The best part of ebooks? I can have 10 or more loaded on my iPad and it won’t be any heavier to carry. The worst part? Remembering how to turn the page on each my three different ebook reading apps. Yep, a perfect example of a first world problem.

For those of you keeping track, I am currently reading my 444th book since I started keeping tack back in April of ’96. It is Jim Butcher’s White Night. What’s next? Who knows, but I think I have finally found the app to keep all the books I’ve read and want to read in order. It is called Book Crawler. I haven’t had it for too long, but so far it has all that I want. I’ve run into a few problems, but the creator has been very helpful and has responded to all my emails in a very timely manner. Works on both my iPad and iPod Touch. Check it out.

Reading, the best way to escape.

After a few weeks, I finally finished the book and I can honestly say that I have not been happier or more relieved to finish a book since I read Gregory Maguire’s Wicked, which was a big steaming pile of crap. Lev Grossman’s The Magicians was not that bad, but it certainly wasn’t good. Sure it was unique, as far as my reading experience goes, but I truly did not enjoy the book at all. Not one of the characters was worth remembering or rooting for. I kind of liked the coupling of Quentin and Alice, but when they both pissed that relationship away, I stopped caring. There were some good parts, don’t get me wrong, this wasn’t a complete waste of a book like Wicked was, but I feel the author really tried to do too much and didn’t really do that great of a job storytelling. Maybe I was expecting something more episodic like in the Harry Potter novels. I’m not really sure.

This book has received a lot of praise so somebody liked it. I’m obviously not the target audience Lev Grossman was writing for. Can I recommend it? Certainly not. Do I care that there’s a second book with these same characters? Most definitely not. The only good thing about finishing this book is that now I can concentrate on finishing books I’m actually enjoying; Harlan Coben’s Miracle Cure and Jim Butcher’s Proven Guilty.

I love spending time with my parents as do my kids. I can talk to my mom for hours just like I would with any close friend. My dad is a fount of knowledge. I can and do ask him about anything, especially directions. He tells some of the best stories from my youth and his. I thank my dad for my love of football, watching that is, and both my parents contributed to my avaricious desire to read and read and read.

As a kid, we went on a lot of trips. We road tripped to Tobermory, Ontario and took a ferry ride to the Manitoulin Island. I remember a trip to Disney World (I cried at age 4 in the Haunted Mansion ride) and then years later to Disney Land (no crying this time). We took a long drive in my grandmother’s tan sedan from her winter home in Temecula, California back to our home. Stopping on the way in Carlsbad, NM (visiting some caves) and Texarkana, TX. Now it’s completely possible that these stops were during a different trip or trips, but who’s counting? We visited the Biltmore Estate in North Carolina and had an unforgettable adventure to Chimney Rock where we got to hear our mom use some colorful language as we drove precariously up he side of the mountain. We traveled yet again to Canada (Montreal I believe) where a snooty theatre box office employee refused to let me see History of the World Part 1 since it was rated R even though I was with my parents (I was 16). Thankfully, the next day (or so) we were back in the States, Stowe, Vermont to be exact, and I finally got to see the show. it was hilarious, of course. I remember my sister and I asking my parents if we could go on a trip where we didn’t drive and we were awarded with a trip to Aruba. It was fantastic, even though I got some weird-shaped sun burn under my left eye. If I remember correctly, it wasn’t painful. I also remember winning $15 in a single pull at the slots only to learn that my dad topped me by winning $150. Mixed throughout these trips were frequent visits to my mom’s hometown of Buffalo, NY to visit her side of the family, which included excursions to the majestic Niagara Falls. I’m sure I’ve missed some places, but you get the idea. My parents loved to take my sister and I places and we were happy to go, usually.

For the past few years they have been driving south to Florida in December instead of dealing with the grueling winters in Chicago. I certainly don’t blame them, but I do miss them as do my kids. Thankfully, modern technology has made keeping in touch a breeze. In fact we FaceTime with them as often as possible.

As I live my life, I am thankful that I can look back fondly on my childhood and all the great times spent with my parents (& sister of course). I hope that my kids can say the same when they grow up and have kids of their own.

What can I say? My parents rock.

Over the years this group of friends attended numerous parties, some of which I actually hosted when my parents were out of town, originated the very popular Parent-Child parties, played softball, football, bowling, and let’s not forget Euchre. The stories and memories are endless.

Now thanks to Facebook, I have created a ‘secret’ group where we can share memories, embarrassing photos and even plan get togethers. In fact, it is in this group that I posted a suggestion that we all get together this holiday season, especially since I knew one of us was going to be coming in from out of town. Well, that get together, call it a mini-reunion if you will, is going to happen and I couldn’t be happier. A high school reunion is one thing, but a Gang reunion is something else.

I am incredibly blessed to be a part of this gang, whether I actually helped start it or not, and now some 25 years after its inception I am happy to say I still keep in touch with just about everyone.

I started watching Spooks (aka MI:5 in the US) when A&E was cable casting old episodes. I believe I started watching the middle of season 2. When A&E stopped cable casting the show, I found another way to keep up with the show. I quickly got hooked. Today I am just two short episodes away from the series finale. It is kind of interesting rooting for a team whose enemy is the USA.

A friend of mine at work got me hooked on Dexter. I started watching season 1 and I’ve been hooked ever since. I’m currently mid-way through season 5 and I can’t wait to see the rest.

Well, I couldn’t stop reading completely. In between viewings, I’m reading an early Harlan Coben book, “Miracle Cure”, and the eighth Dresden Files novel, “Proven Guilty”.

I’m also not only watching those two shows. I’m also watching Mike and Molly, Two and a Half Men, Grimm, Chuck, CSI, Criminal Minds, CSI Miami, Burn Notice and Leverage. Yep, I watch a lot of TV. It helps me unwind and maybe even de-stress a bit.

Well, I hit book #430 a few weeks ago. A book called “Easy Money” by Jenny Siler. I selected it at random during one of my infrequent solo trips to the library. It was just OK.

The previous book, #429, was also picked at random and it started off pretty well, but I really didn’t like the ending at all. It was Gonzalo Lira’s ”Acrobat“.

I started reading book #431, Lev Grossman’s “The Magicians“, but I wasn’t able to finish it before it was due and since someone else had placed a hold on it, I couldn’t renew it. So just before my recent family vacation to Minneapolis, I returned it. I have since placed a hold on it myself so that I can finish it. Hopefully, before the end of the year. And yes, I did note which chapter I was on before I returned it.

In the meantime, I may start reading an old book by Harlan Coben called ”Miracle Cure“. I’ve read many of his books so when I opened this one and on the very first page saw this from Harlan, “Okay, if this is the first book of mine you’re going to try, stop now.”. I laughed and look forward to seeing how his early work compares to his later work. Besides, this book was a gift from my mother-in-law so how could I possibly not give it a whirl?

On to movies…

During my recent vacation, I had the chance to watch a few movies on my iPod while my kids were sleeping. I watched “Splice” and “Lucky Number Slevin“. “Splice” had its shocking moments, but in the end I was simply disturbed by it. Can’t really recommend it unless perhaps you’re a big Adrien Brody fan. Next up was “Lucky Number Slevin”, recommended by my old coworker Darren. I loved this movie, especially the dialog. It has an all star cast and it had a kind of “Ocean’s 11″ feel to it. I definitely recommend it.

I recently ordered three new DVDs from Amazon. The last two Harry Potter movies and Shrek 3. I watched half of Shrek 3 and liked it. We’ll see how I feel once I get around to seeing the 2nd half. The Harry Potter movies complete my collection. Will I ever re-watch them all? Who knows?

I should be getting a new toy very soon that will allow me to start updating my blog on a much more regular basis. Stay tuned…

The James Bond book was good, but not great. I’ve seen just about all of the movies, but I think this was the first book I had read in the series. The John Connolly book looked interesting, but what sold me was the quote on the cover by Harlan Coben. He said, “One of the best thriller writers we have”. Harlan is an author I love to read so I figured if he liked it, I might too. It too was pretty good, but I’m not sure if I’ll return to read another Connolly novel. So now on to #409. I decided to go back to Catherine Coulter and continue her FBI series. It featured Dillion Savich, one of the secondary characters from her first book, ‘The Cove’, and proved to be just as entertaining as the first book.

Well now that I finished ‘The Maze’ on the train ride home from work today, I can look forward to reading another in this series some time in the future. But now it’s back to Alex Cross in James Patterson’s latest in the series, ‘Cross Fire’. Stay tuned to read my take on this book and to find out what I’ll be reading next.

Aidan, the vampire, is over 200 years old. Josh, the werewolf, was engaged once but his new monthly transformation ended that. Sally is their live-in ghost who at first has no idea how she died or at whose hands. Aidan and Josh work together at the local hospital.

Each week the three just try to live as normal a life as possible.

I know I watch a lot of TV when I immediately recognize a young boy in the last two episodes as the star of Nick Jr.’s Dino Dan.

It is a unique and very entertaining show that I think is perfectly cast. Check it out.

I’ve loved reading for as long as I can remember. It has always been a great escape for me. In pretty sure I got the reading bug from my dad who would routinely check out 4 or more books from the library at at time. I can do that now but I usually end up renewing one or two of them. Of course my mom loves to read as well. She and I both love going to the book store. We’re like kids in a candy store. Crown was our favorite.

What do I read? 99 % Fiction. Occasionally I’ll read some non-fiction, but it is very rare. If you peruse through my list of books read, you’ll see a mass of thrillers by James Patterson, John Sandford, Michael Connelly, John Lescroart, Ridley Pearson, William Bernhardt, Harlan Coben and many others. I also dabble in some science fiction/fantasy by the likes of Piers Anthony and Jim Butcher. I’ll also read a Star Trek book now and again since I’m such the Star Trek geek. I used to be a big fan of both Stephen King and Patricia Cornwell, but the last few books I read (or tried to read) from both completely turned me off to them. No matter, there’s plenty of other books to read.

I’m a big fan of authors who write series. I will find the first book in the series and start plowing through them all, that is of course if I like the first one. I recently received a Barnes and Noble gift card and specifically searched for book 1 of any mystery series that I hadn’t read. I figured if I liked it I would add it to my collection and if I didn’t, no loss as it was free. What did I choose?

“Above Suspicion” by Lynda La Plante. Book 1 in the Anna Travis series. And “The Cove” by Catherine Coulter. Book 1 in the FBI Thriller series. “Above Suspicion” was book #400. I enjoyed it partly because it was set in London. To me reading a story set somewhere I’ve never been is always refreshing. It didn’t hurt that the story was good too. I’m really enjoying “The Cove” as well. A few more days and I should be done with that book and on to “Bad Blood” by John Sandford. It is the fourth book in the Virgil Flowers series, which is a spin-off of the Lucas Davenport series of “Prey” novels. After that? Who knows, but I’m sure I’ll find it at the local library.

Here’s a recap as best as I can remember…

I was on the red team, but for our show being on a team didn’t really matter since we didn’t keep score. We started the show off with all of us on stage for a round of Conduct A Story. Our story title? The Running Birds. I got to add two lines to the story. One had to do with the birds be flightless ostriches and another about the Snuffleupagus from Sesame Street. I don’t quite recall how we got to Sesame Street, but there it was.

The next game was the ABC game, but I was not a part of that game. I do remember that the three people on stage were at an office swimming pool party. They did a great job.

Next we played Mr. Know-It-All. There were five of us on stage and I was dead center. We fielded questions like ‘what’s the meaning of life’ and ‘how does a chicken lay an egg’. There were two or three others, but I can’t for the life of me remember them.

After that we did Left Hand Larry. I wasn’t in this game, but if I remember correctly, the guy who always won when we played during class won once again when the final topic was Superheroes.

Our fifth game was the Pentagon of Death. This was the same thing as Four Corners, but with 5 people instead of 4. My first scene was set in Medieval Times and my second scene was simply based off the emotion, rage. All I could think about for Medieval Times was battle-axe and King Arthur so I started the scene with something about waxing my battle-axe and after several rotations, we ended up getting drinks before our big fight, yelling “Cheers!” and stating that “It’s a good day to die!”. My partner on my other scene started us out with how angry she was that I painted her pinkie toe black and after several rotations I had retorted that since all of my toes were black it seem fitting that at least her one toe should be as well. If she didn’t like that, then she shouldn’t have asked me to paint her toes.

Once again, this is all based on what I can remember. It was a big 30-minute blur so forgive me if I get something wrong or leave out some details.

Our finale was 185. As much as I really wanted to participate in this last game, I just couldn’t think of anything worthy. The first to enter the bar were 185 cheetahs. Most of the obvious puns were used by my classmates so I stayed back. Next up were 185 vampires. I was going to say something about it not being a Twilight convention, but a classmate before me referenced Twilight some other way so I again kept silent. Finally, the audience suggested that 185 Oprahs walked into the bar. I’m was like, “really?”. All I could think of was something book club related but none of that was funny so alas I said nothing. It wasn’t until our show was over and we were all getting a drink when I thought of this great line for 185 Oprahs…

185 Oprahs walk into a bar. The bartender says, ‘Sorry, we can’t serve your kind here.’ The Oprahs say, ‘Well, why not?” and the bartender replies, ‘Because we don’t have enough room for 185 Steadmans!’

Anyway, the show is over and it was a great ride. Our teacher was fantastic and my classmates are a bunch of funny people who I never would have met under normal circumstances. I hope I get to cross paths with them again in another improv class. Yes, I’m very interested in taking more improv classes, but exactly when I do not know.

For those of you who attended my improv debut I hope you had as much fun watching it (and the other shows from the other 2 classes) as I had performing in it. I hope you can make it to my next big show whenever it may be.