Opshop Goodies

I went out to drop off some bags of goods to the local Vinnies when I found out they were having a half-price sale.

What a great thing to stumble upon!

So, I walked around, had a good look at things and found the book section was well-stocked. I found 'The Stone & The Flute' by Hans Bemmann, 'Agatha Christie's Secret Notebooks' by John Curran and 'To The Nines' by Janet Evanovich.
Three great books on three totally different subjects; I can't wait to read them. But I don't know when that'll be. 

However, when I was at the coast, I didn't get to go to any opshops, because they were all closed over the New Year period. This was kind of boring because where I was staying, the township lived off second-hand things - nobody bought brand new furnishings; not unless you drive some distance to one of the bigger towns. So, it was a very quiet time over the few days I was at Brunswick Heads.

Anyway, when I came home, I was right into the cleaning out, donating and looking at my garden again. And it's making such a difference. I'll be going through my house again to make it better this year too... as well as my book collection... until my next post, happy reading!

Vampire Reading

Yesterday, I had a wonderful friend of mine give me all of her vampire books! And some of the author's I haven't read, some of them I have... but haven't read their most recent works.

From Christopher Pike to Tad Williams to P.C. Cast, I have a great pile of books to add to my ever-growing collection of books!

'The Black Ridge' by Ander Louis
'The Liberation of Sundrian City' by Ander Louis
'Hunted' by P.C & Kristin Cast
'Time Raiders' by P.C Cast and other authors
'Chosen' by P.C & Kristin Cast
'Untamed' by P.C & Kristin Cast
'Marked' by P.C & Kristin Cast
'Tempted' by P.C & Kristin Cast
'Breathe Again' by Kamy Chetty
'Fragile Eternity' by Melissa Marr
'Shadowplay' by Tad Williams (vol II)
'Shadowrise' by Tad Williams (vol III)
'Lover Mine' by J.R. Ward
'Lover Revealed' by J.R. Ward
'Spirit Bound' by Richelle Mead
'Night World' by L.J Smith - Vol I
'Night World' by L.J Smith - Vol II
'Thirst' by Christopher Pike - Vol I
'Thirst' by Christopher Pike - Vol II
'Great Mysteries' by Pamela Bradley
'Karate for Everyone' by Robert B Sullivan
'Living My Dream' by Kancho Robert Sullivan

Now, the question for this book collector is:  where the heck do I put these new additions? Yep, I'm starting to run out of room in this tiny office - and it is great to have such a lovely, filled library of so many differing books in this little room. I mean, just look at the ones I've acquired only yesterday.  I don't wish to get rid of any right now - as they are ones I want. Well, until my next post, happy reading!

Posthumous Reading

Last week, we lost a great man in our lives:  Nelson Mandela.  He touched our lives throughout many generations and will never be forgotten over future generations; so long we make sure our children and grand-children know who he is and what he has done for Africa and her people and anyone else who has lived in oppressive situations.
However, over the last month, we also lost Doris Lessing.  She was around the same age as Nelson Mandela and contributed to literature in such a way we will miss her as well.

I own a few of these people's books and have made plans to read some of their writings over the Christmas holidays while I'm down the coast and when I return home.  I have 'Under My Skin' and 'The Golden Notebook' by Doris Lessing.  Then, I have 'Nelson Mandela: The Authorised Book of Quotations' by Himself and 'Conversations With Myself' by Nelson Mandela.  All these books will be great additions to my Mt TBR over this coming holiday season.

I do have other books which are sitting in my bookcases of actors, singers and writers who are no longer with us as well, most of which I haven't read either.  However, seeing how recent these most interesting and important people are - and have been - in my life, I thought to add them to my suitcase to take away on holidays.  So, what are you hoping to pack on your holidays?  Are they similar reads to mine or are they a little lighter than what I've chosen?  Until my next post, happy reading!

The Art of War by Sun Tzu

I have loved reading non-fiction books for some time, but none as great as 'The Art of War' by Sun Tzu.  I was first loaned a copy of it by a friend of mine who lived in my unit complex when she found I had lost my compass in life.  At first, I didn't have a clue what the heck she meant... but you see, I was fighting a battle at the time with a neighbour's daughter who was trying to make me move out.
This daughter had played a series of tricks and so-not-funny jokes on me over a few months, and I was at the end of my tether.  So, when my friend gave me 'The Art of War' it wasn't just a book for me to read, it was a book on strategy.

As I began the book, I found the translation was brilliantly done.  The illustrations were beautiful, and what Sun Tzu had written down was absolutely true about how to treat his men, how to work with them, talk to them and how a war should be won one battle at a time - even the small battles were important.  And you know, I was able to put some of what the book taught me into action with the neighbour's daughter.  It taught me to be Zen and very calm about things, to wait for her to finish what she was doing and then say something to her.  I learned a lot about how to fight my war with this young lady (she was in her early 20's) one battle at a time.  And in the end, she finally screwed up by putting her own foot in her mouth about a few things I wasn't supposed to hear.  This book taught me a lot of things; and it also taught me that '... a good general feeds off his enemy...' and that is exactly what I did.

Today, I bought this very book to have it in my collection.  When I saw it three weeks ago at the Centro Newsagency, I hoped it would still be there for me to buy, and I was thankful that it was.  Yes, it was expensive, but it's worth it!  And I must say, it's well worth the read too.  I'm just happy I managed to get my hands on a lovely copy of it so I can keep it for years to come.  Until my next post, happy reading.

'Nelson Mandela: The Authorised Book of Quotations' by Himself

I've had a lot of time to kick back and read here at my brother's house; and one of the books I brought with me to read is this one.  Now with books like this, I don't read them from front to back; as there's no real storyline or plot.  These books are just quotes of a famed person at different times in their lives.  However, normally, these books are done up by a second party - a biographer or family member - who's been there right from the beginning.  With this wonderful little book, Nelson Mandela has pulled together his quotes over his whole lifetime himself.  And what a book it is!

I have admired Nelson Mandela since I was in high school and the whole world was fighting Apartheid in South Africa; and this great man was in prison for something he said and did.  Once he was let out, and I found out exactly who he was I followed his life.  I have tracked down a couple of his books down at bookstores (and have yet to read them; but at least I have them on hand when I want to get into them).  But when I found this one, I knew I just had to have it as it was purely about him, by him; and that's something wonderful as it speaks volumes about how much he has influenced people and the globe and history as we know it when we see what a single, important person has said over their whole lifetime that has changed the way the world works.  Until my next post, happy reading. 

In Verse

I do love to read books in verse sometimes; and I don't just mean poetry or sonnets.  I mean books that have a proper story and plot all writte in verse.  'The Monkey's Mask' by Dorothy Porter is one book which comes to mind; and has stuck in my mind, even though I read it in 2010.

However, I'm one of those people who keep not only an online journal, but also a very personal, private, hand-written journal as well.  I have been keeping this kind of journal since 1997, and have recently thought to write in it in verse for a year and see how it turns out.  I'm on my second entry and have found it very much a challenge as I have to call upon how I ordinarily write in the journal and change it completely into a poetry book just for this year!  Have you ever done this kind of thing - or better still, come across anyone else who has?  Until my next post, happy reading!

This Year's Reads

This year, I'm hoping to get in and read some great titles from my ever-growing collection.  Right now, I'm reading a Young Adult book on my iPod titled 'Parallel' and I'm only 200 pages from finishing it.  And seeing I knock over about 50 pages every night, I'm sure to finish it very soon.

However, I'm also hoping to read 'The God Delusion' by Richard Dawkins, 'The World, The Flesh and The Devil' by Reay Tannahill, 'The Language of Flowers' by Venessa Diffenbaugh and 'The Golden Notebook' by Doris Lessing.  I've had some of these books for years, while others of these books I've had only for a few months.  And seeing I'm not much of a planner, I'm hoping to read these books in amongst the books I do read this year as these titles have jumped out at me whenever I walk into the office.

Which books do you hope to get into this year?  Love to know what's on your list; even if you don't get to them this year - you may next year.  Until my next post, happy reading. 

2013 Reads!

Okay, it's the beginning of a new year - and we're a few weeks in.  So, this has given us all a bit of time to get in and sort out what we're going to be reading for this year.  
Right now I'm plugging through a couple of books that I'm enjoying - and one of them has been turned into a movie.

'The Life of Pi' by Yann Martel 
'The Origin of Species' by Charles Darwin
'Parallel' by Claudia Lefeve
'Dream Psychology' by Sygmund Freud

Now, I began reading these books around the same time and now I'm reading them little by little, one by one whenever I feel like it.  I do love the first one and am obsessed by the third one.  But the second and fourth ones are brilliantly researched and written as well.
I do have a pile of books by the office door still there from last year that I have yet to sort through - to figure out which to read first - for this year.  So, what are you planning - hoping - to read this year?  A huge lot of books?  Or just grabbing what looks good on the shelf as you walk on by?  Until my next post, happy reading!      

Christmas/NYE Reads

Over this time of year, no matter where you are in the world, it's always a good time to get in and catch up on your reading.  So, what did you get into?  
As for me?  There was no internet or WiFi to speak of because within the day of me arriving at Brunswick Heads, the free Wifi at the caravan park dumped itself.  Not fun at all!  But it gave me a chance to jump right into the books I took along to read.  And with one paperback book and two on my iPod, I was set to have a good time reading.

'The Life of Pi' is now showing at all the cinemas around the world; however, I wanted to read it first.  I know that sounds like a silly thing to do, but I love to read something before it's been turned into else by a director and screenwriters; before they miss what the author has been trying to tell us all along.  So, I got to read plenty of this book just before turning out the light.
Then, on my iPod, I had 'The Origin of Species' by Charles Darwin.  What a book it is so far!  I do recommend you read the introduction; as it sets up the book for you and he juxtaposes back to the intro all the time throughout the text.  But it's a wonderfully written piece of work; and at over 1,000 pages, I'm glad it's on my iPod and not in real book form or it would seem too much to read.
Another book on my iPod I have is 'Dream Pyschology' by Sygmund Freud.  I've always wanted to read some of his works; and what better works to read than his dream analysis?  I have admired this man for years and now I have a chance to understand him better through this wonderful work; and seeing there was no television, and even less entertaining radio shows around, I had a good chance to sit down by the Brunswick River and read.  In fact, everyone I saw on holidays did exactly that in the afternoons with a cup of coffee or tea by their side.  What a way to enjoy a balmy, afternoon in the shade by the river!  Sitting and reading a book!  Nothing like it!  Until my next post, happy reading!   

'The Big Questions: Philosophy' by Simon Blackburn

I love philosophy and getting into philosophical conversations with people and friends over pretty much anything... from whether it was the chicken or the egg that came first or why we can't see time, but we sure as hell can feel it and know it's around us in abundance.  If you'd like to have somebody talk to you about these - and other such philosophical things - this book is most certainly for you.

I picked this book up in The Book Warehouse at Springwood for a tiny $10 and I have the other two in the series 'The Big Questions: The Universe' and 'The Big Questions: Mathematics'.  I haven't gotten my nose into those two yet, but I'm looking forward to them as I love anything to do with space travel and the planets and have done for as far back as I can remember and mathematics is a massive mystery to me and I'd like to know more about it.  Yesterday, I pulled this book out and showed my brother and his partner, Kat, they were intrigued by it.  So, I'm lending it to them for a while.  Well, until my next post, happy reading.  

'The Zodiac Library: Libra' by Derek & Julia Parker

Are you typical of your Star Sign?  Am I?  Well, apparently in this book I am a typical Libran - as I am one - and that's not all.  This old-style, well-researched book is a tell-all record of exactly what a Libran is like right from childhood, to teenager, adult, being in love, workmate, during courtship, marriage, what kind or Mum/Dad they'll make - well, everything you'd want to know about how us Librans would work.

And the best thing about this book is that there are eleven others on the other Star Sign around that are set out exactly the same; so there's no big mystery about what we are all like.

Mum gave me this book she found while looking through the many books at Uncle Allan's house.  He was a Libran; and she thought that seeing I love to read anything about my star sign, I'd like it.  I got a good giggle out of it and will still enjoy it off and on - as I don't read these books all the way through, but pick bits and pieces out of them, using them like a reference book.  These books are well worth tracking down and looking for.

I have tracked down a site for you all to have a look at about Derek and Julia Parker.  It's a very interesting one and has a list of all the books they've worked on individually and together as writers and editors.  So, I thought to put the link here - and on the sidebar - and let you have a look at it a your leisure.  Until my next post, happy reading!

Community Centre Buy-Up!

Today, I was up nice and early and out the door by 9am to be at the Springwood East Community Centre for their thrift sale.  Almost everything there was under $5.00!  This ranged from t-shirts, plants, knick-knacks, shoes and also books!  So, Mum picked me up and we drove there nice and early to look around.  I had a quick gander, however, I was back looking at the plants to see what I could nab for my garden.  I picked out four plants and paid under $20 for them all (and even scored a lovely pot with some succulents and that was $5.00!).

But it was the books I looked at last; as they were the things I really didn't wish to crash and burn on.  Seeing I already have plenty to choose from, I wanted to pick out only what I wanted - needed - to read and I wanted to do this carefully and in an unrushed manner too.  So, I picked out four great ones I thought would pick up my spirits after the dull old week of sitting around on my butt waiting for a tiny bone to heal:  'You Suck' by Christopher Moore caught my eye immediately.  And being a funny writer, I thought it would make me laugh; also it's a vampire novel too. 

Then, I found 'Born on a Rotten Day: Illuminating and Coping With the Dark Side of the Zodiac' by Hazel Dixon-Cooper.  Now, talk about funny!  My Mum got her nose into this book and laughed her head off at her star sign then just had to look up Dad's; which had her snorting as she read!  So, I'm looking forward to using this on as a good one to read for a giggle on any day when I'm wondering exactly why my friends are like they are.  I found one on the Beatles titled: 'The Music and the Artistry of the Beatles' by Mark Hertsgaard.  I haven't seen this one around before, but it does look like a good read.  And the last one was a book Mum handed me and I bought because it's a Native North American Indian Spiritual one; and I love that kind of thing:  'Native Wisdom for White Minds' by Anne Wilson Schaef.  

Before we knew it, we were off to my parent's house and then off to the World's Greatest Shave event!  I didn't raise as much money as I did last year; but I did colour and shave.  I looked like a melted packet of skittles... all the colours of the rainbow!  And I got a little bit shaved under my red tresses... shocked the hell outa Mum! Until my next post, happy reading!

Active Dreaming by Robert Moss

Have you ever had a dream where you can move around and talk in it, have complex conversations, read books or newspapers, signs and remember landmarks of where you live and even travel to other countries.  And yet, when you wake up, you remember these dreams as clearly as you remember what you had for breakfast yesterday?  Well, have I got a book for you!  'Active Dreaming' by Robert Moss is a great reference book on this particular subject.

This book works on the assumption that you already keep a dream journal; and if you don't, to start one.  It's not a book that you read from beginning to end like most you find on the market.  I have found that if I need to look at a subject, I'm interested in, I'll just look it up in the contents and go to it, read about it and then be happy with what I have found out.  And seeing I have already got a couple of detailed dream journals dating back quite a few years, I see that this book advised me to buy an Index book and write down symbols of my dreams and dates of when they occurred.  

This book is most certainly for those who want to learn more about their dream worlds and what affect it has on their real, waking world.  It's not a massively thick book, but Robert has done his homework, and is an accomplished author with other works as well to his name; which are worth looking up and adding to this one.  So, until my next post, happy reading.

Legacy By David Suzuki

Our world - our planet - as we know it is suffering.  We are killing it at a phenomenal rate and we aren't doing anything to stop it.  We are running out of natural resources faster than we're using them; and yet we don't have a back-up plan, we didn't think we'd need one.  In this book, David Suzuki looks at what we're doing to our one and only home and asks the question:  can we fix what we've stuffed up?  If so, how?  If not why not?  He also poses the argument that we are looking at this planet in the wrong light.  David asks what kind of legacy are we leaving behind for generations to come?  Will they be the ones who will have to clean up our messes, or will we be able to do it in time?

I've admired David Suzuki's work my whole life; and have always wanted to meet him.  However, when he visited the Gold Coast, I missed out by accident (Mum didn't get enough tickets, oh well, next time).  I've loved all his programs that have shown on television; and would love to read his autobiography one day just to see how he made it in this life.  He's been an inspiration to me in how I look at my home, my planet and the world.  This book has such a clear and concise way of telling it as it is, I couldn't put it down.

David Suzuki, Co-Founder of the David Suzuki Foundation, is an award-winning scientist, environmentalist and broadcaster. He is renowned for his radio and television programs that explain the complexities of the natural sciences in a compelling, easily understood way.

The Left-Handed History of the World by Ed Wright

Throughout history, there have been thousands of people who have made a major mark in our lives; that have really changed how we live.  But how many of those people do you know are left-handed and really did it all on their own?  Well, in this large book, Ed Wright has found a poignant and brilliant group of Southpaws who - if they hadn't been around - life would have been a lot different for us.  From Ramses II to Bill Gates, this book has quite a collection of people's lives.  Many of them didn't have the best education, but they often had the most brilliant mathematical minds around, thought outside the box when nobody else could and had the best ideas when everyone thought all was lost.  

From musicians to artists to rulers and politicians, this book has a very different view into how a Left-Handed person works; as they have particular traits that make them purely original beings and separates them completely from the right-handers of the world.  Once you read this book, you'll be looking at your leftie friends with a whole new respect.

Now I love reading these kinds of books.  This is a book I purchased in the Book Warehouse at Arndale in Logan City.  And the main thing that caught my eye was that it was about left-handed people; famous ones.  Being a leftie myself, I have always felt either a little left out or different from everyone else because of how I think or see things.  And this book has made me feel okay about my differences from my right-handed friends.  Actually, the only thing that's missing from me as a leftie is my mathematical ability; as it disappeared at a young age from an illness.  Otherwise, I'm doing fine.

Ed Wright is an author, poet, critic and harmonica player who lives in Newcastle and Sydney. He writes popular non-fiction and book reviews for a living and is currently working on a novel and collection of poetry. His latest book is The Left-Handed History of the World.

Between the Pages

I've been reading a lot lately; and reading really great stuff too.  And seeing it has been lovely, warm weather, I've had time to sit out the front of my unit in the sun and get my nose right into a good book or two in the past month or so.

One of the first books I've begun reading - and love 'You Are Here' by Christopher Potter.  This author takes us into the outer realms of the solar system, galaxy and the universe via the Hubble Telescope and takes us back in time by introducing us to the philosophers who took our ancestors to the stars first off by gazing skyward in the first place and making their own observations (even though they weren't the most popular people around at the time; some of their words and works have turned out to be the truth now).  I'm almost halfway through this book; and loving how our universe has always been there; but not and little by little, its showing us more each day.

The next book I'm also into is 'A Left-Handed History of the World' by Ed Wright.  Now this titles sounds like an oxymoron, but really, it is about the people who made a big difference in our world and how they all turned out to be Southpaws.  The author tells us a few little known things about lefties and that they all have certain traits that makes them the way they are.  He also takes us right back to the earliest known lefty of them all:  Ramses II of Egypt.  This leader wasn't just a lefty, he was also a redhead; now how's that for unusual?  And being a left-handed person myself, I found all this new information about left-handed people very interesting and a little bit funny too.  

So, these are the two books I've indulged in right now; and I'm zipping through them both at a fast past!  Which books are you getting into?  Are they non-fiction or fun and easy fiction or thrillers?  Leave a comment and let us know.

He Died With A Felafel In His Hand' by John Birmingham

John Birmingham has lived in over eighty shared houses spanning across three states of Australia.  There's nothing he hasn't seen; and nothing can shock him.  He learned a lot from people he'd least expect would be big problems; and found that traveling with people he lived with was nothing but problems.  Filled with almost unbelievable stories from him - and from others who have also had funny stories about living in shared houses - John Birmingham has written a light, funny and laugh-out-loud account of what it's like to live in shared accommodation with just about anyone.

I love this book.  Seeing I've lived in a shared house, I can relate to about three of the stories out of the many John Birmingham told in this book... but only the three.  There have been my own weird and funny stories I've got of my own while living in shared accommodation that people wouldn't believe; yet they happened.  But, of course, that's a story for another time.  I did love reading this book as it was easy to pick up and and put down and wasn't demanding; as some books are.  So, if you want a good light, hilarious read, this is the book for you.

John Birmingham was born in Ipswich, Queensland, in 1964 and published is debut novel, 'He Died With A Felafel In His Hand' in 1994; which became a cult classic for today's youth, and eventually a best seller.  For his second book, he used a pen name, 'The Search for Savage Henry' by Harrison Biscuit.  This book is currently out of print; however you can buy it on the official site shop (which I've installed on the sidebar).  This was followed by a shared house comedy 'The Tasmanian Babes Fiasco' .  'How To Be A Man' was his fourth book, which John co-wrote with Dirk Flinhart, published in 1998.

'He died With A Felafel In His Hand' was turned into be a successful play and - eventually - a movie, starring Noah Taylor and Sophie Lee.  This book was published in Italy and England in 1997.  It was The Guardian's book of the week and described by Loaded as "one of the funniest books ever". 'Leviathan', a history of Sydney, was published by Random House in 1999.  In 2002, Duffy & Snellgrove published two pocket-sized guides by Birmingham 'The Felafel Guide to Sex' and 'The Felafel Guide to Getting Wasted'. 

The Brain That Changes Itself by Norman Doidge, MD

Throughout medical history, doctors were always taught that the brain was hardwired and once it was damaged in any way, it couldn't be repaired.  This book proves otherwise in the most inspiring way.  Norman Doidge takes us through the intricacies of the human brain - as well as our closest primate - showing us examples of brain mapping and how it has affected us through our lives.  An absolutely positive read without getting anyone lost in the process.

I personally have wanted this book from the moment I saw it on the shelves a few years ago at 'The River Bend Bookstore'.  However, I couldn't afford it then; and almost couldn't afford it when I bought it this year.  But, once I watched the program based on it and watched the programs on 'Catalyst' (a science show on the ABC here in Australia), I just had to own it and read it for myself.

Now, non-fiction takes a little while longer for me to read because of the facts and figures in it.  And so, when I found that a lot of the information in this book sounded very familiar to me, I was often left wondering how my brain had been affected.  You see, I have a patch on my brain that hasn't worked since I was 2 years old.  It was an area that had to do with mathematics and numbers.  Through my life, I have tried to understand numbers; and failed.  However, I have gotten into doing a number of other things and left the numbers because they don't really matter anymore to me.  This book most certainly affected me in a way that I will read it again (but will not do another review because of this one), but not for a while. 

If you really want to know more about the brain in terms that are easily understood, this is most definitely the book for you.  The book is bigger than it looks as it's got summaries in the back of each chapter and an index and two appendixes; the latter of which are worth reading.

Norman Doidge, MD is a psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, researcher, author, essayist and poet.  He is on the research faculty at Columbia University's Centre of Psychoanalytic Training and Research, in New York, and the University of Toronto's Department of Psychiatry.  He is a native of Toronto.

I have found his official website.  However, there's so much information about his life, I'm not sure what to put up here, so I've decided to put his link on the side bar for you to go and have a look at it.

Can I Give Them Back Now? by Joanna Simmons & Jay Curtis

This A-Z book gives a whole new meaning to being a parent; actually, it shows how funny and infuriating it can be sometimes.  Joanna Simmons and Jay Curtis take an often dark and occasionally shocking stance on what it is to be a parent; at how much people really do love their children, but sometimes... 

Initially, I bought this book for my cousin in New York.  However, I've found that she doesn't have much time to read with her new little addition to the family.  So, I thought to have a quick look-through of this book myself and found it funny in so many ways.

Joanna Simmons has written other books on interiors and property.  This book is her most recent one published; this time with a co-author.

There isn't much on the net about Jay Curtis; so I'm unable to tell you much about her.  However, I'll be putting up Joanna Simmons' link on the sidebar if you're interested in her other books and her.

Love Is A Mixed Tape by Rob Sheffield

Rob met Renee way back when in the 1990's.  It wasn't meant to be; he was a shy geeky guy who's into music and she was an in-your-face extrovert; but the only thing they had in common was music and their love for it.  Music brought them together, married them in life and love and music helped Rob through the most horrendous part of love anyone can go through: losing a wife to a sudden death.

This memoir is a touching story about how music shaped Rob Sheffield's life with his wife; and how it got him back on track.  Now a music critic for Rolling Stone, Rob Sheffield's book will touch a chord with anyone who has a collection of mixed tapes in their house.  And you know, we've all got them for one reason or another.

I remember making them for different times in my life; and it never crossed my mind to write a book about them.  However, Rob Sheffield has made writing about love and music and mixed tapes a great thing.  He's made me look into my mixed tapes and remember when I made them and why.  If you're into music, this is a book you must read this year.

I haven't found an official website for Rob Sheffield; the best I've found for you is on Wikipedia, and I hate to say this but I don't really trust the information on that site (I would much rather give you an official site to run around on of an author).  So, I'll put in the Wiki site on the sidebar for now until a proper site can be found for him.