Thanks, gdash! For I had thought Bard but a school Where Donald Fagen went--and Becker, too. But that big tome that starts with giant S? Duh, read that mother twice. Yes I said yes.

I like Alan Furst but never remember which ones I've read and haven't and end up bringing the same ones home from the library. He's no Eric Ambler, though. Not quite sure why. Anyone ever read Ambler's The Levanter? Somewhere in the middle a very handful precis of middle eastern history just gets thrown into the nar...more

I reread Sister Carrie last spring with much trepidation. Still amazed me. Phew! And in new ways. Also reread the Tinker Tailor trilogy. Third time on book one--still couldn't understand the wonderful early debriefing scene and hope I never do. I often reread Eric Amblers. A little like playing a familiar record. I ...more

This is a much richer books thread than anything I remember here. Yum, yum, yum, but so many directions to think in. Maybe I'll start with Drabble's The Millstone, adding that for me, top ten candidates always get points for if they ever changed your life, even if it doesn't quite work that way in the present. In 1967,...more

It's been a dizzy few days, so belated thanks for birthday greetings last week. Biggest birthday surprise--a Wussy t shirt from my sister-in-law, Georgia. Best listening on the getaway trip to Vermont--Combination ​ Pizza Hut and Taco Bell. Best part of the whole thing--the getaway.

Last night I was so tired I practically fell asleep posting and as I got into bed realized I'd missed a chance to sign off, "Good night, Irene." Just a few words about cyberpunks--not sure if everyone already knows all this, but they were very rock and especially punk influenced. Bruce Sterling in his intro to Mirro...more

I started The Female Man many years ago, before I'd read much SF (still haven't read all that much), and I think I was put off by some of the ways the language worked. That still happens to me when I read SF sometimes. And sometimes I find SF writing cold, and sometimes too violent, I guess. But I like when it's about ...more

Ok, finally got on. I just took The Female Man off the shelf and will put it on my bedside table. I haven't read Ursula LeGuin's Left Hand of Darkness in years but it stayed with me. It's about a world where gender is literally relative, so you become more or less one gender or the other according to the person you're...more

I agree with Frapton about the tall fans. Biggest fans I ever sat behind were at a  Bachman-Turner Overdrive show in the 70s--not only tall but wide. Makes me wonder if the secret of CBGBs was that punks are short. It was great to meet everybody and, PS, Joey. Bob does have nice legs.