Just in case you don’t know, Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by A Daily Rhythm. Anyone can play along! All you have to do is grab the book you’re currently reading, open to a random page and share two sentences from that page. But make sure you don’t share any spoilers!*
*I wish I could take credit for this introduction, but I shamelessly stole it from Heather over at bitsnbooks. To help me make amends, you should go check out her blog.
This week I’m reading The Long Mars by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter, the third (and most likely final) installment of the Long Earth series. I’ve only read the first few pages, but it already appears to be a significant improvement over the other two.
Enough chatter; you want the teaser! Happy to oblige:
Well, there are plenty of contingencies we couldn't
survive at all. A massive enough meteor strike.
In Retrospect
I gave last week’s read The Art of Asking by Amanda Palmer 5 out of 5 stars; I’d give more if I could. I’m actually working on writing a review to post here and on Goodreads – unlike the review for Republic of Pirates, which I still haven’t gotten around to . . .
The Seven Deadly sins may bring to mind one of two things.
For Catholics (and several other religious denominations), the phrase refers those faults that may or may not send one directly to Hell without passing Purgatory or collecting $200. Although thirty pieces of silver may be an option, I hear the gift shop is terrible.
For the more musically-minded, the phrase might plant an earworm:
Sail away where no ball or chain
Can keep us from the roarin' waves
Together undivided but forever we'll be free
So sail away aboard our rig
The moon is full and so are we
We're seven drunken pirates
We're the seven deadly sins
Of course, the two are not mutually exclusive. Anyway, Heather over at bitsnbooks recently posted her Seven Deadly Sins of Reading; being tagged by proxy, here is my own list:
LUST: a strong sexual desire
What attributes do you find most attractive in male (or female) characters?
Intelligence and strength of will. This means I often find myself sympathizing with the antagonists of a story rather than the intended protagonist.
Gustave Doré Francesca and Paolo
GLUTTONY: intense over indulgence
What book have you devoured over and over with no shame?
The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri
The Discworld novels by Sir Terry Pratchett
Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Space Trilogy by C.S. Lewis
Third Circle illustrated by Stradanus
GREED: an intense and selfish desire for something
What is your most expensive book?
I’m not sure; there are several contenders:
A large coffee table book on Raphael
A leather and gold edition of 100 Decisive Battles from Ancient Times to Present
Several turn-of-the-last-century encyclopedias and almanacs (valuable for their prints)
Gustave Doré The Hoarders and Wasters
SLOTH: a reluctance to work or make an effort
What book have you neglected to read due to laziness?
Until recently that distinction would go to To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. It was the only book I’d ever lied about reading, too.
Now, I’m probably neglecting Atonement by Ian McEwan; it’s been on my Currently Reading list since January and I haven’t even cracked the cover.
Gustave Doré The Slothful
WRATH: extreme anger
What author do you have a love/hate relationship with?
Nicholas Sparks in that I love to hate him. Lacking originality, his books are highly predictable; never mind the fact that he’s literally sold the exact same story many times over.
Fifth Circle illustrated by Stradanus
ENVY: a feeling of discontented or resentful longing aroused by someone else’s possessions, qualities or luck
What book would you most like to receive as a gift?
Anything signed by Tolkien, Lewis, Pratchett, or Dante (good luck with that last one!)
Gustave Doré The Envious
PRIDE: satisfaction derived from one’s own achievements or from qualities or possessions that are most widely admired
What books do you talk about most in order to sound like an intellectual reader?
Even though it will be Wednesday when this finally posts. You know how things keep piling up . . .
Just in case you don’t know, Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by A Daily Rhythm. Anyone can play along! All you have to do is grab the book you’re currently reading, open to a random page and share two sentences from that page. But make sure you don’t share any spoilers!*
*I wish I could take credit for this introduction, but I shamelessly stole it from Heather over at bitsnbooks. To help me make amends, you should go check out her blog.
Last night I started Amanda Palmer’s Art of Asking. I was just going to grab two sentences and ended up reading the first 64 pages; I only stopped because I had to sleep sometime and I really did need to make it to work on time this morning. That’s how good it is. Now I’m going to break my own rules and share not two but three sentences:
Here's the thing: all of us come from some place
of wanting to be seen, understood, accepted,
connected.
Every single one of us wants to be believed.
Artists are often just . . . louder about it.
If that doesn’t spark your interest, bear in mind that Amanda Palmer herself retweeted my library run to get her book:
How many authors would do that?
In Retrospect
I awarded last week’s book Republic of Pirates 3 out of 5 stars. I’m still working on writing a review; stay tuned to Goodreads!
Word of the Week certainly fits the mold of a regular feature.
Last week’s word was discovery. This week’s word is . . .
LOSS
Late last week, my sister posted to my Facebook:
Truly the end of an era, people are wondering who will supply their dinner rolls and cookies with frosted faces and donuts and cakes and – most importantly – lebkuchen.
However, all is not lost. There are rumors the bakery will be bought – property, machines, expertise – and the tradition continue. In addition, I received a parcel:
Three Lebkuchen! Thanks, Mom!
I’m not as desperate financially able as the woman who cleared out her freezer and ordered fifty dozen lebkuchen.
FIFTY DOZEN
At ten dollars per dozen, that’s quite a bit of dough.
Pun intended.
Then there’s the loss the world is talking about:
Sir Terry Pratchett
I doubt there’s anything I can say here that hasn’t been said elsewhere.
I have no story of how I met him or saw him or received an autographed book as a gift. Nevertheless, he influenced my life in ways few authors have. In those terms, he’s part of my Triad:
Dante
Tolkien
Pratchett
His books have been out since the early eighties, but I only discovered the Disc in 2008 or so with the Hogfather DVD American release. Having loved the film, I tracked down the book; looking back, it may not be the best introduction to Discworld, but I was hooked. Soon most extra money went to purchasing more of Pratchett’s works, and I found myself emotionally invested in Rincewind and Granny Weatherwax and Gythia Ogg and Havelock Vetinari and Sam Vines and Moist von Lipwig and DEATH.
As Iain Sutherland wrote on the change.org petition that DEATH return Sir Terry:
Terry Pratchett turned Death from a figure of hate into a much loved and sometimes welcomed character. No-one else cared about you Death.
You owe him!
I’ve never cried about the death of a celebrity or other public figure . . . until now.
And the more I thought about it, the more I realized I was crying not as much for Sir Terry, but for the end of the Disc.
Does that make me selfish?
I’ll never understand why I’m such a selfish man.
Sir Terry’s death also makes me angry.
Angry for the loss of literary wonder.
Angry at the Alzheimer’s that took him far too early.
Angry at the unfairness of it all.
Another petitioner on change.org wrote
It is like when you lose that relative who you didn’t know very well, but they helped you get through some really tough time and you always meant to call or write, and now it’s too late.
It’s times like these that make us wonder what makes it all worthwhile. Sir Terry had the answer:
“I meant," said Ipslore bitterly, "what is there
in this world that truly makes living worthwhile?"
Death thought about it.
CATS, he said eventually. CATS ARE NICE.”
When it comes down to it, I just don’t know what to say. So I’ll read instead, savoring every line and turn of phrase and share the ones that speak to me. Because although Sir Terry is gone,
No one is actually dead until the ripples
they cause in the world die away.
We interrupt Photography 101 to bring you a feature new to Running In My Head:
Teaser Tuesday
What is Teaser Tuesday? I’m glad you asked!
Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by Should Be ReadingA Daily Rhythm. Anyone can play along! All you have to do is grab the book you’re currently reading, open to a random page and share two sentences from that page. But make sure you don’t share any spoilers!*
*I wish I could take credit for this introduction, but I shamelessly stole it from Heather over at bitsnbooks. To help me make amends, you should go check out her blog.
Anyway, of the books I’m currently reading, Republic of Pirates by Colin Woodard is closest at hand, so here are two random sentences:
By some accounts, she lost her mind during her
incarceration, and (with the possible assistance of
the Devil) escaped to live a hermit's life on the
stark tablelands above the Atlantic beach.
There she roamed, scaring children, searching for
Bellamy, and bringing nasty storms down on
passing mariners, hobbies that earned her the
epithet Sea Witch of Billingsgate . . .
If you want to know more, follow my Goodreads account and get notified when I give it a rating or review!
With each photography prompt I find myself pondering what things mean to people rather than their dictionary definitions.
The last few days had me considering home, street, and water.
Today’s assignment was far easier:
I’m well aware of the irony in using a dictionary definition considering what I just said.
Bliss. Definitely not a simple word.
Some say that ignorance is bliss, or that bliss is a state of mind.
Google claims I can find bliss in cupcakes.
Now, I’ve had some good cupcakes, but not that good.
So what brings me perfect happiness or great joy?
Being with my wife.
But since both she and I are quite particular about sharing personal information – especially images – you’ll just have to settle for the second-most blissful thing in my life.
Or rather, a collection of things:
Coffee and Books = Instant Gratification Moxie = Future Gratification
Just in case you don’t know, Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by 
Running In My Head 