New to my physical shelves (fake links):
Shadow Walkers by Brent Hartinger. This is paranormal romance gay YA, and the opening reminds me a lot of being on an island in Lake Erie.
Born of Shadows by Sherrilyn Kenyon. This is a big fat hardcover that a friend of mine scooped up at RWA Nationals-- the first Kenyon I've read. Intriguing start so far . . .
The Full Spectrum edited by David Levithan and Billy Merrell. This is a non-fiction anthology of essays by LGBTQ youth - powerful and painful, very well done.
New to my Nook:
Harry Connelly's Child of Fire, scooped up for 99 cents. I have the paperback already but this was a bargain, and it's a great read - fast-paced urban fantasy with a male lead.
Irresistible Forces by Brenda Jackson. Another bargain, and Jackson is a popular romance writer. She's also local here to Jacksonville, though I've never crossed paths (well, Jacksonville is 800 square miles big, so no surprise...)
Plus I added in 3 Borges stories, 5 more SGA fanfics (oh my am I rediscovering my Rodney and John love!) and Lois Bujold's The Warrior's Apprentice (free from the Baen library).
Reading, reading, reading! What are you reading?
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Sherman Alexie says every word posted to your blog is a word not written in your novel. Ouch.
So here's a picture instead. I'm sad to see the space shuttle program end; sad for the scientists, engineers and others who are now jobless; sorry that for millions of kids, there is no career path to being an astronaut in the United States anymore.
The last American space shuttle, re-entering Earth's orbit in July 2011
So here's a picture instead. I'm sad to see the space shuttle program end; sad for the scientists, engineers and others who are now jobless; sorry that for millions of kids, there is no career path to being an astronaut in the United States anymore.
The last American space shuttle, re-entering Earth's orbit in July 2011
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Willpower
Yesterday I procrastinated on writing all day long and finally wrangled myself into nearly 2000 words.
Today I am procrastinating with the internet and by re-arranging my bedroom furniture. But I'm planning to get 2000 done anyway. Plus editing. After a nap.
This article on procrastination is an interesting one, and I agree with the concept that self-control is a limited resource. For the month of July, I have been concentrating a lot on healthy food. That's paying off at the waistline, but my wordcount is only about 15,000 tops. I also agree that self-control is like a muscle - the more you use it, the stronger it gets. Until one day you overstretch it to the point of uselessness, and then you eat chocolate all day and surf the internet until your eyeballs fall out of your head.. . or maybe that's just me.
23 days so far without diet soda!
Today I am procrastinating with the internet and by re-arranging my bedroom furniture. But I'm planning to get 2000 done anyway. Plus editing. After a nap.
This article on procrastination is an interesting one, and I agree with the concept that self-control is a limited resource. For the month of July, I have been concentrating a lot on healthy food. That's paying off at the waistline, but my wordcount is only about 15,000 tops. I also agree that self-control is like a muscle - the more you use it, the stronger it gets. Until one day you overstretch it to the point of uselessness, and then you eat chocolate all day and surf the internet until your eyeballs fall out of your head.. . or maybe that's just me.
23 days so far without diet soda!
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Midnight in Paris
Woody Allen's latest film, Midnight in Paris, is a valentine to writers everywhere. It's a charming little movie, beautifully shot, with laugh-out-loud moments. I saw it in a small independent theater and it was jammed full on the second weekend of playing; my friend remarked on the size of the crowd, and I said it was because everyone in the audience was a writer. I should have recruited for a writer's group right there and then.
Owen Wilson does a fine job as the befuddled, Woody Allen-esque hero. Marion Cotillard is enchanting as an artist's muse. She played Leo DiCaprio's wife in "Inception" but she's in finer form here, with more to do and say. A number of fine actors show up in supporting roles, including Kathy Bates and Corey Stoll (why have I never noticed him before? Excellent!). Paris herself is a lovely character, glass and stone and light. The first five minutes makes you want to go book a vacation there, asap.
One review I read post-movie talked about magical realism, because of course we wouldn't want to say that Woody Allen made a science fiction movie. A lot of debate has swirled around "magical realism" and what it means, but to me it simply signifies that no attempt will be made to explain the phenomenon at work. As with John Cheever's story "The Enormous Radio," something strange happens, and the consequences are more important than the cause. The very first Woody Allen movie I ever saw, The Purple Rose of Cairo, did this as well. I liked Purple Rose up until the ending, which was disappointing. Midnight in Paris does it better.
Also disappointing is the Rachel McAdams character here. If the best you can say about a woman is "shrew" then she hasn't really been fleshed out. Just a little more time spent showing us why Owen Wilson's character loved her, or why she would have ever agreed to marry him in the first place, would have been helpful. I was happy to see Kurt Fuller (Zachariah from Supernatural) as her dad, and laughed at some of his lines defending the Tea Party. Boy, is he tall.
In the end, two thumbs up. Maybe even worth buying on DVD, for those rainy weekends playing writers' movies - Wonder Boys, Shakespeare in Love, Screenplay, Capote, The Player, Finding Forrester . . . okay, maybe not Finding Forrester.
Owen Wilson does a fine job as the befuddled, Woody Allen-esque hero. Marion Cotillard is enchanting as an artist's muse. She played Leo DiCaprio's wife in "Inception" but she's in finer form here, with more to do and say. A number of fine actors show up in supporting roles, including Kathy Bates and Corey Stoll (why have I never noticed him before? Excellent!). Paris herself is a lovely character, glass and stone and light. The first five minutes makes you want to go book a vacation there, asap.
One review I read post-movie talked about magical realism, because of course we wouldn't want to say that Woody Allen made a science fiction movie. A lot of debate has swirled around "magical realism" and what it means, but to me it simply signifies that no attempt will be made to explain the phenomenon at work. As with John Cheever's story "The Enormous Radio," something strange happens, and the consequences are more important than the cause. The very first Woody Allen movie I ever saw, The Purple Rose of Cairo, did this as well. I liked Purple Rose up until the ending, which was disappointing. Midnight in Paris does it better.
Also disappointing is the Rachel McAdams character here. If the best you can say about a woman is "shrew" then she hasn't really been fleshed out. Just a little more time spent showing us why Owen Wilson's character loved her, or why she would have ever agreed to marry him in the first place, would have been helpful. I was happy to see Kurt Fuller (Zachariah from Supernatural) as her dad, and laughed at some of his lines defending the Tea Party. Boy, is he tall.
In the end, two thumbs up. Maybe even worth buying on DVD, for those rainy weekends playing writers' movies - Wonder Boys, Shakespeare in Love, Screenplay, Capote, The Player, Finding Forrester . . . okay, maybe not Finding Forrester.
Monday, July 11, 2011
One of those covers
This is an anthology honoring Frederick Pohl, edited by his wife Elizabeth Anne Hull and published by Tor.
Men, men, men, men, men! Because sf is for men, men, men!
I counted 26 stories or appreciations or other works inside. There are 6 women authors or co-authors, including Connie Willis.
Men, men, men!
Men, men, men, men, men! Because sf is for men, men, men!
I counted 26 stories or appreciations or other works inside. There are 6 women authors or co-authors, including Connie Willis.
Men, men, men!
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Media roundup
1. Watched "Strictly Ballroom" yesterday. Fun! A bit loud at times. Love the leads. And I'm pretty much a sucker for any variation of Cyndi Lauper's "Time after Time."
2. Also watched "Road to Bali" with Bob Hope and Bing Crosby. I like when they break the fourth wall and the special effects.
3. Up to season 1 episode 7 of White Collar. I like the cat and mouse, and how you never know whether Peter is the mouse or cat, and Neal too. But oh my goodness do they need some characters of color in this show. It's a sea of white actors. And for all its wittiness, it's not a "keeper" - I have no desire to buy the DVDs. Most of the fanfic I see on delicious is of the Peter/Neal/Elizabeth variety, which is pretty funny to me - the first fandom I've seen that popularizes threesomes.
2. Also watched "Road to Bali" with Bob Hope and Bing Crosby. I like when they break the fourth wall and the special effects.
3. Up to season 1 episode 7 of White Collar. I like the cat and mouse, and how you never know whether Peter is the mouse or cat, and Neal too. But oh my goodness do they need some characters of color in this show. It's a sea of white actors. And for all its wittiness, it's not a "keeper" - I have no desire to buy the DVDs. Most of the fanfic I see on delicious is of the Peter/Neal/Elizabeth variety, which is pretty funny to me - the first fandom I've seen that popularizes threesomes.
Friday, July 8, 2011
Loving my Nook
There are 4 types of reading material on my Nook:
1. Subscriptions to MacLife and Asimov's
2. Sample books
3. Books I've purchased
4. Fanfic
The biggest category is the fanfiction - story length, novella length, and novel length. Stargate Atlantis, Supernatural, Inception, Torchwood and even some Merlin. Either I download them from the marvelous Archive of our Own, or from the Ebook Library or I copy and paste into Sigil (thanks Jenn!>). So far I've got about 60 of my favorite works and I'm very happy to re-read them time and time again.
Book purchases - well, I've got Greg van Eekhout and Nick Mamatas and Michael Faber and Megan McDonald and a bunch of others, but here's the thing - my purchase limit is 4.99. More than that, it goes on the wish list for later. I can't sell the ebook back at the used book store or a yard sale, so I'm a lot pickier about what I spend the money on. I needed a copy of Pat Conroy's The Lords of Discipline and the ebook was 9.99, a used copy 2.99 at the store. So hello used copy!
I'm a sucker for many ebooks at 0.99 and 1.99, that's for sure.
Magazines - well, now that I'm not in SFWA anymore I would buy the Bulletin, but it doesn't seem available. Clarkesworld is available on Kindle but not Nook yet. I would love to get Tin House but alas.
The sample books are actually for studying openings of bestsellers. I don't usually buy them, but I can study structure, tension, mood, etc.
I heart my Nook more than I thought I would.
1. Subscriptions to MacLife and Asimov's
2. Sample books
3. Books I've purchased
4. Fanfic
The biggest category is the fanfiction - story length, novella length, and novel length. Stargate Atlantis, Supernatural, Inception, Torchwood and even some Merlin. Either I download them from the marvelous Archive of our Own, or from the Ebook Library or I copy and paste into Sigil (thanks Jenn!>). So far I've got about 60 of my favorite works and I'm very happy to re-read them time and time again.
Book purchases - well, I've got Greg van Eekhout and Nick Mamatas and Michael Faber and Megan McDonald and a bunch of others, but here's the thing - my purchase limit is 4.99. More than that, it goes on the wish list for later. I can't sell the ebook back at the used book store or a yard sale, so I'm a lot pickier about what I spend the money on. I needed a copy of Pat Conroy's The Lords of Discipline and the ebook was 9.99, a used copy 2.99 at the store. So hello used copy!
I'm a sucker for many ebooks at 0.99 and 1.99, that's for sure.
Magazines - well, now that I'm not in SFWA anymore I would buy the Bulletin, but it doesn't seem available. Clarkesworld is available on Kindle but not Nook yet. I would love to get Tin House but alas.
The sample books are actually for studying openings of bestsellers. I don't usually buy them, but I can study structure, tension, mood, etc.
I heart my Nook more than I thought I would.
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