I'm an artist and writer. I've made it through the last dozen or so years working office administration and tech support. I've traveled to Upstate New York, Mississippi, Louisiana, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, California, Costa Rica, and Ireland, England, Scotland and (for about 2 hours) Wales.
I have been an avid volunteer in the past, for the Austin Writers' League (served on the board of directors), SXSW (South by Southwest Music & Media conferences), the Austin NASFIC (North American Science Fiction Convention), and was president of the Austin Celtic Association and director of the Austin Celtic Festival.
In the 1980s I was publisher of the science fiction semi-prozine
Trajectories. We featured articles on science fiction and futurism, interviews with writers, artists and scientists, and original poetry and short fiction. We published Lewis Shiner, John Shirley, t. Winter Damon, Timothy Ruzinsky, Bruce Boston, Uncle River, Wendy Wheeler, Steve Schlich, and others.
I read science fiction (hard sf and space fantasy), some westerns, mysteries, history, have a special fondness for field guides, some historical fiction.
In history I have special interests in Texas history, genealogy, Celtic history.
Mysteries I've read include Agatha Christi's Poirot, the Cadfael novels of Ellis Peters, Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe, assorted others. A new favorite author is Ian Rankin. Have also read some of the Andrew Vachss novels, notably his Batman novel. I would consider these in the Mystery genre, though others may not.
When it comes to sci fi, I've read it. A lot of it. My favorite authors include Philip K. Dick, Dan Simmons, Gene Wolfe, Stephen R. Donaldson, C. J. Cherryh, Bruce Sterling, William Gibson, my friend Lewis Shiner, George R.R. Martin, Robert Anton Wilson, Tom Reamy, Steven Utley, John Varley, Howard Waldrop, Melinda Snodgrass, John Shirley, John Steakley, Michael Bishop, Walter Tevis, Neal Stephenson, Connie Willis, Orson Scott Card, George Alec Effinger, Lucius Shepard, Pat Cadigan, Pat Murphy, Greg Bear, Tom Mattox, Greg Benford, Richard Cowper, Nancy Kress, Bradley Denton, David Brin, Wil McCarthy, Paul J. McAuley, Kim Stanley Robinson, Octavia Butler, Alexis A. Gilliland, William Tenn, and Walter Jon Williams.
David Weber's Honor Harrington and Lois McMaster Bujold's Miles Vorkosigan series were enjoyable.
I've also read:
S. M. Stirling, Steven Baxter, John Barnes, Colin Wilson, Douglass Adams, H. Beam Piper, J.G. Ballard, Robert Silverberg, Clifford D. Simak, Jack Vance, Brian Aldiss, Joan Slonczewski, Timothy Zahn, Michael Bishop, Arthur C. Clark, Robert Heinlein, Anne McCaffrey, Ben Bova, Lawrence Person, David Drake, John Crowley, Leigh Brackett, Ray Bradbury, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Frank Herbert, L. Sprague de Camp, John Sladek, Samuel R. Delany, Lester del Rey, August Derleth, Gordon R. Dickson, Arthur Conan Doyle, Gardner Dozois, Andre Norton, Chad Oliver, Barry N. Malzberg, John Brunner, Norman Spinrad, David Gerrold, Steven Brust, Edward Bryant, Michael P. Kube-McDowell, Henry Kuttner, Ursula K. Le Guin, Doris Lessing, John D. MacDonald, Algis Budrys, Jack McDevitt, Vonda McIntyre, Frederik Pohl, Jerry Pournelle, Philip José Farmer, Thomas M. Disch, C. L. Moore, Cory Doctorow, Greg Egan, Harlan Ellison, Zenna Henderson, James P. Hogan, Fred Hoyle, K. W. Jeter, John Kessel, Mike McQuay, Elizabeth Moon, Larry Niven, Edgar Pangborn, Alexei Panshin, Christopher Priest, Mike Resnick, Spider Robinson, Joanna Russ, Fred Saberhagen, Carl Sagan, Pamela Sargent, Stanley Schmidt, Bob Shaw, Robert Sheckley, Charles Sheffield, Theodore Sturgeon, Somtow Sucharitkul, Roger Zelazny, and others. Also read a lot of fantasy bt J.R.R. Tolkien, Robert Howard, Michael Moorcock, etc.
As to other genres, I've read some Zane Grey, Cormac McCarthy and Louis L'Armour in the western category. The most recent historical novel I've read is Pompeii - a great read.
I collect random cookbooks - specialty ones. As an amateur mycologist, I like books about collecting and cooking mushrooms, also books about Texas wildflowers, trees, animals, and artifacts.
The book on my Shelfari shelves are mainly books I have read. I don't necessarily still own them all. Some are reference books I do still own, and have not necessarily read cover to cover.
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