Reading

Story Time Reviews H. Beam Piper

Lynette M Burrows

If you like post-apocalyptic fiction, you’ll enjoy Story Time Reviews H. Beam Piper. Piper’s short story, “The Answer,” first appeared in the December 1959 issue of Fantastic Universe Science Fiction. This review is of the LibriVox public domain recording. Approximately 30 minutes in duration, it is the first story in LibriVox’s Five Sci-Fi Short Stories by H. Beam Piper audiobook. The Story The snap of a screen door wakes Lee Richardson from a dream he wants to remember. Dream glimpses of a woman with a dachshund are precious to him, they were all he had for the last fifteen years. His colleague, Alexis Pitov, a Russian calls out to him.   Fifteen years earlier, in the autumn of 1969, the United States and the Soviet Union had been “blown to rubble.” Russian believes the US sent first bomb. The US believes the Russians launched the attack, though, they wondered why only the Russians had sent only one bomb until hours after they launched the counterattack. Alexis assures Lee that the Russians did not launch the first strike. Lee believes him.  Lee and Alexis are in Buenos Aires, taking part in a “scientific experiment.” “Professor Doctor Lee Richardson and Comrade Professor Alexis […]

Are You a Bad-Ass Reader?

Lynette M Burrows

Are you a Bad-Ass Reader? You are if you can answer the thirty trivia questions below correctly. I had fun putting this list together. Enjoy! You’re on your honor—get a pen and paper and answer to the best of your knowledge. Scroll down the page to find the answers. Don’t cheat and look the answer up.   Questions In J.M. Barrie’s novel, where did the Lost Boys live?  Which famous novel featured Jo, Meg, Beth and Amy March?  Who wrote the poem “Paradise Lost?” Name this stringless fictional character created by Carlo Collodi over one hundred years ago. Who wrote the “Harry Potter” series? Name the French novelist and poet, born in 1802, who was exiled to Jersey and who wrote about a hunchback.  Who is Winnie the Pooh’s gloomy donkey friend? What Shakespeare play features a brooding Danish prince and his girlfriend Ophelia? Who wrote The Scarlet Letter? What was the name of the land where Gulliver met the Little People? Who wrote “The Pit and the Pendulum”? In Shakespeare’s “Othello”, who is the female lead? Who pricked her finger on a spinning wheel and slept for 100 years? Name the historical prince whose name was used by Bram […]

A Musical and Literary Tribute for D-Day

Lynette M Burrows

Yesterday was the 75th anniversary of D-Day, the day that changed history. The Allies sent soldiers in a massive assault against the Germans. Thousands went into battle. Thousands died, thousands were injured. We honor this day and remember those who fought and those who died. There is little new to be said, but we mustn’t forget the men and women who sacrificed to stop the fascists. This musical and literary tribute for D-Day is a small attempt to honor those whose lives were forever changed because of World War II. “I’ll Be Seeing You” Billie Holiday, 1938 Billie Holliday sang this soulful song in 1938. In the lyrics she tells her love she will see him everywhere she looks (even though he’s gone away). It became the farewell anthem for soldiers and has been sung by many others. The Diary of a Young Girl Anne Frank © 1947 German-born and Jewish, Anne Frank got a diary for her thirteenth birthday. A short while later, she and her family went into hiding. Her diary shares details of her daily life, her wishes, and her desires until the Nazis captured her and her family. She died in a concentration camp at the […]