In September 1993 I read Ringworld for the first time. I had turned twenty that June, just gotten my driver’s license, and I was starting my third semester at Central Virginia Community College. By Christmas I had read all of Niven’s Known Space work (except The Patchwork Girl, which took about a year to trackContinue reading “Ringworld’s Children”
Category Archives: Reading
On F. Scott Fitzgerald and Heroic Fantasy
Little known fact. F. Scott Fitzgerald, author of The Great Gatsby and coiner of the term “The Jazz Age,” wrote heroic fantasy. Why bring this up? On a mailing list I subscribe to the question was asked, “It’s interesring to note that though Hemingway and Fitzgerald did make it big, they still were miserable andContinue reading “On F. Scott Fitzgerald and Heroic Fantasy”
Middle-Earth Thoughts
A few days ago I finished playing the Return of the King video game. It’s based on the film, not the book, so the story ends at Mount Doom. I’m sure that Peter Jackson’s film will go further, but I know that the Scouring of the Shire is out (and, personally, I find that aContinue reading “Middle-Earth Thoughts”
Half-way Through August
We’re halfway through August. How did that happen? Seems like just yesterday it was mid-May. Down here in North Carolina school has started back–none of that progressive after-Labor Day stuff like you find in the civilized portions of the world–and I think we’ve had rain every day since mid-March. It’s all really quite depressing. Well,Continue reading “Half-way Through August”
Adventures in Potterdom
The local Barnes & Noble held Friday night a Harry Potter release party. At midnight that night, Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix went on sale, and in the hours leading up to its release a number of activities were planned–readings, trivia contests, costume contests, cookies and punch, that sort of thing. FridayContinue reading “Adventures in Potterdom”
On Midnight Harry Potter Parties
I’m about 50-50 on deciding whether or not to go to the Barnes & Noble Harry Potter midnight party. On the one hand, I think the party might be a fantastic place to meet single women. Harry Potter as conversation starter. On the other hand, there are going to be children there, children up wellContinue reading “On Midnight Harry Potter Parties”
New Nick Hornby
Nick Hornby, author of High Fidelity and About a Boy, released recently through McSweeney’s Books a book entitled simply Songbook. This is, like Fever Pitch, strictly non-fiction, a look at some of the songs that Hornby, a former music critic, enjoys, and includes a CD of several of the songs essayed in the book. JustContinue reading “New Nick Hornby”
Stalking the wild Harry Potter book
Yesterday brought two surprises. The first, and potentially the most important, was that I got my power back after five days. Raleigh, North Carolina was hit by a massive ice storm on last Wednesday, leaving upwards of 70 percent of the Raleigh/Durham area without electricity, and without electricity I had neither heat nor water. AfterContinue reading “Stalking the wild Harry Potter book”
Charles Sheffield
Noted science fiction author Charles Sheffield has passed away. I’m not sure what the first Sheffield book was that I read. Might have been Cold As Ice about ten years ago, maybe Web Between the Worlds, but since then I’ve been a fan of his work and sought out a good deal of it. HisContinue reading “Charles Sheffield”
Elias Vaughn Observations
Something occurred to me last night. I was unpacking a box of books, and one of the book was a collection of Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s poetry, which, oddly enough, comprises fully half of the poetry I own. (The other book of poetry I have is O Holy Cow: The Selected Verse of Phil Rizzuto, aContinue reading “Elias Vaughn Observations”