Off the Bookshelf: The Past Through Tomorrow, The Goal, The Light Brigade

A space-suited (battle armored?) figure flies through blue light.

I went Old School with the first two books on my list on my summer reading list: Robert Heinlein’s The Past Through Tomorrow is a collection of his “Future History” short stories, novellas, and novels written in the 1940s and 1950s. It was a time when the future was atomic, women working in space was a radical idea, … Read more

Off the Bookshelf: The Prefect, Big Ships, Things from the Flood

An arrow-like space ship dives in front of a cluster of space stations.

I’m making slow progress on my Winter 2018-19 reading list, partially because I’m still working my way through Getting Things Done and mostly because I got Civilization 6 for Christmas. Nothing devours time like a Civilization game. Nothing. That said, “slow progress” isn’t “no progress” and while I haven’t been reading at my summer pace, I did finish a few … Read more

Off the Bookshelf: Early Summer 2018

Starships battle in deep space.

My 2018 Summer Reading List is under way. It’s been a mixed bag of inspiration, drudgery, endurance, and wonder. Personal Kanban I started off with Personal Kanban (Amazon) by Jim Benson and Tonianne DeMaria Barry. It’s the first-ever non-fiction book on my summer reading list and it was a useful one. The book’s all about … Read more

Off the Bookshelf: Artemis, The Wrong Stars, Ready Player One

A shot of the darkened moon, the right edge lit by the sun.

My Winter Reading List got off to a strong start in December 2017 with Artemis (Andy Weir’s follow-up The Martian) and The Wrong Stars (Tim Pratt’s tale of ancient alien artifacts). My progress was hampered by breaking my ankle, but what really derailed it was my re-read of Ready Player One in anticipation of the … Read more

Off the Bookshelf: Project Nemesis, Strange Dogs, Valiant Dust

A planet emerges from a glowing halo of energy.

It’s been a slow couple of months for book reading as I’ve been focusing on knocking down my pile of comic books. Since my summer reading list ended back in September I’ve read two books and a novella, but the break gave me time to recharge and start contemplating my Winter 2017 reading list. Project Nemesis Project Nemesis (Amazon) … Read more

Off the Bookshelf: Summer’s End

A beautiful sunset filled with tinges of orange, red, and yellow. A baseball field appears in the foreground; a large tree is silhouetted off to the right in the background

The final third of my summer reading list proved to be more challenging than I expected, mostly because of the amount of time I spent on Kim Stanley Robinson’s dense-but-enjoyable 2312. The book dominated my August, and forced me to finish up the last book on my list, Forsaken Skies, after Labor Day. As for … Read more

Off the Bookshelf: Mid-Summer 2017

Adirondack chairs gathered around a firepit near a lake.

I tore through the heart of my summer reading list in July, knocking out six novels in a month. Four of these were read during my family’s annual week-long vacation to Lake Champlain. I probably could have read more if we’d spent another day or two on the lake, but unfortunately reality beckoned us home. This was … Read more

Off the Bookshelf: Early Summer 2017

A photo of the Kindle cover for Thrawn, with the Jersey shore in the background.

I got a respectable jump on my Summer Reading List for 2017 in late May and June, reading five books by June 30 (though I got in the last one, Revenger, with only a few hours to spare). It was a good reading pace, and it puts me on target to finish the 17 books … Read more

Off the Bookshelf: The Lost Fleet, Storm Front, Fuller Memorandum

A drop ship from the cover art for The Lost Fleet: Victorious

I’m in the midst of my spring reading doldrums. Between work, Cub Scouts, and baseball, most of my free time is accounted for. If I’m honest, when I do have free time I’m more likely to spend it catching up on episodes of Legion or The Flash than I am picking up one of the … Read more

Off the Bookshelf: Late Summer 2016 Reading

A saucer-like starship looms large.

It’s a more than a little strange to be writing about the last of my Summer 2016 reading list in Winter 2017, but damn it, I told myself I was going to write this column and I’m not letting myself off the hook. As I wrote in updates to my “Summer Reading List 2016” column, … Read more