The Penicillin of Pre-Ordering

This quote used to grace the office door of a professor who really didn't care for me during my undergraduate years (the feeling was rather mutual) and I'm using it here as a sort of apology for long absences.There's been a great deal of not-good happening, so it's been a struggle to read or to write lately (to say nothing of writing about reading). Today, however, the universe has marooned me on the couch as I finish a round of antibiotics for strep throat and I'm staving off bad (and irrational) feelings by playing with books. Specifically, I'm using Amazon's "advanced search" feature to see what's coming out in the fields I love... then I push the lovely, silvery PreOrder button (less immediately dangerous than the yellow-orange order-with-one-click button).

Danger Button

Believe it or not, my book ordering has been significantly reduced by a subscription to Scribd - they get so many of the books that I want that I don't need to order them myself. And yet, "reduced" turns out to be a relative term...

I don't consider myself a reader of Batman comics so much as a reader who tunes into Batman when Joker makes an appearance. Since the title Dark Prince Charming could easily apply to either Batman or his nemesis (or both) I had to add this one to the cart and to the collection. 

I have been reading ElfQuest for twenty-four years and I love the creators' decision to release these "complete" volumes... even if I have no intention of parting with the comic books or graphic novels which contain the same content. I've been trying to re-read the original quest prior to this one's arrival, but I'm disastrously behind.

Since December is the month of Christmas books, I rarely pre-order anything. This book was originally slated for a November release and got bumped into the next month.

I don't have a solid explanation for my newfound RFK obsession. He seems good, somehow, in a way that seems gone from the present world. I can't imagine the passing of any present public figure that would incite mourning in me or compel me to stand at train tracks waiting for a funeral train. I'm sorry, of course, for those people who lost him, but sorrier for all of us, right now, that we don't have anyone that inspires such feelings in us.

Nothing makes me long for the new year like having a painful present year. This has been a hard one for my family, so we have high hopes for 2019! And, if nothing else can be guaranteed, I will enter the New Year with good things to read!

I almost never pre-order popular fiction, but I enjoyed this duo's last book so much that I ended up gifting it to my mom, so I'm excited for their second effort. And with a new semester starting it will be nice to have something that isn't so serious to read!

One of my colleagues teaches a class about modern world history. If I didn't always teach at the exact same time, I would enroll myself in it. I have a good grasp of the Victorian era, the American Civil War, and I'm okay up until the Second World War... then it all gets blurred and jumbled on me. I've been working to correct that with my recent reads and this seemed like a perfect addition to that particular project.

 Thanks to Lin Manuel-Miranda, my understanding of the American Revolution is in better shape these days - but there's always room for improvement! And Washington never seems to take solid form in the works I've read about him; he's too admired and lofty to seem quite human. We will see if this work gives him some of that quality back!

My Big Cat Library is second to my Civil War Library in size - but it's first in my heart because it represents something I have worked hard to teach myself. Therefore, when new big cat books come out, I feel that I have to buy them (how's that for justification?). This one examines the good work that has been done in encouraging farmers not to kill snow leopards. Nepal is currently spearheading snow leopard protection, as can be seen here, and I am excited to learn what's happening in Afghanistan as well!

T.S. Eliot famously described April as the cruelest month, but I maintain that he was having a forgetful moment; everyone knows that February is the worst month - and somehow lasts much longer than its 28 (or 29) day allotment. The holidays have ended, the snow seems as though it will never end, I'm starting to feel really bad about the weight I gained over the holiday but have no energy to do anything about it... this is a month made for staying in bed and reading books! I don't think I'll be allowed to veto the entire month, but here are the books that will be helping to make it bearable!

Next to big cats, other big predators are my favorite things to read about in the wide world of natural history. I've never heard of this wolf researcher before, but the reviews made this seem like a fascinating and wolfrider-worthy acount!

I can't even tell you how excited I am about this book (and how jealous I am that I didn't write it)! It tells the story of one of the tigers (a tigress, actually) that brought Jim Corbett his fame. Corbett helped me find my way into the world of big cats, so I am always excited to learn more about his adventures!

I've been on the hunt for this book for a long time (it connects to my research about the British museum) but it has always been priced out of reach. This March it is being reissued in an affordable (under $20!) paperback and I can't wait to give it a home next to Black's On Exhibit: Victorians and their museums!

April showers may bring May flowers, but they also, apparently, bring great publications!

As I noted above, I love books about predators. I also love this genre of "animal biography"... although I hate that it almost always ends in the death of the animal. For some other excellent examples, check out: American Wolf, Death at SeaWorld, or A Wolf Called Romeo. This one doesn't look to have a much happier ending (death being right in the title and all) but if anyone has ever encountered an example of animal biography with a positive ending, please let me know!

I always pre-order every Phoebe collection, and only the most recent one has ever let me down. I hope it was just a fluke and that Unicorn Bowling has me cracking up all over again!

I love deadly animals and venomous animals - but I also love tiny animals, quirky animals, and huge animals! This book offers a look at extremes in the animal kingdom and I can't wait to learn more wild facts about wild things!

He's blissfully unaware of the fact, but Hans Kruuk holds a special place in my heart. His scholarship in Hunter and Hunted guides and informs my own research (and makes me feel incredibly stupid much of the time), so when I found out that he had another book on predators coming out, I had to have it.

Summer presently feels like a far and impossible country (even if I am already planning my online courses!) but it will come again and when it does I will not be found beach-reading (because I don't really like the beach) but I will be found surrounded by books!

This may feel like a rather wintry title for a May release, but I'm delighted with it all the same! I love Life and Fate so I can't wait to get lost in the prequel. Many thanks to one of my wonderful colleagues for following the news about this work as it was finally translated into English!

And, finally, one more ElfQuest title. This one seems a more miscellaneous collection than its predecessors (or maybe I've just forgotten these stories?) but hopefully by July I will have refreshed my memory of the original quest and will look forward to moving forward into the story.

I don't know if all of those pre-orders had much effect on strep throat, but writing about them was a nice distraction! Happy reading for November and all the months ahead!