I've got to pay more attention to those sell-by dates
Well, I voted, and I look forward to watching the returns from a boring hotel room in Ohio--if I'm lucky some of that exciting swing-state mania will rub off. I don't feel noble about my decisions or anything (I voted for John Kerry because one of his committees is actually fighting to protect my job, and anti-incumbent for the rest of it). On the other hand, who doesn't love a good pie fight? I'm looking forward to Stewart and Colbert making nonsense out of the nonsense.
I regret that the post that's been kept barely alive in my wallet as a tattered post-it note for the last two weeks isn't going to make it. Well, not really much regret: it consisted of some redundant observations about awful debating and crappy political reporting (I'd been processing even the reputable "journalism" with pretty much the same mental skills I use to spot the increasingly clever junk mail come-ons), and there are plenty of better places to get that sort of thing.
Book review tonight, probably. (Update: tomorrow night, probably.)
4 comments:
whatcha reviewing? i've exhausted the non-fiction selections from my more recent book buying splurge: the first 2 discworld book from pratchett; all of leguin's earthsea novels (not sure why i'd neglected them, other than a fondness for her hainish cycle. perse in now immersed in 'em); coraline, by gaiman; a gideon oliver mystery; and "jonathan strange & mr. norrell", which was highly enjoyable. onward to "the roadside geology of connecticut". [grin]
why are you in ohio?
Finished "The Dharma Bums" on the plane, which took like three weeks to read, thanks mostly to a crappy new schedule. After that, I've got some classic horror (Lovecraft and Mary Shelley), and some edumicational economics, and some Machiavelli (how can I review that?), who knows what order. Also picked up "The 42nd Parallel" by John Dos Passos, I'll have to figure out a companion for that one.
I've got Jonathon Strange on the nightstand for months now...hate to crack something that thick without a good suspicion I'll like it (so good sign). The roadside CT geography would be an awesome Christmas gift for my dad. Much as I like LeGuin, I didn't get much out of "Wizard of Earthsea," and never went on with the series.
It's a business trip this week, and it's been hard to ditch my boss. Meant a horrible host of bad things: I didn't get much typing in; I had to suffer the indignity of a corporate-sponsored dinner while teetotaling.
i'll give jonathan strange my endorsement (have i ever steered you wrong? wait, have i ever steered you?). long, but engaging. i enjoyed all the footnotes too, though i'm sure they irritated some readers. think historical fiction in a fantasy world.
i found the earthsea books to be good yarns. leguin, while an excellent writer, is also one of the finest storytellers out there. one can, after all, write exceptionally well and still suck at telling a story. any author's short stories are a good measure, i feel. anyway, not as much social commentary as in the hainish books. more pure pleasure. beyond the idea that true magic is simply knowing what things actually are: if you know the true name of the world, you can reshape it. not an original idea, but a good one and well presented. i'd give it another shot.
my sympathy that the presence of your boss prevents you from drinking. i've never found it a hinderance myself, but it depends on the boss. i also don't have to go on business trips.
Well, you steered me to this, you magnificent beast, you. I'd say it went pretty well.
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