September 16, 2025

The most valuable book in my collection is a copy of Neuromancer published in 1986 by Phantasia Press. Only 375 numbered copies were signed by the author, bound with gold endpapers, in a white cloth slipcase. It’s tough to find but there are two copies on Abebooks right now, one for $6,500, the other for $8,000. The enduring cultural…

September 9, 2025

NotebookLM is the most interesting consumer AI product currently available, period, full stop. Don’t look away. This is not just for nerds. NotebookLM is also potentially the most useful AI assistant for you – yes, I’m looking at you, you special snowflake. It is unique and special and better than ChatGPT or the other general purpose…

September 2, 2025

You can read almost any book in print for free, new or old, using an app named Libby. It’s legal! In fact, it’s encouraged. Maybe I’m not telling you anything new. Lots of people use Libby. If you know, you know. But if you aren’t familiar with Libby, this might rock your world and I’ll be…

August 19, 2025

The painting on the cover of the first US paperback edition of The Hobbit has a lion, a fruit tree, and a pair of emus. There are no lions in The Hobbit. There are no fruit trees or emus. J.R.R. Tolkien was baffled. He wrote to the publisher, “Where is this place? Why emus? And what…