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| Credit: Pixabay |
I can’t believe this is already the third Saturday of the month! I only realised it earlier this week. Because it came up so quickly, I’m going to again postpone the Book-To-Movie review for the month until next weekend. I know, it seems like I’ve been doing this regularly since the pandemic started in March (at least that’s when it started for my area). Well, as the news media outlets have been recently hollering about society as a whole, this is the new norm. I tried getting a Book-To-Movie together for this weekend but didn’t come up with anything until Thursday in which I viewed the movie adaptation that evening and then read the short story original only yesterday. I’m not going to tell you what the story or its movie adaptation is, though. To find out you will have to tune in here next week. For this week . . .
Harlan Ellison’s Wife Susan Dies at 60
Shockingly, the late Harlan Ellison’s wife, Susan Ellison, died the first of this month. She passed away at her Sherman Oaks home, also known as “The Lost Aztec Temple of Mars” and “Ellison Wonderland”, in Southern California. She was only 60 which is a very young age to die today since the human lifespan has increased. Her husband, Harlan, only died a couple of years ago, 2018.
I met both Susan and Harlan once at an author signing at WorldCon 64 in Anaheim back in 2006. She was a total contrast to her husband, who was often blunt and loud-spoken (in a fun way). I really don’t remember what she said to me, other than asking me what books I had brought for her husband to sign. However, I do remember she was very friendly, refined in her speech but not shy, and I think she introduced me to Harlan when she handed my copies of his books over to him so he could sign them. Both she and her husband, one of my favourite writers of science fiction and fantasy (and even non-fiction in some cases), were both very friendly. Since I only met her once and talked to her only for a few minutes, I can’t say much more than that. However, two big name authors, Neil Gaiman and George R.R. Martin, say much more than I can at their blogs about how wonderful of a person she was. I just say may she rest in peace with her good husband who both we will miss.
Facing the Burning Sun and Plague to Support My Local Book Store
Thursday afternoon, I braved the scorching sun and, in a way, the Corona Virus by donning my mask and walking two blocks from the Light Rail to Beer’s Books in Sacramento. I tried going there the day before but they said that I had to make an appointment so they could maintain social distancing. Before then, I had been debating whether to look for some Isaac Asimov books there or shop for them online, considering the restrictions that the pandemic has caused. But I like to support my locally owned book stores and leave online shopping as a very last resort. This is especially the case now since so many local and independent businesses are closing up due to the bad economy caused by the pandemic. So I made an appointment for the following day for 4 o’clock. The next day, I went there and browsed through the science fiction section and found myself a copy of Asimov’s “Foundation” and another one of his, “The Naked Sun”, both which are 1960s editions with beautiful cover art. I only had a half-hour in there because that was the store’s limit for each customer. But it was perfectly understandable. It protects me, the employees, and the other customers who like shopping there from the virus.
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| Credit: The blogger |
Summer Reading
This maybe hasn’t been a normal summer for us, but what hasn’t changed this summer, besides the scorching heat, is my summer reading. Not that I’m reading the same books as I did last summer. (I’m not.) I’m reading certain books specifically for the summer. One of the books that I just finished, which got me to shop for the above Asimov books, is his collection of robot stories and essays, “Robot Visions”. Well, I finished the short fiction portion of the book at least. (Except for the last one called “Christmas Without Rodney”, but I don’t count that one as summer reading because of the time of year it’s set in as indicated by the title. So I won’t open that one until Christmas.) I’ll leave finishing the essay collection portion for another day.
I also just finished a book by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child called “The Lost Island: A Gideon Crew Novel”. This book is marketed as an exotic, high adventure but is really a science fiction which, in a way, the title already suggests when you think of novels with similar names such as Conan Doyle’s “Lost World” and Jules Verne’s “The Mysterious Island”. I just started Burroughs’ “Tarzan and the Ant Men”, Book 10 of the Ape Man’s series. Since the Fourth of July I’ve been reading Matt Ruff’s “Lovecraft County”, a Lovecraft-inspired horror novel. And my next, pure science fiction novel, if you will, that I plan to read beginning tomorrow is “The Naked Sun”. Both the title and setting go with these sizzling days. As long as I can read it in a cool place, I’ll be okay with it.
Have you been trying to continue to support your locally owned bookstore through this pandemic? What have you been reading this summer?
Until next time . . .
Glad you got to meet both author and wife. Sad, she did die young.
ReplyDeleteVery cool mask.
I've read two Gideon books but not that one. Was it good?
I liked it. It's one of those just-for-fun reads although it does have some good character development. I just felt like it went between two genres, adventure and science fiction, too abruptly.
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