End of the Month Review: April, 2005
Today is the memorial service for my old mentor. I�m planning on going, though I�m not sure it�s a good idea. I�ve had it in my head lately that the entire world needs to be heckled. There�s a character in the Hitchhiker�s Guide to the Galaxy series (third book) who takes upon the monstrous task of personally insulting everybody in the universe.
In alphabetical order.
I�m far too lazy for any scheme that time-consuming, so I�ll just say this:
Are you really going to wear that?
Yeah. That�ll do.
Though I haven�t heard any personal comment about it, I really need to go see Land of the Dead. And root for the zombies. Gimmie an �A!�
�Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa...�
Anyway. So I need to really try and pick up the pace on reviewing the two-month back stock, but it isn�t easy. I�m still working full time, still doing school busy work, still have no idea where I�m going to live, and free time has gone to practicing with the two bands and meeting with people that I�ll never see again. In a twenty-four hour period, I had drinks with an old girlfriend, had lunch with hot professor, and practiced with my old bass player, all of whom I had enormous crushes on at one time or another. Still do, probably.
Since I still have to get ready for the memorial service, I really need to stop typing here. But first...
- Worst book of the month: Don DeLillo, Ratner�s Star. You know a lot of words, Don, and you can put them in the proper order. So why do I feel I need a flow chart to figure out what the hell your novel is about?
- Best book of the month: Warren Ellis, Transmetropolitan: Lonely City. Because as stressed out as I am, I sure wouldn�t mind having a bowel disrupter gun of my own. I do, however, have loads and loads of chili. Wanna come over?
- Best work-related story of the month: A woman asked if we bought books. She didn�t particularly seem like a mouth breather, until I asked what genre of books she had, and then all intelligence drained out of her eyes. I reworded.
�What are your books about?� I asked.
�Oh! They�re religious books,� she answered.
�Ok, is that Western or Eastern religion?�
Her confused look grew more extreme, her mouth opening wider. She apparently didn�t know there was a difference. That usually means they have Western religion.
�So, is it about Christianity?�
�Oh! Yeah!�
�Ok, that�s a strong section. Now, do you have bible study materials, or is it more on the history of Christianity and Catholicism?�
�They�re books... that were written by people.�
As opposed to books written by fish and vacuum cleaners and aluminum siding. Which is good, because we don�t buy any of those.
Allow me to channel Charlton Heston for a moment.
�These books were written by people! PEOPLE!!!�
Oy. But the countdown goes like this. Between April 2 and May 1, I...
- Read 12 books.
- Paid $43.45 for the books that I read this month.
- Bought six more.
- Received two books as gifts.
So for the year, I...
- Read 48 books
- Spent $194.03 on books that I read this year.
And again, being as far behind as I am, AND being in the middle of selling books off and attempting to get ready to flee, I can�t tell you how many I had left at this point and time.
I can, however, tell you that I have 17 books left to read as of now. Seventeen. It�s feasible that I might be done with this stupid project just in time to leave on August 15.
If it weren�t for the 20 or so books waiting for me to buy at work.
Again, oy.
