I just finished reading Dragon Age: The Stolen Throne, and started on Dragon Age: The Calling. They're not very good, but I needed more Bioware in my life.

Finally got to the library and picked up _The Dreaming Void_ by Peter F. Hamilton. Good stuff, but I'm glad I've read it before. It's a lot easier to follow.

Speaking of reading. Try this out. Kind of cool.
It's a .jpg so I couldn't was too lazy to edit the last line. Not that it matters. Feel free to, I just personally hate when stuff says that particular suggestion.

Wow, I guess I have a strong mind as I read that through right away.
Just finished Steven Tylers book (Does the Noise in my Head Bother You?). What a read!
Just started "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo."

I read Tyler's book too. Crazy stuff.

Now, like dakkon, I'm halfway through an equally crazy, but not the fun kind of crazy, book that's primarily about the US economic crisis.

Matt Taibbi's Griftopia is a frightening, shocking, and amazingly understable recounting of what caused, and is causing, everything from the current fuel price increases to the bailouts that began in 2008.

I'm also almost finished Walter Isaacson's biography of Steve Jobs. Again, great insight on the good and the bad there.

I'm still enjoying my Kindle, and I'm making good progress on my re-read of The Wheel of Time. I'm about a third of the way through the fifth book. I took a short break to read a friend's short story that she published on Amazon.com. It's a decently-written story that she had me read a while ago when she did it for class. I'd say she has more natural storytelling ability than I do, even if it's not something I'd normally read. (Pssst... She didn't edit it very well, though, since at least around the halfway mark typos start to show up.) It has inspired me to finish a story and publish on Amazon.com, too. It sounds really easy, and it would be fun to have something out there, even if very few people ever actually stumble onto it.

If any of you write a story and publish there, too, let me know, and I'll buy a copy, assuming you don't price it into the stratosphere. I can't imagine charging much for whatever I churn out. I still feel hopelessly far from earning any sort of real publishing deal, so this is really just an exercise in doing something because I can. In any case, I know some of you are very creative and have writing goals yourselves. This seems like a good way to dip your toes into the idea of publishing.

Kindle Direct Publishing

I've been reading a lot of self published stuff lately too. My leisure time to read right now is limited to brief attempts before I fall asleep at night so shorter stories and novellas suit me better right now.

With the ability to browse titles on the Internet and read other peoples reviews, and then buy instantly, often for 99 cents, it is much easier to make great choices other than "the safe bet" of the latest best seller.

I's also fun to watch as a short intro story by a complete unknown that you downloaded and read for free, like "Wool" goes on to be a full novel, then a trilogy on the best seller list.

All this couldn't happen in traditional book store. I'm still a bit nostalgic for a nice hard cover book if I know it's one I'll read more than once, but the digital age has really opened up possibilities for literature. Both for writers and the readers.

So Charles, you have done some writing. Where are the link(s).

It's here: "Ode to young, female Singers"

And his followup: "A Stalker's Guide to Skirting Around Restraining Orders"

I liked his "Gotta Try It: The Art of Buying and Consuming Mass Quantities of Esoteric Foods".