Your Humble Professor

Reference Book Sunday! Trigger Warning–Today is a gritty one: John Minnery's "Kill Without Joy". Shooting & stabbing is all very well, but if you're a writer, you occasionally want your villain to show some imagination. This book is a dry, workmanlike, mind-numbingly comprehensive compendium of different ways to kill. We are incredibly fragile beings.

Today it's"Debrett's Correct Form". Debrett is a 250 year old company that (among other things) is THE final word on etiquette and what to do if you accidentally drop your soup on the King (immediately declare a coup). This particular book deals with proper forms of address, as no one wants to be gouache enough address a Count the same way you'd address a Viscount, especially when you are trying to hit them up for money. As Girl Genius is set in an empire shot through with assorted royalty, it has proven very useful.

We have incredibly thick fog here in Seattle (which I will take over wildfire smoke any day of the year). My photophobic family members are thrilled, but my tomatoes–which were underperforming to begin with this year– seem ready to quit.

books Today's book is "Johannes Cabal The Necromancer" by Jonathan Howard. A delightfully sly story about a man of science who uses said science to facilitate his necromatic quest to steal a hundred souls in a year to secure his freedom & yet remains a sympathetic character. This requires good writing, and Mr. Howard manages to thread this needle quite well.

Kaja is planning on streaming tonight at 6PM PST

Today's book is "A trade of Blood" by Robert J. Bennett. The third in his "Ana & Din" fantasy/detective series, which is rapidly becoming the new literary hotness. This book is as good as the first two, if not better, & it was recently revealed that Mr. Bennett (no man dares to call him "Bob") is working on a 4th book, which I believe is the first time he has gone beyond a trilogy. Yay!

Not much to say today, so here is the comic! Enjoy!

Reference Book Sunday! Today it's "The Best Loved Poems of the American People" Selected by Hazel Felleman. Poetry is underrated today, mostly because it has been excised from the curriculum of today's schools. However this is a deficit that can be overcome, and this book is an excellent start, full of literary delights. Are they all gems? Of course not, but for one reason or another, they resonated with people, and thus, are worth examination at the very least.

Today's non-fiction read is "The End Is Always Near" by Dan Carlin. Civilizations have come to apocalyptic endings numerous time throughout history–and yet civilization persists. So far. A fascinating read by the creator of the "Hardcore History" podcast, which is also recommended.

Beginning the process of packing stuff for WorldCon

One of the few non-MTG shows we're doing, so I get to pack everything, and there's a LOT of everything. With luck, I'll be taking a lot less of it back home.

Today's read is "Reincarnation Blues" by Michael Poore. A very readable and freewheeling jaunt through all of existence and the afterlife, with engaging characters and stuff that I had never seen done in a narrative before. For an old reader like me, that's better than gold, let me tell you.

Kaja is planning on streaming tonight! 6PM PST.

Perform or Perish, as we say in Today's Academia. We'll concede that we're not great writers, but we ARE entertaining on camera. Everybody loves clowns.

Today's book is "Blood Sport: A Journey Up the Hassayampa" by Robert Jones. You hear people talking about 'Magical Realism' as a genre. This is not that. This book makes no attempt at reality from the very first well crafted sentence, and is one of the weirdest (in a good way) books I've ever read–which is a high bar, let me tell you.

We are fulfilling our latest Kickstarter! This is good, because our garage (and most of our house is now filled with books {see Fig.1})

The kids whine when I tell them to get to work–but I know someday they'll treasure these memories of us doing something together as a family!

Today it's "Pocket Ref (4th Edition)" by Thomas Glover. This weensy little book is invaluable if you need a working man's knowledge of chemistry, electronics, material science, carpentry, plumbing, hardware, weather, first aid, and much much more. Well, to be fair, you won't KNOW it, but you'll be able to FAKE it convincingly, which is all a writer can ask for. Astonishing, but true.

Today's non-fiction read is "Sex at Dawn- The Prehistoric Origins of Modern Sexuality" by Chris Ryan & Cacilda Jethá. It is rare to find a book that is well-researched, matter-of-fact, informative, readable, and genuinely salacious at the same time. Recommend it to your book club!

Girl Genius for 7/30.

We are going to Dallas for a MTG show! September/4-6.