"Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested." -Francis Bacon
I had nearly forgotten how much I enjoy just spending the morning and part of an afternoon engrossed in a book curled up on the couch, periodically getting up to snack (never a full meal; those take time) or to use the bathroom. The cares of the weekend just slip away as sweeping, taking out the trash, or doing the dishes just slip my mind while I am busy sweeping my eyes over a page, taking in the words of a favorite author, and doing little more than trying to remain comfortable as my bad knee whines at being immobile so long. I recently won a set of ten books edited by my favorite author, Robert Asprin, and I also recently picked up another of his books in a second-hand book shop. Phule's Paradise may not be the first in the series, but thanks to Asprin's easy-going style and penchant for likeable and realistic characters, it didn't take long for me to find myself comfortable not only with the people I was meeting but the sci fi comedy I found them in. One of these days, I'll get around to ordering the first in the series (along with the rest following) because although it's not the fantasy of the Myth series, the Phule's series' sci fi comedy and adventures have lured me into the enchantment that Asprin has cast upon me.
Now that I have finished Phule's Paradise, I think I'll begin work on the series edited by Asprin, Thieve's World, a comilation of fantasy writers who, working with the same handful of ragtag adventurers, have created a town in which the same stories are told by different authors all from different points of views with their own spin on the events on hand. The lot I bought off eBay was missing Book 8, but I just ordered that from Amazon, so by the time I get that far, it will have come in and I can continue on without pause. I'm looking forward to it.
I have also picked up a few quote books, The Book of Poisonous Quotes and The Wit and Wisdom of Mark Twain: A Book of Quotations, which I hope to keep on the desk so as to never be at a loss for words when heading a new post. There's a third quote book on the way, though its title eludes me at the present. In playing around on Amazon, I made my own little wishlist (not sure how to make it searchable by others, but we'll work on that), which includes lots of comics, some more Asprin books, and I think a few quotes books. I'll more than likely end up getting most of the listed books myself, but I'm rather goofy like that. I'm terribly impatient when it comes to feeding my bibliophile urges. 🙂 At any rate, I have just been invited to go for a walk, so I'll catch you later.
And happy Father's Day!
Posted: June 20, 2004 at uh, ten after two in the afternoon.