Rocket Fuel (McGovern, Lough)

Rocket Fuel: Some of the Best of Tor.com Non-Fiction , Bridget McGovern and Chris Lough, ed. (2018)

Even though I'm on the mailing list for Tor.com, probably since the first time I downloaded a copy of 1632 or something else, I rarely check out their website unless I see links to specific articles posted elsewhere on social media. One such link brought me to this ebook.

I didn't know what to expect from the title. Well, that's not exactly true. I know what I expected: non-fiction with a name like "rocket fuel" meant that this should've been a lot of stuff about space and planets and stuff like that. That's not what it was. That's not to say what I got was bad, just unexpected.

Even though this is a work of non-fiction, many of the essays deal with fiction, from the perspective of fandom, or just deep analysis of some facet of the work. I enjoyed some more than others, and some I might've enjoyed more had they been about half the size. Seriously, most of the stuff I read on the site is short by comparison to the pieces included in this book. Again, not a problem, but when I realized just how much was being written about Galadriel, I took a break, moved on, planning to get back to it.

Additionally, two back to back essays about Robert Jordan were interesting, but I haven't read anything of his. No, haven't started Wheel of Time, and I've had friends who have warned me away from it -- even as they are drawn into it.

The most interesting piece, at least for quirkiness, has to do with the anatomy and diet of centaurs, taking a scientific look at a fantasy staple, and pondering just how it gets enough nutrition to survive. Digestion problems abound.

A couple of essays started off too well about things I hadn't read, causing me to stop, lest the books or stories be spoiled. Not that I know if I'll read those any time soon.

On the social justice warrior front, there are important notes from affected folks, but overall, stuff I'd heard or read before and I found myself moving on before getting halfway through many of the entries after the first couple.

I guess I was skipping ahead looking for ice volcanoes of Neptune or realistic flying cars for Mars. Or just notes on rocket fuel.

Clean Room (Simone)

Clean Room,

My review was erased. I'm not re-writing it now. I'll get back to it. (sigh)

Eternals (Gaiman)

Eternals, by Neil Gaiman (2007)

Placeholder for review.

I had two days left on my ComicXology subscription, and I search on Neil Gaiman. I struck pay dirt with Eternals. I didn't really know a lot about the Eternals from Marvel lore, only that they've been around a long time. If I remember an old What If--? correctly, they were created by the Sentinels, which also created Inhumans. Or something like that.

It's a damn shame that I didn't have Neil Gaiman's name listed as a hashtag, before now. That is something that needs to be rectified in 2019.

Rom (comic)

ROM, 2016-2017

About a month ago, I saw a link to download from free digital comics. Found a few that I might read and clicked. When I tried to open them, my iPad brought me to the App Store and the ComicXology app, which I would need to read the comics. Upon opening that, I found that I ha a free week of unlimited comic reading. (Exactly a week, not a minute more.)

The immediate questions were: what do I want to read, and where do I begin?

Many comics have continual story lines that don't seem to have a definite beginning, and some of them never end -- or at least wouldn't within a week. You can't even assume a story starts with issue #1 these days.

In the list of suggestions, I spotted ROM. I read every issue of the original run of ROM: Spaceknight, although I might have missed crossovers when he appeared in other comics. I didn't buy a lot back then. I knew that he was brought back because of a "Free Comic Book Day" comic which amounted to a four or six page preview for the first issue.

ROM and the rest of the spaceknights were re-imagined a bit, but they were still essentially the same. The Dire Wraiths were more the kind from later in the original series, not that original, though somewhat ill-defined, form. The Wraiths have infested Earth on a massive scale. ROM wishes to save the planet while the other knights think it's a lost cause and wish to burn it.

It was enjoyable, even if it was a different take. Likewise, early issues feature other Hasbro toys, namely Transformers and GI Joe. And then there's a problem.

There were other comics, somewhat important to the story line, that happened outside of the main run of ROM. Unfortunately, just because you have "unlimited" access to comics, that doesn't mean that the platform itself has unlimited comics available. I couldn't read these things. (I'm sure I could have bought them however.)

For the fourteen issues that were there, I enjoyed this "alternate" take on ROM.

Pedro & Me (Winick)

Pedro & Me: Friendship, Loss & What I Learned, by Judd Winick (2000)

This edition contains a foreword written in 2008, and was published in 2009.

For all my recent complaints about graphic novels, I finally found out that was actually what it was supposed to be, and it's been in a "to be read" pile for years now. Pedro & Me came to me from the Port Chester-Rye Brook Public Library, most likely through a nearby science fiction convention. (That would've been the recently departed Lunacon. Sigh.)

Pedro is Pedro Zemora, who along with Judd Winick (the "Me" of the title) and others, was a part of The Real World: San Francisco in 1994. I didn't watch it, and I had no interest in the series or the ones before it. Frankly, I couldn't tell you the difference between the Real World and, say, Big Brother. But Pedro's story is worth reading.

Judd is a cartoonist from Long Island. He applied for the Real World, and when MTV called, one of the questions they asked was if he'd have a problem with a housemate who was HIV positive. That shook his world a little bit. What shook it more was when he was accepted onto the program and that housemate was his roommate.

What follows are some of the struggles Pedro faced as his illness progressed, and the friendship that was forged. It's wonderfully written and illustrated and makes great use of the medium.

How good is it? It's not a book that I thought I'd be interested in. Not something I thought I would pick up. But I sat in an inner tube in the backyard pool reading it morning after morning. (Okay, full disclosure -- I usually only bring things into the pool that I wouldn't mind losing should it get blown or dropped into the drink.) It was worth reading.

Space Team (Hutchison)

Space Team, by Barry Hutchison (2016)

The full title of the book is Space Team: Screwing Up the Galaxy so you don't have to!, and I believe I got the capitalization and punctuation correct. An editor might've suggested different.

This book was downloaded as a freebie. If I remember correctly, it was probably one of those "first book in the series is free" deals, to get you to read one and buy the rest. Nothing wrong with that, so long as the books are good. Wellllllll ....

So how many books are in this series? I just checked, and it seems, as of this writing, that there are 13 of them. In three years.

If they're making money, more power to him. Maybe it's a model to try out for my own writing.

Okay, so the story starts off like some is trying too hard to be Douglas Adams or Terry Pratchet or just, you know, funny. It isn't too clever, but it's what's there, so let's so with it. Cal Carver is a criminal, and he's in prison, but a mistake was made and he's been set to a maximum security facility. His next mistake is ticking off the warden. Because there aren't any buses available to transfer him until the morning, he'll have to stay the night. And because Carver was a pain in the ass, the warden puts him in a cell with an overly-large cannibal, who Hutchison describes in great detail as the man has no pants on. Hutchinson waxes poetic about his member.

Anyway, just about the point where Cal is about to be killed in the cell (which the Warden could have easily have anticipated, so he's a pretty sucky guy himself because Cal wasn't that big a pain in the ass), the prison is attacked and Cal is abducted. By space aliens. Who mistake him for the cannibal. (Yes, I will keep referring to him as "the cannibal" because I'm too lazy to scroll through my kindle to find the name, and despite the number of books in the series, every site I checked has the same stupid two paragraph synopsis of the book.)

Next thing you know, we're in a room with the president of the galaxy and a bunch of other criminals, and we're playing, "I bet you're wondering why I called you all here." Seriously, he says that. Or something just like it.

Out of the entire galaxy, he needs this handful of weird criminals from various planets, to come together to be a team to go on a mission for him. To Hutchinson's credit, he does, at the end, give a rationalization for exactly why these people are here, and what they bring to the secret agenda that the president has.

Oh, and Earth was destroyed, quite by accident really. It wasn't like it was in the way so the Vogons destroyed it or anything. (And I'd already had the Hitchhikers-wannabe comparison in my head before he got around to telling us Earth was killed during the prison break.)

A lot of silliness, some of which isn't as silly as it could or should be, follows. They save the day. And they ride off together because they have no place to go.

Would I read more of this? If someone handed me a stack of books and I knew I was going to be stuck on a subway. Maybe.

In the end, it didn't suck, but it wasn't all that great.

The Alienist (Carr)

The Alienist, by Caleb Carr (1994)

Like many, I saw the series, The Alienist on television, and then decided to find a copy of the novel. Like many, I decided to get it from the library, so there was a wait. Still, I managed to read it earlier in the year (before summer vacation), but I didn't get around to writing it up until the year was almost out. So I don't remember everything about it. That's the main reason I try to write these things in a timely manner.

Having seen the show, I put faces to many of the characters in advance, which is usually helpful (except in those instances where someone is woefully miscast). The story tells the tale of a serial killer in 19th century New York City, during Teddy Roosevelt's tenure as Police Commissioner. He charges Dr. Lazlo Kreizler with solving a set of grisly murders involving a disaffected portion of the underclass of society. Namely, poor immigrant boys that dress up like girls for the benefit of "gentlemen" of lower Manhattan.

Anyway, the first impression from the book was that I was glad that it started in the middle of things. The book opens with the third murder, with the reader being informed of the two prior. The show started with the first (although it was the same one depicted at the start of the book), and this dragged out the story a bit. Then again, they had ten or twelve episodes to fill.

The book also allows us to read, and reread, if necessary, things, like jargon or science explanations, that might've gone by too fast on TV. And you got a better handle on the characters.

This was the first work of Carr's I've read, and I wouldn't be opposed to reading more. And then possibly writing them up in a more timely manner.

(Note for anyone finding this page through a search engine: this blog isn't really meant to be a review page. More of a reading log for myself so I can keep track of things that I've read and maybe a few details besides. Comments are welcome, but please be polite.)

The Great Passage (Miura)

The Great Passage, by Shiwon Miura (2011)

This was another of the books that Amazon allowed to download that time when they had 12 world books available for free.

The story was a little confusing at first. In the beginning, we are introduced to Kohei Araki, who as a boy was fascinated with words and loved the dictionary. Next thing we know, he's close to retirement after having worked on dictionaries for Gembu Books for thirty-seven years. Although we begin with him, it isn't his story.

Araki needs to find a replacement who can continue his work, and bring his dream project, The Great Passage, to publication. Thanks to Nishioka, one of the few employees in the dictionary department of Gembu, Araki finds Mitsuya Majime, an odd fellow who works in the sales department. After an interview, they discover that they are kindred spirits in the love of and fascination with words, and how to define them precisely.

Majime is introverted and awkward, which makes it difficult to approach Kaguya Hayashi, his landlady's granddaughter. The awkward love letter he writes her becomes a running gag of sorts. There is even a version of it appended to the end of the book, but it, thankfully, doesn't run the fifteen pages it's supposed to. (It always includes a running commentary by Nishioka and Midori Kishibe, a character that seems oddly inserted into the drama after an equally odd time-skip).

I also want to mention Professor Tomosuke Matsumoto, just so I don't forget the name. He also consults on the dictionary, even after Araki retires, during the time jump between chapters, which shows you what a labor of love this project is. It also shows that while dictionaries are important projects, they are also money sinks and often get put on the back burner for other projects. (These other projects help to fund the dictionary, so they do what they have to.)

I did enjoy the book, although it probably isn't something I would have sought out on my own. In preparing to write this, I discovered that there was both an anime version and a movie that was submitted, but not nominated, for the Oscar for Best Foreign Film.

If I had any problems with it, it would be the shift in focus and the weird time skipping. Possibly the addition of the new primary character halfway through the book to replace a different character, who is still there, but moved to a different department. Worth reading.

The Black Tides of Heaven (Yang)

The Black Tides of Heave, by Jy Yang (2017)

The Black Tides of Heaven was a free ebook from the Tor.com Book of the Month Club. It amounts to one of two twin novellas, which establish the world of the Tensorate series, by Jy Yang.

I was drawn to it because it seemed different, and, yes, because it was free. Likewise, as part of a "book club", I thought it might lead to a discussion, either now or when I see some like-minded friends at a up-coming convention. That's not likely to happen at this point.

While I'm glad I read it, I had a problem immersing myself into the fantasy world being created. On the very first page, we encounter the word "slackcraft" as something not to be used by the Great Abbot Sung to climb the 800 steps of the Great High Palace. I let this slip by in the first instance, not knowing whether that was some kind of magical incantation or transport. Later uses of the term "craft" also left me wondering if they were talking about an actual vehicle or crafting some kind of energy, which comes from the Slack. Only the basics were covered, but I went with it as much as I could.

However, what probably would've had me put the book aside if I hadn't been predisposed to reading it, was the overuse of the singular "they" in the first few chapters. The reason behind it made a compelling case, but the execution was maddening.

Basically, children are born of neutral gender and stay this way until they declare themselves (or are declared, in the case of a three-year old?) to be either male or female. This is done well enough in the case of the first such character introduced, Sonami, the youngest of the Protector's children, was wearing the gender-neutral colors of a child, without overtly stating that the character itself had no gender. I believe I had assumed in my mind that the character was female, and, in fact, a chapter later was. From my reading, it seems that choosing a gender also includes the ability to bear children.

My problem came from the twin babies that are introduced. I just used "it" to refer to a "character". The novella choose to use the singular "they", which is something that is gaining popularity in English. This was fine (though initially odd) when used with Sonami. But here's the rub, there are two twins, each referred to, individually and collectively, as "they". And since "they" are usually together during this period of "their" lives, it bogged down my reading.

Seriously, I haven't been that confused since I first read Ayn Rand's Anthem the summer before high school. (Note: this book is in no way similar to Ayn Rand's Anthem!)

The novella spans 35 years and feels too short, as if important parts have been left out. The Venerable One, the Great Abbot, had gone to the Palace to settle a debt. The Protector owed him one of her children for the Monastery in payment for his help during an uprising the year before. He expected to get Sonami, the only child whose future hadn't yet been spoken for. He hadn't counted on the Protector bearing extra children, specifically, a pair of twins. She gives him both as she has no need for the spare. The Abbott is forced to accept this arrangement, as well as leave them in her care for the next six years because the Monastery has facilities for babies. (And the Protector would not allow any children of hers to be raised in any home below their station in life.)

The children, Mokoya and Akeha, finally move into the monastery but it is a temporary situation. Within a few years, it is discovered that Mokoya's dreams about the future, like a prophet, and the dreams will come to be. Once this is learned, the Protector wants the child back, allowing the Abbot to keep Akeha as payment for the debt. High Abbot Sung sends both children back, bringing their time at the monastery to a close.

Next thing you know, they are adults, declaring their genders and parting ways pursuing their destinies, which, when it comes to the Slack, may already be laid out before them.

I didn't know when I started reading it that it was one of two twin novellas, and I don't know if this accounts for the gaps. The first chapter of the other book was included at the end of this one, but I declined to read it. Well, not true, I did skim it and discovered a little more background about the five aspects of Slack.

The resolution seemed too quick and easy to have been a final resolution.

At some point I might revisit the series when there's more to it available, and if I have more friends who have read it and want to talk about it. Maybe I'll have them explain to me how the magic works first.

* * *

Note: I previously left the following review on GoodReads when I had finished the book:

Felt incomplete, parts left out, like it was the trailer for a longer novel. Then at the end is the first chapter for another novella—I skimmed it for a little more background on how the magic worked. I stuck with it longer than I might have were it a different book, openly because it was recommended to me, and I wanted to read something different.

P Is For Peril (Grafton)

P is for Peril, by Sue Grafton (2001)

The sixteenth installment of the Kinsey Milhone series finds Kinsey mixed up in two mysteries, as the background 'B' story takes up a good portion of the book.

The main mystery involves a missing persons case. Dr. Dowan Purcell disappeared nine weeks earlier and hasn't been located yet. His first wife is started to get worried now because he had gone missing once before but eventually returned. Kinsey briefly ponders if he'd faked his own death, as happened in an earlier case of hers. But Fiona, the first wife, believes that he may still be alive because his passport is missing, along with a bit of money.

Add in possible trouble at home with wife number two, Crystal, and mounting evidence of medical billing fraud, and it doesn't look good.

While all this is going on, Kinsey is once again looking for a new office. She's been renting space from Lonnie Kingman, but they are relocating. She finds a space at a reasonable rate nearby -- she can literally see it from her current office building -- and agrees to lease it from two brothers. They turn out to be bad news, as they were suspected in the fiery death of their parents. Investigators have been watching them as they blew through their insurance settlement to see if they'll fence any of the jewelry believed to be in their possession that would provide the evidence linking them to the crime. One of the brothers takes a liking to Kinsey and tries to attach himself in a way that a soon-to-be abusive boyfriend might, despite the difference in their ages.

Of the two plot lines, the main one wraps up neatly enough, although not spectacularly, with answers to the location of Dr. Purcell, the missing money, billing fraud, and, without saying too much, "who did it" and why. The other involving the sons along with a woman who is trying to use Kinsey to investigate them is a little underwhelming.

A River in Darkness (Ishikawa)

A River in Darkness: One Man's Escape from North Korea, by Masaji Ishikawa (2000)

Earlier this year, Amazon ran a promotion for twelve (specific) free ebooks from writers around the world. A River in Darkness was one of them, and the first one I indulged in. It tells the life story of Masaji Ishikawa, first growing up in post-war Japan being half-Korean. Life was difficult enough until the Koreans brought over during the war are promised a better way of like in the newly-created country of North Korea, under the leadership of Kim Il-sung.

The promises didn't work out, as one might have expected.

What follows are the hardships for his family as he grows into manhood, and then for his own family. North Korea was not a happy place to be, but don't dare say that. Everything is poorly run by the government, but you participate the way the government tells you, even if it means all the crops will fail. But hard work isn't rewarded. Just expected.

The book opens with a grown Ishikawa standing on the banks of the river across from China, contemplating escape, knowing that he'd likely be shot, if he didn't drown.

As the story unfolds and we finally get to that point, we know that he is leaving his children behind to make this escape, hopeful that someday, somehow, he can get to Japan and get his children out of North Korea.

The fact that this book was written tells you that he managed to escape, but don't expect a happy ending. Although it was published in 2000, it was translated in 2017 and contains an epilogue. It doesn't really get happier and leaves you feeling sorry for his remaining children.

Note: read this early in the summer, but I've been away from writing in the blog. I've already forgotten many of the details, particularly names, which, oddly, was the main point of my starting my reading journal, years before it became a blog.

Lost to Time (Sandler)

Lost to Time: Unforgettable Stories That History Forgot,Martin W. Sandler (2010)

I found a list, in my own handwriting, labelled "Books to Read". I don't know when I made this list, or why, or what the source of these particular books might have been. I only know that it had to have been in 2010 or later, judging from the first book.

I was never a big History fan, but that hasn't stopped me from being interested in certain particular stories or time period, and making up for my lack of knowledge. Maybe I'm correcting my own past here.

Anyway, I reserved this from the library (Dewey Decimal 904 S), and it arrived fairly quickly. I didn't get very far into it before it had to go back. As it hadn't really gripped me, I didn't renew it.

Of the ones I read, the first one about Ziryab was the most interesting. I knew nothing about the man, never heard of him, and yet he accomplished so much. But I get the feeling that if I traveled to Spain, I'd find that he wasn't forgotten, even if people were not aware of him. I would guess that there are museums dedicated to keeping his memory alive.

The reason for this guess is that some of the later stories seem like regional heroes, who are probably known close to home, even if they didn't get the same fame or notoriety of their compatriots. See "Chapter Five: Outdoing Revere" for examples of this. Not everyone had a Longfellow singing their praises.

If you like these kinds of stories, then this book might be for you (assuming once again that anyone other than me is reading this blog).

Graphic Novels: Superman, Supergirl, Batman, Astro City

Superman: Shadows Linger
Superman: Krypton Returns
Astro City: Through Open Doors
Batman/Superman: Volume 6 Universe's Finest

Walking through the library, I came to the shelves with all the graphic novels and manga. Sure, I checked if they had the next volume of One Piece (they didn't). But they also had regular graphic novels from DC and Marvel. I picked up the four books listed above. Something to read while floating in the pool in an inner tube.

First off, none of these books originated as a graphic novel. They are all reprints from the comics, which causes some odd breaks in the narrative and empty pages with filler art.

That, in itself, wouldn't be so bad, if the collections made any sense. Most of these do not.

Of the ones mentioned above, Shadows Linger was five consecutive issues of Superman and is composed of two separate stories, the second of which is "Shadows Linger". Both were good reads. It was interesting to see Lana Lang's evolution. I'm old enough to remember when an adult Lana Lang was brought into Galaxy Broadcasting, pre-Crisis. In this comic, Lana is now running Lexcorp, now that Luthor is missing. (Where he is or why he's missing is another story, and that's fine.) This works as well as having Lex's sister running the show on the Supergirl TV Show.

On the other hand, Krypton Returns is a hodgepodge collection of parts from multiple sources, and they don't flow together to make a cohesive narrative. Maybe if you read all the original books, you might like this summary of the plot line, but the parts from Superman, Supergirl and Superboy don't work. Also, Supergirl's outfit is horrible.

The Astro City book turned out to be the first six issues of a comic with a 12-issue run, the remainder of which were not available. I thought it was an independent comic trying to have a Justice League feel to it, but it turned out that it's put out through DC Comics. The better stories are the ones told about the people was support the heroes of the world. To be honest, I wasn't exactly sure what or where Astro City actually was. The odd thing was that the stories weren't primarily about the heroes on the cover. It was odd, but mostly enjoyable, even if the questions that arose from chapter 1 don't seem to get answered anywhere further down the line.

The Batman/Superman comic had it's moment, but again was a collection of parts of books. It even contained two non-consecutive parts of a "death of Superman" story line, which apparently isn't related to the "Death of Superman" from twenty years ago or so.

In summation: these graphic novels aren't novels. They were anthologies, and not necessarily good ones.

More Dime Novels

Last year, I have an interest in Dime Novels and checked out the Brooklyn Public Library catalog where there were two entries. One of them was 8 Dime Novels, which I reviewed last year, after having read only one novel and the introductory essay.

A few months ago, I got an email about the other book. I expected it to say that the Hold had expired, as it had been about a year.

No. Just the opposite. The book was ready and waiting to be picked up at the local branch.

I couldn't read it, but for good reasons, which I believe I confirmed with two of the librarians when I returned the book.

Despite the cover on it, there was no copyright information suggestion that these were reprints, or when this book had been assembled. From the look of the pages, I had a strong suspicion, which the librarians agreed with, that I was looking at the original dime novels, which had been bound together at some point. These books had individual copyright dates around the time of the Civil War -- the freakin' Civil War!!. I was afraid to touch these books. (Forget about the new lenses I'd need.)

Anyway, here are some pictures I took to share with you:

1634: The Baltic War (Weber / Flint)

1634: The Baltic War, David Weber and Eric Flint (2008)

This was a welcome and wonderful conclusion to 1633.

The thing you might notice is the colon in the title. The 1632 universe had taken off by this point. There are multiple books set in the year 1634 and they happen concurrently, but not as oddly as, say, A Feast for Crows and A Dance with Dragons.

If you are starting this series, and this universe, I recommend that you read this book immediately after 1632 and 1633 before branching out. One of the complaints I had about 1633 was its cover depicting a warship on its cover, but the warship wasn't ready to go by the end of that book.

In this book, Admiral Simpson finally launches his ironclads and sails off to the Baltic to win Denmark for Sweden. In the meantime, the Grantville delegation in the Tower of London needs to be rescued, along with Oliver Cromwell.

But the natives of the time period have not been idle as winter set in. They had started to emulate the up-timers, for once they see that a thing is possible, then their own scientists can try to make such things happen. It also helps that up-time books, particularly books on technology, are sold at a premium on the black market. Thankfully, for the people of Grantville, and the members of Emperor Gustavus Adolphus's army, navy or air force (yes, he has an air force!), mass production is not in place yet, so superior weapons will be limited to a few companies of soldiers.

I wish I had written this up in a more timely manner, so I could've listed more about the characters and the story lines, which is really why I have this blog in the first place more than reviews. (I mean, who is actually reading this?)

This one took a while, mostly because I was lugging a huge hardcover on the subway, and it isn't the greatest thing to hold onto when I'm falling asleep. There's also a lot to keep track of, but it's worth the effort. History is getting rewritten and the timelines are diverging. People aren't dying when they were "supposed to". The painter Reubens is aware of the masterpieces he created in the "other" universe and now has no interest to create them here because they would be derivative.

I'm taking a break from this for a while now, but I wouldn't be opposed to read more.

Side note: Eric Flint was a Guest of Honor this past spring at HeliosphereNY, a new science-fiction convention in Rye, NY, held in March 2018. I was in attendance. There was a "1632 Mini-Con" occupying one of the conference rooms for the entirety of the weekend. There were discussions on the tech, the world, and, of course, writing. Many newcomers have been published in the Grantville Gazette. The idea did intrigue me, but I needed to get more familiar with the world. (Not the characters, those are reserved.) It's something to consider, but I need to familiarize myself with more of what has already been written.

On the Decay of the Art of Lying (Twain)

On the Decay of the Art of Lying, Mark Twain (1882)

You can't go wrong reading Twain, essentially if it's just a short essay. People lie, but there is an art to it, and Twain noticed that the Art of it was dying.

In short, lying is polite. Lying is fine when the truth would serve no good purpose, only ill. But imagine it written in a more witty style.

Recommended.

The Middle Ages: A History From Beginning to End

The Middle Ages: A History From Beginning to End, 2016

I don't remember where I heard about this book or why I downloaded it a few months ago, but it was a quick read. The book is part of an Hourly History series. I don't know if that means that the book was meant to be read in an hour or that there was an hour-long program on, say, the History Channel.

In whichever case, about 1000 years of history are crammed into one book. It was split into three segments and had some interesting highlights, but not much that I can remember two months later. I guess that shows you why I really need to keep this blog up-to-date.

TL;DR: It was interesting. Didn't hate it. Better than reading the material on wikipedia. Overall, I forgot most of it already.

Frostbite (2008)

Vampire Academy, Richelle Mead, 2007, Graphic Novel

Frostbite, Richelle Mead, 2008, Graphic Novel

This review is about two graphic novels. The entry for the novel, Vampire Academy can be found here.

First off, I read the Vampire Academy graphic novel months ago, and could have sworn that I had an entry for it, but I don't see one. The school I'm currently assigned to has the graphic novels for the first two books in the series in their library. I figured that I'd "reread" the first book, just to familiarize myself with the characters and the story line. I'm glad I did. I needed to get used to the images of the characters. Rose in the comic looks nothing like the cover of the first novel, but that's okay because it's a different artist.

The other thing that struck me, and which wasn't really a surprise, was how much of the book had to be left out to make it into a comic. I was still able to follow along for two reasons: one, the essentials are there, and two, I'd read the book, so I could fill in the gaps.

After reading the first book, I was not opposed to reading the second installment. However, as I'm not the target audience for the book, I wasn't going to go out of my way to track down a copy. I have plenty of things to read that I never get around to. (Another reason for this blog: I can't write new entries unless I read new books, so it'll prod me along sometimes.)

The comic was enjoyable, but I thought it likely missing parts of the book. The teen drama parts fill up a good part of the graphic novel and then the ending comes rushing at you. Again, that might just be my perception because of my demographic. But it didn't turn me off from wanting to read the book, which is something.

Frostbite gives us more background about the mythos governing the two types of vampires. We also get to meet Rose's mother, and learn about their strained relationship. Not surprising that they can't have a normal family life -- they are both dhampirs. Rose is training to a Guardian, and her mother already is one. The vampire's they protect will always be their first priority. That's part of the reason Dmitri resisted Rose in the first novel (other than the whole icky age thing, and the fact that she's a student in the academy).

Speaking of which, the relationship between Rose and Dmitri moves along, not just as trainer and pupil. The twist here is that another vampire comes along wanting Dmitri to be her Guardian, and he considers it.

The other twist to this book is that the Strigoi have enlisted the aid of humans to attack the Moroi. This is discovered from the use of weapons, such as a silver stake, that Strigoi can't touch.

In the end, Rose grows as a Guardian, getting closer to her hopeful position being Lissa's Guardian.

Grimm's Fairy Tales (Grimm)

Grimm's Fairy Tales, Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm (unknown)

The ebook has a publication date of 2012 online. The book itself has a date of 1922, which I assume is for the illustrations. Wikipedia puts publication at 1812.

Over the past few years, I have read a few books that were updated takes on fairy tales: either continuations or retellings from a different point of view, with or without "modern sensibilities". Going through some of these made me realize that I've never read the original fairy tales, even though I've had hard-cover copies of them.

I don't remember when I downloaded this book, probably a couple of years ago. Like with most fairy tale books, though, I can only read so many before I need to move on to something else and get back to it. Basically, I started this sometime last year, reading a tale or two on short train rides or when I was between books.

Most of familiar with the sanitized or "Disney-fied" versions of the stories, and many know the harsher realities. I thought I did. Maybe it was the translation, but it seemed that some of the "real" endings that I thought I knew to some tales weren't real. Likewise, it seems like there was some borrowing amongst the stories as well. Plus, some tales have similarities, like "Tom Thumb" and "Thumbkins", or similar names, like "Snow White" and "Snow-White and Rose Red". Most have similar morals and harsh penalties.

This is something everyone should read (maybe not this particular version). This edition has only 25 tales, so I could see myself downloading another one in the future. Just not right now.

A Brave and Startling Truth (Angelou)

A Brave and Startling Truth, Maya Angelou (1995)

I saw this in the school library, a slim volume of poetry, and I needed something to read while I was on hallway duty.

I am not going to critique Maya Angelou, but I will comment. First off, this wasn't a collection, it is a single poem, which she read at the 50th anniversary of the United Nations. It is about the people of this planet coming together, united.

To talk about my usual poetry complaints: they aren't here. This is free verse that is pleasant and pleasurable to read. The line breaks make sense. The page breaks (which would be stanza breaks) make sense.

Also, I love the imagery and word choice. Just to pick a couple of lines out:

When the curtain falls on the minstrel show of hate
And the faces sooted with scorn are scrubbed clean

Minstrel shows are offensive. The characters have faces blackened with soot (or makeup), and the players scrub them clean afterward. "Sooted with scorn" carries so many meanings here. That's what I like about poetry, when it accomplishes this.

Otherwise, poetry is not a preference of mine much any more.

Library catalog number 811 ANG C.4

Black Cat, Volumes 1-4 (Yabuki)

Black Cat, Volumes 1-4 Kentaro Yabuki (2006)

Unlike the last series I read, there are more than 4 volumes of Black Cat. It's an ongoing series, but only the first four were available for me to read. The series was release in 2001, with the English versions arriving in 2006.

The series follows the exploits of Train Heartnet, once an assassin for an organization called "Chronos", who now makes a living as a "sweeper" or bounty hunter. Train has a tatoo of the Roman numeral XIII, which is as much a reference to bad luck as the name "Black Cat" itself. The name "Chronos" would indicate time, and the fact that he is number 13 is a little odd, but definitely keeping with his character. He's also an expert marksman, having as much luck as skill with his pistol. He can hit other people's bullets mid-flight.

The organization he worked for, and those who know of it, believe that the Black Cat has been dead for the past two years. It's likely that there will come a reckoning when Chronos comes after him, but, thankfully, that doesn't happen in the first four books. There's time for that.

Train's partner at sweeping is Sven Vollfied, who wears an eye patch (for a reason) and follows a code of conduct. Chivalry isn't dead. His backstory, and what's so special about the eye under the patch, show up early on.

The two of them rescue a girl named Eve, who was basically bio-engineered and filled with nanites or nanobots or whatever terminology you want to use. She'll like be a superhero in her own right in the future, but right now, she's just a kid who needs someone looking after her even if she wants to be useful to Sven and Train. She can morph parts of her body by concentrating so that, for example, her arm can become a sword.

Recurring in the first books (and on the cover of Volume 1) is Rinslet Walker. (There are times I read that as "Ringlet" -- I need new reading glasses.) She's a thief who hires the sweepers when it meets their mutual interests. She gets something valuable, and they get a bounty.

One of the problems so far is that Train and Sven are in a bit of debt from bills (no loan sharks or anything nefarious), so they could use one big job to pay it off. But even when they manage to score a big one, the money seems to get away from them pretty quickly. It may be a running gag, but it'll get old fast.

As mentioned before, Chronos is not looking for Train, but there is another organization that is forming, called Apostles of the Stars, and they intend to challenge and topple Chronos. Its leader is Creed Diskenth, who is surprised to learn Train is still alive. Train beat out Creed to be XIII in Chronos. (Numbered people are the important ones. Or the important ones get numbers.)

Where it will start to get wearisome is that everyone will have special powers and abilities. This will, in effect, make Black Cat less special. (This was a problem I had with One Piece, where eating the Devil fruit should've been bad for pirates, but it seems every powerful pirate had done just that!) We have people who can cut themselves and manipulate their blood or touch a person and raise their body temperature to explosive levels.

And even though we've met Number II in Chronos, who seems somewhat normal, who knows what powers I, and III-XII will possess?

Will that stop me from reading farther? Probably not. I'll probably start looking for these in the library before summertime.

Life's Little Instruction Book, Vol III (Browne)

Life's Little Instruction Book, Vol III H. Jackson Browne, Jr. (1995)

I probably picked up this little gift-book edition sometime in the late 1990s and it's been sitting on a shelf or in a box ever since. You could classify it as self-help or inspirational or something like that, but it's a list of 500+ things that you could or should do to make your life, or the lives of those around you, better.

This is the kind of thing you could probably find on a list on the Web somewhere. Even in 1995, this could probably be found on a "listserv" or a place like "cathouse.org". (I have no idea if that site still exists, and I'm not checking.)

Most of these instructions are short, pithy one-liners, reminders of advice that your parents or grandparents might've told you. There are things that they told you that you should do, but you didn't know why, so maybe you don't. But then you realize, what if you did? Would things be better?

Suggestions are both general and specific, and sometimes brief and rapid-fire. The specific ones aren't too bad, but they could be problematic. For example, if it says to hike a particular piece or watch a specific movie, you run the risk of filling the book with these. It doesn't need to be (and it isn't) a travel brochure.

Spoiler Alert: here's a page from near the end of the book

"Teach by example Commit yourself to a might purpose Live simply Think quickly Work diligently Fight fairly Laugh loudly Love deeply Plant more flowers than you pick Remember that all important truths are simple Rescue your dreams Include your parents in your prayers"

A quick read, but don't read it too quickly. Read a few pages, and think about them. If it's a book that you're likely to keep, circle or highlight some of the items. Maybe color-code them.

Me? I've had it long enough without reading it. I'm leaving it on the bookshelf of the Teacher Center at my current school before the end of my assignment here.

Note: This was one of the last two books I read in December, finally getting a write-up.

Azumanga Daioh, Volumes 1-4

Azumanga Daioh, Volumes 1-4 Kiyohiko Azuma (2000-2004)

I had a recent assignment in the Library of the school to which I'm currently assigned. I spent part of that day organizing the manga shelves. Part of the reason for this was to scope out something new to read.

Oddly, despite all the volumes, the choices where slim. I wanted something where the first volume wasn't missing nor were there any early gaps in the sequence in case I got interested and the story dragged out for multiple books. Of the ones that qualified, quite a few were romance books, which I wasn't interested in. And one seemed to be about chess, which was a maybe. But I saw the four volumes of Azumanga Daioh, so I took the first one. It wasn't objectionable, so I borrowed the other three as well.

First off, I'm not the target audience. Secondly, I understand that there's animation of the series (doesn't surprise me), and if it were available on some platform I currently subscribe to, I might check it out.

Basically, the four books tell the story of a group of girls as they go through high school, each book being roughly a year in the life. There are boys at the school, but rarely seen, and there's no romance (or lovestruck teens, wishing from afar) to be found in these pages. Also, there are two teachers, one the girls' homeroom teacher and the other the P.E. teacher, are important. (I originally thought it was going to deal more with them.) As for male teachers, the only one there, which I guess would've been comic relief back then, is a little too creepy today. Although he's married with a daughter, he likes looking at teen girls. (He doesn't try to date them or anything, but it's creepy.) Also, he's drawn in a style that suggests that he's an anime character that always SHOUTS his lines. I didn't like him.

As for the girls, well, some of them were a little interchangeable. The artwork was small and the characters wore uniforms. Between some of them, the only difference is the way their hair is drawn and maybe their eyes or mouth -- until they're shouting or being expressive, when I wasn't sure who was who. (At least once, I didn't know if it was a student or the teacher.)

One exception was Chiyo Chan, who at the age of 10, was placed in high school. She was also wealthy and had a summer home that the girls and their two teachers went to each year. She didn't seem to get any bigger over the four years.

Another is Sakaki, who was the tallest. She was quiet, brooding one who actually wanted to be friends and included in things. She also wants to pet stray cats, but they always bite her hand. It's a running gag, which takes an interesting turn later on.

Yomi is the second tallest, has lighter hair, and wears glasses (sometimes you can see her eyes through them). Her main concern is her weight, although her later concern is getting into college or university.

Tomo and Osaka round out the cast, except that Osaka is not her real name, it's where she's from. They except her to have a certain attitude (in the English translation, it might as well be a Brooklyn attitude), but she isn't like that at all.

The format of the books looks like four-panel vertical strips, two columns to a page. Each column had its own title, but I stopped reading those for the most part. At least once in each book, the format would switch up to a more traditional comic format, which was welcome. The biggest problem I had was the small print was sometimes a killer on my eyes, even with reading glasses. Yes, I used my phone's camera's zoom lens a couple of times.

While I enjoyed these books, they weren't anything great for me. They had good moments and I'm not sorry I read them. The four books are the entire series.

I'm assigned to this school until the end of the month, so I might try to sneak in a few more books. Oddly, one comic I considered taking out was checked out by a student before I had a chance. (I can't deny the students -- it's their library!) However, it's supposed to be back this week. I'll make an exception for Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy because I've read the first book and there were two graphic novels on the shelf. However, I didn't want to read the second without re-reading the first to get familiar with the characters again.

A Reminder for People Finding this Blog through Search Engines

Thank you for visiting my blog. This blog is a list of my recently read books. It's actually meant for me to keep track of the things I've read with a few notes about what the book was about or the characters involved.

That's how it started. I don't mean for it to be a "book review" site, although it will sometimes read like that. I try to avoid spoiling ending or anything in case someone stumbles onto this page by accident. Once I remind myself what a book was about, I should remember the ending. And if I don't, well, then it wasn't worth remembering.

Comments are welcome, as are suggestions based on other things I've read.

Fact checking is welcome, as well, as I type from memory. For the purpose of this blog, while I desire accuracy, it is not mandatory. However, corrections can be made if I'm way off on something.

-- Christopher Burke

O is for Outlaw (Grafton)

O is for Outlaw Sue Grafton (1999)

Up until now, we've only had glimpses into the earlier life lived by Kinsey Milhone before she became a detective, and we've even discovered, as she did, that what we knew wasn't totally true. We know she'd been orphaned, and raised by her aunt. We know that she'd been a cop, and married twice. We thought we knew that she had no other living relatives, until they suddenly showed up and we learned more about them.

Now we get to learn more about her ex-husband from her short-lived first marriage. First off, his name is Michael Macgruder, aka Mickey, and secondly, well, we learn about his past more than his present. He doesn't get to say much in the here and now.

Kinsey doesn't have a case this time. She's on her own. In fact, she'll even be a suspect before it's over. The novel opens with Kinsey getting a call from someone who has a box of her old possessions, report cards, yearbooks and the like. The caller had bid on the contents of an unpaid storage locker in the hopes of finding treasure, and now he's offering to sell Kinsey back her stuff so he can make back what he overpaid. Kinsey realizes that the locker must've belonged to Mickey, her first husband, who she walked out on. This bothers Kinsey because Mickey was always good with managing money, so, she believes, he must've fallen on hard times. This spurs her on to investigate, if she can just get a fix on where he's living, because he's also good at hiding in plain sight.

To further complicate matters, in with her possessions is a note from an old acquaintance from 15 years earlier, pretty much admitting that she had had an affair with Mickey during their brief marriage, but also that it coincided with an infamous incident that got Mickey kicked off the police force. Mickey had an alibi for a death that Kinsey thought he might've had a hand in. Mickey even wanted her to lie for him regarding the events (without telling her the truth of where he was). That was the end of the marriage.

Now feeling guilty, she starts tracking down the folks who hung out at the old bar back then. It isn't long she finds out that Mickey has been shot with a gun that he had bought her but that she had left behind. He's on life support, and she is a suspect. Now she has more reason to find out what happened to Benny Quintero, a Vietnam vet, that night 14 years earlier.

As with the rest of Grafton's books, you have to keep in mind when they take place. Even though it was 1999 when published, it takes place in the mid-80s. In fact, there's even a reference to the events of L is for Lawless happening only a few months earlier. In this case, the action takes place 14 years after some events that occurred during the Viet Nam War.

Go with it, and you won't find yourself "doing the math" when she's in Louisville, Ky (on her own dime), looking through high school yearbooks.

As with her other books, I enjoyed reading it. I did put it down for a couple of weeks in the middle (due to real world events, really). I would have liked a little more information about Mickey, maybe some exchange between him and Kinsey, closure or whatever, but I won't complain about what we got.

On a sad note, I finished it one night at the end of December, right before bed, and the next day, I read that Sue Grafton had passed away. I don't know if she had planned a finale for the characters in any way, or if "Z is for Zero" would have been just another case, but now we'll never know. I wouldn't want Kinsey's swan song ghost-written by someone else. Better than it remain unpublished.

2017 -- The Year in Review

One of the problems I always have with lists of the "best" books of any given year is that I rarely get to read books in the year that they are published. I guess I rely so much on word of mouth for new things, and if they are popular, I won't see a copy of it.

Secondary problem, I'm at a point where I have way too many books, so I don't purchase too many. I might get a new book as a gift, or if I'm getting it signed by the author, which hasn't happened for a new release since I worked in midtown Manhattan.

My reading time could be summed up as follows: before bed, on the subway (not buses), and lying around in the pool. (Yes, in the pool, so my choices are limited -- no ebooks, obviously.)

Looking at this blog, there were 20 entries from 2017. One of those had two books, and another mentioned 30 volumes of manga read over a 12-month period. Assuming half of those were read in 2017, that's 35 books, which isn't bad.

Add to that a few more books that weren't written up yet, and that brings the total to 40. Not horrible, actually.

I think that my summer challenge turned into an interesting experiment, but too many of the books at my local library were reference books, not suitable for summer reading, and I found myself picking up quite a number of "young adult" selections. Nothing wrong with that, in general, but at least one was aimed at a middle school audience.

I'm not looking into any "goals" or "challenges" this year. If one comes along that interests me, fine. Otherwise, that's fine, too.

The books that I've been reading are generally large, and my time devoted to them (especially if I'm driving) is short. Not a good combo if the plan is to read N number of books. I mused the thought of tracking pages, but even this is silly given some content. For example, last year I read a book of poetry, a photo essay, and a book with large print. For that matter, I couldn't say how many pages ebooks have because it depends upon the font size.

So, no goals. Plans? Well, I have to read some more Eric Flint before Heliosphere, NY this year, where Mr. Flint will be one of the guests of honor, and a mini-1632 convention will take place within the larger sci-fi convention.

I will continue to read more of the recently departed Sue Grafton, eventually, though not likely in 2018, getting to Y is for Yesterday, which will, sadly, be the final letter of the alphabet.

I will finish at least two books of fairy tales that I've started but put aside because I can only read so many before my mind wants something else.

I will get more of the paper books off my shelf and out of the house even as I bring in my electronic ones.

There will be more manga and more math books, and possibly a manga math book!

There will be words, pictures, poetry, and whatever may come along that strikes my interest.

And there will be write-ups, summaries and reviews, even as I re-evaluate just who I'm writing this blog for.

Looking forward to 2018, which has already started, and I'm already reading.