A boatload of company has left and I find myself stuck somewhere between exhausted and immobile. (There isn't a lot of room in there, but it's my new home.) I'm reading books for my October column which makes me happy as I am finally ahead again there, but have a stack of books to review (two for September, the rest October except one for December - can you believe that?!)

My political feature got bumped from Bookslut and would likely be bumped again in September so I'm going to piece it out as reviews to Guys Lit Wire and Eclectica and maybe one as a nonfic review in Bookslut next month. (Plus one will go in my November column.) It was a hard piece to put together as I reviewed so many different books on different subjects but I still think it's important to point out the way that various books can educate readers on political subjects without being overtly political. As these reviews show up elsewhere, I'll copy bits here and talk about the books. (One of them was Betrayal of Africa, which I posted about last week.)

I am still running but really struggled on Friday. We went to the zoo Thursday and walked four miles and I didn't sleep well and I'm dealing with a bit of a virus. All of that combined to make me feel like I had an added 50 pound weight on my back. I should have run today but after the long day of walking Saturday (the Seattle Aquarium and waterfront that time) I decided to pass it up. Tomorrow I will try again with Week #4, still. I'm just not consistent on that week yet and I want to be. Murakami struggled in the beginning as well so I feel like I'm still okay. As long as I keep going forward, and mostly just keep going, then it's good.

I'm going to buy myself some good running shoes this fall, too, as a reward. Who knew sneakers could be so exciting?

There's a new Peter Beard book due out this fall. I am elated.

I am reading a book on airspace of all things for Booklist. I think I am one of the only people on the planet who would find this kind of aviation law interesting. You do have to wonder how things might have turned out though - at the turn of the last century it was believed that property owners owned all of the air above them and below. So, if a balloon or aircraft flew overhead, they could sue for trespassing. The mind boggles at all the potential legal complications - this is a moment where you thank heavens the lawyers sorted it all out from the beginning.

For those of you who have not visited Guys Lit Wire lately, it continues to expand and cover numerous titles and subjects in the most delightful manner. It really has become a site that exceeded my expectations. Now I'm moving into my fledgling "50 State Plan" wherein I try to obtain email addresses for high school librarians in every state so the word on GLW can be spread. In some ways it seems crazy, but really we're only talking about one basic email sent to thousands of people, one state at at time. I'm hoping not to do this all myself (that would truly be insane) but to come up with an action template that others can share and use for various counties or states, depending on size. I think many people who work with teens are still unaware of just what is out here to help that age group with book recommendations. I don't want librarians to use exclusively GLW though - I want them to tell teenage boys about it. We are working on the Facebook thing and all of that but the best way to reach kids in this country in mass still is through school. So to school we must go.

It's interesting to me how many people have asked how I'm going to get the word out to teens about the site. It's almost as if creating it was the smallest thing - it doesn't matter unless tens of thousands of teenagers know about it and visit it. But no one - no one at all - seems to know how to make that happen. I always knew it would take time for GLW to find its audience; I can't help but think that far too many in the publishing industry insist popularity with your audience must be instantaneous for it to count. It's a good thing I never felt that way about my writing or I would have quit ten years ago.

I feel in a way like I'm underwater, underfoot, underpowered. There are many things I need to be doing and yet I can't seem to get going. The story is largely plotted, and now I need to write it, the AK flying novel must be repaired and finalized, reviews must be written - oh good grief, I need to print out pictures from my camera for a zillion family members who are getting more irate as the days go by.

I'm behind on everything right now; even my blasted running.