The Life and Times Book Review

Hey! Since my daily commute takes about an hour of bus and train rides I've been reading a lot. I enjoy reading very much, so this has been a delightful predicament. Here are some of the most memorable books I've read. We'll start with my favorite!

The Complete Collection of Sherlock Holmes (In Two Handsome Volumes), by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

I happened upon the complete collection at Half Priced Books for very cheap in two delightful and the most handsomest volumes I've ever encountered. I was at first wary of these stories as I'm a fan of more modern writing. How wrong I was though! I've never been so enthralled with a set of stories since Harry Potter. These are some of the most intriguing and exciting stories to read. One of my favorites is the novel A Study in Scarlet, which is the first of the stories. Currently I'm reading The Memoires of Sherlock Holmes. I recommend these stories to anyone who enjoys a thrilling story and a challenge to an inquisitive mind.

The Undercover Economist, by Tim Hartford
This is an enjoyable book uncovering the mystery of economics. Overall, this is a fun read. I feel as though I understand how the world works better. It would be satisfying to see some economic policy that actually worked and would help to get us out of this is maybe "recession." The examples given in the book are more understandable than my Econ 1101 professor's Oreo and Milano comparisons.

The Final Solution (A Story of Detection), by Michael Chabon
This is a cute little novella about a mute little boy and a very old man solving the mystery of a stolen bird. It's a terribly cute novel and when I found out that the author thought of the old man as an incredibly aged Sherlock Holmes. I was inspired by this novella to read Sherlock Holmes. It is very well written and each description is hilarious and detailed.

The Optimists, by Andrew Miller
Generally when I read a book I get something good out of it. I like most books, I'm not too picky, usually books I don't like are more "eh" than "I might want to stop reading." I really wanted to stop reading this book. It made me angry, it wasn't good, it didn't make me happy, it didn't make me think, it didn't make me feel anything other than boredom. The main character didn't do anything and the writing was boring. If I looked at a map of London, I would probably be able to trace the steps of the main character, because the author felt it pertinent to name every street this poor soul walked down. It was annoying, and unnecessary. As is this novel.

Rule Number Two (Lessons I Learned in a Combat Hospital), by Heidi Squier Kraft
This is an excellent memoir of the author's time in Iraq and the terrible things she had to work with. As a professional psychologist she not only experienced the war first hand, but she also listened to many other experiences. It is a really moving story and it makes me thankful that we have such wonderful people over there supporting each other.

What I've been doing

Andy and I took advantage of being mobile and went to the lovely town of Red Wing. Where Andy bought a hat and I bought shoes from the local cobbler. We also found some interesting art by the train depot.

Andy got curious.

I danced with a metal person.

Another weekend Andy and I ventured to the little town of St. Peter and visited the local Lutheran college. Mr. Gustavus Adolphus was a fairly chubby man according to his statue in the center of campus.

They have a really ugly church there. Only made better with this crazy statue.

Though the views were much more beautiful!

Tony came down for a visit one weekend, and we had a boot or two at Gasthof's with some of his buddies from school. We all learned to polka and did a bunch of dancing. It was less fun when the live band left and we were left with some DJ. Overall it was a good time.

Tony enjoying his boot, sideways.

Like brother like sister.

Andy is uncomfortable dancing with me, it may be due to the placement of my left hand.

The delightful weekend of the Super Bowl, us people who ride bikes had an even the day before called the Stupor Bowl. It is apparently the longest running alley cat bike race in North America (and the largest) and Minneapolis is quite proud of that. It was a lot of fun to bike around to new places and enjoy beers a places I've never been. Once again, I like the camaraderie of biking in these cities. Our ride was cut a bit short though because dear Andy ingested a bit too much and took a risky turn on a large patch of ice and injured his shoulder. He's fine and well now, no harm done. Pictures shall come later.

And that's the gist of what I've been doing!

I want an iPod

It feels blasphemous to say after avoiding iPods for about sevenish years. I'm going to buy my first mp3 player and it's going to be an iPod Nano. Other products for the same price offer the same amount of storage, but are harder to get at. Being that I work in the Mall of America and the Apple store is right there with tens of eager "geniuses" competing for my attention, an iPod is the best and easiest purchase. Though, with a $200 price tag, this little 8 gig harborer of music will be mine only after some saving. And, since I'm not prone to making big purchases like this (unless the price tag is in pounds, then I don't realize what I'm paying) it'll be nice to wait on it for a bit.

I like it in blue.