I feel like a fat lazy slob.

Of course, that's only a feeling--I've lost about 5 pounds since the first of the year--but between being stuck at work on Saturday afternoons, when the hash runs (well, that Atlanta Hash actually runs a lot, but I like the Sat. PM trails; they're usually pretty nice) and the recent bad weather, I feel like I've been stuck in the apartment for the past three weeks. or something.

The last time I did get out for a nice run/walk/hike, or however you might categorize just what I'm actually doing (since I can really only run about a half mile or so before I slow down to a walk again)... hmm, let me see. I think that was just about a week ago, when I was feeling generally crappy for other reasons.

that situation will likely never clear up. ok, I'm sorry I brought it up now. it's amazing how your own mind waits to spring something like that at you again...

ANYWAY, I feel the need to get out in some fresh-but-not-freezing air for some real exercise (machines at the gym are boring) and then I'd like to follow that up with a beer or three and a really large hunk of meat. And ice cream. (ok, and maybe a salad-- with the meat, not the ice cream) Unfortunately, I can't do the healthy thing first, so if I do follow through on this plan I'll just have the nice dinner, and dessert, and end up feeling like a big fat slob. (I used to be one. I know the feeling well)

Tomorrow is my day off--and payday--so maybe I'll get to do all this just a bit later. I guess tonight I'll have to settle for leftovers.

Let's do a run-down, a summary for folks out of town, or folks in town, it's all the same, really. none of my friends really bothers to check up on me more than once a year or so

"Hey! How are you? Uh huh, uh huh-- yeah that's great. How about those [insert local sports team]? And have you met my [wife/kids/new fuckbuddy/trophy boyfriend]? Yes? Great, see you next year!"

they're friends. I love 'em. I have to, we've been through too much shit. But these drive-by meet-and-greet sorts of occassions leave me feeling cheap. I miss the deeper conversations we used to have. (Were they more substantive, or is my memory playing tricks on me again?)

so anyway, there was a topic trying to fight through to the surface I think, though it keeps getting tackled by the asides. All right, then, by the numbers:

1. Work: work sucks. but you knew that. I had to do a night shift Tuesday followed by an opener this morning. All the displays in my department get changed over once a month, and some poor shmuck has to do it. (would you look at that, they even use that exact phrase in my job description: "poor miserable shmuck.") Even dragging my staff along with me, it's a lot of work. I'm tired, sick of looking at UPC listings and planograms (I hate that word. I didn't even know what it was before retail.) and above all, sick of work. I knew I'd feel like this before hand--hence the day off tomorrow.

Did I mention the capper to this lovely day? Not only did I have to rework all the dept. displays, but we had the Regional Manager and 2 District Managers coming by the store today for a little visit. (where is that tearing-out-your-hair emoticon? I thought I saw it laying around here somewhere...)

2. Rent. first of the month, rent came up due. So now, now I'm mostly broke. It happens. might put a damper on the beer-and-steak-dinner-idea that I was working on for tomorrow's post exercise festivities, however. [shrug]

3. Chicks. Women, dames, girls (-friend type and otherwise), exes, the better halves, the fairer-and-let's-not-forget-stronger sex. ya know, for at least a couple of weeks, I say screw 'em.

for that 50% of my audience that happens to be chicks:
well, I mean this in the nicest possible way, but don't tease an old dog. Don't come bringing the old arguments that I'm "just being unreasonable" or "you can't generalize half the population based on one woman" or that I "just need to find the right girl". That's not going to fly this week, just leave the dog alone. He's got a bone to gnaw on and he ain't gonna play nice and let you pet him until he's done with it.

(If you don't understand the metaphor: we can leave the dog out of it; don't mess with me either)

4. the damn novel. As long as I'm being antisocial--generally and specifically, and even personally and maliciously--then I might as well spent that time alone getting some writing done. Remember NaNoWriMo? Well, I'm going to try it again, right now. And I'm doing it solo. And for the shortest month of the year. And after I've already wasted two days.

Why? because this old dog is gonna tear apart something, I'm in that kind of a mood, and this seems like the sort of thing I oughta sink my teeth into.

I'll pop in and out with cryptic messages from time to time, but this may have to tide you over for a week or two.

So let's see: So far in this entry I've felt: lazy, fat, tired, poor, frustrated, pissy, and determined. (Not quite the seven dwarves, are they?)

I must read too much of this damn stuff... you sit down and and try to write a couple chapters for the novel, and what does your treacherous brain come up with? more goddamned poetry. (This is just the third time I've felt obligated to post verse. for reference: 1 & 2)

you don't have to read it.
(Read More)

as to the last entry-- well, that's what we call a first draft. And it was written after midnight, which likely doesn't explain anything, but hey, there it is.

It needs an edit, I think. Some more structure. when I have time (and if I feel like it) I'll try to turn it into something better. I'll leave the first draft up, I think-- show some of the nuts and bolts to the creative process.

cutting this short--working tonight--I need to get ready.
(yeah, working Saturday night sucks. c'est la vie)

Where's #4? Well, if you go back to this entry, it looks like I was doing a web sweep even before I decided to refer to them as such. So this is SMWT #5. At least, that's what I'm going to call this one.

I has been a couple of weeks. I suppose I should accept (as should you) that the web trawls will be occasional rather than weekly. or something. who cares?

With the foosball game coming up, and other assorted festivities, I might as well post early. Since I'm up anyway. (I can never get to sleep after working the evening shift.) And to start off this lovely Sunday morning, via Fark: Beer Drinking Rats Are Smarter Than You. It's a scientific article, and I'd have to say, personally, I drink like a rat. How else do you think I manage to lose weight while drinking as much as I do? Related headline: (Also via Fark) Study finds many alcoholics recover, if by "many" they mean "36 percent" and by "recover" they mean "still drink"

A couple of things are dramatically shifting the way we consume video entertainment. One is Netflix, which rocks (I think I mentioned that earlier this week), and also DVR. Digital Video Recording, or TiVo, to pull the recognisable brand name out of a hat. Any old hard drive will do, but TiVo makes it easy on granma (whose VCR is still blinking 12:00) and ease of use will open a lot of doors for a new technology. To fight this, networks are time-shifting programs, so you miss out on the first couple or last couple of minutes. I say, let 'em. Real fans will figure it out, and casual watchers will choose another network. It's a lose-lose situation if this is the best thing they can come up with.

...and I'm sure they smell nice, too: plastics from orange peel. Good for the environment, etc. etc. (insert anti-oil argument here, I can't be bothered at the moment.) [via BB. hell, just go read BoingBoing. They always have good stuff.]

Insightful Musings from Roy.
Roy is our kind host here on Tabulas. He does the programming/organization/hosting thing, and charges much too little for it. I'd likely pay three times as much. (Let's hope Roy doesn't read this and decide to charge me retroactively.)

I can't tell if this watch is some sort of joke post or not. It looks like a parody, but then again, maybe they are trying to sell 'em. (via everlasting blort.)

via Alternet: Target: Iran. of course, we'll exhaust all the diplomatic options before doing anything. Just like Iraq. And while we're on the subject, Alternet also posted a top 10 list. My personal gripe (currently) with the administration is the propaganda arm of the Bush regime. Tell me: where's the outrage? I know the special prosecutor bill expired, so no Ken-Starr-style-circus is forthcoming, but shouldn't this be a bigger deal?

always go to original sources: want to know how U.S. foriegn policy will change with the transition from Colin Powell to Dr. Rice? (I wish I could claim the research on this one, but it was posted to Metafilter.)

also via mf:
'bout time somebody said it: "Since when is culture obscene?" I guess we should blame the "new" puritanism.

Ted Turner (Yep, that Ted. Of Buffalo Ranching and Cable fame) on media consolidation. He says it's bad, by the way. You think you might have mentioned that before you made a half-billion, Mr. Turner? Actually, I kid. One of the points Ted brings up is that the money he made, and the way he made it, are not going to be available to the next generation of wannabe tycoons.

It ain't so bad, guv. 1850s working classes. and as long as we're in the 19th century, here's some old-school ass-kicking techniques. (via BB.)

Now the new versions of the movie are great and all... mostly. Updates and fixes are one thing, but Han shot first, dammitt. Lucas is a freak with too much time and money on his hands. (I want to grow up to be just like him) (actually, no. I really want to be Jim Henson. There was a guy who had fun, made great art, made a difference in so very many lives and also managed to make a buck or two along the way. RIP Jim. My next beer I'll toast to your memory.)

cartoon bones. via memepool.

the man who wants to beat death

obligatory link: the committee to protect bloggers. I didn't know I needed protection, but... really, I'm just wasting my time... these kids are making some real bank with their little site.

Ok, I'll admit, the only reason to link to this next one is the phrase 'cyber dildonics'

3 more before I call it a day
The cruel site of the day
from deiselsweeties: "I bet you can get lots of work done." not so much as you'd think...
and from sinfest: So many muses, so little time.

full day today.

if I have to be bored by the minutiae of my daily life, then I say a few of you should share my pain.

First up: get a haircut. No, really, it's been a while. While I have been known to go as long as 4 months between cuts, I think it's bad enough now. (When did I last get a haircut? hmm... I was on the way to the DMV and stopped by the barbershop in Peachtree City. That would've been the second week of December sometime.)

Then I'll need to stop by the post office, do some grocery shopping, likely need to find a bank or ATM somewhere in there, maybe make it out to Target or somewhere for some essentials (soap, etc.)

After running errands, it'll likely be 4 in the afternoon or so. I'll need to stop by the apartment to make sure I pay my roommate back for last months utilities (yeah, I know it's late) and then

well, I should probably get ready to go to work.

Oh, you thought it was my day off or something? Nope. Store inventory tonight (similar to but different from the department inventory I had just three weeks ago, but hell, I don't make this schedule. someone in the left cubicle not knowing what the right cubicle is doing, or some such shennanigans at corporate, me thinks). I'm into work tonight at 6pm (I think I'll need to be early to get all the tasks done, and that's even with half my staff in to help. So call it 5ish rather than 6) (at least I get paid by the hour) and then it's a rather long night ahead of us. Last year the inventory lasted until 3:30am.

This year we're a 'pilot program' for new inventory procedures. And I think most of us can guess how that'll end up.

Tomorrow is my real day off. Then, why not put off those pesky errands until tomorrow? Well, because I want to enjoy tomorrow, esp. since I have to work this Saturday night.

Inventory sucks.

Bettter late than never I guess. If it really needs to be posted at all. Anyways...

Sunday [sic] Morning web trawl for 2.13.05:

In the spirit of the (fake) holiday, Love Coupons for Valentines Day. [via the onion.] Or how about some Geek Poetry. And for those of you still trying today, how to buy someone a drink.

well, shit. The thing is, I think they have a point "We ... have manufactured nukes for self-defense to cope with the Bush administration's ever more undisguised policy..." Even before we invaded Iraq, North Korea was talking with this kind of rhetoric. It's a shame someone had to go and make it true. (edit: looks like the AP has updated their story since I first found the link; China is stepping up to the diplomatic role. I guess someone took a look at a map; they'd rather not have the fallout, I'm sure.)

Douglas Adams on religion. More thought-provoking than funny, though I'm not sure if Adams could have voluntarily not been funny, even when he's being serious.

And now for a random collection of odd links:
eerie stuff.
a news brief via forbes: phone on a chip.
damn ads...
now here's a strange brew kind of post if I ever saw one
It's not your fault, really; fat is in yourgenes.

webcomic goodness, this time from sinfest:
clueless. seems familiar tho.

Some problems with my internet connection has left me more or less disconnected this past week (the lack of internet has only highlighted to me how dependent I've become on the connection) and has also made updates difficult. But I'll take some time this afternoon to line up an entry or five and set them to delay-post over the next week, thus maintaining some semblance of regularity. or something.

please note that post dated entries means I'm not actually here to read your comments, or to respond to said comments from devoted readers in a timely manner .

comments. readers. [chuckle] --yes, I know, I'm just shouting to the wind;

Oh, I know someone is reading this (perhaps by mistake) but I'm indulging in a little self-delusion-- the occasional web hit likely doesn't translate into a "devoted" (or even interested) audience. These convenient little fictions make the writing process a bit more enjoyable on my end, however.

no one asked but I feel like (sharing)

If you'll excuse me, I've worked 9 hours and I still need to finish up a self-review (gods I hate these) for my upcoming employee evaluation. And the bartender here at Fado just poured another pint, so...

Everyone needs something to believe in.
(Everyone needs something to curse at.)

I don't hold much with organized religion. I was born and raised Catholic, like so many other malcontents and free-thinkers throughout history. (distinguished company doesn't make me right, or noble, or even happy-- just saying...) I don't know if my lapses makes my arguments more or less effective to you...

Setting aside for a moment the international problems that arise from conflicting world-views espoused by our various religions (I don't want to go there), I'm going to address just obliquely those issues encountered here in the States, you know, so called conflicts over "faith": "Moral Values", separation of church and state, creation vs. evolution in our schools, etc. etc. ad nauseum.

A lot of trouble seems to stem from words, I think. When I say I don't have a religion, some treat me like a godless heathen who still paints his face with blue woad, runs raving through primeval European forests, and screams obscenities at the missionaries in some ancient tongue before gutting them. (tempting... but not a usual friday night)

"Religion" is just a word. I'd define it as a system of practices, the rituals as opposed to the ideas or words or the people, which can all be considered seperately from the concept of religion. When we start to argue religion with each other, I think a lot of disagreements derive from this muddling of terms and ideas. Our religion, our rituals may not be the same (think Catholic sacraments vs. southern-style river baptisms, for example) but the basic beliefs are often compatible.

I'd take it a step further, and try to separate the terms "religion", "church", and "faith". I have faith, but I don't have an organized religion and I seldom step inside a church. (afraid the roof might fall in on me, you know) "Faith" is not religion, it's a personal thing. You have faith or you don't. In my opinion, no one can give you faith. I do have faith. That doesn't mean I'm going to see eye-to-eye with your god, though. My faith is my own, and sometimes, it doesn't have anything to do with god at all.

Why people insist on equating religion with faith... hell, this is a really old problem. I can't solve it with a 1000 word essay. Even if I wrote a book, some folks would blind themselves. I can't solve this brand of disagreement with mere words. but if you might consider:

More words: "catholic", considered as merely a word, means "universal". By the time it made it's way into middle English, it had garnered the additional meaning of "universally accepted". The one true church, etc. Semantic content: zero. Of course, the word has garnered additional meanings past mere etymology.

"Denomination" is another fun one. It's merely a label. All it means is "label", from the latin; you can go look it up in the dictionary-- it has even less meaning than catholic. It's just a word, a seed for debate.

Some words that actually have meaning often get those meanings stretched past recognition. A church is just a building. You can talk about your church or the church, but I think a lot of people are thinking of a religion or a faith when they use the word in that way. It's just a house, folks. And, well, Who benefits from a house that no one (of this world) lives in, and stands empty six and a half days a week? If you go to church on Sundays (or Saturday nights, or alternate Tuesdays) take a look around. Ask yourself: How much did this building cost? Do we need it?

what goals are fulfilled by an ediface of stone or wood? What works are done?

If you feel really ambitious (or rebellious) ask yourself: why did we build a church, when we could have spent the money building lives? How many humble homes could we have provided, mortgage free? How many scholarships would this have funded? Who does the church building benefit, or maybe I should ask, in an age when we no longer anthropomorphize our gods, why does my god need a house?

If you proscribe to a major religion (as noted above, a "system of practices") and especially, if you give money to the people who supervise that religion -- let me emphasize: you're giving money to people, not to god -- if you give money to people (whatever the conceit) shouldn't you be concerned in how that money is spent? Reports, audits, results? Or do you like the organ and the stained glass windows? (oooo... pretty...)

How is your Faith served by your Religion? And would either be changed if you were deprived of the building you call a Church?

This is the point I found myself at, um, many years ago. I was 13 I think (maybe 12 when dissent first took root-- it was some time building) and I can't say I've been a very good Catholic since then. (as I joke now: I'm a recovering Catholic and a practicing Alcoholic.)

I do have belief. I have faith, which is a very personal thing for me. But I do not like the current, basically secular, organizations that hide behind the labels of religion and church and faith.

But everyone needs something to curse at.
Everyone needs something to believe in.

--

My philosophy has its own luminaries. None of them are, correction, none of the were christian thinkers, per se, but I think I may have finally found at least one christian philosopher I can agree with. I heard a Radio program, "Speaking of Faith" on NPR the other night, and they were featuring the life and words of Reinhold Niebuhr. (the link goes to the program in question) Apparently he was not only a man of god, but also a man with insights on ethics, politics, and how to live in a world of real events, not some idealized utopia. I'm still trying to find original sources so I can start my research, but what I've heard so far had made me stop and think, and reconsider my faith.

And at least for me, anything that shakes the pillars of my faith is a good thing.

is there an expiration date on love?

I keep waiting for the old feelings to fade, to go away, but every now and then I'm faced with the same old problem. I want to move on. This is far more than a minor concern at this point.

(maybe not a major problem. call it a minor but chronic problem.)

I have to ask myself why I still have these feelings, why I can't move on. The answers I come up with so far don't help.

now, this wasn't recent. and since this is one of dem time-delay-thingys it'll be even less recent by the time it makes it's way to my main page.

I was hanging out at the bar after work on a random Thursday night and while absorbing equal amounts of second-hand smoke and dive bar ambience, I was drawn into a conversation with a lovely young lady named Christine. We we're talking about work, and she mentioned something about corpses and bloody clothing--she used to work for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (local eqv. of the FBI) so this wasn't as out of the blue as you might think--and I pulled out my moleskine and wrote down a particularly gory detail, and she happened to ask why.

I mentioned that I was a writer, and even though I likely couldn't use it, as a fantasy novelist, it was still too good a detail to leave be, forgotten. This lead to a different conversation, where she mentioned that an old girlfriend of hers also happened to be a novelist. Except, you know, she's published and happens to be relatively famous and the rest of that.

actually, I was so into the conversation at that point that the 'lesbian' penalty flag didn't even phase me much. [shrug] eh, who cares? Christine was cool, the conversation was one of the best (intelligent, intriquing, engaging, etc.) that I've had in ages. The fact that it was nothing more than conversation didn't detract. In fact, it was a bit of a relief. And we're both regulars, each in our fashion, so at some point in a couple of weeks I'll likely have an opportunity to pick up this conversation up again.

Not a bad way to finish off an evening.

(oh, and the detail. a bit morbid perhaps: She used to work the night shift at the morgue, and was witness/assisted for several autopsies. This didn't gross her out. What disturbed her was a rack of clothing. It had to be kept for evidence, but she found an empty, bloody outfit to be more disturbing than the actual bodies. Like I said, a genuine detail like that is too good to forget, even if I never get around to writing a crime novel.)

So, I found at least one solution to my internet addic... um, internet - supply - problem. yeah. that's what I meant. I now find myself in the position of paying for internet twice, once at home and once for the wifi at work (bookstore, remember? retail jobs don't come with cubicles--good point--but I also don't have a desk or a computer. unless I bring in my laptop. which is the point where this narrative started...)

With a backup provider and maybe $60 more in some hardware, I should be able to weather any future problems without having to suffer another week without email. The extra cost is negligible. (the hardware is for the old desktop. I think I can get it fixed, to serve as an occasional fallback computer.)

Oh, and being portable is really cool, too. There are a couple hundred or so places I can log in, including all the bookstores in the chain (at least here in town), and some fast food places. A local coffee chain (is Caribou Coffee local, or just smaller than More-bucks?) too, so I guess I'll need to track down those locations. Isn't that part of the writer stereotype, pounding back lattes and spending all day at the coffee shop?

(I like the Hemingway model instead, but it has serious health risks. Look at Hemingway.) (He died of an allergy, if I recall correctly. Either gunpowder or lead. He should have checked the ingredients on his shotgun shells)

Now let's say you happened to buy a sixer of a really cheap beer, as an economy measure. It's also part of ongoing research; I started on really good beer, um, 15 years ago...

damn. 15 years. o.k, so maybe I'll step aside from the topic for a moment and cover some history--

As a young man in high school I spent some formative time as an exchange student in Germany. (little village outside Frankfurt, name of Hofheim. lovely place) Some time later, I stepped off the plane onto home soil with a taste for a variety of lovely European beers, most of which weren't available (yet), and which I couldn't buy legally for another 5 years anyway.

I started college with an educated palate, a surprising tolerance, and general distaste for most american (i.e. cheap) beer. I wasn't your typical suds-swilling freshman. I still couldn't buy beer legally, but most of us know that's not really a barrier on a college campus. How I went from German lagers to a lovely dry Irish stout is another story--mmm... Guinness-- but it's always been expensive beer, usually imported but fortunately, my college years also coincided with a renaissance in brewing (renewed awareness rather than rebirth?) and I got to try a lot of nice regional and local beer, too.

But I never liked "American" beer much.

So my opinions have changed, or are changing. Or I'm sick of paying $8.50 and up for six packs. In the past couple of years I've bought a lot of six packs, to see if there is some redeeming value in cheap damn beer.

The majors, well, they brew to suit the least common denominator. Actually, some of the really cheap stuff has better flavor to it (in my opinion) particularly over things like [ack] Bud Light. Carlings Black Label is a current fav.

Now let's say you happened to buy a sixer of a really cheap beer (for reasons previously stated). Last evening started with a six pack of Schlitz tall boys. (for those not conversant with the lingo, a 'tall boy' is a 16oz. can) I don't think I've ever had Schlitz before, though I might have had a can of their malt liquor once. Malt liquor is fine in context (though for the life of me I can't think of what the proper context would be...) but these were cans of their ordinary main-label beer, which is actually, well, not that bad. That may be as close as I can get to a compliment.

So I'm drinking Schlitz by the pint. and I think, hmm, pint.
At this point I get a really odd idea. I took a can opener to the top of a schlitz can. I am now the proud owner of a aluminium pint 'glass'. what to do, what to do... I hope I'm not the only person who gets at least a chuckle from this: I go to the fridge, I pull out a can of Guinness (which, as the directions state, should be immediately poured off into another container to ensure proper head formation) and I decant my Guinness into the Schlitz 'glass'.

It's a perfect fit. Somebody designed it this way. A Guinness Draught Can is just a shade smaller than a pint, and with the requisite head it is a very snug fit in a 16 oz. can. Shit like this just makes me smile.

(but maybe that's the beer at this point. I've had quite a few of both the schlitz and the guinness.)

With various internet problems (as documented earlier) I'm taking a different sort of approach to the 'links' I've posted earlier.

"So, smartass, you work at a bookstore; you read anything recently?"

A quick sweep of my bedroom (and we'll skip the books in boxes and stacks in my closet) collected a hell of a lot of books. Professional hazard, I guess.

Most recently: I'm just now finishing up On Food and Cooking: the Science and Lore of the Kitchen, Harold McGee, 2004 Simon & Schuster, ISBN 0684800012, $35 in hardback. This is perhaps a bit technical for most audiences, and isn't a cookbook. It's a science textbook--except, you know, for the stuff you keep in the fridge. This one is highly recommended, even if not necessarily for everyone.

Now, that's just the current read; also on the nightstand is "The European Dream: How Europe's Vision of the Future Is Quietly Eclipsing the American Dream", Jeremy Rifkin, 2004 Tarcher (Penguin), ISBN 1585423459. I think I may have extracted all I need from the preface and introduction, without having to go through the pains of reading the other 390 pages. Hell, I think you might get what you need from the title. What is it with the 500 word subtitles on these things?

Past what I keep on my bedside table, I guess the next stop would be the desk references. Two dictionaries: "The American Heritage College Dictionary, 3rd Edition", 1993 Houghton Mifflin, 0395671612 (as noted earlier, a very good basic dictionary, though I'm out of date. They released a fourth edition fairly recently) and "The New York Times Crossword Puzzle Dictionary, 2nd ed.", 1986 Warner, 0446382655. The puzzle dictionary I use in lieu of a real thesaurus, though I may have to find a better reference in that area eventually.

Also on my desk:
"The Book of Numbered Lists", Gwen Foss, 1998 Perigee (Penguin), 0399524215.
"The Writer's Digest Character Naming Sourcebook", Sherrilyn Kenyon with Hal Blythe and Charlie Sweet, 1994 Writer's Digest Books, 0898796326
"The Name Book" which also has the cumbersome subtitle "A unique reference listing of everything imaginable that has a name (except babies)", Michael Cader, editor, 1998 Gramercy Books (Random House), 0517162172.

Those are just a sampling of the odd reference books I keep on hand; there are others that haven't been unpacked from the boxes yet. It's a writer's habit. On the desk currently I've also got a couple of books just on writing. "Plot", Ansen Dibell, 1988 Writer's Digest Books, 0898799465, and "Writing the Popular Novel", Loren Estleman, 2004 Writer's Digest Books, 1582972885. These are just a couple of the 30 or so books I've picked up on writing, the two that I've referenced most recently. I'm always looking for another good book on novel writing. (open yourself to learning as a lifetime process, not a merely a 4 year commitment-- always good advice.)

That's just part of the research:
"The Medieval Machine", Jean Gimpel.
"Life in a Medieval City", Joseph and Frances Gies.
"The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy", Jacob Burckhardt.
(can you tell I'm sick of listing the publishing info? eh, if you want one of these you can find it, I'm sure)
"London: the Biography", Peter Ackroyd. Actually, this last one is highly recommended, both as a good read and as a reference, so let me fill in the info: 2000 Anchor Books (Random House), ISBN 0385497717, $18.95 in paperback. Heck, I'll link it, too.

And past the book research, I've also got books I'm reading for my own damned self:
Jung: a Very Short Introduction, Anthony Stevens, 1994 Oxford (recommended) and "Jung's Four and Some Philosophers", Thomas M. King-- which is a nice read for those of you who have taken both Intro to Philosophy and a Psych course where you've done the Meyers-Briggs bit.
...these 2 I picked up so I could get a better grasp on the Viking Portable Jung, edited by Joseph Campbell, which I intend to get back to at some point.

Jung is a big subject. Hell, so is Campbell. Both are luminaries in my own personal philosophy, a point I've touched on in the past week or so.
Carl Jung. Joseph Campbell. Look into it.

That's a dozen or so non-fiction titles. I'll wait for the question...

Why, yes, I have also read a fair amount of fiction; it just seems I've a temporary imbalance. Today's sweep also picked up a few fiction titles, though mostly re-reads

"The Great Book of Amber", Robert Zelazny, 1999 Avon Eos (Harper Collins). This one is a collection & reprint of 10 books that range from the 70s through the 90s; it's the one to pick up. ISBN 0380809060, $22.95 in trade paperback. I've read this series 3 or 4 times, most recently about 6 months ago.

"The War of the Flowers", Tad Williams, 2003 DAW (Penguin), 075640181x, $7.99. Williams is best known for really (really) long series, so a stand-alone novel like this makes a good introduction to his style.

Fritz Lieber.
This is another re-read, and to be honest, I think his work is out of print again. I'll give you the titles and ISBNs from the editions I have in my own library:
"Ill Met in Lankhmar", 1995 Borealis Legends (White Wolf), 1565048946
"Lean Times in Lankhmar", 1996 Borealis Legends (White Wolf), 1565048954
"Return to Lankhmar", 1997 Borealis Legends (White Wolf), 1565048962

Fritz is old school. Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser. Not a "contemporary" of Tolkien, who was also writing in the 30s, but a pulp-novelist who was scraping out a living off the magazines from the 30s through the 60s. I think I got lucky finding the reprints in the 90s. When White Wolf did the reprints, they also made arrangements with the estate to do new stories featuring the same characters, which leads us to
"Swords Against the Shadowland", Robin Wayne Bailey, 1998 Borealis (White Wolf), 1565048938. The post mortem sequel wasn't bad, but if there were others, I haven't bothered to seek them out yet.

These are just the loose books sitting around my apartment at the moment. There's at least one other I'm reading during my lunch breaks at the bookstore: "Plot and Structure", James Scott Bell.

maybe I read too much.