Women Who Pretended to Be Men to Publish Scifi Books

“In 1980, science fiction writer and editor Ben Bova told a group of women writers, ‘Neither as writers nor as readers have you raised the level of science fiction a notch. Women have written a lot of books about dragons and unicorns, but damned few about future worlds in which adult problems are addressed’.” 

In Women Who Pretended to Be Men to Publish Scifi Books, we get a nice list of the varied and fascinating female authors who, in order to not alienate male readers, had to pretend (at least on paper) to be men. 

As the soon to be father of a daughter, and as a science fiction lover, I find this despicable in a number of ways. So please, read the article. Then click over to Amazon or, better yet, hit up your local book store. Do yourself a favor and grab some books for summer reading. You can thank me later. 

Green Eggs, Ham And Metaphysics: Teaching Hard Ideas With Children’s Books | WBEZ

I love this! Sure, most of us know we can use these books to teach bigger concepts. I’m sure the authors knew it, too. But having it all codified and with lesson plans makes it so much easier!

Stories that are great for learning to read can teach all kinds of things — from philosophy to financial literacy.

Source: Green Eggs, Ham And Metaphysics: Teaching Hard Ideas With Children’s Books | WBEZ

Review: Confessions of a Scary Mommy: An Honest and Irreverent Look at Motherhood – The Good, The Bad, and the Scary

Confessions of a Scary Mommy: An Honest and Irreverent Look at Motherhood - The Good, The Bad, and the Scary
Confessions of a Scary Mommy: An Honest and Irreverent Look at Motherhood – The Good, The Bad, and the Scary by Jill Smokler
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

 

To start with, I’m not a mother. I’m not even a parent…yet. But my wife and I listened to this book in the hopes of gleaning some advance knowledge or get a humorous look at what’s to come. In this, we were kinda disappointed.
Continue reading “Review: Confessions of a Scary Mommy: An Honest and Irreverent Look at Motherhood – The Good, The Bad, and the Scary”

Review: Atlanta Burns

Atlanta Burns
Atlanta Burns by Chuck Wendig
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I have a problem here. I have long been a fan of Terrible Minds, the website/blog of Chuck Wendig. His blogs and books about writing are usually spot on and I have long recommended him to my writing students. Then I read this book.  Continue reading “Review: Atlanta Burns”

Review: Keller’s Fedora, Difficult Men, Invasion of the Body Snatchers and others

So here’s the deal: I’m slacking on my book reviews. Not that I haven’t been reading (or listening) to lots of books – in fact, I’m one book ahead where I need to be to complete my 70 book Goodreads challenge.

But I’ve bean bad about doing weekly reviews of individual books so I’m giving myself a break and allowing for Short Book Reviews of an assembled grouping. Without further ado, then, here’s the latest batch of books.  Continue reading “Review: Keller’s Fedora, Difficult Men, Invasion of the Body Snatchers and others”

Reviews: Spiders and Dreams and Rocket Ships

Medusa's WebMedusa’s Web by Tim Powers
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Okay, so I’m a Tim Powers fan. I will read everything the man writes and eagerly anticipate the next one. That said, this isn’t the book to start with. The plot, as Powersian as ever, involves a brother and sister who stand to inherit the home which belonged to a relative who raised them after their parents passed away some years earlier. The house has connections (literal and figurative) to the golden years of Hollywood and, like all of Powers’ books of the last couple of decades, involves real life figures and events weaved into an intricately plotted web of fantasy and magic.
Continue reading “Reviews: Spiders and Dreams and Rocket Ships”

Short reviews

The Hunchback of Notre-DameThe Hunchback of Notre-Dame by Victor Hugo
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Interestingly, I’d never actually read this book. I knew the story, of course. Everyone knows the story. The story is about Quasimodo, the hunchbacked bell ringer at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, and how Esmerelda, the young gypsy, is the only person who is nice to him and so he falls in love with her. And while that is what it’s about, it’s also about so much more… And so much less.
Continue reading “Short reviews”

Awesome Vending Machine Sells Random Books for $2

“Just a few months ago, I had the pleasure of visiting Toronto and strolled right into The Monkey’s Paw, an “antiquarian shop specializing in uncommon books and paper artifacts from the age of print.” Upon entering, I was immediately drawn to this beautiful, vintage-looking vending machine. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that it sold random books for only $2. Named the “Biblio-Mat,” it’s the world’s first randomizing vending machine for old books.The Biblio-Mat was built by Craig Small for The Monkey’s Paw. According to the owners, “The machine was conceived as an artful alternative to the ubiquitous and often ignored discount sidewalk bin. When a customer puts coins into it, the Biblio-Mat dramatically whirrs and vibrates as the machine is set in motion. The ring of an old telephone bell enhances the thrill when the customer’s mystery book is delivered with a satisfying clunk into the receptacle below.” Watch the video below to see it in action!”

Source: Awesome Vending Machine Sells Random Books for $2 – My Modern Met

Review: Nim’s Island

Nim's Island
Nim’s Island by Wendy Orr

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

To be perfectly honest, I bought this book when we found out we were pregnant. The baby was no more than a speck at that point but I figured I should start getting books for the little one. And I’d seen the movie so this seemed like a safe bet. Continue reading “Review: Nim’s Island”

Review: Strangers on a Train

Strangers on a Train
Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
What a fascinating book. To admit something horrible, not only had I never read the book before, but I’ve never seen the Hitchcock film, either. Closest I’ve come is Throw Momma from the Train which is a far cry from Highsmith’s original novel. Even the film seems to stray quite a bit from the original text. The original text, though, might be worth a revisit in cinematic form. Continue reading “Review: Strangers on a Train”

Review: The Paper Magician

The Paper Magician
The Paper Magician by Charlie N. Holmberg
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Ceony Twill is a 19 year old recent graduate of a magic academy and despite her wishes, she has been apprenticed to Paper Magician Emery Thane. See, in this world, magicians can only work with (by being “bonded” to one material, and a man-made one at that. And, well, paper-folding is the lamest of the lame. Not nearly as impressive, we are told (not shown) as working with metal or glass. Continue reading “Review: The Paper Magician”

Review: An Anthropologist on Mars and Lost At Sea

An Anthropologist on Mars: Seven Paradoxical Tales
An Anthropologist on Mars: Seven Paradoxical Tales by Oliver Sacks
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

 

Lost At Sea: The Jon Ronson Mysteries
Lost At Sea: The Jon Ronson Mysteries by Jon Ronson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

 

I’m putting these two books together becuase they both strike me as similar reads and I found the same issue with each. That said, they are different books and cover different subject matter. Continue reading “Review: An Anthropologist on Mars and Lost At Sea”

Review: Secondhand Souls

Secondhand Souls
Secondhand Souls by Christopher Moore
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

I enjoy Christopher Moore‘s books. Despite the fact he won’t own up to his writing fantasy, all of his books have wonderfully fantastical elements, from horny sea monsters to loser vampires to crazy whale boys to the best friend of the son of god, they’re all fun, entertaining reads. Continue reading “Review: Secondhand Souls”

Review: Web

WebWeb by John Wyndham

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I’ve become a bit of a John Wyndham enthusiast ever since I became a bonafide book collector with the addition of a first edition of Wyndham’s The Kraken Wakes to my library. So now, I’m on the lookout for affordable first editions of his work, and while I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to afford a copy of The Day of the Triffids or The Midwich Cuckoos, there are others out there I can get…Web being one of them – one which I happened to find on sale in the first edition. Since I’m also trying to read or re-read all of the collectible books I get, just to keep them fresh in my mind, this one came up in rotation and so I was able to enjoy it. Continue reading “Review: Web”