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• 11:31 am on February 28, 2009 Permalink
  Tags: books (90)   

  Foundation 

  We found the first four books of Isaac Asimov’s Foundation series last spring on Mackinac Island. The library on the island was having a book sale so we checked it out.  The library didn’t have too much in the way of books, but it was a beautiful building. Neo-classical in design, and it had a gorgeous balcony out on the water. Quite a lovely place, I’d like to go back there sometime. I certainly didn’t get enough photos of the Island since my batteries died while we were there and I had forgotten spares.

  

  The first book, you may notice is missing from this picture.  That’s because I’ve already read it and filed it somewhere I know not where. The rest of them sit on my “to read” shelf currently.  I did like the first book, but it was a bit tedious I thought.  Not sure if that’s heresy or not.  I’ll probably get around to the rest of them eventually.

   

• 11:49 am on February 27, 2009 Permalink
  Tags: books (90)   

  Invitation to Oceanography 

  This is Rebecca’s Oceanography textbook. There are quite a few textbooks laying around at any one time. The guy in the suit there is this one kid we know.
  

   

• 10:26 am on February 26, 2009 Permalink
  Tags: books (90)   

  Two Fisted Science is a graphic novel collection of short stories about physicist Richard Feynman.  It’s funny and awesome and touching. I think it might have made me cry once. This was written by Jim Ottaviani who is a super nice guy and was a customer of mine back when I worked at Underworld Comics in Ann Arbor. Other stuff written by him can be found at his website, Dignifying Science bears special mention as well: it’s a bunch of stories about women scientists and is also great stuff.

  

   

• 1:01 am on February 26, 2009 Permalink  

  Comet Lulin 

  The other day I decided to try and get a shot of the comet cruising around near earth right now, and with a longish exposure, I managed to get a good shot of it. This one’s gotten quite a few views from people searching for shots of Lulin, so that’s pretty exciting.
  

  Saturn is near the middle here and just to the right and slightly above it is a faint greenish blur. That’s the comet! I couldn’t see it much even with a small telescope though I did get a glimpse of Saturn’s rings. They’re slightly tipped away from us so they’re faint but visible right now.

   

• 10:42 am on February 25, 2009 Permalink
  Tags: books (90)   

  The Mists of Avalon 

  

  I’m pretty sure that I got this book originally from the High School library, though it doesn’t have any markings on it that indicate it as such. I just remember reading it for a long time during my English class at some point.  The Mists of Avalon is a re-telling of the Arthurian myths from the point of view of the women in the story. It’s definitely an interesting read if you’re into that sort of thing, but I can’t recommend the sequels.

   

• 9:54 am on February 24, 2009 Permalink
  Tags: books (90)   

  The Delta of Venus 

  

  So I really like going to garage sales.  I’ve gotten quite a few books from them and this copy of the Delta of Venus was part of a very excellent small collection of Anaïs Nin erotic fiction.  This one was notable for a touching inscription written by the woman who gave this book to her “comrade.”

   

• 10:34 am on February 23, 2009 Permalink
  Tags: books (90)   

  The Necronomicon 

  

  To continue the series of religious books, and to provide a counterpoint to yesterdays bible, I offer you today’s entry: the Necronomicon. This fictional book was invented by HP Lovecraft for his Cthulhu mythos, but this  version of it unfortunately has little to do with the mythos proper. What’s between these covers is a collection of (probably also at least partly made up) Sumerian rituals and myths. There’s an introduction by an anonymous secret society member describing some uncanny happenings that supposedly surround the publication of this volume.  Well, I’m not that gullible anymore.  Still, this book was fun.  It got passed around in High School a lot, and I’m fairly certain it went to some bible study groups and weirded people out. I had nothing to do with that, that I  know of.

   

• 11:32 am on February 22, 2009 Permalink
  Tags: books (90)   

  The Holy Bible 

  

  So I do have a bible. This one is the New International Version, and was purchased at a Z. Family Bookstore at Lakeside Mall back in the early 90’s sometime.  I’m not of the Christian persuasion, but I do find the Bible to be an important reference to have around. Much like Shakespeare, it is alluded to in basically all of English Literature. This one is not as poetic or nice sounding as the King James or some other versions, but it’s interesting from a scholarly point of view in that lots of modern archaeology and linguistics went into making it.

  One problem I have with it is that it’s a strictly Protestant book, and leaves out a lot of the more interesting Apocrypha, but I guess that’s just my own personal bias. I have at various points in my life had up to three four, maybe even five different bibles around at any one time, it can be fun to compare the same passage in each one.  But now I’m down to just the one, I think.  Hmm maybe I’m due for another trip out to John King books soon.

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  • The Bible 8:15 am on May 5, 2009 Permalink

    Very nice….

• 11:09 am on February 21, 2009 Permalink
  Tags: books (90)   

  The Threefold Lotus Sutra 

  

  I purchased the Threefold Lotus Sutra to keep me company on long days working for Ulrich’s running a cash register. Sure I had heard lots about buddhism, but I had never read any of the primary literature. I’m not sure why I settled on this particular sutra, maybe something I read online or some reference to it in another book but for whatever reason I knew this was the one I wanted to read.

  This sutra was collected in the 1st century BCE in Kashmir, 500 years after the death of the Buddha. It is purported to have been written down shortly before his death, and hidden away for centuries. The world described within is a kaleidoscope of worlds, with thousands or maybe even millions of different incarnations of the buddha, dragons, nagas, spirits, monsters, and the like. There’s even a rare special mention of a woman getting to reach full enlightenment, difficult and circuitous though her path may be.

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  • ani 12:02 pm on February 21, 2009 Permalink

    This was my first introduction to buddhism and the first time being an aetheist and spiritual seemed to be embraced in a religion.

• 11:18 am on February 20, 2009 Permalink
  Tags: books (90)   

  The Silmarillion 

  It was inevitable that I would pick another Tolkien book to do here at some point, so I’ll get this one over with.  This is the Silmarillion as you can see, and the cover’s come right off of it as seems to happen with all my Tolkienabilia. Many have said that this book has the writing style of the Bible, and I’ll not disagree. So yeah, it is a big collection of epic poems and history of the realms of Middle Earth. I’ve tried to find a copy of this in hardcover to match the Big Red LoTR book, but haven’t found quite the right one yet. I don’t know if such a thing was ever made, but if it was I would buy it in a heartbeat.