This book was originally published, to little acclaim, in 1995 before Obama first ran for public office. His primary claim to fame at that point was that he had been the first black president of the Harvard Law Review. It was reissued in 2004 after his celebrated keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention placed him on the national stage.

Obama is articulate and thoughtful. This excellent memoir tells of his childhood in Hawai'i and Indonesia, his ex­pe­ri­ences as a community organizer in Chicago, and a formative …continue.

The sequel to Florida Roadkill. The hy­per­ac­tive serial killer, Serge A. Storms, is still in pursuit of $5 million, as are a new cast of goons.

The action centers around the eponymous Hammerhead Ranch Motel, which houses a wholly improbable set of sleaze­balls.

Moderately enjoyable.

Father Emilio Sandoz, S.J., is the sole survivor of the first expedition to an alien planet, an experience that has left him physically maimed, trau­ma­tized, and reviled. He doesn't want to talk about it, but the Jesuit order who sponsored the expedition require answers.

Russell's narrative weaves two tales together: the expedition itself and the inquiry afterwards. This is a first contact for which the expedition crew, Jesuits and lay people alike, are not adequately prepared. The two alien races are more alien than they seem at first, operating from fun­da­men­tal­ly …continue.

Another book from the 1632 series. This one largely develops a new plot. The arch­duchess Maria Anna of Austria is sent to Bavaria to marry the newly widowed Duke Maximilian, and finds that she'd rather not. She flees Munich in the company of two Grantville women, triggering a major crisis.

The book is en­ter­tain­ing but it's marred by ob­ses­sive­ly detailing the enormously com­pli­cat­ed re­alpoli­tik of Mit­teleu­ropa. Still, it's one of the good books in the 1632 series.

Cursor's Fury is the third book in Jim Butcher's fantasy series, Codex Alera, and the sequel to Academ's Fury.

Tavi is now a cursor, a special agent of the First Lord. Planted undercover in a newly-formed legion, Tavi suddenly becomes its leader when all the other officers are as­sas­si­nat­ed, just as an invading force of Canim have landed nearby. Meanwhile, his aunt Isana, is trapped in a besieged city, when one of the High Lords, Kalare, attempts a coup. Isana's brother Bernard and his wife Amara lead an attack against Kalare.

Exciting and …continue.

George Cautley, a young gentleman of in­dif­fer­ent background, comes to London in 1770 and attempts to enter society, hoping to make his way as a painter. He becomes obsessed with Lady Beauclair, who sits for her portrait and spins him a tale of a castrato opera singer, who fifty years earlier fled Italy for London.

Lady Beauclair is not what she seems. Indeed, nothing is what it seems in this novel. Everything is a mask. Or a masquerade. Arch whispers. Veiled glances. Layers of face paint hiding blemishes. New portraits daubed on top of old. Deception. Intrigue.

Use O'Reilly Maker to generate book covers. I've always wanted to write a book for cousin Tim, and now I have!

Via Pavel: Adolf Hitler - Vista Problems (YouTube).

The Pho­tog­ra­pher's Right: a handy one-page guide.

The general rule in the United States is that anyone may take pho­tographs of whatever they want when they are in a public place or places where they have permission to take pho­tographs. Absent a specific legal pro­hi­bi­tion such as a statute or ordinance, you are legally entitled to take pho­tographs. Examples of places that are tra­di­tion­al­ly considered public are streets, sidewalks, and public parks.

The tiny <code> font in Firefox has been bugging me for a long time. I finally …continue.

A collection of short stories and a play, all char­ac­ter­is­ti­cal­ly dark. Tales of fucked-up lives, tales of people with shitty pasts and no futures, tales of revenge.

Lehane writes bril­liant­ly. His spare de­scrip­tion, his dialogue brings the characters to life on the page.

The play, "Coronado", is adapted from an earlier short story, "Until Gwen" — also part of this collection. The repetition does not feel redundant. The play fleshes out the short story, telling it in a different manner.

Rec­om­mend­ed, but depressing.

This anthology of diaries contains several entries for every day of the year, drawn from 170 con­trib­u­tors across three-and-a-half centuries. Everyone from Pepys to Goebbels, from Che Guevara to Alec Guinness.

I spent all of last year reading this book, trying to read each day's entries as they occurred. I often failed and would have to read a week or more's entries to catch up. I fell behind towards the end, not finishing my daily devotions …continue.