Recently Read

A Colossal Hoax: The Giant From Cardiff That Fooled America, Scott Tribble 2009
I'm a sucker for entertaining historical monographs. While not quite of the calibre of Salt, this was fairly entertaining. It gives an interesting overview of 1870's American pop culture and religious and scientific thought, especially covering the Burnt-Over District.

Debt of Bones, Terry Goodkind, 1998
We've been watching Legend of the Seeker on TV. This is a prequel to the books the TV series is based on.

The Stone Fey, Robin McKinley, Illustrated by John Clapp, 1998
Robin McKinley was recommended by a good friend. This was all I could find checked in at my library one day. It was in the children's picture book section, but I don't know...it has some pretty heavy themes: the wild vs. civilization (the archetype of the fey, of course), obsession and desire, teen sexuality, and ambivalence about marriage. A gorgeous story, and gorgeous illustrations.

"Story of Your Life", Ted Chiang, from Nebula Awards Showcase 2001, ed. Robert Silverberg
I loved this novella. Every sci fi story has some science in it, right? In this case, the science is linguistics (and some really cool aliens).

"Mars is No Place for Children", Mary A. Turzillo, from Nebula Awards Showcase 2001, ed. Robert Silverberg
Nebula winner for "novelette". A gritty look at Martian colonization. Kombucha plays a role in the story!

"The Cost of Doing Business", Leslie What, from Nebula Awards Showcase 2001, ed. Robert Silverberg

"The Wedding Album", David Marusek, from Nebula Awards Showcase 2001, ed. Robert Silverberg
A look at AI - struck me as plausible, but maybe just because the characters were so good. Frightening; I cried.

"Judas Danced", Brian W. Aldiss, from Nebula Awards Showcase 2001, ed. Robert Silverberg