Because nothing should be taken too seriously

My sister, handing me Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead to read, simply said it was "a wicked good read." She was right.

I went on to write a thesis (or what amounted to one at my school) on Rand. But not on Objectivism, or Capitalism, or Selfishness (caps hers). I was more interested in making a case for using fiction (especially "wicked good reads") to teach science — at least, political science. Seriously, wouldn't you like a little Ayn Rand thrown in with your Hobbes? Or Adam Smith, as the case may be?

Atlas Shrugged by Rand is ranked as the second most influential book in print (after the Bible and before Wisdom from The Road Less Traveled) according to a 1991 study by Library of Congress and Book of the Month club. Strong viewpoints make for big targets, however, and Rand is no exception. See illustration on left.

If he could just shrug this off...

The book. The saga. The major motion picture. The movie event of the century.

Yep, the million dollar production of Atlas Shrugged from famed movie producer John Aglialoro, directed by the inimitable auteur Paul Johansson and starring Taylor Schilling as Dagny Taggert, is underway.

Wait, wait. John Aglia-who-o? Paul Johansson — that guy from One Tree Hill — seriously? Not Taylor Schilling, Angelina Jolie, right? — those rumors have been around for a while. Nope.

Let me 'splain. No, no, it's too long. Let me sum up.

John Aglialoro (head of Cybex, a fitness equipment company, and also a trustee of The Atlas Society) acquired the rights to Atlas Shrugged, one of the most well-known and divisive (not to mention longest) novels of the 20th century, in 1993 for $1 million. Evidently the rights are close to expiration and so, this spring, he decided the time was right to go ahead with the film. Sans script, director, or cast. Why sweat the small stuff?

Since then Aglialoro, who intends to bring the book to screen in three parts, has commissioned a script by famed writer Bryan O'Toole — you must recognize his name? He is responsible for such masterpieces as Cemetery Gates and Evilution. Aglialoro has also brought on the directing powerhouse Paul Johansson. If you're not a One Tree Hill fan, you might remember Johansson when he played Steve's nemesis on Beverly Hills 90210, or perhaps as one of the guys in that memorable series of Diet Coke commercials? Think hard, it'll come to you.

Johansson is also slated to play John Galt. Of course he is.

If you can't see it, click here to watch Johansson deliver and drink some diet coke.

I did say million dollar production. That's right. A whole five million dollars. To compare, the production budget for Juno was estimated at around seven million.

Angelina Jolie, when asked by Cinematical.com about the movie (not this production, to be clear, just the movie adaptation in general) had this to say: "the thing with Atlas is just, we all feel that it's one of those projects where if you can't do it right, you really can't touch it." Unless you're a fitness equipment manufacturer, that is. Then, apparently, just doing it is good enough. If only he were making a Nike commercial.

In 1949, when Ayn Rand's earlier novel, The Fountainhead, was brought to the silver screen, King Vidor (five Oscar nominations) directed, Patricia Neal, Gary Cooper and Raymond Massey starred, and Warner Brothers produced. Oh, yeah, and Ayn Rand herself wrote the screenplay. According to the producer, Henry Blanke, Ayn Rand said "she would blow up the Warner Brothers lot if we changed one word of her beautiful dialogue. And we believed her. Even Jack Warner believed her. He gave her a cigar.”

Too bad she's not around now.

iGoldilocks

I think the iPad is tres appealing. It's cool and it's hot. It's slick. It's Apple's new product. And unlike the new iPhone 4, it apparently works. What's not to like?

Well, it's big. And it's heavy. I know I wouldn't want to hold it up and try to read a book on it for hours.

Of course, it is called the iPad. From that point of view, I get it. If you're a note taker — and I am a world-class note taker — it would be nice to have just one pad, with an endless "paper" supply. And a pad that would tag and index and sort and save and email and post your notes? Heaven. Playing movies and reading the paper and playing games could be nifty too.

Still, for reading books, I'm just not convinced. When I read, I want to read, not lift weights. I've been saying for months there should be an iDevice that's bigger than the iPhone and smaller than the iPad. Personally, I'd call it the iBook (cuz, you know, it would be about the size of a paperback).

And wouldn't you know — there are reports that Apple plans to release a new device in early 2011. A smaller, five to seven inch, device.

Ah, just right.

Welcome to the party

Generally speaking, this blog—my blog—is not a "personal" log or journal. With few exceptions, I merely try to point out various interesting (or ridiculous or humorous or surreal) flotsam and jetsam I notice along the wayside of my life, without inflicting on you the flotsam and jetsam obstructing the path of my own life.

You might, however, have noticed a distinct slowdown of entries recently. Okay, okay, for the past year or so. Who's counting? That would be as much of my flotsam and jetsam as you were going to get—focus on what's not there, you'll get the point. Recently, though, I am happy to say that the, ahem, path of my life is becoming less littered and more clear. Which should mean interesting—ridiculous, humorous, surreal—bits of the world once again showing up with regularity on these pages. (Didncha miss me?)

All of which is a long introduction to a book and blog I found the other day, "Slow Love: How I Lost My Job, Put On My Pajamas & Found Happiness" by Dominique Browning, the not-so-recently laid off editor of House & Garden Magazine. I've got the first two down but good; I'm just still working on that elusive third item.

You might not be able to judge a book a by its cover, but perhaps by its title? Jobless, in sleepwear and happy. Now that's my kind of book.

Calling all bookworms

You've got to love a site that lists "The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles" on its home page.

I don't have to say more than that, because really, enough said. But since I, ahem, don't have the time to make this shorter, I'll keep writing.

ReadKiddoRead is a site I stumbled on, in that way I have that is sadly non-replicable nor explicable. It (the site, not my magical, mystical web wandering way) appears to be spearheaded by James Patterson, who writes relentlessly readable mysteries and has recently ventured into writing YA (or "young adult") books.

Since I firmly believe that readers make better people, become better citizens, and probably bake better brownies, I couldn't be happier to have found this site. Not to mention, since I have yet to grow up, I am even happier to have found a new source for kids' books recommendations.

Graphically, I have to say that the site looks weirdly ad-driven, even though it isn't. Also somewhat weirdly, the "if you like this" suggestion lists (which are tres helpful) aren't links to the suggestions. So you have to be fairly copy and paste proficient to navigate. Still, every book on the site has multiple purchase option links, including Amazon, B&N, Walmart, Borders, etc. A bookworm's paradise.

Bookworms of all ages.

Where are the wild things?

On the silver screen, that's where. Turning this book into a movie is something I am sure I am not alone in contemplating with some skepticism. Where the Wild Things Are is a classic. Is anyone going to argue with me about that? I didn't think so.

Like Harold and the Purple Crayon, Goodnight, Moon, The Velveteen Rabbit, Bedtime for Frances. The very nature of the greatest children's books is how they live to come alive in each child's imagination. Differently. How can one movie accomplish that miracle?

Add to that, the history of children's books adaptations (Jim Carrey as the Grinch? Mike Meyers as The Cat in the Hat?), and I confess, I was far less than optimistic.

But... the trailers have been very enticing, and then I saw this featurette with Maurice Sendak himself and Spike Jonze talking about the movie, and hope swelled again:

(A video worth watching. Can't see it? Click here.)

So, as Max said, "Let the wild rumpus start!"

Plate of shrimp at the bookstores, who knew?

Speaking of lattice of coincidences, have you heard of this thing called "trends?" I only bring it up because, well, some people seem to think that if there's one product, or movie, out there on a topic, then that's all there should be.

Now, given history, and even my own anecdotal reporting on this very subect, I think we can agree that that person is sadly and hugely mistaken. As I was trawling through the news sites this morning, I stumbled on, you'll never guess—another teenage vampire book series.

To refresh, we've had "Twilight," the book series and the movie (sequels to come), starring the somewhat anemic Bella and the churlishly charismatic Edward. And we've had "True Blood," the TV series based on Charlaine Harris' Sookey Stackhouse novels (best-selling, of course). Now we have "Hunted," the fifth in the House of Night books, another tale of female blood-sucking rebellion and adventure, featuring Zooey Redbird, a teen-age vampire in training—Bella goes to Hogwarts?

"Hunted" hit the WSJ best seller list at Number 1, vanquishing "Eclipse," Stephenie Meyer's third installment in her Twilight series. All that female vampire-dom battling it out on the best-seller list and at the box-office. Makes you think that there can't really be too much of a good thing, huh?

Zooey vs. Bella vs. Sookey. I can see the movie already.

Re-kindle

Ah, feel the flame light, the spark ignite, the interest flare... the burning desire to... BUY IT NOW.

Amazon finally released Kindle 2.0, and so far reports are positive. Granted, this just happened today, so we need a little time for the shakedown and real feedback to filter back from the stratosphere, but I am hoping.

According to an article in the NYT,

Amazon said the upgraded device had seven times the memory as the original version, allowed faster page-turns and had a crisper, though still black-and-white, display. The Kindle 2 also features a new design with round keys and a short, joysticklike controller — a departure from the previous version’s design, which some buyers had criticized as awkward. The new device will ship on Feb. 24. Amazon did not change the price for the device, which remains $359.

And, according to an article in Business Week, "it can stay charged for up to two weeks on a single charge and holds up to 1,500 books."

Now, what I find sort of interesting is the claim that the new device can hold up to 1500 books. "Seven times the memory" is something which is fairly easy to arrive at mathematically, 1500 books, on the other hand, doesn't really seem so easy to define. I mean, War and Peace, Atlas Shrugged, the seven Harry Potters and the four Twilight books alone come to over 8300 pages, or 2.68 million words. And that's just 13 books... for which I could actually find word counts... which is not as easy as you may think. If you think I'm slacking, here's a short list of books for which word count is not so readily available: The Brothers K (generally over 600 pages), Shogun (the paperback is over 1100 pages and weighs a pound and a half), The Lord of the Rings (over 1100 pages if you consider all three books in the cycle and that's without The Hobbit, another 300 pages).

I know what you're thinking. That's very interesting, but what's her point? (I know that's what you're thinking.) Her point is, what does 1500 books mean? A book is not a measurable unit, last I checked. It's like saying your hard drive will hold 1500 files. Really? 1500 1GB photos are now the same as 1500 10k Word docs? Good to know.

Not to mention, getting back to the Kindle, what about the whole newspaper and magazine thing? Which, in my opinion, is way nifty, and evidently much improved on the new Kindle with its new 16 shades of gray. How does that impact the 1500 books? I'm just saying, "1500 books" sounds like a whole lotta you-know-what to me. Still, seven times the memory—now that sounds promising. And the improved control, navigation and form factor—also promising. My hopes are high(er).

Baseball is to money as...

I like baseball as much as the next person, assuming the next person isn't a rabid Yankees or Dodgers or Sox or Mets fan. Or semi-rabid for that matter.

But several years ago, at a sponsorship conference in Chicago, I heard Billy Beane speak. Who is Billy Beane you ask? So did I, rather prepared to be bored out of my skull. Well, more fool I. I was riveted. It turns out that Michael Lewis, of whom I am a semi-rabid fan, had just published a book all about him. Billy Beane is the man who turned baseball on its head by treating it not only like a business, but like a science.

Moneyball is Lewis' book about Beane, General Manager of the Oakland A's—one of the lowest funded teams with one of the best records. Beane didn't do things the way they were always done. He did them his way. Beane hired brainiacs from Harvard and Yale, not baseball insiders (does the name Theo Epstein ring a bell? No? He's the GM who, two years after being hired, steered the Boston Red Sox to their first World Series Championship in 86 years—but first he worked for Beane). Beane drafted players no other team wanted, and drafted them early. Beane rejected the sacrifice bunt. Beane ran more statistics, and paid attention to them, than any other GM in the game.

As much as it is about baseball—and I would imagine the more you know about the sport, the more you would enjoy the book—this book is about using your brain and following your gut, not the herd.

Pretty good story, right? Evidently Hollywood thinks so too—I hear Steve Zaillian is on board to adapt the book and that Columbia is pitching Brad Pitt to play Mr. Beane, with David Frankel (The Devil Wears Prada) to direct. I'd see it.

"Almost" only counts in horse shoes and...

I want it, I want it, I want it - but I don't want this one!

Is it just me, or does the Kindle seem like a real tease. So close and yet so far?

What I love: The idea of being able to get a book I want, wherever I am, without having to wait or shop (I really, really, really don't like to shop). The idea of being able to travel with 5, 10, 20 books all in the space of one. The idea of being able to read my favorite newspapers and blogs on the same device.

What I don't - (full disclosure - this is all hearsay based on multitudinous reviews) - the ill-placed buttons, the slow screen-drawing, sluggish interface, disconcerting browsing experience, the steep price tag.

So, where does that leave me, inveterate reader, intrepid gadgeteer? Waiting, of course. There are rumors abounding that Kindle Next Gen, Kindle 2.0, re-Kindle (that one's mine), will be out soon - in two versions, in fact. A student focused version out this fall, and another, generation skipping (not us, but itself, as in going from version 1.0 to version 4.0 in a single bound, the Superman of consumer electronics) version in early '09.

I can hardly contain myself.

Real Lit

Consider this minor redemption; I may read Crack-lit, but I also read Lit-lit (if there can be net-net, there can be lit-lit).

In addition to my foray into fervent teen-aged vampire romance, I also recently read Bel Canto, by Ann Patchett, a book I read both as fast as I could and as slowly--wanting as I did to know more, more, more about the characters and the story and also dreading turning the last page to see no more words, to find no more revelations.

Improbably peopled with characters from around the world, Bel Canto somehow weaves a mesmerizing and believable tale of discovery and romance, growth and friendship, and of course, life and death. Kidnappers and hostages, opera singers and tycoons, politicians and villagers -- all tossed together like a mixed salad. And once you toss a salad, you can't untoss it.

Patchett has a way with words that shapes each of her characters particularly; her language shifts to suit them. Sharp and clear or lyrical and a bit blurry, her phrasing offers as much insight into her characters as a singer's phrasing does into a song.

Of course, me being me, as I was reading the book, I couldn't help but notice that it's tailor-made to be adapted into a movie (other than the limited scope of the location), and lo and behold, it appears as though the team behind Capote (RT:91), which garnered Phillip Seymour Hoffman his Best Actor Oscar, is preparing to make the movie. Finally. The book was published in 2001.

Crack-lit?

Okay-I should be embarrassed by this, and maybe I am, a little-but you know, I've talked about "CrackTV," now I'm talking about "Crack-Lit" (chick-lit? ha! that t'aint nuthin.)

I read four books, totaling over 2500 pages, in four days. Now, I'm not making a claim that these books are Dickens or Dostoevsky, but they are addictively readable (I'm becoming something of an expert on addiction these days - take it from me, this is a beneficent form of the problem).

The series, by Stephenie Meyer, about vampires, werewolves, and one likable but ordinary girl, has hit the female tween market like a tsunami. Not since the Harry Potter series (400 million copies and counting) or The DaVinci Code (40 million copies) has a book garnered such fervent fans and readers.

The series may not be for everyone, from a purely plot and character standpoint, and hence may not reach as wide an audience as HP or DVC (I've read them, I'm entitled to take liberties). But let me tell you, it's a good lesson in readability and story-telling.

The movie comes out in November-and, well, if you read this column at all regularly, you know my feelings about adaptations. And I'm particularly torn about my expectations on this one. What do you expect when you learn that the same writer responsible for adapting the book wrote the movie "Step Up" AND the Showtime show "Dexter"? No, really. Melissa Rosenberg wrote them both. On the other hand, Meyer's book is a story about vampires and a 17 year old girl. Huh.

Not exactly the Hound of the Baskervilles

Some "good" books are so "good" they seem impossible to read, have you ever noticed?

Then again, some books are so bad they are also impossible to read. (Calling Robert James Waller? But that's just my opinion, and there are millions of readers, and he has millions of dollars, that speak to the contrary. But seriously, that man has never met an adjective he didn't like-and someone really should lesson him on the use of verbs. And what Robert LaGravenese and Clint Eastwood were able to do with that book. Well, they redefined genius in my opinion, but that could clearly be a whole other post. Hmmm.)

But back to good books, and specifically, good books that are easy to read. A joy to read in fact. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time is one of those. I picked it up and didn't put it down until I was done. I sped through the story told by Christopher, the 15 year old narrator, transfixed. Only Christopher would conclude the following after translating Occam's Razor from the latin: "a murder victim is usually killed by someone known to them and fairies are made out of paper and you can't talk to someone who is dead."

Although his world has different boundaries, and different rules, than the world most of us are accustomed to, Christopher's is a rich world nonetheless. His rules--if he sees 4 red cars in a row it's a Good Day; if he sees 4 yellow cars in a row, it's a Black Day; if he sees 3 red cars in a row, it's a Quite Good Day--organize his world, and the discoveries he makes while investigating the murder of his neighbor's dog reorganize that world.

Navigating one's way through the discovery of new information--that's one way to look at the process of living. Christopher's method of navigation is unique and fascinating. I highly recommend the journey.

A hit, and a...

Oops. But they're allowed.

Amazon has been at the forefront of one-to-one marketing since the beginning of time, or at least since Al Gore invented the internet. Way back in the dark ages, when I think we still had to call up and give our credit card number over the phone (!), Amazon opened as (self-described) "Earth's Biggest Bookstore."

You know me - I never met a bookstore I didn't like - how could I resist that? I not only ordered a book from them, I also signed up for their "Eyes" service, which, as described in their 1997 SEC filing:

allow[ed] customers to specify an author, title or subject area and receive notice automatically when a new book is published that matches their criteria.

Sounds simple now, doesn't it? Ridiculously amateurish, almost. Almost. Back then, though - let me tell you, one small step for Bezos, one giant step for mankind. There wasn't anything like it - if your favorite author came out with a new book, no one was going to tell you - let alone if another author like your favorite author came out with a new book. Well, Amazon was going to tell you. Amazing.

We got used to that pretty darn quick - and one-to-one e-marketing became rapidly and significantly more sophisticated. You may not even think twice about the little lists you see as you shop online - "Customers who looked at this item also looked at... " or "Customers who bought this also bought these..." It's a whole lot of brain-power spinning somewhere trying to wring every last penny out of you - I mean make your shopping experience as fulfilling as possible.

Every now and then, though, those automated marketing algorithms throw out a suggestion that makes you remember that HAL is just IBM shifted one letter backward in the alphabet and Dave is actually human and still has the advantage (if only by a hair).

Such as... this morning in my inbox, I received an email from Amazon with "recommended add-ons for" the neoprene iPod nano armband I recently purchased. Want to guess the top recommended accessory? I'll give you a minute. Yup, you got it. An iPod nano. Ya think?

Legend, I am Not

Sorry. Really, I am. I love a good Will Smith movie as much as, no, probably more than, the next guy. And I'll go so far as to say that he was the best thing in this movie. He was good. Fun to watch in that Will Smith wise-ass way of his, and also good in a not-being-a-wise-ass way.
But this is not about damning with faint praise.
This is about the book.
Yeah. You heard me. The BOOK.
Here's the thing - if they had made the movie and called it something else, I may have really enjoyed it. I don't know. As my mom says - woulda, coulda, shoulda. They didn't and so here we are.
To be honest - this is not really a review of the movie itself, so if you're hoping for that, check out the Rotten Tomatoes page on the movie. This is a review of how the movie was, or was not, an adaptation of the book.
They could not have more missed the point of the book if they had dropped it on the floor behind them and then run a marathon in the other direction.

"I Am Legend." Indeed. And in the mythology that informs our world, the vampire is legend. The vampire lexicon is legendary. The immortality and the oxymoronic vulnerability. The susceptibility to garlic (or related allium compounds), to silver, to the cross. The blood-thirst. The genesis. All this comprises the vampiric legend.
Richard Matheson, author, takes this legend and turns it on its head. In a grand twist on the "last man standing" idiom, he spins the tale of Robert Neville, the last human fighting to survive in a world now run, and run over, by vampires.

SPOILER ALERT
SPOILER ALERT
(was that enough warning to stop reading?)

And when, ultimately, Neville realizes that he will not survive, he understands that he has become legend. The very fact (or myth) of him, the human, is the legend that will, from his demise on, inform the vampire's world. With apologies, or thanks, to Blackglama, the novella asks What becomes a legend most? Matheson takes on this challenge, and subverts it. Robert Neville isn't a legend because he saves the human race - he is a legend because he was the human race.

It's not that I didn't enjoy the movie. It's just that it seems to me that if you're going to adapt a book to the screen, you have some responsibility to the source material. And trust me, it's not like Matheson hid the climax of this story. Could it get any clearer...

Robert Neville looked out over the new people of the earth. He knew he did not belong to them; he knew that, like the vampires, he was anathema and black terror to be destroyed. And, abruptly, the concept came, amusing to him even in his pain.
A coughing chuckle filled his throat. He turned and leaned against the wall while he swallowed the pills. Full circle, he thought while the final lethargy crept into his limbs. Full circle. A new terror born in death, a new superstition entering the unassailable fortress of forever.
I am legend.

Fortune favors the fictional...

...or Forbes does, in this case. I don't know about you, but I find something snarkily satisfying about perusing the Forbes list of people rolling in filthy lucre each year.
Comparing Oprah's rank to Tom's (#1 to #8). Seeing how far Johnny Depp has sailed the Black Pearl (to reach #6! That rocks.). Wondering how it's possible that Jessica Simpson ranked higher than Reese Witherspoon (?!). And those are just the celebrities. Looking at the list of truly rich people - have you ever stopped to really think about how much money $56B is? I mean, honestly, $56B? Let me write it out this way: $56,000,000,000. That's nine zeros. (By the way, in case it had slipped your mind, the $56B would be Mr. William Gates III's net worth, thank you very much.)
But today I stumbled across Forbes list of the Fictional 15, complete with rules, guidelines, and a proprietary calculation algorithm. Here they are:

1. Scrooge McDuck

2. Ming The Merciless

3. Richie Rich

4. Mom

5. Jed Clampett

6. C. Montgomery Burns

7. Carter Pewterschmidt

8. Bruce Wayne

9. Thurston Howell III

10. Tony Stark

11. Fake Steve Jobs

12. Gomez Addams

13. Willy Wonka

14. Lucius Malfoy

15. Princess Peach

Don't you just love this?

Run, don't walk

So I have started to read “Eat, Pray, Love,” and you must run, not walk, to find it and start it and devour it. It is about a year this woman, the author, spent in Italy, India and Indonesia. Then again, perhaps it is so much a book I wished I'd written, about a year I wish to live, about revelations I am having and hope to have, that it seems to me to be the best, most perfect book, but perhaps it won't seem that way to you. And you'll wonder what the hell I am thinking, that I think this book should replace the bible in every hotel room. But I do.

Do you find that some books are narrated by someone you wished were your friend, who could be your friend? I remember reading “Good in Bed,” by Jennifer Weiner, and thinking by the fourth page (in case the first three pages were just some fluke) that this woman, this writer, this storyteller, should be in my book group. I KNEW her, her way with words, her tone, her inflection, her diction. I knew her sense of humor (damn her, funnier than I ever am). I remember reading this book slower and slower, because she was so much fun to hang out with; at the same time I was reading it faster and faster – she was such great company, I couldn't help myself. I remember saying "S#$%!" on the last page - because it was a perfect last page and because the story was over and because I missed her already. Elizabeth Gilbert, who wrote “Eat, Pray, Love” should also be in my book group. And going out for drinks with us. And on the other end of the phone when I’m having a meltdown.

“Eat, Pray, Love” feels like a 300 page letter to the principal explaining that G will not be in school today because she has to go follow her heart, listen to her spirit, pray to God. In fact, it is not clear when or if G will be coming back to school, as this trip is much more important and instrumental to her well-being, as well as perhaps to her growth, but growth is besides the point of happiness.

I am not so much reading this book as swimming in it, breathing it, sweating it out my pores. It makes me see my trip to Bali as if I were just putting my toe in the water -- is the temperature okay? Can I actually swim? Can I make it out to that little island that looks so far away? I knew I needed a break, and yet, at the same time, I had all these rules and regulations in my head: I can take a 'short' break. When I get back I'll 'buckle down.' A breather is okay, but then I'd better get serious. A vacation is okay - but not a major detour in my 'life path.' For crying out loud, who knows what my life path is? I sure don't. And frankly, I'm sort of tired of pretending I do.

This book, and Liz, the writer, is a giant 'get out of jail free' pass - she's a writer (hey, I'm a writer), she doesn't want what she's 'supposed' to want (I don't know what I want, but I'm learning to recognize what I don't). Most of all, it seems to me, Liz decided to take a journey, not to get somewhere, but to GO somewhere. (What a concept. Truly.) She took the luxury of attempting to talk to herself, and listen to herself, and ended up having the most wonderful conversations.

That's how the book reads to me - a record of the conversation she had with herself during this year she spent with I, in countries beginning with I (an irony pointed out, I must confess, by her early on in the book). And it makes me realize how long it has been, if ever, that I have had such a conversation with myself, let alone an ongoing dialogue with the one who should be my biggest fan and best friend.

And I haven't even gotten to her months in Bali yet; we're still in Rome, eating and learning to speak Italian. Which, all in all, is a fine old way to spend four months.

Great Books for Kids (of all ages)

Some notes on this list, if you will:

• there is no age limit (in either direction)
• not all books by each author are listed - which only means that I either
• a) don't remember them all
• b) didn't read them all
• or c) got tired of typing and wanted to move on.
• please note - I am a firm believer in reading ALL books by a great author
• author links are usually to sites about the author or their books
• book links are usually to the book on amazon.com

A great site for more book recommendations, from James Patterson: Read Kiddo Read

Also, although this is by no means a complete list (not universally nor even personally)... it's a good list nonetheless...

• Joan Aiken (the sister of another (in my opintion) great writer, Jane Aiken Hodge)
  • The Wolves of Willoughby Chase
  • Black Hearts in Battersea
  • Nightbirds on Nantucket
• Lloyd Alexander - The Prydain Chronicles
• The Book of Three
• The Black Cauldron
• The High King
• Louisa May Alcott
• Little Women
• Natalie Babbitt - Tuck Everlasting
• Enid Blyton: The Famous Five series
• Five on a Treasure Island
• Five Go Adventuring Again
• Five Run Away Together
• Five Go Off to Smuggler's Top
• Five Go Off in a Caravan
• she wrote many many books - if you like her, read them all
• Elizabeth Borton de Trevino - I, Juan de Pareja
• L.M. Boston – The Green Knowe Series
• The Children of Green Knowe
• The Treasure of Green Knowe
• The River at Green Knowe
• Caddie Woodlawn - Carol Ryrie Brink
• Frances Hodgson Burnett
• The Secret Garden
• A Little Princess
• Ruth Chew
• The Wednesday Witch
• Summer Magic
• What the Witch Left
• Witch's Cat
• Roald Dahl
• Danny, the Champion of the World
• Fantastic Mr. Fox
• James and the Giant Peach
• George's Marvelous Medicine
• The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More
• Edward Eager -
• Half Magic
• Magic or Not
• Seven Day Magic
• Knight's Castle
• The Well-Wishers
• and many more... all well worth reading
• Julie Edwards (aka Julie Andrews) - The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles
• Louise Fitzhugh - Harriet the Spy
• Ian Fleming (yes, that Ian Fleming)
• Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
• Robert Heinlein (he wrote ten or twelve children's books, these are only 3)
  
• Have Space Suit, Will Travel
• Citizen of the Galaxy
• Time for the Stars (about twins)
• Diana Wynne Jones
• The Chronicles of Crestomanci: Charmed Life, The Lives of Christopher Chant
• Witch's Business
• Power of Three
• she wrote many, many, I mean a whole lot of!, books - if you like her, read them all
• Brian Jacques
• Redwall
• Mossflower
• Mattimeo
• Mariel of Redwall
• Salamandastron
• Martin the Warrior
• Norton Juster - The Phantom Tollbooth
• E. L. Konigsburg - From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basile E. Frankweiler
• Madeleine L'Engle: Wrinkle in Time
• see the rest of the series: A Wind in the Door, A Swiftly Tilting Planet and Many Waters
• and I loved the Austin books: Meet the Austins, Moon by Night, A Ring of Endless Light, The Young Unicorns and Troubling a Star
• anything by ML is great
• Mercedes Lackey (not technically a kid's writer, but the writer of some of my favorite, as in I've read them 10, 15, 20 times, books - all from the Valdemar series)
  
• Arrows of the Queen (The Heralds of Valdemar trilogy)
• Magic's Pawn (The Last Herald-Mage trilogy)
• Brightly Burning (Lavan Firestorm's story)
  
• Take A Thief (Skif's story)
  
• so many more...
  
• C.S. Lewis
• Chronicles of Narnia (boxed set includes The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, The Magician's Nephew, The Horse and The Boy, Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The Silver Chair, The Last Battle)
• Betty MacDonald
• Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle
• Hello, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle
• Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle's Magic
• Anne McCaffrey (a small, very small, smattering of her books)
• about Menolly: Dragonsong, Dragonsinger, Dragondrums
• about Lessa: Dragonflight, Dragonquest, The White Dragon
• she wrote so many books, for which I am so thankful
  
• Edith Nesbit - Five Children and It
• see also: The Phoenix and the Carpet, The Story of the Amulet, The Railway Children
• Peggy Parish - all the Amelia Bedelia books
• Katherine Paterson - Bridge to Terabithia
• Elizabeth George Speare -- The Witch of Blackbird Pond
• Anne Sewell
• Black Beauty
• Donald J. Sobol
• Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective
• if you like one - you'll like them all, and there are lots
• Noel Streatfeild
• Ballet Shoes
• Movie Shoes
• Theater Shoes
• Party Shoes
• E. B. White
• Charlotte's Web
• The Trumpet of the Swan
• Stuart Little
• Christopher Paolini
• Eragon
• Eldest
• Brisingr

From my Serious Series Obsession Phase:

• L. Frank Baum (and my sister has this entire series!)
• Queen Zixi of Ix (not part of a series)
• The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
• The Marvelous Land of Oz
• Ozma of Oz
• Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz
• The Road to Oz
• The Emerald City of Oz
• Michael Bond - cool official site from UK
• A Bear Called Paddington
• More About Paddington
• Paddington Helps Out
• Paddington Abroad
• Paddington At Large
• Paddington Goes to Town
• Julie Campbell - the Trixie Belden series (I don't know how many there are, but at one point I owned 15 or 20... I think there are over 30 now, written under the Kathryn Kenny nom de plume)
• The Secret of the Mansion
• The Red Trailer Mystery
• The Gatehouse Mystery
• The Mysterious Visitor
• The Mystery off Glen Road
• The Mystery in Arizona
• The Mysterious Code
• The Black Jacket Mystery
• Susan Cooper - The Dark is Rising series
• Silver on the Tree
• The Grey King
• Greenwitch
• The Dark is Rising
• Over Sea, Under Stone
• Walter Farley (and yes, I still have this entire series)
• The Black Stallion
• The Black Stallion Returns
• Son of the Black Stallion
• The Island Stallion
• The Black Stallion and Satan
• The Black Stallion's Blood Bay Colt
• Hugh Lofting
• The Story of Doctor Dolittle
• The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle
• Doctor Dolittle's Post Office
• Doctor Dolittle's Circus
• Doctor Dolittle's Zoo
• Doctor Dolittle's Caravan
• L.M. Montgomery
• Anne of Green Gables
• Anne of Avonlea
• Anne of the Island
• Anne of Windy Poplars
• Anne's House of Dreams
• Anne of Ingleside

• Tedd Arnold
• Parts
• More Parts
• Ruth Stiles Gannett
• My Father's Dragon
• Elmer and the Dragon
• The Dragons of Blueland
• Tove Jannson
• Finn Family Moomintroll
• Comet in Moominland
• the rest of the Moomin books

Joining the fray

So, the year has ended - and in more ways than one. I was fired (for the first time) -- my friend, Deidre (the best recruiter on the planet!), put it best - "when one door closes, another one opens, but it's hell in the hallway." And, sweetie-pie, am I ever in that hallway, going full steam ahead for that open door!

In fact, I'm thinking I can build that door to be just the height, width and weight that I want. While I may not start a restaurant on an island in the Caribbean, nor be a CEO on Madison Avenue, right now I'm all about the Blanchards in Anguilla (check out their book Live What You Love), and Kevin Roberts, CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi (check his book and website and philosophy, not so new, but fabulous, Lovemarks, the future beyond brands).

And why start a blog now? It's all part of that door I'm building... loving what I'm living and living what I love. Like Charles and Marie (check out their awesome site) - who have a passion for travel, for cool, for innovative, for design - and that's what they live. Add to that a passion for marketing and problem-solving, a knack for seeing connections others don't, and my door, not to mention my blog, begins to take shape.

I'm not sure the world needs another blog - even with blogidators like bloglines and newsgator to help - nonetheless, like Gene Kelly said, "gotta dance!" - though, somehow, "gotta blog" doesn't have quite the same ring. There's a glut of trendwatching with perspective out there already - some of it excellent, much of it good, some of it, well... But to share from the excellent category: Morning News Beat (don't let the food/retail slant fool you - this site has some of the best current consumer and marketing insight around!), Daily Candy (like Google, simple, true to its roots, and phenomenal), Gen Art Pulse (all that's of the moment - clothes, movies, travel, and more), Splendora (pop culture with personality - what more could you ask for?). That's it for today - have to keep some in reserve for the next post, after all.

So going forward, eat, drink and be merry (I figure being merry can incorporate all activities eating and drinking leave out)...


EAT
For those who haven't - go to The Griddle in Hollywood (Sunset & Fairfax) for breakfast, and go hungry, go starving, go famished - going hung-over would be best. This is one of the few places where the huge pancakes (the size of a dinner plate - and you get THREE!) are tasty and light, not frisbees made of pancake colored cardboard. The coffee is super dark, the bacon excellent, and the Manhattan frittata is a don't miss.

DRINK
Make your margaritas at home with Dr. Swami and Bone Daddy's incredible marg mix - use with fresh lime juice, and lots of it, for a margarita that isn't too sweet, too tart, or too sour - perfect!

BE MERRY
Go to the movies -- seriously, go. Cache - you can't quite believe it holds you the way it does, and you don't want to believe it ends the way it does. Walk the Line - it may be trite to say, but the performances really are amazing... personally, I think it's patently unfair that Reese and Joaquin look the way they do, perform they way do, and can also sing?? I already had an inferiority complex, thank you very much. King Kong - it's a spectacle, maybe a little too much so - I can just hear the visual effects team: "come on Peter, how can you NOT use our fabulous slug with teeth and slimy pink gums that can swallow a guy from the head down?" - but still, any movie that can have you believe that not only would a girl choose someone over Adrien Brody, but would choose an ape - that's filmmaking worth seeing. The Matador - a louche 007... is this what Daniel Craig has to look forward to? see it, if only to see Hope Davis utter every variation of the word "fuck" 63 times in 63 seconds (not an exact figure). Syriana - yes, it is like Traffic (go figure, same writer, same director) - this is a good reason to see it... just don't expect to get it all (that's why God invented DVDs and rewind for crying out loud), but if you miss the message, you must be deaf (or stubborn). Good Night and Good Luck - purely beautiful - and riveting. David Strathairn (whom I've loved since Passion Fish, which also stars Mary McDonnell - who is completely underrated, or at least underutilized (remember High Society on TV? No? Neither does anyone else, unfortunately. 'twas the only sitcom I've ever loved... alas, alack), but I digress...) is pitch-perfect, the cinematography is exquisite, and the cast is golden. Don't miss this. Fun with Dick and Jane - I walked out of this. You know me - for me to walk out - that's saying something, and saying enough, I think.
Still on my list - Munich, Capote, Brokeback Mountain, Chronicles of Narnia, Casanova.