Reading in Redondo

Here are the best books

Here are the best books I've read this past year. I highly recommend each and every one of them, and give you my guarantee that if you pick one up, you won't be disappointed:

• The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, by Michael Chabon
• The Best American Magazine Writing 2001, edited by Harold Evans
• Euclidean and Non-Euclidean Geometries, by Marvin Greenberg
• The Annotated Flatland, by Edwin A. Abbott, annotated by Ian Stewart
• Ragtime, by E.L. Doctorow
• Reporting World War II, Vols. I and II, compiled by the Library of America
• Annals of the Former World, by John McPhee
• The Divine Right of Capital, by Marjorie Kelly

And here are the stinkers. I feel bad about not liking these, because I've enjoyed both authors in the past. Nevertheless, these seemed a waste of time to me when I read them:

• The Coming, by Joe Haldeman


• Lord Valentine's Castle, by Robert Silverberg

In no particular order, here are the rest:

• The Year's Best Science Fiction, 18th Edition, edited by Gardner Dozois


• The Phantom Cyclist, by Ruth Ainsworth


• Kitchen Confidential, by Anthony Bourdain


• The Best American Science Writing 2000, edited by James Gleick


• Frosty: A Raccoon to Remember, by Harriet Weaver


• Deep Time, by Gregory Benford


• Undaunted Courage, by Stephen Ambrose


• Dancing Under the Moon, by Al Martinez


• Breakfast at Tiffany's (& Three Stories), by Truman Capote


• Being Dead, by Jim Crace


• Dave Miller's Homebrewing Guide, by Dave Miller


• The Visitor, by Sherri Tepper


• Beer in America: The Early Years, 1587-1840, by Smith


• Best Newspaper Writing 2001, edited by Woods, et. al.


• Learn to Play Go, Vol. II, by Janice Kim


• Apes and Angels, by Philip Appleman


• Xenogenesis, by Octavia Butler

Special thanks to Lesli Arbuthnot, the Los Angeles Superior Court Jury Commissioner, the state of the economy, and the Redondo Beach Public Library for helping make this the best year for reading I've had since high school. It wasn't highest in volume, but WOW! I was lucky enough to happen upon some fantabulous books this year.

Here's an unsolicited endorsement -

Here's an unsolicited endorsement - The Torrance Bakery, off Satori in old Torrance, has a fantastic soup & half-sandwich lunch special. Add a medium drink and it's only $5.50. They even throw in some chips and a pickle wedge! It also smells like the Elysian Fields of Baking in there. I give it two stars, a rainbow, a 4.5, and a pineapple.

I hope everyone had a

I hope everyone had a fantastic Yule. The days are getting longer now! We went to a big party at my uncle and aunt's, where I distributed bottles of mead to all and sundry (check out the label at this link) and played a few tricky games of chess (I won 2 out of 3).

Nothing else is happening. Xmas at Mom & Dad's tomorrow, Lord of the Rings with Phil tonight. Have a good one, everybody!

Toybox is feeling a bit

Toybox is feeling a bit under the weather (I managed to corrupt the video drivers and XFree86 configuration files, if you care), so this update is brought to you by Unagi. I'm enjoying learning more about Linux, and look forward to the day when I can start programming a few small toys with it, but I can see why it hasn't seriously challenged Windows in the general marketplace.

If I don't make an update on the 21st, Happy Yule to one and all! We've got our tree, and if I manage to get photo capabilities soon, I'll put up some shots of our decorations. Game Night will be the weekend after Xmas this year, so we'll try to get some shots of that as well.

I remain ALMOST done with Annals of the Former World. With all that's going on this month, it's put a serious kink in my reading speed ... Annals is probably the last book I'll finish this year. That would leave me with 27 books read this year, still a big improvement from last year's pathetic 11, but far from a personal best. On the other hand, the QUALITY of the books I've been reading this year is surpassing any year since I've been keeping track. More about that in January.

I guess I have nothing trenchant to say today, just wanted to make sure y'all know I'm alive. Cheers!