More weird goings-on in Florida. Drugs, sex, violence, and some pretty darn funny stuff in between.
Quote:
Serge reminded the librarian of something. She glanced over at a communal lunatic reading area where the regular cast of homeless talked to themselves, played invisible card games, started unzipping their pants...
street platting (pg. 110) -- A plat is a map showing the street and layout of a town. Everglades City (pg. 292) -- Segre tells the tale of the drugs raids in 1983. I thought he was confusing it with the Steinhatchee busts of 1973. I was wrong.
one thing that calms them [bees] down is smoke (pg. 335) -- But why? Wikipedia says it is not only because the bees engorge themselves with honey as a hive-defense mechanism (which I've heard of, from Kelly), but also because the smoke masks alarm pheromones that guard bees release.
Smallwood store (pg. 293) -- A historic building in Chokoloskee, Florida.
Quote:
Coleman kept trying buttons. "What about the manual?"
"I always throw manuals out. Life's too short."
"...(Recalculating. Drive point-seven)..." --(pg. 77)
Amazing Serge and Coleman tale of diamond couriers, diamond thieves, and traveling salesmen. First fiction book that mentions "numbers stations", although I'm not sure that a 1941 Trans-Oceanic can transmit, even with a Latin bombshell with full, fiery lip, operating it. Whoa, the imagery!
Quote:
... Melvil Dewey of Dewey Decimal Sytem fame, who changed life as I know it, and not for the better. Can't tell you how many times I've been hot on the trail of a book, and the library's aisles run out before I get to the number and I go, 'What the fuck?'... (pg. 51)
Quote:
Serge on the 1909-SVDB Lincoln cent:
"I stared at that empty hole in my penny book every day after school until it represented all issues of emotional rejection. I despise that coin with every cell in my body." (pg. 173)
A nice family moves to their new home on Triggerfish Lane in Florida. Serge, Coleman, and Sharon move in across the street. A very funny book with lots of great quotes. None of which are repeatable here.
Ted and sister Kate try to figure out how their cousin Salim disappeared from the London Eye "Ferris" sort-of-wheel. EDIT--There was no Read date, don't know when I read it!
Words I Had To Look Up:
Oesophagus (pg. 2) -- British spelling of esophagus. Duh!
Shreddies (pg. 5) -- British breakfast cereal, from Post. Looks like Wheat Chex to me!
Lilo (pg. 42) -- An inflatable mattress.
Topological (pg. 45) -- A simplified map not necessarily related to geography. The famous London subway map is an example.
Topographical (pg. 45) -- Basically, has contour lines showing hills and such.
Dialled (pg. 258) -- Same as dialed, I guess.
Jamie's brother enlists in the Army, to the objections of their officer father, as a medic and is sent to Vietnam. She volunteers at the base rec center and learns to develop and print the photographic film he sends home to her.
A whole bunch of stories (37), edited by Dozois, which I cannnot imagine how one pronounces, that were mostly pretty good, some excellent, and a couple I didn't care for. I think my favorite was Even The Queen, by Connie Willis. I remember I read a story of hers in Galileo twenty years ago, and was charmed by it.
Read:
7/2006
Best science fiction stories of the year Sixth annual collection
Eight stories pub. in 1976 selected by Dozois. John Varleys "Air Raid" Ive read before, it is mind-blowing. "Custer's Last Jump" by Utley and Waldrop goes on a bit, but it's pretty good. Michel Bishops "The Samurai And The Willows" was kinda sad on a very depressing weekend.
Edited with Johnathan Strahan. Nineteen stories, most of which are too esoteric for my plebeian tastes. My favorites was the Scalzi, but I may be prejudiced.