Paddy's Wanderings

Then & Now ~ LotR

That is the cover from my first copy of Lord of the Rings, bought at the bookstore in the mall, way back in 7th grade, a.k.a. 1978. Crazy as it seems, I still have that dog eared copy. Even crazier, I say the first copy because I have two other paperback versions and a swanky leather bound hardcover of all three books in one.

I also saw all three movies in the theater and have the swanky extended version book case DVD's. I guess that qualifies as a fan. I have miniatures, action figures, all kinds of stuff from the Hobbit as well as all the other writings. I have passed on that fascination to the older boys and now it is the techno-kid's turn.

The other day I was wanting to watch the second part of Return of the King because, well, I love the scene where the Riders of Rohan charge down on to the Fields of Pellinor. Awesome scene right there with an awesome performance from the actors. Go Eowyn! Well I was watching and the t-k wandered into the bedroom and stayed and watched it with me.

Now, he has seen parts of the trilogy before, but he never really seemed to get into it, until that day. So we started the series from the begining and, over the weekend, watched it all. He even made me watch the end, you know, the part where all lovers of Hobbits get all teary eyed. Yeah well, he turns to me and with big crocodile tears says, 'Dad, that is so sad Frodo has to leave.'

Not to miss an opportunity to discuss the literary merits of one of my favorite stories, I asked him if he knew why Frodo was leaving. He says 'Well, Frodo had the ring and it was bad and it still hurts him, so if he goes with the Elves, he will get better. He can't stay with his friends, but thats ok, they are safe now.'

The t-k is six years old and of course, has not read the books, but he gets it. I can not wait until he is older and reads the books, and he can read the scouring of the Shire. Then he will really get it. He'll probably start spitting fire, especially when the beloved Party Tree gets chopped down. I admit, I look forward to that day because we then can discuss it all in detail.

But, he gets the gist of it already, and that is truly amazing. It is a powerful story, and the movies, albeit not perfect, do a good job of telling the story. I have read a bit of the Fellowship of the Ring to him, but I think he is much like me, impatient when someone reads to them. Soon though, very soon he will be able to tackle ye olde tome on his own. The Red Book! There and Back Again!

I can hardly wait. I remember the older bros enjoying the story a great deal, both in book and movie form. To say I am excited about the upcoming Hobbit movie is an understatement. We shall all enjoy the continuing stories of the beloved Hobbits and the good guys and bad guys of fair Middle Earth. As a wee lad I was enthralled, still am as an adult. The beauty of it all is, the kiddos are just as enamored as I am.

That, is cool.

Happy Hobbit Trails

 

 

 

Four Book Stores

So I went to four different independent book sellers this past weekend, purchased a book from each too. Why do I bring this up? Because with big chains dropping like flies, the little guys and gals, the mom & pop stores, become even more important. Besides, this is nothing new for me, I find the best books in those kind of places.

So Many Books, So Little Time:I have been here many times over the years. It is a small, crowded store filled with so many books, there are piles on the floor in front of the shelves. The titles are in, and I quote, 'roughly alphabetical order by author and or title, in more or less genre sections, books in piles on the floor are not.' Located in downtown Traverse City on Front street, they sell new & used books at great prices, and are always on the lookout for new titles. They do not have a website and use a circa 1950's adding machine to ring up purchases. I bought The Complete Book of Swords by Fred Saberhagen, a book I read as a youth for $3.50.

Brilliant Books: A very nice book store in Suttons Bay that sells new books and has a great selection. I discovered this place over two years ago and keep going back. It is an old building filled with some interesting titles all stacked neatly on wooden shelves. The hard wood floor slopes a bit and creaks, adding to the charm. Oh and watch out for the screen door, it snaps close behind you with a loud bang! They do have a website, click here and all the accoutrements of an upscale store, computer and all. I bought Zero History by William Gibson, a couple years ago I got Spook Country there.. must be some kind of pattern recognition going on there.

Dog Eared Pages: A very nice book store in Northport that has moved around the village a few times over the years to it's present location, a charming old building filled with slanting wooden floors that creak and the smell of old, old books. They sell new, used and rare books there, the rare books being ensconced in old roll top desks and curio cabinets. The smell of old books is ambrosia and I did not mind the temperature one bit. Mind you watch the big dog sleeping in the front room, he looks like a rug, but is in fact, just an old dog who moves very little. Couldn't blame him, it must have been over a hundred in there, but I did find a gem. They do not have a website or anything fancy ether, just a lot of cool books. I bought Roughing It by Mark Twain, a book I once owned but never finished and somehow lost.

Horizon Books: Located on Front street in downtown Traverse City, Horizons was once the old J.C. Penney store but today houses a huge variety of books, children's stuff, a coffee bar and downstairs, in the magazine section next to a second coffee bar is a small stage for local performers, jazz, local author signings, you name it. Very bright, filled with everything from  Curious George to WWII History books and all points in between. I have been going there for years and have bought some fantastic books there. This time, I bought a copy of Wizard's First Rule by Terry Goodkind. Yeah I read the first book years ago, lost it and finally decided to re-read the series. You gotta start somewhere, may as well start again. They do have a website, here.

A pretty good day if you ask me. Sure I like eBooks and all that, but I do love old, independent book stores. I shop there often. I passed on the Borders sale, figured I had already hit for the cycle and my day was done. I did stop at the Leland Book Store but did not find anything. They were having an author signing which was cool, but alas, a book on the history of the western Michigan coastline, while very cool, was not in the budget.

Thats the thing about these kind of places, the hidden treasures, their unwavering support for authors, big and small, and their true love of all things books. This seperates them out from the big chains, where angst filled teens boringly punch in the numbers for your purchase, or make the latest, greatest mocha whatever. It is just not the same.

The lady at Dog Eared asked if wanted a cup of joe, she had sugar and cream. I passed, it was a bit hot for that. Nothing fancy there, and the coffee was free. Kinda cool if you ask me. The lady at So Many asked if I had any books I wanted to trade, she was always on the look out for more titles.

The fella at Brilliant said he appreciated the business a great deal, and pointed to the sign on the counter. They have a deal with online eBook sellers, if you use their name when you purchase, they get 5%. I will remember that, for sure. Horizons? Oh we spent so much we upgraded our card and got 10% off for the next year. I hope to get there before that runs out.

What these places have in common is that one thing. You know, what Curly from City Slickers said (and I paraphrase a bit here) Only one thing in life matters, that one thing. You gotta figure it out, but once you do, the rest don't mean shit.' These folks figured it out, do that one thing, and do it well.

Well enough that an interent junky like myself(who often buys eBooks), who has a Borders(soon to be closed true) a B&N and all the big box stores within five minutes, will drive 2 1/2 hours north and spend one of the hottest days in recent memory driving(at $4 a gallon for gas) all over and swelter in non air conditioned stores and really shop(guys dont shop, this guy will in a book store) and talk to the proprietors and enjoy the experience, so much so in fact that, in limited fashion on an obscure little blog, will prate on and on about a day filled with the smell of old books, creaky wooden floors, and people who love their trade to the point of manic obsessiveness with the glory of the old fashioned store.

That, my fellow wanderers, is doing that one thing right.

This is why I wander.

 

 

 

Surfing the Babel Infocalypse

Have you read Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson?

No? I can wait. Take your time, it is pretty good and you'll enjoy it.

Ok then, either you have read it, or just read it, or think I am a nut job. Either way, you're still reading or maybe not. I am still going to go on and on. The beauty of a blog is I can add to the (babel) of info and at some point, someone, somewhere, will read along with me. Call me crazy.

What drives this book and makes it one of my favorites.. yes I am reading it again, for the 3rd time right now(maybe its three, maybe its more, I dont know), is the language, or rather, the use of language. The future setting(it is SF and cyberpunk to the core~or maybe post-cyberpunk, whatever..) is interesting, but not what drives the story. The story drives the story. In other words, the narrative is extremely compelling.

What is the story about you ask? I don't know, not really. The man character, Hiro Protagonist discovers a religous cult who is sporeading the drug snow crash, to take over the world. I think. Maybe. Snow Crash is a drug that affects not only the Metaverse(read the internet as visualized in virtual reality) but a person's Reality, and how the two interface. The crazy old white dude trying to take over the world syndrome is present and the 'bad guy'.

What the story explores(back in 1992) is the explosion of information and the use of the internet as an escape from boring Reality. After all Hiro is a hacker, but he gathers info and downloads it into the library in the hopes that people will access it and hence he makes money off that info. He also lives in a storage unit in Reality and at the begining of the novel is a high speed pizza delivery driver. But he shines in the Metaverse and at times, seems more real, more then some poor schmuck out of work programmer living in a storage unit with a wannabe rock star.

It is the dance of Reality and Metaverse, the switch between what really is real, and what matters in a life that makes cyberpunk so fascinating. Read the book, get confused and wonder what the hell it is all about, then let me know. I have no idea what it is all about, but the writing and the language rock, the story is hip and I have no idea what I am talking about here, So read it, clue me in.

Happy Wanderings

 

Reviewing YOUNG JUNIUS

Three months ago, I got my copy of Young Junius and was thrilled. I could not wait to dig into it and explore that world. Alas, life gets in the way and one thing led to another and before I knew it, time slipped by. A new job will do that. ..sigh...

So my reading has taken a hit and it irritates me like you cannot imagine. Finally, I got to sit down and read Young Junius by Seth Harwood. Go to that link right there if you have not already and take a gander at that world. You will be amazed.

I am not a trained reviewer, just some schmuck who reads, a lot. I know what I like, and what I don't. I like this novel for many reasons. The pace is quick and sharp, just like the language. The characters are compelling and as a reader, you can really get into them. The story has a feel of 'you are there' to it.

What really does it for me? I finished the story and wanted more from that world. It is a story, a place, a time that sticks with you after you close the book. That makes it good in my opinion, very good. Unlike other stories that are forgettable, this story is not, by any means.

If you want to read more, go to the website link, see what Seth Harwood is all about, what he writes, what he does. You can even get the low down on the story line, listen to podcasts about Junius, even read the story itself. Then, if you're like me, you'll get pulled right in and get a copy and get lost in that world for awhile.

No spoilers here, take a taste before you buy. I have no doubt you will like it as much as I did.

 

Young Junius in da box!

That my friends, is the coolest thing. I ran into Seth Harwood via Twitter a year ago and bought a copy of his short story collection A Long Way from Disney, and was hooked. I have listened to his podcasts and dig all of his writing. So when he posted up a chance to get a signed hardcopy, hot off the press, of Young Junius if you pre-order it, well then.. I jumped at it. Big time.

The mail was pretty schweet today pally, groovy schweet. Oh sure I listened to the podcasts and even read the first chapter online at Seth's website, you can do that here. But the heft of the tome is in my hands and well, I am going to devour this puppy cause the tidbits I have gobbled up so far have just whet the appetite.

Thats the cover right there. Now if you want a copy, and after reading a chapter for free and digging around on the website, you are going to want to, why then, here is a handy link. Pre-order at Amazon here, or go to your local bookstore and ask them to order it for you. I know B&N will do that no problem and any independant book seller would be more than happy to do so as well.

I am going to go read my hard cover, and enjoy it. No, I don't know how it ends, I specifically stopped listening to podcasts and reading online, just so I could get the whole shebang of a new book read when it got here. The story will grab you and believe me, it was hard to not want to keep listening and reading and the like. Now its here, now I am going to read it all. When I am done, I will post up a review here.

Did I mention I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply when I took it out of the box? It has that lovely, straight off the press, fresh book smell. Call me weird, but it is fantastic. Off to read, have fun out there.

 

Love a Book

Welcome fellow wanderers. I think you may all know what the book is all about. If not, why then wiki is your friend and go here. Allow me folks, to ramble on a bit about Fahrenheit 451 and related topics.*

I was doing research today on an article and there is an exhibit about book burning coming to the Castle Museum here in Saginaw. This is my brief article. And.. coming from the world of one thing leads to another.. I got to thinking about the topic of book burning and what not.

I read this story way back in my high school days and this story had a profound effect on me. A story about a 'fireman' who burns books because they are outlawed? I was fascinated. At the same time, I got a bit of history on the Nazis burning books in the 1930's. I had also just read Night by Elie Wiesel. About the same time, I had read about students burning Beatles records in the 1960's over the John Lennon controversial statement about religion.

Hopefully you are clicking the links so you can understand how convoluted my mind is. So then, what does it all mean? To me, it is all about personal freedoms. Freedom of speech is important to me. As a teenager I learned some very valuable lessons and this was one of them. I was fortunate enough to have a good education and a boat load of curiosity. Good thing too.

The internet is a powerful tool to gather information. I like to take that and go find a good book on a subject. Thankfully, I have the freedom to do just that and if I wander long enough, and far enough, I can find all kinds of good things. It is not about drop acid, not bombs. If you want to free your mind, burn wood, not books.

Education is a life long passion. Curiosity is a cool cat. Today is a good day. I got to expand my knowledge on an important subject. Wandering is a good thing.

*As a side note, from the world of the truly ironic, some school districts have banned Fahrenheit 451. Ray Bradbury is chuckling, I have no doubt.

The Dark Journeys Collection is Here!

The Collection is here! You can get a copy at Jenny's website. I followed the Blog Tour, I bought the individual stories and I am buying the collection for the 'extra' story. Why? It is simple, the stories are good, very good. There is something for everyone in the collection, horror, fantasy, science fiction(Black Velveteen rawks! ~ had to say that again!) and for three buckeroos?

It is a deal beyond all deals. I have paid 8 bucks for a mag and got one story that didn't suck, it wasn't great, it just didn't suck. Yeah.. So I am serious when I say you will find a story that knocks your socks off and the writing is top notch. Read some of the excerpts, take a stroll through the site and check out the book, then buy a copy if you find a story you like if you have not already done so.

Happy Reading!

She'll Always be Dana to Me

I know what you just did, you went.. whoaa.. Paddy, wtf? You are putting a picture of a book by a rapper, Queen Latifah no less, on your blog? Why? I like to wander, remember? And this is part of that whole a little bit of everything, and then some.

Let me just say this, I think Queen Latifah is cool. She has a book out and I am grabbing a copy. Last night I was watching her interview on Larry King Live and she rocked it. How cool is she? If you google queen, she is at number three, behind Victoria and Elizabeth, and that is pretty neato.

This woman can sing, you ever listen to The Dana Owens Album where she sings soul and jazz?? NO? Well go take a listen, I can wait.. no really, go listen, she can sing! Okay I took a listen and I still dig her voice. I am not big on rap so that part of her career is meh to me, but by all accounts she is considered pretty sharp there as well.

She was awesome in Chicago! Oh right.. you did not know I like musicals? or musical theater? Well I do, I like that kind of stuff a lot. Chicago is great and she rocked that part. She has done a lot of movies and TV and she always delivers.

But what is cool, why I really like her? She is genuine. I like that about people, movie star, rapper, what ever a person may do, I like straight forward people. She seems that way. No doubt she has talent in a wide variety of creative endeavors and she has had some success and still has her feet on the ground.

I am a fan of just not a movie star, or singer, or writer, but a person who is.. a real person. If you are not a fan, you should take a close look, you may just think I am not so crazy after all..

and remember.. when your good to Mama, she'll be good to you..

Surfing The Dark Side

Today is release day! I have been chatting about the release of From The Dark Side:A Charity Anthology for awhile now, so lets just get to where you can snag a copy. You can purchase a copy at Amazon or Smashwords for $4.99. This is for charity with the money going to The Offices of Letters and Light to help promote creativity and literacy in children, you know, the folks who do NaNoWriMo.

The authors donated their stories and poems and Jennifer Hudock, awesome editor at large, put in a ton of effort to put this book together. At over 56,000 words, that is a whole lot of story and poetry in this baby. I am pleased to say I have a poem in there, nestled amongst some damn fine writers and their poetry and stories. 

It is easy to read an electronic copy. You can download Kindle for PC or Mac from Amazon, it is free and I use it all the time-works awesome. Or, you can get any number of formats from Smashwords, including a pdf, if you would prefer to read it that way.

Folks inside...

• David Sobkowiak

• Drew Beatty

• Nicole Godin

• James Melzer

• Patrick Pillars

• Jennifer Williams

• Acadia Einstein

• Mark BurningHawk Baxter

• Keith Dugger

• Jason Warden

• Jake Bible

• Nicole Ireland

• Jacqueline Roth

• Joseph Bowley

• Pearce Kilgour

• Jim Ryan

• Kate Sherrod

• Josh Crummer

That is some awesome there! And you know, I am not forgetting Jenny, she worked her butt off, go check out her website, she put a lot of work into this project. You know, working with writers is a lot like herding cats, so big kudos to her. So click on those names up there, check out those folks, they have some good stuff available on their sites, a lot of it for free, and enjoy.

Surfing Tattoo

Long story short. When I transferred stuff from the desktop to the lap top, along came my KindleforPC stuff and it got 'lost' on the laptop. So I am catching up on all the cool stuff I bought. Tattoo by Mr. Cooley is one of the gems that was hiding in my queue.

I dig this story on a lot of levels. I like crime/detective stories and if done well, thriller/psychological horror will turn my crank, so to speak. Tattoo does that. I am not going to give a synopsis, it is a bit of a mystery after all. But if you like a good story, then you will dig this tale, no doubt about it. Not to give anything away, but I though Nigel was a cool character. You know, the kind of character that is a 'character' and is the perfect supporting role. I dig good supporting characters..

Here is the blurb right from Smashwords..

Scars. They remind us who we are, what we are and where we have been. But when a scar takes away your identity, what would you do to get it back? Jackson, a journalist in Houston, discovers links between several murders that have taken place in his city. His investigation draws him into the world of body art where he discovers an obsession worth killing for. (This book contains content that may not be suitable for young readers 17 and under.)

Surf on over and say hi to the FiendMaster himself at ShadowPublications. You can also pick up a copy at Amazon and Smashwords for .99 cents and that, my fellow wanderers, is a deal at twice the price.