Friday, December 02, 2011

Dirty Cartoons Rejected By The New Yorker

NonFiction

The Best of the Rejection Collection: 283 cartoons that were too dumb, too dark, or too naughty for The New Yorker edited by Matthew Diffee. With the latest advances in cosmetic surgery, I can make a fifty-five-year-old grandmother look like a thirty-five-year-old transsexual and I'm looking for a card that says, 'Sorry about the herpes." and Will the high mileage and low emissions make my penis seem bigger?

301 Ways to Use Social Media to Boost Your Marketing by Catherine Parker. If you are Anthony Neil Smith you spend every waking hour tweeting people to buy your eBooks.

Chicago Curiosities by Scotti Cohn. I never gave a dang about Chicago when growing up. I used to read the Tribune every day but had no interest in visiting or living there.

Summers: a true love story by Margot Peters. Letters by 16-year-old Peters and a teenage boy from 1949 to 1961. Featured on Wisconsin Public Radio's Chapter-A-Day.

Body Language: techniques on interpreting nonverbal cues in the world and workplace by Aaron Brehove. Many illustrative photos covering micro expressions, posture, hand motions, walking, etc.

Grant Writing Demystified by Mary Ann Payne. A mnemonic device frequently used in developing objectives is SMART.

DVD

Head in the Clouds starring Charlize Theron, Penelope Cruz, Stuart Townsend. Sweeping romantic saga of passion, betrayal, and redemption...chooses to live her life solely for pleasure...traveled the world...passion and excitement...two friends...romantic menage a trois...Spanish Civil War...liberation just days away...most difficult decision of his life.

Thursday, December 01, 2011

Belated Bary and Gay Snipers Sing the Blues

Fiction

The Detachment by Barry Eisler. A John Rain Thriller. Eisler pairs his famous killer, Rain, with characters from his last two novels. Lots of intrigue, paranoia, and murder.

NonFiction

Homosexuality edited by Noah Berlatsky. Berlatsky should change his name to Bert because I had to keep looking the name up to correctly spell it. This is part of the Global Viewpoints series. Viewpoints is one of those nonfiction series aimed at middle and high school homework and research projects.

Sniper: American single-shot warriors in Iraq and Afghanistan by Gina Cavallaro with Matt Larsen. In the wars in that American snipers have fought since 9/11, in which there is not front line, no uniformed enemy, and tightly packed urban areas, the snipers in the Special Operations community have developed a more prominent role for themselves with their ability to act as an integral part of an urban assault, pushing ground commanders to pay attention to what snipers can bring to bear o the battlefield.

Road Biking Illinois: a guide to the state's best bike rides by Ted Villaire. After crossing SR 96, you'll pass a large brick hotel called the Nauvoo House.

The Geocaching Handbook: the guide for family friendly, high-tech treasure hunting by Layne Cameron. Many of the markers are made of brass or aluminum attached to a concrete post.

Campfire Stories: things that go bump in the night by William W. Forgey. VIII. He is saved - saved because he left a message where he could be found!

Food Lovers Guide to Chicago: best local specialties, markets, recipes, restaurants & events by Jennifer Olvera. A stark, minimalist dining room sets the tone for a culinary journey.

The Golden Age of the Blues by Richard Havers and Richard Evans. History of blues and biographies of the famous players with a twenty track CD to go with. This book reminds me of Bill Crider. I'm not sure why, maybe because there is a similar book on singing cowboys.

Write A Novel and Get it Published by Nigel Watts. Basically, there are two main options: present tense and past tense.

Letterboxer's Companion: exploring the mysteries hidden in the great outdoors by Randy Hall. If you don't like geocaching you can do this. The width of your paper will be height of the canister.

Insider's Guide to Madison by Kevin Revolinski. Another difficult in name to type. Some soft music is piped in and just a couple of tables are available for customers.

Heaven Is For Real by Todd Burpo. Because there are tons of holds on this. "Yeah, I did," he said solemnly.

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

New Kindles

Kindles

We now have three Kindle Touch eBook readers. I still need to purchase some protective cases and get content loaded onto the machines. Once the readers are cataloged they will be ready for check-out.


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Tuesday, November 29, 2011

James Garner Is A Golden God

NonFiction

The Garner Files by James Garner and Jon Winokur. 60 year career in television and movies and lots of cars and motorcycles. Let's make a short list. Maverick, Rockford Files, The Great Escape, Victor/Victoria, Support Your Local Sheriff, Grand Prix.

Boomerang: travels in the third world by Michael Lewis. The worldwide result of cheap credit from 2002 to 2008. The trademark of Michael Lewis's bestselling books is to tell an important and complex story through characters so outsized and outrageously weird that you'd think they have to be invented.

God, If You're Not Up There, I'm F*cked: tales of stand-up, Saturday Night Live, and other mind-altering mayhem by Darrell Hammond. Physical and mental abuse as a kid lead to "alcoholism and self-mutilation, psychiatric hospitalizations, and misdiagnoses, to the peak of fame and success as the longest-tenured cast member of Saturday Night Live."

Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson. The life of the perfectionist.

Why Read Moby-Dick? by Nathaniel Philbrick. 127 pages.

Fiction

A Crimson Warning by Tasha Alexander. The tall author's latest historical mystery/romance.

The Marriage Plot byb Jeffrey Eugenides. I really missed on this one and ordered it late. I thought we already had a copy.

Hellboy: the Bride of Hell and others by Mike Mignola. Comic book son of hell fights evil.

Explosive Eighteen by Janet Evanovich. Tear Out Calendar Inside! Not anymore, I took it out.

Micro by Michael Crichton and Richard Preston. Micro-robots are used to kill people in Hawaii.

Dead Last by James W. Hall. Latest entry in the Thorn mystery series. A serial killer is copying a Miami tv show's killer. A good series.

Come A Little Closer by Dorothy Garlock. Cover illustration has man and woman hugging in big, open field.

Wicked Autumn by G.M. Mallet. Looks like a cozy mystery. Has a town map on the inside.

Damned by Chuck Palahniuk. I have not read read a Palhniuk novel. I'll get around to it sometime.

Audiobook on CD

Johnny Cash Read The New Testament. 19 hours on 16 CDs.

Monday, November 28, 2011

DVDs and Paperbacks

DVD (I'm short on time, find your own trailers.)

Zookeeper starring Kevin James. Zookeeper wants to leave the zoo as a way to get girls. Zoo animals start talking to get him to stay. This could be a great horror movie but isn't.

Water for Elephants starring Reese Witherspoon and Robert Pattinson. Veterinarian falls for circus performer during the Depression. I do not know if the elephant talks.

Captain America starring Some Guy In A Costume. Comic book comes about through scientific testing and fights the HYDRA organization.

Consider the Conversation: a documentary on a taboo subject by Micahel Bernhagen and Terry Kaldhusdal. The importance of discussing impending death and how to prepare.

Musical Notes Encoded Into Foil Which Is Mated To A Smooth, Clear Plastic Disc

Beyond the Sun by Chris Isaak. Warblers sings songs.

Bad As Me by Tom Waits. Graveler grunts songs.

Four the Record by Miranda Lambert. Singer sings songs.

Paperbacks

Slocum Along the Corpse River by Jake Logan. Logan is a corporate name and this is the 391st novel in this series of action westerns featuring wanderer John Slocum. There is always a mix of sex and violence in the Slocum novels.

Redemption, Kansas by James Reasoner. Reasoner writes everything and does it well. Texan is injured in cattle stampede and recuperates in Redemtion, KS. While there he wonders about a local killings and fearful residents. Blurb on back cover by Bill Crider. That does not mean I am Crider's dancing monkey and read whatever he tells me to read. (I don't have time.)

Secret Protector by Ann Voss Peterson. Christmas themed romance by the Madison author. Bodyguard protects "lovely heiress" by pretending to be boyfriend.

Books on CD

V is For Vengeance by Sue Grafton. I was speaking to someone on Thanksgiving about this and my comment that Grafton is only four books from retirement. Later that night I was physically ill and had a lousy evening.