May 20

I hesitated to give this award to this book, because overall I don't actually like it! Though Alastair Reynolds, the author, is brilliant and gifted, I much prefer other books I've read by him, especially House of Suns. But how could I not award this to a book that has things like...
...Even when someone is really ill, "Everything feels vivid to me now....I've always loved Mingus, but now I hear things in that music I never dreamed of before."
...A hospital where you fall asleep in a beautiful forest, where you're filled with "calm and enchantment" and wake up all well.
...Windows covered with fish tanks.
...Robots who "maintained a discreet presence, only emerging...to offer drinks, sweets, and the occasional helping hand."
...And, lastly, a party of which "just a glimpse...would have sustained her through the darkest days..."
-- Alastair Reynolds, Pushing Ice

Thank you, Dr. Reynolds!

Today in 1845 Robert Browning first visited Elizabeth Barrett!

Today's so-called exotic dish suggestion from the 365 Foreign Dishes, published in 1908, is what they call Italian Ice Cream.