Saturday, December 31, 2011

best books

This years winner of upside your mind's book of the year is:
Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
Runners up was a tie between
The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers and
Infernal Devices by K.W. Jeter
Honorable mention goes to
Amnesia Moon by Jonathan Lethem

Monday, December 26, 2011

2011

Books I read this year.
  1. Steampunk'd - edited by Jean Rabe and Martin H. Greenberg
  2. Comfort me With Apples by Ruth Reichl
  3. Amnesia Moon by Jonathan Lethem
  4. Notions Unlimited by Robert Sheckley
  5. The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
  6. Others See Us by William Sleator
  7. Stranger Than Fiction by Chuck Palahniuk
  8. The Architecture of Happiness by Alain de Botton
  9. Born to Rock by Gordon Korman
  10. Girl in Landscape by Jonathan Lethem
  11. Medium Raw by Anthony Bourdain
  12. Sooner Dead by Mel Odom
  13. 101 Things I Learned in Architecture School by Matthew Frederick
  14. The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers
  15. Towards a New Architecture by Le Corbusier
  16. To the Land of the Electric Angel by William Rotsler
  17. The Boy Who Reversed Himself by William Sleator
  18. Idle Pleasures by George Alec Effinger
  19. Lizard Music by Daniel Pinkwater
  20. Interstellar Pig by William Sleator
  21. Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury
  22. Cowboy Feng's Space Bar and Grille by Steven Brust
  23. Time Travelers Strictly Cash by Spider Robinson
  24. Infernal Devices by K.W. Jeter
  25. Starship Titanic by Terry Jones
  26. The Unlimited Dream Company by J.G. Ballard
  27. The Postmortal by Drew Magary (currently reading )

Saturday, December 17, 2011

Shanghai Jim


Bookmark follows JG Ballard from Shepperton to Shanghai and back, looking at the scenes of his life which inspired his autobiographical novels.



Sunday, December 4, 2011

gimme

Here's a list of books I'd like to receive as holiday gifts, in case Santa is reading this blog.

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Bourdain at bookstore


Anthony Bourdain and Harvey Pekar visit Zubal Books in Cleveland. This amazing bookstore houses over 750,000 rare, scholarly and out of print books.

Monday, November 14, 2011

hello vertical

This is the first book I read by K. W. Jeter. I used to read Spin magazine back in high school. It turned me onto some cool stuff. I saw a recommendation for this book in an issue one time and went out and bought it. I think it's one that I read halfway, set it down for a few months, then went back and finished. It's a good book with a really unusual setting. I think it took me awhile to get used to, but I'm glad I dove back in and read it to the end. The only other book I've read by this author is The Dream Fields.

Sunday, November 13, 2011

The Steampunk Bible


The Steampunk Bible panel was filmed at the Steampunk World's Fair 2011 in New Jersey. This panel showcased the book The Steampunk Bible. This panel was hosted by co-author S.J Chambers with contributors Jake Von Slatt, Ay-Leen The Peacemaker, Jaymee Goh, Ekaterina Sedia, Dr. Grymm and Margaret Killjoy. This is Part One of Two.

You can see more content at http://www.nerdcaliber.com

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

speaking of writing


ICON 2008, Steven Brust GOH speaks about writing and worldly stuff.
I like his hat and shirt. He looks like a roadie.

Thursday, September 15, 2011

september city

I went to the mall for lunch the other day. I had a gyro with extra meat and no fries because I wanna be skinny like the spiderman. After eating, I went for a walk around the mall cuz I'm old. Just kidding. I saw a sign that said there's a new bookstore downstairs next to Macy's. I went and looked. There's actually a tattoo shop next to Macy's. Next to the tattoo shop is the new used bookstore. I think it was called Fine Books. I went inside for a closer look. No new books anywhere. Seemed kind of like a smallish selection. Nowhere near as big as Gardner's, but lots better than the used bookstore in the strip mall across the street that seems to have nothing but paperback romance novels. I glanced over their limited sci-fi selection. No Rucker, no Sheckley. I did however spot one by Wm. Rotsler and a few by  G.A. Effinger. I ended up buying The October Country by Ray Bradbury. I'll be back for the others. I believe they buy and trade as well as sell, so perhaps next time I'll see more stuff.
There used to be a bookstore in the mall. I think it was Waldenbooks. They only sold new books and magazines. It was way different. That closed about a year ago. The bigger mall out south used to have a Waldenbooks and a B. Dalton. Those are long gone now. Both malls now have Barnes and Nobles across the street from them. I haven't been out to that big mall in a long time. It's farther away and the traffic out there sucks. There were no bookstores in there last time I visited. I wonder now if that's changed. Probably not.

Monday, August 29, 2011

want



Al Jaffee's fold-ins, on the inside back cover of virtually every issue of MAD Magazine since 1964, have become an icon of American humor. Generations have grown up with Jaffee's inspired skewerings of our foibles and cultural conundrums. Issue after issue, each Fold-in requires the reader to simply fold the page so that arrow A meets arrow B to reveal the hidden gag image, a simple idea that masks both undeniable artistic ingenuity and comic timing. In this deluxe four-volume set, each of the 410 fold-ins is reproduced at its original size, with a digital representation of the corresponding "folded" image on the following page (so collectors won't have to "fold" their book to get the jokes). Featuring insightful essays by such luminaries as Pixar's Pete Docter and humorist Jules Feiffer, The MAD Fold-In Collection is the definitive gift for the millions of fans who've grown up with MAD for nearly 60 years.

Saturday, August 27, 2011

the Unbeliever

I'm pretty sure this book's not actually called Asshole Leper Hero. But there is really an author named Stephen R. Donaldson. I browsed and briefly considered getting one of his books at the used bookstore once. Not sure what the real title of this one is, but I laughed when I first saw it and eventually became interested in the series, which may be accurately described by the fake title seen here. Haven't bought or read one yet, but I might eventually because the Wikipedia description sounds kind of interesting.

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

at the library 9



new stack

I went back to Gardner's today. I spent about twenty bucks. Here's what I got:
  • I Sing the Body Electric! by Ray Bradbury
  • The Wonderful World of Robert Sheckley by Robert Sheckley
  • The Court of the Air by Stephen Hunt
  • Lizard Music by D. Manus Pinkwater
  • Be More Chill by Ned Vizzini
  • Blade Runner 2: The Edge of Human by K.W. Jeter

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Skinny Malinky

The War Between the Pitiful Teachers and the Splendid Kids
by
Stanley Kiesel
Skinny Malinky Leads the War for Kidness
by
Stanley Kiesel
I read these a long time ago but I still have them. I remembered them recently and had to recommend them. I might have to re-read them soon. Here's a link to a great article I found while searching for info about these books. It contains a good description of the first one here, as well as a few other excellent YA titles I remember reading.

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Dinner at Eight


Very funny and clever comedy clip from the film Dinner at Eight. Jean Harlow describes reading a book about the future. Legendary comedienne Marie Dressler makes witty reply. This is a CLASSIC clip from 1933.

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Architecture of Happiness

I had already been reading this one for a while now. It's one of those back up books that I keep in my car that I switch to if I get tired of my current read. I don't always take them too seriously and often abandon reading them for months or even years. Tonight I finished reading Palahniuk, but then couldn't decide which book to pick up next. Too many options. I decided to upgrade this one from light to current. By the time I finish reading this one, I'll maybe be more decisive about choosing the next book.

Sunday, May 1, 2011

the used bookstore

It was a cold, wet and rainy day today. Sunday, my day off. So I went out to the used bookstore. It's been a couple months since I last went out there. I drove a different car back then, before the blizzard. I used up the remaining credit from my last visit and spent $10 more to get these 3 books:
-Motherless Brooklyn by Jonathan Lethem
-Girl in Landscape by Jonathan Lethem
-Blackbriar by William Sleator
Lethem is quickly becoming one of my new favorites as I've quite enjoyed all the books I've read by him. Almost every book of his I've bought was found at the used bookstore. Gun, With Occasional Music was the only one I got new at B&N. I couldn't believe that I found another William Sleator. I'm never going to run out. As soon as I start reading the next one, I'll find another next time I go out there. Which is good, I haven't read a bad book by this author yet.

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

fantasy trilogy

Almost done reading NOTW. It's real good. I will now finish my trilogy of fantasy recommendations. Dragonlance was the first fantasy series I ever read and it was a gateway into Dungeons & Dragons for me. A friend loaned me a D&D module, DL1. In it were character descriptions, a 3D map and details regarding monsters, treasure and non-player characters. All kinds of fascinating stuff that described the setting for an exciting story. It was my first role playing adventure and later my first dungeon mastering adventure. I read the whole trilogy, book by book, as they came out, as well as the next trilogy, Legends. Favorite character: Tasselhoff Burrfoot. I tried to read LOTR later, but couldn't get into it until after I saw the first movie. Then I had to read Two Towers to find out what happened to Merry and Pippen. (Spoiler) They escaped.

Sunday, April 24, 2011

nerd alert

Happy Easter sunday. The mall was closed today but B&N was open. Today is the day we celebrate that magic man that came back from the dead. That's right, I'm talking about Doctor Who. I don't have Uverse anymore or else I'd be watching it right now. At least I've got an old Tom Baker episode on DVD. A six-part story co-starring Elisabeth Sladen (RIP) as Sarah Jane. I also got a couple of books today:
The Essential Enthusiast's Handbook - Architecture A Spotter's Guide - Classical Temples to Soaring Skyscrapers by Sarah Cunliffe, Sara Hunt, Jean Loussier. It was on sale, plus, being really in to Minecraft and the Sims, I've kind of developed an interest in architecture.
Sooner Dead by Mel Odom. Post-Apocalyptic Mayhem in Gamma, Oklahoma! This is a Gamma World book. Gamma World is like futuristic Dungeons & Dragons. I had to check it out. Boomer Sooner.

Friday, April 22, 2011

Gord the Rogue

Here's one that I read I don't know how long ago. It is the story of a young orphan beggar who grows up to become a master thief acrobat and swashbuckling hero. Parts of Name of the Wind kind of reminds me of this book. I probably would never have read it if I hadn't been into Dungeons and Dragons at the time. It's the only one of the Greyhawk adventures I've ever read.

Sunday, April 10, 2011

recommended fantasy

I just realized that Name of the Wind is the first fantasy book I've read since starting this blog. The last fantasy author I was really into a few years back was Fritz Leiber. I first read a short story about Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser in an anthology called Magic for Sale. I later read Swords and Deviltry and got hooked. My all time favorite story was Lean Times in Lankhmar from Swords in the Mist. That story made me laugh out loud, seriously. I still crack up inside when I think about it.

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Robert Sheckley




This is part one of a seven part interview. I didn't feel like embedding them all, but the rest is out there on youtube in case you're interested.

Friday, February 11, 2011

Less


When I finish reading a book, it's like winning a national championship, despite losing two games. I'm not a coach, but that's kinda what it's like.

Monday, February 7, 2011

foodie

Comfort Me With Apples
More Adventures at the Table
by Ruth Reichl
Green Bay won the Super Bowl, so I'm going to read this book. I'm kind of glad too. I was really wanting to read a book about food. Congratulations Cheeseheads.

Monday, January 31, 2011

books for free

I had a little over a hundred dollars worth of receipts from Gardner's used books, so I brought them back in today. It entitled me to around seventeen dollars worth of free book. Here's what I scored:
  • Ribsy by Beverly Cleary - This was the first book I ever read all by myself back in 1978. I picked it up for nostalgic reasons.
  • 5 Novels by Daniel Pinkwater - Hardback, contains: Alan Mendelsohn, the Boy From Mars, Slaves of Spiegel, The Snarkout Boys and the Avocado of Death, The Last Guru, Young Adult Novel. I've got Snarkout Boys and Guru. Reread Snarkout Boys a few years ago. Can't wait to reread Guru. The rest are new to me.
  • Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury - I saw Something Wicked This Way Comes and Martian Chronicles when I was really young, so long ago that I barely remember anything about them. I've been meaning to read something by Bradbury ever since I saw this video. This book was unsorted among the new arrivals in sci-fi, so I grabbed it.
  • The Last Coin by James P. Blaylock - I had brought a short list of recommended steampunk titles and was searching for Homunculus by James Blaylock. Couldn't find it. Got this one instead.
  • Amnesia Moon by Jonathan Lethem - I didn't even read the description on the back of the book, I saw the name and snatched it off the shelf. I read three books by this author last year, all good.

I wandered all over that store for at least an hour or two and after checking out I still had a couple of dollars store credit left.

Thursday, January 27, 2011

book mod


I tried to post something earler, yesterday. It was a funny video about a kid doing a book report about Mein Kampf. I removed it because it had an ad in front of it and the content later changed to a non book related video that featured Will Ferrel having a drunken argument with a toddler. Sounds funny. Here's this instead.

Monday, January 24, 2011

this/that

Super Bowl time again. Steelers versus Packers, sounds like it's going to be an awesome game. Can't wait. Don't know who'll win, I don't have a favorite. But, anyway it's time for my traditional Super Bowl options thing I do. That's where I read one book if one team wins, or another if the other team wins.
Here goes. Comfort Me With Apples by Ruth Reichl represents food, so I'll read that if the cheese heads are victorious. Schismatrix by Bruce Sterling is a sci-fi book about technology and industry, I think. That kind of fits for Pittsburgh, so I'll read it if black and yellow prevails.

Sunday, January 23, 2011

craft


I've been playing minecraft a lot lately, so maybe I'm not gonna read as many books this year because I'm kind of addicted to this computer game. But anyway, here's a video that's book related and minecraft related as well.

Saturday, January 15, 2011

first book of the year

Steampunk'd
edited by
Jean Rabe and Martin H. Greenberg
I found this one at the grocery store across the street from my house.

Friday, January 7, 2011

Top Reads

I had a tough time deciding which was the best book I read last year. After careful consideration, I finally chose Bad Monkeys by Matt Ruff.
Since I had trouble choosing the top read, I decided to choose 2 for a tie in the runner up spot, and they are: When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris and The Wall of the Sky, The Wall of the Eye by Jonathan Lethem.

Saturday, January 1, 2011

2010

Books I read this year.
  1. When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris
  2. Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk
  3. Rainbows End by Vernor Vinge
  4. Maps & Legends by Michael Chabon
  5. Ruby and the Stone Age Diet by Martin Millar
  6. And Another Thing... by Eoin Colfer
  7. Sewer, Gas & Electric by Matt Ruff*
  8. Singularity by William Sleator
  9. Night of the Living Rat by Doyle & McDonald
  10. The Wall of the Sky, The Wall of the Eye by Jonathan Lethem
  11. Losing Joe's Place by Gordon Korman
  12. Dreams of Sex and Stage Diving by Martin Millar
  13. Little Heroes by Norman Spinrad*
  14. The Duplicate by William Sleator
  15. Shards of Space by Robert Sheckley
  16. Snuff by Chuck Palahniuk
  17. A Model World by Michael Chabon
  18. Bad Monkeys by Matt Ruff
  19. Strange Attractors by William Sleator
  20. Gun, With Occasional Music by Jonathan Lethem
  21. VALIS by Philip K. Dick
  22. The Boy Who Couldn't Die by William Sleator
  23. As She Climbed Across the Table by Jonathan Lethem
  24. Mechasm by John Sladek
  25. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson
  26. House of Stairs by William Sleator
  27. The Wild Boys by William S. Burroughs

*indicates book that I started prior to this year and finished reading this year.