Monthly Archives: July 2014

Book Giveaway: Kindred by Octavia Butler

I love books. Stories, really, but particularly in written form. I don’t know why I have such a preference for reading over watching or hearing, but I do. (My hierarchy is probably reading > hearing > watching, when it comes to fiction.)

Every now and again, a particular story comes along that really moves me. And Octavia Butler’s Kindred is one of them.

This is an old book. Thirty-five years old. It appears it’s been chosen as a school text for many of the years it’s been around. Still, I’d never read it or heard of Butler until this year. And based on what I heard of her, I bought every work of hers I could get my hands on at Powell’s in May.

I haven’t read them all, though I’m working on it.… Continue reading →

Bill’s Bitter

He so rarely gets a good non-alcoholic drink when we go out places. In restaurants, there’s usually mediocre iced tea, maybe some sodas. At drinking friend’s homes, there’s water. Maybe a soda, maybe not. Indeed, he’s always very grateful to our friend Theresa, because she makes an active effort to have interesting beverages beyond water for him.

Me? I just have gotten so used to cocktails, beer, and wine that I tend to want fairly complex drinks, even when I don’t want booze. Tea, when it’s good, often fills this niche. It’s how Bill finally got me into coffee.

But, sometimes, we want something even more. Or maybe we want cool drinks. Let me tell you what, iced coffee and iced tea only occasionally provide the fun we’re looking for in cool drinks.… Continue reading →