Winter is Coming

The temperatures are cooler and the nights are getting crisp. The leaves that have survived this dreadful summer are beginning to take a well deserved rest.

September is almost over, and good riddance! September is, by far, the busiest month in the library IT world. That's not a bad thing, but it sure does make you feel worn out. Maybe it has to do with back-to-school but I think I have dealt with more wireless access issues, document recovery emergencies, and printer fiascos this month than than I have the 3 previous months combined. On top of that, the end of September means the grand finale of the library's outstanding OneRead program, which I am happy and honored to help out with despite the stress and gray hairs it causes. Tonight is the Skype videoconference with Téa Obreht, author of this year's selection, The Tiger’s Wife. Tomorrow night will be the Balkan Folk Dance which, you will all be pleased to know, I will not be a participant.

As busy I have been at work, I have not been able to read as much as I'd like to. Unfortunately that tends to lead to a decrease in reading at home as well. We have been pretty diligent about reading to Emma though, which will be increasingly important as she gets older, she will be 6 months old next week!

I have been thinking about taking a short adjournment from the non-fiction action, call it a Fall break. I was just starting Game of Thrones Book 3 when I became sidetracked with the whole having a baby thing. This weekend may be my last chance of doing that. Starting next week our weekends are going to start getting busy with family coming into town and vacation trips that will lead right up to the start of Santa season, and then I can say goodbye to my free time until the end of the year. 

I've determined that reading about Global Warming and the British History at the same time is not a good idea. Not say each of those subjects are uninteresting, far from it, but they can get a little dry. maybe I should look up a book on Salsa Dancing or Arc Welding to liven things up a bit?

Star of the show

It occurred to me that even though the goal of this project, and this blog, is to create a natural reading environment for my daughter, I have posted very little about Miss Em herself. So, let me take time out from my current reading adventures (which, sadly, have hit a bit of slow spot as I navigate my British History book) and remedy that by posting some pictures of 5-month-old Emma.

Mom reads 'On The Night You Were Born' by Nancy Tillman

Miss Em, watching football with dad

Rockin her Mizzou gear

I'm very excited about this weekend, as my Yavin-4-rebel-base-man-cave will see some action when an old-school Nintendo hangout occurs. Rumors swirl that a copy of Tecmo Bowl has been uncovered . . . 

What is this new devilry?

I had one goal this weekend: finish my Hunter S. Thompson book, Hey Rube.

I was planning on spending all weekend with it, watching football and reading has become one of my new favorite hobbies. My plans were ruined, however, when I took my book to job #2 Saturday and finished it during my lunch break.

Which left me in a very unusual position of spending the rest of my weekend without a non-fiction book. I left my other current selection, The Story of Britain by Rebecca Fraser, at work and, as it turns out I have no other non-fiction selections at home. Shameful, I know.

I was good for a while, but after the emotional roller-coaster that was the Arizona State @ Mizzou game Saturday night, where my Tigers won by the skin of their secondary, I needed a fix. Not reading was actually affecting my state of mind. I had to read something, things just weren't the same. My options were to wait it out till Monday or read some fiction, which I have an abundance of at the house.

Running out of Non-Fiction, a demon of the ancient world.

Here is my issue, if I start a Fiction book, I'll want to finish it. I have a Historical Fiction book that my brother-in-law let me borrow, but the odds of me finishing it by the end of the weekend were slim. I could attempt to pick up where I left off in the Game of Thrones series, but starting down that road is dangerous, it would take me a week just to remember all the houses. In the end, I fired up my Kindle and started reading Ender's Game again.

I've read Ender's Game so many times that I didn't need to read through every chapter to know what happens. Plus, I figured it would be good to brush up since I read that they are making into a movie starting Harrison Ford, Ben Kingsly and Asa Butterfield, that kid from Hugo, as Ender.  I don't have high hopes for this one, not because they will not do a good job, but because after the Eragon fiasco I've found it's best not to get too excited about sci-fi books being made into movies.

Anyway, I have safely made my way back to the stacks and my Non-Fiction fix has been, well, fixed. Meet Selection #11: The Future of Ice: A Journey Into Cold by Gretel Ehrlich.

Seems like a proper selection, after the summer we have had .

Songs to read Non-Fiction by

First of all, a big thank you to Rachael Brown and the folks over at the Columbia Missourian for the article they wrote on my little project, thanks for spreading the word!

To complete this project of reading nearly 2,500 books, I'm going to need some help along the way. Enter my secret weapon: The Playlist.

You have to be careful though when selecting songs to read by, though. You don't want anything you will sing along to, that will be distracting. But you don't want anything you constantly be skipping over either. And make sure you avoid something trendy at the time, after hearing it for 57th time on your way to work some morning you'll go nuts.

Personally, I started my reading playlist with movie soundtracks. Specifically, all 3 Lord of the Rings (shocking, I know), add in the soundtracks for Tron: Legacy by Daft Punk and Hanna by the Chemical Brothers because, for me at least, a little electronic sound helps the pages turn a little faster. I also threw in the soundtrack to Game of Thrones, just for fun.

Then sprinkle in some video game soundtracks, but be careful. Batman (Arkham series), God of War, Warcraft, Advent Rising, and Mass Effect are all good for reading, but I seem to have difficulty with old-school 8-16 bit soundtracks like Mario or Sonic.

Now that you have your soundtracks in place, add some fun. I threw in some Jonathan Coulton, some Incredibad, and a few of my favorite tracks from Dr. Horrible's Sing-a-long Blog.

There you have it, a perfect playlist to sit back and read, I attribute it to the success I have had reading at my desk during lunch.

For my 10th selection, I have a feeling I'll need every bit of that playlist's help. Meet 941: The Story of Britain: From the Romans to the Present: A Narrative History by Rebecca Fraser. 785 pages . . . just press play and bring it on!

I like books about island getaways

Bibliography

Just so I don't upset any publishing folk out there, I decided I should probably make a proper bibliography of the books I have read:

Ansel, Karen & Ferreira, Charity. The Baby & Toddler Cookbook: Fresh, Homemade Foods for a Healthy Start. San Francisco: Weldon Owen, 2011.
DBRL Call #641.5622.

Babcock, Charles. Management Strategies for the Cloud Revolution: How cloud computing is transforming business and why you can't afford to be left behind. New York: McGraw Hill, 2010.
DBRL Call #004.36.

Bissell, Tom. Extra lives: Why Video Games Matter. New York: Pantheon Books, 2010.
DBRL Call #794.8.

Capote, Truman. In Cold Blood: A True Account of a Multiple Murder and its Consequences. New York: Vintage Books, 1994.
DBRL Call #364.1523.

Cohen, Linda. 1,000 Mitzvahs: How Small Acts of Kindness can heal, Inspire, and Change Your Life. Berkeley, CA: Seal Press, 2011.
DBRL Call #296.3677.

Denmead, Ken. Geek Dad: Awesomely Geeky Projects and Activitiesfor Dads and Kids to Share. New York: Gotham Books, 2010
DBRL Call #790.

Duane, Jean. The Complete Idiot's Guide to Gluten-Free Cooking. New York: Alpha Books, 2010.
DBRL Call #641.5638.

Ehrlich, Gretel. The Future of Ice: A Journey Into Cold. New York: Pantheon Books, 2004. DBRL Call #818.5403.

Fizzell, James A. Guide to Missouri Vegetable Gardening. Franklin, Tennessee: Cool Springs Press, 2007.
DBRL Call #635.0977. 

Flanagan, David. Javascript: The Definitive Guide. Bejing: O'Reilly, 2011. DBRL Call #005.2762. 

Fraser, Rebecca. The Story of Britain: From the Romans to the Present: A Narrative History. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2005. DBRL Call #941.

Grant, Michael. From Alexander to Cleopatra: The Hellenistic World. New York: Collier Books, 1990. DBRL Call #909.0982.

Hearn , Chester G. Tracks in the Sea: Matthew Fontaine Maury and the Mapping of the Oceans. Camden, Me: International Marine McGraw-Hill, 2002. DBRL Call #561.46.

Kirwan, Pat. Take Your Eye Off the Ball. Chicago: Triumph Books, 2010.
DBRL Call #796.332.

Le Breton, Binka. Where The Road Ends: A Home in the Brazilian Rainforest: A Memoir. New York: Thomas Dunne Books St. Martin's press, 2010. DBRL Call #981.064.

Mattingly, Katy. Self-Defense: Steps for Survival. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 2007.
DBRL Call #613.66.

Melissinos, Chris. The Art of Video Games: From Pac-Man to Mass Effect. New York: Welcome Books, 2012.
DBRL Call #794.8.

Miller, Jeff. Children's Furniture Projects. Newtown, CT: Taunton Press, 2002.
DBRL Call #684.1.

Nicholson, Virginia. Among the Bohemians: Experiments in Living 1900-1939. New York:William Morrow, 2002.
DBRL Call #942.0823.

Pious, Richard M. The Young Oxford Companion to the Presidency of the United States. New York: Oxford University Press, 1994.  DBRL Call #353.0313. 
Rabin, Nathan. Weird Al: The Book. New York: Abrams Image, 2012.
DBRL Call #792.7609.

Ramsey, Dave. Dave Ramsey's Complete Guide to Money. Brentwood, Tennessee: Lampo Press, 2011.
DBRL Call #332.024

Sachs, Harvey. Rubinstein: A Life. New York: Grove Press, 1995.

Salsburg, David. The Lady Tasting Tea: How Statistics Revolutionized Science in the Twentieth Century. New York: WH Hreeman, 2001. DBRL Call #001.422.

Siegal, Barry. Claim of Privilege: A Mysterious Plane Crash. A Landmark Supreme Court Case, and the Rise of State Secrets. New York: Harper, 2008. DBRL Call #342.7306.

Thompson, Hunter S. Hey Rube: Blood Sport, the Bush Doctrine, and the Downward Spiral of Dumbness: Modern History from the Sports Desk. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2004. DBRL Call #756.0973.

Vartanian, Arsy. The Paleo Slow Cooker: Healthy, Gluten-Free Meals the Easy Way. New York: Race Point Publishing, 2013.
DBRL Call #641.5638

Wise, Larry. Bow & Arrow: The Complete Guide to Equipment, Technique, and Competition. Harrisburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 1992. DBRL Call #799.32.

The battle for Yavin 4

Here is how the 2011 football season went:
I would sit in front of the TV and watch a game, or flip around and watch 3-4 at a time, meanwhile I would have my laptop open and be following as many other games as I could, and trying to keep track of my fantasy football player's stats and/or picks I made on college games.

I think it's pretty clear that I'm a football addict. NFL or college, if there is a football game on I will watch it, no matter who it's between. (except kansas, obviously) I've even been known to watch those high school football games that ESPN puts on, with teenagers bigger than I am that have already committed to playing for USC.

This year kicked off a little differently.
I sat in my basement, designated my 'Man Cave' by my wife, code named 'Yavin 4' by me. I sat on my couch and read my Hunter S Thompson book while I occasionally looked up at the games. Reading and football was occasionally broken up by short games of ping pong with my wife and playing with Emma, who came down to play on the floor shortly after the San Francisco/Green Bay game came on.

But, as much as I love football, I have a new favorite sport.

It's called Peekaboo. And my 5 month old daughter is also a huge fan.

Honestly, when I shout Peekaboo after removing my hands from my face and Emma smiles that giant toothless grin followed by a half squeal\half jabber of Ba Ba Ba it is a far superior high than watching a punt return for a touchdown, or a go ahead score with :32 remaining in the 4th quarter.

And as much joy as it brings me, it has other benefits as well. For example, when my beloved Packers running game against the 49ers was so putrid, a quick game of Peek-a-Boo would be the just diversion I needed in order to stop myself from yelling at the TV. So I guess Emma saved my Man Cave just like Luke saved Yavin 4. Especially since Green Bay lost by 8.

Keeping with this theme, last night before bed, we read Emma the book: Baby Faces Peekaboo by Dawn Sirett. She seemed to enjoyed it.

Miss Em would give this book 2 thumbs up, if she stopped chewing on them

Jury Duty

For those of you hoping this was a post about the great Pauly Shore film of the same name, I'm sorry.

Yesterday, I had Jury Duty. Jury Duty is an American tradition that involves sitting in a room with 40 strangers who are all annoyed that they had to take off work to . . . well, sit around with strangers. Oh and that whole, 'civic service' thing too.

Guess what you cannot take into the assembly room for jury duty? Cell phones and electronics.

Guess what you can take into the assembly room for jury duty? Books!
Oh yeah, advantage to the Non-Fiction reading guy! (that reminds me, I need a better title. . . )

And so, while I would be slightly embarrassed to bring my YA Presidency book with me, and the Java bible doesn't quite cut it for casual reading, I decided to tap into my personal NF stash.
Meet selection #9: Hey Rube: Blood Sport, the Bush Doctrine, and the Downward Spiral of Dumbness: Modern History from the Sports Desk by Hunter S Thompson.

I asked for, and received, this book for Christmas last year but I have yet to find the opportunity to read it. So when I found out I'd be in waiting for several hours I decided this was a great chance to read from the Gonzo Journalism creator himself.

I did not check this out from the stacks, but it is in the library's collection, I wonder if that counts . . . Survey says: I'll allow it. To quote Rick Grimes: "This isn't a democracy anymore"

Seriously, who else is pumped about season 3 of The Walking Dead? 

Hey Rube is a collection of columns HST wrote for ESPN.com's Page 2 back in the early 2000s, its a mash-up of sports talk mixed with politics. His column that compared the NFL to presidential campaigns was pretty shocking and made me a little depressed. I knocked out a good chunk as I waited and I am really looking forward to finishing it up. If I stick to my guns, don't get distracted too much by the shiny college and NFL games this weekend, I just may start next week with a fresh lineup of 3 new NF books.

Upset Alert

Upset - noun
An unexpected result or situation, esp. in a sports competition

Let me set up the situation:
It was the opening weekend of college football. My wife and daughter went out of town for a 3 day weekend. I scored 2 free tickets to the Mizzou football game against SE Louisiana.

Even the remnants of hurricane Isaac could not stop me from enjoying Saturday's home opener against SE Louisiana . Not too bad a view for free tickets.

And with all of this going on, the inexplicable upset happened.

Not only did I find to time to crack open my latest non-fiction selection, The Young Oxford Companion to the Presidency of the United States by Richard M Pious, I burned through my 50 required pages!

Was it a Young Adult book, yes, but that's kind of like your football team taking on Northeastern Midwest Technical Institute A&M for your first game, it just feels good to get a win under your belt.

The other NF book I am reading, JavaScript: The Definitive Guide by David Flanagan, while chocked full of interesting JavaScript programming tips, is a bit rough to read straight through. I have found there are several really good online resources for learning JS, one I have been having fun with is from Channel 9.

NFL starts this weekend, could there possibly be another upset in the works? I'm gonna say most likely because I'm looking forward to keeping up this pace, I'll be in the double digits before long. Although I'm not going to get too excited considering I have just under 3,000 books to read, but hey, progress is progress.