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On the RARE occasions when I do get rid of books, I send them back to the used bookstore where I bought most of them. I am always worried that I will end up buying them again, even though I rarely buy doubles without knowing it.

For what it is worth, I don't think about books all of the time. However, it does seem like they are always just below the surface. I always have a book with me. My walls, tables, chairs and other flat surfaces are covered with them. There are even times when I am in a book store, or on my...

Just in case, what I meant to say was that I thought that the problem with the 1st Harry Potter movie was not that things were left out. Rather, I thought that a great deal more should have been left out. If you look at the LOTR movies, one of the real genius aspects of them is that so much...

Matt, I haven't read any of them yet, but it seems like the Lincoln Childs and Richard Preston books might be what you are looking for.

I don't really keep a diary in any traditional sense. However, I have kept a copy of every letter I have written over the last 18 years. It functions quite nicely as a diary, and I feel more comfortable writing (even about personal matters) to someone.

1. Probably Axel Heyst from Joseph Conrad's Victory. The why is complicated and perhaps too personal for posting. I will say that Conrad was, in my opinion, the all-time master of capturing the psychological crises of characters who live chiefly in their own heads. 2. I don't know about a...

I have only seen the first Harry Potter movie, though I've read all the books, so I can only offer an opinion on that one. At any rate, I thought the first film was dreadful. Because of the director's slavish devotion to include every little incident from the novel, the film ended up seeming...

Right now, Gaby Wood's Edison's Eve. The next will probably be The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay. I just finished Lloyd Alexander's The El Dorado Adventure.

I guess I misunderstood about the buggy. Either way, I doubt very much if what HB saw was an instance of "rumspringa". The last barn party I heard about took two townships' worth of police to break up. Your diner sounds interesting, but the true test of any diner is breakfast. If you're...

HB, It turns out that you're not the guy I was thinking you might be (not that it matters). Frankly, I try to stay away from the outlets and Rte. 30 whenever possible. I don't like either crowds or traffic. And, thanks to Serene for the assist on Amish buggies. I've just always called them...

HB, I've been here in PA for almost 37 years now. Oddly enough, I seem to remember that posted sometime here that you work in Bethlehem, which is where I went to college. If that is where you went (I seem to remember, also, that you did an independent study of Joyce), I may even know you...

Serene, In answer to your question, I guess I would have to say that it would have been a "retro" diner (work kept me from going) but around here they aren't "retro", they are just diners. I can think of four or five stainless steel diners around here that have just been added on to over the...

Another factor in the nature "modern Art" which has to do with the capital 'A' (as lies says) is the tendency of art and it's critics to continually push at the margins in order to justify their work. The critics fabricate this bizarre meta-culture (obtuse jargon, etc.) and then "artists" set...

First Light by Richard Preston

Serene, I have been plagued of late by earworms left and right. The current recurring tune is Johnny Cash's cover of "Hurt" (a Nine Inch Nails tune). Beyond that, there isn't much going on. Maybe it is less that there are lurkers about, or that people are reticent to post, but rather that...

Counting Crows' "Rain King" certainly seems to have something to do with Saul Bellow's Henderson the Rain King (they mention "Mr. Henderson" in the lyrics). And, if I remember correctly, Dire Straits did a song about Romeo and Juliet.

I can think of a couple that might fit the bill: Little,Big by John Crowley Rubicon Beach by Steve Erickson The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon Without a better idea of what you are...

Patrick, I am afraid that I can't help you with books similar to American Psycho . But, if you are looking for something similar to Catcher , there are a couple of books you might want to try. First, of course, would be Kerouac's On the Road (imagine Holden Caulfield 10 years older). Also, if...

murph, I haven't read Gravity's Rainbow but I am familiar with Pynchon. In any event, Gravity's Rainbow is pretty much the American version of Joyce's Ulysses . If you're curious, you might want to start with The Crying of Lot 49 .

Dawn, First let me say that I hope there isn't a support group out there. I don't really care to be cured of this addiction. In any event, without going in to a lengthy explanation, I am sort of in the antique business. Curiously enough, I find that I can really concentrate on my book when I...