Tag: reading

What I’ve Just Read: Off Armageddon Reef

By Edward Willett in Blog
December 2, 2008
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I’m a big David Weber fan (and had a chance to meet him and be on a panel with him at ConVersion in Calgary a couple of years ago)…or perhaps it would be more accurate to say I’m a big Honor Harrington fan, since nothing else he’s written has captured my interest as much as …

What I Just Read: Bone Song

By Edward Willett in Blog
November 19, 2008
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Bone Song by John Meaney was one of the books included in the bag-o’-free-books handed me at World Fantasy Convention. I liked the cover and the premise sounded interesting, so I decided to give it a shot. I’m glad I did. It’s an interesting mixture of police procedural and gothic horror, with a pretty straightforward …

What I Just Read: City of Ashes

By Edward Willett in Blog
October 29, 2008
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I actually finished City of Ashes, the second book in the Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare, the week before last, but then I headed out of town to join the Canadian Chamber Choir and haven’t had a minute to post about it until now. It continues to hold my interest with plot twists, great …

Scientific evidence reading fiction is good for you AND for society

By Edward Willett in Blog
July 10, 2008
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From the Globe and Mail: A group of Toronto researchers have compiled a body of evidence showing that bookworms have exceptionally strong people skills. Their years of research – summed up in the current issue of New Scientist magazine – has shown readers of narrative fiction scored higher on tests of empathy and social acumen …

Why do I read science fiction?

By Edward Willett in Blog
August 9, 2007
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It comes down to both nature and nurture, says Carol Pinchefsky in Orson Scott Card’s Intergalactic Medicine Show: Paul Allen, a reader of science fiction and a practicing clinical psychotherapist for 22 years, says my temperament predisposes me to a love of science fiction. Each of us has a temperament, that is, a part of …

"Bad books are an essential part of life"

By Edward Willett in Blog
May 8, 2007
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Praise for bad books from The New York Times: Bad books are an essential part of life, as entertaining and indispensable as bad clothing (ironic polyester shirts), bad music (John Tesh at Red Rocks, Phil Collins anywhere), bad trends (metrosexuality, not using toilet paper for a year in order to “help” the environment) and bad …

Do you lie about what you read?

By Edward Willett in Blog
February 8, 2007
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Apparently the Brits do: People once said ‘you are what you eat’ but it appears the phrase has been hijacked by image-conscious Brits to state ‘you are what you read.’ So suggests new research from the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council, which found almost half of people lie about their literary credentials. Joining in conversation …

What does a writer owe his readers?

By Edward Willett in Blog
January 8, 2007
5 mins to read
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I’ve been reading very interesting thread over at Paperback Writer about what an author “owes” a reader. Paperback Writer wrote: I don’t know what, if anything, writers actually “owe” readers. I always feel a responsibility to do my best work for the reader; that goes without saying. No one can write something that makes everyone …

Reading and signing reminder

By Edward Willett in Blog
December 19, 2006
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Just a reminder for any readers in the Regina area: I’ll be reading and signing my book A Safe and Prosperous Future: 100 years of engineering and geoscience achievements in Saskatchewan, tonight (Tuesday, December 19) at 7 p.m. at the Book & Brier Patch in Regina. Since my wife can’t even be there, it would …

The 50 most significant SF&F Books, 1953-2002

By Edward Willett in Blog
December 3, 2006
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I’ve seen the following list of The 50 Most Significant SF & F Books published between 1953 and 2002, originally from the Science Fiction Book Club, then posted by Lou Anders on his blog, in various places, but hadn’t gotten around to doing anything with it until I saw it on Amy Nelson-Mile’s Books, Words, …

The 50 most significant SFF Books, 1953-2002

By Edward Willett in Blog
December 3, 2006
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pI’ve seen the following list of a href=”http://www.louanders.com/2006/11/50-most-significant-sff-books.html”The 50 Most Significant SF F Books/a published between 1953 and 2002, originally from the Science Fiction Book Club, then posted by a href=”http://www.louanders.com/Bio.htm”Lou Anders/a on his a href=”http://www.louanders.com/”blog/a, in various places, but hadn’t gotten around to doing anything with it until I saw it on Amy Nelson-Mile’s …

Why do people not read science fiction?

By Edward Willett in Blog
November 27, 2006
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Carol Pinchefsky at Orson Scott Card’s Intergalactic Medicine Show has some thoughts. It’s an interesting article all the way through, and I think she hits on some interesting possibilities, but I found it hard to finish, having run across this little fact part of the way down the page: The reasons are varied but inarguable …