Halting State by Charles Stross

I discovered only recently that I'm a huge fan of science fiction. By 'recently' I mean a couple years ago, but considering that I've been an avid reader since before kindergarten, I'm surprised I didn't notice this before.

I specifically enjoy sci-fi stories that aren't cautionary. Cautionary tales are nice and whatever, but it has almost become a necessity for futuristic stories, and I like when writers are able to tell a story that uses the future as a setting, not a main plot point (and I feel obliged, here, to bring up "I, Robot," an Issac Asimov anthology which seemed to acknowledge that expectation and show the flip side. The 2004 movie ignored Asimov's original intention and transformed the anthology into a stereotypical cautionary tale again).

To foster this newfound love, I've been looking for enjoyable sci-fi stories, and I found one when I heard about Charles Stross' near-future novel Halting State.

Treadmill Reviews: The Last Enemy

Masterpiece, previously Masterpiece Theater, is, as far as I can tell, a PBS owned Anthology series which re-airs really awesome British dramas, among other things. I'm still not completely sure how this works, but the idea of a television anthology seems awesome enough for me to trust their judgement.

In my ongoing efforts to convince myself to use our treadmill more often, I turned to BBC/Masterpiece Contemporary's 2008 near-future drama The Last Enemy, a mystery thriller about a mathematician returning after four years to a Britain which is becoming hauntingly similar to Orwell's 1984.

Life on Mars and Other Things

Last year I managed to do pretty well with my regular treadmill sessions. I think I clocked almost an hour a day six days a week for the entire last six months, which may not sound like much but was definitely more than I had been managing before. After my brother's wedding in October, however, my treadmill sessions started to become few and far between.

Around New Years, someone I was following on Tumblr mentioned wanting to get back to exercising regularly, and I decided it was high time for me to return to regular exercise as well. I'd built up a small list of things on Netflix that I could watch while on the treadmill, so I couple of weeks ago I picked a TV show at random and started walking.

The Fault in our Stars

About a year and a half ago or more, my brother told me about an online video blog series he was following called Vlogbrothers; two brothers, John and Hank Green, would 'vlog' back and forth as a way to keep in touch. Their vlogs had quite a large following over time, and mostly included them either talking about nerdy things, discussing current events, or just overall trying to make the world a better place.

The community of fans call themselves 'Nerdfighters', and a full post about that is for another time.

I didn't start avidly watching the Vlogbrothers' videos until this summer, however, at which time John Green, the older of the two brothers and an award wining novelist of YA fiction, would continuously mention his upcoming book in his videos. Late last summer, he announced that he would be signing every pre-ordered copy of the book, titled The Fault in our Stars, and John proceeded to take on the enormous challenge of signing his name over and over, 150,000 times.

I started this blog with the intention of writing a review on The Fault in our Stars, but I'm not really sure what there is I can say about it. The book finally came out on the 10th, though I didn't start reading it until a week later (After I finished re-reading The Count of Monte Cristo). I finished it in about a day or two; John Green's writing is so straightforward and easy to read that many people could finish the book in one sitting (as long as they sat for a couple of hours; it's a 300-page book).

Not only is Green's writing style very comfortable, but his characters are likable and well-developed. Hazel Grace Lancaster, the protagonist and narrator of he story, is a 16-year-old girl with lung cancer, forced to wheel around an oxygen tank wherever she goes. She doesn't gloss over her cancer story, nor does she make it seem worse than it is. She has her own life, her own likes and dislikes, and instead of taking over her story her cancer is more like an amendment to it.

Augustus Waters, the boy she falls in love with, seems at first almost too good to be true. Not only is he smart and charming and instantly likable, he shows us over time his own weaknesses; he says in the first chapter that he fears oblivion, but it's only later that we realize how much.

If you want to know more about the book, I'd suggest reading the reviews by NPR or The New York Times; that, or read the book for yourself. It's a straightforward, 'real' tale of life with cancer, unmarred by perfect characters changing the world, but also not completely without hope. The book is written with Green's trademark hilarity but, as other reviewers have warned, the "laugh to cry ratio is pretty much 1:1."

BBC's Sherlock

I didn't always listen to their advice, but over time I've discovered that my family members have a wonderful taste in fiction. I spent years refusing to read Animal Farm purely because my dad suggested it, only to realize what a great book it was after all, and since then I've been trying to listen to all of their suggestions.

I'm not sure whether to attribute this to my eldest brother or his awesome wife, but some time back they informed me that I needed to watch Sherlock, an interesting sounding series being produced across the pond for BBC. It took me a while to finally watch it, but I'm glad I did; BBC's Sherlock is easily one of the best dramas being produced today.

A Movie about a Horse

We went to go see War Horse last Saturday night, because my mom wanted to see something and it was the only thing that looked interesting to her. My father and I were more hesitant, because the title itself seemed unimpressive, but it had Speilberg's name on it and we don't go out to see movies enough for it not to be a treat whenever we do. Committed blogger that I am, I vowed to write my review on it before we even got to the theater.

Sherlock Reactions: The Reichenbach Fall

My reaction to the third episode of Sherlock, split into two sections for both before and after seeing the episode. Remember, this reaction will be spoilerific, so if you haven't seen the episode yet I'd suggest reading my Sherlock 2-Season Review instead. You can also read my reactions for A Scandal in Belgravia and The Hounds of Baskerville.

Sherlock Reactions: The Hounds of Baskerville

This is actually the first reaction I wrote, as it didn't occur to me to do so until just after watching this episode. You can also read my reactions on Scandal in Belgravia and The Reichenbach Fall. Remember, this post will be spoilerific, so if you haven't seen the episode I'd suggest reading my Sherlock Two-Season Review instead.

Sherlock Reactions: A Scandal in Belgravia

My reaction to the first episode of the new season of Sherlock (BBC) - you can also read my reactions to The Hounds of Baskerville and The Reichenbach Fall. This will be spoilerific, so if you haven't seen the episode yet I'd suggest reading my Sherlock 2-Season Review instead.

Totally off topic, but that smiley face on the wall reminds me of an orange portal.

Week One with Skyward Sword

I don't think I'm going to be blogging this entire game, but I definitely wanted to give you all my week one reactions, especially since, a) I've been waiting and saving over two years for this game, and b) I know quite a few people who haven't been able to play it yet, and have been asking me what I think. This'll be long, and I apologize in advance - but there are many pretty pictures to look at!

Bram Stoker's Dracula

According to my Tumblog, which I updated sometime right after starting the book, I spent a little over a month trying to read Bram Stoker's Dracula.

In the book's defense, I have also been working on NaNoWriMo, so I've had my mind on other things, but as I also had most of the month of October to try to read this extremely well known novel, I don't think this escuse really counts. As it turns out, Dracula really is just one of those stories it takes me an unnecessarily long time to wade through.

Shadow of the Colossus

If you've been paying attention to anything I've been writing, then you may remember that I like stories. All kinds of stories - deep and meaningful, or light and fun; fantasy, sci-fi, or realistic; stories from books, graphic novels, TV shows, movies, and yes, even video games.

Because sometimes, in my opinion, video games can have the best stories. Sure, there are your silly arcade games and pointless shooters or beat 'em ups, but for every handful of those, there's at least one game with a truly captivating story. One of the greatest gems of literary fiction that I've ever seen happens to be the video game Shadow of the Colossus.

Treadmill Reviews: Gankutsuou, The Count of Monte Cristo

I've been trying my hardest to keep up with my daily treadmill exercise, but it's been getting difficult to find new things to watch while I walk. I had a haphazard list of shows and anime I wanted to go through, and after much deliberation, a couple weeks ago I finally decided on Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo.

Treadmill Reviews: Steven Moffat's Doctor Who

Unfortunately, today's post is going to be another one of those that only a few of you will care about (At least I'm not talking about video games again). I'm sorry for that, and I'm getting back to regular posting again this week, after a couple weeks of rocky updating.

On Saturday, the final episode of the 6th season of the revived Doctor Who series aired, and since that's such a mouthful I'll refer to the revived series as just plain "Doctor Who" and the original series as "Old Doctor Who" from now on. I didn't actually watch the episode until yesterday, but since this has been the first season I watched entirely as it aired, and since I watched most episodes while walking on the treadmill, I want to do a review.

Treadmill Reviews: Fullmetal Alchemist

Walking on a treadmill, if you've never done it before, is actually quite boring. We happen to have one in my house, and it's become one of the few ways I can get exercise reliably, but the only way I can stand to use it is if I sit a laptop on the top tray and watch TV shows. And of course, when I watch something interesting, I want to tell you guys about it.

The show that I've been watching these last few weeks is the newest anime adaptation of a very popular Japanese manga, Fullmetal Alchemist. I read the books years back when I was in high school, and I didn't mind going through the story again in anime format because I already knew that the entire thing was and would be incredible.

I, Robot (Issac Asimov)

The 1st Edition cover.

Except for a few short stories in my Middle/High school English classes, I'd never read anything written by Issac Asimov, considered to be the master of science fiction. With that in mind, I finally picked up a copy of I, Robot earlier this summer, and I've finally now finished reading it (Unfortunately, the only version of the book at Barnes and Noble had Will Smith on the cover. I like Will Smith as an actor, but I dislike owning the 'movie cover' versions of books).

When the 2004 Will Smith 'I, Robot' movie came out, I saw reviews for it online that said it was "nothing like the book." At the time, I thought that meant it was dissimilar to the book in the same way that all the Harry Potter movies were dissimilar to the books, and years later I figured the I, Robot movie was probably just like the Prince of Persia: Sands of Time movie (which gave a totally different set of characters in a different setting the same items and ultimate goal from the original game).

Having finally read the book, I can say knowingly that the movie is truly nothing like the book.

Everything Bad is Good for You

A while back, I wrote a review on a book titled Reality is Broken (by Jane McGonigal). If you didn't read it or don't remember, the book is about video games, and how they can positively impact the people who play them. Jane McGonigal's goal in writing the book was to help dispel the negative image associated with video games and to try to get people to incorporate the positive aspects of gaming into their everyday lives.

While writing that review, I discovered a similar book, called Everything Bad is Good for You (by Steven Johnson), and the idea intrigued me so much, I decided to buy it and read it as well. Johnson's book, which was written a few years ago, is about Pop Culture in general, and how it's actually making people smarter.

Cowboys and Aliens

The Friday before we left on our vacation (the 29th, I believe), my mom and I went to the theaters to see one of the few titles coming out this summer that looked interesting: Cowboys and Aliens.

When I saw the trailer for this movie sometime last year, I thought it looked hokey, and wanted to see it, just to have fun with the ridiculousness of it. The title was an obvious play off of "Cowboys and Indians" - as someone who likes words, I can appreciate the fact that 'Indians' and 'Aliens' sound similar and have the same number of syllables - and the movie premise sounded like something made up on the spot for a silly, would-be blockbuster, like Megashark versus Giant Octopus.

Visiting Twin Peaks

Last Monday, I sat down for the first time to watch the pilot episode of what is arguably one of the most memorable shows in TV history. Twin Peaks, which aired from 1990-1991, probably wouldn't be considered one of the best shows of all time, but anyone who happened to see it might remember how this campy, bizarre, unconventional show changed television expectations

Captain America: The Star Spangled Avenger

Friday, as I sat hunched over the laptop watching Twin Peaks (more on that later this week), mom poked her head into my room and stated that she wanted to go see a movie on Saturday. She does this every now and then - it's a healthy reaction to having months off work (she teaches at an elementary school) and spending most of her time at home with few other people around.

We don't watch movies that are rated R, or movies that just look stupid, so our options this summer are severely limited. After a quick brainstorm, we decided to go see Captain America, which I have to admit was bordering on the 'looks stupid' side of my chart (I'm not a fan of superhero stories, really). However, of all the movies out right now it's the one I was most interested in, so Saturday afternoon we drove out to see Captain America.