January 2007

Future of the Book by lz in Weblog on 23Jan2007

Last night's discussion at the Commonwealth Club was boisterous and entertaining. The topic was "The Future of the Book: Dead or Alive?" While the panel was firmly in the camp of "Books: Alive", it was interesting to see how technology is helping keep books relevant; Brewster Kahle passed around one...

SQL for Dummies by lz in Reading Archive on 17Jan2007

Nice primer on SQL (structured query language). Now at least I'll stop calling it 'sequel' and properly calling it "Ess-Q-El". SELECT * FROM l.library WHERE b.book >= "SQL for Dummies" ***** thanks to Radle for the suggestion. Watch out, databases!...

The Soloist by lz in Reading Archive on 17Jan2007

Quickly read this one on a flight home. Salzman's writing style is very readable, but I was disappointed overall in the book. Maybe it was because he re-used certain things in Lost in Suburbia (e.g. the time spent sitting in a box to impress NASA, the cello stuff). There was...

Top Picks of 2006 by lz in Top 10 Books on 16Jan2007

Here are my top picks for 2006. The Winners 1. Motherless Brooklyn by Jonathan Lethem 2. The Woman Who Cut Off Her Leg at the Maidstone Club and other stories by Julia Slavin 3. River of Doubt by Candice Millard 4. To Feel Stuff by Andrea Seigel 5. The Wind-up...

Kink by lz in Reading Archive on 06Jan2007

Jess & Sophie are a couple so intertwined, playful, into each other, that they attract the attention of the mythical Lena, who enters their orbit and makes the twins into triplets. The threesome live together, play together, experience "Kink" together. "...Lena shook her head: 'No, kink is, it's like art,...

Ideas of things to read by lz in Reading Queued on 03Jan2007

From Andrea Seigel's blog, because I trust her judgment and am always looking for things to read....

Real Estate Riches by lz in Reading Archive on 01Jan2007

Great entry-level book to get your brain juices flowing about the possibility to own real estate. He makes a compelling case for borrowing most of the cash to finance the purchases; better to take $4k and invest $1k down in 4 properties, borrowing the rest, since there are so many...

Lost in Place by lz in Reading Archive on 01Jan2007

I wish I could tell a story this compelling about my growing up in the suburbs. Salzman exposes his extreme fanaticism with tales of kung fu practice in his parents' basement, dying his pajamas black (turned out purple), buying a bald wig and burning lots o incense. After a year...
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