Everybody who visits or moves to Australia ends up being astounded by how much books cost here. I always just chalked it up to transport costs and local profiteering. That’s why I was interested to read former NSW Premier Bob Carr’s blog post this morning: “Protectionism Means You Pay More for Books”. So it sounds like there’s some rule that local bookstores can’t import stock from overseas if there’s an Australian publisher carrying the same book (inevitably for a higher price). The justification is that by propping up local publishers, we’re ensuring they’ll continue to publish Australian literature. Huh! I had no idea. THAT SUCKS. I guess that’s why most people I know get their books from Amazon or The Book Depository.
Category: Books
-
Stamppot and Scones
This week’s veggie box had more kale in it, so I went hunting for another way to use it up. Somehow I hit upon the idea of making stamppot. Stamppot is a Dutch dish that basically consists of boiling up a ton of vegetables, mashing them, and serving it with meat. I’d been wanting to try this dish for 25 years.* Here’s the recipe I used. Most of the cooking time is in the preparation. I used potatoes, butternut pumpkin, sweet potato, carrots, parsnips, leek, onion, and kale. After a rough mashing, I added a big whack of butter, salt, and pepper. As the meat accompaniment, we fried up a half a dozen Spanish chorizo sausages. It was very tasty! It easily made six large servings.* In the 3rd grade, I discovered the book The Twenty-One Balloons at my school book fair and bought it. I still have that very book, complete with my 8-year-old self’s signature. It’s one of my favorite books in the world, and I’ve probably read it twenty times. At the end of the story, the Krakatoans are forced to escape their exploding island aboard a massive balloon platform. The only food they have to eat is what Mrs. D (of the Dutch house) had prepared for dinner: Stampot von zuurkool met rookworst. Isn’t it funny the things that stick in your mind? As soon as Google showed the word “stamppot,” I knew exactly where I’d heard of it, and that I had to make it.
I also did some baking today. Earlier in the week I saw this typically gorgeous Smitten Kitchen post featuring Apple and Cheddar Scones. I’ve been on an apple-and-cheese kick lately, so it appealed to me. We had pretty much everything already on hand, so I whipped them up for tea today. They were so good! It was my first attempt at making scones from scratch. (Normally the Snook is the scone-maker in this house.) He said they were “light and crispy.” We devoured two each not long after taking them out of the oven.
-
Hogwarts Finally Gets the Internet
Hogwarts finally gets the Internet. HA! Nicely done. Can anybody read Russian? I want to know what Viktor wrote on Hermione’s wall…
-
LitKids
Matt at Scrubbles has just launched his new “LitKids Original Art” Etsy Shop. Matt is the extremely talented designer who created my blog masthead (above), and I’ve been reading about this project on his site for a while now. He’s done illustrations of some famous characters from children’s literature (Anne Shirley and Jo March) and he’s printing them on actual pages from the books. They look fantastic. I’ve just ordered both of them. They’d be a great gift for anybody who grew up on those books like I did.
-
On iPads and ebook readers
So… the iPad. I was half-hoping it didn’t exist, just because the rampant speculation of the past few weeks was driving me nuts. I wanted Steve to come out, do a big preso on iPhone OS 4.0, then turn to the audience and say: “Oh, and one more thing. SUCKS TO BE YOU!” Exit, stage right. But he didn’t, and now I’ve spent 24 hours reading crap like “HEEHEE, HE SAID IPAD. OMG WHO WOULD WANT TO USE SOMETHING THAT SOUNDS LIKE IT GOES IN/NEAR A VAGINA EWWW! HA HA! #iTampon” (I think the iPad-period meme has worn out even quicker than the previous speed record holder, the Kanye “Imma let you finish” joke.)
Anyhoo, the big surprise for me was the price of the thing. When was the last time Apple released a project that cost 50% less than everybody predicted? How about NEVER. Also, they’re going into a nascent market with a device that has 140,000 third party apps at launch. (If I were Amazon or Sony, I’d be crying into my cornflakes.) That’s just crazy. Still, I don’t really see where I need one of these in my life. Sure, it’d be nice to have in the kitchen (seeing as how I cook a lot from my iPhone or laptop these days). And I’d love to be able to subscribe to comic books and magazines. Those aren’t huge, compelling, drool-worthy reasons though. Then I read Stephen Fry’s review. Okay, I’m a little more interested now. Fry knows his gadgets, and when he says something feels magical, I believe him. I like stuff that feels like it’s from the future, but is actually usable and relevant today. (Like GPS. Snookums has commented more than once before that Google Maps on iPone feels like magic to him.)
As for reading books on the thing, I dunno. This morning, I noticed a girl two seats ahead of me on the bus reading from a Sony Pocket Reader. It was red and looked pretty nice. The text – at least from my view – didn’t look very clear though. The black-and-white display reminded me of a 1st-gen Gameboy. I’ve heard that E-Ink displays are good stuff though, so maybe up close it was better. I tried reading books on my iPhone with Stanza, but I found that I just don’t absorb digital text the way that I do printed text. It took me a lot longer to finish, and I didn’t retain the story like I usually do. I do like the idea of carrying around a whole library though. I also really hope that the iPad will be the catalyst for the ebook market to really take off.
-
Keats
“I should like to die. I am sickened at the brute world which you are smiling with. I hate men and women more. I see nothing but thorns for the future … the world is too brutal for me – I am glad there is such a thing as the grave – I am sure I shall never have any rest till I get there … I wish I was either in your arms full of faith or that a Thunder bolt would strike me.” GOOD GRIEF, John Keats! And you thought your high school boyfriend was melodramatic.
-
Swish and flick!
Whoa. A magic wand that is actually a TV remote with an accelerometer? That is so cool! I could be swish-and-flicking my way through Seinfeld each night. (Link courtesy of not marth.)
-
Captain Tripps
I got an email yesterday letting me know that I was being followed on Twitter by @motherabigail. *snort* “Oh neat,” I thought. “People are twittering as the characters from The Stand.” This morning I got another notification that I was being followed by @VegasWalkinDude (presumably because I tweeted that I’d meet everybody in Hemingford Home). There are lots of other characters out there (@Nick_Andros, @Stu_Redman, @larry_underwood, @Nadine_Cross, @MOONtomcullen. They’re all pretty well done, sending @ messages back and forth and following the timeline of the story. That said, reading them on the bus in the rain this morning surrounded by sniffling passengers… it started to creep me out a little bit. I have an overactive imagination.
So to assuage my own anxieties, I just did some Googling. The fatality rate in Mexico (according to this article) is 6%. Which sucks, yeah, but we’re not at Captain Tripps levels yet. I’ll hold off til the weekend on stocking up on guns and batteries. (I suppose at least the fact that Australia is never mentioned in the books should make me feel a bit safer. Evidently Randall Flag only operates in the continental US.)
-
Amazon Acquires Stanza
Hm. Amazon has acquired Lexcycle, makers of the iPhone e-book app “Stanza.” I’ve been using Stanza for a few weeks now to read Red Mars, and it’s great. I would’ve downloaded the Kindle app, but it’s not available outside the U.S. I hope Amazon doesn’t kill off Stanza and screw all the overseas customers.
-
Purrrrrrr
Why do humans enjoy it when cats purr? I love the responses. Both of our cats will purr when they’re feeling contented and cozy. I often think about the purported healing effect, especially when I’m feeling sick or lousy. (I think I first learned about it Oryx and Crake, but I didn’t realize at the time there was some scientific basis for the idea.)
