Of all the authors out there whose work I have to admit to never having read at all, Kurt Vonnegut is probably the one of whom I’m most embarrassed to say that I’ve never read. And when I say I’ve never read him, I mean it — not a single word, to the best of my knowledge. This bothers me because plenty of people whose judgment I trust on such topics speak very highly of Vonnegut. So I’ll read him, OK? Someday. Share This PostDown the rabbit hole….
Oy. The new Borders that’s about 1.5 miles from Minas Jaquandor has opened. It’s what they call a “soft open” — when they open the doors before their anticipated “Grand Opening” — but I don’t care. Open is open. If I can walk in and buy stuff, you’re not softly open, or kinda-sorta open, or in a state that resembles openness. You’re open. Anyway, their parking lot is still unfinished — the islands have no grass in them, the surfacing of the lot is rough and uneven (they striped it anyway), and two other buildings on the same parcel (oneDown the rabbit hole….
I finished Guy Gavriel Kay’s newest novel over a week ago; since then I’ve been trying to figure out what I thought of it. Spoilers for Ysabel follow! GGK’s career path led many to expect a far different novel this time out. He started out with his epic fantasy trilogy The Fionavar Tapestry, in which he delved deeply into that genre and pretty much wallowed in all its tropes before coming out clean on the other side; then he moved on to a subgenre he kinda-sorta invented, which I call “historical fantasy”. His main aim was to explore themes andDown the rabbit hole….
I’ve finally made a lllooonnnggg overdue update of my Writings Elsewhere page, wherein you’ll find links to stuff of mine appearing on the Web other than on this blog. (As of this writing, that’s on Green Man Review exclusively, but you never know what the future may bring!) Share This PostDown the rabbit hole….
I’ve been reading some comics and graphic novels lately, and I have more to go over the next few weeks. Here’s what I’ve read: :: Marvels, by Kurt Busiek and Alex Ross. I liked this quite a bit, but I wanted to like it more. The conceit here is an encapsulation of the first few decades of the Marvel Comics universe, starting with the debut of the Human Torch and ending shortly after the death of Gwen Stacy. The tale is told, however, from the viewpoint of a normal person witnessing all this: news photographer Phil Sheldon, who documents theDown the rabbit hole….
Back when I was soliciting space opera reading suggestions*, a reader e-mailed me (or maybe he commented, I can’t recall) about a book called Space Viking by H. Beam Piper. I saw a few copies on eBay, but never acquired one. Now, I see that I won’t have to. Viva Project Gutenberg! OK, all you geniuses, what’s a good gizmo on which to read e-books? (via) * Not that I’ve stopped soliciting space opera reading suggestions, folks. Feel free to keep those coming! Share This PostDown the rabbit hole….
OK, folks: for research purposes, I need these items: :: A good telling of the classic “Dick Whittington” tale. :: A good nonfiction resource on the history and function of lighthouses. Not contemporary lighthouses, mind you, but ones from the Middle Ages and onward. Pictures helpful. Anyone? Share This PostDown the rabbit hole….
Today was the quarterly Used Book Sale at the local library. I always find some treasures there — and even treasures within the treasures themselves — but today was an even better haul than usual, with far better pickings in the SF department than usual. Behold: And those are just the books I bought for myself. I also picked up five books each for The Wife and The Daughter. And the grand total spent? Nine dollars. Folks, if you like to read and if you like to own books, then you really have no reason to not be frequenting yourDown the rabbit hole….
A few days ago I finished Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson, which is the first book in the fantasy mega-series The Malazan Book of the Fallen. I can’t say I loved the book, but I found it highly compelling, and I definitely plan to continue reading the series. Just not for a while. This is epic fantasy, no doubt about it. Boy howdy, is this book epic. The sense of scale in this book is, to my way of thinking, even more vast than in George R. R. Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire. In fact, Erikson hasDown the rabbit hole….
Anyone interested in the increasingly important issues of copyright and intellectual property needs to read this Jonathan Lethem essay. A brief sample: Honoring the commons is not a matter of moral exhortation. It is a practical necessity. We in Western society are going through a period of intensifying belief in private ownership, to the detriment of the public good. We have to remain constantly vigilant to prevent raids by those who would selfishly exploit our common heritage for their private gain. Such raids on our natural resources are not examples of enterprise and initiative. They are attempts to take fromDown the rabbit hole….