Apple suspended Epic Games Fortnite from its iOS App Store in the middle of a legal dispute over in-app payments on the Fortnite game.

I'm going to come straight out and say that I think this book was too cerebral, abstract, and "out there" for me. Ursula K. Le Guin is a well-known name in writing circles and she is touted for her sci-fi/fantasy prowess. Surprisingly, I had never read anything by her and so I set out to remedy that by picking up a short story collection entitled The Unreal and the Real: Selected Stories, Volume One: Where on Earth. I should have been wary after that convoluted title but I went in ready to be absolutely knocked off of my feet. Alas, alack! While this selection was categorized as sci-fi only one of the stories even vaguely felt like it was in that genre. If I'm completely honest I don't remember a single one of the stories and even when compiling my notes directly after reading it I felt the same. After completing each story, I would realize that I wasn't entirely sure I grasped the meaning much less any hidden meaning in the words. (See why I felt it was too cerebral for me?) I struggled to finish this book even when there were less than 50 pages remaining and I have absolutely no interest in seeking out her work in the future. I feel as if I'm some kind of a fraud because so many people herald her as a sci-fi/fantasy staple and...I just don't get it. ¯_(ツ)_/¯ Ah well! 0/10

 

What I'm Currently (Re)Reading: The Neverending Story by Michael Ende

 

Shocking reveals, never ending secrets and hidden dangers are a constant with this group of friends. It's nice to know that no matter the scenario, someone always has your back. The Captured by Love series is an exciting mesh of red herrings and titillating lust. A maze of danger waiting to be solved drives friendships and awakens hearts. The Unreal Boyfriend has Derek and Bernadette in the hot seat this time around. Derek is searching for answers. Bernadette is hoping for love. In this game of cat and mouse, trust is a luxury that neither have. Not only are hearts at risk, but lives may be at stake. The suspense is killer, the romance is electric and the drama is edge of the seat intense.

"Horror" is not a genre that, as a rule, I turn to when I seek a good read to entertain me. Still, A. R. Meyering proved to me with Unreal City, why it is that horror tales engage readers as they do. Her writing has a lovely flow, her characters are full, and her imagination knows no bounds. I particularly applaud her for her . . .

 

Read more here.

Unreal Gods - Sp Clarke

If you read You Had to Be There: Three Years of Mayhem and Bad Decisions in the Portland Music Scene, you can't help knowing that I was a huge fan of the late Billy Rancher. In many ways, Billy could be credited with my involvement in the Portland music scene, going all the way back to the Malchicks' performance at a John Lennon memorial during my senior year of high school. My best friend and I ditched class and took a bus downtown to attend, and that was the day that I (like many other women between the ages of 18 and 30 would eventually do) developed a huge crush on the tall, slim singer.

UNreal gods is a fictionalized biography of Billy's rise through the scene. The names are changed to protect the innocent ... but if you were part of the scene at the time, you know who everybody is. That was part of the fun for me. Author SP Clarke, who was a journalist for Portland's Two Louies music magazine, had the inside track on this story and promised to tell it.

Clarke's prose is often poetic, with lyrical turns of phrase that are musical in and of themselves. I was present for many of the incidents he describes, and for those where I was not there, I can't say how much was fictionalized and how much was real. What I can say is that Clarke takes "Billy Granger" on a true hero's journey throughout the book and lets readers backstage to see what Portland's first real rock star went through.

Partway into the book, I hit the moment that I knew would be heartbreaking for me: (view spoiler). Knowing the outcome already did not stop me from reading on, ultimately ending with a tear in my eye because of Clarke's gorgeous prose.

Clarke was given permission to use lyrics from songs composed by Billy Rancher and his brother, Lenny, in the text. Reading them brought back fond memories of the many gigs I attended, including record and video release parties, and far too many nights at Luis' La Bamba and Lung Fung's Dragon Room.

Thank you for the music, Billy, and thanks to SP for telling this story.