3 Reviews, or When It Rains It Pours

First, Skinny Dip, by Carl Hiaasen


I read this as it came recommended. It began a bit too....mystery for me. It reminded me a lot of Janet Evanovich with a lot of wacky slapstick/falling in love in a goofy wacky predicament sort of way. But it has a lot of funny satire, so I stuck with it. I liked it a lot though it got a little slow at the end. It also had a really needless, but heartwarming subplot. I have Basket Case, also by Hiaasen, but much longer waiting in the wings. I read (listened on audiobook) to this book entirely while getting ready in the morning and getting ready for bed, which says to me I could be reading a lot more books in the meantime!


1000 Extra/Ordinary Objects


Phew! This took a looooooong time. But it was great. Each page has one or two objects that are either very average in a foreign culture or really bizarre in ours. It's a very pretty, though hefty book to look at! The religious and food sections were of course my favorite. I did detect a really odd anti-Catholicism POV in this book, and a lot of it was just in completely wrong facts about Catholic practices. It was totally weird.


A Girl and Her Money


I liked this book a lot more than other financial books I have read because it suggested some things those didn't. It was very heavy handed about going to regular medical checkups. It was really personalized and had you write down your goals and take quizzes to determine what is realistic for you to spend your money on. However it did have the usual "stop going to starbucks every day (duh) suggestions. Worse, as with many of these books, it assumes you are in debt, so the majority of it is focused on debt. And a lot of it is really stereotypical, like "Sometimes you just need those Manolo Blahniks! Giggle!"

My desperate situation

I am in a dire reading situation. Here is everything I have checked out right now:

UNIVERSITY CHECKOUTS

Zimmer, Marc. Glowing genes : a revolution in biotechnology / Marc Zimmer.
heard this guy on npr, wanna read it.

Bulgakov, Mikhail Afanas´evich, 1891-1940. Heart of a dog [by] Mikhail Bulgakov. Translated, with an introd., by Michael Glenny. Location: Undergrad 891.74 B87OSEG
one of my favorite books, want to reread

Salerno, Steve. SHAM : how the self-help movement made America helpless / Steve Salerno. Location: Main Stacks 155.2 Sa326s
sounds super interesting--found in psychology today

Cohen, Jack. Stop working & start thinking : a guide to becoming a scientist / Jack Cohen & Graham Medley ; with an introduction by Ian Stewart. Location: Main Stacks 001.42 C66s2005
Hey! Eric has this. He should give it back!

Lileks, James. Interior desecrations : hideous homes from the horrible 70's/ by James Lileks. Location: Undergrad 747.0973 L627i
it's cool looking and I have read most of it....

Rough guide to cult pop / [compiled by Paul Simpson]. Location: Undergrad 782.42166 R755
This book's so cute. I want to go through and dnld all the music it talks
about.

Casey, Robert S. Punched cards; their applications to science and industry/ Edited by Robert S. Casey [and others]. Location: Library & Information Science 651 C26P1958
I love punch card/antiquated systems and I so want to read this.

Burke, James, 1936- Pinball effect : how renaissance water gardens made the carburetor possible, and other journeys through knowledge / James Burke. Location: Main Stacks 609 B917p
I've read a bit of it. Found it on the shelf at Eric's boyhood home.

Culinary Arts Institute. Cooking magic : fabulous foods step-by-step cookbooks / Culinary Arts Institute. v.1 Location: Main Stacks 641.5 C776
This is really an intensely good picture of culture at the time it was produced. These foods are totally inedible.

Harris, Joshua. I kissed dating goodbye / Joshua Harris. Location: Main Stacks 306.73 H242i
Relevant books....thinking of reading it over xmas.

Kidwell, Peggy Aldrich Landmarks in digital computing : a Smithsonian pictorial history / Peggy A. Kidwell, Paul E. Ceruzzi. Location: Engineering 681.140973 K541L
It's on my shelf. Cool photos.

Ash, Russell. Bizarre books / Russell Ash and Brian Lake. Location: Library & Information Science New Books 016.082 As31b1998
This is bad, because it is a bibliography which will no doubt lead me to
checking out a ton more books. I am thinking of buying a copy of this book.

Goldstone, Lawrence, 1947- Used and rare : travels in the book world /Lawrence and Nancy Goldstone. Location: Library & Information Science 002.092 G578U
Heard em on NPR. haven't even looked at it

Best of Annals of improbable research / edited by Marc Abrahams. Location: Geology 502.072 B464
Oh I listened to the IgNobel Awards and requested this.

Nathan, Jean (Jean Elson) Secret life of The lonely doll : the search for Dare Wright / Jean Nathan. Location: Main Stacks 813 W9317Yn
Almost done!

D'Aluisio, Faith, 1957- Women in the material world / by Faith D'Aluisio and Peter Menzel. Location: Main Stacks Q. 305.42 D175W
Just checked this out. A coworker has it.

Abanes, Richard. One nation under gods : a history of the Mormon Church /Richard Abanes. Location: .General Collection - Basement BX8645 .A23 2002
This is huge. I doubt I will ever read it.

1000 extra/ordinary objects = 1000 extra/ordinaires objets. Location: Main Collection 030 O58m
This is about 800 pages. I am on 640.

Beal, Timothy K. (Timothy Kandler), 1963- Roadside religion : in search of the sacred, the strange, and the substance of faith / Timothy K. Beal. Location: Main Collection 203.50973 B366r
Read half of it this summer, had to return it. Hope to finish it soon.

Kirby, Doug New roadside America : the modern traveler's guide to the wild and wonderful world of America's tourist attractions / Doug Kirby, Ken Smith, Mike Wilkins. Location: Main Collection 917.3 R628B1992
Want to check out if there are any cool roadside attractions for me to see
in LA.

Kamekura, Junichi Ekiben : the art of the Japanese box lunch / Junichi Kamekura, Mamoru Watanabe, Gideon Bosker. Location: Book Stacks A-H 3000; J-L 2000; P-Z 1000 Level TX724.5.J3 K296 1989
This book makes me want to go to Japan more than anything else. I am pretty much done with this book but it's packed away so I have no returned it.

Lewis, Thomas. General theory of love / Thomas Lewis, Fari Amini, Richard Lannon. Location: Stacks 152.41 L676g
I first saw this at powells years ago. I love the cover, and the idea, but skimming through it, it did not look so good.

Michell, John F. Eccentric lives and peculiar notions / John Michell. Location: Stacks 920.02 MICHECCE1999
sitting on my desk

Miller, Alice Gail. God squad. Illus. by James G. Macdonell. Location: Stacks 259 M647G
Haven't looked at it yet.

De Sáez, Eileen Elliott. Marketing concepts for libraries and information services / Eileen Elliott de Sáez. Location: Floor 1 Shelves Z716.3 .D42 2002
I checked this out the summer before last for a class. I accidentally left it in a
friend's car when she came to visit on her way to moving to BALTIMORE. She promised she would send it to me but has not. It is officially lost.

McCracken, Elizabeth Here's your hat what's your hurry : stories / by Elizabeth McCracken. Location: Floor 6 Shelves PS3563.C35248 H471993
Heard about on NPR. Doubt I will actually read.

Baldaev, D. S. (Dantsik Sergeevich), 1925- Russian criminal tattoo encyclopaedia / [drawings and foreword [by] Danzig Baldaev ; text [by] Alexei Plutser-Sarno ; photographs [by] Sergei Vasiliev]. Location: Floor 4 Shelves HV6098 .B35 2003
I totally forgot about this. I have paged through (it's all photos) and it makes me wish I knew Russian better.

Strong, Jeff. AD/HD for dummies / by Jeff Strong and Michael O. Flanagan. Location: Floor 5 Shelves RJ506.H9 S775 2005
On my floor waiting to be returned.

Laing, Gordon. Digital retro / Gordon Laing. Location: Floor 5 Shelves QA76.5 .L3132 2004
This is such a pretty book but it requires a lot of time, which I do not have.

Jackson, Kevin, 1955- Invisible forms : a guide to literary curiosities / Kevin Jackson. Location: Floor 6 Shelves PN45.5 .J33 2000
On desk, checked out in a flurry of sideshow/oddities/ripley interest.

Davis, Martha, 1947- Relaxation & stress reduction workbook / Martha Davis, Elizabeth Robbins Eshelman, Matthew McKay. Location: Stacks RA785 .D374 2000
Friend was using this, thought I would check it out. It's by my apt. door waiting for return.

Kennedy, James Ray, 1932- Mental hygiene movement in American education / by James Ray Kennedy. Location: General Collection - Lower Level LB1091.K4661975
Just checked out. It's a thesis! Spurred on by NPR induced rekindling of interest in mental hygiene.

Shulgin, Alexander T. (Alexander Theodore) Pihkal : a chemical love story /Alexander Shulgin, Ann Shulgin. Location: NIU--Main Collection--FML BF209.H34 S584 2000
I have had this checked out FOREVER.

Menzel, Peter, 1948- Hungry planet : what the world eats / photographed by Peter Menzel ; written by Faith D'Aluisio. Location: DuPage Stacks 641.3 Men
Beautiful sequel to the Material World books. Will read soon. Found
through NPR.

Jay, Ricky. Jay's journal of anomalies : conjurers, cheats, hustlers, hoaxsters, pranksters, jokesters, imposters, pretenders, sideshow showmen, armless calligraphers, mechanical marvels, popular entertainments / RickyJay. Location: LC Oversize Books, Basement Oversize PN1583 .J375 2001
Not read, on desk. Part of the sideshow crazed ordering.

Burr, Chandler, 1963- Emperor of scent : a story of perfume, obsession, and the last mystery of the senses / Chandler Burr. Location: LC Books, Basement QP458 .B83 2002
Looks really good. Found through The Mad Professor. My copy was kept either in a lab or a kitchen because it has a lot of curious spills!


Seaman, Barrett. Binge : what your college student won't tell you : campus life in an age of disconnection and excess / Barrett Seaman. Location: Stacks LB3605 .S382 2005
Really want to read this, heard so many great things. Since I work on a Big Ten campus, I am sure it will be enlightening.

Saginor, Jennifer. Playground : a childhood lost inside the Playboy Mansion/ Jennifer Saginor. Location: Stacks HQ777.5 .S24 2005
Hey I haven't returned this?

Stout, Martha, 1953- Sociopath next door : the ruthless versus the rest of us / Martha Stout. Location: Stacks RC555 .S76 2005
Read a bit of this, then forgot about it. Will skim/finish.

Meiselas, Susan. Carnival strippers / Susan Meiselas, with essays by Sylvia Wolf and Deirdre English. Location: Books - Main Stacks PN1949.S7 M4 1976
I have no idea where this is. It's a great book tho. I think it's at GSLIS.

Dear Mr. Ripley : a compendium of curioddities from the Believe it or not! archives / compiled and edited by Mark Sloan, Roger Manley, and Michelle Van Parys. Location: Books - Main Stacks AG243 .D471993
Curioddities is a rockin word.

Hey skinny! : great advertisements from the Golden Age of comic books /[compiled by] Miles Beller & Jerry Leibowitz ; preface by Jay Chiat. Location: Books - Main Stacks PN6710 .H481995
This is great. I am half through.

Chusid, Irwin. Songs in the key of Z : the curious universe of outsider music / Irwin Chusid. Location: Books - Main Stacks ML394 .C56 2000
Haven't looked at. Forgot where I found it.

Williams, Don, 1955- Saving stuff : how to care for and preserve your collectibles, heirlooms, and other prize possessions / Don Williams and Louisa Jaggar. Location: Books - Main Stacks AM145 .W55 2005
Just checked out, haven't looked at.

Smith, Ken, 1958- Mental hygiene : classroom films 1945-1970 / Ken Smith. Location: .Circulating Shelves RA790.85.Z9 S65 1999
Just checked out. But actually after checking it out and physically seeing
it, I noticed I have read this before.

Harold, Elliotte Rusty. XML in a nutshell / Elliotte Rusty Harold & W. Scott Means. Location: .Circulating Shelves QA76.76.H94 H36 2004
On my shelf, as a reference, though I should read it.

Green, Michael, 1930- Avoiding Jesus : answers for skeptics, cynics, and the curious / Michael Green. Location: .Circulating Shelves BT1212 .G74 2005
Relevant books, want to read it, have not yet.

Kitwana, Bakari. Why white kids love hip-hop : wankstas, wiggers, wannabes, and the new reality of race in America / Bakari Kitwana. Location: Daley Library - Book Stacks ML3531 .K58 2005
Looks good, have not read.

Baker, Nicholson. Double fold : libraries and the assault on paper /Nicholson Baker. Location: Daley Library - Book Stacks Z695.655 .B35 2001
Screw paper! I got this out of some idea that it might give me some anti-paper fervor.

Comfort, Ray. God doesn't believe in atheists / Ray Comfort. Location: MainStacks - Graham Center Library BR0128 .A8 C65 1990
This is the pastor who has a ministry with Kirk Cameron. He has the
world's most non-logical atheist attack, so I really want to read this.



Requests Pending

Velvet Underground and Nico / Joe Harvard. c. 1 Requested from Lewis & Clark Comm. Coll. In transit to Univ. of Illinois-UC
33 1/3 series!

Please feed me : a punk vegan cookbook / Niall McGuirk. Requested from Univ. of Illinois-UC Expires: 07-29-05
I don't think I will ever get this. It's been put on reserves several times.

Sign 'O' the times / Michaelangelo Matos. c. 2 Requested from Columbia College In Process :
More 33 1/3

Quonset hut : metal living for a modern age / Julie Decker and Chris Chiei, editors. Requested from Northern Ill. Univ.
This is a cool book on quonset huts. I think quonset is a really cool
word. As a kid I never knew how it looked and my dad used it a lot.


Items Available

Welcome to Temptation / Jennifer Crusie.
Reading this on the train to Chicago. I love jennifer Crusie




CHAMPAIGN PUBLIC


Amish not to be modern.
too boring. I stopped watching.

The average American : the extraordinary search for the nation's most ordinary citizen /by O'Keefe, Kevin.
Found through npr. Have not read.

Basket case
recommended by friend, it's an audiobook, I have not yet read

Committed: men tell stories of love, commitment, and marriage /by Knutsen, Chris.
Got it for the Sedaris story but had already read it. By the door to be
returned.

Foxfire: 25 years /by Wigginton, Eliot.
Recommended by friend, have not read.

A girl and her money /by Durling, Sharon.
financial and investing advice. i am all about it.

Mr. Wilson's cabinet of wonder /by Weschler, Lawrence.
have wanted to read this for maybe 6 years...and I want to go to this museum when in LA.

A new way to cook /by Schneider, Sally.
Haven't read.

Permission to land by Darkness (Musical group)
LOooooove it.

Scandinavia/by Lee, Phil, 1951- and Scandinavian Europe by Harding, Paul.
I want to go to Scandanavia, so I got there.

Single: the art of being satisfied, fulfilled, and independent /by Ford, Judy, 1944-
Haven't returned this trash yet.

Skinny dip [a novel] /by Hiaasen, Carl.
Recommended by a friend. Very good so far!


HOLDS

IN
Blue like jazz : nonreligious thoughts on Christian spirituality /by Miller, Donald, 1971-
By a reedie! recommended to me by several people.

Small-batch baking : when just enough for 1 or 2-- is just enough! /by Nakos, Debby Maugans.
This looked really pretty, so I got it.


Requested items not yet available:

7th heaven by Brinckerhoff, Burt, 1936-
I love 7th heaven!

ANYONE BUT YOU - CD by Crusie, Jennifer
yay i love j. crusie!

But is it-- safe? by McPherson, Miles.
no idea what this is.

Children playing before a statue of Hercules / by Sedaris, David.
i should take this off....

Dangermouse. The complete seasons 1 & 2 the world's smallest secret agent /by Cosgrove, Brian.
One of my favorite shows as a kid.

Darkness by Belagueró, Jaume.
No idea.

Eccentric America : the Bradt guide to all that's weird and wacky in the USA /by Friedman, Jan.
More "what should I see in LA"

Emergency! Season one by Tighe, Kevin, 1944-
I used to like this show!

ER by Baer, Neal.
or maybe it was this one? with elliot gould?

ER. The complete first season by Edwards, Anthony, 1962-
I watched half the first season and love watching tv shows straight
through, so I thought I would watch this one.

ER. The complete third season by Chulack, Christopher.
I will eventually want this.

The exorcism of Emily Rose by Derrickson, Scott.
Wanted to see this in the theater, never got around to it. I am a sucker for exorcism/catholic horror movies

Extraordinary exhibitions : the wonderful remains of an enormous head, the whimsiphusicon & death to the savage unitarians : broadsides from the collection of Ricky Jay /by Jay, Ricky.
More of the oddities.

Freaks and geeks the complete series / by Cardellini, Linda, 1975-
It seems I would like this.

Frommer's irreverent guide to Los Angeles / by Spurrier, Jeff.
LA!

How to survive without a salary / by Long, Charles K.
woo financial negativity!

I am Charlotte Simmons by Wolfe, Tom.
Recommended by a friend

Left behind world at war / by Baxley, Craig R.
no idea

Los Angeles : off the beaten path / by Gould, Lark Ellen.
LA!

Lost. The complete first season by Fox, Matthew, 1966-
people are so obsessed by it I thought I would give it a try.

Monster by Kushner, Donald.
No idea.

Mythbusters: the explosive truth behind 30 of the most perplexing urban legends of all time / by Zimmerman, Keith.
I love this show!

Red dragon by De Laurentiis, Dino.
I rewatched silence of the lambs and have never seen this...

Running with scissors [a memoir] /by Burroughs, Augusten.
Augusten Burroughs is an EXCELLENT writer. I loved Dry.

Sealab 2021. Season 1,2, and 3 by Cartoon Network (Television network)
One of the few cartoon network shows that amuses me.

Seed of Chucky by Mancini, Don.
because bride of chucky was so awesome!

Sledge Hammer! Seasons one and two by Spencer, Alan.
I liked this show. Did you know Danny Elfman did the soundtrack?

Thirteen by Levy-Hinte, Jeff.
I have been meaning to rent this for a long time.

Tru calling. The complete first and second seasons by Dushku, Eliza, 1980-
I hear this is good. And I like Eliza Dushku!

Twistedby Twisted (Motion picture : 2003)
Horror! Yay!

Single

Single: The Art of Being Satisfied, Fulfilled and Independent (Paperback)
by Judy Ford


Holy crap was this book bad. I can't even think of the words. I read it because it was somehow connected with Relevant books. First, it is the sappiest of self-help. And ever three sentences is another "you're not a bad person because you are not married." Jesu Christo, does anyone really believe that they are a truly awful person because they are not married? There are many, many personal stories from this woman's life, which involve the love of her life dying unexpectedly (which is totally awful, and I could see how horrible that could be) and then, because of her sadness, her quickly marrying some horrible guy just so as to not be single. I understand the idea of telling people not to make your mistakes, but it's kind of hard to hear "you're not awful because you're single" from someone who might do this! It also has a whole section on how not to feel bad because you are not married IN YOUR 20s! I have to stop myself from yelling out religious expletives AGAIN in this entry. Seriously, that is INSANE!

Okay perhaps this all comes down to my "marriage is for suckas" upbringing (not necessarily my personal opinion, just the opinion of every person in my family since all of them are divorced/separated), but all this cultural pressure that's like "get married when you're 24!" is insane. Not everyone who gets married young is wrong, but most people who are 24 don't even know how to live by themselves, let alone with someone else FOREVER. Sadly, I think the author would AGREE with me, yet her desperate "don't feel bad" is paranoia inducing. So, so awful.

NOTE: this book is not sold by powells.com, which makes me once again rejoice in what a great store powells is.

Material World

Material World



Man this book is so good. It is beautiful and painful and humbling and awesome.

The author recently wrote "Hungry Planet" and I requested it after hearing about it on NPR. A coworker who likes a lot of the books I get asked if I had read this one, his previous work, and lent it to me. The concept is that a photographer lives with the statistically average family in different countries for a week, and finally takes a photo of them with the majority of their worldly possessions outside their home. The American family is a hardcore Baptist family in Texas. One of the best parts is a little blurb by the photographer about their experience. The Bosnian family and the Iraqi family are particularly heartbreaking. The grandmother in the Bosnian family hasn't ventured outside in years because they live in a warzone. She comes out to take the photo and ends up happily talking with people she has not seen in a long time. The Iraqi instance was the only one where the government of the country chose which family the book could use. The photographer mentions that although the family was great, it was the most frustrating experience ever, since the government told her what she could and could not take pictures of. One of her photos, of a woman all in black in a bombed out, blackened hull of a basement with funeral flower wreaths all around was completely not explained, but among the most beautiful pictures I have ever seen. I spent some time trying to find an online version, or at least a contact for the photographer as to how to purchase the photo with no luck. There is no explanation of the photo, unlike most of those in the book, but it's great. As is the rest of this book. Sometimes you can read a thousand articles, but pictures like these really show the difference. I also combed the author's website for info on what happened to this family, but could find no info.

Heart Full of Lies: A True Story of Desire and Death

Heart Full of Lies: A True Story of Desire and Death
by Ann Rule



After reading "Green River, Running Red" which I found hard to put down, I was excited to read another Ann Rule book. Sadly, this one kinda sucked. First, you knew who the murderer was the whole time, and she kills her husband. She doesn't go on some crazy emotional spree. It was just pretty boring. I know this sounds kind of coldhearted, since the book is about real people and all, but I love true crime because the killers are so off the wall. And I like the mystery aspect of "who is the killer?" In this book, you know who the killer is, and she's not insane, she's just kind of a big liar who wants money. Wow, that's unique.

Well I have also checked out Rule's "Bitter Harvest," so hopefully that's better!

Party Like A Rockstar!

Party Like a RockStar: Even When You're Poor as Dirt

I have to say that much of this book was exactly how I was able to eat and have fun while unemployed. I enjoyed it because it advocated illegal and distasteful things that I support, like rummaging through medicine cabinets and stealing the fun drugs. On the other hand, it also told you that if you have a party, you should hide your fun drugs, because people will steal them. That seems like excellent advice. There was info on getting free drinks from bartenders and crashing parties. I would not sat that the info would make you like a rockstar (because rockstars can pay for drinks), but it's all useful info. If I knew someone graduating from college, I would totally buy them this book. It's probably a LOT more useful if you live in a larger city, but one of my favorite parts of the book is that it gives you search terms and explains how to use quotations in web searches. That made the librarian in me very happy.