bibliomania bi:bli,o,mei.nia. [f. biblio- + Gr. mania madness, after Fr. bibliomanie. ] A rage for collecting and possessing books.
1734 T. Hearne Diary 9 Nov. (1921) XI. 389, I should have been tempted to have laid out a pretty deal of money without thinking my self at all touched with Bibliomania.
1750 Chesterf. Lett. 220 II. 348 Beware of the Bibliomanie.
1809 Dibdin (title) Bibliomania, or Book-madness; containing some account of the history, symptoms, and cure of this fatal disease.
1835 T. Hook G. Gurney (1850) II. i. 153 The bibliomania which appeared to engross my friend.
Bibliomania
Thursday, May 25, 2006
Entity, E. Satifka - schitzophrenia, corporatation-hate and aliens. An early draft from a writer you should all know about within a few years.
Spares, Michael Marshall Smith - Darkly compelling, Spares concerns a techno-driven near-future where science lives only to serve the whims of the wealthy. Ostensibly about the title Spares, (clones grown by the ultra-rich for spare parts and treated like cattle), this is also an exploration of nightmares, and the actualization of everything horrible you've heard or seen about pointless war. A futuristic Apocalypse Now on even more acid.
Definitely Dead, Charlaine Harris - The latest Sookie Stackhouse novel is just as much brain candy as the last. Sookie travels to pre-Katrina New Orleans to dispose of her cousin's estate, and ends up in the middle of an uneasy partnership between a Vampire King and Queen. Introducing witches, and more werebeasts, Harris' world is becoming crowded and getting dangerously close to Laurell Hamilton lite. Much of the charm of the early novels was Sookie's status as small-town southern barmaid; the more status she attains in the supernatural community, the less unique the series becomes.
The Callahan Chronicles, Spider Robinson - A Collection of the first three Callahan collections, this is comprised of Callahan's Crosstime Saloon, Time Travelers Strictly Cash, and Callahan's Secret. All of the stories hold up well, in spite of their age, though a few of the puzzles that refer to archaic politicians may stump contemporary readers of a certain age. Puns, memorable characters, and a sympathetic yet largely invisible bard-narrator make the stories heartwarming where they could easily have been trite.
Callahan's Lady, Spider Robinson - A kind of companion to Callahan's Place, the titular Lady Sally, Mike's wife, runs a brothel under the same principles as the legendary bar. The opening story, told by teenaged hooker "Maureen" balances delicately between a Mercedes Lackey cautionary tale and Heinleinesque revue of the weird and wonderful. The overall effect is one of a novel, rather than the shorts that encompassed the first three Callahan collections; the puns are present, but disappointingly infrequent, and the concluding heist was borrowed from any number of potboilers. It's still quite enjoyable light reading, just not as original or amusing as its predecessors.
The Callahan Touch, Spider Robinson - Following the destruction of the original Callahan's place, our reliable narrator Jake opens Mary's Place, the setting of this novel. Like the recreation of the famous bar, the effect of this collection is remarkably uneven and probably only worth reading for fans already following the series. Robinson inserts many more filkish/blues lyrics than would really be acceptable in short form, and doesn't make up for it with a terrible lot of new faces. To be fair, there are a number of amusing bits, most of them involving punning on the Italian standby "That's Amore!" and there's a standard amount of mended spirits and waxing rhapsodic over Irish Coffee. A respectable series entry, but not stellar
Scooter Girl - The creator of Blue Monday takes her music driven sensibility to the hipster fashionistas for a tale of annoying popular cad wants unattainable new girl. Amusing as ever, there's a suggested "soundtrack" for each key scene.
Funky knits : knitting know-how for hip young things - yet another basic book trying to capitalize on the "Stitch N Bitch" phenomenon. Unfortunately, while the instructions are clear enough, the patterns aren't trendy enough or classic to warrant buying this over any of the other scores of beginning books. Stoller's two titles may be full of errata in their earlier printings, but the patterns hold up beautifully. Try them instead.
Knitting Nature, Norah Gaughan - science and textiles collide beautifully in a collection of patterns taking geometric cues from the natural world. Pentagons, hexagons, spirals, and even fractal forms find innovative expressions in fabric. One caveat: this is a relatively new book, and the knit blogosphere's been finding errors galore with some of the larger patterns. I've knit the teardrop bobble hat without any problems, but consider yourself warned.
Carnival of Souls, Nancy Holder - The Buffy spinoff novels seem to have gotten back to what they do best -early season episode replacements instead of highly evolved fanwank. This entry brings in the traveling carnival motif, Ethan Rayne, and the seven deadly sins, in a package that's derivative but tasty - much like the popcorn Xander consumes throughout the book.
Lady Slings the Booze, Spider Robinson - While all the "Callahan" novels have a consistent narrator, this second Lady Sally book switches gears, bringing in a private detective fond of Westlake with all the grace of a certain French inspector and a most unusual name. After the usual incredulity at the concept of artisan sex workers, and a love-match, there's a group-voted execution. As that's obviously not exciting enough, it turns out the world needs saved again, this time from Peace Terrorists. Robinson's managing a precarious balance between humor and self-parody
Callahan's Legacy, Spider Robinson - The second of the Callahan series set at the newly reopened Mary's Place finds narrator Jake's wife overdue for birthing as the bar's namesake and her alien husband literally drop in. The world needs saving once again, but it's an age-old plot that's wearing a little thin for this group of misfit heroes.
Emily pontificates @ 10:53:00 AM
About: I'm a former library worker (6+ years) currently employed as a secretary. I've a degree in English Literature, a certificate in Medieval and Renaissance studies,
and I dabble in medival and renaissance texts, comics, SF of all sorts, and the odd history/sociology book. This is my self-important record of what I read.
