As the stomach churns.................

Most of the past 36 hours has been spent alternating between reading and pondering a turn of events that defies any logic or sense that I can make of it. There is an answer, but it is locked away from me for reasons that, likewise, defy any logic or sense to me. If you have an answer for me it would be a true kindness to at least give it to me.

I finished up Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling. If you are into the Harry Potter series I heartily recommend this one. With Goblet of Fire, the tone of the books seems to be growing more sinister, more adult. I suspect by the time books 6 and 7 are out, the idea that these are kids books will be left in the dirt.

On my last trip to Barnes and Noble, I picked up a book by Laurie Notaro titled I Love Everybody (and Other Atrocious Lies at least in part out of a determination to read more fiction authored by women. My reading over the years has been decidedly weighted towards non-fiction and to male authors. As I look over my shelves the only female author I can see prior to this years purchases, is Barbara W. Tuckman, an excellent author of narrative history.

At any rate, the Notaro book is a relatively short read (about 21/2 hours) and had the rare effect of causing me to:
A. Laugh out loud in a public place.
B. Find it almost impossible to put down.

I took a break from reading last night long enough to watch "The Last Samurai" with Tom Cruise. Though not generally a Tom Cruise fan, (for example: Sean Connery and Mel Gibson are usually good reasons, in and of themselves, to see a movie; whereas, Tom Cruise and Richard Gere are equally potent arguments to not see a movie)this movie is one of those inevitable exceptions. Of course, we're talking pure guy flick here. The sword fights and the battle scenes are fucking amazing.
Cruise's flashy white teeth are about as incongruous as a pair of Nikes, given that he plays a drunken, disillusioned 40 something Civil War vet. However, it is a small distraction from the otherwise meticulous accuracy that makes the film a standout.
I suppose it makes sense not to mess up the pretty boy lead too much so as to give the ladies a reason to accompany their old man to the theatre. Of course, they didn't seem to have any qualms about turning sweety pie Charlize Theron into a total hose-bag for Monster.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch.............. Last night I read The Five People You Meet In Heaven by Mitch Albom. I'm not sure what possessed me to buy this book aside from the fact that it was only $11.00 at Sam's Club and another short read.
I think I rather expected something along the lines of the Celestine Prophecy. "Celestine...." is an illiterate piece of moronic psuedo wisdom. It still embarasses me that I paid full price for it. If you simply must read "Celestine...." (swayed, as I was, by the hype that heralded it's publication) try to find it at a book exchange in paper back for 25 cents. If, after reading it, you still think it's right up there with cold beer, sliced bread, and oral sex, by all means go out and buy a couple of yards of red velvet, some incense, and a gold plated hard-backed edition and convert the expandable part of your trailer into a shrine for it.

I think that was a rant................let's see, where was I???

Oh yeah............"Five People........" was a surprisingly charming (God, my testosterone levels just dropped 5% for using that word) and literate read. While I don't think it ought to be arbitrarily included in the Sacred Works of the world's major religions as a vision of the after life, it is an effective and fresh illustration of a way of looking at life. One that is so venerable as to be too cavalierly dismissed as fortune cookie philosophy by the fashionably jaded sophisticate.
It's a sweet little book, about a 2 1/2 hour read, and will give you a "warm fuzzy" in spite of yourself.

You've probably noticed that I've positively littered the past few entries with links.............(ok, so the dinosaur is trying to learn about HTML without the benefit of a resident 10 year old).
I am going to take this opportunity to direct your attention to the side bar........and the addition of a new "Books" link to www.abebooks.com. If you are a frugal bibliophile, please check out this site. Abe Books is an online broker for literally hundreds of used book stores all over the world and the prices for nearly new books (even with shipping) is not to be passed up. I've found out of print books and saved at least a couple of hundred dollars so far this year. The books were generally in my hands in 3 to 7 days.I read the descriptions and chose books with jackets and only a book "rater" with an eye comparable to the palate of a world class wine taster could tell that they weren't brand new.

I went to the grocery store last night to pick up a one thousand hit bottle of aspirin (mid-nite snack) and some coffee (breakfast) and spotted David Sedaris' Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim. I didn't know anything about the book at the time, but Naked was such a hoot (thank you Cricket)that I thought it would be worth the risk........( it was marked down if you used your Kroger Plus Card).

Time to wrap it up, for now, kiddies........."I've got blisters on my fingers."

Thus endeth the entry.........