prune of tomorrow

Dandelion Wine

Dandelion Wine

by

Ray Bradbury

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.

Interstellar Pig

Interstellar Pig

by

William Sleator

Lizard Music

Lizard Music

by

Daniel Manus Pinkwater

Book Club

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.

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.

sports

Idle Pleasures

by

George Alec Effinger

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

currently reading

The Boy Who Reversed Himself

by

William Sleator

Love in the Time of Scurvy

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.

To the Land of the Electric Angel

To the Land of the Electric Angel

by

William Rotsler