The Sagan Diary by John Scalzi

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is best read right after the original trilogy so you can get all the references. As these are Jane Sagan’s BrainPal diary entrees, Scalzi doesn’t over describe the references.

It’s much more poetically written than other Scalzi stuff I’ve read, so it was neat to see him showcase some of his other writing talents.

Questions for a Soldier by John Scalzi

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Full of inside jokes for readers of the first trilogy and a chance for Scalzi to expand on Perry’s thoughts which would have been too awkward to fit in during the original narrative.

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Tiger Eye by Marjorie M. Liu

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I set out to see if I could enjoy a romance book. I got this Marjorie Liu book for free from Barnes and Noble in a Friday giveaway. The cover promised a cheesy romance, but I knew going in it was Liu who I loved on X-Men and I knew it was a paranormal romance, to which my wife said “like the movie Ghost?”

It wasn’t until this year that I realized I was no longer in control of my personal narrative. I believed that I could be in charge of how private or public my life was. But it’s become increasingly obvious this year that it’s not in Facebook’s financial interest for me to be able to control my narrative. Too many of us are disengaging with the social network to a large degree. So now others can post about me and tag me and there’s nothing I can do about it. It’s quite frustrating that all too many conversations nowadays begin with, “please don’t post this to Facebook.” It just makes me want to turn in on myself and spend less time socializing. Because, at least for now, anything that happens in my home when I’m by myself will only end up on the Internet if Danielle and I both want it online.

It’s good to play with you, but now I have to go home!

-Scarlett to a playground full of kids

Hey, when you like bands like The Protomen, Anamanaguchi, and Weird Al, it’s hard to find someone to go to a concert with you. I’d be missing out on lots of fun if I had to go with someone else.

From the article:

Everyone has different internal guidelines for solo outings, and these guidelines are often marked by a fair degree of irrationality. I’ve never been able to work up the nerve to see a movie alone, for example, and yet I’ve eaten plenty of meals in restaurants without a dining partner — despite the fact that it’s a much more visible activity than sitting in a dark theater.

https://youtu.be/jayTknqC2uc

1. Anberlin (171) - Almost the same number of listens as my top artist last quarter (179 for I Fight Dragons). As usual, I continue to enjoy their music and have grown to appreciate some of the ones I didn’t like before. And some of the older stuff seems trite in comparison. 2. Jim Guthrie (168) - As I’ve mentioned before, his folk song compositions are mostly really enjoyable and I like his work on video games and soundtracks. 3. Paul & Storm (138) - I discovered these guys via John Scalzi. I was hesitant to back the Kickstarter for Ball Pit, but I’ve been enjoying the heck out of it on Spotify. 4. Fall Out Boy (101) - A lot of this is from a few recent road trips in which I didn’t want to use data and happened to have Fall Out Boy already on my phone. Doesn’t mean I don’t like the music. 5. Jonathan Coulton (61) - I’ve said so much about how much I enjoy this over the years. Recently Scarlett’s been asking me to play The Princess Who Saved Herself because I got her the book from Greg Pak’s kickstarter. 6. Louis Jorda n (58) - I like to kick it to Louis Jordan on the weekends when I want something classic. 7. Anamanaguchi (56) - Some of this was from the high of seeing them live. Some of it was just from really enjoying the music no matter what, especially Endless Fantasy. 8. Jack White (54) - Another artist I’ve been listening to a lot of because of Spotify. His album Lazaretto does not do well on 30 second preview on Amazon. But because of Spotify, I want to buy the album. 9. Kanye West (42) - Most of this came from listening to my music alphabetically. 10. Lostprophets (41) - I may hate what the singer was accused of doing, but these songs still mostly rock. 10. Lana Del Rey (41) - Something I can throw on that both my wife and I like 12. Willy Chirino (34) - Most of the listens came from a greatest hits album on Spotify. 13. Buddy Rich (33) - Another album I wasn’t sure I wanted until I listened to it on Spotify. It reminds me a lot of the music in Cowboy Bebop 13. Five Iron Frenzy (33) - Perennial Favorite 15. Thelonious Monk (31) - something else I like to throw on Sunday mornings.