Dangling Conversations : Library run report -- 2/5/2005

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Library run report -- 2/5/2005

Posted 05 Feb, 2005 at 15:10 by matt in /Books | Permanent link

For all of you out there who're wondering what I'm reading these days...

Old Man's War by John Scalzi. Of all the bloggers that I read but don't know personally, Scalzi's one of my favourites. The novel (his first published) has been compared favourably to Heinlein, as well as other SF folks that I've never heard of.
The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde. This one's on Jan-jan's recommendation; it's light speculative fiction set in a world where time-travel, including travel to fictional worlds, is reasonably commonplace. I might be hampered by my shocking ignorance of Charlotte Bronte.
Survival by Julie Czerneda. More SF -- I'm on a bit of a kick, perhaps -- this one by a Canadian biologist. As you might expect, she's very good at creating interesting and believable alien races; in the past, I've sometimes found her plots running out of steam well before the end of their corresponding novels. Always worth a look, though.
Speaking with the Angel, edited by Nick Hornby. This is a short story collection, the stories having been written by numerous young British authors. (Among the more recognizable names are Helen Fielding, of Bridget Jones fame, and Roddy Doyle, of The Commitments among others.) I remembered the existence of this anthology last weekend over cider and darts with Kael and Blue, and this was my first chance to procure it.
Two books on the invasion of Canada by the States in the War of 1812. I had one of my "I don't know enough history" moments. Books borrowed in these moments rarely get read completely, and occasionally don't get read at all. But hey, they're free!
Albion's Seed by David Hackett Fisher. Sort of an ethnography of the four principal waves of British emigration to America. David Sucher referred to it a while back as providing some interesting insights into US politics, both historical and contemporary.

Comments (2 comments so far)

Let me know what you think of Old Man's War. I really enjoy Scalzi's writing on his blog...and love Heinlein, so I'm planning on reading this one at some point.

Posted 2005/2/8 10:03:12 by wendy

Short form: really quite good. Nice writing, neat ideas, interesting story.

I'll be writing up a somewhat longer review sometime tomorrow, I think.

Posted 2005/2/8 15:32:25 by matt

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Blue has been known to toss a disc around a field from time to time, and thinks that you should as well. He lives either on the Internet or in Toronto, depending on your perspective. Ask him no questions and there's a good chance he'll tell you no lies. [Site]

Brent hosts the box from which we dangle our conversations, for which we are all eternally grateful. Gratitude is most easily expressed in small bills. Formerly a pawn of the Evil Empire (or maybe a Knight), he has gone over the wall and now toils at a small computer game company in Alberta that no one except for ten million gamers has ever heard of. [Site]

Kael occasionally gets called "Mike"; mostly by people who don't know him. He cooks, he cleans, he maintains Unix servers... what else could you ask for? Currently a slave to the Man, by which we mean retail sales. He has secret plans, but we can't tell you about them. In fact, we've already said too much. [Site]

Lisa is a recreational therapist without a cause. She entertains dreams of ruling over an empire of scrapbooking. Has a well-deserved reputation for enthusiasm, common sense, and tiredness. Ask her about her teapots, but don't touch them.

Matt is just this guy, you know? A mathematician by training and a layabout by inclination; he currently has an Urban Commuter Campus in the American Midwest convinced that they should pay him for plying these trades. The designer and administrator of this site, which means in a sense this is all his fault. [Site | E-mail]

Sky is a salesman during the day. At night he doesn't bother: his words are like unto those of a god, and you can agree or you can be wrong. Lives in the World of Warcraft, with a sattelite office in Toronto. Known to play games on occasion.

Wendy has never run away to join the circus, but pursuing graduate work in medical imaging is perhaps just as good. She didn't choose her current abode on the basis of proximity to a Toronto Public Library branch, but we wouldn't put it past her. Married to one of the other authors here, but you'll have to read the archives to find out which one. [Site]

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