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Typically, I have three or four
books going at the same time --
one at home, one at work, and
one I can't find but it's really good.
As I write this, I'm reading the
fabulous Molly Ivin's brilliant
deconstruction of life in the Bush
years BUSHWHACKED, and its
equally hilarious and incisive
political running-mate LIES and
the LYING
LIARS WHO TELL
THEM by
Al Franken, and a great
book about Attention Deficit
Disorder called DRIVEN
to
DISTRACTION... which is,
of
course, the one I can't find, even
though I accidentally ordered two
copies, plus the
books-on-tape
CD version. Ah, well... I didn't
need that book anyway...
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NOTE: I consider myself an ethical person, but I have one really nasty confession to make: I spend about three to four
hundred dollars a month on books. No that's not the confession, that's bragging. The confession is that at least half of that
money goes to a certain on-line Mega Dealer of books [and now every kind of crap imaginable as well.] This makes
me a Bad Person because that on-line Whore of Babylon is not-so-slowly crushing thousands of wonderful independent bookstores
out of existence. Why do I buy there? Because I am a broke-down low-class gutter-crawling junkie, but I really am trying to
stop.
So, PLEASE! if you buy any of the books I recommend [and I hope you do, because I really don't want
to beat your ass] don't buy them at Amazon, Borders or Barnes Ignoble. There is a great little independent
book store near you that needs your $$$ so it can continue to be part of your neighborhood's cultural, intellectual and economic
life. I made this deal with Satan -- every book you buy from a wonderful Independent Book Store will take
twelve minutes off the eternity I will Burn in Hell for patronizing the wicked whore that is Amazon.com.
Next time you're tempted to click on Amawhore.com, click here instead:
http://www.bookweb.org/ This site will show you all the bookstores in your vicinity. Really. It's great. Do it. Then go there.You will actually
see people who buy and read books. Kind of creepy looking, aren't they. But they are the few, the brave, the literate and
they are the only hope this nation has. So smile at them. But keep moving. And buy a book or twelve.
an incredible place to buy online from independent dealers
this site will find any book any where at the best price
NCIBA = Northern California Independent Booksellers Association
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| CLICK for more information |
BOOK of the YEAR -- 2004
I'm not the only one choosing Philip Roth's
The Plot Against America for my book of
the year. I had to stop every twenty pages
or so for emotional respite, and because I
didn't want the book to end. Click on the
book (left) to read the New York Times
review -- which is a major literary work
in its own right...
| BUSHWHACKER |
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| MOLLY IVINS |
If everyone had read Molly's book SHRUB back in '99, she wouldn't have to have written this one. In SHRUB this brilliant,
tough and funny Texas columnist told all the ugly truth about the crooked, stupid and incompetent "Shrub" as only a Texan
could have told it. But as she said, "Our governor is now your president." And in BUSHWHACKED Ivins shows how the practices
and policies of the Shrub administration put our nation, our economy, our future, our democracy and our very lives at risk.
A brilliant lesson on the relationship between American govenment and the American people. I love you, Molly!
| LIES & Lying Liars... |
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| AL FRANKEN |
This is the book that made the loathsome Bill O'Reilly pee his pants in public. Chapter by chapter Al Franken and a brilliant
team of fact checkers go after the Republican Lying Machine and dismantle it cog by cog by coulter. As hilarious as it is,
the chapter about Paul Wellstone's funeral had me sobbing into my French fries as I sat reading it at Jack-in-the-Box. No
one is more skeptical about the GOP and the mainstream press than I am, but I was astonished and disgusted by the depth, range
and evil of the Right-Wing propaganda Franken unveils. I did not want this book to end. Incredible fun to read, even when
you want to personally wring Ann Coulter's turkey neck.
| DISTRACTION |
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| HALLOWELL |
Procrastination. Disorganization. Distractibility. Millions of adults have long considered these the hallmarks of a lack
of self-discipline. But for many, these and other problems in school, at work and in social relationships are actually symptoms
of an inborn neurological problem: ADD, or Attention Deficit Disorder. Through vivid stories of their patients' experiences,
Drs. Edward Hallowell and John Ratey offer a comprehensive overview of one of the most controversial psychiatric diagnoses
of our day. They show the varied forms ADD takes -- and the transforming impact of precise diagnosis and treatment. And, as
successful professionals who are both living with ADD, they extend a message of hope and compassion to all listeners struggling
with ADD in their own lives or in the lives of loved ones. This book explained my own life to me as no other book has ever
done. Is ADD something that only happens to other people? Check my ADHD page to learn more...
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