Tag: reading

Book Review: The Guns of August by Tuchman (4 Stars)

The Guns of August

by Barbara W. Tuchman

Read by John Lee

Winner of the Pulitzer Price for General Nonfiction 1963

4 out of 5 stars

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).

Continue reading “Hugo Awards Voting Adventure Wrap-Up”

Watching (but not Hearing) the Retro Hugo Awards Ceremony

Technical difficulties again plagued the Ustream live video of a Hugo Awards ceremony.  Beautiful video, but no audio. Those of us in the audience were left with Tweet breadcrumbs from @LonCon3 on the hashtag #RetroHugos:

46 minutes into the ‘broadcast’ and still no sound . . .

Continue reading “Watching (but not Hearing) the Retro Hugo Awards Ceremony”

Hugo Awards Voting Adventure: Remainder of Retro Hugos

Tomorrow the winners will be announced for the 1939 Retro Hugo Awards.

The 1939 Retro Hugo Awards can be watched online via ustream. The stream will be located at http://www.ustream.tv/hugo-awards. The Retro Hugo Awards Ceremony starts at 8PM BST (or 2PM Central) on Thursday 14 August.

Retro Hugo Awards Ceremony, LonCon3

I’ve covered the main ‘big’ categories in previous posts.  Today, I’ll summarize the remaining ones that are less, ‘sexy’, for lack of a better term. Continue reading “Hugo Awards Voting Adventure: Remainder of Retro Hugos”

Hugo Awards Voting Adventure: Best Dramatic Presentation (Long Form) aka Movies

After books, movies are my next ‘go to’ source for hours of uninterrupted entertainment.  If I’m not happy with the book I’m currently reading, I will take an afternoon or evening off from reading to enjoy a good movie.  New or old … it doesn’t matter.  If the story is good, and the acting convincing, and the directing sublime … all else is irrelevant.  Special effects may be indistinguishable from reality today, but if you don’t have a great story, you’re just a flash in a pan that fizzled, smoked and went boom.
Continue reading “Hugo Awards Voting Adventure: Best Dramatic Presentation (Long Form) aka Movies”

Hugo Awards Voting Adventure: Best Novelette 2014 and 1939

I’d dropped the blog ball over the weekend. I’ve got less than a week before the Hugo Awards Ceremony announces the winners and about three days before the 1939 Retro Hugo Award winners are revealed.  No use crying over spilled milk, though, so on to the novelette category: Continue reading “Hugo Awards Voting Adventure: Best Novelette 2014 and 1939”

Hugo Awards Voting Adventure: Best Novellas 2014 and 1939

Last week I posted about my adventures in reading the books nominated for the Best Novel award (2014 and 1939).  I had hoped to write my second and subsequent posts on the other categories on a daily or every other day pattern so that I could wrap up before the Hugo Award ceremonies on the 14th and 17th of this month.  A distraction arrived over the weekend and then work returned on Monday and Tuesday.  Here I am halfway to the next weekend and just now getting around to this post. Continue reading “Hugo Awards Voting Adventure: Best Novellas 2014 and 1939”

My First Hugo Awards Voting Adventure – Best Novels 2014 and 1939

I took the plunge this year and decided to buy a supporting membership to WorldCon so I could vote in the Hugo Awards. What pushed me over the edge?  The Best Novel (or Series) nomination for Ancillary Justice and the entire Wheel of Time series.  I could not let this opportunity pass me by without making my meager voice heard.

I spent (or wasted, depending on your point of view) over two decades reading (and re-reading) and waiting to read the Wheel of Time series.  At one point, upon Robert Jordan’s death, I gave up hope of ever being able to complete the series.  I made my peace with that, prayed for his family, and went on with my reading life. 
Continue reading “My First Hugo Awards Voting Adventure – Best Novels 2014 and 1939”