Reading at Home

At home in my idle moments I have been working on my shelf of “readables.” This is supposed to be only one shelf full of books that I am interested in reading, and then passing them along to a book sale or something. But the shelf gets longer and longer as I find myself with less and less free time. After a weekend visit to a book sale (I had promised myself that I wouldn’t buy anything!) I came away with three “readables.” So, I took one down from the shelf to get going on reading it.

I chose “The Sybil in her Grave” by Sarah Caldwell. This is a crackin’ good mystery full of really likable characters. The best thing is that the mystery is not gruesome, no one is murdered or anything, it is just a mystery, full of mysterious characters and strange goings-on. It’s also quite funny when it needs to be. I plowed through more than half of it this weekend and hope to finish it this week.

(Written later) – Okay, a couple of people have died, but everyone thinks it’s natural causes. I read a mystery a few months ago... I don’t think I blogged it…where the murders were unfathomably gruesome. Two people gunned down in a bookstore. It really was too much. Then, the murderer supposedly tra-la-la-ed back to his own bookstore and no one suspected because he was so coooooool. I suspect real murderers would be acting strange after they kill someone.

On a further note, my “readables” are under the auspices of the rule of 50. I read about this on a bookmark. Seriously… I collect bookmarks and you can find some fascinating tidbits of philosophy on a bookmark. Anyway, the rule of 50 is that since there are so many books, and time is so short, you should only read the first 50 pages of a book to determine if you should continue. If the first 50 aren’t gripping, then drop the book. Put it down and back away slowly!

If you are over 50 years old, then subtract your age from 100 and only read that many pages. For instance, if you are 70 years old, only read 30 pages (100 - 70 = 30.) This is a handy tip since I do force myself to finish what I have started, no matter how bad it is.

I also read somewhere (possible on a bookmark) that it is best NOT to read fiction just before you go to bed since it stimulates your imagination so much that you may be kept awake by dreams. So, this week’s non-fiction readable is “Green Tea” which started off with a very interesting history of tea. From the fields of China, to the massive exportation around the world, the history of tea is fraught with peril. I love it! The rest of the book is about how beneficial green tea is. Yum.

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LIBRARIANS: the books, the fame, the fortune… What more could you want? (Maybe more books.)

Lazy Weekend

I was lazy this week with homework, so I watched a bunch of things on DVD and started reading two new books.

I saw “Sullivan’s Travels” starring Joel McCrea, written and directed by Preston Sturges. This is a very funny whip-smart comedy from the early 1940’s. The disk includes a nice documentary about Preston Sturges as well.

Dr. Who marathon continues with “Frontier in Space.” This is the last episode to feature Roger Delgado as the Master, since not long after filming this he died in a car accident. Jon Pertwee, upset at the death of his friend, also left the show after one more season.

This was a rambling six-part episode that took us all over the place. The Master doesn’t show up until the third episode and the Daleks don’t show up until the very end. Of course, that is just a teaser for the next series, “Planet of the Daleks.” The ending of this series is rather sudden, the Master just runs off and... as I said before, doesn’t reappear until another actor takes his place years later.

Also on tap this week is “Two Towers” the second movie in the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy. This first half of movie #2 was excellent. I liked that the extended scenes included Merry and Pippin growing because they drank the Ent water. I also love the part where the King of Rohan recovers from the spell Saruman cast on him. I thought that was an effective piece of special effect (a special piece?)

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LIBRARIANS: the books, the fame, the fortune… What more could you want? (Maybe more books.)

More Books from Work

“Soul Signs” by Rosemary Altea – I like books like this that tell me who I am and who I should be dating. Apparently I am a Water sign with Seeker tendencies. My soul mate has to be an Earth sign with the energy of the Hunter or Visionary. I like the sound of “Hunter/Seeker.” So, read the book and find out if you are a Hunter, if so call me.

“The Action Hero Body” by Jorgen de Mey – I can handle only one exercise book a week, and this is it for this week. De Mey is the buffinator to the stars. If you want to look like Ben Affleck (yawn…) and you have a hectic schedule full of Hollywood parties, skiing at Aspen and Pre-award show parties… then this is the book for you.

“Lose Weight the Smart Low-Carb way: 200 high-flavor recipes and a 7-step plan to stay slim forever” – From the Prevention Healthy cooking series. I don’t know much about diets, but low-carb seems the way to go these days. But like any diet, some people can go overboard and hurt themselves. The “Smart” way is always better. Some of these recipes look yummy. Whenever I work on a cookbook I always photocopy at least one or two recipes.

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LIBRARIANS: the books, the fame, the fortune… What more could you want? (Maybe more books.)

Jidai Geki!

I’ve been watching some great Japanese television shows lately. One of my favorites, “Hachibori no Seven” is about a group of police detectives in the Shogun-era. I like the main characters, especially Hachibei and Aoyama. All the rest of the seven get their chance in the spotlight every now and then, so we get to know them pretty well as well.

I also recently bought the first season of “Abarenbo Shogun.” It’s about a young shogun who likes to disguise himself as an ordinary samurai and go out and help people. The fight scenes at the end are always awesome and this series features the only ninja that I ever liked. I don’t know if I’ll get any more seasons, the show was on for over 10 years!

Also in my packet of goodies was last year’s taiga drama, “Shinsengumi!” I’ve only watched one episode of the series and it looks great! For those of you who don’t know who the Shinsengumi were, here is Doloho’s handy-dandy “Japanese History in a Nutshell.”

Tokugawa Shogunate military leaders ruled Japan from 1603 (the Battle of Sekigahara.) Their policy of isolationism came to an abrupt halt with the arrival of Commodore Perry and his “Black Ships” in 1854. This threw the Japanese into a Civil War (the Bakumatsu) which pitted the Shogun’s forces against the Emperor’s Imperial forces. A special force of elite swordsmen was formed by the Shogun to protect the people of Kyoto. This force, (the Shinsengumi) saved many lives, even stopping a plot to burn Kyoto down by the Imperial rebels in 1864. Alas, the Shogun eventually lost the war, ushering in the “Meiji Restoration.” Many of the members of the Shinsengumi didn’t live to see this new era, but they are still to this day thought of as heroes of Kyoto.

Well, anyway, this show gives a more human face to these heroes as well as showing the doubt and confusion that racks most people who are on the cusp of a new era. The first episode begins with the arrival of the Black Ships and everyone wonders what the future may hold for Japan.

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LIBRARIANS: the books, the fame, the fortune… What more could you want? (Maybe more books.)