The myth

Witness Elimination Program
The myth is that witness relocation exists, whereas people who "enter the program" are simply shot.

-- Player One: What Is to Become of Us by Douglas Coupland

BookCrossing: Courage, Dana

On April 12, 2011, (just over five months ago) I was at Brentwood Town Centre in Burnaby, B.C., and I had with me a few books primed for release. There is a children's play area there, and I left the children's book Courage, Dana near the shoe rack at the play area's entrance/exit. The next day, a journal entry - written by a new member! - arrived in my inbox:

Just wanted to let you know that I picked up the book today. I plan to read it and make an entry. I never knew this existed! What a fun find!

mean to vanquish nature

Unchecked
"Unchecked, science and monotheism both mean to vanquish nature" - a lovely quote from Christopher Potter in You Are Here: A Portable History of the Universe.

-- Player One: What Is to Become of Us by Douglas Coupland

the events of 9/11

Ninetenicillin
A pill that makes one feel as if the events of 9/11 had never occurred. A variation of Millennial Tristesse, a longing for the twentieth century.

-- Player One: What Is to Become of Us by Douglas Coupland

instant itness

Itness
The ability of one agent to create the perception of an object, person, or event as possessing "it" - for example, not wanting to be "it" in a game of tag - or even the ability of a dog owner to create instant itness when choosing a stick to be thrown for retrieval.

-- Player One: What Is to Become of Us by Douglas Coupland

a "me day."

The Future of Labour
The fact that there is no word in the Chinese language for a "me day."

-- Player One: What Is to Become of Us by Douglas Coupland

ego by plastering

Deselfing
Willingly diluting one's sense of self and ego by plastering the Internet with as much information as possible.

-- Player One: What Is to Become of Us by Douglas Coupland

BookCrossing: The Best of Eric Nicol

A long, long time ago (January 27, 2011), in a town far, far away (Vancouver, B.C.), I released The Best of Eric Nicol inside a Westender newspaper box. It was mere days later that a journal entry catch was made.

The catch:

I was walking home from work one night at around 1:00am when I saw that a friend of mine was on the cover of the Westender. When I went to pick up a copy out of the newspaper box, I also found this book!!
I was delighted. I have not read it yet, but will do so and pass it on.
=)

unlike one's dog

Chronocanine Envy
Sadness experienced when one realizes that, unlike one's dog, one cannot live only in the present tense. As Kierkegaard said, "Life must be lived forward."

-- Player One: What Is to Become of Us by Douglas Coupland

if cats were double their usual size

Rachel's father says that if cats were double their usual size, they'd probably be illegal and you'd have to shoot them, but even if dogs were three times as big, they'd still be good friends to people. Rachel sees that as a good way of comparing the two species.

-- Player One: What Is to Become of Us by Douglas Coupland

BookCrossing: Lonesome Dove

I released Lonesome Dove at Metrotown mall just before Christmas, an hour before releasing the also-already-caught Riding the Iron Rooster. The catch from an anonymous finder came on January 13, 2011:

Found this book on the bench while last minute Christmas shopping...

BookCrossing: Pawleys Island

Biscotti and I had an appointment in the Yaletown district of downtown Vancouver the morning of November 3, 2010. After the appointment we went for a wee walk, during which I released Pawleys Island in a park. Two months later a catch was made!

There is nothing like a retreat to an Island, away from it all. I like the sound of silence.
It was well written; a book of kindness amongst folks and strangers. I'm glad I found and read this book.

Two months after that, another journal entry was made:

I enjoyed it very much, but it couldn't compare to a Fanny Flagg book (as has been done). Ended up a little too 'girly' and predicti;ble for me.

A dull day is a triumph

So remember, stay halfway between coincidence and entropy and you'll always be safe. Take my word for it, a day in which nothing bad happens is a miracle - it's a day in which all the things that could have gone wrong failed to go wrong. A dull day is a triumph of the human spirit; boredom is a luxury unprecedented in the history of our species.

-- Player One: What Is to Become of Us by Douglas Coupland

I made my own sandwich

Projack (project + blackjack) is a word sandwich, just like Jack's scave (scared + brave) in Emma Donoghue's Room.

BookCrossing: Riding the Iron Rooster: By Train Through China

I was at Metrotown mall with Biscotti, finishing up some Christmas shopping loose ends, and had some books to release. Releasing books at malls during the month of December is fun. There are lots of people, so surreptitiously leaving a book or ten goes unnoticed, and it's likely a shopper will pick up the book before a mall staffer scoops it in an attempt to keep the mall tidy. Plus it's a nice pick-me-up for shoppers feeling stressed during what should be a joyous time. I'm not just imagining that, that's what I've read in the catches for books I've released in malls at Christmas time. This leads me to Riding the Iron Rooster: By Train Through China. I released it on December 22, 2010, and the catch came the very next day:

Picked up today. Saving the book to read on plane to Malaysia Jan.22.

Of note: I had flown to Malaysia almost exactly a year earlier.

the opportunity to be hurt by other people

Luke is afraid of getting hurt, but he also knows that if too much time passes you miss out on the opportunity to be hurt by other people. To a younger Luke this sounded like luck; to an older Luke this sounds like a quiet tragedy.

-- Player One: What Is to Become of Us by Douglas Coupland

equally on the brink

Luke still believes that we are all, at every moment of our lives, equally on the brink of all sins, except that now, in a world without faith, sin has no ramifications; it's just something humans do.

-- Player One: What Is to Become of Us by Douglas Coupland

Scott Pilgrim by Bryan Lee O'Malley

Fun, fresh, new. I had never read a graphic novel before starting Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life (unless Archie comics are included in the genre, then I read a shipload of graphic novels while in elementary school) and if the six books in the Pilgrim series are any indication, then I have definitely been missing out. The writing was clever, the plot enjoyable, the drawings entertaining, and I just loved taking in the whole experience.

For the longest time, I would take the dogs out for a walk while either listening to music or doing nothing but walking and looking around. Then, last summer while reading Pilgrim, I realized how much time I had, ummm, wasted - for lack of a better word - when I could've been both walking the dogs and reading. It's not so good to combine the two these days, my hands get awfully cold, but during the summer it's fantastic. Do some reading while walking the trails, then find a rock by the river and sit and read while the dogs do their thing.

SmellyBelly and I watched the Scott Pilgrim movie a few weeks ago, and I was impressed by how well the movie captured the feel and energy of the books. The movie's presentation was superb. Even though SmellyBelly hadn't read the books, I so thought that she'd be into the movie, but, alas, she wasn't.

Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life on BookCrossing. There are links from that link to the other five books in the series.

BookCrossing: Fireside (The Lakeshore Chronicles)

SmellyBelly and I were at Metrotown in Burnaby, B.C., on December 17, 2010, to pose with Santa for some pictures. The lineup was wicked long and we quickly determined that we did not have time to wait for our turn because we had to be at Granville Island very soon after for SmellyBelly's birthday dinner. Therefore, the only positive outcome of going out of our way to that mall was my releasing of Fireside (The Lakeshore Chronicles) and its subsequent same-day catch:

Interesting

just forcing him

Scott Pilgrim: "So where's Mobile? I can't believe you've been secretly dating him since volume three..."

Wallace Wells: "He has a migraine. I can't believe you're drinking beer! Is this the transformative power of love, or what?"

Ramona Flowers: "Nah, I'm just forcing him. How is it, baby?"

Scott Pilgrim: "It's yucky."

-- Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together (Vol. 4) by Bryan Lee O'Malley

An article about books

I have an article to share with you. I came across it a long time ago, and today, while working on cleaning up (see: deleting) some of my browser's bookmarks, I realized, hey, why not post this on my book blog? Annnnd, here we are.

"Home Libraries Provide Huge Educational Advantage" by Tom Jacobs.

Actually, more like noon

Scott Pilgrim: "I'm really not in the mood, okay?! Whoever you are, it's late and it's too hot! And.. And I have a job! Come ON! I had a hard day at work! Fight me in the morning! Actually, more like noon. Wait, I have to work again...

-- Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together (Vol. 4) by Bryan Lee O'Malley

BookCrossing: The Business

I released The Business on the bench outside Marble Slab Creamery in Coquitlam, B.C., on August 3, 2010. It was found that same day, according to the journal entry catch that hit my inbox on November 15, 2010. Here's the entire journal entry:

found august 3

It was an interesting book. Not my normal read but I enjoyed it.

Left it in the Vancover International Airport Nov 15

Good luck on your travels

BookCrossing: The Prodigal Daughter

On October 7, 2010, I took a fantastic day trip to Whistler, B.C., with SmellyBelly and das kids. The weather was wonderful and we all had a swell time. I released some books in the village as we strolled around, a book or two at Lost Lake, and a few more books at viewpoints along the Sea-to-Sky Highway as we returned home. One book I released in the village was The Prodigal Daughter, which received the following journal entry on October 18, 2010:

Good book however not very realistic. I will be dropping this book off in Toronto Ontario for the next person to move it along on it's travels.

something... you... insult...

Julie Powers: "That's what they'll be saying about you on Sunday."

Scott Pilgrim: "At least I.. wait.. something... you... insult..."

Ramona Flowers: "Scott, that was not a good comeback."

Stephen Stills: "That was actually not bad for Scott."

-- Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World (Vol. 2) by Bryan Lee O'Malley