In Which I Make A New Old Russian Friend

My new year's starting off a bit surreal
As I begin a new book that I've had
In my "to-read" pile for long months. I feel
No shame in this delay; indeed, I'm glad
To make this part of this new challenge: to
Devour one hundred books in this next year.
Sigizmund Krzhizhanovsky, you're a new
Acquaintance, and already dear!
Your stories, like Pelevin's, make the world,
Though dreary 'neath a bad regime, to shine
With strangeness. I can't wait until I'm curled
Again on my settee with you! A fine
And gently weird, unsettling evening
Right now seems, to me, to be just the thing!

Sunday Comics

No sleep, but Sunday Comics led me t'ward

My workday, willingly. I spent last night

Too late at work, alas; today my hoard

Of saved-up floppies kept my spirits bright.

Daytripper, luminous as e'er, but dull

Compared to other issues; then I took

A look at Morning Glories, which I'll cull

From my subscription list; a tawdry book

And too overt. But Fringe, I'd nearly dumped

This one, but it surprised me well. And then

A great mass of a book I'd mostly lumped

As someday reading: Rotten, which has been

My fav'rite of the day. I like my gore

With story and invention; that and more!

Tweet

R.I.P. Kate's Kindle

Not unlike other tech doodads of yore,
My Kindle's fate is now quite D.O.A.
The gadget endured just a little more
Than covered by its warranty. I'll say:
I've used it hard and long and well, but think
That if or when it gets replaced I'll go
With something less restrictive, more in sync
With what I want from books and, as you know,
With what I most believe: that culture's meant
For sharing. Paperbacks and DVDs
Can easily be lent, donated, sent
To others. While I do like sparing trees,
Renewing them's not hard. Meanwhile I've got
My iPod with the Kindle app, eh wot?

In Which I Muse On A Gadget Study And Its Choice Of Test Material

Oh, what would Papa think, to be so used

As he was for this study of iPads

And Kindles verses paper books. Bemused,

I'd bet. Though I am sure that there are scads

Of writers who would be quite chuffed to learn

Their prose is "pleasant and engaging" yet

Not very difficult for dummies. Spurn

Ol' Hemingway I don't, but I would bet

I'd read a little faster were there stars

And aliens and spaceships in the place

Of something dull and literary, bars

And manly man crap. Give me outer space!

So many of us, forced to read him when

We were in school might sigh if asked again.

In Which Ron Earl Phillips Gets Older In Style!

No small ambition comes from our Ron Earl,
A new year starts for all, and now for him
(His birthday is today). All in a whirl
As we recover and confront the whim
To make dumb resolutions, he brings one
That would be a delight to honor: read
A book a week in 2010. Fun --
But also he'll continue with his screed,
His own dear novel, which, judged from his taste
In others' works is something I shall like
And proudly shill when it sees print. No waste
Of time and energy shall I brook. Strike
Now while you have the will, this special day!
Don't let that will and power fade away!

In Which Vikram Seth -- and Lethe Bashar -- Make Me Feel Silly In More Ways Than One

Today I left my current reading back
At home, quite by mistake, but, lucky me:
I am compulsive, keep a mighty stack
Of books always. In my bag I'd a key
To at least one untasted universe.
Thanks to the same dear friend who hooked me on
Cao Xuecin, 'twas a novel, writ in verse,
By Vikram Seth, on which I'm simply gone.
I'm sheepish to say that The Golden Gate
Was new to me before Lethe mentioned it.
I'm stunned at the perfection of this bait
For keeping me from other tasks. Its wit,
So sly yet sad, has me laughing out loud,
Much to comrades' confusion. Hope he's proud.

In Which I Indulge My Dork-adence

My chores are done, though there is more to do

(There always is, no?) and as this cool day

Is my last off for this week, I eschew

More toil and opt instead to go and lay

In my yard swing and relax, drink and read.

I've pomegranate tea and Richard Holmes'

The Age of Wonder. Envy me indeed!

I've liberty to dream as my mind roams

Across the stars and seas alongside such

As Joseph Banks and Herschel, Mungo Park

And Humphrey Davy. I enjoy so much

These chances just to read 'til it gets dark.

And once the sun is down I've still the hope

Of stargazing with my small telescope.

My Favorite Holiday Comes Every Week

I know today is Earth Day, but I try

To treat each day that way as best I may.

As bins of cans and bottles testify,

As my low power bills do, too. Today

I celebrate a weekly cause of joys:

A reason to desert my hearth and home

And collie for a trip to see the boys

At Heroes Only. It's not far to roam:

Just 'crost Cheyenne, a couple miles all told.

But in imagination it's light years,

For Wednesday is NEW COMICS DAY. Behold:

New tales to tempt my thoughts and stir my fears!

And though these tales are printed on dead trees,

No landfill ever sees them, if you please.

BONUS BONUS SONNET: The Bitch-Goddess Slaps Me Still

Her sister Dawn gives me the finger soon

And still I sit awake at my laptop.

I had some laughs, and heard a brand-new tune

(To me at least), but this has got to stop!

I didn't want to take a frakkin pill,

Not on my Saturday, that seemed so lame.

This maybe was a poor time for my will

To be so strong, but what else can I blame?

Insomnia has slapped me all night long;

I have the red face and the bleary eyes

To prove that point. Of course, I may be wrong.

That bitch-goddess did not fire up the 'net.

I did that on my own. That's what I get.

I Love Living In The Future...Most Of The Time

The batteries, they all need to be charged
On many of the things I use each day.
I won't complain; my life is much enlarged
By laptops, cell phones, and my Kindle. They
Have let me do my thing 'most anywhere.
But ne'er before was there a pefect storm
Of power loss as right now. It's not fair!
My work PC, I regret to inform,
Restricts my freedom while my laptop sleeps.
My phone at home, an cool old candlestick
Works all the time; my cellie not so much.
As for my Kindle, right now it's a brick.
It lasts a week on one charge but, as such,
One has to charge it sometimes. I'm so glad
I bought a back-up dead tree book. Not bad!

I've No Problem Loving Them Both!

My house's rooms are not full of perfumes,
(Though scented with the smell of antique books)
No longer are they dark and crammed like tombs,
But they are still library-like in looks.
And so they will remain, despite my choice
To buy a Kindle 2 and load it up.
In "dead tree" books I always will rejoice
And hoard them like a crazy miser. Yup,
I love them both, the Kindle and the old
Familiar kind of book, whose pages turn
And is a pleasure just to see and hold:
For that alone I know I'll never spurn
A real book, but I have to say it's great
That Kindle holds 1000, less the weight!

BONUS SONNET: Talk To Me, Kindle 2

I've never been an audiobook fan,
I hold no scorn for other folk who are.
I like to read, and do whene'er I can.
One thing alone can make me stop so far:
A migraine. When those come I rush to hide
In darkness near as I can make complete.
I've often thought t'would nice if at my side
Someone could read to me; it would be sweet,
As lying in the dark is awf'ly dull.
I'm not about to buy recordings for
This purpose. I just went through a great cull
Of paperbacks and CDs; want no more.
This Author's Guild nonsense is simply that.
What threat to them is Kindle's voice, so flat?

In Which I Attempt to Improve my Financial Literacy with the Aid of Science Fiction and a Hot New Non-Fiction Title

Today I started on a brand new book,
One which I have anticipated much.
It joins with sev'ral I have on the hook
In various states of finishing, as such.
(I speak herein of reading, though I plea
To write a few someday, as you may guess).
It's Ferguson's financial history
Th'Ascent of Money, fresh-ish off the press.
I'm only partway in, on Chapter One
Already feeling wiser than I was
On matters monetary - now they're fun!
And easier to tackle, all because
Of how much fun The Baroque Cycle was!