Category Archives: Books

The Catcher in the Rye

Posted on March 27, 2010 by Eric

I just read “The Catcher in the Rye”. It’s supposed to be the great American novel and all. It was OK, I guess. People think J.D. Salinger is such a hot shit writer, but he’s just a big goddam phony.

Posted in Fiction | 1 Comment

Decisions, decisions!

Posted on May 26, 2008 by Eric

Mike, Diane and I went to Santa Cruz today to watch Blade Runner: The Final Cut.  Afterward we stopped by Bookshop Santa Cruz.  Aside from a few books, I faced a dilemma as to whether I’d rather buy the George … Continue reading →

Posted in Entertainment, Film, Legal & Political, Science Fiction & Fantasy | Leave a comment

R.I.P. Sir Arthur Charles Clarke 16 December 1917 – 19 March 2008

Posted on March 18, 2008 by Eric

Arthur C. Clarke invented the geostationary satellite, hence the designation of the circular orbit over the equator as the “Clarke Orbit”.  His science fiction has received many awards, including the Hugo and Nebula.

Posted in In memoriam, Science Fiction & Fantasy | 1 Comment

Furthest I’ve gone to see a film

Posted on February 10, 2008 by Eric

Three friends and I took BART to San Francisco last night to see The Golden Compass at the Metreon.  If I’d gotten around to it sooner, we wouldn’t have had to go 45 miles each way to do it.  Prior … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Science Fiction & Fantasy | 1 Comment

Spin, Axis, and Blind Lake, by Robert Charles Wilson

Posted on February 1, 2008 by Eric

I was somewhat surprised that the cover of the mass-market paperback edition of Spin, the 2006 Hugo Award winning novel by Robert Charles Wilson, quoted a review in the Rocky Mountain News as having said that it was “the best … Continue reading →

Posted in Science Fiction & Fantasy | Leave a comment

You are what you read

Posted on January 26, 2008 by Eric

Books that make you dumb: a chart of Average SAT scores vs. most popular books among college students [h/t Boing Boing]. Some aren’t surprising to me, such as Freakonomics, Catch 22, and Atlas Shrugged being near the top. On the … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog/website/news comments, Books | Leave a comment

Sony tells it like it is

Posted on October 2, 2007 by Eric

If you buy a Sony PRS-500 Portable Reader System (PRS-500), you can get 100 classic books “free” as ebooks. These are books that are in the public domain, so Sony doesn’t have to pay royalties on them, though Sony slaps … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Gadgets, Legal & Political | 2 Comments

Harry Potter surprise twist

Posted on July 21, 2007 by Eric

I certainly was shocked when it turned out that Voldemort is Hermione’s father!

Posted in Blog/website/news comments, Science Fiction & Fantasy | Leave a comment

Harry Potter ending revealed by the Inquirer

Posted on June 16, 2007 by Eric

In an article about the Amazon merchandising of the forthcoming final installment of the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7), The Inquirer has accidentally leaked the ending: Over one million advance orders have already been … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog/website/news comments, Fiction, Humor | Leave a comment

Twisting reason to justify law

Posted on June 15, 2007 by anonymous

I really enjoy reading Josef Conrad. I faked my way through the classic Conrad novels we were force-fed in high school, Lord Jim and Heart of Darkness, getting by with Cliff’s Notes. However, as and adult I have actually read … Continue reading →

Posted in Fiction, Legal & Political | Leave a comment