Summer, what a wonderful time for a vacation. I have several review requests that I will be reading while on vacation and posting and I received an updated version of Bomber Boy from the author and will be re-reading that as well. Please note that requests received while I am on vacation will be put off until September unless it just knocks my socks off. Those that have already been received will get read/reviewed while I am on vacation. Hope everyone has a great summer.
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This would come under the random things that interest me portion of the book blog description LOL.
I couldn’t figure out how to include more than a link to the article of the BBC News story for Scotland, which I’ve included below the picture from that story for those who would like to read the actual story, but I just think this is so cool. Some unknown person has now sent a second book sculpture in the form of a World Book chest to Edinburgh Unesco City of Literature Trust (EUCL) in support of reading, ideas, libraries and such, which included wings, helmet and goggles for protection during the journey as reported by the article from an included message. As I am a lover of books and reading, I couldn’t help giggling a little and thinking how creative and interesting this was and how intriguing I think it would be to children learning to read to follow this mystery.
Mystery Book Sculptor gives Edinburgh new work of art
As I looked around some more there are pages with the previous book sculptures on linked pages at the bottom of this article where several other sculptures are shown over the past couple of years. I guess originally five were found at Book Week Scotland festival and others have shown up along the way and that only makes it more intriguing 🙂
I’m currently reading Xenophobia so I don’t have an opinion about it yet, but I’ve enjoyed several of Peter Cawdron’s stories and thought I’d reblog this post from his blog as a supporter of indie authors. He did a really good job with Monsters and I’m curious to see where this story will go.
Fear is a funny old thing.
For the most part, we have a pretty good grasp of the things that make us afraid, such as a scary movie or a bump in the dark of night, but it’s the subtle fears we easily overlook that are the most pervasive, these fears are often held without any conscious recognition.
My latest novel, Xenophobia, examines these fears in the context of first contact with an extraterrestrial intelligence. Sure, there’s the usual, obvious invasion fears, but the emotions I wanted to examine are the subtleties associated with human behaviour, like the fear of being wrong, the fear of change, and of course, the fear of strangers – xenophobia. And it’s these unspoken fears we often fail to realize in ourselves.
Fear seems pretty obvious. Ride a roller-coaster and you’ll feel your heart thumping because your senses are being assaulted with potentially life-threatening speeds, thrills and…
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Originally reviewed on Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Description: Serengeti is the first of three novellas exploring alternatives to the Rare Earth Hypothesis in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence.
The Serengeti is a generation star-ship, venturing out above the Milky Way, searching for signs of alien intelligence. The crew discover far more about the nature of sentient life than they imagined possible.
Review – 4 of 5 Stars:
I’d previously read Anomaly and had really enjoyed it. So, I was excited to read Serengeti. As I had hoped, Peter Cawdron did a good job writing Serengeti and it caught my interest right away. It suited me fine that it was heavy on science as it explored whether man should search for other life in the universe, among other things. I very much enjoy stories that make me think so the fact that it wasn’t an action story did not bother me in the least. I especially liked that in addition to the scientific question being explored, it explored the reactions and feelings of the characters as they were faced with the reality of their small part in this ongoing project. There was plenty to think about. I’m also a sucker for a science fiction love story, even a heavily cerebral one. I read the whole thing in about two hours. I realize this novella is the first of the series, but it seemed as if it could have benefited from being expanded a bit more. I’m hoping that Mr. Cawdron will give us a little more story in the next one. I’m intrigued by what might have happened next. That said, I thoroughly enjoyed what I read and look forward to seeing the next one in the series.
Original review posted: February 20, 2013
Every year around my birthday I try to go back and revisit some of my favorite books. This year I thought I’d share my birthday picks for the year from some of my lifetime favorites.
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett is a children’s classic. It’s a beautifully written tale of friendship, believing in yourself, and how being positive not only garners you more friends, but makes you a more pleasant person inside and out as Mary and Colin both learn along the way. The imagery in this book is fantastic and I’ve always loved that you not only get to experience the tale from the viewpoint of the human characters, but also from Dickon’s robin friend and his mate as they watch the children in the garden. It’s no secret (no pun intended) that this is truly a magical book for children and full of good advice about getting outside, playing, being healthy and how generally wonderful it is to be alive. It’s still a fantastic read when you’re older as it’s an uplifting and well-written story.
Crystal Singer by Anne McCaffrey is one of my all-time favorite books and I’ve read the cover off of more than one copy. The first in a trilogy, it is the beginning of Killashandra Ree’s tale, a young woman who goes from being disappointed as a university music student on her home planet of Fuerte to being a member of the Heptite Guild on Ballybran, the home of “crystal singers” as they are nicknamed due to the need for perfect pitch to tune their infrasonic cutters. When I was younger I could think of no better job and story to be a part of than this one and would have gladly signed on for a chance at the adventure. The following books in this sci-fi trilogy are Killashandra and Crystal Line. I love the series as a whole, but Crystal Singer is my favorite from the group and the one I’ve purchased the most replacements for when the old ones have fallen apart from too much reading.
Darkover Landfall by Marion Zimmer Bradley. This is the first book (chronologically) in the Darkover series. The umpteen (20+) books in this series explore a fantastic world and it’s culture and is a great sci-fi/fantasy blend. This is a short tale of how it all began and one of my all time favorites. As always, with any long-standing series there’s some contention over which book is the best, but this is one of my favorites. I really like the concept of the Ghost Wind, etc. Anyway, the series as a whole is fantastic and I suggest reading in its entirety. Another favorite is Hawkmistress, but that wasn’t a birthday choice this year. There’s so much story to be had in the Darkover universe. I definitely suggest a visit there if you haven’t read these previously.
So there they are, the books I revisited for my birthday. I hope everyone has had a great February and that you too take the time to revisit your favorite books when time allows or perhaps make some new favorites.
Author TJ Hapney 