Archive for the ‘From the web’ Category
Favourite international SF & fantasy authors
Most of the authors we read in English are American, Canadian, British, or Australian. But there is science fiction and fantasy being written in other parts of the world. Here some authors tell us who their favourite international authors are: MIND MELD: Favorite International Authors
Best stories & novels to never win a Hugo
As a follow-up to the Thoughts on Hugo awards post from the other day, here are some thoughts from various authors on what story and novel most deserved to win a Hugo award but didn’t. You might find something here you haven’t read that sounds intriguing. MIND MELD: What’s the Best Story to Never Win […]
Thoughts on Hugo awards 1953 to 2000
The Hugo Awards are science fiction and fantasy awards voted on by people who attend (or buy a supporting membership to) the World Science Fiction Convention each year. Jo Walton, author of such books as Tooth and Claw, takes a look back through all the winners and nominees and gives her thoughts on whether they […]
Children’s memories are better than you think
An article about some fairly new ideas about children’s memories. Here’s one amazing part: “Babies can’t speak but they can imitate, and if shown a series of actions with props, even 6-month-old infants will repeat a three-step sequence a day later. Nine-month-old infants will repeat it a month later.” The article also mentions how you […]
Best SF & fantasy novels from the ’00s
Many lists are dominated by older works, so I thought I’d point out this list that just considers works from the first decade of the 21st century. It’s from Tor.com and has appreciations of the top 10 titles as well as statistics on the voting. Best SFF Novels of the Decade Readers Poll RESULTS I’ve […]
The worst book I ever read
{0.5/5} The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield is not just a bestseller but a megabestseller. That is absolutely mind boggling to me, as it’s the worst book I ever read. If I were to read it now for the first time there’s no way I would finish it. The quality of the writing is shockingly […]
Best TV shows
I usually have pretty big disagreements with lists of the best books or movies. But I found a list of the best TV shows that I think is actually a superb list. It’s on IMDb, created with votes from people who visit the site: Highest Rated TV Series With At Least 5,000 Votes I’m making […]
Board games
There has been a renaissance in board games in the last 15 years or so. Most of the newer games are made in Germany, for some reason. What’s different about the newer games is that they rely on more strategy and less luck. Many of the games give you different ways of getting points, so […]
How long ago did our ancestors use fire?
One million years ago. New research says that the earliest firm evidence is from a cave in South Africa where fires burned more than once in the same spot. Our ancestors used fire a million years ago, study says At that point they weren’t yet using fire on a regular basis — that came around […]
Have aliens visited Earth?
I would be happy if aliens visited Earth, but I don’t believe they have as of yet. Although there are many reports of UFOs and alien abductions, somehow I think if aliens were really here we would know it. As the FAQ on the SETI Institute web site puts it: “if there were interesting, verifiable […]