Archive for the ‘Books’ Category

Things Fall Apart

Next up on the reading list: Things Fall Apart – Chinua Achebe

Shadow Divers

I’m currently reading “Shadow Divers” by Robert Kurson. I’ve read related books before (The Last Dive by Chowdury being the most obvious example.)

It’s spectacular. The second chapter absolutely nails the NJ wreck diving experience. For History Channel aficionados, you will likely recognize several of the names from the show “Deep Sea Detectives.”

Strongly recommend

Currently Reading

H/T: Bribo

The Terror

800 pages of “light” summer reading.

Dan Simmons accomplished something spectacular here. Consistently readable throughout, “The Terror” is a fact based story of fiction that will linger in my memory for a long, long time.

Amazon link here. Highly recommended.

H.P. Lovecraft – On Food…

I’ve always respected the author H.P. Lovecraft. In college, he was one of my favorite reads. Now learning of his opinions of various foods, my admiration grows to new heights.

On cheese:

“…preferably of the common hard variety, medium strength. I hate Roquefort, dislike cottage cheese, just tolerate Camembert and Brie, and am neutral about Limburger—which latter I’ve tasted only once, at Whitehead’s a year ago last spring…”

On spaghetti:

“Like Italian cooking very much—especially spaghetti with meat-and-tomato sauce, utterly engulfed in a snowbank of grated Parmesan cheese.”

A snowbank! Imagine that! Can’t you just see Howard now, plowing deep into a pillowy cloud of Parmesan, dreaming up his next eldritch tale?

I know I can…

On vegetables:

“Of other vegetables I like peas & onions, can tolerate cabbage & turnips, am neutral toward cauliflower, have no deep enmity toward carrots, prefer to dodge parsnips & asparagus, shun string beans & brussel sprouts & abominate spinach. I like rhubarb—& am also really fond of baked beans prepared in the ancient New England way…”

Personally, I “abominate” tomatoes. Hideous things, really.

Learn more here. Hat tip to Emma Story @ Caoine, who inspired my research.

Now Reading…

Now Reading…
Originally uploaded by Squidly.

Tuesday Links

Via Boing Boing:

Katrina Aftermath photos
A lost Russian city
Molds for growing faces on your vegetables. Ya ‘Rly.
Geek humor you probably won’t get unless you are one.
Ugly mushroom that tastes like Lemon Chicken

Via Metafilter:

12,000 Miles in a Tuk Tuk. (More here. And Here. And Here.) I want a Tuk Tuk…
151 Changes to the Empire Strikes Back

Via Digg:

My Dream App – the first 3 finalists. I think Stick-it has a chance… Recipe Manager looks hot too (if you like to cook.) For those unfamiliar with the contest, read this.
The new iMacs are in…and they’re awesome. Prices down, features up… what more could you ask for?
Do it yourself LED Mood Lamp
New 2007 cars…
Amazing (HUGE) photo of the moon. I told my daughter that the moon was made of cheese. She said “Not it’s not, it’s made of cement.” She’s kind of right…

Via Amazon:

World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War – I’m really looking forward to this one.

Via elsewhere:

Eternal Sunset – Live sunsets from around the world, via webcam.
Swarmsketch – Community drawing project, a line at a time.

Also:

I updated my blogroll and favorites (I’ll leave it to you to spot the new links), and posted a photo of my newest book, “Awol on the Appalachian Trail“. It looks to be a swift read so I’ll post a review as soon as I’m done.