Daily Thoughts

Jack Kerouac's poem in the center of San Francisco Chinatown's Jack Kerouac Alley.

Daily Thoughts

I am reading Marianne Mancusi, Razor Girl Love Cuts Both Ways, an action romance. The book is part of the Shomi Fiction action romance series. It is very campy. During the first part of the book, they even include some words on George Romero. On the Shomi Fiction site, you can see the author Marianne Mancusi in a gothic lolita cosplay outfit. This is kind of entertaining. http://www.shomifiction.com/ . It makes the book both contemporary and a bit geeky.

The book is published by Dorchester Publishers. They also do the Hard Case Crime line of noire mystery paperbacks which I really like also. http://www.hardcasecrime.com/ . I have read a bunch of Dorchester paperbacks including Max Allan Collins, Ms. Tree. I like the publishers campy irreverent style. It is making them well known very quickly. http://www.dorchesterpub.com/ .

I watched Walt Disney's The Sword In The Stone, 45th Anniversary Edition this afternoon. This is based on T.H. White's Sword In The Stone written in 1938. It is the first part of The Once and Future King, a classic of fantasy. People still ask for the book occassionally. The movie brought back memories from when I was a child. I remember seeing it when I was seven years old in the theater. Sometimes, it comes on television. The screenplay is written by Bill Peet who is one of my favorite childrens book writers.

I really like the way that Arthur or wart as he is called in the film is transformed first into a fish, then a squirrel, then a bird. The animation is wonderful. It has a whimsical quality to it. These are my favorite parts of the movie. It is a nice reminder that using your brain is the best way to get ahead in the world.

Ekaterina Sedia who wrote The Secret History of Moscow has a new novel, The Alchemy of Stone. It is supposed to be a steampunk novel. I am looking forward to reading it.

Jonathan Carroll also has a new novel, The Ghost In Love, it is supposed to be a paranormal fiction novel, but as all of his novels, it probably has some very unusual philosophy woven into it as well.

I searched http://www.worldcat.org which lists the holdings of a lot of the public and academic libraries in the United States and found 196 listings for Jack Payne's Six Hours Past Thursday. I am going to place an interlibrary loan for the book this Saturday when I go back to work.

Morning Thoughts, Grammar

I am looking at a paperback copy of Neil Gaiman's Stardust. I just checked it out. There are ten movie stills in the center of the book. The book also has a movie cover picture on it. People who collect paperbacks would love this book. Some people just collect paperbacks for the pictures inside them and the covers. They don't seem to even want to read the books. It is very odd. I tracked down the last New York City Paperback and Pulp Expo in 2007. http://www.gryphonbooks.com/Gallery/DivaAd.html

There are various types of people that seem to love paperbacks. Some love the old style lurid book covers. The Hard Case Crime series of paperback are very interesting. The covers are a revitalization of the Gold Key style cover. Mickey Spillane would have loved these books. They are very well done. I have even read a few of them.
http://www.hardcasecrime.com/

I happen to like the shadow a lot. The best way to experience the Shadow is not as a pulp or a comic book, but on the radio. However, I did very much like the Michael Kaluta comic artist version of the shadow a lot. The shadow is the best of the old style heroes in my opinion. I could never get into Doc Savage, or the Spider Master of Men. The old pulp covers are beautiful to look at.

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I took some time and looked through various bestseller lists. I put In Defense of Food: An Eater's Dilemma by Michael Pollan on hold. I found it shortly after in the new books section. I will be reading In Defense of Food on the train on the way home. His previous book, The Omnivore's Dilemmma was supposed to be quite good. Two other books I put on hold are Name of the Wind by Pat Ruthfuss and The Accidental Time Machine by Joe Haldeman. The Accidental Time Machine is a Nebula awards finalist.

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I have been thinking about grammar recently. I want to read something entertaining about grammar and usage. I know it sounds like trying to find an interesting book on ball bearings or hand soap. The only entertaining book on usage that I know of is A Dictionary of Modern English Usage, by H.W. Fowler. I know of no other complete guide to english grammar which is both light and entertaining. Preferably, a book which would complement The Elements of Style or On Writing Well. Does anyone have a suggested title?