TwilightCafé

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

On Billy's recommendation, I have just read The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. Amazing book. Unlike any I had read recently. It is told from the point of view of an autistic boy who is trying to solve a murder mystery: who killed his next-door neighbor's dog. Mark Haddon takes you through the thought processes of this boy, tangents and all, in such a way that I understood completely what it was like to be inside the boy's head. This book sits alongside Bridget Jones' Diary and e for unusual formats, and it works just as well as they do. Makes me wonder if there is a connection between innovative writing style and being a writer from the UK. Maybe I should move?

It is hard to say much more without giving anything away. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and if you have an appreciation for Douglas Hofstadter and logic problems, you will too. Don't let the logic part scare you, though. Haddon takes even the most right-brained person through the process, leaving you feeling like you should go back to university and study Something Important with your newfound brains.

The plot is moved along nicely as the boy tells his readers what is happening around him and his reaction to it. This isn't a cold or boring book at all, and the logic serves only to enhance the story, not take it over or destroy it.

I missed Towel Day!

Towel Day is May 25th, the day you carry around your towel in a tribute to and to mourn the loss of Mr. Douglas Adams, 1952-2001.

Via Pops, who was sharing the joy of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy with Mr. Man.

oh bother!

I apparently missed the ABC showing of the movie, "A Wrinkle in Time," from the book by Madeleine L'Engle. I love that book. Did anyone catch the movie? Was it worth watching?

The New Yorker had an interview with L'Engle in an issue a couple of months ago. She rarely gives interviews. There is another one on MSNBC.com. She is an interesting woman, and I love her idea about the truth being more important than facts.

what's cooking?

Reading Light & Darkness's 100 things, I saw that she loves recipes. I do too. As a matter of fact, combine recipes with books (my all time favorite) and you get the best: cookbooks. These grimoires of food preparation, recipes handed down over years and modified with each new cook's preferences...I love it. I have a cookbook that was given to me for my first marriage, a collection of my mother's and her friends' recipes. Whenever someone in the family writes down a new one for me, I stick it in this book. I have two copies of The Joy of Cooking, one from 1973, apparently just a reprint of a 1962 edition, and The New Joy of Cooking from 1997, newly revised and with additional material by Ethan Becker, third generation chef in the Rombaur-Becker family. I use these two books more than the others I have.

Anyway, I don't have a huge collection of cookbooks. I am sure many of you have incredible collections. Here are a couple of pictures of mine. What books are on your kitchen shelves?

Now, to get to work on my own "100 things," #1 being "I procrastinate!"

new e-book technology

Now you're talking! Egadget describes an ebook reader that will be coming out late this month, offered by Sony. It utilizes something called E Ink, an electronic ink technology that is suppose to create an image that has the same contrast as a newspaper and is more easily readable, from any angle. The reader itself is made to look like a book.

I'll be following up on this, and looking for more information. This looks so much better than scrolling through page after page on my Palm Pilot.