Babylon’s Ashes by James S.A. Corey

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book is probably the most direct sequel so far in The Expanse. It pretty much picks up right where the last one left off (not counting the interstitial novella). One thing JSAC use for great effect in this book (and I think more than any of the previous ones) is to use the POV-ness of the chapters to jump back and forth in time. So chapter X ends and then chapter X+1 actually rewinds things a bit and provides a new perspective on what happened in chapter X. It mostly worked well.

Muffins & Biscuits: 50 Recipes to Start Your Day with a Smile by Heidi Gibson

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Written by the owner of a bakery, this book has relatively easy-to-follow recipes and beautiful photos of the muffins and biscuits. I’ve made one biscuit recipe in here and it’s already a staple of our weekend big breakfasts. Many recipes end with instructions for variants you could make from the base recipe. If you’re looking to expand your muffin and biscuit repertoire, this book is worth having.

The Future is Japanese: Science Fiction Futures and Brand New Fantasies from and about Japan by Masumi Washington

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Another anthology. As usual, I’ve included my status updates with some spelling fixes. Overall it was a very uneven collection in terms of what I enjoyed. The stories all seemed to run hot or cold for me with nothing lukewarm.

The Ultimate History of Video Games: From Pong to Pokemon - The Story Behind the Craze That Touched Our Lives and Changed the World by Steven L. Kent

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a very comprehensive look at the history of video games going way, way back. I’m familiar with a lot of the main points from having read lots of industry histories. Where this one excels is in going to the smallest of details and talks about a lot of the personalities and more obscure companies involved. So even if you already know a lot about video games history, if you’re interested, you’ll end up learning things you most likely didn’t know. Most importantly it is stuffed with first-hand quotes from interviews and other published material.

Partway through the year Spotify broke at work and, shortly after, Youtube Music appeared along with (likely) rumors that Google Music will be nixed in favor of Youtube Music. So I finally followed through on the work necessary to get Ampache up and running. I also experimented with Funk Whale - an open source attempt to resurrect Groove Shark. Funk Whale had some issues with the version of Firefox we have at work, so I went all-in on Ampache. It’s been really awesome to have access to my entire music collection at work. Hearing my favorite music just gives me such a pick-me-up when the day is wearing at me. Also, it’s great not to have ads interrupting my music listening.

Back in October I went to BBQ and was shocked to see something moving. When I opened the grill all the way, I saw:

Mouse living on my Weber Spirit

Somehow, even with the lid closed and the cover on, the mouse had ripped off bits of my charcoal bag to climb into here and make a nest.

Mouse and fuzzies in my BBQ

An Election by John Scalzi

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A fun little short story about an election in a very diverse district. I kind of want to see more of this world which I think is the mark of a good short story.

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You’re Not Fooling Anyone When You Take Your Laptop to a Coffee Shop: Scalzi on Writing by John Scalzi

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

If you are an aspiring writer, Scalzi tells it like it is and gives you a good feeling for what it might be like to be a modern writer. No writing tips here - that’s for other types of books. This one is about being a writer and making a living.

White Sand, Volume 1 by Brandon Sanderson

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It’s very odd reading a Sanderson comic rather than a prose book. So much of what’s great in his books involves the background information and the inner monologues of the characters. That said, it is neat to see a visual representation of his world. There are some setups here that seem easy, but that’s usually not Sanderson’s way. Then again, this was one of his first stories. His intro mentions being inspired by Dune and it’s not hard to see where that fits in with the story thus far. It’ll be interesting to see how this fits in with the rest of the Cosmere. Onto volume 2.

Neon Noir: A Delilah Street Paranormal Investigator Anthology by Carole Nelson Douglas

My rating: 1 of 5 stars

This book might be for you. It was most assuredly not for me. The world was OK, but three things kept me from enjoying it:

- The reveals or answers to the cases seemed to come out of left field (compare with Sanderson where a reveal or twist makes you realize all the hints that were dropped all along)