Books, books, books

I somehow find a way to piss away my money. For a long time, I used to buy CDs, tapes, and records in bulk. I couldn't get enough, especially trying to keep up with what the kids are listening to at the time. These days, I don't buy as much music, nor as frequently (considering my attitudes about popular music these days, I'm sure you're not surprised). However, you can say that I make up for it by going to concerts a few times a month, sometimes at more expensive venues. But that's besides the point...

For the last seven or so years, my other vice has been buying books in bulk. Especially tech-related books. I've got tomes on technology, mainly programming, that should last a lifetime. But anyone in the biz knows that the books bought today are more than likely to be obsolete in a year. And if you're buying something based on a pre-release piece of software, you know that the book might as well be holding up your rickety table next week, since software changes almost by the day. So what I have, dear reader, is an impressive library of C++, TCP/IP, VB, Multithreading, Win32, Oracle, Assembly, blah blah blah. It's not that I don't get anything out of the books. I do. I get insights into certain technologies, and I glean from the books a way of solving problems. But I'm not currently using them enough to make them worth keeping, as professional/geeky-cool they make me appear. And it's not like they've made my career grow by leaps and bounds. But, again, I digress...

I've also got a sci-fi/fantasy book collection, yet another testament to my nerd background. The Douglas Adams's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series and Red Dwarf works are my favorite, along with the classic Dragonlance novels. I also can't forget The Dark Elf series. And I've got enough got plenty of pop culture novels (Tim Sandlin, Chuck Palahniuk, Jack Kerouac). And I've got plenty of thrillers and mysteries. I even have a decent collection dedicated to running, as well as billiards.

But my book fetish right now revolves around current events and politics. I got plenty of those. Today, I added Bill Clinton's My Life. It's big, over 950 pages of first-hand account by the man himself. Now, like you, I've heard a lot about it, even though it's been on the shelves less than a week (how some reviewers get the book well in advance I don't know; that's something I want to get in on). I've heard it's "banal", "self-indulgent", and "boring". Well, you know what? It's a friggin memoir. You're supposed to expect that. Anyway, I'm looking forward to reading it, though I don't think I'll have it finished when the big dog signs it next week at Elliott Bay Books. I can't wait.

As I said before, I tend to indulge in things in bulk. Along with the Clinton book, I finally bought Dan Brown's best seller, The DaVinci Code. It appears to have all the elements that most great works of fiction share: suspense, historical consequence, secret societies, well written characters. That, and it involves religion, and a reach back into the archives of Christendom. Should be a good read. Thanks to Dave for piquing my interest.