Views from Medina Road

I spent several hours today consolidating databases--matching records of authors/books in my own Books database, to records of reviews in Locus Magazine compiled by Locus Index ubermensch Bill Contento (which he sent me way back in April or May). The idea is to expand the existing index of book reviews in Locus Mag that I've compiled since 1997, with all those reviews Bill has compiled back to 1984. Sounds simple enough, but in execution the details create much friction. Many records match; many don't; many should but don't, requiring investigation into the precise bylines and the precise titles and subtitles. I'm only able to track down such discrepancies now that all my books are unpacked so that I can verify these essentials! Not quite done, but an updated Book Reviews index, going all the back to 1984, should be posted in the next few days.

Meanwhile, haven't seen The Return of the King yet, but have been listening to the soundtrack by Howard Shore. There's a lovely Annie Lennox song at the end (played over the end credits?), which reminds me of another lovely Annie Lennox soundtrack song, the one on the soundtrack album of Bram Stoker's Dracula, an otherwise not particularly memorable film. But the song has always been one of my favorites, and I pull out the soundtrack album occasionally just to listen to that song.