Yesterday, I offered up a list of My Favorite Genre Novelettes of 2016. Today I’d like to offer up a list of My Favorite Genre Short Stories of 2016. Of the roughly 200 stories I read last year, these were, in my humble opinion, the Top 30. I’ve included a short synopsis and links to…
August 13, 2015: Recommended Reads! And Dark Matter screenshots!
After last year's impressive reading tally, I set the bar a lot lower this year but, even so, it looked like I was going to come up short of the 100 book mark. Over this past month, however, I've done some major catching up. Here are a few of the titles I enjoyed... Half A…
December 31, 2014: Best Books of 2014!
"Top 25?!"said Paul. "How many books did you read this year?" Well, after the paltry 65 I got through in 2013, I decided to make a concerted effort to improve on that embarrassing number in 2014. My goal was a lofty 120 - which I ended up far exceeding, racking up a very respectable 180…
January 9, 2014: Hot chocolate! Ice cream! And books!
It's that time of year again! Time for Vancouver annual Hot Chocolate Festival! From January 18th to February 14th, 24 local participants will be offering over 60 flavors. At roughly two hot chocolates a day, I think that's eminently doable. Last year, Akemi and I managed to sample about half the hot chocolates being offered…
July 21, 2013: A 17 (actually, 21) Question Science Fiction Book Meme!
The gang at http://www.sfsignal.com/ have launched another one of those irresistible SF-themed memes, what they're calling a " 17-question science fiction book meme for a lazy Sunday". I wrestled over a few of my responses, struggling with the relative worthiness of some of the titles, and finally decided to solve the problem by adding four extra questions to…
August 19, 2012: Book Haul! Days of Stargate Atlantis Past! The Ark!
I know, I know. What, you are no doubt wondering, am I doing STILL buying books - or, to quote an editor friend of mine, dabbling in "dead tree media"? Well, truth be told, I do own a kindle which I find very convenient...whenever I travel. But, the rest of the time, nothing beats the…
January 5, 2011: My Top 10 2010 Reads!
What follows is a list of My Top 10 Reads of 2010. These were books not necessarily published in 2010, but books I actually sat down and read between January 1st and December 31st of last year (excluding Book of the Month Club picks). My faves... The Heroes, by Joe Abercrombie I was fortunate…
October 14, 2010: Joe Abercrombie’s The Heroes! Early birthday gifts and wishes! Marty G. a Tokyo no-show! Snow Monkeys Rule!
Ooooh. Look at what arrived in the mail yesterday... Yes, that's right! It's an advance copy of Joe Abercrombie's latest: The Heroes. For those of you not in the know (and, really, you should be if you're up to date on my blogly matters), Joe not only happens to be one of my favorite authors (check…
September 21, 2010: A plethora of pics!
Well fine. Apologies. The trailer won't be coming out until first thing tomorrow morning. 9:00 a.m. to be exact. So set your watches. Hopefully these pics will tide you over. Addendum: Nope, sorry. 9:00 a.m. PDT. Again, apologies. The gang at post, led by the lovely Kerry McDowall, did an excellent job getting the trailer…
April 3, 2009: Best Served Cold, by Joe Abercrombie
With all this recent talk of revenge, I thought it a great segue to one of my top reads of last month: Joe Abercrombie’s latest, Best Served Cold. To those of you unfamiliar with Abercrombie - get familiar! His First Law Trilogy (made up of The Blade Itself, Before They Are Hanged, and Last…
March 1, 2009: What happened to the rest of February?
Hey, it’s March already! How the hell did that happen?! Why didn’t anyone wake me up? Damnit! I mentioned the other day that I had received an advance copy of Best Served Cold, Joe Aberdrombie’s latest. Well, it turns out it wasn’t intended for me after all. Scribbled on one of the inside pages was…
February 25, 2009: Finally, That Cast Announcement!
Well now you know as much as we do. No, no, that’s not exactly true. We still know more than you do. But at least we ALL know the names of our cast members. The news finally broke yesterday but, on the off-chance you were in your basement watching a Lord of the Rings marathon,…
February 6, 2009: The Secret Vancouver Restaurant List…and The Mailbag
So you’re in Vancouver and wondering where the heck to go for dinner. Well, if you’re an actor guesting on our show, all you have to do is swing by my office and I’ll provide you with a rundown of my favorite local restaurants. From the Japanese hotdog stand serving up Oroshi hotdogs to the…