Thanks John for letting know Project Hail Mary is a good story.I hope to get this book soon. I really like The Martian alot too. I think it's a alot better story than Artemis.
Since it had come up in the discussion, I re-read The Vulcan Academy Murders. Since it is a same-author direct sequel, not to mention rather current under present circumstances, I'm now about a third of the way into The IDIC Epidemic. Finished it this morning. Forgot just how much of Ford's version of Klingons the author used. I did, however, remember that in the end, the plague turned out to be Spoiler already known in the Klingon Empire, and incurably fatal to the Imperial Race/Klinzhai/Kumburanya/HemQuch.
Just finished reading Batman (Snyder/Capullo) Vol. 4: Zero Year - Secret City. I really enjoyed it, it's a cool new take on Batman's origin. I know this is probably blasphemy for a Batman fan, but I think I actually enjoyed this more than Year One.
Year One is great, it’s a fun time capsule, but it’s very dated. It’s very ‘80’s, very pre-Giuliani New York. Snyder loves Batman as superhero, and Miller loves Batman as vigilante. I like them both, as well.
Latest episode of the Positively Trek Book Club is up, we talk to the wonderful Una McCormack about her new novel, Discovery: Wonderlands. We had a great time, hope you enjoy the show! Currently reading the omnibus Year Five: Weaker Than Man, getting caught up on the whole Year Five storyline.
Creature from the Black Lagoon, a VERY loose adaptation of the classic movie by "Carl Dreadstone," most likely a pseudonym for horror writer Ramsey Campbell, who provides an introduction. Stumbled onto it at a used bookstore last weekend.
Two consecutive recent issues of Model Railroader: one at home, and one on my lunch break. Recently read a recent Smithsonian that had a lengthy article on the Tulsa Massacre, and a very well-balanced article on wolves in California. Recently re-read both of Jean Lorrah's TOS novels. The new DSC novel is sitting on the 2-drawer file cabinet that serves as my nightstand, and will wait until I've seen the first episode of Season 3 (the DVD set comes out in July).
I'm currently reading "Force and Motion" (DS9) I like how Bashir and O'Brien tampered with the Alamo programme, so that they could actually win
Oh, great, a victory for the people who were fighting for slavery. The DS9 producers didn't seem to realize that they had Bashir and O'Brien rooting for the wrong side. The Alamo myth that Americans have been raised with glosses over the fact that Texas seceded from Mexico because it refused to abandon slavery and that some of the defenders of the Alamo were slave owners and slave traders. It's the same kind of "noble lost cause" propaganda that was used to romanticize the slave plantation era in works like Gone With the Wind and paint the Confederacy as noble defenders of "states' rights."
I read Star Trek: The Better Man by Howard Weinstein for the first time. It's short and sweet. If you are looking for a story that really gets the TOS characters and makes the case for why IDIC is a good thing, then you should check it out. The plot itself is a little predictable, and Chekov and Scotty's accents are rendered in the dialogue to some degree, but those are my only real criticisms. Now, on to The Romulan Way and the rest of the Rihannsu books!
Hmm. Romanticizing slavery. Romanticizing war. I find myself thinking about this past Memorial Day evening, when my dad and I saw saving private ryan for the first time. I can't think of another movie that de-romanticizes war in general and WWII in particular. Parts of it were as hard to watch as parts of Hidden Figures, and the only movie I can remember as leaving me more completely drained than this was Gandhi. The American Civil War was of course not about slavery; it was about putting down a rebellion, a rebellion that, left unchecked, would have led to the dissolution of the union into nice bite-size pieces, ripe for conquest by whatever foreign power(s) turned their attention to North America. And the rebellion was not just about slavery, but about a whole political, economic, and social order based on slavery, which required not only the preservation of slavery to survive, but its expansion.
I’m almost finished reading a nearly-complete run of the old Trek letterzine Interstat. It’s fascinating to see what fans thought of TMP, TWOK, TSFS and TVH when they were playing at the local movie palace. I just read Steve Roby’s first Interstat letter last night, from 1988, iirc. I was also struck by how much professional Treklit was written by women back then. These days, it’s all men, except Una McCormack, who is writing a lot of excellent stuff, and Kristen Beyer, who I don’t expect to see penning any more books for a while. It’s really quite a stunning change. Cassandra Rose Clarke will be a welcome new voice for the line. I can’t wait to read the 1989 issues, to see how TFF was received by the Interstat segment of fandom.
I’m making my way through the Worlds of DS9 books. I just really love all the political stuff late era Trek writers weave into stuff. At 38, I’m headed off to be a camp counselor at my old summer camp for the first time in legitimate decades. I have all the stuff that’s after Worlds of DS9 that’s “on top” of Destiny on the Trek-Lit flowchart, of including all the Titan and Voyager stuff, on the way. I already have the TNG books. only hope they make it here before I have to leave.
I’ve been waiting for this one to come in at my public library for awhile now! I requested they buy it and it got approved but has been “on order” for something like six months now so I’m afraid that something might have happened to their order.
(Copy of post made to my personal Facebook page.) I just finished reading Betty White on TV: From Video Vanguard to Golden Girl by Wesley Hyatt (2021). This is the fourth television history book written by Hyatt that I’ve read, the others being Television's Top 100: The Most-Watched American Broadcasts, 1960-2010 (2011), The Carol Burnett Show Companion: So Glad We Had This Time (2016), and Bob Hope on TV: Thanks for the Video Memories (2017). Hyatt, who I’ve heard many times on television related podcasts “Stu’s Show” (hosted by Stu Shostak) and “Television Confidential” (hosted by Ed Robertson), always does an excellent job detailing the history of various television shows and/or personalities. He clearly is very knowledgeable about the subject and also goes out of his way to seek out every possible episode of a series to view when writing about it even if it means flying across country to various television history museums to do so. The one thing about Hyatt’s writing that lessens my enjoyment of his otherwise excellent books is when, in his capsule reviews of television episodes, tv movies, or specials he feels the need to go beyond the objective facts and plot summaries to also giving his critical opinion as well. Things he doesn’t like he describes as unfunny, plodding, uninspired, etc. (generally not aiming those comments at the person he’s covering and their performance but at the show’s writing, producing, etc.). I’m sure that some find value in Hyatt’s critical opinions but I tend to like these parts less because I realize that such things are highly subjective and that just because one person might not find something funny or interesting doesn’t mean that I might not. While Hyatt did this quite a bit in his Bob Hope book (which made it the one I liked but probably enjoyed the least of the four books he’s written that I’ve read so far), he does very little of this in Betty White on TV (aside from the last couple chapters where he details White’s time as a regular on “Hot in Cleveland” and covering all of the guest starring appearances she made on television over the years). As a result of this plus Hyatt’s as always excellent historical overview of White’s long career, this is probably my favorite of his books that I’ve read, right up there with his Carol Burnett Show and Television’s Top 100 books. The book is divided into the following chapters: “Betty the Personality” (White’s start on local Los Angeles television including “Hollywood on Television”, a six days a week afternoon talk show, the first of many short lived “Betty White Shows”, and her many years co-hosting the Macy’s Thanksgiving and Tournament of Roses Parades, as well as her guest appearances on other talk shows over the years like “The Tonight Show” with both Jack Paar and Johnny Carson and “The Late Show with David Letterman”), “Betty the 50s Funny Lady” (her first sitcoms, “Life With Elizabeth” and “Date With the Angels”), “Betty the Game Show Goddess, Part I” (White’s many tv game show appearances from 1955-1975 including her meeting and marrying Allen Ludden, the host of “Password”), “ I just finished reading “Betty White on TV: From Video Vanguard to Golden Girl” by Wesley Hyatt (2021). This is the fourth television history book written by Hyatt that I’ve read, the others being “Television's Top 100: The Most-Watched American Broadcasts, 1960-2010” (2011), “The Carol Burnett Show Companion: So Glad We Had This Time” (2016), and “Bob Hope on TV: Thanks for the Video Memories” (2017). Hyatt, who I’ve heard many times on television related podcasts “Stu’s Show” (hosted by Stu Shostak) and “Television Confidential” (hosted by Ed Robertson), always does an excellent job detailing the history of various television shows and/or personalities. He clearly is very knowledgeable about the subject and also goes out of his way to seek out every possible episode of a series to view when writing about it even if it means flying across country to various television history museums to do so. The one thing about Hyatt’s writing that lessens my enjoyment of his otherwise excellent books is when, in his capsule reviews of television episodes, tv movies, or specials he feels the need to go beyond the objective facts and plot summaries to also giving his critical opinion as well. Things he doesn’t like he describes as unfunny, plodding, uninspired, etc. (generally not aiming those comments at the person he’s covering and their performance but at the show’s writing, producing, etc.). I’m sure that some find value in Hyatt’s critical opinions but I tend to like these parts less because I realize that such things are highly subjective and that just because one person might not find something funny or interesting doesn’t mean that I might not. While Hyatt did this quite a bit in his Bob Hope book (which made it the one I liked but probably enjoyed the least of the four books he’s written that I’ve read so far), he does very little of this in “Betty White on TV” (aside from the last couple chapters where he details White’s time as a regular on “Hot in Cleveland” and covering all of the guest starring appearances she made on television over the years). As a result of this plus Hyatt’s as always excellent historical overview of White’s long career, this is probably my favorite of his books that I’ve read, right up there with his Carol Burnett Show and “Television’s Top 100” books. The book is divided into the following chapters: “Betty the Personality” (White’s start on local Los Angeles television including “Hollywood on Television”, a six days a week afternoon talk show, the first of many short lived “Betty White Shows”, and her many years co-hosting the Macy’s Thanksgiving and Tournament of Roses Parades, as well as her guest appearances on other talk shows over the years like “The Tonight Show” with both Jack Paar and Johnny Carson and “The Late Show with David Letterman”), “Betty the 50s Funny Lady” (her first sitcoms, “Life With Elizabeth” and “Date With the Angels”), “Betty the Game Show Goddess, Part I” (White’s many tv game show appearances from 1955-1975 including her meeting and marrying Allen Ludden, the host of “Password”), “Betty the Variety Star and Guest” (appearances on “The Carol Burnett Show” that lead to other variety show appearances throughout the second half of the 1970s; also covers later variety show appearances including the Facebook fan driven campaign that saw her hosting “Saturday Night Live” at age eighty-eight in 2012), “Betty the Game Show Goddess, Part II” (1973-2009 game show appearances), “Betty the Scene Stealer” (White’s time playing Sue Ann Nivens, the “Happy Homemaker”, on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” (1973-1977)), “Betty the Shining Star” (another short lived “Betty White Show” (1977-1978), some unsold pilot episodes she did, five appearances on “The Love Boat”, and her return to a character she played earlier on “The Carol Burnett Show” in the 1982 “Eunice” tv special and subsequent “Mama’s Family” series (1983-1986)), “Betty the Rose in Bloom” (White’s second really big television role of her career, Rose Nylund on “The Golden Girls” (1985-1992) and short lived follow-up series “The Golden Palace” (1992-1993)), “Betty the Boss and Grandmother” (White’s post “Golden Girls” sitcom roles on shows like “Bob” (1993, with Bob Newhart), “Maybe This Time” (1995-1996, with Marie Osmond and Craig Ferguson), “Ladies Man” (2000-2002, with Alfred Molina), and “That 70s Show” (White appearing in four episodes in a recurring role from 2002 to 2003)), “Betty the Drama Queen” (White’s recurring role on “The Practice” (2004-2008) and the soap opera “The Bold and the Beautiful” (2006-2009), “Betty the Added Attraction” (White’s regular role on “Hot in Cleveland” (2012-2015), and “Betty the Omnipresent: Guest TV Acting Appearances 1956-2018” (including her last two sitcom appearances as of the time of this book’s writing on “Young and Hungry” (2017). All of this is followed by an extensive Appendix section (“Betty By the Numbers”) listing all of White’s known television appearances from 1953 to 2018, broken down into categories of National TV series as a regular performer (17), National TV series as a semiregular (9), Emmy wins (7), Emmy nominations without wins (17), Aired Pilots (2), Guest starring shots-Miscellaneous (3), TV movies (12), Guest shots-Dramas (20), Guest shots-Cartoons (20), Guest shots-Sitcoms (42), Guest shots-Variety (80), Selected talk show guest shots (100, noted as just a sample out of hundreds of confirmed appearances), and Confirmed game show guest shots (338!). There’s not much else I can say about this book than that I highly recommend it for both fans of Betty White and also for those who just like to read about tv history. The chapters about White’s more well known series like “The Mary Tyler Moore Show”, “The Golden Girls”, and “Hot in Cleveland”, are approximately longer and more detailed, covering the creation and production of those shows (with the focus always on White’s roles in those shows) in greater detail. However, as much as I enjoyed those chapters, the ones I learned the most from were the ones about White’s early years on “Hollywood on Television”, “Life With Elizabeth”, “Date With the Angels”, covering the parades, and appearing on the early late night talk shows (the 1950s and 60s stuff), and the two chapters covering White’s hundreds of game show appearances. There are so many game shows that White appeared on as a celebrity panelist that I’d never heard of prior to reading this book, and each series is given an entry here describing the rules of the game, the confirmed dates that White appeared in the show, memorable things she said or did, and how long the series ran for (some for as little as three or six months). Here’s just some of them (including many of which I *was* already familiar with): “What’s My Line?”, “To Tell the Truth”, “I’ve Got a Secret”, “Keep Talking”, “Masquerade Party”, “Password”, “Play Your Hunch”, “Your First Impression”, “The Match Game”, “You Don’t Say!”, “Missing Links”, “The Price Is Right”, “Get the Message”, “What’s This Song?”, “Call My Bluff”, “Concentration”, “Chain Letter”, “Snap Judgment”, “Win With the Stars”, “It Takes Two”, “It’s Your Bet”, “Beat the Clock”, and “He Said She Said” (which just gets to 1970). Finishing this review up, again, I highly recommend this book for those into these sorts of things. (I gave this four out of five stars on GoodReads.) (I should probably stress that this is *not* a biography of Betty White, although Hyatt does give brief accounts of White’s early years and also, later, her marriage to Allen Ludden from 1963 to Ludden’s death in 1981. Instead, this is an extensive overview focused entirely on her fifty plus years working in television.)
ive been continuing my Litverse read-through. I'm currently on Voyager: Full Circle. Great read so far.