Only in Dreams by Parker Jacobs

This is a Paul Frank book.  Did you, like me, just go, "WTF?!"  The main character is Julius the monkey with the Satan mouth.  He has psychedelic dreams about strawberry milk rivers and having a potato body.  The pictures are whimsical, typical of Paul Frank products. 

Quiet Please: Dispatches from a Public Librarian by Scott Douglas

Picked this one up from the home library.  He's about my age and a librarian out in Anaheim near Disney.  I'm about 4 chapters in and it's a good read.  What I really love are the honest portrayals of the library staff at his branch.  Plus he peppers his book with lots of library facts like how Carnegie didn't let the libraries he funded put his portrait up.  He went to San Jo for library school and his descriptions of some of the profs are awesome.  One prof would give you an A for your paper if you cited his works.  That TOTALLY sounds like library school!  Sh-sh-sh-shady.  Everyone knows that a big handful of the instructors don't even bother reading what you turn in.

Esquire The Rules: A Man's Guide to Life by editors of Esquire mag
I read this in one sitting at the new library. Let's see if I can pass on any new wisdom. These are not verbatim . . . Don't wear white belt with white shoes. Um, wait until the dog is out of the room before having sex. If you're grocery shopping with your gf and she says you need chocolate syrup, don't ask why, just go get it. Adding bacon makes everything taste better. Dude, don't say "dude." Don't cook with anything labeled "cooking wine." It's a quick, entertaining read.

The Secret Life of Food by Clare Crespo
This is a truly amazing recipe book where you make food that looks like something else. There's this recipe for spaghetti where you put olives in the two giant meatballs and it's called spaghetti with eyeballs! There are cupcakes that look like sushi, gingerbread skeletons, mutant chicken (two extra drumsticks attached to a roasted bird) and more! I can't believe how incredibly creative this book is!

No! I Don't Want to Join a Book Club by Virginia Ironside
This novel is about a 60 year old, long divorced woman who's about to turn 60. She's accepting about being "old" and isn't buying into the whole "sixty years YOUNG" idea that her other friends are spouting. The story is set in England and when I read it, I imagine the accents--quite fun! This is an adorable book and perfect for Dayni who's terrified of getting older . . .

I'm almost done reading now and the character has given up sex, is obsessed with her adorable grandson and has a close, sarcastic gay friend who's dying of lung cancer. In my head she's got the voice of Judy Dench.

Book Lust by Nancy Pearl
I merely skimmed this book trying to find my next read. Nancy Pearl is a Seattle librarian who's got her very own action figure. She categorizes books that she's recommending to people. There's also More Book Lust, her "sequel." I was happy she made mention of Fannie Flagg, one of my very favorite authors. But I didn't choose one of the books she mentioned. I'll write about the new book I'm reading soon . . .

The Cow That Laid an Egg by andy Cutbill
A cow feels merely ordinary compared to the other bovine that can do handstands and ride bicycles. One day a bunch of chickens decide to help her out by placing a spotted egg under her, soon everyone thinks that the cow has laid an egg!

Jeepers Creepers by Laura Leuck
This is a rhyming ABC book that features all sorts of strange monsters. Great fun!

My Creature Teacher by Laura Leuck
Another rhyming book about monsters. The main character is a furry faced little boy with neatly parted hair. The pictures are really fun and the rhymes are very gross and appealing to kids.

What Pet to Get? by Emma Dodd
Cool picks, ridiculous concept. A kid wants a pet and goes through a roster of insane potentials: elephant, lion, t-rex, giraffe, etc. Finally he decides on a "lovely little puppy" dog who turns out to be anything but!

The Subway Chronicles: Scenes From Life in New York edited by Jaquelin Cangro
Some of the short stories in this collection are pretty interesting. One of my favorites is about a man who finds his doppelganger, then there's the story about the subway groper and the pornography flasher. The stores are almost like libraryville :o) A couple of the stories, the writing didn't really grab me so I just skipped them.