Disturbing Furniture

Check out this series of books...

nobody@vox.com(Duck) — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 07:35:48 -0700

I'm usually excited when I get to read a big-boy book. I just had five books-to-review in a row (not including picture books) and suddenly I'm in control of my reading moments.

What should I discover while perusing the catalogs at work but a new paperback release of the first book in a relatively new series by Mike Carey.

Probably don't know who that is, do you?

Well, he writes comic books--or graphic novels if you will. He did "Hellblazer" (basis for the movie "Constantine") for a while and "Lucifer" spun off of Neil Gaiman's "Sandman" which was great. Lately he's been doing a title called "Crossing Midnight" which, to me, kind of defies description. It's about Japanese fraternal twins who have some odd powers and live part time in a spirit world...one of whom doesn't remember who she really is--read it, there are collections out.

The Devil You Know

Mike Carey

Anyhoo...I discovered "The Devil You Know" in a catalog & ordered one...only to find out that there are already two sequels (which will be ordered from Britain post haste). Basic storyline is Felix Castor is a freelance exorcist in a modern London where ghosts abound & occasional demons, zombies, and were-folk are on hand. Carey's trademark sense of humor is well in evidence. LOVELY!

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Hey "Freaks & Geeks" Fans!

nobody@vox.com(Duck) — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 09:27:16 -0700

Ignatius MacFarland: Frequenaut!

Paul Feig

Especially you with little boys (on the outside or in your head)...

Paul Feig has a novel coming out that's worth your time! I just finished the ARC of -->

(Don't know if that's the final cover or not or the final spelling of the title character's name since it was McFarland inside the book)

Iggy MacFarland is a sarcastic twelve (almost thirteen!) year old who wants to meet aliens...he builds a rocket al la the lovely old movie "Explorers"...but blows himself into an alternate reality instead of outer space. And let me tell you...it's definitely an altered reality! Because of the author, I just pictured a young John Francis Daley as Iggy...loved it! Hope for sequels (they seem to be intimated by the open end)

And, HEY! Librarianing don't pay much. We get to read the books first so we can TELL you about them, so stop complaining about me getting the ARC (actually there are two on eBay right now...)

:-)

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I know it's my own fault...

nobody@vox.com(Duck) — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 07:00:17 -0700

You know I love reviewing books. But I have to say that in the past few months, I am newly re-astonished at the crapola that gets published.

Yeah, I know, I've said it before.

Self-published books are one thing. Most of them don't go through an editor. STILL if you're going to pay to have your book published & you're going to put it out there in front of Buddha and everyone with your name on the cover, one would think you'd want it to be the best that it could be. SO that same "one" would also think that you'd run it through a spell checker. Maybe turn on the grammar checker (neither of which is always right, but they'll make you look at possible problems). And here's a radical idea: let someone who reads a lot who ISN'T in your family (in your cubicle, in your bed, in love with you) read it. OR take a writing class and submit it as a final project. OR join a writing group with people who aren't (and don't want to be) your best friend. OR pay someone to read it and critique it. I was my only editor on my book (though half of them were published in magazines, the paper, or on-line). Most of the stories went through several outside readers. All of the stories went through many, many re-writes. There were probably still errors and things I could have done better...but I own those mistakes.

Then there are the self-published books that DO go through an editor (paid by the author)...some of them are still crapola. I finished one a while back and I seriously considered contacting the author and telling them to sue their "publisher" or at least demand a refund.

I do NOT think self-published books are necessarily bad (obviously, since I wrote one myself), but a lot of them are. The sad thing is they don't have to be. I actually have a fondness for 'em. They are the underdogs. Those authors are (sometimes) the writers who have worked the hardest at their craft. (Really do YOU think James Patetrson pays a lot of attention to what flows out of his word processor? Oh, that's right he always works with a co-author!)

Then there are the books published by commercial publishers. I excuse them for publishing crap when it has a celebrity name on it (here too a caveat: all celebrity books are not poo. Jamie Lee Curtis is fantabulous! Julie (Andrews) Edwards can be.) Publishing houses have to make a buck, ya know! But, why are so many of the books I read (to review and for "fun") just plain drek? Books that have been through editors who get paid more than I do to read, critique, and punch up these works...and yet these works have errors aplent. Errors in grammar (and I do not usually read looking for those). Errors in style. Errors in narrative craft...sigh. Errors that are easily fixed...sigh again.

I finished a book a short while ago (author to remain nameless) by a supposed "fresh new voice" & the book had point of view problems. (Note to budding authors: if your book is narrated in the first person, your narrator can't know exactly what another character is thinking or feeling or what motivates their friends...unless your first person narrator is psychic--just use a little phrase like "I could tell he was feeling..." or "I bet he was remembering that time when he was five..." instead of "I looked at George. He felt sad." or "Sitting by Sam while he remebered that time when he was five...").

I should start an editing business. Of course, I'd have to charge on a sliding scale--the more painful the book is to read, the more I'd charge :-) Kidding! Well, about the sliding scale at least...maybe when I retire (ha ha, it is to laugh) I'll go in to business...or maybe I'll mid-life-crisis-job-change myself on up to NYC and present myself at a publishing house with ARCs marked up, and say: "You coulda done better. Now hire my ass!"

Oh, Yeah...Buy my book!

Seeking the Link

Tim Capehart

It's better than what I've been reading! :-) <--evil grin

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Wow! Great Anti-McCain Ad...

nobody@vox.com(Duck) — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 12:11:18 -0700

Saw this on TV and had to share:

Best Political Ad I've Seen

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I'm not fat in Japan!!

nobody@vox.com(Duck) — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 08:38:47 -0700

The story below is clipped from NYT, but Trent read me the story from this week's "The Week" (our news magazine of choice). Turns out I'm not fat in Japan! Woo hoo!

I have a 33 inch waist...So, yes I'm on the cusp, but were I in Japan I would officially NOT be fat.

What a relief!

From New York Times: "Japan, a country not known for its overweight people, has undertaken one of the most ambitious campaigns ever by a nation to slim down its citizenry.

"Summoned by the city of Amagasaki one recent morning, Minoru Nogiri, 45, a flower shop owner, found himself lining up to have his waistline measured. With no visible paunch, he seemed to run little risk of being classified as overweight, or metabo, the preferred word in Japan these days.

"But because the new state-prescribed limit for male waistlines is a strict 33.5 inches, he had anxiously measured himself at home a couple of days earlier. “I’m on the border,” he said.

"Under a national law that came into effect two months ago, companies and local governments must now measure the waistlines of Japanese people between the ages of 40 and 74 as part of their annual checkups. That represents more than 56 million waistlines, or about 44 percent of the entire population.

"Those exceeding government limits — 33.5 inches for men and 35.4 inches for women, which are identical to thresholds established in 2005 for Japan by the International Diabetes Federation as an easy guideline for identifying health risks — and having a weight-related ailment will be given dieting guidance if after three months they do not lose weight. If necessary, those people will be steered toward further re-education after six more months."

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In Case you need a laugh...

nobody@vox.com(Duck) — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 11:24:42 -0700

In Defense of the Bush Doctrine (Contemporary Issues in the Mid)

Robert G. Kaufman

Rejected subtitles include:

"Hey! At Least He Didn't Get Us All Killed!"

"He Made Millard Filmore Look Good!"

"He Proved the Majority DOESN'T Rule"

"Sending Healthcare and Edication back to the 1950's"

"Could Be Worse, Could Be Raining Bombs!"

"Serving the Rich, One Billionaire at a Time"

"Failing Where Reagan Failed, All Over Again"

"Proof Big Oil Can Run the Country...Into the Ground"

"Only 3/4 of the World Hates us Now"

And the #1 Rejected subtitle for this important tome:

"Like YOU Could Do Any Better!"

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Watch Your Toes, We're on the Road!

nobody@vox.com(Duck) — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 11:00:00 -0700

Stagecoach Parade

Yes, we are at it again...NOW we're doing parades.

Yes, that shudder was the appropriate response ;-)

The first of six parades this year. DMLition, the Dayton Metro Library's book cart drill team, was a star attration in New Lebanon's Stagecoach Days parade last Saturday. We will do the Air Show next month, Holiday at Home in Kettering, Children's Parade in Dayton in November & three others I forget--but, hey I ain't driving!

This time we are doing cartoon themes! Scooby & Inspector Gadget (Sponge Bob and perhaps Spiderman to come later). I HOPE costumes come later too! :-)

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I have been remiss...

nobody@vox.com(Duck) — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 10:01:55 -0700

MyNewCar

I haven't blogged my most recent purchase...yes, sadly the Jeep has gone bye bye. Fourteen miles to the gallon wasn't going to cut it any more. I also don't like driving something NOT covered by warranty. This one will be for eight years! Woo hoo! My new baby is a Scion xD (their replacement for the Scion xA which I have been lusting after since Toyota birthed the Scion). It beat out the Matrix (too big) the Yaris (Trent wouldn't fit) and the Smart Car (which I really wanted but would have to drive to Columbus for service)...and the Honda Fit and Ford Focus and Mini Cooper (gas mileage).

Now I just have to get used to driving a car. Jeeps is a whole different matter! (I also have to get used to NOT waving to other Jeep drivers, they do that you know--freaked me out the first few times. No one warned me!)

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Weather Panic not just a Winter Phenomenon

nobody@vox.com(Duck) — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 08:55:40 -0700

There are plenty of areas in the country that have legitimate weather concerns; Dayton is not currently one of them. Nor was it last evening when we were trying to watch the Tony Awards...

So the broadcast starts...and just after the opening comedy routine Rich Wirdzek (WHIO) cut in to tell us there were severe thuderstorm watches about 120 miles north and west of us. He repeated the information three or four times just in case we missed it. Then we went back to the show in time to see the first award winner finish their thank you.

A short time later Rich was back. The watches had become warnings. And they included WIND! Oh, my! He read us the screen just in case we weren't literate. He let us know each small town the storm would pass over...in case we couldn't read the map. He told us which counties were under warnings and which under watches in case we were so color-blind that we couldn't tell which were which on the little warnings map that stayed in the corner of the screen all night.

The third time he broke in we knew we were in for an evening with Rich Wirdzek...and we relaxed into it. Trent said it added an extra level of suspense to the Tony broadcast. When they announced the nominees, we never knew if we would see who won! When someone started singing, we never knew if we'd see the whole performance.

When "Grease" performed, we hoped he'd break in, but no such luck.

The storm did arrive. Fifteen minutes of wind followed by fifteen minutes of rain. Then it was over.

Rich broke in AFTER the storm passed us to let the people in the counties east of us know it was on the way. He also said there were pictures of storm damage. Branches down. Patio furniture blown over.

HORROR! (I actually screamed like a little girl when he announced the patio furniture horror).

Trent and I hopped up and ran to see if OUR patio furniture had been blown over. We were going to photograph it and send it to WHIO. Unfortunately, our plastic furniture was still standing. Trent knocked it over & I went for the camera...but that seemed dishonest.

I told Trent we needed to get Rich Wirdzek's cell phone number, so that in the future when he's blowing (pun intended) some tiny weather event all out of proportion we can call him and say, "Shut it, Wirdzek!" We never even lost the sattilite feed through the whole weather event.

(In his defense, east of us some power lines DID go down...but that was the extent of the weather related damage--except for that guy's patio furniture...how did he survive it?)

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Surprising little Movie...

nobody@vox.com(Duck) — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 06:01:33 -0700

Suburban Girl

This one didn't get released to theaters so we weren't too sure about how it would be...and the whole May/December love affair thing can get creepy (in this case...it was more of an April/September). But this was really not bad at all. We laughed out loud a couple of times (Marian Seldes got the biggest). The characters were really well constructed and well played. When it was done, we couldn't figure out why it never made it to theaters--then Slueth-Trent discovered that the producers didn't have the rights to the source material (three stories from "The Girl's Guide to Hunting and Fishing"). AhHA!

Well worth your renting dollar (or free at your library!)

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