At any given time, I am probably reading one book in paper form, another as an audio book, and another on an e-reader. I also keep an anthology or collection in my car, for those long waits. My average rating is between 3 and 4, because I try to seek out good books and authors. One goal is to read all the SF award winners and SF Masterworks. See my profile at Worlds Without End.
Finally, the "social media" info - I am a long-time reader, proud to have completed several summer reading programs as a kid. I recall reading more than 50 books one summer. When I'm not reading, you might find me gaming (board and role play) or working, either as a baseball umpire or with software.
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An interesting subject, covering one implementation in detail, and touching on a few more. I enjoyed the parts where the reasons and psychology behind the scenes were explored. Overall the book didn't grab me, but it was certainly better than average.
A pretty good collection of interviews and transcripts. If you haven't read anything by this esteemed scientist, this is not a bad place to start.
Too many characters to follow. I get the gist - a major event near the beginnings of the town, and the later effects - but it is told in the first person by far too many people. Concentrating on a few key people would be better, or even just telling the story from the perspective of the town. Also, the writing is long, very long - a lot to slog through, which makes following multiple character that much tougher. Did not finish.
Wonderstruck (2011) is an American young-adult fiction novel written and illustrated by Brian Selznick, who …
My daughter (8) and I read this - she articulating the pictures, me reading the words. She reviewed it as the "best book she's ever read" - though when I asked her to rate it from one to five stars, she chose four. I'll go with a five, but clearly she thinks there are better books out there waiting for her :)
Like the first book, I greatly enjoyed this collection of three inter-related stories. Lukyanenko's Watch universe is what the World of Darkness should have been - intrigue, grand events and wheels within wheels. Still haven't seen the movies made from the first book, which I will probably tackle before reading the third and fourth of this series.
In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of …
A decent YA book - fast paced and thrilling. Wanted to finish it before the movie.
This sci-fi/fantasy novel has a little bit of everything - and I do mean everything - and varies from the scale of a day's ride on a horse to the oort cloud and universes beyond. It all works pretty well too - the characters are interesting and funny and memorable. If I were younger or older this book would have been read in a single day or night.
The Puppet Masters is a 1951 science fiction novel by American writer Robert A. Heinlein, …
Hard to rate this. The science is good, once past the premise, and a darn sight better than the other alien invasion and body snatcher plots of the seventies. The female main character, though, brings the rating down. I cringe while reading lines like "Oh, I am being weak and womanish." Yes, attitudes were different 60 years ago, but I've read plenty of pulp where the female characters were either differently shaped men or completely ignored - either is preferable to the Heinlein approach.
Note to self - time to re-read Friday. Written 33 years later, and I think I remember a much better female lead.
Read with 8 year old daughter. This was a fun mystery, with more than a few things to explain. I especially enjoyed the "where are they now" ending. In some ways, there were too many characters. We were often interrupted in our reading, and finishing it tonight, I had to flip back many times to figure out who a given character was, or when they had appeared. The three star rating is my daughters, but I generally agree with it.
Some interesting thoughts and historical basis are scattered through this not unjustified attack on Rick Warren and contemporary Puritanical Christianity. The misuse of science to justify some of these ideas rubbed me the wrong way, detracting from his overall position. The author does make several good points on the origins of American Christianity, and the ease with which the people flock to this plusher path. I value this slim volume as much for its bibliography as its main points, and that is a shame.
The author used just the right touch, covering history and humor with equal skill. I greatly enjoyed this look behind the scenes of this very important war effort. The only thing to improve it would be an appendix with what the enemy actually knew, which is probably available in some form now.
inspired by www.darthsanddroids.net/episodes/0634.html
The Voyage of the Space Beagle (1950) is a science fiction novel by Canadian-American writer …
I've seen reviews comparing this to Star Trek, which isn't far off. There are four "episodes" in this novel, though the fourth also ties together the interpersonal power struggles that have been in the offing since the start. Put another way, an authors somewhat unconvincing treatise on Nexialism.
John Scalzi channels Robert Heinlein (including a wry sense of humor) in a novel about …
Picked this up years ago, didn't realize it was the first book in a series. I greatly enjoyed this story, from the space opera aliens and rapid promotions to the nanobots and discussions of physics. Could the attack on the Whaidians foreshadow an attack on Earth in later books? It would certainly seem so.
Those who know me know I'm not a fan of a series - second books that are just marking time between the first and third, etc. This book would be find as a standalone novel, and yet I am drawn to read more from this universe in particular and this author in general. Well done!
Four more light stories, with continuity from the previous book and other semi-canon trek incidents. These are fun stories, I'll definitely read more.
I really enjoyed reading about the life of this complex man. From music to acting to civil and human rights, this is the story of a very full life, lived with great gusto. After finishing this, I feel great desire to seek out his music and movies (including Sing Your Song), a biography of Sydney Poitier and a solution for the poor of society. That last one might take a few years.
