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We’ve no doubt all heard the cliche, “It takes a village to raise a child.” But award-winning author Neil Gaiman turns this phrase on its head and, with The Graveyard Book, explores a much more interesting premise: “It takes a graveyard to raise a child.” The prospect leads to tantalizing questions. For those who can imagine it, can the dead teach a child how to live? Can the dead protect a child from being . . . → Read More: Review: The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman 
History is not a discreet collection of independent events. What happens in one epoch, such as the Victorian Era or the Revolutionary Period, is not divorced from earlier events in the same epoch nor from events in previous epochs. Historical events are not blank slates—rather, there are always traces and artifacts left on the slate from what was writ before. And so with Before the Revolution: America’s Ancient Pasts, by Daniel Richter, it is . . . → Read More: Review: Before the Revolution, by Daniel Richter 
Many of us have fond memories of childhood, especially those lazy summers when schools were out, the days were hot, and the neighborhoods were ripe for exploration with friends. Hugo award-winning author Dan Simmons captures this age of innocence perfectly in Summer of Night, but then he lets the monsters loose in this old school horror story about how the carefree lives of a group of children are quickly torn from them as they . . . → Read More: Review: Summer of Night, by Dan Simmons 
Leaked data indicates Amazon is selling more than 2,000 Kindle Fires per hour! What is the Kindle Fire? More details on this and other new Kindle products below. Amazon announced new Kindle products, and here is an initial quick look and review of what was announced–great new Kindles and a new Kindle tablet! It also sounds like Amazon has invested a lot of money and research into improving its IT backend, enabling cloud computing . . . → Read More: New Amazon Kindles and a Kindle Tablet called the Kindle Fire 
In the current economic climate, many people are tightening their belts and becoming increasingly concerned about their loved ones at home. Others just want the peace of mind from knowing their homes are alarmed against unknown visitors. There might even be a few folks who want to prepare for the rumored upcoming zombie apocalypse. In all of these cases, installing a basic home alarm system is a good initial step to take. There are . . . → Read More: Review: Defender Wireless Driveway Alert System 
A Kingdom Strange by James Horn Colonizing a new land, whether on another planet or even just across an ocean, can be perilous work—obstacles are often insurmountable and constant danger close. We also dream of colonizing other planets in our fiction, but we actually just have to look to our past to witness how difficult this task truly was. Indeed, lest we get too complacent about the luxuries and comfort we all take for . . . → Read More: Review: A Kingdom Strange by James Horn 
Does the world need another vampire novel? I would say, yes, of course, especially if that novel is well written and adds something new or compelling to the literary conversation about vampires, a conversation that authors and readers have been having since 1872 with Sheridan Le Fanu’s “Carmilla.” In Children of the Night, Hugo award-winning author Dan Simmons makes a solid contribution to the ongoing vampire mythology by giving us not only a believable . . . → Read More: Review: Children of the Night, by Dan Simmons 
Half dark fiction, half academic musings on angels, demons, the dead, and monsters, Dark Awakenings, by Matt Cardin, is an exploration of the common religious goals of transcendence, rebirth, and salvation. So what makes this exploration dark? Cardin’s twist of the knife comes from the enlightened observation that these sorts of religious ideals may have tragic, dire, or even horrific consequences if actually realized. What if the path the pious have been following towards . . . → Read More: Review: Dark Awakenings, by Matt Cardin 
I’ve been looking for a good portable external speaker for my laptop for quite some time. I thought I had found the answer in the Logitech USB 305 Laptop Speaker Z305 (see my review of the Logitech Z305 speaker here), but when that Logitech speaker died just after using it for two months, I decided to invest in something of higher quality. So when I found the Soundmatters foxLv2 Bluetooth Pocket-sized Audiophile Loudspeaker System . . . → Read More: Review: Soundmatters foxLv2 portable speaker 
There seem to be as many books about how to write as there are actual writers, yet Anne Lamott makes a solid if not altogether inspiring contribution to the collection. Also known for her non-fiction books dealing with depression, Christianity, and alcoholism, in Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life author Lamott turns her humor and autobiographical lens toward offering sage advice and inspiration for writers of all levels. While far from . . . → Read More: Review: Bird by Bird, by Anne Lamott |
 
Kendall Giles is a writer and computer scientist on a quest to live an epic life. Read more: |
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Copyright © 2012 Kendall Giles - All Rights Reserved |
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