What book are you reading, and what do you think of it?

[kphoger]

Or, put more clearly, it's a crossover between Harry Potter and Battlestar Galactica where Harry and Ginny arrive on Caprica as Starbuck is retrieving the Arrow of Apollo and they join the fleet on the journey to Earth.  Meanwhile, Ron and Hermione are trying to figure out what Voldemort did so they can rescue Harry and Ginny while trying to figure out how to continue living their own lives.  It's really good and posts a new chapter once a week (this week's adapted "The Passage"), but the author finished writing so the risk of abandonment is minimal.

What was that about Harry Potter going to Starbucks?

[vdeane]

Or, put more clearly, it's a crossover between Harry Potter and Battlestar Galactica where Harry and Ginny arrive on Caprica as Starbuck is retrieving the Arrow of Apollo and they join the fleet on the journey to Earth.  Meanwhile, Ron and Hermione are trying to figure out what Voldemort did so they can rescue Harry and Ginny while trying to figure out how to continue living their own lives.  It's really good and posts a new chapter once a week (this week's adapted "The Passage"), but the author finished writing so the risk of abandonment is minimal.

What was that about Harry Potter going to Starbucks?

Or perhaps I should have written Lt. Kara Thrace - she's a viper pilot and her callsign is Starbuck.

[ZLoth]

I completed Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Full-Cast Edition). Oh, what a dark turn of events.

Oh dear, it has been quite a while since I last updated. Okay....

• Fight: Inside the Wildest Battle for the White House - (With my mother) This is a good insiders view of the 2024 election election from the June debate, to Joe Biden dropping out of the race and select Kamala Harris, to the final election results. This is a must-read for any politicos.
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Full Cast) - Good drama, I hate Professor Umbridge. I really hate Professor Umbridge.
• A Rare Recording of Ian Fleming and Raymond Chandler - This is the only known audio recording of Raymond Chandler, and he gets to be "interviewed" by Ian Fleming for his 70th birthday courtesy of the BBC. This is an interesting conversation with insight on both author's perspectives. Recording is available through archive.org, and a transcript is also available.
• Don't Need the Whole Dog! - (With my mother) This is a continuation from the first book That Bear Ate My Pants!: Life and Near Death in an Ecuadorian Animal Refuge where the author, a self-described "idiot", returns from Ecuador only to go on a trip to America... but he lost his passport and got an emergency replacement. Then, there is this bright idea of renovating and "flipping" a home, followed by his mis-adventures being part of a yacht delivery crew before he goes off on a Fiji adventure.
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - The sixth book, so we get some more insight on Lord Vortemort. Also, I'm depressed on how this book ended, and can't wait until the seventh book drops on May 12th.

Currently in progress...

• Cockpit Confidential: Everything You Need to Know About Air Travel: Questions, Answers, and Reflections - With my mother. This is a re-listen for me as it gives some insight on how airlines and airports work from a 2013 perspective.
• ENIAC: The Triumphs and Tragedies of the World's First Computer - Originally published in 1999, the first half of the book covers some of the pre-ENIAC computers as well as the development of the ENIAC computer during World War II. I'm currently in the second half of the book which covers what happened to the three key people of ENIAC and what happened in making and marketing the post-WW2 computers.

[ZLoth]

Completed the following:

• The Real James Bond: A True Story of Identity Theft, Avian Intrigue, and Ian Fleming - Interesting book about the ornithologist James Bond whose name was stolen by Ian Fleming in 1952 when Ian was having wedding jitters, decided to write a spy novel, and happened on the name on the book Birds of the West Indies by James Bond. It gives details on the two men meeting during a CBC interview as well as a history of bird watching as well as the shooting and stuffing of bird specimens.
• The End of the Road - A short horror story of five college friends who, post graduation, decide to cross America and take a road not on the map. The van, of course, breaks down, and they head to the nearby town for help. I felt it was a bit meh, but it was only an hour long.

I'm now listening to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Full-Cast Edition) which dropped this morning.

[ZLoth]

I'm starting to think the Harry Potter books is in three arcs:

• Books 1-3 - Harry Potter: The Early Years
• Books 4-6 - Harry Potter: The Teenage Years
• Book 7 -  Harry Potter: Nightmare Year

[ZLoth]

From WBEZ Chicago:

E-books and audiobooks are costing libraries an arm and a leg
E-books and audiobooks account for nearly half of the budget at some libraries, but that could change under legislation being considered in Illinois.

Have you ever waited for months to be able to download an audiobook from your local library? Well, there's a reason for that. Libraries don't permanently own e-books and audiobooks. Instead, they have to temporarily license them from publishers and after a set number of checkouts, they have to renew the license.

Say More learns more from the head of a suburban library. Plus, the hosts ask you to weigh in on the popularity of e-books and audio books. What do you like or dislike about e-books and audiobooks? Are there times you'd rather read versus listen to a book?

GUEST: Kate Hall, executive director, Northbrook Public Library

LINK TO FULL AUDIO REPORT

The Illinois bill is Digital Library Protection Act (House Bill 5236).