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Star Trek is celebrating it's 50th Anniversary this week.  If you want to see how close we are to the Star Trek future I would encourage you to grab a copy of Trekonomics. I purchased the audio version from Audible.com and really enjoyed listening to it.  Enjoy it with a Klingon Raktajino.




Kirk and Spock Still Fascinate as 'Star Trek' Turns 50

Fifty years ago today (Sept. 8), television viewers were first introduced to the crew of the USS Enterprise.
On that fateful day, audiences watched the now-famous characters of "Star Trek," including the leading trio of Kirk, Spock and McCoy, struggle (for the very first time) to solve a mystery taking place on a strange alien world. The first aired episode of "Star Trek," titled "The Man Trap," features a mysterious woman who looks older or younger depending on which crew member is looking at her. What is causing thi



Science Fiction Book by A.I. Written in Japan

How unique are individual novelists? Are works of fiction the products of distinct, creative minds, or could an algorithm actually produce some of the texts we’ve all come to know and love? According to an article* in Slate, a novel co-written in Japan by A.I. (or, artificial intelligence) recently competed for a Japanese literary prize. Should we be excited or concerned about the latest development? Or, should we be more critical of attempts to use technology for cultural production?

Publishers' Dilemma: Judge A Book By Its Data Or Trust The Editor's Gut?

Alan Rinzler has a long history in publishing. Starting as an editor in 1962 he worked with some greats, including Toni Morrison, and ushered in some of that era's classics: Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee and Manchild in the Promised Land. Now a freelance editor, Rinzler says publishing a book is not just a business decision, it's an act of love.

Top 10 books writers should read

Writing a novel from scratch, which is to say without training, was such an unexpected odyssey that I was prompted to recall the discoveries in my new book, Release the Bats – as much to remind myself where the power lay as to pass the keys on to others trying their luck. I didn’t read a lot before writing a novel, but I realise now that certain books helped set me up. Writing fiction means writing vibrant human characters, and luck is with us in terms of research, as we haven’t essentially changed since we came down from the trees. So the best grounding for a fiction writer must be one that explores human nature with gloves off. There’s nothing like literature from ancient Rome bemoaning consumer culture to show that nothing is new, or literature from Habsburg Italy telling how to hire nuns for sex from the mothers superior of convents to put Fifty Shades in perspective. Which is to say that if we haven’t figured ourselves out by now, there’s still time: we’re not going anywhere.


You Can Now Share Your Kindle Notes and Highlights via Goodreads

Kindle users have long been able to share via Twitter and FB the annotations from the ebooks they're reading, and now we have the option to share via one of Amazon's social networks, Goodreads.

Amazon Lowers the Boom on Discount eBook Sites

When Amazon-owned Goodreads launched its discount ebook service last month, I wondered whether Amazon would find reasons to prune back its competition.
The first to lose its affiliate status with Amazon was Fussy Librarian, which went under the axe the week before Goodreads announced. At the time it looked like that was an isolated incident, but now it has been followed by two more sites, Pixel of Ink and eReaderIQ.

‘Peanuts’ can be a treat for adults, too

The Snoopy Museum is a mecca for anyone who has ever been seduced by the iconic white beagle owned by Charlie Brown and immortalized in “Peanuts,” perhaps one of the world’s most famous comic strips, as created by Charles M. Schulz.

The Silver Chair' announced as new 'Chronicles of Narnia' movie

Remember the Chronicles of Narnia franchise with the lion, the witch, the wardrobe and all that jazz? Well it's being, uh, resurrected with a new movie based C.S. Lewis' The Silver Chair.

Two-time Oscar nominee David Magee (Life of Pi) is writing the movie, which boasts the involvement of Sony's literary-focused label TriStar, the Mark Gordon Company, the C.S. Lewis Company and Entertainment One. Lewis' stepson Douglas Gresham is among the producers.



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