Chuck

Looks like they're going to try to increase the ratings through T and A [Yvonne Strahovski's legs in particular not that I'm complaining] and campy humor [the entire store as a CIA hideout, the graphics].  The upcoming Stacy Keibler guest shot will be epic.

Now that's a lawsuit

Harry Popper condoms company sued by Warner Brothers for Harry Potter infringement.

Anyone remember the hysteria about high voltage power lines?

Parents have fit over Wi-Fi in school.

PEARL and OpenBook 9.0?

Has anyone used the new PEARL camera with OpenBook 9.0?  If so how well does it actually work compared with a flatbed scanner.  As far as the number of errors is concerned?  I keep finding the same information about how wonderful it is but nothing remotely independent.  Curiously with all of these camera designs I keep thinking they're missing something.  How exactly do you hold the book open?  Only the most abused hardcovers I have will actually stay open by themselves.

The Inheritance by Simon Tolkien

The Inheritance by Simon Tolkien this is a courtroom drama combined with a search for part of the true Cross. First the good, the writing is excellent . This is occasionally bordering on literature. Unfortunately the characters are all unlikable. By the end of the book I was hoping that they would all be punished somehow. Even the characters I was supposed to feel sorry for I really didn't. There seems to have been a lot of work done as far as making things technically accurate particularly with the trial. The problem is the ending doesn't really work. It's as if the trial, which was the center of most of the narrative was an afterthought in the conclusion.

Not recommended.

Note:This book was provided through Librarything's early reviewer Program.

SFWA does something right

I've been pretty hard on SFWA over the years so I might as well point out when they do something right. Night Shade Books on year probation.

Harlan Ellison runs screaming from the Internet

Over this?  Seriously?

Harry Potter actress attacked by family

Afshan Azad who plays Padma Patil.

Welcome to the 21st century, or not

Danica Patrick gets heels from track.

Fighting France: From Dunkerque to Belport by Edith Wharton

Fighting France: From Dunkerque to Belport by Edith Wharton  this is a collection of magazine articles the author wrote during the first world war. It covers several trips she took to the French sector of the front lines. There is little here to interest a military historian though perhaps a social historian may find more here. The writing is occasionally beautiful. I'm going to track down some of her novels. This edition has a modern forward as well as a short biography. There are endnotes but it is unclear if they are new or originated in the text. This isn't the amount of apparatus that say Penguin would give but it's better than most of the publishers of public domain texts.

Recommended for the literary craft displayed.

Note:This book was provided through Librarything's early reviewer Program.

Stupid it burns.

She was Greek! Backlash over Angelina Jolie as Cleopatra.

To hell with it

I don't give up on books. There are ones sitting in my "currently reading collection" that have been there for years. In the last month I completed a book I had been working on for 4 years. That being said I'm giving up on Why the Allies Won by Richard Overy. I knew it was bad. I tried reading it for the argument. Then I tried reading it for the humor value but I can't. I don't know if it gets better after page 63 and I don't care.

Apple puts their foot in it again

Ulysses too much for iPad.

Update:Nice they have one English major on staff.

The great reorganization

For awhile now I've known that I will be running out of bookshelves.  The good news in about 14 months that will be fixed.  I can't really discuss why but you can probably guess.  In the meanwhile I have to figure out what to do.  I've had to start stacking books inside the shelves.  I didn't want to do this because it makes it difficult to figure out just what is there.  I've started going through shelves looking for books I haven't read and stacking the ones I have.  Not ideal but maybe it will get me to the finish line.

Hello

I think this is the longest I haven't posted anything ever....