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Darwin's Radio
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Greg Bear
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12/27/0
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Borrowed from: Cesar
Excellent. What happens when it's time for Homo
Sapiens Sapiens to start the next subspecies. Read the short biology
primer at the back of the book first! It's very helpful! |
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non-fiction
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Robot
Mere Machine to
Transcendent Mind
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Hans Moravec
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10/27/0
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Not bad. 1st half is history of robots
(a little plodding, actually). 2nd half is the future of robots,
when their intelligence will match and then exceed ours (about 30-50 years
from now) and further, on to when they become super-intelligent and start
transcending physical existence. Then the book gets a little weird... |
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non-fiction
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Deep Time
How humanity communicates
across millennia.
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Gregory
Benford
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8/3/0
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First Edition
Liked quite a bit. In 3 sections: 1. stuff
we build: only a few of the pyramids have survived 5,000 years; how do
we seal away nuclear waste for 10,000? 2. messages on space probes
3. how we treat the Earth is itself a message to the future. Includes
ideas on how to counteract global warming. |
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non-fiction
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My Vast Fortune
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Andrew Tobias
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5/31/0
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First Edition
Liked it! Easy read, light hearted sort of "early
memoir." Lots of good info about how the auto insurance industry
is so messed up and how Ralph Nader is a big fat idiot. This is the
guy who got us on the cover of Parade Magazine. :-)
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(see us on Parade)
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Timeline
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Michael
Crichton
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4/2/0
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Started off a little easy/predictable, but
by the end turned out to be a pretty good story. Time travel to medieval
times. |
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Fahrenheit 451
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Ray Bradbury
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3/2/0
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Very good. Surprising that after 30
some odd years, it still has good warnings to us, namely, that catering
to minorities to the extent that no one can do anything that "might offend
somebody" will lead to a society that outlaws free thinking (in this case,
reading books). |
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The Road to Mars
A Post-Modern Novel
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Eric Idle
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11/22/99
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Nice. Light, but chock-full of profanity.
Interesting ideas on the basis of comedy. Not a dissertation, but
an actual novel (science fiction, actually). Yes, this is the
Eric Idle of Monty Python fame. |
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non-fiction
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Engines of Creation
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K. Eric
Drexler
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11/2/99
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Excellent. The defining text for molecular
nanotechnology. Written in 1986, this book is about the social implications
of nanotech far more than the tech itself. Drexler meticulously builds
his cases for why nanotech will happen and for why and how we should
be prepared for the "assembler breakthrough," since it will be abruptly
world changing. Discussion includes the "gray goo problem" as well
as active shields, cell repair machines, biostasis, "fact forums," and
quite an uncanny prediction of the World Wide Web (though it's really more
of a plea to create it than it is an actual prediction). The only
thing he missed was the amount of time it would take to create - the web
came 5-10 years sooner than he expected. In the afterward (written
in 1990) he states that other steps along the way to nanotech have been
completed sooner than he expected. In all, makes you wonder if we're
going to be ready enough socially by the time the breakthrough gets here
because it looks like it's coming full speed! |
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humor
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The Joy of Work
Dilbert's Guide to Finding Happiness at the Expense of Your Co-workers
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Scott Adams
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9/30/99
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First Printing (paperback)
Good book. Has an excellent section at the end where
he explains how to write humor. |
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A Connecticut Yankee
in King Arthur's Court
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Samuel Clemens
(Mark Twain)
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8/8/99
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Awesome! Great! Hard to believe
a story like this was written so long ago. I think I like Clemens;
maybe I'll have to read something else of his now. I read the "Norton
Critical Edition" which has all sorts of useful footnotes detailing all
the little references he makes to stuff I never would have known.
A third of the book is "extras:" sources, backgrounds, critiques (contemporary
and modern), letters to/from Clemens regarding, on and on. Quite
excellent. Very much enjoyed! Didn't finish all of the commentaries
until 3/10/0. |
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non-fiction
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Nano
The Emerging Science
of Nanotechnology
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Ed Regis
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5/10/99
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Though not what I expected, a good book.
Not details about all the neat things nanotech can do, it is instead the
story of the guy who first realized all the things it can do. If
I had known this is what it was about, I wouldn't have read it, but now
I'm glad I did since it's given me all the background to bring me up to
speed on the ... well, politics of nanotech. THE book to read seems
to be Engines of Creation by Eric Drexler.
Guess I'll have to russle up a copy. (Guess I did!) |
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Far Futures
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Gregory
Benford
(editor)
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4/13/99
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Borrowed from: Cesar
Collection of 5 short stories that are each set at
least thousands of years into the future. Very good, especially
the Foundation story and the last one. |
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non-fiction
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The Arrow of Time
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Peter Coveney
Roger Highfield
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4/12/99
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First Edition
The single longest read of my life! Auugghhh!
Took me 5+ YEARS to plod through this thing! A lot of talking WAY
over my head. Got it because it talks about time. It tells
how current physics is lacking because it's time-symmetric - the equations
run backward as easily as forward. They try to show that the key
to "time's arrow" - that part that requires time to run forward and prohibits
it from running backwards - maybe can be found in chaos theory. If
you're a theoretical physicist (or wannabe), go for it. |
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non-fiction
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Events That Shaped the Century
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Time-Life Books
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3/31/99
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Very nice. Lots of pictures, light
reading. History of the US from 1900-1997 (Brownie camera to
Mars Pathfinder). |
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non-fiction
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Beyond Star Trek
Physics from Alien Invasions to the End of Time
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Lawrence
M. Krauss
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2/10/99
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First Printing (paperback)
Excellent! Especially the second half where there's
a lot of quantum discussion, including an explanation of the "quantum froth"
from "The Cosmic Code" (though he doesn't call it that). Also physics
explanations of why telekinesis, telepathy, et. al. are very unlikely due
to the enormous energy requirements, lack of known "force of nature" to
impart the force/info, etc. |
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Series

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Xenogenesis
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Octavia E.
Butler
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(Series)
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Borrowed from: Cesar
Cesar loaned me the single-bound series of all three books,
pictured at left. Can't for the life of me find a link for it for
you anywhere... sorry!
Dawn
8/29/98
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Very nice. Ends very abrubptly! (Good thing
I borrowed it as all 3 in a single volume!) Begins after Earth has
nuked itself and ET's have rescued some number of Earthlings. They're
kind of like sentient anoemonoes. Want to reseed the Earth with their
humans, but want something from the humans in trade... |
Adulthood Rights
9/13/98
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Good. Ended more abruptly than the first. The life
of the first construct male child up until he reaches adulthood. |
Imago
9/23/98
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Also good. Interesting thoughts on how solids might
become "changelings" aka shape-shifters. Told entirely as a first
person narrative; not a big deal at first, but just gets a little weird
after a while. |
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non-fiction
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Pulling Your Own Strings
Dynamic Techniques for Dealing With Other People and Living Your Life
As You Choose
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Dr. Wayne W.
Dyer
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8/24/98
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Borrowed from: Becky
How to keep yourself from being manipulated by other people.
Pretty good. At some points though, I got the feeling that
if the ex had read it, it would have strengthened her resolve to
leave. Turns out I'm already pretty good at "pulling my own strings"
- about 80 some odd percent... Course, could be used as a guide for
manipulating others... ;-) |
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non-fiction
autobiography
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I Am Spock
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Leonard Nimoy
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7/4/98
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First Edition
Very good. Explained that title of previous book,
"I Am Not Spock", was a mistake. Lot of good behind the scenes on
movie making (non-Star Trek movies as well), and a little bit about his
childhood. |
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non-fiction
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Billions & Billions
Thoughts on Life and Death
at the Brink of the Millenium
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Carl Sagan
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6/25/98
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First Edition
Excellent. Very easy read. Written for the
layman. Social issues approached in a scientific manner. Ends
with an intimate account of how Carl deals with knowing that he's dying
- the book is finished by his widow, Ann Druyan. |
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Beggar's Ride
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Nancy Kress
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4/7/98
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Borrowed from: Bilbo
Series: Beggars in Spain
Better than previous, but still no time spent with
the supers. Class strife when the Change syringes run out. |
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Timequake
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Kurt Vonnegut
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2/9/98
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Borrowed from: Cesar
Different! Told as though Kurt were sitting in the
room talking to you. Kinda liked it. Lots of almost seemingly
free association and off hand insights about life. The story is about
the Timequake, a 10 year hiccup by the universe that causes everything
to "rerun" - until it ends and "free will" kicks in again - of course,
by then, everyone's forgotten how to have free will and they hang around
stunned for a while..."Written" seemingly simultaneously in 1996 and 2001,
just after the end of the rerun. Spent the first few chapters (they're
all quite short) wondering if the prologue was ever going to end.
That's just the style of the book. Kinda' cool as a change of pace.
Kilgore Trout stars. Ting-a-ling! |
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non-fiction
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The Metaphysics of Star Trek
|
Richard Hanley
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10/11/97
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First Edition
Also surprisingly good! (See "The Physics of Star
Trek") Is Data alive? Should you transport? Awesome time
travel section!
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The Seraphim Rising
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Elisabeth
DeVos
(wife of co-worker!)
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9/29/97
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Cool! "Angels" return to Earth and how Earth is affected.
Her first submission to a publisher and she gets published! Signed,
of course! Well, okay, honestly? Just sort of "okay" as a novel,
but hey, a whole lot better than I could do! |
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humor
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The Dilbert Future
Thriving on Stupidity in the 21st Century
|
Scott Adams
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6/5/97
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First Edition
Great! Best one so far. Wrapped in humor, says a lot of
things that people don't like to believe are true. |
|
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One Hundred Years of Solitude
|
Gabriel
Garcia Marquez
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5/18/97
|
Borrowed from: Gail
Not bad. A little weird. Follows the life
of a town and the family that founded it. Full of quirky people. |
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non-fiction
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Chicken Soup for the Soul
101 Stories to Open the Heart & Rekindle the Spirit
|
Jack Canfield
Mark Victor Hansen
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4/97
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Borrowed from: Becky
Nice. 101 short "aww, isn't that nice" stories about
how people have overcome adversity to do great things. |
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humor
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Dogbert's Top Secret Management Handbook
|
Scott Adams
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3/97
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First Edition |
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non-fiction
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Inside Star Trek
The Real Story
|
Herbert F.
Solow
Robert H. Justman
|
1/8/97
|
Very good account of behind-the-scenes from
the original Star Trek series. Points out a lot of the fictions in
other people's accounts of those days! |
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non-fiction
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Crazy English
The Ultimate Joy Ride Through Our Language
|
Richard
Lederer
|
10/11/96
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Borrowed from: Charlie
All sorts of weird things about English (palindromes,
...). |
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Across Realtime
|
Vernor Vinge
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9/30/96
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About "bobbles," spheres completely
cut off from the rest of the universe. Liked it quite a bit.
This is actually 2 novels, "The Peace War" and "Marooned in Realtime,"
neither of which is in print any longer. |
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non-fiction
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The Physics of Star Trek
|
Lawrence
M. Krauss
|
9/9/96
|
Surprisingly good! Not "this is how it could work...",
it's "here's why most of ST's physics is bunk", and does a lot of real
physics. Kind of helps if you already have a passing acquaintance with
quantum physics (read "The Cosmic Code") |
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humor
|
The Dilbert Principle
A Cubicle's-Eye View of Bosses, Meetings, Management Fads & Other
Workplace Afflictions
|
Scott Adams
|
6/17/96
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First Edition
Good. Comic expanded into "cubicle's-eye view" of
office life. Last chapter has some potentially serious ideas. |
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Contact
|
Carl Sagan
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5/26/96
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I liked it, it was good. Deals believably
more with how a message from the stars would be dealt with by humans than
it is random musings on what extra-terrestrial life would be like. |
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non-fiction
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The Tao of Pooh
|
Benjamin Hoff
|
3/31/96
|
Borrowed from: Gail
Very Good. All the characters in the Pooh stories exemplify
different views on life. Pooh's, of course, is the right one! |
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Beggars and Choosers
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Nancy Kress
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3/18/96
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Borrowed from: Bilbo
Series: Beggars in Spain
Okay. No time spent with the supers. Cool
nanotech. |
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The Dechronization of Sam Magruder
|
George Gaylord
Simpson
|
1/28/96
|
Borrowed from: Gail
Okay. 1 man completely, forever alone in the age of dinosaurs.
Mostly a description of dinosaurs. |
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