D.O.A. Recommends Scott Westerfeld's Uglies Series

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I'm not really ready to write my review, but I did do the cartoon last week and I might as well put the beginnings of the post out here. I have had an actual comment on the icky spam graphic in the previous post by non other than D.O.A. Spouse. He wrote in the comment box, behold! This means deep deep things. The wondrous Floating Lush also called it "gross" maybe even "really gross". And my favorite game designer in training "Super B" doesn't care for it either. He wants the picture of Nosferatu I used with my vampires for teens list to always be at the top of the D.O.A. page. Lush will explain to him that there is already a Vampire Librarian blog so that would be not so charming as he thinks.

So, anywho, this intro is *not* the review. There is alot to think about when reading the four (so far) novels in the "Uglies Trilogy". How I love a trilogy that keeps on ticking! The novels in the series are:

Uglies
Pretties
Specials
Extras

The main character in the first three novels is Tally Youngblood. She is typical for an "Ugly" in her society--just waiting to turn 16 and have major surgeries that will transform her mind, body, and life. I really enjoyed following this character through her enforced tranformations.

The society she lives in is revealed very cleverly in each new novel. Like many dystopian novels, what seems a perfect society and life for its inhabitants is slowly revealed to be something very different. What struck me however as I read each one was, that I could see how the citizens of the city Tally lives in could enjoy the lives set out for them. It wasn't just a big black and white "society controls its people, society is evil" theme. The story and the society itself was multi-layered, and terribly flawed, but fascinating. More when I have more time to write.

D.O.A. Mailbag, SPAM Edition

The first ever mail to the D.O.A. mailbag has arrived! It was caught by the SPAM filter, and *doh* next time I'll know not to open and look at SPAM.

The missive was letting me know that someone in Africa desperately needed me to send them money. Ya sure. I have a son in college. My extra money won't be sent off into the unknown, beaners.

Keep those letters coming, but leave off the "meaty" comments!

Foods I have eaten from Lady Crumpet

So...I am a really picky eater, no question. My husband and son are worse, though it seems impossible. I came across the list below on the oddly named site "Lady Crumpet's Armoire. It comes with rules:

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.

My pickiness was peaked! In italics are the things I've tried. Assume from the odd items on the list I would never try it it I haven't already. Picky, picky, picky!

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

Lady Crumpet has eaten 48 of these. I have tried 19. Chomp chomp goes D.O.A. What's been in YOUR gullet?

I found the original poster with a little backtracking. He would like you to post in his comments and let him know how many things you have tried from this gourmet list he titled The Omnivore's Hundred

Another Animoto Short

I really like Animoto and am suggesting we use it for pictures of an in-construction building and a building in the remodel process for our official web site. Here is another Animoto short, set to another type of music from their music selections. I like the music group's name "Whiskey Priest" and the song is lovely too. Notice how differently the animation rolls through the photos (from my Love, Mom clip), so there really is an interesting variety to be had.

Carolyn G. Hart begins a new series this fall

One of my favorite mystery authors is Carolyn G. Hart. Although I began reading mysteries with "The Body Farm" by Patricia Cornwell, I wanted to find more good authors to read once I had finished everything Cornwell had out at the time.

A friend recommended Carolyn Hart. No writer could be further from Cornwell in style and subject, but the main character of her Death on Demand mystery bookstore series was and remains a great source of ideas for new mystery authors to read. Annie Laurance/Darling recommends so many good books each time I like to have a notebook near to write down her suggestions. If you have a customer who is just starting out as a mystery reader of who would like tons of suggestions for new authors, suggest the Death on Demand Series.

Hart also writes the Henri O series, which I didn't appreciate until I saw Hart speak locally and she said Henri was sort of based on herself. A totally charming character, as it turns out.

Checking Hart's web site today I am excited to see she has a new series in the works. The first title will be published in October of 2008 and it will be called "Ghost at Work".

Set in Carolyn Hart's home state of Oklahoma the new character is a ghost named Bailey Ruth Raeburn. The new ghost finds that although she has to abide by certain rules, she is able to help solve some earthbound mysteries. I can't wait to read this!

While you wait, try Nancy Atherton's Aunt Dimity Series. Aunt Dimity is the ghost who acts as advisor to her niece Lori. These are definitely cozies, and there is something very touching about them as well. These are set in England though Lori is American. The series begins with "Aunt Dimity's Death".

Another ghostly mystery series to try is The Haunted Bookshop Mysteries by "Alice Kimberly" (pseudonym for a husband and wife writing team). A widow and her aunt run a bookstore inhabited by a ghost. The first book in this series is "The Ghost and Mrs. McClure".

Love, Mom

Well, I'll be. I finally got it to work. I'm not sure if using a different computer helped, or if I didn't see something obvious, but there she is, sweet lil mom.

ALA Fake Poster Starring You!

ALA isn't as boring as it used to be, is it? You can create this mini poster which has many uses in library promotion. Start your career in posterdom right here.

Super D.O.A. and D.O.A. Doggie

Tis the season for superheroes! Since I dug my comics collection out of the closet this weekend, it is appropriate that I steal once more from the fascinating Librarian in Black's blog and present Super D.O.A. I've loved superheroes (and have never been hung up on their tights like many people seem to be...) since I bought my first comics for 10 cents each at a local drugstore. Superman and all his friends were my favorites for a long time till I branched out to other DC Comics (never Marvel which seemed all dark and depressing). Batman, Green Lantern (Hal Jordan only!), the Flash and a host of others helped me pass the summers away dreamily. Now, being D.O.A. has allowed me to make the leap to super-something-dom. Yay, D.O.A.

Side Note: Super D.O.A. is somewhat modeled after another of my heroes Swamp Thing. I'm pretty sure I have every issue of Swamp Thing illustrated by Bernie Wrightson. I was incredibly lucky to hear Wrightson on a panel at Convergence (a local Science Fiction Convention) last year. I have most of the Alan Moore issues as well, but there was something very elemental and appealing in Wrightson's version. So, there you are, the story behind Swampy D.O.A.

Make your own superhero!

D.O.A. Recommends

For middle grade and up readers who can take alot of suspense and genuinely scary situations, I recommend Darkside by Tom Becker. This is the first book in the series, and it is one of those rare books that truly grabs you right away and doesn't let go. It is hard to maintain that sort of pacing and suspense but Becker pulls it off. He manages to suggest all sorts of really frightening things without showing them. Your imagination just provides pictures and wow are they scary. The first sections of the book that take place in "Lightside" London are just as scary as the world of "Darkside" London.

The Darkside area was founded in the Victorian era as a place to put all the criminals and freaks and fringe types. Ruled by Jack the Ripper himself, the inhabitants have lived here in a brutal fight for dominance and survival for centuries. Although they live side by side with the Lightside Londoners, they remain separate, and are too terrible to be seen.

Thrown into the gap between the worlds is Jonathan Starling, an independent kid with one parent missing and the other prone to bouts of a mysterious illness. Join him in his wild run between light and dark London, seeking to survive long enough to figure out why he and another boy are being hunted.

Visit the Darkside web site to find out more about Tom Becker and his unique and scary series.

Animoto's Kind Support

Thanks to the folks at Animoto for trying to help resolve my problems using Animoto. They suggested I update my Adobe Flash Player and try the Firefox browser.

As it turns out I have the most up to date version of Adobe Flash, so that's all good. Since I use my laptop for posting and for all my picture files, I don't want to use precious drive space on the installation of an alternate browser.

Even if I can't use the Animoto feature, I'd encourage others to give it a try. It looks to be a very unique and dynamic way of making static photographs into something much more than a slide show.

For all the programs a library does all year long, it would be a great advertisement and fun way to show what happens at libraries besides the daily checking in and out of hundreds of books, the answering of every question under the sun, and the pampering of wayward copy machines. Libraries are waaay beyond cool. Animoto can help show that off.

Animoto technical difficulties...grrrrr

So, I read a post about Animoto on the Librarian in Black's blog (with red hair and wearing black does she look like Willow from Buffy the Vampire Slayer or what?) about Animoto which turns your uploaded photos into a short video clip with musical accompaniment. Very cool looking. So...I thought I'd do some photos of my little mom, as a tribute because I miss her every day...

But! Animoto would not see to upload any of the dozens of pictures I have scanned into my computer. Even looking in the "scanned photos" folder. Grrr!

So, I really wanted to do this post, and my mind says, hmmm maybe it really wanted to work from Flickr instead. So I put them on Flickr. All Animoto sees to load from Flickr is the little alien I originally uploaded to test Flickr as part of my 23 Things on a Stick. Argh, argh, triple argh!

I wrote to them in their little Feedback box, but haven't heard back. I tried my best Google enabled troubleshooting searches to see if anyone else on the planet had trouble but noooo noooo, it easy as pie for everyone else. Maybe my little mom's ghost doesn't want to be posted here? *sigh*

Favorite Doggie Tales

After years of having both cats and dogs and loving both, I somehow became an avid dog lover. I still like cats, of course, I just don't have one, but I cannot live without a beagle in my life. The illustrious Doggie D.O.A. is my third beloved beagle, with a personality all his own. He is a great dog and has been since we adopted him. His life is all about scent, going for walks, watching tv in the lap of his mistress or master, or snoozing away under a blanket.

Although my son won't read my blog because "he doesn't read blogs", I did get him to look at it one day while he was home and he liked it. He suggested I put the accompanying photograph of himself and our first beagle "Snoopy" when they were babies together, on the blog.

Since I like to tie in a booklist or some librarian like thing to any post, I also made of list of my all time favorite books about dogs, some of which I read and loved as a child, and some of which I read with my son when he was a wee small guy.

Adventures of Taxi Dog by Debra Barracca

Incredible Journey by Sheila Burnford

Carl’s Masquerade (Carl series) by Alexandra Day

Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo

Hairy Maclary: from Donaldson’s Dairy (Hairy Maclary series) by Lynley Dodd

Go dog go! By P.D. Eastman

Spot’s First Easter (Spot series) by Eric Hill

Snow dog by Jim Kjelgaard

Lassie, Come Home by Eric Mowbray Knight

Call of the Wild by Jack London

Martha Speaks! (Martha series) by Susan Meddaugh

Shiloh (Shiloh series) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

Dog Breath: the horrible trouble with Hally Tosis by Dav Pilkey

Dogzilla: starring Flash, Rabies, Dwayne, and introducing Leia as the Monster by Dav Pilkey

Henry and Mudge: the first book of their adventures by Cynthia Rylant (I have a little stuffed version of Mudge, be jealous.)

Good boy, Fergus by Dave Shannon (another good suggestion by Floating Lush, this is by the author of No, David! The cover picture little dog reclining comfortably in a chair looks very familiar...)

Dear Mrs. LaRue: Letters from Obedience School (Ike LaRue series)by Mark Teague (suggested by the Floating Lush, these look great, I have to track these down.)

Lad: a dog by Albert Payson Terhune

100 Books You Can't Live Without

As if the old Modern Library list of 100 Best Novels didn't create enough of a stir with its oldy mouldy books noone could ever slog through...here is a list from 2007 (yes, not a new shiny list but...)of 100 Books You Can't Live Without.

Apparently, "2,000 people who took part in the poll online at worldbookday.com nominated their top 10 titles that they could not live without".

The Liste:

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen

2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien

3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte

4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling

5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee

6 The Bible

7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte

8= Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell

8= His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman

10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens

11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott

12 Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy

13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller

14 Complete Works of Shakespeare

15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier

16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien

17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks

18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger

19 The Time Traveller's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger

20 Middlemarch - George Eliot

21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell

22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald

23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens

24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy

25 The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams

26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh

27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky

28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck

29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll

30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame

31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy

32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens

33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis

34 Emma - Jane Austen

35 Persuasion - Jane Austen

36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis

37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini

38 Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres

39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden

40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne

41 Animal Farm - George Orwell

42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown

43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving

45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins

46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery

47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy

48 The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood

49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding

50 Atonement - Ian McEwan

51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel

52 Dune - Frank Herbert

53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons

54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen

55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth

56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon

57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens

58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley

59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon

60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck

62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov

63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt

64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold

65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas

66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac

67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy

68 Bridget Jones's Diary - Helen Fielding

69 Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie

70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville

71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens

72 Dracula - Bram Stoker

73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett

74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson

75 Ulysses - James Joyce

76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath

77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome

78 Germinal - Emile Zola

79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray

80 Possession - AS Byatt

81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens

82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell

83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker

84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro

85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert

86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry

87 Charlotte's Web - EB White

88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Alborn

89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton

91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad

92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery

93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks

94 Watership Down - Richard Adams

95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole

96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute

97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas

98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare

99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl

100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo


My own short list of books I could not live without (in no order):

The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum

A Dictionary

A Thesaurus

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy


Wow, look at this. I was writing this one evening and not paying attention to the well anounced Blogger downtime, and I thought it was all lost when Blogger went down for maintenance. It did save it as a draft, and I haven't noticed. Yay, Blogger, how I do adore you :)

On the Desk: Copier from Heck #3

Click to Enlarge!

The Mark V Bushwhacker, like our own beloved copier, might just be TOO SMART. Many times there are too many options, and a customer starts pressing the wide array of buttons and exploring menu options, and you just never know what will happen!

Humorous Authors for the Funny Times We Live In

This list was inspired by a reference question. The customer wanted humor and he didn’t mind if it was fiction or non-fiction. He was up for anything! The Gilded Giraffe and I went back and forth with authors, and found him a few things he liked.

I wanted to go ahead and do a list so next time I could just look here, rather than randomly comb the catalog or browse the 817s. I tried to write a little about each humorists style so that I could show this to the customer next time and then comb the catalog with a little more of a guide.

I’m including websites and blogs where I can, because as I was trying to find out a bit about each authors style, I found alot of interesting information. Comedians, humorists, satirists, I’m grateful to them all for making the world just a bit better with their wit. I hope you’ll find something you like!

Adams Douglas
Author of the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series, Adams mixed science fiction with a sense of the absurd. There is an official web site devoted to his work.

Anderson, Louie
Stand up comedian Anderson is also well loved for his book “Dear Dad: letters from an adult child”. Louie's site includes video clips.

Anthony, Piers
Prolific fantasy author Piers Anthony is perhaps most loved for his Xanth series of novels, set in a pun-laden land. The first novel in the series is "A Spell for Chameleon". First published in 1977, this is still in print. The 32nd book in the series is "Two to the Fifth" published in October 2008. Visit Anthony's web site for more about the author and his delightful work.

Barry, Dave
Columnist and author Dave Barry writes outrageous hyperbole and profoundly silly takes on any topic within reach. His recent book of essays is “Dave Barry’s history of the millennium (so far). Dave's site has columns, message boards and a blog.

Blount, Roy
A columnist with humorous observations of all things Southern, Blount covers topics from food to music to poetry. His latest book is “Alphabet Juice” to be published in October 2008. His web site features information on his life and work.

Bodett, Tom
Popular NPR and beyond radio commentator and author of “Norman Tuttle on the Last Frontier: a novel in stories” Tom's site has book and biographical info and a really fun to read blog.

Bombeck, Erma
Columnist Bombeck wrote for many years about the lot of suburban housewives and mothers with both humor and pathos. One of her last books was “All I know about animal behavior I learned in Loehmann’s dressing room”.

Boyle, T. C.
Intelligent, edgy and a bit kinky, his novel "The Women" will be published in February of 2009. T. C. Boyle's site offers reviews, biography, and a pretty active message board.

Buckley, Christopher
Christopher Buckley is a political satirist whose latest novel is “Supreme Courtship”

Crusie, Jennifer
A Romance novelist who writes with breezy humor. Her latest novel is “Agnes & the Hitman.” Jennifer Crusie's blog Argh Ink is chatty and personable.

Ephron, Nora
Essayist, screenwriter and novelist Nora Ephron writes about women's lives and issues. Her most recent book is “I feel bad about my neck: and other thoughts on being a woman”. Nora Ephron blogs on the Huffington Post.

Evanovich, Janet
Mystery and romance author Janet Evanovich writes laugh out loud descriptions of the exploits of her floundering bounty hunter Stephanie Plum. Her novel “Plum Spooky” is due out in January 2009. Janet Evanovich has a web site with fun things to see and do, including monthly contests.

Feig, Paul
Comedian, actor and director of "Freaks and Geeks", Paul has made portaying geekdom his stock in trade. His comedic writings include "Kick Me: adventures in adolescence" and "Superstud, or how I became a 24-year-old virgin." Visit his website to get comedy tips, his career background, and a general feeling of time warp. Whatever you do, don't ask him about Mr. Poole!

Flagg, Fannie
Fannie Flagg is an author and former actress who writes about small town life in the south. Her most recent work is “Can’t wait to get to heaven”.

Grizzard, Lewis
Columnist and essayist Lewis Grizzard wrote absurd takes on small town southern life, featuring his idealized town of Moreland. My favorite of his titles was “Don’t bend over in the garden, granny, you know them taters got eyes.” A site is maintained in memory of Grizzard.

Heller, Joseph
Author of the darkly humorous “Catch 22”, he wrote other novels, short stories and essays.

Hiassen, Carl
A satirical novelist for adults and teens, Hiassen bases his fiction and newspaper columns in Florida. His new book is “The Downhill lie: a hacker’s guide to a ruinous sport”. Carl Hiassen's site has information on his books for children and adults.

Keillor, Garrison
The host of the Prairie Home Companion live radio show is also an author of many books for adults and children. His Lake Wobegon novels with their gentle humor and keen observations of humanity continue in September of 2008 with "Liberty: a Lake Wobegon Novel." Visit the Prairie Home Companion web site for "Posts to the host" a Q & A with Keillor, audio clips of past Prairie Home Companion episodes, and take a peek at the "ridiculous joke machine".

Landvik, Lorna
Landvik is an author, actress and stand up comedian. Her next book will be “Tis the season” due out in December of 2008. Lorna has a page on the Random House site.

Leonard, Elmore
Leonard’s mystery and crime fiction resonates with sharp dialogue and black humor. His recent novel is “Up in Honey’s Room”. Leonard has a site and blog all in one.

Martin, Steve
One of the original “wild and crazy guys” Steve Martin has had a long career in acting and stand up comedy. He became a novelist with “Shop Girl”. His recent autobiography is “Born standing up, a comic’s life”. A cleverly designed site has information about the author, occasional posts by Martin, and message board.

McManus, Patrick F.
Outdoorsman and sportswriter Patrick McManus writes mysteries, and humorous short stories and articles for such magazines as Outdoor Life and Field and Stream. The latest novel in his Sheriff Bo Tully mystery series is “Avalanche”. Designed to sell his books it appears, but not taking orders, check the link for Pat's blog.

Moore, Christopher
Author of “You suck, a love story” Christopher Moore’s off beat humor often features supernatural themes, with plenty of love and lust tossed in. His site has news, blog, and biographical information.

Pratchett, Terry
Pratchett, author of the Discworld novels writes fantastic fiction with quirky good humor. Terry has book information, message boards and links to Pratchett fan sites.

Pym, Barbara
Gently ironic stories of life in the English countryside. Try her later works “Quartet in Autumn” and a “Few Green Leaves”. A scholarly society was formed in her memory.

Robbins, Tom
Sixties counterculture and philosophy is the basis for Robbin’s wacky humor. His new book “B is for Beer” is due out in February 2009.

Sedaris, David
Playwright and NPR commentator Sedaris finds humor in his family and the world in general. His current collection of essays is “When you are engulfed in flames”.
No web site that I can find, but here are some of his essays for NPR.

Vonnegut, Kurt
Vonnegut was a darkly humorous writer who used science fiction themes but was never categorized as a science fiction writer. He satirized war and politics and religion. His last work was “Armageddon in retrospect, and other new and unpublished writings on war and peace.”

Westlake, Donald
Mystery writer Westlake’s novels feature incompetent crooks and bumbling law enforcement officials in novels that move at breakneck speed. His latest novel is “What’s so funny?” News, notes on his work under the Richard Stark name as well as his Westlake titles.

Willis, Connie
Willis writes science fiction that can be very serious such as the Doomsday Book, or it can be pure comedy of errors as in “To Say Nothing of the Dog; or, How We Found the Bishop's Bird Stump at Last”. “The Winds of Marble Arch” a collection of short stories, is her most recent work. The Connie Willis site is mostly news about her work and appearances.

Wodehouse, P. G.
Novelist and playwright Wodehouse wrote about the English upper classes and their foibles. Complex plots and playful use of language have helped him remain popular.


....Thanks to the Floating Lush for suggesting I add Paul Feig.
....Thanks to the Gilded Giraffe for suggesting I add Garrison Keillor.

November 18, 2008 Updated T.C. Boyle's entry to add the new book "The Women"
November 18, 2008 Added Piers Anthony and his Xanth series as suggested by commenter Kim. Thanks, Kim!