I binge-watched the final 5 episodes of the NETFLIX series THE RAIN…finishing the first season. Here is my take on the potent Danish production, dubbed for English-speaking viewers. By the way, I wasn’t annoyed by dubbing. I thought it was done well. This series might earn an R rating if released on the big screen,…

What to look for when choosing a book, especially if you’re a novice audiobook consumer… Today, as I was having my teeth cleaned, my dental hygienist told me she is NOT a reader these days because of having two little girls to whom she reads all the time (a 4-year-old and a 2-year-old), but has…

Do you listen to audio books? I do (and my family does) and word on the street is, there are a lot of book-listeners out there. Here’s what Forbes’ Media and Entertainment writer, Adam Rowe reported last year: “In 2017, digital content subscription service Scribd’s fastest-growing segment was audiobooks. Primary audiobook subscriber numbers for Scribd…

THE LEFT HAND OF DARKNESS is one of the greatest scifi stories of all time and it’s not a difficult read. There is a simplicity to the prose as the main character narrates in the first person, yet profound ideas flow out of this tome like rivers from a mountain spring. I highly recommend this…

The art of a good question is always to draw out the thoughts and feelings of the one being questioned…(and for the most part…to avoid yes/no answers).  Here are 20 questions to get your student chatting up a storm (of course the student must have read the book closely in order to answer them, so…

THE PHANTOM TOLLBOOTH is a Gateway Book for Digging into a Values Discussion with your Children or Students This post is especially (but not only) for folks who have kids or teach kids. I loved my re-read of THE PHANTOM TOLLBOOTH. Here are four reasons why you ought to read this book with a child…

Let’s say you’re a single male/female scifi fan or no-kids couple and both of you are scifi fans. I say…YES, watch this. Let’s say you’re a family that likes scifi or even…you just like great stories, I say…ABSOLUTELY, YES! Watch LOST IN SPACE together. This series is totally fun and so far, it is blowing…

Former Army Sergeant, Moe Chen, sent a message drone to Santiago Debussy and Geraldine Falcon on a scorching Sunday in late May 2062 offering each a job in the government sanctioned goose trapping operation. They were promised Japanese Yen as well as fuel coupons for the travel. They were to report to Lake Merritt, in…

ANNIHILATION, Review of the novel By Jeff Vandermeer “When you see beauty in desolation it changes something in you. Desolation tries to colonize you.” The above observation comes to the reader early in ANNIHILATION and is a good representation of the reflective narration of this creepy science fiction novel, a book I highly recommend to…

Worthy of a Physics/Calculus Teacher’s Attention particularly high school and particularly for AP or IB students ALSO instructive for discussions in philosophy and ethics (see bottom paragraph) High school physics instructors or calculus instructors…this novel would make a great summer reading assignment before your class begins in the Fall. One, the story is entertaining. Two, the story…