Doing a reading

Hello all! I will be reading the new and exciting beginning of my new and exciting YA fantasy, The Dragonskin War, on Friday May 27 (today!) at CONduit in Salt Lake City. I know it's a little late to be announcing this, so just wish me luck!

Star Wars Holiday Special

Egad! I have just witnessed the horror that is the Star Wars Holiday Special. Aired in 1979, George Lucas has said that he'd like to find every last copy of this and smash it with a sledghammer. Well, Mr. Lucas, you can have my copy. Bleah! Most of the show involves Chewbacca's family, who speak only Wookiee and are not subtitled. There's an extended musical number where Chewie's father, Itchy, fantasizes about Diahann Carroll. Eeeew! The only good thing about this is that my copy has the original commercials, like Sheer Indulgence Pantyhose ("The only hose with real panty at the top!"), Contac cold medicine, and the American Ladies' Garment Sewers Union. The rest of the show was mind-numbing crap. -JDG

JDG on HGTTG

I know, I know, I'm sure that purists hated it, but I personally loved The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy movie. I must admit, I could take or leave Humma Kavula (John Malkovich), but the rest of the casting was superb. It was beyond superb. Mos Def? Perfect. Sam Rockwell? Insane and perfect. My favorite part: Trillian and Ford shooting Zaphod with the Point of View Gun. Rockwell does a mean Zooey Deschanel impression. Two thumbs way, way up, and here's hoping they make it to the Restaurant at the End of the Universe.

Book Recommendations

Hey, while I'm getting the hang of this blog thingy, let's recommend some books.

War of the Flowers by Tad Williams was one of the best books I've read in a long time. If you want to get to know Williams' work but don't want to commit to his insanely long series (Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn or the Otherland Quartet), this is a great single title.

Neal Stephenson has come up with another bizarre and convoluted work: Quicksilver, which is a sort of precurser to Cryptonomicon.

Jenny Nimmo's Charlie Bone books are fabulous for Harry Potter fans. Charlie also attends a school for the magically gifted, except his headmaster is evil. Just finished number three, can't wait for number four, and excited by rumors that they'll be making them into movies.