Old dogs

This is Barney and he is twelve and a half years old. He is exceedingly fluffy, he smells terrible, does nothing but sleep, and he snores incredibly loudly. He has the kind of life that makes me think it's pretty good to be a housepet. But he's really clearly getting old - just over the last few months I've noticed that he's developed a paranoia about heights. He used to take flying leaps into the back of my mom's mini-SUV, and now he won't even climb into the back of my minivan when it's pulled up to the curb, and that's not a very high climb. He had a kind of rough fall one time when he tried it and now he insists on being carried. Which is only okay because he's only about 35 lbs and it's not very far.

But I love him, and that's why he gets a blog post with two photos today. Because isn't he pretty?

Yes?

I thought so.

Five books I have read more than once:

1. A book you loved as a child that has lost its magic.

Let's go with Ender's Game for this one. While I can respect it as a science fiction classic and as a book that had a huge influence on me, I don't enjoy rereading this anymore. Maybe it's because I read the sequels and realized they sucked. Maybe it's because I found out that Orson Scott Card is a misogynist and a homophobe and a religious fundamentalist. When I first read Ender's Game, I was about the same age as the characters and I thought that their interactions were totally believable, so maybe it's hypocritical that now, looking back on it, I cringe and think, "No kids talk like that." (Of course, Jessi Slaughter may well prove me wrong on this one.) Anyway, I'll always have a fondness for this book, and my copy of it has been read at least ten or fifteen times, but it doesn't hold the same appeal to me that it once did.

2. A book you loved as a child that has kept its magic.

This one's going to have to be Dogsbody. Ironically, Orson Scott Card loves it, too! You've probably heard of some of Diana Wynne Jones's other works (Howl's Moving Castle, The Dalemark Quartet...) even if you've never heard of this one, but believe me, it's beautiful and as you read it and grow into it, you understand it on so many different levels. While the main plot is engaging and original, I think that the way that DWJ weaves politics and Celtic mythology into the background of the novel that keeps it fresh - the older I get, the more I understand about what's going on behind the scenes of this vibrant and creative world.

3. A book that made you feel like an adult.

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay is the first grown-up novel I distinctly remember reading. I don't just mean that this was the first book I read that wasn't explicitly targeted at elementary or middle schoolers, because I read a lot of those, but I distinctly remember sitting in the back of the car on a long trip with my parents in ninth grade reading this book and feeling like I was sending out telepathic signals to everyone else there that there was DIRTY STUFF in here. (Although, in retrospect, I reread it last year and was not nearly as scandalized as I was in ninth grade, and there was nothing nearly as explicit as I seemed to think there was at the time.) This book actually has a lot in common with Dogsbody, although it's not immediately apparent - I love the way the different historical and mythological influences are woven together, although here it's the history of the comic book industry and the Golem legend. Which is awesome.

4. A book that has influenced your writing.

American Gods, hands down. I don't think it's any coincidence that a lot of the books on this list are also by authors who I admire in general. I love American Gods for the amount of detail that's crammed into it, for the vivid characters, for the imaginative plot... That, and it's just a fun read. I've read it at least a dozen times and it never gets boring. A lot of the universe of Like a Dog in Space was partially inspired by the universe implied in American Gods, particularly once Mister Papers got involved, although Ivan and the Sisters could exist independently. Not to say that I go out of my way to rip Neil Gaiman off, but... there are worse people to rip off! I think what really gets me about this book is that it's basically set in the real world. It's not alternate universe or some fancy future-that-never-was. It's just fantastic beings trying to get by and live their lives among us humans. I love that it's kind of a grab bag of myths, yet all of them are pretty well researched. I love all of the interesting, larger than life characters who get involved. I love this book.

5. A book that gives you something to aspire to.

Oh, my god, Oryx and Crake. Oryx and Crake, Oryx and Crake, Oryx and Crake. I think my favorite part of this is that it's an alternate future, but it feels so immensely believable based on current trends. Say what you will about the Dystopian genre, this series is Margaret Atwood's masterpiece. I am in awe of the way she connects frame story and narrative, explaining the world we're in without hand-holding us too much. The exposition feels effortless and the results are a breathtaking vision of a future that she convinces you very well could be. I wish I could create spec fic settings like this! (I'm going to try!)

Some runners-up:

Alas, Babylon

Brave New World

Daughter of Fortune

New Jedi Order: Traitor (With the caveat that it is great by itself but shit within the context of the series, for continuity and character reasons.)

Contact

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

A Separate Peace

Clearly, I need to read more classic lit, right?

Study Hall Etiquette

I'm noticing that there's a specific way that people sit in a study hall. Isolated desks near power outlets are the most desirable, while central worktables are the least wanted. So if this is the study lounge:

Then the most desirable desks are the ones along the wall, furthest from the door which presents a constant source of distraction. Typically, however, this is divided by which desk is easiest to reach. The result is that the first desk occupied is usually one of the wall-side desks on the lower left hand side, and the second desk occupied is the desk directly across from it.

Once these two desks are occupied, a sorting algorithm is established. You cannot sit back-to-back or next to someone until a certain density is reached, otherwise it's regarded as rude. So the next person to enter takes the wall desk nearest the door, because seeing that there are others already in the study hall, they take the first desirable desk that they see. Once this desk is occupied, the fourth person to reach the lounge takes the top righthand desk against the wall, because it is intermediate between the easiest desk to reach and the most isolated desk, that fits all the requirements - ie, not back to back or next to another person, and not a table.

The desk back-to-back with the lefthand wall desk fills in fifth. Sixth is the desk across from the top lefthand desk.

Seventh is the table closer to the door, because the set of desks in the corner furthest from the door is awkward. It is only occupied once all other desks and one other table have been ruled out, and the bottom right desk is taken first.

From this point on, all desirable desks have been occupied and studiers must choose at their own risk. Back-to-back is always preferable to next to someone, and typically the remaining table will be unoccupied until a large, loud group of Stern students come in to work on their Econ. project. They'll probably be speaking Korean and you'll hate them because they are loud and don't seem to realize that there were other people in the study lounge before they took over.

Once all seats are occupied, anyone else attempting to use the study lounge will be subjected to bored glares until they get the hell out of dodge.

Yours truly avoiding studying for finals,

Leez