AntSaint

Great titles & Moleskine notebooks at J. Michaels Books, Eugene, Oregon

Ah, J. Michaels Books. I don't shop for books as often as I could. It keeps me sane (plus our shelves are already full). But in Eugene, if there's one shop I would browse, and do occasionally purchase from, it's the J. Michaels Books on Broadway between Oak and Pearl. From taoist philosophy to whenever I need a new Moleskine, this is where I stop:

Link: J. Michaels Books remains a best-seller: The Register-Guard, Eugene, Ore..

Owned by Jeremy Nissel and his wife, Linda Ellis, it’s best known as a used book store specializing in tracking down rare and out-of-print titles. It keeps a healthy selection of art and architecture books in stock

Rereading Harry Potter

With Book 7, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, coming out in July, it's time for me to once again do my pre-release ritual: re-read every book in the series. I've just finished Book 4 (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire), and started Book 5 (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix) over dinner.

What about you? What's your pre-new-Harry-Potter ritual?

Leaky Cauldron essay: A Tarot Reading of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows”

Congrats Chloe! One of the Eight Readers and a regular commenter here at ol' Antsaint, Chloe has recently published an essay on the Harry Potter fan site Leaky Cauldon. She discusses Harry Potter book 7, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, as well as the other Potter books, along with Tarot and its significances in the novels' symbolism, themes and plot:

Link: The Leaky Cauldron - A Tarot Reading of “Deathly Hallows”

A Tarot Reading of “Deathly Hallows” By Chloe Squibbulus Unfogging “Deathly Hallows” seems a little like J.K. Rowling extracting her strand of thought and putting it in the fan Pensieve. Like Harry with Voldemort’s memories, we are left to swirl it and puzzle out its meaning – its relevance – to the conclusion. And this isn’t just a conclusion; it’s the finale of our Harry Potter universe (a tragedy in and of itself). Aspects of Rowling’s revelation of the title lead in very different but complimentary directions: one highlights the method of extraction – the Hangman game; the other concerns the title itself.

Oregon Hikes & Adventures - William Sullivan

William Sullivan has written some of the best, most-comprehensive books available about hiking in Oregon. For his many volumes, as well as listings of activities and recreation areas, see:

Link: Oregon Hikes & Adventures.

See Sullivan's titles on Oregon hiking and the outdoors, including:

• Cabin Fever
• Oregon Trips & Trails
• A Deeper Wild
• Hiking Oregon's History
• 100 Hikes in the Central Oregon Cascades
• 100 Hikes in Southern Oregon
• 100 Hikes/Travel Guide: Oregon Coast & Coast Range
• 100 Hikes in Northwest Oregon & SW Washington
• 100 Hikes/Travel Guide: Eastern Oregon
• Oregon Topographic Road Map
• Exploring Oregon's Wild Areas
• Listening for Coyote

Harry Potter Book 7 title announced - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Now we know what the book's going to be called... now we just need that release date...

Link: MuggleNet | Book 7 - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Dumbledore, alas, is dead

Link: 2006: Accio Quote!, the largest archive of J.K. Rowling interviews on the web. Bugger. So much for my theory — one of the less crackpotted out there. But so says Jo herself about Dumbledore:

"I see that I need to be a little more explicit and say that Dumbledore is definitely ... dead (crowd gasps)."

Authors & Artists Fair @ Eugene Downtown Library, 7-10pm - Eugene Weekly Calendar

Writerly inclined, or maybe just looking for bookish holiday gifts? Then head to the Eugene Library from 7-10pm for authors, and artists and more:

Link: Eugene Weekly : Calendar : 11.30.06.

If signed copies of books (or locally made art) are on someone's holiday wish list, look no further than the 2006 Authors and Artists Fair at the Downtown Library. Up to 70 authors and artists will be present to mingle and get out their Sharpies for the bookworm masses. That's a lot of egos in one room, people, so please be wary of famous author imposters! Some notable "real" authors planning on attending include Jane Kirkpatrick, Judith K. Berg, Paul Chasman, Kurt Cyrus, Jan Eliot, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, Joseph Lieberman and Bill Sullivan. A silent auction and traditional Celtic music round out this spectacular annual library benefit.

Harry Potter Book 7 Roundup

Sat down after work this evening with Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince. It'd been a while since I'd gone through it, re-reading favorite scenes, like Ginny and Harry's first kiss, getting the memory from Slughorn, Horcruxes, the Cave, the battle on the Tower. It got me pondering, over whether or not Dumbledore is dead, what HP Book 7 holds, etc.

Did a bit of digging; here's a roundup on the latest news and rumors for Harry Potter Book 7:

• J.K.Rowling Official Site - Harry Potter and more
• Book 7: Harry Potter Book 7 - News and Rumors
• Harry Potter: Book Seven: Information from Answers.com
• Veritaserum - Everything Harry Potter - Book 7, Movie 5 News
• MuggleNet | Harry Potter Book 7
• The Leaky Cauldron - Harry Potter 7, movie 5 news, images, videos, podcast and more
• Harry Potter Book 7 - What Happens Next? - Spoiler Warning
• Severus Snape: The Unlikely Hero of Harry Potter book 7
  

The Antsaint Review: The Guide to Getting It On! (5th edition, 2006)

Get The Guide: @ Amazon | @ Powells | @ abebooks.com

"This book is 854 pages long, and it still can't define sex. Hopefully you will be able to define it on your own, or at least have a beautiful time trying. And always, try to remember that there are many dimensions to sex besides just huffing and puffing while the bedsprings squeak." — The Guide to Getting It On!, 5th edition, p. 792

A Book So Hot, Who the Hell Wants to Sit Down and Write a Review About It?
Please forgive me for the brevity of this review. After reading through a book as fun, funny and stimulating as The Guide to Getting It On!, it's not that this review is short. It's that the night is so long — and there are so many better things than typing to do with one's time.

Yet Read & Review I Must, for I Am a Virgin... to The Guide!
For years I've heard about The Guide to Getting It On!, but had never read it myself. And sure, hearing about The Guide! was nice, but until you try it for yourself, you don't know how amazing it really is.

Humor Is the Best Turn-on to Get You in Deep
Sex guides vary as much as sex itself. Some sex books are very matter-of-fact (think a lot of Dr. Ruth). Some are written in a deep, flowery prose-cum-poetry (The Kama Sutra). But of all the guides out there, I could chuck all of them and spend the rest of my... ahem, recreational life going solely by The Guide to Getting It On!

It's not that The Guide! is an all-encompassing, encyclopedic page-turner (though it is). It's not that it covers everything from kissing to kink, oral sex to what to do if you or your lover (or both) have a disability (though it does). It's that The Guide! is so damn funny doing it, while also being so matter-of-fact that some of the best zingers nearly fly by you:

• "Define orgasm? It's somewhere between a hand grenade and a sunset."
• "Romance is something thoughtful that you do for someone you love. It's the Gorilla Glue that holds a relationship together. It's lube for above the belt instead of below."
• "This chapter is about kissing on the upper body as opposed to kissing on the genitals, although one often leads to the other."

In Da Mood... Da Mood to Review

• Lights: Low
• Written Naked? Sorry, that information is limited access
• Music? Um, duh. What else do you listen to while reviewing The Guide to Getting It On!, but Marvin Gaye's Let's Get It On? Duh. Honestly.

To review this book is pretty simple, really. The Guide! is for every lover and every person aspiring to be a lover. It's for the couple looking for some spice — or just some affirmation — and for the yearning soul looking for a bit of theory in advance of some practice. If you have even the tiniest twinge of blushing interest in sex, this is the book you want to keep under the mattress.

Updated Info & New Chapters Covering the Fun, Embarrassment, and Challenges of Sex
You'll find updated information — from the latest studies to the most lately thought-up one-liners — in your favorite chapters, along with new chapters  dedicated to...

• Losing Your Virginity, p. 339
• Sex & Breast Cancer, p. 401
• Snoring & Gas, p. 429
• Good Sex After Bad — Rape & Abuse, p. 457
• The Horny Pill & Patch, p. 699
• And lots more!

Stats:

• Title: The Guide to Getting It On!
• Author: Paul Joannides
• Publisher: Goofy Foot Press
• 5th edition, 2006
• Translated into 14 languages from Czech and Korean to Hebrew and U.K. English (and yes, I'm counting British English — at the least, they need to understand why we Yanks snicker when they ask to "borrow a rubber")
• ISBN: 1-885535-69-4
• Price (U.S.D.) $21.95
• 854 pages
• Publisher: Goofy Foot Press

"Cool As Hell" Tidbit for the Publishing, Mac and/or Typography Geeks
Wanna get your geek on before you get it on? Check out this Mac-only, foreplay-for-Mac-geeks publishing note in the front of the book:

"We are proud to announce that the Guide to Getting It On! is the first book in the country to go to press on a Mac Mini Intel Core Duo. Having been born on an SE-30, The Guide continues to thrive in an Apple Macintosh environment"

Get Your Copy of The Guide to Getting It On!
What are you waiting for, a nibble on the earlobe? If you want to get it on, then get on it:

• amazon.com - The Guide to Getting It On!
• Powells.com - The Guide to Getting It On!
• abebooks.com - The Guide to Getting It On!
• Or cruise down to your favorite local book store

The Blind Assassin, by Margaret Atwood

Amazing page-turner, with a story within a story. Subtle writing with a ton of punch. And a book you'll have trouble putting down.