Not very many books to discuss this time around. There's a reason for that, and I'll bring it up later. Also, there's something that's been bothering me, so I'm going to get it off my chest as well.
Miscellaneous
The Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck ($13.00, 619 pages, copyright 1939, Trade Paperback)
For those who read this blog, you may remember this volume as being something I bought as a Christmas present for a family member. I wound up getting her a newly published filmography of Frank Sinatra and I kept this edition for myself. As I said before, to me, the story of the Joad family's struggle to cross the country and reach the "Promised Land" is the story of America. And since the movie took a lot of its dialog directly from the book, I can almost hear Henry Fonda and Jane Darwell giving some of the speeches. I enjoyed it.
The Road - Cormac McCarthy ($14.95/$.50, 287 pages, copyright 2006, Trade Paperback)
Let me preface this by saying that I've read several remarks by my nephew that McCarthy is the greatest writer in the world. This may not be the book to start trying to find that out. I admit that he writes very well, but the subject matter was very, very bleak, and reading it during the winter - in between 9 snow storms - is probably not the best time to approach it. I had hopes for this post-apocalyptic story of a man protecting his son, but to me, it fell flat and the ending was too pat. It was OK.
Series
Dead Irish - John Lescroart ($7.99/$.50, 420 pages, copyright 1989, paperback)
This is the first novel in the Dismas Hardy series. I've read several others over the last few years and, like them, this one never fails to entertain. Lescroart jumps right in, introducing Dismas and the supporting cast as he goes along - and filling in their backgrounds and connections in a very natural way. Here Dismas uses his past skills and contacts to try to prove that a suicide is really a murder. I enjoyed it.
PC Games
That's right, folks, having read about the gaming exploits of the younger generation - and remembering the hours of fun I had playing my daughter's Super NES - I've passed a lot of this dismal winter playing video games on my PC. Of course, I'm just a novice and I refuse to spend a lot of money, but I have enjoyed what I've been playing.
Fate - ($9.99, WildTangent/Encore, Rated E)
This is a role-playing game where you try to help out some villagers by taking on quests that involve entering the Dungeon. Along the way, you pick up gold, weapons, and skills. There are, I think, 46 levels to the Dungeon, and I've made it through 7. Should take me a while to go all the way through. This is the closest game I've found to the "Legend of Zelda". Still playing, and I'm enjoying it.
Hidden Mysteries: The White House and Lost Secrets: Ancient Mysteries - ($9.99, Game Mill/Spark Plug, Rated E)
This is a 2-pack, and each game is what's called a Hidden Object game. You enter different sites/rooms and try to find hidden objects that are listed for you.Each of these games has an underlying story that keeps moving forward as you progress.Finished it, and I enjoyed this.
CSI:NY - ($5.00, UbiSoft, Rated Teen)
There are 4 different "episodes" to this game, and they play just like the show. All the major characters are there (and they did the voices). As either Mac or Stella you start with a death. You pick through the crime scene (and other locations) for clues; pursue leads at the morgue and the crime lab; and grill and accuse suspects using clues you've found. (I have to admit that I got completely stumped at a couple of spots, and had to Google a Walkthrough to proceed). Finished it, and I enjoyed it.
Something That's Been Bothering Me
I read about a month ago that a Professor of English at Auburn University in Alabama - Alan Gribber - was going to publish a new edition of Mark Twain's "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" replacing the word "nigger" with "slave", and the word "Injun" with "Indian". He said that with this new edition his fellow teacher's wouldn't have a problem teaching this book, and we wouldn't offend anyone. Now, I know that "Huckleberry Finn" was banned for a time because of its language, but that was years ago. Those words are part of the original manuscript, and Twain was simply trying to reproduce a way of speaking that he felt Huck would use. In my lifetime, I don't recall ever reading that a teacher was having a problem with the book. Have we become so scared of offending someone that we will tamper with a classic. Does this lead to putting pants on the statue of David (which has had its share of offended people)? What has happened to America? Aren't we the Land of the I Don't Want to use the Metric System? Don't we put the month before the day? Isn't this the Home of the If I Offended You at Least I Know You're Paying Attention? Twain - an American - wrote an American novel. Leave it alone!
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