K.A. Ashcomb's Blog, page 69
February 12, 2019
Book Review: A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
My friend recommended this book to me. I love the concept: a recap of the history of the universe, the world, and then briefly us. It puts into perspective what part we play in the grand scale of evolution and forming of the universe. This is yet another book that reminds how egoistic we humans are. That we are just a blip and yet we value ourselves over the land we walk on. And if we ever come to be a spacefaring race, I fear for the universe and rest of the inhabitants (if there are any. I...
Book Review: Moving Pictures by Terry Pratchett
Another Discworld Book Club book. It is so fun to reread the books and have a chance to talk about them. I was glad that Moving Pictures finally came up. I wanted to give it another chance to wow me as the first time around I wasn’t convinced. I hoped a different outcome, but no. Holy Wood isn’t for me. What I concentrated on was the backstories for future books for Cut-Me-Own-Throat Dibbler, Detritus, Mustrum Ridcully, and other wizards, but I didn’t care what happened to Victor or Ginger.
W...
Book Review: Calculating God by Robert J. Sawyer
I have mixed feelings about this book. This is a book about aliens arriving at Earth. The first alien shuttle lands outside the Royal Ontario Museum where the aliens ask to be taken to a paleontologist. The story unfolds from there. This book is a play on the idea what if the first aliens arriving at Earth were religious? It is an argumentation how science and evolution fit together with God, also taking a detour to ethics. While I enjoyed the argumentation (not always agreeing,) I didn’t car...
February 7, 2019
Writing: Rant: About My Dyslexia
Hello everyone!
I thought it was time to write about something that is personal and, for a long time, made me think I couldn’t write for a living, about my dyslexia (I almost wrote dyxlesia, thank my lucky stars my writing program knows how to use a red pen). It is a demon I have carried with me a long time and have been putting off the topic.
Dyslexia has affected me my whole life both good and bad ways. Also, I’m sure it is the reason why I often find sitting under my desk the best way to s...
February 5, 2019
Book Review: The Lady In The Van by Alan Bennett
This is a short story but full of life. Even when The Lady In The Van is a sad tale, it is as well sweet and humane. Who would let an elderly lady move to their garden for two decades? This is not a statement. This is a question. Most of us like to think we are kind to strangers, do good, and are a good person, but few of us would go to such lengths to let someone like Miss Shepherd move to their backyard. Not when the lady in the question is opinionated, difficult, and rude, and a lot more.
...January 31, 2019
Writing: Character Sheet: Agatha Wicks
Hello everyone!
Time to reveal another character, Agatha Wicks. But a few words about what I have been up to since I last wrote a blog post. I have moved on two chapters, so things are going slowly. Still trying to arrange the plot twist to better match the outcome I want and the new plan I have. I want this book to have that extra something I know I can do.
But to be honest, I am tired as crit. I was away three days, and now everything is piling up. Trying to write BON, doing marketing, and...
January 29, 2019
Book Review: The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism by Naomi Klein
There are no words to say. This book made me rethink what I know and understand about history and economy. Also, how economic and political situations influence individuals, governments, and local and global policies. Reading this book took longer than I expected as it was packed with detailed recounts of the past events starting from the seventies. More than often I had to stop reading because I needed to take a break and process what I read, and on other occasions, I stopped to discuss with...
Book Review: Red Sister (Book of the Ancestor #1) by Mark Lawrence
This was the first book I read from Mark Lawrence, and I wasn’t sure what to expect. I went in thinking this is high fantasy story with a high stake set up, and I was a bit disappointed to find out that this was a growing up story. Not that I didn’t like Nona Grey who at times had a strong personality. It is just that I don’t any longer find growing up stories interesting. This was a hindrance factor for me and thus cannot give a fair review. I wanted to skip ahead to the battle promised in t...
January 24, 2019
Writing: An Update What Is Going with BON and A New Character Sheet: Herbert Ringworm
Hello everyone!
Here is a quick update on what is going on with my writing. I have been editing my second book (BON,) and have gotten 19/30 chapters done. Editing has been slower than I thought as I had to make minor changes to the plot which forced me to rewrite some of the scenes and edit them for beta reader state. Getting the book just right is a lot of work, and I think I am trying too hard to get it right and rewrite the wrongs from my first book, making me overly critical and sometimes...
January 22, 2019
Book Review: A Universe from Nothing: Why There Is Something Rather Than Nothing by Lawrence M. Krauss
The book is about what our understanding of modern cosmos is and how God relates to that. I cannot (or want to) dispute his scientific reasoning as I only have rudimentary knowledge around the issue and to think I could say anything based on that would be kidding myself. I liked the book. It was informative, comprehensive, funny at times, and had a clear purpose for argumentation. But there are two complaints.
Firstly, this book was messy at times, and I was a bit surprised at how huge portio...
