"'The future sucks' seems to be the underlying theme of yet another edition of this newsletter. Sorry, not sorry!" Five things for February 8, 2024.
Booknotes: January 2024
Books I read this month, and a brief note on what I thought about each of them.
Five Things: January 25, 2024
"Ultimately, you have to be true to yourself and deal with the consequences." Five things for January 25, 2024.
On library ebook licenses, patron demand, and power dynamics
Meanwhile, libraries have generally proven reluctant to use their power to shape the demand curve and shift digital budgets away from expensive Big 5 bestsellers, even when it means sacrificing diversity and depth in their own digital collections.
Five Things: January 4, 2024
"One of the few book-related things I’d save in a fire." Five Things: January 4, 2024.
Encounters: Shadowrun — Modified Solo Play Rules
In which I codify my homebrew rules for Encounters: Shadowrun, hopefully making the game more satisfying for solo play while adding a fun narrative layer to make it more immersive.
2023 in Review: A Few of My Favorite Things
2023 was a pretty good year for my personal relationship with immersive media, though. I enjoyed a range of new-to-me books, games, movies, and TV, while also uncharacteristically diving back into some old faves when I needed a bit of comfort food.
Five Things: December 14, 2023
"Comixology was temporary pain relief, never the cure." Five Things: December 14, 2023.
Not-so-random pandemic thoughts on Author Platforms
It's an unfortunate truth about books that it's never simply been about being a good writer, but as literal thousands of new books are published every month, marketability is arguably more important — and harder to define — than it's ever been.
One year later, the problem with social media is clear: PEBKAC
I don't usually buy into "blame the user" for most problems, but our collective addiction to vanity metrics ruined everything, and even those who didn't buy into them have suffered the consequences. The problem exists between keyboard and chair.