Glyph of the Galactic Library
I get up very early in the morning and have quite a long commute to work. This gives me plenty of time to read in the morning. The same goes for at night. I enjoy reading on the train much more than driving. Usually I have two or three books in my bag, usually a hardcover and two smaller paperbacks.
Because I work as a librarian in the public setting, it leaves me with almost unlimited access to books. I read several review type magazines, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, and the New York Times Book Review whenever they come out. Also, I check locus magazine, science fiction site, and a few other places each day for things to read. Because I am in a library all the time, I can wait for holds to come in to read. The same goes for magazines and videos.
The main problem with being in a public library is the griping about salary. It really is not so bad once you get into a more senior position. There is a saying that librarians and booksellers survive on "books and chicken", in New York, you can add subways. So "trains, books, and chicken."
The internet pulls at me sometimes. There is a lot of technical magic and the promise of a higher salary, but you lose the magic of being constantly able to read and look at books. I have looked and looked to see if there was a magical solution combining the internet and books, but sadly internet bookstores pay just as much as real bookstores, close to nothing, even less than libraries.
Anyways, back to what I have been reading lately. I decided to look for paperbacks laying around the house. These books have some issues with them. The three of them are all extremely violent science fiction to the point where one of them, The Weapon by Michael Z. Williamson probably had trouble getting it reviewed. There is no specific dates for the three paperbacks. I couldn't find these at the library so I bought them from a bookstore. Yes, I wander around bookstores sometimes. I like the Strand in Manhattan a lot both for its mega szie and eclectic variety.
The first is Man Kzin Wars XI created by Larry Niven. This is part of the endless battles between the Kzin, giant cats, and humans. This book has several stories about the Protectors, alien super beings created by a root called tree of life. I liked the story set in the swamps of Wunderland, Catspaw. I am surprised at how long the series has gone on.
The second is Shadow Kingdoms, The Weird Works Robert E. Howard, Volume 1. This compiles many of Howard's tales from Weird Tales. It has several Solomon Kane stories in it, a kind of grim puritan warrior in it. I think of Solomon Kane as being the character that Robert E. Howard most wrote about. Howard didn't write that many stories with Conan in them. L. Sprague De Camp wrote most of the Conan stories.
The third is The Weapon by Michael Z. Williamson. It is the story of a special forces covert warrior from a planet called Freehold. Freehold is a kind of libertarian paradise. It sends the main character, Kenneth Chinran through several military adventures, and finally to earth where he ends up destroying large swaths of cities on earth as part of a war between Earth and Freehold. Some of the philosophy is quite far right with a strong libertarian independent streak. It is not something you would see reviewed in Locus Magazine or Science Fiction Site, and most public libraries don't carry it.
Because I work as a librarian in the public setting, it leaves me with almost unlimited access to books. I read several review type magazines, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, and the New York Times Book Review whenever they come out. Also, I check locus magazine, science fiction site, and a few other places each day for things to read. Because I am in a library all the time, I can wait for holds to come in to read. The same goes for magazines and videos.
The main problem with being in a public library is the griping about salary. It really is not so bad once you get into a more senior position. There is a saying that librarians and booksellers survive on "books and chicken", in New York, you can add subways. So "trains, books, and chicken."
The internet pulls at me sometimes. There is a lot of technical magic and the promise of a higher salary, but you lose the magic of being constantly able to read and look at books. I have looked and looked to see if there was a magical solution combining the internet and books, but sadly internet bookstores pay just as much as real bookstores, close to nothing, even less than libraries.
Anyways, back to what I have been reading lately. I decided to look for paperbacks laying around the house. These books have some issues with them. The three of them are all extremely violent science fiction to the point where one of them, The Weapon by Michael Z. Williamson probably had trouble getting it reviewed. There is no specific dates for the three paperbacks. I couldn't find these at the library so I bought them from a bookstore. Yes, I wander around bookstores sometimes. I like the Strand in Manhattan a lot both for its mega szie and eclectic variety.
The first is Man Kzin Wars XI created by Larry Niven. This is part of the endless battles between the Kzin, giant cats, and humans. This book has several stories about the Protectors, alien super beings created by a root called tree of life. I liked the story set in the swamps of Wunderland, Catspaw. I am surprised at how long the series has gone on.
The second is Shadow Kingdoms, The Weird Works Robert E. Howard, Volume 1. This compiles many of Howard's tales from Weird Tales. It has several Solomon Kane stories in it, a kind of grim puritan warrior in it. I think of Solomon Kane as being the character that Robert E. Howard most wrote about. Howard didn't write that many stories with Conan in them. L. Sprague De Camp wrote most of the Conan stories.
The third is The Weapon by Michael Z. Williamson. It is the story of a special forces covert warrior from a planet called Freehold. Freehold is a kind of libertarian paradise. It sends the main character, Kenneth Chinran through several military adventures, and finally to earth where he ends up destroying large swaths of cities on earth as part of a war between Earth and Freehold. Some of the philosophy is quite far right with a strong libertarian independent streak. It is not something you would see reviewed in Locus Magazine or Science Fiction Site, and most public libraries don't carry it.
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