Jaq Greenspon's Blog, page 71
April 7, 2014
Review: The Stepsister Scheme
The Stepsister Scheme by Jim C. Hines My rating: 4 of 5 stars There’s something nice about using classic characters as protagonists in your own books. Here Jim C. Hines uses Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and, of course, Cinderella, to create a fun caper with the wicked step-sisters as the antagonists. By using the classics, […]
April 6, 2014
Thoughts of Lithuania and its place in the global culture
A week or two ago, I was talking to my friend AAron. We try to keep up on a semi-weekly basis and this time there other people with him and his family and one of these other people, upon finding out I lived in Lithuania, had a question for me. “Do you know any left-handed, […]
Review: Captain America-The Winter Soldier
Captain America: The Winter Soldier couldn’t be more “ripped from the headlines” if it were an episode of Law & Order. On top of that, it delivers on most every promise it sets up and it does it without pandering to the audience and providing some pretty good action and enough plot to keep it all […]
March 28, 2014
Review: Doctor Who: Dead Air
Doctor Who: Dead Air by James Goss My rating: 3 of 5 stars I just don’t think I like Doctor Who books all that much. The story on this one wasn’t too bad, had some interesting ideas but it certainly feels different than the show. The other, rather weird, thing about this particular story is […]
March 17, 2014
Review: The Serpent of Venice
The Serpent of Venice by Christopher Moore My rating: 5 of 5 stars In the Serpent of Venice, Christopher Moore once again visits the physical world of Pocket the fool and the literary world of William Shakespeare (with a slight touch of Edgar Allan Poe thrown in for good measure). This time around, instead of […]
March 15, 2014
Ten rules for writing fiction | Books | theguardian.com
Ten rules for writing fiction | Books | theguardian.com. Mostly I’m putting this here for me. There are some great bits of information here, things which any writer could and should hear from time to time. Some of this is motivational, some is good solid advice and some is funny (but funny because it’s true). […]
Review: Ringworld
Ringworld by Larry Niven My rating: 4 of 5 stars Like a majority of Niven’s books, this focuses more on the concept than any type of tangible story. We get really cool technology, awesome aliens, some pretty cool thought experiments but at the end of the day, there’s really not much more than that. And […]
March 13, 2014
Why we do it…
Last week, as class ended, a student came up to me and handed me a small box of chocolate, saying “this is for you.” I said thank you and asked why. “Just because.” was the answer. Inside was this note. This is why I do what I do – to try and keep the […]
Banished Words and Unicorn Hunting!
The late W.T. (Bill) Rabe, known for his clever PR stunts from his days as a Detroit-area publicist, created the Unicorn Hunters in 1971, shortly after he was hired as LSSU’s Director of Public Relations. Bill, with the assistance of LSSU Professors of English Peter Thomas, John McCabe, John Stevens and others, came up with […]
March 11, 2014
Hello, I Love You. Won’t You Tell Me Your Name?
This is really a phenomenal piece. The awkwardness and passion, the downright humanity on display, is enough to make me really happy today. There’s a part of me that wants to know the follow up story, did the pairings become couples, become friends, but I guess that’s the writer, the storyteller in me. I want […]
