Author Archives: bookdwarf

God this sucks

I can’t seem to figure out how to build this site properly. Its very annoying. Anyway, I went home sick this afternoon. I seemed to have ‘won’ a cold in Vegas as well. Its not too bad though. Watched some movies on cable, drank a lot of tea, etc. One of the movies was this HBO film Iron Jawed Angels. I enjoyed it. I often forget that women have only been had the ‘right’ to vote for 84 years. It seems odd to think of a time when I wouldn’t have been able to decide who was in the government. Its a shame that all these women fought so hard and so many people ignore their right to vote. Alas (I really mean yay of course), its a democracy. Maybe I will stay home tomorrow? Watch some more good stuff? Who knows.

Did not put the farm up for ante

Not that I have a farm. Or any real estate for that matter. I made it back from Vegas last night. Came home with more money than when I went, so it was a good trip. I didn’t make a lot, but I did pay for drinks (very expensive if you are not at a table) and dinner and I made up all that I lost plus another $50. And may have picked up a gambling habit. Well, Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods are 2 hours away, so I can only really go on weekends. Or can’t I? Hmmmmm.

I refuse to sing the cheezy Elvis song ‘Viva Las Vegas’ when we land

So I am off to Vegas tomorrow night. Can’t wait. Got my profit-sharing check cashed today and am bringing the whole thing. Hopefully I won’t develop a huge gambling problem. Actually, I plan to do a lot of relaxing and people watching. Hopefully, this site will help me find all the good places to go. Want to try a buffet and have at least one nice meal. God, I want to win some money. But I think I want to see some Elvises more. Wish me luck.

Good news finally!

As the former driver of an SUV, I can say they are fun to drive and they do make you more agressive, but I have since been converted to the joy of smaller cars. Plus they cost less and you get more mileage from them. You would think that’d be a good thing these days with the economy and all. But Bush and his crew want you to buy large gas-guzzling cars. So what if they are polluting the air? So what if more people are being killed by the gi-normous behemouths (mine was a small sedan-sized Cherokee by the way)? So what if they keep us dependent on fossil fuels? And then I read this today, which brought a little sunshine onto my day. People are either realizing that SUVS are not the answers to today’s problems or are drawn in by the many advantages the Prius has over its larger peers. Oh, this is funny too. I never have a camera when I see one dammit.

Ok, I have moved from geekdom to full on dorkdom:



You’re The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe!
by C.S. Lewis
You were just looking for some decent clothes when everything changed
quite dramatically. For the better or for the worse, it is still hard to tell. Now it
seems like winter will never end and you feel cursed. Soon there will be an epic
struggle between two forces in your life and you are very concerned about a betrayal
that could turn the balance. If this makes it sound like you’re re-enacting Christian
theological events, that may or may not be coincidence. When in doubt, put your trust
in zoo animals.

Take the Book Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.

That’s it. Now I know I’m a confirmed geek:

You're a literary minded as the Bard himself!
You are a complete literary geek, from knowing the
classics (even the not-so-well-known classics
and tidbits about them) to knowing devices used
in writing, when someone has a question about
literature, they can bring it to you and rest
assured; you know the answers.

How much of a literary geek are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

And I am nerdy enough to have caught all the typos. Sigh.

The Stone Diaries

I had a really good review going for The Stone Diaries, but of course, my computer chose to crash half way through. Well, I finally finished reading the book and I liked it, but I don’t think it was the best book ever. I found the main character Daisy Stone Goodwill interesting enough. The back of the book claimed that she “has struggled to understand her place in her own life” and she searches for herself in this fictional biography. But I sensed none of that. I enjoyed the passages in other people’s voices, such as her father lying on the grass as he dies. It was beautiful and touching. But when Daisy was dying, I did not feel so much. She seemed unhapppy and unsettled throughout most of her life, that I saw, But I did not see the search so much as I saw her settling. I expected something great when she got on the train to travel through Canada and ends up visiting her ‘Uncle’ Barker. Such buildup! But they marry and she settles into the wife routine. I thought the book beautifully written, but in the end, I do not think that Daisy will remain in my memory.

Troublesome

I have been reading since yesterday about the backlash Terry Teachout’s comments on linkage have caused. Some bloggers have taken exception to his schoolmaster tone (I am not sure if I agree or disagree with him, but his tone did put me off) and others agree with his statements. I am not going to add my 2 cents, mostly because I am new, but also because it doesn’t seem all that important to me. Besides the Literary Saloon at the Complete Review has a nice recap of it all here. What I am troubled about is something they say at the end of the recap about using links to Amazon.com pages instead of to “some actual information about the book”. And here is why I am troubled. As I may have mentioned before, I do work for a really great independent bookstore. But I have to say that our web site is not all that great. Sometimes there is very little information about the book at all beyond the price and ISBN. What sort of links should we be providing? When I decided to start a blog, I knew that there were already a great deal of sites out there about books, and I didn’t want to just be repeating what others are saying. I don’t think I have found a ‘voice’ yet either. I sort of just blog about whatever. But I do read a lot and would like to help others choose what they want to read next. If I can provide helpful and interesting information about a book, I will try. Amazon has a lot of information on its pages, plus they have a fabulous search engine. I am torn as to whom I should be linking to. I don’t know. If anyone has an opinion, please post it.

Neat

Thanks to Plasticbag.org for pointing out this really cool site that lets you create maps of countries you have visited. Here is mine:
Need to go more places. I want to visit Egypt and other parts of Africa and China. I haven’t even been to Mexico, though Aaron and I are discussing a trip.