Hint hint: the Don’t Panic cake might be appropriate for my upcoming milestone birthday.
Countdown: three weeks from this Thursday
Category: Books
Includes all types of publications: books (hardcovers, trade paperback, mass market paperbacks, ebooks, magazines, graphic novels)
Living in the Spirit Cover Reveal
Cover reveal for my uncle’s first book. Available now (a bit early) from some retailers.
Ups and Downs of Reading Habits
I remembered to export my GoodReads book catalog earlier this week. I’ve been forgetful for several months and the hot topic at work lately has been DR (disaster recovery). So, practicing what I preach, I ‘backed up’ my book catalog to my computer. I began reviewing the data downloaded and a thought (almost a question) popped into my head. For the last five years, I’ve been averaging 100 books per year read. I pushed myself this year to reach that goal early, before my birthday in early October. My curious mind wanted to know how my reading format habits have changed over these last five years.
Why just five years? Continue reading “Ups and Downs of Reading Habits”
The Eccentric Polish Count Who Influenced Classic SF’s Greatest Writers
Korzybski coined the well-known slogan, “The map is not the territory,” to sum up this idea.
An essay on the most famous SF author you’ve never read or heard of. Golden Age of SF era. Think Heinlein and Campbell.
Posted from WordPress for Android via my Samsung smartphone. Please excuse any misspellings. Ciao, Jon
Book Review: Stormdancer by Kristoff (4 Stars)
Read in late August 2014
Synopsis from MacMillan’s site:
Stormdancer is the first in the epic new fantasy series The Lotus War, introducing an unforgettable heroine and a stunningly original dystopian steampunk world with a flavor of feudal Japan.
The Shima Imperium verges on the brink of environmental collapse; an island nation once rich in tradition and myth, now decimated by clockwork industrialization and the machine-worshipers of the Lotus Guild. When hunters of Shima’s imperial court are charged by their Shōgun to capture a legendary griffin, they fear their lives are over. Any fool knows the beasts have been extinct for more than a century, and the price of failing the Shōgun is death. Accompanying her father on the Shōgun’s hunt, the girl Yukiko finds herself stranded: a young woman alone in Shima’s last wilderness, with only a furious, crippled griffin for company. Even though she can hear his thoughts, even though she saved his life, all she knows for certain is he’d rather see her dead than help her. But together, the pair will form an indomitable friendship, and rise to challenge the might of an empire. Continue reading “Book Review: Stormdancer by Kristoff (4 Stars)”
Less Than Three Years to Prepare
For once, I live in just about the best spot to observe a total solar eclipse. The center line for the eclipse coming in August 2017 is just a few miles north of where I live. That being said, the path of the eclipse cuts diagonally across the United States from Oregon to South Carolina.
Update Monday 9/1/2014: I forgot to include a link to the Astronomy magazine article that will take you to the interactive map shown above: Make Plans for the 2017 Eclipse with This Great Map. Continue reading “Less Than Three Years to Prepare”
Book Review: The Guns of August by Tuchman (4 Stars)
Read by John Lee
Winner of the Pulitzer Price for General Nonfiction 1963
Thanks to Barbara, I now know more about the first month of World War I than all my previous half-century of accumulated, absorbed knowledge. Not only do I know more, but I understand the how. How Europe ended up in a terrible stalemate and war of attrition that lasted four more years. The why will have to wait until I can read her other history The Proud Tower: A Portrait of the World Before the War, 1890-1914.
On August 23rd, I attended a discussion of The Guns of August sponsored by the Kansas City Public Library, the Kansas City Star‘s FYI Book Club and hosted at the National World War I Museum at Liberty Memorial. There were many attendees from all over the Kansas City metro area and we attempted to stay focused on Tuchman’s novel, not straying to far before or after. A great hour of discussion on an excellently researched and composed history of the outbreak of the Great War. Continue reading “Book Review: The Guns of August by Tuchman (4 Stars)”
Worldcon! – Ann Leckie
Worldcon! blog post by Ann Leckie
I did have one or two people tell me they were WoT fans but had put AJ in first place, and I would like to say how much that means to me. Because like I said, I know fans of WoT really, really love it.
–Ann Leckie
Yes, this is exactly how I voted. Number one vote to Ancillary Justice and number two to WoT.
Ann, you’re very welcome and congratulations!
Posted from WordPress for Android via my Samsung smartphone. Please excuse any misspellings. Ciao, Jon
Hugo Awards Voting Adventure Wrap-Up
My weekend got away from me and I didn’t make my final post of how I voted for the remainder of the 2014 Hugo Award categories I hadn’t previously discussed. I did carve out two hours on Sunday afternoon to watch the live streaming of the Hugo Awards ceremony (which streaming went off with hardly a hitch, especially as compared to the Retro Hugo Awards ceremony from last Thursday night).
Venus Overtakes Jupiter
I thought I’d use the European racing term more commonly known in the States as ‘passing’ to refer to the progress Venus has made in the predawn sky this past week.
Saturday morning I woke up way too early for a weekend, but remembered reading something about Venus and Jupiter getting closer together. Without reminding myself by actually looking the information up via Facebook or Twitter or Google, I threw on some clothes, grabbed the keys to one of the vehicles (didn’t care which one) and rushed outside. It was still very dark, just after five o’clock (Central time zone). I drove a block up a slight hill to my favorite eastern horizon viewing site (just to the east of Lansing City Hall) and waited … and waited … and waited. I finally used my smartphone (which I never leave home without) to check when Venus and Jupiter were supposed to rise (using Astronomy.com’s Tonight’s Sky mobile web page). Continue reading “Venus Overtakes Jupiter”