Guest Post: My Uncle’s Best Reads of 2013

I’m relinquishing my blog today to my favorite uncle so he can share his essay on his best reads from 2013.  You’ll have to wait for another day to learn the answer to the question ‘Why doesn’t he have his own blog?’  Currently, he is a retired Air Force Colonel, writing historical and speculative fiction and painting and teaching watercolor.  And now without further ado …

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In 2013, I read a record number of books and don’t plan to read that many again in one year. I don’t just read for pleasure. I am an author-wannabe, so some of my reading is researching what’s on the market. (That’s my story.) And, I have a lifelong love of history, so I read a lot of history, biography and alternate history stories. Also, at church I give a Bible study a month, so I’m always looking for ideas to steal . . . uh, in a Christian-sort-of-way. Finally, I love humor. So, I occasionally give extra credit to stories that tickle my funny bone.

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‘League Of Their Own’ Inspiration Didn’t Mind A Dirty Skirt : NPR

http://www.npr.org/2013/12/29/258159871/league-of-their-own-inspiration-didnt-mind-a-dirty-skirt?utm_content=socialflow&utm_campaign=nprfacebook&utm_source=npr&utm_medium=facebook

I loved that movie and the true stories behind it. Saddened to learn of her death.

Posted from WordPress for Android via my Samsung smartphone. Please excuse any misspellings. Ciao, Jon

Article: Report: NSA Intercepting Laptops Ordered Online, Installing Spyware

Report: NSA Intercepting Laptops Ordered Online, Installing Spyware

http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2013/12/29/report-nsa-intercepting-laptops-ordered-online-installing-spyware/

I really shouldn’t be shocked any more. I should feel right at home in this George Orwell world I woke up to.

Posted from WordPress for Android via my Samsung smartphone. Please excuse any misspellings. Ciao, Jon

Giveaway: Ysabel by Guy Gavriel Kay

One of my New Year’s resolutions for 2014 will be to reduce the number of physical books I keep in my home.  Books not on the chopping book include first edition hardcovers signed by the author and classics that I always want to see staring at me from the honored top shelf (The Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia, etc.)  But print editions that are not first editions and where I have little to no chance of ever meeting the author, are all giveaway possibilities.

Since this is the first time I’ve tried this, please bear with me as I work through the kinks of offering a book up as a giveaway.

My first giveaway offering will be my hardcover edition of Guy Gavriel Kay’s Ysabel (see my review here).

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Book Review: Ysabel by Kay (3.5 Stars)

Ysabel by Guy Gavriel Kay

3.5 out of 5 stars

Read in Nov/Dec 2013

Synopsis (excerpts from author’s website Bright Weavings):

Provence, in the south of France, is a part of the world that has been—and continues to be—called a paradise. But one of the lessons that history teaches is that paradise is coveted and fought over. Successive waves of invaders have claimed—or tried to claim—those vineyards, rivers, olive groves, and hills.

In Guy Gavriel Kay’s novel, Ysabel, this duality—of exquisite beauty and violent history—is explored in a work that marks a departure from Kay’s historical fantasies set in various analogues of the past.

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10 Pieces of Science Fiction Trivia That Are Helpful in Real Life

http://io9.com/10-pieces-of-science-fiction-trivia-that-are-helpful-in-1489922971?utm_campaign=socialflow_io9_facebook&utm_source=io9_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow

Io9 is on a roll today.  Lots of goodies to share from SF classics including hands on (or minds on) information that can be useful in the real world.

Posted from WordPress for Android via my Samsung smartphone. Please excuse any misspellings. Ciao, Jon