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Some Thoughts After Listening to Steven Brust’s Agyar
Agyar is my favorite vampire book, despite the fact that I don’t think the word “vampire” is used anywhere in the book. The audio version is great because Steven reads it himself. I loved listening to him tell me this story. I first read this book probably within two years of it first being published (back in the early 90s). I have read it at least two other times, but it had been close to two decades since those readings when I decided to listen to it. When I revisit a book, I notice new things, or I react differently to the same things. It is not always about the…
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100 Word Book Review: Unbelievable True* Stories from Ancient Greece by Anna Werner
I fell in love with Greek mythology in 4th grade. This book would not have been appropriate for me to read at 1o years old. But if you are over 18, have ever found yourself thinking “Are you fucking kidding me?” while reading Greek mythology, and still want to read more Greek mythology, then Unbelievable True* Stories from Ancient Greece by Anna Werner is the book for you. Anna’s research and deep understanding of the subject are obvious, but it is her humor that shines through as she expresses the thoughts many of us have had while reading these stories.
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100 Word Book Review: G.H.O.S.T. Teams Book 1- Magic by Bobby Brimmer
If you’re lucky enough to have met Bobby Brimmer, then you have a good idea what reading G.H.O.S.T. Teams Book 1 – Magic is like. It’s his personality on the page – an action romp with a wise-cracking hero. There are fight scenes and chase scenes and unsuccessful flirting scenes. There’s not a lot of deep introspection, though there’s enough character development to show the hero isn’t perfect and has plenty to learn. But the best part of the book was that it was FUN. This was an easy read, and I will definitely be reading more of the series.
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Narrativity 2022 – You Can’t Do That … Unless it Works
Yesterday I returned home from this year’s Narrativity convention (where we continued to require masks and proof of vaccination). Our theme this year was “You Can’t Do That . . . Unless it Works”. And that seemed to be the theme of the entire weekend, not just our panels. Let me start by saying that I am not capable of being actually critical of this convention. It was our third time meeting in person, and I have been at all of them. I LOVE the community that is Narrativity. I look forward to seeing them every year, and every year, I leave wanting all of them to live closer to…
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Book Review: Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao
Marketing material for Xiran Jay Zhao’s Iron Widow describes it as YA Pacific Rim meets The Handmaid’s Tale. The author’s website has a “Bonus Summary for Weebs” that pulls on even more pop culture references to describe the book. And while you may need these comparisons to sell the book, and I have no doubt the author was influenced by all the media she referenced, Iron Widow stands on its own as a great coming of age story where the hero is a girl you can both love and hate. However, to go continue with comparisons for one brief moment, it ranks right up there with Naomi Novik’s Uprooted…
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Book Review: The Dying Sun by LJ Stanton
Last summer, I attended Narrativity, a convention (vaxxed, masked, socially distanced) for storytelling. While there, I became friends with LJ Stanton. Because of that friendship, I purchased a copy of her first book, The Dying Sun, when I got home. I finally got around to reading it in January. If I had not met LJ, there is a good chance I never would have picked up this book, mostly because I would never have heard of it. But the book, a fantasy set in a desert empire, is totally up my alley, so I was excited to read it. My favorite thing about the book were the characters. They all…
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100 Word Book Review – Some things I still can’t tell you by Misha Collins
The point of poetry is to speak directly to another’s heart, and that can be done regardless of whether or not the poems are technically good. I say this because I do not think that Collins is a technically good poet, but his poems did speak to me. Each one was a small piece of everyday life. There was no big philosophy, the things he still can’t tell are not the secrets to love or what happened after we die, but instead mundane pieces of his life he is not quite ready to share and perfect in their own way.
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100 Word Book Review – Stacked by Joe Saul-Sehy and Emily Guy Birken
Stacked bills itself as a Super Serious Guide to Modern Money Management, which should let you know that this is not a book that takes itself seriously. Or, I should say, it takes its subject matter seriously but understands we all learn better when we are having fun. I am not a beginner when it comes to personal finance, but the information in the opening chapters was still useful. I love the idea of the pages to print out and hang on the fridge to track progress. I listened to the audiobook and enjoyed Joe and Emily’s personalities shining through.
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They Are Always With Us
Today marks 11 years and 11 months since we lost Moree. He has been gone longer than he was alive. (That was true starting 2 years ago since we lost him shortly before he turned 10.) November 7, 2009, is not a date that is locked in my head, for which I am grateful. But I was reading through my old blogs yesterday and the very first post on Life by Pets is called “Let’s Start with the Hard Stuff” and talks about losing Moree. It was in one of those early posts there that I noted the date we lost him. That’s not to say I did not know…
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Narrativity Take 2 – a review
It has been 10 months since I last posted here. The question of “do I even blog anymore?” is a legitimate one. (And one I hope I can answer with a yes, going forward.) What can bring me back to the blog after 10 months away? Why, Narrativity, of course. I recommend you go read my review of the first Narrativity, because pretty much everything I had to say then is still true. Narrativity is a conference about storytelling. Much of the focus is on novels and short stories, but the goal is to bring in all forms of storytelling – theater, television/movies, video games, art, dance, music, etc. Story…
