Removing Stickers from Books

My boys have too many books.  I never thought I'd say that!  I take a lot of books to our local used book store for used book credit, but they won't take book club books or Imagination Library books.  Our school librarian said she could take the Imagination Library books for the preschoolers, yay!

The problem is that the books now come with the address label on the book instead of the wrapper.  Not only does it have our names and address on it, but who wants a book with an address label on it?  And blacking them out with a marker looks icky.  Fortunately they are easy to remove.  You'll need an iron (I suppose a blow drier would also work) and some Goo Gone.  This works on any book with a shiny cover.

I set the iron on the lowest cotton setting and lay a tea towel over the book to prevent scorching.  You are warming up the adhesive, so leave it on for about a minute.

Work up one corner of the sticker (my thumbnail worked fine, but be careful, 'cause it's hot!) and carefully peel back the label.  If you're lucky you'll get it up in one piece.  If not, re-apply the iron until the adhesive is warm again.  You don't have to get it off perfectly, so if a bit of paper remains don't panic.  There will be some adhesive left on the book.

Apply some Goo Gone (I'm told lighter fluid also works, but Goo Gone smells better) to a rag, then rub it all over the remaining adhesive and paper.  Keep rubbing, and all the sticky comes off!  Wipe off any remaining Goo Gone.

Tah-dah!  Our books are ready for the preschool box at the school library!

Books in my Pile

I spend a fair amount of time at the local used book store, Gulliver's Books. Where coincidentally, Auntie runs the cafe. Between used book credit for books I bring in and the free coffee pot, it can be a very nice, inexpensive place to escape for an hour or so. Very relaxing.

What I end up with, though, is a huge pile of books to get through. Bludwyng, the Allakhazam Wikibase Administrator, was recommending E.R. Eddisonto me after a discussion on commas being over done, and it occurred to me that I've got an eclectic selection right now.

First is Daniel Defoe, which is how we got from commas to books. Defoe is credited with inventing the modern novel. I read Moll Flandersin college, but he's best known for Robinson Crusoe. To get to the adventure you have to endure 300 word paragraphs that are only two sentences, all commas and semicolons. By the way, the Crusoe television series bears little resemblance to the book, except there's a guy named Crusoe and a guy named Friday on an island. A disappointment.

Next is Stone and the Maiden. I have no background on this one, it just looked good.


Then a biography, John Adams: Party of One. I read Abagail Adams' biography not too long ago, and I thought it'd be interesting to read the "other half's" perspective. Mrs. Adams biography was written from her personal papers, and it was very interesting to see my country's birth through the eyes of someone who was right there, enduring all the change.

Here's A Companion to Wolves. I adore Elizabeth Bear, there's nothing she's written that I haven't enjoyed. Elizabeth Monette is new to me.


Next, another one from the biography section, Running with Scissors. It comes higly recommended, and looks like a good read.

There's quite a few more, but that's a long enough blog for today! What do you like to read?

Meet Neil Gaiman

I was recently pleased to be pointed to Neil Gaiman's Twitter and Blog. For those not familiar with Twitter, it's a kind of social-networking insta-blog thing. I was following SOE developers on it and got much more into it (see the side panel to the right) when I got my iPod Touch.

If I had to slot Mr. Gaiman's work, I'd call it Magic Realism, to which I was first introduced reading Gabriel García Márqu in college. I've been wracking my brain trying to remember the first Neil Gaiman book I read; it seems he's just always kind of been there in my list of favorites. He's best known for the Sandman graphic novels, and writes a lot of what's often called "Tweener" and "Young Adult" stuff, but I think it was Good Omens where I first found him, which is technically part of the Discworld series. I recall reading Stardust and being absolutely delighted. American Gods: A Novel and Anansi Boys put him firmly in Magic Realism for me.

Anyway....

Mr. Gaiman, Neil (I've never met the man, but it's hard to follow someone's life online and not use their first name!) has been out promoting Coraline (which is pronounced to rhyme with "wine", not "lean"), the movie based on his award winning book. I just saw the trailer on the tube last night, and it looks positively delightful! He's been Twittering all his promotional work for this and it's fun to follow.

This morning in the wee small hours Mr. Gaiman got a phone call: The Graveyard Book was awarded the Newbery Medal!, which is given "to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children."

Quite an honor, Mr. Gaiman!

I invite you to enjoy this author, who has found a home across genres. and is delighting children, adults, and librarians all over the world!

Random Musings

Here's some idle thoughts that have wandered through my mind lately. Enjoy!

Caesar Salad Dressing has anchovies in it.

Do you know most lotions have alcohol in them? For dry skin, use a thick cream, not a lotion.

A pat of butter in your jam while cooking will reduce foam.

You can rip your fabric softener sheets in thirds and never notice the difference in your laundry. Unless you're into smelling like Fresh Spring Breezes.

Basil and tomatoes grow well together. Plant all your Italian-style herbs between your tomato plants.

Tomatoes also grow extremely well upside down. You could plant tomatoes on the bottom and your herbs on top!

There's a joint pain relief product called Blue-Emu. It's made with Emu oil. From real Emus. Many Really Famous Women have sworn by it for stretch marks (I prefer cocoa butter).

Why is it all the books I really want are either out of print, not yet released, or only available in a $40 hardback?

Retaining water? The very best thing you can do is drink more water. No, really! Your kidneys are like an old water pump, they need water to process the liquids you are retaining.

Not a Gimmick: Scrubbing Bubbles Automatic Shower Cleaner. We have an old fiberglass shower/tub that's really hard to keep clean. This thing works.

Cheap Rainy Day Kid Fun: Save empty grocery containers, like cereal boxes, egg cartons, milk cartons (clean them of course!) and let your kids play kitchen, cook, or baker. Boxes make good blocks, too.

An adult triceretops horn is longer than the average two year old is tall.

Things from the Basement

Ghosties and ghoulies and long-leggedy beasties...

Well, there's some dust and cobwebs, and maybe a spider.

As I mentioned, I have about thirty boxes of books in the crawlspace. The oldest of these boxes dates back about ten years, when my ex left me and I packed up the spare room so I could get a roommate. Since money's tight and I read voraciously, the last time we went down into The Hole I brought up a couple of small boxes.

All the books down there are "keepers," meaning I thought they were good enough to hang on to for one reason or another. So far the box I opened last week has had only one book that I think will go for used book trade-in credit.

So I've been reading a little. Okay, I've been reading a lot. Here's the pile of books that's sitting on my bedside table at the moment. And the ones on my desk, and the couple that made it into the bathroom...

Echoes of the Well of Souls: The first book of the second trilogy of a series that I never read, but one that apparently made Mr. Chalker's career. I've put these on my "gotta find used" list, it's a great read. More books by Jack L. Chalker.

I guess I must have been pretty detached to never run across the Well of Souls series. I'll blame the ex.

Power Lines: The second in the Petaybee series by Anne McCaffrey and Elizabeth Ann Scarborrough. I've been following Ms. McCaffrey since early Pern, and Ms. Scarborough is also a fine author (who coincidently used to live in Alaska). This one wasn't actually in The Hole, but I'd been watching for this series and snapped it up. Plot: a terraformed world gains sentience and works for the freedom if itself and it's residents from the Evil Company. More books by Anne McCaffrey and Elizabeth Ann Scarborough

Escape Velocity: This is apparently the first book in the Warlock Series. Now, if I recall, the Warlock series is technically sci-fi, taking place on a planet that was colonized by, basically, the Society for Creative Anachronism. While the ship full of role-players takes off during this novel, it's largely about the death of democracy. And if you had any doubt Mr. Stasheff mentions it frequently.

Not that this makes it a bad book. But I'd classify it as a "light read"; the plot moves right along like a nice space opera and the lectures never get too deep or lecture-y.



The Ambivalent Magician: Another series I never chased down! This is a wonderful tongue-in-cheek read, in which the author claims to be experimenting with "Fantasic Metafiction". What we have is a modern-day mad (well, eccentric and very focused) scientist who's thrown cross-dimensionally into a medieval world. This is apparently the third and final book in the series, and I think the other two are The Inadequate Adept and The Reluctant Sorcerer. This is also a fun read, but a rollicking, laughable one.

There's actually four mor books in this pile, not counting the one I'm reading. So let's do this as a to-be-continued.

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If the blogs seem a little sparse it's because things are very busy. I've got several things going on in the on-line world, and both kids have been very needy lately. Kiddo is wrapping up potty training, I think, and Baby has just hit the Mommy-can't-be-more-than-four-feet-away ever phase. Winter finally arrived and it's too cold for Baby to hang out with us to play in Gran'pa's yard. I've got to find some ideas to keep Kiddo from being bored this winter, he has so much energy.

We did go to the community Spookytown today, which is indoor trick-or-treating in an old grocery store, sponsored by local businesses. Kiddo did very well; it was his first time trick-or-treating and he was thrilled that people would give him candy! It was, however, a total zoo and the music was far too loud for a children's event. We trick-or-treated and danced for about an hour before I couldn't take anymore.

A Room Without Books....

I read a little.

Okay, I read a lot.

Okay, I've got about 30 boxes of books downstairs in the crawlspace that I have no room for, and my #1 criteria when we are finally about to buy a house is "lots of room for books."

Our budget doesn't allow me all the new books I'd like. I can't quite bring myself to use the library, because I hate to take a book back. I don't just read, I re-read, over and over again. I do a lot of shopping at our local used book store, but it's always agonizing when I've discovered a series and read up to the point where I have to wait for the next one to come out plus several months for it to show up used. I also have a terrible time picking books to turn in for credit. I've kicked most of my packrat habits, but I just can't shake hoarding books.

One of the problems is when one's best-loved books go out of print. As a teenager I fell in love with Jo Clayton's Diadem series, it's spinoffs, and the Skeen trilogy. Ms. Clayton succumbed to cancer many years ago, and there's no whisper of republishing the series. Not only have I got all my original Clayton paperbacks, but I was fortunate to find duplicates helping someone clean out their storage area. Some of these I've literally read to pieces.

Then there's fun things like authors (or their estates) republishing a manuscript in its original, un-edited form. A great example of this is Robert A. Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land. The original version was very long (for the time) and, well, racy might be a bit mild for the time. This books was so influential that it accidently started a religion! After Mr. Heinlein's death, his wife Virginia found the carbon of the original manuscript decided if was much better as he wrote it. One thing led to another, and the unabridged version was released. I have the "as written edition", and not one but two copies of the "as originally published" version.

I've got my original boxed paperback set of C. S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia . Those really are falling apart, I've had them since 6th grade or so. I've also read the oversized omnibus edition my sister got me enough that I've had to repair the binding. We loved Narnia. My sister has a poster-sized map of Narnia that would be a collector's edition if we hadn't put stickers on it.

I've just realized that I could go on forever here, and my best-loved books wasn't even what I intended to write about today! Expect to see more book talk soon.

I'll leave you with a quote, generally attributed to Cicero:

A room without books is like a body without a soul.

Beautiful Soup, so rich and green

I really like making soup. It's so easy! I've had a ham bone in the freezer forever, so I thought with the chill in the air Split Pea Soup would be a good idea. Did you know that the second week of November is National Split Pea Soup Week? I didn't, but I decided not to wait!

Split Pea Soup is one of those things you either love or your don't. My family loves it. I think it has a lot to do with your first Split Pea experience. Split Pea is sometimes made with smoked meats, which is tasty but can make it very rich and a little overwhelming on your first try. Many restaurants let their soups sit all day, and the result with creamy soups is something your spoon can stand up in. That's a little thick for me. There's a wonderful happy medium between too thin (like regular non-creamy soups) and too thick (it should not make a good spread).

Split pea is also really, really cheap to make. All the expense is in the meat. When we have ham I'll have Hubby carve and not get too picky about cleaning the bone. (I never buy formed and pressed ham. Wait for the holidays, and get whole hams cheap. But that's another blog.) Then the whole bone goes in the freezer until I want it. You can also find ham hocks and salt pork on sale if you watch for them. Salt pork is mostly fat, I'd get the hocks given the option. You do want fat to add flavor, but I love finding ham chunks in my Split Pea Soup.

The biggest issue with Split Pea Soup is scortching it. Stir regularly and once you've brought it to a boil reduce the heat as much as possible. It's quicker than bean soups, because while dried whole peas have to be soaked overnight, split peas do not.

Usually I make my Split Pea on the stove top, but I ran across a crock pot recipe, and since my attention's been wandering due to baby induced sleep deprivation I thought I'd give it a try. It came out wonderful, so here's the recipe. As usual, the title links to the original recipe and what you see here is how I made it:

Crock Pot Split Pea Soup

INGREDIENTS:
1 (16 ounces) package split peas
1 meaty ham bone or 2 ham hocks
1 large carrot, diced
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 large potato, diced
8 cups of water
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

PREPARATION:
Combine split peas, ham bone or ham hocks, carrot, onion, potato, sausage, celery. water and salt and pepper in slow cooker. Cover and cook on LOW setting for 8 to 10 hours. Remove ham bone; cut meat off bones, discard the bones. Return ham to the soup and serve hot.

I should recommend http://southernfood.about.com for recipes. They have an extensive database and I've had really good results with almost every recipe I've found there.

And last, today's Blog title is from a Lewis Carroll poem in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. If I recall the Mock Turtle sings it to Alice and the Gryphon:

Beautiful Soup

BEAUTIFUL Soup, so rich and green,
Waiting in a hot tureen!
Who for such dainties would not stoop?
Soup of the evening, beautiful Soup!
Soup of the evening, beautiful Soup!

Beau--ootiful Soo-oop!
Beau--ootiful Soo-oop!
Soo--oop of the e--e--evening,
Beautiful, beautiful Soup!

Beautiful Soup! Who cares for fish,
Game, or any other dish?
Who would not give all else for two
Pennyworth only of Beautiful Soup?
Pennyworth only of beautiful Soup?

Beau--ootiful Soo-oop!
Beau--ootiful Soo-oop!
Soo--oop of the e--e--evening,
Beautiful, beauti--FUL SOUP!

Kids. Gotta love 'em!

I had a blog all written to post today... and the baby was on my lap and somehow managed to close IE before I'd saved it. He was kicking the keyboard.

Some days it's a good thing they are cute!

Instead I give you some books that are on my permanent Keepr List. Maybe tomorrow I'll come in and give a little comentary on them, tonight I'm out of energy.











Tomorrow: something you might actually care to read!