Bibliofile - December

I normally would have summed up my month's reads sooner but I spent 2 weeks in Panama in late December/early January. So like they say better late than never.

My monthly average dipped somewhat in December to 7 books. But add that to the 101 volumes I'd already read this year and the year-end total climbs to 108 books for 2013.

Highlights this month include finally getting to Outliers an interesting take on how success is achieved. Read it. I'm not going to give it away.

I also enjoyed Inside the Dream Palace, a somewhat historical overview of New York's Chelsea Hotel. The book makes it clear it's famous - or infamous perhaps - for more than the one night fling Leonard Cohen sings about having with Janis Joplin.

And I really enjoyed He Died With His Eyes Open by Derek Raymond. Raymond's name came up in another book I read this month by one of my all time favourites Ken Bruen. Raymond is a nom de plume for British crime writer Robert William Arthur Cook, known by many as being a founder of British noir.

Here's a list of the books I read in December, in the order in which I read them.

Outliers - Malcolm Gladwell
Purgatory - Ken Bruen
The Gods of Guilt - Michael Connelly
Inside The Dream Palace - Sherill Tippins
He Died With His Eyes Open - Derek Raymond
The Neon Rain - James Lee Burke
Cockroaches - Jo Nesbo

I wonder how many books I'll read in 2014.

My Back Pages - November

I know, I know, I know I should have reported in before now. But sometimes real life just gets in the way. I attempted 5 books in November. I say attempted because I slapped a big DNF (did not finish) on Neal Stephenson's Cryptonomicon. I just can't seem to get into this guy. It's the second or third of his I've given up on, Not so the other four, starting with a biography of Stephen Stills called Change Partners. This followed by a hilarious biography of the guy responsible for National Lampoon called A Stupid and Futile Gesture - How Doug Kenney and National Lampoon Changed Comedy Forever. I ended the month reading yet another biography, this one of the man behind Rolling Stone magazine,. It was called Sticky Fingers: The Life and Times of Jann Wenner and Rolling Stone Magazine. A fascinating read. So last month I hit the magic number 50 I'd imagined for myself back in January. If I roll this month into my yearly total I'm at 54 books. And I still hav...

The Polka Dot Door

A long time ago, when I was 22, my first child was born. That kid grew up on a little Canadian kid's show called Polka Dot Door, produced by the TV Ontario network. And Dad, more often than not, sat through those shows with his little one. Nine or so years later when a brother, and a year after that when a sister came along number one son was moving on to Knight Rider and The Dukes of Hazzard. But there was a nice overlap where his siblings picked up where he had left off with Polka Dot Door. And Dad was right there to welcome them. So you're looking at a Polka Dot Door veteran. The show began in 1971 and ran to 1993. I didn't watch the full run but I did get in my fair share. The formula was pretty simple. A young male and female host, which seemed to change every week, sang songs, told stories, made crafts and generally did their best stimulate little brains. The show opened as follows... Imagination Day! Oh boy! ...

30 Days of Photos III #4 Sour

Check out Ziva's Inferno for the rest of today's photos.

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