Gods, Demigods, and Butter Tigers (100 Books ... 23 Left)

72. Golden Books Sleepytime Tales
73. The Nearly-Wed Handbook by Dan Zevin
74. Fox in Socks by Dr. Seuss
75. The Mitten by Jan Brett
76. All-Star Superman by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely
77. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

The books continue to pile up in both the "read" and "unread" piles. My pace is a little slower than I'd like, as it seems like I'm getting stuck on a book here and there (in this case it was Frankenstein, which took me a little longer to read than I'd wanted). I know that I'm not going to finish exactly every book that I have in my huge "unread" pile, but if I make my goal of 100, I'll eventually get around to them.

Anyway, onto the books.

I dug up The Nearly-Wed Handbook to give to my sister as an engagement present. I first read this book years ago when I was an intern at its publisher, Avon Books. I'm really disappointed that Dan Zevin hasn't written more because as I mentioned when I read The Day I Turned Uncool, I find him utterly hilarious. The Nearly-Wed Handbook, while it's about 10 years old, is still really funny, even though I've been married for six years. This is a great stress-breaker for anyone planning a wedding, especially when Zevin delves into the intricacies of seating plans, florists, tuxedo rental and dress buying, and other wedding craziness.

The Mitten and Fox in Socks have been sitting on Brett's shelf for a while and made the rounds recently in an afternoon of reading and fun. The Mitten is an update of some Ukranian folk tale; Fox in Socks is a tongue-twister that I almost considered making my sophomores read aloud as part of their public speaking unit (because I'm that much of a dick). But the Sleepytime Tales book owes its awesomeness to Amanda, who has been reading some of the stories (I made sure to go back and read them for real so I get my "credit") to Brett on a nightly basis. Some of the stories in there are pretty famous, such as "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" and "The Pokey Little Puppy." Others are ridiculous, such as one about these tigers who tease an Indian boy who then causes them to run around a tree so much that they wind up turning into melted butter which his mom scoops up and uses to make pancakes for the boy and his family.

Yeah, it's about as weird as it sounds. And that's not even half as bad as the one about the girl and her little baby doll which is really creepy in a "Sally Draper, future serial killer" sort of way.

Anyway, listening to Amanda read these and make comments on how many sentences end in prepositions is hilarious and awesome, especially since Brett really doesn't pick up on our commentary and is more interested in flipping the pages and pointing out that he sees such things as tigers and bears and cars and trains and other implements of transportation.

Turning now to Frankenstein, a book I've read a couple of times before and will be teaching in the spring. This is one of those books that I could probably read again and again, it's just that good. And I'm honestly not a huge fan of 19th Century English literature. But Shelley makes both Frankenstein and the monster complex and sympathetic and layers the story in a way that movie adaptations don't fully get. Yes, Victor Frankenstein (Fronkensteeen?) is a little too tortured and too whiny at times, but at least he's got a reason, especially as the creature vows to kill everyone around him (and does). I love its themes of the consequences of trying to play God and the way the plot builds its suspense with each confrontation between the two.

Speaking of playing God, I have to say that I was disappointed in All-Star Superman. I checked this out of the library at work and read it in a day. Grant Morrison is one of the most famous comic book writers out there and this is his take on the Man of Steel. However, it's a characterization that I didn't really enjoy. For the last 20 years or so, since John Byrne redid Superman, there has been a focus on the character of Clark Kent and how he is the real personality behind the cape and the superhero is an act(this, btw, directly contrasts Batman, who is the real person putting on a "Bruce Wayne" act). Byrne and the writers who came after him gave Clark some real personality and character and bolstered Superman's supporting cast in a way that I felt the Golden and Silver Age stuff, while fun to read, never did.

Here, though, Morrison does Superman as a demigod, the all-powerful being who uses Clark Kent as sort of a convenient disguise. But ... why even have Clark Kent in the story, then? Yes, Ma and Pa Kent are in this story, but I never really got the feeling that the whole Clark aspect was necessary. Quitely's art is impressive, which was no surprise because I liked his work on The Authority. The All-Star line is DC's answer to Marvel's Ultimate universe. But it's somewhat of a misfire. I think I'll stick to catching up with Green Lantern and maybe some mainstream Supes trades.

Coming soon: Gulliver, Hitchhikers, Orwell, and whatever else I can scrounge up as I try for 23 books in 2 months!

A Proper Anniversary

In reflecting on my sixth wedding anniversary, I can't help but think of two things: first, its coniciding with Halloween; second, the long-ago days of adolescent dating.

The first is one of those inevitable things when you get married on November 1. For most of our first few years of being married, the fact that Halloween was right around the same time never bothered us because we never did anything for the holiday anyway. Once we had Brett, I think we knew that was going to change. This year, he was pretty excited to spend the Halloween weekend at his grandparents'; hwever, next year I'm sure he'll be just as excited to spend it with the two of us doing some truly great trick-or-treating in whatever costume he gets (this year, he was a dragon and had a great time going around and saying "RAWR!").

Thinking back to when Amanda and I first started dating when we were 19 is worth a bit of a chuckle only because I remember being young and dating and celebrating "month" anniversaries. A month seems like a long time to be with someone when you're that young. Now we've been married for six and together for thirteen years. And even that doesn't seem like it's that long. We looked through our wedding album tonight and the day itself is pretty fresh in our minds (this, I think, is partially due to my sister's recent engagement, although our wedding did kick some serious ass, so it's not just that).

We don't usually do huge anniversary presents. We like to do a big dinner or weekend together. This year, we continued to follow the traditional gift list and this year's candy/iron brought me a copy of Iron Man on DVD and a few boxes of movie theater-sized candy (I've already decimated the box of Junior Mints). The weekend was spent at Barboursville Winery, complete with a tasting, dinner at Palladio, and a room at the 1804 Inn, where we stayed in a small cottage that was rustic and almost European in a way. In fact, the whole estate felt like it was a world apart from our neighborhood, even though it was barely a 20-minute drive.

The trip itself wasn't monumental by any means, I guess. We arrived, walked around the ruins of an old mansion once owned by the governor of Virginia that was designed by Thomas Jefferson but burned down in the late 1800s, went to the winery for a tasting and then relaxed for a while before having an excellent meal (complete with a wine pairing, which was exquisite). The atmosphere at the inn was cozy--from the fireplace (which, sadly, was never used because it was too warm last night) to the English breakfast we had this morning before we packed up and left. Actually, it all felt grown-up ... with no television in the room, we spent a couple of hours on Saturday reading while listening to classical music on NPR and then walking around the grounds a little to take some pictures using the digital SLR I'd swiped from my classroom.

I guess some people would have found our day and night boring -- no huge costume parties, no getting ridiculously drunk -- and even I pause to wonder if this is what one's thirties bring. Then again, it's not like we spent the evening playing gin in the room before retiring at 9:00. And I think that a little maturity can go a long way, especially when you have to stand in line at a wine tasting with obnoxious douchebags (which you have to expect, btw).

What I loved about it and what I love about our anniversary every year is that we just get to revel in spending time with one another. We've always valued the experience of a nice dinner or a weekend away because we've always been the type of couple who likes to do things together like that, especially when they're new in some way or another. So while it's a little disappointing to have to return to work tomorrow, it's nice to know that our way of celebrating six years with a look toward many more was more than worth it.

Carving the Great Pumpkin

So Brett has been requesting that we watch It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown! I'm pretty happy about this because I've been watching that show since I was a little kid. That, and it's really cute when he sees Snoopy and says, "It's Snoopy!" He actually sits through the whole thing, which is amazing considering the number of episodes of Yo Gabba Gabba he's half watched while flopping around on the couch like a freshly caught trout (when he knows he's supposed to be sitting still on the couch).

Personally, I find A Charlie Brown Christmas to be of better quality, although Pumpkin runs a close second. The thing that bugs me about Pumpkin is the whole Snoopy storyline. Here you've got this very funny story with Linus and Charlie Brown, etc. and then Snoopy goes off to be the WWI Flying Ace, gets "shot down" and has to traverse across the French countryside in order to make it to the pumpkin patch where he appears to Linus and Sally.

It's a pretty long setup for the gag at the end and what's always bugged me is how it slows down the pace of the show--especially when ABC cuts the whole segment wherein Snoopy gets Schroeder to play the piano in the bar (because God forbid you're not able to shove three more Fisher-Price commercial into the half-hour). You're going right along with what you'd expect -- Linus is delusional, Lucy's a bitch, Charlie Brown's a doormat -- and all of the sudden we have to stop to watch a Beagle play All Quiet on the Western Front.

I did a little research and found out that this is around the time that the WWI Flying Ace persona started in the Peanuts strip, so on some level it makes sense because you've got a popular character and you don't want to relegate him to making weird noises or just kissing Lucy to have her scream about dog germs. But it just throws the whole thing off, kind of like how you're watching The Empire Strikes Back and you're really into the Millennium Falcon being chased by the Empire and then everything slows down so Yoda can teach Luke how to lift things with his mind and go from the whiny bitch he is in Star Wars to the brooding creep his is in Jedi.

Still, I'd rather watch this than some of the other Halloween-related shit on TV.

Buses, Toilets, Knights, and General Tso (100 Books ... 29 Left)

68. Ben's First Ride
69. Potty Time With Elmo by Kelli Kaufmann
70. Le Morte D'Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory
71. The Fortune Cookie Chronicles by Jennifer 8. Lee

I usually don't want to count books that come with toys or character-licensed books for this list, but the first two books are the exceptions because I have read them to Brett almost every. Single. Night. for the last week or so. Ben's First Ride is the story of Ben, who is a kid that is getting on a school bus for the first time. It ties in with a Little People knock-off toy brand called Play Town. At any rate, when Brett and I go back into his room every night before bed, I ask him if he wants to read a book and lately it's been "school bus book!" At this point, I wouldn't be shocked if he read it to me. But I do love reading to him before bed.

Potty Time with Elmo is another one that I've read a lot. What makes it irritating is that not only does it feature Sesame Street's favorite attention whore, but it's a book that makes sounds when you press buttons on the cover. For instance, as you're reading, you see a roll of toilet paper and you press the toilet paper button and there's a sound. It keeps him on the potty ... now only if he'd go on the potty. Although lately the batteries have started to go, so the book will make noise at random times, as if it's possessed or something.

I read Le Morte D'Arthur because I was teaching it, or at least part of it in English 12 this year. I'd started the book years ago but never finished. So I picked up a copy from my English department and sat down to read it. It took me the better part of a month and a half to get through it, mainly because so much of it is just so damn boring. I mean, I love the whole concept of Arthurian legend and the details of the stories of Arthur, Lancelot, Guinevere, Mordred, Merlin, Morgan Le Fay, et. al. make for some great stories, but Malory isn't very vivid and gets really tired, especially through the huge "Tale of Sir Tristram" section in the middle. But I'm glad I powered through and finished, as I never was able to finish the whole thing in high school.

The Fortune Cookie Chronicles is a book I bought for Amanda for her birthday, pretty much on a whim -- I saw it on the book table at B&N and thought it looked fun. It really was. This is an inside look at the Chinese food industry in America. It has some of the qualities of a "tell-all" because the writer is a journalist (and a pretty thorough one at that), but Lee keeps the book pretty fun for the most part, and the serious parts -- a story about one of the people who survived the crash of the infamous Golden Venture back in 1993 -- are riveting enough, even when they slow down the pace of the book. I honestly found it fascinating how much of the "Chinese" food that we eat, such as General Tso's Chicken, is really American and where all of the aspects of Chinese takeout come from. And it isn't one of those "You'll never eat ____ again" type of food books. In fact, I'm glad my lunch tomorrow is mixed vegetables :).

Next up: Hitchhiking and Gulliver.

Ah, the chill of autumn

It's been in the mid-40s and rainy here for the past couple of days. Most of the people I talk to are upset at this--October weather in Central VA is supposed to be in the mid-60s and sunny. But I honestly don't mind it. I'm one of those people who really enjoys the cold weather of the fall and winter, as opposed to the oppressive heat and humidity of the summer.

The other reason I love fall so much is that I know that I can go outside without getting sunburned or sweating to death, and for the most part all of the wasps, hornets, and bees that seem to plague my yard (despite my vigilance in spraying) are starting to go away. Plus, Brett can run around in the park and we don't have to worry about him getting sunburned or being too hot.

We've done what we can to take advantage of all of this. We've been going to the playground every once in a while and spent the last two weekends at Carter's Mountain for their apple festival. This is one of those events where people can walk around and pick apples right off of trees and walk through a pumpkin patch and buy apple-related products (especially donuts ... sweet, sweet donuts). It's also one of those places where you barely spend more than an hour doing anything because you see so much and you feel smug driving away toward your lunch destination because you showed up at 10:00 in the morning and everyone else is now stuck in traffic on the way up the mountain.

Oh, that's just us. Sorry.

But seriously, the fall is just one of those times where I feel like being a dad is really fun. It's, like, "Okay, family time!" Because you know, you have the holidays coming up and it seems that just about every weekend there is something to do. Looking at my calendar for the next couple of months, I have my anniversary, a trip to New York to see my parents, Thanksgiving, Christmas shopping, Christmas ... and since he's two, Brett's finally old enough to like this time of year just a little more. Granted, I'm not looking forward to keeping him away from the Christmas tree, but based on the amount of fun he's been having learning about Halloween and asking Amanda and I to do imitations of witches and ghosts, "Santa" is going to be a lot of fun.

Engage!

Did I say 5/5? Heh. WAY TO KEEP A PROMISE!!!

Anyway, better late than never, I guess, especially when talking about my sister getting engaged. This happened two weeks ago after she and my mom returned from a quick tour of Europe. Her and her fiance, Kyle, headed out for a day together and he proposed. It was one of those moments that all of us had been waiting for and I know that in our house it was definitely happy.

It's weird -- what popular culture has taught me is that I should be jealous or feel lonely or something. Wait, I'm not a woman ... actually, I don't know what popular culture teaches men when a sister becomes engaged. When it's a brother, I've learned that I should go: "FUCK YEAH, BRAH! BACHELOR PARTY! YEAH! WOO! I GET TO BE A DOUCHE!" When it's a sister, it's ... be overprotective? Stare him down and threaten him if he mistreats her? I dunno, they've been together for so long that it's not like I'm intimidating. I can't get 20 sophomores to sit still for 45 minutes; I'm not going to stare down my sister's fiance.

Honestly, I'm simply happy for the two of them and looking forward to the wedding. I'm sure I'll have something nice and sentimental when that time comes, but for now, this is pretty sweet. A belated congratulations!

Ah, it's one of those annoying update posts where I blog that a lot has happened and I haven't had time to blog.

I just checked this blog for the last time I actually wrote anything and saw that I haven't since September 25, and even then, the last two posts were me bitching about Loyola's name change and writing about recent books read. Well, Loyola's name is still "Loyola University Maryland" and while I am reading about four books at the moment, I have finished none of them so I don't have anything to write about (and I went to the public library to see if there were any decent graphic novels or trades to check out but found nothing, and all the school library has is fuckin' manga. Ugh).

So I definitely want to update but there's been some really cool stuff going on lately:

• My sister got engaged last weekend.
• Brett is in full-on potty training.
• Nuts and Gum is in its fifth week of fantasy football.
• Fall is finally here and it has so far been pretty great.
• The weight loss campaign is ... well, whatever it usually is.

Part of me wants to just sum up these things in one entry ... but I think I will accept the challenge of posting five entries in five days to catch everything up (and no, this one doesn't count). Be back later, I guess.