SFWA does something right

I've been pretty hard on SFWA over the years so I might as well point out when they do something right. Night Shade Books on year probation.

Harlan Ellison runs screaming from the Internet

Over this?  Seriously?

Harry Potter actress attacked by family

Afshan Azad who plays Padma Patil.

Welcome to the 21st century, or not

Danica Patrick gets heels from track.

Fighting France: From Dunkerque to Belport by Edith Wharton

Fighting France: From Dunkerque to Belport by Edith Wharton  this is a collection of magazine articles the author wrote during the first world war. It covers several trips she took to the French sector of the front lines. There is little here to interest a military historian though perhaps a social historian may find more here. The writing is occasionally beautiful. I'm going to track down some of her novels. This edition has a modern forward as well as a short biography. There are endnotes but it is unclear if they are new or originated in the text. This isn't the amount of apparatus that say Penguin would give but it's better than most of the publishers of public domain texts.

Recommended for the literary craft displayed.

Note:This book was provided through Librarything's early reviewer Program.

Stupid it burns.

She was Greek! Backlash over Angelina Jolie as Cleopatra.

To hell with it

I don't give up on books. There are ones sitting in my "currently reading collection" that have been there for years. In the last month I completed a book I had been working on for 4 years. That being said I'm giving up on Why the Allies Won by Richard Overy. I knew it was bad. I tried reading it for the argument. Then I tried reading it for the humor value but I can't. I don't know if it gets better after page 63 and I don't care.

Apple puts their foot in it again

Ulysses too much for iPad.

Update:Nice they have one English major on staff.

The great reorganization

For awhile now I've known that I will be running out of bookshelves.  The good news in about 14 months that will be fixed.  I can't really discuss why but you can probably guess.  In the meanwhile I have to figure out what to do.  I've had to start stacking books inside the shelves.  I didn't want to do this because it makes it difficult to figure out just what is there.  I've started going through shelves looking for books I haven't read and stacking the ones I have.  Not ideal but maybe it will get me to the finish line.

Hello

I think this is the longest I haven't posted anything ever....

Exit Blue by Ivan G. Goldman

Exit Blue by Ivan G. Goldman this is a satire of American Society. The red states and blue states have separated. The narrator gets himself entangled in red state politics, ending up in bed with the president and her sister. Basically the red states are described like a MSNBC announcers nightmare. I'll admit some of it is funny but it's just a little too overwhelming. This is crammed full with references. If you haven't been keeping track of the news since 2000 you may be confused. There were a couple things I had to think about before getting the joke. If you're a blue stater with a sense of humor you'll enjoy this.

Recommended.

Note: this was provided for review by a PR outfit.

Quotation [occasional]

“The only thing memorable about Sex and the City 2 is the number two part, which describes it totally, if you get my drift. Everything else in this deadly, brainless exercise in pointless tedium is dedicated to the screeching audacity of delusional self-importance that convinces these people the whole world is waiting desperately to watch two hours and 25 minutes of platform heels, fake orgasms and preposterous clothes. It is to movies what fried dough is to nutrition.” — Rex Reed, The New York Observer

Knock it off you perverts...

I've noticed something over the last few days.  My traffic has increased about fivefold I wasn't really sure why until realizing that almost all the hits go to the same page.  I had made a few sarcastic comments that was more search engine baiting than anything else.  Now I know why everyone and his dog was searching on that.

It's nice to know that even though I took a blogging hiatus

Jimbo Wales is still a weasel.

Changes by Jim Butcher

Changes by Jim Butcher this book is called changes and it really doesn't disappoint. I have to give Butcher credit when he decides to burn it to the ground he really does. Harry has a daughter that he didn't know about which drives this novel. This also ends the major story arc that has been taking up the series so far. I can't wait until the next book. The ending is a cliffhanger but unlike much of the commentary online I don't really mind it. It makes sense.

Highly recommended.