Net Meme Threads

Inspired by Tim Bray: From We Interrupt This Broadcast by Joe Garner: The Potsdam communique arrived in Japan on July 27. Instructions: Grab the nearest book, open it to page 23, find the 5th sentence, and post its text along with these instructions, and point back to where you got the idea so that we… Continue reading Net Meme Threads

Weekend off

So yeah, I took the weekend off from blogging. Ran out of steam, I guess; I didn’t even read any other blogs on Saturday, I was engrossed in finishing up Kiln People. Sometimes it’s just plain nice to take a break.

David Brin

Ugh, it looks like I’m taking a blogging vacation. Time to try to get back on track. Tonight, since I’m reading one of his latest books, I thought I’d provide some links and commentary on David Brin, one of my favorite science fiction authors. The book I’m reading is Kiln People, and it’s really good… Continue reading David Brin

Frontier Doctor

I was browsing at Barnes and Nobles this evening and found a book that looks very interesting (so I bought it): Frontier Doctor: Observations on Central Oregon and the Changing West. It’s the autobiographical account of a doctor during the formative years of Bend. Urling Coe came to the new town of Bend, Oregon, in… Continue reading Frontier Doctor

American Gods

Didn’t post anything yesterday because I was wrapped up finishing American Gods, by Neil Gaiman. Amazing, fascinating book. Absolutely worth it.

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Advanced PHP Programming

The book Advanced PHP Programming is out, by George Schlossnagle. Looks like it might be pretty interesting; there’s certainly a scarcity of good PHP books that cover advanced topics—most of them are targeted at the beginner and the basics, and don’t have anything to offer me. (Quick disclaimer: some of the Wrox books actually look… Continue reading Advanced PHP Programming

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Amazon Reviews

One of the big online stories over the past couple of days is Amazon.com‘s weeklong glitch that “suddenly revealed the identities of thousands of people who had anonymously posted book reviews” (New York Times article here). Turns out a lot of what was revealed was that authors were anonymously writing glowing reviews of their own… Continue reading Amazon Reviews

Bookish

Some neat book-related links tonight. First, Locus Online has published a 2003 recommended reading list of science fiction and fantasy novels, novellas, short stories, anthologies, etc. It looks like a good list, I noticed several items coinciding with my reading wishlist. Next, the big news: Cory Doctorow‘s new book, Eastern Standard Tribe, is out! And,… Continue reading Bookish

The Story of America

Does this seem counterintuitive? I’m currently reading The Story of America, by Hendrik van Loon, published in 1927. First edition, too, I think. Why? Because I wanted to get a perspective on American history from nearly 80 years ago. This was a time when the booming Roaring Twenties were in full swing, before the Great… Continue reading The Story of America

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The Far Side

Come on—who wouldn’t want The Complete Far Side for Christmas?

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