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.

Kickstarter for an SF book by Tom Wright

Tacoma-based author Tom D. Wright is running a kickstarter for his new SF/F novel series about a fictional MMO company called TerraMythos. He expects at least 4 books in the series: The Princess of Panchala is the first novel and is already finished. It's based on Hindu mythology, with each subsequent book based on different mythologies.

In the first novel, the main character becomes trapped in an online Hindu MMORPG while searching for her sister as the game-world collapses around her. The game-developers outside the game are actively try to stop her. This novel is finished and the kickstarter is to get it and future novels published, along with the usual kickstarter rewards for backers.

You can find out more about this novel and the kickstarter for it at TerraMythos.com.

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

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.

Couple Cruise! To Mars!

Some millionaire is suggesting NASA send a married pair of astronauts on a roundtrip flyby of Mars 5 years from now. First off... if you're going to send people that far out, you might as well land them, otherwise it's just a Sunday drive. Sure, a Sunday drive that lasts over 2 years, but still...

But what if my wife Rubi and I were the married couple taking this trip? Five hundred days alone together in a very small space, with no sunlight for my wife to bask in. Our youngest daughter would only be 16 years old, and we've already traumatized her enough... leaving her at that age for almost 2 years would just be awful, or maybe as a teenager she'd love it - or we would! Who knows.

Here's how I see most of the days going on the trip: I spend most of my time reading, napping, and longing for pizza. Rubi spends most of her time reading and tweeting to her fans.

So pretty much like most days around here anyway - only without our kids, cats, jobs, etc.

We'll be married for 25 years in 2018, so it could be a second honeymoon for us. A honeymars? I'm not sure how my wife would feel about that.

Everyone should write the company in support of me and Rubi being their honeymarsers!

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: APOD

Sometimes, the things in my Google Reader aren't about books, or work, or fandom; Astronomy Picture of the Day is one of those that I follow because space pictures are cool. It's not all Hubble nebulae or deep star fields though. Sometimes it's cool cloud formations, or aurora borealis, or shots of the space station, or meteor showers, or numerous other cool things in the sky. Not only is APOD a great resource for computer wallpaper, it's also often educational as it explains what the picture is about.

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

Find new blog friends at the Blog Hop!

Found a neat bloghop going on to share/drive traffic around.

Original post all about it is here.

Enjoy surfing!
Wait... What's a bloghop?

A blog hop is a linky list that is SHARED ON MULTIPLE BLOGS.
When several blogs put the same linky list code on their blog, the exact same list appears on each blog.
Blog visitors can submit their entries on any blog that contains the list. The entries will appear on each blog where the list resides.Blog readers see the same list on each blog, and can "HOP" from blog to blog seeing the same list of links to follow!

Things This Book Reviewer Hasn't Said

Don't think I've said most of these things.
(Not me on the vid, I don't own it. It's a private video, so I hope it's okay to share it.)

Reasons to Hate The Big Bang Theory

UGO recently posted 11 reasons to hate the Big Bang Theory, CBS' sitcom about nerdy scientists and their weekly trips to the comic book store.

I enjoy the show, but I do agree with some of the points UGO makes. I'll summarize their list and offer my rebuttals.

11: The laugh track - yeah. I totally agree. These are a has-been of TV days long gone. All shows should get rid of the laugh track. The article says the show is filmed in front of a studio audience to generate the laughter. While I'm sure that's great for the studio audience, the viewers at home don't need to hear it.

10: Absence of the character of Leslie - again: agree.

9: Endless references - kinda disagree. References are how we geeks roll. But yeah, sometimes theirs are over-the-top or

8: Messed up references - these are unforgivable. Completely agree.

7: Other Geek shows are better - I can't speak to this. The other shows the article mentions I haven't seen, or haven't seen in years. But the reason Big Bang works for the most part is because it's about "real" people, and not cartoons.

6: Wil Wheaton: agree. Once was sorta vaguely humorous. You can stop now.

5: Sheldonmanie: I agree - he's funny. Don't overdo it.

4: Bazinga: Hmmm, I'm torn. It's rather silly. But I think it fits the character.

3: Girls are weird: again - I'm torn. The author of the article makes some valid points, but I like the characterizations of the three main characters.

2: The theme: GASP! That's a great theme, and BNL is a fun band.

1: They're not us: I completely agree with this point. While these characters do display some aspects of geekdom, their lives do not adequately reflect the geek culture.

UGO explains their own points in their list at their website.

Catnap

This is often what happens when I read:

My wife's cat, Miss Kitty Fantastico, joins me and then the drowsy hits - even if it's a fantastic book.

Noah Primeval news release (Do want!)

This book sounds interesting! Definitely adding it to my "Want to read" list.

It’s the first in a series called Chronicles of the Nephilim and is now available in e-book and paperback formats on Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble.

Noah Primeval is a fantasy retelling of the beloved story of Noah for a new generation. In an ancient world of darkness, fallen angels breed giants and enslave mankind to evil. Noah, a tribal warrior, has been prophesied to save humanity from the coming destruction of the world. But Noah’s wife and son are captives of these dark forces – and he’s not going anywhere without them.

Brian Godawa | Hollywood screenwriter explores Noah account with speculative novel | FamilyFiction.com

'via Blog this'

My Wife and Guild Wars

Coinkydinkly, on the same day Guys Lit Wire published my review of the Guild Wars 2 novel Ghosts of Ascalon, two interviews with my wife hit the interwebs. Part of my wife's job is to write about the game Guild Wars.

One interview is at incgamers and kind of focuses on her new webcast: Guildcast TV which debuted last night (Thursday December 15, 2012). The other interview is at GuildMag and was just published today, but was actually done back in May of 2012 2011.

Check `em out to learn more about my wife (And visit Guys Lit Wire!)!

Getting to know all about me!

I don't think I've posted much about myself here. Maybe a few memes. I was much more prolific on posting Q&As about myself over at my family blog.

I figured I'd let those posts tell you a little about me, as not much has changed since posting those. I'm a little older and suffered a broken ankle last year, and my favorite authors have changed a little bit. Apart from that, these question and answer sessions can help you get to know Kev!

Forty-four Questions

The first ten years of this century

Ethical Quandaries

A lazy meme

The Wayback Q&A

Food

Here's one about my wife!

Another Q&A  (the favorite authors have changed a bit)

And much more about me at my family blog.

Need a Recommendation for a book to read?

Join me at Custom Reads. There you can search for recommendations, or make your recommendations for others to see. It's a nice way to get personalized book suggestions.

Custom Reads is a new community-based service with the goal of cutting down on the time it takes to find a new book to read. Recommendations come from real people and base suggestions for you on your member profile and feedback you give on the recommendations.

It's still in beta, and is a growing site. You could help it grow! Or you can get recommendations for yourself. Or both.

I'm not affiliated in any way with Custom Reads, beyond signing up to make recommend books. It's also another method of shameless self-promotion for Sporadic Reviews.

Now with even more Plus!

I just created a Google+ page for Sporadic Reviews. Nothing fancy yet... nothing at all in fact. I haven't even posted a profile pic (apart from my basic profile pic). Once they get integration with other platforms going, I hope blog posts and tweets and such will appear there.

For now, you can find the Sporadic Reviews Google+ page at gplus.to/SporadicReviews.

Collector's Editions of Beloved Books

I read T.H. White's The Once and Future King a few years ago... maybe around 15 years ago - it's been awhile. I remember enjoying it. I read it when I was on that binge: fiction and non-fiction Arthurian material alike.

I read T.H. White's book because I had heard the Disney movie The Sword and The Stone was based on it, but the movie was aimed at young children and the book is not. In fact, the book goes well beyond where the Disney flick ends. We get to watch Wart grow into the true king, we meet Guinevere and Lancelot, and the other knights, we meet the hilarious King Pellinore and his life-long chase after the questing beast, "hello, what?", and so much more.

Ace and Roc Books recently republished The Once and Future King in a trade paperback Collector's Edition. Their news release says the Broadway production Camelot was based on this book - I didn't know that (I kinda want to see it now). The book club podcast, The Sword and Laser read The Once and Future King as one of their club pics recently too.

Ace and Roc also republished The Last Unicorn, by Peter S. Beagle, in a tpb Collector's Edition. The Last Unicorn is about a unicorn fearing she's the last of her kind and sets out to learn the truth. Helping her on her quest are a magician, a traveler, and an evil king. I've never read that, but I've heard it's good, and I should hunt down a copy and give it a read.

If you're a fan of special collector's editions, or need to replace the aged, worn out, well-read copies you already own, look these up. If I had room in my house, I most certainly would!