I absolutely love this sweet read about a police officer (Sam McKenna) and a trauma surgeon (Riley Connolly) who meet under very trying circumstances and slowly forge a friendship that turns into something more.

Unlike Nolan's previous book L.A. Metro, which is good but did not speak to me as much as this book does, In A Heartbeat moved me very much. It is adorable, sincere and extremely vulnerable in emotion.

Of particular note is the way R.J. Nolan deals with such heatbreaking issues as coming out to family members and how horribly strong self doubt can be and what it can do to relationships. 

My stash of science fiction is keeping me company tonight. I especially love classic sci fi and just read an amazing short story by Robert Silverberg called "Needle In A Timestack."

It's part love story, part self-discovery and has one of the best endings ever, particularly if you need something to pick you up and reaffirm your belief that your heart keeps loving that same someone no matter how much Time (or as in Silverberg's story: someone else abusing time) may try to erase your memory.



I like "Needle In A Haystack" for its time travel aspects:

 

Only fourteen years back, and yet the world looked prehistoric to him, the clothing and the haircuts and the cars all wrong, the buildings heavy and clumsy, the advertisements floating overhead offering archaic and absurd products in blaring gaudy colors. Odd that the world of 2012 had not looked so crude to him the first time he had lived through it; but then the present never looks crude, he thought, except through the eyes of the future.

 

but also for the parts that remind me good science fiction is still telling a story about humans and what they believe or think they believe. At this point our main character has forgotten he once had a wife he loved deeply and is living what he thinks is a contented life:

 

...he was the only singleton left in the whole crowd. That was a little awkward. But he hadn’t ever met anyone he genuinely wanted to spend the rest of his life with, or even as much as a year with.

 

 His other incarnations leave him notes to remind him of Janine, his wife, but the messages always fade as soon as merges into a new timeline. By the time he meets her again, yet really for the first time, he doesn't know who she is. Still, both he and Janine (whose timelines have also been messed with by another man who wants to be with Janine at any cost) experience something special:

 

She stared up at him. “This sounds absurd,” she said, “but don’t I know you from somewhere?” Mikkelsen felt a warm flood of mysterious energy surging through him as their eyes met.

 

I am an absolute sucker for a good love story, especially when both people knowingly (or unknowingly) face impossible odds in finally getting together. I hope the rest of the stories in Time Traveler's Almanac continue to be as fascinating and quirky as they have so far...

 

 So...the stories continue to be outstanding. Here's one you can read for yourself!: http://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/hwangs-billion-brilliant-daughters/

 



 

(On a side note: Internet Science Fiction Database is a great resource for anyone who likes the genre and even better for those passionate about it.)


"When we’re talking about whether or not a story’s 'time travel logic' makes sense, it is important to remember that every story builds its own framework for its own logic."--from the intro to The Time Traveler's Almanac

I was excited to hear Amazon Prime is adding streaming music and playlists to its $99 package, but then I read this and wondered if it's really worth it: First Look Amazon Prime Music

On the mornings I know I'm going to see X, I steel myself ahead of time. "I can do this," I think. "It's easy. You just look at her and smile. Be normal. Be nice." 

I also give myself a mental litmus test. If I feel a little less blue every time I see her, then the feelings are going away more and more. It'll be okay and I won't unintentionally try her nerves so much.

But each time the feelings are still there and each time I can barely say "hi," yet alone act normal. I act differently around her even though I don't want to. I want to be able to be friendly, if not friends. I want to feel around her the way I do everyone else.

And yet I'm still a babbling idiot or quietly rude. I haven't felt like this since high school and it strikes me as so ridiculous I'm full of shame. Who feels this way around someone else at this age? :(

Staying committed to a tight budget, having a bad cold, being in love or feeling extreme guilt all can keep your appetite from attacking you.  Determined to not give in to hunger or just totally having lost interest in food, you find eating less can almost be good, empowering. As Mr. Money Mustache writes:

...it's an unusual feeling for a rich-world person, but once you get used to it, having a slight craving in your tummy can make you feel invigorated and warriorlike. When you are really hungry, eat a good meal. But if you're just slightly hungry, imagine that your body has moved its suction tube from the usual "stomach" setting, over to "stored fat reserves". It is now a positive challenge to maintain this mild hunger as long as possible, because you want to keep that suction going for many hours each day.

On a similar note, as I get older and find it's not so much about losing weight as it is about not gaining any more I find this article from New York fascinating. I'm not sure I'd recommend it for everyone (certainly not for anyone with food issues or an eating disorder):

read here