What was I reading, then?

There came across my Web travels a list of "Best Loved Books" as declared by the BBC. The idea of the meme was to note which ones you've read, and - if read - whether you liked or hated them.

Some were popular novels, and some were classics usually read in school.

I have barely read any of them. The odd thing about this is that I have read many things - I have a minor in English and you would think I would have had more hits on such a list, even if most of the books were outside my usual recreational reading genres.

I recall many books in high school that other students were reading that I wasn’t; ‘A Catcher in the Rye’, ‘1984’, ‘Animal Farm’, ‘Lord of the Flies’.

Never read ‘em - still haven’t.

In fact, I’m thinking of listening to the audiobook of ‘Lord of the Flies’ this year.

I read ‘Catch-22’ voluntarily during my senior year, it was a never a requirement for me.

How about you? Any “standard” books that most students read that you never did?

leftovers

New year. This is a leftover bit of flash from last year. Enjoy.

"One if by Land" by Paul R. McNamee

Powerful swimming strokes propelled Dusimi across the inlet. Reaching the opposite shore, he scrambled among slimy, slippery rocks, finally finding purchase on dry, rough stones above the waterline.

Beneath the moon, the stone tower loomed over him; a strange structure with archways at its base and not a single opening or arrow slit anywhere along its vertical length. Dusimi wondered how the abandoned structure had been defended in ages past. Entering under an archway, he found no entrance over his head, only stone.

Chilled, he dressed in clothes taken from his oil skin sack. He removed his steel mace from the bag, looped the chord to his belt. The gray spit of land was desolate except for the mysterious tower. The ebony-skinned mercenary felt uneasy.

The rough stones of the tower’s outer wall provided plenty of footholds and handholds. Dusimi, a natural born climber, deftly scaled the structure. He crawled over the crude, jagged crenellations of the peak onto the roof.

Under the moonlight, Dusimi espied the hole in the center of the roof; a hole created by design and ringed by cut stones. He skirted the illogical aperture, which provided the only entrance into the tower. Peering cautiously over the opposite edge of the roof, the moonlight exposed a small armada bobbing on the waves. Dusimi knelt to ready his signal lanterns.

Wood scraped rock and someone muttered a curse far below. Dusimi halted, glanced over the roof’s edge. A large rowboat rubbed against the rocks. One man tied off the boat to a jagged stone outcrop, while seven other sailors clambered from the vessel.

A grappling hook scraped across the roof until it caught the wall and held taut. Apparently, the men were not as adept at climbing as Dusimi. He guessed their purpose was the same as his; to signal their land-bound allies of their arrival.

Dusimi crouched and waited. Using his knife, he impaled the neck of the first man who came over the wall. Silenced, the dying man struggled with his attacker. Dusimi had no time to waste; he pushed the man into the waiting maw at the center of the tower roof.

Too late, the black warrior turned to the grappling hook. The second man was over the wall and charging with drawn sword. The man slashed, Dusimi swerved, pressed forward and caught the man’s ribs with glancing blow of his mace. His opponent staggered but recovered before slipping into the waiting hole.

More grappling hooks clattered against stone. Men yelled from below. Dusimi charged, feinted and spun the man around with a fierce blow to the head, sending the leather-armored sailor to the same fate as his comrade, into the belly of the tower.

The tower trembled, Dusimi lost his footing, clutched the crenellations for support. Looking down he saw two sailors swinging wildly on their ropes, feet dislodged by the tremor. But it was not enough. The other men gained the roof before Dusimi could cut a single line. Grim faces encircled him, weapons gleaming in moonlight.

“Black devil,” one face said.

“Send him to hell what he did to our lads,” someone else suggested, pointing a short sword at the hole.

The tower trembled again, and something disgorged from the stone mouth. Fleshy with suckers along its length, it lashed around one man’s waist and pulled him forward. Other tentacles, each the thickness of a man’s arm, emerged from the hole, seeking prey.

Whatever slumbered in the tower had been aroused by flesh and blood. Dusimi joined the melee, beating at the flailing tentacles with his mace, but the spongy flesh resisted damage from such a blunt instrument. The men with swords fared better, though writhing appendages bodily knocked more than one man over the crenellations to their death on the rocks below.

Dusimi retrieved his oil skin bag. His knife slashed open leather flasks of oil, and he tossed them into the hole. Dodging tentacles, he opened a lantern and lit the wick. Darkness swallowed the flame as it plummeted into the abyss.

Firelight and an inhuman, unearthly shriek burst from the hole. The tower reverberated again and again as the creature, insane with pain, slammed its bodyweight against the sides of its chamber. However small it had been when it found refuge in the tower, it had grown too large to exit the hole.

In the chaos, Dusimi found a secure grappling hook. Wrapping his hands in the oil skin bag, he grabbed the rope and slid down to the ground, never looking up, even as stone cracked and men screamed.

The bottom floor of the tower collapsed. The burning beast fell to the ground like a sickly shooting star. Still shrieking inhumanly, its horrific cries carried across the still night for leagues. The thing slithered over the tumbled, broken rocks and plunged into the ocean, smothering the flames upon its blubbery hide.

As it quickly passed through the moonlit shadows, Dusimi briefly thought of squids or kraken - but how one might survive in a land-locked tower away from the sea for years was a mystery he dared not ponder too deeply for sake of his sanity.

Dusimi fled across the rocks, not chancing that the vile beast might return from the water. Dusimi did not consider the mission a failure. He had not lit the lanterns, but the creature’s shriek of pain had warned everyone that hell was breaking loose.

Happy 2009!

Yes, I'm still here. Just haven't had a lot of time to write anything. Holidays were great - baby Gwyneth met lots of cousins and other relatives.

I'm still reading blogs even if my replies are few and far between.

And Heff - I will get a beer out to you one of these days - sorry I missed the holiday window, but I'll still get you something regional if not seasonal.

The Sky People

Finally finished S. M. Stirling's The Sky People. I thought it was fun, though I'm somewhat easily amused. I'll admit that while I have read Tarzan and the first five Mars/Barsoom novels, I have not read E. R. Burroughs Venus tales - so I don't have the a measure of comparison.

I liked the alternate timeline of the Cold War and an inhabited solar system - though having to explain it all and make it part of the mystery tied down the action in some spots.

Good stuff, I'll be checking out In the Court of Crimson Kings sometime.

For now, I think I'll take a break from novels and read some short stories from various sources until the new year.

'6 random things about me' meme

From Charles - Like Charles, I usually don't go for these things but I'm bored and feel like rambling.

1.) Baseball. I really don't follow other sports, and I don't follow much outside of the Red Sox. I was in Little League for one season. Ironically, I wound up on the 'Red Sox' and, like the real team at the time, we tied for first place in our division but lost in a playoff tie-breaker. But thinking back now, it was a neat thing when our coach told us mid-season that we were competing for first place. None of us knew until then. It was a real "Wow!" moment.

2.) Shirts. I really enjoy a comfortable casual shirt. I look forward to cooler weather when I can put on the flannels. A few years ago I discovered VermontFlannel. They are more expensive but they are made in U.S.A. so if you're interested in one for Christmas, by all means stop by and support them. I've been acquiring one shirt per year but missed this year because usually instead of ordering online, I buy one at the Topsfield Fair. We couldn't go this year because it was too close to Linda's due date. Maybe Krampus will bring me one.

3.) Books. Not only do I read, but I collect certain books. Not first editions of Mark Twain or anything, mostly paperbacks. I have nearly all the Conan books - Howard originals and pastiches alike. I am three short. I have all the Ian Fleming James Bond novels. Complete sets of some S&S series - like, Flashing Swords and Swords Against Darkness. One thing you might not suspect is that I am a Joseph Heller (Catch-22) fan, too. I have hardcover copies of all his books except one. I was fortunate enough to have some generous friends who bumped into Joe annually and secured me two personally autographed books from him. I only regret that we never found a way to get me to the annual party to meet him in person.

4.) Guns. I grew up with guns but I don't own any. (I do own some rapiers and a Maori warclub, though, so be careful when you come knocking. ;) ) We weren't a hunting family so I rarely fired guns but I knew where the ammo was and how to load and unload. As Charles said, it's about respect not fear. Or, it should be.

My father and I ordered a flintlock Tower Pistol (1750 British Colonial pistol) kit from Connecticut Valley Arms back in the day. (Apparently they don't do recreations anymore, and that is a shame.) The finished product still hangs over the fireplace back home.

5.) Hobbies. Speaking of that pistol, if I had extra time (and money - be careful what you wish for in this economy ;) ) to indulge in more hobbies, black powder shooting would be one. Not with modern muzzle loaders but with historical pieces/kits as I have an interest in that. Aside from the hobbies that I currently attempt to keep up with (reading, writing, guitar, old Xbox games I've barely touched.) I would add to the list - tabletop miniatures (Warhammer/Warhamer 40K), more video gaming with a new system (PS3, maybe?) and I'd love to try an organized RPG - preferably find someone running a Solomon Kane campaign!

And I'd really like to get back to hiking. For me it's more about seeing wildlife than conquering mountains, though, so just walking through the woods is fine, too.

6.) Writing. I started this blog to make posts about writing and fell off that wagon (as evidenced by this self-indulgence) as I fell off the writing wagon. For any who wants to read more about writing, hang in there. I do have plans for a historical novel. My hope is to thumbnail the outline and characters sketches in December and start writing again in January with a New Year's resolution.

We'll see how that pans out with the baby and all. ;)

Thanks for reading.

Of all the gall

So, apparently it's not unheard of to have a gall bladder attack as a result of pregnancy/delivery.

Linda's okay now but we lost a few days in the hospital last week. She will have surgery next month to remove her gall bladder.

Luckily, both sets of grandparents are relatively close-by and were able to round robin. The baby had no issues switching temporarily to a bottle with formula.

At least I got some reading done at the hospital. Finished Witch Finder and started S. M. Stirling's The Sky People.

Over-and-out for now.

Full Metal Elves

Because I have a twisted sense of humor, I find this extremely funny.

NSFW language.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydF9rHC02Hg