In the tradition of the Rocky and Bullwinkle Show, I have double-titled this post. It made me happy.
Man, this Friday couldn’t come soon enough. I’ve had a lot going on this week, and it’s just made me more and more tired. I’m sure staying up until midnight almost every night reading Kate Elliott’s Crown of Stars series isn’t really helping, but I can’t help it. I’ve got a lot of books on my to-read list, and I’m not getting through them fast enough. (Never thought I’d say that.)
Yesterday was nice for a couple reasons. To begin with, because I worked for 3 hours from home on Wednesday, I was able to get off work a couple hours early and come home to my beautiful wife. Kim had planned for us to go to Yesterday’s Books, which is always a fun trip.
Yesterday’s Books is a used bookstore, which will take some books in exchange for cash or store credit. They often have out of print books and the like, which can be difficult to find elsewhere. In this particular instance, Kim had convinced me to get rid of some books. Many of you know that I am quite the packrat when it comes to…well…anything. Books are no exception; I hate to throw them away! These books were of the happy-clappy theology variety, which I had purchased long ago. I knew I’d never read through them again, as I felt their theological worth was fairly low, considering the wealth of writings from the Reformers or early church fathers. The end result was that we had books to turn in…a fairly sizeable bag of them! WOO!
They didn’t end up taking many of them, but any amount of credit is nice, since there is always something I can find there, and when Kim initiates a trip to Yesterday’s Books, it means that she’s agreed to spend some money on books! I’ll take that when I can get it.
I bought my first “The Saint” novel, by Leslie Charteris. Many of you have probably seen the movie, starring Val Kilmer. It was a good movie. Some of you may have even seen the series, starring Roger Moore. Few of you have likely read the books, however. Obtaining and reading some of The Saint novels by Leslie Charteris has been a goal of mine for some time. I grabbed the only Saint novel they had. I feel special.
In addition to “The Saint”, a good espionage series that I’m sure most, if not all of you know is the James Bond series. The original James Bond novels were written by Ian Fleming, and were very excellent, if short, stories. After the death of Ian Fleming, John Gardener was licensed to continue the Bond Series. His books do justice to the character of Bond, if they don’t contain the exact same sense of mystery that the original books do. I picked up a couple of John Gardener Bond Books: Licence to Kill (A novelization of the movie by the same name), Nobody Lives Forever, Brokenclaw, and Death is Forever. (I think those are the ones I purchased.)
Finally, I purchased a book I’ve been wanting to read, which was written by an author named Neal Stephenson. The book I’ve read by him is called Snow Crash, and is an excellent work of over-the-top cyberpunk! Well worth reading, if anyone is interested in that genre. There are a couple scenes in that particular book that are for over 15, I would say, but overall, it’s a very well-done book. The book I purchased yesterday, however, is called Cryptonomicon, and I have really no idea what it is about. It’s one of those books that I’ve been wanting to buy for a couple years now, but never really had the opportunity. I’ve heard mixed reviews about Cryptonomicon, so I’m not expecting something absolutely stellar, but if it’s enjoyable, I’ll be sure to write something on here.
I think that was all I got, but I am very happy with the purchases. There are several from a previous trip that I have not yet spoken about, nor have I read. I’ll have to dig them up. See, the problem is in a fundamental disagreement that I am having with my wife. She doesn’t like having massive stacks of books on the headboard. I, on the other hand, LOVE having massive stacks of books on the headboard, as it’s what reminds me to read them. Without that stack, I forget what books I’ve yet to read, and which books I’ve already read. Many of my books are parts of series’, so it’s very difficult for me to remember, say, which James Bond books I’ve read, and which I’ve not. Anyway, my new purchases have been put away already, which is sort of why I’m writing about them here! If I can refer back to this post, maybe I’ll actually be able to figure out which ones were new!
I’m looking forward to this weekend, as well, but I already wrote about what’s going on. I’ll only add that Shawn, who forgot that Sacramento was not in the Bay Area, ended up being able to come to Kim and my house for the weekend, so he’s going to be able to participate after all! :) See you all on the flip side.
I personally was not impressed with Gardner. I enjoyed Fleming’s Bond, though it has tended to make me less a fan of the movies. Fleming’s Bond was more real, particularly when compared to Moore’s interpretation of the character. After readin the books i have been most impressed with Timothy Dalton.
But I realize the James Bond of Ian Fleming would not be as popular with the movie going audience.
Have a great weekend.
You nailed it on the head, man. Fleming’s bond was definitely more real. I have only read Licence Renewed, and while I enjoyued the country that provided the setting for the story, there was a point after which I was somewhat bored.
Nothing could beat the creator of Bond, I think.
On an unrelated note, I just got into an accident, and am waiting for the California Highway Patrol to get here so we have a police report. An auspicious beginning to the weekend, to be sure. Lol
I am fine, and the work truck is driveable, so thank the Lord for His mercy.