While I'm unemployed I've decided to sell off a bunch of the books I've got floating around my house. I've created an Amazon.com store with an inventory of over 100 items. I've sold about 60 items over the last three weeks, moving to an Amazon Pro Seller.

If you're interested, you can check out the store here:

Ensie's Book Sales

There are teacher guides and library items, children's books, manga, business books (including some bestsellers), collector's items, and a few novels. I try to keep my prices as low as possible - in fact, I usually list everything as the lowest price for each title.

Or if you see something you want e-mail me at ensie1(at)gmail(dot)com and lets make a deal. I need to get rid of all these extra books.

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Squeeee!

I'm totally in the new Tacoma City Arts magazine this month - the July issue with Deborah Ritchie on the cover. It's now monthly, and it's just out. Apparently copies are now available at the Stadium Thriftway, but I haven't seen them anyplace else yet.

Looking through the current issue, it looks like a really good one. The piece on Deborah Ritchie of Deborah Page, the highlight of Frost Park's Chalk Off, the preview of the Tall Ships festival...I'm really looking forward to reading through the entire thing.

And why am I in the mag you may ask? Just a quick question about what I'm reading recently, in which I mention Jenette Faluda's book Half-Assed: A Weight Loss Memoir, which you can see a preview of here:

You can also check out her blog Half of Me here, where she goes by the handle "Pasta Queen".

Her book is an interesting look at what it's like to go from over 300 lbs. to half that weight, and the mental and physical adjustments that come with that change. Faluda lost the weight on her own, without the help of diet programs, and continues to maintain her weight loss, holding herself accountable to her own conscience and her blog readers.

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I'm not entierly sure how I've managed to go this long without writing about Bookmooch considering the fact that I've used it every single day for the last couple of months obsessively. It's officially become my favorite new thing to play with because a) it allows me to get rid of the excess books that have been haunting my house for years, b) I get new books that I actually want, c) I get mail, which is fun, and d) I get to use my Stamps.com shipping program and paraphernalia.

Assuming one isn't familiar with Bookmooch, it's a simple website where you can trade in your current books for points. Your points can then be exchanged for books other users have that you would like. Easy peasy! Typically books are worth one point each as you send and receive from one person to another within the same country. Books "mooched" to and from foreign countries can cost 2 - 3 points.

At last check I have sent out 39 books and received 13 (which sounds bad, but really, I've been wanting to get rid of a lot of crap). I'm waiting on 5 more to arrive and have one book to send out currently. I have 25.1 points currently. Books that you want to give away are kept in an inventory that is browsable by other members. Books that you would like to receive are added to a "wishlist." Every time a book on your wishlist becomes available you are sent an e-mail. You can also get an RSS feed of the wishlist if you prefer.

The best part of Bookmooch is the cost. It's completely FREE. The only cost associated with trading books is the shipping cost. But since books are bound, printed matter, they can ship as media mail. This can take longer to ship but typically costs very little. Most books cost between $2 - $3 to ship. Considering the average cost of a paperback can be $12 - $14 and a harcover can be as much as $30 this is really quite a deal!

Bookmooch has a blog and has recently been writing about some very cool stuff. Making books and bookmooching more green has been a big topic as of late. Things like reusing packaging and making sure that you can order the reused packaging right on the website. They also have started working with publishers to have books available directly.

Being a voracious reader, Bookmooch and Paperspine are exactly the type of things that I've been looking for. While the library is great, the fact that there are fees (I recently racked up $50 in fines at the Tacoma Public Library for the five books I had out) keep me from going back. I can find more recent titles, keep them as long as I want (own them if it's Bookmooch), and not have to worry about returning them to anyone. What's not to love?

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Today I came home from lunch with Jenyum of Tacomamama to find a package on my doorstep. Upon opening the package I found a delightful gift. Some may remember my obsession with the book The Fruit Hunters by author Adam Leith Gollner. I raved about this book when I received an Advance Reader Copy (ARC) from Simon and Schuster a couple of months ago. The book is an absorbing read from beginning to end and made me care about a topic I previously had little interest in. I can't wait to see how Gollner's work is received and what he chooses to write about next.

So, anyway - the surprise gift. Because I had gushed to my Simon and Schuster contact about the book she sent me a signed copy of the finished hardcover! Not just signed, but signed to me! Adam Leith Gollner knows my name!

OK. He likely had a huge list of books to sign for various people and I was just one of a massive number getting books signed to them. But still! This is cool.

I also just received a couple of other signed finished books that are being republished (after being self-published, then published by Slave Labor Graphics). Ariel Schrag's amazing books Potential and Awkward and Definition are being published by Simon and Schuster. Potential is being developed as a movie to be directed by Rose Troche. I own the Slave Labor Graphics editions, but having signed copies is so nice...

Posted by: Ensie at 02:06 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Today I came home from lunch with Jenyum of Tacomamama to find a package on my doorstep. Upon opening the package I found a delightful gift. Some may remember my obsession with the book The Fruit Hunters by author Adam Leith Gollner. I raved about this book when I received an Advance Reader Copy (ARC) from Simon and Schuster a couple of months ago. The book is an absorbing read from beginning to end and made me care about a topic I previously had little interest in. I can't wait to see how Gollner's work is received and what he chooses to write about next.

So, anyway - the surprise gift. Because I had gushed to my Simon and Schuster contact about the book she sent me a signed copy of the finished hardcover! Not just signed, but signed to me! Adam Leith Gollner knows my name!

OK. He likely had a huge list of books to sign for various people and I was just one of a massive number getting books signed to them. But still! This is cool.

I also just received a couple of other signed finished books that are being republished (after being self-published, then published by Slave Labor Graphics). Ariel Schrag's amazing books Potential and Awkward and Definition are being published by Simon and Schuster. Potential is being developed as a movie to be directed by Rose Troche. I own the Slave Labor Graphics editions, but having signed copies is so nice...

Posted by: Ensie at 02:06 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Frinkling brought a really great interview with Alison Bechdel to my attention. She discusses her bestselling work Fun Home, the experiences following that publication, as well as the upcoming graphic novel she is working on.

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I found an interesting article in Seattle Business Montly this week on a new company called Paperspine.com. Paperspine is the startup brainchild of Microsoft employee Dustin Hubbard. The company is modeled after Netflix, but instead of sending you movies when you subscribe, Paperspine sends you books.

Subscriptions start at $9.99 for 2 books/month and top out at $25 for 5 books/month. I think they are charging about $5 a month too much per package, but that didn't stop me from subscribing to check it out. I didn't read all to carefully through the FAQ, and received a surprise when I started browsing - Paperspine only carries paperback books at this time (although the article I read mentioned audio books?), which severely limits the inventory they carry, but likely keeps their costs down significantly. Frinklin and I immediately added 10 books to our queue and should have our top three selections in 3 - 5 days.

Paperspine's website has some limitations right now. The categories have some odd definitions, and are kind of hard to search. What is "Contemporary Fiction" and how are the titles listed within? How do I find the Chick Lit, which is definitely different from Romance? Where are the Graphic Novels? The site failed a major test by not carrying Time's Book of the Year for 2007 (and one of my favorite authors), Alison Bechdel's Fun Home.

I should stress that Paperspine is currently in Beta, and that Hubbard has recently added a "Lipstick Blogger" to write about women's books. He also has plans to add a purchase option for people who love their rented books too much to send them back. If you can't find a book on the site that you want to borrow, Paperspine will order it for you. The site is actively requesting feedback at this time, so things should improve.

I'm hoping this will limit my book purchasing addiction while allowing for plenty of reading of backlist titles I've been meaning to catch up on. I love the Tacoma Public Library, but find that I'm great at racking up fees and getting my card suspended. This may be the perfect solution.

Posted by: Ensie at 09:27 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I don't read a lot of non-fiction (as Kevin will tell you, as he is mostly patiently waiting for me to finish Pale Blue Dot, which he loaned me a month ago and I informed him the other day that I am on page 30), but I received an ARC of this book from the publisher and started to flip through the first few pages. It turned into a fascinating read!

This book makes me want to travel to far-away places just to eat exotic fruits. And it make me incredibly annoyed at the paltry selection that we have here in the United States. Why don't we have the ice cream bean fruit? Why are we denied the miracle fruit*, which makes sour things taste amazingly sweet? It turns out fruit is tied to all sorts of political nonsense, but that doesn't keep people from constantly trying to bring better fruit to the Western World.

According to author Adam Leith Gollner, we Westerners may be introduced to a new banana relatively soon, as our own hardy Cavendish banana is facing extinction from a mutant strain of a fungus known as Panama Disease Race 4. The original Panama Disease did away with "top banana" Gros Michael in the 1960s, introducing us to the Cavendish. And now we're facing the same problem again. Not that I want the Cavendish to disappear, but who knew there are over 1,000 types of bananas out there; to name a few:

- blood banana
- sugared-fig banana
- pregnant banana
- ice cream banana (which tastes just like it sounds)
- popoulou banana (bright pink inside and tastes like an apple)
- haa haa banana (bright orange inside)
- Burmese Blue banana (guess what color?)

You can see several of these varieties on this page, along with many other I didn't list.

This book also allows you to terrify your friends with disturbing facts about pesticides and fruit. The number pesticides on your average apple is just disturbing. Or the dying of oranges to make them orange, which is banned in England, Australia, and Norway, but not in the good 'ol US of A! This practice causes Cancer in lab rats and mice, but I'm sure it's not harming you. Don't even get me started on exactly how a Wenatchee, WA based company is making Grapples. Let's just say when Frinklin tried to talk me into trying one at the local grocery store I'm really glad I said no. Something always felt wrong about those things and now I know why.

One of the most important things Gollner noted is that your average grocery store does not want people to be aware of the variety of fruits available. If so, everyone would be asking for these amazing fruits. "Every five requests are seen as representing the desires of a hundred customers. Demand for quality fruits can help reverse the trend of fruit homogenization." The key is that consumers must be aware of the fruit varieties. As the author notes,

"Fruits are often sold without being identified by variety; they're just straberries, not Monarchs, Seascapes, or Albons. The strawberries we buy in North America and Europe -- firm, red, cold resistant varieties like Camarosa, Elsanta, Diamante, Ventana-- are as reliable as they are flavorless. Little do we realize that there were 1,362 varieties of strawberry described in the 1926 compendium The Small Fruits of New York.

There has been a conscious decision by the produce industry to wean shoppers away from varieties. If consumers start learning about all the varieties of fruits, that means they'll start demanding quality."

So get out there and start demanding ice cream bananas!

For anyone who is a fan of Salt: A World History or Spice: The History of Temptation, this is a natural fit. Or if you're just looking to for a great read about an incredibly interesting topic, this fit that bill as well.

The Fruit Hunters is due out in May 2008 in hardcover from Scribner, a division of Simon and Schuster. ISBN is 9780743296946. Cover art shown is the Canadian Edition, I don't have the final cover art of the US Edition.

*Miracle fruit can be ordered from this web site. Some friends and I are planning a miracle fruit party at some point in the future!

Posted by: Ensie at 01:15 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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The Free Book Challenge Winners have been chosen!

The winner of Advice to Writers: A Compendium of Quotes, Anecdotes, and Writerly Wisdom From a Dazzling Array of Literary Lights Compiled and Edited by Jon Winokur is Eden of so anyway.... Eden wrote an amazing start to a memoir that I hope she'll continue at some point. That is one memoir I'm already dying (hee) to read. Eden, please email me your address and the book will be in your hands in just a few days.

Heather at Hamster Boy won the Slummy/Yummy Mummy Challenge. She's a slummy AND a yummy mummy. Kick ass! Heather, send me an e-mail at ensie1@gmail.com and the book Slummy Mummy by Fiona Neill is on it's way to you!

No one e-mailed me about Mister Pip, so he'll recirculate into the pile to be given away later, or maybe he'll go our into the world of bookcrossing.

Keep your eyes peeled for a new Free Book Challenge in the near future!

Posted by: Ensie at 02:16 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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1 Squeeeee! I'm excited! And this means I'll be giving away a writing book in turn, to pass on the good karma. I may continue it. I'm not sure what I'll follow up with but I can talk about the frog legs

Posted by: Eden at August 22, 2007 08:20 PM (BDCWt)

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It's that time again! That time when I go through my ever-cluttered office and find loads of free books that I will never read and offer them to you, my small band of loyal readers and the slightly larger group of random people who will possibly stumble across this site through pure accident.

I have the following available for give aways this week:

Advice to Writers: A Compendium of Quotes, Anecdotes, and Writerly Wisdom From a Dazzling Array of Literary Lights Compiled and Edited by Jon Winokur (in hardcover). To win this item, please post on your own blog the first paragraph of your own autobiography and link that entry to this one. E-mail me the link to your blog at ensie1@gmail.com so I can pick a winner, who will receive this item free, all postage paid!

First entry is up!

Eden at so anyway... is off to a strong start. Think you can do better? E-mail me your linked entry and I'll check it out!

The next free item is Slummy Mummy by Fiona Neill. To receive this title, please compose a blog entry and link back to this post about why you are a slummy mummy or a yummy mummy. No preference will be given to either slummies or yummies, however, the vehemence with which one chooses to defend one's position will be taken into account. Again, the book will be sent, free of charge, all postage paid.

And Hamster Boy's Heather is takin' on the Slummy/Yummy Mummy Challenge. Think you can take her? Bring it.

And lastly, I have one copy of Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones. Be the first one to e-mail me with the subject "Mister Pip" and your name and address in the e-mail and I'll send it right out to you. No work needed.

I will link to everyone who enters to share the link love. I love giving away free books, and will giving free books away regularly on bothhands going forward.

You may enter as many times as you wish, although e-mailing multiple times may irritate the judge.

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Today while riding in the car, Frinklin and I began discussing Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration which comes up in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. He had mentioned earlier that an article had been written pointing out the terrible economics of the series. Rowling addressing this with a bit with an all encompassing set of laws that apparently covers food (Hermione reminds Ron that one cannot create food out of thin air, only multiply what one already has, according to Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration). It is also mentioned earlier that wizards and witches cannot force others to fall in love with others without the use of potions which wear off over time.

Since there is also the use of Gringotts to store riches and wizarding world money, and because one never sees anyone able to do it, it's safe to assume that no one can create money. Thus, the third law under Gamp's appears set.

So the first three laws of Gamp's (assumed) are:

1. One cannot create food, only multiply it once you are in possession.
2. Once cannot force another to fall in love.
3. One cannot create or multiply money through the use of magic.

Now, what would the last two laws be? I have one thought - You cannot change your shape or assume the guise of another person without the use of Polyjuice potion, unless you are a metamorphmagus or animagus.

Let me know what your thoughts are in the comments.

Posted by: Ensie at 04:57 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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1 Please, save Harry Potter.

Posted by: Pedro Morgado at July 28, 2007 05:16 PM (9H+8H)

2 I would suggest that you can't "vanish" something that is alive... if that were the case, then Vanishing Charms would be as illegal as the killing curse! And... hm, number five... tricky... I'd say a wizard can't magically enhance himself. If that were possible, we'd be looking at a world with weak magic users, and magic users who had learned how to enhance themselves into near-godlike status.

Posted by: Mitschu at November 07, 2007 05:23 AM (SdpqA)

3 Re Gamp's Laws of Elemental Transfigurations. 3) Money. Perhaps one can’t transfigure stuff into Metal, so even having a Philosophers stone you need real metal to change it into gold. ??? (4) Vanishing: That is true the vanishing cupboard is merely a form of translocating an living being to somewhere else I guess in regarding to living matter. I suppose one could suggest that the (5) "Enhancement" though is good as lead me to think... "Altering oneself permanently” is probably the 5th law as it also covers the fact that one can not transfigure Dead matter into living matter, thusly once dead ya stay dead. In a permanent type of manner. What do you think?

Posted by: Silvros at October 30, 2008 11:09 PM (e3Ehr)

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You scored 24% Slytherin, 12% Ravenclaw, 52% Gryffindor, and 36% Hufflepuff!

You might belong in Gryffindor,

Where dwell the brave at heart,

Their daring, nerve, and chivalry

Set Gryffindors apart.

Gryffindors are known for their courage, audacity, and devotion to what is good and honest.

Found at So anyway...

Posted by: Ensie at 11:58 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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I'm about a week late covering Harry Potter, as I finished the book in one day. Frinklin beat me by speed-reading through it in 5 hours. My Mom was amazed at this, "How can you finish a 750 page book in one day?"

"I have no children." I responded. Although Eden has two little ones and managed the feat as well. My Mom is a big reader and despite having two kids exactly in the HP age range (now 15 and 16) and me pushing them to read the series, it never caught on in their house. I think they'll enjoy them later in life.

Anyway...spoilers below more...

Posted by: Ensie at 09:03 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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1 Rowling is a great storyteller & her writing is immensely accessible. That's how people read it so quickly. FRED!

Posted by: Eden at July 26, 2007 10:33 AM (BDCWt)

2 Loved the ending, especially the final duel in front of everyone. And the epilogue fit perfectly with the book. ... and they lived happily ever after seems like a pretty good ending to me.

Posted by: Erik Hanberg at July 26, 2007 11:36 AM (7gFSi)

3 Eden, I KNOW! Frinklin totally called it too. We both called Mad Eye and he said he thought one of the Weasley twins was a goner. I thought they might be home free with the ear thing, but swore out loud quite a bit when Fred was killed. Erik, I'm so glad to hear that you liked the ending. I love happily ever afters, and this one with the characters all happy, in love, and with their children was perfect.

Posted by: ensie at July 26, 2007 11:41 AM (6We+3)

4 I, too, loved the epilogue. (I keep reading reviews from people who hate, hate, hated it, so it makes me happy when other people liked it too.) I loved that Harry, Ron and Hermione got to end up actually being family. It was nice...just a little snapshot of the future to let us know that things turned out all right.

Posted by: Erin at July 26, 2007 12:51 PM (wlZTb)

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I've been so careful!

When I heard that the last Harry Potter book had been leaked online I didn't visit anyplace that I thought might be suspect. No Wikipedia or Google for me. And I wasn't going anywhere near the reviews at the New York Times or the Baltimore Sun.

But this morning! This morning! Damn you Publishers Weekly! There was a YouTube video up on a book blog this morning showing a person spoiling the end of HP Book SIX for people waiting in line at a Barnes and Noble at the book release party in 2005. A guy was driving by in a car while screaming out the window "Snape kills Dumbledore!" at the top of his lungs. I realize now that I was damning myself the moment I laughed at this video but I thought, what the hell.

I figured I'd send this to my old boss, she'd think this was funny. I copied the link into my email (which I will not be linking to here, although you can find it under "Snape Kills Dumbledore").

Now pay attention because here is the key moment.

I clicked on the link in my email to confirm that the link worked and immediately up popped the YouTube window. However, before the video showed the comments became clear. And in the comments was THE LIST OF ALL THE CHARACTERS WHO DIE IN THE SEVENTH BOOK!!!

I KNOW!!

Fortunately I only saw two names, and in a discussion yesterday with Frinklin ("name three characters you think are going to die") I had already guessed one of them.

I know this is silly and not a big deal in the grand scheme, but I'd like not to know the ending going into this. I'm not a big mystery reader, in fact, I hate mysteries normally. But I do enjoy the Harry Potter books, and would like to have it be a surprise the first time around.

That will teach me not to laugh at other people's misfortune.

Posted by: Ensie at 09:09 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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I'm so ready for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I spent the last several days reading the entire series through volume six. I forgot how enjoyable they are, and how crazy suspenseful the the last 100 pages of Half-Blood Prince are. I couldn't sleep for a good two hours after finishing because I was so amped from those last chapters.

Frinklin and I also saw Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix last week and I was disappointed. Book five has been my favorite for some time (although up on re-reading, six now tops the list) and to see the story so choppy and without a single subplot included made me feel like the director put no heart into the story at all. Where was the drama about Ron joining the Quiddich team? Or Draco Malfoy? Or Hermione and Ron becoming Prefects? I understand that the director, David Yates, wanted to chop out all references to Kreatcher as well until JK Rowling told him it would be detrimental to the story if he did. Yates feels that all the films have been too long and worked hard to keep the movie shorter, which you can really feel. Hasn't he learned that people will sit through long films if they're good?

And dude - get a better special effects team together. Grawp looked like crap and the thestrals certainly could have been better.

On the upside, the acting is getting better and better. Daniel Radcliffe is the spitting image of the Harry Potter in my mind. I can only hope that the excellent peripheral actors will also sign on the the last two films.

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Eden left a comment on my You've Been Warned post asking what ARCs I've been reading lately.

First, I have to say that while I've gotten quite a few, I haven't been reading them all that quickly, since I checked out a ton of stuff at the local library within the last month. I'm currently reading Vanity Fair, which, if you don't know, is over 800 pages in 8-point font. I am 300 pages in after a week, so I'm hoping to be done by next Wednesday or Thursday if I get some good reading time in (judging from the weather, I won't be outside too much).

So here is one I've read:

Everything I Needed to Know About Being a Girl I Learned From Judy Blume - Judy Blume always got things just right. A quick read of a collection of pieces examining Judy Blume's books by various well known authors. If you grew up loving Judy Blume books, this will definitely appeal. I felt a little left out because so many of the authors focused on the book Deenie, which I have not read. It's now on my list. Published June 5th.

...And several on my "to read" list:

The Almost Moon - This is Alice Sebold's new book, following the success of The Lovely Bones in 2002. I really liked The Lovely Bones, even though it isn't something I normally would pick up. I'm not a fan of murder mysteries or really, any book that contains gruesome details. So I'll give this a try. Publisher marketing notes that this is a book about relationships, specifically about a daughter and the mother she murders. Scheduled publication date October 16, 2007.

Born Standing Up - Even though Steve Martin has had an uneven movie career, his books have been well received. This is his first non-fiction work about his life as a stand-up comedian. Martin notes, "I ignored my stand-up career for twenty-five years, but now, having finished this memoir, I view that time with surprising warmth. One can have, it turns out, an affection for the war years." Scheduled publication date December 4, 2007.

The Worst Years of Your Life - A collection of stories about adolescence. Billed as "...a collection with something for everyone: classic standbys, familiar contemporaries, and exciting new discoveries." I'm hoping for something similar to Kick Me and Superstud by Paul Feig (of Freaks and Geeks fame), which are hilarious in a totally wrong and disturbing way. Scheduled publication date August 21, 2007.

The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible - The title of this one pretty much gives it away. Written by AJ Jacobs, who took it upon himself to read all 32 volumes of the Encyclopedia Britannica to write The Know-It-All. Opposite the title page is a full page of snapshots of Jacob's gradual beard growth over the year of biblical living, which cracked me up. The conversations I've sampled between he and his wife are highly amusing. Scheduled publication date October 9,2007.

I'll do my best to get to some of these over the next month.

Posted by: Ensie at 12:02 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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1 Cool I'm always curious about this kind of thing.

Posted by: Eden at June 22, 2007 12:38 PM (BDCWt)

2 Glad you like it. I've gotten so many books lately, it's hard to keep up. Most of them not anything I'd be interested in reading, although I try to keep an open mind. I'm trying to jet through Vanity Fair now, which started dragging during chapter 30 (essentially an entire chapter all about the travel of a letter detailing George's being removed from his family and losing all but a small inheritance - thrilling!).

Posted by: ensie at June 22, 2007 03:39 PM (6We+3)

3 Vanity Fair sitting on my shelf in all it's teeny tiny font goodness...good to know someone is reading it!

Posted by: Jennifer at June 23, 2007 09:55 AM (knXYI)

4 It really is a good book - funny and sarcastic in a lot of places, but like many classics, it drags where minute details and asides about the culture of the time are included.

Posted by: ensie at June 23, 2007 11:16 AM (6We+3)

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I have an ARC (advance reader copy) of the new James Patterson book You've Been Warned, which will be published in September.

I am not a Patterson fan so the book will go to waste, but if you want it - shoot me an e-mail at ensie1(at)gmail(dot)com. I'll even pay for shipping.

BTW - if you search "You've Been Warned" on Google, the second hit that comes up is this site about cow abduction, which is pretty funny.

Posted by: Ensie at 07:28 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Technically, at the moment, I'm in New Jersey, but I was in New York all day, so does that count?

I've been walking my feet off at Book Expo America over the last couple of days. Very, very exciting to see all the new titles coming out, and to pick through the piles of galleys (uncorrected book proofs) to find the jems. The haul home for this event will be relatively small, as shipping the books is incredibly expensive and I can't check another bag. So far I've sent a couple of boxes home and will try to cram another 15 books into my already overstuffed suitcases. I have a strong feeling I'll be paying the $25 fee for a heavy (over 50 lbs.) case.

I'm staying at the Sheraton Suites on the Hudson River, which is adequate. Nothing too fancy for Bob's Hogs employees. The air conditioning is good, which is all I've really been concerned with. It's been incredibly hot and humid - temperatures in the 90s with rain falling in the afternoon and evening. Each morning and afternoon I take the ferry into New York. The water is disgusting, but the breeze is heavenly.

I took off my wedding ring because the heat and exhaustive days are causing my fingers to swell a little bit and it's uncomfortable. Apparently I've opened the door to getting hit on - I had one guy chat me up on the ferry and another ask me my name in the elevator. He also asked my room number, but when I declined, he watched me get off at my floor and watched while I went to my room. I walked well down the hallway, then when the elevator doors closed, I returned to my room which is almost directly across from the elevator! I was going to go down to the bar to get a drink, but on the off chance I run into the guy, I think I'll pass and hit the city for dinner instead.

I met Alison Bechdel today, which was awesome. She was signing the paperback edition of Fun Home and when I introduced myself as the Buttock Champion of the World she laughed and asked to get a couple of pictures with me (!!) The woman behind me in line was asking for pic with Alison, and I felt slightly special having Alison ask me.

My last hour at the Javits Center today was spent at a librarian session about how to select and purchase graphic novels for a collection. It was an excellent panel, very funny. The speakers consisted of librarians who assist with developing their own libraries' gn collections, a comic book owner, and a couple of consultants. One librarian has her own site, no flying no tights, and another developed the manga rating system for publisher TokyoPop. The panel ended their discussion with recommendations, which is what everyone really wanted (Just tell me what to buy! Don't make me research this scary thing!). Several manga items were listed, and Bone, Owly, and Amelia Rules were the kids suggestions. For teens I suggested Invincible, someone yelled out Runaways, and the comic book store owner mentioned Walking Dead, which I think should probably fall into adult, especially considering the torture issue that came out recently. Strangers in Paradise was recommended for adults. I wish there was more time, I could have suggested several more.

Time to change for dinner! More soon...

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After spending time in the company of librarians at the American Library Association Mid-Winter Meeting in January, I've developed a bit of a crush on librarians. I wish I had thought more about this profession when I was in school. In the meantime, if you share a love for librarians and libraries, The Hollywood Librarian is scheduled for release this summer (debuting at the ALA Convention in Washington D.C. this June).

Check out the trailer:

Found at Dykes to Watch Out For.

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Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

I loved this book! It was great from beginning to end. The author's search for meaning and God in her life is admirable, and a true example of money not equaling happiness.

I've noticed a lot of people knocking Gilbert for "whining" about her publisher's book advance that paid for her travel. I think those people are missing the point, or at least skipped the moment where she loses everything in a messy divorce before regaining her independence through hard work (and she does work very hard) and discipline.

While the pace of Eat, Pray, Love does slow toward the end of the second part (India), you can almost feel Gilbert's own mind, body, and spirit finding a more comfortable home. Instead of being panicky and worried all the time, things start to fall into place, and life takes on a less frantic velocity.

Funny and touching - a very enjoyable read that I didn't want to end.

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