New author: John Barnes

I’ve found a new author whose work I enjoy: John Barnes. So far I’ve read “The Sky So Big and Black” and am starting “Finity.” The books are well written and the ideas are interesting.

He has a blog on Amazon. He says:

Roger DeForest interviewed me for his dedicated hard SF site, and it’s possible that I said something interesting there (interesting to someone other than me). Naturally he picked the most inflammatory quote he could find to run at the top, and removed a couple of qualifiers, because that’s what any editor with half a brain does.

(Senator McCain: “I always enjoyed wearing a dress uniform, so it made it hard for me to understand why some soldiers don’t”

….Pull quote: “I always enjoyed wearing a dress … it made it hard for me.” )

Currently reading: The Best of Gregory Clark

Gregory Clark was old enough to fight in World War I and young enough to go to World War II as a war correspondent. In between he lived through the Great Depression, went hunting and fishing, made friends, and lived in Toronto. He worked at the Toronto Star, where Ernest Hemingway called him the best writer he ever met.

After working as a reporter for many years, Clark wrote a weekly column, which was illustrated by Jimmy Frise. His stories of misadventures with his fishing buddies are plausible but perhaps a little exaggerated. His accounts of life in a war are little gems of humanity. Some of his newspaper columns are collected into books such as this: The Best of Gregory Clark .

Books read in 2007

I read some children’s literature with and for the children in my life. The rest is usually science fiction, mysteries, or nonfiction. I read for interest, not edification. I also read about one book-length collection of science fiction per month, as well as online science news and researching technical subjects for my profession.

Books read in 2007 (memorable books in bold):

1. The Subjection of Women by John Stuart Mill (philosophy, social science)
2. The Fellowship of the Ring by J. R. R. Tolkien (re-read)
3. Excession by Iain M. Banks (science fiction)
4. The Better Part of Valor by Tanya Huff (re-read)
5. The Dogfather by Susan Conant
6. A Swiftly Tilting Planet by Madeleine L’Engle
7. To the Hilt by Dick Francis
8. Whip Hand by Dick Francis
9. Tales from the Arabian Nights edited by Andrew Lang
10. Banker by Dick Francis
11. The Past Through Tomorrow by Robert Heinlein (re-read)
12. A Bird in the House by Margaret Laurence
13. The Draco Tavern by Larry Niven
14. Driving Force by Dick Francis
15. The Curse of the Viking Grave by Farley Mowat
16. Smoke and Shadows by Tanya Huff (re-read)
17. Bones of the Moon by Jonathan Carroll (re-read)
18. Smoke and Mirrors by Tanya Huff
19. The Woman With a Worm in Her Head & Other Stories of Infectious Disease by Pamela Nagami (popular science, medicine)
20. Girls’ Night In by Marion Keyes et al.
21. The Years of Rice and Salt by Kim Stanley Robinson (science fiction, fantasy, religion)
22. Gil’s All Fright Diner by A. Lee Martinez
23. The Isle of Gramarye: An Anthology of the Poetry of Magic edited by Jennifer Westwood
24. Grannie Gray: Childre’s Plays and Games by Eleanor Farjeon
25. The Two Towers by J. R. R. Tolkien (re-read)
26. My Beloved Son by Catherine Cookson
27. Life, the Universe, and Everything by Douglas Adams
28. Seize the Night by Sherrilyn Kenyon
29. The Blacksmith by Jennifer Maxwell
30. The Fledgling by Octavia E. Butler (science fiction)
31. Monkey Girl: Evolution, Education, Religion and the Battle for America’s Soul by Edward Humes (science)
32. Sir Apropos of Nothing by Peter David
33. Raphael and the Noble Task by Catherine Salton, David Weitzman (children’s book)
34. Evolution: The Triumph of an Idea by Carl Zimmer (science)
35. Toronto Rocks: The Geological Legacy of the Toronto Area by Nick Eyles (science)
36. 10-lb. Penalty by Dick Francis
37. I am Puppy, Hear Me Yap
38. Field of 13 by Dick Francis
39. Summon the Keeper by Tanya Huff (re-read)
40. Second Wind by Dick Francis
41. Catundra (children’s book) by Stephen Cosgrove
42. Break In by Dick Francis
43. Misquoting Jesus by Bart D. Ehrman (my brief review) (history of religion)
44. The Edge by Dick Francis
45. Ten Stories by Rudyard Kipling
46. The Innkeeper’s Song by Peter S. Beagle
47. Omega edited by Roger Elwood
48. Blood Sport by Dick Francis
49. High Stakes by Dick Francis
50. Future Tense edited by Richard Curtis
51. How Not to Become a Crochety Old Man by Mary McHugh, illustrated by Adrienne Hartman
52. Dead Cert by Dick Francis
53. Memory Book by Howard Engel
54. Pooh and the Millenium by John Tyerman Williams (humor)
55. Blink by Malcolm Gladwell (popular science)
56. Once Upon a Marigold by Jean Ferris
57. Out of Sight by Elmore Leonard
58. The Track of the Wind by Jamila Gavi n
59. The Witchfinder by Loren D. Estleman
60. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Holmes by Loren D. Estleman
61. Letters from the Earth: Uncensored Writings by Mark Twain (humor, religion). (link to a series of my blog posts about Letters from the Earth )
    
62. Girls’ Night Out by Kathy Lette
63. Scuttlebutt by Jana Williams
64. The Telling by Ursula K. Le Guin
65. Stalking the Nightmare by Harlan Ellison
66. The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler (re-read)
67. We Farm for a Hobby and Make it Pay by Henry Tetlow
68. Griffin & Sabine: An Extraordinary Correspondence by Nick Bantock
69. Not Wanted on the Voyage by Timothy Findley (fantasy, religion)
70. Hunter of Worlds by C. J. Cherryh (re-read)
71. Banker by Dick Francis (re-read)
72. Life, Laughter, and the Pursuit of Snow Leopards by Helen Freeman
73. A Knot in the Grain by Robin McKinley (re-read)
74. One Fearful Yellow Eye by John D. MacDonald
75. Trial Run by Dick Francis
76. The Miner’s Canary: Unravelling the Mysteries of Extinction by Niles Eldredge (science)
77. In the Frame by Dick Francis
78. Organize Your Corpses: Death is So Untidy by Mary Jane Maffini
79. My Left Foot by Christy Brown (autobiography)
80. Daughter of the Bear King by Eleanor Arnason
81. 1990 Annual World’s Best SF edited by Donald A. Wollheim
82. Talk Talk Talk by Jay Ingram (re-read) (popular science)
83. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O’Brien
84. The Secret of Life: Redesigning the Living World by Joseph Levine and David Suzuki (science)
85. The New Hugo Winners Volume II, edited by Isaac Asimov
86. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling
87. Traditions of the Navy by Cedric W. Windas
88. The Hidden Life of Dogs by Elizabeth Marshall Thomas (popular science, ethology, pets)
89. Monkey Girl by Edward Humes (re-read) (science vs. religion, politics)
90. Anne of Green Gables by L. Maud Montgomery
    
91. Come to Grief by Dick Francis
92. God is Not Great by Christopher Hitchens (religion, history)
93. The Man Who Counts by Poul Anderson (re-read)
94. Killshot by Elmore Leonard
95. The Persian Boy by Mary Renault (historical fiction)
96. Amazing Science Fiction Anthology: The Wild Years 1946 - 1955 edited by Martin H. Greenberg
97. Young Witches and Warlocks edited by Isaac Asimov et al. (re-read)
98. At the Water’s Edge: Fish with Fingers, Whales with Legs by Carl Zimmer (science)
99. Microserfs by Douglas Coupland
100. Perpetual Life edited by Alan Ryan
101. The Empty Copper Sea by John D. MacDonald
102. Man - Kzin Wars VI by Donald Kingsbury, Mark O. Martin, & Gregory Benford, based on Larry Niven’s concept (re-read)
103. Empire of Ivory by Naomi Novik
104. Report from No. 24 by Gunnar Sönsteby
105. Shattered by Dick Francis
106. Flying Finish by Dick Francis
     
107. Risk by Dick Francis
108. Forfeit by Dick Francis (on LibraryThing)
109. Break In by Dick Francis (re-read)
110. Waiting for the Weekend by Witold Rybczynski (more books by Witold Rybczynski)
111. Microcosmos by Brandon Broll (popular science, photography)
112. New Writings in SF 3 edited by John Carnell
113. Beggars in Spain by Nancy Kress
114. A Window Over the Sink by Peg Bracken
115. The Fallen Man by Tony Hillerman
116. Count Karlstein by Philip Pullman
117. 5 Galaxy Short Novels edited by H. L. Gold
118. End of an Era by Robert J. Sawyer (re-read)
119. A Lick of Frost by Laurell K. Hamilton
120. Year’s Best SF 10 edited by David G. Hartwell & Kathryn Cramer
121. For Kicks by Dick Francis (on LibraryThing)
122. Proof by Dick Francis (re-read)
123. Memoirs of Hadrian by Marguerite Yourcenar (historical fiction)
124. The Discretion of Dominick Ayres by Matthew Vaughan
125. Reflex by Dick Francis
126. N-Space by Larry Niven

This list was moved from my “current-year” list on my BookCrossing shelf.
See Books read in 2006.

Authors on LibraryThing

LibraryThing, the Internet’s virtual library for individuals, has a special group for authors of published books.

Currently reading: Memoirs of Hadrian

This is quite an interesting and subtle work. Marguerite Yourcenar steeped herself in the period and made several attempts before she was able to write it.

I can’t say I care for the cover, though, which reminds me of “Otzi” the 5,000-year-old “Ice man”.

Author Peg Bracken has died

Actually, she died October 20, but I just heard about it. There’s a New York Times article (or printable version without picture). Peg Bracken was the author of several books of light humour and philosophical outlook:

• The I Hate to Cook Book
• The I Hate to Housekeep Book
• The Appendix to the I Hate to Cook Book
• But I Wouldn’t Have Missed it for the World (about travel)
• I Try to Behave Myself (an etiquette book)
• A Window Over the Sink (a memoir)
• On Growing Old for the First Time

Larry Niven’s Man-Kzin Wars

Man-Kzin Wars is an outgrowth of the Larry Niven’s Known Space books. Other authors were intrigued by the idea and wrote about Niven’s race of cat-warriers, the kzinti. (I’ll remove the borders from the table below when I find out what’s making it appear so far down the page. Scroll down…. waaay down.)

	Neutron Star by Larry Niven has the first stories that I know of about Known Space, a future history.
	Tales of Known Space by Larry Niven includes “The Warriors,” which introduces the Kzinti as tigerish and warlike aliens.
	The Man-Kzin Wars has stories by Larry Niven, Poul Anderson, and Dean Ing.
	Man-Kzin Wars II contains two short novels: “Briar Patch,” by Dean Ing, is a sequel to another Man-Kzin Wars story, about an ethologist, Carroll Locklear, marooned on a zoo planet with Kzin warriors. 130 pages “Children’s Hour,” by Jerry Pournelle and S. M. Sterling, is about an attempt to assassinate a Kzin general; it also pays homage to the movie Casablanca. 170 pages.
	Cathouse by Dean Ing. The continued adventures of Carroll Locklear and the kzinti.
	Man-Kzin Wars III “Madness Has its Place,” by Larry Niven “The Asteroid Queen,” by Jerry Pounelle & S. M. Stirling “Inconstant Star,” by Poul Anderson
	Man-Kzin Wars IV “Survivor” by Donald Kingsbury (in which we first meet Lieutenant Nora Argamentine) “The Man Who Would be Kzin” by Greg Bear & S. M. Stirling
	Man-Kzin Wars V “In the Hall of the Mountain King” by Jerry Pournelle & S. M. Stirling “Hey Diddle Diddle” by Thomas T. Thomas
	Man-Kzin Wars VI “The Heroic Myth of Lt. Nora Argamentine” by Donald Kingsbury “The Trojan Cat” by Mark O. Martin and Greg Benford
	Man-Kzin Wars VII: A Darker Geometry. “The Colonel’s Tiger” “A Darker Geometry” “Prisoner of War”
	Man-Kzin Wars VIII: Choosing Names “Choosing Names” by Larry Niven, 16 pages “Telepath’s Dance” by Hal Colebatch, 122 pages “Galley Slave” by Jean Lamb, 29 pages “Jotok” by Paul Chafe “Slowboat Nightmare” by Warren W. James I must have read this book, because I have read “Galley Slave,” but I do not remember the other stories.
	Man-Kzin Wars IX “Pele” by Poul Anderson “His Sergeant’s Honor” by Hal Colebatch “Windows of the World” by Paul Chafe “Fly-by-Night” by Larry Niven
	Man-Kzin Wars X: The Wunder War by Hal Colebatch “One War for Wunderland” “The Corporal in the Caves” “Music Box” “Peter Robinson”
	Man-Kzin Wars XI. “Three at Table” by Hal Colebatch “Grossgeister Swamp” by Hal Colebatch “Catspaws” by Hal Colebatch “Teacher’s Pet” by Matthew Harrington “War and Peace” by Matthew Harrington “The Hunting Park” by Larry Niven
	The Houses of the Kzin by Dean Ing, Jerry Pournelle, and S.M. Stirling appears to be simply a re-packaging of some older stories. It contains “The Children’s Hour” and “Cathouse”.
	Destiny’s Forge: A Man-Kzin Wars Novel by Paul Chafe

Doris Lessing wins Nobel Prize for Literature

Doris Lessing, the author of Particularly Cats, has won the 2007 Nobel Prize for Literature.

Currently reading: Traditions of the Navy

My copy of Traditions of the Navy is a facsimile of a book published in 1942. The author, Cedric W. Windas, has illustrated his facts, notes, and word origins with drawings in the style of Ripley’s “Believe It or Not.” I don’t believe all of the sources, but they’re interesting. And it’s obvious that the author loves the subject.

It’s also fascinating how far back go some of the traditions. The custom of saluting the quarterdeck on boarding the ship comes from the days when the Romans kept the images of their gods there.

Random thought: on Navy life

From Scuttlebutt, by Jana L. Williams:

She missed simple things like lying awake and talking to her sister until they both fell asleep. Never in her life had she thought the day would dawn that she missed fighting with them. But there had been a cleanness to their squabbles. It had been possible to fight, get the problem out into the open, and then make up. Weston sensed that even after such a short time it bootcamp there were already undercurrents of anger and irritation that would remain beneath the surface and fester.

Most of all, she missed the sea of affection that she had been raised in and had grown to consider her right. The teasing, the nicknames, and the unabashed moments of real tenderness were absent at Bainbridge. Worse yet, the navy seemed to do everything in its power to keep such bonds from forming between the women in the company. The exclusive use of last names, alphabetizing every activity, and the rigid rules about conduct and free time only served to erect barriers between recruits who were thoroughly mortified at the thought of an infraction. At least they had the excuse of being scared, far from home and any sense of normalcy. She had glimpsed fleeting moments of fear and despair on the faces of other recruits, had felt it on her own, but they all continued to try to hide it. Instead they bounced off each other in frustration and anger, most not even knowing why. They remained isolated in their misery, afraid to reach out to one another for comfort.

Weston couldn’t in all good conscience blame the petty officers who staffed R.T.C.W. Although they were the very women who could have been reassuring to the frightened recruits, they, too, were caught in the web of training center rules and regulations. On the other hand, she had already learned there were some officers who were determined to prove their fitness to serve by being colder, harder, and tougher than they had to be. She could only shake her head at the waste. It was as if their credo was, I’ll make it hard for you because it was hard for me.