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http://espn.go.com/espn/story/_/id/10782037/ultimate-warrior-died-cardiovascular-disease

So it wasn’t drugs, ok, Nancy Grace? Long live the legendary Warrior!

Lets talk about books. I don’t want to stick my face in The Cuch’s area, so we’ll keep this to books that don’t (directly) feature wrestlers. 

What are your favorite books, authors, stories, and genres? Whats your favorite (and least favorite) film adaptation of of a book you really liked, or vice versa? 

 
 Some Picks:

Different Seasons – This collection of Novellas by Stephen King includes “Rita Hayworth and The Shawshank Redemption”, “Apt Pupil”, “The Body”, and “The Breathing Method”. The first three stories are absolute knock outs, and the kind of stories you find looking ahead in page numbers to see how much you have left, because you don’t want it to end.

“The Shawshank Redemption” in particular is just stellar, and a wonderful companion to the movie, in one of those rare instances where the differences don’t bug you, and one happily informs the other.

“Apt Pupil” is great, and reading it Sophomore year of high-school I remember being about 9 different kinds of freaked out by the crazy ass shit the characters in that book got into, endlessly fascinated by what crazy thing would happen next. That’s cool because that’s what the book is about, namely, how an obsession with a time period, person, or historical event can be fuel for a poisoned mind to com-bust.

“The Body” went on to be “Stand By Me” which I think I’ve seen about 15 times in 20 minute chunks. The book is really good, and heart breaking, and when I picture it in my minds eye, the locations and people that flood my senses are so real I can almost touch them. Wonderful at capturing a child’s view of the world and sense of adventure, and how everything can seem big and bad and awful, but warm and welcoming at the same time. Secctiooon 8.

The Bachman Books – This includes “Rage”, “The Long Walk”,”Road Work” and “The Running Man” and again, three of the four are really great. “The Long Walk” is such an awesome concept, and “Rage” is a fun little book to read if you’re worried about the kind of shit our Nation’s Youth has to deal with. “The Running Man” is probably closer to being a TV reality than you may think.

Thinner – I like this one, being a fatty. Guy is fat, gets cursed to be thin, gets part of his hand blown off, and in a fun little tid-bit, steals my neighbor’s car. Seriously. It turns out back when that book was written, the main character hits up Bridgewater Massachusetts, and steals a car. My neighbor – relaying this to me at a party a few years ago, mentions that HE got his car stolen, and it was the same make and model as the one in the book.

The Elements of Style – A GREAT book to help you understand a bit of grammar, and one I’ll occasionally slot into my potty reading list for a refresher. Seriously one of the most iconic writing manuals out there.

On Writing – Part autobiography, part manual, and part do’s and dont’s, Stephen King uses examples from his own work to illustrate what he thinks makes good writing. My favorite part about this book is that Stephen King is happy to admit he’s a “First class, second class” writer (in so many words), meaning he’s very literary, but he appeals to a lot of people, and that folks like John Grisham do the same by writing what they know, and cutting off the bullshit. It’s a great read.

Catch Me if You Can – The autobiography the movie is based off of, this is one of my favorite true stories, written by a guy known for lying. While it may have had some ghost-writer help, it doesn’t feel it, and every little detail is wonderful to read and ponder, as the author goes into the details of how exactly he forged so many checks. It has a mostly happy ending too, which is neat.

License to Pawn – This is the book by the cast of “Pawn Stars” that is very obviously ghost written, but still *really* fucking cool, you learn a lot about the history of the cast, AND a ton about the inner-workings of the “Pawn” business, including why pimps always wear gold, and that both Chum and Big Hoss were once addicted to the Meth.

Have a Nice Day – Eh, it’s not bad.

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Blog Otter Award: The Blog Otter Award will return tomorrow, I’m writing this from work! So you all win! yay!

1. Someone explain Nook / Kindle sharing to me. Is it possible for us to share our books with each other without contracting STDS?

2. I review a Mega Man-like game that’s not bad! / I give “Card Hunter” a perfect 10!