9/10/11 is a cool number

Not only is it numerically cool, but it's my 11th anniversary today. Happy Anniversary to TheHusband! May we have many more! And stop snoring.




How did 11 years go by so quickly? I dunno, but they've been happy years.

NPR's Top 100 SF/F Books (with comments)

Meme from Random Michelle:

bold – I’ve read it

italic – started and abandoned

bold/italic - read one book in the series and liked it but didn't like the series as a whole or abandoned it (my addition to the grading system)

**made my top 10 SF/F list of books

******************************************

1. The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy, by J.R.R. Tolkien – I finished the first book and got about halfway through the second before I gave up. Never opened the third one. Yes, I know, I’m a heretic.


2. The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy, by Douglas Adams – I even own a copy in Italian (which I can’t read)


3. Ender’s Game, by Orson Scott Card


4. The Dune Chronicles, by Frank Herbert – I loved the first couple. After that: yuck!


5. A Song Of Ice And Fire Series, by George R. R. Martin – The first one in this series was a wall-banger for me: I got to a point in the book that really really annoyed me, so I threw it at the wall. I never finished it.


6. 1984, by George Orwell – Required reading in high school. I didn't like it, mostly because I don't like dystopias.


7. Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury – I own it, does that count?


8. **The Foundation Trilogy, by Isaac Asimov


9. Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley –– Required reading in high school. Have I mentioned that I don't like dystopias?


10. American Gods, by Neil Gaiman – I own it, does that count?


11. The Princess Bride, by William Goldman – I love the movie, but not the book.


12. The Wheel Of Time Series, by Robert Jordan – I read the couple of books then simply got bored. Never revisited the series and don’t plan to.


13. Animal Farm, by George Orwell – It was okay.


14. Neuromancer, by William Gibson – read it on recommendation of a friend and liked it. Not inclined to read cyberpunk, as a rule.


15. Watchmen, by Alan Moore


16. I, Robot, by Isaac Asimov


17. Stranger In A Strange Land, by Robert Heinlein – I read it when I was about 13, and I really had no idea what the hell it was about. A later reread was far more worthwhile.


18. The Kingkiller Chronicles, by Patrick Rothfuss- I own the first one (The Name of the Wind), does that count?


19. Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut


20. Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley – I own it, does that count?


21. Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?, by Philip K. Dick


22. The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood – I still don’t like dystopias.


23. The Dark Tower Series, by Stephen King


24. 2001: A Space Odyssey, by Arthur C. Clarke


25. The Stand, by Stephen King


26. Snow Crash, by Neal Stephenson – I own it, does that count?


27. The Martian Chronicles, by Ray Bradbury – I own it, does that count?


28. Cat’s Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut


29. The Sandman Series, by Neil Gaiman – I own it, does that count?


30. A Clockwork Orange, by Anthony Burgess


31. Starship Troopers, by Robert Heinlein – read it as a teenager and skipped over a lot of the philosophy. I reread it occasionally now and actually enjoy those parts. Go figure.


32. Watership Down, by Richard Adams


33. Dragonflight, by Anne McCaffrey – I loved the Pern series through "The White Dragon", then wondered what happened


34. **The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress, by Robert Heinlein – Sort of the libertarian's manifesto in SF novel form. I'm not a libertarian, but I do adore this book.


35. A Canticle For Leibowitz, by Walter M. Miller – I still don’t like dystopias.


36. The Time Machine, by H.G. Wells – I didn’t really like it


37. 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, by Jules Verne


38. Flowers For Algernon, by Daniel Keys – required reading in high school (hated it). Reread it within the last year and got teary.


39. The War Of The Worlds, by H.G. Wells


40. The Chronicles Of Amber, by Roger Zelazny – I enjoyed these and wish he had written more


41. The Belgariad, by David Eddings – Read this series a few years ago and liked the first one, then was under-impressed with the subsequent ones. Didn’t prevent me from finishing the series (6 books, right?)


42. The Mists Of Avalon, by Marion Zimmer Bradley


43. The Mistborn Series, by Brandon Sanderson – I think I have the first one somewhere


44. **Ringworld, by Larry Niven – oh yes, a top 10.


45. **The Left Hand Of Darkness, by Ursula K. LeGuin – I read this one when I was too young to understand it but was still blown away by it.


46. The Silmarillion, by J.R.R. Tolkien – nope, sorry.


47. The Once And Future King, by T.H. White


48. Neverwhere, by Neil Gaiman


49. **Childhood’s End, by Arthur C. Clarke – This book literally stunned me when I read it (13 or 14?). I’ve never been able to bring myself to read it again, but I put it in my top 10.


50. Contact, by Carl Sagan – I own it, does that count?


51. The Hyperion Cantos, by Dan Simmons


52. Stardust, by Neil Gaiman – really liked this one


53. Cryptonomicon, by Neal Stephenson – I own it, does that count?


54. World War Z, by Max Brooks – Michelle hates zombies. So do I (they have no brains, so of course I hate them...)


55. The Last Unicorn, by Peter S. Beagle


56. The Forever War, by Joe Haldeman – yes, another really, really good book.


57. Small Gods, by Terry Pratchett – I’ve tried this one a couple of times but never felt the love


58. The Chronicles Of Thomas Covenant, The Unbeliever, by Stephen R. Donaldson – Yes, I finished the series. By the end I was probably thinking "these are hours of my life I’ll never get back" but I had to know how it ended. Ask me now how the series ended and I couldn’t tell you.


59. **The Vorkosigan Saga, by Lois McMaster Bujold – My favorite series of books. Period. I think the Vorkosiverse numbers 16 books now, and I not only buy them faithfully, I buy 'em in hardcover.


60. Going Postal, by Terry Pratchett – More Discworld. I just don’t get Discworld.


61. The Mote In God’s Eye, by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle – in my top 20. I reread it every few years.


62. The Sword Of Truth, by Terry Goodkind


63. The Road, by Cormac McCarthy


64. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, by Susanna Clarke


65. I Am Legend, by Richard Matheson -- This confused me at first, because I was mixing it up with My Name Is Legion by Roger Zelazny


66. The Riftwar Saga, by Raymond E. Feist – one of those never-ending fantasy series


67. The Shannara Trilogy, by Terry Brooks – Yuck. Yuck. Did I mention yuck?


68. The Conan The Barbarian Series, by R.E. Howard


69. The Farseer Trilogy, by Robin Hobb – I tend to get bored by sweeping epic fantasy.


70. The Time Traveler’s Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger


71. The Way Of Kings, by Brandon Sanderson


72. A Journey To The Center Of The Earth, by Jules Verne


73. The Legend Of Drizzt Series, by R.A. Salvatore


74. Old Man’s War, by John Scalzi – I really like this series.


75. The Diamond Age, by Neil Stephenson


76. Rendezvous With Rama, by Arthur C. Clarke


77. The Kushiel’s Legacy Series, by Jacqueline Carey – I tried the first one, got about 50 pages in and said to myself "I’d rather spend my time clipping my toenails…".


78. The Dispossessed, by Ursula K. LeGuin – I own it, does that count?


79. Something Wicked This Way Comes, by Ray Bradbury – I own it, does that count?


80. Wicked, by Gregory Maguire


81. The Malazan Book Of The Fallen Series, by Steven Erikson


82. The Eyre Affair, by Jasper Fforde – I really enjoyed this book and seriously disliked the 2nd one. I think I own the 3rd one but am not interested in trying it.


83. The Culture Series, by Iain M. Banks – I loved "The Player of Games", a novel in this series, but haven’t tried any of the others. I’m thinking I should.


84. The Crystal Cave, by Mary Stewart – Not my favorite in this series. I liked the 3rd book (The Hollow Hills) much more.


85. Anathem, by Neal Stephenson


86. The Codex Alera Series, by Jim Butcher – I liked the first couple of books in this series a lot and stuck it out to the end, though I found the last one derivative and boring.


87. The Book Of The New Sun, by Gene Wolfe


88. The Thrawn Trilogy, by Timothy Zahn


89. The Outlander Series, by Diana Gabaldan – I liked the first book and maybe the second and faltered on the 3rd.


90. The Elric Saga, by Michael Moorcock


91. The Illustrated Man, by Ray Bradbury – I own it, does that count?


92. Sunshine, by Robin McKinley


93. **A Fire Upon The Deep, by Vernor Vinge – Oh yes! You should read this one. At least twice.


94. The Caves Of Steel, by Isaac Asimov – definitely a top 20 for me, though not quite top 10 (at least the day that I voted)


95. The Mars Trilogy, by Kim Stanley Robinson – I liked Red Mars and couldn't get into the 2nd one. Might have to give it another try.


96. Lucifer’s Hammer, by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle – Really like this one and reread it occasionally. Has one of my favorite scenes in all of SF: some crazy guy surfing a tsunami into LA…


97. Doomsday Book, by Connie Willis – This isn’t my favorite of hers (Bellwether is), but I’d put it in my top 20.


98. Perdido Street Station, by China Mieville – Couldn’t finish it, but don't ask me why.


99. The Xanth Series, by Piers Anthony – I tried one of these and couldn't get into it.


100. The Space Trilogy, by C.S. Lewis

7 of my top 10 made this list (Childhood's End, The Vorkosigan saga, The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress, Ringworld, A Fire Upon The Deep, The Left Hand Of Darkness).

I've read 39/100 (either the book named or the entire series), partially completed 5 series (and liked at least one of the books), and disliked 9/100 books or series enough not to finish at all. That's a total of 53/100, which is less than I expected. Clearly, I have some reading to do.

The 3 books that I voted for that didn't make the top 100 were The Sparrow (Doria Russell), The Swordspoint Trilogy (Ellen Kushner), and The Uplift Saga (David Brin).

A Fork (but not in the road)

Conversation with ThePinkThing last night at a restaurant:
TPT: How come this fork has only 3 points?
Me: Some forks only have 3. It's how they're made, and the points are called tines.
TPT: But that's not right. They're *supposed* to have 4 points.
Me: Really? Why do you think that?
TPT: That's why they're called forks. Right?

So after a brief silence then some hysterical laughter, we all decided that forks with 3 tines should really be called "threeks".

The logic of an eight year-old is very interesting, isn't it?

The placebo effect is alive and well

I'm back on Lovenox for a short time, ahead of some minor surgery tomorrow. ThePinkThing wanted to watch me give myself the injection this morning. (Either a ghoul or a future doctor...). She came in to observe after I'd cleaned the area with the alcohol pad but before I stabbed myself. She watched critically and carefully.

Here is a reasonable approximation of our post-injection interaction:
ND: "Ouch. That does hurt a bit." (It doesn't hurt while I inject. It burns for about 15 minutes afterwards, though.)
TPT: "Why don't you use the white square? When Dr. Victor uses the white square on my arm before he gives me a shot, it doesn't hurt."
ND: "You missed it. I did use the white square."
TPT: "Then how come it hurts you?"
ND (thinking quickly): "Because the shots I'm taking are different medicine from the ones Dr. Victor gives you."
TPT (thinks carefully): "Okay... Mommy, can I give you the shot tonight? Maybe it won't hurt if I give it."
ND (practically flinching at the thought of my 8 year-old sticking a needle in me...): "Ummm... you can help me push the plunger, but I have to stick the needle in."

Just in case you hadn't figured it out -- the "white square" TPT is referring to is the alcohol pad. I'll let her think that the white square magically makes an injection not hurt for as long as I can...

The moon is made of cheddar cheese?

The moon was orange last night... As many of you know, there was a total lunar eclipse last night. Lunar eclipses are rarely visible in the northeast US sky, and this would be a never-repeated-in-my-lifetime event. The reason that we could see this eclipse in Maryland is that the sun is at its most southern point on the winter solstice (December 21). The sun has to be opposite the moon for a total eclipse to occur, and the full moon this month is high in the northern sky.

For a science geek, this was an opportunity not to be missed. And it was a clear night.

The eclipse was maximal at 2:41 am EST, so I set my alarm for 2:30. I could see the moon out of my bedroom window, though it took some contorting. It wasn't like a solar eclipse, where there is a black shadow obscuring the sun, but the moon was definitely darker, like a shadow was obscuring it. TheHusband and I got dressed and trudged outside to take pictures (and see it without kneeling and twisting about to see it out the window). I tried to wake ThePinkThing, but she grumbled, rolled over, and pulled the cover over her head. Her loss, and she's grumpy about it this morning.

At 3:17 am, the moon's color was the most orangey-red. Really lovely and obvious to the naked eye, even without binoculars (TH's binocs are 30 years old and show their age). We have a high-level point-and-shoot camera with lots of settings but no tripod. We were able to get some really nice shots anyway on the "Nightime Nature" setting.

Now I want to see a total solar eclipse, someday. And the Aurora Borealis. Don't you?

Happy 95th to Zaydie

I am wishing a Happy 95th Birthday to my grandfather (aka, Zaydie) today. Though we celebrated his birthday as a family on the Saturday after Thanksgiving (because most of the grandkids were in for Turkey Day), today is the The Real Thing.

You might remember that I had solicited gift suggestions for a 95th birthday present. I had said at the time that we already had his gift planned. And I promised that I would tell you when the time came.

We got him a web page -- www.zaydie.com. Actually, we regifted him the web page. We (the grandkids) bought our grandfather www.zaydie.net in 2000 to celebrate his 85th birthday. At some point between then and now, zaydie.com became available, so we switched to that address instead. We hadn't updated the web page since 2003, so we collected pictures of ourselves and our kids and revamped zaydie.com. Kudos go to TheHusband who did the majority of the work on the webpage. And our Zaydie has his own (public) photo album of his grandkids and great-grandkids to show off.

This birthday is especially special to all of us, because my grandfather is recovering from a nephrectomy (kidney removal) to treat kidney cancer. When I visited him last weekend at the rehab center he looked better at 10 days post-op than I did at 10 days post-op last year.

I am very lucky.

Shilling for audiobooks

Happy Chanukah to me! I got a one-year subscription to audible.com for my Chanukah present. It is, for the most part, my first foray into audiobooks. I've listened to a few audiobooks over the years, but I don't love them as I love reading books. However, I am back to spending more time commuting than I like, since my office moved over a year ago. News on the radio just makes me agitated, which is not a good way to start or end the day. I just don't dig music. I've tried, really, but music just doesn't hold my interest longer than a few songs. I don't like hearing the same songs over and over (so my music CDs bore me), and I really don't like commercials (so regular radio is right out). I am not willing to invest in satellite radio. Therefore, in order to keep me sane on my trafficky rides to and from work, I will be listening to audiobooks.

A one year subscription to audible.com comes with 12 "credits", and most books are one credit apiece. I picked out 4 audiobooks last night, 2 each from 2 of my favorite authors, so I have 8 more books to choose. I am looking to find new authors and listen to new books, not just get audio versions of favorites.

I would love suggestions for books that have translated well to the audio format -- books that you've really enjoyed listening to. I tend to read genre fiction -- primarily science fiction, fantasy, and mystery. Got any suggestions?