BOOKISH ART: The Story Coaster

From IncidentalComics.com

ARTICLE SHARING: Hunger Games-inspired tattoos

The Daily Beast has a photo gallery of tattoos inspired by the Hunger Games, and stories of the people wearing the ink.

Did I ever mention that I got a tattoo last year? Mine is the one seen to the left. It's an "ouroboros", a serpent dragon, representing the cyclical nature of life. It's about 4-5 inches from top to bottom, and located on my back hip. It was created by the fabulous Stevie Bananas at the Howl Gallery/Tattoo in town. If you're ever in south Florida, check them out! They aren't just a tattoo parlor, but are also an art gallery and are a driving force behind the art and music community and bringing people to our downtown district.

ARTICLE SHARING: The 20 coolest bookstores in the world (Photos)

The Vancouver Sun posted a story about the 20 coolest bookstores in the world, and they really are cool! I don't know that any of them are located in the US though. What's up with that? Check it out!

Libreria Acqua Alta, Venice

ARTICLE SHARING: 10 Awesome Book Inscriptions

BuzzFeed posted a charming little article about some of the best book inscriptions. Check it out!

ARTICLE SHARING: Bookshelf Porn

From Bookshelf Porn. Love it!

Little Free Libraries

What a great idea! I saw this on the news this morning. This project was the brainchild of Todd Bol and Rick Brooks, who first met in 2009 while exploring the benefits of green practices in small businesses.

They started with the very first "one room schoolhouse" seen to the left, and since then people around the country have built their own Little Free Libraries.

The idea is basically "take a book, leave a book". These are little libraries that belong to the community.

Their mission is:

• To promote literacy and the love of reading by building free book exchanges worldwide.
• To build a sense of community as we share skills, creativity and wisdom across generations.
• To build more than 2,510 libraries around the world--more than Andrew Carnegie!

Here are some of the libraries created by individuals across the country...

I'd love to have something like this in my area, but would worry about how to deal with our inclement weather. I live in south Florida, and we can have regular fierce rain storms!

They tell you how to order a library (they range $100-600 in cost), or how to build your own.

Like them on Facebook, and check out the map to see whether there is one near you.

Check out the Little Free Library website. Maybe you can do one in your area?

You can't buy happiness...

(Credit to Belcastro Agency)

VOTE! for Zook

My dog Zook is in a pet photo contest, and trying to raise money for spay/neuter while he's at it. We'd love it if anyone who has a spare few dollars to donate would swing by and vote at the same time! The contest runs through 2/29/12. Just click the button located top-right column to go there. Thanks for stopping by!

ARTICLE: "Artist Carves Vintage Books Into Astoundingly Intricate 3D Sculptures"

Treehugger posted an awesome article on Guy Laramee, an artist who carves vintage books into amazing sculptures!

Check it out!

Amazon Launches the "Kindle Owners' Lending Library"

 I personally am not into e-books yet, but this will interest a lot of readers out there. Per an article on CNET:

In an interesting twist on e-book lending that's sure to rile competitors, Amazon has launched the Kindle Owners' Lending Library, which allows Amazon Prime members to check out up to one e-book a month for free with no due date.

Check out the article here.

Bookstore Cats

NYULOCAL has posted a story about the cats that inhabit local NY bookstores:

Kitty Porn: City Bookstores With Cats

Cute story. My local used bookstore, Sandman Book Company, has a resident cat as well.

 

His name is Kitty-Wan Kenobi. He's a very sweet and friendly guy, and is always laying on the footstool located in the front room whenever I enter, purring up a storm as I approach and relishing any attention I want to give him.

And I love this bookstore, located in Punta Gorda, FL. An independent bookseller, they recently expanded and doubled their store size. I just discovered them earlier this year, and have been back several times now, and may try to make another trip out this weekend.

And as for cats, I know of which I speak...

Shotsie, Delilah, Simon, Momma, Fancy

Those are my five cats. You'll note Shotsie over on the left by herself, because she doesn't like cats-- she likes dogs! Simon and Delilah are brother and sister, and their mother is Momma. Momma was a stray cat at my condo complex, and I discovered one day that she had brought me her babies and left them for me on my balcony, even though she was so timid that she spent the better part of four years hiding under my bed in my bedroom after I took her and the kittens in. You see she is eating next to Fancy, whom tormented her those four years, leaving me to keep Momma locked in my bedroom for her own peace of mind.

But after moving to my house, Momma came out of her shell and now will stand up to Fancy. So the two of them have reached an impasse.

So I have my own resident "library cats", who are habitually trying to sneak into my room that I call "the library"!

Check out the story about the bookstore cats. Cute!

Twitter Doomed

As if I already didn't have little enough time to read thanks to 10 blogs, 5 cats, a dog, a lovebird, a turtle, a job, a house, Facebook, friends, family, and life in general...*deep breath*... I have now discovered Twitter.

I am doomed...

The Kama Sutra of Reading

Barnes and Noble Sale-- Today Only!

Barnes and Noble has some special deals going on TODAY ONLY! 50% off New & Bestselling Fiction, Kids' & Teens award winners, NookBooks for under $5, 50% off Blu-ray hits, and sales on toys, games, decorative items and electronics! Check it out! Time is limited!

Stephen King's Summer Reading List

I was reading my Entertainment Weekly that I picked up a couple of months ago, and found an article written by Stephen King listing "My Summer Reading List". I saw some pretty good books on it, and I decided to share a few of my top pics from it here...

Robopocalypse by Daniel H. Wilson

They are in your house. They are in your car. They are in the skies…Now they’re coming for you.

In the near future, at a moment no one will notice, all the dazzling technology that runs our world will unite and turn against us. Taking on the persona of a shy human boy, a childlike but massively powerful artificial intelligence known as Archos comes online and assumes control over the global network of machines that regulate everything from transportation to utilities, defense and communication. In the months leading up to this, sporadic glitches are noticed by a handful of unconnected humans – a single mother disconcerted by her daughter’s menacing “smart” toys, a lonely Japanese bachelor who is victimized by his domestic robot companion, an isolated U.S. soldier who witnesses a ‘pacification unit’ go haywire – but most are unaware of the growing rebellion until it is too late.

When the Robot War ignites -- at a moment known later as Zero Hour -- humankind will be both decimated and, possibly, for the first time in history, united. Robopocalypse is a brilliantly conceived action-filled epic, a terrifying story with heart-stopping implications for the real technology all around us…and an entertaining and engaging thriller unlike anything else written in years.

The Five by Robert McCammon

Subterranean Press is proud to present Robert McCammon's first contemporary novel in nearly two decades, a tale of the hunt and unlikely survival, of the life and soul, set against a supernatural backbeat. Robert McCammon, author of the popular Matthew Corbett historical thrillers (Speaks the Nightbird, Mister Slaughter), now gives us something new and completely unexpected: The Five, a contemporary novel as vivid, timely, and compelling as anything he has written to date.

The Five tells the story of an eponymous rock band struggling to survive on the margins of the music business. As they move through the American Southwest on what might be their final tour together, the band members come to the attention of a damaged Iraq war veteran, and their lives are changed forever.

The narrative that follows is a riveting account of violence, terror, and pursuit set against a credible, immensely detailed rock and roll backdrop. It is also a moving meditation on loyalty and friendship, on the nature and importance of families those we are born into and those we create for ourselves and on the redemptive power of the creative spirit. Written with wit, elegance, and passionate conviction, The Five lays claim to new imaginative territory, and reaffirms McCammon's position as one of the finest, most unpredictable storytellers of our time.

The Silent Land by Graham Joyce

Award-winning novelist and cult favorite Graham Joyce transports readers to a mysterious world of isolation and fear with a hypnotically dark story about a young couple trapped by an avalanche in the remote French Pyrenees. . . a daring and powerful novel about love, loss, and rebirth.

In the French Pyrenees, a young married couple is buried under a flash avalanche while skiing. Miraculously, Jake and Zoe dig their way out from under the snow—only to discover the world they knew has been overtaken by an eerie and absolute silence. Their hotel is devoid of another living soul. Cell phones and land lines are cut off. An evacuation as sudden and thorough as this leaves Jake and Zoe to face a terrifying situation alone. They are trapped by the storm, completely isolated, with another catastrophic avalanche threatening to bury them alive . . . again. And as the couple begin to witness unset­tling events neither one can ignore, they are forced to con­front a frightening truth about the silent land they now inhabit.

Award-winning author Graham Joyce has written a mysteri­ous masterpiece, a tour de force that will thrill fans of Peter Straub and the hit television show Lost.

The Cypress House by Michael Koryta

Arlen Wagner has an awful gift: he can see death in the eyes of men before it strikes. He's never wrong.

So when Arlen awakens on a train one hot Florida night and sees death's telltale sign in the eyes of his fellow passengers, he tries to warn them. Only 19-year-old Paul Brickhill believes him, and the two abandon the train, hoping to escape certain death. They continue south, but soon are stranded at The Cypress House—an isolated Gulf Coast boarding house run by the beautiful Rebecca Cady—directly in the path of an approaching hurricane.

It doesn't take Arlen and Paul long to realize that the storm isn't the only approaching danger—a much deadlier force controls the county and everyone living in it. But Paul refuses to abandon Rebecca to face the threat alone, and Arlen's eerie gift warns him that they'll never leave. From its chilling beginning to terrifying end, The Cypress House is a story of relentless suspense from "one of the best of the best" (Michael Connelly).

Case Histories by Kate Atkinson

A triumphant new novel from award-winner Kate Atkinson: a breathtaking story of families divided, love lost and found, and the mysteries of fate.

Case One: Olivia Land, youngest and most beloved of the Land girls, goes missing in the night and is never seen again. Thirty years later, two of her surviving sisters unearth a shocking clue to Olivia's disappearance among the clutter of their childhood home. . .

Case Two: Theo delights in his daughter Laura's wit, effortless beauty, and selfless love. But her first day as an associate in his law firm is also the day when Theo's world turns upside down. . .

Case Three: Michelle looks around one day and finds herself trapped in a hell of her own making. A very needy baby and a very demanding husband make her every waking moment a reminder that somewhere, somehow, she'd made a grave mistake and would spend the rest of her life paying for it--until a fit of rage creates a grisly, bloody escape.

As Private Detective Jackson Brodie investigates all three cases, startling connections and discoveries emerge. Inextricably caught up in his clients grief, joy, and desire, Jackson finds their unshakable need for resolution very much like his own.

Kate Atkinson's celebrated talent makes for a novel that positively sparkles with surprise, comedy, tragedy, and constant, page-turning delight.

The Terror of Living by Urban Waite

Phil Hunt is in deep trouble.

Hunt is on the run from two men: Drake, the deputy sheriff who intends to catch him, and Grady, the vicious hitman who means to kill him.

For twenty years Hunt has lived in Washington State, raising horses with his wife on his small farm. He's tried to stay out of trouble, wanting only to make a living and taking the occasional illicit job in order to do so.

Then his last delivery goes horribly wrong, and the chase is on from the mountains down into the Puget lowlands. To have any chance of rescuing his quiet life, Hunt will have to deal with deputy sheriff Bobby Drake, a good man determined to make up for his father's tainted legacy and Grady Fisher, a very bad man intent on making a name for himself in the most violent ways. With a fondness for blood, Grady takes pleasure in the use of knives, taking Hunt's life apart piece by piece, all the while leaving a trail of victims across the state.

Relentless and gorgeously written, with original characters and a vividly powerful sense of place, The Terror of Living heralds the arrival of a writer who will be compared with the great suspense novelists.


Check out the article in its entirety for the full list, and for King's comments on each book.

Be Careful Out There

Be careful while you are surfing the internet out there. Even the most innocuous site can be infected. I simply visited a few book blogs this morning, and the mere act of visiting them got me infected with a particularly malicious little bug, which actually hid my entire C:/ drive from me!

I'm not positive, since I won't go back to the site to confirm it, but I think that it was Rundpinne's site that got me. I had, I think, three sites open and was visiting one when I had a message pop up about a script having trouble. I chose to "Stop" the script, and I think that was my big mistake, as I think they used that common window as a launch for the bug. Next thing I knew, I saw DOS windows pop up and close. I thought that was suspicious, and I went to check out the other tabs that I had open, and saw at the top of one of the blogs it mentioned a script error. Then I suddenly got "hard drive failure" messages, which made me really suspicious-- this is a common ploy with malware. Then I got other messages, and a Windows XP Restore window opened and started "scanning". I stopped it, as I didn't believe it to be legit, and called my computer techs.

They confirmed that this is an ugly one that they've been seeing lately. What makes it so bad is the fact that it actually hides all of the user's files from them. Nothing could be opened or used or accessed. We wound up having me go into Safe Mode, and had to launch Internet Explorer from "Run", which was one of the only things that would work (thank God I could still access my Start menu!). So I was able to initiate a remote session with my tech guys and was lucky enough to have all of my data stored on a server and not locally on my system. They are still working to see whether they can restore my system without having to reinstall everything. But right now, it isn't looking good.

Ugh! So, I can't say for sure that it was Rundpinne's blog that did it, but that is the one that I have in my mind as being the one with the script error. Unfortunately I don't know her email address, so I can't contact her to alert her. If anyone here knows how to get in touch with her by some means other than her blog, you might alert her that her site could be infected.

So now I fear visiting any blogs, as even an innocuous book blog can house a big nasty just waiting to infect my system! Be careful out there, my blogging friends!

I Close My Eyes

This is a video of my area. The Tiki Bar is only a few miles from my house, and Matlacha (pronounced Matt-la-shay) is one of my favorite places on earth. I'm not a beach person, but I love quaint fishing towns and art areas, which is what Matlacha really is. (Funny that he portrays Matlacha as a beach area, too. I've never seen a real beach at Matlacha! It's a tiny little stretch of land allowing for a two-lane road with restaurants, fish mongers, art galleries and homes on either side of the road, and it leads out to Pine Island-- another of my favorite places on earth).

Startling statistics regarding books and reading...

Here are some statistics aggregated on Erma Bombeck's website. I'm not sure how accurate they are, especially those from the Jenkins Group, as some of them seem pretty hard to believe...

1/3 of high school graduates never read another book for the rest of their lives.

42 percent of college graduates never read another book after college.

80 percent of U.S. families did not buy or read a book last year.

70 percent of U.S. adults have not been in a bookstore in the last five years.

57 percent of new books are not read to completion.

(Source: Jerold Jenkins, www.JenkinsGroupInc.com)

53 percent read fiction, 43 percent read nonfiction. The favorite fiction category is mystery and suspence, at 19 percent.

55 percent of fiction is bought by women, 45 percent by men.

(Source: Publishers Weekly)

A successful fiction book sells 5,000 copies.

A successful nonfiction book sells 7,500 copies.

(Source: Authors Guild, www.authorsguild.org)

Each day in the U.S., people spend 4 hours watching TV, 3 hours listening to the radio and 14 minutes reading magazines.

(Source: Veronis, Suhler & Associates investment banker)

Some of these are hard to swallow. I can only think of one person that I know that doesn't read. Pretty much everyone else I think reads at least sometimes. Some read non-fiction, some read fiction, some read heavily while others read only a book or two a year. But nearly everyone I know reads at least some. I just can't imagine that 42% of college graduates "never read another book after college" and 33% of high school graduates "never read another book for the rest of their lives" after high school.  That is just really hard to swallow. If it is true, then that is pretty frightening and disheartening!

Stephen King's Showbiz Career

I was reading an article on Bloody Disgusting about Stephen King's showbiz history (e.g. movie/TV adaptations of his work, directing and acting attempts). It was an interesting read for a King fan. Here are a couple of blurbs from it:

After noting that more and more aspiring directors were writing him for permission to adapt his short stories for the screen, in 1977 King implemented his "Dollar Babies" policy, in which we would grant any student filmmaker the non-commercial right to adapt one of his stories for the bargain-basement price of one dollar (novels excluded). All that King required, other than a guarantee that the film wouldn't be exhibited for commercial purposes without his express consent, was that the filmmaker send him a copy of the completed product for inclusion in his private library. Though the declaration allegedly sent his accountant into a tizzy, this open-door policy – which King himself never publicly addressed until nearly 20 years later – demonstrated the down-to-earth qualities that to this day so endear the author to his legions of loyal fans. It also resulted in kicking off the Hollywood career of frequent King collaborator Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile, The Mist), who at only 24 years old adapted King's short story "The Woman in the Room" into a well-received short film that was shortlisted for the 1983 Academy Awards.

 And in regards to his disdain for the adaptation done of his "Lawnmower Man"...

Grossing over three times its $10 million budget at the domestic box-office, The Lawnmower Man became a sleeper hit based partially on the strength of King's name, which was used prominently in the film's advertising campaign. Unfortunately for New Line, King went on to sue the distributor for exploiting his name to sell a movie that he claimed "bore no meaningful resemblance" to his original "Lawnmower Man" story (included in his 1978 collection Night Shift). Forced to pay King $2.5 million in damages, a court injunction was also issued barring the studio from further using his name to market the film. Nevertheless, King later discovered the studio had released the movie on home video with his name still attached, and New Line was found in contempt of court and ordered to remove King's name from every home video copy or else pay him $10,000 a day until they complied. In addition, the author was awarded all profits they had so far derived from the home video release.

Check it out here.

Foods Dangerous to Dogs

Being a new owner of a young pup, I just wanted to take a moment to remind people about all of the foods that are dangerous to dogs. Most people are familiar with chocolate, but there are so many other things from which you need to protect your family dog.

Here is a list provided by peteducation.com. However, in addition to this list are a few things that I don't see listed on it. Pantry items such as baking powder and baking soda are toxic. Also spices like nutmeg. And I have also seen mentioned that they shouldn't eat raw potatoes or potato plants, and when feeding them fruits as a treat, be sure to remove seeds, stems and leaves and such.

NOTE: A friend mentioned itching caused by food, and I thought that I would mention that as well. If your dog has a problem with itching not caused by fleas, look at his diet. The number one cause is corn. Go with a high-end dog food that doesn't contain corn, and see whether that resolves the issue. If the itching continues, try eliminating wheat, and then the last two contributors are chicken and beef. My dog is on a lamb and rice food that contains no corn or wheat to help alleviate his itching (FYI: The food he is on is Nutra's Lamb and Rice for puppies.)

Items to avoid	Reasons to avoid
Alcoholic beverages	Can cause intoxication, coma, and death.
Avocado	The leaves, seeds, fruit, and bark contain persin, which can cause vomiting and diarrhea.
Bones from fish, poultry, or other meat sources	Can cause obstruction or laceration of the digestive system.
Cat food	Generally too high in protein and fats.
Chocolate, coffee, tea, and other caffeine	Contain caffeine, theobromine, or theophylline, which can cause vomiting and diarrhea and be toxic to the heart and nervous systems.
Citrus oil extracts	Can cause vomiting.
Fat trimmings	Can cause pancreatitis.
Fish (raw, canned or cooked)	If fed exclusively or in high amounts can result in a thiamine (a B vitamin) deficiency leading to loss of appetite, seizures, and in severe cases, death.
Grapes, raisins and currants	Contain an unknown toxin, which can damage the kidneys. There have been no problems associated with grape seed extract.
Hops	Unknown compound causes panting, increased heart rate, elevated temperature, seizures, and death.
Human vitamin supplements containing iron	Can damage the lining of the digestive system and be toxic to the other organs including the liver and kidneys.
Macadamia nuts	Contain an unknown toxin, which can affect the digestive and nervous systems and muscle.
Marijuana	Can depress the nervous system, cause vomiting, and changes in the heart rate.
Milk and other dairy products	Some adult dogs and cats may develop diarrhea if given large amounts of dairy products.
Moldy or spoiled food, garbage	Can contain multiple toxins causing vomiting and diarrhea and can also affect other organs.
Mushrooms	Can contain toxins, which may affect multiple systems in the body, cause shock, and result in death.
Onions and garlic (raw, cooked, or powder)	Contain sulfoxides and disulfides, which can damage red blood cells and cause anemia. Cats are more susceptible than dogs. Garlic is less toxic than onions.
Persimmons	Seeds can cause intestinal obstruction and enteritis.
Pits from peaches and plums	Can cause obstruction of the digestive tract.
Raw eggs	Contain an enzyme called avidin, which decreases the absorption of biotin (a B vitamin). This can lead to skin and hair coat problems. Raw eggs may also contain Salmonella.
Raw meat	May contain bacteria such as Salmonella and E. coli, which can cause vomiting and diarrhea.
Rhubarb leaves	Contain oxalates, which can affect the digestive, nervous, and urinary systems.
Salt	If eaten in large quantities it may lead to electrolyte imbalances.
String	Can become trapped in the digestive system; called a "string foreign body."
Sugary foods	Can lead to obesity, dental problems, and possibly diabetes mellitus.
Table scraps (in large amounts)	Table scraps are not nutritionally balanced. They should never be more than 10% of the diet. Fat should be trimmed from meat; bones should not be fed.
Tobacco	Contains nicotine, which affects the digestive and nervous systems. Can result in rapid heart beat, collapse, coma, and death.
Yeast dough	Can expand and produce gas in the digestive system, causing pain and possible rupture of the stomach or intestines.
Xylitol (artificial sweetener)	Can cause very low blood sugar (hypoglycemia), which can result in vomiting, weakness and collapse. In high doses can cause liver failure.