Java Davis's Blog, page 37
September 12, 2014
Please vote for me!
-- Java Davis
http://authorsdb.com/books/2014-book-...
September 10, 2014
Pumpkins are on my mind
Pumpkins are on my mind today. Yesterday I went to the supermarket, but they only had decorative, tiny pumpkins. I went to our local farm and produce market. They only had giant, decorative pumpkins and white pumpkins. I asked when the sugar pumpkins were coming in. The younger staff had no idea what I was talking about.
Sugar pumpkins is a generic designation for a suitable pie pumpkin. An older woman came out and spoke to me. She knew about sugar pumpkins. But they weren’t carrying any. According to this woman, people don’t want to EAT pumpkins anymore. They want the stringy, tasteless large decorative pumpkins. She told me to switch to another squash, which is what is in those “pure pumpkin” cans you might be buying.
Most years, I have a pumpkin patch. I don’t currently have any ripe ones or I would never have been engaging in that conversation. But my pumpkin patch is all the more dear to me now because I can trust them. They’re real, they’re edible, and they’re darned tasty. Not to mention really cute. Pumpkins are a cute food, even if they do often weigh four times what my cat weighs.
People, people. Don’t send pumpkins the way of the land line phone! Eat up! They still sell a spice jar called Pumpkin Pie Spice. That’s got to mean something.
– JD
September 7, 2014
Book Review – Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, by Robert Pirsig (5 coffee beans!)
As many books as I’ve read over the course of a lifetime, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance has had the strongest influence on me. I’ve read it several times and will probably read it again before long.
The book is written in the first person, and it is loosely based on the life of the author, although it’s considered to be a work of fiction. The man’s story is that he was a literature professor who developed an alternate personality known as Phaedrus. He is hospitalized to rid himself of his new persona, but upon his release, he has become a stranger to his family. He decides to take his son on an extended motorcycle trip. Eventually, he realizes that his son doesn’t like him; the boy loves Phaedrus.
The road trip gives both travelers time to assess their lives. The father needs to figure out how to incorporate Phaedrus into his life without his family or doctors discovering this, thereby avoiding more hospitalizations. The professor needs to contemplate his teaching methods and their effectiveness.
A more minor, but just as compelling, theme of the book is the balance between art and science. As he travels across the country, riding the back roads, he sees that true Renaissance individuals are few. In our modern society, the arts frown upon science, and science no longer teaches its relationship to art. Pirsig provides wonderful and sometimes painful examples of this.
Phaedrus and his son return home as friends. Later versions of the book contain an epilogue that explains that the author’s son died later at a tragically young age. It makes the window into this road trip so poignant.
This book can be an unusual and difficult read, but I highly recommend it.
September 5, 2014
theroadtripwriter.com
Enjoy the photo gallery, too!
September 1, 2014
Road Trip to Lititz, PA
The Wolf Sanctuary of Pennsylvania, Lititz, PA
August 2014: Took a road trip to Lititz, PA, to visit a wolf sanctuary that I didn’t know existed until recently. The land is privately owned, donated to help the wolves. Some were motherless, others were abandoned pets, and there are also some animals that were injured in the wild. There are lots of volunteer guides whose concern for the animals was evident at every turn. The tiny, dark gift shop was doing a high volume of business. I picked up a souvenir jacket patch for my crowded denim jacket. If you’re going to be in Pennsylvania Amish country, I highly recommend a stop at the Wolf Sanctuary of Pennsylvania.
August 22, 2014
Book Review – Road Trip, by Mark Finn (4 Coffee Beans).
What happens when a mythological god and a hitchhiker take to the road in a pink Cadillac? This story is what happens!
Cupid and Aaron, an Elvis look-alike, meet up and head to an obscure town to visit Cupid’s mother, Venus. Along the way, they stop to visit an Egyptian god, visit “the Thing,” and drink lots of beer.
If you are sensitive to foul language, move on, because there is loads of it. I found it in keeping with these two personalities.
August 4, 2014
Empathies
My question is: When is it time to quit? When do the ROIs (returns on investments) no longer justify the time and attention? My answer should be "Never!", but is that realistic?
Some people truly do not have the talent for writing and should not be published, purchased and wasting the time of their readers. I share the downheartedness when I ask myself: "Is that me? Am I not good enough?" I get pumped again when, after months, I sell another book. Surely, my turn is just around the corner.
July 30, 2014
Blog and Reviews
Coffee Bean Key
1 coffee beanday-old, cold coffee
2 coffee beansunpleasant aftertaste
3 coffee beansa passable, serviceable brew
4 coffee beansbold and flavorful
5 coffee beanskept me awake reading it
July 23, 2014
Book Review – Tilly Lake’s Road Trip, by Francis Potts (2 Coffee Beans)
Francis Potts is a man with a huge zest for life, and he is a man who appreciates a good road trip. But as an author, this book left me cold.
The book begins the day after Tilly Lake’s husband was found in a hotel room, with all evidence pointing to a heart attack from a sexual liaison. Tilly and her husband had passed into a friendship stage, and Tilly has only good feelings for her spouse. She makes an effort to find “the other woman,” who is a Russian immigrant working hard to stay afloat. Tilly likes her, and moves her into her own house.
But Tilly’s real passion is to take a road trip. She buys a gunboat of a car in hot pink, meets a Welsh stranger, and hires him to drive her around. He turns out to be a great find. He can drive, knows places to go, and has interesting friends who put them up sometimes. The road trip itself was very entertaining.
But the real theme of this book is: Will Tilly discover that she is really gay? When she adds people to her phone, she includes naked bust shots. She seems not to realize that this is because of attraction, not beauty. And the kissing! Tilly is constantly kissing people, especially women. She spends her time analyzing each kiss.
When Tilly finally returns home, her attorney recommends that she marry the Russian woman so that she can inherit Tilly’s estate someday. Even then, sharing a bed with this woman, spooning naked every night, Tilly seems completely unaware that this will look like a gay relationship, or that she might want more than just a cuddle and a kiss.
If kissing and driving are your things, this might be the book for you. Not for me.
Book Review – Shereen Travels Cheap, by Shereen Rayle (4 Coffee Beans)
When Shereen says she travels cheap, she means it! Want to take the family on a trip as cheaply as possible? This is a great resource. The writing style is breezy and succinct, no attempts at great humor that might fall flat. I enjoyed it.
The material was certainly well-researched and organized. I am an infrequent traveler, so I learned a great deal, but I’m guessing that the seasoned traveler can still pick up a few tricks. To scratch the surface of the content, Shereen touches on U.S. and foreign travel, websites for everything imaginable, from reviews, to vacation packages, to hotels, car rentals, restaurants, things to do, traveling with children, the right time of year, the right luggage, the right way to pack, and other essentials. There is an index in the back of available websites, organized by category, with bullets for the author’s top picks. Very handy.
I highly recommend this travel book, but I have two pinpricks. The first is: Buy it now! The internet and FAA regulations can change on a dime. Who knows how long this book might stay completely current (although much of it is common sense that never goes out of style)? The other is: don’t buy the electronic version. As a reviewer, I read this book from cover to cover from an ebook, but as a traveler, I would have liked a hard copy so I could mark favorite pages and be able to easily flip back and forth. The author herself recommends the electronic version, but I disagree.
I am grateful for the opportunity to review this book, which, I repeat, is well-written, well-researched, and well-organized. I’ve already found it personally useful.
