Kids Books Poll

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A previous post about Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, which apparently I am the only child to have ever read of, has made me curious about how obscure some of the other books were that I read growing up. I never read the Hardy Boys or Nancy Drew series, which I’m pretty sure means my parents should have been arrested or at least fined.

So, which of the following have you read or heard of?

1. Danny Dunn series (such as Danny Dunn and the Anti-Gravity Paint)1
2. The Great Brain series
3. The Boxcar Children series

That’s all I can think of for now in terms of series. Any other good suggestions?

1 terracinque and I have discussed this series in the past, and I believe she felt that this had been popular about a half-generation before me.

There are Plastic Objects in my Nose

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While there are a great many worse things in the world, recovering from septum surgery is not a great way to spend a weekend.

There are high points in the form of much good DVD watching… since Friday I have watched what may have been my favorite Doctor Who episode yet, The Girl In The Fireplace. Of course, it may have been the really awesome painkillers I’m on that enhanced the enjoyment, because I can tell you that my love for the world knows no bounds when I’ve taken a couple of those pills. Israel and Palestine should definitely take a dose of this before heading into peace talks; We could have solved that problem years ago.

I also tried out the Netflix Instant Play downloadable movie option and watched Welcome to the Dollhouse, which was okay. I knocked out terracinque recommended film, Sullivan’s Travels which was funny and also explained the title to the Coen Bros.’ Oh, Brother Where Art Thou. My brother’s girlfriend loaned me her Heroes, Season 1 DVD set, which I watched straight, all the way through, to the last episode. Which may explain why I’m certain that the plastic things in my nose are some sort of implant from a secret organization out to destroy New York City.

I’m told the surgery went well, and thus far recovery has gone according to plan, so that’s all good. I won’t get the benefit of results until next week or later. In fact, I’m going to remain in this Super Congested state until Thursday when they remove the Plastic Objects from my nose.

Regardless, even with the Super Pain Killers, it’s a very uncomfortable way to be. Lots of gross maintenance of bandages and whatnot. The skin of my cheeks are raw from the gauze tape being ripped off and reapplied.

Ick. This too shall pass.

Steampunkin’

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I think I’ve decided1 that when we remodel our “master” bathroom, it should be done in SteamPunk style.

Apparently, this is going to be easier, as the SteamPunk movement is starting to pop up in mainstream advertisements for sink fixtures.

Copper pipes, pressure and flow gauges, gears for knobs… hmmm.

This person is working towards a SteamPunk home.

_________
1 Read: “I have decided to try and convince steakums“

In Which My Nose is Roto-Rootered, and I Enjoy A New Phone

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My mobile phone bit the dust a week ago, as a result of being thoroughly Scoutified.

So, after selling my soul to T-Mobile, I picked up a Motorola RAZR and a bluetooth ear thingy. As silly as those bluetooth ear thingys look, I look forward to my next hour-long conference call with the knowledge that I will be able to flap my arms like a duck while listening in.

Also, I’m very excited that I can tap the button on the ear thingy, say “Stacey… STACEY… stacey… STAcey… dammit… STACEY!… staCEY…” for five minutes, and the phone will possibly eventually call her automatically via the miracle of voice recognition. Modern technology is wonderful.

In other exciting modern news, I’m having my nose Roto-Rootered at some un-Dogly hour of the morning on Friday. So, as you start your day that day, take joy in the fact that no one is sticking a sharp slicing implement in your nostril.

The hope is that I’ll come through the other end with a straight septum and the ability to breathe through my right nostril, to say nothing of a distinct lack of eye-popping-pressure in the sinus area. In the meantime, I shall be enjoying a weekend with gauze pads taped to the underside of my nose with a bloodstream full of heavy-duty controlled substances. Anyone need a date to a fancy dinner party somewhere? I’m your man.

I have been extremely excited about this for the past year as I waited for my sick days counter to reset, in anticipation of getting this particular gremlin off my back. But as it draws closer, and I’ve been given my long list of prescription stuff to be filled and detailed and graphically described list of pre and post-op Things To Do, it’s becoming clear that this is not going to be a Pleasant Experience. In fact, it may, and I hate to sound pessimistic, suck more than a little bit.

I take consolation in that I can have my phone and Bluetooth earbud. Should I need something to ease my discomfort during my convalescence, I can simply tap my ear and say “Stacey… STACEY… STAAAAAAAACEY… stacey… STAAAAAAACEEEEEEYYYYYY… dammit.”

Book Log – Coyote Blue

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Coyote Blue by Christopher Moore

Christopher Moore enjoys the metaphysical… demons, gods, Jesus, etc.

This book is his foray into Native American mysticism, the impact of the sudden appearance of the god Old Man Coyote on a modern native american’s life. Witty, silly and full of large characters in extreme situations, which pretty much sums up Christopher Moore in general. Not that that’s a bad thing.

Now I just need to get Moore’s The Stupidest Angel back from steakums and find me a copy of You Suck, and I will have completed the Moore oeuvre.

2007 Book Log In Review

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Books read in 2004: 21
Books read in 2005: 28
Books read in 2006: 40
Books read in 2007: 30

So we see the exponential trend has been broken. I would like to blame the introduction of a new mancub into the household this past year, but more likely the culprit is the introduction of our portable DVD player and the kindly loan of the complete Buffy and Angel series by terracinque, to say nothing of Doctor Who Season 1 via Netflix. So, my lunch hours have slowly been absorbed with mindless television viewing.

In actuality, there were a few more short Wodehouse novels in there, but my reader software on my Palm crashed (Plucker), losing the novels, and I forgot which ones I had read. Which is too bad, because I used the bookmark, note-taking feature on some of them to make notes for my log. Alas.

While I don’t take pride in putting notches in my nightstand and tallying up the books I read as if collecting Frequent Reader Points to exchange for cheap knick-knacks from the AmEx catalog, what I do take pride in this year is how little I spent on books, thanks to PaperBackSwap.com, Project Gutenberg, and the kindness of friends.

PaperBackSwap.com: 12
Purchased: 7
Borrowed: 4
Gutenberg.org: 3
Gifts: 2
Free with Palm Z22: 2

So, if the average price of a book is $10, and each book from paperbackswap.com actually costs ~$2 (because you have to send someone a book in order to get one), then I saved roughly $206.

The list:

1. Jennifer Government by Max Barry
(purchased) Mildly amusing pseudo-orwellian satire.

2. The Book That Changed My Life: 71 Remarkable Writers Celebrate the Books That Matter Most to Them Edited by Roxanne J. Coady & Joy Johannessen
(gift from steakums) Enjoyable short essays on favorite books by People of Note.

3. Smoke and Mirrors: Short Fictions and Illusions by Neil Gaiman
(free with Palm Z22) Often amusing and very enjoyable collection of short stories. Some very funny short-short stories about vampires in particular.

4. Superheroes Edited by John Varley and Ricia Mainhardt
(paperbackswap.com) Alternative superhero short stories. Eh.

5. The Duke and I by Julia Quinn
(free with Palm Z22) It came free with the Palm Z22, and that’s about the best I can say about it.

6. All the Myriad Ways by Larry Niven
(paperbackswap.com) Some cool essays on science fictiony topics. Of special note is Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex, about Superman’s sex life (or lack thereof).

7. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
(gutenberg.org) Read because I enjoyed Jasper Fforde’s Thursday Next series and wanted to know more about the source material. I enjoyed this quite a bit, but then I like Jane Austen as well.

8. Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen
(purchased) Loved this book on getting organized. I’m still using this system 8 months later with success.

9. Shameless Exploitation in Pursuit of the Common Good: The Madcap Business Adventure by the Truly Oddest Couple by Paul Newman and A.E. Hotchner
(paperbackswap.com) Interesting account of the rise of Newman’s Own. Very folksy. I don’t know how true it all is, but a good read regardless.

10. The Best American NonRequired Reading 2004 Edited by Dave Eggers
(paperbackswap.com) Awesome mishmash collection of short stories and essays. Aimed at the 15-25 year old, but… well, I enjoy this series an awful lot.

11. Hello Out There by Jack McDevitt
(borrowed from boss) Enjoyable first sci-fi novels by the author, both regarding first contact with aliens.

12. The Best American Science Writing 2001 Edited by Timothy Ferris
(paperbackswap.com) Very interesting essays on testosterone and the invention of The Pill, amongst others.

13. The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2006 Edited by Dave Eggers
(paperbackswap.com) The best of the series thus far.

14. A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore
(paperbackswap.com) Enjoyable mind candy about an anthropomorphic Death.

15. Mugglenet.com’s What Will Happen In Harry Potter 7? by Ben Schoen, Emerson Spartz, Andy Gordon, Gretchen Stull & Jamie Lawrence
(borrowed from friend) Almost none of this turned out to be true, but some interesting guesses nonetheless.

16. Finding Serenity: Anti-heroes, Lost Shepherds, and Space Hookers in Joss Whedon’s Firefly Edited by Jane Espenson
(borrowed from brother) Eh. I should never read fan stuff. It’s just not me.

17. The Best American Essays 1996
(paperbackswap.com) Eh. None of these essays stood out as spectacular.

18. Noisy Outlaws, Unfriendly Blobs, and Some Other Things That Aren’t as Scary, Maybe, Depending on How You feel About Lost Lands, Stray Cellphones, Creatures from the Sky, Parents Who Disappear in Peru, a Man Named Lars Farf, and One Other Story We Couldn’t Quite Finish, So Maybe You Could Help Us Out. Stories by Nick Hornby, Neil Gaiman, Jon Scieszka, Jonathan Safran Foer, and more.
(purchased) Awesome collection of “children’s stories”. Now sitting on my son’s shelf, waiting for him to grow into it.

19. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
(purchased) Awesome, except for the last chapter.

20. The Education of Gregory McDonald – Writings about America 1966-1973 by Gregory McDonald
(paperbackswap.com) Nonfiction from the author of Fletch. Weird… so-so.

21. Housekeeping Vs. The Dirt by Nick Hornby
(purchased) Awesome. I love, love, love Hornby’s columns about reading.

22. The Adrian Mole Diaries by Sue Townsend
(paperbackswap.com) Actually ordered this by accident, but still very enjoyable, well-written read. I suspect it’s a young adult’s book, though.

23. The Dark Design by Philip Jose Farmer (third book in the Riverworld Series)
(paperbackswap.com) Book 3 in the Riverworld series. Probably could have done without book 3 and 4, and skipped to book 5.

24. The Diary of a Nobody by George Grossmith and illustrated by Weedon Grossmith
(gutenberg.org) Amusing 100 year old English novel. You can see points where it influenced or is referenced by modern authors.

25. Comedy By The Numbers: The 169 Secrets of Humor and Popularity by Prof. Eric Hoffman & Dr. Gary Rudoren
(purchased) Bleh.

26. First Among Sequels by Jasper Fforde
(loaned from a friend) Funny self-referencial continuation of the Thursday Next series.

27. The Golden Compass (or Northern Lights) By Philip Pullman
(purchased) Wanted to read this before the movie came out. Great novel, but I heard the movie sucked, so I passed on the film.

28. The Magic Labyrinth, book 4 of the Riverworld Series, by Philip Jose Farmer
(paperbackswap.com) I was actually confused when I made my book log entry… I thought this was the 5th novel and I was done with the series. But it turns out Gods of Riverworld awaits me. I thought it ended a little abruptly…

29. Psmith, Journalist by P.G. Wodehouse
(gutenberg.org) Funny! One of the many Wodehouse novels I’ve read from gutenberg this year, but the only one I documented. Psmith is an engaging and silly character.

30. Flynn’s World by Gregory McDonald
(gift) bleh. A disappointing continuation of the Flynn series, which I actually preferred over the Fletch series.

Book Log – Flynn’s World

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Flynn’s World by Gregory McDonald

Flynn, a spinoff character from the Fletch novels is back in a heavy-handed thinly-veiled dissertation of the author’s philosophical beliefs, full of straw men and deus ex machina.

I’m not saying I disagree with what he’s trying to say but I almost want to with the way this light mystery novel shoves it down my throat.

Best I can figure, McDonald wanted to add an extra bedroom on his ranch or something, so he whipped this sucker out. By far the weakest of any novel he’s ever written.

But also… short.

The Other Me

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I think this happens often, the Other You that people you know keep seeing.

My boss told me he saw me driving on Peachtree Industrial in Norcross on Sunday. Except, I wasn’t in Norcross on Sunday. As far as I know.

In order to prove it wasn’t me, I said, “He wasn’t driving a Honda Civic, was he?”

“Well, yes,” my boss replied, “I think he was.”

The power of suggestion. “What color?”

“Black.”

“I drive a black Honda Civic.”

“Well, this was an older one.”

“Old, like late nineties?”

“Yes.”

“I drive a 1997.”

“Are you sure you weren’t in Norcoss yesterday?”

“Yes, pretty sure. Unless I blacked out and went for a drive.”

The Other Me In Atlanta has been seen by others before. Who knew he’s got my car now?

Book Log – Psmith, Journalist

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Psmith, Journalist by P.G. Wodehouse

I downloaded this novelette for free from Project Gutenburg and read it on my Palm Z22. It’s actually the most recent of many Wodehouse novels I’ve read this year, all of which I have failed to document for one reason or another.

I particularly wanted to record this one because I feel that the main character, Psmith, is virtually identical to Douglas Adams’ Dirk Gently, if you remove the supernatural elements from the Gently stories and make the character thin. It’s a bit like discovering a few unpublished Gently novels, after assuming there would be no more owing to Adams’ untimely passing.

In one of the other novels I read recently, I saw the prototype for the relationship storyline in So Long and Thanks for All The Fish where boy meets girl in a car ride but not learning anything about her, a chance meeting later on, an overbearing brother, etc, so I knew there were some loosely borrowed plot lines between Wodehouse and Adams.

All very interesting. It’s like getting a backstage tour into the workings of Adams’ mind.

ING! IIIIIIIING!

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Okay, I don’t even have the energy to relay the Whole Big Thing with ING but I’d like to reiterate…

Boo, ING Direct, Boo!

The nice man on the phone says we should have our checking account back in action tomorrow. Or, possibly, Thursday.

BOOO!