Categories
Books

Book 3 vs Fallout 4

Every day at 4:00 CST, we’ll tally the donations. And if people have ponied up and demanded I write more of book 3, I’ll give up my gaming time and put in another three hours above and beyond my normal writing time for the day.

What’s more, I’ll stream my writing session on Twitch.

If the will of the people is that I play Fallout 4, I’ll do a live stream of that instead. Since I haven’t gamed in a while, I expect the result will either be the live stream equivalent of riding a unicorn made entirely of orgasms. Or, if my mad skillz have atrophied, it might be an embarrassing train wreck as I’m endlessly killed by rats in the basement of whatever inn we start the adventure in.

Pat Rothfuss has some fans eagerly awaiting the third book in his Kingkiller trilogy. Some lean more heavily towards eager than awaiting. Some are just dicks. He’s written a great post about his life and balancing that with work on Book 3 and given fans the chance to decide (albeit for a limited time) how he spends his time, writing Book 3 or playing Fallout 4, and helping end hunger and poverty in the process.

To throw in my tuppence on reader entitlement, Neil Gaiman summed it up best with:

George R.R. Martin is not your bitch.

But even beyond that if Pat didn’t do panels at conventions I would never have read Declare by Tim Powers, the book that reinvigorated my love of reading, if he didn’t give talks in cafes I would never have re-read my Pratchetts this year, if he didn’t do Acq Inc I wouldn’t now have a collection of D&D manuals that I adore, if I hadn’t heard him talk about world-building I’d wouldn’t have started drawing again, and #Ootsays never fails to make me laugh or smile.

And Pat doesn’t have to do any of that. I’m no more entitled to any of that than I am to Book 3 but I’m so glad he does it. And as long as he enjoys doing those things and I enjoy watching and reading them, I will. And if he decides he doesn’t want to do those things then that’s his call, he doesn’t owe them to me (or anyone). No more than he owes anyone Book 3.

Categories
Me People

Giving

Giving is clearly the best part of Christmas so why not indulge yourself:

Books for goats, Valyrian Steel

Help Heifer International end hunger and get some sweet things from Pat Rothfuss and his awesome pals (think of a fantasy author, they’re probably in). Donate anything and you’re in the lottery to win rare editions, signed editions, other lovely extras, or if you think I’ve been an especially good boy this year (I have, I really really have) you can buy Longclaw for me and sleep safe knowing that you’ve helped a whole bunch of people feed themselves and that I’m safe from reanimated corpses (other goodies are up for auction).

Child’s Play

A bunch of children’s hospitals have Amazon wishlists, you can buy the toys and games they need so kids in hospital over Christmas have decent stuff to play with. Close to home there’s Bradford, Manchester, Alder Hey, Sheffield, and Dublin, but there are hospitals all over the world you can help out or you can donate directly to Child’s Play.

Wikipedia

Support Wikipedia. You almost certainly use it, and you probably ignore the fundraising message when it pops up. Pay the £3.

If you want to support another cause but you’re not sure who to give to try Charity Navigator or Give Well.

Even if you’re trying to keep Christmas small you are probably going to spend a hell of a lot of money, and a decent amount of it on crap, make sure you give something to a decent cause.

PS: Longclaw.

Categories
Animals

Alpacas and Llamas

Alpaca are kinda like a cross between a sheep, a kitten, and a giraffe. By which I mean they’re furry, friendly, and they have long necks.

Llamas, on the other hand, are apparently like a cross between a sheep, a camel, and Viking berserker. By which I mean they’re furry, they hate you, and they will fucking destroy all things that oppose them.

As it stands, Pat Rothfuss is almost certainly kissing a llama.

(Also raising a shit-ton of money to help end poverty and hunger around the world).

Categories
Books

Book Club

So… haven’t blogged much recently, but I have finally, thankfully, fallen back in love with reading. In the last couple of weeks I’ve read Declare by Tim Powers, The Magicians by Lev Grossman, H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald, You by Austin Grossman, and I’m about two-thirds of the way through Last Call, also by Tim Powers.

Next on my list I’ve got Pat Rothfuss’s The Name of the Wind and The Magician King (sequel to The Magicians).

(Btw, I recommend them all)