Mr. Burke's Reading List

At Wit's End by Erma Bombeck (1965) (Not a review, just some notes to help me remember the things I've read. But written this way because it's the Internet, and some people will stumble across this page.) This was a paperback that I had for a very long time and which became my in-pool reading book. That is, a book, should it happen to fall in, I wouldn't be too concerned about it. Obviously, this is not something I could do with loaners or books that I'd prefer to hold onto. I used the Good Reads image because it matches the edition I have. It's old, although not 1965-old. Actually, I was surprised that the book itself dated to 1964. I know Bombeck was a pioneer and that my parents and older siblings read her newspaper columns, but I didn't think she'd started back then. Given the idyllic family life that she takes to task, I should've realized it. Where this book came from, I couldn't possibly remember. Likely a used book store, o...

Leviathan Wakes by James S. A. Corey (2011) (Not a review, just some notes to help me remember the things I've read. But written this way because it's the Internet, and some people will stumble across this page.) I watched the first season of The Expanse when it first aired on Syfy . I have to admit, I was somewhat lost and couldn't follow a lot of lost was going on. I couldn't even understand some of what was being said. Had I thought about it, I might've deleted the timer I had set for the series. However, I forgot to, so it taped the second season, which I watched and enjoyed more. I think a third season aired on Syfy before it moved to Amazon. I considered suggesting the first book recently for my book club. I rejected the idea for two reasons: first, since it's been around for a decade, anyone with an interest might've already read it. Second, the length of it -- if I didn't like it, I'd have to slog through 400+ pages before our ...

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (2008) (Not a review, just some notes to help me remember the things I've read. But written this way because it's the Internet, and some people will stumble across this page.) This was a Book Club selection, and it was one of my choices. I was asked to pick three books that I wanted to read. I selected the first of the Murderbot series, and "The Three-Body Problem", both of which I've had in my kindle for quite a while. I considered a few other books but all were well over 400 pages. I didn't want to obligate myself to something that I'd have to slog through. For this reason, I didn't select the first book in The Expanse series (which I've since read on my own). I perused Good Reads for suggestions. Neil Gaiman had quite a few books listed, so I decided to go with one I hadn't heard of, and hoped that the others hadn't either. Less of a chance that they'd already read it. The Graveyard ...

Exactly How I Promote and Sell Books A 30 Minute Read (Kathy's Practically Perfect Plan Book 6) by Kathy Dee (2021) (Not a review, just some notes to help me remember the things I've read. But written this way because it's the Internet, and some people will stumble across this page.) This was a freebie, probably from r/FreeEBOOKS, so she didn't make money from me selling this book. Kathy Dee has a series of 15-minute reads, but this one, she says, has so much material in it, it's more of a 30-minute read. And it was. Note: I read this a month ago and just didn't get around to posting about it. In truth, I wanted to wait until I finished the next book because I didn't want this to be the top post on my blog for more than 1 day. There's should good information in here if I want to self-publish books, particularly if I want to use Kindle Unlimited to get more eyes on my pages. Let's face it, at this point, I'm not going to sell books ...

ANALOG PLUS 50: Analog Science Fiction/Science Fact, June 1972 Update the photo June came and went along with the last of the school year and an exess of overtime grading Regents exams. As a result, I fell behind on this blog and have felt too tired to catch up with it along with my math blog. Life happens. I'm back. For now. I'll still be reading even if I'm not posting about it. I don't want to neglect this blog for 4 years, like I did once before. The June issue of Analog has a noveltte by Joe Haldeman, which was the only name I recognized aside from the serial by Harry Harrison. I'll read that one separately. For anyone finding these reviews, my purpose is two-fold: enjoying some "classic" sci-fi, and looking for stories that I think could be adapted for TV broadcast since so much of what shows up on anthology shows is rough to awful. Additional Note: I do NOT work in television. I just watch it. In this issue: The Editor...