"A big leather-bound volume makes an ideal razorstrap. A thin book is useful to stick under a table with a broken caster to steady it. A large, flat atlas can be used to cover a window with a broken pane. And a thick, old-fashioned heavy book with a clasp is the finest thing in the world to throw at a noisy cat."

(Mark Twain)

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 07:19 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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How to Get Into Manga. I'm still trying to figure out how to get into comi—your pardon, "graphic novels". And I'll note that I've noticed more shrinkage at the local big box in exchange for graphic novels and manga.

Overall, I think I'd rather collect this stuff.

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 12:02 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Lois McMaster Bujold has posted an essay about the relationship between one of her most popular characters (Miles Vorkosigan) and the much-maligned science fiction sub-genre of space opera.

In one of those strange but true moments, I started re-reading (for the first time in a long time) Shards of Honor. Whether this leads to a re-reading of the rest of the series, we shall see. more...

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 08:13 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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A few random bits from my morning reading.

John Scalzi comes across what might be his favorite negative review of Old Man's War.

A biopic on Philip K. Dick...not!

My favorite Brother Astronomer has a new book out! more...

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 10:53 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Gallia est omnis divisa in partes tres, quarum unam incolunt Belgae, aliam Aquitani, tertiam qui ipsorum lingua Celtae, nostra Galli appellantur. Hi omnes lingua, institutis, legibus inter se differunt. Gallos ab Aquitanis Garumna flumen, a Belgis Matrona et Sequana dividit. Horum omnium fortissimi sunt Belgae, propterea quod a cultu atque humanitate provinciae longissime absunt, minimeque ad eos mercatores saepe commeant atque ea quae ad effeminandos animos pertinent important, proximique sunt Germanis, qui trans Rhenum incolunt, quibuscum continenter bellum gerunt.

(Julius Caesar, The Gallic Wars. Slightly less obscure version here.)

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 09:53 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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The posting can now be viewed here.

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 09:12 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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What kind of reader are you?

I'm a obsessive-compulsive bookworm! No kidding! (With thanks to ***Dave for the link.)

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 10:54 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I'm reading books faster than I'm posting reviews! Just hit 60 for the year-to-date. The complete list, as always, is here. Reviews to come, promise, as soon as the audit is done at the firehouse, I catch up on a couple of other firehouse projects, and (the infamous) etc.

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 10:35 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Ansible! Ansible! Time for the October Ansible!

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Death leaned over the saddle and looked down at the kingdoms of the world.
I DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOU, he said, BUT I COULD MURDER A CURRY.
"Sir?"
YES?
"What's a curry?"
The blue fires flared deep in the eyes of Death.
HAVE YOU EVER BITTEN A RED-HOT ICE CUBE?
"No, sir," said Mort.
CURRY'S LIKE THAT.

(Mort, Terry Pratchett.) more...

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 10:36 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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From the description this does not actually appear to be about October-ish subject matter such as ghosts, but the title certainly caught my eye. Another addition for Mount Toberead!

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 09:07 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Here's what I've read since my last report:

Making up the Mind: How the Brain Creates Our Mental World, Chris Frith.

The Man Who Sold the Moon, Robert Heinlein.

In progress:

Stumbling on Happiness, Daniel Gilbert.

Consciousness Explained, Daniel C. Dennett. This one is great, but a slow read. I keep re-reading sections to make sure I'm digesting them right.

On Deck:

God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything, Christopher Hitchens.

Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid, Douglas R. Hofstadter.

Soul Made Flesh: The Discovery of the Brain--and How it Changed the World, Carl Zimmer.

About seven months' worth of Analog magazine. (I read two issues this past month!)

Posted by: JohnL at 09:42 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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"The researches of many commentators have already thrown much darkness on this subject, and it is probable that if they continue we shall soon know nothing at all about it."

(Mark Twain, on the mystery and history of pre-Columbian voyages to the Americas.)

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 08:51 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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