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October 2009

Drunk

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time for pumpkin beer

Halloween is here. I am not much of a party guy but since it is a Saturday I plan to attend a costume party tonight. Saturday and Halloween are a potent combination. Watch out tonight for drunks.

With all the hard cider and pumpkin beer being consumed there could be some impaired drivers. Watch out for inebriated ghouls stumbling along the roads tonight.

I have been getting my costume ready. And I’m preparing to encounter the excessive imbibers. I’m reading “Drunk - the Definitive Drinker’s Dictionary” (Melville House) by Paul Dickson.

Dickson has come up with another wordy record; 2,964 synonyms for being drunk. Here are a few of my favorites:

Buicked

Decanted

Discumfuddled

Gouged

Liquefied

Peelywally

Stung

Up a stump

Bluttered

Gaaaaaaaaaa

Mellifluous

Wettish

Very

Tap-shackled

Redirected

Oaaaaaaaaaa

Got the gravel rash

Bought the black sun

Feeling his onions

Like Christmas

It is a fabulous book. Watch out tonight for those he describes….

Vick Mickunas

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“Sex, Drugs & Gefilte Fish”

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who knew?

“Sex, Drugs & Gefilte Fish: The Heeb Storytelling Collection,” has just been published. This is a collection of edgy, Jewish humor. I happen to be a fan of the comedian Andy Borowitz. He is one of the contributors to this collection.

You don’t have to be Jewish to get some hearty chuckles from this anthology of humor collected from the publication Heeb Magazine. I’m not making any of this up!

Here’s what Rosanne Barr had to say:

“After reading this book, I feel relieved as well as certain that Jews will be able to retain control of the media.”

Are you laughing yet? It’s a joke!

Vick Mickunas

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Do you believe in a higher power?

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what do you believe in?

A new book just landed on my desk. “Good Without God - What a Billion Nonreligious People Do Believe” (Morrow) was written by Greg M. Epstein, the Humanist chaplain at Harvard University.

This book has made me take a closer look at what I believe in. I’m not a person who thinks it is proper to foist my own personal beliefs on others. Even so, I do have some beliefs.

I’m a product of the parochial schools. The nuns (and a few priests) tried to teach me how to be a good Catholic. It didn’t take. I read the Bible when I was in grade school. That, and the dictionary. I wanted to be well informed. Most of my teachers didn’t seem to appreciate the value of my freelance studies. But I was able to respond to their teachings with additional information that broadened the learning experience for me and a few of my classmates. I asked questions - I’m still asking them.

Here’s my question for you today; do you believe in a higher power? A simple yes or no answer will suffice. If you wish to offer more details feel free to do so.

Whenever I wonder about the existence of a higher power I observe evidence that indicates to my mortal senses that there must be one.

I looked out my window this morning and saw a magnificent white tailed deer browsing just outside my door. (I know, some of you might consider this to be evidence of the devil’s work). She is so beautiful!

I’m sitting here enjoying my coffee. My dear friend, a cat, is snoozing in my lap.

The autumn foliage.

When I have some doubts I usually receive a resounding thump which reveals to me that some higher power is making certain that things are OK in the universe.

Did you see what the Phillies did to the Yankees last night?

I believe…

Vick Mickunas

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Can marijuana save California?

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leaving no stone unturned in California..

California was the first state to legalize the use of medical marijuana. Now legislators in California are giving some thought to passing a bill that would make marijuana legal in California as a taxable substance like alcohol or tobacco.

What has pushed California to the brink of this astonishing possibility? California’s budget deficit is so out of control that the concept of reaping millions of dollars in taxes from marijuana sales has instigated this consideration.

What do you think about this latest development?

To read more details click HERE:

Vick Mickunas

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What ever became of George W. Bush?

The former president has been keeping a low profile since leaving office nine months ago. He is reportedly working on a book about the toughest decisions that he had to make while he was president.

Usually former presidents hit the speech making circuit after leaving office. W’s father did it. Reagan did it. Clinton is still doing it. These are lucrative engagements and George W. Bush had not taken advantage of even one opportunity. Until now.

George W. Bush is now a motivational speaker. He just gave a speech. To read more about it click HERE:

Vick Mickunas

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Limbaugh’s flawed Rush to judgment…

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what a Rush…

Journalists are expected to verify facts. They need to determine if a balloon really has a child on board. When journalists rush forward without first checking their facts they can endure some embarrassment. Or not.

Is Rush Limbaugh a journalist? Hard to say. An entertainer? For sure. Is he the de facto leader of the Republican Party? One might hope not.

Rush Limbaugh is a comedian. But even comedians will check out a fact now and again. Rush is an author. When he writes books he employs fact checkers to validate any statements he might make.

The other day Limbaugh was apparently delighted to find out some shocking information about President Barack Obama. He aired it on his program. There was a problem though. The material was bogus. Limbaugh failed to check his facts. Sometimes a balloon is simply a puffed up bag of hot air…

To learn more click HERE:

And to add insult to injury, when Rush was tipped off that the info was utterly fake he responded: “We stand by the fabricated quote because we know Obama thinks it anyway.”

Vick Mickunas

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A haunting Halloween read…

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demonic doings

“The Gates” by John Connolly, (Atria Books, 296 pages, $24).

Young Samuel Johnson decided to get an early start on Halloween. On the evening of Oct. 28, Samuel and his faithful little dachshund, Boswell, rang the doorbell at 666 Crowley Road, the home of their neighbors, the Abernathys. Mr. Abernathy answered the door.

“Trick or treat” said Samuel. Mr. Abernathy wasn’t amused. He replied to the boy and the dog “No, go away.” Then Abernathy returned to the basement and informed his wife and their guests, the Renfields, that their caller was “that weird kid from number 501.”

Then the Abernathys and the Renfields proceeded with the pagan ritual that Samuel had interrupted. They are unaware that young Samuel and his dog are observing them through the window.

Meanwhile, somewhere in Switzerland, scientists are experimenting with the Large Hadron Collider, “a particle accelerator, the largest ever constructed, a device for smashing protons together in a vacuum.”

These two seemingly unrelated events form the premise for a charming new book for young adults. The Irish writer John Connolly has written “The Gates,” a bizarre but amusing trip through science and the supernatural. At the very moment that Samuel was spying on his neighbors these scientists in Switzerland noticed something odd was happening with the Hadron Collider.

Some energy escapes and opens a portal into another dimension. This gateway, “the gates” of the title, allows creatures from this other place to cross over into Samuel’s English village. These were not the gates of heaven that were opening. These gates go to the bad place. Not to heaven, that’s for sure.

The Abernathys and Renfields are absorbed through the portal. They return as demons. Mrs. Abernathy is the most powerful of these creatures. She has it in for Samuel and the dog. Thus begins a wild adventure as boy and dog try to sound the alert that forces of evil are plotting the total conquest of our planet.

“The Gates” is the perfect book for Halloween. Swarms of horrible demons surge through the portal. They blend in among those human ghosts and goblins attired to celebrate the holiday. The author scribbles a fanciful fable of good versus evil. There are generous servings of humor throughout.

Not every demon is evil. Samuel befriends one named Nurd. This becomes the crucial relationship of the story. Nurd loves sports cars. One of the funniest sections of the book involves Nurd’s theft of a Porsche. His exchanges with the police officers who pull him over for speeding are hilarious.

The cops think he’s wearing a costume. He tries to prove otherwise. “Nurd stuck out his tongue, which was three feet long at its fullest extension.”

Humanity fights back against these demonic invaders. One fellow becomes particularly upset when the demons trample his rose bushes.

“The Gates” is a frivolous froth of science, fantasy and pure heroism. The author is best known for a crime fiction series set in Maine. “The Gates” reveals that he has some other tricks in his bag of literary treats.

Vick Mickunas

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Booksellers want Target, Walmart, Amazon probed…

A savage pricing war between Amazon.com, Target, and Wal-Mart has a consortium of smaller booksellers up in arms.

According to the Bloomberg News:

Oct. 23 (Bloomberg) — The American Booksellers Association asked the Justice Department’s antitrust division to investigate “predatory” pricing of books sold by Amazon.com Inc., Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Target Corp.

“We ask that the Department of Justice investigate practices by Amazon.com, Walmart and Target that we believe constitute illegal predatory pricing that is damaging to the book industry and harmful to consumers,” nine ABA board members wrote in a letter addressed to Christine Varney, the assistant attorney general for the antitrust division.

The letter, dated Oct. 22, was posted on the Web site of the group, which represents independently owned U.S. bookstores.

Earlier this month, Target, Walmart, and Amazon.com all said they would sell bestsellers by John Grisham and Stephen King for about $9. These books typically retail for between $25 and $35, the association said. King’s “Under the Dome” costs a retailer at least $17.50, the group said.”

To read the entire article click HERE:

What do you think?

Vick Mickunas

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Looking back at the market crash of 1929…

The historian and biographer Ron Chernow has an op-ed piece today in the New York Times. I have had the pleasure of a couple of interviews with Chernow and I found him to be a very thoughtful fellow. Highly intelligent. Well informed.

Today Chernow looks back at the events of 80 years ago this week, the great stock market crash of 1929. Good stuff.

Read it by clicking HERE:

Vick Mickunas

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The odd couple-Sarah Palin and Oprah Winfrey…

Oprah Winfrey has the power to sell a lot of books on her TV show. Sarah Palin’s memoir, “Going Rogue” will be published next month. Winfrey has announced that Palin will appear on Oprah on November 16.

This is a marriage of mutual convenience. Winfrey was one of the most ardent supporters of Barack Obama. But Winfrey’s ratings are down and a Palin appearance will surely translate into big viewer numbers. Some of Oprah’s fans are really ticked off though…

Check out their comments on Oprah’s website - click HERE:

Vick Mickunas

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Sarah Palin-an American Nightmare?

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(New York Daily News)

Check this out- click HERE:

Vick Mickunas

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Nook.com versus Amazon.com - the e-book wars…

As expected, Barnes & Noble rolled out their Nook electronic book reader yesterday. Amazon.com introduced their Kindle electronic book reader a year ago and has gotten a bit of a head start on B&N. There are a number of competing devices in the marketplace now. Sony has one too. Expect even more to be introduced as the battle for electronic book reader dominance escalates.

A couple of articles today in the New York Times examine some aspects of these devices. Do you read books on your computer, cellphone, or an e-book reading device? According to some readers, they are reading more books now due to the availability of these alternative reading platforms.

And some readers are reading their e-books without spending a penny to do so:

“But she has actually never paid for an e-book. Exploiting a loophole in Amazon’s system, Ms. Englin has linked her Kindle to the Amazon account of some nearby friends, allowing all of them to read books like “The Lost Symbol” at the same time — while paying for them only once.

“I read much more, I tend to read faster for some reason, and I read a greater variety of things,” said Ms. Englin, adding that this is nearly the same as lending a physical book to friends. “We haven’t really looked closely at Amazon’s terms of service. But I do suspect we are breaking the rules.”

To read more click HERE:

Amazon has kept their e-book sales figures hush hush but it is estimated that they have now sold over 900 thousand of their proprietary e-book reading devices. You might be wondering how these devices differ? Here’s one difference:

“One of the differentiating factors of the Nook is that customers can “lend” books to friends. But customers may lend out any given title only one time for a total of 14 days and they cannot read it on their own Nook while it is lent.

In an interview, William Lynch, president of Barnes&Noble.com, said the company would aggressively market the Nook within its bricks and mortar stores. The Nook also has software that will detect when a consumer walks into a store so that it can push out coupons and other promotions like excerpts from forthcoming books or suggestions for new reading. While in stores, Nook owners will be able to read any e-book through streaming software.”

To read more about the Barnes & Noble device and their competition with Amazon click HERE:

And this reviewer wonders, when a customer walks into Barnes & Noble and they know that customer has just entered the store how would they know that? Do they have to have this device on their physical person to be detected? Do these devices have some sort of a tracking device inside them? How else would they know? If I was a person who had concerns about being tracked I certainly would not want to own one of these devices. That’s really creepy. Happy Halloween.

Vick Mickunas

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The “Nook” versus the “Kindle”

Barnes and Noble is expected to reveal the details on their electronic book reader today. Rumor has it that the device will be called the “Nook”. As in the “Book Nook”. I’m still waiting to hear from their legal department about their usage of “Nook”. I have been working out of the “Book Nook” on radio and in print for 15 years for heaven’s sake. I’m looking at the phone now. Ring! Darn it! My people would love to talk to their people about this little book “Nook” they have planned. Sigh!

It is the B&N“Nook” versus the Amazon “Kindle” as the e-reader wars heat up. No coincidence that Amazon rolled out their “international” device yesterday. To check out the B&N device click HERE:

And so it goes…nooks, cooks, books…..schnooks….

Vick Mickunas

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Tattoo your book club…

It takes vivid imagination and creative marketing to attract the attention of potential customers while the economy is in this down phase. The book publishing industry can be somewhat conservative. So these are times when booksellers need to try to think more outside of the box. It isn’t that simple to do.

The publisher Alfred A. Knopf is one such publisher that is imagining novel ways to promote their novels. Here’s an example; a campaign called Tattoo Your Book Club. I love this idea…

Find out how you can tattoo your book club by clicking HERE:

Special bonus…have you seen the video of the guy not getting hit by the bus? click HERE:

Vick Mickunas

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Book of Genesis enters Top Ten…

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King Crumb

Just checking the hourly book charts over at Amazon.com and was astonished to see The Book Of Genesis soaring in sales at #8 on the Top Ten. This is the Bible story but it is the graphic novel version as illustrated by the infamous underground cartoonist R Crumb.

I can’t wait to read his version…

Vick Mickunas

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Amazon releases international e-book reader…

Today is the official release date of Amazon’s latest generation electronic book reader, the International Kindle. Kindle users can now download books outside the United States, in a list of countries that spans the globe.

I went through the list of countries and clicked on some of them because I was curious to know one thing, does this mean that you can download books in the languages of the various countries where the downloads occur?

I clicked on France. Were books available there in French? Apparently not. I clicked on Lithuania. Were books downloadable in Lithuanian? Nope.

So I guess the International Kindle is really only useful to English speakers? American tourists? Residents of foreign countries who speak English? That’s not much of a market in most places? I don’t get it. Most of these countries don’t have that many English speakers, do they?

What’s the point of this device? It seems like a lot of hype about very little? What am I missing here?

Don’t look now but Amazon might have even more to worry about. Or not. click HERE:

Vick Mickunas

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Are public libraries important to you?

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do you care about them?

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Only in Yellow Springs…

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hand it to Yellow Springs…

This morning I was headed into the village of Yellow Springs when I saw an amazing sight. It wasn’t there yesterday. I took this photo. Otherwise, you might never believe it.

What do you think? This is so Yellow Springs….

Vick Mickunas

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Walmart.com slashes book prices again…

Walmart.com just fired another salvo in their escalating book price war with Amazon.com. Shoppers at Walmart.com can now pre-order some upcoming titles, books like Sarah Palin’s upcoming memoir “Going Rogue” for as little as $8.99.

This price cutting is sending aftershocks through the publishing world. With books being used as loss leaders by big vendors like Walmart, how can independent bookstores and even publishers continue to survive and compete in such a brutal marketplace? Walmart.com appears to be gearing up in their competition with the on-line book selling behemoth Amazon.com.

To read the latest developments in these book price wars click HERE:

Vick Mickunas

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Do you love baseball?

Baseball fans are accustomed to feast or famine. From April through October we have all that baseball. Then when the World Series is over we are plunged into the darkness again — a world without baseball until the spring. Fortunately, there are baseball books to help us get through this dark time. Here are some recent printed gems of the diamond:

“The Machine” by Joe Posnaski (William Morrow, 302 pages, $25.99).

Fans of the Cincinnati Reds have suffered more than most lately. While rooting for the Reds isn’t quite as painful as being a Cubs fan, this has been a stretch lacking much to cheer. Fortunately, there are some wonderful memories to savor. Posnaski has written a marvelous history of one those great Reds squads, the 1975 club that won 108 games then earned a nail-biting World Series triumph over the Boston Red Sox. Sparky Anderson, Pete Rose, Tony Perez, Johnny Bench, Dave Concepcion, Cesar Geronimo, Ken Griffey, Joe Morgan, George Foster — these guys were the Big Red Machine.

“The First Fall Classic” by Mike Vaccaro (Doubleday, 290 pages, $26.95).

While the 1975 Reds/Red Sox World Series was certainly memorable, there have been many other legendary championship battles.

In 1912, the Boston Red Sox faced off against the New York Giants in an eight-game series that unfolded over nine days.

Five future Hall of Famers took part, and those were the days before television and mass media.

Eager fans rushed out to get the latest newspapers for the game results. Baseball was truly America’s pastime then and the World Series that year was one of the greatest ever.

“The Original Curse” by Sean Deveney (McGraw-Hill, 242 pages, $24.95).

In seven short years it all came crashing down. That 1912 World Series was a high water mark in baseball history.

By 1919, the “Black Sox “ scandal had cast a pall on baseball as shameful as the steroids scandals of our era.

Sean Deveney, a reporter for The Sporting News, poses this fascinating question: “did the Cubs throw the 1918 World Series to Babe Ruth’s Red Sox and incite the “Black Sox” scandal?”

Deveney theorizes that the 1919 White Sox were not the first team to conspire with gamblers to fix the outcomes of games. He has uncovered shocking evidence that indicates that the Chicago Cubs might have done the very same thing the year before, but they got away with it.

“Ty Cobb — My Twenty Years in Baseball” by Ty Cobb (Dover, 131 pages, $8.95).

Ty Cobb was one of the greatest hitters of all time, but the Detroit Tigers star was a temperamental chap; he was known for spiking opponents when he stole bases. He once was suspended for attacking a fan who was heckling him.

In 1925, he wrote this autobiography. It was not ghost written — these are Cobb’s own words. Cobb offers amazing reflections about the game and his part in it.

Vick Mickunas

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The Glory of Angels…

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angelic images

As the holidays approach publishers are putting out books with gift giving in mind. Some of these books are quite impressive, coffee table sized volumes.

One such beautiful tome just landed on my desk. Plop! It’s a big one. It’s a beautiful one.

The Glory of Angels (Collins Design) by Edward Lucie-Smith is a magnificent volume about angels. The author is an historian and art critic. This new book is jammed with impressive images of angels from across the centuries. Simply exquisite…

It might make a splendid gift….

Vick Mickunas

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Porsche joins the long list of Nazi collaborators…

Porsche, the German automobile manufacturer, is celebrating their 100th anniversary. Unfortunately, newly revealed links to the Nazi war machine have caused some dark rain to fall on Porsche’s parade.

According to an article in Haaretz, Porsche used forced labor provided by the Nazis. Some recent books detail that manufacturer’s links to the Third Reich and Adolf Hitler.

Here is how the article begins:

“September was supposed to be a particularly festive month for the German car manufacturer Porsche. Company headquarters in Stuttgart celebrated the 100th birthday of Ferdinand Anton Ernst (Ferry) Porsche (1909-1998), the son of the dynasty’s founder and the man who designed the first model of the sports car to bear the family name: the Porsche 356. The shop in the city’s Porsche Museum, dedicated earlier this year, offered discounts on a variety of “birthday presents.” These included “100 Years of Porsche, Mirrored in Contemporary History,” an elegant book with photos from the life of the man who made the company one of the world’s leading sports cars manufacturers.

Everything seemed perfect, until local newspapers began publishing passages from a new book that reveals that Porsche’s Nazi connections were closer than it had previously allowed, and that it had employed hundreds of forced laborers in its German factories during World War II. The company claimed to be surprised by the new findings, but immediately decided to fund a comprehensive and independent study of its past. “

It is a long, fascinating article with tidbits like this:

“In his new book, “The Nazi Criminals of Stuttgart,” Viehover surveys the role of the city’s residents in the Third Reich. A significant chapter is devoted to Porsche’s founder, Ferdinand Porsche (1875-1951). Viehover describes him as “Hitler’s favorite engineer” and says the men knew each other.”

Naming your book “The Nazi Criminals of Stuttgart” certainly lays it all out there, doesn’t it?

To read the whole article click HERE:

Vick Mickunas

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Ralph Stanley for President…

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is there a doctor in the house?

A couple of my friends have bumper stickers on their vehicles which read: Ralph Stanley for President. These friends of mine are plumb crazy about that good old mountain music. Doctor Ralph Stanley has been playing it longer than just about anybody.

Stanley has finally gotten around to writing a book about his life, “Man of Constant Sorrow”. It comes out this week. I’m reading it now.

There’s a fine article about the book today in the New York Times. The reporter actually snagged an interview with Ralph and that really made for some sweet story telling. Here are a few quotes from the piece that made me chuckle:

“For years the group had a paying lunchtime gig on a radio show called “Farm and Fun Time,” broadcast by WCYB in Bristol, Va., but to make ends meet they had to barnstorm all over the country, driving to schools, honky-tonks, livestock auctions, even drive-ins, where they would set up the sound system on top of the refreshment stands. They kept their spirits up by playing pranks, many involving Ex-Lax.

In the 1960s bluegrass was almost eclipsed by Elvis and rock ’n’ roll: his band, Mr. Stanley writes, was like a hog standing under an acorn tree that had run out of acorns. It was probably the folk revival that saved traditional music, even though Mr. Stanley writes: “The hippie types didn’t know any better; they really thought they was playing bluegrass. You’d hear a solo on electric banjo and like to murder the man a-playing it.”

To enjoy the entire thing click HERE:

Vick Mickunas

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Classic novels you love to hate…

We all have them, novels that are supposed to be considered classics but we never really got into them. Apparently, John Steinbeck rates high on that list of most hated classic fiction. At least he does on the blog of a twenty something blogger who works for the publisher Harper Collins.

She wrote a blog post on Columbus Day about these classic books that twenty something readers cannot seem to get into. It’s a funny post and it made me think, what classic books do I dislike? Actually, the list is fairly long. How about you? Name names. Leave a comment with your choices for classic fiction that you hated. Please, amuse us. Tell us why you hated them.

To read her post click HERE:

Vick Mickunas

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The first Twitter-created audiobook…

This just in:

BBC AUDIOBOOKS AMERICA LAUNCHES THE WORLD’S FIRST TWITTER-CREATED AUDIOBOOK WITH NEIL GAIMAN

Write an Original Audio Story via Twitter with the Bestselling Author of The Graveyard Book and Coraline

“This Halloween, BBC Audiobooks America is offering a treat for Twitter audiophiles: the chance to write a story with fantasy master Neil Gaiman. The New York Times bestselling author of The Graveyard Book and Twitter enthusiast (known as @neilhimself) will launch an original story-writing project on the popular social networking site October 13 at Noon EST.

Gaiman will tweet the first line of the story and fans can jump in and continue it with their own 140-character contributions. To participate, fans must log into Twitter (registration is free) and post in this format: @BBCAA Your Tweet Here for minute-by-minute updates.

BBC Audiobooks America will compile the contributions of approximately one thousand tweets into a finished short story to be recorded by a professional narrator. The audiobook will be downloadable free at BBC AudiobooksAmerica.com/trade and also available as a digital download at iTunes and other audiobook retailers in time for the holidays.”

Vick Mickunas

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The “Wimpy Kid” rules!

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not a Wimp after all

Jeff Kinney’s “Diary of A Wimpy Kid - Dog Days”rules the roost. This delightful series is big with tween boys, even those kids who aren’t that big on reading.

What a pleasure it is to see that this latest book is now the top selling book over at Amazon.com. It blew right past “The Lost Symbol” by Dan Brown. It swamped Glenn Beck’s “Arguing With Idiots”. And it left Sarah Palin’s “Going Rogue” somewhere outside Wasilla. Wow!

I love it when a book for kids blasts right past all these serious adult books. Awesome!

Vick Mickunas

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Wars are never civil…

“A Separate Country” by Robert Hicks (Grand Central, 424 pages, $25.99)

“The Widow of the South” by Robert Hicks (Grand Central, 551 pages, $7.99)

Our American Civil War was a national tragedy. One hundred fifty years later, those echoes of carnage and heartbreak still resonate. Civil War history fascinates us. That epic struggle between North and South has provided fertile ground for some fine works of fiction too, books like “Gone With The Wind” and “Cold Mountain.”

The Tennessee writer Robert Hicks based his debut novel, “The Widow of the South,” on a true story from the Civil War. It was inspired by one of the most horrific battles of 1864 when the Confederate Army under the command of General John Bell Hood, suffered catastrophic losses at Franklin, Tenn. General Hood made poor decisions. His troops paid for Hood’s bullheaded tactics with their lives.

Hood was a legendary tragic figure. During his early military career in Texas he suffered an arrow wound to his hand. At Gettysburg, a severe wound to his arm left it useless. Then at the Battle of Chickamauga, he was so gravely injured that one leg had to be removed. Miraculously, he survived.

Had he died, he might have been remembered as a heroic figure. But he lived and is now mostly remembered for the disastrous rout at Franklin. Robert Hicks has based his second novel, “A Separate Country,” on General Hood’s post-war years. Hood moved to New Orlean’s where he met his future wife, Anna Marie Hennen.

She was a Creole belle who fell in love with the much older general. They married and over the course of 10 years she bore him 11 children. Hood tried his hand at business. He ran an unsuccessful cotton brokerage firm. When that failed, he went into the insurance business. That venture collapsed amidst the Yellow Fever epidemic that devastated New Orleans during the winter of 1878-79.

Hicks tells Hood’s story from three viewpoints — that of Hood, his wife, and a young man named Eli Griffin. As the book opens, Hood is on his deathbed, dying from the fever. He summons Eli and instructs him to resolve some important matters for him. Hood has been writing books. One is a history of his Civil War experiences. The other is the story of his post-war life.

This story builds momentum from the instant Hood dies. The author rolls out a cast of fascinating characters who slide in and out of the story as it is related by our three narrators. Anna Marie has three childhood friends who drive the plot along. There’s Father Mike, a gigantic, hairy Catholic priest; Rintrah is a dwarf and the leader of a criminal syndicate; Paschal is a gifted musician and a lady’s man.

General Hood’s narration consists of Eli’s reading of the general’s book about his life. Hicks immerses us in a steaming gumbo of racism, gambling, class struggle, pride, forgotten massacres and poignant memories.

“The Widow of the South” has just been re-issued in a paperback. Hicks visits Books&Co. at The Greene this Thursday at 7pm.

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Fabulous jack’o’lantern video…

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very scary

Tom Nardone is the creator of Extreme Pumpkins. For the past several years around Halloween he has published books containing photos of the most incredible pumpkin carvings around.

Do you get into carving pumpkins for Halloween? Check out this video. It has over 400 amazing jack’o’lanterns. Warning-many of these pumpkins are carved to imply violence. If implied violence disturbs you avoid this video… otherwise….enjoy.

click HERE:

Vick Mickunas

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From mocking Sarah Palin to praising her…

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locked and loaded

Take the money and run department: The Daily Beast claims that one of the editors who worked on “Terminatrix”, a book that mocked Sarah Palin has also been involved in writing “Going Rogue”, Palin’s memoir.

Here’s the story: click HERE

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Shocking! Nobel Prize in Literature won by European…

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who?

The recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature has just been announced. I read the announcement, expecting to be able to say that I agreed with their selection, or that I didn’t. 99% of the time I have at least heard of the person. Not this time though.

If you have heard of this author before today then you follow the book world a lot more closely than I do. Have you ever heard of this woman?

click HERE:

Vick Mickunas

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Amazon cuts price on Kindle again…

The Amazon Kindle electronic book reading device from Amazon.com has been in the news a lot lately. The Kindle has only been around for a year or so and it is being upgraded and enhanced. And the price keeps going down. Amazon just announced that some new Kindle devices will be capable of downloading books outside of the United States.

To learn more about the latest Kindles and Kindle prices click HERE:

Vick Mickunas

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Merry Christmas ?

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not counting the days yet

October 6, 2009

Here we go again. The first Christmas books are already coming out. Today was the publication date for “The Christmas List” by Richard Paul Evans. It is already a top 40 seller on Amazon.com.

Evans wrote a little book called “The Christmas Box” a number of years ago. Self-published initially, that book went on to sell millions of copies. It was made into a TV movie. Now every year we get another Christmas book from him. As predictable as guessing that the new guy in each episode of the original Star Trek TV show would not last through the episode.

Can we at least wait until after Halloween?! Humbug.

Vick Mickunas

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Sarah Palin rips off Teddy Kennedy…

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a desert for electronic books

Sarah Palin’s memoir, “Going Rogue” will be out in mid-November. That’s the hardcover version. If you want to read the electronic, e-book version, you are going to have to wait until after Christmas to download a copy.

Here’s why; publishers make far more profit on hardcover versions. E-books are usually priced far below the hardback price. This isn’t the first time that this has happened. Ted Kennedy’s recent posthumous memoir, “True Compass”, was also kept out of e-book form to optimize hardcover sales.

This is a no-brainer, really. Palin’s publisher, Harper Collins, sees a six week window during the holiday shopping season to crank out millions of hardcover Palln memoirs. This is the hottest book in publishing, an instant #1 bestseller over at Amazon.com.

How ironic, high-tech early adopters of electronic book technology are being penalized and forced to suffer through reading actual books if they don’t want to wait until the end of the year to read “Going Rogue”. How amusing. Expect more publishers to follow suit…

To read more about this e-book embargo click HERE:

Vick Mickunas

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Remembering Gourmet Magazine…

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delectable memories…

This bad economy continues to smash down some things that we might have been taking for granted. I was stunned this morning to read that Gourmet Magazine is being shut down along with the magazines Cookie, Elegant Bride and Modern Bride

A number of years ago I interviewed Ruth Reichl, the longtime restaurant critic for the New York Times. She had written a memoir about her early foodie days. I was tickled to learn that when she was a a young gourmand in Berkeley she used to Dumpster dive for ingredients for gourmet meals. I savored that particular juicy tidbit.

The day that I interviewed her was also her final day at the New York Times. She was moving on. Ruth had been named the new editor of Gourmet Magazine. She was still the editor on this sad day as this six decade old publication was being shuttered.

To read the story click HERE:

Vick Mickunas

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These are tasty…

Autumn always brings an abundance of books. So many hardcover titles are published — new paperbacks can get lost in the shuffle. Here are some that are well worth checking out.

“Sea of Poppies” by Amitav Ghosh (Picador, 543 pages, $15). This magnificently wrought historical novel is the first of a planned trilogy. Set in 1830s India, Ghosh conjures a colorful world of sailors, smugglers, peasants, and aristocrats; populating a land of intrigue and corruption. The Indian opium trade of that time forms the centerpiece — the author carves an elaborate plot pitting the poor and virtuous against sinister forces grasping for power and wealth.

“The Secret Life of Words — How English Became English by Henry Hitchings (Picador, 440 pages, $17). Have you ever wondered where the English language came from? This entertaining book reveals the origins of words that we use every day. You will be amazed to discover how much our language has evolved. Our incredible hodgepodge of words was borrowed from more than 350 languages. English keeps changing even after 1,500 years.

“Home” by Marilynne Robinson (Picador, 325 pages, $14). Robinson wrote “Gilead,” a luminous novel about life in a small town in Iowa. This book forms a companion piece to it. It is the story of a family, and it echoes the themes within the Biblical parable of “The Prodigal Son.”

In an interview, Robinson told me: “I think the feelings and behaviors that sustain families are much more complex and interesting and individual than conflict or fracture. The emphasis on dysfunction that has been so strong since Freud has distracted attention from the bonds and rituals and so on that are much more central to people’s experience of life. I think any writer wants to defy stereotypes. But we are not of one mind about what is stereotypical.”

“Loot — the Battle Over the Stolen Treasures of the Ancient World” by Sharon Waxman ( Times Books, 414 pages, $17). Our museums are filled with ancient treasures from distant lands, mummies from Egypt, Greek vases, Etruscan statues. Have you ever wondered how all these treasures came to be where they are? Apparently, some of them were stolen. Now, some people are trying to get treasures back where they belong. “Loot” offers a birds-eye view of how so many ancient artifacts were removed from places around the world.

“Buy Ketchup in May and Fly at Noon — a Guide to the Best Time to Buy This, Do That and Go There” by Mark Di Vincenzo ( Harper, 172 pages, $13.99). This book offers advice on the best times to partake in various endeavors. For example, the author claims that the best time to fill up your gas tank is on Wednesday mornings. The best month to buy a camera? February. The best month to buy tools? June. The best time to brush your teeth? About an hour after you eat. I wonder when he thinks people should read his book? No better time than the present, right?

Vick Mickunas

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I’ll be on WYSO…

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(Photo by Marshall Gorby/Springfield News Sun)

Tomorrow (Sunday) morning at 10:30 I’ll be in the studios of WYSO Public Radio. WYSO’s fall membership campaign began today. Tomorrow I shall be on the WYSO airwaves for an hour or so in the hope of encouraging folks to call in with their financial support for the station.

WYSO will be airing my interview with George Dawes Green. Green’s most recent novel, “Ravens”, is the story of two young drifters from Piqua, Ohio. They quit their jobs providing technical support to Dayton area computer users and head south to look for new lives in Florida. They never make it. Tune in tomorrow to find out what happens.

Green is also the creator of “The Moth”, a storytelling series that is currently being transformed into a public radio program.

I’m hoping that some of the readers of this blog will listen to WYSO (91.3fm) when I’m on the air tomorrow. Perhaps you will be inspired to call in with your pledge? I’m hoping. I always have fun raising funds for WYSO.

Here is the phone number to call: 1-800-801-9976.

Tune in! Too far away to tune in? Listen on-line at www.wyso.org - I hope to be able to announce your pledges on the air….

Vick Mickunas

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Ted Williams’ head was used for batting practice?

Every time I turn around there is another author making yet another bizarre claim. This time it is the author of a book about the sad ending of the greatest hitter in baseball history (sorry, Pete Rose fans), Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox. In 1941 he was the last man to ever bat .400 over the course of an entire season.

Disturbing allegations are described in an article in the New York Daily News:

“Workers at an Arizona cryonics facility mutilated the frozen head of baseball legend Ted Williams - even using it for a bizarre batting practice, a new tell-all book claims.

In “Frozen,” Larry Johnson, a former exec at the Alcor Life Extension Foundation in Scottsdale, Ariz., graphically describes how The Splendid Splinter” was beheaded, his head frozen and repeatedly abused.

The book, out Tuesday from Vanguard Press, tells how Williams’ corpse became “Alcorian A-1949” at the facility, where bodies are kept suspended in liquid nitrogen in case future generations learn how to revive them.

Johnson writes that in July 2002, shortly after the Red Sox slugger died at age 83, technicians with no medical certification gleefully photographed and used crude equipment to decapitate the majors’ last .400 hitter.

Williams’ severed head was then frozen, and even used for batting practice by a technician trying to dislodge it from a tuna fish can.”

To read the entire article click HERE:

Vick Mickunas

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JK Rowling was snubbed by George W. Bush?

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advocating witchcraft?

Another wacky news story…apparently Harry Potter creator JK Rowling was up for a big honor. She didn’t get it. Why? Because President George W. Bush thought that Rowling was advocating witchcraft…..this is just one more nugget gleaned from former Bush speechwriter Matt Latimer’s book “Speechless”

To read more click HERE:

Vick Mickunas

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Job opening: Marijuana Reviewer

Once again, I don’t make this stuff up. Truth is always stronger (not a typo) than fiction.This comes to me via frequent commenter Mark from Saint Paul. It seems that there is a rare job opening; an ad was just posted for a person to review marijuana quality. Incredible.

This must have the job market abuzz…I wonder if being a book reviewer would qualify me for the job? Marijuana? Books? Quality? Lack of it? I probably wouldn’t even get an interview….I wonder what the interviews would involve? OK, Vick, now we have the blind taste test portion of the interview…we have a dozen samples here and…..

Interested? Maybe you have what it takes…(note: F~bomb language warning) click HERE:

Vick Mickunas

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Here’s the cover of Sarah Palin’s book…

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scoop!

Amazon.com doesn’t have it yet. But we do. The book will be out on November 17.

Here’s the cover of Sarah Palin’s forthcoming memoir, Going Rogue….

Vick Mickunas

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Read any good vooks lately?

I thought it was a typo. What the heck is a vook?

An article today in the New York Times explains:

“On Thursday, for instance, Simon & Schuster, the publisher of Ernest Hemingway and Stephen King, is working with a multimedia partner to release four “vooks,” which intersperse videos throughout electronic text that can be read — and viewed — online or on an iPhone or iPod Touch.”

Wow! If these things ever catch on I could go into the book biz and call my website Vick’s Vooks. I like the sound of that…

To read more about vooks click HERE:

Vick Mickunas

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