b.rox

Phil Baird / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Tomorrow at my book club we are discussing our hundredth book.
We have been reading together since the summer of 2001, when we got started with Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card.
Since then we’ve been through an awful lot, including the flooding of our city as well as the death of [...]

It has just been brought to my attention that Ulysses Press has canceled publication of LOLcats: Teh Most Funyest, Cutest Internet Kittehs.
That’s a shame because they were going to use my photo of Milo (may he rest in peace) in the book.

The worst part is now I’ll never know what clever caption they had [...]

Title: The City & The City
Author: China Miéville
Published: 2009
When I saw that China Miéville had a new book out, I snapped it up. He’s one of the few authors I’ll spring for without even knowing anything about the book. I rarely have time to read above and beyond my book club, but I do sneak [...]

Lots of stuff going on lately, and so little time to write. The days slip away uncounted. I can’t stand that. So here are some things that have gone down over the last five days or more.

Xy made a trip to the north shore with Persephone and Daisy and Lavender to visit the splash park [...]

I’ve been in a book club for eight years now. We read science fiction and meet on the second Saturday of each month at Octavia Books. It’s a lot of fun. We select our books by a simple method which was established by our club’s founder, the late Scott Speake. Each person takes a turn [...]

These are not reviews — more like reading notes.
Title: Gods Behaving Badly
Author: Marie Phillips
Published: 2007
When I heard of this book, featuring the gods of ancient Greece living in modern day London, I knew I had to read it, mainly because Persephone has a key role.
Promising premise. Alas, I just wasn’t feeling Ms. Phillips’ take on [...]

A friend of mine quit Facebook earlier this week. Said he wanted to spend more time reading. Someone else suggested he needed a Bookbook application, which I thought was pretty funny. (But, come to think of it, maybe that’s a better name than GoodReads or LibraryThing.) (Though I don’t think Facebook is dominating my mental [...]

These are not reviews — more like reading notes.
Title: The Atrocity Exhibition
Author: J. G. Ballard
Published: 1970
The Atrocity Exhibition was originally published in 1970, but it was shredded by a distraught Nelson Doubleday, or so the story goes. It was published again by Grove in ‘72 under a different title, and then again in 1990 by [...]

Once again, these are not reviews, just some scattered reading notes.
Title: 334
Author: Thomas M. Disch
Published: 1974
Like Nova, this is a good novel by an author capable of greatness. I admire Disch, and was saddened when he took his life last year. I have a collection of his stories, entitled Fun with Your New Head that [...]

Title: Nova
Author: Samuel R. Delany
Published: 1968
Nova is a seminal work by one of my favorite authors. It’s a relatively short novel, written in an easy and accessible style, with poetic flourishes that don’t overwhelm, beautiful imagery, iconic characters, and just a dash of of avant-garde ambition.
And I liked it OK. I mean really, it was [...]

Title: The Yiddish Policemen’s Union
Author: Michael Chabon
Published: 2007
Here’s a rare book that I’ve enjoyed (so far) but probably won’t finish.
Today, my book club is discussing the book. I’m missing the meeting because I’m staying home to take care of the girl while Xy is at work (a professional development day).
And so, a dilemma. If I [...]

I recently failed to complete two works with similar names: Babylon Babies, a book by some French dude, and Babylon 5, a TV series from the 1990s.

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It should be noted: These are not book reviews. I think of them more as reading notes.

One of my photos is being used in a book called I See… Xmas; I’m not actually sure which photo but I think it’s this one which is odd because it has nothing to do with Xmas.

It should be noted: These are not book reviews. I think of them more as reading notes. This is my journal, and I’d like to record some thoughts on each book I read. That’s all.

Title: The Speed of Dark
Author: Elizabeth Moon
Published: 2002
So here’s a book that I enjoyed despite some glaring deficiencies. It’s the tale of a young autistic man. He’s high-functioning with a genius aptitude for pattern recognition, so he’s gainfully employed. In fact he’s part of a whole unit of autistic employees at some high tech company. [...]

Title: Glasshouse
Author: Charles Stross
Published: 2006
There’s usually a point in most novels where I feel the hook, where I no longer feel the effort of pushing forward and making myself read, but suddenly (or not so suddenly) find myself being pulled forward, intrigued, under the spell. I’ve noticed this usually happens somewhere around the hundredth page, [...]

Just learned of the untimely passing of New Orleans’ own Robert Asprin, creator of Thieves’ World and Another Fine Myth and many other science fiction and fantasy works.

No school today, so quiet — and then the machinery.

Title: Infinite Jest
Author: David Foster Wallace
Published: 1996
David Foster Wallace, you’ve gotten the better of me.
I started reading Infinite Jest shortly before my daughter was born. I’ve continued to plug away at it for three months.