The Nerdy, Wordy, Reading Life
I finished Orson Scott Card’s Seventh Son yesterday and was relieved to discover today (when I could access Wikipedia) that it was only the first of a series. It was so unsatisfying as a stand-alone book that I suspected it had to be. Set in an alternate history of America that includes magical abilities and a [...]
I didn’t watch the movie “The Wizard of Oz” until I was in my 20s. I read the book some years later. Neither of them are terribly good fantasy. I find Baum’s vision of Oz flat, cheap, and empty. The tale lacks truth, beauty, and goodness. Gregory Maguire’s reworking of Oz in Wicked is more interesting and [...]
I finished G.K Chesterton’s Heretics (link takes you to the free Kindle download) about a week ago. It is a companion volume to his excellent Orthodoxy which I read some years ago. As is often the case with Chesterton, Heretics is only moderately successful so far from it’s publication. While it’s style is invigoratingly confident and Chesterton’s perspective [...]
Our laptop has been acting up, crashing, failing to run power, and generally being a royal pain. I have been almost entirely offline for three whole days. Shocking I know. I have missed being able to write the most. True, pen and paper are always available, but I am so accustomed to the ease of [...]
I am cleaning out my library (need more shelf space!) and am selling a few duplicate copies I have. If you’re interested check here and if you need me to ship it to you I’ll just ask you to reimburse me for cost!
I snagged this recipe from Slate.com and made a few modifications. It enlivened our Christmas celebration and my morning coffee. I’ve made it twice and modified it a bit. Give it a try! Mocha Butter Crunch Pie CRUST 1 cup flour 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/3 cup brown sugar 1/3 cup cold butter 3 tablespoons finely chopped [...]
This was only my second zombie book (first was I Am Legend ). Max Brooks’s “oral history” was a fascinating read. I have a low tolerance for gore but the descriptions, while graphic, were not too intense for me. The variety of testimonies and post-war timeline kept me from getting too intensely invested in one character and [...]
I was given this book as a Christmas gift from my friend MB. It is clever and engaging but doesn’t rise above the level of light entertainment. Which is, of course, perfectly fine. Light entertainment is an enjoyable part of life. Jasper Fforde includes enough literary allusions, academic in-jokes, and time-travel conundrums to keep things [...]
I don’t know about your world but in mine reading and eating just go together. When I curl up with a good book the situation goes from great to amazeballs just by adding something to nibble on. I like small candies (M&Ms, Nerds, Reese’s Pieces, etc), popcorn and lemonade, beef jerky, or cookies. When I [...]
(But I only answered 9!) Here is a Q & A with me over at All Things Expounded.