2018: The First Quarter Summary

I wrote this some months ago but apparently never published it, so it is arriving months late. I finished it April 20th, but I’m posting it on August 19th. Oops…

It was a strange quarter. I completed very few books. That seems like a complete failure compared to previous years. But on the other hand, I’ve managed to consistently produce a weekly podcast. So that might partially explain where some of my reading time went.

Books Completed

• I Shall Wear Midnight by Terry Pratchett
• The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien
• Existence by David Brin
• The Compleat Enchanter: The Magical Misadventures of Harold Shea by L. Sprague de Camp and Fletcher Pratt
• The Queen of Air and Darkness (book 2 of The Once and Future King) by T. H. White

Books in Progress

• The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump: 27 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts Assess a President by Bandy X. Lee et al.
• False Choices: The Faux Feminism of Hillary Rodham Clinton, edited by Liza Featherstone
• Borne by Jeff VanderMeer

I’ve been reading this one out loud to Grace:

• We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

And these to the kids:

• D’Aulaires’ Book of Norse Myths by Ingri and Edgar d’Aulaire
• Peter Pan and Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens by J. M. Barrie (2019 Arcturus paperback edition)
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J. K. Rowling

Films Watched

• Stalker (1979 film)
• Sylvio (2017 film)
• Paddington 2 (2017 film)
• A Wrinkle in Time (2018 film)

TV Shows Watched

We watched the following Doctor Who serials, most of them in shorter, more enjoyable “fan edit” versions:

• Paradise Towers (1987 Doctor Who serial)
• Battlefield (1989 Doctor Who serial)
• The Happiness Patrol (1988 Doctor Who serial)
• The Happiness Patrol (1988 Doctor Who serial fan edit)
• The Power of the Daleks (1966 Doctor Who serial fan edit)
• Scream of the Shalka (2003 Doctor Who serial fan edit)
• The Ice Warriors (1967 Doctor Who serial fan edit)
• The Mind Robber (1968 Doctor Who serial fan edit)
• The Invasion (1968 Doctor Who serial fan edit retitled Invasion of the Cybermen)
• The Tenth Planet (1966 Doctor Who serial fan edit)
• The Enemy of the World (1967-1968 Doctor Who serial fan edit)
• The Moonbase (1967 Doctor Who serial fan edit)
• The Web of Fear (1968 Doctor Who serial fan edit)
• Revenge of the Cybermen (1975 Doctor Who serial fan edit)
• Silver Nemesis (1988 Doctor Who serial fan edit)
• Terror of the Autons (1971 Doctor Who serial fan edit)
• The Wheel in Space (1968 Doctor Who audio fan edit)

Note that in the case of The Happiness Patrol, we watched both versions. In addition, I started watching The Caves of Androzani, the 1984 Doctor Who serial fan edit, but I had trouble getting into it, so haven’t finished it yet.

We watched the following episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation:

• Season 4, Episode 2: “Family”
• Season 4, Episode 11: “Data’s Day”
• Season 4, Episode 12: “The Wounded”
• Season 4, Episode 21: “The Drumhead”
• Season 5, Episode 2: “Darmok”

Ypsilanti, Michigan
April 20th, 2018

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