Christopher T. Miller - Latest Comments

Re: A Special Place In Hell

Michael Stack — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 15:28:44 -0000

Holy Jesus. After your murder trembling subsided, did you call this guy? Did he forget? It sounds like he had his son look around for a bit, didn't find him, and said "f*ck it" and left without bothering to call you.

Wow.

Re: A Special Place In Hell

Jamie Jamison — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 13:53:00 -0000

Wordless. I simply can't imagine an adult dong this - especially another parent.

Re: A Special Place In Hell

Jason Ramboz — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 11:33:43 -0000

Oh. My. God. I seriously can't believe someone would do that, especially someone who has kids of their own. If I were in your position, I would probably be incoherent with rage.

Re: The Dishonest Library

Tracie Ewing — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 14:18:36 -0000

As a result of life changes, I, too, have had to weed my beloved collection of books. Many were left behind, as they represented the self I was leaving behind, and I knew that they had no place in the space I was using to re-create myself. I took only two small boxes of books: those by beloved authors like Jane Austen and those that represented the parts of me that I wanted to dust off and re-animate after the years they'd spent inanimate in the attic of my former self.

In the years since I moved on, I've given away many a volume, particularly when an impromptu revisit didn't bring the joy I remembered. It's refreshing, sometimes, to give away something once cherished; particularly when you realize it's leaving you because you have grown and changed as a person.

Now, I keep two shelves of books, in much the same manner as Greg: One shelf of titles that I love dearly and cannot bear to part with, and one of books waiting to be read.

Re: The Dishonest Library

Jason Ramboz — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 13:31:01 -0000

I'm reminded of this bit from The Great Gatsby:

A stout, middle-aged man, with enormous owl-eyed spectacles, was sitting somewhat drunk on the edge of a great table, staring with unsteady concentration at the shelves of books. As we entered he wheeled excitedly around and examined Jordan from head to foot.

“What do you think?” he demanded impetuously.

“About what?” He waved his hand toward the book-shelves.

“About that. As a matter of fact you needn’t bother to ascertain. I ascertained. They’re real.”

“The books?”

He nodded.

“Absolutely real — have pages and everything. I thought they’d be a nice durable cardboard. Matter of fact, they’re absolutely real. Pages and — Here! Lemme show you.”

Taking our scepticism for granted, he rushed to the bookcases and returned with Volume One of the “Stoddard Lectures.”

“See!” he cried triumphantly. “It’s a bona-fide piece of printed matter. It fooled me. This fella’s a regular Belasco. It’s a triumph. What thoroughness! What realism! Knew when to stop, too — didn’t cut the pages. But what do you want? What do you expect?”

Re: The Dishonest Library

Chris Miller — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 09:37:02 -0000

Greg...I like that idea of writing reactions to books. Capturing the memory even if getting rid of the book. I might steal that from you.

Re: The Dishonest Library

Mike Pirnat — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 09:28:43 -0000

I've heard it said -- and I emphatically agree -- that when we buy books, what we're really buying is the idea that we will have time to read them.

Re: The Dishonest Library

Greg — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 08:48:30 -0000

I've had a similar situation. We moved from a fairly large house in Colorado down to a small log cabin, and then to an apartment in Connecticut. We've had to downsize hugely, and that's included books. While I managed to save many previously shelved books in boxes in the attic, the ones I knew I'd never reread ended up at Goodwill or something similar.

My shelf now houses only the greats, and the twenty or so books that comprise my to-read collection. That shelf replenishes itself just as quickly as I read, and always remains at around 20 books.

My real showcase has ended up on my website at greghowley.com/books - that's where I list the books I've read and my general reaction to each. They're not really reviews so much as reactions, and they're more for me than anyone else. I've found the ability to look back over the things I've read useful. And because I stamp each with a date, isbn, and a number of other data, there are numerous possibilities for that data going forward.

The books we showcase do say a lot about how we see ourselves and how we want other people to see us. I've found myself making sure to place only the books I've enjoyed most on the eye-level shelf of my own bookcase.

Re: Rebase

jamie — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 13:57:33 -0000

We are living through interesting times - in the Chinese curse sense of the word. Wishing you much luck and inspiration.

Re: Christopher T. Miller

Duncan Dewar — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 15:01:40 -0000

Nice, will you be adding an additional flame each day (you pyro you *wink*)