Category Archives: Literature

Several staff members have been telling me all day that I have to read Mel Odom’s Lord of the Libraries. And since it is sitting on my desk right now, I was going to check it out. But I found out it was third in a series, so I will have to work my way up to it.

bq.I know in the past I vocalized the possibility of The Matrix picking up where The Terminator left off.. well it turns out they are actually both essentially ripped off from a book entitled The Third Eye copyrighted in 1981. – Dan Kordik I haven’t read the novel above, but it certainly always seemed to me that the two stories could be connected up. The goofy history in the Animatrix didn’t really ring true for me. It seemed more of a takeoff of Jim Shooter’s interpretation of Magnus: Robot Fighter. Of course, there are alternate theories as well.

For their 10th Anniversary, Amazon has created a list of Hall of Fame Authors. It is a very eclectic group ranging from many famous fiction authors to many non-fiction who are probably best known by their works rather than by name recognition.

I just happened to walk through the office where the latest shipment of books were being unboxed and what did I find on the cart but three copies of a certain highly-anticipated book. But don’t ask me what happens, because we are bound not to violate the NDA. Update: Terry Bain thinks the photo I linked to above looks like it’s in a bookstore so I added a few more photographs and created a set. I will keep adding to it as the week goes on.

With security growing tighter and lines growing longer in antipation of the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, many libraries are doing special events and displays. This is our modest contribution.

Getting started late on your summer reading? Just get a set of the Penguin Classics Library Complete Collection and I am sure you will always have a book handy. Just one click and this can all yours.

Would you like your library to have an autographed copy of J. K. Rowling’s last work? Some lucky librarian will be on their way to New York very soon for just such an occassion.
bq.Talk about your magic books. One lucky American library is going to be able to cast a spell on its readers by displaying the first American edition of “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” signed by J.K. Rowling herself. It’s the top prize in a sweepstakes from Scholastic, Inc., the American publisher of the series about the boy wizard. – Deepti Hajela Good Luck to all.

Remember the complaints about how Matrix: Reloaded didn’t make a lot of sense to those who hadn’t seen the Animatrix and played Enter the Matrix? Apparently, to full appreciate Revenge of the Sith, you need to watch the Clone Wars and then read Labyrinth of Evil. Although, even if you do, you won’t be able to explain how Obi-Wan had forgotten about Leia in Empire Strikes Back or why Leia remembered her mother in Return of the Jedi. Not to mention all the lies Obi-Wan told Luke in A New Hope.

I got to meet Frank Gorshin a few years ago at an autograph signing in Orlando. That was extremely cool. Not only was he, of course, the Riddler but he also was featured in Let That Be Your Last Battlefield, one of the best episodes of Star Trek. Ironically, his final performance will be on CSI this week. Frank Gorshin has passed.

bq.He also spotted “a number of Harry Potterisms” among the entries. “We will have to see about those,” he said. – Ginormous Tops Non-Dictionary Word List Unfortunately, they don’t list any examples at Merriam-Webster Asks: What’s Your Favorite Word That’s Not in the Dictionary?. But if you are upset about ginormous not making it, don’t be alarmed. The words below are from Oxford Adds More than 2,000 New Words to the American Dictionary. * Words in the News: al Qaeda, antiterrorism, frankenfood, Gitmo, intelligent design, Falun Gong, bunkerbuster, faith-based, hate crime, John F. Kerry and greenwash. * Modern Times: 9/11, Amber alert, reality TV, taikonaut, smart mob, supersize, Texas Hold ‘em, air rage, safe room, conflict diamond, fake bake, death metal, sizeism, smokeasy, trustafarian, mash up, permatemp, and barista. * Computers and Technology: adbot, blogosphere, bluetooth, wiki, phishing, malware, infoholic, addy, hacktivist, dataveillance, snert, megapixel, code monkey, lurker, and RFID. * Funny “ha ha” (and Funny “strange”): buckle bunny, cankle, clueful, cone of silence, FUD, ginormous, labradoodle, snivel gear, shojo, unobtainium, noogie, Joe Schmo, ka-ching, Raelian, and prairie-dogging