What’s this, what’s this? Libraries that will let you check out musical instruments plus have a librarian trained to help patrons with the tricky bits? That’s something I like.
Pennsylvania Libraries Will Let You Check Out a Ukulele
There’s a strange sound emerging from some Pennsylvania libraries. It’s not the sound of pages turning or scanners scanning—it’s the distinctive dainty, nimble strum that comes from a ukulele.
Even in the age of the internet libraries are incredible resources, and this just adds to the awesome. Not that I play ukelele, but that’s kind of the point. Libraries let you sample a wide variety of knowledge, experience, and perspectives. Yesterday a Moroccan cookbook, today space opera, tomorrow ukelele:)
Today’s free fiction is a Best of 2015 collection from Tor.com. Available in PDF, EPUB & MOBI formats, the book download requires free login. Note that these and all other Tor.com stories are available free online but it’s great to get a prepackaged anthology as a jumping off point.
The stories were acquired by editors Ellen Datlow, Claire Eddy, Carl Engle-Laird, Liz Gorinsky, David G. Hartwell, Patrick Nielsen Hayden, Beth Meacham, Marco Palmieri, and Ann VanderMeer.
Today’s #ThingILike* is West with the Night, a fabulous piece of non-fiction first published in 1942 by bush pilot, adventurer and racehorse trainer Beryl Markham. I picked it up in a second-hand store on the strength of the title and the back cover blurb. I’d never heard of the author, but when Ernest Hemingway says he wishes he could write so well, I pay attention. Glad I did.
“Did you read Beryl Markham’s book, West with the Night? I knew her fairly well in Africa and never would have suspected that she could and would put pen to paper except to write in her flyer’s log book. As it is, she has written so well, and marvelously well, that I was completely ashamed of myself as a writer. I felt that I was simply a carpenter with words, picking up whatever was furnished on the job and nailing them together and sometimes making an okay pig pen. But [she] can write rings around all of us who consider ourselves writers. The only parts of it that I know about personally, on account of having been there at the time and heard the other people’s stories, are absolutely true . . . I wish you would get it and read it because it is really a bloody wonderful book.”
— Ernest Hemingway
Recommended.
* Again, items in this series of Things I Like are linked for your information; no sponsors, no kickbacks, just a sampling of things that I find useful or fun or funny or sweet.
It’s the beginning of a new year and that, among other things, means year-end wrap-ups and award seasons. Locus Magazine, which has covered the science fiction and fantasy field since 1968, released its list of recommended reading for 2015. It is extensive. It covers material from novels to shorts, fantasy to non-fiction, and there seems to be something for everyone. The full list includes links or references for all entries so check it out if you want the full shebang.
If you’re short on available funds or want to sample an author before you dig deeper into their repertoire, then check out my abbreviated version below. It links to all of the list’s freely available stories (I think, although it’s a big collection and I may have missed one or two).
There’s a lot of excellent material here. I’ve read some of these pieces already but not all, and I look forward to catching up. Do check out the novels and other purchasable items too, if you have the wherewithal (and if you don’t, I highly recommend a library card!).
I spend a lot of time online for work and play, and it struck me just how much free fiction I see in a typical day. Lots, is the short answer.
I’ve decided to use some of my posts to highlight (a mere fraction of) the excellent material out there. I’m drawn to good writing, intriguing characters and ideas, and speculative prognostication. I hope these stories will appeal to you too.
Today’s selection is “Zero Hours” by Tim Maughan (Medium, Sep 19, 2013) ~7 min read. It introduces us to the life and work of a 19-year old “zero hours retail contractor” in London 2023.
0714, Wanstead
Nicki is awake even before her mum calls her from the other side of the door. She’s sat up in bed, crackly FM radio ebbing from tiny supermarket grade speakers, her fingers flicking across her charity shop grade tablet’s touchscreen. She’s close to shutting down two auctions when a third pushes itself across her screen with its familiar white and green branded arrogance. Starbucks. Oxford Circus. 4 hour shift from 1415.
Bowie was a great artist and an inspiration to so many, including those of us in the science and science fiction communities. A lot will be written about him in the next while so I’ll just leave you with one small sign of his influence, on and off the planet.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens has premiered and the hype it is a-ramping! I’m excited. Really excited, like Fanboys excited, but I can’t see the movie just yet. Why not? Why am I not suited up in a Han Solo outfit (complete with super cool hip holster) and posting this from the ticket line at my local theatre? Because Star Wars isn’t just my thing, it’s a family thing.
See, I grew up without a television. My father had a minor (read major) TV problem and realized that having one meant watching one. All the time. So no TV. What we did have was a black and white lab monitor and a tape of Star Wars. On Betamax:)
We watched that tape a lot. Until the video track died, actually, and for a while after that. Most nights after dinner, Dad would make giant bowls of popcorn spackled together with butter and salt and we’d settle on the couch for the movie.
The. Movie.
Yeah, I was that kid, the geeky one who could quote the whole thing. (Droid dialog included, of course.I can’t tell you what it means to have your mostly secret childhood obsession become the new cultural darling, but I may not have to. Maybe you were that geeky kid too. Awesome, right?)
The original Star Wars was a great movie but it was also an anchor in turbulent times. My parents split up around then, my mother had health issues, I moved to a new school. The usual kinds of transitions children go through, and need a foundation to weather well.
Star Wars, and the bond that formed with my brother and father around science fiction and fantasy, was a big part of that anchor. It’s also a big part of why I write speculative fiction. In the way only fiction can, the movie proved that the good guys can win, that wrongs can be righted, and that a scrappy band of rag-tag rebels can change the course of history. (Also that parsecs are a measure of time, support garments aren’t necessary in space, and that no matter what Obi-Wan says, stormtroopers can’t shoot worth a damn. Hey, nothing’s perfect;)
My father also read us Tolkien, and when the The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings movies came out we all went together. Now those movies are done but we have a new hope (see what I did there?;). This year I’m going home for Christmas, and for Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
But, that means I won’t be able to see the movie for ten days. In the meantime? There’s time for a bit of fun:
We’ve had guests in town and that’s always fun. We went to The Tallis Scholars at the Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica last night (check out that vaulted ceiling in the photo below:) and it was a lovely experience. There’s nothing like soaring choral music to elevate the spirits, and the level of talent was extraordinary. A UK vocal ensemble formed by Peter Phillips in 1973, the group holds a well-deserved international reputation and have more than sixty albums out. If you have the chance to see them in person, I recommend it. The fact that this is the holiday season just made it that much more fun.
Me being me, the event also inspired some deliciously wicked ideas for a story I’m writing. Win win!
Today is Back to the Future Day! In honor of Marty McFly’s time travel to the future in the second installment of that classic movie series, I shall microwave all beverages for exactly 1 minute and 21 seconds, wonder when I’ll finally be able to buy a real hoverboard, and think fondly of mad scientists.
You know, pretty much a normal day here at Chez J 🙂
I finally got to see The Martian this past weekend, and if you’ve been following the reviews at all my reaction will come as no surprise: it was great. What’s that, you’ve been busy/off the grid/media fasting? Here’s a trailer.
I read Andy Weir’s book last year so the specifics weren’t a surprise, but in this case knowing the story did nothing to detract from the experience. The execution, whether in terms of writing, acting, directing, or visuals, was a delight. The movie compressed the story in exactly the right ways, maintaining dynamism and tension in what could have been a dull one-man alone setting.
Also, no stupid characters were required to move the plot. Yay! You may not agree with every decision, but at no point did the script make some hapless individual look down at a big red button under glass and say, “Gosh, I know they told me not to touch anything but I wonder what this does,” literally or otherwise. Also times two, smart, strong characters, women included. How refreshing is that?
A lot has been written about the movie, and about Weir’s journey from self-published indie author to Hollywood hit, and it’s both interesting and well-deserved (see here and here and here and here, for examples).
As an entertainment consumer both versions scored high for me. As a writer, I was impressed by Weir’s concrete attention to detail, his willingness to dig himself into seemingly impossible holes, and his facility at getting out of them in realistic ways. Drew Goddard did an excellent job translating the book into a screenplay (I’d expect nothing less from this Buffy/Angel/Alias+ alum) for Ridley Scott.
I came out of the theatre kicking myself for not studying more math in school. Astronauts are awesome, and while most of us will never make that exalted level, there’s nothing to say we can’t try. (Ok, fine, my eyesight is bad and I’m going to go out on a limb here and assume that astronauts need to be able to do more than 10 pushups, but you get my point.)
Helping kids (and everyone else) see that science is about exploration, discovery, innovation, capability and (in this case) freaking outer space?
That’s exactly the kind of story I can get behind. Recommended.
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