Pillars of the Earth

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is another one of those strange "little planet projection" shots; the snowy world and pillars of light.

S

I'm not sure what this book is about, but it is a physically beautiful object!

Desolation Island

These images from the real-world place known as Deception Island puts me in mind of Desolation Island, found in the works of Patrick O'Brian.

Nightmares

What would a meeting between David Lynch and Guillermo del Toro look like? Maybe this.

Video Killed the Radio Star

For the year-to-date (that would be the month of January), I have consumed more than 168 hours of "audio stuff".

Not the Fourth

No, it's not Mars. Here we are over the Western Sahara Desert.

State of STEM

AshCans visit the White House for SoSTEM address. How about: people who are excited enough to actually do science and engineering for a living (and a somewhat dangerous profession choice) have been invited to the White House to get the rest of us excited?

Mapping the Brain

Casey N. Cep of The New Yorker on maps, fantasy and otherwise. Good stuff, good art.

Streaks

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows a night sky streaked with stars and the hot exhaust of one rocket.

Barnstorming

Will Comet C/2013 A1 Siding Spring buzz Mars and provide orbiting craft and ground vehicles there with a nice show? Or will it come even closer and throw up dust hazards (from the comet) or even impact?

Rock Scissors Paper Lizard Spock

From the title of this post, I think you can figure out what I think the answer is to the mystery of today's Astronomy Picture of the Day. The martians just want to have fun!

50 Shades of Black

The author Honore de Balzac is famous for having consumed, on average, fifty cups of coffee a day. You might be curious to learn how he prepared it.

2014: The Year in Video

I've kept track of television or movies viewed in a couple of past years, but haven't really don't it carefully enough. Maybe this year will be different? Given a really extensive number of videos and movies available through my Prime membership at Amazon (since it gives us "free" shipping), I'm going to try and watch something a few times a week and see how much backlog I can clear.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Season 01: Pilot; 0-8-4; The Asset; Eye Spy; Girl in the Flower Dress (January); F.Z.Z.T.; The Hub; The Well; Repairs; The Bridge (February); The Magical Place (March); Seeds; T.R.A.C.K.S.; T.A.H.I.T.I.; Yes Men; End of the Beginning; Turn, Turn, Turn; Providence (April).

Cadfael: One Corpse Too Many (January). The Sanctuary Sparrow (January). The Leper of Saint Giles (April).

Castle in the Sky (February).

Doctor Who: The Robots of Death (January).

Fail Safe (2000 remake) (March).

Frozen (January).

Ghidorah: The Three-Headed Monster (May).

Ghostbusters (March) and Ghostbusters II (March).

(Gojira) Godzilla (2014 Edition) (May). (Gojira) Godzilla (1954 Edition) (May). Godzilla vs. Monster Zero (May).

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (January).

Howl's Moving Castle (February).

Jeeves and Wooster: Season 01: Jeeves Takes Charge; Tippy and the Terrier; The Purity of the Turf; The Hunger Strike; Brinkley Manor (January). Season 02: Jeeves Saves the Cow-Creamer; A Plan for Gussie; Pearls Mean Tears; Jeeves in the Country; Kidnapped!; Jeeves the Matchmaker (January). Season 03: Bertie Sets Sail; The Full House; Introduction on Broadway; Right Ho, Jeeves; Hot Off the Press; Comrade Bingo (January). Season 04: Return to New York; The Once and Future Ex; Bridegroom Wanted!; The Delayed Arrival; Trouble at Totleigh Towers; The Ties That Bind (Feburary).

Kiki's Delivery Service (February).

Monsters University (January).

Monsters, Inc. (January).

Mothra (May).

My Neighbor Totoro (February).

Orphan Black: Season 01: Natural Selection; Instinct; Variation Under Nature; Effects of External Conditions; Conditions of Existence; Variations Under Domestication; Parts Developed in an Unusual Manner; Entangled Black; Unconscious Selection; Endless Forms Most Beautiful (April)

Pacific Rim (February).

The Real Ghostbusters: Citizen Slimer (March).

Seinfeld: Season 01: The Seinfeld Chronicles (pilot); Male-Unbonding; The Stake Out; The Robbery; The Stock Tip. Season 02: The Ex-Girlfriend; The Pony Remark; The Busboy; The Baby Shower; The Jacket; The Chinese Restaurant; The Phone Message; The Stranded; The Statue; The Heart Attack; The Revenge; The Deal; Tonight Show Appearance; How It Began. Season 03: The Note; The Truth; The Dog; The Library; The Pen; The Parking Garage; The Cafe; The Tape; The Nose Job; The Alternate Side (March).

Sherlock: Season 01: A Study in Pink; A Study in Pink (Alternate); The Blind Banker; The Great Game (February). Season 02: A Scandal in Belgravia; The Hounds of Baskerville; The Reichenbach Fall (March). Sherlock Uncovered (March).

Solaris (2002 version) (January).

Spirited Away (February).

Stalker (January).

Twin Peaks: Pilot (January). Traces to Nowhere (January). Zen, or the Skill to Catch a Killer (January).

The X-Files: Pilot (January).

Number of episodes and/or movies viewed: 117 (May 24, 2014).

Double Double

Courtesy of the Hubble Space Telescope (long may it snap pictures), QSO 0957+561, the Twin Quasar. One object? Or two?

Within the Hydra

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows Messier 83, The Southern Pinwheel.

Dyson

Here's a nice infographic about Dyson Spheres.

All Across the Universe

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day stretches from the Northern Cross (Cygnus) to the Southern Cross as we travel down the Milky Way.

Hot Loops

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows us the Sun in the ultraviolet regions of the spectrum. Sunspots are active places!

Interiors

Concept art for interior sets on Blade Runner. Syd Mead is a wonder.

Annotations

A quote from George Santayana on marginalia. I would add to this introductions and afterwords, which have often caused me to spend additional money chasing down the inspiration of various author's.

Ninety Day Mission

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day celebrates the 10th year of the longest-running ninety day mission: MER Opportunity is still going!

SRD

Cat Rambo on Samuel R. Delany, Polymath.

Symphony Number Three

This piece of music is just about the most stirring, moving and dramatic work that I have in my collection.

Even More Cosmic BAM

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows a newly-discovered supernova in Messier 82, the Cigar Galaxy, located near the constellation of Ursa Major. The story of how the supernova was discovered is a very fascinating one. Let's hear it for astronomy students!

Deep North

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day takes us to the Double Cluster in the constellation of Perseus. The winter sky in the northern hemisphere is often seen as dull for observers, nothing like the glories of the galactic center that we see in summer. However, it is not dull, just very, very subtle. Many glories await you in Perseus and other nearby constellations, as this image shows!

Blizzard

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows us that sometimes our parent's actually did walk to school ten miles, in the snow, uphill, both ways.

Library of Dreams

Pictures of the former Cincinnati Public Library. Look at all that lost shelving!

It's All Relative

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows the difference between the "Micro Moon" and the "Super Moon". There isn't much difference between the two!

Baryon Acoustic Oscillations

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is the sort of thing I would expect to read in one of Stephen Baxter's Xeelee tales.

Ringworld

Rumor Control has it that we might lose either a multi-year mission on Mars or a multi-year mission around Saturn. Let's hope we don't throw away perfectly functioning vehicles. I would hate to lose the science and the stream of pictures such as this and this.

Over the Moon

The International Space Station flies "over" the Moon. Wouldn't it be great if we could actually do that? Maybe, someday.

Ambulance Chasers

I, for one, welcome our new litigious robotic overlords.

On Writing

Samuel R. Delany gets a mention in this article about an upcoming film I probably won't see based on a book that I probably won't read. But you should totally read Delany's book. And then you can go on to buy up to nine recently released books (with hopefully more to come!).

Cultural Vibe

Will the current movie She have a heavy influence on the design of user interfaces? Shame that (like Minority Report) movies seem to have more impact than actual real-world users (or actual real-world design engineers). Where's Henry Petroski when you need him?

Another Day in Space

It seems life in space is as much exploring the final frontier as day-to-day tasks and "honey-do's".

"All the things that don't get to happen..."

Trailer for Lakeside, a documentary about Jay Lake.

1987

So what happened at the 1987 World Science Fiction Convention? The madness of crowds...

Rosetta

Rosetta is on final approach to Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko and is scheduled to be "awakened" tomorrow. Get ready for some interesting science!

Armstrong Center

The Hugh L. Dryden Flight Research Center has been renamed the Neil A. Armstrong Flight Research Center.

More Cosmic Bam

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows NGC 2207 and IC 2163, two galaxies undergoing a very s...l...o...w head-on collision.

Destiny

Just another day in the office, on board the International Space Station.

Sir Morien

I will need to incorporate this into my next Pendragon RPG campaign (if I ever reboot it).

Bookstore

Now that's my idea of a bookstore.

Big Moon on the Rise

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows Wednesday's full Moon rising over Lick Observatory.

In the Streaming Stars

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows Messier 83 in the constellation of Hydra. After Messier 83 encountered another (smaller) galaxy), vast quantities of material was thrown off as a "tidal stream". This can be seen above the body of the galaxy, an arc stretching across the top of the frame.

John Dobson

The man that inspired so many amateur astronomers and brought "light buckets" to the masses has passed away.

Around Big Blue

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows Neptune's tiny moon Despina, which was discovered by the Voyager 2 spacecraft during it's encounter with the big blue planet.

A Different Orion

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows a familiar part of the sky in an unfamiliar light: The Spitzer Space Telescope looks at Messier 42, The Great Nebula of Orion, in infrared light.

Prime Mover

For the January episode of The Three Hoarsemen, we take a look at the classic fantasy and science fiction works of C.L. Moore. Shambleau! Shambleau!

Gegenschein

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows the "gegenschein" over the night skies of Chile. Is the sky darkest opposite the Sun? (I was lucky enough to see the gegenschein once.)

Fantastic Voyage

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day celebrates a classic film by Georges Méliès, Le voyage dans la lune (A Trip to the Moon) (you can watch the film both here and here).

How Big is Big

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day gives you a chance to explore how big the universe is.

Cosmic Bird

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows NGC 2327, The Seagull Nebula, in the constellation of Canis Major (one of Orion's hunting dogs).

Three

Kim Stanley Robinson recommends three books from the "New Wave".

Tech-nol-o-gy

Isn't it just precious when somebody discovers eBooks? Just precious, I say!

Single Helix

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows us NGC 7293, The Helix Nebula, in the constellation of Aquarius. It's amazing what that song overlooked.

Current Reads (January 9, 2014)

Just a quick update (I will try to do this on a regular basis) of my "most active" reads. I'm going strong with non-fiction this year. Among the non-fiction books I'm reading are Setting the Stage (part of Boston Publishing's The Vietnam Experience series), Fire Base Illingworth, Vietnam (Karnow's single-volume history). (All this reading on Vietnam will lead to a miniatures game or a podcast or an advanced degree..or all of the above!)

I'm also reading (not about Vietnam!) Debra Hamel's excellent Reading Herodotus, which would serve as a good introduction to anybody who wants to tackle the Father of History (or the Father of Lies).

Fiction ranges wildly. Keeping with the Vietnam theme, I am reading both Matterhorn and The 13th Valley (a bit more through Matterhorn than Valley). In trying to read some translated works, I'm reading Roadside Picnic (the Strugatsky Brothers) and Solaris (Lem). Beyond that, I'm continuing to read a number of books I started last year: C.L. Moore's short stories, more David Weber, and the like (as usual, I'm reading 25+ books simultaneously).

Cosmic Embryos

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows "cosmic tadpoles" in the nebula IC 410 in the constellation of Auriga. Gas, dust and cosmic winds at play.

"Art"

Let's recolor a Chris Foss painting, call if "art" and make a butt-ton of money off of it. Without compensating Chris Foss, of course!

Addendum: A retroactive update from 2001.

Mottled Faces

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows us the face of the setting Sun; a face marked by some pretty hefty sunspots!

First Two Steps

The latest Orbital Science Antares launch vehicle is on the way to the launch pad in this image. In the second image, the vehicle has been lifted into launch position, ready for tomorrow's launch to the International Space Station (1332 Eastern, alas not a night launch this time!).

Update: Launch moved to Thursday due to solar radiation issues.

Summer Breeze

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day, viewed (for me) under sub-zero temperatures of wind-swept (but clear!) skies puts me in mind of a warm summer night.

Tumbling Dice

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows three CubeSats, small student-designed experimental satellites, being released from the International Space Station.

Shells and Streams

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows shells around an elliptical galaxy (several theories exist as to why this happens).

The Two C's

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows a crescent Moon, a crescent Venus and some clouds. Ignore the presence of humanity streaking across the sky.

Ansible!

He's back! Better than ever! Another Ansible from Dave Langford!

SF Signal in the news!

• SF Signal was hacked shortly before Christmas; the problem was quickly fixed, but Google malware alerts continued for a while. [L]

And even more fun:

Brian Aldiss has successfully quit the skiffy habit: 'I have to admit to you these days I don't read any science fiction – or do I? Now I only read Tolstoy.' (Interview, The Guardian, 13 December) [DP]

Samuel R. Delany was announced as the 2014 choice for SFWA's Damon Knight Grand Master Award. (SFWA, 4 December) [GVG] SFWA president Steven Gould observed: 'When discussing him as this year's choice with the board, past-presidents, and members, the most frequent response I received was, "He's not already?" / Well he is now.'

Love and Joy in the Night

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows Comet Lovejoy (C/2013 R1) in the constellation of Hercules. Lovejoy is headed on the way out, having rounded the Sun on December 22, 2013.

Orbital Selfie

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows Michael Fossum's spacewalking selfie. Not only himself, but of all of us.

Southern Climes

Ah, the mountains of Antarctica. The mountains of madness.

Towards a New Wave Canon

Fellow SF Signal Irregular Karen Burnham has set up (and worked through) three genre reading lists: Pre-Golden Age SF, Golden Age SF and a list of critical works.

Her next quest is the New Wave. I confess not being too sure what I'd include in such a list (and she said something similar), so I'm throwing it open here: what would you consider to be key works in the New Wave? What period of time should the New Wave include?

The definition is somewhat slippery. I recall seeing Larry Niven named in the movement at one point. Chip Delany writes in one essay that he doesn't consider himself to be part of the New Wave.

My thoughts:

Samuel R. Delany: Empire Star, Babel-17, Nova and several shorter works.

Damon Knight (as editor): The Orbit series of anthologies.

Michael Moorcock: The Jerry Cornelius books.

Johanna Russ: The Female Man (others?).

James Tiptree, Jr.: Up the Walls of the World (others?).

Gateway

Hard to believe, but the International Space Station has been in operation for fifteen years now.

2014: The Year in Shorts

Many years ago, in a galaxy far, far away, John DeNardo of SF Signal started tracking his short stories read as a way of trying to make a goal of reading one short work for each day of the year. I've managed, more often than not, to match that goal myself. While the tradition has faded at SF Signal, it continues here. Time for a new batch of stories!

Number of stories read: 1014 (out of 365) as of December 29, 2014.

Stephen Baxter: Vacuum Diagrams (made up of: Foreword; Prologue: Eve; The Sun-People; The Logic Pool; Gossamer; Cilia-of-Gold; Lieserl; Pilot; The Xeelee Flower; More Than Time or Distance; The Switch; Blue Shift; The Quagma Datum; Planck Zero; The Godel Sunflowers; Vacuum Diagrams; Stowaway; The Tyranny of Heaven; Hero; Secret History; Shell; The Eighth Room; The Baryonic Lords; Epilogue: Eve; The Xeelee Sequence Timeline) (25 stories read, collection completed).

Gregory Benford: The Galactic Center Companion (made up of Introduction; A Hunger for the Infinite; Galactic Center Astronomy, 2013; Life at Galactic Center; Writing The Galactic Center Series; Astrophysical Journal, 1988: An Electrodynamic Model of the Galactic Center; Perspectives; About Gregory Benford (08 stories read, collection completed).

Jorge Luis Borges: A Universal History of Iniquity (made up of Introduction by Andrew Hurley; Preface to the First Edition; Preface to the 1954 Edition; The Cruel Redeemer Lazarus Morell; The Improbable Impostor Tom Castro; The Widow Ching—Pirate; Monk Eastman, Purveyor of Iniquities; The Disinterested Killer Bill Harrigan; The Uncivil Teacher of Court Etiquette Kotsuke no Suke; Hakim, the Masked Dryer of Merv; Man on Pink Corner; Et cetera; Index of Sources; A Note on the Translations; Acknowledgments; Notes to the Fictions) (16 stories; collection completed). Labyrinths [made up of An Invitation by William Gibson; Introduction by James E. Irby; Tlon, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius; The Garden of Forking Paths; The Lottery in Babylon; Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote; The Circular Ruins; The Library of Babel; Funes the Mernorious; The Shape of the Sword; Theme of the Traitor and the Hero; Death and the Compass; The Secret Miracle; Three Versions of Judas; The Sect of the Phoenix; The Immortal; The Theologians; Story of the Warrior and the Captive; Emma Zunz; The House of Asterion; Deutsches Requiem; Averroes' Search; The Zahir; The Waiting; The God's Script; The Argentine Writer and Tradition; The Wall and the Books; The Fearful Sphere of Pascal; Partial Magic in the Quixote; Valery as Symbol; Kafka and His Precursors; Avatars of the Tortoise; The Mirror of Enigmas; A Note on (toward) Bernard Shaw; A New Refutation of Time; Inferno, 1, 32; Paradiso, XXXI, 108; Ragnarok; Parable of Cervantes and the Quixote; The Witness; A Problem; Borges and I; Everything and Nothing; Elegy; Chronology) (45 stories or essays, collection completed).

Algis Budrys: Benchmarks: Galaxy Bookshelf (Made up of: The Investment Counselor—Budrys as Critic by Catherine L. McClenahan; Frederik Pohl on the Budrys Columns by Frederik Pohl; Foreward; fifty-four columns, from February 1965 to November/December 1971) (counts as fifty-seven entries, collection completed).

Howard Burton: A Conversation with Freeman Dyson (1 interview, completed).

Robert W. Chambers: The Yellow Sign and Other Stories—The Complete Weird Tales of Robert W. Chambers [made up of: Introduction (S.T. Joshi); The King in Yellow—The Repairer of Reputations; The Mask; In the Court of the Dragon; The Yellow Sign; The Demoiselle D'Ys; The Prophet's Paradise; The Maker of Moons—The Maker of Moons; A Pleasant Evening; The Mystery of Choice—The Purple Emperor; Pompe Funebre; The Messenger; The White Shadow; Passeur; The Key to Grief; In Search of the Unknown—The Harbor-Master; The Spirit of the North; The Ux-Skin; The Sphyx; The Thermosaurus; The Pythagoreans; The Tracer of Lost Persons—Excerpts, Chapter 17; Chapter 18; Chapter 19; Chapter 20; The Tree of Heaven—The Carpet of Belshazzar; The Sign of Venus; The Case of Mr. Helmer; The Bridal Pair; Out of the Depths; Police!—Preface; The Third Eye; The Immortal; The Ladies of the Lake; One Over; Un Peu D'Amour; The Eggs of the Silver Moon.] (05 stories read, continuing to read).

G.K. Chesterton: The Complete Father Brown Mysteries: The Innocence of Father Brown: The Blue Cross; The Secret Garden; The Queer Feet;  The Flying Stars; The Invisible Man; The Honour of Israel Gow; The Wrong Shape; The Sins of Prince Saradine; The Hammer of God; The Eye of Apollo; The Sign of the Broken Sword; The Three Tools of Death. The Wisdom of Father Brown: The Absence of Mr. Glass; The Paradise of Thieves; The Duel of Dr. Hirsch; The Man in the Passage; The Mistake of the Machine; The Head of Caesar; The Purple Wig; The Perishing of the Pendragons; The God of the Gongs; The Salad of Colonel Cray; The Strange Crime of John Boulnois; The Fairy Tale of Father Brown. The Donnington Affair. The Incredulity of Father Brown: The Resurrection of Father Brown; The Arrow of Heaven; The Oracle of the Dog; The Miracle of Moon Crescent; The Curse of the Golden Cross; The Dagger with Wings; The Doom of the Darnaways; The Ghost of Gideon Wise. The Secret of Father Brown: The Secret of Father Brown; The Mirror of the Magistrate; The Man with Two Beards; The Song of the Flying Fish; The Vanishing of Vaudrey; The Worst Crime in the World; The Red Moon of Meru; The Chief Mourner of Marne. The Scandal of Father Brown: The Scandal of Father Brown; The Quick One; The Blast of the Book; The Green Man; The Pursuit of Mr. Blue; The Crime of the Communist; The Point of a Pin; The Insoluble Problem; The Vampire of the Village. The Mask of Midas (3 stories, continuing to read).

John Chu: Water That Falls On You From Nowhere (1 story, completed).

Samuel R. Delany: On Writing (1 essay, continuing to read). Atlantis: ThreeTales (3 stories, completed).

August Derleth and James Turner (editors): Tales from the Cthulhu Mythos [made up of: Introduction (James Turner); The Call of Cthulhu (H.P. Lovecraft); The Return of the Sorcerer (Clark Ashton Smith); Ubbo-Sathla (Clark Ashton Smith); The Black Stone (Robert E. Howard); The Hounds of Tindalos (Frank Belknap Long); The Space-Eaters (Frank Belknap Long); The Dweller in Darkness (August Derleth); Beyond the Threshold (August Derleth); The Shambler from the Stars (Robert Bloch); The Haunter in the Dark (H.P. Lovecraft); The Shadow from the Steeple (Robert Bloch); Notebook Found in a Deserted House (Robert Bloch); The Salem Horror (Henry Kuttner); The Terror from the Deeps (Fritz Leiber); Rising with Surtsey (Ramsey Campbell); Cold Print (Ramsey Campbell); The Return of the Lloiger (Colin Wilson); My Boat (Joanna Russ); Sticks (Karl Edward Wagner); The Freshman (Philip Jose Farmer); Jerusalem's Lot (Stephen King); Discovery of the Ghooric Zone (Richard A. Lupoff)] (23 stories, collection completed).

Harlan Ellison: Li'l Harlan and His Sidekick Carl the Comet in Danger Land (1 story, completed).

Arthur Conan Doyle: Sherlock Holmes, The Complete Novels and Short Stories, Volume 01: Introduction; A Study in Scarlet; The Sign of Four; A Scandal in Bohemia; The Red-Headed League; A Case of Identity; The Boscombe Valley Mystery; The Five Orange Pips; The Man with the Twisted Lip; The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle; The Adventure of the Speckled Band; The Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb; The Adventure of the Nobel Bachelor; The Adventure of the Copper Beeches; Silver Blaze; The Yellow Face; The Stock-Broker's Clerk; The "Gloria Scott"; The Musgrave Ritual; The Reigate Puzzle; The Crooked Man; The Resident Patient; The Greek Interpreter; The Naval Treaty; The Final Problem; The Adventure of the Empty House; The Adventure of the Norwood Builder; The Adventure of the Dancing Men; The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist; The Adventure of the Priory School; The Adventure of Black Peter; The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton; The Adventure of the Six Napoleons; The Adventure of the Three Students; The Adventure of the Golden Pince-Nez; The Adventure of the Missing Three-Quarter; The Adventure of the Second Stain; The Hound of the Baskervilles; The Valley of Fear; Preface to His Last Bow; The Adventure of Wisteria Lodge; The Singular Experience of Mr. John Scott Eccles; The Tiger of San Pedro; The Adventure of the Cardboard Box; The Adventure of the Red Circle; The Adveture of the Bruce-Partington Plans; The Adventure of the Dying Detective; The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax; The Adventure of the Devil's Foot; His Last Bow; Preface to The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes; The Adventure of the Illustrious Client; The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier; The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone; The Adventure of the Three Gables; The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire; The Adventure of the Three Garridebs; The Problem of Thor Bridge; The Adventure of the Creeping Man; The Adveture of the Lion's Mane; The Adventure of the Veiled Lodger; The Adventure of Shoscombe Old Place; The Adveture of the Retired Colourman (33 stories read, continuing to read).

William Gibson: Burning Chrome [Made up of: Preface (Bruce Sterling) (early print editions only); Introduction (William Gibson); Johnny Mnemonic; The Gernsback Continuum; Fragments of a Hologram Rose; The Belonging Kind (with John Shirley); Hinterlands; Red Star, Winter Orbit (with Bruce Sterling); New Rose Hotel; The Winter Market; Dogfight (with Michael Swanwick); Burning Chrome (12 stories, collection completed).

Peter F. Hamilton: Family Matters (1 story, completed).

M. John Harrison: The 4th Domain (1 story, completed).

Thomas Olde Heuvelt: The Ink Readers of Doi Saket (1 story, completed).

Simon Ings and Sumit Paul-Choudhury (editors): Arc: Volume 01 [Made up of: Introduction (Simon Ings and Sumit Paul-Choudhury); The Object of Posterity's Scorn (Bruce Sterling); A Journey to Amasia (Stephen Baxter); Alien Evasion (China Mieville); Bearlift from Maddaddam, A Novel in Progress (Margaret Atwood); Breaking the Fall (Paul Graham Raven); In Autotelia (M. John Harrison); Sir John Schorne's Devil (Simon Ings); Whta Hpapnes fi it Atclluy Wroks? (Sumit Paul-Choudhury); Topsight (Hannu Rajaniemi); Making the Future (Justin Mullins); We Want Your Futures (Justin Mullins); Three Surprising Theories About Science Fiction (Adam Roberts); Three Ways to Play the Future (Leigh Alexander); Three Sorties on Dreamland (Simon Pummell); The Water Thief (Alastair Reynolds) (1 entry completed; continuing to read.)

Howard Philips Lovecraft: Supernatural Horror in Literature (1 essay, completed).

C.L. Moore: Northwest of Earth (Made up of Teaching the World to Dream by C.J. Cherryh; Shambleau; Black Thirst; Scarlet Dream; Dust of Gods; Julhi; Nymph of Darkness; The Cold Gray God; Yvala; Lost Paradise; The Tree of Life; Quest of the Starstone; Werewoman; Song in a Minor Key; About the Author) (15 stories, collection completed).

C.L. Moore: Black God's Kiss (Made up of: Introduction by Suzy McKee Charnas; Black God's Kiss; Black God's Shadow; Jirel Meets Magic; The Dark Land; Hellsgarde; Quest of the Starstone) (7 stories, collection completed).

Joseph Nassise: The Sharp End (1 short story, 2 chapters from novel; counts as 2 entries, completed). This is made up of a introductory story to set a novel (and series) in which World War I is eventually fought with zombies. The introductory short story starts strong and is effective but eventually falls apart (especially when a certain historical figure is introduced). The chapters of the novel did not hold up to the promise of the start of the story so I doubt if I'll pursue this one any further.

Larry Niven (editor): Man-Kzin Wars: Man-Kzin Wars 25th Anniversary Edition (Made up of Introduction (Larry Niven); Introduction (Stephen Hickman); The Warriors (Larry Niven); Iron (Poul Anderson); Cathouse (Dean Ing) (3 stories, continuing to read).

Larry Niven (editor): The Best of All Possible Wars (Made up of Introduction (Larry Niven); The Warriors (Larry Niven) (re-read for the previous collection); Madness Has Its Place (Larry Niven); The Man Who Would Be Kzin (Greg Bear & S.M. Stirling); In the Hall of the Mountain King (Jerry Pournelle & S.M. Stirling) (3 stories, continuing to read).

Dorothy Parker and Marion Meade: Alpine Giggle Week (1 story, completed).

Charles Sheffield: Hidden Variables (Made up of Introduction; The Man Who Stole the Moon; Afterword/The Man Who Stole the Moon; The Deimos Plague; Afterword/The Deimos Plague; Forefather Figure; Afterword/Forefather Figure; (Moment of Inertia); Afterword/Moment of Inertia; The New Physics: The Speed of Lightness, Curved Space and Other Heresies; Afterword/The New Physics; From Natural Causes; Afterword/From Natural Causes; (Legacy); Afterword/Legacy; The Softest Hammer; Afterword/The Softest Hammer; Hidden Variable; Afterword/Hidden Variable; A Certain Place in History; Afterword/A Certain Place in History; (All the Colors of the Vacuum); Afterword/All the Colors of the Vacuum; Perfectly Safe, Nothing to Worry About; Afterword/Perfectly Safe, Nothing to Worry About; (Summertide); Afterword/Summertide; The Marriage of True Minds; Afterword/The Marriage of True Minds) (25 stories read, collection completed).

Charles Sheffield: The Compleat McAndrew (Made up of Introduction; Killing Vector; Moment of Inertia; All the Colors of a Vacuum; The Manna Hunt; The Hidden Matter of McAndrew; The Invariants of Nature; Rogueworld; With McAndrew, Out of Focus; McAndrew and the Fifth Commandment; Appendix: Science and Science Fiction) (11 stories read, collection completed).

Charles Sheffield: Vectors (Made up of Introduction; What Song the Sirens Sang; Fixed Price War; Marconi, Mattin, Maxwell; Power Failure; (Killing Vector); Dinsdale Dissents; We Hold These Truths to Be Self-Evident; Skystalk; How to Build a Beanstalk; Transition Team; Bounded in a Nutshell; The Long Chance; The Treasure of Odirex; The Dalmation of Faust) (14 stories read, collection completed). (Items skipped are marked in parentheses as they were included in another collection or incorporated into a novel.)

Clifford D. Simak: City (made up of Author's Foreword; Editor's Preface; Notes on the First Tale; The First Tale: City; Notes on the Second Tale; The Second Tale: Huddling Place; Notes on the Third Tale; The Third Tale: Census; Notes on the Fourth Tale; The Fourth Tale: Desertion; Notes on the Fifth Tale; The Fifth Tale: Paradise; Notes on the Sixth Tale; The Sixth Tale: Hobbies; Notes on the Seventh Tale; The Seventh Tale: Aesop; Notes on the Eighth Tale; The Eighth Tale: The Simple Way; Notes on Epilog; Epilog) (20 stories read, collection completed).

Clark Ashton Smith: The Collected Fantasies of Clark Ashton Smith 01: The End of the Story (30 stories, collected completed). The Collected Fantasies of Clark Ashton Smith 02: The Door to Saturn (25 stories, collection completed). The Collected Fantasies of Clark Ashton Smith 03: A Vintage from Atlantis (23 stories, collection completed). The Collected Fantasies of Clark Ashton Smith 04: The Maze of the Enchanter (25 stories, collection completed). The Collected Fantasis of Clark Ashton Smith 05: The Last Hieroglyph (38 stories, completed). The Miscellaneous Writings of Clark Ashton Smith (24 stories, completed). (Omnibus review here.)

Patrick A. Smith (editor): Conversations with William Gibson (made up of: Introduction by P.A. Smith; Chronology; Eye to Eye: An Interview with William Gibson, conducted by Takayuki Tatsumi; An Interview with William Gibson/1986, conducted by Larry McCaffery/1986; Conversation with William Gibson, conducted by Timothy Leary/1989; Queen Victoria's Personal Spook, Psychic Legbreakers, Snakes, and Catfood: An Interview with William Gibson and Tom Maddox, conducted by Darren Wershler-Henry/1989; "The Charisma Leak": A Conversation with William Gibson and Bruce Sterling, conducted by Daniel Fischlin, Veronica Hollinger and Andrew Taylor/1991; An Interview with William Gibson: Virtual Light Tour, conducted by Andy Diggle and Iain Ball/1993; William Gibson Interview, conducted by Giuseppe Salza/1994; The Man Who Named Cyberspace: An Interview with William Gibson, conducted by Scott Rosenberg/1994; William Gibson, Webmaster, conducted by Scott Rosenberg/1996; William Gibson Interview, conducted by Andy Diggle/1997; William Gibson Interview, conducted by Edo van Belkom/1997; An Interview with William Gibson, conducted by Jon Courtenay Grimwood/1998; William Gibson: Waiting for the Man, conducted by Antony Johnston/1999; William Gibson Interview Transcript, conducted by Cory Doctorow/1999; Redefining William Gibson, conducted by Donna McMahon/2003; William Gibson: The Father of Cyberpunk, conducted by Alex Dueben/2007; Futuristic Fantasy Lives Now for Author William Gibson, conducted by Mary Ann Gwinn/2007; Space to Think, conducted by Tim Adams/2007; Interview: William Gibson, conducted by Noel Murray/2007; William Gibson Talks to io9 About Canada, Draft Dodging, and Godzilla, conducted by Annalee Newitz/2008; William Gibson: The Art of Fiction No. 211, conducted by David Wallace-Wells/2011; Why William Gibson Distrusts Aging Futurists' Nostalgia, conducted by John Joseph Adams and David Barr Kirtley/2012; William Gibson: The Complete io9 Interview; conducted by Charlie Jane Anders/2012; Key Resources (3 entries completed, continuing to read).

Jonathan Strahan (editor): Life on Mars: Tales from the New Frontier [made up of: Introduction (Jonathan Strahan); Attlee and the Long Walk (Kage Baker); The Old Man and the Martian Sea (Alastair Reynolds); Wahala (Nnedi Okorafor); On Chryse Plain (Stephen Baxter); First Principle (Nancy Kress); Martian Chronicles (Cory Doctorow); Goodnight Moons (Ellen Klages); The Taste of Promises (Rachel Swirsky); Digging (Ian McDonald); LARP on Mars (Chris Roberson); Martian Heart (John Barnes); Discovering Life (Kim Stanley Robinson)] (13 stories, collection completed).

Jonathan Strahan (editor): Engineering Infinity [made up of: Introduction—Beyond the Gernsback Continuum (Jonathan Strahan); Malak (Peter Watts); Watching the Music Dance (Kristine Kathryn Rusch); Laika's Ghost (Karl Schroeder); The Invasion of Venus (Stephen Baxter); The Server and the Dragon (Hannu Rajaniemi); Bit Rot (Charles Stross); Creatures with Wings (Kathleen Ann Goonan); Walls of Flesh, Bars of Bone (Damien Broderick and Barbara Lamar); Mantis (Robert Reed); Judgement Eve (John C. Wright); A Soldier of the City (David Moles); Mercies (Gregory Benford); The Ki-anna (Gwyneth Jones); The Birds and the Bees and the Gasoline Trees (John Barnes)] (16 entries, collection completed).

Jonathan Strahan (editor): Reach for Infinity [made up of: Introduction (Jonathan Strahan); Break My Fall (Greg Egan); The Dust Queen (Aliette de Bodard); The Fifth Dragon (Ian McDonald); Kheldyu (Karl Schroeder); Robert Concerning the Presence of Seahorses on Mars (Pat Cadigan); Hiraeth: A Tragedy in Four Acts (Karen Lord); Amicae Aeternum (Ellen Klages); Trademark Bugs: A Legal History (Adam Roberts); Attitude (Linda Nagata); Invisible Planets (Hannu Rajaniemi); Wilder Still, The Stairs (Kathleen Ann Goonan); 'The Entire Immense Superstructure': An Installation (Ken MacLeod); In Babelsberg (Alastair Reynolds); Hotshot (Peter Watts)] (15 stories, collection completed).

Jonathan Strahan (editor): Edge of Infinity [made up of: Introduction (Jonathan Strahan) The Girl-Thing Who Went Out for Sushi (Pat Cadigan); The Deeps of the Sky (Elizabeth Bear); Drive (James S.A. Corey); The Road to NPS (Sandra McDonald and Stephen D. Covey); Swift as a Dream and Fleeting as a Sigh (John Barnes); Macy Minnot's Last Christmas on Dione, Ring Racing, Fiddler's Green, the Potter's Garden (Paul McAuley); Safety Tests (Kristine Kathryn Rusch); Bricks, Sticks, Straw (Gwyneth Jones); Tyche and the Ants (Hannu Rajaniemi); Obelisk (Stephen Baxter); Vainglory (Alastair Reynolds); Water Rights (An Owomoyela); The Peak of Eternal Light (Bruce Sterling)] (14 stories, collection completed).

Jonathan Strahan (editor): The Starry Rift [made up of: Introduction (Jonathan Strahan); Ass-Hat Magic Spider (Scott Westerfeld); Cheats (Ann Halam); Orange (Neil Gaiman); The Surfer (Kelly Link); Repair Kit (Stephen Baxter); The Dismantled Invention of Fate (Jeffrey Ford); Anda's Game (Cory Doctorow); Sundiver Day (Kathleen Ann Goonan); The Dust Assassin (Ian McDonald); The Star Surgeon's Apprentice (Alastair Reynolds); An Honest Day's Work (Margo Lanagan); Lost Continent (Greg Egan); Incomers (Paul McAuley); Post-Ironic Stress Syndrome (Tricia Sullivan); Infestation (Garth Nix); Pinocchio (Walter Jon Williams)] (17 stories, collection completed).

Jonathan Strahan (editor): The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year 008 [made up of: Introduction (Jonathan Strahan); Some Desperado (Joe Abercrombie); Zero for Conduct (Greg Egan); Effigy Nights (Yoon Ha Lee); Rosary and Goldenstar (Geoff Ryman); The Sleeper and the Spindle (Neil Gaiman); Cave and Julia (M. John Harrison); The Herons of Mer de l'Ouest (M. Bennardo); Water (Ramez Naam); The Truth of Fact, the Truth of Feeling (Ted Chiang); The Ink Readers of Doi Saket (Thomas Olde Heuvelt); Cherry Blossoms on the River of Souls (Richard Parks); Rag and Bone (Priya Sharma); The Book Seller (Lavie Tidhar); The Sun and I (K.J. Parker); The Promise of Space (James Patrick Kelly); The Master Conjurer (Charlie Jane Anders); The Pilgrim and the Angel (E. Lily Yu); Entangled (Ian R. Macleod); Fade to Gold (Benjanun Sriduangkaew); Selkie Stories are for Losers (Sofia Samatar); In Metal, In Bone (An Owomoyela); Kormack the Lucky (Eleanor Arnason); Sing (Karin Tidbeck); Social Services (Madeline Ashby); The Road of Needles (Caitlin R. Kiernan); Mystic Falls (Robert Reed); The Queen of Night's Aria (Ian McDonald); The Irish Astronaut (Val Nolan)] (2 stories, continuing to read).

Charles Stross: The Atrocity Archives [made up of: Introduction—Charlie's Demons (Ken MacLeod); Atrocity Archive (Active Service; Inquiry; Defector; The Truth Is In Here; Ogre Reality; The Atrocity Archives; Bad Moon Rising; Storming Mount Impossible; Black Sun; Inquest); The Concrete Jungle; Afterword—Inside the Fear Factory (4 stories, collection completed).

Jack Vance: Magnus Ridolph (made up of: Hard Luck Diggings; Sanatoris Short-Cut; The Sub-Standard Sardines; The Unspeakable McInch; The King of Thieves; To B or Not to C or to D; The Howling Bounders; The Spa of the Stars; The Kokod Warriors; Coup de Grace) (10 stories, collection completed).

Jack Vance: The Dying Earth (made up of: Turjan of Miir; Mazirian the Magician; T'sais; Liane the Wayfarer; Ulan Dhor Ends a Dream; Guyal of Sfere (6 stories, collection completed).

A.E. van Vogt: The Storm (1 story, completed). A fun tale from the Golden Age, well, 50% fun. Some of van Vogt's descriptions of a huge interstellar storm, stretching across a portion of the Magellanic Cloud and a ship that impacts it and breaks up are wonderful, but the "character's" are more a collection of psychic powers and such than anything that feels real.

David Weber (as credited author/editor): More Than Honor (A Beautiful Friendship by David Weber; The Grand Tour by David Drake; A Whiff of Grapeshot by S.M. Stirling; The Universe of Honor Harrington by David Weber) (4 stories, collection completed).

David Weber (as credited author/editor): Worlds of Honor (The Stray by Linda Evans; What Price Dreams? by David Weber; Queen's Gambit by Jane Lindskold; The Hard Way Home by David Weber; Deck Load Strike by Roland J. Green) (5 stories, collection completed).

David Weber (as credited author/editor): Changer of Worlds (Ms. Midshipwoman Harrington by David Weber; Changer of Worlds by David Weber; From the Highlands by Eric Flint; Nightfall by David Weber) (4 stories, collection completed).

David Weber (as credited author/editor): The Service of the Sword (Promised Land by Jane Lindskold; With One Stone by Timothy Zahn; A Ship Named Francis by John Ringo and Victor Mitchell; Let's Go to Prague by John Ringo; Fanatic by Eric Flint; The Service of the Sword by David Weber) (5 stories, collection completed).

David Weber (as credited author/editor): In Fire Forged (Ruthless by Jane Lindskold; An Act of War by Timothy Zahn; Let's Dance! by David Weber; An Introduction to Modern Starship Armor Design by Andy Presby; Appendix—Armor Design Figures by William H. Edwards, Thomas Pope and Thomas Marrone) (5 stories, collection completed).

David Weber (as credited author/editor): Beginnings (By the Book by Charles E. Gannon; A Call to Arms by Timothy Zahn; Beauty and the Beast by David Weber; The Best Laid Plans by David Weber; Obligated Service by Joelle Presby) (5 stories, collection completed).

Timothy Zahn: Star Wars—Winner Take All (1 story, completed).

Periodicals: Always coming at me faster than I can consume them, how will I fare this year?

America's Army: 001: Knowledge is Power (1 story).

Avengers: Avengers 001. Avengers 002. Avengers 003. Avengers 004. Avengers 005. Avengers 006. Avengers 007. Avengers 008. Avengers 009 Avengers 010 (10 issues, continuing to read; first omnibus completed).

Beneath Ceaseless Skies: 001: Yoon Ha Lee, Architectural Constants. 002: David D. Levine, Sun Magic, Earth Magic. 003: Marie Brennan, Kingspeaker. 004: Sarah L. Edwards, The Last Devil. (4 stories from various issues, continuing to read.)

Beyond the Moon (Frank Candiloro): Beyond the Moon (1 issue, completed).

Caliban (Garth Ennis and Facundo Percio): 001; 002; 003; 004; 005; 006 (6 issues, continuing to read).

Captain Marvel (Kelly Sue DeConnick & David Lopez): 001; 002 (2 issues, continuing to read).

Clarkesworld: Megan Arkenberg, All the King's Monsters. Gwendolyn Clare, All the Painted Stars. Maggie Clark, The Aftermath. Yoon Ha Lee, The Battle of Candle Arc. David Tallerman, Across the Terminator. (4 stories from various issues, continuing to read.)

Drax the Destroyer (Keith Griffen): 001; 002; 003; 004 (4 issues, mini-series completed).

Elric: The Balance Lost (Michael Moorcock, Chris Roberson, Francesco Biagini): Preview; Volume 01; Volume 02; Volume 03 (13 stories read, completed).

Escape Pod: 001: Jonathon Sullivan, Imperial. (1 story from various issues, continuing to read.)

Fantastic Four (Stan Lee and Jack Kirby): FF 001; FF 002; FF 003; FF 004; FF 005; FF 006; FF 007; FF 008; FF 009; FF 010; FF 011; FF 012; FF 013; FF 014; FF 015; FF 016; FF 017; FF 018; FF 019 (19 stories read, continuing to read).

Guardians of the Galaxy (Michael Bendis & Divers Hands): Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 01: Cosmic Avengers (10 stories, completed). FCBD: Guardians of the Galaxy (1 story, completed). Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 02: Angela (7 stories, completed); Guardians of the Galaxy 011 (1 story, completed); Guardians of the Galaxy 012 (1 story, completed); Guardians of the Galaxy 013 (1 story, completed); Guardians of the Galaxy: Galaxy's Most Wanted: 001 (1 story, completed); Guardians of the Galaxy 017 (1 story, completed).

Guardians of the Galaxy: 1990-1995 (Tom DeFalco, Jim Valentino, Len Kaminski, Ron Marz & Othrs): 001; 002; 003; 004; 005; 006; 007; Annual 001; Fantastic Four Annual 024; Thor Annual 016; Silver Surfer Annual 004 (11 stories; continuing to read).

Hawkeye (Matt Fraction and David Aja): Hawkeye 001; 002; 003; 004; 005; 006; 007; 008; 009; 010; 011; 012; 013; 014; 015; 016; 017; 018; 019; Annual 001 (20 stories, continuing to read).

Iron Man: Iron Man 001 (1 issue, continuing to read).

Last Breath 01 (Sam Eggleston) (1 issue, completed).

Lightspeed: Brooke Bolander, The Legend of RoboNinja. Matthew Hughes, Phalloon the Illimitable. Carmen Maria Machado, Observations About Eggs from the Man Sitting Next to Me on a Flight from Chicago, Illinois to Cedar Rapids, Iowa. (3 stories from various issues, continuing to read.)

Locus: March 2013 Locus (4 entries). April 2013 Locus (4 entries). May 2013 Locus (4 entries). June 2013 Locus (4 entries). July 2013 Locus (4 entries) August 2013 Locus (4 entries). September 2013 Locus (4 entries). October 2013 Locus (4 entries). November 2013 Locus (4 entries). December 2013 Locus (4 entries). January 2014 Locus (4 entries). February 2014 Locus (4 entries). March 2014 Locus (4 entries).

Ms. Marvel (G. Willow Wilson & Adrian Alphona): 001; 002; 003; 004; 005; 006; 007; 008; 009 (9 entries, continuing to read).

New York Review of Science Fiction: NYRSF Issue 290 (11 entries). NYRSF Issue 291 (9 entries).

Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Jim Steranko): 001; 002; 003; 005 (4 entries, continuing to read).

Pathfinder: Dark Waters Rising (Jim Zub): 001; 002; 003; 004; 005; 006 (6 stories, completed). Pathfinder: Of Tooth and Claw (Jim Zub): 001; 002; 003 004; 005; 006 (6 stories, completed). Pathfinder: Special Number 001 (Jim Zub) (1 story, completed).  Pathfinder: City of Secrets (Jim Zub): 001; 002; 003; 004; 005; 006 (6 stories; continuing to read).

PodCastle: 001: Peter S. Beagle, Come Lady Death. (1 story from various issues, continuing to read.)

Pseudopod: 001: Scott Sigler, Bag Man. (1 story from various issues, continuing to read.)

Red Sonja: She-Devil with a Sword (1 story).

Rocket Raccoon (Skottie Young): 001; 002; 003 (3 stories, continuing to read).

Rocket Girl (Brandon Montclare & Amy Reeder): 001; 002; 003 (3 stories, continuing to read).

Rocket Raccoon: Tales from Half-World (Bill Mantlo) (4 stories, completed).

Rocket Raccoon and Groot Ultimate Collection (Divers Hands) (15 stories, completed).

Rocket Talk from Tor Dot Com: 001: Mari Ness, In the Greenwood (1 story). 009: Aaron Corwin, Brimstone and Marmalade (1 story).

Sandman Overture (Neil Gaiman and J.H. Williams III): 001; 002; 003 (3 stories, continuing to read).

The Secret Adventures of Houdini (Tood Hunt & Sean Von Gorman): The Golem of Prague. Volume 1 (2 stories).

Star-Lord (Chris Claremont & Divers Hands): The Hollow Crown; Worlds on the Brink; Tears for Heaven (10 stories, collections completed).

Supreme Blue Rose (Warren Ellis & Tula Lotay): 001 (again); 002 (again); 003 (5 stories, continuing to read).

Tales of Honor (Matt Hawkins & Divers Hands; based on the novel by David Weber): TOH 001; TOH 002; TOH 003; TOH 004; TOH 005 (5 stories, continuing to read).

Too Much Coffee Man (Shannon Wheeler): 001; 002; 003 (3 stories, completed).

Transmetropolitan (Warren Ellis and Darick Robertson): Transmetropolitan 001–060; Filth of the City; I Hate It Here (60 stories, series completed).

Trees (Warren Ellis & Divers Hands): Trees 001; Trees 002; 003; 004 (4 stories; continuing to read).

Uncanny X-Men (Stan Lee & Jack Kirby): 001; 002; 003; 004; 005; 006; 007; 008; 009; 010; 011 012; 013; 014; 015; 016; 017; 018; 019; 020; 021; 022; 023;024; 025; 026; 027; 028; 029; 030 (30 stories, continuing to read).

Wayward (Jim Zub, Steve Cummings & John Rauch): 001; 002 (2 stories, continuing to read).

Zaya (Huang-Jia Wei & J.D. Morvan): 001 (1 story, continuing to read).

2014: The Year in Books

As with every year past for many years, here is a compiled list of books read for the year. I may not review everything I read, but I try to track it all and at least acknowledge it here.

Books read will come in many formats: serialized in magazines (less often than when I was young), eBooks, pBooks (paper) and aBooks (audio) (yes, format doesn't matter, it all counts).

Number of books read (as of December 30, 2014): 186. Books read:

Poul Anderson: Three Hearts and Three Lions (pBook) (December).

Stephen Baxter: Vacuum Diagrams (eBook) (November).

Brian Michael Bendis & Divers Hands: Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 01—Cosmic Avengers (eBook) (June). Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 02—Angela (eBook) (July). Age of Ultron (pBook) (September). Avengers Assemble (pBook) (October). Avengers (no sub-title, Avengers 1-6, 2011) (pBook) (October). Avengers Volume 02 (pBook) (October). Avengers Volume 03 (pBook) (October). Avengers Volume 04 (AVX) (pBook) (October).

Gregory Benford: The Galactic Center Companion (eBook) (April).

Jorge Luis Borges: A Universal History of Iniquity (pBook) (March). Labyrinths (pBook) (December).

Ed Brubaker: The Marvels Project—Birth of the Super Heroes (pBook) (October). Captain America: Winter Soldier (pBook) (October). Captain America: The Man With No Face (pBook) (October).

Algis Budrys: Benchmarks—Galaxy Bookshelf (pBook) (March).

Octavia Butler: Kindred (eBook) (May).

Philip J. Caputo: A Rumor of War (aBook) (March).

Chris Claremont: Star-Lord: The Hollow Crown (eBook) (July). Star-Lord: Worlds on the Brink (eBook) (July). Star-Lord: Tears for Heaven (eBook) (July).

Arthur C. Clarke: Prelude to Space (eBook) (August). Against the Fall of Night (eBook) (August). Sands of Mars (eBook) (December).

Glen Cook: The Black Company (aBook) (July). Shadows Linger (aBook) (August). The White Rose (aBook) (August).

Samuel R. Delany: Babel-17 (eBook) (April). Atlantis: Three Tales (eBook) (May).

August Derleth and James Turner (editors): Tales from the Cthulhu Mythos (eBook) (August)

David Drake: Leary of the RCN 01: With the Lightnings (aBook) (April). Leary of the RCN 02: Lt. Leary, Commanding (aBook) (May). Leary of the RCN 03: The Far Side of the Stars (aBook) (June). Leary of the RCN 04: The Way to Glory (aBook) (June). Some Golden Harbor (aBook) (July). When the Tide Rises (aBook) (August). In the Stormy Red Sky (aBook) (August).

Gerry Dugan, Brian Poselhn & Divers Hands: Deadpool Volume 01 (pBook) (October).

Umberto Eco: The Name of the Rose (aBook) (December).

Warren Ellis: Ignition City (pBook) (February). Anna Mercury: The Cutter (pBook) (February). Ministry of Space (pBook) (February). Ocean (pBook) (February). Global Frequency (eBook) (October). Planetary Volume 01: All Over the World and Other Stories (eBook) (October). Planetary Volume 02: The Fourth Man (eBook) (October). Planetary Volume 03: Leaving the 20th Century (eBook) (October). Planetary Volume 04: Spacetime Archaeology (eBook) (October). Aetheric Mechanics (eBook) (November). Transmetropolitan Volume 01—Back on the Street (Issues 01-06) (eBook) (December). Transmetropolitan Volume 02—Lust for Life (Issues 07-12) (eBook) (December). Transmetropolitan Volume 03—Year of the Bastard (Issues 13-18) (eBook) (December). Transmetropolitan Volume 04—The New Scum (Issues 19-24) (eBook) (December). Transmetropolitan Volume 05—Lonely City (Issues 25-30) (eBook) (December). Transmetropolitan Volume 06—Gouge Away (Issues 31-36) (eBook) (December). Transmetropolitan Volume 07—Spiders Thrash (Issues 37-42) (eBook) (December). Transmetropolitan Volume 08—Dirge (Issues 43-48) (eBook) (December). Transmetropolitan Volume 09—The Cure (Issues 49-54) (eBook) (December). Transmetropolitan Volume 10—One More Time (Issues 55-60, I Hate It Here, Filth of the City) (eBook) (December).

Eric Flint & David Weber: Crown of Slaves (aBook) (October).

Matt Fraction and Divers Hands: My Life as a Weapon (Hawkeye 01) (pBook) (April); Little Hits (Hawkeye 02) (pBook) (April). L.A. Woman (Hawkeye 03) (pBook) (October); Rio Bravo (Hawkeye 04) (pBook) (October). Invincible Iron Man 09: Demon (pBook) (October).

Neil Gaiman: The Ocean at the End of the Lane (pBook) (January). Sandman 01: Preludes & Nocturnes (eBook) (December). Sandman 02: Doll's House (eBook) (December). Sandman 03: Dream Country (eBook) (December). Sandman 04: Season of Mists (eBook) (December). Sandman 05: The Game of You (eBook) (December). Sandman 06: Fables & Reflections (eBook) (December). Sandman 07: Brief Lives (eBook) (December). Sandman 08: World's End (eBook) (December). Sandman 09: The Kindly Ones (eBook) (December). Sandman 10: The Wake (eBook) (December).

Fred Gallagher (with Rodney Caston): Megatokyo Omnibus 01 (Volume 01-03) (pBook) (April).

Charles E. Gannon: Fire with Fire (eBook) (May).

William Gibson: Burning Chrome (aBook) (December). Neuromancer (aBook) (December).

Debra Hamel: Reading Herodotus: A Guided Tour through the Wild Boars, Dancing Suitors, and Crazy Tyrants of The History (eBook) (March). It Was a Dark and Stormy Tweet—Five Hundred First Lines in 140 Characters or Less (eBook) (December).

James Hilton: Lost Horizon (eBook) (August).

Kenneth Hite: Tour De Lovecraft—The Tales (eBook) (July).

William Hope Hodgson: The House on the Borderland (aBook) (July) (Again: pBook, November) (Again: aBook, November) (Again: aBook. December) (Again: pbook. December. Last time for the year, promise! (review here).

Sean Howe: Marvel Comics—The Untold Story (pBook) (August).

Masashi Kishimoto: Naruto 01 (pBook) (February). Naruto 02 (pBook) (February). Naruto 03 (pBook) (February). Naruto 04 (pBook) (March). Naruto 05 (pBook) (April). Naruto 06 (pBook) (April).

Anne Leckie: Ancillary Justice (eBook & aBook) (April).

Stan Lee & Associates: Avengers Masterworks 001 (eBook) (June).

Stanislaw Lem: Solaris (aBook) (February).

H.P. Lovecraft: At the Mountains of Madness (eBook) (February).

R.A. MacAvoy: Tea with the Black Dragon (eBook and pBook) (September) (and again, September, aBook and eBook). Twisting the Rope (aBook and eBook) (September).

Bill Mantlo & Divers Hands: Rocket Raccoon—Tales from Half World (eBook) (July).

Karl Marlantes: Matterhorn (aBook) (January). (Marlantes served in the USMC in the Vietnam War and it is more than possible that this book was based in part on his experiences there. Every time I thought he had thrown everything possible at me, the reader, the book is kicked up a notch. Gut-wrenching, emotionally-draining and an amazing tale.)

Michael Moorcock, Chris Roberson, Francesco Biagini: Elric—The Balance Lost 01 (eBook) (June). Elric—The Balance Lost 02 (eBook) (June). Elric—The Balance Lost 03 (eBook) (June).

C.L. Moore: Black God's Kiss (pBook) (January). Northwest of Earth (pBook) (February).

Grant Morrison & Frank Quitely: We3 (eBook) (November)

Linda Nagata: The Red—First Light (eBook) (May).

Jamie Noquchi: The Yellow Peril 01: Back to the Grind (eBook) (December). The Yellow Peril 02: The Client is Always (eBook) (December).

Patrick O'Brian: Master & Commander (aBook) (July). Post Captain (aBook) (August).

David Petersen: Mouse Guard—Fall 1152 (eBook) (November).

Terry Pratchett: Guards! Guards! (eBook) (October).

Thomas Pynchon: The Crying of Lot 49 (aBook and eBook) (May).

Sofia Samatar: A Stranger in Olondria (aBook and eBook) (May).

Charles Sheffield: Vectors (eBook) (February). Hidden Variables (eBook) (March). Sight of Proteus (eBook) (March). The Compleat MacAndrew (eBook) (March). Summertide (eBook) (March).

Clifford D. Simak: City (aBook) (March). The Werewolf Principle (pBook) (December). The Goblin Reservation (pBook) (December). A Choice of Gods (pBook) (December) (And again for Werewolf, Goblin and Choice in December. Podcast preparation.).

Clark Ashton Smith: The Collected Fantasies of Clark Ashton Smith 01: The End of the Story (pBook) (December). The Collected Fantasies of Clark Ashton Smith 02: The Door to Saturn (pBook) (December). The Collected Fantasies of Clark Ashton Smith 03: A Vintage from Atlantis (pBook) (December). The Collected Fantasies of Clark Ashton Smith 04: The Maze of the Enchanter (pbook) (December). The Collected Fantasies of Clark Ashton Smith 05: The Last Hieroglyph (pBook) (December). The Miscellaneous Writings of Clark Ashton Smith (pBook) (December). (Omnibus review here.)

Jonathan Strahan (editor): Engineering Infinity (eBook) (June). Life on Mars: Tales from the New Frontier (eBook) (June). Reach for Infinity (eBook) (June). Edge of Infinity (eBook) (August). The Starry Rift (eBook) (August).

Arkady and Boris Strugatsky: The Roadside Picnic (aBook) (January).

Howard Tayler: Schlock Mercenary 01: The Tub of Happiness (eBook) (November). Schlock Mercenary 02: The Teraport Wars (eBook) (December). Schlock Mercenary 03: Under New Management (eBook) (December).

Sun Tzu: The Art of War (aBook) (April).

Jack Vance: The Dying Earth (aBook) (May). Magnus Ridolph (eBook) (July).

Jeff VanderMeer: Southern Reach 01: Annihilation (pBook and aBook) (April) (September) (yes, three times). Authority (eBook and aBook) (September). Acceptance (eBook and aBook) (September).

Brian K. Vaughan & Fiona Staples: Saga 01 (eBook) (June).

Vernor Vinge: Rainbows End (aBook) (March).

David Weber (editor): More Than Honor (aBook) (January). In Service of the Sword (aBook) (September). Worlds of Honor (aBook) (September). Changer of Worlds (aBook) (September). In Fire Forged (aBook) (September). Beginnings (aBook) (October). War of Honor (aBook) (October). The Shadow of Saganami (aBook) (October). At All Costs (aBook) (October). Storm from the Shadows (aBook) (November).

Helene Wecker: The Golem and the Jinni (aBook and eBook) (May).

Andy Weir: The Martian (aBook and eBook) (May).

Chuck Wendig: Miriam Black 01: Blackbirds (aBook) (December). The Kick-Ass Writer (pBook) (December).

Roger Zelazny: A Night in the Lonesome October (pBook) (October).

I ended 2013 by reading this book and began 2014 by listening to Neil Gaiman read it. What was a creepy and wonderful read became and creepy and wonderful listen, made more wonderful by Gaiman's treatment of the story. Whether it is his words or not, he is an ace narrator.

Books read (in chronological order): 001: The Ocean at the end of the Lane (Gaiman). 002: The Roadside Picnic (Strugatsky Brothers). 003: Black God's Kiss (Moore). 004: Matterhorn (Marlantes). 005: More Than Honor (Weber). 006: Ignition City (Ellis). 007: Anna Mercury (Ellis). 008: Ministry of Space (Ellis). 009: Ocean (Ellis). 010: Solaris (Lem). 011: At the Mountains of Madness (Lovecraft). 012: Northwest of Earth (Moore). 013: Naruto 01 (Kishimoto). 014: Naruto 02 (Kishimoto). 015: Naruto 03 (Kishimoto). 016: Vectors (Sheffield) 017: Hidden Variables (Sheffield) 018: A Rumor of War (Caputo) 019: Sight of Proteus (Sheffield) 020: Benchmarks (Budrys) 021: City (Simak) 022: The Compleat MacAndrew (Sheffield). 023: Naruto 04 (Kishimoto). 024: A Universal History of Iniquity (Borges). 025: Rainbows End (Vinge). 026: Reading Herodotus (Hamel). 027: Summertide (Sheffield). 028: Ancillary Justice (Leckie). 029: My Life as a Weapon (Fraction). 030: Little Hits (Fraction). 031: Babel-17 (Delany). 032-034: Megatokyo Omnibus 01 (Gallagher). 035: Naruto 05 (Kishimoto). 036: Naruto 06 (Kishimoto). 037: The Galactic Center Companion (Benford). 038: With the Lightnings (Drake). 039: The Art of War (Tzu). 040 and 041: Annilihation (VanderMeer). 042: Lt. Leary, Commanding (Drake). 043: The Martian (Weir). 044: The Crying of Lot 49 (Pynchon). 045: The Golem and the Jinni (Wecker). 046: A Stranger in Olondria (Samatar). 047: The Red—First Light (Nagata). 048: Fire with Fire (Gannon). 049: The Dying Earth (Vance). 050: Kindred (Butler). 051: Atlantis: Three Tales (Delany). 052: The Far Side of the Stars (Drake). 053: Avengers Masterworks Volume 001 (Lee, et al). 054: Elric—The Balance Lost 01 (Moorcock, et al). 055: Elric—The Balance Lost 02 (Moorcock, et al). 056: Elric—The Balance Lost 03 (Moorcock, et al). 057: Engineering Infinity (Strahan). 058: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1: Cosmic Avengers (Bendis & Divers Hands). 059: The Way to Glory (Drake). 060: Saga 01 (Vaughan & Staples). 061: Life on Mars: Tales from the New Frontier (Strahan). 062: Reach for Infinity (Strahan). 063: Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 02: Angela (Bendis). 064: Rocket Raccoon: Tales from Half-World (Mantlo). 065: Star-Lord—The Hollow Crown (Claremont). 066: Master & Commander (O'Brian). 067: Tour De Lovecraft (Hite). 068: Magnus Ridolph (Vance). 069: Some Golden Harbor (Drake). 070: The House on the Borderland (Hodgson). 071: The Black Company (Cook). 072: Worlds on the Brink (Claremont). 073: Tears for Heaven (Claremont). 074: Shadows Linger (Cook). 075: When the Tide Rises (Drake). 076: Prelude to Space (Clarke). 077: Lost Horizon (Hilton). 078: The White Rose (Cook). 079: Post Captain (O'Brian). 080: In the Stormy Red Sky (Drake). 081: Tales from the Cthulhu Mythos (Derleth & Turner). 082: Edge of Infinity (Strahan). 083: The Starry Rift (Strahan). 084: Against the Fall of Night (Clarke). 085: Marvel Comics—The Untold Story (Howe). 086: In the Service of the Sword (Weber). 087: Tea with the Black Dragon (MacAvoy). 088: Tea with the Black Dragon (MacAvoy) (yes, again). 089: Worlds of Honor (Weber). 090: Changer of Worlds (Weber). 091: Annilihation (VanderMeer) (yes, a third time). 092: Twisting the Rope (MacAvoy). 093: Age of Ultron (Bendis). 094: Authority (VanderMeer). 095: Acceptance (VanderMeer). 096: In Fire Forged (Weber). 097: Beginnings (Weber). 098: War of Honor (Weber). 099: The Marvels Project (Brubaker). 100: Deadpool Volume 01 (Dugan & Posehn). 101: Captain America—Winter Soldier (Brubaker. 102: Avengers Assemble (Bendis). 103: Global Frequency (Ellis). 104: Avengers (Bendis). 105: Crown of Slaves (Flint & Weber). 106: Guards! Guards! (Pratchett). 107: The Shadow of Saganami (Weber). 108: Avengers Volume 02 (Bendis). 109: Avengers Volume 03 (Bendis). 110: Avengers Volume 04 (AVX) (Bendis). 111: At All Costs (Weber). 112: Invincible Iron Man 09: Demon (Fraction). 113: Captain America: The Man With No Face (Brubaker). 114: L.A. Woman (Hawkeye 03) (Fraction). 115: Rio Bravo (Hawkeye 04) (Fraction). 116: Planetary Volume 01 (Ellis). 117: Planetary Volume 02—The Fourth Man (Ellis). 118: Planetary Volume 03—Leaving the 20th Century (Ellis). 119: Planetary Volume 04—Spacetime Archaeology (Ellis). 120: Storm from the Shadows (Weber). 121: Aetheric Mechanics (Ellis). 122: The House on the Borderland (Hodgson) (again). 123: A Night in the Lonesome October (Zelazny). 124: Schlock Mercenary 01—The Tub of Happiness (Tayler). 125: Mouse Guard—Fall 1152 (Petersen). 126: We3 (Morrison & Quitely). 127: Vacuum Diagrams (Baxter). 128: The House on the Borderland (Hodgson). 129: Sandman 01—Preludes & Nocturnes (Gaiman). 130: The Collected Fantasies of Clark Ashton Smith 01—The End of the Story (Smith). 131:  The Collected Fantasies of Clark Ashton Smith 02—The Door to Saturn (Smith). 132: The Collected Fantasies of Clark Ashton Smith 03—A Vintage from Atlantis (Smith). 133: The Collected Fantasies of Clark Ashton Smith 04—The Maze of the Enchanter (Smith). 134: The Collected Fantasies of Clark Ashton Smith 05—The Last Hieroglyph (Smith). 135: The Miscellaneous Writings of Clark Ashton Smith (Smith). 136: The Yellow Peril 01—Back to the Grind (Noquchi). 137: The Yellow Peril 02—The Client is Always (Noquchi). 138: Sandman 02—Doll's House (Gaiman). 139: The House on the Borderland (Hodgson). 140: Labyrinths (Borges). 141: Schlock Mercenary 02—The Teraport Wars (Tayler). 142: Sandman 03—Dream Country (Gaiman). 143: Miriam Black 01—Blackbirds (Wendig). 144: Burning Chrome (Gibson). 145: The House on the Borderland (Hodgson). 146: Neuromancer (Gibson). 147: Schlock Mercenary 03—Under New Management (Tayler). 148: Sandman 03—Dream Country (Gaiman). 149: Sandman 04—Season of Mists (Gaiman). 150: Sandman 05—The Game of You (Gaiman). 151: Sandman 06—Fables & Reflections (Gaiman). 152: Transmetropolitan Volume 01—Back on the Street (Ellis). 153: Transmetropolitan Volume 02—Lust for Life (Ellis). 154: Transmetropolitan Volume 03—Year of the Bastard  (Ellis). 155: Transmetropolitan Volume 04—The New Scum (Ellis). 156: Transmetropolitan Volume 05—Lonely City (Ellis). 157: Transmetropolitan Volume 06—Gouge Away (Ellis). 158: Transmetropolitan Volume 07—Spiders Thrash (Ellis). 159: Transmetropolitan Volume 08—Dirge (Ellis). 160: Transmetropolitan Volume 09—The Cure (Ellis). 161: Transmetropolitan Volume 10—One More Time (Ellis). 162: Three Hearts and Three Lions (Anderson). 163: The Werewolf Principle (Simak). 164: The Goblin Reservation (Simak). 165: A Choice of Gods (Simak). 166: Sandman 07—Brief Lives (Gaiman). 167: Sandman 08—World's End (Gaiman). 168: Sandman 09—The Kindly Ones (Gaiman). 169: Sandman 10—The Wake (Gaiman). 170: It Was a Dark and Stormy Tweet—Five Hundred First Lines in 140 Characters or Less (Hamel). 171: Ancillary Justice (Leckie). 172: Tea with the Black Dragon (MacAvoy). 173: Tea with the Black Dragon (MacAvoy) (yes, again). 174: Twisting the Rope (MacAvoy). 175: The Crying of Lot 49 (Pynchon). 176: A Stranger in Olondria (Samatar). 177: Authority (VanderMeer). 178: Acceptance (VanderMeer). 179: The Golem and the Jinni (Wecker). 180: The Martian (Weir). 181: Sands of Mars (Clarke). 182: The Kick-Ass Writer (Wendig). 183: The Werewolf Principle (Simak) (again). 184: The Goblin Reservation (Simak) (again). 185: A Choice of Gods (Simak) (again). 186: The Name of the Rose (Eco).

(Sequential count corrected for undercounting when doing duplicate reads across book formats; exact reading sequence not corrected.)

Paper Books: 052.

Electronic Books: 087.

Audio Books: 047.

Sometimes I have swapped between multiple versions of one title, but I'm listing is as electronic or paper or audio if that's the main way I listened to it.

New Crescent

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows a waxing crescent Moon greeting the New Year. Or is it? Look again.

Pirates of Vesta

Thanks to the Dawn spacecraft (now en route to Ceres), a new view of Vesta has emerged.

Artists at Work

Saturn and Beyond the Infinite. The dance of the moons and the play of the rings.

Crab Canon

An image of the Crab Nebula, combining various wavelengths of light from both the Hubble Space Telescope and the Herschel Space Telescope.

Yellowknife

Oh, to be able to take a small walk around here.

WiFi

The interplanetary wireless network. Fifty years young and still going strong.

Pluto Bound

We're almost to Pluto! The science team practices for the upcoming encounter. Also: Will New Horizons become a Lego vehicle as well?

A Walk in the Park

Astronauts on the ISS recently had to swap out a faulty ammonia pump (part of the cooling system for the station) for a new one. Here they prepare for the spacewalks. Here's an image from one spacewalk, and a second image from the other. Nice workspace!

Captured!

The recently re-purposed WISE spacecraft captures an asteroid in this image.

Arp 302

More cosmic BAM courtesy of the Arp Catalog. Interacting galaxies, oh my. Chandra X-ray and Hubble optical images are combined for this view.

Ophir Chasma

A stunning view from an "ancient" spacecraft: Viking 1 was no slouch when it came to viewing Mars.

The NASA-Tor Alliance

What ever happened to this 2011 announced program?

ExoPlanets

The strange wonderful worlds of exo-planets.

The Year of the Quiet Sun

Courtesy of the Solar Dynamics Observatory, a view of our home star.

Pancakes

If I recall correctly, having pancakes on New Year's Day is good luck in some cultures. Have a galactic pancake, courtesy of the hard-working Hubble Space Telescope.