First, as many of you probably know, Ray Bradbury celebrated his 86th birthday this week. He had a few hopeful words to say about humanity (oh how I hope he is right!) and also has a new book coming out this fall, Farewell Summer. It's a sequel or sorts to his wonderful Dandelion Wine and yes, I have already preordered a limited edition copy from Subterranean Press. (The only books I indulge myself with these days are Bradbury's.)

I received two excellent looking titles for my next survey of Polar Exploration books - The Lure of the Labrador Wild and The Last Gentleman Adventurer. I'm waiting on a couple of others (and the full run of the comic series Midnight Sun) so this will run probably in the winter issue of Eclectica. If Bookslut wants to swing for it, I might just send it there. Either way, it will be here in a few months. (And I will also be writing about all of these books as I read them.)

I picked up the new issue of The Believer so I could read Jenny D's piece without the glare of the computer screen. Can't wait to learn more about this fascinating book and I look forward to owning a copy.

I am reading Three Wishes right now and it is blowing my mind. It's a collection of interviews with Israeli and Palestinian children - very forthright and mostly just what the kids have to say about their daily lives. It's impossible to read without shaking your head in disbelief. I don't know how anyone could tolerate living in such a complicated and fearful way. No wonder everyone in that section of the world is so angry - no matter whose side you are on it is easy to see how they have come to be so on edge.

It's horrible to read the next generation falling into the same trap.

After finishing Gallipoli I find myself almost bewildered by how small all my other books seem in comparison. I was thinking to pull Tracey Kidder's Home Town off the TBR pile (such a small manageable pile now!) but I want to get everything read for my October column first, so I can finally make up for the June vacation and get back on track. In light of that I'm reading The Black Tattoo right now and starting Snow, Fire, Sword. Tattoo is pretty good thus far although it is asking that I believe a young man could literally be met on the street by someone who saves the world and picked to be his successor. It's a stretch but I'm hanging in there. I know a lot of YA readers want their books to go fast and furious so I won't hold it against the author if the rest of the story works. We'll see what happens in the next few chapters.

I also have The Death Collector and The Beast of Noor for that column - lots of longer books this time which is why the falling behind business is so troublesome. After this everything becomes much more manageable though, and Nov and Dec columns should be cake.

Finally in all of this chick lit vs not chick lit insanity everyone keeps worrying about the sensibilities of poor women who read books with pink covers. I have yet to hear anyone - and I mean anyone - bring up the subject of men's adventure books. When I worked at the bookstore we sold James Axler's Deathland's series pretty regularly and copies of similar titles were going out at a good clip as well. (We had a men's adventure section among our used books.) So what's the difference between chick lit and men's adventure? Isn't it just cover design?

Are the men still able to find literature on their own or should we be worried about them as well???