I sign up?”<br /><br /><br />Joshua let out a long low whistle as Wesley relayed his plan. “I don’t know Crusher, I’ve heard some strange things about professor Rocker. They say he’s spent more time in ‘deep space’ than anyone else...without ever leaving his office.”<br /><br />The following morning Wesley reported to the office of mathematics professor Rudy Rocker, hoping to participate in an experiment that would allow him access to the holodeck.<br /><br />“So tell me young man, the nature of simulation you wish to run.” Professor Rocker asked.<br /><br />“I need to interview an historical figure, a writer and politician named John Scalzi.” Wesley answered.<br /><br />“Is there much written about him, any video footage?”<br /><br />“Yes Sir, very much. There are several million words he wrote himself, mostly non-fiction, although it can sometimes be hard to tell, that’s why I need to interview him.”<br /><br />“Excellent! Millions of words written by the subject himself, I believe this could make a most interesting test case. Are you familiar with the nature of my experiments?” Rocker asked.<br /><br />“Actually, no Sir. I made inquiries but no one understood it well enough to explain.”<br /><br />“Well, I feel that the problem with the holodeck is the simulations are too correct. If six different people said they wanted to witness the assassination of Julius Caesar, they would all see the same exact program. The extraneous details and peripheral oddities are the depth that is needed to make the holodeck more realistic. These qualities, which I like to call ‘randomness’ and ‘weirdness’ make the universe interesting, don’t you think?”<br /><br />“I suppose so, but I think—”<br /><br />“Trust me,” the professor interrupted. “Ok, I will allow you to assist me in my next experiment. Transfer the data you have amassed and I should be ready for you in a couple of days.”<br /><br />Four days later Wesley was scheduled to run his simulation.<br /><br />"Ah, Cadet Crusher, I am just finalizing the parameters of our experiment. The amount of data, archived video footage, and personal recorded opinions of Mr. Scalzi required three days to process. He was quite the publicity addict, wasn’t he? With the excess of information, we are setting all variables to their maximum values. It will be an extreme experiment, as these levels are approximately four times higher than any other simulation to date.” Professor Rocker excitedly explained to Wesley as they approached the entrance to the holodeck.<br /><br />“What sort of abnormalities should I expect professor?”<br /><br />“It is not possible to expect what has been programmed to be unexpected,” mused Rocker with a faraway look. Turning his attention back to Wesley, he continued, “however, I can give you an example. One subject wanted to box Theodore Roosevelt and found himself in a mud pit grappling with the former President . That was the random segment, the weird portion was they were both clothed in women’s bathing attire and they...well never mind, best not to worry you.<br /><br />“Since your subject did not leave his home for the second half of his life, that is where you will meet him. Shall we begin?”<br /><br />Wesley stepped into the middle of the room, data recorder in hand. The next thing he knew he was falling against a black velvet sky, then details of his surroundings assaulted him, faster than he could assimilate them; the recorder was gone, replaced by a long heavy spear; his other hand held a leather strap; which was the harness of the unicorn he was riding; which was flying he realized as heavy wings beat out to his sides; a loud “merrrowww” brought home that his steed was in fact a cat; looking down he noticed more strangeness, his shirt bore an evil looking alien visage; his pants were gone, he was in his underwear and he could see gray hair on his legs. As both arms were already growing weary he had a sudden realization; he was old! Just then the pegasus unicorn kitten dove, plunging towards the ground and Wesley screamed in terror. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Below him was yet another surprise, he saw John Scalzi standing on his front porch. Only it wasn’t Scalzi, and not quite a front porch. A greenish brute with Scalzi’s face, wearing armor and wielding an axe, was raging on the cave’s ledge, yelling something. As Wesley swooped down closer he could just make out the words.<br /><br />“Stop thief! That’s my cat!” the Scalz-orc wailed, “Fluuuuffffyyyy!”<br /><br />Suddenly the room was bright and empty and Wesley was still standing. The doors opened and Professor Rocker ran in. “As soon as I saw what you were experiencing, I shut it down. My, that was weird, was it not? It will take me the some time to study the feedback. Thank you for your participation. I’m sorry you weren’t able to learn anything today.”<br /><br />Wesley looked a little shell shocked, but light dawned in his eyes. “I did learn one thing today.”<br /><br />“Really, in those few seconds, what did you learn?” the professor asked in astonishment.<br /><br />“How to pronounce G-h-l-a-g-h-g-h-e-e.” </span>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04683900080441380910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6828925200850600822.post-53544542838834754732010-04-04T21:53:00.004-04:002010-04-04T22:38:26.810-04:00Where to start reading Philip José FarmerJudging by the ascending sales rank at amazon for the new Tor edition of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0765326523?ie=UTF8&tag=theoffphijosf-0&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0765326523">Riverworld</a> (an omnibus of <em>To Your Scattered Bodies Go</em> and <em>The Fabulous Riverboat,</em> the first two books in Philip José Farmer's Riverworld series), excitement is growing for the new <a href="http://www.syfy.com/riverworld/">Riverworld miniseries</a> coming soon on Syfy.<br /><br />While Riverworld is Farmer's <em>best known</em> series, last week I chose to reread <em>The Maker of Universes</em>, the first novel in what is arguably his <em>best</em> series: <a href="http://www.pjfarmer.com/tiers.htm">The World of Tiers</a>. <em>Maker</em> is a grand adventure tale in the Edgar Rice Burroughs tradition but which also shows off Farmer's inventiveness. An immortal race of Lords create their own "pocket universes" which contain creatures, and even physical laws, different than in our own. These Lords have lost the knowledge to create their advanced technology and simply use the tools they still have. They have grown isolated and decadent and now their biggest thrill is trying to kill each other off.<br /><br />However, the most interesting character in the book, who becomes the protagonist from the third book on in the series, is not a Lord, but a thorn in many of their sides; Paul Janus Finnegan, also known as Kickaha. Picture a Tarzan-like character with a wicked sense of humor. One who, if he doesn't have time to take a few women while raiding an enemy's camp, will at least pause long enough to pee in their stew pot.<br /><br />Philip José Farmer has described Paul Janus Finnegan (note the initials) as having characteristics he wish he possessed himself. While Peter Jarius Frigate, from the Riverworld series, behaves much more as Phil himself does.<br /><br />As a rule I don't care for Book Club books, but the SFBC <em>World of Tiers</em> omnibus collections published in the 1980s were my—and many others—introduction to Farmer. They are one good place to start reading him.Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04683900080441380910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6828925200850600822.post-87534233832632236832010-03-21T11:20:00.002-04:002010-03-21T12:09:09.808-04:00The Chinatown Death Cloud PerilAs I mentioned in my previous blog, I finished two books last week. The other was <em>The Chinatown Death Cloud Peril</em> by Paul Malmont. I thought I knew what to expect going into this book, and from the <a href="http://paulmalmont.com/the-chinatown-death-cloud-reviews/">reviews</a> and word of mouth I had high expectations. This book exceeded them on all fronts.<br /><br />First, for some twisted reason, I love reading about writers. My favorite books by Isaac Asimov, of which I've probably read a hundred, are his autobiographies. Often my favorite part of anthologies and short story collections are the introductions giving you some of the story behind the story. I even love reading about writers in fiction. One of my favorite scenes in a P.G. Wodehouse novel goes something like: Aunt Dalia called. Though Nero Wolfe was about to have Archie call Inspector Cramer to bring everyone to his office so he could reveal the killer, I had to put the book down and go to her. (That's from memory and so no where near as good as the original). And don't even get me started on Philip José Farmer's fictional author period.<br /><br />So, I knew going in the book was about Lester Dent and Walter Gibson, with L. Ron Hubbard and H.P. Lovecraft thrown in as well. But many other authors appear, including several science fiction writers (I won't say who as one of them is a surprise). So Paul did a <em>wonderful</em> job peopling the book. But where it really surprised me was the <em>adventure</em> itself. Just like in the pulps the book celebrates, the action builds and builds and keeps coming at you, one surprise after another. This is the part of the book that really went way beyond my expectations.<br /><br />I'm definitely looking forward to reading his second book, <em>Jack London in Paradise</em>, and perhaps a sequel to <em>Chinatown</em> sometime down the road.Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04683900080441380910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6828925200850600822.post-63791407142484736012010-03-18T18:10:00.004-04:002010-03-19T11:19:16.995-04:00Journeys Beyond AdviceI've been so busy lately I've had almost no time for blogging. I finished two books last week and this is my first chance to talk about them, and I only have time for one. Maybe I'll get to the other one tonight.<br /><br />One of the keys to enjoying fiction is the "willing suspension of disbelief," and Rhys Hughes is its poster child.<br /><br /><em>Journeys Beyond Advice</em> is, fittingly, a collection of stories about people going on journeys. Bad ideas all of them. If you found yourself in the any of the protagonists' shoes, you'd take them off and run like hell in the other direction.<br /><br />In almost all these stories, and much of Rhys' work, you read them as a spectator. You don't identify with the character and see the story through their eyes, or if you do, you don't for long. There is no agonizing over why the character made a decision you would not have made, because you would have made the decision not to be in the story in the first place!<br /><br />One of these days maybe I'll come up with another word or phrase to describe Rhys' writing, but for now I have to stick with surreal. Here are a few highlights from the collection:<br /><br />One of my favorite stories is the longest in the book, "The World Beyond the Stairwell." It is an epistolary story made up of journal entries, letters, a radio interview and even a manuscript outline sent to a publisher. Somewhat uncharacteristically it starts out like a "normal"--perhaps a little gothic--story. A man visits his friend's home out in the country, the friend isn't there but has left him a simple task; climb a stairway and block the door at the top. Of course the stairway is longer than he can imagine, longer than you can image. No really, even longer than that. And things happen on the stairway to make him change his quest and well, it doesn't really read like a "normal" story anymore.<br /><br />"The Swine Taster," was a hoot, but no thank you, I don't think I'll try the Voluntary Ape Pie.<br /><br />"The Semi-Precious Isle," has a couple of meta-fictional twists in it, I don't want to say more and give anything away.<br /><br />"The Herb Garden of Earthly Delights," is one of several stories by Rhys I've read that make me think he's probably backpacked across Europe a few times. But that's the middle of the story, the really cool parts are the beginning and the end.<br /><br />"The Singularity Spectres," is what I consider to be a typical Rhys Hughes story. A character in an impossible situation, believing ridiculous premises, taking an unfathomable journey. Full of humor, surprises, double crosses. Lots of fun, but don't take my word for it, you can <a href="http://www.ebookstack.com/content/singularity-spectres">read it here</a>. Just click on the "Download this ebook" pdf link.Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04683900080441380910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6828925200850600822.post-13273152834323251352010-03-13T17:17:00.011-05:002010-03-13T18:07:23.144-05:00Book Signings: a good habit to start young<div>I took my son Jordan and his friend Andrew, both eight years old, to a book signing today. Yup, Anne Rice was in town...just kidding! Actually I <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw4KZUpk6CU9Rs8er_5CHl_x1_PaAArXg63DQH19yT8CPMU8ysZHKV65EXtgQg_cRP035YIzWWCJ5a5NGL5kpTLXp12XNc10lS8RzjZiVIHz7iAcHfL2eRdKhyphenhyphen9teCIu3fC_CKCZv_cAc/s1600-h/IMG_5387s.jpg"></a>took them to the <a href="http://mikeisthinkingaboutbooks.blogspot.com/2009/12/neil-gaiman-book-signing.html">always awesome</a>, Little Shop of Stories in downtown Decatur. We didn't go for Mary Pope Osborne on Thursday but we did pick up a few of her signed <em>Magic Tree House</em> books while we were there. We went Saturday for the Origami Yoda Event! Did we yes.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA-5802BkeicigTspABoxUTLRAyRzz-64zC8VJjoagQ1jevkXoAXCO849NHrotW257vVHRlJCfj9rG_91Ynf9zHGda0_UjxDF4_8MuOc4oydN9aYx6JE-hkIoSm-Duw_iAqkPRrn7DfE4/s1600-h/IMG_5392s.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5448255742846193602" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA-5802BkeicigTspABoxUTLRAyRzz-64zC8VJjoagQ1jevkXoAXCO849NHrotW257vVHRlJCfj9rG_91Ynf9zHGda0_UjxDF4_8MuOc4oydN9aYx6JE-hkIoSm-Duw_iAqkPRrn7DfE4/s320/IMG_5392s.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><div><div>Tom <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Angleberger</span> has written a book titled, <em>The Strange Case of Origami Yoda</em>. Not only did he read from the book (funny stuff), and show us all how to make our own Origami Yoda, but he also did fun things like challenge kids named Larry to try and snatch balls away from him while he was juggling. </div><br /><div>He also did a great job with the signing, talking to the kids, and inscribing the books, "may the folds be with you," and drawing a picture of Yoda. The kids had a blast and I think Tom did too.<br /></div></div></div></div>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04683900080441380910noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6828925200850600822.post-49171848408354558342010-03-02T20:38:00.005-05:002010-03-02T23:01:49.523-05:00The Time Masters by Wilson TuckerI can't quite put my finger on what it is I like so much about Wilson Tucker's science fiction novels. There is, almost always, something about the protagonist you instantly connect with. Even when this character isn't an ordinary Joe, there is enough familiarity in their behavior that you have no problem seeing the world through their eyes.<br /><br />Perhaps Tucker's strength is simply that he does everything well; he tells a good story, with good pacing, natural dialog, believable characters, and doesn't seem to make a misstep. He is definitely one of the most under appreciated writers of his era.<br /><br /><em>The Time Masters</em> isn't one of his more popular books; like <em>The Year of the Quiet Sun</em> and <em>The Lincoln Hunters.</em> However, with the exception of <em>The Long Loud Silence</em>, it is my favorite novel of his so far. I enjoy a book that mixes some history in with the fiction, and<em> The Time Masters</em> does that very well. <br /><br />I have a few more Tuckers on the shelf to read: <em>Resurrection Days, Time:X, Ice & Iron</em> and the suspense novel <em>This Witch</em>. But next up is <em>The Chinatown Death Cloud</em> <em>Peril</em> by Paul Malmont.Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04683900080441380910noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6828925200850600822.post-6560777836028718222010-02-27T01:12:00.004-05:002010-02-27T01:36:37.270-05:00Brain CandyAs expected, I thoroughly enjoyed reading Kinky Friedman's,<em> 'Scuse Me While I Whip This Out</em>. I finished it about 48 hours after bringing it home from the Library, but I have not had time to blog since then. So I'm already half way through the book that took it's place in the downstairs reading room, <em>The Time Masters</em> by Wilson Tucker. But more on that later.<br /><br />Since I already returned <em>'Scuse Me</em> to the library I can't quote from it, but I can give you a clear and vivid picture of just how good it is. It's so good; I actually enjoyed the (many) parts of it that talked about country music. Kinky is probably the only author in the world who could get me to read about country music. And like it. (Kind of like Bill Simmons my favorite sports writer at epsn.com. He's so entertaining I'll even read his columns about basketball.)<br /><br />I went to a Kinky Friedman book signing in Atlanta once. I had a plan. When it was my turn, I would ask him if he read any science fiction. If he said yes, I would ask him if he read Philip José Farmer. If he said yes again, I would give him a couple of copies of <em>Farmerphile</em> and ask if he'd write an article for the magazine. It would be great, a real coup to get someone so far outside of scifi, and I knew it would be great, a really funny article.<br /><br />When I finally got to the head of the line I asked him the first question, he replied, "Nah, I don't read that stuff."<br /><br />Oh well, proof that he isn't perfect anyway.Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04683900080441380910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6828925200850600822.post-68419442199496451202010-02-21T23:49:00.002-05:002010-02-21T23:53:08.421-05:00Unchained and UnhingedJoe R. Lansdale is an author I admire greatly. I just wish he wasn't a horror writer!<br /><br />He claims he doesn't really write horror very much, but most of his work is darker than I normally like to read. I liked the first two Hap & Leonard novels, I really liked <em>Bubba Ho Tep</em> and I loved <em>Zeppelins West</em>, but the collections <em>Best Sellers Guaranteed</em> and <em>Unchained and Unhinged</em>, were hit or miss for me. I either love the story, or it's horror.<br /><br />So, perhaps I need to just stick with the novels and not the short story collections?<br /><br />The first section of <em>Unchained and Unhinged</em> was my favorite part as it contains five essays about writing. For some reason I love reading about writing and about writers. I've said here before that often my favorite part of anthologies are the short introductions giving you the background of the stories, instead of the stories themselves. I liked reading these stories, except when they got too gruesome. The funny thing is I especially liked the short-shorts, which have to be very clever very quickly, even though they were mostly horror.<br /><br />So now I can't decide which of Joe's books I want to get next, <em>The King and Other Stories</em>, which is full of short-shorts, or <em>Flaming London</em>, the sequel to <em>Zeppelins West</em>. Maybe I'm coming around to Joe's way of thinking; some of these stories may be a little gruesome, but their not really horror stories.<br /><br />I started two new books this weekend, <em>Journeys Beyond Advice</em> by Rhys Hughes, which so far is nothing like any of this other books. So he continues to surprise me. And <em>'Scuse Me While I Whip This Out</em>, by Kinky Friedman, because sometimes I just need some brain candy. Kinky is always an easy flowing laugh out loud funny read. And he makes it look so easy.Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04683900080441380910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6828925200850600822.post-32658794620523139402010-02-19T09:13:00.005-05:002010-02-19T10:55:36.766-05:00Mike is thinking about publishingThe one—and only—bad thing about publishing <em>Farmerphile: the Magazine of Philip José Farmer</em> is how much it cut into my reading time. I announced the rebirth of <em>Farmerphile</em> as an Annual anthology a little over a week ago and it's already having a similar affect. Of course with the first issue being due out in June, just four short months away, it's almost as if we're back to doing a quarterly magazine.<br /><br />I also started my attempt at relearning computer programing in earnest this week. So far this is going well, it but it is a another time eater. Which is why I was up until 2:00am last night finishing <em>Tales of the Shadowmen 6</em>. Ok, I would have been to sleep by 1:00 if I hadn't found Pearl Jam's performance on Austin City Limits <a href="http://video.pbs.org/video/1335500400/">online here</a>. I had to watch that last night. Since then I've listened to it twice while doing other things; in fact I'm listening to it right now.<br /><br />As I said in a previous post, Black Coat Press' <em>Tales of the Shadowmen</em> series somehow gets better with each book. Even though this volume has this awesomely <a href="http://www.blackcoatpress.com/talesshadowmen06c.htm">creepy cover</a> and the theme <em>Grand Guignol</em>, "is dedicated to simpler horrors and theatrical villainy," the book contains little "horror." I won't describe all the stories in this excellent collection, but here are some of the high points.<br /><br />It starts with Christopher Paul Carey's first solo effort in a Shadowmen collection, "Caesar's Children," which at it's core is an astoundingly original idea. You know all those Utopian novels written by Thomas More, Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, Edward Bellamy, Ignatius Donnelly, Jack London, etc.? What if they all came to fruition, at the same time, spread out in separate city-states all over the world? My utopian society is better than your utopian society, that's better than my religion is better than your religion.<br /><br />Win Scott Eckert's story "Is He in Hell?" is the first in a series of stories filling in the "numerous gaps in the secret history of Wold Newton..." and features The Scarlet Pimpernel! If that doesn't pique your interest, you can turn in your WNMS badge at the door.<br /><br />Matthew Baugh & Micah Harris teamed up for the wildly entertaining story "The Scorpion and the Fox." This story tells of the same shared adventure from two very different points of view, those of Rakhmetov and Becky Sharp. Ms. Sharp was the more interesting character, so much so I'd like to read more of her.<br /><br />"The Treasure of Ubasti" by Travis Hiltz was my favorite cross-over story, with Mowgli meeting the unadventurous Dr. Henry Jones.<br /><br />John Peel's "The Biggest Guns" would have been my favorite story in this collection. It is also a story, I think it is safe to say, Philip José Farmer would have gotten a kick out of. But, there are major continuity issues with the story, especially the ending. The ending is so wrong based on previous published accounts, that this story loses all it's credibility. A shame really.<br /><br />Dennis E. Power's "No Good Deed..." is another favorite in this volume. As is often the case, I'm not familiar enough with most of these French characters, so I don't get much of the deeper significance of what is going on during the story. But the "reveal" at the end of this one was the biggest surprise in the book. It certainly put the biggest smile on my face.<br /><br />David L. Vineyard's "The Children's Crusade" is a fun story for those of us who enjoy tales of espionage, scams, stings, and other trickery. I could see the twist at the end coming, but not all of it.<br /><br />Really there is too much to talk about in this book with nearly every story being well worth reading. The volume is closed out with the fifth installment in Brian Stableford's alternate history tale where the dead can come back to life. But not really in a scary way.Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04683900080441380910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6828925200850600822.post-91339527698814824412010-02-11T18:16:00.002-05:002010-02-11T18:49:41.450-05:00The God EnginesJohn Scalzi is on a serious role. Everything he touches (writes) lately, turns to gold (great reviews, strong sales, award nominations...). His latest novella, and first foray into fantasy, <a href="http://www.subterraneanpress.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=scalzi10&Category_Code=B&Product_Count=119">The God Engines</a>, is no exception.<br /><br />This book arrived in the mail a couple of weeks ago, and it was <em>so</em> hard to not read it right then and there. But, I was already in the middle of two books that I wanted to finish first and for once I showed some self-restraint. As it turned out, the book is an absolute page turner and is nearly impossible to <em>not</em> read in one sitting.<br /><br />Thanks to John, you can <a href="http://whatever.scalzi.com/2009/12/30/the-god-engines-out-tomorrow-read-the-first-chapter-today/">read the first chapter online</a> at his website. Without giving any spoilers it's hard to discuss this short book in any detail. It is a very dark and bleak take on religion with a few gruesome scenes and a couple of surprises towards the end. Definitely not a book for the kids, or if you insist on happy endings.<br /><br />Here's hoping Subterranean Press and John Scalzi team up in 2010 as they did in 2009 with a couple of short projects like this one and <a href="http://mikeisthinkingaboutbooks.blogspot.com/2010/01/more-distractions.html">Judge Sn Goes Golfing</a>.Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04683900080441380910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6828925200850600822.post-89513591790001087322010-02-06T15:37:00.003-05:002010-02-06T16:04:41.980-05:00Stories from a Lost AnthologyWhen I first started reading Philip José Farmer, in high school and college, a lot of it went over my head. For example I'd never heard of Doc Savage before I read <em>A Feast Unknown</em> and it's simultaneous sequels, <em>Lord of the Trees</em> and <em>The Mad Goblin</em>. Often I knew I was missing references, but, as I learned in subsequent readings years later, some things were so far over my head I didn't even know they were there.<br /><br />I sometimes get the feeling the same thing is happening when I read Rhys Hughes. Either he's riffing on people I've never heard of, let alone read, or he's just that original.<br /><br />There are a small handful of authors that, to me anyway, are on different plane than 99% of the writers in the world. These wordsmiths can simply do things with the English language that go beyond telling a story: Mark Twain, P.G. Wodehouse, Vladimir Nabokov, Kurt Vonnegut and (believe it or not) Kinky Friedman, all have a certain artistry to their work. These are all writers who've made me think, excitedly, "I didn't know you could do anything like that," and at the same time, sadly, "just one more example of why I'll never be a writer."<br /><br />While in my estimation Rhys Hughes has not yet reached those lofty heights, his writing does have a similar effect on me. He constantly amazes me.<br /><br />Now that I've gotten all that out, as for actually writing a review of his collection, <em>Stories from a Lost Anthology</em>, I think I'll direct you to this excellent <a href="http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/nonfiction/lostanthology.htm">review by William P Simmons</a> instead.<br /><br />Next up on my reading list, <em>The God Engines</em>, by John Scalzi.Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04683900080441380910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6828925200850600822.post-64715932165392718692010-01-29T00:56:00.003-05:002010-02-06T15:35:02.896-05:00Tales of the ShadowmenI thoroughly enjoyed reading <em><a href="http://paizo.com/store/paizo/planetStories/v5748btpy85jy&source=top">Steppe</a></em> by Piers Anthony, which I finished last week, but have not had a chance to blog about. This was a fun read and very compelling. While I'm not familiar with the time period Piers references, I'm willing to bet he did his homework and got all that right.<br /><br />The really fun part about the book is his idea on the effect serious computing power could have on games. This was a take on "virtual reality" games I've never seen before. Perhaps his really brilliant idea was the fact that people would watch other people playing these games on TV. Reality TV taken to the next level.<br /><br />Don't be surprised if I read more of Piers this year. I have several books on the shelf I've never gotten around to: <em>Chthon, Macroscope</em>, <em>Orn</em> and a few of the Xanth books.<br /><br />Since I finished <em>Steppe</em> I've been reading <em><a href="http://www.blackcoatpress.com/talesshadowmen06.htm">Tales of the Shadowmen</a></em> volume 6. So far this is my favorite Shadowmen book yet. Jean-Marc really has a wonderful series on his hands as these somehow keep getting better and better. I'll give a review of this once I've finished it, but so far I've been blown away by the ingenuity of the authors. The ideas behind many of these stories are fantastic.<br /><br />But, before then I'll be reviewing <em><a href="http://freepages.pavilion.net/tartarus/anthol.htm">Stories from a Lost Anthology</a></em> by Rhys Hughes, which I've nearly finished.Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04683900080441380910noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6828925200850600822.post-48076093380119293682010-01-11T09:30:00.002-05:002010-01-11T10:46:41.822-05:00A Quick AsideI'm in the middle of two books and don't expect to finish either this week since my reading time is being cut into by a couple of projects. But, I just wanted to take a second to say, completely off topic, that the Beatles Rock Band for the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Wii</span> is awesome!<br /><br />I've never understood the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">allure</span> of Guitar Hero since you're not actually playing a guitar when you play the game. But, playing the drums is different, it is much closer to actually playing the real instrument. When I read the manufacturer's claim that if you can play a song on the drums on expert level you can pretty much play that song for real, I was in.<br /><br />My secret plan was to use Rock Band to get my son (8) and maybe even my daughter (14) to play the drums. We have a real set in the basement but I can't get them interested in it, I'm the only one who plays (perhaps if I found some Star Wars drum heads, my son would...nah, never mind).<br /><br />The surprise has been how much my wife enjoys playing the guitar and how much my son loves to sing! So much so in fact that everyone else in the house now refuses to be in the room during yet another rendition of Yellow Submarine. My daughter is the most versatile as she can play (the game version of) the drums, guitar, or sing, with relative ease, but she is the least interested in playing. I play the drums almost exclusively. I've only tried the guitar once and barely finished a song, and so far I am the only one in the house to FAIL while singing on the Easy level.<br /><br />So, while my plan of turning my son into Ringo Starr seems to be floundering, I have been amazed at how much my kids are enjoying the music. I'm taking this as a great victory since I have had very little luck turning them onto good music so far.<br /><br />Now if I can just finish, I Want You (She's So Heavy), on the hard level (current best is 87%), I'll be happy.Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04683900080441380910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6828925200850600822.post-79811669766667379612010-01-06T10:39:00.007-05:002010-01-11T09:29:55.626-05:00I did it again...Earlier this year I signed up with <a href="http://paizo.com/store/paizo/planetStories/v5748btpy7zxx">Planet Stories Ongoing Subscription</a> service, which sends me a new book every other month or so. In the mail Monday comes their latest book, <em>Steppe</em> by Piers Anthony. I did not plan on reading this book next, but you know how it is. I opened it up, I read the introduction by Chris Roberson, I read the first couple of pages of the book to see how it grabbed me and the next thing I know my legs go numb from sitting so long. So, <em>Steppe</em> is now my "downstairs" book.<br /><br />A quick word about Piers Anthony. I know a lot of people don't like him. Many dismiss his Xanth series as juvenile (hmmm, how are YA books selling these days?). I know he had a bad reputation with publishers for years because he actually expected to be paid the amount of royalties called for in his contracts (shocking!). I know he was involved in some famous feuds in the 1970s. Personally, I've read about a dozen of his books and enjoyed them all, especially the Incarnations series. But more to the point, I have reached out to Piers three times, each time asking him for something (always related to Philip Jose Farmer) and each time he came through. Came through big in fact. So in my book, Piers is a prince <em>and</em> a very good writer, I have nothing but admiration for him.<br /><br />I finished reading <em>Nick and the Glimmung</em> yesterday. It was interesting to see Philip K. Dick writing for a younger reader. Written in 1966, the book didn't feel dated, though it did seem somewhat incomplete to me. It's definitely worth checking out if you have read a lot of PKD and are running out of his books (as I am).Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04683900080441380910noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6828925200850600822.post-48702724059089524002010-01-02T02:05:00.002-05:002010-01-11T09:30:23.423-05:00More DistractionsBefore I had a chance to start reading the next big book on my list, a Subterranean Press chapbook arrived in the mail. <a href="http://www.subterraneanpress.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=scalzi11&Category_Code=B&Product_Count=115"><em>Judge Sn Goes Golfing</em> </a>by John Scalzi is 32 short pages of laugh out loud fun. I would assume it is even funnier if you play golf, which I don't unless you count disc golf. This story is set in the same world as Scalzi's humorous novel <em>The Android's Dream</em>. Now I can get back to <em>Nick and the Glimmung</em> downstairs and start something new upstairs.<br /><br />More as a reminder to myself than anything else, here is a list of authors I hope to read a lot of this year.<br /><br />First, Fredric Brown, Randall Garrett and Wilson Tucker. These are three "classic" science fiction writers that I <em>really</em> enjoy reading, but haven't been able to read their whole backlist, yet.<br /><br />Rudy Rucker: the only author who I think messes with your head more than Philip K. Dick.<br /><br />Chris Roberson: I keep hearing great things about him, but so far I've only read one novella of his.<br /><br />Rhys Hughes: (see the last post).<br /><br />Stanislaw Lem: maybe. The first book of his I read was <em>The Cyberiad</em>, and I loved it, I thought it was just wonderful. I've read several others since, but haven't enjoyed any of them nearly as much.<br /><br />Charles R. Saunders: I really want to finish the Imaro series.<br /><br />Joe R. Lansdale: I don't normally read horror, which I believed most of Joe's work is. But Joe assures me that most of it isn't horror. I've really liked <em>Bubba Ho Tep</em>, <em>Zeppelins West</em>, and the first two Hap and Leonard novels, so I'm going to try some more.<br /><br />No doubt I will discover several new authors this year and try to cram in a bunch of their books as well. However, the most important book I need to read this year is <em>C# 3.0 Unleashed With the .NET Framework 3.5. </em>At 966 pages, plus appendices, it will probably take me all year. Gains in knowledge should make up for the lack in pleasure...Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04683900080441380910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6828925200850600822.post-6486904811262117792009-12-28T09:53:00.004-05:002009-12-28T11:20:59.150-05:00The Smell of TelescopesI was having a hard time getting into <em>The Smell of Telescopes</em> by <a href="http://rhysaurus.blogspot.com/">Rhys Hughes</a>, reading it downstairs just a couple of pages at a time. So I moved it upstairs and was able to enjoy it much more, plowing through it's 461 pages for longer stretches at a time and giving it the attention required to keep up.<br /><br />I began the book believing it was a novel, but then thought it was a collection of short stories since each chapter read as a self-contained story. While the stories seemed to possibly be set in the same, strange, world, they were each about different characters. Then as I got further into the book characters started to reappear, sometimes with characters from other chapters and I realized that the book, novel if you will, is a collection of interconnected stories.<br /><br />In a way this book is a microcosm of Rhys' full body of work where he states his goal is to <a href="http://postmodernmariner.blogspot.com/2006/12/rhys-hughes-complete-story-list.html">write 1000 interconnected stories</a>. I did note some connections in <em>Telescopes</em> to his earlier novel <em>The Eyeliad</em>. (By the way Rhys, I hope you are keeping an index of all these connections and not leaving it to readers to drive themselves crazy trying to map out.)<br /><br />If you have not read any of Rhys' books yet (I've read six novels and collections so I'm starting to get a feel for him), they could best be described as fantasy. Not fantasy as in Sword and Scorcery, but more like <em>Peter Pan</em>. State an idea like, "if children live on this island they never grow old," make that the underlying logic of your story, and run wild with it. But the most enjoyable thing about reading Rhys, besides trying to keep up with the whimsical logic of the stories, is the joy of reading the writing itself. Here is an example:<br /><br /><em>"All I require" the blue dwarf cried, as he placed his hand on my knee, "are your trousers and your soul."</em><br /><em></em><br /><em>"Oh, little man," said I, "this is a foolish request! They are both too large for you. They would flap in the wind and set up a commotion. Who would want to be your friend then? You would have to shout above the noise:</em> 'Blueberry pie at my house.' <em>Even so no-one would come to visit. You would have to sit alone, absurdly attired.</em><br /><em></em><br /><em>"But let me tell you of the time I bartered both. The world was a younger place then; we did not value so highly such things as trousers and souls. The former were objects merely to be worn; the latter were baubles brought out over dinner to amuse guests. Neither had pride of place in the wardobe, as they do now."</em><br /><br />And as you try to follow the logic of this chapter, I'll warn you now the most important part of that excerpt, as the book unfolds, is the blueberry pie! I don't think I've ever read anyone with an imagination quite like Rhys Hughes, and that's saying something. I'm looking forward to reading <em>Stories from a Lost Anthology</em> next.Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04683900080441380910noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6828925200850600822.post-87021885793028822082009-12-15T10:07:00.004-05:002010-01-06T13:41:55.155-05:00Neil Gaiman book signing<span style="font-family:georgia;">The local indie bookstore </span><a href="http://littleshopofstories.com/"><span style="font-family:georgia;">Little Shop of Stories</span></a><span style="font-family:georgia;"> won a contest to have Neil Gaiman come to their store and do a book signing. Since their store is, I'm guessing, only about 300 square feet, the event was actually held in </span><a href="http://puka.cs.waikato.ac.nz/custom/cic/collect/cic-hcap/index/assoc/p43.dir/Presser%20Hall%20(interior,%20Gaines%20Chapel),%20Agnes%20Scott%20College-large.jpg"><span style="font-family:georgia;">Presser Hall</span></a><span style="font-family:georgia;"> at nearby Agnes Scott College. It was a wild success. According to Neil's twitter, 1050 fans showed up.<br /><br />Neil started about 10 minutes late, spoke for a little while and clearly had the audience in the palm of his hand. He then read chapters 2 and 3 from <em>Odd and the Frost Giants</em> and lived up to his reputation as a great public reader. Next he answered questions that had been pre-submitted, which he didn't get to look at until he was on stage. This wasn't a problem as they were all pretty standard questions...until the last one (I think) asking if he would tell us the meaning of life. He then read chapter 17 from <em>The Graveyard Book, </em>and around 7:30 the bane of all writers, the book signing, began.<br /><br />The organizers were brilliant and the audience was spectacular. You have never seen such a patient crowd. They started by letting anyone with kids come up and get their books signed first. Then they started taking people out of their seats by rows. I was about 20 rows back and didn't get my books signed until 11:30. Even that late there were more smiles in the audience than scowls, well, on the faces of those still awake anyway.<br /><br />During my four hour wait I went to the back of the auditorium and bought a pre-signed copy of <em>The Graveyard Book</em>, even though it was a 19th printing and I almost never bother to get anything other than first printings signed. I also read most of <em>Fragile Things,</em> all but finishing it when my row was finally called.<br /><br />You could only get one book signed, or two if you bought at least one book from Little Shop of Stories. I brought a book I bought from the store, a hardcover first printing of <em>Fragile Things </em>and a hardcover of <em>Robert Bloch: Appreciations of the Master;</em> the latter being the only book in my collection signed by Philip José Farmer that Neil also appears in (I'm still kicking myself for not realizing Joe R. Lansdale is in the book and not getting him to sign it at Farmercon a few years ago). When my turn came I gave Neil a copy of </span><a href="http://www.pjfarmer.com/farmerphile.htm#iss11"><span style="font-family:georgia;">Farmerphile #11</span></a><span style="font-family:georgia;"> (January 2008), the 90th Birthday Issue, and explained I had tried to contact Neil to get him to write a birthday wish for Phil, but he was on a tour at the time. He seemed interested in the magazine and said he wished he had been able to contribute. Very gracious I thought. I hope he finds time to read it.<br /><br />Prior to the announcement of Neil coming I had only read two of his books, <em>American Gods</em> and <em>Anansi Boys</em>. I'm now looking forward to reading more, especially <em>Good Omens</em>, but I don't know if I'll be getting into the comics and graphic novels. As for what I'm reading next...<br /><br />I don't really think of myself as having an issue with Attention Deficit Disorder, until I stop and examine some of the things I do. I have a stack of books on my night stand all jumping up and down waving their pages shouting, "Me, me, pick me!" These are all books I recently decided are at the top of my "What to read next list." But yesterday I got a package in the mail from Subterranean Press containing a book I had pre-ordered over a year ago and which was all but forgotten. But when I opened the package my brain went, "Ooh, it's shiny, it's new," and so now I'm reading <em><a href="http://www.subterraneanpress.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=dick02&Category_Code=NEW&Product_Count=2">Nick and the Glimmung</a></em> by Philip K. Dick<br /><br />I'm not an active member of the </span><a href="http://www.asfs.org/"><span style="font-family:georgia;">Atlanta Science Fiction Society</span></a><span style="font-family:georgia;">, but I did sign up on their yahoo group so I get an email every time someone posts a message and that is how I learned that Neil Gaiman was coming to town. As for Little Shop of Stories, I never even new they existed until this happened. They do have a charming little store, with friendly staff and a table in the back with books signed by at least a dozen authors (the one time I went to the store to get my ticket). It is mostly a children's book store, but I plan on checking them out every few months to see if they have any new signed books. They did a great job and I hope they reap long term benefits from Neil's visit.</span>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04683900080441380910noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6828925200850600822.post-9507479373806595932009-12-03T18:05:00.002-05:002009-12-03T18:40:09.563-05:00I finished <em>The Gathering Storm</em> last night and I have nothing but praise for the book, begun by Robert Jordan and finished by Brandon Sanderson. At no point did I feel like I wasn't reading Jordan's words. Sanderson seemlessly wrote his parts (from Jordan's notes) into the text Jordan wrote.<br /><br />It is probably because the log jam is clearing and the series is finally winding towards a conclusion, but I think I enjoyed this book more than I did the last five, which all run together for me.<br /><br />So bravo to Brandon Sanderson. I commend him for putting his life on hold for much longer than originally anticipated and deciding to conclude the series in three books instead of one. Had he done it in one, it certainly would have seemed rushed and not "felt" like it was written by Jordan at all.<br /><br />Next up on the reading que: <em>Fragile Things</em> by Neil Gaiman.Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04683900080441380910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6828925200850600822.post-15121164253251821692009-11-29T12:19:00.006-05:002009-11-29T12:43:54.722-05:00You didn't think I would forget my anniversary did you?No, it's not the anniversary of me starting this blog, but tomorrow is the one year anniversary of my last post...<br /><br />So, you know, I'll try and do better and all that.<br /><br />I added a new feature on the right, Currently Reading, with pictures of the books. I couldn't find a gadget to do this so it's actually three gadgets, first text for the header, then two separate picture gadgets. I guess this works well enough but if anyone knows a better way to do this, please let me know.<br /><br />A few comments about these books. First, the <em>Smell of Telescopes</em> by Rhys Hughes. I would describe Rhys here but I plan on doing that elsewhere in about 10 days so I'm saving it for that. For now I'll just say that he is a lot of fun to read, although I wish there was less horror in his collections, and that I've been reading him a lot lately. Downstairs if you know what I mean.<br /><br />Brandon Sanderson, the author chosen to complete Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series was here in Georgia, doing a book signing and reading at one of my county's public libraries on November 13th. Unfortunately, about 4 hours before this event, I left with the family to drive 10 hours to go to a wedding the next day. Why does that always happen?<br /><br />I preordered a signed book from a bookstore weeks before this event, but still, it would have been nice to go to. I am reading this book now and I am as fully involved in it as I was in Jordan's books. Unfortunately I am a slow reader and Jordan is one of the few authors who will keep me up until 2:00am night after night after night. Jordan/Sanderson is doing the same.<br /><br />I don't know if it is just because they are wrapping up the series, but things seem more clear to me in this book than they have in the last several. I have fewer moments thinking, "I don't know what is going on but hopefully it will make sense later."<br /><br />One final comment here. For those of you who know what this means: "Paksenarrion Rules!" I have news for you, Egwene al'Vere Rules! Wow.Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04683900080441380910noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6828925200850600822.post-47560795038685953372008-11-30T12:27:00.002-05:002008-11-30T12:42:00.319-05:00Reading Update #8a and Book Hunting!<p><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">Another incomplete reading update. Since the last update I did what I normally don't do and read the same book every time I had a chance to read, no matter the location. This way I finished <em>Ceres Storm</em> by David Herter and I got to page 285 in <em>A Tramp Abroad</em> by Mark Twain. There it said END OF VOL. I. So, I've decided to put it aside for now and read VOL II, the second half of the book, at a later date. </span></p><p><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">As threatened, on our drive to Asheville to visit the in-laws we listened to <em>A History of the English Language</em> by Michael Drout. We only made it half way through the fourth lesson (of 14) but everyone is enjoying it. I missed the beginning of this conversation, so I don't know how it came up, but it was gratifying to hear my seven year old son explain to his grand father that the Japanese use three alphabets. So he is picking some of this up as well.</span></p><p><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">We arrived in Asheville Tuesday evening. After eating out we were driving back to house when my father in-law took some back roads that brought us into the back entrance of a shopping center. This shopping center had a book store that was not here the last time we visited. I had not planned on doing any book shopping until Friday, but it was about 8:15 and book store was open. I had them drop me off and leave me there (which, believe me, seemed perfectly normal to everyone). After taking everyone else back to the house my father in-law had to run back out to get something and then he picked me up at 9:00. Luckily the store is only about a mile from their house.</span></p><p><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">The store in question is Mr. K's. For those of you who have book shopped in Nashville, Knoxville or Chattanooga, TN, this store is remarkably like the McKay's you have there, just smaller. I didn't find very much that I was actively looking for, but I did buy: <em>The Grand Wheel</em> by Barrington J. Bayley, <em>Brand of the Werewolf</em> and <em>Lost Oasis</em> (Doc Savage books 4 and 5), <em>Orbital Decay</em> by Allen Steele and <em>Lost Continents: The Atlantis Theme in History, Science and Literature</em> by L. Sprague de Camp. </span></p><p><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">On Friday I made it to the Holy Grail of book stores in Asheville, Downtown Books & News. I love this store because paperbacks are 1/2 cover price, even the old 35 cent paperbacks. I bought <em>The Triumph of Time</em> by James Blish and <em>Station in Space</em> by James Gunn, both for 18 cents. <em>Doctor to the Stars</em> by Murray Leinster for 20 cents and <em>Bettyann </em>by Chris Nevile for 38 cents. Bette Farmer was good friends with Chris' wife Lil, and she has asked me a few times over the years if I had ever read anything by him. Now I'll get the chance. I also bought a trade paperback of <em>Off the Wall at Callahans's</em> by Spider Robinson. This is a collection of quotes from the series and might just be the perfect bathroom book. I also bought a trade paperback of <em>The Anubis Gate</em> by Tim Powers, which comes highly recommended by Win Scott Eckert. </span></p><p><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">My next stop was Books by Linda. I've been here before and didn't have high hopes as it has a very small science fiction section (a fraction of the size of the romance section) but I did get lucky and find <em>Earth Invader</em> by Randall Garrett. I've only read his Lord Darcy series and the short story collection, <em>The Best of Randall Garrett</em> but he is an old friend of Phil Farmer's (he actually lived with them for a while) and I'm always looking for his older books. </span></p><p><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">Overall the book hunting was ok. Having been through the same stores around Atlanta over and over I was really looking forward to visiting stores I haven't been to in a couple of years. If I'm lucky there is another store or two that we might hit on the way back to Atlanta this afternoon.</span></p><p><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">Which of these will I start reading when I get back home? I have three slots to fill and no idea where I'm going to start. It might not even be any of these as I still have plenty of books at home I can't wait to read.</span></p>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04683900080441380910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6828925200850600822.post-22066314094479868272008-11-20T11:22:00.002-05:002008-11-20T12:40:00.773-05:00Reading Update #8<span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">As you know if you've been here before, I like to read more than one book at a time, keeping books in different locations instead of carrying one book around with me everywhere. Sometimes however, </span><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"> books I start reading in one place get moved to another location so I can read them more quickly.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"><strong>In the downstairs bathroom:</strong> I'm switching up the order here because I finished <em>The Forest of Peldain</em> by Barrington J. Bayley so I moved <em>Ceres Storm</em> by David Herter downstairs. I started them at about the same time but got through the shorter Bayley book much more quickly. </span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">In his recommendation of Barrington J. Bayley, Rhys Hughes said,<em> <span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">"<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Popular writers of fantastical fiction give the reading public one or two 'ideas' per book. We are comfortable with such paucity because it doesn't challenge us. We can't really stand what Bayley offered -- dozens of ultra-clever original high level IDEAS per chapter -- though we always claim that's exactly what we want</span>! Bayley was a high concept writer who worked out his amazing conceits in the guise of hardish science fiction."</span></em></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;">I don't think this book fits his description very well. First it was more fantasy than hard science fiction. While it did have a lot of interesting ideas or inventions, for the most part they were extensions of the same idea. However it did surprise me more often that the typical fantasy novel, even those that turn out to have scientific underpinnings instead of magical. There were many places I knew <em>something</em> was coming, but I was never able to accurately guess what it was. </span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;">Despite this book not living up to my expectations I rather enjoyed it and I look forward to reading more by Bayley. Now, I really wish I could find some Rhys Hughes at the local bookstore. </span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"><strong>In the bedroom:</strong> As I mentioned above, I was reading <em>Ceres Storm</em> by David Herter here but I shifted it downstairs where I seem to have more reading time. </span><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">So far I have only averaged about a dozen pages a day over the last two weeks. I can't say if I'm not finding it compelling because I'm reading it so slow, or if I'm reading it so slow because I can't get into it. </span><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">As I said last week, the author doesn't give you a lot of information as he goes along. Sometimes you read something that tells you what happened twenty pages before. Only when you were reading twenty pages back, you had no idea you missed something. </span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">I'm not sure what to make of this book. One thing is for sure, I never have any idea what is going to happen next. Not the slimmest clue what I'll find on the next page. It is just completely <em>alien</em>. Which, if you think about it, science fiction should be. This book is set in our far distant future, things should be hard to grasp. I'm assuming it will pay off in the end, I will let you know. </span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;">I haven't decided what I'm reading upstairs next. I have dozens of books near the top of my "read next" list <em>and</em> I'm hoping some others will arrive in the mail today.</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"><strong>At the office:</strong> I'm still reading <em>A Tramp Abroad</em> by Mark Twain. I'm going to bring this home next week and take it with me when we go to Asheville for five days over Thanksgiving. I haven't been to Asheville in a few years but they have a number of really good bookstores. I've been hording my cash and updating the list of authors I am hunting for and hope to leave a lot of cash behind me up there. I'll let you know in my next update.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;"></span><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"><strong>In the car:</strong> I finished <em>Super Crunchers : Why Thinking-by-Numbers Is the New Way to Be Smart</em> by Ian Ayres but I was not hit with any further inspirations, either work related or story related. The book did make me want to read and/or listen to more books that are math related. </span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">Yesterday I picked up <em>A Way with Words: Writing, Rhetoric, and the Art of Persuasion</em> by Michael Drout. I'll start this tomorrow but I don't think I'll finish it before we leave town. The plan for the nearly four hour drive is to listen to <em>A History of the English Language</em> also by Michael Drout. I just finished it last week but I really want my wife and kids to listen to it. </span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">These are both part of the Modern Scholar series of college lectures on cd. If you have access to these through your library (and not just Michael Drout's) I can't recommend them enough. Especially if you have kids. Let your 8th grader get a taste of what a really good college professor can do. </span>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04683900080441380910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6828925200850600822.post-25923527385453775692008-11-13T21:13:00.002-05:002008-11-13T21:57:05.673-05:00Reading Update #7a<span style="font-size:85%;">I'm calling this update #7a instead of #8 because, even though it has been a week, I haven't finished anything I was reading at this time last week! I'm still reading <em>Ceres Storm</em> by David <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Herter</span> upstairs, <em>The Forest of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Peldain</span></em> by <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Barrington</span> J. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Bayley</span> downstairs and <em>A Tramp Abroad</em> by Mark Twain at work. </span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">I did however finish <em>A History of the English Language</em> by Michael <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Drout</span>, in the car. As I said before I'm going to listen to this again when we drive to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Asheville</span> for <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Thanksgiving</span> as I think my wife and daughter will get even more out of it than I did. </span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Since then I've been listening to <em>Super Crunchers : Why Thinking-by-Numbers Is the New Way to Be Smart</em> by Ian <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Ayres</span>. The neat thing about listening to this book is that while I am coming up with ideas for the company I work for on how we can use our customer data more <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">effectively</span>; more importantly I am getting ideas for stories! </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">The first one he hand feeds the listener. He talks about how the IRS has so much information about us that if they decided to start super <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">crunching</span> and then providing that data to us, they could become the Information & Revenue Service. Imagine getting a letter in the mail from them telling you that couples with your income and your amount of consumer debt are 57% more likely to get divorce in the next two years than couples with no debt. The possibilities are endless. Or perhaps a story where the government secretly compiles all this data and uses it to finally figure out how to <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">effectively</span> govern. I'm sure I can find a moral <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">dilemma</span> or two in there somewhere. </span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">I wrote about a story idea before, with computers predicting the future (just not in real time so far) but as they get more data, and faster processors they get better and better at it until they can see the future completely. Things in this book have been tickling at the edges of that story idea. Whether it's just providing some of the details along the way, or actually changing the story remains, to be seen. </span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Unfortunately listening to this in the car means I didn't write down a couple of germs of ideas it gave me. Hopefully they will come back to me as I listen to the rest of the book.</span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Not surprisingly I get most of my ideas for science fiction stories, when I read about science, not when I read fiction. You'd think I would read more science books because of this...</span>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04683900080441380910noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6828925200850600822.post-35097635358011881922008-11-06T11:02:00.002-05:002008-11-06T13:01:47.410-05:00Taking book recommendations and reading update #7<span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">While I love talking about books with anyone and everyone, and I'm always recommending books to people, I'm often surprised when they recommend them to me. My first reaction is usually to think, "Wait, you're telling <em>me</em> what<em> I</em> should read? You're confused, that's not why we're here." I try to catch myself and get my head of out my, um library, when I do this, but its funny how often it happens.</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;">Not to say I do this with everyone. Mostly it happens with people who come to my house, see all the books and have an appropriate look of awe on their face. There are many people who recommend books to me and I eagerly follow their advice. I mention this today because a lot of my reading at the moment is based on recommendations. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"><strong>In the bedroom:</strong> I finished <em>The Last Colony</em> by John Scalzi. At first I wasn't overly impressed with this third book in the Old Man's War series. But then he pulls the rug out from under you and things get very interesting. You know how you're reading a book, or watching a movie, and you think, "Why doesn't he/she just tell so and so this or that, then it will all work out!" But they <em>never</em> do? I was thinking along those lines in this book...and then they did! I was rather surprised. Its not every day I read a book and it ends the way I would have ended it. In fact that almost never happens, to me anyway. As you will see below, I think I'm enjoying Scalzi so much because he thinks like I do. </span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">I've since started reading <em>Ceres Storm</em> by David Herter. This author comes highly recommended by <a href="http://themagicriver.blogspot.com/2008/06/illuminating-depths-or-why-heck-arent.html">Christopher Paul Carey</a>. Although not the titles he specifically recommended, <em>Ceres Storm</em> is one book I happened to find while trolling used book stores last week. I haven't gotten deep into the book yet, but so far the only thing I have noticed is that he is very understated. I find myself learning something in a scene that tells me I have to go back in fill in the blanks in a previous scene because something happened there that I didn't realize.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"><strong>In the downstairs bathroom</strong>: Two Fridays ago (I think), <em>Your Hate Mail will be Graded</em> arrived in the mail from Subterranean Press. I finished it yesterday. This is a random selection of posts from John's ten year-old blog, <a href="http://whatever.scalzi.com/">Whatever</a>. I enjoyed the vast majority of the book, only skimming over several entries, while amazingly finding myself agreeing with John's opinions on the majority of them. Its almost like he is what I would be like with a better vocabulary and an extroverted personality. </span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;">I just started another book that comes to me via an author recommendation. This time it comes from Rhys Hughes about <a href="http://rhysaurus.blogspot.com/2008/10/barrington-bayley-1937-2008.html">Barrington J. Bayley</a>, an author I had never even heard before he passed away a couple of weeks ago. <em>The Forest of Peldain</em> was the only other book I found while out book hunting last week (along with <em>Ceres Storm</em>), so I decided to take it as a sign and read both of them. I don't read two science fiction books at the same time if I think there is any chance I will get them confused because of similarities. I don't think I need to worry about it in this case, but I'll let you know. I'm still hunting for <em>The Anubis Gate</em> by Tim Powers, a recent recommendation, <a href="https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=6828925200850600822&postID=1589306997787524400">through this blog</a>, by Win Scott Eckert.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"><strong>At the office:</strong> I'm still reading <em>A Tramp Abroad</em> by Mark Twain. I may be reading this for a while as I've only made it into the office two days a week lately (working from home the other five days of the week). Although I may shift this book to another location if this continues. I'd rather not take two months to read anything.</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"></span><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"><strong>In the car:</strong> I'm currently listening to <em>A History of the English Language</em> by Michael Drout. This is part of the Modern Scholar series of books on cd I have mentioned before. I am enjoying this so much I am going to listen to it again over Thanksgiving when my wife and kids and I drive up to Asheville North Carolina. I know that my wife will grasp much more of it than I have since she is much better at spelling, grammar, etc... I think my 13 year old daughter will pick up enough from it to have an impact on her English courses through the rest of high school. Hopefully my seven year old son won't go too insane with boredom. Although he may enjoy the third and fourth lectures on Phonetics and Phonology. Who knows, listening to a college course while he's in the first grade might have an impact on him as well. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;">Drout has three other Modern Scholar lectures I am looking forward to listening too: </span><br /><em> </em><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"><em>A Way with Words: Writing, Rhetoric, and the Art of Persuasion <br /> A Way with Words II: Approaches to Literature<br /> A Way with Words III: Understanding Grammar for Powerful Communication </em></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">While the Heath Ledger movie, <em>A Knight's Tale</em> is one of my all time favorites, I can't promise that I will listen to Drout's: <em>Bard of the Middle Ages: The Works of Geoffrey Chaucer.</em> I'll probably start it, but I can't say I'm optimistic about finishing it.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;"></span>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04683900080441380910noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6828925200850600822.post-62514930544592713342008-11-02T09:45:00.005-05:002008-11-04T08:58:19.948-05:00Listening to books<span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">First, I am thinking about renaming this blog "Mike <em>is</em> thinking about books but he's too busy to blog about it." But since my original blog title was already a bit too long I guess I'll refrain. I am disappointed I only managed four blogs through the entire month of October, and none in the second half. Let's see if November is any better.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;">I listened to two books on <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">cd</span> this past month that drove home a point I already knew. There are three types of audio book readers:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;">1. The author</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;">2. A professional reader</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;">3. A celebrity, usually an actor</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;">And that is the order of preference. Believe me. It doesn't matter how bad, how unmelodious, nasally, gravelly or shrill, an author's voice is, no one will read their book better than they do. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;">For example, one of the first audio books I ever did was an abridged* version of <em>Foundation</em> by Isaac Asimov. At first I couldn't believe what I was hearing. A stereotypical Brooklyn Jewish accent was not setting the tone for far future galactic empires. Then I flipped the case over and saw it was Asimov himself doing the reading. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Ok</span>, fine, I thought, but he really isn't any good. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;">When I finished the tape I went back and got the next book in the series. This was read by a professional reader. Ah, good I thought, this is much better. For about five minutes, then I missed Asimov! As good as the reading was, it was just flat and emotionless compared to what Isaac brought to it.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;">Here's a more recent example. Last month I listened to <em>Sex, Drug & Cocoa Puffs</em> by Chuck <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Klosterman</span>, read by the author. As you will see if you listen to this <a href="http://www.simonsays.com/content/book.cfm?pid=487463&tab=1&agid=5">sample excerpt</a>, your first thought <em>won't</em> be "wow, what a great voice." But listen to the stress he puts on words like "completely," "vaguely," "feels," and "ever" in that short passage. Listen to the longer pauses, where I'm pretty sure you will find commas instead of periods of you were reading this. No professional would read it <em>exactly</em> the same as Chuck did and he's the one who knows how it supposed to sound! </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;">Here are two examples from the other end of the spectrum, celebrity readers. With all due respect to John <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Ritter</span>, Rip Torn and too many others to list, if you are not a regular audio book listener and you recognize the name of the person reading the book, skip it. Assuming its not the author of course. </span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;">I did a Dave Barry collection one time, read by Dave Barry himself and it was hilarious. Several months later I found another Dave Barry collection but this one was read by John <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Ritter</span>. As it turns out there were a few articles that appeared in both books, so I could really compare apples to apples. There was one about some guys who participate in parades as a group on their riding lawn mowers. When Dave read this it was funny, certainly funnier than if you just read it yourself. When John <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Ritter</span> read it, it was actually unfunny. And not just because I'd heard it before and I knew the punch lines. In fact there was one particular line I was waiting for, perfectly timed and delivered by Dave, that <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Ritter</span> read straight through like he was trying to finish the paragraph in one breath.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;">And that is the essence of my next complaint. I mentioned recently that I listened to <em>A Man Without a Country</em> by Kurt Vonnegut, read by Norman <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Dietz</span>--more on him in a minute. I just tried to listen to <em>Armageddon in Retrospect</em>, also by Vonnegut. This however was read by Rip Torn. A fine actor, but he sure seemed to be in a hurry while reading this. I'm guessing he was paid a flat fee and not by the hour. I just had the feeling he was trying to get the whole thing done as fast as possible or they offered him a bonus if they could fit it on four <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">cds</span> and save money in production. I actually gave up on it and couldn't finish it.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Ok</span>, back to Norman <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Deitz</span>. Let me just say right here that Recorded Books needs to do the world a service and hire him to read every single word Mark Twain and Kurt Vonnegut have ever written. If you listen to this sample of <em><a href="http://www.recordedbooks.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=rb.show_narr&narr_id=2370">Huckleberry Finn</a></em> or this sample of <em><a href="http://www.learnoutloud.com/Catalog/Literature/American-Classics/The-Adventures-of-Tom-Sawyer/5042#">Tom Sawyer</a></em> you'll see what I mean. He isn't just reading the book, he's <em>performing</em> the book. And performing it brilliantly. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;">There are some exceptions, there are a few professional readers that I just can't listen to. But there are many readers who are so good that I'll get a book just because they are reading it, even if the book itself didn't look that interesting at first. Besides the aforementioned Mr. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Dietz</span> here are some strong recommendations: Michael <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">Pritchard</span> (especially reading Rex Stout and Clive <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">Cussler</span>), Simon <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">Prebble</span> (Dick Francis), Frederick Davidson (P.G. Wodehouse), Mark Hammer (the only way to do Faulkner), Barbara <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">Rosenblat</span> (Dorothy <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">Gilman</span>) & George <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">Guidall</span> (too many to list!). </span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;">I know I am leaving many out others, I will try and compile a more comprehensive list in the near future. In fact, talking about audio books was one of the first reasons I ever thought about doing a blog. I also wanted to talk about <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">something else</span> I'm currently listening to, but I guess I'll save that for Thursday.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;">*Note: abridged books are a travesty and should be illegal. I only listened to them at first because I didn't know any better and I was paying for them; the longer the book, the more it cost. This was before I discovered our local library system has more audio books than the store that was renting them.</span>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04683900080441380910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6828925200850600822.post-56557323137272191602008-10-16T12:05:00.002-04:002008-10-16T13:27:48.117-04:00Reading Update #7<p><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"><strong>In the bedroom:</strong> I'm about half way through <em>The Last Colony</em> by John Scalzi. I've been doing a lot of yard work this week, several hours at a time, which usually results in me falling asleep pretty quickly and not staying up until 2:00am to read no matter how much I want to.</span></p><p><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"><strong>In the downstairs bathroom:</strong> I'm reading <em>AD INFINITVM: A Biography of Latin</em>. So far it is pretty interesting, but not compelling enough to keep me sitting there reading until my legs go numb. So after almost a week I'm only up to page 46. If I don't pick up the pace, or shift the book to another location (as I sometimes do), I probably won't get all the way through it.</span></p><p><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"><strong>At the office:</strong> I started <em>A Tramp Abroad</em> on Monday. Even though I've only been in the office one day this week, so far (I'll be there tomorrow), I've gotten further in this book than in <em>AD INFINITVM: A Biography of Latin</em>. Of course the pages are smaller and the font is larger. And despite the small number laugh-out-loud passages encountered so far, I do find myself sitting there until my legs start to go numb.</span></p><p><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"><strong>In the car:</strong> While still waiting for <em>A History of the English Language</em> by Michael Drout I browsed the library over the weekend picked up, <em>Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs</em> by Chuck Klosterman, <em>Armageddon in Retrospect</em> by Kurt Vonnegut (which I'm sure I haven't listened to before) and <em>The Google Story</em> by David A. Vise. The first two are pretty short so I'm starting with them. So far I am enjoying <em>Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs</em> immensely, even if I don't really agree with Chuck Klosterman on many of his points. </span></p><p><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">In fact, <em>Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs</em> is one of those books I read (or listen to) that cause me to realize, again, I will never be a writer. Besides having skill at writing I believe a writer also needs to have something to say; something they feel strongly about, as Chuck clearly does. Typically I find myself either with no strong opinion one way or the other about things, or if I do have a strong opinion, I'd rather not share it. This makes for a very dull writer. I find this trait even affecting my attempts at writing fiction as I often feel that if a character says or does something, people will assume that is something I want to say or do. Or have already done or said. I don't think this when I read someone else's work, I'm pretty sure Stephen King's basement isn't full of dead bodies, but for some reason I find it uncomfortable to do myself. </span></p>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04683900080441380910noreply@blogger.com0