The Blue Fairy's Bookshelf

I'm not gone! I've just had a heck of a few months, and while I've been reading, it's mostly been re-reads of old favorites, or new books that I just didn't like enough to review. But the drought ends later today with a new review. AND! Are you looking to feed your reading habit? A Count of Five is a fantasy novel with a unique setting and a set a great characters. I haven't reviewed it because I also edited it, which seems more than a little like a conflict of interest. But you don't have to take my word for its quality, because you can get it FREE on Kindle! Get your copy TODAY only:  http://amzn.com/B00WS2LCRI

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted at The Broke and The Bookish This weeks list: Top Ten Authors That Deserve More Recognition Okay, there are a few possible directions to take this. First I'll cover a couple folks who deserve more credit for how influential they were, then some semi-obscure to obscure authors I'm fond of, and finally I'll move on to some up-and-comers. Onward! 1. Lord Dunsany One of the granddaddies of all genre, who has somewhat fallen out of common reading. If you're a fan of fantasy, and you haven't read The King of Elfland's Daughter , you have some homework to get to. (Also see my review here ) 2. Raymond Chandler Nothing simple about his brooding pulp detective novels; this is prose so sharp you could cut yourself, and he deserves more readers from all corners of the reading world. 3. Peter S. Beagle I've seen enough copies of the recent collection of his short fiction ( review here ) at the library to think that people are read...

This is Follow Friday, hosted by  Parajunkee's View This week's question: If you are a fan of Science Fiction what is your favorite book? If you haven't read Science Fiction before...any inkling to? Anything catch your eye? That's a stumper. I love Science Fiction, and I read a LOT of it, although I have to admit, more of my recent favorite books are fantasy than sci-fi. Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan series is an obvious choice for sci-fi that I absolutely love. I've enjoyed a lot of Andre Norton, and a lot of Asimov over the years. I, Robot is pretty brilliant, and The Cyberiad (by Stanislaw Lem) is fantastic. I really liked Starship Troopers by Heinlein, and Spin by Robert Charles Wilson. Plus, I know it's not a book, but I'm really into Star Trek right now. I watched all of the Original Series last summer, and I've been working my way through the movies. I  have a lot of Star Trek stuff , too. Also, this weekend only ...

I'm excited about Jeopardy tonight! If you haven't heard, IBM has built a computer, nicknamed Watson, that can play Jeopardy against two human opponents. The episodes are airing tonight through Wednesday. More info:  http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/ken-jennings-brad-rutter-represent-humankind-jeopardy-watson/story?id=12896934 In honor of this event, we are offering a special deal on ebook editions of the Sci-fi novel Facsimile (which I edited). Facsimile is set in the near-future, at the crossroads of artificial intelligence and social networking. It seems like every day I read something in the news bringing it closer to reality. Enter coupon code RR76H at Smashwords , to get Facsimile for just $0.99! Coupon only good this week!

Just a quick retrospective for 2010, my book habit, and this blog: Best and Worst: Best New Book I read this year: Under Heaven Best Old Book I read for the first time this year: The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian Best Book I read that I haven't reviewed on this site: Wonder Woman: Challenge of the Gods Worst New Book I read this year: A Mighty Fortress   Worst Old Book I read for the first time this year: Twilight , I guess, but that feels like cheating. Blog Stats: Posts in 2010: 90 54 Books reviewed in 50 posts Most Viewed Book Reviews on this site, according to Google Analytics: The Atheist's Guide to Christmas Basil of Baker Street Cryoburn According to Blogger Analytics: The Atheist's Guide to Christmas The Red Wolf Conspiracy Cryoburn I'm not sure what causes the discrepancy, but both most-viewed lists have a high proportion of obscure books and relatively new ones. Not to mention the weekly Comics Briefly posts: those seem ...

Okay, time for a quick plug. Facsimile, a sci-fi novel edited by me and written by my husband, is now available on Amazon.com. Paperback: $8.99   Kindle: $2.99 I may be a little biased here, but I honestly think it's quite good. Premise: Persephone lives in the near future, when most people use a profiling service for social networking. The company sells you a little camera that you wear constantly. Data that the camera picks up is used to create a highly realistic simulation of the user. Users can interact with their own profile to understand how they appear to the world (like seeing/hearing yourself on film, but interactive.) Some people use this to construct elaborate concepts of self-image or contemplate their identity. Most people interact with other people's profiles to decide if they would like to hire or date or befriend that person. Profiles cannot learn or change on their own, they can only respond to stimulus based on the way the subject has been recorde...