Instead of sidling up seductively with promises of Valentines to come, February has arrived in the embrace of her wintry sister January. With icy streets covered by a thin layer of snow and predictions of End of Days snowfall to come, I find myself on the receiving end of that rarest of rare things: an actual Snow Day. My company generally laughs in the face of Old Man Winter, but today they chose not to tempt fate and issued orders for warm blankets, hot cocoa, and a good book. Or at least that is the way I heard it. 😉
Though January 2011 plagued us with heavy snowfall and temperatures worthy of comparison to a witch’s bosom, it was also filled with 31 days of mostly great reading, wherein I found warmth and comfort in the cold environs of space, on alien worlds, and in the past and future of good ol’ Terra Firma. Not to mention the incredible imagination of authors and artists whose work found fertile ground in my heart and mind.
I hope everyone else had a wonderful literary month. Here is where my journeys took me:
I read 11 books in January. They break out thus (click on the title to open a link to that review):
- SF/F Novels
Ship Breaker ~Paolo Bacigalupi
Among Others ~Jo Walton
How To Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe ~Charles Yu
____________________
- SF Audio Books
The Rolling Stones ~Robert A. Heinlein
The Star Beast ~Robert A. Heinlein
____________________
- SF/F Collections/Anthologies
The Third Bear ~Jeff Vandermeer
Bolo: The Annals of the Dinochrome Brigade ~Keith Laumer
METAtropolis ~edited by John Scalzi (review forthcoming)
____________________
- SF/F Short Story Magazines
Apex Magazine #20 ~edited by Cathrynne M. Valente
Asimov’s Science Fiction, February 2011 ~edited by Sheila Williams
____________________
- SF/F Art Books
Michael Whelan’s Works of Wonder ~Michael Whelan
____________________
In addition to those reads I partook of several science fictional short stories either as part of my own personal reading or as part of the Classic Science Fiction Book Club.
And my wife and I began our first ever journey through the new Battlestar Galactica. We watched seasons 1 and 2.0 and made a small dent in 2.5. We are thoroughly enjoying it.
The first month of the 2011 Sci Fi Experience has been great! If you have any desire to experience science fiction yourself, please join us in doing so during the month of February.
There truly was a lot of great reading going on in my little world in January. I read four books that no doubt will be on long-lists if not short-lists for nominations for science fiction and fantasy awards big and small (Ship Breaker, The Third Bear, How to Live in a Science Fictional Universe, and, for the 2012 awards season, Among Others). I spent time with one of my true favorites in the field of science fiction, Robert A. Heinlein, and I found an author and a set of stories in Keith Laumer’s Bolo series that will have me searching used book stores and ebay for further copies of his adventures. Several of us basked in the goodness that is Michael Whelan and his genre-defining work in the field of science fiction and fantasy. And I finally wiped some of the tarnish off my John Scalzi Fanboy badge by tucking in to the shared-world anthology that he edited. It was very good and I look forward to sharing my thoughts on it with you soon.
Wow! That is going to be a hard month to top.
But I will endeavor to do just that. February will see the much-anticipated interview with artist Les Edwards, whose work Cygnus is being used for the banner for this year’s Sci Fi Experience, more reviews of works that will crop up in this season’s award discussions, and the furthering of my classic science fiction education through short stories as well as novels. I will be reviewing Issue #21 of Apex Magazine for The Portal and hope to cleanse the bad taste left by the February issue of Asimov’s with a read through of the March 2011 issue. I am as excited by my reading prospects for February as I was entering the new year.
_____________________________
Speaking of the new year, before I close I thought I would exercise my desire for accountability by reporting on some of my New Year’s Resolutions:
My reading goals were:
1. Read What I’ve Got.
So-so with this one. Out of the 11 books I read, 3 were books that were on my shelves in 2010. 5 were books/magazines purchased this month. 2 were borrowed from a friend and the last was a gift.
This doesn’t look too bad. Digging a little deeper you would find that I purchased 19 books/magazines this month (11 new, 8 used) and out of those read 5. If I were cornered I would justify my actions due to the fact that I used gift cards for some of these, big coupons for most others. The reality is that I am most prone to bookstore excess in the month of January. Ah well.
2. Read at least one short story per week.
Success! More than success! I read at least one online each week either because it was the weekly Book Club selection or because someone suggested a story and I followed their lead.
3. Build more bookshelves.
I have recruited the builder–my father–and Mary and I have made some preliminary plans. Hopefully the weather will cooperate this weekend and I can review those plans with my father so that we can get started.
The miscellaneous goals were:
1. Improved Health.
I have been doing great with only drinking soda on the weekends. I have not done so great as far as walking goes (I use the excuse of frigid weather) and I have not been getting myself to bed before midnight at least 3 nights per week. I hope to report improvement in those two failed areas as the end of February.
2. Maintain progress towards financial goals and look for opportunities to increase income towards debt removal.
Very good here! We were able to put some extra money away in savings this month (in anticipation of our daughter getting married sometime in the future), I sold a few items on Ebay/Half.com which will go towards either debt reduction or the improvements we plan to make to our reading room. We started the process of refinancing our house. I’m really proud of this for one reason: we did not refinance to get a lower monthly payment, but instead lowered our interest, went from a 30 to 15 year loan, and if we never paid extra would be saving ourselves over $50,000 on the total loan payout. To me that is a sign of actually growing up. In the past all changes of any kind have been to get us more ready cash. It is nice to be in a position financially to be able to add a little to our monthly mortgage payments for the reward of a better future. We were also able to increase our charitable giving this month, something that I always enjoy being able to do.
Who knew something as simple as a realistic budget could actually work miracles? Dave Ramsey, in our case. 🙂
I hope everyone else had a great start to 2011 and I look forward to conversing with you throughout the month of February.
wait till the weather gets a little nicer before getting mad at yourself for not walking more. The soda only the weekends thing is a great way to cut down – be “good” most of the week, and then give yourself a break on the weekends. very “everything in moderation”. 🙂
You did have a fantastic January. Hopefully February will bring you more great reading, the bookshelves that you want,more savings, continued decrease in that Mountain Dew intake, and walking (if the wind is not whipping at you). I truly wish you a great February!
First, I’m glad to hear that your company made the right decision in keeping their employees safe! It looks like you were able to really enjoy your day at home. Secondly, I am very impressed that you have set some pretty extensive financial goals and stuck with them – you and your wife sound like you are on the right track for financial independance!!
I hear you on the walking. When it gets up above freezing I will walk more, but it is hard on my lungs walking when it is cold like this… Besides, considering how much shoveling I have done so far this winter I think I have exercised…
Kailana: I could get a lot of good exercise in if I went out and walked right now…with these blizzard producing winds and deep snow I might make up for all the time missed in January.
And kudos to you, I had forgotten about all the shoveling I did as well. Whee!!! Including today.
Stephanie: Yes, and they called us tonight and closed for tomorrow too!!! Awesome! I may get another novel read tomorrow. And thanks, it took me 19 years of our marriage to finally become an adult as far as finances go and we are both so thrilled that this is finally an area that is a positive one in our lives and not a source of worry and frustration.
Ibeeg: And you’ll be happy to know that when I have drank pop it has not been Mountain Dew! Mostly Pepsi and Welch’s grape soda.
Redhead: Everything in moderation is right, which is why I set my goals the way that I did. I didn’t want them to be artificial, I wanted them to be realistic and build on work I had already done in those areas of my life.
wow! and all I managed was 3 books! Actually I don’t mind not reading way more for myself, but it’s always impressive to read a blog and hear someone has read as much as you! (taking note that you are in your favorite element lol)
your year has begun very well, i think that’s a good sign!! I hope it continues and grows even better thru-out 2011.
I matched deslily with 3 books, one of them SF (BERSERKERS: THE BEGINNING reviewed on my blog). Hopefully February will be more productive for reading, but I’m not sure.
Congrats on that budget and the refi – going from 30 to 15 years is a huge step. We paid our last house off more than 10 years early. Now we have a mortgage again, but we have 3 years of payments set aside (from the sale of that previous place) in a “no-touch” account, in case of emergency. I too need that exercise plan. One problem we have now is we’re on a steep hill, too steep to walk up and down comfortably, so we have to get in the car and drive to a place we can walk, which seems counter-intuitive.
RkR: We often drive somewhere to walk, to be honest, though we don’t have a reason like yours. We just like to see different scenery and there are several walking trails around here that are much more visually interesting than the same neighborhood houses over and over again. With all you have going on with the move it doesn’t surprise me that you haven’t had much time to read.
Deslily: I hope yours does as well! January always seems to be my top or one of my top months given that, as you say, I am reading the fiction I like the best and have a lot of adrenaline focused towards reading. The combination of that with several snow days, football on Sundays (which I watch religiously but always have a book in hand as well) and cutting back on our television watching has opened up a lot of time for reading. Its been really nice.
And with snow days these past two days I finished a book yesterday (the second Jack Vance novel in the Dying Earth series) and am reading James White’s Hospital Station today.
I think you’ll enjoy HOSPITAL STATION.
RkR: I think you are right. I’m about 70 pages in and enjoying it so far, so I think it is a safe bet to say I’ll be reading more of these in the future.
I’m a failed walker (runner) too. I think when the snow / nasty weather is over it’ll be easier to drag my sorry self out of bed and get some exercise, but I’m afraid it will be May before all our snow is gone here in Boston.
Nice job with the budget! And the reduced book-buying!
I’ve been neglecting my walking goals too. My excuse isn’t as good as yours: in SoCal 60 degrees is freezing to me. 😉 In January I rediscovered Tor and their downloaded short stories. I’m in heaven. 🙂 Happy reading in February.
Vasilly: I am in good company then. 🙂 I would love 60 degree temps about now. Heck I’d be thrilled with 50 degree temps. The Tor website is a great one, isn’t it. I think it is great that they send out short stories on a regular basis, promote artists, etc. Very fun site.
Ella: I’m worrying it might be that way here as well. Agh! Please come early, Spring!
Wow, it does indeed sound like 2011 is off to a great start for you!! I love your resolutions this year and I hope they continue working for you. You have me dying to read Ship Breaker…I don’t know why I haven’t gotten that one yet…really must get it soon!! And SNOW!! I would kill for snow down here…I’ll gladly take some of yours 😉
Chris: Ship Breaker is a book you would most certainly enjoy. I’ll get to work today on packaging some of our abundance of snow up and sending it your way! As much as I enjoy winter and like snow, I’m a bit overwhelmed with it now. Too much of a good thing. Although I did enjoy my two snow days. 🙂
Where did you find this artwork?
Are you talking about the picture of the calendar at the start of this post? I just took it. Pulled out a few of my rusty items collection and used the Gil Elvgren mini calendar that another blogger gave me and snapped a pic.