To take part, simply let everyone know what you discovered on your latest trip to the Library. And don’t forget to check out what great books everyone else checked out this week for ideas for your own future library jaunts.
This fun event happens weekly, from Wednesday through to the following Tuesday, with a new round beginning the next day. So it’s easy to participate no matter what day you visit the library.
My library visit this week was a quick run in and out, I usually always browse a bit, but when I walked in I saw that I had a ton of books waiting that I had requested online. One great thing about having an online library system is that as I’m reading through blogs and reviews if I spot a book I’m interested in I just pop over to the Library website and place a hold on it.
That picture shows exactly where I sit when I get home from the library. Right down on the floor, like a little kid at Christmas time, with my bookish loot spread around me. So here is what I picked up this week, and why.
So I had a couple of posts planned for today, a review, my Weekly Geeks post and my first ever Library Loot. I’d planned to come home, eat supper and get blogging… BUT… I scored free tickets to tonight’s special sneak peek screening ofCoraline!! In 3D!! I’m so excited I can barely sit still :D
Where there’s a will, there’s a way – and Sam Westing has left quite a will!
One fateful day, sixteen people gather for the reading of the very strange will of the very rich Samuel W. Westing. To their surprise, the will turns out to be a contest, challenging the heirs to find out who among them is Westing’s murderer – and the winner may become a millionaire! Forging ahead, through blizzards, burglaries, and the attacks of a mad bomber, the race is on. Only two people hold all the clues. One of them is a Westing heir. The other one is you!
Review The Westing Game is a classic whodunit mystery story. Sam Westing, a millionaire has been murdered and upon arriving at his mansion for the reading of Westing’s last will and testament, an eclectic group of possible heirs discover that old Uncle Sam had a penchant for games. Most of the people gathered together have some connection to Westing, either the fact that they live in Sunset Towers, a building owned by Sam, they may work there, be a cleaning lady, doorman or delivery boy. Others are not so apparent, such as the little girl named Turtle who likes to kick people and play the stock market and Chris a teenager who suffers from a medical condition that keeps him trapped in a wheelchair, unable to talk clearly or avoid what seem to be seizures. But regardless of how they are linked to Sam Westing, he has chosen them to compete in a game, the object is to uncover which of them is responsible for his death, the reward is the title of heir to Samuel W. Westing and two million dollars. When the game begins the sixteen people are put onto teams of two and handed an envelope containing clues in the form of 4 words. The only additional instruction is “It’s not what you have, it’s what you don’t have.”
The mystery, clues, crazy happenings and hidden secrets are all well and good in this book. But, they all take a backseat to the awesome array of characters. Since childhood I’ve been a fan of the movie Clue, and the board game it was based on. What made Clue work was the mixture of personalities and the linking histories behind them. In The Westing House, the reader is swept up in the fast-paced action, as the heirs discover things about themselves and others that they never knew. I think it’s most important to emphasize how they change their own opinions of themselves. For this being written as a children’s book, there is quite a depth of meaning behind the various characters development. It may seem at times that Sam Westing was just a rich old man who wanted to play mind-games with people, but he actually ends up teaching them quite a bit about themselves and their lives. And in the process helping them to become better people, or maybe just guiding them to being the people they were always meant to be.
This is a book that I regret having not read sooner. I chose to read this book as part of the Dewey’s Books Reading Challenge. Dewey stated in her review that she caught on to the mystery of the will early in the story, but then she wrote this:
“I loved the format of the novel, the interesting characters and the sub-plots enough to make up for knowing the mystery of the will, though, and I definitely recommend this for kids, especially those who like mysteries. Or, you know, adults reading all the Newbery books or adults who just like kitdlit.”
That was why I decided to read this book, knowing that Dewey enjoyed and recommended The Westing Game even with the mystery being obvious, was enough to make me realize it would be a terrific book.
About The Author Ellen Raskin (1928 – 1984) was an American writer, illustrator and fashion designer. She was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and grew up during the Great Depression. She married Dennis Flanagan, editor of Scientific American, in 1965. Raskin was also an accomplished graphic artist. She designed dozens of dust jackets for books for 15 years including the first edition of Madeleine L'Engle's classic A Wrinkle in Time. Primarily a children's author, she received the 1979 Newbery Medal for her 1978 book, The Westing Game.
I’m quite pleased with my reading progress so far this year, I’ve relaxed a bit and ignored the fact that my TBR is glaringly over-populated. Taking my time with my reading has improved my enjoyment of the books I’m reading, even if I feel something slightly annoying I can search out the positives, which makes me happy. Adding some graphic novels and young adult into the mix has also helped me to avoid my normal winter blues reading slump.
After taking a look at my stats this month I have found four things I would like to work on in the coming months:
Writing a review as soon as I finish a book – this will help me avoid a review back-up and help re-stock my bank of review posts.
I really need to add some more non-fiction in, it’s not like I don’t have lots on my shelves waiting.
Each month I would like to read at least 3 books from the horror/dark fantasy/fantasy genre. This type of book has always been my comfort read and I’ve neglected it lately.
Weird. Strange. Unusual. Keywords. I find these keywords posts highly amusing, so I thought I would start highlighting some of the more bizarre things that have led people to my site. This is my first time, I’m not nearly as witty as most of you and my sense of humour has always been a little on the dark side. So here are the ones that made me lol.
"screwed up life of charlie" – No idea who Charlie is, or why he’s screwed but how weird is it that a search term ended up causing me to add a book to my TBR mountain :P
“Oryx And Crake – Endings” – Not to be bitchy but, just read the damn book.
"Bentley Little retiring ?” – OMG I sure hope not!
“New Years gangbang Kentville” – Wow, and here I always thought Kentville was such a pleasant little town.
“Are they making a movie about the book th1rteen r3asons why by jay asher ?” – I don’t know, but I think it’s an awesome idea and I would love to watch it.
“negative review opinion the shack” ✔ “negative reviews on the shack” ✔ “negative reviews to the shack" ✔ “the shack by william young negative reviews” ✔ “the shack did not like” ✔ Plus many, many more. I hated this book, but now I’m wondering if it’s the same person doing all this searching :0
”the shack tricked me” – Yes, yes it did – the cover synopsis for this book is about as fake as those gorgeous girls you see on the front of X-rated movies. What’s really inside is more than likely to burn your retina.
“what's the plural of series” – I have no idea, most of the time I just pop a ‘ at the end.
“Where do i find the book coraline in crawford county” - Well you could try the library it’s on Plum Street in Michigan. Twelfth Street in Arkansas and McCrary Street in Georgia.
“zombies porno photos” – of for the love of god, there must be 800 hits on my site for this phrase and as much as I love zombies, this is just gross people. Why aren’t you all checking out coroner’s websites or something? Is there really a market for this? Oh who am I kidding, of course there must be.
“Circle of zombies masturbating” – LMAO, ewww, seriously who searches for these things?
“zombie woman porn” – Okay, okay here you go ----------------------->
At the age of twelve, Sydney Henderson pushes his friend Connie Devlin from the church roof. Looking down on Connie’s motionless body, Sydney believes he is dead. Let Connie live and I will never harm another soul, Sydney vows to God. At that moment, Connie stands up, wipes his bloody nose, and with a laugh, walks away. In the years that follow, the self-educated, brilliant and now almost pathologically gentle Sydney holds true to his promise. Yet others in the small rural community regard Sydney’s pacifism as an opportunity to exploit and torment the vulnerable Hendersons. Raised on the books his father has long collected, Sydney’s eldest son Lyle shares a deep respect for the power of words. But forced to witness the persecution of those he loves, Lyle turns his back on God and literature and adopts a more aggressive strategy for the protection of his family. An exploration of how humanity faces inhumanity, how lies and disappointments cannot and will never destroy truth and human greatness, Mercy Among The Children is a novel set in a particular place and time, yet universal in its message.
My Thoughts Mercy Among The Children, is a very personal look into the lives of a family struggling to live. Their life is a hard one, and their obstacles seem almost unbearable. Set in a small, rural town in the Canadian province of New Brunswick, the Henderson’s have been dealt a hand that most would fold immediately. In a town filled with people who all possess defects and an imperfect way of living, the Henderson’s have become the ones who are targeted for persecution, deserved or not. As though by pointing out their apparent deficiencies the other townsfolk can feel better about their own issues.
This story is told from the point of view of Lyle, the eldest son of Sydney Henderson. Through his words, we learn much of the towns history and how his family came to be viewed so harshly. Lyle describes how his own life has been affected by both his father and his grand-father’s actions. However, the event that overshadows much of Lyle’s life happened before he was even born. His father Sydney, at the age of twelve made a promise to God that he would live a life of gentle, passivity. It is because of this, that Lyle comes to believe the family’s problems have evolved. At first, he agrees with his father and shares his faith, but as he matures and experiences firsthand the cruelty of mankind, Lyle begins to suspect that fighting back is the only way to survive. But does this make you just as bad as your attackers, or does it even matter, when all is said and done?
It would be all too easy to label this as a classic tale of good versus evil, but the depth of this story cannot allow that. There is no good or bad guy present here, all the characters, and all their actions, contain so many different shades of gray, that while reading you will find yourself at a loss as to just who is in the right. I think that this is exactly what makes Mercy Among The Children, such a powerful novel. The circumstances make you think, force you to consider how you would feel, and then change it up just enough to provoke you to view it from another perspective altogether.
Mercy Among The Children was not a book I found particularly easy to read. It shows an ugly side of people and life, but this is one of it’s strong points. The struggles of life are not pretty, and this book shows that in brutal honesty. I liked that the characters all had certain disagreeable characteristics, because it relates well to the real world. We all know that behind most seemingly perfect people, there is bound to be at least one not so nice thing about them. For me, a story is made by the characters it contains, and this novel contains a large cast of original and believable personalities, that pull this story together into something amazing. Character study, family saga and community overview are collectively joined by David Adams Richards smooth writing and provide an extremely stimulating read.
About The Author David Adams Richards
Born in Newcastle, New Brunswick, David Adams Richards says he found his calling as a writer after reading Oliver Twist at the age of 14. He has since published 12 novels and two non-fiction books. Considered by many to be Richards’ most accomplished novel, Mercy Among the Children was co-winner of the Scotiabank Giller Prize in 2000. It also won that year’s Canadian Booksellers Association award for author of the year and fiction book of the year. The Miramichi region is at the heart of Richards’ fiction, and his depictions of the place and its people have garnered him numerous awards and prizes. Notably, he is one of few writers in the history of the Governor General's Award to win for both fiction (Nights Below Station Street) and non-fiction (Lines on the Water). He was awarded the prestigious Canada-Australia Prize in 1992. Richards has adapted a number of his novels for TV and film, including Nights Below Station Street. Small Gifts brought him his first Gemini, for original screenplay, and his second was awarded for his adaptation of For Those Who Hunt the Wounded Down. He co-wrote the screenplay for the feature film adaptation of The Bay of Love and Sorrows. Richards’ most recent book, The Lost Highway, was longlisted for the 2008 Scotiabank Giller Prize. His previous novel, The Friends of Meagre Fortune, was a Scotiabank Giller nominee in 2006 and won the Commonwealth Writers Prize for Best Book (Canada and Caribbean). He has also written a non-fiction book on the place of hockey in the Canadian soul, Hockey Dreams. Richards now lives in Toronto, but still has a licence to fish the Miramichi River.
On the Canada Reads website there are so many interesting things to learn about David Adams Richards. Being a music lover I was particularly interested in a feature where Richards was asked to compile a playlist that he felt went best with his book, Mercy Among The Children.Here are seven of David Adams Richards Top Ten Playlist suggestions.
Also don’t forget to check out the CBC Archives for some great audio and video clips from the author, including interviews and a wonderful clip of Richards reading an excerpt from Mercy Among The Children.
About The Panelist Sarah Slean
Eclectic singer-songwriter Sarah Slean is a creative force to be reckoned with. She has released six recordings (most recently The Baroness, in March 2008), all of which she co-produced, and has garnered two Juno nominations. She has toured extensively across North America and Europe, and has shared the stage with artists such as Blue Rodeo, Alanis Morissette and Bryan Ferry. She has collaborated with several of Canada’s most renowned orchestras, including the National Arts Orchestra and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Sarah is also an actor, with a Gemini nomination to her credit for her lead role in the musical film noir, Black Widow. In addition, she is an accomplished visual artist who has exhibited in both solo and group shows. And she’s a poet who has published two collections (Ravens and The Baroness). Sarah studied classical piano at the Royal Conservatory of Music and York University before launching her solo career as a singer-songwriter. She currently studies music and philosophy at the University of Toronto.
And of course, there’s lot’s more to discover about Sarah Slean! Canada Reads asked Sarah what some of her favourite Canadian books were and below you can see what she chose. To read what she had to say about these books head over here. While you’re there you can also see what music this Canadian songstress chose as the perfect companion playlist to Mercy Among The Children.
Just in case you haven’t heard how amazing her music is, here is Sarah Slean’s video for Lucky Me, from her 2004 album Day One. If you would like to find out more about her music and her life, she has a wonderful website.
Once upon a time, I was a little girl who disappeared. Once upon a time, my name was not Alice. Once upon a time, I didn't know how lucky I was.
When Alice was ten, Ray took her away from her family, her friends – her life. She learned to give up all her power, to endure all pain. She waited for the nightmare to be over. Now Alice is fifteen and Ray still has her, but he speaks more and more of her death. He does not know it is what she longs for. She does not know he has something more terrifying than death in mind for her.
This is Alice’s story. It is one you have never heard, and one you will never, ever forget.
Review Alice is a fifteen year old girl who lives with Ray, her kidnapper, abuser, molester, her Daddy. Alice wasn’t always a starved, beaten and sexually tormented teenager. She was another happier little girl, until the day 5 years ago when Ray kidnapped her during a fun school trip to the aquarium. But that little girl died, and now she goes on as Alice. A living dead girl.
This story is told from Alice’s point of view, and because of this I found myself unable to set this book down. Her story is so completely honest and devastating that it would have felt wrong to interrupt. Alice’s story is so heart-breaking that I became connected emotionally to her. The need for this child to have her say and find some peace was so strong, I thought that if only she could tell her story it would ease the pain of her existence. Surely this is a sign of talented writing, my feeling like I owed a character from a book my full attention or I would be guilty of somehow adding to her pain.
I’d like to say this was an enjoyable book to read, but I can’t. Alice’s pain was too real and Ray’s psychological problems too scary for any enjoyment. However, I do not regret reading Living Dead Girl. There were certain aspects that I felt gave a basic introduction into the circumstances of abuse. Although the highest percentage of abuse happens within a family circle, there are those abused children who, like Ray, grow up to kidnap and abuse strangers. It’s made clear during this story that Ray suffered at the hands of his own mother, making him both a victim and a perpetrator. Touchy subject, but this does happen. Something that has always bothered me is when people say they/their children would never let something like this happen to them, but they won’t know until they are in that situation. With Alice, is was interesting to see how she reacted to the survivors of abuse on the daytime soap operas, even as survivors they are blamed for what they’ve done and she sees this as just another kind of living death. Even worse than living like that, she has Ray’s threats of killing her old family should she try to leave. People could ask, “But why would you believe that? We could have helped.” But why wouldn’t she believe it? In her world Ray is God, she has no power over anything.
Perhaps the most interesting thing about Living Dead Girl is Alice’s logic on certain things. She knows that the way her life appears to others, is not normal. Yet she is still baffled by their ease at ignoring what could be happening. When Ray decides that he would like another little girl to come live with them, Alice sees this as an escape for her. She has no doubt that with another Alice around, Ray will have no use for her, but even should he kill her, being away from him is worth it. Her feelings toward having a new girl also show how human instinct and the power of self-preservation can take-over – at one point Alice thinks to herself, “She will get his love and I will hold her down to take it all because then there will be none for me. I cannot save myself, and I do not want to save her.” and “Better her than me.”
As a final note, Living Dead Girl is listed as Young Adult fiction, for ages 16 and up. And even though there were no extremely graphic scenes found, I think that this book should be approached with a certain amount of maturity. Everyone with children will already know that not every teenager is the same. I’m sure that there are some kids (and adults) out there that would be very disturbed by this sensitive subject matter.
About The Author Elizabeth Scott is the author of Bloom, Perfect You and Stealing Heaven. Something, Maybe, her newest title will be available in March 2009. For an interesting discussion with Elizabeth Scott, SimonSays has a podcast available for download here.
Synopsis Violet Parry is living the quintessential life of luxury in the Hollywood Hills with David, her rock-and-roll manager husband, and her darling toddler, Dot. She has the perfect life--except that she's deeply unhappy. David expects the world of Violet but gives little of himself in return. When she meets Teddy, a roguish small-time bass player, Violet comes alive, and soon she's risking everything for the chance to find herself again. Also in the picture are David's hilariously high-strung sister, Sally, on the prowl for a successful husband, and Jeremy, the ESPN sportscaster savant who falls into her trap. For all their recklessness, Violet and Sally will discover that David and Jeremy have a few surprises of their own. THIS ONE IS MINE is a compassionate and wickedly funny satire about our need for more--and the often disastrous choices we make in the name of happiness.
Review After hearing that Maria Semple had been a writer for the TV show Mad About You, I knew I had to read her first novel. One of the things I enjoyed about Mad About You is that the two main characters, who are pretty average people, are surrounded by the weirdest characters. This is something I also enjoy in books, I crave personalities that are off-beat, bizarre and sometimes seem down-right crazy. This One Is Mine is perfect for this, as it’s pretty much impossible to find even one half-way normal person among the cast.
Another thing I found enjoyable about this novel, was the contrast between the two leading ladies. Violet is a wife and mother, living what would seem to most, the perfect life. While Sally, her sister-in-law is living the female equivalent of the bachelors life. But neither woman is happy with what they have, and both yearn for what the other has. However, they soon find out that what you want and what you have are not always so easy to mingle together.
I couldn’t say that I liked any of the characters in this story, they are all self-involved, materialistic, snobbish and way too concerned with quick, easy personal satisfaction. But, as horrible as I thought they were, I was quickly pulled into their stories. It was almost like watching a drunken idiot making a fool of himself – you know you should probably step-in, but you’re curious to know just how much of a disaster he’s gonna make and how he’s going to react once he sobers up.
This One Is Mine, is hard-edged chick-lit with lots of sex, cussing and downright dirty behaviour. This book doesn’t present any great messages on life, or teach you the values of morality. However, it will entertain. It’s a mixture of darker Desperate Housewives, lighter Jackie Collins with a twist of black comedy.
About The Author Maria Semple has written for television shows including Arrested Development, Mad About You, and Ellen. She has escaped from Los Angeles and lives with her family on an island off Seattle. This is her first novel.
This afternoon I came to the conclusion that the internet is definitely a major cause to me wasting time and getting nothing done. But it’s so frikkin’ entertaining! It’s my day off, I could have done laundry, groomed the dogs, caught up on reading, heck I could have even cleaned out the kids closets .. but instead I sat transfixed in front of the computer monitor watching something that cannot even be explained:
3 whole minutes of this – and I was entranced! It’s like “ohhhh look at those badgers … ahhh mushroom … ZOMG Snake!” Many brain cells destroyed with this video.
Then I see on the side of the screen these related videos and twenty minutes later I’ve become obsessed with movie trailers remade featuring The Muppets :D
Which of course led to this, the ultimate ‘stuck in my head’ song:
And there you have it – I am unarguably the easiest distracted person in the world, with the attention span of an eggplant I’m sure.
But on a more book-related note, remember a few weeks back I had made up a blog award called the Well Worth Watching Award? Well, the uber-cool Lenore took this idea one step further and created an event on her blog where she will be interviewing bloggers in a Well Worth Watching Profile And she chose me to be her first guinea pig. Check out the link here to see our Q&A’s Thanks again Lenore, it was lots of fun (she’s a great interviewer)
Time for another Mailbox Monday hosted by Marcia at The Printed Page.
I don’t know what happened this past week – I was attempting to hold back on the book addiction. But the boys both had gift cards left from Christmas and they sent me to the bookstore with a list of books they wanted. What was I supposed to do? It’s not as though I am strong-willed enough to not browse! *sigh*
In The Mail
Lives Of The Monster Dogs (bookmooch)
Sum: Forty Tales From The Afterlife (arc)
Fiction: A Novel (arc)
Random Cool Book Snags
Bad Bloggers
Chris included a video of Plath on a recent post which made me want to re-read this.
Oh look at this - Chris again, he’s read a lot of DeLint and I liked the sound of this author.
Nymeth wrote an amazing review of this which made me desperate to read it myself.
Nymeth should really be the spokesperson for Hornby imo.
Lenore talked about the film version of this which looks awesome and I like to read the books first.
A few weeks back I said that I would be talking about Canada Reads 2009 in my Sunday Salon posts. And I fully intend to, except this week I am taking a break for a few reasons: A) I am not finished reading the book I had planned to talk about because B) the sinus infection from Hell has descended upon my cranium and C) I feel like my head is a balloon that some sadistic clown is trying to twist into an absurd Cthulhian creature.
As I was updating a spreadsheet my hubs uses to keep track of his Star Wars books, I was getting really annoyed by the excessively long titles. But then I got to wondering what was the world’s longest title for a book and my Google searching led me to find this book by Nigel Tomm which contains 670 words. And even with all those words I still have no idea what it’s about :/
Here is a pic of the book cover, and below is the entire title.
“Selected Works of Nigel Tomm (2006/2007) (Shakespeare's Sonnets Remixed 2006 / Shakespeare's Hamlet Remixed 2007 / Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet Remixed 2007 / Including Previously Unpublished Elvis Presley's Love Me Tender Remix 2007) Nigel Tomm is The Winner of The Anonymous Writers Club Award 2006 for The Best Anonymous Writer / Deconstructed Poetry Award 2006 for Innovations and Teamwork in Poetry / Decadence Prize 2007 for The Lifestyle / Flashy Rococo Coco Award 2006 for Flashy Thoughts / Baby Boomers Award 2006 for The Best Marketing / Anonymous Artists Prize 2007 for The Best Anonymous Artist / Life Academy Award 2006 for Ignorance of Some Aspects of Life / Graphomania Award 2007 for Writing / Formal English Institute Award 2006 for English Grammar Improvements / House of Original Remixes Award 2006 for Creativity / WordKillers Award 2006 for Killing Some Words Sometimes in Some Books / iStyle Award 2006 for Being Unnamed Style Icon / Librarians Under Sixty Award 2007 for Staying Young / Comedy Association Award 2007 for The Best Drama / Happy Dramatists Award 2006 for The Realest Reality Show / New Forms Award 2006 for Rediscovering Something Old / Best of The Best Award 2007 for Being The Best of The Bests / Alaska Lifetime Achievement Prize 2006 for Bringing The Sun to Canada / Flaming Unisex Award 2007 for Coming to Flaming Unisex Awards / Random Books Award 2006 for Random Words Which Sometimes Sell / Happy Housekeepers Award 2007 for Being an Example to Follow / Wild Foresters Award 2006 for Saving Trees from Book Lovers / Writing Bodybuilders Award 2007 for Keeping Nice Forms / Life Coaching Without Words Award 2006 for Bringing New Life to Some Words / Writing for Writing Foundation Award 2007 for Rewriting Some Writings / Speaking Parrots Award 2007 for Some Fresh Phrases / CopyPasters Award 2007 for Recopying Shakespeare / Silent People Award 2006 for Talking about Silence / Strange Books Award 2006 for The Best Back Cover Text / I Don't Care Award 2006 for Something We All Don't Care / Happy Clowns Award 2006 for The Biggest Sad Smile / Nonexistence Award 2007 for Trying to Believe in Existence / MTV eBooks Award 2007 for The Best Male Reader / Bicycle Fans Award 2006 for not Writing About Bicycles / Cool Firemen Award 2006 for New Flames in Literature / Penguin Lovers Prize 2007 for Being Vegetarian / Green Grass Award 2006 for Frustrated Ecology in Hamlet Remixed / Vintage Love Award 2006 for Writing About Old School Love / New Letters Award 2006 for Some Useless Innovations / Retired Encyclopedists Award 2007 for Universality in Rewriting / Nice Web Developers Award 2007 for Fresh Look / Space Lovers Award 2006 for Exploration of Literary Cosmos / Monotony Award 2006 for The Best Performance / Homemade Video Award 2007 for The Best Home Interior / Illusory Zoo Committee Prize 2007 for The Best Animal Character / Degenerated Politicians Award 2006 for Belief in Moral Norms / F***ing Teenagers Award 2007 for The Best Kiss / Tomorrow Morning's Fragrances Association Award 2006 for Smelling Words / London Punks Foundation Award 2007 for Ultra Cool Book with Hip Ending / Pessimistic Bankers Prize 2007 for Fresh Ideas on Pessimism / Soft-Hardcore Erotica Award 2006 for Remixed Feelings / Slow Talking Runners Award 2007 for Some Sweet Chats about Nothing / Honest Jet-Setters Prize 2006 for Being Honest to Honest People / Good Looking Pop Stars Award 2006 for The Best Interview Act / Disorientated Literary Agents Award 2006 for Trusting Nobody / Archaic Victorian Baroque Award 2007 for Crossing Borders Between Borders / Multicultural Context Prize 2006 for Multiculturalism in Books / Two Happy People Award 2007 for Mixed Palette of Happiness / Fragile Machines Prize 2007 for The Best Text on Robotic Psychology / Passionate Red Cherries Award 2006 for Dynamic Use of The Word 'Cool' / Late 1950s Award 2007 for Neutrality on Some Remixed Questions / Classical Counterculture Award 2006 for Development of Remix Cult”
Surely everyone must have seen those giant coffee table books filled with photos. Some people actually do keep them lying around on their living room tables and shelves, I’ve seen a lot of homes sporting books featuring landscapes, favorite animals, those god-awful Geddes babies, motorcycles/cars and numerous other things. Well, I have to admit that I have a few of these myself – although my particular photo delight is kind of strange – I love pictorials featuring barns, abandoned buildings and outhouses! Yup I love photos of unusual outdoor toilets. What thrills me to no end is that some of the most beautiful shithouse photos are taken by a local photographer named Sherman Hines. (He does take many other types of photos too) There is even a Museum named after the man. In Liverpool, Nova Scotia you can visit the Sherman Hines Museum of Photography where you can see lots of exhibits about the history of photography and also many different collections.
My skills with a camera are pretty pathetic and I know I’ll never have a book of my own photos – unless it’s a people with their heads half missing themed book – but regardless of that fact I still like to take pics of any interesting structures we happen upon. Here are two that I took in September that I really quite like.
Onto more strangeness, I thought I would share some of the weird things I’ve learned about authors. I’m a complete freak for trivia and useless facts, my head is filled with this stuff.
William S. Burroughs author of Naked Lunch, shot and killed his wife during a party. Not intending to harm her, he was merely trying to shoot a glass that was sitting on top of her head, as part of a drunken party game.
Famous writer Graham Greene faced a possible prison sentence after being sued by Shirley Temple in 1937. Apparently she wasn’t too happy about a film review he did, in which he wrote: "Her admirers - middle-aged men and clergymen - respond to her dubious coquetry, to the sight of her well-shaped and desirable little body, packed with enormous vitality, only because the safety curtain of story and dialogue drops between their intelligence and their desire." Not that I’m a prude or anything, but I have to agree. I wouldn’t doubt that there are still lots of dirty old men collecting her movies. Seriously I have issues with parents who deck their kids up like prosti-tots and parade them around beauty shows. (Hope I don’t get any calls from lawyers … meh)
“I’ve had 18 straight whiskies - I think that's a record.” Dylan Thomas 1914 – 1953
"Lord help my poor soul." Edgar Allan Poe 1809 – 1849
“Kill me, or else you are a murderer!” Franz Kafka 1883 – 1924
"And now what?" This one is from Kafka’s Metamorphosis but it’s my favorite.
I’d definitely recommend checking out John Greens site for more info on Famous Last Words. After reading his book Looking For Alaska I became kind of addicted to the subject of last words. And everyone has probably seen this video, but it’s awesome – so if you’ve been hiding under a rock here is John Greens 50 Famous Last Words in 4 Minutes.
So there you are, a whole plethora of chaotically random stuff. Anybody else have any weird habits when it comes to books or facts? Or am I alone in being strange?
Oh one last thing … it’s more trivia. Who knows what famous author choked to death on a household item? Gold star if you can also tell me what it was this writer shouldn’t have put into their mouth.
And no it wasn’t a cat!
UPDATE: Amy from My Friend Amy answered this bit of author trivia correctly. Tennessee Williams choked to death on the cover of an eyedropper bottle. He normally held the cover between his teeth while tilting his head back to insert drops into his eyes. Authorities suspect the use of drugs and/or alcohol may have caused his gag reflex to be defective.
30/yo who enjoys reading (perhaps too much), I've usually got at least 5 books going at anytime. I've just completed taking some English and Sociology University upgrading courses, and I am in the process of obtaining a Library and Research Tech certificate.
I read constantly and I have been known to read instruction manuals, cereal boxes and the YellowPages if I am without a book.
