Movie Review: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, directed by Gareth Edwards — *Rogue One: A Star Wars Story*
Directed by Gareth Edwards
Screenplay by Chris Weitz & Tony Gilroy
Story by John Knoll & Gary Whitta
Produced by Lucasfilm, Ltd.
Distributed by Walt Disney Studios, 2016

I finally saw Rogue One: A Star Wars Story this weekend and I’m very happy with it. I enjoyed it immensely and I have many thoughts about it now.

I should point out that I never had much to do with the Expanded Universe—I read a couple of the novels but I never paid much attention to it. I’ve also never watched any of the animated series (“Star Wars: The Clone Wars” or “Star Wars: Rebels”). My reactions to Rogue One come purely from the perspective of how well it fits in with the other movies.

**WARNING: SPOILERS**

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Book Review: The Wrong Dead Guy by Richard Kadrey

Cover of the book The Wrong Dead Guy by Richard Kadrey — *The Wrong Dead Guy*
by Richard Kadrey
Harper/Voyager, 2017

This review was first published by Booklist on January 9, 2017.

Coop and company are back for their second supernatural adventure (after The Everything Box, 2016). This time, they’re facing a reanimated mummy bent on world domination (and finding his old girlfriend) while Coop gets acclimated to his new role in DOPS. There are inept suburban animal-rights activists, a crooked used-car salesman, machinating DOPS agents, a possessed museum guard, crooked old mystics, a professor transformed into a cat trapped in a television mounted on a tentacled robot, a forgotten department in the bowels of DOPS with a strange box in it . . . Kadrey fans have plenty of his signature ridiculousness to sink their teeth into: Douglas Adams meets Clive Barker in a James Ellroy setting. This is smart, witty, and biting comedy. There’s a bit of a sophomore slump: the stakes of the conflict are lower than its predecessor, and the side characters feel somewhat perfunctory. Still, all the elements come together and work well, and Kadrey at slightly less than his best remains one of the best out there. This new series remains worthwhile.

My Twitter Year

One of my goals this year is to participate more in professional conversations and debates. For me, this means getting more active on Twitter. That’s where I keep track of most of my professional connections.

This past week saw my first forays in that direction.

There’s a quote from Donny Miller that has become ubiquitous among information professionals:

“In the age of information, ignorance is a choice.”

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2016: My Year in Reading

All of the data that follows was collected by me throughout the year using a combination of Google Sheets and Google Calendar. All seasonal and monthly calculations are based on the date each title was completed. Average days to read titles are based on the number of days actually spent reading each title, and not necessarily the full span from begun date to completed date.

A complete list of all the books I read in 2016 is at the bottom of this post.

I read 70 books in 2016. This year I overwhelmingly read fiction:

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My Least Favorite Books of 2016

In advance of my annual “Year in Reading” summary, I thought I’d post a list of the books I read this year that I liked least. Or, more accurately—the books that disappointed me the most. Because reading isn’t just about what you like—it’s about what you don’t like, too.

Inclusion on this list doesn’t necessarily mean the book is bad. There are titles here which are very good—they just weren’t my thing. Some titles make this list because I had hoped for more from them. Other titles are on this list because I genuinely believe they’re poor work.

This is not a definitive ranking. Titles are listed in alphabetical order by author.

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Book Review: Cyberbullying and the Wild, Wild Web: What Everyone Needs to Know by J. A. Hitchcock

Cover of the book Cyberbullying and the Wild, Wild Web: What Everyone Needs to Know by J. A. Hitchcock — *Cyberbullying and the Wild, Wild Web: What Everyone Needs to Know*
by J. A. Hitchcock
Rowman & Littlefield, 2017

This review was first published by Booklist on December 15, 2016.

This book will be a useful resource for anyone who wants to know how to deal with cyberbullying. Chock-full of examples of what cyberbullying is—each chapter opens with the story of a victim—the narrative’s greatest value is the well-informed and practical advice it offers about how to handle cyberbullies and what parents can do if their child is the one doing the bullying. The author also provides insightful analysis of what makes cyberbullying different and why it can be more harmful than other forms of bullying. The work concludes with a comprehensive list of resources and support organizations available to those who need them. Parents will appreciate the guidance. Hitchcock founded one of the first organizations dedicated to combating online abuse and is a recognized expert in the field. She approaches the subject from the perspective of her own experiences, which testifies to her authority on the subject, but at times it comes across as a bit self-promotional. However, she also interviews several other cyberbullying experts and includes their insights, making this a well-rounded resource for parents and educators.

Book Review: Power Play: How Video Games Can Save the World by Asi Burak and Laura Parker

Cover of the book Power Play: How Video Games Can Save the World by Asi Burak and Laura Parker — *Power Play: How Video Games Can Save the World*
by Asi Burak and Laura Parker
St. Martin’s, 2017

This review was first published by Booklist on December 15, 2016.

This book is a survey of the movement to use video games as tools to educate and empower positive social change. Each chapter dives into a specific game or media company to present the history of this movement through real-world examples. Games can be forces for good—these games have been used to foster empathy and compassion, to illuminate mutual understanding, to promote involvement in civics and science, and even to help the sick deal with illness. Lead author Burak has been a pivotal figure in the Games for Change movement. Just about all of the games profiled in this book were projects that his organization, Games for Change, was involved with in some way. This makes him biased on the subject, certainly, but it also makes him better informed about the state of social-impact games than just about anyone else. This is an insider’s perspective, and the authors make a compelling argument. Games for Change might just change the world someday. It will be exciting to see what comes next.

Hate Speech in Libraries

There have been several reports over the last few weeks identifying a rise in incidents of hate speech, racist graffiti and slogans, and acts of violence toward members of various minority groups throughout the country. Several libraries have been targeted—books and buildings have been defaced with swastikas, racist, sexist, homo- and transphobic epithets, explicit threats of violence toward minority groups, etc.

Libraries are targets because we stand at the vanguard of promoting inclusion and diversity. We seek to empower the disempowered, to give voice and provide access to all individuals and groups within our community. We hold as a core value that no one be excluded from the tools and services we offer, that no one be silenced or impeded from equal participation in our community. Libraries function as a safe space for anyone who needs it.

Libraries pose a great threat to those who seek to exclude all those who are different from them.

Libraries hold a resolute belief in the freedom of speech and expression. This is fundamental to everything we do. How, then, are libraries supposed to handle incidents of hate speech?

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Book Review: The Passage by Justin Cronin

On paper, there’s a lot I could criticize about The Passage by Justin Cronin.

The plot isn’t terribly original: a virus is unwittingly unleashed by the government which turns people into something very much like vampires. Mr. Cronin presents the standard well-intentioned scientist whose work is hijacked by the military (which, as expected, doesn’t go well). There’s a roster of bad guys, a cop with a conscience, and a Chosen One whose arrival can save mankind. There’s even an oracle of sorts.

It’s a man-made apocalypse story built on fairly generic story tropes. We witness the moment it all goes wrong and then spend the rest of the novel living in the post-apocalyptic world of the few survivors.

We’ve seen all this before. I Am Legend, zombie movies, The Walking Dead, et al. The ending offers a faint wisp of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Even the hive-mind wrinkle the author incorporates into his vampires is a familiar idea.

But none of that is a problem. None of it is a weakness. None of it feels derivative. This is one of the best renditions of all these ideas I’ve read.

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Book Review: Last Year by Robert Charles Wilson

Cover of the book Last Year by Robert Charles Wilson — *Last Year*
by Robert Charles Wilson
Tor, 2016

This review was first published by Booklist on November 15, 2016.

People from the twenty-first century have opened a portal in rural Illinois that allows them to visit 1877. They’ve built a tourist resort called the City of Futurity, where wealthy individuals can experience the past and locals can catch a sanitized glimpse of the future. Jesse Cullum is a native of 1877 who works for the City. A man with a violent history, he meets and falls for a woman from the future. Meanwhile, someone is smuggling future technology into the past and sowing discord toward the City. Soon enough, it all starts to fall apart. There’s a lot going on in the latest from Hugo Award–winning Wilson. It’s an alternate-history novel, a time-travel story, and a whodunit all in one. It explores parallel universes, corporate greed, and culture clashes while critiquing the entitlement of modern society and our tendency to romanticize the past. Wilson wrangles all these threads with skill and vividly renders the reality of the past. The story is well paced, builds to an epic crisis, and makes for a satisfying read.