While there are still a few hours left in September, I doubt I’ll get any more short fiction read this month, especially since the Yankees open the division playoffs tonight at 8:30. You know where I’ll be. But since I wrote a while back about at least trying to read a piece of short fiction…
This batch includes the April through September 1943 issues. The April 1943 issue is the last of the “bedsheet” issues. Astounding went back to its earlier format after the April issue, and even that would not last for long. Soon the premium on paper during the war would push the magazine down to digest size.…
As I mentioned in the previous post, I am re-reading Carl Sagan’s novel Contact. I mentioned that the tattered paperback on my bookshelf was just kind of calling out to me to be picked up and read. Last night, before heading off to bed, I checked Amazon to see if an e-book version was available.…
I don’t know exactly what happened. I was sitting down in my home office yesterday, taking a break from the short story I was working on, and I glanced at my bookshelves. I seated fairly close to the S’s and there, on a low shelf, my eyes fell on the tattered paperback copy of Carl…
Yesterday, I received in the mail the February 1943 issue of Astounding. The issue contains part 1 of A. E. van Vogt’s serial “The Weapon Makers.” When I turned to the contents page, I noticed another story in the issue that gathered some fame and popularity in the years since. It was even made into…
Today, I downloaded my first1 real comic book. (I imagine long-time comic book enthusiasts are cringing at the thought of my using the words “download” and “real” together with respect to comic books.) I was never a comic book fan, not as a kid, not as a teenager, not at any point in my life.…
The magazines I obtained last week arrived today. The postman duly delivered them despite the flooding rains we’re having here and I am grateful to him for that. The big issue in the pack is the May 1942 issue of Astounding. This has been by far the most difficult issue for me to get my…
When I look back over the list of books that I’ve read, I am sometimes amazed by how much I don’t remember. This is equally true for short fiction as it is for novels. Some books and stories stand out in my mind clear as if I read them yesterday, while others I know that I…
As part of my Vacation in the Golden Age, I need to obtain the issues of Astounding between July 1939 and December 1950. Many of these I already have and in fact, my first gap wasn’t until Episode 35, the May 1942 issue of Astounding. I obtained the 1942 issues (many of which are signed)…
I have been on the same page of A Feast for Crows (p. 314, pi) for more than a week now. This has happened before in the series, but when you couple it with the fact that my mind is wandering and itching to read other things, it’s usually a sign that I’ve reached my saturation…
In a rough order of time-to-event: The new DC Comics: Action Comics #1 and Superman #1 which are scheduled to be available tomorrow, if I am not mistaken. I’ve never been a comic book reader, but I’ve always been a fan of superman and this looks like a good time for me to get started…