Sun 29 Jan 2006
This weekend was wonderfully nice out. Well, Saturday was, anyway. I got to go to the zoo with a friend of mine, just because it was so nice. Sadly, we didn’t get in to see the baby panda, and they had that whole chunk of the zoo roped off so we couldn’t even go around and see the elephants. I’m still pretty irritated about that. I mean, I understand wanting to keep your cash cow strictly controlled, but come on. Do the words “ Panda Cam ” mean nothing? Free, easy, and you don’t have to stand in line or be spoken down to by rude ladies with “zoo volunteer” t shirts. If you’re in the area, go to the Amazonia exhibit there, though. Just remember to duck when you’re dive bombed by a macaw.
Sunday I came to the conclusion that I need a good, new book. I’m afraid I’m all out of books here in my home port that I haven’t read several times over already. Especially the mysteries. I love the classics: Ngiao Marsh, Agatha Christie, Rex Stout. I think Nero Wolfe is frighteningly clever, don’t you? Even if he does make Archie do everything. And Good old Miss Marple- she knitted rather a lot, too. Just shows how very clever she was. *sigh* So I’m looking for suggestions. I’ve also been known to read a fantasy novel or two. I admit a certain fondness for the Chicks in Chainmail series of anthologies. Any ideas?
January 30th, 2006 at 3:08 am
I’m more of a scifi goer myself… The real stuff, not the populist series crap (Star Trek and Star Wars books, etc). Stranger in a Strange Land, Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Dune, et cetera… that said, a really fun fantasy book is Glory Road by Robert Heinlein, and was recently re-released, so finding a copy either used or at the library shouldn’t be hard.
Of course, my girlfriend’s father writes a number of detective stories and mysteries, which are solid and fun if you’re into Lovecraftian elements (Cthulhu and all that). Head over to http://www.cjhenderson.com and check the bib for a good place to start.
January 30th, 2006 at 3:07 pm
:) we always recommend the wheel of time series by robert jordan. i am currently on book 5 again. it is easiest to listen to them- cd or mp3. the story is soooo huge sometimes that if you put it down for a bit you can get a little lost when it jumps back to people that haven’t been mentioned for a whole book! ‘in your dreams’ by tom holt was good enough- until the end. then there is ‘trickster’s choice’ and ‘trickster’s queen’ by tamora pierce that made for good listening while i did my dragon paintings… anywho,
i’m here too!
kathy
January 31st, 2006 at 9:11 am
You could read.. OR.. you could run Mauradon (and if you knit, we’ll all die, so keep that in mind =P)
February 17th, 2006 at 4:55 am
I don’t know if you’ve read it, but I liked Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke. Fantasy, but not of the chicks in chainmail variety; fun nonetheless, especially if interpreted as a parody of Jane Austen. Also, it’s old and occasionally cumbersome, but one of my favorites is the postmodern mystery Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco.
February 17th, 2006 at 9:20 am
I remember seeing In The Name Of The Rose on my parent’s bookshelf when I was a kid. I should definitely look that up.