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New and Old Reading Material

Over the past couple of years, with the embarrasment of books already in my home, I’ve tried to get a lot better about getting books from the library. (Especially with book club, since if I’d actually bought copies of John Varley’s Red Thunder or Greg Egan’s Teranesia I’d be pretty angry. I’m still a little scarred by briefly owning David Gerrold’s Blood and Fire, for that matter, but this is all fodder for an entirely different entry about hits and misses from the book club.) I’m regularly taking older books to the library for donation, in fact, trying to thin things out, re-evaluating what needs to stick around.

As it is, I’ve still got a bunch of amazing books just waiting to be read (some ones I chose, other ones that friends wisely picked out for me), and so I’m trying to minimize the inflow to ones that are really important/interesting to me, ones that I feel are worthy of making the cut. I have actually bought a couple of books recently; these are ones that “made the cut” and were considered (not yet read at the time of purchase) good enough to not just be a library borrowing. So, let’s see:

Possible Side Effects by Augusten Burroughs. To be honest, none of his books have really captured my attention in the way that Dry (his story of alcohol addiction and recovery) grabbed me and was devoured over the course of 48 hours. They’re good travel books, though, especially since his last two have been collections of short essays/stories.  Fun, but with diminishing returns. Having just finished this one, I think any future books by Burroughs will be via the library for me.

The Rules for Hearts by Sara Ryan. I first heard of Ryan through her also-talented husband Steve Lieber; her first novel Empress of the World was the sort of book I wish I’d read when I was a teen, and her first comic (with Lieber) “Me and Edith Head” was sheer elegance. I had a gift certificate burning in my pocket from Lambda Rising, and I’d just decided that in addition to Possible Side Effects I’d finally buy one of the Love and Rockets re-issues that I’ve been eyeing for ages. Then I saw they had The Rules for Hearts in and you’d have thought L&R was on fire I’d dropped it so fast. Oh, and Ryan’s got other great comics out as well. If you haven’t already, go check out her short story “Click” (drawn by Dylan Meconis) and see what you’ve been missing. I’m about halfway through the book now and am absolutely loving it.

The Devil You Know by Mike Carey. I’ve enjoyed Carey’s comics in the past (Lucifer and Crossing Midnight in particular) and Karon had said good things about his prose novel debut. Since he was in town a couple of months ago for a signing tour connected to it, I decided it was a good a time as any to buy a copy, say hello to him again (we’d met a couple years ago), and give it a whirl. Hopefully I’ll be starting it soon.

The Selected Stories of O. Henry by O. Henry. Ok, I have to admit I haven’t actually bought this yet, but only because the last time I was at the store the line was so long I decided to go back. But it’s part of Barnes & Noble’s “Classics Series” which are bargain-priced; in this case a nice 432-page trade paperback for $5.95. What little I’ve read of his short stories I’ve enjoyed in the past, so I figure this is as good a way as any to give it a whirl.

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and Dubliners by James Joyce. And last but not least, also from the “Classic Series” we have another inexpensive trade paperback. I read Portrait when I was in high school and I loathed it, pure and simple. But I am a bit wiser now and I want to give it another shot. More importantly, though, the only story from Dubliners I’ve ever read is “The Dead” and I think it’s a truly amazing piece of writing, one of the best out there. So that is what really attracted me to this book; the chance to read the rest of Dubliners and to have a more easily-accessible copy of “The Dead” for my Christmas Eve tradition of reading said story. (Normally I have to dig out my college textbooks and figure out which one contained it.) This will be an interesting journey to see just what else of Joyce’s I actually like.

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365pictures: Days 271-300

300. 300!

(I am trying to resist all sorts of jokes about said movie right about now.)

Anyway, I know I keep saying that the end is in sight, and I feel like I should drop in a note now that explains that on the whole, I have very much enjoyed this project. I plan on continuing to carry my camera around with me once it’s done, if nothing else. But there is certainly a lot of pressure/commitment to try and get a picture in every day, and I am looking forward to having that done with and not having to worry about shooting a sub-standard photograph in order to fulfill the daily quota.

So. In short, I do like the project and I am very glad that I chose to tackle it, but I will love the freedom I will have once it is over. And, as always, a link to the full set is available here.

Enjoy!

Mothership LandingAll May Park, All Must Pay18-Miler Reward: Part 1Hideous DiscardsNigiri Sake Sushi
WeightKeep FrozenAll The Pretty Deck Chairs In A RowOn The Edge Of ForeverWeathervane
Not MushroomsEight Buddhas In A RowWillow Entrance4-7-3-4G&T
Ferris WheelIwo Jima by NightImpulse BuyUnsureCanopy
With TeethUnsure Of Their FateSalt and PepperThe GrantComfort Food
My Lunch Scares MeNew PantsIn FlightCeiling StarEye on the Ball

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Long Delayed Update

In FlightA friend pointed out to me recently that I haven’t really updated since going to West Virginia three weeks ago. “What have you been up to? People want to know!” he insisted. Well, all right then. What I’ve been up to.

I started raising bees after getting back, because if one of my favorite authors can do it, surely I can too. It’s been quite fun, I’ve given each of the 500 bees their own name based on personality. There’s Fuzzy, Spunky, Flighty, Zippy, Sluggy, Bashful, Dizzy, Spazzy, Giggly, Loudmouth, Horny, Lazy, Chatterbox, and Purple Nurple… to name a few. I’ll spare you pictures of all of my little bee friends, but here’s just one. I think this one is Zsa Zsa. Or is it Portly? I get the two so confused.

Last week I met Delta Burke. For those who don’t know what’s up with the former-Suzanne-Sugarbaker, she’s now living in a gorgeous plantation-style mansion in the Deep South, also known as the Fairlington neighborhood of Arlington. Her twin daughters had been kidnapped by Gary Coleman by order of former mayor Marion Barry, and I had to wrestle Coleman and his flunkies on top of a Metro train speeding underneath the Potomac River. You’ll be relieved to know that Delta and her adorable children (Sigma and Theta) are now reunited. After all that was over, we ate rhubarb-strawberry pie, the perfect end to all adventures.

Then, earlier in the week, while at the public library I found a copy of the Necrocodex mere seconds after a bratty little kid summoned up That Which Cannot Be Named from the depths of the sunken city of R’leyh. (Due to its power to sap electricity, I couldn’t get a picture. But here’s an artist’s rendition of the event.)

Now, this was not good. First, the Dolly Madison Public Library will need all new carpets, because that slime is not coming out no matter how much cleaning solution and Stain-B-Gone they use. I mean, seriously, that is some putrid stuff. So who’s going to pay for that? The unfortunate tax payers of Fairfax County, that’s whom. (Good thing I live in Arlington now.)

Second, I am pretty sure that I lost my retainer in the scuffle. My orthodontist is going to kill me. I’m sure he’s going to think I accidentally threw it out with the rest of my lunch while at school. Those things are expensive.

Third, have you ever actually fought That Which Cannot Be Named? It’s a real pain in the rear, believe you me. Just tentacles and eyeballs and nothing to really punch. Honestly, if there hadn’t been a nearby cement mixer just parked with the keys still in the ignition, I’m not sure just what I’d have done. As it is, I was only able to immobilize it long enough to rename That Which Cannot Be Named to something that rolls of the tongue a little more. And I’ve always liked the name Raoul.

So, with Raoul scurrying back off to R’leyh (Raoul had to go fill out all sorts of name change forms), that just about wrapped up what I’ve been doing these last three weeks.

Oh yeah, and last night I went running for 10 miles.

…Yeah, who am I kidding, I didn’t think you’d believe that last one either.

  

  

(Hopefully everyone else has been having a more exciting last couple of weeks! I think I can sum it up as being nothing but working, running, playing Phoenix Wright and Puzzle Quest on the NintendoDS, watching some HBO shows, and a tiny bit of reading. Bring on something more riveting in September!)

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Go West, Young Man

After a busy couple of weeks, it was time to get out of town for a long weekend; I knew I was going to be busy up through August 5th, so it made perfect sense to me to pick the next weekend as a chance to escape. So, Charlie and I threw our bags in the car and went west. Well, as far as Lost River, West Virginia, at any rate.

On The Edge Of ForeverIt was nice to head back to the Guest House at Lost River again; I’d been there last summer with a good group of friends to hang out and play bridge, so I already knew what I was getting into. In short? Lots of swimming, hiking, eating, napping, and gorgeous scenery.

I remember last year thinking that it had literally been almost half a decade since I’d gone on a vacation that didn’t involve some sort of “event” (family get-together, convention, race, or the like) but was merely to be somewhere else and enjoy the change of scenery. It’s something I’m really enjoying adding back into my life, something I didn’t realize I was missing until I had it once again.

As for the trip itself, it was great. Everything was as beautiful as I remembered, the weather was perfect (about 10 to 15 degrees cooler than DC and no real humidity to speak of), and we met some really nice people at the Guest House who were really great, fun guys to talk to. We ended up swapping contact information at the end with some of the guys, and I hope we can all get together at some point and just grab dinner or hang out or such.

The ViewReally, the closest thing I can find to a downside over the entire trip was that I read two of the most disappointing books in quite some time while on the trip. Neither was bad, per se, but ones that did not live up to their potential in the slightest. Fortunately that wasn’t the case with the actual trip; I’d much rather have my disappointment in print form. (And I rediscovered the evilness of Puzzle Quest while on the trip after having finished off the second book. It was just a matter of time until that game pulled me back in. I think I’m getting near the end of it now, though.) And really, who cares about a bad book when you’ve got that sort of view awaiting you at the end of an hour’s hike?

I wish I was still out in West Virginia right now, to be honest, just relaxing and sitting by the pool, or enjoying the gorgeous scenery. Don’t get me wrong, it’s always nice to be back home after a trip, but I’m already looking forward to my next trip to Lost River. There’s something about its peaceful nature that makes me want to keep going back. I guess that says it all, really.

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Apparently, Some People Think I’m A Slut

18-Miler Reward: Part 2Greg: Yeah, so the 18-miler on Sunday went really well.
Male Co-Worker: Ah, nice! What did you do afterwards?
Greg: I decided it was time to reward myself, so I did so with Five Guys.
Male Co-Worker: Really? *boggled* Wow. Good for you.
Greg: Yeah, it was fantastic.
Female Co-Worker: Good call!

(five minutes later)

Greg: I’m so glad there isn’t a Five Guys Burgers and Fries near the office.
Male Co-Worker: Oh wow, I thought you were talking about something completely different. This makes much more sense now.

 

*sigh* I’m not really sure I want to ask how he even gets that sort of idea, to be honest.

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The More I Think About It…

…the happier I am that I am not going to San Diego in a couple of days for the madhouse that is Comic-Con International.

Now don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of friends that I only really see once a year, and it’s when I take the trip out to San Diego. I mean, we are talking about a lot of friends. So not seeing them? That really stinks. Plus it’s good for networking with publishers and creators, and to just get a good idea of what the proverbial pulse of the industry is beating these days.

But first CCI announced that the 4-day passes sold out. (It wouldn’t have been a worry for me, my pass would’ve been taken care of months ago.) Now, the Convention Center in San Diego is huge, holding something like 130,000 people in it. For it to sell out? That’s madness. And now individual passes for Saturdays are sold out, too. And then I start thinking about how crowded it was just back in 2005, when it wasn’t as bad, and it still looked like this:

Just another San Diego Crowd
(click here for an even larger view of the terror)

Oh dear lord. What was I thinking? Yes, I will enjoy not being in San Diego this upcoming weekend. Even though I will miss all my friends terribly. (Especially Kelly Sue, if only because I figure I could try and rub her belly and then make a run for it before she clocked me by way of response.) But this weekend? Well, I’ll think about two good friends running the San Francisco Marathon and note that it would be less exhausting than being at Comic-Con. And then? Take a nice long nap, I think.

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Seasonal Disorder

Seasonal DisorderAll right. I understand that weather in the DC area is more in line with September than July, right now. (Heck, I had the windows open this morning.) Fair enough, it’s lovely out.

How that meant that the local Giant Food felt it was now time to put out Halloween-themed M&Ms, though, I’ll have no idea. The wrongness is just killing me, here.

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Non-Bulleted Bullet Points

Life’s been busy busy busy as of late. And when that happens, this is the first thing that falls to the wayside, it seems. Which is better than a lot more important things getting neglected, I suppose. My hunt for the elusive 36-hour day continues to be fruitless, alas.

After listening to everyone’s advise, I ended up creating a private “to-do list” webpage on my site that I can update every day. It works in concert with my full calendar, in that I regularly copy things off the calendar and onto the list, but I see it much more than the calendar and is more short-term themed than long-term. So far it’s been working out pretty well, so I can’t complain too much.

A Ray of HopeI am delighted that the temperature has finally dropped here in the DC area, just in time for our 16-miler this weekend. Hopefully it will go well; the really high temperatures at the 12- and 14-milers made them both a little uncomfortable. But what’s up with the lack of earth-shattering kabooms in the way of storms? Every time this summer we’ve had a cold front with big storm promise, we’ve gotten the cold front but a distinct lack of storm. It’s half the fun of the temperature drop, after all. (The other and more obvious half being, surprise surprise, the actual dropping of the temperature from “armpit of Alabama” levels into just “blistering shoulder.”) The best we get are threatening looking clouds that don’t deliver.

It’s Harry Potter Mania Night, and I almost hate to admit that I don’t have a copy pre-ordered. In fact, I’m not buying a copy. Not because I’m anti-Harry Potter (they remind me in a very good way of reading Roald Dahl’s books at the age of seven) but because last year I gave away my copies of the hardcovers because I decided that they were taking up too much space, and it’s not like the library has a lack of copies if I want to re-read them down the line. So, I have a copy reserved at the library and will no doubt have a copy in a couple weeks. Perhaps sooner if Karon finishes hers quickly and is then kind enough to lend it to me.

I am really looking forward to a long weekend in Lost River, West Virginia that I have planned for mid-August. I want an agenda primarily filled with swimming, hiking, reading books, eating, Scrabble, and sleeping. Not necessarily in that order. I think it’s going to be really fantastic. Especially since it will be right after two and a half weeks of doing both my job and someone else’s (who always has more on his plate and the stuff is generally more complex). So a perfectly timed vacation.

Speaking of Scrabble, being able to play it on Facebook is wonderfully evil, yet at the same time relaxing. I like being able to take a 2-minute break and stretch my brain in a different way to think of a new crazy word to play on the board. (Best word so far: ANTIQUE for 101 points. Although I am somehow more proud of my 61-point OLEANDER.)

Things are going very well with Charlie, thanks.

The new Suzanne Vega CD is pretty by-the-numbers Vega (same thing with her last album; I hadn’t realized how much her ex-husband Froom had brought to the production of 99.9F and Nine Objects of Desire until it was gone), but still enjoyable. On the other hand, I fully blame Matt Evenden for accidentally hooking me on last year’s Take That reunion album. I’m so ashamed. Oh, and Clive Davis can kiss my butt, he was utterly wrong and My December is fantastic. Kudos to Kelly Clarkson for sticking to her guns.

Ok, time to go running and then off to National Airport to pick up Charlie from his latest business trip.

Life? Busy, but good.