A few years ago, I got into reading NetGalley ARCs. Then I requested a whole bunch of books at once, had a depressive episode, didn'r read or review any of them, and was so convinced that no publish would give me a book again that I just abandoned the whole thing. But now I'm getting into it again, and maybe I'll review enough "read now" books, ( Read more... )

All Systems Red is a sci-fi novella by Martha Wells about a cyborg and a group of human scientists on a planetary mission that goes horribly wrong.

I actually discovered this via an anti-rec from
( Read more... )

Over the past week or so, I've fallen head over heels in love with Scott Lynch's Gentlemen Bastard Sequence. Now, whenever I really, really love something, I immediately feel guilty and inferior about it. (No, seriously.) Because I suspect that I have terrible taste, and if anyone checks something out on my recommendation and doesn't think it's ( Read more... )

The Handmaiden is the new film by Chan-wook Park, based on Sarah Waters's book Fingersmith. I don't know if anyone else has managed to see this movie, but my review has spoilers, and I encourage you to read only if you've both read the book and seen the movie. Reading the book unspoiled was one of my most treasured reading experiences, and the ( Read more... )

I rated this book as five stars on Goodreads not so much on its artistry or its technical mastery, but simply because I personally found it such a delight to read. I can't promise anyone else will love it as much as I did. It mashed my buttons in all the right ways ( Read more... )

Lately I've been trying to be a more well read sci-fi fan, and more aware of what's going on in the genre. I'm also trying to pick a few classics. Philip K. Dick was a natural place to start. And, yeah, this had a lot to do with the Minority Report TV show starting up. I'd read a couple of Dick's novels before, and had bounced off of them. But this ( Read more... )

So, I've just started reading Popular Crime by Bill James. Relating the story of the murder of Elma Sand:

In a time when persons accused of murder often stood trial without an attorney, three lawyers were hired to defend Weeks. One of them, Brockholst Livingston, would be appointed to the United States Supreme Court by Thomas Jefferson, and would ( Read more... )

Read in the past week: Well, I did NOT finish Genome: The Autobiography of a Species In 23 Chapters, by Matt Ridley. Ridley's book was a mess of sexism, sweeping, unsupported claims, and arrogant posturing. Ridley describes the mating habits of peacocks and wolf spiders, then declares that this proves that genetics are why "men and women have a ( Read more... )

I did mean to do this yesterday, but it ended up being a hectic day.

Read in the past week: Rosalind Franklin: The Dark Lady of DNA, by Brenda Maddox. A thorough, solid biography of Franklin. I found it a little slow to start, but I think that was nearly inevitable. Maddox started at the very beginning with Franklin's childhood, and I think very ( Read more... )

( Read more... )