Ken > Recent Status Updates

Unattractive cover, uninspired title.
100 THINGS appears to be something you'ld
see on a Bargain Book rack at Barnes and Noble.
A publisher's clearance "special."

Turns out to be a very literate gem about life
before and after the internet ; the good and
the bad. Thought provoking and entertaining.

The story so far :
Rincewind the inept wizard is forced to find a magical hat.
Against his will. As usual. He is Joined by Conina (daughter
of Cohen the Barbarian) and Nigel the Destroyer (pimply
barbarian trainee). His fiercely loyal magical suitcase has
gotten drunk and is lost in the desert. Rincewind, Nigel AND
Luggage are ALL secretly in love with Conina. There is war,
death and destruction aplenty.

Really.

I am no fan of footnotes in general. Most often, distracting.
For Terry Pratchett, I always make an exception.

Here he describes the fur trim on a wizard's ceremonial robe:
"The vermine is a small black-and-white relative of the lemming,
found in the cold Hublandish regions. Its skin is rare and highly
valued, especially by the vermine itself; the selfish little bastard
will do anything rather than let go of it."

A tale of naive, uneducated, broke and ,more often than not,
drunken volunteer Texas Rangers plus one whore traveling
across the Pecos through Comanche territory. 1841.

I can't believe I kept reading beyond the first chapter.
Glad I did.

Mary Austin relays a warm and tender recollection of their early
years together as a young couple when Farrokh Bulsara was
morphing into Freddie Mercury. Sketches, photos , handwritten
lyrics and notes abound. The book promises to cover two decades
in their lives both together and apart.

Cry-beautiful.

Science as readable as a good novel.
Readable and accessible but not dumbed down.

In so very few pages I've learned much about Dame Judi Dench.
I envisioned her as the prim and proper "M" to Daniel Craig's
James Bond in SKYFALL. Tough love embodied.
In the autobiographical PAYS THE RENT we come to see a short,
salty but charming practical joker with a near eidetic memory
when it comes to her first love : the Shakespearian stage.

An oriental epic : 1900 pages over three volumes.
Reminiscent of cult movies like CROUCHING
TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON, HOUSE OF THE FLYING
DAGGERS and the KILL BILL franchise.
Well written and engaging. Strong female characters.

Every once in awhile haunting an overstock outlet results
in a happy find. How about a mint, unblemished $40 coffee
table book for $4.99 ? And better yet, an intelligently
written, full color feast for the eyes ? A biology primer on a
little known universe, not to be missed.

An unusual storyline for the Dr. Siri novels, yet so
common in so many American and European crime
novels: the brutal serial killer on the loose.
The first chapter says this will be anything but same-
old, same-old. Can't wait !

Thank you, Elyse for a book to cherish.
This is beginning to look like my book of the year.

Forgot what a powerhouse journalist is Mark Bowden.
Just went on Amazon over the last few days to order
THE BEST GAME EVER: (Giants vs. Colts,1958, and the
Birth of the Modern NFL) & THE CASE OF THE VANISHING
BLONDE: (And Other True Crime Stories.)Those 2 books
should hold me for awhile in the land of what-shall-I-
read-next.

Exceptionally well written essays that move along
like the best action/adventure fiction out there.

A collection of reportage on war and sports and
and everything in between.

From the author of BLACKHAWK DOWN.

Multilayered storytelling: history, politics, murder,
demonic possession and humor.
Another winner from Colin Cotterill set in 1970's
communist Laos.

Although not indicated, the book is geared to a young
adult audience. Informative and lavishly illustrated with
sketches, colorful paintings and easy to follow charts.