Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Multiple Choice Question

Multiple choice question. 


Why is the Library Director happy?


Multiple Choice Questions

A. Wearing a sweater negates ironing his shirt.
B. His hair is sticking up less than normal.
C. The City Council accepted the general contracting bid by Advanced Building Corporation for the library's interior renovation.
D. His sweater makes him look like Count Dracula vacationing on the Dalmatian Coast.

Answer: All of the above.

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

More. Less.

It's All the Same

NonFiction

Hell-Bent: obsession, pain, and the search for something like transcendence in competitive yoga by Benjamin Lorr.




Read My Lips: a complete guide to the vagina and vulva by Debby Herbenick and Vanessa Schick.  I looked for an author interview and the only things I found were Herbenick talking about other stuff besides the book.




Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker by Jennifer Chiaverini.  Fictionalized bio.  Why doesn't someone write a bio of me?  I'm mostly fictional.

Third Bullet by Stephen Hunter.




AudioBook on CD

Shadow Woman by Linda Howard.8 CDs at 10 hours.



Two For Texas by James Lee Burke.  5 CDs at 5.5 hours.



DVD

Hit and Run starring Kristen Bell, Dax Shepard, Tom Arnold.  Max Allan Collins says:

HIT AND RUN is a great crime comedy melodrama that stars Veronica Mars herself, Kristen Bell (wasted on Showtime’s unpleasant HOUSE OF LIES) opposite her significant other, Dax Shepard, who also wrote and co-directed. Shepard, besides being the lucky bastard who gets to live with Kristen Bell (I say this as the lucky bastard who gets to live with the former Barbie Mull), is mostly known for playing villains in film comedies like EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH as well as holding down one of the leads on the TV series, PARENTHOOD. This is the kind of movie I used to see all the time in the ‘70s – quirky, walking the line between comedy and drama, with sharp, natural dialogue, lots of interesting characters, plus plenty of action (it’s a car chase movie). I’m also reminded of Don Westlake’s ‘60s and ‘70s comedy novels. You want to know how good this movie is? Tom Arnold is hilarious in it. So, in a much different way, are Bradley Cooper and Beau Bridges. It is in times in wonderfully poor taste, but in a much smarter way than most bad taste movies – including gags involving prison rape and racial stereotyping. It’s also a tender love story. I haven’t checked Rotten Tomatoes, but I bet at least half the critics hate this. Don’t listen to them.

"Where does all this large print come from?"

"No one knows.  No one."

Threat Vector by Tom Clancy.  International intrigue and violence.

Dream Eyes by Jayne Ann Krentz.  Same as the regular print but with larger letters.

Incognito by Gregory Murphy.  I just bent over the corner of my calendar and now it will not lie flat.

Collateral Damage by Stuart Woods.  I've been reading Sunset and Sawdust by Joe R. Lansdale.  I stayed up too late reading the book.

Kinsey and Me by Sue Grafton.  The Lansdale book is from about eight years ago and dedicated to his daughter.

Shadow Woman by Linda Howard.  His daughter has her own career and work but helps her dad out.  Lansdale found some copies of his novels and was posting them for sale on Facebook.  I bought a couple for Christmas presents and his daughter handles those orders.

Nano by Robin Cook.  The books have not arrived yet.  But, Lansdale's daughter sent an email yesterday asking if the books were delivered and she seems to be on it.  I have this image of Lansdale finding some dusty box full of Devil Red in his garage and thinking, "Where did these come from?"

Facebook by Speaking Of.  Lansdale posts a lot on Facebook.  His topics are writing related but when does he actually write?  Let alone kung the fu?

Monday, January 14, 2013

Computers, Combat, Ken, Crazies, Kennedy

Computers

Windows 8 for the Older and Wiser by Adrian Arnold and Richard Millett.  Computers.

Windows 8 Bible: the comprehensive tutorial resource by Jim Boyce and Rob Tidrow.  Are.

Quickbooks 2013 by Thomas Barich.   Stupid.

Combat

The Generals: American military command from World War II to today by Thomas E. Ricks.  Changes in command and responsibility over the past 70 years.  From common firings in WWII to command whitewashing of Vietnam to command of today.  Command.

Pacific Time on Target: memoirs of a Marine artillery officer, 1943-1945 by Christopher S. Donner.  This is what happens when the Library Director reads catalogs from Kent State University Press.

Viper Pilot: a memoir of air combat by Dan Hampton.  A review said that flying descriptions were gripping.  I just noticed that the author is a Texas A&M graduate.  I congratulate Hampton on exceeding his Aggie peers and learning how to read.  (giggle). 
- What's the best selling underarm deodorant in College Station?  Raid.
- There was an Aggie who wore the same pair of socks every day.  His mother finally told him to put on a new pair of socks on every day.  A few days later, he couldn't put his shoes on.
- My cousin Andrew said his dorm was infested with roaches.  He told me he sprayed bug killer into his clock radio and took the cover off to find a dozen or so roaches in there.  That grossed out the middle-school-aged me.

Ken

Because I Said So!: the truth behind the myths, tales & warnings every generation passes down to its kids by Ken Jennings.  Don't chew you ice, it's bad for your teeth.  If you touch that baby bird, it's mommy will abandon it.  Never run the microwave empty.

Crazies
Brooklyn Zoo: the education of a psychotherapist by Darcy Lockman.  I read a promo, thenI  read a review, then ordered it.  Psychologist in training at a understaffed and overfilled public institution.

Kennedy

The Patriarch: the remarkable life and turbulent times of Joseph P. Kennedy by David Nasaw. BookTV coverage.

The Rest

Prescription for Herbal Healing, 2nd Edition by Phyllis A. Balch, CNC.  You know what the library does not have?  An acronym dictionary.  I much prefer that over using the stupid internet.

Tap dancing to Work: Warren Buffett on practically everything, 1966-2012 by Warren Buffett.