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One of my favorite and most cherished books as a kid was an illustrated copy of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. I read and re-read that thing as only kids can do. It eventually suffered the fate of all cherished childhood books: the spine fell apart. I think my parents eventually got rid of it after they got tired of me leaving a trail of book pages everywhere I went. But I grew up with fond memories of that story, and fond memories of reading it.

I guess I was feeling nostalgic recently. So, wishing to revisit those pleasant memories, I bought a new copy for enjoyment during my daily bus commute. And that’s how I discovered, to my everlasting chagrin and embarrassment, that I had never actually read the novel.

I don’t know what I read as a kid, but it sure wasn’t 20,000 Leagues.

This month’s whirlwind trip to Boston and New York was a great success. I can’t speak for anybody else, but I had a fine time. Here’s the abridged version: Old friends! New friends! SCIENCE! Brooklyn! Heavenly macaroons! Business lunch! Publication dates! Super-secret VIP tours! Lincoln Center!

A slightly longer version of the trip report follows.

A couple of Saturdays ago, around 5 in the morning, I finished reading Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared Diamond.  I received the book as a gift this past Christmas (thanks, Daniel), and though I’d wanted to read the book ever since hearing about it almost 10 years ago, I never managed to get around to it until somebody almost literally put a copy in my hands.  (The timing worked out fairly well, too, since thanks to my new lifestyle as a bus commuter, I have more time for pleasure reading than previously.)

My friend and mentor, Charlie Finlay, has a wicked (heh) new trilogy coming out from Del Rey this year. Traitor to the Crown is, in his own words, a tale of “witches fighting a secret war behind–and sometimes in front of–the scenes during the American Revolution.” (A secret history of magic being used to fight a secret war? I think I like that idea.)

The cool part? Del Rey is releasing the books of his series in crazy-fast succession this year: April, May, and June.

Yeah. Because he’s that good and it’s going to be that huge.

But the coolest part? You can download a FREE PDF of the first book in the series, The Patriot Witch— right now, in its glorious entirety — from Charlie’s website.

That’s free as in no signup, no registration, no newsletters, no strings. Just download and read.