So after voting to read that terrible book, The Passage. This month that book group voted for The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson. Sounded to me like the zany adventures of Walter Gump (Mitty/Forest). The one guy assured me it wasn't and compared it to Douglas Adams. I read the free kindle sample. He steals a suitcase that it turns out was owned by some hardened criminal who is now after him and it's some kind of comedy and I've seen this movie many a time already, why would I want to read a book that adds nothing to many light movies I've already seen. Movies I can't remember the name of. Like Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels but with less of an edge I guess. Stupid book. A best seller of course. And I'm done with that book club. They're just going to pick best sellers every month.

And it's nothing like Douglas Adams. That guy is an idiot to make that comparison. Lost all respect for him by saying that. It's similar in that they're both attempting to be funny. What the fuck?

Instead I read my own suggestion, The Suicide Motor Club by Christopher Buehlman. It jumped around a bit much. Also gore and excessive killing isn't really my thing. But he really brought the characters to life. Such details of their life. So real. Felt the mother's anguish for her son more so than just about in any other book. All the little details she remembered about him made him so real. And so it was with just about everyone. He made them real and such a good ending too.

All in all not quite as good as Lesser Dead because of the way it jumped around. Also the bad guys weren't as cool, interesting, etc as in Lesser Dead. Really they were dumbasses. But still a good book.

The Vegetarian by Han Kang.
Reading of course because I'm a near ethical vegan. Really boring book. Boring characters. Don't care about them. Quit 60% in. Not much worth saying. Artist guy just seems like a pervert. The lady who went vegan ought to be able to explain why at least somewhat. Otherwise I'd divorce her too and I even am a vegan. So she's just annoying. Blah.

The Age of Myth by Michael Sullivan.
Pretentious title. Was a nice book though. Unfortunately first of a series that isn't finished yet. And I barely remembered the book until opening it back up. Can't remember anyone's name. Guy kills a "god". Everyone thought they were immortal but they weren't. Little village. Now "gods" are pissed. But end up having one of them helping them. Silly little book but was enjoyable.

SPQR by Mary Beard
Thought from the NPR interview she'd spend way more talking about how the actual people lived but so far it's just been endless rulers/politics. Kind of stopped 52% in. I guess I'll try a bit more. She does say unfortunately that's just what we know about. Don't know as much about the actual people. Both she and Michael Parenti basically make Cicero sound like an asshole. I guess it's a good history.

23 days out. Feeling quite cranky. So sick of laying around. And my heart continues to really pound. Not happy really with my progress, though I suppose I'm progressing.

Teh Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams
This is so absurdly long winded. There has been so very little to happen. I give up at 75%. This is just a chore. I was thinking maybe he'd become a better as he went along. Also was waiting for the Sithi. This is just writing that's been churned out. He heard he needed to get his 500 or whatever and he made sure to churn them out.

Hollow World by Michael Sullivan
Sci fi is dying. Very hard to do it and be any good. This did have some nice ideas about the future. Plot was quite silly. Certainly better than Tad Williams though.

Dawn of Wonder by Jonathan Renshaw
Pretty good. Boy at school for marshalls that are sort of like secret agent men I think in the middle ages. Vague magic. First book was quite long. 900 pages. I enjoyed. Good read while going through my ordeal. Wish the rest of the series was already completed. He really puts in some good philosophical points while keeping it a page turner.

Having trouble finding a good book lately. I'm so not at my best right now for thinking or anything. I'm thankful I've had a decent number of visitors. Mainly B like 3 our or 4 days, the sister of S, who whatever the fuck happened I don't really know. Some kind of jealousy. Hopefully B will never do something ugly like that. So sick of that sort of thing. The thing is to see how a person treats other people and based off that she really does not appear to be that sort of person. Not remotely. Seems a very good person. Not a miserable misanthrope jealous of other's happiness or whatever.

I have no inspiration. What I had in the past was based off of unhappiness. And that just isn't the way to get it done. Now I'm not really unhappy. Just cranky about physical pain and laying around for close to 4 weeks now. So sick of TV/movies. Getting tired of music even. I think. I don't know.
Get nauseuaueues if I eat much. Find myself turning to thinking about sex as I'm really running out of ideas lately. Hurt too much for hard thinking. Feeling quite cranky that my wife is a foot shorter than me and outweighs me by 40 pounds. No point in complaining about it to anyone. No point talking about it at all. It wouldn't bother me so much except I'm stuck sitting here in the this recliner and just out of things I can do. Can't go do sports, or projects, or even go for a walk. Can't think hard, so being creative is out. More cerebral, anti-page turner books are beyond me mentally right now. Can't go to work. Can't even sit outside and relax because of the locust swarm.

This weekend:
Friday I stopped and got Qdoba on the way home for my pregnant wife. Then I went to 84 lumber to get supplies to fix the tubing for the hot water heater. Then to my parents to get tools, then back to 84 lumber to get the tools I couldn't find at parents. Then to Lowe's to get the supplies I should have got at 84 lumber but which was now closed. We stopped at Panera's and Starbucks while down there (big appetite Friday... think from the sit-ups.) A stranger hugged my wife in Panera because of Canadian paraphanelia (sp).

Then fixed water heater issue at tenant's place. Then watched Hannibal.

Saturday got up and ran 6 miles interval 2/1. Way out of shape 57.5 minutes. Ugh. Sore even. In abs from situps (but sleeping well) and calves. Trying to just run three days a week. Intervals at least twice. Third run either a race/hard tempo or a third interval session.

Then transplanted fig tree and put down weed control mat and mulch. Then bought kiddie pool at big lots. Also went to SayBoys for brekkie. Had home fries and a cinnabun. Took a nap (so tired... from run I guess.) And watched Hannibal. Then started filling up kiddie pool in garage (it's for the fish while I fix a leak). And put down weed control mat/mulch for the apple tree enclosure.

Then went to parents for dinner. Nephew kicked brother-in-law in the groin and he whined he needed to go to the emergency room. Had half a bottle of german wine. So-so. Grilled black bean burgers as everyone else ate a bunch of meat. Sat and talked for quite a while. Came home pretty late...

Sunday, finished editing NRC proposal. Finished filling up kiddie pool. Bought pond supplies online. Wife did her extreme couponing. Visited wife's parents. Tried to go to the garden center but it was closed. Really need to replace some evergreens the deer have destroyed by the pond. Actually wrote a bit of music... Not much. Played cello a tiny bit for first time in over a month (two surgeries set me back). Just can't get cello to go with anything else. Double stops maybe a little better... Lost my favorite Reaper color theme that I've been using the last 5 years. Oh well. Siphoned some water out of kiddie pool into the pond. Watched Hannibal. Wrote a bit. Barely even to 1000 words but it's written as if I was actually trying to get it published. That's new.

And finally cut my hair at home with a number 6 (with some help from wife). Getting really thin up there.

That's mostly it. Some reading. Some internet surfing. Feel like it was a wasted weekend. Keep on meaning to use my telescope. But was cloudy today. And I guess just barely too cloudy Saturday. Next week is a three day weekend. Maybe camping?

Also not sure when exactly.. but finished Theft of Swords by Michael Sullivan. It was a serviceable book. My kind of thing. Characters were a tad light, as was the world. But fantasy fiction with badass heroes. Nice to get back to that. Now somewhat plodding through a book about Bach's Cello Suites. I'll probably be needing more fantasy fiction before I'm finished with that.