Reading

Pearls of Wisdom From Science Fiction

Lynette M Burrows

No matter what we experience in life there is always someone who has shared a pearl of wisdom that we can apply. The same is true of our pandemic life today. Here are some pearls of wisdom from science fiction books and authors.  “Beware At war Or at peace, More people die Of unenlightened self-interest Than of any other disease” ― Octavia Butler Nobody dares to solve the problems-because the solution might contradict your philosophy, and for most people clinging to beliefs is more important than succeeding in the world. ― Michael Crichton, State of Fear The monsters don’t live in the belly of the world like they all say. The monsters live inside of us. We make the monsters. ― Kameron Hurley, The Stars are Legion  All governments suffer a recurring problem: Power attracts pathological personalities. It is not that power corrupts but that it is magnetic to the corruptible. ― Frank Herbert,Chapterhouse: Dune Arrogance and Conceit are the mother and father of a closed mind. ― Richard Nance, “Journey of the Chosen” Just as every villain imagines themselves a hero, few heroes see when they’ve become the villain. ― Nicholas Tana Fire is catching!” I am shouting now, determined he will not miss […]

Which Great Line Would Make You Read the Book?

Lynette M Burrows

Have you gone through your to-be-read (TBR) pile yet? Or do you look at your TBRs and find nothing that interests you right now? Here’s a collection of lines from various speculative fiction novels. Which great line would make you read the book? Anthology “I have no mouth. And I must scream…” ― Harlan Ellison, I Have No Mouth and I MustScream Cyberpunk “Bees? Are you telling me we have space bees?” ― David Colello, Trillion Dollar Sky: Mission Cerex Horror “Jane woke, stretched, and decided to kill herself. If she hadn’t found a reason to live by the end of the day, she would jump from the rig. It felt good to have a plan.” ― Adam Baker, Outpost Science Fiction Beware of more powerful weapons. They often inflict as much damage to your soul as they do to you enemies. ― Greg Cox, The Rise and Fall of Khan Noonien Singh “There was no escaping the screaming rats.” ― Jim L. Owens, The Neptune Bubble I am a leg of the death tripod that will destroy our foes. ― Frank Herbert, Dune “Damn it, no horizon should bend upward.” Jan S. Gephardt, What’s Bred in the Bone “What was I before the war? It’s hard to remember that far back. […]

The Eighth Day of the Week

Lynette M Burrows

It’s been difficult and trying and scary time. And it feels like there is an eight day of the week every week. A day to slog through. I have a feeling many of you can relate. Instead of slogging through, what if we find a different way to view that “extra day?” As I’ve sat and tried to write a blog post, I’ve struggled. No topic, no words I wrote seemed appropriate. I needed an intervention. So I did some internet browsing (because that’s this introvert’s social distancing way of having an intervention.) Then I came across a quote that gave me a different perspective. “Let’s be reasonable and add an eighth day to the week that is devoted exclusively to reading.” Lena Dunham The Eighth Day of the Week Oh, what if such a day existed? What if we could make one exist? No, I don’t mean re-do the calendar. I mean, what if we could give ourselves a day to devote only to reading? Would you? The Challenges Many of you may think it sounds lovely, but you couldn’t possibly do that because of responsibilities. Life means responsibility. You take responsibility for yourself, children, spouse, ailing parents, job, […]