Monthly Archives: July 2021

Non-fiction 2 (YTD 24) Too Innocent Abroad: Letters Home from Europe 1949, by Joan Hibbard Fleming The Life and Adventures of Mrs. Christian Davies, Commonly Called Mother Ross on Campaign with the Duke of Marlborough (incorrectly attributed to Daniel Defoe) … Continue reading →

Fri, 18:10: Friday reading https://t.co/VISAIQGKvC Fri, 18:53: 500 days of plague https://t.co/LRPSZou1NH

So, back when I started these ten-day updates in March last year, I had no idea I'd still be at it half a thousand days later. (I did skip the updates between 100 and 220 days in; that was the … Continue reading →

Current Fish Tails, by Sheri S. Tepper Strange Bedfellows: An Anthology of Political Science Fiction, ed. Hayden Trenholm Thirteen, by Steve Cavanagh The Life and Adventures of Mrs. Christian Davies, Commonly Called Mother Ross on Campaign with the Duke of … Continue reading →

Thu, 12:56: The Lord of the Rings (film) Almost Killed Off One of the Hobbits https://t.co/70LK20ISeo But Peter Jackson stood up for the original plot. Thu, 16:02: RT @bbcdoctorwho: BREAKING: Jodie Whittaker and Chris Chibnall to leave Doctor Who in … Continue reading →

This is the latest post in a series I started in late 2019, anticipating the twentieth anniversary of my bookblogging which will fall in 2023. Every six-ish days, I've been revisiting a month from my recent past, noting work and … Continue reading →

Wed, 14:39: RT @bleedingcool: Frank Miller No Longer Attending Thought Bubble After Creator Boycott #shortbox #comics #thoughtbubble #frankmiller https… Wed, 15:55: RT @TheRealBuzz: Imagine spending 8 days in space, including nearly 22 hours on the Moon and returning home to … Continue reading →

Obligatory bit of throat-clearing: I opposed the creation of the YA award because I am keenly aware of the extra burden every new category places on the Hugo administrators. But I have to admit that pound for pound, the YA … Continue reading →

Tue, 12:56: In Nord Stream 2 fight, Ukraine gives EU taste of its own bureaucracy https://t.co/AnmIQ9qnlx Lots to digest in this good story by @herszenhorn. Tue, 18:39: Times Squared, by Rick Cross https://t.co/6y9rjJxGBa Tue, 19:47: RT @APHClarkson: I never understood … Continue reading →

Second paragraph of third chapter: Kramer had respectfully offered Lethbridge-Stewart the front passenger seat. She sat in the back with Sally and Owain, pointing out landmarks and catching up on the latest about the wedding plans and Sally’s new appointment … Continue reading →

Mon, 12:56: Octavia Butler and the Pimply, Pompous Publisher https://t.co/ny95sOYkoR Wow! Mon, 16:05: Europe’s floods: How a modern warning system was overwhelmed https://t.co/95eJkOBIaK People seem to agree that the warning system doesn’t work; but not on how to fix it! … Continue reading →

Latest in my series of posts about successive winners of the Tiptree, Clarke and BSFA Best Novel awards. Second paragraph of third part of “Stories for Men”, by John Kessel: He washed his face, applied personal hygiene bacteria, threw on … Continue reading →

Sun, 12:48: A long weekend in Paris https://t.co/p3uEtdNVY3 Sun, 12:56: Juno Flies Past the Moon Ganymede and Jupiter, With Music by Vangelis https://t.co/eizWQpJvzv Brilliant. Sun, 16:51: RT @WinstonCProject: @Ed_Miliband Destroying @BorisJohnson with ease. ‍☠️ https://t.co/1VVzyPlyTN Sun, 19:01: RT @DoctorWho_BBCA: This … Continue reading →

It's F's 22nd birthday today – Happy Birthday! – and as an early treat we went to Paris last weekend. I go to Paris now and then for work – a bit less so at the moment obviously – but … Continue reading →

Sat, 12:56: If she doesn’t like traitors who hate America, I have some bad news for her about Robert E Lee and Stonewall Jackson… https://t.co/1424VFTFzk Sat, 14:48: Herrmann-Debroux viaduct to be demolished https://t.co/zuDVQiltzq Wow. Good news, I think; it’s an … Continue reading →

This is the latest post in a series I started in late 2019, anticipating the twentieth anniversary of my bookblogging which will fall in 2023. Every six-ish days, I've been revisiting a month from my recent past, noting work and … Continue reading →

I found it pretty easy to rank these. 6) Tenet, written and directed by Christopher Nolan Nasty violence, incomprehensible time-travel plot and Kenneth Branagh does a very silly Eastern European accent. 5) The Old Guard, written by Greg Rucka, directed … Continue reading →

Fri, 14:18: This is unfairly low. One of the great plots, chunks of it stolen for The Face of Evil (including the incident with the mirror). And the Doctor has a Reacting Vibrator! https://t.co/TUbavITrR6 Fri, 18:01: Friday reading https://t.co/l8fpbA2g8F Fri, … Continue reading →

Second paragraph of third chapter: Dorothea by this time had looked deep into the ungauged reservoir of Mr. Casaubon’s mind, seeing reflected there in vague labyrinthine extension every quality she herself brought; had opened much of her own experience to … Continue reading →

Current Le dernier Atlas, tome 2, by Fabien Vehlmann, Gwen De Bonneval and Fred Blanchard Fish Tails, by Sheri S. Tepper The Dragon Republic, by R.F. Kuang Last books finished A Deadly Education, by Naomi Novik Hitting a Straight Lick … Continue reading →

Thu, 12:56: RT @pmdfoster: My gut of U.K. plans to rewrite #Brexit deal for Northern Ireland via ⁦⁦@FT⁩ With tks to ⁦@William_Bain⁩ ⁦@GeorgePeretzQC⁩ ⁦… Thu, 16:05: RT @AntonSpisak: Some thoughts on the UK’s new Command Paper on Northern Ireland, what … Continue reading →

Second paragraph of third chapter: The dull stinging sensation of a numb arm woke Tom Niven. He glanced at his watch. It was still stupid o’clock. What the hell was going on? His head was still fuzzy from last night’s … Continue reading →

Wed, 12:25: A favourite place of mine. Was glad to be there. https://t.co/he1ub3tn2f Wed, 12:26: Better pics than I got. (You can see me struggling with my phone in one of them.) https://t.co/uiLBMHQ70g Wed, 12:56: RT @meme_ec: No better way … Continue reading →

Second paragraph of third chapter: It's too soon, sire. You do not have enough influence over his will. There is no telling what may happen. The melding is still in its early stages. I've previously read Kearney's first two novels, … Continue reading →

Tue, 15:42: John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer 2011 https://t.co/xxyMTiUDst Little did I know when I wrote this, ten years ago today, that it would annoy Larry Correia so much that he started the Sad Puppy campaign. Tue, … Continue reading →

My last update was a bit pessimistic, as COVID case numbers started to surge again in Belgium. But actually it now looks not too bad. Cases today are at 1330 (well, that's the daily average for 10-16 July), compared to … Continue reading →

Mon, 12:29: RT @ireneista: amazing. we love it. https://t.co/cwwdamsA92 Mon, 13:31: Wow. Defeated by The Twin Dilemma????? https://t.co/dEIsAzr7y6 Mon, 14:11: Cyrillic fail. (If you have even basic Russian, keep staring at that last line until it makes sense. Ow!) https://t.co/ain9ulo9YU … Continue reading →

Ten years ago tomorrow, I wrote up my choices for the 2011 John W. Campbell Award (as it then was) for Best New Writer. This turned out to be a fateful blog post. In sixth place out of five, below … Continue reading →

Sun, 12:07: RT @PickardJE: U-TURN ALERT: – Number 10 spokesman now says Johnson will remain at Chequers to self-isolate”, conducting meetings with min… Sun, 14:34: Dead King James https://t.co/JwFHmgZvcw Sun, 15:11: Napoleon https://t.co/O0RELaaRfc Sun, 18:53: Two different histories on offer … Continue reading →

There is a big exhibition about Napoleon in Paris, and in the course of a long weekend there F and I visited it yesterday. It’s alway interesting to see what is included and what is not in an exhibition like … Continue reading →