A Little Secret about Books

Everyone is always talking about reading more. It's getting harder to easily throw cash away on books, especially if you're not even sure if you'll like the book (unless of course you love books and plan on having shelves and shelves them later on in life).

What are some cheap solutions?

First, you could always check out a used bookstore. Being from Fort Wayne, there's one called Hyde Brothers. A friendly atmosphere combined with every book lover's favorite, wall to wall shelves full of books on just about every subject (they also have multiple rooms filled with books and movies and music in the basement). Still, because everything is more or less on sale, books can add up and before you know it, you've spent $40 on books (albeit you did get more than you would have going to Barnes and Noble or Borders). Also, some book stores seem to have more romance books than anything else, which is fine if that's what you're into.

Second, you could borrow from family and friends. My grandmother keeps recommending books for me. She let me borrow White Oleander, Atlas Shrugged, Racing in the Rain, and a series involving an Irish country doctor (the first one is called Irish Country Doctor). While I've enjoyed most of them, I still have gotten to Atlas Shrugged (however I think that's due to a grudge held after reading The Fountainhead in high school). While it gives family members and friends something to discuss and bond over, again, selection is limited. You could also have radically different tastes than your grandmother, mother, other relatives, or your friends. They may also have different philosophies about how to handle and treat books (some people are more lax, leaving books open to the page, taking them to the pool and dripping water on them, tearing pages, etc.) and not everyone appreciates having his or her books mishandled.

Lastly, you could go to the library. It would involve getting a library card, but who doesn't love those little plastic cards that lets you get free books for a two or three week time period? It lets you check out books that you've always wanted to read or own, but weren't sure about purchasing (in case you didn't like it) or maybe you've always wanted to look into books about cartography, Oscar Wilde, or dinosaurs.

Well, guess what?

They're now at your disposal. And most libraries have a system so that if they don't have the book you want, they can get it for you from another library either in the same system or at least in the same state.

What's more?

They're usually a quiet place where you can also spend some time on the internet (so long as you have a library card), rent some dvds and cds (also for free), and they usually have programs from summer reading programs to adult computer programs to a lot of programs for kids.

The only thing you need to do? Well, make the time for reading. After all, you probably don't need to spend half your day stalking people or playing games on facebook or losing hours on tumblr and other websites like it. You now know the secret to getting free books. Now all you need to do is find the time (and it's there) to read.

Reflection

Before the visit, I didn't know what to expect. What we would be doing was not exactly clear, as our instructor had been very vague. We knew that we would be doing some kind of service, but that was about it. After we arrived, we waited in the soup kitchen area (which was familiar to me from helping with Trunk or Treating last year). We had to wait for our instructor to arrive and for the guy in charge to collect us and show us what we would be doing for the hour and a half that we would be there (although most of us arrived at least fifteen minutes early, so patience was thinly spread).

When Jason showed up, we went over to the clothes closet to help there. We were told about why the area had fallen on hard times, what they did (for the most part), and we were shown around the downstairs before being left in a room to sort through clothes that had been donated.

I was surprised by the lack of organization. Maybe it was just that day, but it didn't seem too organized after they left us alone in the sorting area. We also ran out of boxes as women seem to be the dominant donating group.

Lastly, I didn't feel like I did much. I keep trying to convince myself that going through so many clothes was helpful, but I didn't leave the clothes closet feeling very accomplished or helpful. If I go help out again, I'd probably either try to stay longer or try helping in a different area of the center.

The Price of Magic: Part II

I have a twin brother named Matthew. I am nineteen minutes older than my brother, and he is at least five inches taller than I am. In case you are wondering, we don't look very much alike (I do get asked this often). We do share the same pale, freckled complexion (although he still tans better than I do in the summer), and my father says we have the same smile.

Even though he went off to join the army, survived basic training and his technical training, and is now stationed in North Carolina (so I don't see him so often), I still remember him as the third to shortest kid who loved Star Wars. Still, my favorite memory of him arises from a time of large toys, crayons, and being the primary playmates for one another.

I remember playing in the backyard one day near the end of the day when it started to get dark out. The porch light came on a few moments later. After our mother yelled for us to come inside, we started to make our way to the porch before pausing in front of it.

The top of the porch was made of wood that had been painted blue, but the paint was chipping. I remember the stairs being made of concrete, but it's equally likely that they were made of wood. We paused, because between the top step and the porch, there was a hole, a pitch black hole with the exception of two eyes that glowed a menacing yellow.

After staring at the eyes for what seemed like hours and with my little heart racing, I looked at my brother. Neither of us had moved, and suddenly, the glowing disappeared. My brother grabbed my hand, and we raced inside without saying a word.

The next morning, we looked and peeked into the hole as best we could, but we didn't see anything. Since then, our relationship has stayed relatively the same. We may not always talk, but I know that when I need him, Matt will be there to grab my hand and drag me to safety.

The Price of Magic: Part I

Recently, I experienced a very interesting, taste-bud altering ordeal. Momo and I went out to Applebee's with a couple of friends (Max and Emma). We enjoyed a variety of appetizers, sharing boneless buffalo wings, mozzarella sticks, and mini cheeseburgers (sliders, I believe they're called).

It wasn't very busy, because it was about 10:30 in the evening. Most people had already eaten and gone to bed. However, we were hungry after a small, disappointing dinner in the cafeteria. Max also wanted to take us to eat, because it was one of his last nights in the states. Toward the end of the meal, Max pulled out a box that was mostly red and green with some Chinese characters. On the other side of the box were instructions in English. What was it a box of?

Miracle fruit. These little dark red tablets make bitter and sour foods taste sweet. We had all ordered water with lemon and had saved the lemons to test the tablets of miracle fruit. Max opened the box to a package, which he then opened to find a plastic and foil contraption that separated the tablets. He popped them open before handing one tablet to each of us.

We set them on our tongue to let them dissolve as the directions stated, and we waited. While they dissolved, an occasional sour taste flickered over my tongue, but it also tasted a bit like raisins. The four of sat in the booth, occasionally flashing each other tongues to see where the tablets were in the dissolving process.

My tablet was the first one that dissolved. After I dug my lemon wedge out of my water with a knife, I glanced at the others before taking a bite of it. Instead of the usual wince-inducing level of sour that I expected, it was sweet, sweet enough to make it feel like I was eating lemonade. The others soon tried their lemon wedges with similar results.

It was all worth it for the look that waitress gave us when we asked for more lemons and limes though.

Late October Dreaming

According to Stephen King, there are two activities that I could use more of in my life: being rude and writing. Of the two, the more important addition would the four to six hours devoted to writing ten pages double-spaced or about 2,000 words. Clearly, both choices would be the perfect additions to the life of a college student.

Outside of that, I find his methods to be very useful. Most of his writing techniques follow a pattern that is also used by a yearly event called National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo or NaNo for short). This event takes place in November and demands that participants churn out a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. Likewise, King suggests that writers focus on one novel and work on it every day until they get it done (taking no longer than three months or so depending on the project).

King favors this method, because when he doesn't write every day, characters become less real to him (a problem that I can relate to after not working with some characters after awhile). On top of changing feelings, the excitement for the project begins to fade, making it harder and harder to write. Based on his success and what he says throughout his memoir, this technique is very effective for him.

The ultimate goal of King's method and of NaNo is to get the first draft of the story out. The only difference between the two is the amount of time it takes. With Nano, the goal is to write it in 30 days instead of the maximum 90 days. Some participants of NaNo plot meticulously over the the year, others play it by year (which is another piece of advice from King, although NaNo's founder wrote a book for NaNo called No Plot? No Problem!). Most of the time when November comes around, leaving yourself open to plot surprises end more successfully than the people who start plotting in January. The plotters lock themselves into a rigid plan, while the other participants gives themselves wiggle room to let their characters take control and keep the story going. It's a very successful technique for me anyway. It has been since I first participated in 2004. Since then, I have participated and won every year. The last two years, I was able to finish my first novel of the month within 9-15 days, and I started a second novel.

If you want to learn more about NaNoWriMo, you can check out the website here.

A Book-Addict's Paradise

“I have always imagined that Paradise will be some kind of library.” — Jorge Luis Borges

My favorite place in Fort Wayne is the downtown library. You can see some pictures of it here. Near the entrance, there is a giant globe taller than anyone I know. It constantly rotates in circles. It has been a source of wonderment since I was a child. The rest of the library spreads out from there, starting with the check out desk, return slot, and the book holding area.

What else is great about this library? Wide, open spaces, shelves and shelves of books (a room where the adult fiction and non-fiction shelves go around the edges of the room and eventually meet), plenty of available sitting, tons of computers, a coffee shop, a small art gallery, and again, the books. Basically, it is a beautifully crafted warehouse for books.

There are also different rooms for reading, like the Silent Reading Room. I haven't been in there yet, but I always forget where it is. I could get lost in this library. In fact, I'm hoping to spend more time there over the summer when I go home.

Did I mention that there's an upstairs? The Main Library has fantastic records and whatever you need to trace your family located upstairs. There are three other sections upstairs, the technology and business section (more nonfiction), teen fiction, and the art, music, and media section. From upstairs, you can peer down and watch people on the ground floor. There are also cases with different items in them. For awhile, they were full of Harry Potter Items.

The final perk? It has free parking, if you have a library card there.

This library is my kind of paradise. Because of it, I will probably make sure the cities that I live in during my lifetime have a comparable library. It will always give me a reason to return to Fort Wayne.

Do Not Bounce

I've been very busy lately. I started working on the Freeze Ray again (resulting in the destruction of my webcam) - but at least I have plenty of Wonderflonium!

I ran into Captain Hammer again recently At least this time, he didn't throw a car at my head. Once I get all the problems worked out with the Freeze Ray, he'll see. They'll all see, and by then, I'll be in the Evil League of Evil. Even Penny will see that I'm not a loser (like cheesy-on-the-outside).

Speaking of Penny, I need to stop by the laundromat. Yes, even super villains need to do their laundry. Maybe I can stop by the Frozen Yogurt place too.

Oh, back to business.

I can't answer as many fan letters as I usually do, but let's see here. I have one from Johnny Snow. Again, he is accusing me of not wanting to fight him.

Okay, listen, Johnny Snow. You're not my nemesis. Everyone knows that my nemesis is Captain Hammer. I'm ready to move on from this, and you should just accept it. Once I join ELE, maybe I'll turn my attention to you.

Sigh. Some people.

In the meantime, keep an eye out for my acceptance to ELE and peace everyone. Only not really..