Greetings form the Great Northwest . . .

Just a quick note to all to say that I'm back and will be assuming my AM responsibilities and checking my PM every day.

The move from the heart of the midwest went smoothly. There are still far too many boxes in my small Seattle apartment -- mostly books, which caused one of the movers to ask me at one point: "Do you own anything but books?"

"I did, but I gave it away," I replied. "Is that a problem?"

"Maybe you should have given some books away," he grumbled.

I moved 1733 books (that's right, I counted them for insurance purposes). This apparently was some kind of record, judging from the groaning of the movers. Since I'd given away everything I owned except for my bed, my television, my DVD player and stereo, and, of course, my laptop, the books and my bed were all the movers had to move. Of course, my CDs, DVDs, their respective players and, of course, my laptop, rode in the car with me.

At this point, it might be apporpriate and somewhat cliche to mention what a truly beautiful place America is -- especially when you drive across the plains, the Rocky Mountains, and through the the Northwest forests. This is not to say that the rest of the world is not beautiful, but in my humble experience, I've not see such a vivid collection of landscaps as I saw when I drove from Indiana to Seattle.

Of course, it was autumn.

Now that I'm here, working my new job, living in an exciting new city, I find I do miss Indiana a bit. Now I'll have to watch my alma mater play football on television, and I've been here two weeks and haven't seen a cornfield once.

Sigh.

I'm actually looking forward to spending some time on the .Org forums, as doing so is a little like going home.

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Glad to see you back and enjoying your new phase of life!

:medievalcheers:

1733 eh? ~:eek: And I though some 7,000 books of me and dad meant something. :rolleyes: Wait! :inquisitive: That's greater than 1733. Anyway, matsh isn't my strong point. ~D (Joking aside, most of those 7,000 are rubbish and I'm sure you'll beat if the number of worthy books are compared. ~;))

I envy your travelling experience sir. :bow: Ironically, autumn is my favourite season but also the most painful due to allergic complications.
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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mouzafphaerre

And I though some 7,000 books of me and dad meant something. :rolleyes: Wait! :inquisitive: That's greater than 1733.

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I do envy you, Mouzafphaerre. Since my graduation from college, I've only rented apartments, which translates into limited space. As a result, I've had to take a hard look at my book buying habit, by asking myself how many books I can read in a single lifetime? I try to read two books a week (a goal which has gone by the way with my move) or about 100 to 120 books per year. Even assuming I live another 50 years, that is 6000 books at the most. Of course, some I'll want to read some more than once (for example, I've read The Count of Monte Cristo three times).

Consider also that about 12,000 new titles get published each year -- in the United States alone. Keeping up with this tidal wave is quite a chore. (I still haven't read The DaVinci Code, for example).

So, I haunt libraries as opposed to bookstores (yes, I've already located the University Branch of the Seattle Public Library). It doesn't make it any easier to keep up, but I don't feel guilty if I don't like the book and don't want to finish it.

I believe libraries, and the incredible community service they provide, are the most valuable assets of our society.

But, wow, 7,000 is a number I just cannot comprehend. Someday, maybe, if I make a lot of money and have an obscenely large house . . .

Maybe . . . just maybe . . .

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Believe me, off the top of my head, some 2,500 ― 3,000 can make good recycled paper and someday I'll attend to it. ~D Quite a few of them are referential, such as three sets of encyclopaediae, plenty of dictionaries and the like etc. It isn't rare that I can't find a "suitable" book to read and retreat to the encyclopaedia. (Yes, this crackbrain has been reading the 1990 localisation of Britannica volume by volume :rolleyes:, not all articles though.)
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hmm and i thought that 300 some books that my dads given me over the years that hes read on the road (truck driver)... sadly they are mostly sci-fi which is no longer my favorite... more into those medieval-roman time books

hes said there was one about greece so i just spent like 2 days constantly searching every nook and cranny for it ~:mecry:

i just finished this REALLY awesome book about Pontus :D

Rilder:

If you're interested in ancient history novels, you may want to check out Steven Pressfield's books (he's written several, I've listed two that I've enjoyed):

Gates of Fire (about the Battle of Thermopylae)

Virtues of War (about Alexander the Great)

See also Michael Curtis Ford's books (I haven't read them):

Gods and Legions (about ancient Rome)

Sword of Attila (about ancient Rome)

The Last King (also about ancient Rome)

The Ten Thousand (about ancient Greece)

Wallace Breem's Eagle in the Snow (about Rome's last stand) is fairly well written.

Good luck in finding your dad's book.