Via a bunch of people, but most directly Matt Ruff, the Guardian has published a list of “1000 Novels Everyone Must Read“. Which has triggered the usual flurry of procrastinatory blog posts indicating which books from the science fiction and fantasy sub-list one has and hasn’t read. I have other things I really ought to… Continue reading “Must-Read” SF Novels
Category: Pop Culture
Buddhists Are Citizens Too
Lots of people are giving Obama props for the shout-out to atheists in his inaugural address, but I’m deeply concerned about what he said. Or, rather, what he didn’t say: We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus — and non-believers. Where are the Buddhists? He left out a major world religion!… Continue reading Buddhists Are Citizens Too
Andrew Wyeth
Arts & Letters Daily has an item announcing the death of Andrew Wyeth (the link goes to the New York Times obit). This is noteworthy to me because he’s one of a very few artists whose work (in poster form) has ever hung on my wall. Specifically, this painting, titled “Soaring”: I picked it up… Continue reading Andrew Wyeth
Hugo Nomination Suggestions
As Kate notes, I am a paid-up member of this year’s Worldcon, and thus entitled to nominate works for the Hugo Awards. Of course, there are a zillion categories, and I’m not entirely sure what to nominate for any of them. So, if you are a reader or watcher of science fiction and/or fantasy, this… Continue reading Hugo Nomination Suggestions
Incompleteness by Rebecca Goldstein
Rebecca Goldstein’s Incompleteness: The Proof and Paradox of Kurt Gödel is another book in the Great Discoveries series of short books by noted authors about important moments in the history of science, and the people behind them. Previous volumes include Everything and More and A Force of Nature, both of which were excellent in their… Continue reading Incompleteness by Rebecca Goldstein
Doctor Who? Why?
Fannish regions of the Internet are all abuzz today, with the introduction of Matt Smith as the next actor to play the lead role in Doctor Who. Sadly, this is not the Matt Smith I went to college with (who would’ve been a really unusual choice for the part…)– he’s still comfortably obscure to anyone… Continue reading Doctor Who? Why?
A Well Deserved Hono(u)r
Terry Pratchett knighted: Terry Pratchett, the author of the Discworld series of novels that have sold more than 55 million copies worldwide, said he was “stunned, in a good way” after receiving a knighthood in the New Year’s Honours List. The 60-year-old writer, below, whose first book was published in 1971, told The Independent last… Continue reading A Well Deserved Hono(u)r
Recent Reading
I was up late watching my Giants play the Carolina Panthers (they won in OT– now you see the importance of Brandon Jacobs), and today is a Baby Day, so I have no deep thoughts to blog. So here are some quick comments on recent reading: The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson. This is… Continue reading Recent Reading
Intellectual Ignorance Knows No Bounds
I’ve said a number of harsh things here about the bad attitude of people who consider themselve Intellectuals toward math and science. After reading this New Yorker discussion about a Young Adult novel, I may need to change my stance a bit. It’s not that they’re better than expected when it comes to math and… Continue reading Intellectual Ignorance Knows No Bounds
Christmas Songs That Don’t Suck, 2008
I’m beat, and I have a ton of stuff to do today, so here’s some seasonally-appropriate filler. I spent a while in a big chain bookstore’s cafe area yesterday, doing some edits on the book-in-progress (I can’t do this effectively anywhere where I have Internet access), and was stuck listening to some sort of “quirky”… Continue reading Christmas Songs That Don’t Suck, 2008