In case you missed it…

So the new Paperspaceships site design is live (hooray!), and although it’s not completely finished yet, I must say it’s looking super crispy – thanks Rufus.

I am currently charging through a copy of Robert V.S. Redick’s The Red Wolf Conspiracy, a book I purchased based on good reviews… and so far, so good. I think we may have a winner here. A review will be up… oh yeah.

So I’m taking a little vacation (I really really need it) starting Sunday night, meaning I will probably be incommunicado for a week, but I will be coming back reloaded – hopefully. Look for reviews of Mockingjay, the final book in the Hunger Games trilogy, as well as The Desert Spear, Peter V. Brett’s sequel to the awesome debut The Warded Man.

Last but not least, I am really trying to get myself back into writing short stories again. I’ve been drafting up a novel I’ve had tumbling around in my head lately (part of the reason for my absence) and I need some polish and practice to get the wheels moving on it. I plan on posting one (broken into parts) in the very near future. Until then, adios astronauts, see you very soon.

More to come…

Hey there, Paper Spaceships readers!

I just wanted to post  a quick musing here for you tonight.  This is in lieu of a book review, which would normally wind up in this place.  It was an incredibly long and exhausting weekend, both physically and emotionally.  Had a great time with family I only see every couple years, and I am bushed.  Trying to spend this week recuperating.

That said, I didn’t have time to finish reading the book I wanted to review.  Hell, I didn’t have any time for reading at all.  I am well into The Town that Forgot How to Breathe, and I am enjoying it.  I made a trip to the library to add to my “to review” pile.  The most exciting of those is three of the The Walking Dead graphic novels (thank for the recommendation, Rufus!).

It will be easy for me to read those in the coming weeks, because school is starting on Monday!  I am going to be fairly busy with classes, but will always have time for you guys!  Until I post again, later!

Fanatic Infects Others at Bookstore

I love the authors you find by accident, or that you feel you have “discovered”.  It makes them somehow more personal.  You feel a sense of ownership and prides in these authors.  You actively try to get others to share the joy of your discovery, through lending books out, or, (in the case of how I was introduced to Dave Duncan), you accost complete strangers in the bookstore. … Continue Reading

The book I couldn’t read…

If I was sitting at a desk, this would be an accurate representation of how I felt, trying to read this book.

Last week, I promised I would write about a rare occasion for me: not being able to finish/read beyond the first chapter of a book.  Well, if you are expecting a book review, I am sorry.  There isn’t going to be one today.  I will have one for you next Thursday.  Since I feel like this post is a bit of a cop-out, I might write up something else this weekend.  Who knows?  I am a wild card.  Hah!

As I said, the time rarely comes where I can’t bother to read past the first few (in the case of this book, the first twenty—and the chapter still wasn’t done!) pages.  It happened with the last book I tried to read, though.  That book was Darkmans, by British author Nicola Barker.

… Continue Reading

My Love/Hate relationship with the SyFy Channel

So, currently I live with no cable television.  I work as a pastry chef, which means late nights, and that I am not at home  to see almost anything but soap operas and infomercials in real time.  Ahhh, well, this is where Tivo or DVR rear their tempting heads.  Alas, I live in Manhattan/New York City, and did I mention I work in the food service industry?  With my limited income, I have compromised by paying for internet, through which I have the lovely, free service known as Hulu.

Anyways, I have seen ads all over the city which reminded me that the new off-season television season is upon us, and cable networks have all started broadcasting their original programming.  As I have limited time to watch television shows, I am currently watching only a few shows, including Wherehouse 13.

I am willing to give most shows on the SyFy channel a shot.  Sometimes this works out beautifully, as it did with Battlestar Galactica or Farscape.  Other times, I don’t make it through a single episode, as most memorably, part of an episode of The Black Scorpion, which I watched with my dad.  (No wonder that one didn’t last.) … Continue Reading

The Dilemma of a Reader

I’ve been vehemently against eReaders since Amazon.com introduced the Kindle those years ago. I thought the e-ink technology was amazing–I’m on the computer most of the day, and despite what anyone thinks, reading on a backlite screen for as long as I read books would kill my eyes. It wasn’t that that bugged me about the Kindle–it was the fact that it took away the physical book. I don’t know about you guys, but I get very attached to books I love–so much so that I have to have them near me at all times, or I feel odd. For instance, when I was reading Kraken instead of putting it in my door with my purse, I had to keep it out on my desk, so I could see it at all times. That’s just how I am. It’s like everything I love about the book I pour into its physical presence, and I’m afraid if I leave it, it will disappear. Obviously, this attachment doesn’t always happen, but it’s one of the things I love about reading and books in general.
I always figured eReaders were for the people that were more casual readers–the people who picked up a book once in awhile to read and didn’t experience the attachment I felt to the majority of the books I read. Anyway, that was until I started hearing about the Kobo (I still have a part-time job at Borders.. for now). … Continue Reading

The Dresden Files….Please leave Harry alone…

Wizard for Hire...and maiming?

I enjoy reading the Dresden Files.  It is a hard-boiled  detective series, with a touch of the supernatural to liven things up.  I think the writing is witty, the relationships and the characters well developed and the typical creatures (vampires, werewolves, etc) unexpected in their development.  The endings to each book seem well thought out and  there is always something to build on for the next book. 

All that being said, I have a problem with The Dresden Files.   … Continue Reading

Introductions

Hello, you wonderful readers (and writers!) of Paper Spaceships!  My name is John and…well…I am a new writer here at the site.  I am completely thrilled to be given this opportunity!  I love to read, and am always looking for someone to tell about the books that I have read/want to read/am reading.

Starting tomorrow, and on the Thursdays following, I will be posting on a regular basis.  My posts, for the most part, will be book reviews.  I have a couple books still fresh enough in my mind to write about!  Afterward, I plan on rereading a number of books that I haven’t read in some time, and writing about those as well.

I am planning to write my first review on the Vish Puri mystery The Case of the Missing Servant, by Tarquin Hall.  I look forward to writing about it.  I am also looking forward to new Top 7 Lists, and will chime in with some of my favorites when the time comes!

I hope you’re all as excited as I am about me jumping on board!  Until tomorrow, everyone!

Nerd Recession

Where have you been, Hannah? you may be asking. Or maybe you don’t give a crap, that’s fine. I haven’t been posting much, so I shouldn’t expect you to know me. Well listen up, Papernauts, because I have a problem: I have grown weary of my current job. (My real job, not this blogging job. This job is rad.) Current Job pays well. I work with nice people. I contribute to a 401k, so what more could I want?

My Office = Not This Cool

My dream job. That’s what I would ultimately want.

At my dream job, no one would give me a sidelong glance when I discuss video games. No one would consider me childish for wanting to read comic books. Exchanges like this, which actually happened while listening to the radio with a co-worker, would not be met with blinking half-amusement, but enthusiasm:

Radio Announcer: The dude had one of those French-guy mustaches, like Hercule Poirot!

Me: He’s wrong.

Co-worker: What?

Me: The radio guy is wrong. Poirot is Belgian! He’s not French at all; he’s from Belgium!

Co-worker: I think I remember that from reading Agatha Christie, but that was years ago.

… Continue Reading

Meaning vs. Merit

Note: I apologize if this post offends anyone, I really hope it doesn’t.

The other day I noticed an acquaintance of mine had become a fan of “Plugging the gulf leak with the works of Ayn Rand” on facebook. As part of a challenge I have set out for myself (reading one classic per letter of the alphabet based on the author’s last time) I am in the process of reading Atlas Shrugged (my R).

Now, I’ve only gotten about halfway through it, but I am thoroughly enjoying it. When I was expressing this to a coworker, he said “I refuse to read any of her works because I can’t stand the people who think like her.”

Both of these occurrences made me go “woah, back up.” … Continue Reading