tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56867334319131868042012-01-05T18:57:34.581-08:00HAS BEEN MOVED TO despitewaking.com <a href="http://www.despitewaking.com/category/readingjournal">Click Here</a>Miahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12260525583822366864noreply@blogger.comBlogger2021100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-58310553156395187332012-01-05T18:57:00.001-08:002012-01-05T18:57:34.596-08:00

This blog has been moved to despitewaking.com

Miahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12260525583822366864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-55793988661329548562011-10-31T23:41:00.000-07:002011-12-04T10:52:52.672-08:00

#35 for 2011: Heretics of Dune, by Frank Herbert This is a really strong series!  It keeps going strong- better, even.  Random thought, or clarification:  I've always been drawn to the Bene Gesserit, because of their extreme self-knowledge and self-control.  I've always been repelled by them by their aim to manipulate other people. Humans live best when each has his place to stand, when each

Miahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12260525583822366864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-14576769473032673332011-10-31T23:07:00.000-07:002011-12-04T10:52:52.673-08:00

#34 for 2011: Moonwalking with Einstein, by Joshua Foer. Jots and thoughts: Monotony collapses time [I'd say compresses it; zip-files it, even]; novelty unfolds it....  If you spend your life sitting in a cubicle and passing papers, one day is bound to blend unmemorably into the next- and disappear.  That's why it's important to change routines regularly, and take vacations to exciting locales,

Miahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12260525583822366864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-31148082699291373292011-10-17T13:18:00.000-07:002011-12-04T10:52:52.673-08:00

#33 for 2011: God Emperor of Dune, by Frank Herbert. How anyone can take a story and a character this bizarre and unfathomable and make it work, much less make it great, is amazing.  I mean, really:  a prescient boy whose every ancestor is alive and conscious within him, and turbulently so, enters into a physical symbiotic partnership with the great sandworm of Dune, allowing him to live

Miahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12260525583822366864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-72848531304422999742011-10-12T20:39:00.000-07:002011-12-04T10:52:52.673-08:00

#32 for 2011: Children of Dune, by Frank Herbert. The quality, the caliber, keeps going strong.  Sure, it's weird as hell, but revealing, and compelling, and it stays with you. "An army," she said, "is composed of disposable, completely replaceable parts.  That is the lesson of the Levenbrech." "Replaceable parts," he said.  "including the supreme command?" "Without the supreme command there

Miahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12260525583822366864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-25265723175451941222011-10-02T10:16:00.000-07:002011-12-04T10:52:52.673-08:00

#31 for 2011: Dune Messiah, by Frank Herbert. Profound and strange enough to allow one to see reality reflected in it.  Not so strange that one can't recognize the reality, either. One could wish Herbert hadn't chosen "Jihad", but one recognizes it as merely a vehicle which fit the setting and purpose, not a commentary on that specific religion. This sequel is as good as Dune. "I was

Miahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12260525583822366864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-42878423273209983152011-09-28T21:42:00.000-07:002011-12-04T10:52:52.674-08:00

#30 for 2011: Kindred, by Octavia E. Butler In short, the main character is a modern black woman (California, 1976) who has just moved into a new apartment with her new husband Kevin when she is inexplicably transported to the antebellum South (Maryland, 1815).  There she rescues a drowning boy and finds a strange connection with him, returning to her own time just in time to save her life. 

Miahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12260525583822366864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-24215191369036863972011-09-23T14:09:00.000-07:002011-12-04T10:52:52.674-08:00

#29 for 2011: The Secret Life of Bees, by Sue Monk Kidd.  Exactly what I thought it would be- a light day's read. I worried so much about how I looked and whether I was doing things right, I felt half the time I was impersonating a girl instead of really being one.  (p. 9)That's because "girl" is a sociocultural role, a construction, as much as anything else. "Actually, you can be bad at

Miahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12260525583822366864noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-33064414552001771962011-09-08T13:57:00.000-07:002011-12-04T10:52:52.674-08:00

#28 for 2011: Rats, Lice, and History by Hans Zinsser.  My edition was actually printed 1967 by Bantam Science and Mathematics. This was surprisingly entertaining and insightful.  Probably deserves more like 4.5 stars if I had the patience for some of the more intricate explanations, or 5 stars if I had actually sat down with a mind for the biography of typhus and not just a good read. 

Miahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12260525583822366864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-77306720428246615082011-09-08T13:51:00.000-07:002011-12-04T10:52:52.674-08:00

#27 for 2011: Let Your Body Win -Stress Management Plain & Simple, by Jacquelyn Ferguson. If you are not already familiar with the things in this book, you have probably been living in a cave (probably a cave without a saber tooth tiger in it).  Basically an exposition on the fabled Fight/Flight Response role in chronic stress today and an admonition to take better care of yourself. As if I

Miahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12260525583822366864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-42673635705117870852011-09-02T21:14:00.000-07:002011-12-04T10:52:52.674-08:00

#26 for 2011: I am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced; by Nujood Ali with Delphine Minoui.  Nujood was the first child bride in Yemen to win a divorce- and that was in 2008!  The tradition of marrying small children to grown men (who proceed to abuse them physically and sexually) is not a geographically or culturally isolated phenomenon, and it is not changing without a fight. May there be enough

Miahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12260525583822366864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-31909924264037870182011-08-31T16:04:00.000-07:002011-12-04T10:52:52.674-08:00

#25 for 2011: Dune, by Frank Herbert "I must not fear.  Fear is the mind-killer.  Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.  I will face my fear.  I will permit it to pass over me and through me.  And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.  Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.  Only I will remain." (p. 8) Presently, she said, "I'll pay for

Miahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12260525583822366864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-81363128363281262472011-08-22T21:05:00.000-07:002011-12-04T10:52:52.675-08:00

#24b for 2011: It Came From Ohio:  My Life  As A Writer, by R. L. Stine/ as told to Joe Arthur.

Miahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12260525583822366864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-68765448559735002502011-08-17T09:29:00.000-07:002011-12-04T10:52:52.675-08:00

#24 for 2011: The Murder of Tutankhamen, by Bob Brier The above is the cover on my edition.  The newer cover is pretty awesome in comparison!

Miahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12260525583822366864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-22530846363115879172011-08-13T09:55:00.000-07:002011-12-04T10:52:52.675-08:00

#23 for 2011:  The Brain Has a Mind of Its Own, by Richard Restak Wow, when I picked this up at first I didn't think to check the date.  It's twenty years old now.  (I'm not used to thinking of 1991 as being twenty years ago; I feel ancient!)  The book still stands as far as I can see, although of course our understanding of the brain (and its mutually influencing interactions with the body)

Miahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12260525583822366864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-80980150850372503102011-08-12T10:32:00.000-07:002011-12-04T10:52:52.675-08:00

#22 for 2011:   We, by Yevgeny Zamyatin.  The granddaddy of all dystopian novels, written in 1920-1, precursor to 1984 and Brave New World.  Must read.  (I read the Mirra Ginsburg translation in the cover pictured above.) As in Flowers for Algernon, We is written as a kind of journal/series of personal notes; that made for some interesting correlations between the two, as their main

Miahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12260525583822366864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-39682340245132303082011-08-09T16:59:00.000-07:002011-12-04T10:52:52.675-08:00

#21 for 2011: Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes is definitely one of the best books I have ever read.  It vies with Watership Down to claim the top spot in my affections...  If you haven't, do read it, and keep in mind when it was actually written, and how far ahead of its time it was, to not feel outmoded or dated at all.  Simply amazing and quite powerful. I think this definitely wins

Miahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12260525583822366864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-61935783564838728452011-07-25T17:56:00.000-07:002011-12-04T10:52:52.676-08:00

#20 for 2011: Life with Jeeves by P. G. Wodehouse- An omnibus containing The Inimitable Jeeves, Very Good, Jeeves, and Right Ho, Jeeves.  (Yes, this is where the name Jeeves is so popular from.) Quite wonderful!

Miahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12260525583822366864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-9916585010445254052011-07-17T08:55:00.000-07:002011-12-04T10:52:52.676-08:00

#19 for 2011: Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons Intricate plots woven together to form a mesmerizing storyline, amazing and realistic world development, great character development- except for the women, who were one and all blithering idiots too wrapped up in themselves to care about anybody else and too stupid and insecure to do anything but have dramatically emotional meltdowns.  (

Miahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12260525583822366864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-87666837066449640862011-07-08T11:32:00.000-07:002011-12-04T10:52:52.676-08:00

for taking time out of their busy schedule to remind me: Mostly by lying on any book, laptop, or reading material whatsoever that I am trying to see; but they have an impressive repertoire of additional techniques, ranging from touchy-feely to ouchy-bleedy.

Miahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12260525583822366864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-45020433320409326362011-07-04T21:14:00.000-07:002011-12-04T10:52:52.676-08:00

#18 for 2011 Custer Died For Your Sins, by Vine Deloria Jr.  (1969) -Quotes, notes, thoughts in progress... Life on this continent and views concerning it were not shaped in a post-Roman atmosphere.  The entire outlook of the people was one of simplicity and mystery, not scientific or abstract.  The western hemisphere produced wisdom, western Europe produced knowledge.  (p.18)x Some tribes

Miahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12260525583822366864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-43059520469870917782011-06-28T10:16:00.000-07:002011-12-04T10:52:52.676-08:00

#17 for 2011 In and Out of Time, edited by Patricia Duncker This reminds me very much of This Bridge Called My Back- except that it isn't American (South Africa and other former-British-empire locales) and that it is a collection of fiction.  The fiction, however, is just a means of telling about real life...

Miahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12260525583822366864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-76805530689846277712011-06-23T13:22:00.000-07:002011-12-04T10:52:52.676-08:00

#16 for 2011 The Illuminatus! Trilogy by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson It is quite trippy (actual level of perceived trippiness depending on how trippy you already are, so, not nearly as trippy to me as to, say, an ordinary person).  (Seriously, I am trippy.  At one point I picked up this book and carried it all the way to the other room to read, before realizing I had actually picked

Miahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12260525583822366864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-14650411080707541742011-06-15T12:42:00.000-07:002011-12-04T10:52:52.677-08:00

#15 for 2011 Off the Grid: Inside the Movement for More Space, Less Government, and True Independence in Modern America, by Nick Rosen MEH Some people should just stick to writing newspaper columns and magazine articles, because when I buy a book, I expect a WEE little bit more substance (!).

Miahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12260525583822366864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-79675130429808762042011-06-15T12:37:00.000-07:002011-12-04T10:52:52.677-08:00

#14 for 2011 A Child Called "It": One Child's Courage to Survive, by Dave J. Pelzer

Miahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12260525583822366864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-88592443437738328572011-06-02T00:25:00.000-07:002011-12-04T10:52:52.677-08:00

#13 for 2011 Wishcraft:  How To Get What You Really Want, by Barbara Sher and Annie Gottlieb I'm reading the original, not the 30th Anniversary edition.  I found it at, guess where, the thrift store.  Some really good finds there lately. When you become aware of your own uniqueness, that's when you really begin to cherish and respect yourself- and to respect others!  If you met people on

Miahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12260525583822366864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-87847886226262637452011-06-01T23:14:00.000-07:002011-12-04T10:53:20.174-08:00

#12 for 2011 The Hour of the Star, by Clarice Lispector I can remember a time when I used to pray in order to kindle my spirit: movement is spirit. Prayer was a means of confronting myself away from the gaze of others. As I prayed I emptied my soul- and this emptiness is everything that I can ever hope to possess. Apart from this, there is nothing. But emptiness, too, has its value and

Miahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12260525583822366864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-87744981564293576642011-05-26T22:09:00.000-07:002011-12-04T10:53:20.174-08:00

#11 for 2011 A Dark Horn Blowing, by Dahlov Ipcar The search [for my true name] had been long and arduous.  I had journeyed deep into my own inner being, into a weird other world of dreams and nightmares.  There I had found not only my true name but also the inner Well of Power that I knew I would draw from again and again.  (p. 162) "If I must do something that unbelievable," Nana said

Miahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12260525583822366864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-85580936513028513022011-05-26T11:31:00.000-07:002011-12-04T10:53:20.174-08:00

#10 for 2011 This Bridge Called My Back, [edited] by Cherrie Moraga and Gloria Anzaldua *placeholder*

Miahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12260525583822366864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-77311716265294915202011-05-26T11:26:00.000-07:002011-12-04T10:53:20.174-08:00

#9 for 2011 Simone de Beauvoir's The Second Sex. All 800+ academic pages of it.  Yowsa. I didn't have the new translation, though- I read the original English translation...  I didn't even realize they had a newer, more applauded one available.  Well. *placeholder* may read SparksNotes or something before commenting much.  at least have to let my brain settle down a bit so it can formulate

Miahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12260525583822366864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-66434170864989984042011-05-04T14:57:00.000-07:002011-12-04T10:53:20.174-08:00

#8 for 2011 The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure, by William Goldman I absolutely love this book. I also absolutely love the movie. Both without concession. I'm not sure that has ever happened before. The movie is different from the book, and vice versa, but they are both brilliant, brilliant, brilliant and exceptionally well done. I am

Miahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12260525583822366864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-11998623375284310522011-04-29T20:57:00.000-07:002011-12-04T10:53:20.175-08:00

#7 for 2011 Adrienne Rich’s Poetry and Prose(Norton Critical Editions) by Adrienne Rich (Author), Barbara Charlesworth Gelpi (Author), and Albert Gelpi VERY GOOD & a simple way to get a good overview of her work, sort out chronology and context, understand a bit of her biographically and society’s reaction to her. *PLACEHOLDER*

Miahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12260525583822366864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-19009522598779148502011-04-29T18:53:00.000-07:002011-12-04T10:53:20.175-08:00

#6 for 2011 The Woman Warrior:  Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts by Maxine Hong Kingston This was a WONDERFUL book- especially since I picked it up not knowing anything about it and then proceeded to be blown away. It's short, it's powerful; just give it a go. When the mountains and pines turned into blue oxen, blue dogs, and blue people standing, the old couple asked me to spend the

Miahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12260525583822366864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-50583021223925371842011-04-14T11:56:00.000-07:002011-12-04T10:53:20.175-08:00

#5 for 2011 Betrayer by C.J. Cherryh I read most of this on Monday and finished the end on Tuesday. It’s the latest in her Foreigner series. I am starting to really despise the covers. *placeholder*

Miahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12260525583822366864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-27420258206000808522011-04-07T09:19:00.000-07:002011-12-04T10:53:20.175-08:00

#4 for 2011 The Collected Poems, 1952-1990: Yevgeny Yevtushenko I finally finished reading 40 years and over 600 pages of Yevtushenko’s poetry. In translation. I wonder if there is a recording in Russian somewhere… This one was a tome, and quite a lot to think about, be inspired by. *PLACEHOLDER*

Miahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12260525583822366864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-9138976161584127892011-02-16T20:56:00.000-08:002011-12-04T10:53:20.175-08:00

#3 for 2011 Notes from the Underground by Fyodor Dostoevsky which has the novella Notes from the Underground as well as the short stories White Nights and Dream of a Ridiculous Man and excerpts from The House of the Dead. This one is interesting as it has some of his earlier work along with one of his last- I think it is his last- short stories. I have to say that I prefer his later work,

Miahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12260525583822366864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-53374477496047741332011-02-02T21:30:00.000-08:002011-12-04T10:53:20.176-08:00

#2 for 2011 Very Far Away from Anywhere Else, by Ursula Le Guin Lovely. It reminded me of The Arm of the Starfish by L’Engle, of Whisper of the Heart , and a bit of Gerhard Kopf’s Bluff (or Southern Cross).

Miahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12260525583822366864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-58453570646884927452011-01-15T23:22:00.000-08:002011-12-04T10:53:20.176-08:00

#1 for 2011 The China Study: The Most Comprehensive Study of Nutrition Ever Conducted and the Startling Implications for Diet, Weight Loss and Long-term Health, by T. Colin Campbell, Thomas M. Campbell II, Howard Lyman, and John Robbins One could be infuriated if one had the time...

Miahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12260525583822366864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-13331830890544107172011-01-01T15:45:00.000-08:002011-12-04T10:53:20.176-08:00

I read: Gyn/Ecology by Mary Daly Sweetness and Power: The Place of Sugar in Modern History by Sidney W. Mintz Raw Family: A True Story of Awakening by Victoria, Igor, Sergei, & Valya Boutenko McGee & Stuckey’s Bountiful Container: Create Container Gardens of Vegetables, Herbs, Fruits, and Edible Flowers by Rose Marie Nichols McGee & Maggie Stuckey Amerika by Franz Kafka America by (The Daily

Miahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12260525583822366864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-88531045034576209632010-12-30T23:18:00.000-08:002011-12-04T10:53:20.176-08:00

The Gerson Therapy: The Proven Nutritional Program for Cancer and Other Illnesses

mianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-33459482176097914762010-12-30T23:13:00.000-08:002011-12-04T10:53:20.176-08:00

The Wild Trees: A Story of Passion and Daring by Richard PrestonMEH- I thought this book would actually be about the trees (!), but most of it seemed to be about the people who climb/study them. It seemed like a kaleidoscopic series of mini-biographies which rather bored me. (I am weirder than all of them put together. Also, I couldn't see that the author made any real choices while writing-

mianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-76355672653826881512010-12-25T22:46:00.000-08:002011-12-04T10:53:20.176-08:00

Watership Down by Richard AdamsStill one of the best books I have ever, ever read.(Last read August 2008)Some of the quotes that mean the most to me:"I don't know what it is," answered Fiver wretchedly. There isn't any danger here, at this moment. But it's coming- it's coming. Oh, Hazel, look! The field! It's covered with blood!" (p.14)And Frith called after him, “El-ahrairah, your people

mianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-58835133009872959332010-12-25T22:45:00.001-08:002011-12-04T10:53:20.177-08:00

James and the Giant Peach, by Roald DahlJust finished reading this (on December 17th) to the kids. This is the first (real) chapter book that we’ve used for bedtime stories. :D

mianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-84574800169677838112010-12-15T20:47:00.000-08:002011-12-04T10:53:20.177-08:00

Read December 10th- 15th.Iris starts with her sister Laura's death. The narrative of Iris' memoirs cover her present life as well as her past- and this is juxtaposed with the novel that Laura wrote, and the story within that novel. Gradually, inevitably, you realize that nothing is what it seems, and that everything is coiled together.This is a beautifully executed social commentary as well as

mianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-52320987523425672812010-12-09T20:53:00.000-08:002011-12-04T10:53:20.177-08:00

ET 101: The Cosmic Instruction Manual for Planetary Evolution by Zoev Jho(Also, here.)Definitely a trip. But then again, any manual for dealing with life on this planet would have to be. I'm glad I'm not the only one who felt the need for such a manual!Here are some of my favorite quotes (from the e-edition, hence the lack of page numbers):Getting out of here is not the point. Getting more

mianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-63479134516704603362010-12-06T13:22:00.001-08:002011-12-04T10:53:20.177-08:00

Come Hell or High Water: A Handbook on Collective Process Gone Awry, by Delfina Vannucci and Richard Singer (AK Press)This would have come in very handy dealing with IEP meetings and all. It gave me a better perspective on group dynamics in general and on several instances in my life when group dynamics went to hell in particular. It certainly clarified to some things and opened my eyes- I had

mianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-82222526857402473692010-12-03T14:33:00.001-08:002011-12-04T10:53:20.177-08:00

The Judgement and In The Penal Colony, by Franz Kafkaread on December 3rd. The transition from Hellboy (especially Del Toro) to Kafka is nonexistent.placeholder- I am currently digesting the stories. Then I will reread. And then I will start sorting out the words for what I want to say.It's Kafka.

mianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-33152929195911646582010-12-03T13:41:00.000-08:002011-12-04T10:53:20.178-08:00

Hellboy II: The Golden Army (The Official Novelization), by Robert GreenbergerRead November 30th through December 2nd.It's a novelization. The writing is nothing special. As far as books go, it's basically candy. But at least it's not cheese."How on earth can they blame me for cheese," he asked and stopped as the anchor finished her report. (p. 205)(Hellboy itself, though, is conceptual

mianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-86551865146689805782010-11-28T23:29:00.001-08:002011-12-04T10:53:20.178-08:00

Outercourse: The Be-Dazzling Journey, by Mary DalyHer most autobiographical work (or I should say most comprehensive autobiographical work, as she wrote another book about events in her life after this, entitled Amazon), intended as autobiography while still developing/ expounding upon her philosophy. This helped me to place all of her other works in context with her life as well as place her

mianoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-18850732029440532242010-11-20T20:23:00.000-08:002011-12-04T10:53:20.178-08:00

Bluff, or The Southern Cross, by Gerhard KopfThis is the second (shorter) novel in the omnibus I started with Innerfar earlier this year. Bluff, or the Southern Cross, is about a young man coming of age through a tragic accident and an unlikely friendship. Like Innerfar, it explores madness and the fine line between truth, reality, and dream.Our land may look like Heaven on earth, but its

mianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-60353034748975570982010-11-17T22:25:00.000-08:002011-12-04T10:53:20.178-08:00

Ka: Stories of the Mind and Gods of India, by Roberto Calasso As usual, Calasso's narrative is as rich, intricate, and bizarre as its subject matter.The destruction of Daksa's sacrifice, the most radical criticism of sacrifice, came from within the sacrifice itself: it showed how irresistibly sacrifice is transformed into massacre, and thus looked forward to the whole course of a history no

mianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-46697514306004357822010-11-13T20:51:00.000-08:002011-12-04T10:53:44.328-08:00

The Moon Is Always Female, by Marge PiercyA book of poems, some of which I really like. Some I don't feel much. That's okay; poems are that way. The ones I like may not ring for other people; they may like the ones I noticed politely better.This book has The Low Road:What can they doto you? Whatever they want.They can set you up, they canbust you, they can breakyour fingers, they canburn your

mianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-141152207512670842010-11-05T12:50:00.000-07:002011-12-04T10:53:44.328-08:00

FitzgeraldHemmingwaySherwood AndersonSamuel ClementsFord Madox FordMildred AldrichJames JoyceGertrude Stein Jane Heap? Bravig Inbs?Moby DickAlso, widen the posts column- seems way too skinny now

mianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-5922104733590937132010-10-30T19:45:00.000-07:002011-12-04T10:53:44.328-08:00

The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas, by Gertrude SteinI knew of Gertrude Stein's poetry (which is the only poetry ever and always to give me a headache), but was unaware she also wrote novels, plays, operas. That she lived in Paris. That she had a medical education from John Hopkins. That her best friend was Pablo Picasso. She knew pretty much everyone who was anyone, and, though I find her

mianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-1659948543905273262010-10-20T11:15:00.002-07:002011-12-04T10:53:44.328-08:00

Born To Run, by Christopher McDougall(eta: I just realized that I went from Of Woman Born, to Born to Run, and completely by coincidence as I got my hands on this one quite by surprise.)Let's see- I started this one on Saturday, the 16th, and finished it last night, the 19th. Tracking down a mythical people who have kept their traditions alive well into the modern age, and realizing how much

mianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-67971429892411949752010-10-20T11:15:00.001-07:002011-12-04T10:53:44.329-08:00

Of Woman Born, by Adrienne Rich Patriarchy is the power of the fathers: a familial-social, ideological, political system in which men- by force, direct pressure, or through ritual, tradition, law, and language, customs, etiquette, education, and the division of labor, determine what part women shall or shall not play, and in which everywhere the female is subsumed under the male. It does

mianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-36257416603472587052010-10-06T18:58:00.000-07:002011-12-04T10:53:44.329-08:00

Regenesis by C.J. CherryhMind-boggling.I was going to reread Cyteen first, and then go straight into Regenesis. But something at the last moment urged me to just read Regenesis first. I think that was the better choice. And I think it was wise to wait this long dreadful wait before reading it, so that some of my excitement could temper a bit.Cyteen is a seminal work, and written decades ago-

mianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-62411684435357686862010-09-30T11:50:00.000-07:002011-12-04T10:53:44.329-08:00

The Faded Sun Trilogy by C.J. CherryhThe reading of this book (these books) was well-timed for me. It was so apt and I was so engrossed that the household grew jealous of the book: my youngest tried to take it apart, and, when that failed, the cats tried to eat it on two separate occasions. But I would not be turned away, and I was well-rewarded.Pertinent quotes for me:"We do not despise your

mianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-20573504892828068792010-09-25T09:11:00.000-07:002011-12-04T10:53:44.329-08:00

I know there is a lot of controversy about this book. Whether or not you are inclined to believe it, the work is marvelous nonetheless. And there is truth in it, profound truth, lasting truth- even if you consider the book to be a work of fiction.This is definitely going in my permanent library.How can you complain that it's hard to find a "fresh approach"? What is it, a wallet full of money?

mianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-40386609281318212612010-09-22T21:14:00.000-07:002011-12-04T10:53:44.329-08:00

Edible Estates: Attack on the Front Lawn, by Fritz Haeg , Diana Balmori, Rosalind Creasy For if lawn mowing feels like copying the same sentence over and over, gardening is like writing out new ones, an infinitely variable process of invention and discovery./Michael Pollan, Why Mow? (p. 35)Wonderful book. Especially if you are American.

mianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-47698409091779602342010-09-17T09:33:00.001-07:002011-12-04T10:53:44.330-08:00

Innerfar by Gerhard KopfActually the book I have contains both Innerfar and Bluff, or Southern Cross, by Gerhard Kopf. But I’m going to read a library book before I get back to Bluff.To oversimplify, greatly, and to leave out the cultural significance which is everything but which I am not yet able to describe sufficiently: a once-famous poet turns up in a psychiatric hospital for dementia and

mianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-18039201396121888482010-09-13T20:50:00.001-07:002011-12-04T10:53:44.330-08:00

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret AtwoodThis is, indeed, a pretty amazing book.I was young when it came out, too young to be reading novels like this, so I missed it then. I’ve heard about it, though; in fact, I can’t remember a time before I heard about it- it was always ubiquitous, in the background, taken for granted. It never therefore occurred to me to read it, because I never paid

mianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-90304087995199209672010-09-06T00:14:00.000-07:002011-12-04T10:53:44.330-08:00

They borrow books they will not buy.They have no ethics or religions. I wish that some kind Burbankian guyWould cross my books with homing pigeons.---Carolyn Wells

mianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-40389160929588502682010-09-06T00:08:00.001-07:002011-12-04T10:53:44.330-08:00

The Invention of Everything Else by Samantha HuntWow.When I first heard about this book, I knew I had to get it. I mean, it’s Tesla, okay? That meets my requirements right there. But the reviews were so promising, and indeed I was so excited about it, that when it arrived in the mail, I daren’t read it, because my expectations were so high.So it sat on my bookshelf from April 2009 until

mianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-59107774808525005142010-09-04T18:55:00.001-07:002011-12-04T10:53:44.330-08:00

The Argument Culture: Stopping America’s War of Words by Deborah TannenPreaching to the choir. Only she’s much less skeptical about the intentionality of it all, at least on certain levels, than I am.And goodness, but so many words to say this. Repetitive and not really all that illuminating.I know; I sound very critical, and after reading this book I should be more collaborative or supportive

mianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-48936533705469797052010-09-01T09:28:00.000-07:002011-12-04T10:53:44.331-08:00

The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary by Simon WinchesterThis was perfect to go along with The History of the English Language which I am following right now.You'd think these subjects would be mundane (the making of dictionaries, the history of English), but they involve humans, and humans are all batty as hell.

mianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-28836201416374956042010-08-30T09:21:00.001-07:002011-12-04T10:53:44.331-08:00

Legions of Hell by C.J. CherryhHow could I resist a book entitled Legions of Hell?“What are you reading this summer, Mia?”“Oh, nothing, just LEGIONS OF HELL. Bwahahahaha!“I can’t really pull of an evil laugh, though, which sort of makes it pointless. ;)Anyway the story is not about Hell as the Big Three tend to portray it, with lakes of boiling fire and demons with pitchforks and

mianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-32090741535265642412010-08-25T21:53:00.000-07:002011-12-04T10:53:44.331-08:00

World Cultures: Russia by Stephen and Tatyana WebberI have to move to Russia now.Share|

mianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-90448178448736995882010-08-20T22:16:00.001-07:002011-12-04T10:53:44.331-08:00

The Awakening and Selected Short Stories by Kate Chopinwith introduction by Marilynne RobinsonThis is a really well-written story. I absolutely love her voice. The fact that it has an introduction by Marilynne Robinson, who is in my opinion a genius poet, was a very good sign, and well-deserved. The Awakening (or, A Solitary Soul) was published in 1899 and still speaks quite clearly to me

mianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-91584752667542150062010-08-15T11:04:00.000-07:002011-12-04T10:53:44.332-08:00

(Today, actually)Language Shock: Understanding the Culture of Conversation by Michael Agarpage 66: Whorf looked at grammar and vocabulary, noticed the differences between one language and another, and said that they were more than just arbitrary differences that let you talk about the same objective, world. The differences make you live in a different world. This is strong, subversive

mianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-59513079177459350552010-08-15T11:02:00.000-07:002011-12-04T10:53:44.332-08:00

(August 12)Native Tongues by Charles BerlitzA few tid bits: During World War I, anti-German feeling caused sauerkraut to be renamed “liberty cabbage”, and hamburger to be renamed “Salisbury steak”.Would you like “Freedom fries” with that? Sometimes an entire English sentence sounds like a basic expression in another language. Americans visiting Japan who would ordinarily experience some

mianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-37356018245604590622010-08-15T11:01:00.000-07:002011-12-04T10:53:44.332-08:00

(July 13)People Skills by Robert BoltonI really like this book.Share|

mianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-17625729960977606432010-08-15T11:00:00.000-07:002011-12-04T10:53:44.332-08:00

(July 4)Mating: A Novel by Norman RushI was intrigued at the beginning, and grew more and more disturbed the further along I read. Not by the plot or the political/etc discussions or anything, but by the narrator, the main character.Also, how the hell is this a love story?A story detailing obsession and outrageous manipulation, yes, but love? I don’t think so.I need to read a book that I like now

mianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-72274237837397043512010-08-15T10:59:00.000-07:002011-12-04T10:53:44.332-08:00

(June 23)Woman: An Intimate Geography by Natalie AngierMeh.I don’t feel any connection here.I can't help it- the entire thing sounded like a snarky, sensationalistic newspaper article to me. I could not connect with anybody portrayed in the book and especially not with the author. I know I am sensitive as to society's treatment/ judgement of the female body, but this was a separate issue which

mianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-11992168410900356892010-08-15T10:57:00.000-07:002011-12-04T10:53:44.333-08:00

(June 23)Selected Poems of Emily DickinsonBarnes & Noble edition published 2007I love Dickinson. Sadly, I have to agree with this review:I don’t doubt that it’s possible to enjoy Emily Dickinson’s poems in editions like this. But you should be aware that you are not really reading what she wrote. You are reading what earlier editors wish she had written – a sort of ‘tidied-up’ and regularized

mianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-39688390630942855762010-06-06T14:23:00.000-07:002011-12-04T10:54:25.885-08:00

May 20th actually.Share|

mianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-68898228070827255612010-05-15T23:00:00.000-07:002011-12-04T10:54:25.885-08:00

It took me a while to read through it all the way, but that's because there is so much to it. If you only read one book all year, or one book in the next fifty years, please let it be this one.Available to read online here.A video about it here.Thus, in that inevitable taking of sides which comes from selection and emphasis in history, I prefer to try to tell the story of the discovery of

mianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-20681118048415375252010-02-17T22:58:00.000-08:002011-12-04T10:54:25.885-08:00

America by (The Daily Show with) Jon StewartVery smart and funny book.Share|

mianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-58507731009436508782010-02-09T19:26:00.000-08:002011-12-04T10:54:25.886-08:00

which was in NOVEMBER... sigh... I've finished The Hundred Days, Blue at the Mizzen, and 21 by Patrick O'Brian. (21 I finished the typed part; I couldn't make out much of the hand-written part, but it might have been because I was too emotional about it all ending!)I've also read:Life of the Beloved by Henri NouwenAnimal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara KingsolverMaking & Using Dried Foods by

mianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-59067923410264997522010-01-01T21:58:00.000-08:002011-12-04T10:54:25.886-08:00

I read:  Eragon by Christopher Paolini Cloud's Rider by C.J. Cherryh A Short, Sharp Shock by Kim Stanley Robinson Fair Game by Valerie Plame Wilson Courage For The Earth edited by Peter Matthiessen The Spell of the Sensuous by David Abram Literature and the Gods by Roberto Calasso The OuT-of-Synch Child by Carol Stock Kranowitz The Morgaine Saga by C.J. Cherryh mulya Pinkerton's Badly Written

Miahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12260525583822366864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-8920527454787362412009-11-08T10:00:00.000-08:002011-12-04T10:54:25.886-08:00

Talk to the Hand: The Utter Bloody Rudeness of the World Today, or Six Good Reasons to Stay Home and Bolt the Door I have to say, I did like the book, and I knew what it would be like going into it, which basically is like a long newspaper column or magazine article with (albeit British) humor somewhat on the lines of Erma Bombeck or Dave Barry. A very very quick read- enjoyable with some pretty

mianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-10662138823709048052009-11-07T17:58:00.000-08:002011-12-04T10:54:25.886-08:00

The Yellow Admiral (Vol. Book 18) (Aubrey/Maturin Series) Faith and Begorra- A new entry!Mostly of quotes."The heart has its reasons that the... that the...""Kidneys?" suggested Stephen."That the kidneys know not." Jack frowned. "No. Hell and death, that's not it. But anyhow the heart has its reasons, you understand.""It is a singularly complex organ, I am told."p.58"I do not have to tell

mianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-67227067946127555172009-08-02T23:05:00.000-07:002011-12-04T10:54:25.886-08:00

"So she is the Bellona, the chief argosy of your command! Huzzay, huzza! I congratulate you, Jack. Why, I declare, she has a poop, which adds much to her dignity.""And not only dignity but safety too. When you are on a quarterdeck in a hot action with a really malignant enemy firing great guns and small arms, it is a wonderful comfort to have a solid poop behind you." p. 70Now, in the warm night

mianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-82440941821378992242009-07-24T22:28:00.001-07:002011-12-04T10:54:25.886-08:00

Hope you like the new look. :)Please tell me if it blinds you.

mianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-86832111142936805682009-07-24T21:46:00.000-07:002011-12-04T10:54:25.887-08:00

"Will I confess a grave sin?" he asked."Do, by all means," said Jack, looking at him kindly. "But if you managed to commit a grave sin between the gunroom and here you have a wonderful capacity for evil." p. 90[T]hough which came first, the deed or the doer, the goose or the egg, I am not learned enough to tell.""Would it not be the owl, at all?""Never in life, my poor Stephen. Who ever heard

mianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-29999376354249499542009-07-24T21:19:00.000-07:002011-12-04T10:54:25.887-08:00

I read the Nutmeg, the Truelove, and the Wine-Dark Sea all in an ecstatic rush, not stopping to post anything in my journal. Then came days of sick children who let no one in the house sleep. I thought this sleepless phase would pass sooner, but since it hasn't, I'm trying to add these in now, and sorry but my brain just isn't in it for clever literary review. Let's just say, these books are

mianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-19864260580596621802009-07-24T20:40:00.000-07:002011-12-04T10:54:25.887-08:00

quotes:"A Barmecide feast, sir, I am afraid," said Jack."Not at all, sir," said Martin. "There is nothing I prefer to..." He hesitated, trying to find a name for salt beef, eighteen months in the cask, partly desalted, cut up very small and fried with crushed ship's biscuits and a great deal of pepper. "... to a fricasse." p. 223"Sir," said Stephen, "I read novels with the utmost pertinacity.

mianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-39019309093135098412009-06-30T16:27:00.001-07:002011-12-04T10:54:25.887-08:00

I told myself not to go through these (Aubrey-Maturin) books like so much candy. Make them last! Read one, then read a totally unrelated book; you know, to cleanse the palate. One can only read a series for the first time, um, once. Take your time and savor them. Yet I have reached a point where I simply cannot restrain myself, and now I am reading them one after the other with no control

mianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-18328286654611825402009-06-24T11:21:00.000-07:002011-12-04T10:54:25.887-08:00

"Star light, star bright, starboard is to the right."Oh, it came in the mail! EARLIER than Amazon predicted, saints preserve us. Would you like some quotes? "Hold hard, Stephen," he cried, catching Stephen as he fell again, this time from a standing position. "Where are your sea-legs?""It is not a question of sea-legs at all," said Stephen. "The ship is moving about in a very wild, unbridled

mianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-15494496139978952652009-06-23T11:30:00.000-07:002011-12-04T10:54:25.888-08:00

Morgaine and Vanye are back. You know, I like them, but it is not my favorite series of CJC. Always with the torture and being cold, and nobody talking to each other. The horses are a plus, though, of course. This was more complicated (if possible) than the first three in the series), with surprising revelations and twists. I enjoyed it quite a bit. Again, though, not my favorite

mianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-64962043761776744842009-06-16T22:40:00.000-07:002011-12-04T10:54:25.888-08:00

How I love O'Brian. I thought I had the next book, The Letter of Marque, queued up and ready to go. Finished the last page of this, sprang forth to the shelf to pull out the other, and, God's my life, it wasn't there!Now I have to wait until Amazon delivers (I can probably reread Cyteen at least in that time). But, but, Stephen! And Sir Joseph Blaine! And we still have to reach the ship

mianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-41503390810940985222009-06-11T13:02:00.000-07:002011-12-04T10:54:25.888-08:00

Ah, no, I don't have that copy or that cover. But who can resist such obviously overdone scifi art? ;)My copy is actually a two-in-one called Alliance Space. It contains both Merchanter's Luck and Forty Thousand in Gehenna, both of which I give 5 stars.Forty Thousand in Gehenna is about a colony founded on a world in disputed territory- one of many such Union colonies on the borders of or

mianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-3577474329780538212009-06-04T18:04:00.000-07:002011-12-04T10:54:25.888-08:00

HerePicked this up at the library literally as I was checking out. It is about how to sell yourself through stories, in this case to get a job. I primarily was interested because I wondered if it would help me develop more positive self-talk.

mianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-28651252632928084252009-06-04T18:02:00.001-07:002011-12-04T10:54:25.888-08:00

Now, see, here I really *liked* the characters. I liked Sandor, I liked Allison, and I enjoyed the book in a completely different way than Downbelow Station. BTW, This is not the cover I have; I have an omnibus edition.

mianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-59223595470194550262009-05-28T10:06:00.000-07:002011-12-04T10:54:25.889-08:00

Ok, 5 stars. But darn it, I don't like any of the characters. The Konstantins are the best, oh well I mean besides Satin probably. I know that a lot of people like Signy, and I know she's better than the other Mazianni etc etc, but she's still a pig-headed narcissist with great gaping holes in her morality. It's utterly believable, but, MEH I hate her anyway.And yet it's so well done that I

mianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-60954575523391622552009-05-20T15:53:00.001-07:002011-12-04T10:54:25.889-08:00

Finally got to read Conspirator. I loved it. Since I have not yet given much commentary on/a synopsis of the previous book (in the series), I will wait on Conspirator as well. Gives me an excuse to reread the series again- it will be two years before the next one is out, but I won't wait that long.

mianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-19364375295162100572009-05-18T17:42:00.000-07:002011-12-04T10:54:25.889-08:00

This is the first book I have ever received through LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program. And, damnably, I did not like the book. I could tell by the end of the first chapter that I would never have bought it for myself, and my feelings are quite strong due to the writing style of the author, the lack of real content, and what seems to be an underlying philosophical difference between the

mianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-57876159468471508272009-05-18T10:48:00.000-07:002011-12-04T10:54:25.889-08:00

This is a little gem of a book that was ridiculously fun to read. It presents a collection of mental disorders organized into the following groups: Anxiety Disorders, Dissociative Disorders, Factitious Disorders, Impulse-Control Disorders, Personality Disorders, Psychotic Disorders, Sexual Disorders, Sleep Disorders, and Somatoform Disorders. Each disorder is presented with a

mianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-21445732252168023592009-04-23T22:26:00.000-07:002011-12-04T10:54:25.889-08:00

http://www.lulu.com/content/5866542This book, written by the admittedly imaginary mulya Pinkerton, is a delightful romp in literary nonsense. It is nothing more than what it claims to be, which is wonderfully uninhibited journaling about things such as werechildren, pickles, and the undoing of reality. The humor is engaging and a bit dark, with shades of Shel Silverstein, Douglas Adams, Walter

mianoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5686733431913186804.post-420459297366082062009-04-22T10:01:00.000-07:002011-12-04T10:54:25.890-08:00

Sort of "found poetry", and yet not really true "found poetry". What I usually do is, I open a book and try to make a poem out of the words nearest the left margin (or the right margin, or the center of the page, depending on my mood; these are all from the left margin).I wrote these for April being National Poetry Month.I.Considered it,man compelled at once-no.Take her orders and the door.It

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