A Few Book-Baths

      Today I left 11/22/63 in my locker (it was pouring outside, I didn't want to get it wet), and it's got me thinking about the books I've destroyed or mangled over the years.

1. Eragon- I loved this book sooo much (even after figuring that it was essentially a mash-up of Star Wars and Lord of the Rings)... I read it so many times that it literally fell in two! I was naturally scared to death for a bit (okay... that's a bit of an exaggeration, but it's true nonetheless) before I brought the two uneven halves to school, where a teacher did some fancy stuff with tape. To this day I don't know how it put it back together. About a year later, I sat and read on the swings, went in for dinner, forgot about it, and found it the next day, a wet heap of paper. Why I didn't think of rain, I don't know, and I was left with two halves of a soggy book haphazardly held together by peeling tape.
2. Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers- My first time reading the book, on a trip to Disney World with family, I decided to bring the book down to the pool. We (we being me and my dad) sat at what I thought was far enough from the pool so that what we had would not get wet. Evidently that was not true- it received a light drizzle of water, enough to crinkle the pages, but not enough to cause the ink to spread. I was miffed, but it didn't ruin the vacation.

Long days and pleasant nights,
Neal

My Shelved, Yet Unread Books

      There are, of course, many books that I want to read. But first, as I naturally would do, I have quite a few books on the shelf yet to read. Half-Price Books will be the death of me.

      What do I have to read? The next three Dune Books, and a couple Louis L'Amour books (on the bottom of the picture). Right now, I'm reading Empire of the Sun, The Dark Tower #7, and the first Dune (top of the picture).

      Although only four of these books actually belong to me, you can see how much of a bookworm I am. Also, you can see the genres and styles of literature I'm into right now. Science-fiction, a genre I haven't explored much beyond Star Wars, is one that I'm very slowly stepping into. It's very much like walking into a cold pool- you have to take a while to get used to it. Post-apocalyptic fiction is one of my favorites- I Am Legend (the book, not the movie) is a prime example, and one I liked quite a bit. The Dark Tower series is part Western, part science-fiction, and part post-apocalyptic fiction- it's an amazing series with great characters, ideas, and a great plot. I've been living it since spring break earlier this year, and I almost can't bear the thought of being on the final book.

      Empire of the Sun, a Historical Fiction novel, revolves around the experiences of a young kid in Shanghai after the Japanese invade in the late 1930's. I find it to be a very emotional book, and it is based off the author's own experiences.

      Anyway, that's what I have on the shelf now- at least until I go to another bookstore.

Long days and pleasant nights,
Neal

Me, The Vaguely-Omnipotent Blogger

      With this post, I'm going to do a sort of 'profile' of myself. Have fun!

      What can I say about myself? I'm seventeen years old, in high school. I do enjoy writing, but I'm terrible about getting around to doing it (I'm trying to challenge myself by posting something every day). I can be opinionated about certain things, but I prefer not to be very outspoken about those opinions. I can be described as a 'nerd'- I like Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, etc; I'm into computer-stuff, and I am a huge bookworm. Certain things do set me apart from other people (I believe)- I prefer cold weather to hot weather, I'm actually pretty anti-social outside school, I can be very stubborn, I listen to classic rock music (The Rolling Stones, The Who, The Beatles, etc), I would rather use Windows (or a Linux distribution) than a Macintosh.
       I love, love, love keeping up with events around the world. I'm obsessed with world history, and I want to really keep up so I can recount to my children and grand-children what life was like in the crazy beginnings of the 21st century. It would be cool to keep a video diary so my descendants can actually see me in my youth, but alas, I have neither the video camera nor the patience.
      What do I want to do with my life? I have no clue. I'm thinking about going more into social sciences in college, and seeing what happens after that. Maybe living in a small town all my life, one where I know everybody, and where I could walk to all the places I needed. Maybe opening my own little business. I wouldn't be able to do the whole big-city thing. I can't handle the unadulterated chaos, the constant bustle, and the noise of the city. That's just me, I guess, and I'm just fine with that.
      Is that enough? I hope so- I'm out of anything to say.

Long days and pleasant nights,
Neal