Robert Asprin

I had been meaning to post about this a couple of weeks ago but have been so busy trying to read my ever expanding list of nominees/suggestions that I haven't had a spare moment to blog. I am still a Twittering fool in part because I can do that on my phone while standing in line at the grocery store and in part, because it is addictive. Right now I am reading a 811 page book about the Mitfords. Next up, the positively tiny 500 pager about Picasso.

Anyway, when I am not reading literary fiction and non-fiction for a book award, I am reading a mixture of mystery, romance, westerns and anything else you can think of, including Science Fiction. My favorite SF are space operas and humorous SF and fantasy. One of my favorite humorous authors was Robert Asprin, who passed away on May 22, 2008. This means that there will be no more Myth Adventures which makes me very sad indeed.

This is a light frothy fun series with a wanna be magician/thief named Skeeve, a demon from Perv named Aahz. Now, anything with a character named Perv is bound to be good but truthfully, the main attraction for me was the clever banter and lord knows, I am a sucker for clever banter. After the June award meeting I may have to take a little break and finish off the last few (or possibly re-read the entire series) to cleanse the palette for my next round of weighty tomes.

Cabin Pressure by Josh Wolk

This is one of those books where a 30-something, realizing he is now a "grown-up", has a panic attack and tries to relive his childhood. In this case, writer Josh Wolk, is getting married and entering the grown-up world at last. He decides that he wants to go back and be a camp counselor at his beloved childhood summer camp once before embarking on the adventure of being a grown-up. Being a writer, he has the flexiblity to take the summer and sign on as a camp counselor and so he goes back and does just that.

Josh is one of those kids who never quite fit in as a child. He was exceptionally tall, a little too smart and gawky in a way that did not make him shine in sports. This camp, a non-competitive, boys only camp, lived in his memory as a place where he came into his own and even shone. Going back, he relives both the good and bad parts of his camp days. This was funny book (I particularly enjoyed his phone conversations with his wedding-stressed fiance) and made a nice change from exploring 9/11 angst.

10 Things To Do Before I Die...

OK it was really slow in the library last night so I played Dan's game.... kinda.

Before I Die I Want To:

1. Write the great American novel, or better yet, an incomprehensible "experimental" novel that will cause me to be hailed as a genius in my lifetime.
2. Take flying lessons, possibly even in a plane.
3. Take scuba lessons so I can swim in the coral reef in Australia before it's gone.
4. Become an Archaeologist, go on a dig and carry a whip, or maybe just carry a whip.
5. Go bowling in Canada
6. Learn enough Spanish so that the next time I go to Honduras I can have an actual conversation with the cute Latin hottie.
7. Fall in love and live happily ever after with (without actually dating) a hot guy who treats me like the princess I am or, option 2: become the crazy (better make that eccentric) lady on the corner with the cats.
8. Have 7 kids or 17 cats, or possibly not any of the above.
9. Live in another country for a year in a quirky house with charming sidekicks who adopt me and show me the "real" country or, go visit friends for an extended visit and have them give me the short version.
10. Sing Karaoke (hey, I have an awesome voice, I just have an irrational fear of Karaoke.)