Open Thread: Top Ten Lists 2015

Like many bloggers, I keep a close eye on the stats of which posts get traffic, and it’s time to reveal the winners for this year.  You all like list posts, right?  So here are the reviews you the readers felt were important in 2015. Top Ten Posts of 2015 Anime Review: Urusei Yatsura Book… Continue reading Open Thread: Top Ten Lists 2015

Open Thread: Reading Challenges

Back in November, some folks in the Booklr community of Tumblr organized a challenge called #readwomen.  The idea was to deliberately read books written by women for pleasure in December.  For full participation, every book should be written by a woman, but I opted to just increase the proportion by picking from my to read… Continue reading Open Thread: Reading Challenges

Magazine Review: The Blueroad Reader: Stardust and Fate

Magazine Review: The Blueroad Reader: Stardust and Fate edited by John Gaterud Yes, this is yet another literary magazine; I picked up a bunch inexpensively at the book fair.  This one seems to take its title from Jack Kerouac’s writing; this first issue was published in 2007. The index is unusual for this kind of… Continue reading Magazine Review: The Blueroad Reader: Stardust and Fate

Book Review: Fresh Fear

Book Review: Fresh Fear edited by William Cook Horror anthologies are like a box of chocolates.  One story might be crunchy frog, another spring surprise, while a more disappointing one is just maple cream.  (Seriously, maple cream?)  This is because horror tends to be a balancing act between what the writer finds scary and what… Continue reading Book Review: Fresh Fear

Open Thread: Minicon 50 Report

Over the Easter weekend, I went to Minicon, the Minnesota Scientifiction Society’s yearly convention.  This was the 50th convention, although not the fiftieth year, as a couple times early on it was held twice yearly.  To mark the milestone, the convention ran four days instead of the usual three, and had a whole bunch of… Continue reading Open Thread: Minicon 50 Report

Open Thread: Happy New Year!

2014 ends, and 2015 begins, so let’s see what this year’s top ten lists look like. (You like top ten lists, right?) Top Ten Posts of 2014 Comic Book Review: The Forgotten Man Graphic Edition Comic Strip Review: Spacetrawler Book 1 The Human Seat Manga Review: Weekly Shonen Jump (USA) Book Review: Insurrections of the… Continue reading Open Thread: Happy New Year!

Book Review: That Ain’t Right

Book Review: That Ain’t Right edited by Jeremy Zimmerman & Dawn Vogel Disclaimer:  I received this book in a Goodreads giveaway on the premise that I would review it. Howard Phillips “H.P.” Lovecraft (1890-1937) was a minor writer of horror fiction in the early 20th Century.  But thanks to a gift for purple prose, a… Continue reading Book Review: That Ain’t Right

Open Thread: Judging by the Covers 10/18/14

Time for another open thread!  Since this went over so well last time, I’m going to post another six book covers from my more obscure posts.  Let me know which ones you like, and what you think the cover tells you about the contents.  Or tell me what kind of cover makes you want to… Continue reading Open Thread: Judging by the Covers 10/18/14

Book Review: Insurrections of the Mind

Book Review: Insurrections of the Mind edited by Franklin Foer Disclaimer:  I received this book through a Goodreads giveaway on the premise that I would review it.  The copy I read was an uncorrected proof, and changes will be made in the final edition.  (Specifically, a second introduction by Leon Wieseltier–an index may also be forthcoming.)… Continue reading Book Review: Insurrections of the Mind