Welcome on Alan Dove, Ph.D.

Despite a bunch of other activities clawing at my schedule in August, I managed to read six books that ranged across fantasy, sci-fi, and nonfiction.

I don’t follow the ‘summer beach reads’ trends the publishing industry marketers push; to me, good books have no season, whether they’re ‘heavy’ or ’light.’

My June reading was a very mixed bag, in both the assortment of subjects and the quality of the writing.

Policymaking and law aren’t rocket science.

Motivated in part by a guest, I read even more books than usual last month.

As a relatively mild Mud Season came and went here in western Massachusetts, I read an immensely fun LitRPG bestseller, some dark fantasy stories, an eye-opening historical survey, and a lovely tale of people facing disaster with dignity and art.

My March reading spanned global capitalism, a guide to personal journaling, a depressingly realistic dystopia, a page-turner about taxes, and a celebrated time travel novel.

I finally set up one of those email newsletter things, so anyone who wants to keep up with my blogs can do so more easily.

The Great Blizzard of 2026 only grazed us, with less than a foot of snow falling, but between the other snowstorms and a brutal cold snap, it was still a good month to curl up in a warm house with some good books.

Last year’s reading pace shows no signs of abating, and in January I happened to pick some great books from my long list.

December arrived cold and snowy, perfect weather for sitting indoors with a cup of hot tea and a good book.

In November, I read three books and listened to a fourth, which I count as reading.

My October reading included a fantasy trilogy, the first volume of another trilogy, and a fun book about the joys of poetry.

Another editor allowed my fiction into their publication, this time a very short story (under 1,000 words) in Nature: Futures, the prestigious scientific journal’s flash fiction column.

In September I read a hilarious satire, a pretty good continuation of a fun series, and a work of speculative fiction that could also qualify as serious literature.

In August, I went through three fantasy novels, then read a bunch of short stories, and ended the month enjoying the first few novellas of a highly-regarded sci-fi series.

In the Fall 2025 issue of the online speculative fiction magazine ‘Electric Spec,’ there’s a short story called ‘Half Lives.’

Here’s the start of what may become a monthly post: books I read in July 2025.

At the beginning of 2025, I resolved to read more, especially fiction.

Most of us can’t do anything about the horrible stuff that’s happening in the world right now.

A pandemic.

Dickson Despommier, PhD, died February 7.

About half of all humans have ovaries, which are the fastest-aging organs.

Many writers set out to create nonfiction, but go astray somewhere along the way.

In a world literally on fire, I was burning large quantities of gasoline for my own entertainment.

Stories don’t just tell our history, they shape it.

Whether you’re a radio club, a university, or a biome, you can’t afford monoculture.

We’re throwing billions of dollars’ worth of research on a digital compost heap.

Two books explore the alluring but pathological business of game development.

A new investigative report by journalists at Science and Retraction Watch lifts the lid on what appears to be a concerted effort by one university to game the current science publishing system.

Just over a week ago, I stepped out onto a stage in New York City to join a show, in front of a live audience of 130 people.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I had the privilege of speaking to a big group of K-12 science teachers recently.

Most people can write.

One of the things I learned from living through the pandemic was just how toxic my relationship with the internet had become.

Different types of journalism have different challenges.

Continuing the theme of my previous post, and on the heels of my own departure from the little blue bird app, here are some ideas for things to try if you, too have decided you’ve had enough of that Twit. 1.

This is a lightly edited version of a keynote presentation I gave on 26 October 2022 at the Massachusetts Science Education Leadership Association meeting in Marlborough, MA.

When I started my journalism career 25 years ago, I had some major worries: how to expand my client list, how to keep paying the rent, whether I was even qualified to be doing this kind of work.

In the process of a major overhaul of my blogs, the details of which I describe on my personal site, I revisited all of my old posts.

You’ve reached the dreaded 404 page.

Think of a disaster movie.

A few days ago, the World Health Organization caused a stir by saying that antibody tests may not indicate whether someone is immune from SARS-CoV-2.

On a blustery day in mid-December, TWiV co-host Vincent Racaniello and I, along with friend-of-the-show Islam Hussein, visited the picturesque campus of the Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine in Grafton, MA.

In the November 1943 issue of the journal Genetics, Salvador Luria and Max Delbrück settled a long-running but arcane debate among bacteriologists.

Which contains more information: a five-minute video or a five-page document?

The first time it happened was a hot August day in Maryland, the kind where the nicotine-saturated air inside the tiny, heavily air-conditioned house seemed to vie with the humidity and traffic haze outside, each competing to be more noxious than the othe…

For a modern reader, the most surprising thing about the Galàpagos Islands chapter in Charles Darwin’s Voyage of the Beagle is probably its brevity.

Modern parents have a fraught relationship with video games.

I follow news about the science job market pretty closely, but perhaps the most reliable indicator I have of it isn’t in my RSS folder or Twitter feed.

In a groundbreaking new study, scientists at Some University have discovered that a single molecule may drive people to perform that complex behavior we’ve all observed.