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Review: Childhood’s End
Childhood’s End by Arthur C. Clarke My rating: 3 of 5 stars This is some old-ass science fiction. It’s interesting that on my recent trip I ended up reading 3 SF stories from my to-read list that were all from the 1950s. It’s definitely got a lot of that Zeerust where we’re incredibly far into…
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Reviews: Babylon’s Ashes; Katamari Damacy; Milk Street: Tuesday Nights: More than 200 Simple Weeknight Suppers that Deliver Bold Flavor, Fast; Zeroes; Oathbringer; Nightflyers & Other Stories; Legends of Texas Barbecue Cookbook: Recipes and Recollections from the Pit Bosses; The Alloy of Law; Allomancer Jak and the Pits of Eltania; A Planet for Rent ; Adrift on the Sea of Rains; Shadows of Self; The Bands of Mourning; Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell; Cook’s Illustrated Magazine 2018
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…
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Reviews: The Future is Japanese: Science Fiction Futures and Brand New Fantasies from and about Japan; Cibola Burn; Edgedancer; Sixth of the Dusk; The Virtuous Feats of the Indomitable Miss Trafalgar and the Erudite Lady Boone; The Churn; Altered America: Steampunk Stories; Dungeon Hacks: How NetHack, Angband, and Other Roguelikes Changed the Course of Video Games; Nemesis Games; Legion
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…
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Reviews: The Ultimate History of Video Games: From Pong to Pokemon – The Story Behind the Craze That Touched Our Lives and Changed the World; Food Processor Perfection: 75 Amazing Ways to Use the Most Powerful Tool in Your Kitchen; Planet Barbecue!: 309 Recipes, 60 Countries; Prepare to Meet Thy Doom: And More True Gaming Stories; Abaddon’s Gate; Damnation Alley ; The Improbable Rise of Singularity Girl; The Perfect Cookie: Your Ultimate Guide to Foolproof Cookies, Brownies, and Bars; Words of Radiance
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…
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Review: The Kissing Booth Girl and Other Stories
The Kissing Booth Girl and Other Stories by A.C. Wise My rating: 4 of 5 stars I got this book in Storybundle’s LGBT+ Bundle and the title and description of this book are what got me to pick up the entire bundle. I didn’t even realize I already knew A.C. Wise’s work from its appearance…
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Review: Race for the Iron Throne: Political and Historical Analysis of “A Game of Thrones”
Race for the Iron Throne: Political and Historical Analysis of “A Game of Thrones” by Steven Attewell My rating: 4 of 5 stars I heard about this book when Steve Attewell appeared on Boars, Gore, and Swords – my favorite Game of Thrones podcast. On that episode he mentioned how both GoT and the books…
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Review: Warbreaker, Part 1 of 3
Warbreaker, Part 1 of 3 by Brandon Sanderson My rating: 4 of 5 stars I am pretty sure I’ve never read Sanderson before. I’ve just not historically been that much of fantasy guy. I’ve read more fantasy in the past few years than I have in the preceeding decades. However, I do know the name…
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Review: The Handmaid’s Tale
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood My rating: 4 of 5 stars I wanted to read this book before talk of the TV show caused the plot to enter the wider zeitgeist and ruin it for me. I’m going to put any big spoilers in the spoiler tag, but this is a book from the…
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Review: You Are Not So Smart: Why You Have Too Many Friends on Facebook, Why Your Memory Is Mostly Fiction, and 46 Other Ways You’re Deluding Yourself
You Are Not So Smart: Why You Have Too Many Friends on Facebook, Why Your Memory Is Mostly Fiction, and 46 Other Ways You’re Deluding Yourself by David McRaney My rating: 3 of 5 stars This is a great book that I think would have blown my mind if I hadn’t already been listening to…
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Review: Clipping Through: One Mad Week In Video Games
Clipping Through: One Mad Week In Video Games by Leigh Alexander My rating: 3 of 5 stars I discovered Ms. Leigh Alexander when she appeared on one of the E3 podcasts at Giant Bomb. I found her perspective fascinating in a sea of men. I was still too new to this world to understand why…
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Review: Tampa: A Novel
Tampa: A Novel by Alissa Nutting My rating: 3 of 5 stars I am too young to have experienced it first-hand, but for a minute there in the 70s pornography went mainstream. Everyone was talking about it. It was “in” to see it. Regular theaters (as opposed to shady sex theaters) were showing movies like…
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Review: The Emperor’s Agent
The Emperor’s Agent by Jo Graham My rating: 3 of 5 stars And so my first book of 2017 is done, although it’s a bit of a cheat as I started it at the end of 2016. I purchased this book as part of a book bundle – I think it was on StoryBundle.com. The…
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Outdated Thinking
In a post about how security has changed, Josh Bressers had this great bit of info in how some people are living in the past when it comes to understanding technology: If you listen to my podcast (which you should be doing already), I had a bit of a rant at the start this week…
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Review: Piranha Frenzy
A look into the world of video games journalism that isn’t quite as fictional as you’d think
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Andy Zaltzman in DC
I discovered The Bugle from an AV Club post about podcasts. It was a very British approach to satirizing the news. At the time it was hosted by Jon Oliver and Andy Zaltzman. Then Oliver hit it big with Last Week Tonight and didn’t have time to participate in The Bugle anymore. While Andy Zaltzman…