I have been on a bit of a dry spell lately. I spent the last week getting my taxes finalized for my visit with my tax accountant on Friday. Yeah, I’m on top of it, getting ‘06 taken care of in mid-summer. That being said, I do have something entertaining to share with you. My good friend from High School that I have mentioned on the air does these great book reviews. Larry owns a coffee shop in Mason, Tx called a href=”http://www.thecoffeemugnmore.com/index.asp”Coffee Mugs n’ More./abr /He’s an avid reader and his coffee shop is also a book store, mostly filled with books of his choosing, not necessarily the most popular books of the moment. He reviews books for the local paper and posts them on his website. He just sent me his latest review of on of my favorites, Woody Allen. You’ll also notice that he puts a very personal angle on his reviews, which will prove to you how personal books are to him. If you are passing through or visiting Mason (just outside of Fredericksburg), duck into his shop for a bite, a coffee or a book for your trip. Here is his most recent review of Woody Allens new book and a personal story about us back in the day:br /br / p class=”MsoTitle”Coffee Guy Book Review/p p class=”MsoNormal”!–[if !supportEmptyParas]– !–[endif]–o:p/o:p/p p class=”MsoSubtitle”Mere Anarchy/p p style=”margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;”By Woody Allen/p p class=”MsoNormal”Published by Random House (2007)/p p class=”MsoNormal”$21.95 Hardback/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”text-indent: 0.5in;”span style=”" /span/p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”text-indent: 0.5in;”My sophomore year of college I moved into an apartment in east Austin that could best be described as somewhere between cheap and cheaper.span style=”" /spanMy roommate, Jeff, was one of my best friends – we grew up together and were looking forward to having our own place and inventing new and interesting ways to turn ground beef into a complete meal.span style=”" /spanPractically joined at the hip the previous five or six years we exited our roommate experiment wanting nothing more than to bludgeon each other with the never used rolling pin or perhaps one of the various auto parts we used to clean in the kitchen sink (nothing says dinner time like the odor of Berryman carburetor cleaner).span style=”" /spanA decade later we buried the proverbial hatchet over a beer (okay, twelve beers) and wondered what it was that caused the rift in the first place.span style=”" /spanWas it my near obsessive-compulsive disorder and Jeff’s, uh, not obsessive-compulsive disorder?span style=”" /spanTimeliness in bill paying?span style=”" /spanPsychopathic girls we dated?span style=”" /spanA scratched LP?span style=”" /spanNeither of us knew.span style=”" /spanAnd in the end it didn’t matter.span style=”" /spanIt was all water and various illegally dumped chemicals under the bridge.span style=”" /spanWe’ve remained very close friends since./p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”text-indent: 0.5in;”I bring all this up because in doing some research (yes, in addition to my actually reading the book I also do some research for each review; granted, this usually consists of skimming the dust jacket for the publisher or seeing if there is a review I can plagiarize without getting caught, it is research nonetheless) for my latest review I came across something very interesting.span style=”" /spanI found my paperback copies of Woody Allen’s iSide Effects/i and iGetting Even/i and discovered Jeff’s name scrawled inside the covers denoting ownership of said books prior to our doomed cohabitation.span style=”" /spanUh-oh.span style=”" /spanWhat else did I steal?span style=”" /spanI quickly rifled through my vinyl albums and found only one (INXS iListen Like Thieves/i) bearing Jeff’s signature (I’ll bet he wishes I kept his Corey Hart album instead).span style=”" /spanOh, man, was my want of hilarious, intellectual, absurdist story telling and INXS’classic blend of funk, pop and rock at the root of our skirmish?span style=”" /spanNah, Jeff has a horrible memory – for all he knows Woody himself graced our humble abode and delivered those books personally./p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”text-indent: 0.5in;”Anyway, I loved those books.span style=”" /spanSo I was pretty excited to see that Woody had put together another collection of stories in the form of iMere Anarchy/i.span style=”" /spanHappily, I was not disappointed.span style=”" /spaniMere Anarchy/i picks up where Allen left off some twenty-odd years ago.span style=”" /spanGreat story titles (“Sam, You Made The Pants Too Fragrant”), wonderfully absurdist takes on real life gone extreme (a three-year-old being turned down to a prestigious nursery in Manhattan in “The Rejection”), fantastic character names (Comfort Tobias, Doxy Nash, Max Endorphine, Chic Arbogast, Galaxie Sunstroke, etc.) and metaphors galore (“the woman let out a piercing shriek of the type that alerts to enemy bombardment”).span style=”" /spanOh, and the stories are funny too.span style=”" /spanI’ve always loved the way Allen sets you up with complex and verbose prose only to finish with a punch line launched straight from junior high school (“I might look at the same face and see something you’d find for sale in a live-bait store.”)./p p class=”MsoNormal” style=”text-indent: 0.5in;”I’m guessing Woody Allen isn’t for everyone.span style=”" /spanBut if you’re someone other than everyone this is a must read.span style=”" /spanPerhaps I should send Jeff a copy (gratis of course) to make up for old transgressions…/p

I have been on a bit of a dry spell lately. I spent the last week getting my taxes finalized for my visit with my tax accountant on Friday. Yeah, I’m on top of it, getting ‘06 taken care of in mid-summer. That being said, I do have something entertaining to share with you. My good friend from High School that I have mentioned on the air does these great book reviews. Larry owns a coffee shop in Mason, Tx called Coffee Mugs n’ More.
He’s an avid reader and his coffee shop is also a book store, mostly filled with books of his choosing, not necessarily the most popular books of the moment. He reviews books for the local paper and posts them on his website. He just sent me his latest review of on of my favorites, Woody Allen. You’ll also notice that he puts a very personal angle on his reviews, which will prove to you how personal books are to him. If you are passing through or visiting Mason (just outside of Fredericksburg), duck into his shop for a bite, a coffee or a book for your trip. Here is his most recent review of Woody Allens new book and a personal story about us back in the day:

Coffee Guy Book Review

Mere Anarchy

By Woody Allen

Published by Random House (2007)

$21.95 Hardback

My sophomore year of college I moved into an apartment in east Austin that could best be described as somewhere between cheap and cheaper. My roommate, Jeff, was one of my best friends – we grew up together and were looking forward to having our own place and inventing new and interesting ways to turn ground beef into a complete meal. Practically joined at the hip the previous five or six years we exited our roommate experiment wanting nothing more than to bludgeon each other with the never used rolling pin or perhaps one of the various auto parts we used to clean in the kitchen sink (nothing says dinner time like the odor of Berryman carburetor cleaner). A decade later we buried the proverbial hatchet over a beer (okay, twelve beers) and wondered what it was that caused the rift in the first place. Was it my near obsessive-compulsive disorder and Jeff’s, uh, not obsessive-compulsive disorder? Timeliness in bill paying? Psychopathic girls we dated? A scratched LP? Neither of us knew. And in the end it didn’t matter. It was all water and various illegally dumped chemicals under the bridge. We’ve remained very close friends since.

I bring all this up because in doing some research (yes, in addition to my actually reading the book I also do some research for each review; granted, this usually consists of skimming the dust jacket for the publisher or seeing if there is a review I can plagiarize without getting caught, it is research nonetheless) for my latest review I came across something very interesting. I found my paperback copies of Woody Allen’s Side Effects and Getting Even and discovered Jeff’s name scrawled inside the covers denoting ownership of said books prior to our doomed cohabitation. Uh-oh. What else did I steal? I quickly rifled through my vinyl albums and found only one (INXS Listen Like Thieves) bearing Jeff’s signature (I’ll bet he wishes I kept his Corey Hart album instead). Oh, man, was my want of hilarious, intellectual, absurdist story telling and INXS’classic blend of funk, pop and rock at the root of our skirmish? Nah, Jeff has a horrible memory – for all he knows Woody himself graced our humble abode and delivered those books personally.

Anyway, I loved those books. So I was pretty excited to see that Woody had put together another collection of stories in the form of Mere Anarchy. Happily, I was not disappointed. Mere Anarchy picks up where Allen left off some twenty-odd years ago. Great story titles (“Sam, You Made The Pants Too Fragrant”), wonderfully absurdist takes on real life gone extreme (a three-year-old being turned down to a prestigious nursery in Manhattan in “The Rejection”), fantastic character names (Comfort Tobias, Doxy Nash, Max Endorphine, Chic Arbogast, Galaxie Sunstroke, etc.) and metaphors galore (“the woman let out a piercing shriek of the type that alerts to enemy bombardment”). Oh, and the stories are funny too. I’ve always loved the way Allen sets you up with complex and verbose prose only to finish with a punch line launched straight from junior high school (“I might look at the same face and see something you’d find for sale in a live-bait store.”).

I’m guessing Woody Allen isn’t for everyone. But if you’re someone other than everyone this is a must read. Perhaps I should send Jeff a copy (gratis of course) to make up for old transgressions…

a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://bp2.blogger.com/_dHmav2z1o1o/RqvvkAulKgI/AAAAAAAAAy4/GkPppfU9OWM/s1600-h/toyota_1.jpg”img style=”margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;” src=”http://bp2.blogger.com/_dHmav2z1o1o/RqvvkAulKgI/AAAAAAAAAy4/GkPppfU9OWM/s400/toyota_1.jpg” alt=”" id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5092427205622180354″ border=”0″ //a

My goal for the year was to read two books a month. I’ve fallen a couple books behind. I was very, very far behind but with the recent vacations, I’m catching up.br /I was inspired to read more after hearing Autumns brother go through his list of books he read last year. It got me motivated to get off my ass. Of course, I don’t quite read books that are on his level, but I’m trying. Originally, I thought a book a month would have been good. That would have been more than double what I read in ‘06 anyway. then I thought I should put more pressure on myself and doubled that number.br /On my last trip I read a good one that is a good one for anyone who wants to learn more about writing. It’s called A Forest for the Trees by Betsy Lerner. Anyone who is a professional writer probably already knows about this but I think this would be a great book for anyone who wants to better understand a writer, if you have a relationship with one. I just wanted to pick up a few writing tips. It was a bit more industry inside than I wanted, but a very good book.br /I started a good one called Road Trip Nation. College students in a run down RV cruising around the country trying to land interviews with some big names in business. This became a PBS radio special as well. I like how brief it is with each industry leader and it cuts right to the chase with some advice from each of them. The theme so far is that no one really planned to get to where they are or even in that industry. Life has just lead them on this interesting path. Will report back when I’m done with this. jb

My goal for the year was to read two books a month. I’ve fallen a couple books behind. I was very, very far behind but with the recent vacations, I’m catching up.
I was inspired to read more after hearing Autumns brother go through his list of books he read last year. It got me motivated to get off my ass. Of course, I don’t quite read books that are on his level, but I’m trying. Originally, I thought a book a month would have been good. That would have been more than double what I read in ‘06 anyway. then I thought I should put more pressure on myself and doubled that number.
On my last trip I read a good one that is a good one for anyone who wants to learn more about writing. It’s called A Forest for the Trees by Betsy Lerner. Anyone who is a professional writer probably already knows about this but I think this would be a great book for anyone who wants to better understand a writer, if you have a relationship with one. I just wanted to pick up a few writing tips. It was a bit more industry inside than I wanted, but a very good book.
I started a good one called Road Trip Nation. College students in a run down RV cruising around the country trying to land interviews with some big names in business. This became a PBS radio special as well. I like how brief it is with each industry leader and it cuts right to the chase with some advice from each of them. The theme so far is that no one really planned to get to where they are or even in that industry. Life has just lead them on this interesting path. Will report back when I’m done with this. jb

a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://bp0.blogger.com/_dHmav2z1o1o/RqSeQccVxfI/AAAAAAAAArg/PFM5LRUHe_U/s1600-h/CIMG0138.JPG”img style=”margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;” src=”http://bp0.blogger.com/_dHmav2z1o1o/RqSeQccVxfI/AAAAAAAAArg/PFM5LRUHe_U/s320/CIMG0138.JPG” alt=”" id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5090367484185658866″ border=”0″ //abr / This was a classic moment on the trip. You may have heard on the radio how we always joke when people take babies to inappropriate places like Vegas or Rock concerts.br /We’re in Chicago in the Children’s Museum at Navy Pier. They have this very cool pirate ship that connects 4 floors. It’s designed for the kids to climb from one level to the next. We’re waiting in line so our daughter can climb to the next level. There’s a woman in front of us with a newborn wrapped up in one of those homemade over the shoulder baby. I’m pretty sure the baby was asleep and this silly, silly woman spent the next 15 minutes trying to wiggle a sleeping infant through this rope climb. Several times we saw the babies foot get caught in the ropes and the mother had no clue. I had to take a picture of this. All the moms waiting in line with their toddlers couldn’t believe what they were witnessing and all were talking about “what a moron this woman was”.br /I had to take her picture. what a complete idiot. Babies love Pirate Ships! Enjoy.

This was a classic moment on the trip. You may have heard on the radio how we always joke when people take babies to inappropriate places like Vegas or Rock concerts.
We’re in Chicago in the Children’s Museum at Navy Pier. They have this very cool pirate ship that connects 4 floors. It’s designed for the kids to climb from one level to the next. We’re waiting in line so our daughter can climb to the next level. There’s a woman in front of us with a newborn wrapped up in one of those homemade over the shoulder baby. I’m pretty sure the baby was asleep and this silly, silly woman spent the next 15 minutes trying to wiggle a sleeping infant through this rope climb. Several times we saw the babies foot get caught in the ropes and the mother had no clue. I had to take a picture of this. All the moms waiting in line with their toddlers couldn’t believe what they were witnessing and all were talking about “what a moron this woman was”.
I had to take her picture. what a complete idiot. Babies love Pirate Ships! Enjoy.

a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://bp2.blogger.com/_dHmav2z1o1o/RqSVf8cVxeI/AAAAAAAAArY/r2aOjOXRngU/s1600-h/CIMG0136.JPG”img style=”margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;” src=”http://bp2.blogger.com/_dHmav2z1o1o/RqSVf8cVxeI/AAAAAAAAArY/r2aOjOXRngU/s320/CIMG0136.JPG” alt=”" id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5090357854868981218″ border=”0″ //a