Flux Capacitor NOT fluxing, Engine not running...

Props to those who can figure out the reference ;)

So, I think I've mentioned my computer problems that have developed over the last few weeks. First it was freezing up and rebooting, and it also smelled like something was burning. I called the guy at the shop that I go to and he told me to bring it in because it sounded to him like I had a virus. I had my doubts of course, as to me it didn't sound like it could possibly be a virus, so I decided to wait until my brother could help me over the holidays. I'm very glad I did.

One of the things I did was buy myself a nice new computer case. They can be quite fancy, and they're not just for looks. Most of them are for function as they add better cooling and airflow to keep things from overheating. I got one with a precision machined steel front panel, and the side has a plex-glass window where you can look into it and see everything running. It's got one front fan for pulling air in, and one exhaust fan which glows blue that brings the air out. It's this one right here, except the design changed. Mine doesn't have locks and has a window on the side instead, which they don't show on the website: http://www.silverstonetek.com/products-tj02.htm

Anyway, as my brother was transferring things over to my new case, it took one look at my motherboard for him to realize what my problem was. I had busted capacitors, which meant that these capacitors were losing charge, and if they lost charge, I'd freeze up or reboot.

That meant we had to do lots of research. It was time for me to get a new motherboard. We realized that there were no motherboards that supported my current processor, so that meant we need to get a new processor too. We also realized that I needed to get new RAM because the ram I have now is not campatible with the new board. And my video card? It's an older one, and most new motherboards don't support AGP. They're all coming out with PCI-Express these days. So instead of hunting around for a board with AGP, which we figured would limit me in the long run if I wanted to upgrade in the future, we decided to go for PCI-Express, which meant a new videocard. I'll be getting an AMD Athlon 3200+, DDR Ram, and a Geforce 6800 GS, which is quite the jump from the Athlon 1700+ and Geforce 4MX that I currently have. Whew! At least this way I won't have limited myself into a corner with already outdated technology that is hardly supported anymore.

So, I hope Christmas has all been good for you. My sister is coming tonight as she couldn't make it for Christmas Day and we'll be having another round of present opening for her.

I got lots of neat stuff, most of them being books. Is that really surprising? I got clothes, more clothes, and yet more clothes. Oh yeah, and chocolate. Got some reindeer droppings (chocolate covered almonds).

As for books?:
Harry Potter And the Blood Prince
Deception Point by Dan Brown
Science-Fiction Hall of Fame Volume 1 1929-1960 (Collection of sci-fi novellas by different established sci-fi authors)

I didn't get any music this time, but I'll be using some of my spending money on some albums that I want to get.

Here are some pictures of my new case:

Observations and stuff

I haven't posted in quite a bit and I'm sure those of you who read this are wondering. Well, my computer is out of commission for the time being and I'm using my Dad's computer to post this. It doesn't sound too good and smells like burning sillicon. My computer that is, not his.

So, I've done all my Christmas shopping and started in mid-November to beat the rush. I'm pretty happy with what I've got for the others in my family.I'm also glad that I don't have to shop at the last minute. Man, if there's one thing about Christmas, it's the shopping and seeing all the tacky stuff out there on the shelves. I mean, I do love Christmas, but sometimes I think the commercialization of it has just gone overboard! As cute as those light-up dolls are, who would actually buy such a thing? They would get more than quickly annoying in this household, and don't remind me of those talking santas. Yeesh. Great for storefronts, but an actual household?

You know, all these drug commercials on TV are getting annoying. Most of them are really bad and a lot of them jump at claims. It's just as bad as the cigarette commercials when they were allowed on TV. Why is this on TV? Honestly? I'm honestly concerned, considering that most than half of these are drugs made up for a niche, where they make up syndrome names just to sell the drug, and then of course, you have people on the commercial asking how they got these drugs, the person with the drug commenting that their doctor gave them a prescription. Well, no kidding! You honestly think that with all those side-effects, that they would have these over the counter? Goodness. So many side-effects that you need other drugs to counter them. Why should it be the concern of the patient which drug they get? Obviously, if your doctor knows how to make a well informed decision and give you the best prescription for you, they wouldn't rely on you to see a certain commercial and have you ask about it. If you have to ask about it, it's probably not the right drug for you!

Speaking of side-effects, this summer I had drugs given to me by my doctor. This was to clear something out of my system and the doctor had told me to take 2 per day for 5 days. Well, around the 3rd day, I knew something was wrong. This was basically a real nightmare for me. I started having side-effects, and before I knew it, I pretty much had all listed side-effects. This included being manic-depressive and obsessive compulsive. That's right. Those drugs that were given to me were seriously changing the chemical makeup of my brain while I was under its influence. Not to mention that these were extended release tablets! So, I was stuck with its effects for more than 2 weeks while I waited for them to draw out of my system. All during that time, I didn't feel like myself. I didn't know what was going on and I was pretty much out of it. Had trouble sleeping, kept worrying about little things I knew I shouldn't worry about but couldn't do anything about it, had trouble breathing, and could hardly focus on doing anything, like watch TV for instance. Boy, was I ever glad when I was back to feeling normal! Turns out it was too big a dosage for my system to take, and ever since then I've wanted to be careful about what kind of stuff I put into my system. I'd rather find something natural and try that first before using drugs. They should be something of a last alternative.

Anyway, with my computer out of commission, I'm not sure when I'll get to post next. But I do have to post what I'm now reading as I've finished The High Crusade. I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and all that in case I don't get to post more before Christmas.

Currently Reading: The High Crusade by Poul Anderson

Well, I've finished reading The Einstein Intersection. I was kind of disappointed in how it lacked weirdness compared to what it claimed. Yes, it was weird, and it was a good book, but I'd read far weirder books than that. Books for instance where you could tell the author was on LSD when writing it. I suppose though that that could be for another post, one about bad books. Luckily for me though I hardly come across bad books. They're one in a million to me.

Anyway, I started The High Crusade by Poul Anderson last night. Seems very promising. The picture I've chosen here of the cover isn't the cover I've got on mine, but mine's a very lame cover. I actually can't tell what's on it. It looks very nondescript. I guess I shouldn't complain much though because this is one of the old books I'd gotten from a guy selling them out the back of his truck in Vermont. Every year I seem to find some gems from this guy, and he always seems to appreciate me coming back every year and he gives me a good deal. Got 9 books for about $2 this year if I remember right. This book is dated to around the 60's and 70's, so the cover looks pretty trippy. I like this modern cover much better though. You can actually tell what you're getting yourself into.

Got into the first chapter last night and it seems to be a very promising read. Lots of laughs involved with knights trying to figure out what they're experiencing when an alien space ship lands to pay them a visit, err to invade. These knights were on their way to help King Edward III in England's war against France. How dare they intrude! Go back to your home planet, you brutes!

Description of the book follows:

----

In the year of grace 1345, as Sir Roger Baron de Tourneville is gathering an army to join King Edward III in the war against France, a most astonishing event occurs: a huge silver ship descends through the sky and lands in a pasture beside the little village of Ansby in northeastern Lincolnshire. The Wersgorix, whose scouting ship it is, are quite expert at taking over planets, and having determined from orbit that this one was suitable, they initiate standard world-conquering procedure. Ah, but this time it's no mere primitives the Wersgorix seek to enslave-they've launched their invasion against Englishmen! In the end, only one alien is left alive-and Sir Roger's grand vision is born. He intends for the creature to fly the ship first to France to aid his King, then on to the Holy Land to vanquish the infidel!

Book Review: Venus by Ben Bova

Well, a new review, finally! Let's get down to it.

Venus is part of Ben Bova's Grand Tour series, and is chronologically as of this time, the last in the series, happening late in the timeframe of the series, as a comparison with his Mars story being the 3rd chronologically.

Much in the tradition of authors who have explored the moon when hardly much of it was known at the time, Ben Bova tackles Venus, the hot fiery planet on which anyone would be doomed to even try. That is, landing on it of course.

I wouldn't know how his other works in the series fare, but I would have to say that Venus is far from stellar compared to his acclaimed Mars story. But I'll be fair and say that this is partly due to the lack of knowledge about the planet that we have, so scientific accuracy would of course have to take a backseat to storytelling. Unlike Mars, where I pretty much pictured it just like what it would be like if NASA were to send a team to Mars, Venus definitely stretches and the imagination and feels unrealistic most of the time. Ultimately, it feels much more like a popcorn flick than a scientifically based scif-fi. But then again, it does have the feel of those classics like The Sands of Mars by Arthur C. Clarke and and The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury, from a time where we didn't know about Mars. Much like Mars was realistic, I'm sure there will be a new novel down the road by another author, or even by Bova that updates and makes a Venus story more realistic based on what we know of it. Then maybe we could look back at Ben Bova's Venus and herald it as a classic.

If you're looking for a fun book that goes to where no authors dare to go, then by all means pick this up. But don't expect to be dazzled like Mars.

As a sidenote, as I have posted in my preview, as I was reading the book, a quote jumped out at me: "I was born in New Orleans, Mr Humphries, or what's left of it after the floods." Ben Bova has a knack for predicting things. In his Mars book, he had predicted that we'd find life on Mars through water.

Author: Ben Bova
Pages: 416
Publisher: Tor Science Fiction

Music Review: Nickel Creek - Why Should The Fire Die?

Time for another album review! This time from another favourite band of mine, Nickel Creek.

Nickel Creek hail from California and I've been a fan of them since I discovered them when they were making publicity for their previous album, This Side. Their music is described as progressive bluegrass. Progressive because it just doesn't do them justice to label them as bluegrass alone. They aren't your daddy's bluegrass. Neither is it the kind of bluegrass you'd find on the "Where Brother Art Thou" soundtrack. This is a new kind of bluegrass, one with an edge. Nickel Creek has started out pretty much as what one would call a traditional bluegrass band, but even then, they dared to be different from the crowd.

Their debut album contained traditional bluegrass tunes and even a few celtic tunes; their sound was mellow, very mellow with great harmonization. The Side continued their journey as a band, continued with the mellow sound and the great harmony, but this time they upped the ante. They dared to be more poppy, yet they also stayed close to their roots, and even added some of their jazz influences. It was a great album, but many of those fans that loved their debut, including fans of traditional bluegrass scoffed at the direction the band was going in. It was also considered very much to be an experiment in bluegrass. Nevertheless, the album garnered them praise. Praise in which I agree in.

Why Should The Fire Die? Indeed. The fire of their passion for music is evident with this album. More than ever, the band continues to experiment and delve beyond the borders of the bluegrass continuum. It continues infusing their jazz influences, continues with very interesting instrumental and vocal arrangements. It becomes mind boggling. It takes a few listens before you can truly appreciate the work that went into this album. It's deeper, darker, edgier, and grittier than their previous albums, one which starts to contemplate questions in life and starts to even sound like an indy record at some point. This is because after two albums, those who were produced by Alison Krauss, they turned to a different producer, a rock producer. The result is an album that is more aggressive. Is it successful? Yes, definitely. While I might not be a fan of the way this one was produced, in the way that it sounds more compressed and less clear and detailed like on their previous albums, I can respect the idea behind the decision that Chris Thile, Mandolin Prodigy Virtuoso, made. He wanted it to sound more like they do their concerts, and while I won't be able to see them live any time soon since I'm in Canada (They haven't toured Canada yet) , at least I can appreciate the idea.

Things that impress me about this album are the lack of a drum kit. There's actually only one song with the use of a drum kit (Helena) and that's towards the end of the song. Most of the album uses strong hooks and melodies, foot stomping and guitar tapping. The use of the upright bass is also something I'm impressed with and it provides a much richer sound than a standard electric bass. Too few bands seem to use the upright these days. On this album, it's used for texture and where drums would normally be used. Imagine deep low notes building and driving the song up into power and intensity as the stuff sitting on your large hi-fi speakers dances around, until your flower pot you have sitting on there takes a walk off the edge. No drums can match that. Overall, I'm impressed with what they can do, and I think it shows that you don't need drums to be cool like everyone else. You just need to be interesting with your instrumentation and choose other ways to express yourself.

So, if you'd like some good folk music to add to your collection, I'd recommend picking this up. Again, it isn't your daddy's bluegrass, but I think you'd be impressed at what this band can accomplish. Their fire won't die anytime soon.

Album: Nickel Creek - Why Should The Fire Die?
Publisher: Sugarhill Records
Release Date: August 2005 (Out Now everywhere)
Bonus Material?: No
Site: www.nickelcreek.com
e-card: Right here

Currently Reading: The Einstein Intersection

Well, hasn't taken me long to read the last book, has it? I said I was a slow reader, but it was quite an easy read. Well, even though this is another thin book, reading around the net leads me to believe that this book isn't so much an easy read, so it should take me longer, not that it's a problem for me of course.

Apparently this book, being claimed as one of's Samuel Delany's best books, is pretty psychological and at the same time mythical; a pretty weird book too. Time will tell if I'll end up liking it though as many people seem to not be able to "get" the message of the book. Should be an interesting ride though.

And soon, I'll post that Venus review. Maybe in the next post even. Oh yeah, before I forget, Happy Halloween!

For now, here's the description of this book from the back cover.

---

The Einstein Intersection is a novel of a strange far future when this world of Einsteinian laws, having intersected with a universe following a different set of rules, has changed - changed strangely, wonderfully, incredibly.

This is the story of Lobey, an alien Orpheus, and his adventures across a weird sumptuous world, marvelously haunted. Along his questing trail, he meets Spider, the driver of dragons; Kid Death, the red-headed killer from the sea; the Dove, fabulous love image of a world obsessed; Greeneye, victim of a ritual invented by a race dead for millenia; and Friza - the dark, silent girl Lobey searched for over deserts, through jungles of carnivorous flowers, from a quiet village to a furious city, to the shores of death, and beyond.

Currently Reading II

I've recently reading Ben Bova's Venus, so the review will come shortly. In the meantime, I've started one of the earliest Asimov books, in the period when he was still writing the original Foundation trilogy, but writing as Paul French. Apparently it is part of a series that isn't as easily available as the Foundation series, but I have a feeling it will stand well enough on its own.

I've picked up a number of classics while on a trip to Vermont this summer, so you'll see these from time to time until I've exhausted my supply.

Description from the back of the book follows:

Zero time!

Twenty-five years before, Lucky Starr’s parents had been destroyed during a pirate raid on the Terrestrial Empire. Lucky had since brooded, awaiting a chance to avenge their deaths. Now the vermin of space once more threatened the empire’s safety and tranquility. The time for sweet vengeance was near.

Lucky was at the helm as his space ship, the Atlas, was being readied for takeoff. The Luna City exhaust pit yawned as the ship’s main rockets blasted their fury into it. Slowly and with majesty the Atlas lifted and moved upwards, its speed increasing, its mission underway. It pierced the black sky, shrinking until it was only a star among stars, and then it was gone.

“One man against the pirates of the asteroids,” Lucky’s friend, Conway, mused sadly. “Soon the ship will be a rain of molten metal,” he thought. “Lucky Starr and the Atlas are doomed!”

A Month

Well, today is a month to the day I created this blog. I have to say I've really been having fun with this and I wonder where it will take me in the months and years to come. Over the course of the month, I've been tweaking the blog a bit, like adding links and customizing it a bit. The most recent addition is the logo! Like it, Love it, hate it? Let me know. Of course, it's bound to evolve over the years if my scheme and my mood ever change. One thing's for sure, it's only going to get better.

Music Review: Great Big Sea - The Hard and The Easy

The by's are back in town! It took a long time to get to this point. Great Big Sea has released their long awaited all-traditional album, The Hard and The Easy today, and after being less than pleased with Sea of No Cares and Something Beautiful*, I'm pleased to say that they've knocked this one out of the ballpark.

I think this release shows that the band understands how important their culture is, that they shouldn't be afraid to just be who they are instead of what the record industry thinks they should be. Their venture into the pop market wasn't as successful as they'd hope, and with this release, ironically, they've risked more here than they would have with their pop releases considering the all-traditional material. But I think the media is biting, and fans will be pleased to know that their raucous energy is back on this album, in full force.

Throughout the album, one can tell they enjoyed making it by the hearing the enthusiasm in their voices. You could even say they sound rejuvenated after having a lengthy hiatus, and if their hiatus is any sign of the feeling they come through on this album, then it indeed helped. Their sound on this album is more akin to what they sounded like on Up and Play, and even with hints of Turn, their voices bursting forth out of the speakers, and is a more pleasing and entertaining album than the pop laden albums they have served us for the past 2 years. The harmonies are beautiful, especially on River Driver and Graceful & Charming (Forget-Me-Not), and the instrumental arrangements are complex and interesting, even moreso than those on Up and Play.

If the music itself wasn't enough, there's even a 50 minute DVD included which promises to be quite a bargain. I haven't personally viewed the DVD yet, so I will elaborate more on it in a future post, but I think it's safe to say that this album is easy to recommend, unlike SONC or Something Beautiful*. It has easily surpassed my expectations. A welcome addition to any collection, folk music aficionados and Great Big Sea fans alike.


Album: Great Big Sea - The Hard and The Easy
Publisher: Warner Music (Canada) / Rounder (US)
Release Date: Oct 11th (Canada) / Oct 25th (US)
Bonus Material?: Yes (DVD)
Site: www.greatbigsea.ca

Excited

Ok, I haven't been this excited in quite awhile about an upcoming album, but Great Big Sea's The Hard and The Easy, their latest album which happens to be all-traditional, is hitting the stores in Canada on the 11th, just the day after Thanksgiving, and the 25th in the U.S. I'm applauding their return to traditional material as well as the return to the sound and the energy that made them popular on Up and Play. You can be sure that I'll be reviewing the album in a few days.

To hold you over, here are two songs in their entirety (I think). Don't hold me on that since I'm not going to listen to them before I get the album in order to not get spoiled. I like being able to listen to an album the first time around and having them all be new songs to my ears. If anyone listens to them (the clips), can you please confirm it for me? Thanks :)

http://www.myspace.com/greatbigseaofficial

Time to Brag

I can pause, rewind and fast-forward live TV! Yes! I just got a DVR from our cable company and I'll be looking forward to the new features of this box. No more missing TV shows, and no more conflicting schedules!

I now return you to your regularly scheduled program.

Currently Reading

I'm sure you're all curious at what I'm currently reading. I started this just a few days ago. Ben Bova's Venus. Here's a quasi-review from Amazon:

Amazon.com
Ben Bova picked his villains well for this fast-paced, popcorn-and-Milk- Duds matinee: Topping the playbill is our sister planet, Venus itself, which Bova matter-of-factly describes as "the most hellish place in the solar system." Sci-fi authors (Bova included) have all but colonized Mars by now, but few have boldly gone to the aluminum-melting, sulfuric-acid-soaked surface of the Morning Star. Venus proves a mighty, unthinking antagonist indeed--frustrating the efforts of sickly but likable rich kid Van Humphries to land there and recover the remains of his older brother Alex, who died two years earlier on another ill-fated mission.

Van gets pushed back and forth between the book's two lesser villains--his mean old cuss of a father, Martin Humphries, who's posted the $10 billion Venus Prize to the first person to return Alex's body, and Lars Fuchs, a belligerent asteroid miner and Martin's arch-nemesis, who's also decided to make a go at the purse.

Characterizations ride coach on this high-adventure flight, but remember that we're talking about Ben Bova here. It's hard to dispute the master's choices as you're following Van's well-researched, thrills-and-chills descent through Venus's pressure-cooker atmosphere. With solid science, a palatable environmental message (how could you resist commenting on greenhouse gases in a book like this?), and an inspiring character arc for unlikely hero Van, Venus delivers guilt-free, man-against-nature SF in a tight, page-turning package. --Paul Hughes
--

So far so good. I gather this won't take me too long to read as it's not as dense as his very good Mars book. This is a book published in 2000, and Ben Bova seems to have a knack for predicting things in his books. Such as the prediction of life on Mars. In Venus, I was struck with a particular quote said by one of the characters in the book: "I was born in New Orleans, Mr Humphries, or what's left of it after the floods."

Review: Psychohistorical Crisis by Donald Kingsbury

I'm an Asimov fan, or more specifically, a Foundation fan, though you can hit me with a pile of bricks as I haven't read the Robot or Empire series even though I do plan to in the near future.

As my first review, I'll start off with Psychohistorical Crisis, a book which I recently finished reading. In general, I consider the Foundation series to be light reading, compared to most stuff that is released today. Though, maybe that isn't a fair comparison since when the Foundation series was started, the average size of books clocked in at around 200 pages. Psychohistorical Crisis by comparison clocks in at 512 pages, making it a denser read. More of that in a moment.

There are have been many tries at being successors to Asimov's writing, where by much opinion, have heartily failed. I'm of course talking about the Second Trilogy penned by the 3 B's of Science Fiction. So how does this one fare, being that it is not an official book sanctioned by the Asimov estate? It fares very well in my opinion.

Eron Osa, the main protagonist of the book finds himself guilty of a crime he didn't commit. Or maybe he did. The problem is, he's been sentenced, stripped of his personal familiar ( a device that Donald Kingsbury created which amplifies brain use, and a technological advancement of the mind control device used by The Mule), unable to perform with his fam. So, while being sentenced, the fam is stripped and destroyed. Since the personalities and functions of that individual are stored on the fam, the soul and the brain are essentially dead. Unless that individual tries to actually use his brain for himself. Eron Osa does, and the book follows through on his quest to discover just what exactly he's done that deserved having his fam stripped of him. The book switches back and forth between the present and the past, child and adult. We see him finally making the journey as a Psychohistorian, only to.... Well, I won't spoil it.

What I can say though is that this book splendidly pulls off the Asimov vibe , while Donald Kingsbury adds enough to the book to make it original enough to be his. It really works, considering this book is set a thousand years into the future since the formation of the Second Foundation.. While not being an officially sanctioned book, it does mean that some liberties have to be taken, like in the names of things. For example, take Hari Seldon. In the book, he's not referred to with that name, but rather The Founder. Rith is Earth, Splendid Wisdom is Trantor, Faraway is Terminus, Cloun the Stubborn is the Mule, and so on. It's a shame that it wasn't published as an official book.

Donald Kingsbury tried to make Psychohistory more mathematically believeable, enough to add depth to the concept, and while I'm nowhere being a math genius, he was convincing enough that it actually started to make sense in my little brain. It might not make any sense to those with more mathematical knowledge, but I think what's important in a story like this is making a believable sci-fi story, and he pulls it off brilliantly while adding lots of depth to it.

And while having lots of depth to it, it is also a very dense book to read. This is not a light read by any means, but it is very satisfying. But then again that might just be me since I do tend to like dense reads that tend to take me a long time to read as I like to get a long of bang for the buck.

I was very impressed with this book and If I had to recommend it to Asimov fans, I wouldn't hesitate. And with that said, I do recommend it, even if you're not an Asimov fan. You might even gain appreciation for his work through this.

Author: Donald Kingsbury
Pages: 512
Publisher: Tor Books (2001)

And Music Too...

Well, it didn't take me long, but I've decided that I'll be including music reviews too. I like to think that I have a pretty eclectic taste in music, and I don't just buy what the media tries to shove down my throat. In fact, I hardly ever listen to the radio. If something catches my ears while browsing and I like what I hear enough for me to do some research, then I'm likely to buy if it's something I can find in a brick and mortar store. That's right. Call me archaic, but I don't do any online shopping. My reason is simple: I don't own a credit card as I find they are a spawn of the devil, too easy to get oneself into debt. If I can't find it in a store, I don't buy it, simple as that. I used to download music through Napster, but those days are long gone as it is such a fuss these days.

The unfortunate thing about buying only in brick and mortar stores is that if I can't find the music I'm looking for while taking a look through the local music stores, then I probably won't be able to have it, and it's only really rare for this to happen. Case in point, there is some really good east coast music that is available online and only available locally to the east coast (read that as Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and that general area of land), so the only way I'd be able to buy them would be to visit a particular music store in the east coast, which I know carries them, but that won't happen for awhile. Ahh, oh well, I can always dream can't I?

First Post

I'm literally fresh out from the blog creation process and ready to meet the electronic world! So, if things seem a little rough around the edges, it's just me trying to get used to the new furniture.

I've noticed a lot of people tend to describe themselves and what their blog is about on the first post, so I'm not going to shy away from that, but instead I'll try to go on long enough to bore you.

First, as the name of the blog suggests, it is primarily about books. I love reading. I have huge stacks of books on my bookshelf waiting to be read, both store bought books and classics that I end up finding where I least expect them. I guess you could call me a slow reader, as I take the time to read a book at my own pace. Typically, a book will take me about a month to read, sometimes less, sometimes more, depending on the thickness or the story itself. If the book is exciting enough, I'll maybe end up reading it in about a week or two.

This blog will document my adventures in reading, as I describe how I depict how certain passages in books look to me and from my perspective throughout my journey of reading them, then I'll review them, tell you what I thought of the book and give them my praise or tell you if they are fit for the pits, and I'll tell you what I'm currently reading. If we're going to be in this reading adventure together, I might as well try to be interesting, to give you something to read about, as you read about me reading books. Yes, it's going to be an interesting adventure for you and I...