WHAT COULD IT BE?! News Release from my local library!

My local library emailed me the below teaser for their new website. Sounds exciting!

Sno-Isle Libraries has more than a million items for you. It's about to get easier to find what you’re looking for, discover new things AND give you the choice to share your experiences with others. Get ready for the opportunity to widen your horizons. On Feb. 1, 2017, Sno-Isle Libraries will introduce a new way to access library materials. We like to think of it as a “discovery layer,” offering you a powerful tool to delve into the richness of the collection and resources available through Sno-Isle Libraries. And you’ll have the choice to do more. If you like to share the excitement of your latest book, music, movie or other discovery with friends, family, book-club compatriots or even bus-stop buddies, you’ll love what’s coming to Sno-Isle Libraries. Without giving it away, let’s just say that the world is about to be your oyster. Either way, share or not, the choice will be yours. The wraps come off on Feb. 1. Keep an eye on your email or go to sno-isle.org that day for the details on how to begin this new journey. On Feb. 1, the secret will be out.

GoodReads Reading Challenge Update

I completed my Goodreads.com 2016 Reading Challenge and I'm still going!

2016 Reading Challenge

SporadicReviews.com has completed his goal of reading 40 books in 2016!

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48 of 40 (100%)

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GoodReads Reading Challenge

I started my GoodReads Reading Challenge a little late...

2016 Reading Challenge

SporadicReviews.com has read 32 books toward his goal of 40 books.

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32 of 40 (80%)

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I'm in a Mind Meld at SFSignal

Though I'm crazy behind on my reviews, I was recently invited to participate in a Mind Meld post over at SF Signal. They asked several reviewers, publicists, and authors about the changing relationship between authors, reviewers, and publishers.

You can read it now at SFSignal.com.

My first ComicCon!

I got to go to ComicCon! Emerald City ComicCon is the first comic convention I've attended, and I loved it. I've lived in the Seattle area since for almost 2 years, but I missed ECCC last year because I had to work. I made sure to put in for some time off this year so I could take my family. I've attended other conventions before: PAX Prime a few times, and PAX East once, and GenCon once.

I attended a couple of panels the first day, wandered the show floor checking out various vendors and artists, and went to an authors booth where several authors were signing autographs. I'm not an autograph collector, but Greg Bear was there and he wrote two of my favorite novels. I've held on to SFBC copies of those novels for a couple of decades or more, and figured if I was going to get anything autographed, those should be it. I also had Myke Cole autograph one of his novels that I had bought my son last year for his birthday.

I attended a panel featuring the prolific voice-over actor Steve Blum talking about his career, and a panel featuring the two authors I mentioned above as well as a few other authors talking about where they get their ideas.

My family came home heavy-laden with many purchases. My wife had her pic taken with The Women of Whedon! She also bought a cool puzzle book, and some jewelry. My oldest daughter, dressed as Shego from the Kim Possible cartoon, bought much artwork for herself and friends. My son bought a piece of Arrow artwork, and three books. My youngest daughter chose not to go with use, but I bought her a piece of Once Upon a Time art. I bought myself a Jayne hat, and a couple pieces of art.

Huge crowds, long lines, expensive everything, traffic congestion getting there..

It was a blast!

The Awesomeness that is the March 2015 LootCrate!

My son helped me open up the latest LootCrate to find the goodies within!





I probably should have ordered two...

I wonder how many people will have their Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. lanyard badge thingy on at Emerald City Comic-Con next Friday? I will!

2013 Books

According to GoodReads, I've read 33 books in 2013. That's not counting the book(s) I'm reading right now (...or the ones I neglected to post to Goodreads). But it's probably a pretty close number.

Looking back over the past few years, it looks like 2011 was a good year for me reading books and getting them posted to Goodreads.com.  That's also the year I got the most books sent to me directly from publishers or the authors themselves. Correlation? I guess I felt the need to post more reviews when I got books specifically for that purpose. Now, as when I started this endeavor, I'm just reading for my own enjoyment (as it says in my review policy page) and might sporadically get the urge to write a bit about a book I read.

It's also interesting to me to see the distribution of star-ratings I gave. I rarely give five stars to a book, but I gave three of them this year. Five stars means I absolutely loved the book and would like to read it again at some point, and think everyone should give it a shot, and a whole bunch of other random accolades. Four stars means I really enjoyed the book, and it was just about perfect in my opinion.

I see that my three star reviews are the most numerous. Three stars, to me, means I enjoyed the book. I might have some minor issues with it, but overall it was a good book.  Two stars means I thought the book was just okay.  My stats from 2013 don't show any one- or no-star reviews. I probably didn't bother to post those to Goodreads, if I had any of those this year.

I'm looking forward to more good books, and I'll post some sporadic reviews here!

Thanks for reading along with me.

Happy New Year!

--Kevin Bayer, for Sporadic Reviews

Feed Forward: Bootie Blog

Yes, Bootie Blog.

No, it's not what it sounds like.

It's a DJ duo that performs in clubs around the world. Sometimes I like a good mashup. Sometimes, I don't. But the Bootie Blog puts out a monthly Best Of compiliation for download and I usually find something I like.

These aren't your "kids on TV singing" versions of mashups, these are the artists' versions of the songs, expertly and professionally mashed together, often in surprising combinations (for instance, I'm fond of an older MC Hammer/B-52s mashup. And Daft Punk seems to mix well with just about anything. And some Queen gets frequent mashups.)

Want some good tunes? Check out the mashups at Bootie Blog.

Feed Forward is a feature on SporadicReviews in which I highlight a particular feed from my feed reader.

Feed Forward: Buffalog

Some of the feeds I follow in Google Reader The Old Reader don't really fall into any of the categories I think I've mentioned before (work, faith, fandom, etc).

One such blog I follow is Cow Shell Graphics, the art of Mike Maihack, who draws adorable comic-book art like that one to the right. His art style is pretty much why I follow him - it's refreshingly different and just makes me smile.

I follow other art websites and comics. I'll get to those in future Feed Forwards.



Feed Forward is a feature on SporadicReviews in which I highlight a particular feed from my feed reader.

Feed Forward: Books and Movies

I've been following Books and Movies for quite some time in several different iterations. It started out as a personal blog by Carrie about homeschooling, and she also posted book reviews. Somehow, probably through a linky-meme or blog party or something, I came across one of her reviews of something that interested me... or maybe I had blogged about something involving kids that somehow she found and commented on, I don't even remember. It's been years.

Eventually, Carrie spun-off the reviews into a separate blog that moved hosts a few times, but never lost the quality of writing. I don't read the same kind of books she usually reviews, but every now and then she'll post something in my bailiwick. She also often posts other articles of interest, sometimes posts personal stories, and I've been following her so long, I consider her an internet-acquaintance.

Check out Books and Movies for some different kinds of reviews from what you'd normally find here at SporadicReviews.


Feed Forward is a feature on SporadicReviews in which I highlight a particular feed from my feed reader.

G.I.Joe Anthology now an ebook

I recently finished reading the G.I. Joe anthology Cobra Wars, that I read in paperback. The publisher contacted me to let me know it's now available as an ebook.

Here's the blurb:

Tales from the Cobra Wars is a compilation of high-energy stories and novellas, about the global convert conflict between G.I. JOE and COBRA. The stories are written by top crime and thriller writers, and edited by Max Brooks, author of World War Z, The Zombie Survival Guide, and the graphic novel mini-series, G.I. JOE: Hearts & Minds.In these eight short stories and novellas, all the favorite JOE heroes and villains are featured: Flint, Scarlett, Snake Eyes, Hawk, Dial Tone, and Destro and the Baroness, accompanied by commanding illustrations by Michael Montenat.

Feed Forward: BEA Blog

I follow the BEA Blog because I wish I could attend, but doubt I'll ever get the chance.

Book Expo America and the Book Bloggers Convention sounds like a great place for a book reviewer (like me!) to go.

So that's why I follow their blog: to pretty much torture myself. "See this? You can't have it!" Or in the hope that they post a contest offering free attendance and a free room that I could win.

(If anyone wants to sponsor my attendance there in 2014 or 2015, depending on where I end up working, let me know!)


Feed Forward is a feature on SporadicReviews in which I highlight a particular feed from my feed reader.

Feed Forward: ABR

This is another one those faith-based feeds I follow. The Associates for Biblical Research provides articles about archaeology and archaeological digs from a Biblical perspective. They also do their own research and conduct their own field work.

I've always had a fascination with archaeology. TV shows and movies when I was growing up that featured the pyramids, or ancient relics, probably fed into that interest. I hated taking history classes in school, but I took a basic introduction to archaeology class when I was in college and really enjoyed it.

Some of the articles ABR publishes are fascinating to me: dig diaries, discoveries, devotionals.. they publish a variety of articles on their feed. I like that archaeology sometimes supports what's mentioned in the Bible.


Feed Forward is a feature on SporadicReviews in which I highlight a particular feed from my feed reader.

Feed Forward: Ask a Manager

Now this is one of my favorite work-related feeds. Ask a Manager, by Alison Green, is a fantastic resource for anyone that is employed or looking for a job.

Not only does she provide great advice for job-seekers on putting together resumes, or cover letters, or how to interview, she also answers questions about general workplace topics. Her readers ask questions about a wide variety of topics, and almost every day she provides answers to several questions. I look forward to reading her answers in my feed.

If you have a job, or are looking for one, do yourself a favor and read her blog.


Feed Forward is a feature on SporadicReviews in which I highlight a particular feed from my feed reader.

Moving! Again...

SporadicReviews is moving, again!

Yeah, I know: we just moved a very few short months ago. That was from a crappy house to a wonderful house in the same city where my wife and I still had the same jobs. Now, however, we're moving across the country. We're moving from the smallest big city you'll ever visit to a wonderful city on the west coast of the United States where the weather is more ...steady.

The company my wife has been working for remotely the past year made her an offer to work from their offices that we couldn't pass up. As a result, I'm now looking for a new job in the Seattle area.

That means my reading time has been drastically reduced, again, as we plan our move, pack (or sell off) our belongings, and occasionally panic. Book reviews are on-hold until May of 2013, though I may mention when (if) I've finished the two anthologies I'm still reading.

If you're an author or a publisher and want me to review your material, hang on to it until I publish my new mailing address come May.

If you're a publisher in the Seattle area looking for a guy who loves books to come work for you, see my about me page for my email address! I'm available for hire!

If you're any other kind of employer and needs someone with a variety of skills and experience (one summer I drove a sno-cone trolley and was an evil telemarketer, before getting real jobs), see my about me page for my email address! I'm available for hire! 

If you're in the Seattle area and want to hang out once I'm settled (or want to help me move in...), shoot me an note on FB or Twitter.

Feed Forward: ArenaNet

I've mentioned some work-related feeds, some fan-related feeds, and faith-based feeds. This week I'll mention ArenaNet.

Why do I follow them in my feed reader? Not only do they publish the most awesome PC video games Guild Wars and Guild Wars 2, but my wife works for them!

I follow their blog to keep up with the latest news from the company. They have other outlets specifically for their games, which I also follow.

If you're a fan of MMORPGs, you definitely need to try Guild Wars 2!


Feed Forward is a feature on SporadicReviews in which I highlight a particular feed from my feed reader.

Feed Forward - Answers in Genesis

Not everything I follow in Google Reader is about books or geeky stuff. I mentioned that some of the feeds I follow are work-related. I also follow some that are related to my Christian faith.

Answers In Genesis is one of those. This website puts out frequent articles. I don't read most of them, but occasionally they'll publish interesting archaeological articles or articles about certain interpretations of Biblical passages. These I find interesting.

If that sort of thing interests you, too, give them a try. If not, check out my other Feed Forward articles for other links you might find interesting!

Feed Forward is a feature on SporadicReviews in which I highlight a particular feed from my feed reader.

Feed Forward - American Speaker

This week in Feed Forward, something not book-related!

I follow many feeds with Google Reader: some about books, or by authors, many about the various fandoms or Science Fiction and Fantasy in-general, some podcasts, some more esoteric feeds that I'll eventually cover here, comics, and some stuff that's related to my day-job.


That's one for today: the American Speaker Blog. I follow this blog because sometimes in my chosen profession I'm required to give presentations or otherwise speak publicly (including some radio and TV interviews). American Speaker often has very good tips for public speaking and giving presentations, even tips on creating presentations.


I don't consider myself excellent at public speaking, but I certainly enjoy it (Hey! I'm an introvert, but I'm not shy).  American Speaker has helped my skills.



Feed Forward is a new feature on SporadicReviews in which I highlight a particular feed from my feed reader.

Feed Forward - Abaddon Books

I have many book-related feeds in my feed reader. Last week, I mentioned A Knife and a Quill. Another book-related feed in my Google Reader is from Abaddon Books. This is the fine publisher that brought us Weird Space: The Devil's Nebula, which I read recently.

Abaddon Books has other books that look interesting as well, but I haven't had a chance to read any yet. I follow their feed for book recommendations - books to add to my Want To Read shelf.


Feed Forward is a new feature on SporadicReviews in which I highlight a particular feed from my feed reader.

Sporadic Reviews has a new shipping address!

Sporadic Reviews is moving! Our move will be official on the weekend of November 9, 2012.

Sporadic Reviews and family will move from this:

to this!

 

Please check out the Review Policy page for the updated shipping address. Thanks for your support!