Yesterday was an epic day for packages. We got Christmas presents from two different family members as well as a box from Amazon for Mark (that is apparently for me for Christmas). Jaryth was beside himself opening the boxes and putting packages under the tree. But the best box, from my perspective, was the heavy box from Pearson. My book has come out! It has been a long time in the making of this book. Some of the problems were my fault, some were caused by other people, some well, who knows why it took so long. I’m just happy it’s here. I had been tracking Amazon.com and watching as the release date moved inexorably out from late September, to October, to early November, to Thanksgiving, to early December, and the last time I looked it was scheduled to be available on December 26th. “What if people wanted to give it as a Christmas present?” I wailed in my head. Of course, the less histrionic part of my brain replied “who would get a responsive web design book for Christmas?” But you never know… So then last Friday, my awesome tech editor, Jon Morin, posted to Facebook that he’d gotten his copy of the book. Jealousy struck! But I stayed calm. In fact, this was a good thing as it meant that the December 26th date might not be right, and it might get out on shelves and on Amazon.com before Christmas. And in fact, Amazon currently says it will be available on December 19th. Hooray! Buy your copy today! It looks amazing. It’s in full color, and I think you’ll find it really useful for learning and doing RWD. And if you do buy a copy, I would really appreciate it if you could write a review on Amazon when you’re done. Let me know what you liked, what you didn’t like and what you want to see more of. All comments are appreciated. I’ll also have code samples and other information on my website HTML5 in 24 Hours

I posted a review of one of the O’Reilly Head First books today. Like all the other HF books, it is quirky and fun and fairly easy to read.

[caption id=“attachment_693” align=“aligncenter” width=“180”] Head First Web Design
Image courtesy O’Reilly[/caption]

But as I was skimming it in my final scan before writing up my review, I realized one thing that startled me:

There was only one woman photo in the entire book (okay, perhaps there were two…).

Today is the last day of the Great Online Marketing Scavenger Hunt, and I’m partly relieved and partly sad. I’m relieved because DANG! it was a lot of work! But I’m also pleased because I met some great people. I’m hoping I can keep up with them. I met Rie Sheridan Rose The Barnaby Poet, who wrote a guest post on my Bloggers Create! site: It’s a Great Time to Be a Writer. She was very inspiring to me because of all that she’s accomplished, both in her life and in the hunt. [caption id=“attachment_688” align=“aligncenter” width=“300”] My Amazon review of How to Twitter[/caption] Another person I met was Stacey Meyers. She wrote a great book for people who don’t know how to use Twitter called How to Twitter: Getting Started with 30 Daily Doables. This was also inspiring to me as I’m working on a couple ebooks but I have yet to be willing to release them on Amazon. It was wonderful to get the chance to see another hunter’s efforts in that area. I really think this hunt has helped me in a lot of ways. I even got a guest post proposal accepted by Firepole Marketing! I’m so glad I did this, even though now I’m really tired.

So, I’ve had an iPad since the first day the iPad 1 came out. And I’ve been reading books in the Kindle reader for iPad almost that long. I am a long-time book reader. In fact, when I got the iPad I didn’t think that ebooks would hold that much of a draw for me. After all, I love the feel of a good book in my hand, the smell of the glue holding the perfect binding of the paperbacks together, the crispness of the pages, yes, even the jolt awake when the hardback falls into my face while reading in bed. But in the two years since the iPad 1 has come out, I’ve changed. I like to think of it as growing. Now, I prefer to read books on my iPad, iPod, and in the cloud reader on my laptop. I love that when I get to page 110 on my iPad, I can open up my iPod and be right there on that page. This is better than when in Jr. High I learned how to almost subconsciously remember where I was in a book without bookmarks to combat the teasing people who would grab my books from me and move or remove the markers in an effort to thwart my knowing where I was. (I also learned the best hiding places for reading at my Jr. High—back in the library stacks on one of the lowest shelves where no books were stored was the best. No bullies ever venture into the library.) When Apple changed the rules and removed the bookstore links from the apps, I quickly bookmarked your site in my mobile Safari and made sure that that bookmark was synched to all my devices. And when you announced the Kindle Store, I saved the location as an app on my iPad so I could always get to it quickly.

Here are all the finalists in the NPR Science Fiction and Fantasy Vote for 2011. As I finish them I’ll put a ✔ next to them along with the date I finished. If I write a review, I’ll link to it. If you’re curious which ones I’ll be reading for a second (or more) time, I’ll indicate that with a ☞. 1632, by Eric Flint✔ (August 15, 2011) ☞1984, by George Orwell ☞2001: A Space Odyssey, by Arthur C. Clarke 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, by Jules Verne The Acts Of Caine Series, by Matthew Woodring Stover The Algebraist, by Iain M. Banks ☞Altered Carbon, by Richard K. Morgan ☞American Gods, by Neil Gaiman ☞Anansi Boys, by Neil Gaiman Anathem, by Neal Stephenson✔ (September 9, 2011) ☞Animal Farm, by George Orwell The Anubis Gates, by Tim Powers Armor, by John Steakley ☞The Baroque Cycle, by Neal Stephenson Battlefield Earth, by L. Ron Hubbard ☞Beggars In Spain, by Nancy Kress ☞The Belgariad, by David Eddings The Black Company Series, by Glen Cook The Black Jewels Series, by Anne Bishop ☞The Book Of The New Sun, by Gene Wolfe ☞Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley Bridge Of Birds, by Barry Hughart ☞The Callahan’s Series, by Spider Robinson ☞A Canticle For Leibowitz, by Walter M. Miller ☞The Cat Who Walked Through Walls, by Robert Heinlein ☞Cat’s Cradle , by Kurt Vonnegut ☞The Caves Of Steel, by Isaac Asimov The Change Series, by S.M. Stirling ☞Childhood’s End, by Arthur C. Clarke Children Of God, by Mary Doria Russell ☞The Chronicles Of Amber, by Roger Zelazny ☞The Chronicles Of Thomas Covenant, The Unbeliever, by Stephen R. Donaldson The City And The City, by China Mieville City And The Stars, by Arthur C. Clarke ☞A Clockwork Orange, by Anthony Burgess The Codex Alera Series, by Jim Butcher The Coldfire Trilogy, by C.S. Friedman The Commonwealth Saga, by Peter F. Hamilton ☞The Company Wars, by C.J. Cherryh The Conan The Barbarian Series, by R.E. Howard Contact, by Carl Sagan ☞Cryptonomicon, by Neal Stephenson ☞The Crystal Cave, by Mary Stewart ☞The Culture Series, by Iain M. Banks✔ So far, read: Matter (July 15, 2011) and Surface Detail (September 14, 2011) The Dark Tower Series, by Stephen King The Day of Triffids, by John Wyndham Deathbird Stories, by Harlan Ellison ☞The Deed of Paksennarion Trilogy, by Elizabeth Moon The Demolished Man, by Alfred Bester ☞The Deverry Cycle, by Katharine Kerr ☞Dhalgren, by Samuel R. Delany ☞The Diamond Age, by Neil Stephenson ☞The Difference Engine, by William Gibson & Bruce Sterling ☞The Dispossessed, by Ursula K. LeGuin ☞Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?, by Philip K. Dick Don’t Bite The Sun, by Tanith Lee ☞Doomsday Book, by Connie Willis ☞Dragonflight, by Anne McCaffrey ☞Dreamsnake, by Vonda McIntyre✔ (August 4, 2011) ☞The Dune Chronicles, by Frank Herbert ☞Earth, by David Brin Earth Abides, by George R. Stewart The Eisenhorn Omnibus, by Dan Abnett The Elric Saga, by Michael Moorcock ☞Ender’s Game, by Orson Scott Card ☞Eon, by Greg Bear The Eyes Of The Dragon, by Stephen King The Eyre Affair, by Jasper Fforde ☞The Faded Sun Trilogy, by C.J. Cherryh ☞Fafhrd & The Gray Mouser Series, by Fritz Leiber ☞Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury ☞The Farseer Trilogy, by Robin Hobb The Female Man, by Joanna Russ The Fionavar Tapestry Trilogy, by Guy Gavriel Kay ☞A Fire Upon The Deep, by Vernor Vinge The First Law Trilogy, by Joe Abercrombie ☞Flowers For Algernon, by Daniel Keys ☞The Foreigner Series, by C.J. Cherryh ☞The Forever War, by Joe Haldeman ☞The Foundation Trilogy, by Isaac Asimov Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley ☞The Gaea Trilogy, by John Varley The Gap Series, by Stephen R. Donaldson ☞The Gate To Women’s Country, by Sheri S. Tepper Going Postal, by Terry Pratchett The Gone-Away World, by Nick Harkaway The Gormenghast Triology, by Mervyn Peake ☞Grass, by Sheri S. Tepper Gravity’s Rainbow, by Thomas Pynchon ☞The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood Hard-Boiled Wonderland And The End of The World, by Haruki Murakami The Heechee Saga, by Frederik Pohl ☞The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy, by Douglas Adams The Hollows Series, by Kim Harrison House Of Leaves, by Mark Danielewski ☞The Hyperion Cantos, by Dan Simmons I Am Legend, by Richard Matheson ☞I, Robot, by Isaac Asimov ☞The Illuminatus! Trilogy, by Robert Shea & Robert Anton Wilson ☞The Illustrated Man, by Ray Bradbury ☞The Incarnations Of Immortality Series, by Piers Anthony The Inheritance Trilogy, by N.K. Jemisin Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, by Susanna Clarke A Journey To The Center Of The Earth, by Jules Verne ☞Kindred, by Octavia Butler The Kingkiller Chronicles, by Patrick Rothfuss Kraken, by China Mieville ☞The Kushiel’s Legacy Series, by Jacqueline Carey Last Call, by Tim Powers The Last Coin, by James P. Blaylock ☞The Last Herald Mage Trilogy, by Mercedes Lackey ☞The Last Unicorn, by Peter S. Beagle✔ (August 6, 2011) ☞The Lathe Of Heaven, by Ursula K. LeGuin ☞The Left Hand Of Darkness, by Ursula K. LeGuin The Legend Of Drizzt Series, by R.A. Salvatore ☞The Lensman Series, by E.E. Smith The Liaden Universe Series, by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller The Lies Of Locke Lamora, by Scott Lynch ☞Lilith’s Brood, by Octavia Butler ☞Little, Big, by John Crowley ☞The Liveship Traders Trilogy, by Robin Hobb ☞Lord Of Light, by Roger Zelazny ☞The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy, by J.R.R. Tolkien ☞Lord Valentine’s Castle, by Robert Silverberg ☞Lucifer’s Hammer, by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle Lud-in-the-Mist, by Hope Mirrlees The Magicians, by Lev Grossman The Malazan Book Of The Fallen Series, by Steven Erikson ☞The Man In The High Castle, by Philip K. Dick The Manifold Trilogy, by Stephen Baxter ☞The Mars Trilogy, by Kim Stanley Robinson ☞The Martian Chronicles, by Ray Bradbury ☞Memory And Dream, by Charles de Lint Memory, Sorrow, And Thorn Trilogy, by Tad Williams ☞Mindkiller, by Spider Robinson The Mistborn Series, by Brandon Sanderson ☞The Mists Of Avalon, by Marion Zimmer Bradley ☞The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress, by Robert Heinlein ☞Mordant’s Need, by Stephen Donaldson ☞More Than Human, by Theodore Sturgeon ☞The Mote In God’s Eye, by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle The Naked Sun, by Isaac Asimov The Neanderthal Parallax Trilogy, by Robert J. Sawyer ☞Neuromancer, by William Gibson ☞Neverwhere, by Neil Gaiman The Newsflesh Triology, by Mira Grant The Night’s Dawn Trilogy, by Peter F. Hamilton Norstrilia, by Cordwainer Smith ☞Novels Of The Company, by Kage Baker ☞The Number Of The Beast, by Robert Heinlein ☞Old Man’s War, by John Scalzi On Basilisk Station, by David Weber ☞The Once And Future King, by T.H. White Oryx And Crake, by Margaret Atwood The Otherland Tetralogy, by Tad Williams The Outlander Series, by Diana Gabaldan ☞Parable Of The Sower, by Octavia Butler The Passage, by Justin Cronin ☞Pattern Recognition, by William Gibson Perdido Street Station, by China Mieville The Prestige, by Christopher Priest ☞The Pride Of Chanur, by C.J. Cherryh The Prince Of Nothing Trilogy, by R. Scott Bakker ☞The Princess Bride, by William Goldman Rainbows End, by Vernor Vinge ☞Rendezvous With Rama, by Arthur C. Clarke Replay, by Ken Grimwood Revelation Space, by Alistair Reynolds Riddley Walker, by Russell Hoban The Riftwar Saga, by Raymond E. Feist ☞Ringworld, by Larry Niven ☞The Riverworld Series, by Philip Jose Farmer The Road, by Cormac McCarthy The Saga Of Pliocene Exile, by Julian May The Saga Of Recluce, by L.E. Modesitt Jr. The Sandman Series, by Neil Gaiman The Sarantine Mosaic Series, by Guy Gavriel Kay ☞A Scanner Darkly, by Philip K. Dick The Scar, by China Mieville ☞The Shannara Trilogy, by Terry Brooks The Shattered Chain Trilogy, by Marion Zimmer Bradley ☞The Silmarillion, by J.R.R. Tolkien The Sirens Of Titan, by Kurt Vonnegut ☞Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut Small Gods, by Terry Pratchett ☞Snow Crash, by Neal Stephenson ☞The Snow Queen, by Joan D. Vinge Solaris, by Stanislaw Lem ☞Something Wicked This Way Comes, by Ray Bradbury ☞Song for the Basilisk, by Patricia McKillip A Song Of Ice And Fire Series, by George R. R. Martin The Space Trilogy, by C.S. Lewis The Sparrow, by Mary Doria Russell ☞The Stainless Steel Rat Books, by Harry Harrison Stand On Zanzibar, by John Brunner The Stand, by Stephen King Stardust, by Neil Gaiman The Stars My Destination, by Alfred Bester ☞Starship Troopers, by Robert Heinlein Stations Of The Tide, by Michael Swanwick ☞Steel Beach, by John Varley ☞Stranger In A Strange Land, by Robert Heinlein ☞Sunshine, by Robin McKinley The Sword Of Truth, by Terry Goodkind The Swordspoint Trilogy, by Ellen Kushner ☞The Tales of Alvin Maker, by Orson Scott Card The Temeraire Series, by Naomi Novik The Thrawn Trilogy, by Timothy Zahn ☞Tigana , by Guy Gavriel Kay ☞Time Enough For Love, by Robert Heinlein The Time Machine, by H.G. Wells ☞The Time Traveler’s Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger ☞To Say Nothing Of The Dog, by Connie Willis The Troy Trilogy, by David Gemmell Ubik, by Philip K. Dick ☞The Uplift Saga, by David Brin ☞The Valdemar Series, by Mercedes Lackey VALIS, by Philip K. Dick Venus On The Half-Shell, by Kilgore Trout/Philip Jose Farmer ☞The Vlad Taltos Series, by Steven Brust ☞The Vorkosigan Saga, by Lois McMaster Bujold The Vurt Trilogy, by Jeff Noon The War Of The Worlds, by H.G. Wells The Watchmen, by Alan Moore ☞Watership Down, by Richard Adams The Way Of Kings, by Brandon Sanderson Way Station, by Clifford D. Simak ☞We, by Yevgeny Zamyatin The Wheel Of Time Series, by Robert Jordan When Gravity Fails, by George Alec Effinger ☞Wicked, by Gregory Maguire ☞Wild Seed, by Octavia Butler The Windup Girl, by Paolo Bacigalupi World War Z, by Max Brooks ☞The Worm Ouroboros, by E.R. Edison ☞The Xanth Series, by Piers Anthony The Yiddish Policeman’s Union, by Michael Chabon

I’m currently reading Booklife and one thing that he mentions is the idea that school literature programs have made people bad readers. At first I was somewhat taken aback by this assertion, but as I read more about what his premise was, I started to agree with him. In a nutshell: in literature classes in high school and college we are taught to read literature with an eye towards what is not written. In other words, you’re supposed to find the allegory, the symbolism, the hidden meanings. Doing this is fun because for one thing it’s a pretty creative way of reading. If the meaning you are positing is “hidden” then the fact that no one else can see it just proves your point more. In fact, as long as you can argue your interpretation effectively it doesn’t matter that no one else can see it. If you’re persuasive enough, everyone will see it (if only to get you to stop harping at them). But what does this mean for reading later? If you’re always looking for the hidden meaning in something, then there’s a good chance you’ll miss the overt meaning. In High School, I had to read the Hemingway story “Hills Like White Elephants”. This story stuck in my head because it was the first time I ever really understood what people were seeing when they found these hidden meanings. (Thank you Mr. Duncanson.) I’m not saying that I really believed they were there, but we read that story so many times that I started to believe that the story might have actually been about elephants - not just descriptively titled. My question to that class is, do you remember what the story was about, what the text said? In other words, not the pregnancy, or the idea that the character was trying to talk her into an abortion. None of that was actually said. Do you remember what the scene was? My guess is that most people don’t remember, because we got so hung up in the hidden story. Where was it set? What were they doing? To badly mangle another quote: “sometimes and elephant is just an elephant”. Perhaps if we started reading things looking for the un-hidden meaning first we might have an easier time understanding what people are trying to tell us. Why I Like Science Fiction If you read most scifi books with an eye to what is said, and not what is not said, you’ll get the basics of most books. Literary snobs might argue that that makes the books less interesting - but I find them plenty interesting. And they don’t have to be obfuscated to hold my attention. Don’t get me wrong, in re-reading “Hills Like White Elephants” 25 years after my first read, I was profoundly moved by the story. Most of the allegory that we discovered in that long-ago class has disappeared into where ever memories go when they aren’t used. And I suspect that a lot of the reason I found it difficult at age 17 was because of my age and lack of experience. But I still enjoyed the story first as a description of a couple sitting in a foreign train station, waiting for a train, and discussing their life together (or not) and what they were going to do.