Reading Junkie is my personal blog where I share various rants about politics, current events, reviews of books and films, among other things.
I’m a former US Marine fire support specialist, and also worked for about 10 years as a public affairs specialist in the US Army National Guard and Reserves. For that reason I will mostly opine about the “information operations” aspect of current events in Ukraine. About three years ago I expanded into writing fiction, starting with a sci-fi anthology titled Ultra Violence, which is the first part of what I originally intended as an ongoing seven-book series. COVID lockdowns, personal drama, and a lengthy hospitalization unfortunately interrupted my project, though I plan to come back to it soon when life allows me to. I then wrote a fictional short story about the Russian “Night Witches” in World War II, which was published on the Fabius Maximus website. Fabius Maximus is now defunct, but you can read a copy of my story on the very first post of Reading Junkie, Ballad of the Unknown Pilot. The topic of Night Witches interested me enough that I decided to write more about them, which required more study and research on my part. The more I read, the more I realized just how little I knew about the Soviet Union, Russia, and the people in it. This rabbit hole eventually led to me to taking multiple trips to Russia, and that’s where I still am today. In Moscow region, attending a course for beginners in the Russian language, and writing my book.
I made a decision about the future of this blog, as well as my Night Witches book and other future projects. After I had to abruptly retire from the Army, I wanted to be an author. However, books cost money and any content behind a paywall is less accessible. It is more important to me for any interested person to read what I have to say here without having to pay. This is particularly important now with the digital “iron curtain” severing visa bank cards within Russia. So if I contain my writings in a book, there would be people who might want to buy it but simply unable to. I’m also, for now, financially secure. For those reasons, I will be posting everything I write, both fiction and nonfiction, here and without any kind of paywalls. For people who are interested in supporting my site, I have set up a Buy Me a Coffee, which can be accessed here. There is also a widget visible throughout the site.
If you would like to reach out to me, you can email me at ian.michael@readingjunkie.com
Ian Kummer
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All text in Reading Junkie posts are free to share or republish without permission, and I highly encourage my fellow bloggers to do so. Please be courteous and link back to the original.
I now have a new YouTube channel that I will use to upload videos from my travels around Russia. Expect new content there soon. Please give me a follow here.
Also feel free to connect with me on Quora (I sometimes share unique articles there).
Sir, if you really believe my dear, dear friend Paul Kim was an undercover agent of the US government and died in vain, I invite you to come discuss it in person. Please.
I’m more than happy to talk but unless you’re in Russia it’s not really something we can discuss in person. He traveled to the other side of the world to kill Russians and they killed him. There’s no better definition of dying in vain.
Lee, I’m here in the good old USA and would be happy to discuss it with you in person as a friend of Ian Kummer. Are you in Havelock, NC?