THE QUEST FOR NEUROMANCER - 06.19.24

So, as friends of mine may have noticed, I've been on a bit of a kick with a specific industrial band: Zeromancer. Brilliant way to start a post, I know. I could go on and on about Zeromancer and how much I adore each and every one of their tracks all in their own special little ways, but you didn't come here for that. You came here to watch me ramble in circles about a book while barely touching on the plot! And, judging by the title of this post, you probably already know what book I'm about to talk about. Zeromancer's name didn't come from nowhere, after all!
According to an interview with Alex Møklebust (lead vocalist) that I have completely lost to time, Zeromancer was named after two books: NEUROMANCER by William Gibson and LESS THAN ZERO by Bret Easton Ellis. Now, I've also had a thing for the whole cyberpunk subculture, of which NEUROMANCER has been a strong influence on. In fact, it's the very first entry on my reading list! I decided to take this as a sign, and set out to my local library to get myself a copy of the book.

Except I didn't.

They didn't have it.

A library not having a copy of NEUROMANCER? Weird! Unusual! I started searching for any other library I could get NEUROMANCER from, finding only a few locations of a whole other library district that had it. The plan was set; I'd drop by the library before a trip to the store (a real outdoorsy place, it had pictures of mountains and things-- why I was there is a thing for another post on another page), sign up for a card, pick up NEUROMANCER, and leave. I soon found it was not that simple. The website had lied to me. They didn't have NEUROMANCER either.
Luckily, another library in the district did. I signed up for the card and put it on hold, and they told me it'd arrive in just a few business days! By few, I suppose they meant week. More than a week. It was a lot of "remember I have a book on hold, find new library card, sign into library website account, check holds, in transit, my god is it ever going to get there" for me. Eventually, as good triumphs over evil, it did arrive. I picked it up yesterday. It looks like this:

I've yet to start reading it (I plan to do so in about 30 minutes), but I have high hopes and ears full of sung praises for it, so I'm sure it'll be a treat. I'll keep this page updated nonetheless.

Oh, the things I do for a hyperfixation...

I AM FINALLY LITERATE - 06.08.24

This is my page for talking about my current and past reads! I really enjoy reading and I'm trying to get back in the habit of. Well. Actually reading. So I think this is a great way to encourage myself to stick to it and finish some books! Especially since my last few attempted reads were slogs, to say the very least of them. They were not lying when they said don't judge a book by its cover.
I'd like to start this out with an introduction of my two current reads (+ my current not-read): AGAIN, DANGEROUS VISIONS by Harlan Ellison and AMERICAN GODS by Neil Gaiman. My copies appear as follows:

I found both of them in the same bookstore, resold cheap. ADV was only 5 dollars! And water damaged. Very water damaged. There were other Ellison books available, but for Other Reasons I did not get them. ADV was the only book I got on that trip. It's a collection of stories from a myriad of authors such as Ursula K. Le Guin, Gene Wolfe, Kate Wilhelm, and LOTS of others. It's regarded as a collection of science fiction short stories, but I feel like speculative fiction describes it better (although trying to categorize any Dangerous Vision of Ellison's making is always in vain). I picked it up knowing full well that there would be no works by Ellison inside the actual book, though his name was what drew me to it in the first place. I trust his judgement of stories, and it has not disappointed me thus far. Some of the stories have proven a bit heavy-handed in their delivery, some have left me wondering "what the hell did I just read?", and some have made their little demon-nests inside my skull and refuse to leave me alone. These were probably the intended results, so I'm not mad about any of it.
AMERICAN GODS was picked up on my second trip to the bookstore, alongside my not-read. Neil Gaiman is an interesting figure to me; the first of his works that I read was in the anthology SHADOW SHOW, dedicated to Ray Bradbury. I was caught by his writing style and how smooth a read it provided. The concept of the story was simple, the execution deliberate, and it left me wanting more from him just as the book began. It makes sense why I'd beeline to the G names upon my second trip. I'd heard of AMERICAN GODS before, and opted to make it my pick-of-the-trip in place of the others of his books present in the store. It also led me right to my not-read..
I, ROBOT: THE ILLUSTRATED SCREENPLAY.

I wanted to look for one of Asimov's typical works, since I knew he was rather close to my designated Author of Interest (Harlan Ellison. Who else would it be?) as well as producing many well-received works in genres I'm most interested in. However, upon checking the A section, I realized something: the bookstore had none of Asimov's works, save for the screenplay. And what would you know! The screenplay I'd unearthed was written by none other than Harlan Ellison! It was a pleasant surprise, and I knew I just HAD to get it. I'm saving it for once I actually read the original I, ROBOT, so I can go in with the proper understanding. I'm quite excited!

Next up: the quest for NEUROMANCER...