Monthly Archives: July 2009

Read recently: A Free Life, by Ha Jin

Posted on July 31, 2009 by Dave Gottlieb

Ha Jin writes in English, which is not a first language and it shows. What’s interesting about this book is that it makes writing in English part of a whole raft of acts of defiance, like the insistent struggle for … Continue reading →

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Broken

Posted on July 29, 2009 by Dave Gottlieb

I accidentally broke my glasses at about question 160 on today’s NY Bar exam session. Pain in the ass, but obviously I finished anyway, and I kinda needed to get new ones regardless. (Ironically, I also broke my glasses — … Continue reading →

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Read recently: who knows?

Posted on July 25, 2009 by Dave Gottlieb

I haven’t done a reading post in two months, despite reading several books in the meantime. I probably won’t remember a few of them. Here’s what I remember now: Second Foundation by Asimov. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay … Continue reading →

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Reading all the Hugo winners

Posted on July 20, 2009 by Dave Gottlieb

Sam Jordison for the Guardian is doing a series where he reads and discusses each Hugo Award-winning SF novel. Neat project. I’ve read about 17 of the about 55 Hugo winners. They were almost all excellent. But I am wary … Continue reading →

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Moral feelings without choice in games, Shadow of the Colossus.

Posted on July 14, 2009 by Dave Gottlieb

I’ve got a new essay up here about the ways games can elicit moral feelings in players, in pursuit of a richer experience. Basically, I think choice and freedom are overemphasized in the discussion of game morality. Many games can … Continue reading →

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New Yorker names!

Posted on July 13, 2009 by Dave Gottlieb

The New Yorker books blog authors have such neat names: Macy Halford Willing Davidson Eliza Honey Shahnaz Habib Menachem Kaiser Jenna Krajeski Thessaly La Force Ligaya Mishan Lauren Porcaro Vicky Raab Rollo Romig Andrea Walker EDIT 13 Aug.: Shana Wagger … Continue reading →

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Sci-fi and gaming: how far back do they go?

Posted on July 2, 2009 by Dave Gottlieb

Sci-fi and gaming are demographically and thematically linked activities today. Why is that so and how far back does it go? Well, check this out: early SF writer H.G. Wells also designed “the first modern table top war game,” called … Continue reading →

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